Fail Forward

[MissSmilla]

@MissSmilla when I was a kid, I liked making fruit tarts with my father. You know, baking an... ah, words... the dictionary says sponge flan... Obstboden and putting fruits on that one. I don't know, I just liked meticulously arranging strawberries on it. Bit low bar maybe, but I still liked it. Or Russian Zupfkuchen. Which isn't Russian, btw, my father always commented that he had never heard about it

The Obstkuchen memory sounds lovely! Zupfkuchen I honestly mostly know from Dr. Oetker commercials during my long-ago youth. I'm not even sure I ever tried it. But it's funny about the "Russian" and then a Russian person (I assume) hasn't heard about it. On the other hand, it's a big country. I mean, Germany isn't as big by a long shot, but depending on where you visited, "traditional German" potato salad would look very different, as, I hear, lunatics in some outlying areas insist on putting mayonnaise in theirs.

 

[lofivelcro]

@MissSmilla I think we had the recipe from Dr. Oetker, too. Or it was from one of those magazines for older ladies? Or a baking magazine? Idk any more, but my father was crazy for those magazines when we started to learn German
I actually asked my cousin today about the cake. After some describing and showing pictures he said his mother called it "Russkii Zupfkuchen" as well. So basically, they seem to use the same German name in parts of Russia
As for potato salad, I like the one with bacon, oil and onions the most. Swabian, I think. I had the most delicious ones when I lived in Germany.

Today was the start of Week 3 of the fullbody dumbbell routine, so W3D1. I've done this routine a couple of times now, finished once years ago, but today I actually lifted more weights in some lifts than before, which finally gives me the feeling I'm stronger than I was before my big accident. There also was some stretching today.

And I'm finally done with fixing my huge blunder at work, so I can finally rest my poor brain again. I feel a bit tired, actually. I can go full duracell bunny mode when it comes to being physically active, or I can think for hours about the weirdest things, but give me some actual mental exercise, with numbers even, and I'll wave the white flag. I wasn't made for mental work. At least not the numeric kind. But hey, Freedom! hopefully...

 

[MissSmilla]

@MissSmilla I think we had the recipe from Dr. Oetker, too. Or it was from one of those magazines for older ladies? Or a baking magazine? Idk any more, but my father was crazy for those magazines when we started to learn German
I

I think the commercials were for cake mix. A very happy large family eating cake from cake mix in a sunny garden.

actually asked my cousin today about the cake. After some describing and showing pictures he said his mother called it "Russkii Zupfkuchen" as well. So basically, they seem to use the same German name in parts of Russia

Okay, mind officially blown.

As for potato salad, I like the one with bacon, oil and onions the most. Swabian, I think. I had the most delicious ones when I lived in Germany.

Yes! I can take or leave the bacon, there can be pickled cucumbers or no pickled cucumbers, or even fresh ones, or my mom has a good recipe with celery, capers, and yoghurt. But absolutely not drowning the poor potatoes in mayonnaise.

 

[lofivelcro]

Slow day, only did Day 4 of 30 Days of Yoga, and some stretching.

I might be done with my work problem now, but I need to renew my passport and that means a long drive to the embassy and having to deal with bureaucratic people and lingo I don't have much patience for. These are the days when I hate trying to be a responsible adult person and wish I could live like a caveman

 

[lofivelcro]

No dumbbells today, only had time for the WotD (Clean Slate) and some stretching.

Most of the day was spent on the road and trying to make my self understood and understand the people at the embassy. At one point, the lady taking care of my passport asked "Long time being away from home, am I right?". I felt a bit stupid when I nodded. Even more so when she asked "When will you return?" and I only could shrug.

Hope you all had a nice day.

Edit: Also did Day 5 of 30 days of yoga.

 

[lofivelcro]

Back to the classic Fullbody Dumbbell Routine, W3D2, some stretching and a short run.

Haven't been bored or depressed in the slightest over the past weeks. Awesome.

Have a nice weekend, everyone.

 

[lofivelcro]

Ha, after saying last night how I didn't feel bored in the slightest I had a pretty slow and lazy day. Not really boring, but extremely lazy.

Still did the WotD (Fire Punch) and 30 Days of Yoga Day 7.

All that lying around at least gave me some time to finally listen to a bunch of japanese shoegaze/noise rock albums I collected over the past week. That song here by Mass Of The Fermenting Dregs kept sticking in my head for the whole day. Probably my favourite album out of the lot:

 

[lofivelcro]

Another quiet day. Did the Fullbody Dumbbell Routine W3D3, 30 Days of Yoga Day 8 and some stretching. Weather was nice, so a long walk with the dogs as well. The cat joined us for the first ten minutes or so before she wandered off.

I contemplate having another go at Age of Pandora. Bit unsure, though, because me and Darbee programs. Although I enjoy 30 Days of Yoga a lot atm. I'll decide tomorrow, probably.

 

[lofivelcro]

I had a rest day today, aside from some stretching. Not voluntary, but some days are like this.

I've been waking up with an off-feeling hip the last days, and today I not only found the reason for it, but it also took its toll. My right hip hurts, a muscle in my left thigh feels horrible, and my left shoulder and side of the neck feels like it's been pulled the wrong way. Somehow, everything hurts and I feel like I've been beaten up by a an elephant. The cause for everything is a bit hard to eliminate, because it has to do with sleeping positions. Namely, not mine, but I get pushed around because of that and probably don't lie in a good position for most of the night. No idea what to do about it.

 

[Anek]

I hope you find a solution to the sleeping problem!

 

[lofivelcro]

Ah, thank you, @Anek. I think at this point it's a matter of being attentive and probably finding out why after years of sharing a bed and lying in the same position every night things got turned upside down a bit...

Today was much better, though, so I actually started Age of Pandora and did Chapter 1. Yoga Day 10 was done too, and some stretching.

Rained today but was 10°C. The temperatures should drop by the end of the week, hopefully.

 

[OJJJEM]

Ah, thank you, @Anek. I think at this point it's a matter of being attentive and probably finding out why after years of sharing a bed and lying in the same position every night things got turned upside down a bit...

Perhaps, you're at that lovely age where waking up from a good sleep with body aches and pains is your new normal? Congratulations on your age-based lvl^? HAHAHA!

 

[lofivelcro]

@OJJJEM nooooo, that's absolutely not it. It's because since recently, we're lying like this:



I'm a master at paint art, obviously.

 

[BrigidForged]

I hope you figure out soon what is causing your sleeping issue. It is really a pain to not be able to sleep properly. In all senses of the word.

 

[lofivelcro]

@Nanna Io ah, no worries, my sleeping issues mostly stemmed from someone else sleeping in my bed That, at least, is resolved for now. I have other things preoccupying me that technically should keep me from sleeping, but don't. They keep me from posting in my own thread, though. I should change that at one point, thanks for bumping it back up. And thanks for stopping by and your kind words. Hope you'll be doing better, too.

I'm doing Age of Pandora at the moment, by the way. Did Chapter 20 today, so that's the longest I've been sticking with a Darebee program for some time. Go me.

 

[HellYeah]

 

[f1shie]

Hope you're doing alright, Broseph.

 

[TheLibrarian]

 

[BlackButler]

Hey you hope you are ok I'm finally back took me a long while lol!

 

[lofivelcro]

Wow, I had to dig deep for my thread. Has it really been four months already? I'm sorry for not saying 'hi' those past months.

The good news is that nothing bad happened. I'm still in one piece. I haven't accidentally shot myself in the head, chopped of my leg, or got run over by a tractor. That has to count for something. Maybe the opposite was the case. I had so many good things happening to me that I barely found the time to log into the internet for some recreation. That's why Darebee fell a bit off the table, sadly. And that after you guys gave me your support whenever I had a hard time. I'll try to be more active from now on.

If anyone's interested, here's what I did in fitness terms the past months:
-I completed Age of Pandora. Part One I did twice, because my decision at the end led to the story being finished after part one. I didn't want to cheat, so I did it again to get "permission" to do Part Two. I enjoyed the program a lot.
-I completed the 8 Weeks to 5K program. I took Hime with me during the runs. She's a very active husky by now and you can't see that she was fat when I got her.
-I took up boxing and train two times a week. Someone moved into town and opened a small free-time boxing gym. I'll never compete, probably, because of my weight class, but that's okay
-I started lifting with a Barbell because I'm fed up with my legs and arms being sticks. My other half is training me and it's not very pleasant, but we manage.

What else is new? I had a lot to do in my shop. I can't remember when I last had so much to do. It's calming down now, but I loved every day of it.
I built a lot of bows over the past weeks, trying to find out how to build the simplest and most effective bow. There'll be a summer camp around town in July for kids with an Indian theme, and I got asked to do a bow-building workshop. I honestly feel a bit flattered about it. Probably too excited, but that's just me.
I had the best May in a long time this year, because I sent my brother a birthday card. And all birthday cards I've written over the past twenty years. I received a letter from him, asking if we could talk over the phone. I last had contact with him twenty-two years ago. We've been talking on the phone three times already and he might visit in the summer.
There are other things going on, but those are the ones I felt like sharing. I missed you guys, and will catch up with you over the next days.

@HellYeah, @f1shtacular, @TheLibrarian and @BlackButler thanks for checking in, hope you're all doing well, too.

 

[TheLibrarian]

I am so happy to read you again and on the good things that happened to you! Welcome back! Congrats on those fitness-stuff of you as well

 

[f1shie]

BUDDY I LOVE YOU ;A;

 

[Tileenah]

Congrats on age of pandora and 8weeks to 5k and yay for all the good stuff that happened to you !

 

[Fremen]

Welcome back

 

[Mianevem]

Reading about so many good things in one single post certainly lifted my mood!

 

[Gandhalfit]

Congratulations on all your finished programs and welcome back

 

[TopNotch]

Nice to see you again.

 

[GentleOx]

Good to see that life is treating you right

 

[Anek]

Welcome back! Good to read all the good things!

 

[lofivelcro]

@TheLibrarian, @f1shtacular, @Tileenah, @Fremen, @Mianevem, @Gandhalfit, @TopNotch, @GentleOx and @Anek thanks for welcoming me back so warmly. It's great being back.
And thanks for the congratulations, @Tileenah and @TheLibrarian .

Now with July ahead of us, I'll add Unbound to the stuff I'm already doing anyway. Currently I'm doing a fullbody Barbell routine on Mon, Wed and Fri, run and thanks to the hot temperatures we had over the past month swim again. I want to do some more calisthenics, too, but I'm still a bit low on time. But Unbound seems like a good addition. I need some flexibility/stretching. Always neglect that.

That means today was Barbell, running and a short swim.

I need to get used posting again, but I'll get to it.

Have a nice weekend, everyone. We'll have the house to ourselves this weekend for the first time in two months. I'm pretty excited about this. You just can't enjoy the weekends when you have a young man around who refuses to speak anything else but French and your own spoken French is serviceable at best.

 

[Mamatigerj]

 

[lofivelcro]

@Mamatigerj I'm very happy to have you back with us

Lazy Saturday, sleeping in, not speaking French, going for a long walk with my other half and the dogs, having a beer at the lake, fishing, swimming, doing nothing in particular that didn't need to be done.

As for working out, it was working on pull-ups and on squats. Or more like, working on my squat mobility. I'm getting to a full slav-squat, it just takes time. Running and swimming, Unbound day 1 and archery. I'm practising more with the bow these days.

 

[Gandhalfit]

Archery, really? That's so awesome
Way to go

 

[lofivelcro]

@Gandhalfit it sounds more interesting than it really is, tbh. You spend a lot of time drawing the string and holding it, releasing the arrow only now and then. I'll move to moving targets soon enough, though.
But thank you kindly

 

[Gandhalfit]

I am a Sagittarius and the only thing I cared about when I learned about it is the bow and arrow. So, when I was 4yo we were on a holiday and there was an Archery range. They let me have a go and I remember distinctly pulling the arrow, aiming and hitting the center of the center... then the arrow fell off because I had the muscles of a 4yo... still
Trust me, you are awesome

 

[lofivelcro]

@Gandhalfit hitting the centre as a 4 year old still sounds pretty awesome, even if the arrow fell off.

I didn't do anything today, except for Unbound day 2.

I had a long call with my brother again yesterday, and it looks like he and his girlfriend will visit us by the end of July. I'm excited, but also nervous. I haven't seen anyone from my family in a long time.

 

[lofivelcro]

Today was Barbell day. It went okay, but I stalled on the squats. It's always those damn legs. There also was a run to the lake, followed by a swim, and later that day Unbound 3.

I experimented with making arrow tips for the summer camp. I've never worked with metal before in that way, so that was an interesting day. I'll probably make arrows beforehand and just focus on building the bows themselves with the kids.

I had a female customer today who wore a very tight-fitting short black dress and neon green thigh-high boots with high heels. I was very impressed and had to look at the camera footage afterwards to check if I hadn't dreamt that encounter. I wonder if she goes hunting with those boots...

 

[TopNotch]

I wonder if she goes hunting with those boots...

Probably. But maybe not the prey you're thinking!

 

[BlackButler]

@Gandhalfit it sounds more interesting than it really is, tbh. You spend a lot of time drawing the string and holding it, releasing the arrow only now and then. I'll move to moving targets soon enough, though.
But thank you kindly

Recurve, Compound or Longbow? x

 

[TopNotch]

I've always considered compound bows a bit of a cheat...

 

[lofivelcro]

Probably. But maybe not the prey you're thinking!

Ohoo!

@BlackButler Recurve for hunting. Although I experiment with self-made bows a lot, which are everything between short and long bow. I don't consider compound bows as real bows, tbh. Are you a fellow bow hunter, per chance?

Today was Unbound 4 and swimming. It's hot here. Swimming is nice when it's hot. The dogs agree. The cat joined us, too. That happens sometimes when it's really hot.

I spent some time practising the violin again. We have this little idea of making music together, my other half on the guitar, me on the violin, kind of like what they do on the British Isles. So far, we don't harmonise well, but we'll get there.

 

[BlackButler]

Very nice was Recurve then moved to Longbow, then now no longer shoot hehe. Got some really great hobbies going nice!

 

[lofivelcro]

@BlackButler the Longbow is great! But it takes so much strength to draw the string, especially if the bow's longer than you are tall. The trajectory of the Recurve is much better, imo, so I stick with that. Thanks, btw

I skipped the Barbell today in favour for boxing. Drills and light sparring. And Unbound 5.

I am once again considering buying a pony. I've started drawing a blueprint for a small stable today during some quiet minutes at work. I still miss my work pony from two years ago. Those were the days.

 

[Mamatigerj]

I am once again considering buying a pony. . .

DO IT! (so i can live vicariously, please.)

 

[lofivelcro]

@Mamatigerj the plans are getting concreter, maybe, just maybe, I'll do it. We're going to discuss it

Today was the Barbell, finally, a run, a swim, and Unbound 6.

I haven't read for some time now, maybe I should get into it again. I think it did me good. I only need to find something that sounds interesting.

At least there was some bunny watching today. Yes, the bunnies are still getting along with each other. The dogs, too. Well, Aki mostly sleeps in the house with us, while Hime and Elvis stay outside. Elvis is just too big for the house. But they get along. Finally. I wouldn't say they're all the best of friends, but they accept each other. That's enough for me.

 

[NancyTree]

Belated welcome back! Congrats on your accomplishments!

 

[lofivelcro]

@NancyTree thank you

I ignored the Barbell for the past days and focused on Unbound and swimming. Unbound 7, 8 and 9 is done.

It's hot here. I wonder why people buy dogs that belong to Siberia, or other colder parts of the world. Hime spent the weekend in the basement whenever she was home, and probably somewhere in the forest or at the lake when she was out. Same with Elvis. Those dogs seriously don't belong here. But I can't just sell them and ship them off to Russia now, can I?

Speaking of shipping off, I consider giving up the passport of my motherland to become a naturalised citizen of my chosen home country. I'll probably die here, I don't know if I'll ever return home, and it probably would make a lot of things easier. Buying land, for example.

I have to think about this. I'm strangely patriotic, even though I haven't been home for the past twenty years.

 

[NancyTree]

The country we're born in, is part of our identity. It's normal to want to hold on to it.
My aunt moved abroad in her early twenties, but kept her Dutch nationality until she died 50 years later.

 

[Fremen]

I think about bureaucratic things in a practical way, if it's easier to do it and I'm fine with it, I choose it without problems.
I was born in one place and now I live in a completely different place, always within the same country, but the principle doesn't change, it's normal to gradually feel more and more part of the place where you live, this doesn't change where we came from and what remains within us from that experience.

 

[Anek]

Or sometimes decisions like that are done for the most trivial reasons... I decided to get the German nationality as soon as I could because the people working at the Italian consulate here are the worst example of incompetent and rude bureaucracy ever, so I decided I wanted to never have anything to do with them anymore.