Skip to main content

Weekending - mountains to the east

 Last weekend we went to the Grampians, the mountains in the west of Victoria. this weekend e went to Marysville, which is in the Cathedral ranges to the East of Melbourne. We went, as we often do in the second weekend of November, to participate in the Marysville Marathon Festival, hand out at my parents holiday house and also with my parents.

This year we had a bonus. Josh (an American friend who has featured on the blog quite a lot - he used to work in Antarctica and come visit on the way back to the USA) was coming for a lightening fast trip. He was happy to hire a car at the airport and come and see us in Marysville. that wasn't weird, we're friends because our fathers are friends, so he was glad to catch up with my folks and us.

We did the things you do in Marysville.

Eat good food:

Walk up to the falls at night and take really bad selfies.

And look at birds - I don't meant birdwatching, the birds are scavengers and hang out at the cafe and bakery!

On Sunday we ran the half in the marathon. here's our traditional pre-run selfie. you can just see the mountains in the background that make up the second half.

 It was a perfect day for it, and everyone was so friendly and lovely - instead of the traditional selfie at the falls, one of the women I'd been chatting with took the photo. While I felt well trained going in, and the conditions were perfect, I blew my legs out in the first half. it's a very hilly run. Anyway, I had fun, and that's the main point.

After the run, we had lunch with and then farewelled Josh. hopefully it won't be 5 years until we see him again.

And now we are home - sore, satisfied and tired. I'm happy to be home for the next bit, there is quite a bit going on and I'm also looking forward to some couch time. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Linky Wednesday - the one with the pause

In meditation it's said that the pause between the in breath and the out breath is a gap, a space to rest. Well, I'm in that in-between space for reading, listening and knitting. This is a random photo of a highlight of my week - I filled up my lolly jar. These are just supermarket party mix. During the lockdowns, we sources a great pick-and-mix delivery service, but at some point they started sending from the UK, which is a bit silly. Rachey messaged me a new one she found, and I impulsed purchased a kilo of mixed lollies, and then she sent me a link to the biggest lolly shop in Melbourne, which also delivers sweets by the kilogram, so i think I'm sorted for the rest of the year!  In reading I've just finished  The Beckoning Lady   by Margery Allingham . It's the second last book in the Summer of Mystery, and I have to admit, having now read nine Margery Allingham books, that they are OK. I wouldn't have read them if they were not connected to this club, but on...

Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises. 

Unravelled Wednesday - the one where it's ordinary

This week I finished my first book for the  2025 When Are You Reading? Challenge , which was   The Silence of the Girls   by Pat Barker , which covered the pre 1200 time period. I loved it, it's a retelling of the siege of Troy from a feminist perspective. I haven't worked out what I'm reading for the 1200-1399 time period. Suggestions are welcome. I'm currently reading  Central Station by Lavie Tidhar , which is science fiction set in a future Tel-Aviv. It's good, but there are loads of characters and I'm not overly invested. Although at least I'm having no problems telling the characters apart, they are very district. I just don't overly care what happens to them.   I'm listening to a NetGalley review copy of  Mona Acts Out by Mischa Berlinski , which is the story of a woman unravelling. It's very different from Mischa's other books, but quite compelling. I'm not sure what's next, probably something from Kobo-Plus, perhaps Regrets...