running etc

Another slightly longer run yesterday - 7.6 miles in 1h05, I thought it was going to turn out to be a bit further, so might have to step up the distance a bit next time. I delayed the run until later in the day because the weather was treacherously icy when I got up, but it was actually quite nice to be able to go out when things had warmed up a little.

Overall it's been a nice weekend - been into town to get a few last bits, managed to read some of my book, do a bit of work, have a decent run. One more week to go until Christmas now...

Running

I'm gradually trying to add a bit more distance to my runs again, as I've entered the Cambridge half marathon next March. Quite pleased with today - 7.2 miles in 1h02 (so just under 7mph) and predicting a finish time of 1h55 ish. I'd like to get that a bit lower, but I guess I have to put the miles on first.

Haven't done too much else lately - work has taken up a tremendous amount of time and energy to stay just about on top of things. I'm hoping that's turning back to a more normal workload now, but we'll have to see. I do have a few social things coming up as December comes around, and then after new year I'm hoping to go back to Pune for a week for work.

My brother and I bought a bench as a memorial for our parents in Sudbrooke, and that's just been installed, so I'm pleased to have that done. It will be nice to go up and see it sometime next year.

Long gap

Haven't posted here for a long time, but I guess blogging is so 00's now anyway. I do have a few thoughts for posts just to catch up on things we've done that might be of interest to a few other people.

Interesting to read the last post where I wasn't sure what I wanted out of the year. Honestly it's continued like that right up to now. That's not to say I haven't managed to do anything, but it's been a constant struggle of being up and down.

The thing that's really hung over me, and that's only really just shifted is to get mum and dad's estate wrapped up. However, we have now finally sold the house, so it does feel like that's coming to a close, which is a good feeling, but with quite a strong component of sadness. That has prompted me to have another go through their old photos and family docs to try to get them to some more useable state - I do want to do some family history research at some point. I have quite good family trees on both sides, but I also have a _lot_ of completely unidentified photos. There are some fantastic ones going right back to the late 19th Century, so I would love to be able to put some names to faces in there.

Main "events" of the year so far:

• I had my 40th birthday, which I actually really enjoyed. We had a great party at our house, and so far I'm enjoying being in my 5th decade.
• Went to London with the girls for a few days and saw the sights. We stayed in Greenwich, not so far from where H and I used to live when we were in London. I was going to post on good and bad points from this trip.
• H has been accepted onto her MPhil course at Cambridge university, so that's going to be a bit of an adjustment for us all. The girls have been trying out the after school club during the holidays and they really like it, so hopefully it won't be too much of a shock for them.
• Went up to the Lake District for a week at the end of July. We stayed in Ambleside - weather was really great, and it was a lovely week. Lots of good places to eat in Ambleside itself, and we managed to do some interesting walks and days out. Again, will post some links for that.

That's all for now, will try to write a bit more regularly in the next few weeks.

and into 2011...

I'm struggling to write anything about what I want out of 2011. 2010 was so taken up with sorting out my parents' affairs and then trying to deal with my own response to losing them that I don't really feel like I was able to do anything else for myself last year. If I rewind to how I was feeling at the end of 2009 I think I was struggling with knowing what direction I wanted to go in and so I've emerged from grief into uncertainty again :-)

I kind of hate setting goals and making resolutions but maybe that is what I need to do now. When I think about it I actually do have quite a few things I want to take forward: work projects (which I won't go into here), running (thinking of doing another 1/2 marathon), Tai Chi (I want to try a different class), trying to be a bit more social, learning more about molecular biology, doing a bit of art, finishing off the room in the roof so we can actually move in, selling mum and dad's house (finally), and maybe doing some family history or updating my moribund website.

2010 Valedictory

Christmas was quiet - I finished work a bit earlier than normal as I was feeling a bit run down from my cold. I had a drink with Ian and Clare and then we had Christmas at home as usual. The girls enjoyed getting presents, and I was pleased to see they were both keen to give presents as well, and wanted to put some thought into what they gave each other.

My brother and his family came up a couple of days later so it was good to see them again. L got on well with Megan's children, although i think E felt a bit left out. Graham and Megan's baby liked his dinosaur toy and fortunately they were able to get their car started when they went home (it had been a bit unreliable earlier in the day).

Then we had some people over for E's birthday on the 28th which was good fun. The 30th was the 1st anniversary of mum's death so I felt quite up and down throughout the day (and to be honest, throughout the holidays). I've tried to just give myself space to go out and sit quietly, or walk, but it's hard to just be with the feelings without over-reacting towards or away from them.

Since then I've been doing a few bits round the house - clearing up the garden, fixing the house number back up (taken down when the scaffolding was up), replacing the doorbell, that kind of thing. I'm still avoiding re-painting the bathroom ceiling, but I don't feel so swamped with minor bits to do now, so maybe I'll do that a bit later today.

Wedding Present

I spent most of the final weeks of 2010 being ill with assorted colds and coughs (cough still hasn't quite gone) but I did manage to do a few things, including seeing The Wedding Present at The Junction. They were doing their 20th anniversary tour of Bizarro (I think I saw them at the Corn Exchange in 92) and they did a great set, including a couple of newer songs I hadn't heard before, of which this was my favourite:

I also liked the fact that they introduced the main Bizarro playthrough with a tape loop of John Peel intros - it always brings me up short to hear his voice again, particularly as the Wedding Present era was very much around the time I was listening to his show.

November with a bump

A little catch up while I remember what I've been doing...
We've had a few days off. Last week we drove down to visit H's parents in New Malden. It was good to see them, and the girls always enjoy the visits. H and I went out to Cah Chi in the evening for fantastic Korean food. It's a small restaurant (and you have to bring your own wine) but they do really great food, and they have gas grills on all the tables where they come and cook part of the meal for you.

Saturday I went out for a run and managed to trip over a drain cover. I fell full length and scraped my knees and hands. Check out the horror show at the left.

This week we've walked the Devil's Dyke from Reach, and had lunch at the Dyke's End, which I also thoroughly recommend.

Tomorrow we're thinking about going to Aldeburgh for the day, but it depends on the weather and how organised we are to get out the house. Then Friday it's back to work.

I've also succumbed to technology - I bought a Kindle, and I'm really enjoying it. I read quite a lot of articles on the web, and I've been sending those to the Kindle via email, or using Instapaper. I have also bought a couple of books and it's very slick.

The house is on hold for this week, apart from that we've been choosing paint, carpet and curtains, which has taken a lot longer than I thought it would.