This is one of those occasions in daily blogging when you wish you could whip out something you’d prepared earlier.

Alas, I do not have such a thing, but I will leave you with this – which I think I saw on instagram but cannot remember when and by whom …

there are less than three months left of the decade.

Goodness!

2960 days.

My last weekend’s ten things would be best described as wildly unsuccessful, but because I’m an optimist I’ll keep reaching for that thing …

Rather a lot of repeats here!

+ movie and dinner date with Don
+ open that sashiko kit
+ knit six rows of impossible jumper
+ nap
+ 2x cardio
+ assess craft supplies
+ prioritise future crafting activities – and get started on one thing (doesn’t matter what thing!)
+ limit internet use
+ edit that photo of the Japanese laundromat
+ cross off the completed items on the 60before60 list

2961 days

Today I was tossing up between two lunchtime options:

+ Rambling around the shops and likely buying something I don’t really need.

+ Going for a walk.

Walk won.

While on my walk I passed the stairs to the harbour bridge and thought “why not?”

Very very nice to have this practically on your office doorstep.

2962 days

Back in I-want-to-say August, I was really taken by an artwork featured in the regular artmoney** email.

I liked the it so much that I spontaneously organised to view it one lunchtime (by myself! unprecedented!) and loved it even more.

Alas, it was on hold for someone else. “Keep me in mind if it falls through!” I begged.

It did and he did.

And verily it was mine.

not at all flattering image

It’s so soothing and peaceful. I’m very pleased I jumped out of my comfort zone to get it!

2963 days

xxx

** I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned artmoney before? They work with galleries to offer interest free loans buy artwork. You get the work immediately and pay it off over 10 months. It’s pretty sweet.

rounding out the pix from last weekend’s bushwalk

Because I’ve sworn off headphones for at least a week, my train commutes have been a rather different experience than I’m accustomed to.

When I can grab a seat (rare in the mornings, common in the afternoon) I’ve been trying to occupy myself with something other than mindlessly scrolling through my phone, which is another habit I’d quite like to shed.

For the past two afternoons I’ve been tucked up in a tiny single train seat, engrossed in a hard copy library book.

It has really been such a surprisingly delightful thing!

I am very keen to keep it up.

2964 days

Since taking the quite radical step of eating lunch, I’ve been taking a sandwich to work most days.

We freeze our loaves of bread as soon as we buy them and lately** the individual slices have been super-difficult to pry apart – usually involving a knife as a lever and ending with a mangled or broken slice.

As a consequence we have *a lot* of fresh breadcrumbs.

I couple of weeks ago I had a genius idea. What if I interleaved the slices with squares of the wax paper we’ve had in the cupboard for the last 8-9 years?

Genius!

And the wax paper slices can be reused, so not quite the environmental disaster it initially appears.

I love these small problem solving exercises.

2965 days

xxx

** I’m uncertain if this is the because of the bread or the freezer.

Last Saturday I productively pottered about ThePalace(OfLove) listening to a couple of podcasts and then a couple of audiobooks via my trusty airpods.

By late that evening I could hear a bubbling sound in my ears, had slight ear pain and felt like I was coming down with a cold. Pretty obviously the result of having the airpods in my ears for 10-12 (or maybe a little more) hours. I’ve always had weird ears and was super-prone to ear infections when I was small and I still get those bubbly ears after too much swimming or, weirdly, staying in headstand for too long.

So I vowed to lay off the airpods for the next few days to let the poor ears recover. It was only then that I really realised how much I actually have devices in or over my ears:

+ Exercise? Headphones – music
+ Walking? Heaphones – podcast / audiobook / Japanese
+ Catching the train? Headphones – podcast / audiobook / Japanese
+ Need to focus at SML? Headphones – music
+ Housework? Headphones – podcast / audiobook
+ Knitting? Heaphones – podcast / audiobook
+ Cooking? Headphones – podcast / audiobook

Not a day passes when I don’t listen to something via headphones. Isn’t it interesting how habits can form without you being at all aware of it?

A couple of days of non-listening and I decided it was time to return. I tried my AirPods, I tried giant over-ear headphones, I tried my favourite original round old skool iphone earbuds. I tried minimising my listening.

And still the uncomfortable bubbly ears and slight pain returned.

So I’m taking an extended break and carrying around a small bluetooth speaker to allow me to listen to things – which works in ThePalace, but less well in other environments.

And of course I will head off to the GP if this doesn’t improve.

I’m not super-keen to permanently reassess my listening habits, but I fear this could be in my future.

2966 days

I honestly can’t remember what started it, but a couple of weeks ago Don brought home a couple of new CDs. Jazz CDs (peak middle-aged hipster dude?).

Then he bought new speakers.

Then he dragged out one of the boxes of CDs that we’ve been storing in the garage since we moved in – looking for a particular non-Jazz CD.

Why don’t we get them all out? I asked.

And so we did.

It took a while to find a space for them to live and they’re nowhere near the CD player**, but is nice to see them all lined up (@jamesobrien – alphabetising to follow!).

And wow, the difference in sound quality compared to streaming music is astounding. Far, far superior. I’m a huge fan of vinyl, but the CDs sound almost as good. And we’re listening to music together in ThePalace(OfLove) again, not separately through headphones which sort of happened somewhere along the way.

I’m very glad we did not dispose of them after we paid Joe/Frank to digitise them for us.

A nice unintended consequence is not having giant evil corporate entities tracking every single thing we’re listening to. Now not quite every single thing. Just most things.

Remember when the Internet used to be a place to escape from Real Life? It increasingly feels like we need Real Life to escape from the Internet.

2967 days

xxx
** actually the DVD player, we don’t have a CD player – yet.

+ book movie tix for next weekend
+ organise crafting supplies
+ sew something! (anything!)
+ nap!
+ 2x short cardio (run or ride)
+ review that 60before60 list – mark off completed items, review what I’m not jazzed by.
+ knit 6 rows of impossible jumper
+ listen 2x music cds
+ make list of books read July-Sept
+ leave ThePalace(OfLove) – however briefly

2968 days

Really gorgeous flowers spotted everywhere along the bushwalking route. I’m not at all sure how many of those are native. I did see loads of what looked like geraniums (unpictured) which are definitely not.

I don’t know that I’ve done much walking in the bush at springtime. Should rectify that – as long as I douse myself in insect repellent beforehand.

2969 days