In Motion Monday

The daily PWYC thread, where we gather to keep in touch, keep accountable and keep motivating each other.
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Kathryn-in-Canada
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In Motion Monday

Postby Kathryn-in-Canada » Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:00 am

Now that the holidays are behind you, it is time to put into motion your plans for the year.

Go for it!

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Kathryn-in-Canada
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Re: In Motion Monday

Postby Kathryn-in-Canada » Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:03 am

It is bedtime Monday and Ken is already in bed and snoring quietly. We have the a/c on and he's quieter than that.

I've been writing travelogs this evening so am still up. Last night I was so tired I went to bed without my bite guard AND taking my vitamins. I woke up 3 hours later aching all over so took my pills and got my guard in too. Then slept through until after 6 so was in bed 9 hours.

I'm pretty tired tonight but desperate to get my writing done. I have no cuop from yesterday yet and won't until tonight your time (at the earliest.)

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Re: In Motion Monday

Postby Kathryn-in-Canada » Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:08 am

Here's the travelog for Thursday and Friday:

We slept well Wednesday night and got up early on Thursday due to jet lag. We had to close the windows due to bugs getting in after dark since there are no screens, so we ran the AC until the middle of the night. We had our regular breakfast and then headed off for the day.

To leave the garden we walk past the verandah which is used as an outdoor living area, including the main dining room for the house so we ended up joining I and T (our hosts) and J (her cousin visiting from France) for tea and a visit before heading off to find the 'non-tourist' shopping area.

We picked up some snacks and a prepared salad for me to have for lunch and then walked down to the beach to eat.

Before the sand was a large area with shade trees and grass so we set up there to rest and just stare at the water and our surroundings while eating. The shade of the tree was so deep, I was actually cold from the breeze off the water despite it being a hot day.

We walked home along the beaches until they ended, enjoying watching the dogs play at their beach. Once home, I settled in the garden with tea and a mincemeat tart. T joined me (and I had tea to offer him) and then his sister and wife joined and more chairs were dragged down from their part of the garden and we had a lovely visit. They invited us for dinner which we accepted.

After they left I had a time reading while dh watched a movie and then went to the verandah for a lovely cheese fondue with fresh fruit for dessert. It is stone-fruit season here and the peaches are very good.

For photos of our cottage and the garden, view the photos from the AirBnB page:

https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/16770537

Friday we woke up early after another good sleep, this time without AC at all. We scrambled to get our breakfast before leaving at 7:40 for coffee down by the beach. There is a huge coffee culture here with 2 or more independent cafes on each block (or so it seems.)

We had coffee with an assortment of people, the table expanding and contracting as people came. It is summer holidays here so a grandchild came as well and had a babychino (just frothed hot milk with a sprinkle of chocolate on top.)

We walked back via the grocery store and then after a short break headed off to pick up the rental car for the weekend.

First stop with the car was up in the Gooseberry Hills where we retrieved the passport. It was so different up there compared to by the beach. The beach area reminds us of beach communities in Southern California. Up in the hills it felt more like the hills around Aptos.

From there we went on to Perth to visit with our cruise friends. We met them almost 10 years ago on a cruise from Miami to Los Angeles and fell in love with them on that trip. We visited them at their home in Perth about 6 months later, actually staying with them for a few days. And then we visited again when we were here a few years ago. Despite going from 91 to almost 101 in that time, L has hardly changed, nor has B. They have given up their home and moved into a wonderful senior apartment complex. We are envious of their apartment and amenities in their complex, especially their large terrace complete with tap and electricity so they can fully use this outdoor space. They also have an exceptionally well designed kitchen. I love good design.

We had a lovely visit that included a wonderful afternoon tea of sweets, fruit and cake. I was shocked when dh gave me the time signal and mentioned we'd been there for 3 hours already. The time had flown by. We dragged out the goodbye a bit, not wanting to leave when we know it is so long between visits. We do love this part of the world as well as our friends here so will try and get back next year.

We needed to pick up fly nets for our hiking at Uluru so looked up an outdoor shop but it was right in downtown Perth and we drove by without seeing it. We kept going and parked at Kings Park to walk around and take in the view of the cityscape on the banks of the Swan River and plan our next step.

It was chilly there with the wind so we passed on walking to a restaurant not too far away and instead drove to another location of Grill'd. It is a healthy hamburger chain that ds introduced us to in 2015. We enjoyed our burgers greatly (and I had another ginger beer) and then we headed back to Fremantle. There was a grocery store at the mall with Grill'd and so we picked up bacon for the morning meal.

We were into bed not too late because we knew we had an early start the next day. It was chilly and through the night we were cold and put on our pjs from Qantas.

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Kathryn-in-Canada
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Re: In Motion Monday

Postby Kathryn-in-Canada » Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:16 am

Here's our Saturday adventure:

Road Trip!

On Saturday (Jan 6), much to the surprise of the locals, we decided to drive down to Cape since I like to 'collect' geographical spots in our travels and this is where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. It is also the most south westerly point of land in Australia so was the first point of land sailors would see in the early days of sea exploration.

What surprised the locals is that they consider it a full day drive to get to Cape Leeuwin. But google maps assured us it was only 3.5 hours, quite doable if there is the will to sit in the car that long. As well, for us, the scenery along the way was part of the enjoyment of the trip.

We headed off after a good bacon, egg and raisin bread breakfast (the bread was from our cruise friend who sent me home with that and cookies) but we were a bit late, missing our 8 a.m. departure by 45 minutes. Google was exactly right and we arrived at the Cape at 12:15, having driven straight through without stopping.

The first part of the route was a two lane dual carriageway like the highways by home but the scenery shifted, at times reminding us of drives along locally and other times reminding Ken more of Africa.

There were sections where the damage from a large fire 2 years ago was very evident.

Our host's daughter is doing her master's on the environmental effect of fire and is currently studying a part of the back country bush where the fire swept through, literally looking for signs of return of the insect and animals as well as the regrowth.

And snakes, the return of snakes. They are everywhere else in the country. There's the warning sign at the Cape. Thankfully, we haven't seen any yet.

The drive also took us through the Blackwood State Forest. The roads were almost deserted but dh stayed close to the truck in front of us since it had a roo catcher on front. We saw lots of dead kangaroos at the side of the road. During the non-forest parts of the drive we saw lots of cattle and sheep and wineries. We also enjoyed the smell of eucalyptus trees (which reminded us of northern California.)

The Cape was lovely, the day sunny, the oceans were beautiful blues and greens. It wasn't overly warm though.

We enjoyed being by the sea and stretching our legs after the long drive.

We also enjoyed watching the birds.

The lighthouse is 39 metres tall and pretty impressive up close. After leaving the Cape we parked to eat lunch with a lovely view of the cape and lighthouse.

We headed away from the Cape after lunch, about 90 minutes after arriving. At the gift shop we found the fly nets we'll need for Ayers Rock so picked those up, freeing us from finding an outdoor shop with them still in stock (the first 2 places we tried when we arrived were sold out.)

We headed back up the coast on a different route but the scenery wasn't much different except for times like this when the trees grew over the road giving a pretty effect of shade and sunlight.

Our next stop was Bunbury, the second largest city in Western Australia. The plan was Ken would do the beach and I would walk around town. Ken dropped me off at the city beach and drove down to a more secluded one where he enjoyed the bath temperature surf but was warned from swimming due to rip tides and sharks.

I walked from the beach up to the lighthouse and then the observation tower beyond, bravely climbing the 100 steps to the top. It was extremely windy so I took off my hat (despite the cage top) and hung on for dear life.

I also took time to plan my next part of the walk since I could see clearly the whole town. I ended up walking down the 100 steps of the tower and then another 125 to the main street and along that to The Creamery, a recommended ice cream shop.

Actually it was a gelato shop but since I was waiting for dh to meet me, I just had a cup of tea and sat out to enjoy the streetscape. With my tea, I also enjoyed the biscuits B had sent home.

With all that has happened in the past week, it is hard to remember that Christmas was not yet two weeks prior. The street decorations were lovely but looked out of place to me in the summer setting.

Dh found me no problem and we walked to the best fish and chip place in town and enjoyed a quick dinner. He had a shake with his dinner so only I ended up with gelato on the way back to the car.

Dark comes early here compared to in our summer so we headed on the road and watched very carefully for kangaroos. Didn't see any live ones. Google maps took us a very unsafe route (brush up to the shoulder of the rural road) so we got back onto a highway as fast as we could and took a longer route home through a residential area but were still at the cottage by 8:30. We stayed up late, though since it had been a long drive and we needed to unwind.

All in all, it was 640 km of driving in one day but we saw a lot more of Western Australia and had a good day except for bickering over driving habits. The speed limits are strictly followed here and I was reminding dh of that on a regular basis among other reminders. It is very stressful to sit in the driver's position but not have the steering wheel in front. I kept glancing up to the rear view mirror, which, of course, wasn't set so I could see anything. So any driving missteps by dh are even more stressful than when we are in North America.

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DeeClutter
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Re: In Motion Monday

Postby DeeClutter » Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:40 am

Very nice cottage, Kathryn. I so enjoy your travels with you. So glad you share with us.

I have to MAKE myself do a W mart run this morning. We're all but out of milk and no creamers left. Have meds we need to get. Put it off for as long as I possibly can. (Computer froze on me & when I shut down and came back it opened right to this page. Hmmm)

Waiting on one more report to come in and then the financial reports and I can finish up (this week I hope).
Begun is half done -SO! JUST BEGIN!!

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Twins' Mom
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Re: In Motion Monday

Postby Twins' Mom » Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:50 am

Wow, Kathryn, I love those pictures of your place!

We have a freezing rain this a.m., although I think the main road near us is fine. Supposed to warm up so I believe I can get to the Y for my fitness evaluation at 1 p.m. At 4 today I have the Pro-Gen discussion - this has been a quiet month because we weren't required to turn in an assignment so I'll spend some time this afternoon reviewing the discussion questions. Need to do Tai Chi practice today also, didn't feel comfortable with dh under foot yesterday - he was talking to me off and on Saturday while I was trying to practice. :roll:

Need to get moving...
-breakfast and meds
-refill meds for the week
-kitchen clean up including empty dishwasher
-load of laundry started
-s2s
Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better [wo]man. Ben Franklin

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Re: In Motion Monday

Postby DeeClutter » Mon Jan 08, 2018 11:12 am

I need to get my MOJO in gear and simply "just do it" -go to W mart that is. I really don't wanna.

Dsonil has gone to Tampa to see his dMom in the hospital. She's having some procedure this morning. When he called there, the Dr. was already in with his Mom so he took off pretty quickly. But the morning commute between Lakeland and Tampa would be pretty slow. Chances are she'll be in and out by the time he gets there. Not sure just what they're doing as open heart was not an option for her.

Concerned for you dh, LucyLee. No, I can't take the prednisone either. Really surprised that they put dh on it to tell you the truth. Different doctors/different modes. I need to call up home to my health insurance company to see if I'd be covered if I keep the appointments I have for: lab work (tomorrow), primary (next Tuesday) and cardiologist (the 29th).
Begun is half done -SO! JUST BEGIN!!

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Re: In Motion Monday

Postby Twins' Mom » Mon Jan 08, 2018 11:46 am

Done except for s2s...
-s2s and put on my fitbit :oops: I forgot
-water plants
-straighten laundry room
-walk the ddog
-make the bed

I think we still have freezing rain so I'm not in a hurry to walk the dog. She is quite content and cute lying in my laundry room on bed linens from upstairs that are to be washed before donating. :lol:
Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better [wo]man. Ben Franklin

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Harriet
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Re: In Motion Monday

Postby Harriet » Mon Jan 08, 2018 12:05 pm

Good morning everyone. Best laid plans.. ... while eating bfast I got a call and was on the phone 'til breakfast went cold. Oh well. Church worries coming from others. Sorta glad to be able to say I'm not the one who called anybody.

Also I have found out that I will be teaching tomorrow. Just as well by this time since I'd already been reading through just in case. Miscommunication. So studying lesson becomes a bigger part of today.

elderberry - lucylee, if in a syrup then well-cooked, and so that's very good for you. Lots of people love it in preserves. Everyone does need to know, though, that you shouldn't just walk up to a bush and eat. Uncooked elderberries cause nausea in most people, and there have been cases when it was brutal, with adults having projectile vomiting. Tummies saying, "get this stuff out of here!" Happy thought of the day. You're welcome.

Muffin sounds like she has the right idea.

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Harmony
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Re: In Motion Monday

Postby Harmony » Mon Jan 08, 2018 12:07 pm

Kathryn, enjoyed the Australia trip. It surprised me about the Kangaroos dead on the road. :( What happens then to them? Do they gather them up? Our turkey vultures eat everything on the roads here, mostly raccoons and armadillos. Shudder...

Gotta thank Lynlee and Lucylee for their calendar suggestions. I'd thought of trying a T-pin, except getting the T part through the calendar hole might be a problem, but I never thought about hat pins! My bulletin boards are wood-framed and I could replace the bottom one easy enough, if the screw through the frame and the drywall might begin to open up the drywall if I take it out and put it in again. But the idea of a string or ribbon through it is brilliant! I could put a cup hook screw type into the top wood frame and hang it from there, maybe even put a push pin into the frame at the bottom and the bottom calendar hole to keep it straight. Wow. You guys are smart!

Anyway, it's amazing to think how busy we've gotten with appointments, etc. I actually have 2 boards up, the larger 16 x 22 one at the bottom and the 10 x 16 one at the top of that. 10 years ago I only had to use the little one and had plenty of room. That was before we got old and decrepit and began going to the dr. all the time. :roll:

I'm working on my last spreadsheet project. I'll be glad when this is done.


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