… my musings on, er, "stuff"
Pic of the week 24/4/16
I think that we can now safely say that the build is “done” (although there is still a lot of decorating to do in the old build) and I think this picture encapsulates the kitchen.
If anything, the pic doesn’t do the vastness of the space justice, but it is a great space – I love it. Worth the disruption and empty bank account!
24/4/16
Cold & windy – into wind outbound, at the back for the return hence the speed! Second post injury run and feels good. A 6K cruise – a great way to start the day. Now for a shower and toast, the highlight of my week!
Track of the week 17/4/16
Bit of a hidden gem from back in the day. Always liked this song, but it never really got much traction or exposure (although I’ve since discovered – the beauty that is Google – that it reached 8 in the charts in ’89.)
House at its best. Enjoy.
Pick of the week 17/4/16
This rather arty shot neatly summarizes the last week – (at last) we have moved upstairs into our new bedroom, and very nice it is too. And yesterday I ran for the first time in two months, (at last) my knee injury seems to have healed up.
In the background, I am donning my running gear – my florescent jacket matching the yellow of the duvet cover. Co-ordinated, or what!
It was time to tackle the hedge at the front of the house.
It’s a bit of a monster – too high, a big green block of lelayandii. It needs top come down about a foot or two, perhaps to be level with the Box bush to its left.
And so the ladders came out and the hedge trimmer plugged in. Up I climbed, and set to work. Like a hot knife slicing through butter, the first fronds soon succumbed to my mechanical masterpiece.
But. But … then it ground to a halt. In the middle was not twigs and leafs that would bow before my blade, but thick, thick branches, standing proud and unyielding.
It became apparent that it’s not really a hedge, but two gert big trees throwing up some hefty branches in the middle. Out came my hand saw and I began to cut. I’ve chopped out some big branches, but there’s still more to do. From the roadside it looks fine, from above you can see my butchery. But I shall persevere. It needs to be done, to be literally cut down to size. The aim is to reduce its height such that a quick skim with the hedge trimmers a couple of times a year will keep it in check and looking trim.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and a march of a thousand miles begins with a single step – today I took that first step and the foundations of Italy’s capital have been laid (and, it seems, I’ve butchered a few phrases as well as a hedge …)
Action shot!
It was with a slight sense of trepidation, but my knee has not been hurting of late, so I hit the streets today for my first run for 2 months.
On the whole, the knee felt fine, although I was conscious that I was monitoring it all the time. At about the 2K point I felt a twinge so looped round the B&Q roundabout and headed for home – figuring that 4K would be a good outing and I didn’t want to risk a relapse.
I hit 4K near Strode pool, so kept going for a bit longer to make it a 5Km run. Ended up with a time of 25.11 for the 5Km – not too bad given how long its been, but it wasn’t a walk in the park.
10 hours later, knee is still holding up, no pain, which is good. Good to be back on the road again – reckon I’ll look at running a 5k a week for the next six weeks or so.
Track of the week 10/4/16
Have always liked this track by The Mighty Wah – for me, it just eclipses their more famous The Story of the Blues but that may well be because I heard “Come Back ” first. Anyway, both cracking tunes.
But, and there is a but,watching the videos of both songs, one quickly realises that Pete Wylie can’t dance, and his acting is not up to much, either. Didn’t matter back in the (pre-MTV) day, but it’d probably cost him today.
Pick of the week 10/4/16
Deck boards arrived on Friday, the sun shone, and I got building. Made good progress but didn’t finish, and, annoyingly, it was stop start through the April showers on Saturday. However, it’s built, it looks good and I’m pleased with it.
Some more photos:
And here is a before shot:
… and a preliminary stages pic:
Track of the week 3/4/16
Despite my suave, sophisticated demeanor I must confess that I am a bit of a sucker for some 70’s disco and this track from “The Real Thing” has been a guilty pleasure of mine for some time.
I’ll always remember the look of disdain and disgust that Sophie threw me as I shimmied into the sitting room whilst listening to this on my iPod. It is a tune that defies you to sit still, you just have to get up and shake your stuff when it hits your ears.
Pic of the week 3/4/16
Was my birthday on Monday – 47 years young! This is a pic of me opening my gifts.
Think I’m doing well for my years. I’m going to record my weight as 13st 2lb (compared to 15st 0 last year), swimming regularly: typically 1km at least 3 times a week, with (recently) the odd mile thrown in. Running still on hold due to the knee not quite fully heeling as I’d like. Hair is becoming increasingly “flecked with grey” and (much to Sam’s delight) now starting to noticeably recede at the front, but all told, I think I’m in pretty good nick (others will, I’m sure, disagree!)