Day 8: Busy Busy Busy!

Well, this time last week I decided to write my first ever daily blog and somehow I've managed to write a post every single day since then! Woop! Woop! I'm definitely going to stick to it and keep writing each day for as long as I possibly can. Yeah, each post might not be uploaded at the same time every day due to the craziness life and how unpredictable it can be, but there will be a post nevertheless and that's all that really matters!

I'm sitting here in the usual writing spot (not my desk!) a little bit excited about something I have coming up very soon. Unfortunately for you guys I can't tell you what it is just yet but it's pretty exciting! Promise! Keep an eye out for more details in future posts!

So what has the day had in store for 'The Hat Hippie'? Well, it's been a busy one that's for sure! It all started with the usual wake up routine-I'll not go into too much details to avoid sounding boring, I highly doubt you want to read every detail about what was on the morning news. But why is it that on a school morning that my bed suddenly becomes a cosy cocoon and getting up is a serious inconvenience? On weekends getting up is fairly easy-why can't it be the other way round!?

After dropping Laurel off like we do every other morning we popped into Morrison's on route home for a few bits and pieces. Before long I found myself back home and seated at the kitchen table with sketch books, paints, paint brushes and pencils scattered around me. I had artwork to complete before my tutor came this afternoon. To be honest, I don't think I ever want to see an apple ever again! I have never been so frustrated when painting/drawing in my life; I just wasn't happy with it. The end result looks pretty good but that's all thanks to my Mum with her support and encouragement telling me to keep going. But seriously, if I'm ever asked to draw an apple again I think I might flip-I much prefer painting flowers and leaves! But in the end it got completed and that's the main thing! Good riddance!

My tutor arrived around half past one for my art session, she was very pleased with my completed work and we spent the session working on a few pieces we'd been planning to do as part of the coursework for Nat 4 art. It's all coming together pretty well and the sketch book looks absolutely amazing if I do say so myself! I'll enjoy flicking through it when I'm older and looking back at everything I've done. I'll make it my mission to take a few photos when I get all of my work out again at some point in the next couple of days.

In the car on the way to pick up Laurel, BBC Radio 2 were playing 'Under Pressure' by Queen and David Bowie which was brilliant. Love that song! It's a favourite of mine to jam along to on bass-it's one of those addictive bass lines that I could quite happily play over and over again.

An ice lolly was in order for each of us on arrival back home as it was still boiling hot.It's been a while since Scotland was this warm for as long-I think it might be a record by now! Poor Laurel had studying to do for an upcoming maths test at school so had to head upstairs to her room to study. I began clearing away all of my art supplies and somehow managed to drop a ton of art paperwork behind the radiator next to our table. I couldn't exactly stick my hand down it as it's such a tight space so I dug around the kitchen looking for something long enough to do the job. Eventually, I found a rubber spatula and with that managed to pull everything! Thankfully, the heating was off! I remember sticking my hand down a radiator when I was little (I must have dropped something) and burned my skin and still to this day, I have a small scar from the burn on my left hand. An incident not to be repeated!

We enjoyed sitting out in the garden watching the world go by and were also joined by Dad once he finished up from work. There was a bit of a breeze in the air today so it was a bit cold for me and I ended up digging out a black sparkly poncho from my wardrobe to keep me warm. The slightest hint of cold alway seems to affect me, I think it might be to do with my medical condition and how it affects the nervous system. Anyway, I managed to get most of radio prep finished for tomorrow's show as we sat outside so once I finish typing this I'm going to quickly check over it and add the final few songs to the playlist. If you're about tomorrow be sure to tune into 103.1 3TFM or listen via the TuneIn Radio app between 1-2pm UK time to hear my show!

I really ought to go now as it's getting late, have a good evening folks!

Love & Peace,

The Hat Hippie xx

Day 7: It's Still Sunny!?

Good Evening!
Here we go again, another late night post. That will probably change in a few days time when the weather decides to return to its usual state of grey skies and rain. Until then I'm doing my absolute best to make the most of the sunshine whilst lasts. I sound like a typical British person, constantly talking about the weather don't I? Oh well!

We dropped Laurel off at school this morning and headed straight into town as I had the morning free; tutoring on Tuesdays always take place in the afternoon. Popping into town first thing in the morning is great as it's like a ghost town; the shops are always empty and extremely quiet which is perfect for someone like myself in a wheelchair. I normally hate shopping as people bump into you, stare at you or make you feel like an inconvenience for even being in the same isle as them. That's the day in a life of a wheelchair user I'm afraid. I think everyone should be given the opportunity to use a wheelchair for at least a day and go out and about and see what lifes like from a wheelchair users perspective. Trust me, I think you'd be surprised at obstacles we face each and every day hence why I prefer to visit the town when it's quiet.

We had a browse in Primark where I picked up a couple of new tops to wear in the Summer as well as some new pyjamas as all the pairs I currently own are suited to Winter and it's far too warm to wear them in this heat! This was followed by a visit to Debenhams for a bite to eat, we always try to have something substantial in the morning as making time for lunch can be rather tight when I have tuition in the afternoons. And the breakfasts in Debenhams are always pretty good which is a bonus!

Back home I worked on a painting of apples that I started the other day for part of my Nat 4 in art. I'm not going to lie, I did get a little frustrated with it as I tried to get the right shades and colours-who knew just how many colours you'd need to paint an apple? It's pretty surprising! Thankfully, Mum was able to give me a bit of advice and it's definitely looking on the right track as a result so I'll be sure to finish that off in the morning.

Before long 2pm had arrived and my tutor pulled up into the driveway for my music sessions. Today's lessons was a continuation of ELO's 'All Over The World' which I pretty much completed. The bass parts vary so much throughout the song so it took a while to work it out but we got there in the end! My tutor and I are both big Prince fans so we ended up listening to some of Prince's extensive catalogue and worked out the bass line to a song called 'Jam Of The Year' that my tutor had previously told me about. I really enjoyed jamming along to it; it's such an addictive bassline to play along to! I've got it stuck in my head right this very second as I type.

We picked Laurel up from school and returned to Primark as she'd been invited to her friend's house for a water fight and to use the swimming pool and needed a swimsuit, new shorts, flip-flops etc. Let's face it, we don't get weather like this often so none us have any close to suit the occasion. The shop was so much busier compared to earlier that morning and unfortunately, I experienced staff members rudely walk out in front of me in my wheelchair on three occasions within a short period of time-not impressed! Eventually, Laurel found what she was looking for and we dropped her off at her friend's house.

Whilst she was out I continued to paint whilst Mum prepared dinner for the three of us (Dad, Mum & I). After dinner we sat out in the garden for a little while although it was a little windy so we didn't stay outside for too long. And before we knew it, it was time to pick up Laurel who had a pretty fun time by the sounds of it enjoying the pool, getting soaked during their water fight and eating some delicious homemade Thai food; I can't help but feel a little jealous hehe!

So that brings us to now, I'm currently fighting with my eyes trying to avoid nodding off. Could you imagine me falling asleep with my laptop on my knee? What a laugh!

Speak soon!

Love & Peace,

The Hat Hippie xx

Day 6: Meetings

Good evening my friends!

Yes, it's another late upload from me tonight-I'm a night owl at heart! I wish I had a more interesting day to tell you about but let's face it, it's Monday and it's only the beginning of the week. But let's be positive about it; the countdown to Friday begins!

I am very delighted to report that Scotland was blessed with another day of much needed warmth and sunshine! We all deserve it after such a long and cold winter. It's hard to believe it was only just a couple of weeks ago that the weather forecast predicted snow! How things change eh?

Sadly, we couldn't take full advantage of the sunny spell due to the commitments of everyday life such as school for my sister and in my case, tutoring. Tutoring is always enjoyable but let's face it, I'd rather have been outside chilling in the garden. During today's music session I was learning to play 'All Over The World' by ELO on bass. We started working on it last week but soon discovered the bassline varies throughout the song so decided to only learn half and begin learning the second half today otherwise there'd be a lot for me to remember all at once. So that's what we did. It's amazing to think how much progress I've made when learning songs by ear. I used to find it extremely daunting and now it's like second nature! I love the fact that I can pick up my bass, pick any random song, work out the bass lines and jam along-words can't describe just how good it feels!

This afternoon we had a meeting with my guidance teacher from school to discuss and complete paperwork to do with my health. This for me is a little bit of a milestone in many respects as I used to get extremely worked up about talking to professionals and as you can imagine I've had to meet with so many over the years. I find it quite stressful at times. But as time's gone by I've decided to stop worrying about situations as much as I possibly can and just be completely calm and honest. And you know what? It definitely works for me! I've become more and more confident as time went on and I feel very proud of it.

Believe it or not I actually found it quite interesting going through the paperwork today and reading my history both medically and educationally. I'd forgotten so much about what I've been through and it makes me all the more determined to work hard and use what I've been through as motivation to fight and campaign for change. I also found reading all the information very useful as I really want to sit down and write a book about my life one day so all of the details are vital when putting that together. I don't know when I'll get round to it with life being so crazy these days but it's definitely a plan for the future.

Again, we spent most of the evening chilling in the garden; you really don't appreciate outdoor space until you no longer have it. We're all so grateful to finally have such a lovely house with such expanse outdoor space. It makes such a difference!

Well, it looks like that time again where I draw the post to a close. It's actually a lot loner than I thought it would be but once I start I find it hard to stop! Make sure to return tomorrow for my next post.

Goodnight world!

Love & Peace,

The Hat Hippie xxx

Day 5: The Garden

Good Evening Everyone!

Today's post is a bit later than anticipated. Why might you ask? Well, for once we actually had some sunshine in Scotland and to top it all off it was very warm! What a difference compared to yesterday's weather! So I spent the latter part of the afternoon and evening sitting out in the garden making the most of the sunshine whilst it lasts hence why I haven't got round to writing until now.

It's after 11pm so I think today's post will consist mostly of photographs as I took quite a few whilst pottering around the garden and that means I might actually have the post completed before midnight which would be a bonus!
So what did I get up to today? Well, we took a short trip to Matalan this afternoon for a wee nosy around. If you're ever looking for new home accessories, Matalan is the place to go! They have some many cute bits n' bobs to choose from so you're bound to find something that'll suit the theme/colour scheme. Mum even picked up a couple of mason jars filled with solar power fairy lights for the garden. I've posted a pic of them all lit up down below to let you have a peek-they're so pretty!

We then nipped into town for a rather brief visit, picking up a few necessities before heading back home. As soon as we returned home Mum and Dad attempted to set up the new lawnmower as our grass was in need of a good cut after all the rain we've had. During this time I spent some time jamming along to some cool blues and funk tracks that my tutor had shown me on YouTube to play along to on my bass guitar. Somehow I always manage to get a little carried away with my bass which results in a blister on my finger-ouch! Eventually, I decided to put it down and head out to the garden with my camera in hand to enjoy the sunshine for a while.

It's so lovely to have our own garden at long last! Prior to moving house we lived in a flat without a garden, needless to say we missed the outdoor space very much. I cannot wait until the Summer holidays to take full advantage of it! But for the time being it was nice to get a taster of what's to come and enjoy laying down in the grass and watching the fluffy clouds float by in the sky up above me. I can't think of a better way to pass time to be honest! Pure bliss if you ask me! 
After dinner we decided to sit out in the garden for a little while longer. The sunset tonight was absolutely breath-taking; the sky was covered in an array colours such as shade of pink, red and orange. The photograph really doesn't do it justice. As the sky began to gradually darken a crescent moon shone bright in the sky-for those of you who don't know; I have a slight fascination with the moon. Again, it is very beautiful!

Anyway, it's looking like it's going to be after midnight before this post goes live so I'm going to leave you now with a selection of photos to illustrate an unusually warm day in Scotland! Enjoy!

Love & Peace,

The Hat Hippie xxx

Cloud Watching

Cloud Watching

This little fella landed on the chair beside me

The beautiful sunset!

Gorgeous little mason jars with fairy lights

Day 4: Ice Cream & Nature

Hello Guys!

How are you all doing today? Scotland has returned to its normal self; the sky is dull, it's a little chilly and it's raining-nothing new there is there? And unfortunately my knee/leg always plays up in such conditions so I'm not going to lie, I don't feel my absolute best today.

We did however manage a wee visit to Vanilla Joe's, a fairly new ice cream parlour in Irvine that has become ever so popular. I've heard of people catching the train to Irvine just to go there so that says it all really. The ice cream is amazing-so creamy and flavoursome! There is always a nice selection of flavours to try although I'm never very adventurous and always tend to stick to what I know which is usually a tub of strawberry or chocolate ice cream-I'd completely recommend both flavours by the way! There is however more adventurous flavours such as Reese's (you know, the American candy), Tablet, Mint Choc Chip, Ferrero Rocher and today, they there was a Darth Vader ice cream (don't have a clue what that'll taste like but I'm sure Star Wars fan will love it!). But honestly, if you're in the Irvine area it's definitely worth a visit!

We sat in the car at Irvine harbour and I couldn't help but be entertained by the seagulls. Due to it being so stormy the sea was rather choppy pulling the seagulls in backwards motion as they swam. There was also a couple of cute pigeons that approached the side of car and whenever we spoke to them they'd tilt their heads side to side as they intelligently listened to you.

I absolutely love birds and animals; they never fail to make me smile! They are so intelligent and make some of the best friends you could ever ask for. I've had hamsters as pets since I was eight years old roughly and I couldn't ask for better pets. Each little creature has their own individual personality and little quirks. You seriously wouldn't believe me if I told you some of the stories about my hamsters! It honestly makes me so angry when I hear about animals being mistreated and breaks my heart when I see programmes about it on television. People should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for treating innocent little creatures in such manners; animal can't speak and stand up for themselves so we should always stand up against it if we ever witness such vulgar activity. There's just no excuse for it!

Anyway, we took a wee trip to Troon harbour to see if there were any seals. Today, we were lucky and there was one maybe even two; it's hard to tell if it's the same one or not though. On previous occasions there could have perhaps been around four. They usually hang around where the fishing boats dock in hope of catching some unwanted fish. Again, they are such beautiful creatures and it's always a pleasure to watch them in their natural habitat (I suppose trying to scrounge some extra fish from docked boats counts, right?). Sadly, they were too far away to snap a decent photo of on my iPod-I really need to take my actual camera down there one day and try get a couple of pics! I did manage to get a couple of pics of the harbour as well as my sister Laurel and I so I'll post them here.

Britain's Got Talent is calling my name so I'll love ya and leave ya for now. If you've been watching the show this year let me know who your favourite act has been so far; my favourite would have to be the little girl who sang 'Defying Gravity' from Wicked. I love that song anyway but that girl was incredible, she could easily have walked straight onto the Victoria Apollo stage in London and played the role of Elphaba right there and then. A very talented young lady! Have a great night everyone!

Love & Peace,

The Hat Hippie xx

Day 3: A Great Day!

I sit here on my usual spot on my bed listening to some great tunes whilst I write. I do have a desk which I had great intentions of becoming my writing workspace however it seems to have accumulated many random bits n' bobs which I have yet to find a home for. Anyway, it's officially the weekend! Happy Friday everyone!

Today has been a great day for me! As you'll have gathered from some of my YouTube videos, I have a bit of a fascination with vinyl records and enjoy visiting records stores and fairs whenever I can. The record fair which visits our town every couple of months just so happened to be in my local area today and had been advertised across town with posters stating that it would be open from the hour of 10am-5pm. So we popped into town this morning before tutoring, visited a couple of shops before making our way to the specified location of the record fair. On arrival one of the guys running the fair whom I didn't recognise from previous fairs rudely turned to us and told us it wouldn't be open for another 20 minutes despite that it was in fact 10 o'clock. And by that point most of the boxes were already laid out on the tables and ready for customers to browse. We went for a browse in New Look to pass some time when the stubbornness in me came creeping out. I turned to my Mum and said 'You know what? They can keep their records, I'll take my business and my money elsewhere and visit instead my local record store at the other end of town'. Our time for parking had almost ran out so we couldn't make our way to the record store and back in time so I decided I'd wait and pop in another day in the near future. Mum however, felt sorry for me as she knows just how much I love record shopping and managed to park the car nearer to the record shop which gave me the chance to pop in and have a look around.

It had been a while since I'd last visited however the owner recognised me from a previous shopping spree with my friend Heather and ended up chatting with me and recommending some music to check out in future. In passing conversation it was mentioned that I run a blog and have an interest in media etc to which he asked me if I'd like to get me involved by writing for the shop's website which of course I'm absolutely delighted about! So there you go, a great opportunity came out of the situation! It's the record fairs loss and The Hat Hippie's gain!

Coincidentally, I was sitting in the car with Mum on route to pick Laurel up from school this afternoon, the radio was on at a low volume due to us chatting. Somehow my ears picked up the familiar sound of Stevie Nicks' voice, I can seriously spot it a mile away. Immediately, I cranked up the volume and sure enough Fleetwood Mac's 'Gypsy' was playing. 'Gypsy' is one of my all-time favourite songs, I find it very meaningful and always feel inspired by the story Stevie shares on stage whenever she performs it. I actually discussed the story with her last year and how it related to some of the things which at the time I had recently achieved. Since then her advice and encouragement has stuck with me and it's become a driving force in my life during this past year. Hearing that song on the radio this afternoon, once again felt relevant to my life today. It's rather funny when things like that happen isn't it?

Well I really must go for now as we're about to head out and pick up some Chinese takeaway for Dinner-mmmm! I hope you all have a great remainder of your Friday evening and I'll speak to you tomorrow!

Love & Peace,

The Hat Hippie xx

Day 2: Sunny Scotland?!

Hello from an unusually sunny Scotland! It's not very often I get to say that these days!

Today, was an in-service day for the schools where I live so basically, we had a day off and like I said above the sun was shining. Usually, whenever we get a day off school it pours with rain which makes today a very rare occasion! It was rather nice to have a bit of a lie-in this morning; no waking up at the crack of dawn and a mad rush round the house getting ready for the day ahead. Instead, I slept to around ten am, leisurely got up, washed my hair and got organised for my radio show this afternoon. Although, by the time I sat down to a bite of lunch I was on the verge of running late so I quickly consumed it before rushing round picking up everything I needed for today's show.

I arrived at the studio and went through the side door today as the community centre was closed for the election today. When I arrived Chris and Allan were live on air, you should tune in to their show before my mine on a Thursday morning and give them a wee listen! So I chatted with them and Kevin, who helps out by taking the listeners texts and phone calls, it makes life so much easier because when you're in the studio by yourself it's pretty crazy running the computer system whilst juggling texts and phone calls. During the period of time before I hit the radio I also usually prepare the first couple of CDs that I'm going to need during my slot and load them up into the CD player.

At one pm it was change over time, the news plays for a minute or two and I get settled down and ready to present the show to you lovely people out there. Today's show was good fun as always, I played a variety of different tunes including Coldplay, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Madness and Oasis just to name a few. My Mum and Laurel came and sat in the studio today during the show as the building was being used for voting so I managed to get my Mum to take a few photos of me to post here on my blog.

After, my show we popped to the local Morrison's and got fuel for the car as we were on the verge of running out-breaking down on such busy roads didn't sound like an appealing idea. Back to Ayr it was where we stopped into Sainsbury's to get the weekly shopping and nipped into the café for a soft drink as I stupidly left my bottle of water in the car during my show so was extremely parched. A nice big glass of Pepsi did the trick though!

We took the weekly shop home and Mum picked up the polling cards from the house whilst I sat in the car bopping to the radio whilst I waited. Before long Dad arrived home from work and the three of us set off to the local community centre to cast our votes in the election. This was my second time voting in an election; my first was just three days after I turned sixteen years old in the Scottish Referendum. It's quite exciting to be able to get involved in the elections now I must admit.

Returning home, Mum popped the Dinner on whilst I roamed the estate (okay it's the garden but it feels like an estate with the size of it sometimes!) and enjoyed the sunshine. I then made a start on writing this post when I was called through as Dinner was ready. I've since returned to my workstation (my laptop) and am listening to tunes whilst I type this. Actually, I've just looked at the clock and it's twenty past six already so I suppose I should go get ready as we're going out to the cinema tonight to see 'The Jungle Book' live action remake in 3D. I can't wait to see it as the trailer looks great! I love a good Disney film so I'm sure this will be no exception. I've heard nothing but good reviews about it, so pop back to read my thoughts on the film in tomorrow's blog post.

Anyway, I wish you all goodnight and hope that wherever you are that the sun's shining and making you smile!

Love & Peace,

The Hat Hippie xx