Holy!Goodness! It was so, so, so much more difficult than Thursday morning. I never really did get in the zone and was surprised to arrive home and realise I’d run almost as far. Both the run and the recovery were less than enjoyable. I’m still exhausted, whereas I was bounding about all day Thursday.

3.19km | 22:59

I realise that if I want to run properly I am going to have to become accustomed to hills, but they can be really quite demoralising indeed. I’d love to go back to my beloved flat track in the old neighbourhood after a solid month of running and compare my performance.

I need to remember that it is a process and that it will take time and be pleased that at least I’m getting out there once again. Yay me! And as disspirited and ungainly as I currently am, I really do enjoy running about in the outdoors very much.

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Spring is definitely in residence (hurrah!) and yesterday Don and I visited Bunnings to acquire herbs and soil (and, as is the way with these visits, also came away with a broom and new toolbox) for our productive balcony space.

awaiting action: basil, chives, basil (we use it a lot), coriander, dill, jalapeno

Unfortunately, I picked up coriander rather than flat-leafed parsley – easy to do when they are seedlings. Yes, yes, I should have read the tag. Though it was undoubtedly TheUniverse trying to tell me something – we use coriander periodically and it does not keep terribly well, so now we should be able to wander outside a grab bit when required (as did Don when he made guacamole to accompany Hawthorn v CrAdelaide yesterday evening).

I need space for parsley and feel the rose bush, unless it blooms spectacularly, in a non-yellow colour, in the next week or so, is on extremely borrowed time.

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After arriving home, we walked to Norton Street Grocer for cooking supplies: hot chorizo, russian speck, avocados (see aforementioned guacamole), salad leaves and Harvest Ingredients kashmiri curry (I really should refer to the blog moar¹ when buying foodly things – the last outing for this was underwhelming and so it was on this occasion – even with an even more casseroley cut of lamb).

I also could not resist buying a new packet of infusions, though I’m all about T2, I prefer teabags for werkly use.

SML teapot on SML desk

hot love? slightly workplace inappropriate but how could I resist?

¹At times like this I wonder why, why, why did I abandon daily food blogging?

Joan jetted off on Thursday evening for a month in Europe with Vincenzo, my minion¹. Currently they are in London and part ways in a couple of days – he is off to family and she will be exploring / shopping – then they’re back together off and on for Berlin and then (though not in this order and I am probably forgetting something) Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Iceland. So excited for her and really rather proud that she’s become an independent world-travelling woman.

I would have driven her to the airport, but we were otherwise occupied with Joe/Frank’s year 12 graduation! I know – what?!? How did he become a hulking 18 year old?

It was Don’s first experience of an Australian high school graduation. Having prior experience, I was really rather dreading it (and brought reading material), but it was actually not too bad. Good, verging on excellent, speeches and not too much entertainment (what there was was of good quality).

only about half of the sea of humanity. 300+ students and only two guests per student allowed.

It was a really lovely way to end High School. Though Joe/Frank is splitting Year 12 over 2 years, he only has to attend actual classes next year and is technically considered to have completed (so none of the general admin [assemblies &etc] is required).

One of the constant worries when you have a child with a disability is how they will get on in life and how they will be treated. This school has been completely and utterly amazing for Joe/Frank, he is getting good results, has a great bunch of friends, is generally very well-regarded and treated exceedingly well. When I think of how High School could have been I am so very, very thankful that it turned out this way.

Now the dreaded 6 weeks until the HSC exams. We’ve made a deliberate decision to not interfere with assignments and such this year – apart from the occasional internet banning when we’ve observed bludging – and the results have been solid.

But now while there is no school (for the non-NSWians – after the end of term 3, Year 12s have a 6 week+ break which is intended to be used for exam prep²), it will be all practice essays all the time and bossing and assisting and monitoring. I’ve organised to work from home a couple of afternoons a week and take a few days annual leave so I can ensure it is all on track.

The goal is Arts at Sydney or UNSW in 2014 and while achievable, the acknowledged weak point is the timed essay writing. Fortunately we’re not too bad at reviewing and the most excellent teachers have made themselves available to everyone to provide feedback.

Bits crossed.

I have recently been exceedingly slothful (just checked the amazingly excellent sportstracker and have not run since July) and it was quite challenging (hills in every direction). I could not go anywhere near as far our has fast as I have before, but am pleased that I made the effort to carpe the … exercisem.

3.28km | 23:06

Everything I’ve done thus far has been thought-provoking and quite useful in a practical sense. Subsequent debriefs with MrT have elicited, “you’ve really changed the way you think” and Don has been all like, “you realise you would have totally rolled your eyes and sneered at this two or three years ago?”.

They’re both right – perhaps I am finally growing up and becoming Serious about work.

So Serious that I am sort-of, maybe considering acquiring a qualification so that I might learn more – the main thing giving me pause is that the qualification I am considering is a rather a little lame and not at all sexy (and dare I say, TAFEly). But then perfect being the enemy of the good and all that, maybe I should just do it for I absolutely do not have the will, energy or inclination to pursue an MBA.