Archives for August 2018

Woke up from the alarm, and immediately it was clear that this would be a slow day. No meditation, no writing in the morning, nothing.

I had breakfast, talked with my husband, and watched yet another webinar at 10 am this time. It was about „Bright Line Eating“. I had already read the book so there wasn’t anything new sometimes it’s good to hear things twice. I don’t think I will try that program anytime soon. I’m sure that it would work but I just can’t see myself never eating sugar or flour ever again.

Then we spent some time making moussaka and red beet salad:

It was fabulous and there is enough left for tomorrow. Win win in my book.

Then I spent a lot of time procrastinating, as one does, and then I sat down to tackle the Nintendo repair.

Well. The good thing is that the repair is finished.

The bad thing is that the Nintendo isn’t working anymore. Let’s just say that all those pesky little plastic thingies break easily. I also know which part fell to the floor and ended up in the vacuum. And I either destroyed the ribbon cables or didn’t manage to attach them properly, either or.

So I’m guessing I’m done with that project. My nerves will need some time to calm down now but my desk will be free to be used again for the first time in ages.

The boy went to the cinema with a friend so I had to watch Netflix alone.

I made a nice plan for the upcoming week.

And went to bed on time so that today will go better.

Today there will be all the usual plus a doctor visit to talk about my colonoscopy next week. Fun! And then I get to visit the nicer health food store.

I will pick out glasses tomorrow, record the podcast on Wednesday, mix the podcast and pack on Thursday, and leave for the family reunion on Friday morning.

Whoosh.

Woke up early and didn’t waste an hour first thing, had breakfast, meditated, did my daily drawing and had just opened the computer to start writing when my husband showed up much earlier than the rest of the week.

We talked while I finished sewing the binding on the top that had been sitting on the kitchen bench for more than a year. It looks like I’m finally starting to dig into projects that are weighing me down. One project done, dozens to go…

I went running:

There were two or three moments when I just ran along and did not have the impulse to stop and walk. So things are starting to look up.

We had mozzarella caprese for lunch, I didn’t even help at all, and my husband made leftover spaghetti for me because I don’t really like tomatoes:

I did the dishes, managed to finally get the top case onto the Nintendo, tried to write, and got ready for the Leberkäs-Day. My husband and I are members of this society for improvised music. And once a year, usually in August, the head and his wife invite people to their home. We sit on the terrace and talk and eat and drink. We’ve been invited every year for years but have only gone once. Another time we started riding our bikes there, I had a flat tire that we could barely fix and went back home again, and another time the whole thing was at an inconvenient time.

So yesterday we took our bikes, some tabbouleh, carrots from our garden and some extra beer in a bike carrier and rode for an hour there. The provisions were my husband’s idea, of course. The ride was fun – if a little hot – and we had the best time there. I met another knitter/writer who also dyes yarn, and my husband got to sit next to someone really likable as well.

We did go home slightly early in the hopes of getting home before the dark but had to turn on the lights right away.

Riding home afterwards was exhilarating. I’m still deeply amazed every time I’m enjoying movement so much.

We went home and talked a little over another beer and I went to bed too late.

Woke up from the alarm and wrote this post.

Today I want to write all the words, work on the DS some more, make some music and get some other things going. I totally agree with my husband who said that having a summer break like this where we can focus on our own stuff plus do some extra thing every few days is just the best.

Woke up from the alarm again. I’m taking that as a sign that I’m going to bed a little too late.

Was online for an hour, had breakfast, did not write. I really need to change this routine.

Waited for my husband to show up and he slept longer than usual as well. It’s funny, him being away for two nights has thrown us mightily.

We talked, I finished a sock and started the second one, the boy showed up too late again but helped me do the dishes. I did most of the weekly cleaning and got showered and ready for lunch.

We went to the nicer Greek place because the sushi and Asian place is on summer break. The food was glorious and the wine very good. Here’s the antipasti (do you still call them antipasti if they are Greek?):

And Kritharaki with shrimp and tomato sauce for me:

Zucchini burgers for the boy:

Fish and calamari for my husband:

Then back home. A little break and then I started working on repairing the Nintendo DS. An hour later I actually figured out how to put the top and bottom back together. Hurray!

Then I taught a surprise singing student. She sent me an email in the morning that she wanted a lesson that afternoon.

Afterwards I worked some more on the Nintendo. I spent more than an hour and still didn’t finish step 45 (of 62). I decided to try again when not as exhausted.

I thought that my webinar would be at 6 but it turned out that my calendar had neglected time zones. The webinar was actually at 8. Which meant that I could watch some Star Trek with the boy. Very good Next Generation episode and a DS9 one that had a really exciting premise and slightly boring execution.

Then the webinar. Then a little writing.

I’ve started the „You can learn how to draw in 30 days“-program again. I did Day 1 and 2 and then couldn’t find the time anywhere in the day for three days in a row. This morning I decided to do the exercise in the morning instead of in the evening, Which was a very promising idea. I opened my sketchbook, wrote „Day 3“, the date and the time, started researching pencils and erasers, and then the boy showed up for his breakfast. The end.

Today there will be: the rest of the cleaning, running, and in the afternoon we’ll ride our bikes for an hour to meet the improvisation society people for Leberkäs. We’ll see how that goes.

I need to cram everything important into the morning because there will be no afternoon and evening to do things in. We’ll bike and then make small talk.

Let’s just hope that the weather will stay dry until we’re home.

Slow start into the day again. My husband has started to get up later as well which means that everything is late all day. And that throws me off.

To be fair, everything throw me off.

I went to the health food store again because  we didn’t have everything we needed for making lunch and then went to the supermarket afterwards. It was really hot.

We had fabulous lunch and my husband made it with almost no help:

Then I procrastinated a little by working on the Cria sweater and watching videos about marketing. Then I did some more research about Nintendo DS repair and bought two more books. In my defense they were only 99 cents. Not each but both of them together.

Then I started tackling something that has been bugging me for a year, my brother-in-law’s Ninetendo that has been sitting on my desk in parts for a few weeks now. I finally found a site showing the innards and how to put them apart and I’m hoping that that will be enough to put them together again. I did make progress, found that the hinge that was in there was too big for the new case, used the new one I had bought and managed to thread all those fiddly cables through the hinge. Next up I have to decide which screws on the desk are which. Cross your fingers that I still have them all.

Then the boy and I watched Star Trek while I spun the merino and ate too much chocolate. Definitely room for improvement there.

Then I sat around a bit before I had yet another webinar. About „Your first 10,000 readers“. To be frank, a finished book and one reader would be nice at this point. I should maybe try sitting down and writing one of these days. Unfortunately the webinar was a bust because there were technical difficulties.

Today there will be – writing I hope (but then I always hope for that and hope might not be enough), the cleaning of the house, practice and going out for lunch and another webinar.

Oh, and I got some money so I made an appointment with my optician so I can get new glasses. This has been overdue for about a year now but progressives are a serious investment. I’ve been squinting through my glasses lately, I need stronger reading glasses. I’m not sure if I want new frames I like the old ones fine. But if I get new ones I will have a backup pair. We’ll see.

So things are moving forward but rather slowly.

I basically spent the day with my husband, him telling me everything that happened on his trip and me derailing the conversation.

We both went running and met on the way. My husband, true to form, is getting to know everybody he keeps meeting on his run and stops to chat a lot with the dog walkers. Which is nice. So yesterday he introduced me to a nice bus driver and his rather friendly Rottweiler. My fear of dogs is mostly gone, by the way. Which is very good.

I decided to start my running program over from week two. It’s not really about running 21k any which way, and it certainly isn’t about doing a race, I just want to have a structure for my exercise and stretch myself to improve. I forgot to take a picture again, sorry.

And I might have found an app for my new strength training program! I didn’t quite know how to do it and where to start and now I have a little thingy telling me to start on Monday with two sets of pushups and leg raises. It will be wall pushups and I have to look up how to do leg raises again but that is entirely doable.

We had lunch really, really late because of all the talking all day:

Finally we’re having real food again.

I then sunk into a stupor for a few hours, started tackling the blog, and then taught one student.

The boy and I watched some Star Trek, I even spun a little, and then the three of us started wondering where Oceania was and Samoa and so we pulled out the big Atlas and Wikipedia, as one does.

Today there will be grocery shopping and some more talking, I’m sure, and I’m hoping to get some things done as well. Other than reading. Or finishing the sock I’m knitting.

I slept like a log for nine hours straight. Slightly weird. And that led to an hour of reading before getting up. And then I found that I had forgotten to buy bananas for my breakfast muesli so I had to make do with just the blueberries. Tough.

I dawdled until the boy got up at 10.30 and decided to go to the health food store first. Then I attempted to run but my heart rate went up to 170 right away and so I walked most of the way and cut the whole thing short. I’m not quite sure what to do about my running. Maybe I should restart the whole half-marathon thing. It’s more about me going out and running a couple of times a week than actually going the distance and if I start over I might be able to actually run instead of mostly walking. Not sure yet.

Then I made lunch:

Rice, baked beans and fried eggs. I can cook, really. Or I used to anyway.

Then dishes and a shower and teaching a student. I practiced and then I started waiting for my husband to come back home. There were two trains he could be on, one would have arrived at 4.30 and the other two hours later.

I’m actually rather proud that I didn’t spend the whole afternoon waiting.

And the whole time I was afraid that I might have killed some of his precious plants. The tomato plant leaves are not looking good right now but when he came home he told me that that is perfectly normal at this stage.

I taught my second student and then, right when we thought he’d taken another train my husband came home. And needed time to himself at first, so the boy and I watched an episode of „Deep Space Nine“.

After which my husband and I talked for an hour or so and then I went to bed.

Today I want to do all the usual things and teach one student even though it is a public holiday here in Bavaria. It would be perfect if I could move one or two of the big projects forward. Well, at least I wrote a bit yesterday. Not as much as I wanted but that’s nothing new.

It feels like there is something every day. It’s not really true but still. And next week I have a doctor’s appointment and on Thursday I will travel for four days.

I really hope to have the novel draft done by then. I’m really close. But only if I sit down and write.