Next Saturday the Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final will be played at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground).

It seems strange to be playing the final of a football series at a cricket ground but it is the largest sports ground in Melbourne. The tussle will be fought between St Kilda (nickname The Saints, colours red, white and black) and Geelong (nickname The Cats, colours blue and white). The football season begins in February so by this time of year some of the players are becoming tired and the quality of play is not as good as when they are fresh.

My friend Christine turned 60 on Sunday 8 November 2008. For two years she planned her party. It was wonderful. All the guests came dressed in the style of the 1950s and 1960s. I made a circular skirt and circular net petticoat for her. The skirt was red with big white spots, she also wore a white t-shirt, white bobby soxes and black shoes. Her hair was done in a 1960s style with lots of hair spray.

The main Party Room was decorated with old vinyl records that were suspended from the ceiling. Full length posters of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe decorated the walls. Many items of memorabilia also decorated to Party and Buffet Rooms, for example original Coke a Cola bottle.

I had a wonderful time at the party and danced for about four hours. We also had some games and competitions. The Limbo is a game where you have to shimmy under a stick with your back bent backwards. The stick is lowered, then lowered again. The last person under the lowest stick wins.

Unfortunately I had that bad virus that was going round. I had no energy and a fever for about 7 weeks. This week I managed to walk the dog every morning at Royal Park, then go for a short swim before work. On Thursday I even rode my bike to the pool, first time in at least 8 weeks. When you are used to regular exercise and a virus forces you to rest you start to feel like a slug!

My body feels in good shape again, now for the weight loss program to get rid of the unwanted kilos! I will discuss it with my treating physician tomorrow. The medication I have to take fro a chronic health problem inhibits weight loss.  My physician said he wants me to be as disciplined with wieght loss as I am with exercise.

You need goggles to keep your eyes healthy when swimming. I prefer the goggles with a fixed nose piece, like the ones illustrated below.

I was supposed to go to the footy with my friend Dan and his sons today but alas I was uninvited. Instead I rode to Southern Cross, took the train out to Ringwood and rode back towards the CBD on the new EastLink Bikepath. I joined the EastLink Bike path on the west side of Ringwood Rd just before the Ringwood Bypass. The signage for bike was confusing, I confirmed that I was indeed traveling in the correct direction when I was able to ask someone cycling towards me.

The path goes into the Mullum Mullum Creek valley, it goes up and down and a challenge for me as I STILL haven’t mastered standing up in the pedals when going up a steep grade. The trees, plants and birdlife are lovely. I wandered along this path for about an hour until it joined the “old” path. I kept riding towards the CBD finally peeling off at Middleborough Rd returning via Box Hill Station. It is hard to estimate the distance traveled as the bike path curved around so much.

I am off to wash to mud off my bike now!

My daughter Nyssa is 24 years old. She has not lived at home since she started university in 2003. For the last 18 months she has been working in her own business as a Pattern Maker in the fashion industry. This summer she will be having  her first collection of clothes under the “above” label which will be sold through “all of the above” shop.

 Here she is with her Krovan bike outside her studio. She loves red, black, white and grey clothes. When she was at school she ONLY wore red clothes and was nick named “The Red Girl”.

Following a footy team is a bit like being part of a tribe for people in Melbourne. The choice of a footy team may be a family affair, with allegiance being awarded at birth. Adopting a footy team can be part of becoming more integrated into Australian society, for people who migrate to Australia. Playing footy may lead to better economic outcomes for many indigenous Australians.

My family did not follow football. As a teenager I used to say that “football was a safe way for the masses to vent their frustration, as they yelled at the umpire or the opposition.” If asked who I barracked for I said Hawthorn, because I lived in Hawthorn and it was easier than saying I did not follow football. Nowadays I say I barrack for Essendon because they were the first club to treat indigenous players with respect.

Football became more important when I married, my ex-husband is a one-eyed Collingwood supporter. For most of the 18 years we were together, Collingwood made it into the finals, even the Grand Final but they only won the Premiership once in 1990. He loved to listen to the football on the radio and watch the replays, but he rarely went in person.

Link to history of the game. Please paste into your browser.
http://150years.com.au/History/Timeline/tabid/12089/default.aspx

I have been maintaining my swim sessions @ 20 laps, I usually do 4 laps freestyle as a warm up, 8 laps deep water kicking with flippers, 4 laps hand paddles – no legs and 4 laps IM. The butterfly lap is my fitness test!

Last week I swam on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, so far this week swam on Monday and Tuesday. I planned a training ride with other members of the Swinburne BUGS and friends & VU Library Cyclists on Sunday 17 August but everyone was busy. I did not want to go alone, so I have gone back to riding before work. Dawn is around 0650 so on my late shift day I can wait until it is light.

This morning I followed the Upfield train line on the bike path for 20 minutes, then turned around and came home. It felt comfortable being back on the bike. My next ride is scheduled for Friday morning. Same length of time, hopefully a bit further this time. Around the Bay in a Day is 8 weeks away. I should be ready for the 50km leg by then!

http://www.bv.com.au/great-rides/20005/

MIFF or the Melbourne International Film festival is over for another year. I estimate I sat through 1170 minutes or 19.5 hours of cinema in two and a half weeks. I saw some excellent animation and short films. The highlight was one in the Australian Accelerator Program “River of No Return” about Frances Daingangan’s dream of being a movie star. Frances is a Yolgnu woman of the Gupapuyngu tribe in North East Arnhemland, Australia. She is a 45-year old mother of three and grandmother of six. Frances speaks 11 different languages including English.

Frances Daingangan actor

She had dreamed of being an actor all her life, her hero was Marilyn Monroe. She was caste in the role of ‘Nowalingu’, the second wife in Rolf de Heer’s film “Ten Canoes.” After the fine job she did, it was a shock when her application to attend a TAFE Acting Program in Queensland was rejected.

There is a poignant moment at the end of the film when she, a Yolgnu woman, who ancestors go back thousands of years, is speaking on a mobile phone, in the middle of Arnhemland to Phillip Noyce (Director of “Rabbit-Proof Fence”). He reminds her that she is an actor now that she has been rejected!

http://www.melbournefilmfestival.com.au/films?film_id=10865

I am proud of myself. I have remained true to my goal of increasing 2 laps every time I go to the pool. On Tuesday 29 July I did 16 x 33m at the City Baths. I expect to get to 20 laps on Saturday 2/8. I intend to sit on that and focus on increasing speed for at least a week. It is now Sunday 3/8 and I will do 20 laps when I go for a swim this afternoon. It feels great to be ON TRACK in the fitness department!

The annual round the Bay bike ride is on 15 October ie 10 weeks. I ride with the Swinburne Library BUGS. we have planned out first training ride for Sunday 14/8, the first weekend after the film festival. I intend to enter the 50km leg of Around the Bay, others in our team, who did the 50km in 2007, will be doing the 100km leg.