this'n that weekend ramblings

Well, it has been a fairly productive week. On the work front, I finally goaded myself back into the studio. I was having a spell of severe procrastination, and just could not seem to motivate myself to christen the new studio. I read a post by CJ in Scotland which pretty much exactly expressed what was going on, and so we made a pact to encourage each other to get going. It seems to have worked (thanks CJ, knowing you are accountable to someone does provide the needed shove in the right direction!!) It is quite gratifying that requests to exhibit at various galleries have been coming in, and I really needed to make a start, so it is a relief that when I did get in there, it really started to flow, and i have made a great start. I finished a large one and began 5 others, and also made frames for some of them. Will post pix on the art blog shortly!

On the health front, Max and I have been making a concerted effort to maintain the momentum of improving our lifestyle since his heart attack. For me the motivation is a cholesterol reading that is still too high, despite 4 months of careful eating, and for him it is making sure he never has to go through that again!

But having said that, we have both been aware that the occasional stroll round the neighbourhood, stopping every few seconds to take photos, is NOT going to do much to contribute to greater fitness.

We did manage to climb Mount Moorisi in Lesotho,

and last weekend we climbed the Campanile, an iconic PE landmark, which is a tall (204 steps to be precise) brick bell tower built to commemorate the centenary of the arrival of the 1820 settlers.

We surprised ourselves by being able to do these at all, but now want to get fit enough that next time, this issue will not be "can we make it?" but "how fast can we make it?"!!! I joined an aquarobics class recently, and work out in a heated pool twice a week, led by a physiotherapist. It is wonderful and I hate it if I have to miss a class. It has already made an enormous difference to the amount of pain in my knees and back, and I feel a great sense of well-being after each session. But it is not possible for Max to join in, as it is during his work hours, and it is not a cardiovascular workout, which I know is what we both need.

Soooooooooo .............. today we bit the bullet and bought an exercise bike. Hopefully, spurred on by the guilt if we don't get the maximum use out of such an expensive machine, we will now cycle ourselves to fitness (and with any luck less flabbiness will be an added bonus!)

So as I write this, I am waiting for my heart rate to drop and my legs to lose the jelly-like feeling (and secretly thinking "what have we done, are we totally mad??!!")

I'll end by sharing a few of my very favourite photos taken on our recent trip to Lesotho. As usual, I took so many, so today will only take us as far as the Barkly Pass, near Elliot in the Eastern Cape, next time we might even make it as far as Lesotho!

The forest in the arboretum in the delightful little mountain village of Hogsback.

On the road between Hogsback and Cathcart

Between Cathcart and Elliot

The mountains peeping through the mist at the top of the Barkly Pass.

Have a great weekend everyone!