Goal + Action = Reality

[TopNotch]

I'm glad you're enjoying the photos. I love taking them, and thinking especially about the sort of things that non-Australians might be interested in seeing. Mind you, I think flame trees are pretty funky too.

Mum's friend really loves company, living as she does on her own, and when the second morning in a row I'm offered bacon and eggs for breakfast, I'm tempted to move in! But it was time to move on. After breakfast, of course.

Before we left the city, we had to stop in at the cemetary. I'd never actually seen my dad's memorial stone. I'd been there for the funeral, but not the interment. Mum had planted the ashes under a red rose bush. And then we were off. Just as we reached the outskirts, I had to stop for another quick photo. In my mind, so characteristic of the place, though over the years since I left (aka, escaped) the place seems to have been spruced up a bit. Even has traffic lights now! But still... this...

So very much not a place for this little black duck.

Before long, we reached the part where we'd turned off to Wudinna and then the road was the same one we'd taken from Adelaide. Today we just drove straight through. Must confess (though in a very quiet voice, so pretend I'm whispering) there's only so long I can take being with my mum 24/7. At least now that we're back in Adelaide, we've got separate rooms to sleep in, and I can go for a trot down to the beach should I like. I know it's just me - I find too much time being with people very abrasive.

I'll be here at least until Monday. Not sure if longer, but it's another 20 days before my little house will be vacant again, and probably at least three days on the road getting back. Actually, though, that's really not so long. In another three weeks, I should be in my own house. Okay, lacking a lot of furniture and stuff, but still.

Yesterday, I bought a new down-filled sleeping bag. Getting half-frozen at Piangle taught me my lesson! I haven't worked out my route back east yet but the weather won't have suddenly got a lot warmer. When I got back here this afternoon, I packed up my tent which I had left to dry out in our absence because it had still been quite wet. With a dry tent and a warmer sleeping bag, all should be good.

Didn't even go for a brief trot today, so the most exercise I got was lugging stuff to and from the car.

And, of course, day 7 of Stomach vacuum challenge.

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

Glad that you could find a place where you feel better fitting in, without losing contact with your mom. Not always easy to find your place in this world! Living in Paris wouldn't be my dream place either (even though it may surprise some, LOL), and as now there's this telecommute I considered moving away (back to Bretagne), but overall, there are several serious advantages to paris (including but not limited to seeing my best friends easily, easy access to top-notch cardiac care even in an emergency, possibility to live car-free, and - for the moment - easy access to my parents if they need me) so that will be it.
And whispering back - I also find being with people 24/7 grating after a not-long while. We had lots of guests, and are still gonna have some more, and I can say I am kind of looking forward to empty house / back in my appartment!

 

[TopNotch]

Quiet day today. A recovery day, I guess. We did some shopping and retrieved mum's cat from the sitter and then just read. It rained so my idea of going for a beach walk was scuppered. Still, it was good just to relax. The week-long trip we've just done was about 2,875km, and I'd already done well over 1,000km prior to that, so a day (mostly) relaxing and reading and listening to the rain was rather pleasant.

Day 8 of Stomach vacuum challenge.

 

[graoumia]

The week-long trip we've just done was about 2,875km, and I'd already done well over 1,000km prior to that

Wow i can imagine how much a break is welcome

 

[TopNotch]

It started off a bit grey this morning, then it became sunny. As mum had an appointment to attend, I took the opportunity to go for a walk. But then, a heavy fog descended. I had just started going down the street when a bloke going the other way stopped and wondered at me where the fog had come from. Marine layer? I suggested. My plan had been to walk along the beach but it was hardly worth it today, so just a trot out to the end of the jetty and back - about 2km.




Been doing a lot of reading. Read a book today by a new-to-me author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Glad there are 20 more books in the series.

Day 9 of Stomach vacuum challenge. Been trying these in different positions - kneeling, lying down, standing, sitting. All challenging. Phew!

 

[TopNotch]

Slipped away for a bit again. When walking with mum, it's necessarily slow so I didn't do much. Did get her to go down to the end of the jetty and back, one day. It's only a shade under 2km round trip, and I bribed her with the promise to buy her some crystallised ginger at the shops. For some strange reason, she likes crystallised ginger... On her birthday, we went out to lunch with my aunt and brother. Lunch was so big we didn't bother with dinner! My brother came over the next day for dinner and handed me a pile of CDs, so some new-to-me Creed was playing in the car yesterday.
Anyway, yesterday I headed out again. I had intended to have just two stops before returning to Canberra but the weather is looking at being a bit rainy all the way eastward and it's no fun to put up a dry tent in the rain, sleep in it and then take down a wet tent in the rain, so I might just push all the way through tomorrow. It'll be just over 9 hours driving and won't be a lot of fun either, but, ah, well, today will have to make up for it!
I was so thoroughly spoilt by sleeping in motels with my mum that I decided to spend two nights in a motel here in Halls Gap in the Grampians. It's great here and as it's not the weekend, the price was wonderfully reasonable. And when I woke this morning to the sound of rain, I was glad I was comfy and dry. The rain let up but it was cloudy. I headed off in the car to the Wonderland carpark from where I set out to the Pinnacle lookout. But just ahead of me were a few adults and two children, all talking loudly, so when they went ahead, I took a left turn and found myself... well, not exactly where I expected. Still it was path I have never trodden, so I followed it. All the way to Splinter Falls.

Well, I did the bigger and more impressive MacKenzie Falls last year. These ones are seasonal falls It was a lovely little hike to them. The stone was a little slippy at some places because it had just rained but overall, it was pretty good. Some wonderful rock formations, and this picture even shows some elusive blue sky!


Once I got there, I had to turn around and go back the way I had come, only not quite all the way back because I took another left-leaning path and walked through our very own Grand Canyon:

It was magnificent!
And now I was back on the path to the Pinnacle lookout.

These also came in white.


Here is the Lady's Hat. Rather easy to choose a name for this particular formation, I think!

But by the time I had finally laboured my way (and it was laborious!) to the lookout, this is what greeted me:

Yep, those clouds had closed in again. They might look soft and fluffy when they're in the sky, but when they're around you, they're just wet. And obscuring. But I hadn't gone through all that just to see nothing! So I waited. For quite some time. It rained a bit. The wind made my sweat chill. But finally I was rewarded with a decent view.

Some of the passes through rocks were so narrow that only one person could go through at a time, and when I'd gone through one, the bloke at the other end looked at my shoes (as one does, I suppose...) and remarked, "Man, you're doing it in Vivos? I love my Vivos but I wouldn't do this in Vivos." I guess he had more intel than I did and so I did the hike in my Vivos. I'm sure my legs will let me know soon enough whether that was a good thing or not.

This was one of the easier narrow passes. Others just had slabs of diagonal rock which made it challenging! This one was named Silent Street, and it was pretty silent. Amazingly, on the way back, I passed a bloke who was playing music. Now, don't get me wrong - I oftentimes love listening to music when I'm out hiking - but never without earbuds! He was polluting everyone's ears. And the music was rubbish too. There was another couple who talked constantly and I could not wait to get out of earshot of them. Even though this was a Thursday in August, there were lots of people out.
Overall, it took me 3 1/4 hours to hike little more than 6km. Definitely a grade 3 hike, that one. But well worth it. The rain returned shortly after I was back in my rooms, with the kettle on for some tea. So probably tomorrow back in Canberra.

Day 15 of Stomach vacuum challenge.

 

[Julian4077]

Spectacular photos. Very beautiful countryside.

 

[aku-chan]

Great pictures once again!

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

great pics!
Vivos seems like one of the rare barefoot marks that have size 35... I guess you like yours ? (still pondering if using some barefoot shoes could be beneficial for my balance and knee)

 

[NancyTree]

I love your pictures!

 

[Anek]

Wow!

 

[Lallafa]

What a lovely hike!

 

[Lady Celerity]

What a fun trip! Thanks for sharing your photos.

 

[TopNotch]

My tenants moved out last Sunday and I signed off on the condition report and bond return on Tuesday when I began to move in. And that's pretty much what I've been doing all week. Consequently, I have been recording well over 10,000 steps daily - from my room to my car and back was about 150 steps, including a flight of stairs. Fortunately, from my car into my little house is only about 20 steps, and only three stairs. Tell you, though, a treadle sewing machine cabinet, even without the head in it, is a darned heavy thing! Especially as it can only really be carried by hooking the finger-tips under the top lip. At least once it was in, I could use its little rusty wheels on my worn and ultimately-to-be-removed carpet. Still need to replace the head, but there are so many things that need to be put away that it's bewildering to know exactly where to start. Tonight is the first night I sleep here, and the cat is with me, a little discombobulated and on my lap because there's only one place to sit as I really have no furniture (except for a treadle sewing machine cabinet) and that's my daughter's no-longer-wanted Kloudsac. These things are so comfy!
My little pull-up bar has been hooked into the doorway of the Pink Room, and I've been doing 10-20 second hangs throughout the afternoon/evening.
This whole house needs painting (see above - the Pink Room!) so I first need to wash every ceiling and wall before I can get started on that. This house isn't very big - only about 83 square metres, so it shouldn't be too horrendous a job. I've moved from an 18-room house into a 7-room house. A lot of work needs to be done on it, though, including a renovation of the shed out back, but I'll have to get someone in for that.
Down here, I am within easy reach of some lovely big hills and ranges, so I'm looking forward to heading out there once my painting is done and such furniture as I have (bed, bookshelves, sideboard) is brought back from down the coast and I'm properly moved in.
And because it's the first of the month:
30 Days of Cardio Day 1

 

[Damer]

@TopNotch great to see you getting under a roof and in one place again. Life has a fluidity that becomes apparent only after we break out of our routine and have to start from scratch. Despite the trouble it is, this is not a bad thing. Fresh starts change perspective and perspective offers fresh insights to our particular reality. And great start to the month, BTW.

 

[NancyTree]

Good luck with everything hopefully your house will be up to date soon and become a nice place to live for you

 

[Anek]

Good luck!

 

[TopNotch]

More unpacking. Or rather, trying to work out where to put my stuff when I don't yet have places to put it. A challenge, indeed. And the whole day disappeared.
On an up-side, my seed order arrived and I'm looking forward to getting some things growing soon.
Later this afternoon, I went out for a bit of a trot. It has been so windy recently (that's what happens when winter starts moving into spring) but the wind was also rather chilly. I walked out to the nearest oval and it's really not very far away at all. This is a south-west view to the other suburb across the road. I'll do that hill someday.

(That's not pieces of white paper lying on the grass, but corellas.)
Turned around and came back but walked along the outside of the suburb (easy to do as it's the southern-most suburb in Canberra), just about one street out from mine. There is a dirt track that apparently skirts the suburb. I'll walk the length one day soon. But today, I just made it to 3km before I was back at my little house. A pleasant walk.
This is the view east from just behind my street:


Did a set of scapular pull-ups today, not so many hangs.
30 Days of Cardio Day 2

Some songs just really seem to resonate with me at the moment. Here's one:

 

[Fremen]

Good luck

 

[TopNotch]

Brr. Forgot what it's like to sleep in an unheated house. Woke at zero dark and had to pull out a blanket to supplement my bedding because I was chilly. Turns out we went to zero degrees again, after an unseasonably warm August. Tonight is supposed to be the same so that blanket'll stay for a bit.
All set to pop out and get some painting supplies when the phone rang. Normally I don't answer unless it's someone on my list but for some reason today, I did. Was the psychologist from the second-born's school. We had a long chat about many things and I'm certainly going to urge my child to see this woman. Anyway, I finally got out more than an hour later. But got supplies (not the paint yet because I haven't calculated how much I'll need) and then actually bought food! Wow. Exciting.
Once home (how did it suddenly get to 2:30?!) started washing down the ceiling and walls with my telescopic washing thing. With the walls, drew downward to about halfway and then pulled up from the floor - so an excellent arm workout! But after only one room and the hall, I was bored - I mean, I sat down and the cat jumped on my lap and there was nowhere else for her to sit so how could I push her off? So that was pretty much it for the day. I don't need to go out tomorrow so I expect I'll get the other rooms done and maybe even fill in some holes.
Went for another walk - only 2.9km today. Getting to know routes. Going up toward the hill was - gosh, quelle surprise! - a bit uphill, but the late afternoon sun shining from behind the mountains gave me an excellent excuse reason to pause and admire the view. My right hip is impinging again which is an irritant and slows my pace a little.


30 Days of Cardio Day 3. Arms well exercised today!

 

[TopNotch]

Determined to get the rest of the house washed today. I started in my bedroom. Obviously, he was a smoker (which would explain his emphysema) and the walls were quite brown. It took a lot of work to get even half the brown from the walls. Real engagement of abdominals as I was pushing that sponge along the walls! Took me 45 minutes to wash a 3x3m room! By contrast, the next room, only slightly smaller, took 10 minutes. But finally all walls and ceilings are washed. I won't say 'clean' but 'washed'. The paint will have to do a bit of work. The funnest part - and this was so much fun it should be illegal - was using the filler in all the holes. Oh, I loved doing that! The wall at the end of the hall had a couple of large holes where something had been hung, and after a space, there were lots of little holes dotted irregularly around. I conclude - dart board. Tomorrow the filler should be nicely set so I'll sand the walls and buy paint.
No walk today because I was doing walls. My arms are tired.
I did spend some time, while on the phone to my mum when she called, looking out the sliding door to the back yard. And there was a couple of crimson rosellas, then about five galahs landed. A couple of wood pigeons came along. That was actually quite funny because one started chasing the other and they ran around and around in circles for a few rotations before flying off. There is also a small flock of double-barred finches that fall like heavy dropping leaves onto the grass but they are so small that I can't get a good picture of them so to show what they look like, I took one off the 'net:

Totally cute, right? And only about 10cm long. The rosellas let me photograph them, though:


30 Days of Cardio Day 4.
Another busy day expected tomorrow.

 

[MadamMeow]

Such pretty birds!

 

[TopNotch]

Well, today was busy but not quite in the manner I had thought yesterday!
While smearing on hole-filler was terrific fun, not so much fun was the sanding. Especially as I had only an extra-fine grit. After an awful lot of arm exercising, rubbing the block back and forth, I finally gave up and decided to buy some coarsr grit paper. But first I had to go out somewhere else... [suspenseful music]
So I did that mysterious trip and then went to the hardware shop and bought some paint and more sandpaper. Came home and unpacked the car and ate a banana, then I was off again to pick up that mysterious something that I had obtained earlier. And here he is:




This is Creed. He is a 1 1/2 (approx) year old Ridgeback cross (with what, nobody knows...) who was abandoned out bush with his brother some months ago, and picked up by Animal Services. So he is pretty much completely untrained, and being a big heavy boy, he's a handful. Still, it's nice to have a dog you don't have to lean down to pat! He's a friendly fellow but has a bad habit of jumping on people. And at his size, when he jumps at me, his head hits mine. He's got a lot to learn! Footsy isn't happy right now but she'll soon put him in his place.

30 Days of Cardio Day 5.

And perhaps I'll get around to doing some painting tomorrow. After I've taken Creed for a walk. Or he's taken me...

 

[Fremen]

Hello Creed

 

[graoumia]

Welcome to the hive Creed

 

[Anek]

Welcome Creed!

 

[MadamMeow]

So happy you got to add Creed to your new home crew! He looks so happy!

 

[NancyTree]

Hi Creed!

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

Hello Creed, welcome to your new home! And wishing you luck and patience for training, @TopNotch .

 

[TopNotch]

Tired today. Creed started barking at about 2 this morning. Turns out he was lonely, not liking being shut in the laundry, although at the pound he would have been in his own cage. At 3, I finally let him out, whereupon he decided to lie half on my camping mattress, pressing up against and on me, and half on the floor. Will be interesting when I have an actual bed again. Managed to get another three or so hours until he brought in Footsy's dinner bowl from the dining room and proceeded to give it a thorough cleaning right by my head.
A walk this morning, the first with Creed. He pulls! And given he weighs about 40kg, that's enough to pull me around. But I can hold that leash firmer than he can pull, and we didn't do too badly, getting him to walk with me. Just a short walk of 1.5km but it took over half an hour.

Back home he was exhausted - at least, that's what he was portraying but I think he really just wanted his belly rubbed.


Spent a bit of time working on his Sit command (he's not bad unless he's completely ignoring me...) and then a brief 10-minute trot before dinner - brief because he started barking at the cows and pulling. After dinner, I did what might be considered resistance training - trying to stop Creed endeavouring to be a lap dog. Again and again and again... I didn't mind when he just lay his head on my lap and kept the rest of him on the ground:

but once he was there for a bit, he became emboldened and would climb up - to have me heave him off. So that was about 30kg lifted multiple times. He's very jealous of poor Footsy, who spends much of her time growling at him and sleepingin a corner. Poor thing.
That'll be it for the dog pictures for a while. Now my phone is full not only of cat pictures but also of dog!

Was slack with the painting today - did absolutely nothing about it! Well, not quite true - I thought about it quite a lot.

30 Days of Cardio Day 6.

 

[TopNotch]

Isn't it annoying when you're thinking it's probably about time to head back when you're on a walk and then you realise that you forgot to start the Garmin and you've no idea how far or for how long you've walked? Yep, I agree. This morning's walk wasn't long, perhaps 1km, but Creed pulled and that makes my arm very tired. This is because the leash is attached to his neck collar.
Later in the afternoon, another walk with Creed but now it was with the head harness. I'd bought one but it was too small for his great big head so I exchanged it this morning and the walk was 100% better. Control the head and you control the body. And that's true of everything. He's not quite comfortable with this harness yet so I didn't go for long - only 1.46km - but he walked well with me and I think soon we can be going on longer walks.
Finished sanding the walls and I'm glad that arm workout is over! I'm sure an electric sander would have been quicker and easier but I've not got one so manual was the way to go. After that, I slapped on undercoat over the patches, trying not to miss any. Tomorrow the painting begins.
30 Days of Cardio Day 7

 

[aku-chan]

Hello Creed!

 

[TopNotch]

With the new head harness, Creed and I managed a 2km walk (30 mins) this morning. My aim was to tire him a bit because my daughter was coming over to begin the painting. Creed was very well behaved with her, only jumped a little to begin with, and then he was a total sook. She laughed when he followed me every time I moved to another room. Ceilings to begin with. We cut in the first room together then I left her with the roller while I cut in the next room. All up, we painted the ceilings of 5 rooms (I'm considering the hall a 'room') and I had enough paint left in my tray to do more than half of the lounge. Not sure when she can come over to continue.
Before I took her home (I was under strict instruction to have her back by 5:30, but neither of us knew exactly why) we took Creed for another walk. I think he was tired, not having been able to nap during the day, and he met a couple of dogs which sends him into a frenzy and I have a hard time holding him back. But once they were gone, it should have been relatively smooth sailing but other dogs behind fences barked and instead of ignoring them as he had this morning, he again barked and carried on, so I decided to cut the walk short so it was only about 800m!
Took daughter back home and I pulled up at 5:29. The Lad was excitedly showing me this and that and everything else, as though I'd been gone for ages. It was sweet.
Glad the programme wasn't arm-y today after that painting!
30 Days of Cardio Day 8

 

[TopNotch]

Still working out distances here and now also trying to work out routes that don't go past houses. Lots of dogs around here. So a walk along the main road to the nearest oval, around the oval and back is 2km, and that's what we did this morning.
Back to painting. Repainted the three bedrooms - cut it and rolled by myself today. Cut in the hall again but ran out of paint in the tray, strength in my arms, and motivation in my mind, so stopped there for the day. A little later, I wiped down the skirting boards of the bedrooms and masked around power points and light switches, ready for wall-painting tomorrow. Daughter is coming back for that, so long as I drop her off at her piano lesson later. Deal! I'll find out tomorrow if rolling walls is any easier/harder than rolling ceilings. When I was a teenager, my dad just handed me a tin of paint and a brush and told me to paint my room, so I'd never used a roller. When I got older and the folks had moved into their own house and I visited on semester break, dad just handed me a pry bar and told me to take up the (wooden) kitchen floor - I didn't have to do painting. This is a new skill for me. I am very much looking forward to having the painting done and my furniture (such as I have) returned and positioned. Then I can start getting things organised. And buy a washing machine before I run out of ...
30 Days of Cardio Day 9

 

[GentleOx]

Lookit the cuddly doggy...

 

[TopNotch]

Walked a different direction this morning. Instead of turning as I did yesterday northward, I went south, and essentially walked out of Canberra. Moving away from houses and where people might be meant there would be fewer, if any, things for Creed to react to, and we could just focus on walking on the leash. And here is a special picture just for @AnnieW because she likes cows.


On the left, you can make out houses and this is the southernmost edge of Canberra. Creed was all right with the cows today. Probably found himself outnumbered and thought discretion was the better part of valour. We walked out to a large tree which was almost exactly 1km away, so that puts a nice marker for a 2km walk or run.

Daughter came over again for more painting. We did the walls of the small room and my bedroom (Creed did get a painty ear when he rolled into a wall, and Footsy got paint of her side because she was loving me, but it was water soluble and I think they liked the rubbing to get it off), and I cut in the pink room but daughter ran out of paint after doing only a bit there and as she had a piano lesson later, I suggested we stopped so her hands had a chance to recover. Daughter helped me weigh Creed. I had to hold him up and step on the scales and she read the numbers and I gratefully released Creed. I'd overestimated - he's only 35kg. Apparently, though, from what I've read, he has about 6 months left to bulk up, but as he's a cross, he might not get as big or heavy as a full-blood Ridgy - though that also depends on what he's crossed with. Daughter wanted to return tomorrow but I thought best not to irritate too much by coming over two days in a row. She said her request to be brought here today was not met with great enthusiasm. Oh well.

30 Days of Cardio Day 10

 

[Damer]

@TopNotch Creed is awesome and he's already bonded to you! (That's the following around from room to room bit). He is an amazing little boy!!!