I have been off on my Homeland Holidays the last couple of weeks, and am now home in Scotland settling back into my daily routine.…
I cleared out my PhD office at Edinburgh Napier University today. It was a bit of a strange feeling as I know that I will be back in the…
Yesterday I enjoyed a gentle 6(ish)-mile walk to and from the old gunpowder mills in the Roslin Glen. It was a great way to stretch…
It has been a long time coming, but I am finally a doctor. Oh yes, I am now officially Dr Frances Ryan. The PhD kind…
Regular readers will know that my PhD Dreams have been an important part of my life for a few years now. And excitedly, my PhD Dreams will…
I am back home from my trip to Slovenia and am longing for the lovely Ljubljana already! The weather was wonderful. The city was wonderful. The entire…
I am in Ljubljana, Slovenia at the moment for an academic conference, and I am falling in love! Why? Because much like my visit to (and subsequent love affair with)…
That’s my final thesis submitted and all of the paperwork completed for my PhD graduation on the 4th of July. Are you as excited as I…
It has been 14 years since I became Mrs Ryan, although most of that time has been spent as a widow rather than a wife. Yet…
Wow! It has now been two years since I started taking tolvaptan, a drug that is meant to slow the progression of polycystic kidney disease (PKD). I…
On my way home from visiting my late husband’s grave, I stopped off in Berwick-Upon-Tweed for some adventuring. I thought that it would be a good way to…
Today marks ten years of widowhood; ten years since my darling husband died so unexpectedly in the middle of the night. These past ten years have…
I have enjoyed a lovely adventure day out to Fife with a friend today, which has left me both energised and exhausted all at once.…
I am very pleased and extremely relieved to be able to (finally!) announce that I have passed my PhD viva – and with only minor…
Today is Thursday, 21 February. I was born on Thursday, 21 February. And on this very Thursday, 21 February, I am 21 in Scrabble tiles.…
I enjoyed a quick mini-adventure to uncover treasures at a buried church today. Which probably sounds more mysterious and adventurous than the reality of the…
February is letter-writing month, which means I will be writing a letter a day for the whole of February. Regular readers will know that I am…
One of the lovely things about living so near to the Rosslyn Chapel and the Roslin Glen is that I can explore them whenever I want. And…
As is tradition, a new year means a new resolution. Generally, my resolutions are set as a way to focus on self-improvement in realistic terms.…
As 2018 winds to a close, I find myself reflecting on the year and how I’ve fared over the last 12 months. And, as always,…