Have I been here before????

Hi Readers,

Really short and sweet tonight!

As the regular readers would know, I do love my daily exercise.
Some call it obsessive, I call it dedicated!

Tonight when I was running up and down some of my favourite hills in the centre of Bendigo, the smells, the temperature, the clouds...just about everything took me back more than 20 years when I lived in Ballarat and was running a lot more than I can do now.

It actually felt as if I had been transported back in time to a run that I had done so many years ago. Everything just felt that I was once again running along one of my favourite routes in a city where we lived for more than 15 years. I actually felt that I wasn't where I actually was!!

It felt weird to say the least, but this often happens from time to time, when I'm doing something and then I start to think "This same thing happened to me long ago".
I don't expect this to make sense to anyone but me, but I'd be interested to know if any other readers have experienced similar things?

I still have vivid memories of experiencing the 'zone' when running around Stanley Park in Vancouver a few years ago.

And also when running along the foreshore in Vancouver a week or two later, and finding this painted on the path.

Also when running, some days the legs just don't want to be a part of it, but on other days the body feels like it could go on forever. I call this my 'zone', a time when everything is perfect.
When this happens I always try to get a photo, but I rarely run with a camera, unless I'm overseas.
Tonight I could have taken that photo, but as I didn't, I know I can keep the memory.

 A motto I live by.

My sort of poetry.

Exactly how I think!!

I love doing my hills.

And how I feel if I don't do something each day!!

While I don't like the use of the word 'lazy', this reflects my sentiment.

Now how much do you think I'm looking forward to tomorrow's workout? My bag is already packed and in the car ready for a session on the way home from school!!

Until my next post Readers...

Cheers!!

So What has happened lately?....

Hi Readers,

Sorry for the delay in making a post, but it has been very hectic at work lately, and most nights I have been catching up on things. (Neglecting my Blog!!)

It has also struck me how far behind in my work I got when I missed so much time last term when I was away sick for so long. I'm still chasing my tail trying to catch up!!

So, what has been going on?

Our new school video...

I don't want to bore you by banging on about work things, which would be as exciting as watching paint dry, but over the past few weeks we have been creating a promotional video about St Francis of the Fields, the school in Bendigo where I am one of the Deputy Principals.

You have to be quick to see it, but you'll see me kicking a football in the yard with some kids, and also laying on the floor in a maths lesson. (That's where you will usually find me in a lesson!!)

The video highlights so much of our school, but it also shows what an amazing environment we work in. It goes for 25 minutes, so grab your favourite beverage, find a comfortable chair and enjoy!

To see the clip, go to this link.

https://vimeo.com/217145334/8ea9ff8cc0

Now that you can see where I work, it might help you to know me just that little bit more.

Also, for my international readers, this is how we roll in Strathfieldsaye!!

A new baby in the house...sort of!!

My regulars will know that recently there was a new addition to our family.
No, not what you are all probably thinking, but it sort of is my new baby...

Yep, my Suzuki Boulevard 800, my new pride and joy!!

The cooler weather is now starting to descend upon us, but we are still having some lovely afternoons.

I like riding the bike at any opportunity, and over the last fortnight I have ridden to school a few times.

While the rides home have been just sensational, the rides to school in the mornings have been far from enjoyable.

I always wear the right safety gear, but my gloves were still not good enough to ward off the 2, 3 and 4 degree chill in the mornings. The majority of my hands were okay, but it was the fingertips that bore the brunt, and before too long I lost all feeling in them.

You have no idea how frustrating it is to be unable to undo your helmet straps because your fingers don't work!!

So, to remedy this situation I went and bought some 'inners', or thinner wool gloves to wear beneath my leather riding gloves. These proved only mildly successful, as I was only 3 or 4 minutes down the road last week when I realised that although my hands were warmer, the fingertips in particular were still going to suffer.

Despite the best protection, the cold still gets through.

So, now I only ride in the mornings if it is not frosty, but I definitely use up every opportunity after work and on weekends to go for a spin if the weather is right.

I don't normally ride if it is wet, due to safety reasons.

Actually, that's only part of the reason. I also don't like to ride in the wet as it makes my bike dirty, and I'm pretty obsessive about keeping it spotless!!!

An era is coming to an end...

In the next week or so, it will be the first anniversary of the passing of our much loved eldest brother Maurice (universally known as 'Moose')

Moose was the last owner of the family home at Colbinabbin, a small country town with a population of about 200 in the state of Victoria.

It has been my task to sort out all of his estate, and one of the last things I had to do was sell the home at Colbinabbin. This is easier said than done, because the house was very run down, and property sales in Colbinabbin are as fast as hibernating snails!!

Imagine my surprise when I was able to get it sold (actually, our brilliant real estate agent I should say!!) in just over 12 weeks!

It is settlement day in just over a week, so over the past few weeks I have been back and forth mowing and cleaning up the place with my siblings.

Last week I smashed up a few old cupboards and brought them home and had a lovely fire last Saturday night with a few relaxing beers.

While burning these old cupboards I was aware that I was burning some of our last connections with Colbinabbin as we have all now moved away, and our final connection has now left the family.

The best thing of all was that in the morning there was not a a bit of wood left, all burnt away completely. These are the most relaxing nights as I just crank up the fire, grab a few beers and listen to the football on the radio.

Richmond, you keep breaking our hearts!!

And speaking football, the last four weeks have been the most miserable I think I can remember for many years.

I follow a team by the name of Richmond, perennial losers who never seem to be able to match it with the big boys, but I still love the team.

We won the first 5 games of the year, but have now dropped the last four.

Our first loss was to Adelaide, who were also undefeated at the time, so no big surprise there.

But over the next three weeks we have lost two games where we were well into the lead right up until the end, and in the other we came from being well down to just missing the win.

The absolutely devastating thing has been that our last two losses have happened with less than a minute to play, despite being in the lead for most of the game.

We are now the laughing stock of the football world. 

Last night's loss just didn't hurt, it was shattering. Especially as it has been revealed that the umpires missed a glaring free kick and penalty in the last minutes that would have guaranteed us a goal, but there is no point in complaining about things that we cannot change.

We play Essendon this week in a huge match, and there is no way I have any faith in our chances for a win.

This is how we all feel. Often !!

Probably my only consolation was that I was able to watch most of the game on my iPad while cooking tea on the BBQ. We were well in front at this stage, little did I know about the heartbreak that was just around the corner!!

My good deed for the day...

I love getting my daily exercise, and when I was sick for those 6-7 weeks recently, being not able to exercise was like being told not to breathe.

One of my favourite places to run is the hills that surround the Cathedral in Bendigo.

Very steep, but great for building aerobic capacity.

When I got there last Friday, just on dusk, I noticed a car with P-Plates (signifies first 3 years as a driver) with its lights still on, but they were getting dimmer.

It was clear that the driver had forgotten to turn them off, and judging by the fading colour of the lights I knew there was no way the car would start.

So I just kept doing the hills and keeping an eye on the car, hoping that the owner would turn up while I was there.

Soon enough a young man and his girlfriend turned up and straight away I could see their anguish when they realised they'd left their lights on. They tried to start it, no luck, then they were on their phones for the next 10-15 mins. I didn't want to interrupt their calls so kept my distance.

After a while they both just slumped back in their seats looking helpless, so I approached them and asked if they'd like some help, as I had jumper leads in my car and would be able to get them started.

The relief was clearly obvious as they said they had no-one available to come and help.

I had them started in next to no time and was just glad that they could be on their way, when the young bloke pulls out a $20 note from his wallet, and was insisting I take it for helping him.

This then created a friendly stand off as he kept insisting I take it, while I kept refusing it.

Just the fact that I knew I had been able to help was all that I needed.

Also, the note was the only one in his wallet, and as he was probably the same age as our youngest, I know the value of that much money to someone of that age.

When I said to him "How about you spend it on your girlfriend instead?", he just smiled, put it back in his wallet and said, "Can I at least shake your hand?"

That clinched the deal.

For all I know, he has driven off and paid that favour forward to someone else in some way.

It just felt good to know that I had been able to help.

The hill where I just love to run up and down beside the Cathedral.

That's about it for tonight. I thought I had nothing to bang on about, but as always, something manages to come out.

Whether it is interesting or not depends on you, so I hope it hasn't been too much of a sedative!!

Until my next post Readers...

Cheers!!

Are you one of these Readers?

Hi Readers,

Over the past few days I have been looking at where you are all reading this from, and there was one country that I had never heard of, and I usually pride myself on my geographical knowledge!!

I now know where this country is, and am very impressed that someone from there is reading this blog, so welcome to my new reader/s from Cote d'lvoire !!

Where is it? I hear some of you thinking the same question!

It is basically on the West coast of Africa, near the Ivory Coast.

I'm always intrigued as to how people stumble across this blog, as it has no real structure, theme, focus or anything that people might be searching for. It is just the ramblings from a teacher in Australia who needs something to do while sitting on the couch at night watching TV, or procrastinating about getting school work done. Or house work. Or the dishes. Or cleaning up outside. Or mowing. etc...

Rarely do I plan what to write, I just open up a new page and just see what happens.

Imagine how good it could potentially be if I actually put some real thought and planning into it!!

Anyway, that's just the way I roll, and part of me thinks that if I go and change it a lot it might result in many of you, the Readers, dropping off as you have become accustomed to my style. Or lack of it more precisely!!

So Readers, check out the results of a recent day, week, the past month and then all time.

To those in the USA, thanks for your continued support. I just hope you are not the CIA or FBI tracking me!!

This is for one day last week

I know some of the Australians who read this, but as for any overseas readers...?

This one shows the number of hits for the previous week.

This is for the past month.

One can begin to see that there are a few new countries joining in.

Welcome Columbia!!!

This is the result from all time since I started the blog back in 2013.

I remember getting really excited as I was approaching my 1 000th hit, now I've had 36 034!!

There are also quite a few other countries that have registered, but they do not show up on the all time list if they are less than 20.

I find it a bit strange that here I am in Australia, yet most of my readers are from the USA.

I'm not complaining mind you, I have no concerns wherever my readers come from, just as long as they enjoy what they are reading!

My next challenge is to try and garnish some feedback from some of my Readers.

At the end of each post there is a little section that looks like this...

Please feel free to drop a small comment, or to disagree with me about something, or tell me how you found the blog, are you a regular reader or not etc.

And don't be shy in giving me ideas about how to improve it, or if there are things you'd like me to bang on about. Trust me, I can waffle on about lots of things, and occasionally I make sense!!

You can also hit the other links and direct other readers to the blog if there is something that you think might interest them.

Finally, some of you might be bloggers as well, so if you are, let me know so that I can read yours too!!

My wife, Jen, recently went to a wood stove business to buy a new wood heater to replace the one we already had that was near the end of its life.

Imagine our surprise a few days later when we are notified that we are getting it for free as we had won a competition that we were totally unaware that we had been entered in!

No complaints from us and it went in on Friday and has been burning beautifully since.

A few thousand dollars that we ended up not spending!!

               Out with the old, and in with the new!!

Okay, this house is not the Taj Mahal, but it is to me and my siblings, as it is the family home from Colbinabbin, our home town that none of us live in anymore as we have all moved away.

Our late brother, Moose had it as he was the last of us to live in Cobinabbin (or Colbo as everyone calls the town) until he moved away as well 3 years ago to work in Broken Hill, until his sad passing last year.

Moose had tenants in it, so after Moose died we decided to sell up, and this was going to be a long, drawn out affair as houses in small country towns with a population of 200 just do not sell very quickly!

Imagine our surprise when an offer came in last week,  after just 3 months of being on the market!

We weren't chasing a big price, we just wanted it sold so that I could settle his estate, so I was very elated to sign the contracts last Friday.

 My brother Damian posing out the front after we spent time there on Saturday cleaning up some more.


And yours truly on perhaps one of my last visits to a house that has so many wonderful memories to cherish.
It wasn't a house, it was truly a home.

And how could I not finish my weekend with a quick ride on my beloved new toy, my Suzuki Boulevard 800!

It is just so peaceful (not literally, as it is rather loud!) to cruise along as there is nothing to distract me, such as listening to the radio or looking at instruments on the dashboard.

The weather is starting to cool down significantly, so today I put on some inner gloves as well as my usual riding gloves. I rode to school during the week wearing just my usual gloves, and my fingers were so cold by the time I got to school I couldn't undo my helmet straps!!

It's back to work tomorrow so this blogger needs to focus on getting some other work done, and stop procrastinating!! Last week was my first full week of work in 12 weeks after I got sick earlier this year. Although I am getting better, I still felt the physical effort of it as I get incredibly tired very quickly still.

That's it for today Readers, looking forward to some feedback, and lots of new readers!!

Until my next post...

Cheers!!