Work:
no significant developments as yet on the new project I mentioned earlier, but
feeling very fortunate to be reminded of how much I like my job and my .org
this week. It’s hard to quantify how much the quality of my working life has
improved over the past year, so I’ll just say: it’s a lot.
Physical
activity: after not doing any regular exercise for about four months, I re-started
a walk-to-run program I first used about 3 years ago, and am going strong. I even
went out in the rain this week, which, given my past track record (ha!) would normally
be a golden opportunity to skive off. I also, after much endeavor with bike
shops and boxes, finally have a functional bike again – complete with tagalong
for Miss B, helmets for both of us, and a working lock and key. Since we don’t
yet have a car (this is a whole other story), this is currently my best option
for medium-distance travel: relying on Canberra public transport is a dodgy
proposition at best, taxis cost the earth, and we can’t justify renting a car
every weekend, much as I might like to. I cycled to the farmers’ market this
morning – 10k (6mi) round trip! (Not
exactly the Tour de France, but not too shabby either, considering that the bike had
been boxed up for 4 years prior to a couple of weeks ago.)
Recreation:
in addition to joining a knitting club, I’ve also joined a book club which
serendipitously came into existence shortly after my return to Canberra. We had
our monthly meeting this week, where we discussed In Cold Blood by Truman
Capote. I first read this book a long time ago – maybe 15 or 20 years – but I was
just as impressed, if not more so, at the quality and vividness of the writing.
Having just spent 2+ years living on the Kansas/Missouri border lent an extra
dimension to the re-reading experience, but then so did discussing it with a
group of non-Americans. Also, if you’re looking for an unbeatable book-film
combination, I highly recommend reading or re-reading this in conjunction with
a screening of Capote, which places the writing of the book in the context of
the author’s life and literary career. Mind-blowing.
Miss
B: already counting the days until summer holidays (30); recently started
playing cricket; has taken to the tagalong like a duck to water and is now
demanding to cycle to and from school every day, and requesting recreational
bike rides besides. Question of the week: “Mum, what’s the difference between a
samurai and a ninja?” – asked of her half-asleep mother at Saturday breakfast.
(My cop-out response: “I don’t know, ask your father when he gets home from the
gym.” There’s no point in having a military historian around the place if you’re
not going to put him through his paces occasionally.)
DP:
safely returned, not going anywhere for a while. Work, work, work, work,
finishing a book, practicing cricket in the backyard with Miss B, trying to
find space for all his books, mapping out bike routes for me, vacuuming as
therapy – pretty much business as usual. It’s very nice to have him home.
Food:
the braised pork loin I posted on Monday was pretty much the only new recipe
this week. Other than that, there were lots of old standbys: salsa for tacos on Monday night; lemon-mustard chicken and grilled zucchini
on Wednesday; and rx4 rhubarb (with some strawberries mixed in) with Greek
yogurt for breakfast pretty much every day.
Weather: spring is well under way; daytime temps are in the low 70sF/20sC, with chilly evenings down to 40F/10C and below. It’s not quite shorts-and-flip-flops weather yet, but we’re getting there.
Weather: spring is well under way; daytime temps are in the low 70sF/20sC, with chilly evenings down to 40F/10C and below. It’s not quite shorts-and-flip-flops weather yet, but we’re getting there.
How was
your week? Hope your Saturday is as nice as mine has been.
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