I'm Nicola. I live in Derbyshire with my husband, Chris, and his retired Guide Dog, Bamber.
I started blogging back in the mid 1990s and have been online, in one form or another, ever since. I love tech, note taking, PKM, rural living, hens, our smallholding, sheep, cows, and pursuing life at a gentler pace.
I love writing, photography, and being outdoors. We have a smallholding with 8 hens and a cockerel. I call myself a part time shepherd - I help with the sheep, look after Zippy, the one tonne Lincoln Red bull, and can't wait for lambing to start each January.
Originally from Manchester in the UK, I spent a decade in London, lived in Paris for a year, moved back up North, and fulfilled a long held dream by relocating to the Derbyshire Dales in 2020.
I've had an eclectic career mix - sales, product/project/people management. Since 1995 most of my roles were digital - eCommerce, web development, consultancy.
2025 was a year of change, subtle at the beginning but leaving a trail when I looked back over the year. I've ended up in a very different place to where I started and somewhere I couldn't have envisaged 12 months ago. Professionally, things are very interesting (in a good way) and, personally, I'm exploring a more analogue way of life, offloading some apps and tools I've used for a while, embracing a more pared back, minimalist online life (despite still loving all things tech).
What I Write
What you're reading here is part of my Digital Garden - I'm not even sure if we use that term any more. Whatever we're calling it these days, it's the place where I write, blog, post incomplete ideas that I'm still working on, and share stuff publicly. Some of the notes here are a starting point and will be expanded later to become blogs.
I've learned to keep things simple, to avoid solutions that require configuration and constant tweaking, and use tools that are accessible in a variety of ways.
I cover an eclectic range of topics - lambing, the tech I'm using, observations about life, memories, and the book I aspire to complete. Occasionally, I write short stories.
2026
My word of the year is λόγος, best known for in the beginning was the Word. λόγος = Word in that context. It can also be translated as speech, voice and being heard. It also has connotations as the rational governing principle of the universe (divine reason). It's a perfect choice for a year when I'm choosing to live and work in greater alignment.
My Toolkit
What I'm Doing Now
Find out what I'm doing Now.