Lovely weekend in Sydney and ...

Had a really lovely weekend in Sydney a few days ago ... invited by John and Gina - on the pretext of it being my birthday, plus the lure of visiting some open gardens up in the Southern Highlands, where I grew up. A lot of eating of wonderful food ensued!! Gina cooked a wonderful dinner in Friday night - including a delicious roasted cauliflower with amazing porcini and I can't remember what else dressing!

Then on Saturday we went for lunch at my nephew Peter's house (barbecued swordfish, roast potatoes and salad!) and spent time with his young daughter Chloe (just over a year old) and of course Tammy, who produced a spectacular birthday cake!!

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Out for dinner to a nice Japanese place that night .... it was all starting to remind me of the amazing gourmet food and wine-filled weekends that Angela and I used to have at my parents' place, after which we'd feel like swearing off eating for days!!

And on Sunday we drove up to the Southern Highlands to visit some of the open gardens. Which included one that had been my parents' home in the 70s! I never actually lived there but I remember that my sister and John had their wedding 'reception' there - marquee on the back lawn and everything! Not to mention I seem to remember both of us wearing Laura Ashley dresses!! (Gawd!!) 



Anyway, I talked to the current owner who was very interested to hear some of the history of the place. The actual house was about three times the size it had been when my parents had it, but it was still nice to see it all again! (And we don't need to mention lunch at the wonderful Burrawang Pub!)



Back home on Monday to singing, choir rehearsals and piano practice ... have I mentioned that I've started learning piano again? Had to buy a new piano keyboard with weighted keys etc ... I'm really loving it, even though the last time I touched a piano keyboard was when I was about 13!

And (last bit, promise!) today I finally went to a yoga class again! Led ashtanga not Mysore, but still so good to finally get back to the intensity of a class as opposed to my somewhat desultory home practice, which I can far too easily put off till tomorrow!!

Yoga and gardening

Finally, back to posting about yoga (and other "normal") life type things! It isn't like my life is really back to "normal", but things do seem to be sorting themselves out (overall).

Over the last few days I've been noticing I seem to be more flexible than before. Like my hamstrings etc. are lengthening. And this comes when, for various work-related reasons I haven't been able to practice as much. I mean - this past week I've managed one Mysore class (yesterday), one 20 minute practice of just 5 of each sun salute on Tuesday, and then I went to a vinyasa class at the uni gym on Friday. (and yeah, I know that this in no way counts as part of my Ashtanga practice but this is something I do occasionally!!)

I really wouldn't expect my flexibility or strength to hold together with so little practice - certainly hasn't in the past. But, not only has it held, I seem to be more flexible! Maybe (and of course this is what I'm hoping!) my body has decided to take a step forward! We shall see I guess ... Fingers crossed!

And today a friend came round for lunch and to help me make a fenced off part of the back verandah more escape-proof for Miss Sansa Squiggletail pussycat! So far so good, but until I can be sure she can't find a way to escape I'm not going to open up access to that except at weekends when I'm here.

And - a couple of days ago another friend gave me some broccoli seedlings to plant. So this afternoon I cleared out one of the overgrown veggie beds so I could plant them, and in the process discovered there were still some 'forgotten' summer veggies to pick ... :)




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Location:Skyline Dr,Kholo,Australia

Holidays and 'the' wedding

A pink waterlily in my pool turned pond! This is the waterlily that I got a couple of weeks before the 'great Brisbane flood', during which the garden nursery it came from went 3m under water!! I tell it I saved its life - I may have said this somewhere before on this blog, but I don't think I've uploaded a picture of the waterlily before ...

It's been a while ... had a pretty busy Easter break, with my mother visiting. Started off with a big lunch party to cook and prepare for (with her help!) and then a nice few days following spent going to galleries, the movies (Potiche), and family lunches ... Have to say I didn't manage to do much yoga, but I guess it's OK to have a few days' break occasionally.  Doesn't seem to have done me any lasting damage <grin>

This is another long weekend here in Queensland - I've been having a nice lazy one, but have managed to do a few things, including assemble and coat/stain the new outdoor wooden table I got for my birthday (thanks Mum!). It looks really nice! Later this afternoon (Monday) I'm going to my friend Helen's ... 3 of us are  going to do our various yoga practices (me Ashtanga, the other two following one of Helen's yoga DVDs), and then relax with a glass of wine. Sounds like a really nice way to wind up the long weekend.

And I'm not going to be precious - of course I did watch quite a lot of "the wedding" on Friday night ... Enjoyed all the 'bonhomie' (sp?!) of everyone in the streets, and all that pomp & ceremony. Brought back memories of Charles and Diana's wedding. My then partner and I were arriving back from a trip to Miami (to see Maharaji). I remember driving back from Gatwick on a bus through these incredibly empty streets - everyone was either in the centre of London, or watching it on TV. It was quite eerie ... :)

Friday morning yoga

I had Friday off as a flex day ... so I was able to go to the only morning class at my shala. It felt so nice to be at a class in the morning - I almost always practice at lunchtime, or go to evening classes. It was a lovely change. Well, probably just the fact of having a day off work, and being 'on holiday' fed into the happy feelings ... Whatever - I had a lovely day!

Had a bit of a chat with R my yoga teacher and have now got another 'project' to concentrate on. I really need to build up strength in my arms and shoulders. I still can't hold chataranga dandasana, my arms just collapse at a certain point. And until I have that arm/shoulder strength, I also won't be able to hold dhanurasana, or headstand. Which I really want to do!! I have been trying to build up it up, and am going to do a few additional things at home to strengthen those recalcitrant arms! I need to develop those strong swimmers' arms/shoulders ... :)

On Saturday afternoon I went to a video afternoon at Amaroo and heard about how Maharaji is wanting to come to Amaroo again this September. And how we can make it happen. Very nice and inspiring ...

Today (Sunday) a friend Helen came round and we did a led Ashtanga practice with my new DVD of Mark Darby. It was the first time I'd practiced with this DVD - I really like it. He reminds you so much to be with the breath. Highly recommended ... :)

I've also enjoyed being able to do a few things in the garden, as the weather finally seems to be cooling into an Autumn. It felt very nice. I haven't looked at the veggie garden though - I mean, I have and it's a total mess! But I haven't tried to do anything with it ... just stuck to smaller easier tasks to start off with!!

hot hot hot ...

It's been so hot here the past few days. Not so much temperature-wise - early to mid 30s, but extremely humid. That's OK when you're at work, or even at home in the air-conditioning, but yesterday afternoon's yoga class was something else! I said to the teacher as I came in - this is not going to be pleasant! And I was right ... ! Couldn't get the balance (?!) right between using my yogitoes towel or not. It was like my mat was getting slippery, but the yogitoes didn't have enough sweat (nice!) in it yet to give me traction. In one of the surya B downward dogs, the teacher was giving me some kind of adjustment and I ended up falling flat on my face as my feet slid out from under me!! Kind of dramatic, though didn't hurt at all!!

Anyway, I decided it was kind of like Bali heat, but without the advantages of being in Bali!!

Today I had arranged to go and do yoga with my friend Helen. I actually rang her last night when I got home to say I wasn't sure I could cope with it, but she said she'd put the aircon on, so I said I'd come. Then this morning I was really tired and wiped out, and so close to ringing again and pulling out. But I didn't, and of course I'm very glad I went!! Glad I remember that ... sometimes all you feel up to is 'showing up', and then it takes over ... :)


I also showed her the lovely photobook (see cover above) I'd made using iPhoto of photos from my overseas trip last year. I'm so proud of it, and really glad I did it. No longer will all my photos languish somewhere on my laptop, never to be seen!

Have also been having fun reading some 'iPhoneography' websites - iPhone Photography and Life in LoFi. I've never taken photos with my mobile before. Well, until I got the iPhone last year, I didn't have a mobile which had a camera - it was pretty ancient!! Looks fun - have downloaded some interesting photography apps and will see what I can do!

Apart from that, I'm having a pretty quiet weekend. Went to Bunnings (hardware store) and priced some roofing for the front deck that Ross is going to help me put on in the next couple of months. I will get onto doing some more work on the foame poetry website, which is due to go live with the 2011 issue next month. Was supposed to go to the movies this evening but I really don't think I'm going to make that this time ... maybe next weekend!

I spoke too soon!

Really shouldn't have said anything about the Kholo bridge being passable again! My neighbour saw my previous blog entry (linked on Facebook) and told me that 'they' were going to open the flood gates at the Wivenhoe dam that evening. And now, 3 days later, the water is 5m over the bridge!! That sort of height is almost incomprehensible! About 3 me's one on top of the other, on top of the bridge!! (Update: it's now 6.15m!!) And this morning when I drove out to go to work the back way, there was water over the only road out. I probably could have gone through, but I didn't trust that I'd be able to get home again, so ended up coming home and here I am today!  I'll have to see what it's like tomorrow ... There have continued to be spells of really heavy rain every half an hour or so.

Had a nice day yesterday - despite the rain! Ross came over for lunch and we managed to put a 2nd old table into the pond in breaks in the rain, and then moved some of the pond plants around.  The water lily is now in a new place, where it can hopefully spread across the surface of the pond.

Had fun cooking too - made a spinach tart, and also this amazing starter that my Mum does (from a recipe book called Easy to Entertain by Patricia Lousada) - grilled stuffed avocado. Sounds mad, but you mix some mayonnaise, curry powder, ginger, chopped up mint and some prawns, stuff the avocado halves and then put under the grill for 3-5 minutes, or until it starts to brown. It is is just delicious!!

Yoga on Saturday afternoon was really lovely. I felt focussed and strong (at least until near the end!) And then at the end the teacher came over and started talking to me. Said that my practice was really improving! I couldn't believe it! The previous class I'd felt like he was ignoring me, even disapproving of me (ever the paranoid one!!) Anyway, I know these sorts of things aren't supposed to matter, but I was really happy when he said that!

2011 stuff

No more bridge pictures! The water is now under the bridge, but as far as I know the road is still too broken up around it for the bridge to be (normally) usable. I'll drive down and take a look on the weekend - this week I have just been driving straight into work via the back road.

I'm kind of contemplating whether I should get into big New Year's resolutions again this year. I know last year I said I wanted

1. to be able to jump back. Well, failed but I tried, and I can sort of/partly jump forward now at least, so I guess that's something! and
2. to be more sociable and have people over for weekend lunches. That's pretty much a complete fail! I think the only thing I can put that down to is complete laziness!!

So -  I think I'll have to carry No. 2 forward again for this year, and the other? Well, I think I'll just aim to be able to bind in Marichyasana C - preferably on both sides. (I fool myself by putting the word 'reliably' in front of 'bind', but to be honest in the past couple of years it's been rare that I can bind even one side!) And of course there's a whole long yoga wish list in my head, but I think I'll just leave it at this and see what transpires in 2011!

I'm really hoping I'll be able to get to Dena's Bali workshop again this year. She's doing a two-week workshop this time but I could only go for one week. However, I'll just need to wait and see how other eventualities pan out, because if there's a conflict then this would probably lose out this time.

And gardening - I really want to do some more work in the garden this year! (We're off resolutions now, just plans!) At the moment I'm concentrating a bit on the pond (which used to be a swimming pool!). It had got really overgrown with pond weed, but now I've got rid of most of that, I am able to add some more plants again. Got a really nice water lily last weekend - 'raspberry red'! Sounds nice! It flowers from October to May, so hopefully I'll see some raspberry red water lilies on the pond this year! And this weekend a friend is coming round for lunch (see, I'm starting on the resolutions!!) and I'm hoping he'll help me put an old table together (that he found for me just before I went overseas) and put it into the pond. That's what I've been using to sit the water plant pots onto in the pool. I'm just worried that someone (me really as it's my pond!) will have to actually get into the almost black water to place the table!! Oh well ...

Back to yoga. Over the holidays I did practice quite a bit - mostly alternating standing and seated practices. Went to my first class back at the shala on Wednesday, and my lack of intensity over the holidays was really shown up! I was exhausted (and soaking) by the end! Did short lunchtime practices today and yesterday ... yesterday I only managed some sun salutes, and felt pretty grumpy  <grin> But today was better - I did all my 'forbidden' poses!

Loong weekend ...

Enjoying the long Easter break ... Today I went to my friend Helen's place and we did yoga on the verandah of their lovely old Queenslander home. Actually I nearly didn't go - I felt pretty tired this morning (after a very strong yoga practice at the shala yesterday afternoon!) but I knew that I'd feel differently if I went, and so it was ... ! There was a really lovely climber flowering beside me - flowers a beautiful dusty pink. Apparently it's an allamanda called something like Gypsy Rose - I'm only familiar with the 'common' yellow one. Must look out for it - I'd really like it in my garden. I can just see the spot, by the front door.

One of the things I've been doing this weekend is looking at the mess I've let my garden get into, and making a start on clearing away some of the weeds etc! The weather is finally a bit more 'clement' - ie. temperature down to an acceptable level for working in the garden. I have some plans to make a few changes, get someone in to cut down some very rampant growth, etc etc. Autumn/winter is a nice time for playing in the garden!

I've also been cruising the internet getting ideas for places to stay in Bali. The week of the workshop I'm booked into the place where the workshop is, but I'm arriving in Bali 2-3 days before it starts, and don't want to pay those sorts of prices when I don't have to. I'm just gathering some ideas/names at the moment. My whole flight is actually booked (and paid for!) which seems pretty surreal! I'm not leaving till the end of September for goodness sake! This is all way earlier/more organised than I usually am ... :) Still puts a smile on my face though!

Also went out with a friend on Friday to see the 3D Alice in Wonderland - Johnny Depp! I love those Tim Burton movies.

Happy Weekend!

Well, things are looking up again .. for me if not for Jedda who is locked into the house for the next few days! Went to a lovely yoga class yesterday afternoon. It ended up being a led one (not Mysore) and various poses were left out to accommodate everyone there. I started off being annoyed by that, but luckily let go of it and it was just what I needed. I wasn't feeling very strong (too many missed practices!) and - well it was just what I needed. Jedda, I hasten to add, is still on the mend. Her voice is coming back to normal, and she's more active (and more demanding!) So that's a big relief.

Today some friends came to lunch. One of them, Ross, had offered to help me with one of my 2 garden projects - converting the pool into a garden pond. He had managed to find an old plastic garden table that was being thrown out, which we'd agreed I'd need to place pots on. So he turned up with that, plus some fish and plants he'd take from his own garden ponds (his garden is just a wonderful tropical paradise in a suburban backyard - amazing!)



Here he is placing one of the plants on the table ...

And this is the view I have sitting at the breakfast table ... (without him of course!)




We all had a lovely time eating and drinking and enjoying the day.

And finally, below is a photo taken last weekend (seems like an age ago now!) when I was in Sydney, and Mum and I went to lunch at Jo and Emma (nephew and girlfriend)'s new flat with the million dollar view over Sydney Harbour ...




That's Jo and Peter (nephews), Mum and my brother-in-law John.

Breaking the silence

Don't know why I haven't been posting - nearly a month now since I last posted. Life is carrying along happily, and pretty mundanely to be honest! No big exciting things happening ... :) I did have a very nice yoga class on the weekend, and feel pretty good about that side of things. Work is going well - though I'll be really glad when it gets to be light at the time I have to get up (5.30am). Did some gardening on the weekend - planted some tomatoes and another strawberry plant. And other veggies planted are doing well.

I've got a couple of garden 'projects' that I'm hoping to finish, or at the very least get underway before Christmas. One is to mosaic an old round cement slab that's sitting in my front garden. It's about 1.2m in diameter. I know I need to do it before summer gets to its height (January/February) as it'll be too hot to work outside then. I went to the library on the weekend and got some mosaic books out, looking for a design/ideas. Then I can work out how much I need in the way of different coloured tiles etc, and start to collect them.

My other project is the swimming pool. My swimming pool is an above-ground one, that is decked in around most sides, and only accessible via the house verandah. A few months ago it started leaking a bit (again!) and the people who look after it told me that the tree roots that have been trying to get in from underneath are too much of a problem and I needed to replace it (and remove the tree-roots). About $1000. Then it turned out that I'd have to replace the supports as they were rusting away ($$$), and the pump no longer works properly, and ($$$$$) ... So I decided the swimming pool had had its day; stopped paying the pool guys to come and clean it every month and just left it (covered).

I had the idea to convert it to a garden pond, but it seemed like it might be too much work. And then someone else said to me that she'd deck it all over (having removed the pool itself plus water) and have a large entertaining area there. Now that seems like a good idea, at least for when I sell the place (which I will do eventually). But right now I'm saving to go on an overseas trip next year and I don't want to spend money on something like this. So, after consultations with another friend, for now I'm going to encourage frogs etc. into the pool, get a few low-maintenance water plants into it and see what happens!

I find it's good to put a kind of deadline on things - gives me something to aim for. I don't know how far I'll get along with these projects, but I'm pretty sure that if I didn't say to myself - do this by Christmas when you (I) will have family and visitors around, it's quite possible nothing would happen!

Hmm - seems like I did have a few things to write about after all !

ITIL certification course

Last week was exhausting! It was a short week - the Monday had been a public holiday. But Wednesday to Friday I was on a 3-day course - ITIL Foundation certification. Basically this is all about processes that are (or should be) used within the IT industry, and in my new department (ITS) they like all staff to get certification. It's all theory and really hard to cram into your head! I was completely wiped out by it. We had an official exam on the Friday afternoon ... We'd done 2 trials (previous exam papers) and I passed both of them. But I failed the official one! I was so upset on Friday evening. I knew it was stupid but I'd put an awful lot of effort into it, and the fact that I'd passed the two trial ones easily - it was infuriating! I've decided I'm going to have to do the exam again - and if/when I pass, then I can let it all drop out of my mind and probably won't remember much of it at all.

Sigh ... I don't know why I've got so wound up about this - everyone at work dreads this course and there was lots of eye-rolling when I said I was going to it. I guess I'm not actually used to failing(!), and having put so much effort into trying to understand the concepts, and learn which processes went with which service - failing really got to me! I had to make a big effort not to have it cloud my whole weekend - ridiculous I know!

Feeling better now - it's Sunday afternoon and I've just been planting some potatoes in the veggie garden I dug over a week or two ago. I went to yoga yesterday afternoon - bit of a slog coz I was feeling weak and stiff, but I'm very glad I went (as usual!) Tomorrow morning bright and early (6am) I'm off to the hospital to have an IV-IG infusion. I need to get a CT scan organisied for the next month or so. If I don't catch my doctor (when he comes up to the ward to do his rounds) then I'll have to make an appointment to see him and get the forms. This (CT scan) is my yearly check-up ... :) Feeling fine about it now but I know I won't be sleeping too well the night or two beforehand. Ah well - cross that bridge when I come to it!

Yoga - or lack of it!

It's been weeks since I've dared do any yoga - not since the disastrous occasion when doing downdogs in surya namaskara A gave me a coughing fit that lasted for hours and hours. I'm still not better, and although I miss it so much, I really don't dare do anything until I'm completely better. I just cannot put myself through that again ...

I guess if I wasn't so tied to the ashtanga type of yoga I might find it easier to pick and choose poses that mightn't bring it on again. But, even though I do sometimes leave different poses out for one reason or another, in this situation it would be such a radical change that I can't bring myself to try. It just wouldn't be - ashtanga? right? I don't know ... :)

Anyway - I went to see my specialist last week for my regular 3-monthly check-up - blogged about it on my lymphoma blog. All good!

After my busy busy weekend last week, I'm having a really nice quiet weekend - doing pretty much nothing. Staying home, reading, (writing blog posts!), maybe a bit of gardening. It's nice ... The litter of Abyssinian kittens that I'm going to have one of, were born about a month ago. I had been thinking of going to see them this weekend, but maybe next weekend I will ...

Trips and colds and ...

Went to Sydney last weekend for Jo and Emma's engagement party. He's off to Oxford University for a year - tomorrow actually, and it was really nice to see them before he goes, as well as be there for the (long-awaited by parents /grandparents of both!) celebration! Put some photos up on Flickr and Facebook ...

Since I got back I've unfortunately succumbed to one of the many colds/viruses that everyone around me had been getting all winter! And I had just started to pat myself on the back for not getting any ... oh well! At least it's giving my immune system a work-out. :)

Couldn't go to choir practice last night, and won't make it to the choir camp this weekend. Well, no voice to speak of, and the drive to where it's being held is just too much for me to contemplate feeling as I do! So far I've made it in to work one day this week, and I guess it depends how I feel tomorrow morning whether I'll make it 2 or not!

No yoga to speak of - everything has taken a hit from this ...

I do just manage to wander out and look at (admire!) my veggie garden beds - seeds are coming up, lettuce is almost ready to pick, as is rocket and spinach. Very satisfying!!

gardening, Facebook - Dungeons & Dragons

Found myself sitting at the computer googling earthworms (for the garden!) and thought - I must post here! Don't ask me what the connection is ... :)

It's a wonderful time for gardening - I know it'll be too hot in a couple of months, so am really enjoying diving in at the moment! Amazing how quickly the weather changes. Last weekend I was sitting in front of the combustion (wood-burning) stove wearing many layers. Today I'm in teeshirt and 3/4 length pants with all the doors open and it was almost too hot to work outside in the middle of the day! Spring has definitely sprung!

Since Scrabulous has disappeared off Facebook I've just discovered something else there to amuse me when I'm at work, or sitting in front of the computer. Dungeons & Dragons: Tiny Adventures. It is curiously addictive, so beware anyone who has a go!! (I think you just have to seach for it in Facebook -> Applications)

Yesterday at yoga class I was distinctly hot again! In summer it's like a sauna at the shala. Winter not so warm - it's really a big drafty community hall, so hard to keep warm. It was good in class, although I think my shoulderstand wasn't quite as good as last time - I did feel a bit of pressure at the top of my neck. But I do think my hips are opening a bit again. Ever since I started back (January) I've felt completely jammed up in the hips. But a few weeks ago I started doing that 'thread the needle' pose (god knows what it's called) as a hip opener, and I do believe it's starting to show results - thank goodness!

Yoga and travel dreams

Went to yoga class yesterday evening. Another really nice class. All this year, since I started back, it's been a bit 'stop and start', what with one thing or another. And I've been holding back on doing some asanas until I'd got more strength back. Last night I decided to (mostly) stop doing that and do all the poses I've been given. So I've put back garba pindasana, and my attempts at supta kurmasa (laughable attempts!) It felt good ... R helped me with shoulderstand - getting my elbows closer together. Felt completely different!!

I've been enjoying reading blog posts from Mysore - quite a few people with blogs on ashtangi.net are there at the moment. Sounds so lovely, I wonder when/whether I'll ever get there?! Not on my next overseas trip I don't think ... though I'm thinking of trying to incorporate a yoga workshop in Bali or Thailand on the way there or back, when I do go. All still a dream at the moment of course. I'm saving like mad (or trying to!), hoping to go sometime next year. Time will tell I guess ...:)

In the meantime I'm enjoying life, pottering in the garden and playing with websites. And trying to organise a Sunday lunch at my place in the next few weeks. Time I pushed myself out there again and socialised a bit!!

dirty hands clean heart

Have been having a very enjoyable weekend out in the garden! I 'recovered' an old vegetable bed that had been unused and covered in tussocky grass for years. Well, I've cleared half of it anyway! the next half will have to wait till next weekend! I got in some organic soil, some compost and cow manure and spread it all over the bed, dug it in a bit, watered it and am now leaving it for a couple of weeks to settle in! Then I'll get planting!

And I did some weeding, compost-making, general clearing up! Feels great to be back in the garden! Spring is coming very soon, and come December it'll be too hot to spend much time at all doing things in the garden, except if I get up at 6am!! So now is the time to be out there!

Yoga on Saturday was wonderful! I had to be careful of my 'wound' where they pulled the portacath out. It's got internal and external stitches. The internal ones will melt away but the external ones have to be taken out at the end of next week.

But I digress - I wasn't sure what might be a problem, just felt it out. And, particularly in the sun salutes, it was one of those practices where everything just flowed. I so enjoyed it! I did have to be careful in chataranga (or my feeble attempt at that!) but that worked out and it was only when I got to setu bandhasana that I got a 'no! stop!!' message from my body!

Now that the Olympics are on again I'm getting glued to the TV again - at least I'm able to draw the line at watching weight-lifting!! The opening ceremony didn't start till 9.45pm on Friday night here ... I watched it for a while, swapping between watching and reading my book off and on! It was beautiful - that scroll of paper idea was amazing! But really it's not the sort of thing I can sit and watch for however long it took. I didn't even watch all of the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony ... I'm looking forward to seeing some of the gymnastics, and the diving though. And, go the Olyroos!! (Australian Olympic 'football'/soccer team :)