Yay,The tennis is coming!

Warren and I are volunteering at the tennis again this year, that's the Brisbane International. We have been in this morning leaving home at 6.30am for a induction morning of three hours. The uniforms have been done by a different group this year and they feel good.

Instead of unisex shirts and men's shorts I was able to get women's sizes, the women's are fitted but I was quite comfy in it. We get two shirts and two shorts plus a hat.

Five weeks until it starts 2015 will not be going over New year but starting on Fri 2nd Jan, We have our passes and our rosters plus our timings, we are both in the same group as last year so its nice that we know them already.

When is a senior not a senior?

My passport had expired and while I thought about it, I decided that I should do something about it. Today was the day as these things get forgotten and until suddenly one might need it and oh dear,dont have six months on it.

Used the trusty computer to see what I needed to do, Warren said just go to the post office and get a form, but mine was a renewal not a new one.

Typed in passport renewal and there was a form, I could do it on-line! Yep that's right do it on line but then had to print it out and go to PO with two photos. Fine, I could do that form asked what type of passport, Ordinary, Ordinary with lots of extra pages, or senior, lower fee, yay I go for the senior one and then a Senior is some one over seventy five (75)

For some things I have been classed as a senior since I was fifty but now when there is a lower fee, I am suddenly not old enough! Damn! Passport renewal was $244 ouch! but it only hurts when it has to be paid, after that don't even give it a thought.

A Weekend Writers Retreat

For two people! daughter and I did this last year and it is just nice to get away from everything and concentrate on writing. Of course there was a fair bit of chat as well and we enjoyed a couple of meals out that we didn't have to plan prepare and clean after either that was a bonus.

We left our b n B early this morning to try to avoid the heat, its 41 degrees on our back patio. I haven't done any writing since I arrived home, we did do a timed sprint after breakfast so I have 400+ already for the day four more of those and I am done!

I think we achieved 9K and 15K for the weekend, my aim was to do more than last weekend so got that and now I am three days in front. (and out of ideas where to go atm)

"There's been a fall"

Warren went bike riding last Sunday, he hasn't been since we went to Jandawee in July, due to either weather or other things on or no-one to ride with him. Far better if they have a "buddy" if there is a fall or worse then some one knows they are out on the track, although the organizers do a good job of clocking each rider out and back in again.

Anyway, this ride was only a couple of hours away tops and it was a one day rather than a weekend and I decided not to go (I needed to stay home and write!) .

Some one who will remain nameless had a fall off his bike and the bruises have been coming out all week. A scrape on his upper arm, a stiff finger, a cut under his chin probably from the helmet strap and a sore knee. I said to him when he got home "I suppose you won't be playing tomorrow then?" "of course I will, I'm sore on my left arm I don't play tennis with my left!" oops sorry I asked but I gathered that the injuries weren't all that bad then.

He had apparently gunned it up a slope and it was turning to the left and got into some loose gravel and the bike started to go and he knew that he just had to go with it. He said that he was out in front so no-one actually saw him fall off.

5K

This month being writing month "Nanowrimo" I am feeling the pressure of working as well as writing but I will get it finished and do the 50,000 words required. Last week I was falling behind schedule only wrote 700 on Wednesday and 1000 or so on Thursday, so one days worth over two days. Cant remember what I wrote on Fridays but I was looking at challenges and saw one for 5K in a day, OMG! I think the most I have written in a day before has been about 2500 and this was double!

I did know that I needed to pull something out of the bag so I decided to go for it. 7.30pm I closed the lid of the computer after I had done my final word count 5028, I had done it, Warren had kept out of my way for most of the day bless his little cotton socks. Did another 3k or so on Sunday and around 2 and a bit on Monday and Tuesday putting me two days in front.

Currently sitting on 23000 words I took a night off last night, I have got to a bit of a standstill but I usually wake up with ideas of where to go next in the story. I did have a story line but I didn't really like it so I scrapped that one. Today the writers are off for a weekend of writing so I am challenging myself to write more than the eight thousand that I did last weekend, we will see what happens.

a themed party

Last week for melbourne Cup our Red Hat group decided to have a "dress up" party as it was in a members home. The theme was to dress as something r some one starting with the letter M.

It was a lot of fun, only two declined to dress up and one said that she was coming as herself, her name starts with an M and the other said she couldn't think of anything.

We had a magician, a maid, a mistake (woman had odd shoes and generally mismatched) a Marilyn Munro, two Morticas, Mum the Masterchef, a matador and Minnie Mouse, I dressed as Miss Marple and was pleased that most people worked out who I was.

We had sweeps and watched the Cup when it came on I was lucky enough to win third place in a sweep, got $10 but I had spent $18. We had a pooled lunch.

Halloween

As it was on a Friday this year, i bought more treats to give away. Quite difficult to buy decent wrapped lollies without going over the top so I opted for small packets of chips, getting away from sugar but of course more salt, cant win really. I also bought small chocolates so each child got a pkt of chips and a choc. We had many less than last year and they were all little kids except one. I didn't go to the door warren did and he said it was a girl on her own, no parent in sight and he was a bit worried about her, he said she looked about 14 or so.

The ones I saw were dressed up well and loved telling us what they were, they were so cute, most of them I know were from around the area, occasionally we see them in the street but not often. That's why I like the idea of Halloween.

Some grumble about its bad for kids with all the sweets they get given but once a year doesnt hurt anyone.

Nano!

Its that time again, National Novel Writing Month, Nanowrimo or Nano for short. I am writing the third book in a trilogy and not sure if I have enough material to write it but I will give it a shot.

First day and I only wrote 860 words but I have always started off slow so wasn't fussed about it.

Woke up at 4.30am and I was wide awake and thinking over the satrt of my story and how it could be better. At 5.30am, I got up showered and dressed and wrote a thousand words before Warren woke up at his usual time around 6.45am.  he was very surprised as I am NOT a morning person.

Ended up with 2500 words written for the day so a little in front. Its 50,000 words to write in 30 days to achieve a win in Nanowrimo which breaks down to 1,667 words a day.

I should be writing now but I keep finding things to do instead. I have done just over 600 today. Looking at FB last night and some one wrote "Just hit 10K". My fingers wanted to write back "but do they all make sense?" but thought that would be rather unkind.

Melbourne Cup fever

Its that time of the year again weird fashion, hats and horses. Our red hatter group are having a luncheon, we don't often have our gathering on the same day as there is many lunches and other things on, this year we thought we would. It is a themed get together dressing as something starting with an M. I am going as Miss Marple from Agatha Christie fame.

I did offer to do a quiz with a horse theme, thank goodness I was reminded this morning but its all done now, ten questions and I have left over lollies from Halloween as prizes. No chocs left though!

Have to remember to take gold coins as there will be lots of sweeps, I might win something!

Japanese Knot Bag

One of the forums  that I belong to, were discussing this the other day and it was a free pattern. It looked good and pretty easy so  downloaded it. First one I made, it didnt seem to work and I wasnt sure why. I asked Warren to come and read the instructions to me while I pinned it together.
This is the result

I made the pink and grey one first it was a bit small so I increased the pattern. The red one is silk and I will use it for red hat by putting by bag insert into it. The grey one is just big enough for toothpaste and brush, shampoo, soap and hair brush so it will go into the caravan to take to the shower block.

Once I go the diretions right, they are quite easy to make with no fastenings. So the story goes Japanese women use them for craft work, looping them over their arm leaving both hands free to craft. I remember seeing women in China walking along the street knitting, these bags would have been ideal. I have tried standing and knitting but they used to walk and knit, that takes a lot of skill.