I managed to stretch my swim out to 1.2km this morning

and although this is not particularly long, it was a good step for me. The idea of swimming for a longer time at a slightly slower pace on Saturday makes sense and I will try for a slightly faster swim tomorrow even if I don't manage to swim quite so far. Three trips to the pool each week should see me continue to make good progress and I will also try to keep up with my other training.
The new pull buoy is good- it allowed me to swim more slowly and still maintain the correct body position, which means that I can get comfortable and swim for a longer time.

Curry and beer tonight to celebrate!

A small step for one man

A great leap forward for mankind! I have processed my first couple of RAW images and although it is slow going at the moment, I can see that the idea has promise. Just this evening I have joined in a one week photo challenge for next week to give myself a little push along in the photography and processing departments.

Thank you Tiffany and Noel,

and Tiffany's mom, for a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner. My first Thanksgiving turkey and it was delicious, so were the mashed potatoes, carrots, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy. The pecan pie and the pumpkin pie were outstanding and a slice of the apple pie is in the refrigerator for 'ron. There are lots of thing to be thankful for and at the top of the list is family and friends (especially friends who can cook mmmmmm).

P.S. This is why I didn't mention it at the dinner table, origins of salmon****

No photo today......

I was in the city, had a swim, took a few pics and did some shopping but I don't wish to share any pics just at the moment. After having a discussion with a photography buddy during the week, I changed the settings on my camera and now I am taking RAW + jpeg photo files. That probably doesn't seem like much, but he tells me that the possibilities for adjusting RAW files in post-processing are enormous, so now I will just have to learn to deal with them. If the worst comes to the worst, the files can sit on a back-up disc for years and I can come back and process them when I am good and ready. No real down-side I guess....

Penfolds Bin 8 2005 Cabernet Shiraz steak and vegetable stew and mash cooked in the love pot.

Fab photos.

David was out on Thursday night with a couple of friends to take some pics of Zurich at night. These are my two favourite ones.

David is out with the 'boys' tonight.

They are meeting at the Helvti for a few brews then going to Gigi's for dinner. I am at home alone sipping on a 2004 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz. Oh, woe is me...

Tasting notes for Rockford Basket Press Barossa Valley Shiraz 2004:

"A complete Barossa traditional shiraz; moderate alcohol, oak and tannins, yet full of flavour and character. Has taken full advantage of a very good vintage. In its own-branded, high-shouldered brown bottle. Cork.
14.5% alc. Rating 96." James Halliday, January 2007

"Yummmmmmm." Catherine Hamilton, November 2009

Wow! It's the weekend again

and I am hoping to fit in a couple of swims, a visit to the gym, some shopping and dinner and a few drinks with Stefano. Should be a great weekend- hope that you can all have some fun too.

The world has survived Melbourne Cup week

even though it did not have too much of an effect in this part of the world  :-)  There was plenty of partying going on in Oz and now the Christmas silly season is officially underway.

We have a cool weekend in front of us and I am about to buy myself some new sweaters and a warm jacket to get me through the coming winter. Off to the pool again shortly and I hope that the improvement can continue!

Happy Birthday Gary

hope that you have a great day. We will certainly try to give you a call a little later. Enjoy mate!

Sorry to hear that our nephew and God-son Campbell

has had an argument with his skateboard and will be nursing some plaster on his arm for a little while. What the heck were you trying to do, buddy?

Somehow today has a very different feel to yesterday....

quite apart from the miserable weather, the change of clocks early this morning has made a huge difference! I am sitting here at 5 in the afternoon and it is looking very murky and starting to get dark outside already  :-( Luckily I was out early and went for a swim and another visit to the gym which helps to keep my comeback on the rails- I have my fingers crossed that I can continue with the training this week.

Thursday night at Oktoberfest was loads of fun

and everybody enjoyed themselves immensely. Friday was a little slow in the office but at least we managed to get a few things on the pad.....
I have just returned from town after going for a swim and doing a little shopping. This afternoon might be a good opportunity to head out and take a few photos- we do change the clocks tonight and that means that it will be dark even earlier in the evenings from now on. Not exactly great news for photographers  :-(

Had a most enjoyable dinner with Enzo and Cornelia last night

and this morning headed into town and went for a swim. It was tough but I know that after a couple of months things will get easier. If I can keep up my other training in the meantime, this will help by working a different group of muscles and giving me another good cardio workout. Still a lot more to do before getting out on the snowshoes again......

I guess that I was inspired by my Australian trip

and I headed off this morning and went for a swim in the pool. It was a lot harder than I remembered, but hopefully after a couple of months things will become somewhat easier. Along with riding a bike and doing some strength training, this should help me to get ready to get out and about on my snow-shoes when winter proper arrives.

Is anyone having fun in Tasmania?

Thanks for the e-mail and the pictures, gang. It was a shame to hear that you weren't enjoying yourselves  :-)

Thanks Noel and Tiffany- dinner was fun

it was nice to meet some more of your family and friends. Today has been successful too- a visit to the gym, a nice sleep in and we will go for a little walk later to enjoy the beautiful afternoon.
Going to a concert this coming Friday- Raphael Saadiq is playing at the Kaufleuten on Friday night and it will be lots of fun. Otherwise, I will try to keep the training up and get myself to the stage where I can spend a tough hour in a spinning class as soon as possible again.

Have a good week