Butterfly mug

Wednesday:

Not much to write about today. I had the day off and spent part of it shopping for summer clothes for the kids (most of which I'll probably have to take back if they don't fit!) as we are visiting Queensland soon and it is much hotter there, and they both seem to have grown out of all their clothes. I might not have time to shop with them before we go. Early spring weather in Sydney wavers between cool and warm.

For myself bought a new mug for work. It has a weird-looking handle, but is comfortable to hold.

I've been doing some more gardening. So much to do! And have been spending a lot of time working on my novel. Still not actually writing the text yet though! I keep having thoughts about what religion is like there, the animals and plants, how you domesticate a cave dragon, what motivates my characters etc. I want to get all the backstory worked out. I struggle with making up good fantasy names, but I can't write properly until I do. I can't get inspired while calling someone X or 'father' or 'girl'. I'm well advanced on that side now and feeling pretty good about it.

I see my doctor tomorrow after a month on Duromine (phentermine). I lost 3kg in the first two weeks but then nothing since, in fact I've struggled to not regain. So I'm not sure what she'll say. I'm sleeping better and feeling better, so I'd like to stay on it for a while longer.

Splash

Saturday:

We don't know our older neighbours on one side very well and at first thought they were a bit grumpy, but they seem nice now. We haven't spoken to them much but the husband suggested a couple of times (when he saw me home with the kids on school holidays) that we were welcome to use his swimming pool if we wanted. I really didn't feel like we knew them well enough, it was too awkward, although of course I thanked him and said we might. But then he asked us to feed his dog while the humans were away this weekend, and that made it seem fair for us to use the pool and also not having them there helped! We went over this afternoon, played with Casper, and had a swim in the pool - with Casper! He shed a lot of hair, both in the pool and out of it, poor thing looked so hot. He is an elderly golden Labrador.

I fed him in the evening, and as I'd been warned he inhaled his dinner in about 12 seconds. And looked around for more. It was the right amount of food for him, but I did feel a bit sorry for him that someone so motivated by food (as all Labradors are) only got to eat for 12 seconds a day. He should learn to savour it!

I've been thinking seriously about the "what am I going to do with my life" question, and one option I'm considering is becoming a librarian. There is a one year course that I can do either in the city (might be tricky to fit within school hours, especially with all the travelling) or online. And even while studying (especially online) I could look for work, my previous qualifications and work experience (not in libraries) might help. I want to work part time. I love books, there would be some desk work but not all day, quiet and indoors, contact with people but I wouldn't have to sell anything. The TAFE course has an information session on Wednesday that I plan to go to, and I'll also go talk to my local librarians.

As with any job or study, it will affect the time I have to write (particularly with my RSI that restricts daily computer use) but I can't stay home forever. I need to think about the direction to take my writing too... do I work on the sequel to my existing book that hasn't yet found a publisher (need to spend time there) or start on a new idea that is percolating?

Cold wet week

Tuesday:

It's a cold wet week, I'll be staying inside where it is warm and dry. I'm making good progress on drafting an outline for book two. Tim is still reading book one, I want his feedback before I do my final polish on that. Then, oh my goodness, I will be looking for a publisher. I'll need to get working on the perfect query letter!

I did too much snacking this afternoon, putting me at the top of my calorie range, but I stuck to real food. Nuts, cheese, apple. Soup for lunch didn't seem enough and I was nibbling through to dinnertime.

Exploring

Thursday:

This morning I set out to find the perfect spot to write. Sometimes I need a change from my desk at home. My criteria for the ideal spot were:

*Attractive view
*Table/bench for notebook or laptop
*Choice of sun or shade - or possibly indoors - for comfort in all weathers
*Neither too crowded nor too isolated
*Toilets
*Café to buy cups of tea
*Not too far away from home

I hadn't found a suitable café near home, so I went a little further afield (but not very far) to the river. I've driven over it many times on the long high bridge but never been down by the banks. After a little preliminary internet investigation, I crossed the bridge and drove down a winding road on the other side to the first park.

It was far from ideal. I felt very isolated, it was surrounded by bushland and there were only a few other people there; a guy packing up his canoe and a middle-aged couple who then left. There were benches next to the river, which looked muddy and unappealing, no tables for writing. Further back, behind trees, was a nice area with a playground and tables but scarily lonely. Also too shady. It probably has people on weekends.

This is the bridge I drove over, and the muddy bank.

I crossed over to my side of the river on a little low bridge because I saw a café there with tables outside. I ordered a hot chocolate and got a bit of writing done. It was very nice sitting in the winter sun. Then I started getting splashed with water. Another patron pointed out some birds (rainbow lorikeets) up in the gutter having a bath. My notebook got quite wet (very dirty water). I changed tables.

Although I liked the sunshine, it would be unpleasant in any other season but winter. And to get my view I had to look over a little road and a carpark first. The road wasn't busy, but the cars were fairly frequent and noisy. There was a shady park next to the café that might be nice in summer, I was considering it as a possible spot for the future.

With hopes of finding something better, I crossed the low bridge again and drove alongside the river until I came to another park. And yay! it fulfilled just about every one of my requirements (except the cups of tea, and I could always take a thermos). It was pretty, with lots of tables and benches in sun or shade. Not too isolated with houses both sides of the river and quite a few people there; parents with children in the playground, a group having a BBQ, an old guy practising his golf swings on the football oval, people walking dogs. I could sit with my face to the river and still have the murmur of human voices nearby.

There were ducks on the water, kookaburras in the trees, and a little footbridge to walk across. And quite decent public toilets. Having found the perfect spot, I didn't manage to do any more writing! I sat enjoying the sun and the ducks for a while then, my foot being quite good today, I went for a little walk around including over the footbridge and back. I enjoyed myself very much, and had a lovely morning. And I did get some writing done, after all, at the second place. It was approaching lunchtime so I left, but I will definitely be back there.

Quizmaster

Wednesday:

Dreary rain today. I had planned to explore the area around the nearby river in a deep picturesque gorge, looking for somewhere to sit and write/think in the winter sun. But not today (or tomorrow, apparently). I find being at home quite distracting, I do my best thinking either walking or in the bath/shower, or else sitting somewhere with a lovely view.

Some writers like to do detailed outlines of the whole story before beginning, others (like Stephen King) start with a scenario (what would happen if vampires turned up in a small town?) and start writing and see what happens. Plotter vs Pantster (ie by the seat of your pants, I think); Architect vs Gardener. I am somewhere in between. A gardener who has a plan but then lets the plants grow out of control. My eventual story isn't much like the original outline! But I need some kind of sketch before I begin. I like to know how it will end, then I can work towards that with a few major plot points.

Not quite so much eating today, but no exercise either.

They are calling for contestants for a quiz show I like, The Chase. At home, I answer as well as most contestants, say a bit more than two thirds of questions correct. You don't have to answer a certain number correct in a row with no mistakes, it's ok to pass on a couple. A little bit of me is tempted. My mother went on a game show, Sale of the Century, when I was a teenager. She knew most of the answers but it's a show where you have to have quick reflexes to press the buzzer and she was bad at that side of it, she didn't win. I was in the audience and I remember every ad break they came out and put more lipstick on her and as they walked away she would wipe it off! Anyway there are two reasons I won't be auditioning for The Chase. One is that I was hate to be on TV at this size, I could never watch it without cringing. But more importantly I freeze under that sort of pressure! Give me a written exam and I'm fine, but put me up the front with people watching and even without the TV cameras I probably wouldn't be able to answer a single question. I'd be like a rabbit in the headlights. Total brainfreeze. I can still dream though. Yeah, I'd go on, answer every question correctly, win lots of money, they'd ask me to stay on and be a quizmaster...

So here is a question, if you were going to be a star on some kind of reality competition show, and your talent was enhanced a bit so you'd win, which would you choose? Singing? Dancing? Bachelor/ette? Quiz? Next Top Model? Masterchef? Home Renovation? What would you like to be  best at? I'd find it very hard to choose! But maybe singing.

Offending the Gods

Tuesday:

The God of Nightsweats took offence at me saying I could deal with it, and I had a very unpleasant night due to His retaliation. Four or five in one night! So instead of saying I'm fine I can handle it, I will say oh woe is me I am so tired and headachy. That should appease Him.

I've started the planning stages of book two. Tim is still reading book one and I'll use his feedback to make some (hopefully final) changes but in the meantime I need to get to work on the next book. I did write a chapter ages ago but without really knowing where it was going... so far you could say my outline is "main characters track down and defeat the villain who was revealed at the end of book one". Not really very detailed!

My hunger dial is turned up to 11 at the moment. I am eating anything and everything, never satisfied. It rather disconcerting.

My doctor appointment has been moved up to Thursday, which is awesome.

Writing

Tuesday:

I feel so much better today. I woke early with pelvic pain as usual, but even then could tell I'd slept well and shaken off the cold or whatever I had. My head was much clearer and I did some really good editing work on my novel all day - I actually got to the end having made the major changes I needed to make. Now I just need to read through it again and probably make minor changes, before giving it to Tim and Jasmine to read. Jasmine has been so keen to read it for ages. I am itching to print it out but I do need to go through it one more time. No doubt after more people have read it and pointed out the stuff I've missed, I'll need to make more changes! I did some major hatchet work this time so I'm a bit worried it's like Frankenstein's monster now and doesn't fit together properly. I'm too close to see. I need fresh eyes.

I didn't go to my book club meeting. I missed last month by accident, today was a last-minute on purpose decision. I'd only read a quarter of the book because I hated it. It was "The Dressmaker" which was made into a movie recently. I looked up some reviews online to see if anyone agreed with me and at least 3/4 of reviewers did! The writing style is choppy and the narrative jumps from character to character in a very confusing way, I couldn't remember who half the people were because there were so many. I looked up the plot and it seemed ok so maybe they managed to make a good movie out of it. I thought about going to the meeting anyway but decided against it. Cold drizzly day and I was busy writing my own book!

Also the shopping centre is a bit of a danger zone for me at the moment. Best I stay away from aisles of junk food as many days of the week as I can.

Rubbish

Thursday:

Today I wonder why I even bother trying to write. My book is rubbish, my writing is rubbish... even if I ever get it finished, no publisher will ever take it. Arg and bleurg.

Forty two: weigh-in

Monday:

Weigh-in Monday, 80.5kg which is a little up from last Monday and doesn't reflect the significant weight loss and then regain that happened during the week. I have two weeks left of this eight-week cycle and commit to sticking to it... mostly. It is our wedding anniversary on Thursday and we are going out to dinner. That counts as a special occasion. Having people over to watch Eurovision on TV on Sunday does not.

Jasmine is in the runny nose and coughing stage of her cold, and stayed home from school today. I find it hard to work on my writing when I have people home - but I feel guilty if I don't work. I'm sure my kids think I do nothing all day while they are at school, because if they are home sick we take it easy and read, watch TV and play computer games. (Sounds like a great lifestyle, actually.) I have to prove I don't! Not all day anyway... I ended up getting some good writing done.

I was supposed to have a doctor's appointment today to follow up a few things but had to reschedule. I need to get this pelvic pain sorted. Adenomyosis (where the uterine lining migrates to surrounding muscles) showed up in my last two ultrasounds but my last doctor didn't seem to pursue that angle at all, assuming diverticulitis (intestine inflammation) even though I don't think I fit that profile at all. I will do whatever tests the new doctor thinks is appropriate to work it out. Either way, I don't know if they can do anything. But at least I'd know!

Cold rainy day.

B: yoghurt and raspberries, tea.
L: cauliflower soup.
S: apple, tea.
D: lemon chicken saltimbocca, a few bites of vegetables. I cooked some asparagus and broccolini with the chicken but it didn't work out. Had a tiny bit of salad.

Overwhelmed

Wednesday:

A quarter of an hour ago I wrote "The End". I am completely overwhelmed, wonky, in tears. I have wanted to write a book since I was a little girl, and I have finally done it. It still needs months of rewriting and editing and getting other people to Beta read for me but I have done it. I don't know if I really ever believed I could, until a couple of weeks ago. Then I would think about how close I was to the end and feel so excited and proud and uplifted. Now I have actually done it I feel quite different. Overwhelmed is the right word.

Dragonbane by Natalie Maddalena
first draft July 2013 - September 2014

Writing writing writing

Tuesday:

I have been immersed in writing my novel for the past couple of days. On Sunday, walking around Floriade, I was telling my husband I was stuck on a particular issue. As usual he was a great sounding board (sometimes he comes up with awesome ideas I can incorporate, sometimes he asks the right questions so that I work it out myself) and we got that problem solved. So yesterday I sat and wrote the rest of the final climactic scene. It all worked out perfectly. Then in the afternoon I wrote a little more, on the final what-happens-after wrapping up chapter but had to stop due to my RSI. About three hours is my limit for a day if I want to avoid lasting pain.

Today I woke fizzing with ideas of how to wrap up the novel, tying up the loose ends while hinting at a sequel. Unfortunately I couldn't get down to it for while. I had a very busy day, starting with spending time at the school for Aiden's "learning journey" where he shows us things he's been doing all year, shopping and getting a casserole on to slow cook, and it will end with taking Jasmine to her dance class and then hosting games night. I squeezed in half an hour of writing after lunch, at the expense of leaving the house as a pigsty. Oh well; priorities, right?

I am so close to the end! I can taste it. I can't think about anything else.

I have been getting in short walks each day, a kilometre or two. That is all.

Getting back on the carb cycle after a fall

Wednesday:

Ok, lets try this again! I'm over my two days of PMS and ready to begin.

I think my PMS is getting worse. When I was a teenager I such horrible cramps I had to take a day off school each month. I was put on the pill and that helped a lot. I've always had a lot of physical problems with my cycle and have tried a few different pills over the years. I don't remember any emotional issues, or just a very rare weepy day in my 20s, until maybe the past ten years. Since I had children? Maybe before that, but not so bad it really affected my life. Now I generally have two days when the world seems a dismal place and I'm annoyed with everyone and everything. I'm both sad and snappy and try not to take it out of my family too much but I don't know how well I succeed. The best I can do is keep my mouth shut. If I let myself make major decisions on those days I certainly wouldn't have a puppy any more and I don't know what else. I don't want to think about it. I also eat too much and don't exercise. Maybe I need a strategy for that, but for the moment I'm just going to accept that I need to do whatever I can to get through those days without any consequences more dire than gaining a little bit of weight.

I'm ready to do more exercise than just walking Thor. I seriously considered joining the gym again - I have at various times in the past enjoyed BodyStep, BodyPump, the rowing machine, the elliptical and the weights machines, but I get bored with them within a few months so next time I join the gym it will be for three months instead of a year and wasting most of my money. But going to the gym is a huge time investment with all the driving and finding parking and changing twice and showering etc, an hour exercise takes nearly two hours out of my day. So for the moment I'm going back to dancing at home. I still have to change and shower but it takes travel time out of the equation.

I was inspired by a new TV show, "Bringing Sexy Back" (terrible terrible name!) which is like an accelerated Biggest Loser. Each week they show a new person or couple, and follow them over about three months with a personal trainer and help from a celebrity chef and a big makeover and reveal at the end. They do it all from home, fitting healthy living around their normal work and other commitments so it is a tiny bit more realistic than Biggest Loser where all you do is exercise.

I did some writing this morning (I have rewritten what was lost and moved on) and then an hour of dance. It went well. I'd dipped my toe back into dance a few times recently but had trouble keeping up with the energy levels and the choreography, neither my mind and body were cooperating. But today I was back in the groove. I'm working my way through getting 5 stars in every dance on medium difficulty in Dance Central 3. I love a goal.

Then I had my lunch, and took a cup of tea outside with the puppy so he could run around a bit without getting lonely. I did some work reading, then took Thor for a walk that went past the school on our way home. Thor is getting a bit better with walking. He still pulls a lot. The kids rarely ask to walk him now, it's not very pleasurable. Yesterday I started giving him food treats as well as verbal praise when he was behaving well, and it certainly keeps his attention on me more! My previous dog, a collie, was not particularly motivated by food and was very eager to please so I don't think I ever used food treats, just attention and praise. The working dog (sheepdog) temperament. But Thor, both sides of his ancestry from hunting/gun dogs, likes praise but it takes food to distract him from the exciting outdoors! He tries to chase birds, too, and points his little foot. Very cute. But he is much nicer to walk when you don't end up with the lead strap embedded in your hand.

Today is a low carb day. I've gone a bit over my very low carb allowance (36 - 90 grams) because I was surprised by a few things. My banana had nearly 22 g, the orange 17 g and the Yakult a very unexpected 11.6 g of carbohydrate considering it is a tiny 50 mL bottle. I know I could have checked before I ate things but I don't want to give up fruit regardless so I'm not sure how I'm going to get around that on low carb days. Maybe only one piece of fruit? The Yakult is a rare thing, just to help my gut flora rebalance. Apart from that, my carbs came from one slice of toast, four wholegrain crackers and lots of non-starchy vegetables. If I cut out any two things (not the veges) I would be under my limit. On high carb days I get 180 grams of carbohydrate, plenty for just about anything, but high carb days are low fat days so I still have to monitor everything carefully.

If you haven't tried Yakult it is a fermented drink full of probiotics that I expected to be like slightly nasty runny yoghurt but in fact tastes just like melted vanilla ice cream. Delicious. Full of sugar, of course. I don't get it very often, but I buy a pack after a stomach upset. And hide it from the kids.

... (A bit later.) I had a lovely low carb dinner of steak and salad. Then ate three chocolate biscuits. So, hmm. I'm still giving myself a B for today's healthy eating. Mostly I did very well. I ate at least five serves of vegetables. And I did an hour and a half exercise! And drank seven glasses of water! And wrote! Overall an excellent day.

On the home stretch

Wednesday:

I had a haircut today. I forgot to take a photo and I'm all tired now so you'll never see it salon-fresh. But I'll take a picture tomorrow if I remember. It's so short up the back and sides that my hairdresser (stylist?) used the clippers. But still longish at the front.

I love the little massage they give you first, and then my salon has a massage chair at the hair-washing sinks. But today the vibrating chair made me really need to pee! Even though I went just before leaving home - that was one of my mum's rules, you go to the toilet before leaving the house. But I had to ask to use their bathroom. And it's a shared bathroom with a couple of other businesses in the building, so I was wandering around holding a key with my hair all wet and the cape on and everything. I felt a bit odd.

My writing is going well. My novel is up to 65,000. I estimate the first draft will be around 80,000. Finished novel more like 100,000 once I flesh out some of the skeletal bits. There are only two more big scenes to write, plus the connective tissue between them. I'm thinking I might have the first draft done in around a month. I'm a bit excited and disbelieving about that - I will have actually written a novel! Finally! It only took me 44 years and a dozen false starts. But I can't celebrate yet. Not until I write 'the end'. Then I get to start the editing process, which I expect to enjoy because that part is what I do for a living for other people! It's the fun bit. Writing new material is the hard part.

Sleep well.

Thursday weigh in

Thursday:

Back up to 81.8 kg today. 0.5 gain. Completely reasonable since I haven't been sticking to my diet at all, not even a little bit. I've lost all momentum.

On the upside, I fell much better today, over the tummy bug. I didn't go for a long walk, but at least went up to the school twice today so that was two little walks.

And my husband is better too, back at work today.

And I did some good writing, and got a couple of other things done.

And standing in our backyard in the middle of the day was nice, the sun warm through several dark layers of clothing. Only my bare hands were cold.

There are good things every day, even if I don't have my weight under control.

Thursday weigh in - a sixth of the way there

Thursday:

Starting weight: 85.3 kg
Last week: 81.8
This week: 81.2
Loss: 0.6
Total loss: 4.1 kg

Yay, I am finally back below my pre-birthday weight! It's taken a lot longer than I thought to lose that extra kilo, but a small loss each week finally did the trick. Even after a binge weekend! It's very motivating to keep going.

And my online tracker told me I had met an intermediate goal (I didn't even know I had one) and set the next goal to 77.1 kg so it seems to be using steps of 4.1 kg. My target divided by six maybe? Just think, I'm a sixth of the way there! Not bad.

I got my exercise in again with two walks, short and long, and today I even got some writing done! It had been a few weeks so I had to read over the last few thousand words. Then I wrote one sentence. Then I mucked around with computer settings for a while. Then finally I got started and wrote for an hour. I'm happy with that for today.

The Commonwealth Games starts tonight (like the Olympics, but only with countries conquered by England) so that is exciting. I watch almost no sport, but I love the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

Update on writing

Wednesday:

Since I agonised about giving up uni and going back to writing, I thought I'd give an update on how that was working out for me.

Really well, actually. It did take me quite a few days to get back into the groove; reading over what I had already written, getting into the character's heads, working out some stuff I'd been putting off like place names. But I've started the writing part again and the last couple of days in particular my fingers have been flying over the keys and I've resented having to drag myself away.

Like today I had my hair cut again, it had been getting a bit long and unruly - short hair needs more trimming than long hair. It is now much shorter than the original cut, very boyish. It's ok, I am dealing with it. It will grow quickly. And I'm pretty sure I'll like it more once I wash it and style it myself instead of the smooth cap the hairdresser left me with.

I was right in the middle of a battle scene when I had to leave the house and I spent the whole time at the hairdresser thinking about what was going to happen next. Oh, except the bits when I was reading trashy magazines.

I don't mind the occasional trashy magazine, but it gets a bit boring because I just don't know who most of these people are. I've heard of Jennifer Anniston (worried about her neck wrinkles) and Kim Kardashian (competing with her sisters about who has the best booty) but most of the pictures of  "celebrities" could have been random people off the street for all I knew. Half of them criticised as being too fat (omg look at that cellulite), the other half for being too thin (anorexia!). Or for getting wrinkly, or for getting surgery so they didn't look wrinkly. Or for sleeping with too many people. Odd, I don't think anyone was criticised for not sleeping with enough people. Some were apparently sleeping with the wrong people. Some nice clothes though.

Intrepid hiking

Tuesday:

Spent the weekend recovering from whatever germs attacked me this time, all better now. I went to the Arboretum this morning and started with a walk in search of the eagle's nest sculpture. The one where I scoffed that it could possibly take half an hour for 850 metres (half a mile).  The first bit was on a path past the wedding/events pavilion, then a sign appeared to point me straight up a steep, uneven grassy hill between the young trees. That couldn't be right, could it? But there didn't seem to be any other way to go, and I could see the lookout way up at the top, so I started on up. Even if it wasn't the right path, it would get me there in an intrepid sort of way.

After a fairly short distance I came to a signpost stuck amongst the trees. Seems this was the path, un-path-like though it might seem. I could see another signpost further on, and sure enough they eventually led me to the top. Gasping for air, calves burning.

I make no claim to fitness, but anyone less fit than me might not have been able to do it at all. I no longer scoff at the suggested timing. It took me 20 mins, pushing reasonably hard. Lovely view though.

You can see why Canberra is called "the bush capital"! It looks like I'm out in the country rather than 10 minutes from the centre of the city, which is more or less in the direction the camera is pointing, around the lake.

 

I hiked back down, at about the same speed as I went up because I was being careful of my ankles on the lumpy ground. I got my laptop from the car and sat in the café with my pot of tea and suddenly slumped with exhaustion. It seem to have this rapid-onset fatigue thing going on. I could literally hardly keep my eyes open. I had my tea and played with my iPhone a bit but it took me half an hour before I was ready to get to work.

 

Had a really good writing session until lunchtime when the café started to get a bit busy and noisy and it was time to go. Actually I was interrupted several times today - does that mean I looked more friendly and open than usual? Normally no one speaks to me when I'm typing away. First an older gentleman came over and commented on what a lovely place I had chosen to work and we had a short chat about the amazing view and he told me a couple of other places he also liked to go. Then a bit later a man with quite a strong accent (German I think) brought his phone over and asked if I would listen to a message someone had left for him and tell him what was said as he couldn't decipher it. Neither could I! I listened to it twice and it was definitely an Australian accent (so you'd think it would be easy for me) but I could only pick out a few words here and there. The best I could do was tell him the other person asked him to call them back, but I couldn't even get a name or any idea of what it was about. A bit embarrassing really. Both of those were quite nice encounters, but finally a large group of toddlers moved to a couch nearby (with a couple of carers) and one of them was the exploring, friendly kind. He liked to stand very close and stare at me, and seemed to have a fascination for sugar pots. Several times he was rescued in the nick of time from being covered in sugar as he liberated a pot from someone's table and tried to upend it over his curly head. It was time to go by then so I finished up.

 

Stopped off at the library on my way home. I love the library. Free books and magazines!

Some not very good photos of a lovely view

Monday:

I've been going to the Arboretum to write in the mornings (I need to get an annual pass for parking, it's very expensive) and it is beautiful there. I took a couple of pictures, unfortunately my camera skills are sadly lacking. This first one, since I took it from my café table, shows you what seems to be a vast expanse of bare café. If you can get a close up of the window it is very pretty. And I suppose you can also see that it is a very roomy space for writing, no noisy neighbours butted up close to your table.

 

And this one, outside the pavilion where they have weddings, draws attention to a sandy patch of ground rather than the little pond and then the lake behind it. Honestly, it's lovely. I never even noticed that bare patch when I was standing on the balcony!

The little green dots down the hill are baby trees. There are more mature ones on the other side of the café and all around other directions, these are the youngest ones but I was trying to capture the view of the lake. Oh well. And even the biggest trees are only five years old.

 

I went for a walk after I'd done my writing session, from the café around to the wedding pavilion and then down the steep slope of a grassy outdoor auditorium. Lovely manicured green grass, soft for audience bottoms, nothing like the sandy stubble in the pic. I jogged up the other side of the bowl and made it about 2/3 of the way up before I ran out of legs. Then I realised I'd probably forgotten to breathe while I was running uphill, because it suddenly seemed like there wasn't enough oxygen in the world! I kept walking the last bit while trying to get some air. It's a nice area, I'll have to do some more walking around there. Lots of hills.

View from the hill

Thursday:

Two really good writing sessions the past two mornings. Both times I went to the National Arboretum. The trees are all still pretty small but at least they have Spring-green leaves on them now, and the view from the café, on top of a hill, down to the lake with the mountains behind is just beautiful. Very inspiring.

I've invested quite a few hours over the past couple of days organising our holiday over the Christmas break; hotels and flights etc. We're going to Surfer's Paradise which is a beautiful beach-side city in sunny Queensland. It is also the theme-park capital of Australia so we'll be going to Sea World and maybe Movie World. We tried one of the water parks last time but it was mainly huge water slides and rides much too scary for me and the little kids. Tim went on a couple, the queue for one must have taken about an hour! But Sea World is awesome, dolphin shows and baby polar bears and an amazing aquarium and pirate ships where you squirt the other ships with water canons as you sail around and lots of rides suitable for smaller children.

Holidays yay! Still a couple of months away though.

The Novel

Friday:

I've mentioned before that I've taken some time away from paid work to write a novel. It's something I've always wanted to do and planned to do but never made time for. I've made a few starts before but never got past a chapter or two - I'd say that 10,000 words is the most I've ever written on one project.

I started this novel at the beginning of July and gave myself until the end of the year, six months, to show it was something that I could commit to and make decent progress on. I hoped to have a first draft written by then. I can only type for a couple of hours a day, with my RSI, but it still seemed do-able.

I am making some great progress, much better than ever before. I am about to hit 25,000 words. But that is not where I'd planned to be by this point! Nearly four months have passed, I should have written twice that much or more. But I write nothing during school holidays, or all those weeks when I was sick, or if I am busy ... some days I have to choose between writing and exercise. And on days when I do write, it's generally for one hour not two. I'm still not managing my time well enough to fit in all the things I want to do in a day.

BUT.

I'm still very excited to have got this far! 25,000 words seems awesome to me. That's a quarter of a book, more or less. I'm definitely pushing on with this. I am going to get this done.