Right now, I am.

Right now, I am...

wondering if the possum who lives in the tree outside my window will spend tonight in the same way he did last night: clambering up and down the branches, jumping between the roof and the hollow plastic kayak behind the house and just generally making a racket. His silhouette against the dark night sky reminds me of how Hobart and nature are so entwined though and that's kind of cool.

thinking about making a hedgehog slice but put off by all the recipes I have read. Who knew it was basically an amalgamation of condensed milk, processed biscuits and cocoa? For some reason I thought that it could basically pass as some rare form of delicious health food.

planning a weekend away in Melbourne. Pretty sure it will be 4 days of eating which isn't at all a bad thing but it does mean that I may have to rethink my planned outfits to include more elastic and less skin tight leather pants.

forcing myself to get outside and run. It's awful. I 100% despise it. But I guess I despise the 'winter coat' I have developed just a little bit more.

wishing I was spending my holidays a little more productively or at least spending them laying poolside in Bali or some other equally tropical haven.

Dee.

Going Solo.

Today I pushed my boundaries. I set off for a solo overnight walk. The fact that I am writing this might elude to the fact that it was a failed overnight walk but none the less, that was my intention.

The plan.

My goal was Mt Field West, overnighting at K Col/ Peterson Memorial Hut. The weather was sunny on the way up but as soon as I reached the ski fields and left the four wheel drive track behind the mist set in, the wind picked up and the rain clung to my coat. I pushed on. I rock hopped my way to the hut, getting there in 2 hours at 2pm. I tried settling in, I had some tea, made my bed, read my book... but perhaps a bit too quickly. I soon realised that I wasn't going to summit Field West, partly due to the weather which was forecast to be worse the next day but also because I was doubting myself and feeling pretty lazy. I realised that if I kept reading I'd be done by 4pm, with nothing to do. So I packed up and walked home with my tails between my legs.

So, today I learnt that I can bushwalk alone but I'm probably not cut out for the down time when solo. The other thing about solo walking that I'd considered a lot when planning was how a relatively minor injury can pose a much bigger threat to a solo walker than one in a group. For instance, my notoriously shitty left ankle went for it's biannual roll just when the car was in sight, so I hobbled there, cursing but no worries. If that had happened at 4:30pm on top of the Rodway's then I'd probably still be there. Other injuries from the day include a blood blister under the callus on my big toe, an egg sized lump on my shin and a badly bruised ego.

The day wasn't a complete failure though. I walked up a big hill and back again so at least my pack carrying fitness will be better for my next walk and more significantly I listened to the entire 55 Josh Pyke songs on my iPhone and it was bliss. I have and will always love him and his amazing lyrics, full of melancholy and desire.

Here is the single photo I took on my walk, when the cloud cleared for a moment.

Dee. 

Work hard, get results.

So, it turns out I can be pretty clever when I want to be. After 3 years of studying a science degree (geography and environmental studies major) that drew out to actually taking nearly 5 years (!!!) I sort of surprised myself but signing up to another 2 years of studying to be a nurse. But it's been amazing and I've been reaping the rewards of working hard.

I was a relatively mediocre student in science, kinda didn't care because a big part of me always knew that getting a job that I would enjoy as a career path was going to be a tough ask but I kept going because I couldn't see the point in building up a HECS debt without having anything to show for it (but given the latest budget, maybe I should have quit whilst I was ahead!). My marks varied from HDs in the subjects I loved to PPs in those I hated (usually the ones full of statistics). But this semester has been a whole different story ... It's amazing what a bit of passion can do.

When you love something, you want to do it well. Maybe this shouldn't surprise me because really when I think about it, all the things I have loved like cooking or guiding, I have worked hard at until I have been better, until it's become something I can be proud of. Things like running and maths, not so much. So I guess my point is,  if you are driven to do something, take advantage of that drive and work it, you might never feel it again. And if you don't, and you've got some flexibility, then maybe sit back and wait til something more fulfilling comes along because as an example, if you don't love studying nursing, what makes you think you'll enjoy working as one?

Anyway, the point of this post has been to maybe motivate you to stick with the things you love, even when they get tough but also to be realistic about how you spend your energy and make sure you are working towards your goals! Also, it was also supposed to motivate me to go outside for a run but it looks like that didn't work.

Bye for now, I've got some apple crumble to tend to!

x

Winter's Bone.

Winter's Bone. It's a great movie, you should watch it. It turned me into a total Jennifer Lawrence fan girl, but then who isn't one already? She is brilliant.
Also, on a less hillbilly, thrilling, banjo playing note; the Lego Movie is also great. You should watch that too.
P.S. Can you tell it's exam time?

Next week I am going to take myself on a bush walk. It's been a while since I carried a pack and slept out but I am super excited. I'm hoping for a super clear night so I can get some night sky photos and maybe sit and watch an aurora fold through the sky, if I'm lucky.
My plan is to just start short, with a quick overnighter up to Mt Field West, sleeping somewhere on the plateau if the weather allows and then going the long way home around the tarns to see if I can spot some of the Athrotaxis laxifolia that I know is hiding up there!

Winter has set in here. The days are barely reaching 9 degrees Celsius and I'm going to start wearing my leather gloves again (yay!). Soon I'm going to post something about my perfect day in Hobart but it starts just like these days have, cold and clear. They make me want my coffee more, which can never be a bad thing, can it?

Keep you posted on my adventures next week!


Dee x


A song to soothe you into these long, cold nights.

Better hop to it.

Things have been changing round here. I'm all motivated to run again, I can see the reward in how it clears my head. I've also taken to mindfulness mediation after a not so successful attempt nearly two years ago. Last time it made me too aware of what a bad head space I was in. Now it's just a nice way to 'anchor yourself to your here and now' as the nice man tells me in the recording. 

Recently I also realised that I had pretty much turned into a vegetarian due to a. not being able to afford meat and b. being too lazy to cook meat for one. It was getting pretty bad. The other day I realised that it had been weeks since I had felt energised and I was able to link this back to my iron levels! Anaemia and I have been friends on and off for a while now but I'd forgotten about him and he was reminding me a not so subtle way... nausea, headaches, breathelessness, exhaustion. Since eating half my weight in beef though I am feeling SO MUCH BETTER! yay.

So, in between all this and keeping more and more uni work done I have been baking bread, stewing apples, cooking roast dinners and mexican feasts and admiring all the beautiful ladies in fancy dresses at Cannes. My favourite below, Blake Lively.

 Gucci. 

 Giambattista Valli

Chanel. 

Tell me your tips for keeping your iron up, or any good mediation suggestions, or your picks of the Cannes festival (both the movies and the fashion).

Dee x

Hobart Love.

Thanks for being you, Hobart. I love your clear blue sky, your soft warm sun, your glowing afternoon light and your relaxed attitude to life. Keep on keeping on.

I've hit week 10 of the uni semester. In fact, really it's just finished and week 11 is about to start. It's busy! This week I handed in a final piece worth 40% to one unit and gave a presentation in another- hoping both went well! Next week I have a reflective piece and a 2500 word essay on tourism management in Antarctica due- kill me now. To 'console myself/ waste time/ force myself to realise that working hard equals access to all the things I want in life' I am creating way too many shopping baskets on net-a-porter then closing the tab at the last minute and spending too many minutes watching clips from The Voice on YouTube to remind myself that a singing career on a bad television show is always an option. But at this stage I'd still rather be a nurse.

Sorry if this post makes little sense, I am battling a rather bad hangover for a Friday afternoon. Turns out drinking with a bunch of 18 yo's is a recipe for a good time!

P.S. Thanks Mother Nature for putting on a show last night. Watching my first real aurora from the top of Mt Wellington at 10:30 PM is something I'll never forget. What a place to call home.

Colours in the Japanese Garden, Royal Hobart Botanical Gardens. DL

All paths lead to the Mountain. DL

Dee.

Love Song.

It's not a love song but goodness me, do I love it. It's like Oasis and British india had a baby and out came the DMA's. Get around it. Makes me wanna go walking in the rain and snow and wear an ugly polyester Adidas striped jacket.



Time to get my study on,

Dee.