Day 588 – Second weekly update (Week 17)

Time to do the second weekly update, based on the list of topics that I dropped along the way, over the last six days. It is an experiment. I don’t know how sustainable it will be, but I want to try something new and maybe evolve this project into something better. My idea is simple: below is a curated list from the last 6 days, in a form of TOC (Table of contents) and in this order things will be written in this post (and also discussed in the video):

[watch time: 22 minutes and 55 seconds]

TOC:

1. Weekend trips, beemer and health stuff
2. The app, the sunset and the moon, plus the new read
3. Wind farm and soccer
4. Windless strand and music of the pilots
5. Interval, recon and audiobook
6. Dublin, carwash and a bit of Thailand

Monday was the first day that required a little bit of tweaking because on the list of topics there were elements backdated to Sunday and Saturday. The weekend was very active for our family and very enjoyable due to the weather, that improved over island of Ireland. On Saturday we visited Malin Beg – Silver Strand, that we love to revisit once in a while. Elizabeth was enjoying her sunbath, while myself and Julian enjoyed some exploration and rock climbing. On Sunday, we went for another longer trip but this time to Maghera, which is another lovely beach also with rocky shore on one side, but this particular strand is not just a small beach but a vast plateau of golden sand spreading miles into the land. There are caves and natural tidal pools that in low tide and nice weather, are just amazing in themselves. It was quite windy on Sunday so we had to hide behind dunes, but overall it was good trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Monday itself was mostly a workday, but the main highlight of the day was my attempt on cleaning our car. Although I don’t do it regularly – when it happens, it is usually a very tiresome and meticulous effort. This time was no different. I spent two days , cleaning our car, dividing the work into two phases cleaning the back of the car and the trunk on Monday, while the rest of the car on Tuesday.

Last thing worth mentioning was about my hydration and consumption of breads over the last three weeks. I stopped consuming bread almost entirely and also elevated my uptake of drinking water: by a glass in the morning, and glass in the evening. While the morning is strong, evening habit is still patchy. Overall limiting my bread intake increased my readiness after the meal, not having that lazy and full feeling afterwards, while the hydration efforts seem to slowly increase my energy levels and general “springiness”.

Tuesday was almost eventless, but we managed to drag my wife out and bring her to my special place – The Eagle’s Nest, for a sunset and some moon rise. It was a cool thing to be there together and that she was able to experience this amazingly calm and soothing place, surrounded by rocks. It is also a bird sanctuary of sorts so it adds up to relaxing vibe.

On this day I decided to remove the app of one of the stores that we regularly buy groceries from. I was concerned that they collect a lot of data on my daily spend, what I buy and when, while giving mere discounts or nothing in exchange. Data privacy first…

Also on Tuesday, I started reading Kent Wayne’s “Echo Volume 1”, we’ll see what Kent has to offer 😉

Wednesday was marked with beautiful weather again. Elizabeth and myself were able to jump off at lunch time and do the more challenging stroll in Meenadreen Wind Farm. It is a regular road, but the challenging bit is the elevation at times, so something a bit different from regular, flat beach walks.

Later on we picked Julian from school and spent the day on usual chores, until the evening, when Julian had his soccer training at 7pm and then he stayed in the car, while I played my session with the lads, as usual.

Thursday again welcomed us with a nice, sunny weather, so using this opportunity, Elizabeth and myself drove in lunch time to Bundoran for a nice stroll alongside Tullan strand. There was zero wind, which is rare in this place, and we had almost whole and vast beach to ourselves.

I also started really appreciating new band that I recently “discovered”. They play a long time already, and I have heard their 2-3 songs in the past, but never really listened to any of their other stuff until now. In recent weeks I dived into their discography and fell in love with their creative work, versatility and ability to mix different genres so well and in a melodic fashion, while remaining “commercially” viable and being able to do good music and earn their share to live from it (which is rarely the case for good bands, music is really a struggle business these days, unless you are big and famous or sell your soul completely… but these guys – Twenty One Pilots, they show that there’s third way).

Friday was a day to remember, because it marked first day in months, where I took my lazy arse outside and returned to jogging. To be honest it was my wife that dragged me out, and it was more of an interval, than the full jog, but still I was happy that I went out. We did 2 min walk and 2 min jog on repeat, and the beautiful weather, fresh air and sun, made this experience so much better. I think I will return to jogging/running this summer. I was missing it a bit, but never got to the point of resuming my efforts.

Later in the afternoon I revisited Eany Water, after quite a break too. I think I visited it only once in the last couple of months, and I wanted to check for mushrooms and how it blooms in general. This forest on the riverside, as well as the surrounding fields, are quite a special place for me. Unfortunately I brought also a passenger with me – a tick. It was an adult tick, that had already bitten into my skin. I recorded the act of removal and created reel for Instagram, but it is yet to be uploaded.

The day was topped with our evening drive to Mountcharles shore, and spending some chill time with Julian, in the car, watching waves, while listening to on of his favourite audiobooks.

Saturday was quite straightforward and not much happened to be written about, albeit it is worth mentioning that we’ve spent the whole day in Dublin. We left Donegal Town around 10:30am and drove for an appointment at 2pm, barely making it due to traffic (even though we had a 30 min cushion). During my wife’s appointment, Julian and myself were killing time, doing the car wash, playing some soccer in the public park in Fairview, and spending some time at the playground. Later on we had a family meal in Thai place that we know well, and then we drove straight back to Donegal Town, arriving late into the night.

That’s it! Tough job those weekly updates, but hey we’re getting there. It’s a work in progress and I’ll keep working on making it more and more efficient and enjoyable (hopefully)!