A birthday in Crieff, not grief

It’s here! It’s here! The start of my 38^th year of life is here! (Translation: Yay! It’s my 38^th birthday!)

My birthday, if I’m honest, has rarely been a day of great excitement and celebration for me. For many reasons, it’s just a day of stress and upset. And, it would seem, a day when bad things seem to happen. Of course, since Paul died, the day is even more stressful. (For a history lesson, read about my 36^th birthday and pre-birthday spa day or my 37^th birthday wishes.)

But, as you may recall, I decided to take myself away for my birthday this year, in the hopes of distracting myself from my birthday and to fall in love with solo travelling again. Yes, I opted for a trip to Crieff to stave off the birthday-triggered grief.

Of course, you may know that the entire reason for this trip was that someone had told me about a sweetie shop that is hailed as the No. 1 sweetie shop in all of Scotland – Gordon and Durward’s, home of the Sugar Mice – and by now you probably know that I love candy. A lot. And when I got there, well, I was like a kid in a candy shop. It was like a little corner of heaven made just for me. And I got to see them making fudge, which was neat. I did manage some self-control (I set a budget before I walked through the door) but I also did manage to get a bag full of goodies: Pick-n-mix gummy sweets, three flavours of fudge, a couple of candy necklaces, and four sugar mice (I’d have bought five mice, but they were out of green).

After that sweet little visit, I wandered across the road to have lunch at The Lounge. I hadn’t planned to talk about my lunch, but it was so fantastic that I have to sing some praises. You see, I ordered the Caesar salad because it was advertised as coming with calamari, which is different, and therefore interesting. But what I really enjoyed was that there were whole anchovies on top of the salad. So many places don’t do that anymore. In fact, the last time I had anchovies on my Caesar salad I was in my very early 20s. So, great big kudos to The Lounge. If I lived locally, I’d be back.

When I was done with lunch, I made my way back to the hotel where I treated myself to a spa treatment before settling into my room for a couple of hours of nothingness. Ah, nothingness. And thanks to television and a WiFi connection, I managed a lot of nothingness. (Oh, and I managed to paint my fingernails, too.)

Next, it was time for dinner. I chose to eat in the formal dining room (a great excuse to wear my pretty red dress.) and am so pleased that I did. Fancy pigeon breasts for a starter; filet steak for my main; and Guinness cheddar on rustic bread for dessert. All enjoyed with rich, red wine and a lovely glass of bubbles.

And now I’m back in my room, I’ve changed into my comfy pyjamas to enjoy a bit of television, and I’m getting ready to enjoy a fluffy lemon cupcake I purchased when in town earlier. (Yum.)

Has it been a day of complete joy and laughter? No. But it’s been a pretty good day and a nice way to start my 38^th year.

Oh! And an interesting tidbit for you: When I booked my room, it was the only room available (a single). Other than that, the hotel was completely booked out. Why? Well, because tomorrow is the World Indoor Tug of War Championships, hosted by the Scottish Tug of War Association. Really.