Kylie's Curiosities has evolved and developed over time, but is basically a place where I can write about the things I am curious about. The topics vary. Photos come and go. But it is always just Kylie...
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Another Night Hike
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
Monday, August 30, 2010
Busy Weekend
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
Friday, August 27, 2010
Feeling Crafty
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
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Question Day!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Funny Thing
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...
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
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
I Wanna Run...
But I want to run again. I need to let this heal though. Our hike is in 2 months (a bit less actually) and this injury has seriously gotten in the way of training. I need to walk as much as possible in the next couple of weeks so I can hit some hill training in the lead up. Otherwise we won't be going until next year. :o(
So the goal for the next 7 days is to walk every day. Even if it is just 2 kms in the morning and 2 at night. I have to walk. Butt kicking is required if i don't do it. :o)
xox
Monday, August 23, 2010
Food and Gardening
From the Farmers Marker we went to Bunnings to get a few extra things for our gardening adventures. Gardening lasted all afternoon.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Writing Workshop
The best thing I find from doing these courses and workshops is that I walk away, not only feeling inspired and motivated, but also with snippets that I can turn into something down the track. A few things that came out today during the exercises I will work on developing. A few can also go straight to the bin! :o)
The last exercise was awesome. I got some really great stuff out of it, and feel as though I really extended myself. It felt so great to be writing randomly and free form again. I need to make free writing part of my writing again. I'm looking forward to doing the exercises and practicing my craft. I'm sure it will improve my novel and my children's stories.
In other news, tonight Ross and I are meant to be going on a night hike. I say meant to because my Achilles (actually I am pretty sure it is the tendons next to the Achilles and not the Achilles itself that is the problem) is really painful today. It probably has a lot to do with running through the city in the rain last night (thanks for that Em) :o) When I get home (this is coming from my phone on the tram) I will ice it, put it up and take some Nurofen, and hopefully I will be fine to go tonight. Tomorrow is farmers market and gardening day, both of which I am really excited about.
xox
Friday, August 20, 2010
Organic Gardener
Sunday, after a morning visit to the farmers markets, we are going to start the garden. Depending on what seeds we can get we are going to start with some of the following:
Capsicum
Parsnip
Broccoli
Carrots
Lettuce
Zucchini
I can't wait until we are eating our own beautiful veggies. We already have our own herbs growing that my Mum got started for us, so this will be a fantastic expansion on that.
Stay tuned for more on this topic.
xox
Food Inc
I knew the treatment of many of these animals was appalling, I had already made the switch to organic free range meat where possible (although it is a very expensive way to eat and not something we could always afford) but I had no idea of the drastic conditions they were kept in some place (actually in a lot of places). And this treatment is not just encouraged by the massive companies that are buying the produce, in many cases it is mandated by them!
But it is not just the meat industry. The entire food industry needs an overhaul. Ross & I have been toying with the idea of a veggie garden for ages. Time to stop toying and start growing. We also often miss the local Farmers Market and buy our veg from the supermarket. No more. We need to be a lot more aware of what we are putting into our bodies.
I was so appalled by so much of this movie that I probably missed some bits. I will watch it again I think. I also want to find out how I can find out more about the Australian food industry to see if it is as appalling as the US. I will need to start researching. And I WILL start thinking more about the foods I buy. Aiming for Australian grown and produced as much as possible, and fresh fruit and veg - from the markets.
I think the timing of this was something that was 'meant to be'. I have been feeling more and more like I need to refocus on my food but the whole calorie counting thing was getting me down. This is a way I can refocus and bring good whole foods back into my life without worrying about calories for now. If I concentrate on the quality of my food, I am hoping the rest will follow.
Daily Tarot
Knight of Pentacles
This card represents someone in your life who is dependable and hard working. They are resourceful, and thrifty. Good with money. Organised to the point of annoying. A bit of a loner. Can even verge on dull or stubborn. If you draw this card you are asked to recognise who this person is on your life. Is it you? Or someone close to you? Listen to what they have to say as they have a message for you.
xox
Thursday, August 19, 2010
New Groups and Question Day
2) Did you ever have anything stolen from you?? Did you get it back? 3) What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
4) Do you always wear your seat belt?
5) What do you do to make your water more appetizing?
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
New People
Anyway, tonights group is a meetup of people who are interested in the Paranormal and Unexplained. It is up in the Adelaide Hills and both Ross and I are interested and are planning on going. I am really nervous about it. Mainly because it is a big(ish) group of people who all seem to know each other already. Ross and I are the only new people going. Plus I am a bit scared that I won't understand what people are talking about as some of the topics they discuss are things I have never heard of. But Ross will be with me so I am sure I will be fine.
Daily Goals
1) Drink water (this has been sadly lacking)
2) Take my vitamins
3) Eat better than yesterday
4) Be brave and actually go tonight
5) Tidy my desk because it is getting pretty overcrowded
Daily Tarot
4 of Cups
This card represents self-absorption, apathy and boredom. You have been disappointed by somebody or something and now you are emotionally stuck. You don't like what is in front of you and you can't be bothered to look further than your own brooding mind. It is a shame because if you listen to the voice of wisdom you will look up and see that what you need is not that far away.
xox
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Tarot Bits
Not much going on today. My Achilles is still playing up so I haven't been exercising. Food hasn't been great. As much as I normally love winter, I am over it this year. It is really affecting me. I can't wait for Spring!
Daily Goals
1) Drink water
2) Monitor food
3) Make that phone call I have been avoiding
4) Tidy up at home
5) Cook a healthy dinner
Daily Tarot
2 of Swords
You are facing a difficult decision or conflicting ideas, but are not willing to face the situation. You have closed your eyes to it and are hoping it will go away and are letting your emotions distract you. This card is telling you that the decision needs to be made rationally or intellectually, and not emotionally.
xox
Monday, August 16, 2010
Rainbows and Tarot
As I was getting in the car this morning I looked up and this gorgeous rainbow was filling the sky. It was raining lightly and the sun was just coming up. I only had my phone with me which is why the photo is a bit crummy, but it was a beautiful sight.
Yesterday I gave myself over to sloth. Ross was at work, MIL was in the kitchen soaking stamps all day. And I sat in my room, watched crappy sitcoms (That 70's Show - I love it), read, played Facebook Games, did puzzles, and just generally did nothing. It was wonderful. :)
One thing I decided was to try and build up my Facebook page for my photo cards. So I have started another give away. If you are on Facebook do a search for 'photo cards by kylie ann' and become a fan. Invite all your friends to become fans. The 100th fan, plus the person who suggested that person, each get 2 free cards of their choice.
Daily Goals
1) Drink Water
2) Eat no crap
3) Stay away from Facebook and get all my work done
4) Enjoy my tarot reading tonight
5) Early night
In an effort to learn the Tarot in a more practical way, I have decided to draw a Tarot Card for myself each day and record it. I use the Mystic Dreamer Tarot, so if you use tarot yourself and don't recognise the images, this is why. If you don't believe in this or aren't interested, I will put it as the last part of the blog so you can stop reading when you get to it. If this becomes the only reason you come here, skip to the end. :)
Daily Tarot
Today I pulled the Wheel of Fortune. This is one of the Major Arcana so it implies big things. The Wheel of Fortune is the number 10 card. So it talks about the beginning of something. This card signifies a change is on its way, one that you may not be expecting. The card tells you to be open to the change, and although it may not be what you were expecting it is likely to bring good fortune in the long run.
xox
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Bringing Back the WhoGAF!
It was really great to meet someone that I have a lot in common with. We ended up talking for 3 hours! About a range of different topics. Thanks Sarah, it was great meeting you.
I ended up getting to the library only 40 minutes before closing so didn't get to spend as much time writing as I would have liked. That's okay though. It just wanted meant to be today. I ended up visiting Ross at work and then doing a little bit of shopping. I bought this awesome new handbag.
I have been looking for a bright but not overly fussy handbag for ages, and this was perfect. And at $29 (marked down from $109.95) a bargain to boot!
SO the WhoGAF. WhoGAF stands for Who Gives A Fu&k. A few months ago this was my big revelation to myself. I needed to stop worrying about what others think and just live my life. WhoGAF has kind of gotten a bit lost of late, so it is time to bring it back. I have gone back to worrying about what others think. Not as much as I used to, but it is creeping back in.
So this is my mission for the next month or so. Whenever I find myself cringing about something or holding my tongue in case people think 'badly' or 'poorly' of me, I will shake myself off and think - WhoGAF! It is my life and I will do as I damn well please!
xox
Friday, August 13, 2010
Writing Zone
I started reading the next Book Club book last night as well. It is called We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.
Again, this one is very different to the type of book I normally read, but I think I will enjoy it. I am not far enough into it yet to be sure. It is about a boy - Kevin - who kills 7 classmates and 3 teachers. But it is not about him so much as his mother. It is written as a series of letters written by Kevin's mother, Eva, to her estranged husband. She starts writing them a year and a half after the killings and uses the letters to try and sort out what made Kevin who he was and turned him into someone who would do this. She has guilt over the fact that she never wanted him in the first place and tries to decipher if she made him into this person or if he was just born evil.
I am not going to do 5 daily goals today, I am going to do 10 goals for the next few days.
Goals
1) Drink enough water every day
2) Monitor food intake
3) Go for a bike ride
4) Go for a walk
5) Finish book club book
6) Finish chapter 7
7) Housework
8) Paperwork
9) Return overdue library books
10) Practice Tarot
xox
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Question Day!
2) Do you have holidays planned this year? What are your plans?
3) What is your favorite store?
4) How did you pick your blogs name?
5) Are you a morning person or a night person?
xox
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Look What I Found
Anyway, I have been reading this for a few days. Today when I opened it, this beautiful card fell out. It looks like it's from a deck of some kind, and I'm guessing the last person who borrowed it was using it as a bookmark. It has a photo of the stamen of a flower (I think that's the word) and all it says is
"Divine Guidance"
Now I am a HUGE believer in fate and karma and everything happening for a reason, so I have to believe this is some sort of sign. What exactly it's referring to, I don't know right now. But I feel very sure that I was meant to get this card today. :o)
xox
Sudoko
Actually, I know this is a pretty boring topic, but I needed to write about something as I am trying something new. I am emailing this via MMS from my phone, and I wanted to see if it would work. That way when I have something short & sweet to say, I can quickly send it. I'm thinking about weekends mainly, as that is when I usually have little things I want to talk about but am nowhere near my computer.
Anyway, I have wanted to learn how to Sudoko for a while, and now I can. If anyone is a Sudoko wizz and wants to give me pointers, I'm all ears. :o)
xox
This'n'That
I will get there though. I know I will. :o)
Nothing much else to report. Last night was a relaxing evening filled with cooking, and spending time with the fella. Plus a bit of reading and doing some puzzles. It was really nice.
I am going to go back to doing my Daily Goals. So here are the 5 for today:
1) Drink 6 glasses of water (I haven't been doing this lately)
2) Monitor my food intake - not calorie counting or anything, just monitoring so I can see where I am at
3) Don't waste half the day surfing the Net. Get my work done first
4) Start sorting through the TV room - it's a mess
5) Write a letter
xox
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
More Tarot
One thing that came up in my spread - quite strongly actually - is that I need to take better care of my health. I have been pretty slack lately with my food mainly, but also with exercise. I really need to take stock. I keep saying "I'm Gonna" but I never do. Now it has come through very clearly in my cards that this is something that requires focus, and it needs it now.
xox
Monday, August 9, 2010
Tarot and Baking
At the end of the session we were meant to all do a detailed reading, but before we got to that we had already gone an hour over time. So we are meeting again tonight to finish up.
I spent yesterday in the kitchen. Firstly making a big bowl of veggie soup, then baking. First up I made Hazelnut cookies. I'll be honest, not a huge fan of them, although my MIL loves them.
That was followed by Chocolate Cream Cookies.
Now I tell you - these are sensational! Kinda like an Oreo, but tastier. I had some cream left, so I added cocoa and decided to sandwich together some of the Hazelnut cookies.
It improved them, but they are still not really to my taste. They are nice, just not my kinda cookie. :o)
Throughout the cooking I read a book. It is "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. A movie was made out of it that I had wanted to see, but never got around to. The book was excellent. Very moving. I highly recommend it.
Last night Ross and I spent snuggled up watching TV. No book. No laptop. No DS. Just us. It was sensational. And way too long since we have just spent time like that together. :o)
xox
Friday, August 6, 2010
It's Friday!
So instead last night I plugged in the laptop and got stuck into some writing. I have finished the first draft of another children's book. I am not sure about this one. I will keep working on it, but it may not get to the publishers. I love the concept I have come up with, but am really unsure about the way I have put it together. I might need to put it aside and come back to it fresh in 6 months or so.
I have also done a couple more chapters of the novel. I am now working on chapter 6. It is interesting, my writing tutor said once that as soon as you get to about 7000 words, you start revising in your head and wanting to go back and change things. I am up to about 10,000 words and that is exactly what I want to do. but she also said not to. She said if you get bogged down in editing the first few chapters you will never finish the first draft. So I am just plowing ahead and trying to get everything down. I am actually a little stunned I am as far through as that. I didn't expect to get there so quickly. But it is going well and I am enjoying the process.
Tomorrow I have another Tarot workshop. I am really looking forward to it. I haven't done as much practice as I should have to prepare for it, but that's life.
Nothing else planned for the weekend. Hope you all have a good one.
xox
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Question Day!
2) What was the last thing that made you smile?
3) What exercise are you doing today?
4) Who vacuums in your home?
5) What is your favorite TV show?
Looking forward to everyones answers!
xox