Good morning!
Let’s just get started, shall we? No time for preamble today. . .
1. If you haven’t seen this Instagram video yet, you might want to click on it for a view of my terrace garden in the pouring rain yesterday afternoon. I’d have thought the skies might be rained out by now, but nope, there was more Wet coming down in abundance this morning. And our weather forecast suggests the only break we can look for now is that next Wednesday it might be only cloudy all day rather than rainy.
2. At the park, during the last week of her visit here last month, my granddaughter looked across, from her spot halfway up the slide, at some kids who had climbed another, riskier apparatus in the “big kids” section. She commented on how high they were, almost in the sky, and I agreed, and we talked about whether the kids were almost as high as planes flying. That must have been the prompt for her to say, a bit later, “Nana, I’m going to Ee-taly.” And when I acknowledged that indeed, she was, she looked at me very solemnly, and added, “and you goin be really sad.”
True that, darling. True that. . . .
3. So I’m very happy that we’ve now arranged to spend a few of our Croatia days at the beach with our Roman crew. Who know? Perhaps we’ll even find a slide.
4. I was doing so well with my new fitness regime, rebuilding my running time/distance through a program drawn up my physio, complementing those carefully scheduled runs with strength-training sessions under the guidance of a Personal Trainer. But somehow, last week, I did too much of something or everything. My knee is telling me, forecefully, that I’ve got to slow down on the running and wait for the strength-training to build more support. Luckily, my Trainer loves a challenge and she’s so encouraging. I’m just back from a session of productive stretches and ball- or foam-rolling (for fascia release), and we’re working out a plan to get me to and through my three weeks of travel. My carry-on might have to make room for a mini-roller and a few fascial-release balls, and I’m learning a few good hotel-room stretches. Much as I love my running, it’s more important to me to be able to walk, and to look forward to walking well into my old age.
And if the weather ever changes here, cycling is a reasonable substitute for running and makes a nice cross-training balance as well. . .
But that’s a big “if.”
5. And in case you’re interested, my personal writing project continues, and I’ve found a reader for my emerging draft, someone with considerable experience as a (published) writer, and as a teacher of creative writing. We’ve set up a schedule that should result in my amassing a book’s worth of chapters over the next year. My partner already has a contract for hers, while I have no idea what I might do when I’ve completed that first draft. But at least I’m daring to commit to the process, which is a big enough step for now.
5b, if I can sneak that in, is thatI posted another belated, catch-up, too-slapdash-because-I-don’t-have-enough-time posts on my Reading Blog, in case you’re looking for a few new titles.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, we have our first adult overnight guest coming this weekend and we have another opera to attend tonight (the last one in this year’s Opera Festival, and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, The Marriage of Figaro, with costumes by Canadian-international fashion star, Sig Neigum. I’m also determined to finish that promised garden post (the photos are all loaded but we need some words. . . )
And you? What are you up to? Or have you a comment about any of my Friday Five? Or perhaps you have a random Friday One or Two or Three of your own. The mic is all yours now. . . I’m listening.
Mater, I was in Banyan Books last Saturday and they have some very small rollers which have small bumples on them. The rollers can be used as is or can be put in the microwave for warm or the freezer for ice ……
Kris from Courtenay
Oh, thanks for this! I'll check those rollers out — sounds as if they might be good in a carry-on case.
Your life is indeed full. I'm off to do my physio exercises now after reading about your exercise regime. Unfortunately I am still at the stage where I have to talk myself into doing them 🙁
Have a lovely weekend:)
Elizabeth
I'm going to have to be very good about physio now if I ever want to run again. It's tough, isn't it?!
Hope yours was a good weekend as well.
Your granddaughter is absolutely precious! Beautiful photos.
I'm sorry about your knee, but thankfully your trainer is on top of it!
Thanks, Marie!
Isn't it amazing how insightful the little one is? It is great that you will be reunited in Croatia. I'm looking forward to seeing my daughter who has lost 80+ pounds and has just posted a picture of herself wearing the t-shirt that she bought at her first Bon Jovi concert 28 years ago. She was 13 and it fits!
That's such a life-changing weight loss! After your long time away (seven weeks, was it?) you'll be glad to see each other again.
Sorry to hear about your knee issue. I am also on a knee/quad strengthening regime to get me back to running, but have lapsed badly with it and other exercise in these last hectic few weeks before my exams. Paying the price now because I am a mass of aches and stiffness. Fit after 50, especially if it's a sudden onslaught in my case, can be really frustrating as well as delightful. So many periods of one step forward and two back with injury to protesting muscles which have slumbered peacefully for the past 40+ years. But we keep going forward!
Tremendously exciting about your book plan over the next year!
Exactly, forward, back, forward, back. . . . I was feeling a bit discouraged, but my trainer's positive and focused and it's going to be okay, but I think I'll have a long-ish break from running.
I'm nervous about overstating the "book" aspect of my writing, but I will amass a small book's worth of pages, and then we'll see. That might be as much as I want/need to do. . .
Glad that you have a little beach/ family time planned in Croatia. My running was going so well until my trip away, sadly my wrist is still painful and doesn't enjoy the jogging action :(. Wonderful the comments from little mouths. Hope she enjoyed her flight back to Ee-taly. Home sunny weather comes your way soon. B x PS good luck with the knee exercises.
There are so many other ways to exercise besides running, and I'm sure you'll find something else. It's important, as you know, to give that wrist a chance to heal — especially because you so enjoy your needlework!
I am always so impressed by how much you pack into your week. Feeling a bit inadequate now.
Why do we do that to ourselves?! Comparison is the thief of joy, right?
I bet you will find excellent slides by the beach in Croatia. We visited Dubrovnik a few years ago and came across a magical playground for children in the midst of trees. Not only were there the usual things to play on, there were amazing rocking horses, on springs, that actually moved around as they rode on them. I was completely envious that I was no longer 5. Keep your eyes peeled!
you've reminded me of a favourite image of my mom on the teeter-totter with Nola who was then 2 or 3. . . . She wouldn't have hesitated to try out the horse 😉
Your use of 'teeter-totter' has just called up a delightful Canadian memory that had been submerged – my children playing with their Canadian counterparts on a 'teeter-totter' (I use quotation marks because to us Brits it's a 'see-saw') in a school playground in the tiny village of New Denver beside Slocan Lake. We were at a week-long Suzuki music camp – the Suzuki Valhalla Institute. What a fantastic time we had! Including learning this strange new word – 'teeter-totter'!
You are writing a book! How exciting! What you have written until now, is it only the product of your writing excursions to cafes, or do you write at home as well? And do you have any special rituals which help you to get down to and on with it? (Please excuse my curiosity.)
As I said, above, to Linda, I'm nervous about calling it a book, but I will end up with that many pages, at least. . . I'm writing at home now, a few hours a week, and as I get more engaged and more clear about my focus, it's getting easier to find that time. Should I write a short post about the process, when I find some time?
Yes, please, whenever it suits you.
Beautiful.
Thanks
You'll find the slides for your cute,fearless Frankie:-)
Hope that your knee would be better
Great news about book
I had a dinner with my all my school colegues this week in one of my fav restaurants and a short trip to Trieste. I wasn't anywhere this year-it was fun to see and smell the sea,Lipizzaner horse( from Slovenia) show and La Belle Epoque Fair. Coffee,lunch,coffee….and back to duties
Dottoressa
That's a good weekend — busy, but I suspect the burst of outings were worth the probably fatigue. I've never seen a Lipizzaner show but have long been mesmerised by descriptions of them.
Oh dear, I wonder if she realized on her own that you would be sad or was projecting her own missing you feelings, or……very insightful no matter what. Thank goodness you have the next visit to look forward to! I feel so lucky to have my grandchild closer to hand! We're hoping for the first sunshine after a very rainy week here today and I expect to be able to see the weeds growing as a
result – true spring weather. Thank you for the writing project update!
ceci
Little ones can say such insightful things. So glad you'll get in some time with the Italy-based family on your trip.
I'm jealous of your writing project progress. I have something on the go and it's stalled. Too exhausted at the end of the day for anything creative. I tell myself, in Al Purdy's words "Whatever I have not discovered and enjoyed / is still waiting for me / and there will be time…"