Baseball!
I finally got back into the swing of #52in52 last week, with a legitimate big ticket item from my list - going to watch the Blue Jays! There were seven of us in attendance - although I think most of them had been before. Still, it was a first time for Oliver and me.
Fortunately we had Dawn with us to make sure that everything ran smoothly. She was also properly kitted out - the rest of us just had caps until Oliver decided to get an Ernie Clement top. Suitably inspired, Ernie hit a home run; as did George Springer, which I was happy about. I’m a big fan of George’s. I may even have to get one of his tops.
The stadium is pretty impressive, especially with the CN Tower beside it. We managed to get a good look around as well, including up where they record the TV show.
It was a great game to watch (although an unfortunate result) and a really good day out. I’m certainly keen to go back again.
In other #52in52 news, I’ve ticked off poker from the list! I brought in some experts to help me learn the basics of the game. Fortunately they did not take me for all my money - mostly because we weren’t actually playing for money.
I didn’t have the stamina for one of their late night sessions, but I have found an app that seemed to be OK for just playing a few hands.
Next I guess I have to try an actual casino. Low stakes though…
As well as the big game and the poker, I’ve been branching out on my walks recently. In the last couple of weeks that’s included a quick jaunt around Waterloo park with Oliver and Sophie (which included a notable visit to the Clay and Glass museum at the end of it); a short hike through Elora Gorge, culminating in a closed bridge (fortunately we were able to successfully re-trace our steps); and a visit to Hockley Valley.
Walking every day is one of the things that I've managed to do consistently since the start of this #52in52 journey, and something I really enjoy. Even if it’s just a quick walk around the block before going to bed.
I’ve been pretty good at keeping up with my habits, but I’ve definitely found it harder to keep up with writing about it all. I think that’s in part because I’ve had a lot of work on that has been drawing from the same well as the energy required to write. Good in a way, because that means there’s a lot of potentially interesting work; but not so good when it comes to me documenting this #52in52.
Although I have been generally good on the habits, I did fail on my French listening and chess study last week; and didn’t get as much piano practice done as I’d like. I did play another chess game though - this time with Oliver. He was playing pretty well, until he did the same thing as me when I played my Dad the other week, and blundered a piece.
Oliver and I also went for a 5K run, to see if I was ready for the step up to 10K. Unfortunately, despite feeling OK and beginning to pick up the pace on the third kilometre, I ran into my old knee problem - basically the knees just go from under me and it becomes quite painful to carry on. In the end, we finished the 5K, but with quite a bit of walking. The next day Oliver set off and completed a 10K on his own - the first time he’d done it. Can I count that?
Finally, I’ve finished the book by Jenny Odell I mentioned last week, called Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock. I’ve also read her How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy. Both highly recommended, especially if you feel there’s never enough time.
