Punchy title goes here!

Didn't know if I was going to get to yoga class this morning ... My pussycat Miss Squiggle used to be really good at coming back inside when I called her, but - I think she's started exploring a bit further afield (over the fence into the next garden!) so maybe she's out of earshot. Giving her the benefit of the doubt here!! But I won't leave her outside when I'm out so had to wait till she came back. Luckily she reappeared just before the latest time I could leave ... And I'll have to bear this in mind in future!


Look at her - butter wouldn't melt in her mouth!!

Last time I went to class (earlier in the week) Jack had me trying out headstand (which I've never done). I said I wasn't sure I would be able to, even with help - still not enough strength. And I was right, but for now, as well as doing that 'dolphin' preparatory/strengthening pose I'm going to actually make steps towards - hmm, getting used to just the starting position. I actually had no idea that my head was supposed to be on/touching the ground (or my hands). So even that seems very weird and difficult! Oh well, baby steps (as usual!!)

Am finally getting it together to organise my trip to the UK/Europe later this year. I'm going to do one of Dena's Bali workshops on the way. Which always involves a bit of backtracking - flying to Singapore or Bangkok and then back to Bali - have no idea why but it's much more expensive to do it in a more direct fashion. Just have to doublecheck with my sister in London that the dates are ok with her and then I can finalise the booking!

Oh, and I'm still having a lovely time at choir / singing! And learning SO much that I never knew (or had completely forgotten) on the 'technical' / Music Theory 101 level!! Perhaps I should rephrase that as discovering how much I didn't know, but need to! It's just great!!!

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Exertions in charuranga!

Since the last Bali workshop (last October) when Dena shone a big spotlight on my fairly pathetic sun salutes, I have been giving them a lot of attention. Partly the up-dog part, but lately I've really been concentrating on lowering into chaturanga. I've never been able to do that, and for many years just accepted that as the 'status quo' and didn't make any real attempt. However, this lack of strength in my arms has effects across my practice. For example, it also means I can't lift up into urdva dhanurasana, and can only do the more basic setu bandhasana with my shoulders on the mat. And that's the way it's going to stay until I put the effort in and build up that strength!!

So I'm now making a concerted effort in the chaturanga part of sun salutes, going down as slowly as possible, and it's definitely getting better, even though I still collapse to the ground with a moan <grin> - I don't know how long it's going to take, but I really hope I do keep this effort up this time!!

My friend Helen who I used to have a Sunday morning yoga practice with until she had to go interstate for a year's training placement, was back home for a few days last week. And we managed to get together on Friday (my day off) to do yoga together. Miss Squiggle, my pussycat loves this and of course was in there 'helping' to unroll her yoga mats. Well, that's what she said she was doing!! It was really nice to spend some time together, even though I don't know if/when we'll be able to do this again. Depends on whether my house has sold before she comes back for good. But we will get together sometimes, just not as regularly!

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

Pussycat and yoga updates

More pictures of the pussycat - here she is sleeping on my Gregor Maehle book! My Mum was up staying over Easter, and she has 'added to' the pussycat's name Sansa. This pussycat has a really funny tail - it curls right up and lies over her back - in fact it reminds me of a dog - like a Basenji or one of those Japanese dogs. And she constantly waves it from side to side! So Mum said - oh she should be called Squiggletail - and I'm now calling her Sansa Squiggletail!! It's kind of hard to get her to stay still enough for me to get a good photo of this wiggly tail - this below is the best I could do!



It's been a funny few weeks, yoga-wise. There were a couple of weeks when I only managed one practice a week - sick one week, and completely maxed out at work the next. This coincided with a sudden unexpected temporary closure of the yoga shala I go to. It's finally re-opening next Monday (after a month being closed).

Anyway, after the two weeks of one practice a week (my Sunday morning yoga saved my life!) I managed to re-start my lunchtime practices at work - but really noticed how my stamina had fallen away! And then Easter arrived along with my mother and all the required entertaining ... sigh. I think I managed to practice 2 times over Easter.

Luckily back to 'normal' practice again now! Though I still think that when I get back to class next week my core stamina will still be a bit down. Which is a pity as I had planned to re-start doing most of the poses that have been on hold since I did my knee meniscus injury last June/July (was it really that long ago?!) Now I'll just have to see how I go ... :)

It's been so long!!

Don't know why - combination of reasons I guess! Nothing much to say - v busy at work - then fighting off some kind of virus ... But finally I'm back here! And one of the things that has happened in the past month or so is I've finally got a new pussycat - from the RSCPA shelter.


Very pretty - she has some oriental in her as you can tell by her big ears and sweet-shaped face ... I've named her Sansa - after one of the two young Stark sisters in the wonderful SF epic by George RR Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire. I've been listening to these books on audible.co.uk audio for months now! I'm up to - I think it's the 5th book - Part 2 of a Storm of Swords. So addictive ... :)

Anyway, Sansa is not really my favourite character - that would be Arya, her younger tomboy sister. But really - I don't want a tomboy cat at all! Sansa is the sweet pretty one who believes in chivalry and knights and fairytales! So I'm channelling that sort of behaviour towards my new little friend - without a huge amount of success I have to admit so far! I had really wanted to get a cat this time, not a kitten.  But after I'd kind of fallen in love with this young cat, it turned out she was only 6 months old and has quite a lot of kitten still in her! As evidenced by her insistence on wanting to play at biting my toes at 4am, races from one end of the house to the other at breakneck (mine as well as hers!) speed, etc etc!! The RSPCA people said they didn't think she'd grow much bigger as she's already had kittens (?!!) - but that's good coz I like small cats. And hopefully the kitten stage will pass soon (she says wistfully!)

Anyway - what else?! A friend who I often practice yoga with on Sunday mornings invited me to a DVD screening of 'Yogawomen' at a yoga shala in Ipswich where I live last Saturday evening. We had quite a fun evening, but really it was too American for me. Lots of how wonderful women were (I know that already!!) and not enough yoga practice!

I've been sick for the last week or so - just feeling exhausted. Too tired to go to my Saturday afternoon class so that is really something! I managed to drag myself into work every day, and I did manage to do 30 minutes of yoga most lunchtimes. And now today (Friday) - the end of the week when I'd expect to be tired - I woke up feeling refreshed and full of energy!! Halleluyah!!!

Here's another picture of young Sansa ...

The roundup

Well, everyone else is doing it ... I've looked back through my 2011 blog posts, and I actually don't really know how to sum it all up. Some bad things happened. I got a torn meniscus in my knee. I did get to Bali, but was pretty sick the whole time! And - don't think I ever posted about this, but in the middle of the year my darling pussycat got run over - I was searching for her and had to pick her body up from the road. Too painful to blog about at the time, and although I'm now reconciled, I think that some of the pain from that may have spilled over into the way I was so freaked out/obsessed with my knee meniscus issue - probably explains a lot. (Never realised it at the time, but the knee thing happened only a week or two later.)

Something that I did learn from Dena this time was to 'enjoy what I've got/where I am in the practice'. I've just re-read a post from Bali about her concept of 'conscious samisthithi' before moving into each pose. To stretch the spine, then turn on uddhiyana and mula bandhas, and then move into the pose. One of the teachers at my shala reminded me to do that in my last shala practice before Christmas.

And don't let me forget that my meditation teacher Maharaji came to Australia, and I went to the 2-day event at Amaroo, and also saw him speak in an introductory event in Brisbane a couple of weeks later (having just flown back from spending 10 days helping my Mum when she got out of hospital). That was all really wonderful.

I'm hoping for a happy and healthy 2012! I will get another pussycat soon. I've reluctantly decided that while I still live in this house (which, although rural, has a road close by that cars/lorries drive fast along) I will have to prevent access to the wider outdoors. I've always kept my cats inside at night to protect the wildlife, but generally speaking I don't agree with keeping cats inside. But ... I just can't go through that again (finding her dead on the road), and have actually had part of the back deck fenced off, so I can give a pussycat limited outdoors access. I'm going to get an adult cat from the RSPCA shelter this time (although I'll definitely get an Abyssinian kitten again in the future!)

Anyway - let's just see what lessons 2012 brings to us all ... :)

Pussycat photos

Sleepy Jedda pussycat - iPhone photo using Hipstamatic app


And same pose, using the 'regular' iPhone camera


Sweet photos, I really like the effects the Hipstamatic app gives! Still have a long way to go before I really get to grips with it though!!

The Magic Carpet from Marrakech!

Here's my magical Moroccan carpet in its new home! Although I have to admit that sometimes it doesn't look as tidy as this - Miss Jedda Pussycat seems to think it's her plaything to take running jumps at (or from) and slide around the floor on it ... in fact that it's her very own Magic Carpet!!  ... :)

life returns to 'normal'!

Well, after my first week back at work (which seemed to never end!), I am settling back into 'normal' life. But I do still feel that lift that several weeks of wonderful new experiences/catching up with old (and new!) friends and family/being out of the daily routine, brings.

I have finally unpacked everything (this was brought on because this coming Saturday people are coming to stay in the bed that was covered with half-unpacked things!). Jedda pussycat is very happy with the new Moroccan rug, which she is taking as a place for her to sharpen her claws on (?!!!) and as a sliding game that she can take running jumps at! Sigh!

Can't say I've got back into cooking much yet. But next Tuesday Angela is coming for dinner and I'm going to cook a yummy Pasta and Aubergine (and cream) dish that Judy made one night in London. It's a Nigel Slater recipe from his 'Real Cooking' cookbook. This was one of the books that I got in London and posted home - everything I posted has arrived now.

And yoga ... I've got to class every Wednesday and Saturday since I've been back. And I've managed to practice quite a lot during the week (at lunchtimes at work). So I'm pretty pleased with that. However, last Saturday my practice was pulled back by R, or his assistant (who I think he uses to 'do his dirty work', or say things that the student won't like!) I was reading a blog yesterday - I think it might have been in Mel's blog, where she said something about how you have to go with how the current teacher teaches, whether it's at home or in a workshop or wherever ... And I do understand this, but it's still hard sometimes!

I've been stopped doing Marichyasana B and D, and have to replace them with that 'threading the needle' pose. Huge sigh!! I'm not even clear why, but a Mysore class isn't really the place for extended questioning that could lead to arguments (and tears!) if I wasn't careful! If I think about it (as I have A LOT!!) I'd guess the main reason/benefit of that pose is to open my hips. Which can't be bad, I know! There's lots of work to do there. But, but, but still ... !

In the end I have made a compromise with myself. I will do as I'm instructed in class (as of course I know I must, otherwise why go to class!) but when I practice at home/work I'm still going to do Mari B. I think I'll leave Mari D for a while until I can bind Mari C on a regular basis (as opposed to intermittently/occasionally!), at least on one side. It's that twisting around that I also need to work on, and if I can't bind in Mari C, there's no hope in Mari D! But this way I won't lose Mari B again, as I did before after I stopped doing it a few years ago when I was ill.

I'm also back to doing a modified chatarunga (well, my chatarunga was pretty much non-existent!) in an attempt to build up the strength necessary to do it properly. I'm OK about this - well, of course I'd like not to need to, but the fact is I do if I want to do chatarunga properly in the future!

Despite what I said at the start of this post, this has made for a challenging few days until I came to an accommodation with myself over it!

Back home in Kholo!

Well, safely back in Kholo at last. After a somewhat long trip home - two long overnight flights (London to Bangkok, and Bangkok to Brisbane) with an 18 hours stopover in Bangkok in between! Of course I can't sleep on planes unless I have a few seats to stretch out on. On each flight I was assured I would have empty seats next to me, and each time people came to sit in them! After this happened on the second flight, I then decided to 'bags' a nearby centre row of seats, but just when I was feeling safe there, a man was ushered into one of the seats as there had been a problem with his original seat! I just wasn't going to win! I gave up at that point, and spread myself across two seats instead!! I was so tired by only one hour's sleep the previous night, followed by a day wandering around in Bangkok that I did manage get 2-3 hours sleep then ...

Bangkok was of course amazing! I ended up getting a 'tour' with a guide and driver for the morning, to go to some temples (and of course the inevitable shopping stops!) I was glad I had - the maps I had of Bangkok were very misleading as far as distances went! Things that looked very close were in fact a long distance apart!

The above photo is of the face of the amazing reclining Buddha statue, which is something like 70m long. From memory the head is way taller than me! Hordes of people there walking around it, taking photos etc. But even with all that, it was really beautiful.


After I managed to escape from the shops I'd been taken to(!), and said farewell to my guide and driver, I went to the Jim Thompson house. Jim Thompson was an American who ended up in Bangkok after the war (WW2) and fell in love with it. He moved 3 old Thai wooden houses (made of teak) into Bangkok to be his home, and was very involved in getting Thai silk woven and marketed again. After he disappeared in the late 60s on a trip, his descendents gave the house to the Thai government, and it's become a museum/tourist place. Really interesting place to walk around and see/hear about all the lovely things inside it.

Got home yesterday, to a less than rapturous welcome from young Jedda pussycat, who'd been kept inside all morning to be there when I arrived home! But she did snuggle up in bed last night ... :)

Today I drifted around desultorily doing a few things, then in the afternoon went off to yoga! It was nice not to stop at navasana any more (after over 6 weeks!) But my balance in UHP (which went completely the whole time I was practicing in London at AYL) is still very dodgy! Hopefully it will get better over the next couple of weeks!! Tomorrow Helen is coming round in the morning to do some yoga, and of course be bored by looking at photos and my famous new rug! She did ask, honest!!

Sleepy pussycat

This is partly an experiment for uploading photos into blogposts on my iPad, and partly just coz I can't resist sharing this. Mind you, I won't know if it's worked till I try to upload this! Anyway, here goes ...

Yeah - it worked! Meet young Jedda pussycat relaxing after a hard day chasing lizards, and snoozing!

What the cat brought in?!

My gorgeous pussycat Jedda - that's her waiting in the doona to pounce on me (!) - has been decimating the lizard population around the house ... sigh! She brings them in and plays with them until they're long dead! I have been consoling myself with the fact that at least she's not bringing in any birds, which my previous cat Mieke used to do, and which really upsets me!

However, yesterday I went out to do some shopping, and left her outside. When I came back she had obviously brought something in (through the cat-door), and was trying to get it back out from under the chest of drawers in the living room. To my utter horror, what she eventually pulled out from there was a snake!!! I nearly died! I do know there are many brown snakes around where I live, and they are extremely poisonous. This snake looked to be young and a greeny-brown colour - about 1 meter long. I have no idea what sort it was - but it did also seem to have been damaged to some extent as it was slow and wasn't really trying to attack her, more get away from her. I know I shouldn't be pleased about any damage to a wild animal, no matter what it is, but really, a snake inside your house?!! I got a towel and managed to drop it on the snake, take it outside and drop it down a bank some distance away!

And while I was looking at her trying to 'play' with the snake, I thought to myself - I don't know that I'm going to have you for long Jedda. If she thinks it's OK to play with snakes, she's going to get bitten. And there's nothing I can do. Well, I guess I could keep her in all the time, but I don't think that's going to happen. But I think I will continue with the regime of her only going out on the weekend ...

Of course another consideration is her bringing a snake into the house and losing it there!!! Wonderful thought! (not!) But having thought further about that scenario, I really think that if she has brought a snake in, then she'll be excitedly trying to find it, and hearing it moving around, so I guess I'll have to be (slightly) consoled by that ... !

Oh what a week!

My poor little pussycat Jedda! I was away last weekend in Sydney (maybe another post!) and she was in the 'pet motel'. Got back, collected her and let her out in the garden for a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon before bringing her in. Next morning I noticed she was a bit subdued but thought she was just pleased to be home. When I got back on Monday evening she wasn't there to greet me - as she normally always is. Found her in the bedroom, picked her up and she made this really strange, low sound. Gave her a bit of a tickle, and found a lump on her throat, which turned out to be a paralysis tick!

Well, I managed to get it off intact, and then thought - what should I do now? My local vet had gone home for the day, so I went to Google, and discovered that I really had to take her to a vet. Found one that had an on-call vet, not too far away, and off we went. I ended up having to leave her there for 3 nights! Her throat had got a bit paralysed and she had been starting to stagger. I finally picked her up last night, and ended up taking a 'carer's day' today to look after her. She's still liable to chuck up, choke, and her voice is really quite low still! I don't even know if it's ever going to get back to how it was before ... :)

She is definitely better tonight than she was when I picked her up yesterday - thank goodness. Don't even ask how much it costs to have a cat in a vet hospital for 3 nights - horrifying!!

My friend Ronnie was blogging about how important dogs are to humans. Well, cats are the same (but different of course!)

A few photos

The front-door fish ... :)

Just got back from a day at choir camp - held in some boy scout camp up in the north of Brisbane. It started on Friday night but I usually only manage one day. It was fun, though by the end of the afternoon we were really stumbling through ... you should have heard us attempting to learn the final piece for the day! Not a pretty sound ... ! This (below) was the final rousing rendition of Laudate Nomen Domine (taken as a choral anthem by Australian uni choirs) - just a few of the choir in the photo.

I had to struggle at yoga yesterday afternoon. Was pretty tired after a long and tiring week I guess! But I am noticing that having decided to stop spacing out so much during practice I'm getting to the end of my practice quite easily in the time I have. Quite amazing to think that a few weeks ago I wasn't able to do all the poses because of time constraints!

And finally, here's a picture of sleepy-head Jedda ... :)

Holidays ...

My Colourful Washing line! I wear lots of colourful clothes - and when I hang things out on the washing line I love the way they look! I even make sure they look good on the line - try not to hang two things the same colour next to each other! All for my own benefit of course, but ... :)

That was down in Bowral actually, my Mum's house. I'm back home now after spending a few days down there. Lots of eating (as if I needed that!), good wine, family and good books (among other things)! Not a huge amount of yoga - it is very hard to get warm/flexible enough down there in winter! - but some ...

Now I'm sitting in front of the fire at home, with Jedda curled up in a ball beside me. Very cosy! Tomorrow I must get onto a website for an ex-workmate, which she's already paid me for. And then back to work on Monday ...

an unwanted bath

an unwanted bath
Originally uploaded by tlong

My Google homepage has (among other things) a list of photos of cats recently uploaded to Flickr. Just look at this one - I couldn't resist posting it here. Never seen a cat and a rat together like that!

And talking of cats (and cat-owners) - guess who was climbing up a ladder in the middle of the night trying to entice a very naughty pussycat down from a tree! Yes, it was me!! Jedda pussycat (or kittycat as she's not 9 months old yet) only goes outside on the weekends, and never at nights. But I had to go out to visit a website client and then onto yoga at about 2pm yesterday and of course she was nowhere to be seen. And when I got home around 6.45pm, ditto! I kept calling her, to no avail.

Finally at about 10pm when I went onto the back verandah to call her yet again I heard pathetic squeakiing (she's good at that!) in the distance, and eventually after much wandering through the undergrowth with a torch, I realised she was above my head and spotted her! But would she come down? No, of course not! I brought a ladder around and climbed up a bit (only halfway) but it was never going to be high enough and she wasn't going anywhere. I gave up for a while and when I came back again she had of course gotten herself down quite happily and was still 'busy' outside! Very naughty pussycat!!

This post is full of cat-stuff - in case anyone cared, I managed to fix my MySQL issues, upload the CMS website, fix a few email problems and my client is happy! And I have ordered a new Macbook Pro - Yesss!!

(And of course, yoga was wonderful, as always!)

Photos from Easter

Me and my cousin, my Mum and my Aunt


Jedda, lounging on the antique furniture


hiding in the bedclothes!

Pussycat, yoga and job!

Latest Jedda photo - crashed out!

I've been feeling pretty good all week (marvellous what antibiotics can do!!) and went to class yesterday full of enthusiasm. It was one of those days when the teacher decides to lead people through the sun salutes and the next couple of poses - up to trikonasana. That always shows me where I'm taking extra breaths! That would be in surya namaskar B! Don't know when I'll ever be able to stop doing that, but it's good to be reminded!

Practice was really nice - I felt so positive about it all. I ended up being stopped as I was going into Karnapidasana (I had to look up the name in my David Swenson book - it's one of the shoulderstand variations!) Anyway, the teacher told me I was pushing myself too much and needed to build up strength before I carried on further! Oh well, such is life! Last weekend I stopped a lot earlier - at navasana (boat pose) but I think that was mostly that I was feeling a bit off, possibly because I'd had a flu injection the previous day. So it was a real thrill to have a practice that, if not back to where I was 18 months ago (was it only 18 months ago that all that health stuff happened?!) at least felt quite strong and positive!

On Friday I went for an interview for one of the jobs 'on offer' in a couple of weeks. It was good, although there wasn't as much web development in it as I had hoped. But they said there was quite a lot I would be able to do, just not in the position description. And if I go and work there I can have a Mac (they'll get me a new one!) and it's a big group within the University so other opportunities may well come up. I've got an interview for the other job on Tuesday, and I'll decide after that ... :)

Yoga at last!

Yes, I made it to class last night. I guess it hasn't been that long, but it seems like ages! Because I'm still coughing quite a lot I decided to only do 3 of each sun salute. And then I just felt my way back through standing, and up to navasana in sitting. I was tired but it felt so good!

I did feel sorry for the people around me though. Class was packed and I was coughing quite a bit! But maybe I'm being over-sensitive / self-conscious ... that's probably true!

Got home (to a complaining kitten wondering when she was ever going to be fed!), had a quick dinner and was in bed by 9.30pm! I was exhausted! And slept like a log - it was hard to wake up this morning. But I'm feeling good, and ready to do yoga again at lunchtime today - as it's one of our work yoga days!

Other news - content for edition 6 of the foame poetry website is flowing in, and it's on track to go live on St David's Day (traditional publication date because the person who set the foame site up is from Wales!) Another website that I quoted on, and which we did the graphic design for about 6 months ago, has finally been signed off on and should be ready to start on in the next week! And there's yet another website waiting to be done after that too! So I should be very busy in my so-called 'spare time' for the next couple of months!! Lucky I really enjoy this sort of work ... :)

Things are looking up!

I'm definitely feeling better today! Still coughing but apart from that, things are good! Have spent the weekend working on websites (current and upcoming) and watching the cricket. Hoping (fingers crossed!) to get to yoga tomorrow.

And as requested, here are a couple of photos of Jedda, taken today.