Fri 13.9.2024

• It should have been takeout Friday tonight, but G was feeling a bit blah about our takeout options, so he booked a table at Mr and Mrs P. We had a fun night out with the girls. We sat in the room upstairs, which is a bit quieter. The food was served on shared plates, and it was all excellent. G and I agreed that it’s probably our favourite Bay St restaurant and the food is reasonably priced for the quality.
• I did something out of character tonight. My phone needed an upgrade, and we decided to do it before leaving for Europe. I decided I wanted to take advantage of the better camera specs and purported better battery of the new iPhone, but the timing was going to be tight. I also hoped that getting the latest model instead of the older one would mean that, fingers crossed, I would get a longer life out of it. Anyway, I bit the bullet and pre-ordered an iPhone 16Pro. I have never done that before and will probably never do it again. Rushing to get the latest new shiny thing is not something I usually do; in fact, I actively avoid it. I will be picking the phone up at 11:15 am on the 20th, and I’m sure I will appreciate the greater photographic options of the new phone while I’m travelling because I’m not taking my proper camera (too much weight).

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SAT 14.9.2024

• In the morning, I decided to brave the rain and meet a small cohort of our running club to walk around the Tan while they did their morning workout. The weather was not good, but it was a good test of my wet weather gear for Spain. A lot of our group were getting ready for the AV Tan relays, and I was able to pop into the club tent and wish everyone good luck. I also caught Annabelle, who was back from her amazing 9s, 4th-place effort in the 1500m T20 at the Paris Paralympics, and congratulated her.
• The rest of the day was an at home day. G cleared his paperwork in the study while I did some research and made some bookings for our trip. Sometimes a day at home is just what you need.
• A naughty dark chocolate mousse from Gumtree.

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SUN 15.9.2024

• I went walking while G met a friend to do his run, and then we met up with our daughters and a couple more friends for coffee and breakfast—well, chai for me. The day was cold but sunny and not too windy, which was good. There was a fun run along the coastal path, so at intervals, there was live music—a country singer, a DJ, and a choir—which was fun while I walked. I turned around at Prince Pier.

• During the week I’d booked most of our train tickets for Spain but the train from Burgos to Leon was showing up as unavailable. I hopped on today and had a look and most of the trains for that day were still showing as unavailable except for the one we wanted. It was the fastest train for the day. I quickly snapped up our tickets. I also booked a couple of restaurants. The rest we will work out when we are there.

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MON 16.9.2024

• It was the last week of term for mainly music and my final week (for now) of leading the sessions. It was fun and the parents are starting to get to know each other. There was a really warm and happy feeling today in the room.
• Triple chocolate chip cookies—I don’t need to elaborate.
• The girls came over and we went through our wills and our ICOD file with them. We decided that we would have to run through it with E separately because we didn’t know when we’d have all three of them together to run through it. It’s good to tick this job off my list.
• We finished the puzzle. There was one piece missing. Then H started a new one while G, S, and I watched Cobra Kai, which is ridiculous but funny.

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TUES 17.9.2024

• My big container of vanilla protein powder. I add it to my bowl of porridge every morning to kick start my day with a decent serving of protein without having to work too hard.
• An earlish walk with G and Riley. It was a bit cold but sunny.

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WED 18.9.2024

• G picked up bread from the really good bakery near where he was running and arrived home before I went to the gym so my pre-breakfast today was a fresh piece of sourdough bread with almond butter—yum!
• Riley got groomed. He is so soft and no longer smells.

• We had Convolvulus in our previous garden. The plants have lovely grey foliage and are covered for many months with white flowers. They did such a good job there that I planted a few in the new garden. They have bushed up substantially over winter and are now covered in flowers. The cool thing is that the flowers close up in the evening. I took this photo towards sunset, and the flowers have started to close up.

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THURS 19.9.2024

• I ran into one of the dads from mainly music with his daughter on our morning walk. That’s one of the advantages of going to a church within walking distance of our house. You’re more likely to bump into people just going about your everyday lives.
• God star, I got two new sports bras, which were long overdue. I’d been putting up with rubbing that drew blood on my long runs if I forgot to tape underneath.
• After I’d tried on ten sports bras and found my favourite I still had a little bit of time and so I decided to have a quick browse to see if there were any fluorescent orange running singlets. Our daughter has been wearing all black for her races—black singlet and black shorts and she is almost impossible to spot in a crowd. After missing her coming through the finishing line at the Gold Coast, we told her she must find a different top to race in. The next day, while watching the marathon, we discovered that fluorescent orange probably stands out the most (well, after our club singlet, which is red and black stripes that she only ever wears when competing for our club). She is picky about the cut and material of her running tops, but I found an ultra-lightweight singlet in a fluorescent orangey-red. It’s her birthday next week, so guess what she’s getting as her present. I hope she likes it, but I got her a gift receipt, so if she doesn’t, she can exchange it.
• Dad and mum took us to Scopri (my dad’s favourite Melbourne restaurant) for lunch. The food was excellent, as usual. I had quail with mushroom risotto for my entree, which I hadn’t tried before, followed by whiting and apple tart. I think I’ve had the apple tart the last four times I’ve been there, and the whiting is an old favourite of mine. They cook it butterflied with a Sicilian crumb on top.
• It was raining fairly heavily when we got home and we expected to find a soggy dog waiting for us. Riley has a kennel but rarely uses it. Even when it is raining, he will curl up near the door and be soaking wet. A few days ago, after trying to dry off a soaking wet Riley, I suggested we move the kennel so it was right next to the back door. When we got home we snuck into the apartment to see where Riley was and found him curled up, snug and dry, in his kennel. Success!

How has your week been? Have you ever pre-ordered the latest thing? If you’re a runner, do you have a favourite race kit? Do you like to repeat eat dishes at your favourite restaurants or try something new?