What I've been upto.

I've been under the weather this week so I'm missing all training apart from essential walking to shops and picking the children up from school. Even without the arthritis flare up (which doesn't stop me training , just makes it harder) has been the worst year of training since Cameron was born almost 6years ago. And I blame him. No really I've had a lot more colds than ever and I think it co-incides with him starting school.

I've been doing a lot more reading and not just graphic novels(super hero comics) and watching hardly any tv. I've recently read a book about world record and olympic meadallist Peter Snell and the world record setter Ron Clarke. The most intersting book was The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is about Eustace Conway. At seventeen he ditched the comforts of his suburban existence to escape to the wild. Away from the crushing disapproval of his father, he lived alone in a teepee in the mountains. Everything he needed he built, grew or killed. He made his clothes from skinned deer before using their sinew as sewing thread. In the years that followed he stoped at nothing in pursuit of bigger, boder challenges: he travelled the Mississippi in a handmade wooden canoe; he walked the two thousand mile Appalachian trail; he hiked across the German alps in trainers.
However my take is he failed at his biggest challenge and to teach encourage p[eople to simplify their lives and live off the land, learn skills. He was thwarted by modern society and his own vision and high standards and his inability to be flexible. His cause was not helped by being emotionally starved by a father who was constantly diasppointed by him.

In other news I've joined Greenpeace..more info to come.

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - separate your needs from your wants.

I'm back

Training

Had a week off training. Started back with a little bit and than this week I felt sick and tired again. I'm going to try again this weekend.

Business

is going well my ericksen honda revamp has been really well received , although another made me fed up because I've got to spoil my design because they are too lazy sort their content. However they are providing a couple of more jobs so I'll just think about the bottom line and remove my name from the website.

Other Business News

Stopped teaching completely.

Other News

We've decided to sell the house and move before the end of the year. We were going to buy a lifestyle block but we've decided to buy in Napier as close as we can to Napier Central where Teresa teaches and the children go to school. This we decided but give Teresa and the children more`time at home and if we can get close enough they can all walk to school saving us money especially as petrol is getting more and more expensive. Napier Hill is more expensive so we will have a smaller house and garden.

Racing News

I was going to race the big olympic distance races and local races but because of the cost of transport and accommodation and wanting to buy our new house every penny will count so I've decided to just do the local sprint races again and maybe the national sprint championships.

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - separate your needs from your wants.

Chilean Guavas

Blueberries

Red currants

Chicken run complete

The chicken run is complete just got to build the chicken house (children's words). Having changed the plan (nothing new here) due to cost of wood etc, etc, I'm not sure how I'm going to do it yet. Watch this space . I've promised it will be finished by Sunday so we can get the chickens next week. Then I can start blocking up the disused fire place and chimney ready for the winter.

Unexpected arrival

A few posts ago I mentioned that I'd ordered Teresa's Christmas present now because the company said they would only be ready for Novemberish. Today a courier van turned up, I usually see it arrive from my desk/office/corner of the dining room (I do have a big desk though). I was expecting a book from the WDA web designers association (complimentary - called 'the internet unmasked'- I'm not a member my clients are not bothered about a logo which I would have to pay for. They just want someone they can talk to in plain English and see what I can do and be affordable ) The arrival was the banana plant, there is no way I can hide it for 8months so now I've got to think of another surprise. Teresa is off the opinion that we shouldn't buy anymore because even with a quarter acre section there is only so much space. At the weekend we did buy one more blueberry bush and the last two of our chilean guava plants that will eventually complete the hedge at the bottom of the deck.

Speaking of my clients earlier in the post I have acquired a new one. An established shop called Baby Heaven which has changed hands and the new owner wants an online shop, she had been quoted $10 000 by a local big firm (she only wants basic not flying to the moon and back technology). I expained that I was low on experience with ecommerce but was trying to get more and I thought that we could benefit each other. I would get low stress experience and she would get a working online shop very cheaply. And my other current client Aquahawks swimming club have asked for online shopping for goggles , etc But they insisted that I put extra on the invoice for extras because I was working so cheaply, I tried to protest!!! I know Jane from the club so I was doing them 'mates rates' 20% discount. The club have been given funding for it and had to pay the full invoice before acertain date which goes against the way I usually work but I'm not complaining.

The Aquahawks job is especially pleasing because somebody else competing for it made me feel stupid a few years ago when I was starting out. I had been to see him at his office (by his invitation) about the possibility of doing some work and I left feeling very small and foolish. Any way things have moved on since then.

Alan Gore -champion for the Earth

No words are needed. Just watch.

A Sunday in Autumn 2008

It is autumn-
this means picking up baskets of walnuts, then raking leaves

This is what they look like when they are getting ready to fall. Photo taken from a low hanging branch.

Second season of red raspberries, there are more and they are getting larger.
Veggie garden being extended and lined with bricks recycled from other parts of the garden.
The much improved composting area. Composting really works.
We wanted to plant a hedge around the bottom of the front deck, it had to produce fruit. We found Chilean Guava plants dirt cheap at the garden centre NZ$6- we bought 12 so far we need another 2. Should produce exactly what we want in a few years time.This what they look like and they taste yummy.
Emily on the trampoline.
Cameron on the trampoline.
I've also ordered 3 Goji berry plants and a banana tree for later in the year. The Goji are Teresa's christmas present to me and the banana tree is my present to Teresa. Don't where we are going to put them yet, some of the unproductive trees are probably going to be cut down for firewood.

Training.
I am really focussing on swimming . In the pool with the fist gloves 3times and swimcords building specific swim strength and in the summer I am going to swim once a week in Pandora's pond.

Bike: 2 sessions a week of michael mccormack style intervals but I've lowered my heart rate.

Running: 4miles total adding one mile a week. I was finding it mentally very to do a lot of running at 5am. So I decided over the winter to do more swimming and cycling which are done either inside or in daylight until the summer.

It feels good to get all that out of my brain.