WINDY DUNEDIN

GALE FORCE WINDS

It is terribly windy here in Dunedin this afternoon.  They did predict it coming.  We have had rain & wind while still being really hot.  I hope it settles down though as I have entered a half marathon tomorrow at Taieri Mouth, 30mins drive from Dunedin.We definitely do NOT want this wind as the 21 kms is a hard enough off road race as it is with lots of hills, different terrains including the beach/sand at the start and finish.

Steven, my Brother is also doing it too, we did it last year.  At the 12km mark I fell flat on my face, nose and smashed both knee caps.  I had a mouth full of gravel and thought my nose was broken.  There was lots of blood.  I carried on and completed it.   I still have problems with the left knee as I ended up getting a Bakers Cyst after it.  It is still not right even after lots of Physio. This year my aim is to finish upright with no falls. 🙂  A couple of my friends are doing it and also people from my Harriers Club.

This morning I volunteered at The Park Run, I haven’t run much this week, due to lack of time due to working and also being tired.  After helping out at the Park Run I went for a very slow 6km run to stop my legs ceasing up.   I hope I can still manage this hard 21 km event tomorrow for the 2nd time.  

I am just about to do some more of a pom pom round floor rug I have been making for months.  I saw one on Pinterest and thought it was pretty neat.  Blimmin heck, I never realised how many pom poms I would need to make.  I was committed so have had to continue.  I think I have around 25% of it to complete it, therefore I am getting there.

I hope you are all having a nice weekend.  Donna T

LIFE IS TOO BUSY

NO SPARE TIME

Hi all, yes I am still alive.   I feel quite sad that I haven’t been able to even look at my Blog for the last 6 or so months.  Life is just way too busy.  I never seem to have any spare time.   It is not an excuse, not a lacking of not being interested, just honestly no spare time to keep up with everything.   I am finding it very hard to keep things in general tidy around the house and the garden, my collections of things are getting out of hand and I need to tidy up.  As I don’t work in an office job any more and are mostly house painting with overalls on now as a job I need to have a clean out in my wardrobe also.  I probably will not be wearing any of my nice office clothes anymore and need to take them to the Op Shop.  Trouble is, I still like them all. 😦    I am trying very hard to stop buying stuff at the 2nd hand shops that I don’t need and I have started to get rid of some things.  At least they are going to be given to needy people and the charities like the Hospice Shop etc will get the money from them.  That makes me feel better.

I was volunteering at The Hospice on Sunday, it is a very rewarding thing to do, I have been a volunteer for around 11 years now.  I changed from the Kitchen work there to the cleaning side of things. I like this more as I vacuum all of the Hospice main corridors and clean the patients rooms and bathrooms.  This is the best bit, chatting to the patients that enjoy the company. 

Recently we had my Sister Brenda over from Brisbane, Australia for her 50th Birthday, she was here for a week in Dunedin.  Her Daughter Gina came down from the North Island to spend time with her and Andrew, her Son lives here in Dunedin.  It was a lot of fun seeing her and spending time with her, I hadn’t seen her for around 3 years.  I put on a surprise tea/dinner for her with around 12 friends and family.  She loved it and so did everyone else seeing her.  It is the only time I have seen Brenda lost for words. ha ha

Colin has officially been given the all clear from his Oncologist last week. He is now in remission from his Leukemia.  All of his appointments and blood tests have been good with no signs of cancer.  He is now signed off.   All he needs now is to fix his back and legs.  He has nerve damage in his lower back which is pinching on nerves in his legs also.  This has been going on for a long time and is affecting his walking and his back is really sore.  He has been to a Nerve Specialist who has determined it is that.  He is again waiting for a MRI and another Scan, geez I hope the appointments don’t take forever as he is getting worse.   They don’t know if the nerve damage is from all of the chemo he has had.  Once that is sorted, he will be fit as a fiddle.  He may need a small back operation.  He is only 53 so still young, it will be good to see him again not struggling..

I have been running with my Harriers Athletics Club for the first year this Season.  I changed over from  7 or so years of Walking with my Club.  My Brother Steven joined my Club recently.  We often go out for little runs together, mostly running on tracks in the bush.   We went for a 15 km hard hilly run on Sunday 30 mins south of Dunedin.  It was very hot, it took us just over 2 hours due to all of  the hills.  We aren’t speedsters either, but determined. Steven is faster than me though.  We have both improved in the last 6 months and have run in lots of events, including a half marathon 3 weeks ago.  We also have another Half Marathon in 2 weeks time, so Sundays run was great practice.  This one coming up is on sand, paddocks, mud, gravel and road, it will be a grunty one as there is lots of hills too.  I do get sore knees running down hills and a few hamstring problems but I figured I won’t be silly and will just run to my ability and when I am able and will continue while not too old.  I can revert back to walking anytime and still love walking anyway.  This year with our Athletics Club and running events it is just so busy.  I am enjoying it though.

Better go and get dressed.   Ta ta for now.
Donna T x

 

WINTER

I’M STILL ALIVE

Hi all, yes it is me, I am still alive.   I have been so busy over these last few months, working full time (in 2 jobs) and trying to fit in a bit of running and the odd bit of craft work.  I haven’t had any spare time for a long time.  To be honest I think when I became unable to post pictures on to my blog, I lost a bit of interest also.  I use to add my photos via Flickr, but now that stopped working when Word Press changed their format. I wish I was more computer literate to be able to work it all out as I love using my camera and taking photos to tell a story or show something rather than just relying on your imagination.  I have had a busy old Sunday today but decided I would finally do a post at the end of this day, and also I will try to keep them up.  I do enjoy having a blog and also reading other peoples posts.

We are all ok here in little old Dunedin. We are getting through these colder days of winter, I hope you are too…. that is if you live on my side of the world in New Zealand.  Colin is doing well and still in remission, he only has to get blood tests every six months now and sees the Oncologist then.  After a couple more appointments his Oncologist is going to sign him off. = yay 🙂

Our Daughter is working hard, she just turned 24 last month, she still lives at home and is trying hard to save for a deposit for her own house.  It is very very hard for young ones to buy their own house these days as the deposit required is high, the houses are so expensive now and then you have to be able to actually pay the weekly mortgage on one wage.  She is a lovely girl, I so wish she would find someone nice to first of all have some fun, and then to settle down, have companionship and and achieve what she wants in her life.  She doesn’t go out much at all as her days off are Tuesday and Wednesdays and her work days are split shifts, working the mornings into the afternoons then she goes back to work at tea time, getting home around 9pm.   She is a hard worker and very caring, she is a home support worker.   We told her to stay living at home as long as she wants to to save her money.  She is no problem at all… I think I have written about her on my blog before.

I am still doing the same two jobs, I work 2 nights in town at a Department Store, unloading stock off pallets and sorting it for the shop.  I work those two nights until midnight which is hard.  It is heavy physical work and poor wages, but I love the staff there and working hard.  The other 3 days I work for my Brother who has his own Painting business. I have recently finished painting my very first house all by myself.  Steven said I have done a great job of the house (on the outside) and the Homeowner is very happy with it.  In painting work there is a lot of preparation work before the paint goes on.   Who said your  too old to learn new skills!

Today I volunteered at The Hospice, cleaning the patient’s rooms.  It is my 11th year as a volunteer there, I love helping them out and giving back to the community. 

After that I drove to the St Clair beach to be a crazy girl and do The Polar Plunge.  It is an annual event, I have done it a few times now.  The idea is to jump in the icy cold winters water for a play, splash, swim.  It is always in June.    I tried to talk Colin in to doing it with me this year, but no way…he said he is not that silly.  😛  I wore my bathing suit in, but this year had my shorts over the top.  Today was the longest time I have stayed in the water.  My hair is so long and thick that 5 hours later, it is still wet.  There was hundreds and hundreds of participants today, children and adults, some dressing up in costumes, some in bikinis or gumboots. Everyone laughing or screaming,  it was so much fun.  As in every other year there will no doubt be a photo in the local newspaper tomorrow and it will also be on the news on the TV tonight.   I hid in the middle of the crowd, so shouldn’t be seen, ha ha.    I think I may wear a ball gown next year or something silly.  Maybe my Brother will join me next year.

Ta ta for now

Donna

NO HOLIDAY DAY FOR ME

ANZAC DAY

Today is a Statutory day off work for a lot of New Zealanders. The day is to observe ‘Anzac Day’.  Anzac Day represents all New Zealanders and Australians that fought or died during the war.

I am working tonight until midnight so don’t officially get a day/night off work.  I also worked last night late again and got to bed at 230 am.  Therefore I didn’t get up really early for the Dawn Parade at 6 am  any of the planned services either.  This is the first year in a long time that I have missed going.

Unfortunately I don’t have much time on my blog anymore.  With work commitments and trying to keep fit etc.  I also can’t seem to put any photos on my blog, that is frustrating as I love taking lots of photos and a picture tells a thousand stories.

This is a quick post, my Brother Steven and I were at the start line of the Motatapu Mountain Marathon event …and we were there at the end also = very happy people. We bloody well did it.

I finished in 6 hours and 6 mins, Steven coming in to the finishing shoot at 5 hours and 45 mins.   We were absolutely buggared at the end, it was hard hills, different terrains and blimmin hot ..almost 30 degrees.   We are still talking about it and smiling.

Steven and I are entering an out of town marathon this Sunday coming.  It is in Gore, a couple of hours out of Dunedin.

My hip has been playing up, maybe a Hip Flexor issue, so will keep all excercise minimal this week and rest up.

I would like to say a hello again to Beata, Jacek, Gina, Brenda and Paul, all overseas.  

That is it for now, I better get my uniform on.   🙂

BLIMELY

BUSY BEAVER

I haven’t done any posts, but still read a lot of yours and enjoy reading about people, especially those on the other side of the world.  

The months are rolling around and I never seem to have any spare time.  Any little bit of time I do have I have to use it to train for a running event which is fast approaching.  My Brother and I are competing in a event called ‘Motatapu’, it is an Off Road Mountain Marathon, yes I AM running it and not walking and Yes, IT IS 42 kms long with lots of hills/mountains to climb up, different terrains and river crossings.   It starts in Wanaka (Central Otago) and finishes at Arrowtown, near Queenstown.   Part of it is private land opened up for this day event, Shania Twain owns some of it.   

I walked this event 2 years ago on my birthday, I walked as fast as I could, it took me 6.5 hours to complete.

My Brother Steven and I have always wanted to run a Marathon, the reason I walked it two years ago is because I never ever thought I could run 42 kms let alone an off road event with hills.  Hills are not my strong point. 😛  But, in saying this Steven and I set our mind to do it 7 or so months ago, we entered this expensive event, and have been building up our runs and practising hills in preparation.

Last weekend we ran 25 kilometres with hills and two weeks prior to that ran a flat run on a Sunday for 30 kms.  That one just about killed me, it was a hot morning.  We often leave at 6 30 am on a Sunday morning as Steven has limited time and young children so we do and go when we have to.  We also try to beat the heat of the day.

We are both plodders, Steven being quicker than me.  We plan on starting  the event together in a few weeks time, travelling up Central Otago the night before and taking time off work.   Steven said at the half way mark, he will carry on ahead of me if he feels ok.  We are both very stubborn buggars, which is good in a way.   We both aim to finish, I know it is going to be a hard race, although we are not speedy or worried too much about the time.  I enjoyed the scenery walking the event last time, it is a beautiful piece of New Zealand.  At our age, it is not about times it is about finishing and doing things that we wouldn’t normally do.  I hope it all goes smoothly and I know we will be in our element once we start and the nervousness vanishes.

I walked Motatapu in 6.5 hours, so think I should be able to run it in about 6 hours, it is going to be a big day for us.  My only worry is my bowel problems and limited portable toilets along the way.   With having no large bowel, if I have to go, I have to go fast.  I will just keep my fingers and toes crossed that everything will be ok.   If I worried too much about any thing happening then I wouldn’t do or go anywhere, and I am not going to let my health problems get the better of me.or stop me.  I am going to run and walk for as long as possible.   

I have been making the odd bit of pottery over the last few months at my Art Class, I have made some pottery cross necklaces – necklaces that hang on the wall.  I have added some flowers to them, these are made out of wire.  I also made some big pottery beads.    I and a few of my fellow Artists have been invited to enter them into an Exhibition in Dunedin at a Gallery. The opening is tomorrow afternoon. I hope to be able to get a little bit of time off work to attend the opening.  I have 5 pieces in it.   They are also for sale, if they sell or some of them, I may have some extra spending money to take away.  It is quite exciting to be a part of it.  I feel lucky to be asked to be part of it. 

The cross necklaces are a little hard to explain, I will be taking my camera tomorrow, I will try to add a photo on here. I seem to have had trouble adding any photos on Word Press for some time now.  It is frustrating.  It seems to be since the format changed.  Maybe I am just a bit silly when it comes to computer stuff.  

It is raining here quite hard in Dunedin at the moment, we are on the tail of Cyclone Gita.  It has done a bit of damage in New Zealand, mainly around the Nelson area.  

This summer has been the best one we have had in Dunedin for quite some time, I wish the temperatures would stay warm forever.  Our two dogs and our three cats have all been feeling the heat, especially Chevy and Sasha who are both black in colour. 

I dislike winter so much, we are trying to sort some dry firewood out at the moment, stacking it under cover.  

That’s it from me at the moment.  Hope everyone is well.   Big hi to my Sister Brenda, Beta and Jacek in Denmark and my niece Gina. 

Love to you all.  

Donna