New stationery

I am having an unexpected Saturday with Philippa in Melbourne. Such a treat. I arrived early – as in 5 am – from Perth. So we had early coffee and croissants in one of Philippa’s favorite cafes – one that combines coffee with a stationery shop. Being a firm believer that new stationery addresses most problems and always inspires, I accepted the nudge from Philippa to add to my toolkit for keeping a focus on my 60 things list.

If it works as intended, there should be more regular updates and good progress made.

After all, it is nearly the end of the first year.

Overdue update

So, I have failed on the regular updating of progress (# 20 – update the blog every week). But I have continued to keep in mind the list.

I have been swimming once a week with my sister. I initially resisted getting back in the pool, with memories of training in a cold school swimming pool late on a Friday night, well after the heat of summer. But I have rediscovered the pleasure of swimming. Finding I could do over arm was a special and unexpected pleasure. I had thought my shoulders were not up to that.

The pool has allowed me to develop more confidence in diving. The wellington pool has sloping entry steps. This allows me to progressively decrease the height of water from which to practice diving.

We went to Croatia and in the hotel pool (Arcus Residence and Dialysis Centre – there is another story there!) I was able to again give diving a go. Progress.

In Munich, I had the pleasure ( thanks to the lovely Harriet Kate Dempsey and Dr Michael) of seeing the northern stars in the observatory (#13) in the Deutsch museum. Something I would not have considered interesting before. That’s to Dr Michael for the whispered translations!

And the weekly photograph challenge (#4) is continuing with regular posts to both blip and Instagram. I enjoy the challenge of seeing things , and seeing things differently.

A couple of things to report

Just a couple of things to report. Not much activity of the gym kind lately, as the old r/arthritis has flared up so I have had to stop going to the gym for a bit. A steroid injection has helped. But I did venture out on the bike this past weekend, which reminded me how much I love that and do want to achieve the goal of doing another cycle trip.

I have been reluctantly going to the pool with my sister – the reluctance was the pool not the sister! I needed to get over the memories of cold training in a cold pool – after all that was around 30 years ago! And I have discovered I do like it. And my shoulders will allow me to do freestyle, which feels really good.

AND I have had a few goes at diving off the steps (that is the steps into the pool for the handicapped) and I am developing my confidence. Tonight I could see me achieving the diving goal.

So there you go. Progress. Good.

Looking around the idea of a labyrinth (#17)

My friend Cindy came to stay this weekend, so it was an opportunity to revisit our local labyrinth – this time looking beyond the experience (although we did walk it, which reaffirmed our belief there is something magical in it) to start thinking about how and where and when we might build ours.

Review time

Having this list has been fantastic. While I can see that I will not be able to tick everything off, it has made me mo conscious of how I am spending this year, and the choices I am making.

Without the list, I would not have enrolled for the astronomy course. Without the list, I would have continued to wonder about the magic of making bouillabaisse. Without the list, I would not have changed my headset about taking control of the boat. So, so far so good.

I have decided to spend this year’s leave attending weddings of family and friends in Vancouver and Frankfurt. This means I will not have time to go to the Caitlins or the far north. I am still loving my job at the EGCC so am unlikely this year to spend extended time in another country.

I am keeping in touch with my brothers and sister, and will add my parents’ stories to a blog.

I have enjoyed the discipline of Blipfotos, and hope my journal entries show not only the photos I am taking but also give a flavor of the life I am living.

So here is to the next few months. Who knows what I might achieve. And then I shall set new goals for the next year of my life, remembering we live life in daily increments.

Thanks for watching.

#9 bouillabaisse

done.

Not sure what it was that made me add this particular challenge to the list, but no matter. I enjoyed cooking it and it was, according to the fellow diners, delicious. some left for tomorrow night’s dinner.

Look at the stars…

Almost there – our class went to the Carter Observatory last night to experience the planetarium. The spectacular sight was the simulation of zooming out to the edge of the universe, and then beyond. So beautiful.

Next week – we go to Gordon’s personal observatory in Titahi Bay, so fingers crossed for a clear night.

Then it will be the big tick for #13.

🙂

Looking at the stars (#13) took a back seat to listening to Dickens

A fair trade, I thought. The opportunity to see Miriam Margoyles’ show, Dickens’ Women with my sister, Jan, and friend, Darryl, outweighed the drawcard of listening to the (who knows his name?) tutor explaining about photographing the stars. And yes, while you might imagine I would be dead keen on the photography aspect, I have learned that the issue is technical and linked to having one’s own telescope – something to which I do not aspire. So Dickens won.

And a fine evening it was too. Quick dinner at Satay Palace in Cuba, then off to the Opera House for a fine evening of Dickens. That’s the great thing about being totally relaxed about this list – while I aim to complete it, this will not be at the expense of snatching other opportunities as they pass.

Opportunity – ˌɒpəˈtjuːnɪtɪ – A chance or prospect

Sometimes opportunity knocks like a loud windburst; more often it arrives like a burglar and disappears before you realize it was there —Elyse Sommer

Look at the stars (#13)

Astronomy class #2. 90 minutes on telescopes, eye pieces, mounts, from very passionate tutor. 30 minutes looking at the stars on the computer using stellarium software. Other galaxies.Globular clusters. Did you know the Southern skies have the largest globular cluster? It is actually getting interesting.

Astronomy – hmmmm (#13 look at the stars in an observatory)

having enrolled in the Friday evening astronomy class at Tawa College (ah the memories!), I have confirmed that Friday evening (6.30 to 8.30) is not the ideal time for an evening class. Nonetheless, I attended. Such a passionate tutor. By day he works at the Carter Observatory, by night he observes the skies from his own observatory in Tawa. A man obsessed with his knowledge. He had two hours to tell us all about telescopes – almost without drawing breath. I hope he was too passionate about his subject to not notice the drooping eyes (even short snoozes) of the only woman in the room. We were to go out and observe – but the clouds came in and we were released at 8.30. Homework – to find the scorpio and sagittarius constellations. That should be possible. And covers mine and Philippa’s star signs.

Exciting upcoming events in the astronomical world are the super moon (tomorrow), the transit of venus (in June) and an eclipse of the sun (total for Australia, partial for NZ – don’t look at it directly!!) in November.

I am over-achieving by doing an astronomy course (after all, the list merely says #13 is looking at the stars in an observatory), but knowledge is good.

And time to work on some of the other things. Still posting photos on blipfoto (#4). Calling my brothers and seeing my sister regularly (#18).

And an update to this blog (#20).

Progress, I think.