The art of frugal yoga...............

I've had a bit of an upside down 24 hours - we're off again 'sooth' to a wedding near the south coast of England - a long way from here! As you can imagine - from up here there are many choices of travel - 15 flights a day to 4 scottish airports - 4 ferry services to a couple of locations on the mainland of scotland,. When thinking of how to do it - you have to factor in alot of things - with a wedding in the south of England - flying is really the only option which doesn't involve a 2 week holiday. Later on we're off - I love flying - whilst maybe not the most environmentally friendly thing to say - its probably my largest 'carbon' cost - but flying here is like the train/bus to folks elsewhere I guess?

Anyway - going away also involves digging into the back of the wardrobe and looking for that elusive 'posh frock' which we knew we'd need *one* day! Jacket - yup, little slinky cardi for the frock - yup - heels - um yup but only one shoe of the two pairs I own (my daughter is borrowing my other pair)..........................oh dear. 24 hours to go and only one shoe - I've two legs - this is a bit of a problem..........but we've got 24 hours...........

Most of last night was spent turning cupboards upside down looking for the said shoe - not very productive but now the linen cupboard is finally sorted out - my wardrobe too and the cupboard in the spare room has been riffled in - and put back away. No shoe. Oh dear. We've recently moved house, well we moved gradually over the last 6 months and were completely here in early July.  We kept the cost down by moving ourselves in dribs and drabs. This, I think, is the clue to the lost shoe. We had 2 shoe boxes in the old house - one at each door. One box had a shoe in it - hurray - one box was emptied into a black bag of wellies and random other foot wear and moved on a different load..............I think I might have cracked it! Except by the time I get an idea where the shoe is its gone 11pm and the bag is in the very back of the byre - no lights - it will have to wait until the morning.

Morning of going away are normally a bit of a frantic time - packing/showers etc. Hair to be done - home hair spruce up with a couple packets of diy hair dye, a pair of good scissors and an intensive conditioning pack. Face pack/eyebrows done and I've had a mini makeover. However, these things take time so having planned the time needed - I figured I could do the shoe searching in PJ/s (byre is messy), after hair dying and before hair conditioning. I'm all about the glamour! I take my newly cling-film wrapped up head (I've long hair its a messy business so I have to cling film it after applying said dyeing slop) - into the byre in my PJ's wearing a pair of wellies - I told you glamour, all the way here.

Of course the bag is at the back of the byre under the table in the corner furthest away from EVERYTHING. Time for a bit of mountain goat climbing to get to the back of the byre, a yoga-esk one leg balancing on top of a table to grab down for the bag in my pj's, wearing wellingtons, in an old black t-shirt, with hair wrapped in cling film - and hope for the best..............................  I spot the bag of wellies - I'm sure I last saw the shoe in there (the lovely suede very posh high heel - lets not think about it being in the byre for 3 months).

Hooray - success - very slowly managed to grab the bag - whilst on the table one foot in air - the shoe is in there HURRAY - and what do I spot from the corner of my eye in my one legged pose? A lone chicken sneaking into the byre - and into the stash of straw by the wardrobe - only really visible from on the top of the table (one leg optionalI think) - was a little nest.

First thoughts?

1 Hooray I found my shoe - and its lovely and it's fine; thank god I don't need to *buy* a pair!

2 Oh its been slightly attacked a bit by slug slime but its OK otherwise *phew* nothing a damp cloth won't sort

3 Ah ha - I know I look silly hen - I'm going to London - and won't it be fun, no you can't come

4 No the shoes aren't really practical here, henny my love, I know; but yup aren't they pretty? - I'm all about the glamour

5 Oh so this is where you've been hiding your eggs, well done clever hen!

6 Hooray 6 chickens still laying - how cool is that?

7 How do I get out of here now clutching my lovely shoe?

I think I've just practised the art of frugal yoga - found a shoe, revamped my hair, found the random hen nest and saved a bit of dosh - like I said - I'm all about the glamour. London here we come!