EXERCISE! EXERCISE!

The rain stopped today but there was still some dampness around.

It is the first day of my school holidays. I have a lot to do organizing schoolwork for next term and organizing my house. I need to make some space in case Daughter R and Partner B along with my Grand-dog Jasper, need to move in temporarily. This won't take a lot of reorganization - just a bit of tweaking. But the cooler weather has turned me into a bit of a sloth. 

P:-) fixed the door into my garage so I could put my Tower 200  up again. He didn't stay long. He was off to the Helensburgh house of his daughter and son-in-law to help with the gyp-rocking.

I had been using this earlier in the year - not to any great effect, but I am keen to get started again. It is surprisingly difficult and will take some time to work my way up to many exercises. Last time I didn't get past the first exercise before my knee became sore, but this time I hope to progress further. I plan to add a new exercise in each week and eventually be able to do the 11 minute workout allowing myself unlimited time, working up to completing it in 11 minutes. So my plan is the exercise! Exercise!

Walking with Daughter R has not been possible for the last week or so, but we plan to get back to that again too. Not only is it good exercise but it gives us a chance to chat.

I came across  a couple of interesting sites  this week.One site shows a huge mural that has been made with bottle tops.

The other site has an artist intricately sculpting rubber tyres.

RAINY WEEKEND

It is wet, wet, wet! But I still love the view outside my window where I sit at my computer. I never tire of it.

Even though it is a bit gloomy the new pink growth on the Water Gum is very pretty.

This looks blurry because it is raining.

I can hear the creek down the back running, but I am not going down there in this slippery wet weather.

Fried Eggs

As part of my primal diet I cook fried eggs on weekends for breakfast. I have some coffee on waking and then when P:-) arrives I cook breakfast, or more properly - brunch. I think I have the hang of fried eggs now.

 

The main thing is to have the pan hot enough. I cook the capsicum and tomato first in a very hot pan and then add the eggs. I cook them until the whites are firm, and not any  longer. This gives light and fluffy whites with a crunchy (not burnt) base and yolks that are slightly firm but mostly runny. Delicious!

Coconut Flour 

Grains are not allowed on the primal diet, so I decided to give coconut flour a try.  I have learned the hard way that coconut flour is not a straight substitute for wheat flour as I had assumed.

I decided to make my no fail, self-saucing chocolate pudding. If anything would work this would, so I substituted a cup of coconut flour for the cup of wheat flour. What a disaster! I cooked it and cooked it and cooked it, but it wouldn't firm up.When it finally came out of the oven the pudding looked OK, but the taste is hard to describe. It still tasted like chocolate but it wasn't cakey at all - more like crumbs glued together. This would have been OK except it had this strange texture that was hard to swallow and got stuck in your throat.You had to keep swallowing and swallowing to get it down. Maybe it would have been better chilled.

But I will not give up. There are some delicious sounding recipes on the packet - coconut muffins and chocolate cake. I will give those a try with the proper ingredients.

Since it is so wet and I think it is appropriate I shall show you a picture that I have on my dining room wall above my table.

This is my beautiful frog picture Daughter R painted for me some years ago. I find it very bright and cheerful. I have a collection of froggy things, most of which my 2 daughters have given me over the years.

I am now officially on school holidays and plan to have a very productive 2 weeks. I will keep you posted.

10 STEPS TO CONTENTMENT

God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame. (Elizabeth Barret Browning)

Since I am new to blogging I am following a series of lessons. Lesson number two consists of publishing a list. I gave it some thought. What sort of list should I do? I thought of why I am writing this blog - largely to help me appreciate the good things in my life and share them. So I decided on Contentment. 

Anglican church in Brownsville

Of course, contentment for me includes my relationship with God but for the purposes of this list and my wider audience I will set that aside for now. 

I have had some difficulties presented to me over years and this is what I have learned. 

10 Steps to Contentment

1. Appreciate what you have.

Take an audit of the positive things in your life and concentrate on those. It's too easy to look at all the negatives and dwell on them. Focus on the good things.

2. Don't compare yourself to others. Just be yourself.

You can't tell how happy others are by looking at their possessions or activities. Just be you and accept that your life is not the same as other people's. Not better. Not worse. Just different.

3. Keep growing.

Contentment doesn't mean complacency. Set short term goals and long term goals. Keep learning.

Happiness, contentment, the health and growth of the soul, depend, as men have proved over and over again, upon some simple issue, some simple turning of the soul. (George A. Smith)

4. Accept that life won't be perfect.

There are always going to be ups and down in life. Good times and not so good times. Enjoy the peaks and attack the troughs in the best way that you can. Don't aim for a life of constant spectacular happiness. It doesn't exist for anyone.

5. Know your purpose.

It is easier to get out of bed each day if you know your purpose in life. Your purpose may change with your stage of life. This is easier for people with a religious faith, but your purpose may be as simple as being a support for a neighbour, or your children. It may be to knit for charities.  We all have our special place in the world. We all have our special purpose. Giving words of encouragement to your neighbour may seem very small to you, but it may make the world of difference to your neighbour.

6. Have a sense of humour.

Be able to laugh at yourself. Find humour where you can. It softens life.

Good humour is a tonic for the mind and the body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts and keeps friends. It lightens and humbles burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment. (Grenville Kleiser)

7. Live in the present moment.

Don't yearn for yesterday. Don't live for tomorrow. Enjoy now for what it is. By all means appreciate and cherish your memories. And have your goals. Give yourself something to look forward to but take notice of the journey and enjoy it.

8. Have concern for those around you.

Care about people. Try to empathize with them so you understand where they are coming from. Accepting others and the differences in others leads to greater understanding and less frustration in our lives.

True contentment comes with empathy. (Tim Finn)

9. Look after yourself.

Look after your health and allow time for yourself to do the things you enjoy. There is no point running yourself ragged for others or feeling guilty if you allow time for yourself. You need to stay strong physically and emotionally to be there for others who may need you.

10. Live a balanced life.

Living a balanced life means paying attention to the different aspects of your life. These may include your job, your family, church, your hobbies, chores, fitness and health, friends. Don't let your attention to one part of your life totally outweigh the others. Of course we have priorities and there are times that one aspect may take on more urgency than another, but in general try to live a full and balanced life.

The first callistemon in my garden

Contentment takes work and you have to keep working at it.

Contentment is one of the flowers of heaven, and if we would have it,it must be cultivated. (C.H.Spurgeon)

MINIATURE CORIANDER GARDEN

Today I am home all day! I love my busy life but love a day just to potter. The sun is streaming through my bedroom windows. This is the view from my bed.

My mother tells me she would prefer fewer trees in my yard and have a better view of the mountains, but I love being  part of the bush.

I love waking up to the view of the trees in the morning. No matter what the weather, it is a beautiful view. I never stop appreciating it.

I have an interest in miniature gardens. This is the first I did. Very small and basic.

 

This gave me an idea when I saw a glass candle holder for sale for $5 in the  Salvation Army shop in Wollongong.

 

I have had some success growing Coleus  in glass on my windowsill so I have decided to give some Coriander a go. Lots of the recipes I use call for Coriander but sometimes only a small amount is needed and it is so expensive buying it by the bunch. It might seem more sensible to try planting it in the garden. I shall try that too at some stage but it is hard to find an area with enough sun in my yard. So I have decided to try a decorative little coriander garden on my windowsill.

I began by placing a layer of charcoal in the base of my candle holder.

Then I added a layer of spagnum moss .

I followed this with some potting mix. I only had potting mix designed for ferns but I'm sure it will do the job.

Finally  I added some landscaping- a couple of toadstools and rocks. Then I planted 3 seeds. According to the packet they should be 20cm apart, but I'll see how they go. I intend to keep the plants small.

I gave it a good water and then placed it on the windowsill.

Now I just have to wait for the plants to pop up. I considered putting a glass lid on it while the seeds germinate but decided that they might cook when the sun is at its strongest.

As I learn about blog writing I find that I need a tag line. I'm not quite sure where I will put it yet but I have decided to go with:  

Choose life. Life is wonderful.

COMMANDMENTS OF HAPPINESS

 

This is the wisteria cascading over the fence next to the school where I teach.

 Is there anything prettier than wisteria in the spring?

Jayne over at Gleeful has written out these 12 Commandments of Happiness, which I think are really good advice. They put it so succinctly.

My 12 Commandments of Happiness

• Happiness is a choice.
• My thoughts are not facts.
• Stop and take notice.
• Be kinder than necessary.
• Give the benefit of the doubt.
• Relax. Let it go.
• Appreciate the small things.
• Play!
• You only get one body. Be good to it.
• Celebrate the positive.
• Be loving and love will find you.
• Every day is a new day. Live it.

The pictures of the wisteria above fall into the  Stop and take notice category, and Appreciate the small things. The latter is especially important. The big and exciting things are few and far between. It is important that we enjoy the small moments too, or life will just pass us by.

A MORNING AT THE BEACH

Sunday morning P:-) and I went for a short amble along the bike track at  Towradgi Beach.

 

The photo above is taken from outside the back of the house where I grew up - at least until I was 12.  I loved it here and was very sad to leave.

 

My mother planted these daisies or gazanias outside our house many years ago. Over the years they have spread up and down the edge of the  headland.

 

The photo above is taken looking from my old home down to the beach.

 

This photo above is across to Wollongong City and the central business district. 

After our stroll we stopped for coffee at the Blue Moon Cafe right on the beach.

 

It was  so lovely sitting in the sun by the sea that P:-) and I plan to spend some more Sunday mornings, coming down early before the heat of the day, walking on the beach and then heading up to the Blue Moon for breakfast.

SUNNY SATURDAY

It was a lovely weekend with lovely sunny days. I took this picture on Saturday morning out of my lounge-room window, beautifully cleaned to sparkling by P:-).

Sadly this is not my yard. It belongs to my next door neighbour. Daughter R bought me the blown glass decoration several years ago for Mothers' Day.

P:-) and I spent Saturday afternoon visiting the house of his daughter M and son-in-law B. It is about 20 minutes away from Wollongong - half way up the expressway towards Sydney.

 

M and B's house is a coal miners cottage in Helensburgh. It is about 100 years old.

 

It is a cute little cottage, which M and B virtually gutted before starting renovations.

 

They are gradually replacing the walls and the floors. 

There is a big backyard which needs a lot of work but M and B have great plans for it. Part of it will be taken up with house extensions. In the centre of the yard is a tree covered in blossoms which we are guessing is peach, but it will be interesting to see which fruit eventuates.

On the way home P:-) and I bought lattes and sipped them in Helensburgh Park as the sun set.

 

For dinner we had tuna bake. Unfortunately pasta is not part of the Primal Diet . Cauliflower made a great substitute. I cut the cauliflower into small pieces and blanched it before mixing it with the tuna and sauce and baking it in the oven. I think the key is not to over cook the cauliflower. I used a commercial sauce - Leggo's spinach and garlic tuna bake, which is very tasty, but plan to make it from scratch next time.

Finally, I have just read an article entitled  You Must Resist the Urge to Quit. I found it quite inspiring. Sometimes things just seem so overwhelming. This article gives 6 tips on what to do when you feel like giving up. Hopefully, you may never feel this way, but if you do this article may be worth reading.