Hot & cold activities...

The school holidays are winding up, the last few days slipping away from us.

Erin's weeks have been filled with Christmas, sleeping in, visits with friends, camping at the beach, bike riding, swimming, face timing, facebooking and the last 2 days with a trip to Adventure Park and today ice skating at the Icehouse.

Yesterday was hot and sunny, perfect for playing on the water slides. Today was still hot and the Icehouse was a cool place to be.

skating around on the Bradbury rink

While the girls were skating I popped over to have a look at Costco. Now I am not a member and when I walked in the entrance I was handed a book of coupons and not given a second glance. I wanted to have a look around before I signed up so thats what I did. No one stopped me, no one asked to see any ID, I just browsed. When I asked a helpful staff member what the process was to join up he looked at me quizzically and asked how did I get in? I just walked in the entrance door I told him. He was a bit puzzled. I gather they dont usually let you browse around before you sign up. Lucky for me I did just that. Nothing grabbed me and said "I am such a bargain you cant leave without me". Some things are peculiar to Costco so a bit hard to tell if it is a true saving but nothing was a must have or convinced me to part with $60 to join up. Maybe if it was close by I would go regularly to get some cheap bog rolls but its not for me.

So after that disappointment I went over to a pretty deserted Harbour Town and found some bathers in a Rebel clearance store that were a bargain.

Now after a lovely 5 days off  I must strip off my jewellery and trim my nails to head back to work tomorrow.

Hot Sunday...

Its been a hot weekend and that always curtails my activities. I like to find a cool spot and venture out to the backyard or clothesline only when necessary.

This hot weather means I haven't had a run or a chance to use this new toy

 My lovely husband bought me my very own bike, the first one bought for me since I was a little girl. I've been riding a donation and the kids bikes of late. So as soon as it cools off I'm off.

I've completed another 2 layouts

number 4

 A page about bits of Summer that we find on holiday

And another page from this Christmas

number 5

My total of 50 pages for the year is on track.

I have an idea for a couple more pages which have been partly inspired by a focus  on Teens by Write.Click.Scrapbook.

I took a photo of this plant that Erin made me buy. I plan to include journalling about how I often indulge her, how she can wear me down to purchase things I hadn't planned to and about our relationship as she matures.

I also got inspiration from that same site to scrap a page about my memories of my Nana and how much I loved her. I just have to find a photo that captures how I remember her later in her life.

Australia Day...

Happy Australia Day!

For lots of people it means a day of clebrating with BBQs and fireworks, citizenship ceremonies and Australia day honours.

For me it was a laid back start to a 5 day stretch of leave. It felt like a Saturday not a Thursday, I even waited for Funny Home Videos to start after the news.

I did get a run in this morning but being a public holiday there were heaps of people down there already. It was a bit of funny lap as the track was closed along the river section. Not sure if it was part of the park rangers strike action or something to do with the lettuce farm tractor access.

Hayley begrudgingly helped me fix up my iPod which I had managed to wipe clean last night doing an update. She gets frustrated with me when I ask the same questions but I don't find iTunes easy to navigate and I thought I was pretty switched on with various programs. Good news is that I now have Bridge to 10k running with a music track. I will start that officially on Saturday almost 12 months to the day since I started my running adventure with the 5k program.

I'm off now to start my third borrowed book.

Busy...

A friend from work loaned me 4 books to read and that has quite distracted me from my goal of working on my 50 layouts. I had started on a couple and once I get back into my routine I will be able to continue on.

Number 3

Also keeping me busy is training for a run on Feb 5th (fingers crossed for cool weather), and trying to keep up with watering the garden in this warm weather. I would like it to rain just enough to top up the diminishing tanks and give me a break from watering. After dinner I go out into my garden and water and potter around, it is such a nice place to be.

If I didn't have to go to work I could get so much more done.

Distracted...

Back to paid employment this week and I have been a little distracted by that and also by trying to decide whether to go ahead and commit to buying a camper trailer to continue our adventures.

So distracted it wasn't until late this morning I remembered it is our 27th wedding anniversary today. It nearly slipped by us unacknowledged.

Luckily we can text each other during work hours to say 'Happy Anniversary to you'. 27 years doesn't get a mention in the front of your diary with which item you should commemorate it. It barely rates a mention. I have to hold out for another 3 years to get to 'pearl'.

I think this year will be celebrated with canvas.

Dangerous...

I was looking forward to celebrating my 50th birthday with a helicopter ride. I have always wanted to and thought that might be a fun way to mark the milestone.

Might be a bit risky, several incidents lately have made me rethink the thrill seeker thing

The girl who survived 20m fall when her bungee cord snapped at Victoria Falls might put one off that pursuit.

Loads of people celebrate all kinds of events by going ballooning, but even that can turn bad.

The woman who died in this New York helicopter crash was celebrating her 40th birthday.

We tend to forget about the risks involved when we set out to experience some ventures but on balance many people have enjoyed these pursuits.

Just don't do a Google search of 'accidents' before you go or you will never leave the couch.

Edited to add:

Seems I can cross cruising off the list now too

Big plans...

I had planned to do another long bike ride today along the Barwon River but the weather was not conducive so Erin and I went along my running track beside our river instead.

From Erin's photos I realise I still run like a duck.

 But this style of running will see me do 6 Fun Runs this year. Beginning on Feb 5th I will be running beside other rivers, lakes and tracks aroung the city. I am thinking of doing the longer race on April 1st so I can go in the Domain tunnel and over the Bolte bridge. Still some time to decide. After swimming in the ocean at Port Fairy I have talked myself out of doing the Biathlon at Brighton Beach, the swim part was too hard.

I was also able to do some more scrapping and organising today



number 2



50 layouts...

I'm setting myself a challenge for 2012 of the scrapbooking kind.

I want to complete 50 layouts this year. I've seen people challenge themselves to complete 100 in 12 months but I am going for 50. Less pressure on me. And that is still 1 a week which might not seem like much but sometimes a busy life gets in the way of hobbies.

I am starting with this one, which I technically started last year but finished and put away today, so it has become the inaugural one.



number 1

 I have planned out about 10 more layouts and printed photos from our Christmas, beach, holiday snaps for them. I found a new/old folder and have sketched out some ideas and put them together so I remember my plans. Do I have 50 events this year that are scrap worthy? maybe I will have to go back to my stash of older photos to finish or even redo some of the earlier layouts that I dont like anymore.

On another (running) note, fitting as this first layout is about running, I went for a run this afternoon in the chilly wind and light sideways rain. It was the best run I have had for ages, I just kept going. Instead of my ipod to listen to, which is still at big Sisters with the SLR, I just focused on my breathing and kept going and going, saying to myself  'just to the end of this row', 'just to the next bench', 'just to the carpark' until I was done.

That feeling of achievement is what others talk about...I get it.

Tea & scones...

When you are given one of these for Christmas

you can make Devonshire scones that look like this

 And wash it down with a cup of tea.

I was able to buy this very cute tea cosy in Port Fairy.

I was told these mini cosies that fit a 1 cup teapot were knitted by the local women of the CWA. The colours really appealed to me.

Watch out now I have a cream whipper, we'll be having cream with everything. I'm thinking brandy snaps, iced coffees and more scones.

And even more running.

St Patricks...

During our trip to Koroit I had a blast from the past.

From about 35 years in the past.

I was taken back this far by a visit to St Patricks convent, now a luxury boutique hotel. When I stayed there last it was a dorm style school camp.

My original photo

My friends Debbie and Christina sitting on the front step

And this hedge is mostly gone. I remember the boys climbing up to emerge triumphant at the top.

The photos are a bit yellowed and haven't scanned up very well.

I'm glad to have been able to retrace those steps from so long ago. It would have been good to have a poke around inside but it wasn't luxury accomodation in those days so it probably looks quite different.

New things...

This is our 4th year holidaying in Port Fairy and apart from going to the beach and the local shops we have tried a couple of new things this year.

Yesterday we walked from Killarney Beach back to East Beach at Port Fairy, some 8.5 kms

 The Killarney Beach end was more rocky than 'our' end and the girls would have like to spend much longer there exploring the rock pools.

They came across this mast

 it was quite windy and cool as we walked along, too bad you need wind to get waves like this

Today Erin and I headed off on a bike ride. 17 kms each way along the rail trail to Koroit. It was relatively flat but hard going in some places because of a head wind.

 We had to have some refreshments before we could continue on

Olivia and Louise had kindly loaned us their bikes, having done the ride last week, and met us in Koroit. Its only a 10 min car trip but 1.5 hours with pedal power.

Tonight I need a massage but am unlikely to get one.

Couldn't imagine doing the Great Victorian Bike ride.

January 2, 40 degrees...

Where do you not want to be on a 40 degree day????

You do not want to be in a tent

Even under those tall trees at the back of this picture that line the Moyne River the hot wind makes you feel terrible.

Even at the beach it is only while you are jumping in the waves that you get any relief. By the time you have walked back to the caravan you are dry and hot again. My carefully sunscreening of my feet had limited effect and my toes are a bit more burned today. Those slip on shoes made out of wetsuit material might be the answer.

Thankfully this extreme heat is forecast to last only 1 day then back to more manageable temperatures. I saw on the news tonight that nearby Warrnambool reached 43 degrees. That would have been around the time the caravan park lost power and we nearly lost our minds. Back to the beach to try to cool off and by dinner time a cool change had come through, we may survive after all.

New Year 2012...

This first post is usually full of resolutions, hopes, dreams blah blah blah and that will probably come in the not too distant future. But for today I am on holiday, I'm relaxing and enjoying the pace of a Port Fairy start to the year.

Last night we had seafood and fireworks to see in the New Year.

Today we have had swimming and of all things a duck race to start off 2012 in a frivolous way

More serious things will come.