May 7: Gardening and a little ditty

May 7, 2015May 8, 2015fitfor15in15 Leave a comment

Looking a bit woolly

Quite a few dandelions in the grass. Boy on the prowl

Nothing like an afternoon working in the garden plus mowing the lawn to:

make you a bit sweaty
make your knees scream blue murder
give your lower back a run for its money
bring on sneezing fits that pop your eyeballs out of your head

Or is that just me?

But in the end it’s all worth it.

Boy still on the prowl

Roger and Rafa could play on that!

Three hours later, shooting into the afternoon sun

We’ve had so much rain, soooo much rain, and the lawn should have been mowed about a week ago. No chance. The ground was still really wet, so much so the mower kept clogging up, so Rene and I were constantly on our knees, hauling out handfuls of solid green lumps. After about the fourth cleanout, he decided to not cut it quite so short, and after that we didn’t have any problems. Our knees rejoiced.

Then after it was all done, I used an old fashioned pitchfork to put the grass clippings into the mulch pile. Now that was heavy lifting!

I quite enjoy being on the ride-on mower. I should sing songs while zooming around (I just had a vision of watching a sped-up video of the mowing (don’t worry, there isn’t one) set to The Benny Hill Show theme song) about being home on the range, because we do have deer. I’m just never up early enough to see them, apparently.

My songs would be classics – I might even make up a few on the spot – and I’d look the part, chewing on a wheat stalk, wearing a battered old Akubra hat and dust-covered RM Williams boots. Oh hang on, that’s an Australian scenario. I’ll start again:

My songs would be classics – I might even make up a few grammatically incorrect German ditties on the spot – and I’d look the part, chewing a clump of edelweiss, wearing a centuries old dirndl and grass-covered Zoggeli clogs. Oh, how I love spring!* Yodel-Ay-Ee-Ooo!

“As the sun went down behind the pines, the boss said call it quits. We surveyed our work and drank a beer. Wet grass sure is the pits.”

I’ll spare you from the German version, and my original English ending too!

Wishing you a wonderful day.

* except for the hayfever

May 6 #2: An assortment of bodyweight exercises

May 6, 2015May 6, 2015fitfor15in15 2 Comments

It was a busy day, mostly on the computer, with a bit of time in the soggy garden. The grass still has many boggy sections, which reminded me of stomping across the Moors, which reminded me of this article about lovely gardens from The Guardian website. I’d like to go to Cerney House.

Even though the sun was shining and I should have gone for a run (even just to the tulips and back!), I decided to stay close to home and do 15 minutes of assorted exercises with my body weight.

Using video resources from various Instagram fitness accounts and the happy.challenges Instagram account, I mixed up mountain climbers, push-ups, squats and crunches with four sets of 15 repetitions each. Enough to get the blood flowing, for sure, but not enough for 15 minutes.

So I’m going to have to split my fitfor15in15 into two categories today – mentally fit with the book review and travelling light story (which took longer than seven minutes to write!) and physically fit with eight minutes of exercises. Cheating a bit? Perhaps!

I felt a bit cheated yesterday – two hours after eating a slice of very dense chocolate cake to finish off my lunch with Leonie, I felt quite ill. I think my body is trying to tell me to lay off the sugar! Which reminded me of this report from the Australian ABC.

Rocketing obesity is being blamed on poor diets laden with excess sugar and carbs, rather than a lack of exercise. Makes sense, although the opening line of the report made me feel dejected!

Fitfor15in15 is all about being fit in all its forms, with exercise playing the major part. Now I’m thinking I should forget shifting those pesky few kilos through exercise, and focus more attention on the role of healthier food.

Just writing it out makes me feel a bit silly, because it seems so obvious. Of course, moving everyday is beneficial for my overall health, like heart and bones, and I would never stop that. But is it time to totally cut out the crap from my diet? Could I live without chocolate cake and Berliners? Maybe, but would it be any fun? More food for thought.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

Travelling Light: Toiletries and make-up

May 6, 2015May 6, 2015fitfor15in15 4 Comments

Finally! I can’t believe it’s taken me five months to write about what I take when travelling. I love to pack light – just love it! Some may look at this and think ‘that’s not light’, and I’m cool with that! Everyone’s different, so, without further ado, here’s what’s in my new toiletry bag.

It’s a three-zippered number from deuter, with a capacity of 1.2 litres, weighing 50g when empty.* Until recently, I used a single zippered lightweight case from Eagle Creek (which I can’t find on the internet), but I’m loving the organisation options of the new bag – three compartments for easy access!

The old … (pen is for size reference)

… and the new

We’re (hopefully, depending on the weather) going hiking/walking for five to six days next week from Constance to Einsiedeln in Switzerland, which is basically the first third of the Swiss Camino.

We don’t know where we’ll be staying along the way, so I have to assume that some nights may be in youth hostels or basic hotels, where no toiletries are provided.

Sample or travel sizes are your friend (most of these were free!). Here’s what I’ve packed for one week:

Toothbrush (very lightweight and slim)
Toothpaste (I have two small toothpastes 25ml and 30ml, each about a third full, so will take them both to use them up)
Floss (mini)

Dental things

Shampoo (sample/travel size, 30ml)
Conditioner (sample/travel size, 30ml)

Shampoo and conditioner

Body and face moisturiser (in orange GoToob, 60ml)
Deodorant (spray bottle, 30ml)

Moisturiser and spray deodorant

Contact lenses
Contact lens case
Contact lens solution (15ml)

So I can see the pretty scenery!

Soap (for face and body, 40g)
Toner (love a refreshing spritz of toner, 10ml)
Perfume (a sachet and a small sample size (1.5ml) – nice for a few evenings!)

Soap, toner and perfume samples

Tablets (hayfever, vitamins, headache, penicillin (for tonsillitis), gastro-stop (the last two are for just-in-case moments) in a small plastic ziplock bag
Cotton buds
Toothpick
Bandaids
Hotel-size sewing kit (for dealing with (hopefully no) blisters). The past four items are all in a small ziplock bag)

Tablet bag and cotton bud bag

Hairbrush (foldable with a mirror inside)

Folding hairbrush

Foundation (sample size, 7ml)
Eye and cheek powder (silver duo compact)
Eye and cheek brush (small)
Eyeliner (mini)
Mascara (very thin, light and short)
Lip balm

Make-up items

When it’s all listed out, it looks like so much, but I’ll use everything (except possibly the make-up) every day.

Now it all goes into the three pockets of the washbag:

Back zip: Brush, make-up
Middle zip: Soap, shampoo, conditioner, toner, moisturiser, deodorant, contact lens things, packet of tablets, packet with cotton buds etc
Front zip: Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss

Back compartment (without the brush)

Main compartment, with ziplock bags and soap flat at the bottom

Front compartment

And this is what it looks like when it’s all zipped up. There’s still a bit of room in there, and will gain more as the tablets get taken.

All zipped up and ready to go. Total weight 620 grams

I’m pretty happy with that total weight, just over half a kilo, and if I didn’t feel the need to pretty myself up at night, I would ditch the make-up completely.

But wait? What about sunscreen, I hear you say! I wear a wide-brimmed hat, neck scarf, long-sleeved top and pants to avoid sunburn (damn thee fair, sensitive skin!) and carry a small sample-size sunscreen, about 7ml, in the pocket on the waistband of my backpack for easy access and regular cheek and nose applications. The lip balm (which also has sunscreen in it) lives in my trousers’ pocket.

So there you have it. In a dream world, where I had 20/20 vision, my skin wasn’t dry and sensitive and I had short hair, I think my toiletry bag would look very different. Eventually, I’d like everything to be eco-friendly plant or oil-based items, but because I have these things already, and most of them were free, it would be crazy not to use them. I’d love to travel with one natural soap for everything, one oil as a face, body and hair moisturiser and bicarb soda as toothpaste and deodorant. One day! One day! (I look forward to writing that post too!)

What toiletries do you like to take when travelling? Do you use sample sizes or take the lot?

Check again soon for posts about my backpack, walking clothes, casual clothes and sundry/miscellaneous items.

* As always there are no affiliate links on this site. I’m just providing you with information and receive no perks or money from the companies and products mentioned, giving me free reign to say if I like them or not.

May 6: Catch-up photos and postponed nervousness

May 6, 2015May 6, 2015fitfor15in15 2 Comments

The big news which distracted me from writing yesterday’s post is … I have a job interview. It was supposed to be this morning, via telephone, but it has been rescheduled for next Wednesday. I’m not going to say anything more about it for fear of jinxing myself. Please cross all fingers and toes.

As a catch-up for yesterday’s simple post, here are a few drab-looking photos.

A glorious full moon from May 4

We’ve had so much rain in Bern and surrounds that the Aare river is flooded and the walking paths on both sides have disappeared

Looking towards the city from the Lorrainebrücke (bridge). The water is normally crystal clear

Grey skies in Bern at Waisenhausplatz

Markets in Waisenhausplatz

Across the tram lines from the wares in Waisenhausplatz is Bärenplatz, home of the food markets

Lovely fresh, unpackaged products

Bring your own container! Zero Waste!

At the top of Bärenplatz is the Bundeshaus (Federal Palace of Switzerland) where Parliament sits. Most people think the Swiss capital is Zürich

Looking towards the Gurten (the small hill) from the viewing platform at the Bundeshaus

The building in the distance with the spires is the Einstein Museum. He was a lecturer at the University of Bern in 1908

There are several street chess boards in the city

Monday night was the final of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield. I was lucky enough to be at the Crucible Theatre in 1995 for a night and day session – amazing to be there after watching it for so many years on television. It’s always sooo quiet! Congratulations to perennial underdog Stuart Bingham on his first world title! It was a fantastic final (against Shaun Murphy) and I’m glad Bingham won because he beat my favourite player Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter-final.

Yesterday was a very social day – lunch with Leonie and then drinks and dinner with Claudia (not my old German teacher Claudia, who I meet once a week, but Leo’s friend Dani’s girlfriend Claudia, who lives in Basel). In between the two catch-ups, I went to the library and finished this beautifully written, memorable book.

I was amazed to see the unusual pink and green tulip from our local tulip field in a recent post from Freda at livesimplysimplylive. I’ve never seen them before and then twice in three days! Freda’s grow in her garden. How wonderful! Must try and plant some too.

I’ll post again with some fitness stuff. This is really more of a catch-up from yesterday, where my exercise was walking around the city looking at the flooded river.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

Firmin by Sam Savage

May 6, 2015March 22, 2016fitfor15in15 4 Comments

One educated rat’s musings on the harsh realities of life

Oh, wow, I loved this! A last-minute selection at the library could now possibly be one of my favourite books.

There are so many clever literary references and beautifully written thought processes in this short but weighty novel from 2006. The author, Sam Savage, has done a brilliant job relaying the angst felt by a ‘lowlife’ rat in his quest to be accepted and understood. We’ve all been through something like that at some stage, right?

Firmin, the runt, is born to a mother of dubious social standing and battles his 12 brutish siblings before going it alone. Staying in the book store where he was born has considerable benefits, because Firmin can read. He devours the shop’s contents (initially literally, then figuratively) to be a well-read rat of note, and would dearly love to have an educated conversation with the shop’s owner, Norman, or a one-on-one encounter with an actress from the nearby movie theatre, where he goes on his nightly food run. But without the ability to speak, write, type or even do sign language, he relies on his imagination.

I don’t want to write too much, because this was such a lovely surprise for me, that I’d love for it to be a surprise for you too. It might make you look at a rat differently on your next encounter. I want to say “I guarantee it will make you …” but some people could never be swayed in their hatred for vermin!

Poor Firmin!

May 5: Oops but for a good reason!

May 5, 2015May 6, 2015fitfor15in15 4 Comments

It’s 11.18pm and I’m typing this under the bedcovers on my mobile phone because …

I totally forgot to write today’s post.

I had grand plans of discussing last night’s World Snooker Championship final, the flooded Aare river in Bern, my lunch with Leonie and then dinner with Claudia but instead I came home, watched tv with Leo and came to bed.

Just as slumber was about to take hold, it hit me – no blog post! Argh!

I know I’m distracted because tomorrow morning something exciting is going to happen. I’ll tell you all about it then!

Wishing you a wonderful day.

May 4: The force was strong on Monday Runday

May 4, 2015fitfor15in15 2 Comments

Not only is it Monday Runday, it’s also Star Wars Day … May the 4th be with you.

The fourth, I mean force, was strong today on my 5km run. Apart from stopping to take the odd photo and having to walk 200m to get rid of a stitch (again!), I felt really good and was happy with my time. I think I’m so worried about being dehydrated and getting that weird pain in my ears, I overcompensate and drink too much water before I head out.

At the beginning of the run, one of these tracks was a little creek

Looking towards Sariswil

These calves looked so cute, I had to stop for a photo

So sweet – they ran over to say hello!

Maybe I smelt good, but I doubt it

In the end, they all lined up for their 15 minutes of fame

Saw a man using a strange machine in the fields, and waved … and maybe ran a little harder! Such a dag

Rape seed in full bloom

I startled this heron (?) in the puddle and it flew off majestically

I had thought about taking a longer route, but then chickened out at the last minute. Probably a good thing, as it was really humid (no wind too) and I ended up having to shed top layers and run in my tank top – first time that’s ever happened in Switzerland!

As part of my cool-down, I walked back to the tulip field (I measured it as 550m from our house) but the ducks from yesterday were gone. I bought a bunch of solid hot pink flowers as consolation.

Magnificent tulip with insects!

The bunch from yesterday, downstairs

The new bunch from today, upstairs

The tulips aren’t going to be around for much longer – I’m almost tempted to collect a bunch of beautiful white ones, with pointy tips, tomorrow!

This morning was rainy and pretty miserable, so while waiting for a break in the weather, I mended the split in the backside of my apple-green cotton trousers. Initially I thought my pants would only be good enough for garden work afterwards, but I think I did such a good job, and the thread matched so well, I can wear them out again. (Can’t believe (and am very thankful) a hotel sewing kit carried that colour!) Then again, I may have been without my glasses when looking in the mirror … And after taking this photo, I’m now having second thoughts. I’ll wear a long top. 🙂

Maybe my mending effort wasn’t so invisible after all …

All this rain has made our next holiday plans a bit sketchy – from next weekend, we’re planning to walk the first third of the Swiss Camino, from Constance to Einsiedeln. It should take about five to six days of walking, and is only 93km long, but if it’s going to be too wet, maybe we’ll have to rethink our plans. We walked the second (middle) section from Einsiedeln to Thun in 2012 and hopefully we’ll complete the third and final stage from Thun to Geneva before too long.

Physically Fit: Monday Runday – 5km jumping across the muddy puddles
Mentally Fit: Walking to the tulip field again and talking to the calves
Nutritionally Fit: Sixth day of fasting (500 calories) on the 5:2 Diet (and start of the final week perhaps?)
Minimalism: Mending the green pants

Have you been out wandering in your neighbourhood recently? I’d love to hear about what you see when you go walking or running.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

May 3: Another Sunday walk

May 3, 2015May 3, 2015fitfor15in15 4 Comments

We had a great time at the BEA with everyone yesterday, and a quiet, relaxing time home alone today.

The gang – Leo, Tom, Sandra, me, Leo, Pastora and Iva

We didn’t go on this ride

Leo, Tom and Sandra

General BEA sideshow and ride alley

Bueller … Bueller …

Sandra and her hamburger, me and my second Berliner raspberry doughnut. I told you I was addicted

Leo found the biggest sausage grill

A little bit of wine tasting

Seems to be a Sunday tradition at the moment, going for a wander in the neighbourhood. It’s been raining so much the past few days, we made a break for it during a rare break and headed out. Again, the walk was leisurely, but they say 30 minutes a day is all you need.

Good weather for them

You know it’s impossible not to stop at the tulips

These ones came home with us

A mistake photo but I like it

What an amazing tulip!

Beautiful light on the rape seed field

Lovely colours, blues and greens

Mud up a side track

He wasn’t very camouflaged

At home I spent a bit of time in my garden, admiring the blooms. We also watched the first season of Broadchurch, which I really enjoyed. I’ve long been a fan of Olivia Colman – she never disappoints. She was amazing in Tyrannosaur (not for the faint-hearted) and Green Wing too.

In my garden at home

The first two signs of my gladioli!

My new bulb garden is coming up a treat! Those pink tulips started white

Oh and Mayweather beat Pacquiao. I didn’t watch the fight, just read about it. The more I know about Mayweather, the less I want to retain.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

May 2: Getting back on the bandwagon

May 2, 2015May 2, 2015fitfor15in15 Leave a comment

It’s been wild weather here for a few days, and Leo is at work attending to some flooding on his building site. What a pain that’s going to be – sourcing pumps and people on a Saturday.

This afternoon, we’re going to the BEA, which is Bern’s agricultural exhibition, kind of like the Royal Shows in Australia and the UK and, I imagine, State Fairs in America.

There’ll be cows, horses, tractors, and wursts on the grill. (That Oxford comma was very important, otherwise it would sound like the animals and tractors would also be on the grill!)

We’re going with Pastora and Leo, Sandra and Tom and Iva, whose husband Marko is away for work, so it will be a hectic afternoon of German. Good for my mental fitness. Maybe some beers will be consumed later on. Not so good for my physical fitness.

I feel like I’ve fallen off the sweaty exercise bandwagon a bit lately but was very pleased when I stood on Liliane’s scales yesterday – two kilos lighter than last month’s ‘weigh-in’ (when I clean their house, I use their scales!). I don’t trust scales much, and definitely don’t feel the need to own any, but I do feel slimmer (and stronger!). Maybe the 5:2 Diet is working for me?

Speaking of the 5:2 Diet, I only did the 500 calorie day once (Monday) last week. I’ll do two again next week. And speaking of weigh-ins, the Mayweather v Pacquiao fight is tomorrow morning Swiss time (at about 6am they say). It starts very late tonight in America. I wonder if it will be a fizzer? I look forward to reading all about it and watching the highlights.

In order to boost my cardio fitness a bit, I did Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Workout Level 2 again (the last time was March 2). I should have done Level 3 but I was in a bit of a hurry and didn’t want to search for something.

She really makes you sweat, ol’ Jillian, which is why I keep coming back to her workouts, along with the duo from Fitness Blender. This time, I actually did most of the walking to plank and push-up exercises on my toes, not on my knees. Hallelujah! My arms are hurting quite a bit too, because of that and various lifts with weights that were tough. Yahoo! Overall, I find it a great 25-minute workout.

Physically Fit: Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Workout Level 2
Mentally Fit: Going to the BEA with friends
Nutritionally Fit: Back to two days per week on the 5:2 Diet next week
Minimalism: Loving my stretchy black and white Marimekko dress I bought in Melbourne with Gabby. Today I’m tucking it up to wear as a top with jeans – love clothes that serve more than one purpose!

Wishing you a wonderful day.

May 1: Working on International Workers’ Day

May 1, 2015May 1, 2015fitfor15in15 Leave a comment

Today is, or was, International Workers’ Day or Labour Day and oh, the ironing, I mean irony.

Instead of sitting back with my feet up enjoying this day of rest, I was hard at work at Liliane and Rene’s, cleaning like a crazy woman. While half of Switzerland kicked back watching the torrential rain, I was gagging on vinegar fumes scrubbing the shower walls. (Must remember to dilute that stuff a bit more next time.)

The last time I put on my Sadie the Cleaning Lady hat, I vacuumed the ceilings to get rid of some small cobwebs, but thankfully for my back, I didn’t have to do that and feel a whole lot better for it. I still managed to clock up four hours of cleaning, so I’ll do the bedtime yoga again, just to give my back a bit of a stretch before sleeping.

Two things I’d like to talk about today. Leo found this hilarious phone app called MyIdol. Well, not only Leo has found it, it’s going gangbusters around the world. It’s in Chinese, but it makes for some great laughs. Click the link above to see some funny photos and videos (love Putin pole dancing) and if you fancy downloading the app and making some pictures yourself, then here’s an article with the instructions in English. Believe me, you need them, otherwise you end up looking like this …

A bad everything day!

Second, but definitely way more important than that narcissistic silliness, is the Netflix series Bloodline.

We finished the first season yesterday and it was great; I really recommend it if you like a bit of drama and suspense. The premise of the show is: “A picture-perfect family is hiding many secrets. When the rebel oldest brother returns to the fold, wanting to be part of the family business, things change in many different ways.” I’m not going to give anything more away, other than the initial reason I chose to watch this is because Kyle Chandler is the main actor.

I loved Mr Chandler so much in Friday Night Lights, choosing this was a no-brainer. I realised some of the traits of his FNL character, such as certain mouth movements and stares, were also part of his character in Bloodline, so maybe they’re not acting traits, they’re Kyle Chandler traits?!

Wow, that was a long diatribe, because what I really wanted to say was we watched this show because I have a teenie weenie crush on KC, but the real star is Ben Mendelsohn, the returning brother. Wow, he is good. Really good. Scene-stealingly good. And I’m very proud to say he’s an Aussie. Watching the show has definitely been a good contribution to my mental fitness – even though all the characters are mental!

If you don’t have Netflix, I’m sure it’s quite hard to see this series, but hopefully it becomes widely available sooner rather than later. I’m looking forward to the next season which will be released next year.

I hope you’re all well, wherever you’re reading this. Welcome to May. Thank you for being on this fitfor15in15 adventure, too.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

fitfor15in15 … and further

I once tried to get fit for 2015 in a minimum of 15 minutes a day, and now I just write about stuff

May

May 7: Gardening and a little ditty

May 6 #2: An assortment of bodyweight exercises

Travelling Light: Toiletries and make-up

May 6: Catch-up photos and postponed nervousness

Firmin by Sam Savage

May 5: Oops but for a good reason!

May 4: The force was strong on Monday Runday

May 3: Another Sunday walk

May 2: Getting back on the bandwagon

May 1: Working on International Workers’ Day