A record!
It's been more than a month since I posted! Partly because I've had difficulty uploading photos from phone to Google and then downloading onto my laptop. But also maybe winter doldrums. I am pretty listless at night. Although now the days are starting to get longer I'm a little better about getting things done at night, as opposed to getting in bed with my laptop and watching catch up TV--the human predilection to hibernate when the nights are long.
I guess the most important thing to note is I've made some big goals for myself this year, when I will turn 60. At first I had wanted to do an Olympic triathlon (1500m swim, 40K bike, 10K run). But the only one I've found is at the end of May and I can't get in shape that fast. So that goal has become a sprint triathlon (750m, 20K, 5K), which is probably more realistic. I also want to do a bigger than usual hike. The hikes I've done in Wales and Scotland have been lovely, but I'd like to do something a bit more challenging. I keep looking at HF Holiday brochures and I can't seem to pull the trigger--I'm overwhelmed with options, including one in Switzerland.
As for tri training, I'm running and swimming, but not yet biking. This has eaten up most of what was once discretionary time. I manage to play 9 holes of golf on Friday mornings, when David walks Paddy, and 12 holes on Sundays. Below is an early morning photo on the course, when the moon was still visible. I had a golf lesson a few weeks ago where I could do no wrong but, as usual, I can't replicate this on the course.
So work, walk the dog, golf, and running/swimming. That is my life currently. No complaints. Except maybe I'm ready to drop down to 4 or even 3 days a week. Work gets in the way of my ambitions!
In other news, I went to a climate demonstration at Stormont recently. NI has yet to adopt a climate bill and we were lobbying in favour of the stronger members' bill rather than the weaker bill that came from the executive.
I also get out for lunch or tea occasionally with friends--to break up the work week. Work hasn't been terribly busy lately, so there's room for the odd social outing (lunch with Ann, tea with Dianne, tea with Jenny, dinner with Trish and Eddis in the past two weeks).
Paddy has a new harness, which was recommended by Catherine, who watched him while I was in the US. He is much better behaved on this than just the lead and collar, when he pulls like a draft horse. He is amazingly powerful for a little dog.
Friday morning I drove Paddy to Redburn Park for a pre-work walk--David wasn't available to walk Paddy so no golf. This (below) isn't a great photo of the city from the park but I thought a lot about the movie Belfast and how people are discovering the city for the first time. The montage at the beginning shows the city off to great effect.
I bought my wee car in 2019. I recently calculated that I'm averaging 5,000 miles a year. That isn't too bad. I know I use my car more than I should, but that figure is a fraction of my US mileage, and at higher mpg.
One final bit of news. I spent a lot of time blogging about my upstairs lounge. It hasn't been used since mom was here in October. It has 4 windows, which make it very cold. I had lined curtains made last summer but decided to wait until it was cold to have them hung. I called a decorator in November to hang the curved curtain rail for the bay window, but he said Nov/Dec is his busiest time. I let it go until I got back from the US in January. He hung the rail in late January. I have since tried and failed to hang the curtains because of problems with the tape with the hooks at the top of the curtains. Two panels have one kind of tape and the third has another kind, so they don't hang evenly. I'm having the tape replaced on the two wider panels, because the tape on the narrower panel is sturdier. I have studied hanging the Roman shade and have a strategy, but I need a drill and another pair of hands.
And that is the highlights reel from the last month. TV shows consumed: Grantchester, The Office (UK), Graham Norton, and highlights from the Olympics. Recent films: Parallel Mothers, House of Gucci and, of course, Belfast.
12 Feb. 2022