Sunday 1 - Tuesday 10 June, 2014 (diary)

The Bucket List, things to do before you "kick the bucket" (die) was a cute movie and its concept has been adopted almost instantly throughout the English speaking world.
It is a good concept when you are in your 20s, 30s or 40s, and perhaps especially when in your 50s and 60s.
But once you get into your 70s I believe the concept becomes counter-productive, a negative.
A bucket list has then become the last things to do before you pass away. When those items have been completed it is time to go. A bucket list puts a mental exit point in your mind, and that can produce a strong negative mind set.

If you wish to extend your life to the maximum capability of your physical and mental health you should maintain a strong positive mind set. A mind focused on the infinite! You do not want a list with final items such as a bucket list, for it places a distinct marker in time as to when you reach the exit door.
Instead you should continually keep making new plans for things to do, to achieve. You must continue to look out for opportunities for changes in your life so that you keep growing.
For living should always remain an opportunity to grow further. You should continue to kick the can down the road for as long as possible.

This is exactly what 90 years old Jean from Adelaide is doing. As soon as she heard of my invitation (I made to my former bridge club in Adelaide) to join our Sandbar event Jean decided "Yes, this is what I want to do!"
And she did.   She flew the 3,500km across the Australian continent (from Adelaide to Darwin) to join us. So at our medals presentation after the event I awarded her with the Kick the Can Down the Road medal. Needless to say Jean was very happy with that.

Wednesday 11 - Friday 20 June, 2014 (diary)

My daughter Babette made a quick weekend trip from the Sunshine Coast to Darwin to get to know Jeroen and Lisa's adopted son Jai, and to catch up with some friends and myself.
It has been lovely weather this month. The dry season has really kicked in with cold nights and pleasant daytime temperature in the high 20s up to around 30°C.
It is for me an opportunity to test out and wear some of the clothing I have purchased for my upcoming trip to Europe.
I bought several more high-tech items from Kathmandu including a beautiful Merino wool sweater which will keep me warm in the autumn over there. I have also found a pair of long travel trouser made from quick-dry, non-wrinkle, light weight material at an online shop in New York, Bluff Works. The trousers are on their way and I should receive them within the next 10 days or so.

Shopping online is really a great way of items you otherwise would be difficult to find or to purchase here in Australia. With 24 hours of the release of Hillary Clinton's latest book Hard Choices (describing her time as US Secretary of State) I got it on my tablet and am reading it.
It is likely that Hillary will run for President as the Democrats' candidate and possibly opposing Jeb Bush (a younger member of the Bush family) from the Republicans. It will be a very interesting battle.

On the local front I keep asking myself : "Are there enough common sense people in Australia to give the Abbott Government a fair go in guiding Australia back onto a path of economic recovery and sustained progress?"

The Labour party and the Greens (having put the country into an unsustainable situation during their previous 6 years of government) appear to be totally in denial of reality and maintain a populist attitude. Not much good will come from those two political parties for a long time to come!
Almost all the TV and Newspaper coverage too is shallow, ignorant, influenced by Twitter and frequently untrue. Only The Australian Newspaper has experienced, intelligent journalists who reflect the true facts and reality in their columns.

Abbott has just completed a very successful trip around the world (although many would not realise that from the media coverage), strengthening economic and military relationships with various countries, especially the US, Japan, Indonesia and Canada.

Saturday 21 - Monday 30 June, 2014 (diary)

A few days before our Sandbar Bridge event I had a nasty tumble on the Trailer Boat Club's boat ramp which was covered with slippery wet algae. It put my back out off sink for the past month or so. As a result I stopped my daily morning walks. But I have recovered now and started doing my walks again.
Rather than walking early in the morning (when it is rather cold at present) I drive to Durack and do my 45 minutes walk there again just before lunch.
The intermingling lay-out of golf course, lagoons and houses is arguably the prettiest suburb in the entire Darwin region and I love walking there. The lagoons are well maintained, with the reeds along their edges kept well in check and the water surfaces decorated with thousands of water lilies, now in full bloom.

Not long to go for my trip to Europe, and I am just about all organised. Rather than using an Eurail Pass as I did for previous visits to Europe, I am purchasing normal train tickets this time around. My daily train rides are too short to have any benefit from such Pass. By traveling on predetermined travel times I will get a substantial reduction on the regular ticket price.

Walks in Spain has changed their pick up point for the Costa Brava walk I will do with them this year. Instead of Girona all other participants arrive in Barcelona. I will be in Figueres (visiting the Dali Museum) at that time, which makes it hard to get to our first overnight stay in Begur, especially on a Sunday when there is no public transport to that place. So Paul (from Walks in Spain) is organising a taxi to drive me there on the company's expense, which is much appreciated by me.