Sixteen years. When I say that number out loud, it still feels both impossibly long and, at the same time, like just yesterday. Sixteen years…
Well, it has been a full year since I got the keys to Castle Ryan. As I look around, I can see how much I…
It’s been a long time since I shared my goal to finally get my UK driving licence. Indeed, I began the application process for a…
Well, here I am! Another year has rushed by, and today I find myself turning 51. It feels like just yesterday I was celebrating my…
It has finally happened: I am now a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland citizen*. That means no more visas, no more immigration…
I almost never “talk politics” here on Just Frances, but today I am making an exception. Because today is a hard day for me, as…
I am a goal-setter and, mostly, a goal-getter. But sometimes I set too many overly ambitious goals, and I struggle to meet them. It’s not…
For 2024, I set out to breathe new life into old things, and I managed that – although it will be an ongoing objective as…
As I sit on the entrance ramp towards 2025, it’s time to look back at the road I travelled in 2024 and all the goodness*…
Today I took one of the last steps towards becoming a UK Citizen: I enrolled my biometrics for my citizenship application which I submitted last…
Today marks 15 years since my husband’s death and that means I am doing a lot of reflecting. Some of that reflection is about the…
Welcome to Castle Ryan, my new house that I hope to transform into a home. It was about 16 years ago that I last made…
It’s been four years since the world stopped and mass isolations began to take place in many nations and communities. Indeed, my own COVID isolation…
And so, it begins. I am now a quinquagenarian; more commonly known as a human in their 50s. This is not a bad thing to…
In the past several months, I have hinted at Big Things that are afoot – and I even came close to saying outright said that…
With the start of the new year, it’s time to start thinking about new things. New goals, new adventures, and new life. In recent years,…
My overarching goal for 2023 was “simply me”. The objective was to focus on my needs and to prioritise them a bit (something I have…
With 2023 slowly crawling to an end, it’s time to reflect on the year so that I can step boldly into 2024 in just a…
Well, it has finally happened. I have finally applied for settled status in the UK. And let me just say, it’s not been without a…
It has been more than 22 years since I first arrived in Scotland, and now it’s time to test my knowledge of this place I…