relaxation

monday: last day in balingup, we relax.

breakfast at our cottage. morning tea at the mushroom cafe, lunch at the packing shed. both are on the highway, shed seems a bit set back, the trucks are loud. cafe seems closer, trucks feel very close. but both are comfy with nice food.

we go the the flora reserve at the old racecourse. a bit early for flowers, there are only a few. a pretty little yellow mushroom as big as a fingernail.

a pleasant walk but... a lot of mozzies.

we go to golden valley tree park. another pleasant walk, with only a few mozzies... the weather is cool and damp.

we follow the blue trail, less than a km. about half way -- we see "our" tree. a silver mallet, eucalyptus recta.

deb thinks it's dead, certainly the scrawny branches look poorly. i scratch at the bark and that seems okay, alive and fresh.

it's not a magnificent tree but we like it :-)

we meet the Highview owner. the place is also an animal rescue place. with sheep, kangaroos, emus, a mini horse, a couple of llamas (or whatever). Plus some overactive dogs and various poultry.

back at our cottage, we relax. till we go out to dinner at the shamrock hotel in greenbushes. it's hamburger night. but we have fish and chips. not the best, the fish is overcooked. still, it's food and a nice pub.

and that's it, drive home, to relax some more.

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Now it's tuesday morning. soon we pack up and drive home

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on this old tablet i can type and send posts, they are held till there is wifi and internet. i think this will be the third post waiting to go. its a good system, i can type when i like, no need for internet. just a delay till it is actually sent and posted.

now time to move, then pack...

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Happiness is wanting what you already have
   

rogaine day two

Sunday: 

today I manage to download "offline" maps, so we can use GMaps to navigate. We don't need it to get to the event, just getting home after.

We start walking about 9:30. Already tired from yesterday :-) Tired but not slowed down.

Deb plans a great route, using controls that are convenient but we didn't get yesterday. We end up doing maybe 7.5km. Mostly on tracks but some cross-country. Deb is faster than me, much faster on tracks and I have some trouble in bush. Slow, cautious but okay. I scrape my left shin a couple of times but it's Deb who falls over :-( just once.

Yesterday I was tired and grumpy.mToday I'm less tired and not at all grumpy. I do my best :-)

We finish our course with plenty of time. Eat lunch at the hash house then we leave. Just before noon, we don't wait to find who won. probably not us:-)

GMaps leads us home via Thompson Brook Road, a quiet, narrow road winding through mostly farms. Very pretty, very pleasant.

We stop at the Balingup Store to buy some supplies and forget others :-) Then home to our cottage for dinner of sandwiches.

It's convenient to reverse the truck into our parking area, it's nerve-wracking (racking?) Deb reverses, close to bushes on one side. I try to guide, to warn Deb away from the bushes -- but I have trouble judging the distances! Ah well, it works:-)

A relaxing evening.

The rogaine is over. Deb plans for tomorrow, eat, drink, visit a few local attractions.

I find that my packing was rather poor, done in a hurry, carelessly. Both rogaine days I wore exactly the same, despite a lot of effort and sweat. I do find a clean shirt for the evening. I've been wearing the same thermal day and night, rogaine and all, since we left home. Lucky it's wool, just shake it out once a day and it's good.

We plan for a relaxing day tomorrow.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Happiness is wanting what you already have
   

rogaine day one

saturday, the first day of the rogaine. it's an Aus champs, we're entered because, why not :-?

there are ten teams in our category XUV. Just us from WA I think, the other mixed ultra vets have all slowed down. okay, we have too but at least we entered. so today is day one. starting at noon.

thr rogaine is a 25 minute drive from our accommodation. okay, we get lost on the way but arrive in plenty of time. we chat with perhaps ten rogainers that we have known for all of our rogaining (and orienteering) life.

it's like a reunion in an old people's home :-)

Deb plans a 4 hour 12km course. it's brilliant, though it ends up at 16km and four and a half hours. we're exhausted.

we grab cheesies from the hash house and drive off. there's no phone signal so google maps fails. we have a Hema which does not need internet, it's rubbish and, as usual fails.

So we get a bit lost driving out but get here soon enough.

I like to unwind with a book, deb is in bed asleep, i remember this blog and will soon be asleep. I'm tired but not too sleepy.

Tomorrow we will be at the rogaine again. for just a short stroll. before it ends at noon.

So now... to bed.

Oh, do i hear rain,? probably not.  it's been fine but cool all day, perfect for a rogaine.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Happiness is wanting what you already have
   

friday: home to highview

we're off for a weekend rogaine. It's near donnybrook, which is near balingup, so we will stay some nights in highview, balingup. sleep in comfort, rogaine for a few hours in daylight. that's the plan.

we leave home at 11 am.

reach Placid Ark roadhouse, fuel up. 

then Stirling Cottage for lunch. The food is average, service friendly, location and gardens are beautiful.

Highview is, in Deb's words, fabulous. Windows and a small balcony look over a green valley with sheep dotted here and there.

A dozen steps down from the carpark to the front door. a bit of a bother but, once we settle in we don't use those stairs again.

It's chilly out, raining on and off. Not looking pleasant for the rogaine tomorrow. But tonight we eat, sit, watch tv, rest.

deb gets a phone call... mingenew caravan park are wondering where we are! a confusing call. we booked there then cancelled (when we had a better idea of the rogaine location). they lost our cancellation.

we have tv but no internet.

deb watches tv, i read.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Happiness is wanting what you already have
   

symptom search

I worry about possible "symptoms".

Scans show that something is growing on my brain. Probably a tumour. Can't be sure without opening my skull to look. So I wait until the tumour causes a problem, ie if I show symptoms -- then we worry. Which makes sense especially since, so far, there are no symptoms.

The brain is complex, cancer is unpredictable, we can't predict what symptoms may occur.

So far there is nothing, so I should be happy. Except... I find that I worry about the... possibility of something going bad.

I think I'll list possible symptoms:

... The tumour is in a visual part of my brain so I may lose more sight. That's minor, I'll buy a bigger white stick and learn to enjoy audio books (pity I'm also getting deafer!)

... Headaches. Yes, I get twinges, it seems to be eye strain from reading, having to adapt to not seeing the left of words and sentences. Okay, headaches are not a current worry.

... Stroke symptoms. The cancer doc finally suggested that tumour damage could be like a stroke. My tumour is on the right, so the left side of my body would be affected.

With apologies and sympathy for my friends who have had a stroke: this barely worries me. It would take (I guess) a massive growth of the tumour. And there are standard physical signs of a stroke (if you suspect it). I occasionally lift my arms and make sure that they both lift to the same height.

... I could repeat my original symptom: collapse with a fit. I'm careful to carry my phone so that Deb can find me if I fall over. Or find my phone, anyway :-)

The phone tracking uses GoogleMaps on Apple phone... it sometimes fails to track. So I am careful: if Deb is at work I send an email if I go for a run. And another when I safely return.

The tracking is to reassure Deb. I also reassure her that if I collapse, I'm doing something that I enjoy.

For me: I find that I worry less about possible problems and more about the uncertainty.

And I try to live life as I would without the uncertainty. With good days and... better days :-)

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

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We know that the nature of genius is to provide idiots with ideas twenty years later... Louis Aragon

..Dying for you to Read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com

a short dream

I wake up from a dream about an attractive young woman, no-one I know. She is wearing a short skirt and long boots, with a lot of leg between. In the dream I wonder, If the skirt were longer would the boots also be longer?

I tell Deb about the dream. She comments, So you are getting fashion advice in a dream?

No, I reply. That leggy dream is as close as I now get to a sex dream. Ah well.

I give Deb a hug and think, I'm happy with what I still get :-)

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

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We know that the nature of genius is to provide idiots with ideas twenty years later... Louis Aragon

..Dying for you to Read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com