Planning a Walk

I have just come back from my walk with the dogs and yet again I have had to carry three dog bags this time for about 2.6 miles before reaching a bin. Ridiculous! Of course I want to tidy up after my pets but  where have all the bins gone? Just about every time I go out I find this and it doesn't matter which route I take, unless I am passing through the park or by the school there are no bins.  The sad thing is in one particular area by the side of the road I saw dog bags on the floor as if people had given up after miles of walking. Obviously they should not be doing this but they have picked it up so my thinking is if there had been any bins around this wouldn't be happening.

The reason I know how far I walked before encountering a bin is this little website I found Plotaroute.com this is really handy because you just drag your route on the map and it tells you how far it is, you can estimate arrival times and so on.  Quite handy I think, I have found that two of my regular walks are just over three miles and thought they were a quick whip around as I walk quite fast.  It is good to know I am covering more ground than I realized and that when we do longer walks it is better still.
Here is my picture for the day, I had to put the dog bags down to take it but be assured I picked them up again and carted them around looking for the elusive bin.

I do hope it is not going to be thirty days of dreary skies although the light in this one is a little better.

There is hope for lighter days to come, there is something growing in this field, the daffodils are all coming up and it has been quite mild today so hopefully the days will be brighter.  I am finding everyone is in need of a rest and the dark days don't help.
 I have been watching an Icelandic drama called 'Case' it was good but a bit dark as most crime dramas are, I watched the last episode of the first series this week but they left it so there can be a second series.  I am finding the  book 'After You' a bit dull otherwise I would have finished it by now.

Peace and Joy

That title sounds a bit like Christmas doesn't it? Well don't worry we are not there yet, it's just that I read something earlier that really appealed to me.
'When you think everything is someone else's fault, you will suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.' - The Dalai Lama
How wonderful, and it is basically taking responsibility, of course it doesn't mean illness or unavoidable accidents but the every day thoughts and actions that can tilt things this way or that.

My picture for today was an orchid that has just come into flower again that I keep in my kitchen...

Now orchid from what I read is lovely, beautiful and calm and the colour yellow, wholesome, honest and pure. I just thought the picture quite fit the quote although I already had the picture for the day.

I always think it is good to remember all the little things each day that bring you joy rather than all the things that wind you up, I am very grateful but some days it is hard not to grumble.  Considering the quote above I think I will pop it in my bag and look at it whenever I am feeling out of sorts.

Books and Keeping Track

At the end of the summer last year I began keeping a record of the books I read on the computer, I originally did this on good reads but after forgetting  a password last year and not being able to access my own record until I reset it I thought just who am I doing this for?  As it was for me I started a folder on the computer but then decided I wanted a paper version.  Now this may be to do with my love of books that I need an actual book to record them in, I don't know but I prefer it.

So I just bought a journal from ASDA, quite cheap and still kept up with the  file on my laptop but when I fill a page I print it and stick the entries in. I get a lot of books from the library and some I buy, the ones on my shelf are there as a reminder but the borrowed ones are not so this is a good prompt if I want to remember an author.

I just make a few notes for me, I can look back and think about whether a new release by a particular author is worth a look or not.  I am not aiming to write a detailed review just something to jog my memory.

Today after work I stopped off to take a picture, I didn't get the one I really wanted as there wasn't anywhere to pull over in rush hour safely.  I did get one though, here is todays picture.