Another Night Hike

Ross and I went up to Shep again last night.  This time we decided to do our usual track in reverse.  That way as we came down the last big hill we would have the twinkling lights of Adelaide in front of us instead of to our backs.  It was a beautiful night.  We ended up just in t-shirts.  The steep down we usually walk became a steep up.  And I mean steep!  I had no idea it was such a steep hill.  LOL  It is amazing how different your perception is depending on if you are going up or down.

It normally takes us an hour and a half or so to do our track.  On Sunday, because we kept stopping for photos and to look at the birds, it took nearly 2 hours.  Last night we did it in 1 hour 10 minutes.  I have no idea how or why.  It didn't feel as though we were going faster.  And believe me, I had to stop several times going up.  But it took a lot less time.

I have been loading my back pack with books and things to start creating weight when we hike, but soon I will have to start doing the hikes with my full kit on so I get used to it.  I am a bit wary about how the weight will go, but I need to do it.

My ankle held up really well.  It was twinge-ing at the end, so I iced it when we got home and it feels good now.  I have decided not to even attempt to run until after the hike.  I am not risking an injury.  Once we get back I will start running again.

xox

Busy Weekend

I had a great and busy weekend.  It started Friday night with dinner at Mum's.  Well, the real reason I went was to raid her fabric stash, but dinner was an added bonus!  :o)  I grabbed a whole heap of fabric ready to start my hexagon quilt.  I have been planning this quilt for a couple of years, so it is going to be great to actually get started.  We had a great night catching up.

Saturday morning I got stuck into finishing the last knitted square for the the blanket.  I knitted while watching Season 1 of Charmed on DVD.  A great morning.

Around lunch time Ross & I headed out for our hike.  It was a stunning day.  No rain for the first time in a week, and we even saw the sun!  My foot hurt a little going up the hill, although I found going backward helped with that.  Besides, going backwards I got to watch this amazing view unfold before my eyes.

The stitching together of the panorama isn't great (it gets bigger if you click on it), but you can get an idea of how high we climbed and what we could see.

This is Ross right at the top.  Those teeny tiny building in the background sticking up is the city of Adelaide.

There were birds galore out in force and it was just stunning.

Going back down made my foot hurt a tiny bit, but it wasn't too bad.  We got to the point where Ross likes to turn off, however we couldn't get across.

At least, I wasn't prepared to since I don't have waterproof army boots!  (For some reason Blogger won't let me put that photo in the right way up, sorry about the side view...)

We made it round in a couple of hours and had a great time.  I was thinking of going again, but my ankle was a bit twinge-y so I decided to stop there.  I got home and put my foot on an ice pack for a couple of hours while I finished knitting.  The ice pack seemed to really help, and it is feeling good now.

I got the last square done and laid out the blanket how I am going to put it together.  I meant to take a pic of it all laid out, but I forgot.  Sorry about that.

Sunday morning I went to the local quilt shop with Di to get the backing for the blanket.  I got a nice deep red with a black curly line pattern on it.  It will look sensational.  I spent the rest of the day alternating between sewing the blanket together and baking cookies.  I really enjoyed the whole day.

Tonight Ross & I are heading back up to Shep to do another walk.  We leave in 7 weeks, so I need to walk as much as possible in that time.  Either hiking or just walking in general.

xox

It's Daffodil Day!

Feeling Crafty

I haven't worked on any of my craft projects for ages, and I am currently feeling the crafty bug.  First things first, I need to finish the knitted blankets.  I laid them out and realised the size I was going for is just going to be too small.  So I have a couple of choices here.  I can knit for another year to get enough squares to make them big enough, or I can combine what I have and make one good sized blanket.

One blanket won.  That was the original plan but Ross wanted his own.  I have now convinced him that we can share one good sized blanket and snuggle under it together.  So I counted up my squares and I am 2 squares short.  Well, I was.  I finished another one last night.  So now I only need to do one more square and I can put it together.  YAY!

The other reason I want to finish it (other than I am sick of knitting squares) is that I have not done any quilting for ages.  I have been planning my first hand quilt for a few years (I usually work by machine) and have decided it it time to start.  All my fabric is at Mums so I am heading over there tonight to start picking colours.  I am doing a hexagon quilt and I want it to look like a field of flowers.  This project will probably take me a couple of years (especially the speed I work and how often I get distracted) but I don't mind.  I am looking forward to getting started on it.

I walked again this morning.  And I am feeling better for it.  Tomorrow Ross & I are going hiking.  Just to Shepherds Hill, but it will be good.  The plan is to do 2 loops which should take us a few hours.  It's hard to judge distance, but at a guess I would say 6-7 kms.  I am looking forward to it, and the hills will be a real test for my foot.

I hope everyone has a magnificent weekend.

xox

Question Day!

1)  What was the last exercise you did?

2)  What is your favourite thing to make with a tortilla?

3)  What is the last movie you watched?

4)  Do you like the heat?  If not, how do you deal with it?

5)  Is there something you do every day to be environmentally friendly?

xox

Funny Thing

It is pouring here today - alternating between just heavy rain and thunderstorms and hail.  So my co-worker and I got a chuckle when we saw this across the road.

Yep, the window washer is cleaning the windows in the pouring rain.  But it got funnier when he got the chamois out and started trying to dry them....  LOL

xox

Checking in for the deserved butt kicking...

Mel, I got your last comment.  You wanna kick butt so here I am...  Last night my boss drove me home.  It was freezing cold and I only had a thin jacket with me.  Considering I have been coughing and snuffling and he doesn't want me out sick, he drove me.  When I got home the house was filled with the smell of freshly baking scones...  I admit it.  I succumbed to the temptation and stayed in and ate.

This morning was storming.  Wild and windy and pouring.  But I got a lift in so that as long as it calms down (and it is meant to) I can walk tonight.

I'm sorry Mel.  I promise to do better...

xox