Tired

So, so tired. Very tired. Need to sleep. Early start tomorrow ...

Sleep. Please??

A Different Sort Of Day

I woke up this morning at my usual time of 04:45. I looked out the window and was satisified the cars were still there and also noted a pretty thick mist. No matter, I've run in worse. I got myself dressed in my running gear and was very shortly out the door.

The first thing that struck me as strange was the mist - it was very dry and not cold at all. In fact the weather was still somewhat balmy. I'd worn a long sleeve shirt and realised very quickly I would get quite warm.

Within a minute or two I also noticed by throat was very dry and my eyes were itchy. My hands felt a bit dirty. Bugger me!!! It's not mist - but some sort of sand/dirt thing in the air.

Suffice to say I kept moving and ended up staying outside for about an hour. By the time I got back home my clothes had changed colour to brown and I had little rivulets of mud running down my legs from the sweat and dirt combining. I smelt like dirt!!!

I spend the next 3-4 hours coughing. As I type I am still occasionally coughing but will probably clear out all the dirt in my lungs just in time to go outside again :-)

There was some interesting commentary about all this on the radio. A young girl (about 8 years old) suggested the colourings made Sydney look like an old fashioned photo - everything becoming sepia toned. A cheeky lad suggested today was National Ranga Day.

My favourite was a bloke who called in claiming to be God. Apparently the folks in heaven had decided to test if they could make the sky run red with the blood of sinners and they were quite impressed with the results :-)

Misty Morning

I took this picture while spending some time up in the mountains in early July. We woke up one morning and the scene was 'just there'. All I've done to the picture is added a sepia effect.

Summer is coming ...

I know it's really an Aussie thing to say but I don't like summer very much.

There are certainly plenty of good things about it - watermelon and rockmelon, ice-creams and gelato, swimming, cricket and lovely young ladies in mini-skirts, opening a very cold beer and hearing the fizz of the carbon, BBQ's (these can be had at any time really) and being able to drive to and from work in the sun.

But there's so much about it that isn't good. The heat for a start. I start to feel some distress at about 25 degrees. Which means I'll more or less spend the next 6-8 months feeling vaguely uncomfortable just because of the temperature.

Now that I think about it that's the only issue I have. The heat - and the fact that I never seem to cool down. Any maybe that I have to get up very, very early to see the sun come up.

Which brings back a memory for me.

I went out at 04:45 yesterday for a bike ride - which carried me nicely through sunrise. There was a point where I looked to my right and in the foreground was a field sparsely populated with trees and a slowly rising mist. In the midground was a pond and in the background the sun was just starting to peek through the mountains.

It was one of those moments where I felt lucky to be alive and in that moment. I'm going out again tomorrow morning (I ran today, and in a different suburb. Same time but the sunrise wasn't nearly so good) and maybe I'll be lucky and see something similar.

Intermission

It's been a funny old day for me - at points I have been very sad remembering those who have gone before me, and at others I have been delighted by the antics of those whom I have helped to produce.

Today was, essentially, a day of chores. We woke up and we were straight into it. It would be fair to say I did 'man jobs' and Mrs G did 'womans jobs' for the most part - but it wouldn't be entirely true.

I did have the pleasure of destroying a matic while trying to remove the stump of a long dead tree. And I got a hayfever type response from mowing the lawn/weeds/clover/green stuff in our backyard.

Somewhere in the midst of all of this I got several minutes of video of the kids performing magic tricks, and playing and being generally friendly towards each other. Hugs between them are not uncommon and on the whole they get along quite well.

I feel as though there should be more to say but in all honesty this entry sums up my day quite nicely - a bit of this and a bit of that with some extra thrown in.

Athletics

The kids started back at athletics last night. LGR is an U/7 and Hayz is still in the Tiny Tots (aka U/5) age group.

They love. All winter they've spoken about going back to athletics and, sure enough, when the time came they were keen as mustard.

We didn't take any pictures last night but it looks as though LGR is turning into a handy long jumper. I acted as the age manager for his group last night so didn't get to see Hayz (big sob!!) but by all accounts she had a great time.

Cuddles

Is This the New Normal?

I feel like my life is starting to become 'normal' again. Days are starting to slide by and the events of the day are, largely, fairly predictable. This is a good thing.

What's been going on my life?

The kids are growing up faster than they should. LGR had a rought trot over the past 6-8 weeks but seems to be coming out of it with added maturity and patience. He has regained his sense of empathy and compassion - but can be a fiery little chap. Hayz is ready for school. Very, very ready. Love is her big thing right now - she loves everyone :-)

The social life has picked up a little. There is something on each weekend - but we seem to be able to make plenty of 'family time' also.

My footy team can't play as well as they could last year. Still better than Mrs G's team though.

Work is more interesting than it used to be. I seem to be getting out of bed at 03:00 more and more often. This is good and bad. Good because I get a very nice trip into work (peak hour doesn't begin until 05:00) and I get to come home early. Bad because I end up working 12-14 hour days (I work from home in the afternoons) and sometimes I get a bit tired.

I still have dodgy knees; but ride my bike more often (esp since getting riding tights). It reminds of being 12 years old and riding everywhere because it hurt too much to walk.

I still love loud music. I am mostly listening to a fantastic Danish band called Volbeat. The singer sounds like Elvis. The music sounds like the devil is playing it!!!

The tomatoes are going beautifully in the backyard, as are all my herbs. The poor old Aloe Vera is a bit sunburnt and will need to be relocated.

My grass is 18 inches tall in some places. I should mow it, and probably will one day. Maybe.

My car, after complaining to the warranty holder for over 15 months, is suddenly driving nicely. Why? I replaced the tires. Makes me wonder how hard they actually looked for the problem I complained about. Also makes me wonder how they have been inspecting my brakes during servicing ....

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All in all I feel like my life is in a good place right now.