Vegetable Garden update

Life is getting exciting in the vegie garden. I've been watching green capsicums and green grapes turn red, to my surprise. The green grapes have never made it this far. I thought they were turning rotten but, to my delight, it's just part of their transformation.

The zucchini are about to take off. They've been ripening at the timely rate of once or twice a week but any day now that's going to increase.
Mr S loves tomatoes so he planted as many as he could. Some are from seed, some sprouted in the compost and some were given to us. They've taken off with neither of us having had the chance or means to get them properly staked. I'm still  looking forward to tasting them.

My beautiful pink hydrangea, which was a splurge last year, took a battering on one of our 40 degree days. I forgot  to cover it. I'm hoping that with some extra tender, loving care, it might rejuvenate itself.

One of the unexpected delights is the iceberg roses. They've never looked so good. They got a very tough pruning after a run of hostile weather but they've come back better than ever.

The strawberries look great but what is one to do with 3 tiny ones? I think I'll need to plant more next year.
The apple tree is netted.It's a minature and was here when I moved in, so I don't know what variety it is. Last year I was away as they were ripening and we had a shocking run of temperatures in the high 30s. The apples are ripening so it'll be interesting to see what they taste like.

Have a relaxing Sunday!

Should I tear up my goal list?

I've been trying to get back to my blog schedule of talking about my goals mid-week. I was sure that with focus and commitment I could achieve what I set out to do but it looks like these holidays my plans are flying out the window. Perhaps I should tear up my goal list?
Just over a week ago I hurt my back and all my holiday activities were curtailed. I couldn't do much at all so that included no running, which was one of my top goals. I couldn't write and I couldn't work at my laptop for more than a few minutes. I could surf the internet and I could watch television but I've even tired of those activities.
It makes me wonder about making plans and trying to determine how our lives will be. I've had so many good intentions these holidays, many of which have not eventuated. I had hoped to visit old friends but one didn't reply and the other had to postpone till autumn. I've called friends to catch up on the phone but no one is home! I had hoped to blog regularly but Mr S and I were devoting a lot of time to job-hunting. 
Surprisingly I've been positive while finding myself beached on the couch. Health issues flare up every now and then for me and I've had to resign myself over the years to surrender and give in to the need to rest completely, after many years of ignoring what my body was saying. Back then, when I did start staying at home longer to recuperate, because I had no choice,  I used to get upset the first couple of days realising that I couldn't do what I set out to do for that week. I hadn't realised how tightly I had tied my self-worth into "work" and "achieving" or getting things done. So, it was interesting to see with this current injury I accepted very quickly that I would rest completely even though nothing would get ticked off my "to do" list. 
Yes, it does help that it's holidays and I've got support at home which I didn't have in the past. It's also given me plenty of time to see that while my prescribed goals are not getting ticked off the list, the world keeps turning and I keep learning and moving ahead.

• Each day, I've noted improvements with my back and celebrated small achievements. I was very excited when I realised I could walk again. The first day I was able to walk, I went with a smile on my face each time I took off, taking a few tottery steps here and there. Yesterday was exciting because I managed to sit at the table and do an email for the first time in a week.
• Mr S landed a job half an hour after I hurt my back. 
• Resting on the couch, for the umpteenth hour, I looked across to my precious bookshelf and realised that I'm ready to cut down the number of books on those shelves. That's one area I thought I'd never ever tamper with and yet, that moment has arrived.
• I caught another glimpse of the beauty of life from my couch one early morning when I woke and saw Mr S studying hard at the dining room table so that one day he can take a course to better himself. I was filled with admiration. 
• This experience has reinforced the challenge of embracing life as it is now. It's shown me that there are still highlights to be had.  One thing I've looked forward to in the last few days is a walk outside amongst the vegies. Sometimes I'm too busy to get out there and look properly but this week I've enjoyed my little wander and I've been able to take the time to notice what is happening in each area.

I can't help wondering what the point is in heavily scheduling memories when life has its own way of delivering what we need. Why don't we let life unfold  naturally? 
There seem to be gentle reminders that life does this anyway, no matter how much I try to herd it into my carrel of "The Perfect Life".   
I often hear people say they want to create memories by going to a certain place at a certain time. What happens to those people if they have a lovely moment with their son or daughter at the kitchen sink while doing the dishes? What happens if the kids have a barrel of fun running under the sprinkler in the backyard on a hot, summer's day? Is life only remarkable if we can plan for it and photograph it?

What does this mean for me? 
I guess it's another question to ponder. I know my goals and my list for each day are very important to me. I love returning from holidays and being able to share with people what I've done. I love celebrating all the projects I've completed. 
These holidays have certainly presented me with another way to live,and very little of that was on my goal list!!  What am I going to say when I head back to work next week?

Gratitude Part 2

To be authentic I felt I needed to write a follow-up to Gratitude (which became Gratitude Part 1). It would have been easy to write about feeling down the other day , and leaving it at that, but that wouldn't tell the whole story. Or I might have made it show too easily how being "positive" can result in what you hope for.  So I decided to write a little more about that day and add what happened next.

Pittwater NSW 

It was a real struggle that day. I did feel down and the weather had been grey for days. Sunshine is the salve on  most of my wounds but I couldn't look to that the other day. As I said, focussing on "positive things" in my life certainly helped me shift from not wanting to do anything to being able to get up and get some things done. Even then, later that day there were lapses into feeling sad and not wanting anyone to see that.

At the end of Gratitude 1 I had written about embracing what is, as is, now. It really resonated with where I was at and I was keen to spend time reflecting on it. With those words in mind, I was determined to finish the last bits and pieces so the office would be ready once and for all...
...which is about the time when I hurt my back!!
...which was shortly followed by the news that Mr S had been given  a job!!!!

For so long I had been looking forward to that moment and when it finally arrived I could barely cheer.

Three days on and life is better. My back is still healing but thankfully I'm on holidays and there's no pressure to be doing things. Mr S has picked up in spirits and so have I. I must say I was a little sad at first because the new job means he will be away from home each week.  But I know how important it is to him and it's in such a lovely country area with lovely old cottages and shopfronts.

I'm sure there will be more challenges and more adventures along the pot-holed road of life but, for now, I'm very thankful for the wonderful opportunity given to Mr S and I'm certainly grateful that my back is healing and it's getting easier to do things around home.