Gym bunny

Well, not really. But J and I have started to go to our local gym!
It's nice and friendly, with very few size 0s in hot pink lycra. None actually. There are lots of people our age or older mixed in with the guys who wear combat trousers and keep their hoods up who cluster together in the serious weights corner. They don't seem to actually do much training, but are there all the time. It was j's gym first. I have promised not to speak to him if we happen to be there at the same time.

So far we have an introductory regime of 30 minutes cardio: 10 mins treadmill, 10 mins bike, 10 mins cross-trainer. Then we do 30 minutes of weight machines and finish with another 10 minutes on the treadmill.

I have aches in muscles around my upper back and shoulders that I didn't know I actually had and my arse hurts. Must be doing me good!



J took this slightly manic-looking photo after this morning's session. Just taken my headband off - that's my excuse for the hair, anyway :0

No amount of weight work is going to lift my bingo wings. I'll just need to get longer sleeved T shirts ;)

For your pleasure

A busy week. So, what's new?
Went to see Roxy Music at Newcastle Arena on Tuesday. Had a really good evening, even if they didn't play Both Ends Burning, a personal favourite. I shouldn't moan; I did get The Strand.

Terrible phone pictures:

Edit this setlist | More Roxy Music setlists

Retro

I love the new Orla Kiely re-useable bags at Tesco at the moment. Apparently there are going to be four designs throughout the year. Bought one to add to the collection of bags in the car boot - you know, the ones that get left in the car boot when you go into the supermarket resulting in the need to buy more, and one to use as a knitting bag.



I really like the pear design. reminds me of some curtains we had in the 1960s. And it reminds me of this skirt I have. Make mental note not to carry that bag with that skirt!

Yarn Swap

A lovely parcel arrived in the post this week - my swap package from Vikki.

Can you feel the excitement?



Ta-da!



Look at that gorgeous yarn!

My favourite has to be the Mirasol Akapana. It's a gorgeous colour and I love the philosophy of Mirasol.

Thank you, Vikki :)

Wild tides

J has rested since he was discharged from hospital earlier this week - if you define resting as cleaning the house, sorting out his equipment for work and going to the cash and carry.

So, after being checked out by our GP this morning and having a sensible blood pressure again (Monday night's was 80/49!) we took up our walking programme again.

There were wild tides last night by the look of the beach - all the steps and walkways from the promenade are covered with sand and debris, and lots of rocks, which are normally well-covered by the beach, have been exposed.
We don't often see this boat skeleton:



Only had my phone camera with me today, so appologies for the poor quality of the pictures.

The unusual amount of interesting sea life that has been beached has brought a spectacular number and diversity of seabirds, too.



Most interesting spot of the morning was this:



It's a Ray's Bream, we think, with razor-sharp teeth. Or maybe, it's a pirhana with SatNav issues...

Hospital sock

We had excitement that we could have quite happily lived without on Monday night. Result was J being 'blue-lighted' hospital and spending the night on Coronary Care. He hasn't had another heart attack, but has viral pericarditis. Nasty.

Anyway, to keep my mind away from the scenarios that being a natural catastrophyser produces, I cast on another hospital sock for him. I used a toe-up pattern and Wabi-Sabi sock yarn. The yarn is gorgeous, but difficult for my poor, aged eyes to see in the dim light of an intensive care facility in the middle of the night. I'm not enjoying the pattern, as I think the toe shapings look messy and the fit is way too wide for even J's size 12's.





Now that he's safely home I can find a new pattern - or simply go back the the one I always use for men's socks.

Last day of freedom

A cold, crisp Bank Holiday. We drove across the moors, where the snow is still hanging on, to Whitby.





It was surprisingly quiet and the light was wonderful.





Too cold to eat outdoors, so we didn't feed the herring gulls this trip. Decided instead to sit in the warmth of the Sander's Yard coffee house with a latte.

Home to make a veggie curry for tea and work on a bit of knitting.

Back to work tomorrow.

Back in the groove

Today, I took down the Christmas tree and boxed up all the decorations for another year. I even wound the cables of the lights around cardboard this time as the tangled mess that was 3 sets that had been put into one bag last year still haunts me!

I always have a moment where I think the room looks sad and empty without the tree and decorations, then I vacuum and feel much better - isn't our living room light, airy and spacious? I think. That feeling will last until someone finds something to fill the space up with.

Next, I planned to tackle this:



It's 40 Literacy and 40 maths books from my class. They need to have new targets set, printed out and stuck in, then I need to cross reference each book against the APP standards. I've already planned maths, English (reading, writing, handwriting, spelling and speaking and listening), ICT, Design and technology, RE and history/geography lessons. Yes, those long, uninterrupted holidays are definitely why I went into teaching!

J and I went for our daily, face-freezing walk on the beach this morning. On the way over there, we saw a rabbit climbing off the road onto the verge as we headed out on the Seaton Carew Road. It had obviously been hit by a car, but was moving. An hour later, we headed back and J spotted it still sitting there. We both knew what was coming next, but neither of us spoke until we were nearly home.

The upshot is, we have a poorly rabbit in a box in the dining room. The PDSA 'don't do this sort of thing' and the RSPCA have been very helpful, trying to find a vet in the area who will look at a small, wild animal, but they have had no more luck than us. In the meantime, we'll try to keep him quiet and warm.



Edited to add:

The rabbit picked up a bit this afternoon and was later collected by the RSPCA to be seen by a vet.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2011!

2010 was a year of change for us - dominated by my gastric bypass and j going off to university. I wonder what 2011 will bring.


Project 365

I'm thinking about having a go at this. Here's my picture for today:



Two years ago, these trousers became too tight to wear after my Christmas break from work. I was faced with two choices; buy bigger ones or take the problem seriously and do something about it.

I think I made the right choice ;)