walk (clean) knit

i am not one for delaying gratification. i have a long and messy history of giving in to what i want when i want it. i dont really have a problem with that way of thinking, but sometimes the consequences dont make me feel good. which then defies the purpose. so, in my attempt to restore some balance to my psyche, i’ve been trying to do things i DONT want to do before i do the things i do. if you know what i mean.

so ive been walking. im aiming for 4-5 times a week, for at least 40 minutes a time, plus incidental walking around campus during the day etc. and i dont mean strolling. i can do that any old day. both me and possum need to get moving a bit more (a quick aside on the unfairness of life: the three other male creatures in this house eat more than the two female, walk less than us, and all lose weight quicker than us. proof that god, if real, is a male).

to try and help us keep on track ive been using runkeeper. not because im in training for anything, or because i need to prove anything, but  because somehow, the tracking thing works. it keeps me accountable i think. also, the two legged male creature in the house thinks he can walk more kms than me. we’ll see about that.

yesterday we went walking through the bush up on the escarpment.

it started out really warm, and possum had to take a little dip

the dogs love it up here, so much to explore

and i love seeing the traces of history on this path,

once used by cedar cutters and now a waterpipe/firetrail. i love the way the dogs run on ahead and get lost for a while, and you can hear ricco barking as he chases something, and then you whistle and they come running.

if i get too slow, jem comes back and touches my hand with his nose and trots along beside me for a while. sometimes i get nervous up there on my own, what if i tripped, what if someone was up to no good up there, but nothing ever happens, and the car is always just were i left it.

and i always feel good when we’re done. i smelt smoke up there yesterday, and this morning i can see why:

summer is definitely on its way. its another lovely day today and ive done the grocery shopping, some housekeeping, hung sheets on the line and cut back some of the wisteria. now i can sit down and knit

the dilemma is what to work on? atelier, which trent has dubbed the silver bowl project’, is looking good:

i am alternating three balls now and have figured out the pattern construction, and i want to keep going on it while its still cool enough. but there is my sisters frame to finish before november, and i have a sudden urge to cast on something large and seriously lacy in the wonderful glenora weaving alpaca silk 2 ply. im thinking a rectangle this time. all the ones in VLT seem a bit ho hum. suggestions?

i wont do it today though. there are three football games in a row on tv, including the wallabies at the international tournament of the odd shaped ball, so i think it will be back to some mindless socks.

thats kind of sounding like a pretty well balanced day isnt it? hope yours is as well.

k xx

one perfect day

i have been really putting in some hard yards at work lately. the main project im working on has passed the data collection phase and now i have the hard work of trying to sift through what i found and rephrase it so it makes sense to other people. this is harder than it sounds, because my target audience this time is the uni executive, and im asking them to think very differently about something. so im doing a lot of thinking, and my head hurts. im lucky to be able to work from  home when i need to, and i really need it at the moment, lots of reading, lots of drawing mind maps.

but all work and no play makes kylie a very unhealthy girl. its one of the constant struggles in my life, balancing my mental and physical needs with work and the needs of others. to be quite honest, my mental and physical health are really the most important, and i copped a hiding from a bad virus earlier this year, and i need to get myself strong before summer kicks in. so ive started taking my walking gear to work and doing a circuit of the campus during my lunch hour, rather than sitting and knitting. i dont like it, but it has to be done. today, the sun is shining, its a balmy 17 degrees, and i made arrangements to meet knitabulous down at north kiosk for lunch.

to get there, possum and i drove down to the beach (about 3 minutes from here), and set off through puckys nature reserve

and down fairy meadow beach towards north gong.

possum loves the ocean, she is crazy for all things water, so she had a great time running, swimming and barking at surfers:

when we were done with all that, we sat in the shade and waited for knitabulous to finish her run

before we ordered lunch,

ate, gossiped, coffeed, then headed back up the coast.

there is no perfect place in the world to live, im sure, but whenever i think i want to be somewhere else, i look at this view and cant remember why. to have so much gorgeous coastline, right on  my doorstep, where my dogs can run free and people are happy to say hi as you pass them on the beach, and the food is fresh and the water clean, well, it doesnt get much better really. with everything bad thats going on in the world, it helps to get out of my head and into the fresh air and remind myselfow lucky we are down here in the antipodes.

of course, i am back among the papers now, and STILL not knitting (im actually quite disciplined when i have a deadline), but i will be working on either of these things later – unst socks, on which ive turned the first heel finally

or adrift, which is about ready to divide for the arms.

and then i will cook dinner, watch the latest episode of true blood (i think its time eric got his gear off) and maybe some football, and i will have had a perfect day.

lucky me.

k xx