Hot and humid days have meant I was lacking in energy, but I did flop about in the ocean with a windsurfer two more times. I met this shield bug in the park where I recovered the second time…
…very closely matched with the new playground’s tarmac.
I sailed for about 20 metres, but I’m not going further until I can reliably turn the kit around, get back up and sail in the opposite direction. This is a little frustrating, but definitely a sensible call.
Reading:
The re-reading of the Silo trilogy by Hugh Howey continues. I prefer the books to the television series in terms of how the story events and characters are portrayed. This isn’t surprising, since I almost always prefer what I imagine and the way that stories work in written narratives (given the option).
I’ve also been reading New Happy having finally coughed up for a copy of the paperback. I’ve been reading their newsletters and collecting (but never remembering to listen to) the podcasts for a while. Now I’ve got more time to think about stuff it seemed worth reading the actual book and seeing if it might be helpful. The jury is still out… but I’m considering how I might use (and benefit from) modified activities based on the book and other resources. If I get anywhere I’ll write a full post about this.
Golf:
Just social golf this week. Nine on my home course and nine somewhere new. Both times I played ok, with good shots and bad. My driving is off at the moment, so I think I need to just hit some balls on the range to relax my swing and practice a reproduceable setup. That’s the plan anyway, because I’ll be back to two competition rounds middle and end of next week.
Exercise:
I bailed on home weights, mostly because I was pretty tired from the beach and attempts to windsurf, but also because I still refuse to put a time aside in my calendar to help ensure that sessions actually happen. My physio session at the gym was good this week. I felt strong, balanced and in control of all the exercises.
Although it is turning cooler now, continuing for the next few days, I don’t know if the humidity will ease enough for me to go running. I did go for a walk today (but I got very hot).
Food:
Doing our best with assorted meat and salad in the heat, with one quiche (from the shop). I think we end up eating a lot less fibre than when we’re cooking vegetables, given the often simple salads we like (and can be bothered to make). I don’t know if I’m motivated enough to do better though!
Garden:
Managed to half fill the bin in the heat. Trimmed the lemon tree, already stripped of fruit because of the Queensland fruit fly infiltration locally which the state is trying to eradicate. With no fruit to support the tree has been putting out new shoots (but most are vertical, which is not what you want).
I did a bit more research into varieties of natives to plant and other things I might like to fill gaps in the garden. Spent some time looking at what was available in local garden centres this week. I found some possibles, but I’m not feeling confident enough to buy and plant at the moment. I will try to do some small things first (and see how much success I have with those) before getting into anything larger or more extensive.
The bird baths are visited regularly and this morning I went to buy some rocks to put in the one out the back to see if the smaller birds prefer having a shallower section and somewhere to perch. If that works out then I’ll do the same for the front.
Cactus repotting requirements continue to be the job I am putting off. They are dangerous beasts and I fear I will be stabbed!
Adventure:
I went (almost) windsurfing two more times! The second time I actually did sail a bit (but as I noted above, I need to build my skills before heading off further from shore).
Last year I researched a fin kit that can be used to allow you to use a wing on a standup paddleboard and sail properly (ie allow you to go up and down wind, rather than just sliding off the wind, which is what happens without a centreboard). I couldn’t find anyone with stock in my state at that time, but I found it this week. Looking foward to trying this (although I don’t really have much of a clue what I’m doing with the wing having just stood on the beach getting the feel of it thus far). Maybe one lesson might help and then I can take my time practicing with my own equipment before attempting more lessons with the foil?
Sewing:
The skirt I made last week has been worn almost every day, so I’m clearly pretty happy with the pattern. My last post gave a lot more information about the small alterations I’ll make before sewing another. This week I bought more material (and also realised just how much of a stash I have from over a year ago when I was about to make lots of things and then stopped because work took over and I got overwhelmed and demoralised). Not all of my material pile is for skirts, but quite a bit is… maybe for this pattern and another I used a while back (that also needs alteration for fit).
Three ideas:
- Windsurfing… keep trying (maybe at the river, or maybe the ocean, we’ll see)
- Try out the fin attachment for the standup paddleboard with my wing (?? depends on many things, not all of which are in my control)
- Plant something (?!)
This week I handwrote a set of notes/mindmap for potential research paper ideas, but did not return to them (which I felt I would if I was inspired, so likely was not). There might be something else I could write about that popped up recently in the news, but it might just turn into a blog post rather than a journal article. More on that another time (whatever I do).
