Tag: exercise

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What Do Writers Do When They’re Not Writing. . . ? They go to a Silent Disco of Course!

by Ninette Hartley3 Comments on What Do Writers Do When They’re Not Writing. . . ? They go to a Silent Disco of Course!

I’ve had a busy month so far and that’s because I’ve been doing a lot of writing. I’m actually well into re-writing my debut novel but more about that another time. Not quite ready to share yet.

Writers spend a great deal of time sitting at their desks, either on their computers or with a notebook, at home or in cafés. Wherever they choose to write they are probably sitting down. I’m lucky, I have a writing space on the landing in our cottage and it’s perfect. A desk, bookcases, printer etc., and a lovely view to the farm across the road. But what do I do when I’m not sitting writing?

This year I made a conscious decision to get out and about more. Until last August we had the dear dog, Jpeg, which meant I went out every day for a walk at least once and often twice. Without the dog I have looked for other forms of exercise. I do walk without the dog and also do quite a lot of online fitness workouts. But, two weeks ago I took the plunge and joined a Friday morning silent disco run by the extraordinary Angie Porter (this is her facebook page). She is a vibrant member of the local community and on Instagram she describes herself as:

❤️ 🎨 painter 👩‍🎨 writer ✍️ performer 🎤🎭palm tree lover 🌴 🌴 🌴teacher and joy freak 🤩 📽 ☀️

I didn’t know what to expect as I’ve never been to a silent disco before (my kids thought I’d lost the plot) I absolutely loved it. You couldn’t get further away from writing at a desk. I found it exhilarating. I came back full of energy and raring to get on with the day. I’ve now been three times and the last time I went, which was yesterday, the weather was atrocious but we carried on anyway – it takes place outside under a large open sided covered area at The Grow Slow Nursery and The Packhorse Cafe so we didn’t get soaked. We had a ball. The photos below were taken on Friday 7th July. Lovely women. We are dancing sisters.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is silent-disco-1.jpg

The silent disco is advertised as GET UP AND DANCE. You do your own thing or dance along with others. It’s energetic, fun and all the other women taking part are inspiring, friendly and supportive. A new community into which I’ve been welcomed with open dancing arms. LOVE IT It is women only by the way.

I’ll be posting a Newsletter soon, so those of you who have signed up to receive one, look out for that. Sorry it’s all been a bit erratic lately but that’s life folks!

You can watch me/us dancing on the following links:

SILENT DISCO 1

me at the first disco getting in the mood

SILENT DISO 2

the wonderful Angie 😊


Other, Writing

Note Number 15…Logs…Targets and Totals…

by Ninette Hartley1 Comment on Note Number 15…Logs…Targets and Totals…

I have been trying to walk further with the dog, Jpeg (note number 16 will tell you why she’s called that) and The Man introduced me to Strava. It’s an App you can get on your phone and it’s really for people who run, cycle or swim but, he kept on at me, (as men do) because he uses it for cycling and he was convinced it would get me walking more. So I downloaded it to my smart phone. Strava logs your activity for you, making a little map, it gives you information such as the time you take to cover a kilometre or mile, how far you’ve travelled, etc., etc., Then you load it from your phone onto the Strava website and everyone can see what you’ve done. You get a little ‘personal best’ cup if you walk the same bit of road in a faster time and you can follow people and they can follow you, it’s a kind of Facebook for athletes. I feel a bit stupid on it really because I’m just walking the dog and others are swimming the channel, running 10k and cycling a 100k – sometimes all three in the same day! BUT, it has worked to a certain extent as I now think about how far I’m walking each week and trying out different places to go. So thumbs up to Strava…oh and other people can give you kudos so you feel good about yourself, which is always good for the self-esteem.

index

Please note the Running shoe on the Icon…I am invariably in wellies or walking boots. See below.

welliesI don’t think Jpeg cares about targets except how many birds she can chase

hill

One of the many, muddy hills I struggle up, fighting against the strava clock ….phew!

I have also been trying to lose weight and get fit after Christmas, along with The Man, who is wanting to do lots of long cycle rides in 2017, some of which will take him over the Alps so he has to be ‘superfit’. Making a note of how much you lose every other day, and writing down what you eat is so helpful. Checking calories – it’s amazing how they add up, 50 here 50 there, soon become 200 or 300.  I haven’t got an App for this but I know there are plenty around.  But, the diet is going well, I’m 6 pounds down and The Man is 11 pounds down, going on a stone…so happy bunnies all round.

Things we’re not eating right now…

 

Things we are eating right now…note, no grapes The Man says, “They are sugar bombs!”

My other aim is to finish this novel ‘Oh, we’ve heard all that before!’ I hear you cry. But, honestly, I am getting down to it, aided by a programme that I have for writing called Scrivener. I love it and I can set my word target for the whole novel and a word count for each session that I type and watch it going up. I have it set for 2000 words a day, and when I’ve completed that number a message pings up on the screen – You have reached your target – which is a great feeling. Of course, half of what I’ve written is probably rubbish but, nevertheless I’m writing!

target

Whoops! Look at that…not a singe word yet today…and my deadline for 85,000 words is the end of March. Now you ALL know about it,  I will have to get on with it!

Other

Walking…is good for you and for the dog but the cat will give it a miss thank you very much…

by Ninette Hartley6 Comments on Walking…is good for you and for the dog but the cat will give it a miss thank you very much…

shadow of my former self
All this walking…will I ever be a shadow of my former self?

As you may know I tried to keep fit by using the gym for a few weeks but sadly (and you told me so) I didn’t keep it up. I found the, getting in the car, driving to the gym, working out etc., all a bit too much. It also made my elbows and knees really ache and I felt 103 instead of 36 (I know the numbers might be the wrong way round!!) We live in such a beautiful area and on the whole the weather is clement so the ideal exercise is to walk. The Man prefers a bike and he has got me into cycling, just a little bit, but I don’t like the hills, more about bike riding next post.

We invited Mickey to join us but he preferred to stay at home.
We invited Mickey to join us but he preferred to stay at home.

I try to do a good walk at least three times a week and this morning I set off for Montevidon Combate and back which is about 7k in total. I know this because I use an App on my phone which gives me all the  information. walkingwell Jpeg trots along just in front of me stopping every now and then for well…you know…the things dogs do when they go for a walk…but her meandering on the verges makes us a bit slow – so the App tells me. Of course I stride out as much as possible in between intermittent pauses. When we get to Montevidon we take a break and if the café is open I have a cappuccino con orzo, (its made from barley but don’t ask me how)  I’m not too keen on coffee. I actually took a croissant this morning too, in sympathy with another blogger Here’s to Appetite who would definitely encourage the taking of food during breaks. capcornetto

Jpeg behaving well
What an incredibly well-behaved dog!

It’s a lovely walk and this morning was no exception. Above my head the sky was blue and in the distance it was just a little hazy over the mountains. I tried to be more observant of my surroundings as I walked, appreciate the views and just…enjoy.

Blue Skies
Blue Skies

flowershop
Ikebana – The Flower Shop

The route out of town takes me past the flower shop and the Venetian house which is being renovated, it’s close to the theatre. Then I pass the Petritoli cemetery, which is on the outskirts, a tradition that dates back to the Roman times, I believe. They always took the dead outside the city walls to bury them. venetianbuilding and theatre

Petritoli Cemetery
Petritoli Cemetery

Mountain Views
Mountain Views

The walk out, is all uphill but only a slight gradient – total elevation 80m – according the App. The higher I get the further I can see. Although not crystal clear this morning the Sibillini to the west, or is it the north? They seem to move as I walk…Conero and the sea to the east…yeah I’m pretty sure that’s right.

meeting the combine and tractor

I saw a combine harvester that was off to cut sunflowers, I met some horses, I could see the sea in the distance. Along the way I glimpsed lizards darting for cover, birds in the hedgerows and on the wing.  All very back to nature….

myfriends the horses
Horses enjoying the morning sun

The best thing of all?  As people drove past several of them tooted their motor horns, waved and shouted, ‘Buongiono!’ or ‘Ciao Ninette!’ or even ‘Ciao Jpeg!’ How lucky to be walking on a warm October morning, stunning views and with so many people making me feel safe and at home.

montevidonbytree

Love you Le Marche… only thing is, miss my family and wish they could visit more often. Not too often mind!

Here's looking at you...Jpeg is still not great at the selfies but better...
Here’s looking at you…Jpeg is still not great at the selfies but getting better…

Petritoli - my home town.
Petritoli – my home town.