Thermometer peaking at 37 degrees and a heavy atmosphere, laden with moisture. Sun beating down directly overhead and bereft of even a feather of a breeze, Sunday noon was probably not the ideal time to challenge the 1400 steps of the Tienmu Gu Dao after a relatively long layoff!
Buckets of sweat were dripping from me after the first extended flight of stone steps and by the time I'd reached the top, my clothes were sodden and I was leaving a little "breadcrumb" trail of beads of sweat as I set out and back along the gravel ridge-line path. I strode out with such vigour that my iliotibial band even started tightening up again before I reached the bottom: my old nemesis!
The "steps" seemed more open and the canopy less dense in parts, and it took me a while to realize that enterprising homeowners with farmhouses clinging to the hillside had slashed and burned the foliage overhead and also obstructing their views of the twinkling city lights! I'd often wondered what benefit the houses had because there are real drawbacks living there. Firstly, they're terribly exposed to the elements and secondly, they have to cart everything in via the steps themselves: only for the very fit! Now, at least, they can gaze out on a spectacular panoramic view as well!
A dearth of live sport has meant a menu of repeats or worse, no sport at all. The UFC remedied this to a certain extent on Sunday morning by broadcasting their first event for some time, albeit without any audience. We watched Insiders on the Ipad while the UFC played muted on the TV....best of both worlds! I'm eagerly awaiting the resumption of the NRL and the AFL...only a few weeks to go on those fronts.
Cass had the dress rehearsal for the middle school production (The Little Mermaid Jr") this Saturday morning and was on duty in the morning and the early afternoon. She'd spent some time making tubs of supplies for all the main members of the cast as there can be no shared "product". It's difficult and time-consuming. Her makeup crew couldn't even apply the makeup but rather needed to tutor and direct the cast members on how to apply the stuff. The younger, less experienced cast members needed a lot of guidance as they'd never done it before, so some of the results might have been a bit off. It didn't really matter though: the whole play is to be performed with surgical masks and filmed without a live audience! The eye makeup has to be spot on and the rest doesn't even need to be applied!
Little Mary is looking gaunt, and wailing at regular intervals, so regular in fact that she must be in some discomfort. She's always been a "loud speaker", but she has even outdone her own most verbose offerings lately! We'll continue to monitor her health as she also seems not to eat and drink regularly, and vomits a lot...
We discovered this morning that we have just three weeks left at work! I'm sure it will be a whirlwind and fly by, so we just have to make sure we're meeting all our deadlines and crossing off critical jobs from the list. So far, we're slowly whittling down the massive list but there just seems so much yet to go! Photos: Uli's sausage and beer on a Friday night, feeble Mary, dueling screens, the steps, and a masked cast of the musical