my electric ride

Good grief.

2011-02-13T17:49:00.000-08:00

It's been a challenge, the last couple of weeks. Last week in particular, we were *very* short-handed at work, and as the office's "utility player," that meant some very long days. I managed to go to the gym every day, as usual, and cook proper food at home most nights, but beyond that? NOT MUCH.

I have just been modifying my order for the week from Full Circle Farm.

Here's the content list for this week, with my substitutions in parentheses:
Avocados MEX
Russet Potatoes WA (Red potatoes, as I don't intend to bake or mash them)
Spinach CA
Cilantro CA (Red onions--I'm low on onions, and would have a hard time getting through an entire bunch of cilantro)
Broccolini CA
Arugula (Greens) CA
Romaine Lettuce CA
Rainbow Chard CA (Green kale, because I love it so much)
Navel Oranges CA
Mangos PER (Chioggia beets, because I haven't yet used the 2nd mango from the last order)
D'anjou Pears WA
Braeburn Apples WA (Cremini mushrooms, still have apples left from last time, too)

And here's what I'm thinking of making:

Burritos with avocado slices
Tofu scram with red potatoes & mushrooms
Big salad – romaine, arugula, mushrooms, beets, pears & chickpeas
Kale, broccolini, mushroom stir fry over rice or quinoa
Red lentil & spinach curry

There is a writer who blogs for the farm, and though he is not vegan (or vegetarian, for that matter), his writing is thoughtful, and his posts are nicely photographed. Check it out here.

Countdown!

2011-01-30T20:19:00.000-08:00

On Friday, I was able to log in at Full Circle to see what our first Produce Box would contain. Here is what we'll be getting:

Celery, Organic - 1 each
Rainbow Carrots, Organic - 1 bunch
Broccolette, Organic - 1 bunch
Shallots, Organic - 0.7 pound
Green Beans, Organic - 1.25 bunches
Cremini Mushrooms, Organic - 0.66 pound
Red Leaf Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
Red Chard, Organic - 1 bunch
Navel Oranges, Organic - 6 each
Mangos, Organic - 2 each
Golden Beets, Organic - 1 bunch
Gala Apples, Organic - 5 each

The only change I made was to substitute Golden Beets for Red Pears. When not in use, the kitchen isn't the warmest room in the house, so ripening pears is a bit hit and miss. Also, I prefer veggies to fruit, for the most part, and if the beet greens are in good shape, I can use them in addition to the beets themselves. I thought about subbing kale for the chard, but I do like chard well enough, and part of this experiment should be about being creative with what we are provided with in each order.

Yesterday was Vegan Pizza Day, but after work I did some errands I hadn't been able to do during the week, and didn't get home in time. Therefore, today was Vegan Pizza Day Observed. I made the crust, used some homemade pesto I'd frozen at the end of summer for the sauce, sliced up and sauteed a couple of homemade vegan sausages from Vegan Brunch, and topped it with Daiya mozzarella style vegan cheese shreds. Judging from the crowd reaction, it was a home run.

Orange Eyed Orange Kitty

2011-01-29T21:47:00.000-08:00

I am not normally tempted to kidnap animals I encounter on my mail route, but hey, orange kitty, let me know if you need a new home. You would put us over the official city quota, but no one needs to know, right?

Lone wolf.

2011-01-26T22:49:00.001-08:00

Last week, at the gym, attempts were made not once, but twice--in the same day--to entice me to attend the "fusion fitness" class happening upstairs.

Oh, my dear, dear people. No, not me. For I am 1) an introvert who works as a public servant and 2) comically uncoordinated. No, I'll be downstairs with earphones jammed in and the volume loudish, running by myself on the treadmill, and lifting weights. By the time I swipe my gym card at the reader, I have exhausted nearly all of my public self. I know you mean well, but no, no, no.

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Part of the family.

2011-01-23T19:16:00.000-08:00

We were all upstairs watching the Season 3 premiere of Parks & Recreation, and two of the cats and the dog were with us. The kid looked around him and said, "I'll be right back. I'm going to go get Spritey so that the whole family will be here." (Just for reference, the part of the room that isn't under the dormer ceilings is about 5' x 8'.)

When people ask me why I'm vegan, they usually ask whether it's because of the animals or for health reasons. I've been vegetarian for over twenty years, and vegan for the last two, and I'm disinclined to make too many harsh pronouncements about other people's choices. But at the same time, I really do believe what I believe, and my choices about food are not casually made. When I first stopped eating meat, it was because I was cutting up a chicken breast for a stir fry, and I just couldn't do it. I don't remember whether I finished making that meal or not, but I knew I couldn't eat meat any longer. It was the late 80s, and while there were some vegetarian resources out there, the realm of veg cookbooks looked nothing like it does today. There were the Moosewood Cookbooks, Laurel's Kitchen, and Diet for a Small Planet. The latter influenced my early thinking on the subject almost as much as that first visceral rejection of the chicken. When I finished reading the book, I was fairly well persuaded that a meat-based diet was a terribly inefficient use of the planet's resources. It seemed pretty clear that you could feed more people, well, by emphasizing plant foods than by feeding those plants to animals that would then be slaughtered for their meat. So that was one thing.

And the animals. Yes, absolutely. I don't happen to believe that there is anything but an arbitrary distinction between pets and "food animals," so if I can feed myself and my family without harming them, that is what I will do. For a long time, I viewed eggs and dairy as acceptable food choices because the animals producing them weren't killed directly. But the more I knew about commercial egg and dairy production, the less sense it made to me to eat those products. I do think it's possible to obtain eggs and milk that have been produced in a fairly humane way, but it doesn't seem worth the expense and effort.

That leaves health. I think it is possible to be a healthy eater of almost any diet, as long as your food choices are broad enough and are processed as little as possible. For me, being vegan puts the focus on the best foods I know of: fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, & seeds. I have seen improvements in my respiratory health since I eliminated dairy from my diet, but I know that not everyone experiences the problems I did.

Today, we spent part of our morning with members of the local Orthodox Christian Mission. Part of their spiritual practice includes fasting from meat, fish, dairy, wine & olive oil for various periods of time during the year, which can add up to nearly six months, all told. After the service, I was talking with an Orthodox friend who had prepared chicken for the meal, and he was telling me about its source. I smiled and said that I would take it on his authority, and he worked out that I am vegan. He made a reference to my being "strong" in that, and while there is a way in which that may be true, I definitely don't experience being vegan as any sort of ascetic triumph! I don't experience any deprivation, really. I like the things that I eat better than their non-vegan equivalents!

What it comes down to is this: my goals with respect to food choices are to eat the best quality food I can cook at home, and to treat the earth's fellow creatures (human and non-human) with respect. Within my personal ethics, a vegan diet represents my best chance of achieving those goals. I'm not missing out on anything. I'm really not.

Look down.

2011-01-22T22:33:00.000-08:00

I started writing a blog post last night, but was so very tired, it devolved into incoherent rambling. Quite unlike a typical post!

I just enrolled in a CSA (Full Circle Farm) which will provide a generous organic produce box every other week for $41. (Sample list of contents for a smaller size box is on this page.) We have to pick up the food from a centralized location about an hour away, but we are joining a group of six other families who participate, so we'll only have to make the trip once every few months. I'm familiar with this farm's produce, as they have been one of my favorite vendors at the Roslyn Sunday Market in the past. And to make it all even more awesome, you can *customize* your order: there is a three-day window after the week's box contents are announced where you can request substitutions. I'm excited--but then, I'm the sort of girl who gets excited about vegetables.

Currently reading: A Little Princess, by Francess Hodgson Burnett. Along with The Secret Garden, this was one of my favorite books as a child. It's in the public domain now, so I'm reading a free version on my Kindle. And I love it just as much. The protagonists of these books are written with such sympathy--I wanted to know them when I was a little girl, and I still do.

(Update: we finally got the pilot light re-lit, and so have had heat. It's a bit of a recurring theme, so we are still going to have it checked out.)

Okay, rainbow, DELIVER.

2011-01-20T23:42:00.001-08:00

Seriously, enough with the sisyphean tests, 2011. My family's health and happiness is my primary concern, but I wouldn't complain if all of the household appliances just WORKED properly. It feels like a track of dominos lately.

(Currently: no pilot light, therefore no heat.)

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Adding insult to injury

2011-01-19T21:38:00.001-08:00

Would you like to know what you shouldn't find in your mail? A bill for medical services on a date that thoroughly confuses you because it was months ago, until you remember that 10/23/2010 was the day you got bitten by someone's dog, while you were doing your JOB, and your employer was supposed to make the dog owner pay for your medical care, but apparently did not. THAT is aggravating.

In better news, i don't need bifocals for at least another year.

Monday in sheep's clothing

2011-01-19T06:13:00.001-08:00

The pocketed bulletin board in my office at home.

MLK Day is my favorite federal holiday, but the day after is brutal. Both in terms of work load and in terms of the public's views regarding our having had it off.

I don't discount the quality of my job: it's crazymaking at times, but I have good benefits and a reasonable family wage.

HOWEVER, dearest public, must you begrudge me a day off *without pay* when my normal workweek is Monday through Saturday? I believe that sort of thing is typically referred to as a "weekend," and most of y'all have them on a regular basis. Is it really so odious that we have 5 of them per year? (The other five holidays are date specific, and may or may not be adjacent to Sunday.)

A great number of postal employees are what is called "part-time flexible." This can be the case even if you work well over 40 hours a week, as I typically do. PTFs do not have a set schedule, are not guaranteed any hours beyond 2 per pay period, and do not get paid holidays. We do have health benefits, and sick and vacation leave.

I'm not asking for sympathy here, I'm just politely requesting that I not be berated for having the occasional day off without pay.

Thanks!

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2011-01-17T22:57:00.001-08:00

(Homemade vegan sausage, lemony yellow finns, and baby arugula)

On Slate's Culture Gabfest last week, they discussed the announced revision of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which replaces the "n-word" with "slave."

The discussion brought to mind a conversation I had with the Kid, when he read Huck Finn at age 10. At that point, I was not sure he had ever heard the word. The only real possibility would have been if he'd heard it in a hip hop song or in a comedy routine when listening to internet radio. I'm not sure, but I think when we talked, he had not heard the word, so I tried my best to lay out its history, and the hateful ways in which it has been used. I wanted him to understand its historical and current use, and I wanted to make sure he wouldn't use it naively, accidentally unleashing a negative power he didn't realize it had. Because absent of context, it's just a word.

And I new he'd understood when he became all teary-eyed, and fiercely said to me, "It's like when Draco calls Hermione a mudblood! I hate him!"

Yes, my darling, that is quite exactly what it is like.

Conversation hearts

2011-01-16T23:25:00.000-08:00

(see full image)

These are my favorite, although I am 1000% not on board with the Sweet Tarts version, and even the regular ones have become a little too fruity. When I think about these things, I think of the old style, slightly chalky ones--that said "KISS ME" not "TXT ME."

We spent the day out and about today. We went to church, then had two hours to occupy until I had a meeting at two, and then after that we made a run to Costco, had dinner at Taco Time (tots!), and stopped at Borders. Nothing overly exciting, but the kid kept saying, "This is a great day." When pressed for details about what he liked best about it, he said, "Just hanging out together."

My great hope is that we can maintain that dynamic as he continues to mature. And I kind of think we might be able to pull it off. Aside from certain recurrent themes, we don't have an adversarial relationship, and have tried hard to create a family environment that emphasizes mutual support. There are only the three of us, and there are lots of occasions where two of us are lending support to the third. That triangulation takes different forms all the time. In the middle of a tough week, I might hear, "Mom, Dad and I decided we should take you out to dinner," or if the mister has had a boisterous afternoon with lots of kids and is a little fried, I might suggest that the kid and I vacate the premises while he recalibrates. The kid knows that the mister and I will think up fun things for him to do. We're not perfect, and we all fall apart, and as parents, we're not afraid to pull rank, but in general, there is an air of collegiality that I hope we can carry forward.

"These things are fun, and fun is good."
--Dr. Seuss

Always, always good for a laugh

2011-01-15T23:15:00.001-08:00

Holy cow, I seriously thought I wrote a post last night, but it doesn't appear to be anywhere. I was so tired; it's entirely possible I either fell asleep in the midst of writing it and then accidentally discarded the draft or that I just dreamed it.

I do recall that I was intending to recap my week, which included:

--a cancelled dental appointment
--finishing the back of a cardigan I'm knitting
--reading 40% of The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein
--a blood donation
--a big wipeout on the ice (tailbone and pride bruised)
--five trips to the gym (this is normal)
--homemade pizza
--nagging the kid to practice his saxophone
--reading the text of, and subsequently watching, the PotUS's exceptional speech
--about a 47 hour work week (I had Wednesday afternoon off)
--ordering a new washing machine
--syncing apps between iPhone & iTunes without incident

It was a reasonably productive week, and interesting enough. I have a couple of great coworkers, I love my family and friends, I pursue my avocations, and I have ways of dealing with stress. Even with a bit of crazy-making nonsense thrown in for good measure...things are alright.

Somewhere

2011-01-13T23:58:00.001-08:00

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Blood

2011-01-12T18:24:00.001-08:00

After I got the results of my last complete blood test, I decided it was truly stupid that I'd never given blood. I am blessed with great blood chemistry, and I'm not afraid of needles.

If you are able to give blood, consider it--it's easy.

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Brussels Sprouts

2011-01-11T21:09:00.001-08:00

What is wrong with you people who don't like Brussels sprouts? (earnest answer: you haven't had them cooked properly.)

Tonight I made Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Apples & Pecans from Color Me Vegan. Even with the extra prep of shredding the sprouts, I made this in less than half an hour, and served it over whole wheat cous cous.

I've always been a pretty healthy cook, but I've never had or made food as good as I make now. It's not my special magic: it's just that quality whole foods taste good. Most of what I make has 5-6 ingredients, and hardly anything is processed. And it's not harder, as long as you engage in the tiniest bit of planning.

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The Quote Book

2011-01-10T21:28:00.001-08:00

We have lots of pix of the kid, but no proper baby book. This could be related to the fact that he was the non-sleepingest baby in all the land. But we do have something else: The Quote Book.

We don't make new entries as often as we once did, but it's still in use. Basically, it is a blank book (that we won at someone else's baby shower) in which we have recorded, with dates, various funny (or sweet) things the kid has said. Or, early on, that people said to or about him. Mark occasionally adds cartoons.

Some samples:

I suppose babies are like small mountain villages in the sky. They allow us to breathe the clouds.
--Guido Vermeulen

...and I hope your baby is Y2K compliant.
--Tony Gervais

He's like...a little person.
--Bill Whipple

Zish.
--the Kid, first word (this)

Daddy...beach...kids...throw...rocks...water..
--1st story, 6/7/2001

Plane crashed. Into da truck. No-no. Plane crashed into da Pentagon.
--the Kid, 9/20/2001

Come on, Redford. You can do it. You're a big furry dog.
--the Kid, 1/28/2002

If I smell a dragon, it could be awfully smelly! If dragons get into a train's boiler, it could cause trouble!
--the Kid, 6/30/2002

And so on.

Up to tonight. He's almost 12 now.

You'd ground me forever for not practicing my saxophone ONCE. Sounds really fair. Also sounds like you're bluffing.
---the Kid, 1/10/2011

Okay, fine, he's right.

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Tulips are still beautiful in decay

2011-01-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

I threatened to reveal my favorite podcasts a few days ago, then was distracted by other things.

Savage Love Podcast
I always listen to this, and have listened to the entire back catalog of episodes. Ostensibly, Dan Savage is a sex advice columnist. What I'm in it for really, though, is the strong, passionate voice of someone who believes in equality even as he acknowledges the discomfort we all have with difference. He doesn't pull any punches, ever, and yet he is truly good-hearted and compassionate. There's sex advice, yeah, but it's the stories of people's relationships that are compelling for me.

Pop Culture Happy Hour
PCHH might be the internet thing that makes me happiest. It's kind of hilarious--I read a lot, and keep pace with some music, but I'm a little out to sea when it comes to television, and don't see that many films at the time of their release. Which is what Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Glen Weldon, and Trey Graham are in the business of discussing. But they are all so smart, and so funny, and convey a sense of beloved camaraderie that I don't want to miss even a single podcast. My eleven year old listens, too.

Slate Culture Gabfest
The Culture Gabfest is a slightly more erudite version of the Pop Culture Happy Hour (or flip that around, really, since it has been around longer). I don't mean that to reflect badly on either show; it's just that the tone of the Gabfest is a touch more analytical. Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner frame their discussions in fairly academic terms, and they argue a little more heatedly than the PCHH crew. With clear affection for one another, but still. June Thomas is a delightful frequent guest.

The Kindle Chronicles
Len Edgerly began the Kindle Chronicles as a way of sharing his enthusiasm for his Kindle specifically, and e-reading in general. The podcast has expanded to cover all sorts of news connected to electronic publishing issues, it includes technical information, discussions of content, a weekly interview, and listener comments. Len is a fantastic interviewer: he has a great way of really engaging with his guests, rather than simply pulling them along in a predictable direction, and his questions are always thoughtful.

Book Reviews with Nancy Pearl
Beloved librarian Nancy Pearl joins KUOW Weekday host Steve Scher for a rollicking monthly discussion of books. Sometimes the discussions are themed, other times they aren't. There's no really easy way to link to a page you can listen from, but it's worth seeking out on iTunes or Stitcher. If you're an avid reader, Nancy's Twitter feed is worth a follow, too.

Extra Hot Great
More pop culture shenanigans! But with weekly games, and favorite features "Tiny Triumphs," "Winners & Losers," "Quinn's No Middle Ground," and "The Canon." These guys are having FUN.

Gleeful: A Glee Podcast
Josh, Jen, & Ed recap every new episode of Glee, complete with audio clips from the show. Good discussions about character and plot development.

Podrunner Intervals
Fixed bpm music mixes geared toward various running goals. I've used several running podcasts, but I like these mixes best.

That's most of what I listen to. If I'm carrying mail for a full week, I fill in around the edges with NPR--Fresh Air & Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, mostly. I don't always hit everything, but between driving, the gym, and doing the walking portion of my mail route, I have a fair amount of listening time available.

Fire

2011-01-08T21:35:00.001-08:00

Delivering the mail today, I drove past a customer who would normally have come to the truck, chatted a bit, and collected her mail if she was outside anyway. Instead, she was clearly agitated, and on the phone. I pulled past her house, and saw the reason why: thick black smoke rolling from under the roof of the shed behind the house next door. Her friend was leading a goat out from the building; I'm not sure what other animals might have been inside.

The photo was taken less than five minutes later from about a block away. The structure was fully engulfed that fast. And I felt exactly the way I felt when the kid was a baby, and we lived in Seattle, and I looked out the kitchen window one night and the house two doors down was a raging blaze. It was a hot summer night, and the kid was splashing in the bathtub. I plucked him up out of the tub, wrapped him in a towel, and ran outside. My urge was pure flight, even though it made no sense at all. We lived only two or three blocks from the neighborhood firehouse, and could hear the sirens before we'd even finished the call to 911. Were we any safer outside the house than in? No. But all I wanted was to have my loved ones with me, and be AWAY from there. Firefighters, I love you, but I sure don't have much of what you have inside you inside me.

The old sailor's table

2011-01-07T22:25:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow, our new dining room table will be delivered. The number of new pieces of furniture we've purchased in our 15 year marriage has been small indeed. It was only a couple of years ago that we replaced our then 25+ year old futon with a memory foam bed.

The table we are bidding farewell to was rescued by me sometime in the 90s. It was in a free pile on the sidewalk outside what I knew as "the old sailor's home." In the throes of flush economic times, Belltown, only a few blocks from
Seattle's business district, had become the hub of a condominium building boom, and places like the old sailors' home (and union halls, and warehouses) were sitting on land the developers wanted something fierce. The old sailors' home was remodeled into a fancy inn, but the table, along with some green tiles, came home with me. (I don't remember exactly how, as I didn't drive then.)

It's served us well, and I have taken many still life photos on its well-worn surface. But its garage sale chairs are in the last stages of their decrepitude, and we need a bigger table for the crowd of gamers who gather here. I'm rather pleased by the prospect of a nice, solid, big table, with chairs that match, but I'm still sad to let an old friend go.

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The Mermaid & the Coffee Cup

2011-01-07T00:06:00.001-08:00

I thought I'd take a photo of the Starbucks logo (which isn't broken) before they change it.

Actually, I was just parked out front to piggyback onto the wi-fi in order to download a podcast to listen to on the drive home.

I adore podcasts. I learned to run using the Podrunner Intervals podcast. They keep me company on solo drives, and while I'm doing the walking portion of my mail route. I'm short on time tonight, but tomorrow, I'll detail some of my favorites.

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I'm sweepy.

2011-01-05T20:52:00.001-08:00

I have no business being this tired, except maybe that the alarm accidentally went off at 4:30 a.m., and there was no compensatory nap, and I boosted pace of run and increased weights on a few machines. Nope, no idea why I'm tired.

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Pixar!

2011-01-04T21:08:00.001-08:00

Specifically, Pixar stamps available in August. And all new stamps are Forever stamps, which means we can convert our family fortune into them!

(It should be noted that my family immediately started petitioning for Miyazaki stamps...)

(And that my iPhone has learned auto-complete for "Miyazaki"...)

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A simple tangerine peel

2011-01-03T21:38:00.001-08:00

can improve a day immensely.

I got up late (iPhone-related, but it was operator error), HAD NO COFFEE, pinch hit for part of a carrier's route due to vehicle break-down in single digit temps, dealt with the repair issues, finally had lunch at two, and accomplished very little else that needed attention.

But THEN, the gym, and Kanye and Cee Lo, and spaghetti for dinner, and a tangerine, and knitting, and Mad Men.

Deep breaths.

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Weekends

2011-01-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

Precious things, those. I've worked six days a week for the past six years, and aside from vacations, there are a handful of instances when one of our holidays is before or after a Sunday, thereby creating a weekend. This year we were lucky in that Christmas and New Year's were on Saturdays.

Sometimes I treat a weekend as a time to be lazy--last weekend, for example, was an Official Pajama Weekend--but other times, it's just a matter of setting my own agenda for forty-eight hours. I did a lot of housecleaning over the past two days, but it didn't feel like a chore. I wanted to tear apart my ofice, and dust, and vacuum, and rearrange drawers.

Personal Kanban has helped me manage my own agenda when time is tight. I've known Jim for a long time, and when he started imagining PK, I was following along with his various musings. This summer, I had the chance to help with early editing of the forthcoming book, which offered a deeper understanding of its flexibility as a time management system. For awhile, I was using a modified version of it (I think it's safe to say that ALL versions are modified versions) via the AwesomeNote app on my iPhone. And then subsequently I decided that the simplicity of the iKan app was more functional for me. (iKan isn't as pretty as AwesomeNote, but I never have to retype anything, which I was doing in AwesomeNote.)

Having my entire, unwieldy backlog of tasks I'd like to accomplish in one place lets me stop cycling them through my brain. I nearly always have my phone with me, so when I think of something, I can add it to the list on the fly. Limiting what I am actively working on gives me a framework for balance--if I have some odious job to tackle, I can assign something more emotionally rewarding to one of the other Work In Progress slots. And having a running list of what I've accomplished has the same resonance as crossing items off a more traditional to-do list.

If any of this is intriguing, check out PK 101-it's a great intro.

In with 11

2011-01-01T01:17:00.001-08:00

2010 was difficult. Trying to stay positive and develop compassion in the face of relentless negativity was a near-daily struggle.

On the other hand I was and am fully conscious of the happiness my family brings me, and the many ways they nurture me. I followed through (mostly successfully) with several fun projects--my almost daily photos, keeping track of my reading, helping with early edits on a friend's book, and finding a gym routine that works for me.

In the new year, I want to move forward with all that brought joy to me and others, and leave behind the angsty bits.

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Contemplating

2010-11-30T22:34:00.001-08:00

I'm thinking of what projects I might take on next year. 365 Photos in 2010 will wind up being around 360, I think, though still a success in most ways.

Uploading in a timely fashion became the issue, since I didn't want to use my iPhone cam only. All the same, can't deny that the success of this sort of thing is dependent on access, and I do always have my phone with me.

(So, basically, this is a test to see if BlogPress might fit the bill.)

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January 1, 2010

2010-01-01T22:37:00.001-08:00

A nostepinne I purchased at Woodland Woolworks in Carlton, OR. One of my favorite objects.

Vegan Chili for the Non-Cook

2009-10-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

What I feared has happened: I ran out of pre-blogged posts, and have been too tired to cook in a few days. However, I pressed my husband, who has a fairly limited cooking repertoire, into making some super easy (and yummy) chili on a night I knew I would be way too tired to cook.

I left him with two big cans of organic crushed tomatoes, one can of Hunts Garlic & Herb spaghetti sauce*, two cans of kidney beans, a chopped onion, some Penzey's Chili 9000, and Penzey's Garlic Granules. He sauteed the onion in olive oil, and then added all the canned goods (having rinsed the kidney beans, I assume), plus 2T of the chili powder and 1t of the garlic. The consistency was perfect, and the depth and complexity of the Chili 9000 gives even a super basic recipe like this some extra oommph.

*Especially for the money, I prefer the basic Hunt's spaghetti sauces for a basic marinara. It's easy to modify the seasoning, but the best bit is that there is either no sugar added, or very little. If you check the nutrition labels, most of the more expensive jarred sauces have sugar content at least double the Hunt's vegan sauces.

Vegan Kindle

2009-10-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have been a voracious reader all my life. I spent every flashlight battery in the house reading under the covers. I begged to be allowed to read at the dining room table. I've read thousands of pages on buses, as the passenger in cars, on trains, on planes. Even a college class where we read ALL of Solzhenitsyn in one ten-week period could not destroy my love for the written word. If I'm awake, if my eyes are open, I'm often as not scanning my surroundings for something to read.

About ten years ago, I did a product test for Microsoft. I can't remember what their e-reader was called, or even whether or not it was a physical object when I did the test. But I remember that my opinions about e-books at that time were largely negative. No, no, no; I preferred paper. No, there is something special about holding a book. No, I can't read on a screen. And so on.

Somewhere along the way, my thinking changed. For one thing, once Amazon's Kindle landed in the hands of actual readers, their enthusiasm was infectious. Also, E Ink is pretty freaking cool.
And I'm a long-time Amazon customer whose experiences with the company have been nearly always positive, and their commitment to the e-book format frankly gave me more hope for its future than, well, Microsoft could. So I decided to spend my birthday cash on a Kindle 2.

One of the things I was curious about, but resisted the urge to explore fully until my Kindle actually arrived, was how many vegan cookbooks are available for the Kindle. It's a little nervewracking to think of using an expensive electronic device in the kitchen, where I routinely spill water, and, um, occasionally set off the smoke alarm. And maybe splatter things a bit. But my kitchen is home to our washer and dryer, and that's where I set up my conventional cookbooks, and they have been safe from harm. But even more appealing than cooking from a cookbook in e-book form is the prospect of menu-planning in whatever moments I can steal during the course of the day. I usually plan menus by flipping through my cookbooks, and coming up with a week or so's worth of compatible dishes. I do frequently throw a stack of cookbooks in the passenger seat of my car, or into my bicycle's pannier, but how much more convenient could it be to have a library of cookbooks available on my Kindle? With the capacity for annotating recipes?

It's not a complete library, but there are some great titles available in the Kindle Store. My one criticism so far is that the book samples for several titles I checked out did not include any recipes. I think that including at least a few would give potential buyers a better feel for an author's recipe-writing style, for how simple or complicated they like to make things, and to what sorts of ingredients they rely on. The other drawback might be that photos are, and will be for the foreseeable future, black and white. I don't mind that so much. The portability issue carries the day!

Crack.

2009-10-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

I know, that's terrible. But it's what we call one of our favorite dishes, one we've been loving well before I was vegan and my husband was wandering in that direction.

(In our household, I've been vegetarian since 1988 (? - I think), and vegan since sometime this summer; my husband has been vegetarian since 1995; and the 10 year-old kid has been vegetarian since birth.)

The bonus is that it is super-duper easy and cooks quickly. If you put on some rice about half an hour before you want to eat, you can easily whip this up during the last 10 minutes of the rice's cooking time. (I think short grain brown rice is best.)

The recipe for African Pineapple Peanut Stew is here.

More cheatin' pre-blogging!

2009-10-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

And there are no pictures here, because a) it's night time, and dark, and b) seriously, even the most heavenly soup doesn't look that great in the slow cooker.

But holy cow, the slow cooker is a miracle.

I decided to make the Split Pea Soup from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's The Vegan Table for tonight's dinner. It's Sunday (remember, I'm a cheating pre-blogger), and it's my only day off this week, and I knew we were going to see a movie at six. So this morning, I chopped everything for the soup, threw the veggies, the split peas, and the herbs in some water, and then refrigerated it until I was ready to start the cooking at around one.

My only mods to the recipe were that I added about 1/3 cup of nutritional yeast at the end of the cooking time, plus about 1T of Earth Balance margarine. It took about 6 hours in my slow cooker, which I boost when cooking legumes by putting it in rice cooker mode for a bit before starting the slow cooking. The liquids come to a boil, and then are hot enough to simmer for awhile before settling down for a true slow cook.

I all but refuse to see movies anywhere but our local theatre, and since it is in easy walking distance, we always walk unless there is a downpour. Tonight, we were at the tail end of a warm afternoon when we walked there, but it was right brisk when we came home--having hot soup waiting at home was perfect.

2009-10-02T00:00:00.001-07:00

I am pre-blogging, and it is my birthday. Now, I like pie, apple pie, specifically, far better than birthday cake anyway, but when you combine the first crop of apples from our tree in about five years* and Vegan MoFo, you get a homemade vegan apple pie.

I used the pie crust recipe from Veganomicon, but since I can't follow directions to the letter ever, really, I used Earth Balance stick margarine instead of vegan shortening, and instead of cutting it into the flour mixture by hand, I processed it in the food processor. It could have been a little flakier, perhaps, but it had a nice flavor and held together well. (I even got the first piece of pie out of the pan intact.)

I don't have the faintest idea what variety our apples are, but they are small, dry, cooking apples. I used the Apple Pie recipe (p100) from The Joy of Vegan Baking, but I substituted the Streusel Topping (p84) for the top crust. I also substituted Apple Pie Spice from Penzey's for the spices specified.

The result was a very firm textured, tasty pie. And as a special birthday treat, The Pickiest Vegetarian Kid in All the Land agreed to try some. And he liked it! The good news: he liked it! The bad news: now we have to share the pie!

*We used to have an apple tree that was about 100 years old, per our neighbor who grew up in the neighborhood. One afternoon about five years ago, I was in my office upstairs when I heard an odd crash. The tree had collapsed, and had done so into a driveway we don't park in. Nothing and no one was hurt. Eventually, suckers started coming up from the old stump, and we let them come, to see what would happen. This year, for the first time, apples!

HomeGROWN

2009-10-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

I was browsing my new copy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's fabulous Vegan Brunch when I paged upon the vegan sausage recipes. I'm not a huge fan of meat analogs EXCEPT for 1) bacon (fakin) and 2) sausage. Love the other fake white meat. Do not love: the price of purchasing the commercial versions or the slightly scary ingredient lists.

So while I was skeptical, I decided to give it a try. And holy cow (pig?), the recipe worked. VeganDad has Isa's basic recipe posted here; I used navy beans, and a slightly different array of spices. Not only did the recipe produce the desired results, I got to use one of my favorite appliances in a new way. I have a combination rice cooker/slow cooker/steamer, which worked like a dream for the 40 minute steaming period.

So now we have vegan sausages. What to do with them? The answer in my book is usually this: saute them with potatoes and greens. And guess what? Not only did I make the sausages, I grew the potatoes and the greens. There may even have been homemade vegan lemon poppyseed muffins to go along with this breakfast-for-dinner affair. Because I don't know what got into me.

Vegan MoFo III

2009-09-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

In which my listless web browsing one night led me here.

Now here's the deal: I have now been vegetarian for longer than I was an omnivore. (And I was an unenthusiastic meat-eater even then.) For those playing along, that's 21 years, roughly. I stopped eating meat one day when I was cutting up a chicken breast for a stir-fry...and I knew I just couldn't do it again. Ever. I read Diet for a Small Planet, and its basic arguments--that people can be fed more efficiently via a plant-based diet and that a vegetarian diet is nutritionally sound--made TOTAL sense to me. (They still do.) I'm an animal-lover, too, and I think our food choices affect the health of our planet.

But until fairly recently, I didn't make the leap from vegetarianism to veganism. Even though I understood that factory farming of dairy and eggs involved animal cruelty, and the processes of factory farming are an environmental nightmare. I kept inching toward being vegan, especially when I'd get frustrated by my allergies and asthmatic tendencies, which are made worse when I eat dairy. I'd start avoiding dairy, and start feeling better. Huh.

And then a few months ago, I decided IT WAS TIME. As with the chicken breasts, it was pretty much an "okay, we're done here" moment. All of the cookbooks I've bought in the last year have been vegan. I cook from them all the time; it finally hit me that it wouldn't be that hard to only cook from them. We don't eat out much any way, and if we have to eat out less, c'est la vie.

I've wanted to get back to writing again, and Vegan MoFo will give me some structure in that. I love September too much to wish it away, but once October arrives, let the mad vegan blogging begin!

So, my bike wreck.

2009-08-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

The good news: I am fine. My bike is fine.
The bad news: I had more interaction with the pavement than I needed at 7:10 am.
The continuing truth: In car vs. bike, car always wins.

My kid can vouch for the fact that I repeat, over and over, that it doesn't matter if you are right; a car is bigger than you. Car is rock to bike. Car is scissors to paper. Car is paper to rock. I try to ride as if I were invisible, that is, I take nothing for granted. I always wear a helmet. I don't ride with my earbuds in. I am watching and listening for cars every second I am on my bike. Sometimes that's not enough.

This morning, on my way to work, I was traveling a street which is a through street. From my house to my work is 3.4 miles, and the only traffic control is one roundabout, and one stop sign. All traffic entering the street is controlled by stop signs on the side streets. Less than half a mile from work, I spotted a black SUV with tinted windows. I had my eyes on it, and it was at a full stop as I approached. I braked a little, but I estimate my speed at 15-17 mph. (I was riding without electric assist, as I always do in the morning.) And then the SUV started rolling forward. I had time to brake hard and slide off the bike. My elbow, knee, and palm all hit the pavement, and I got banged up by the bike some, too.

I don't remember what I said, but I read the driver the riot act. I'm pretty sure I didn't swear, but I wasn't very nice about it. His response? "I didn't see you! You're not even wearing orange!" OH! I missed the part in the driver's handbook about only yielding to ORANGE traffic. If he had apologized at all, I might think I was a little harsh. But I was standing there bleeding, with giant sized bruises raising up, and he still wanted to be *right*.

I know I did the best I could under the circumstances, but it's still unsettling.

Well, hi.

2009-04-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

I like.

2009-02-10T21:00:00.001-08:00

2009-02-08T15:42:00.000-08:00

I am bothered by something which is best left unsaid (really), but here is video of Gene Robinson's pre-inaugural prayer.

Cutest socks ever!

2009-02-06T10:04:00.000-08:00

How often do I say that about non-handknits!?

I loved

2009-01-20T21:41:00.000-08:00

that bit when our President and First Lady (!!!) were dancing at the Home State Ball, and he gave her a little twirl, and she shrugged and kind of rolled her eyes like, "Can you believe what a cornball this guy is?" That was cute.

There are

2009-01-10T21:25:00.000-08:00

a lot of thing that bring me to tears.

This is one.

My awesome day

2009-01-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

commenced with a twenty-minute session of driveway-digging. I quit a few feet from the end, figuring that I would have enough momentum to get through the last bit, even in reverse. This was a faulty assumption, as I slid a little, and wedged the passenger side of the car up against the street-side snow bank. Also, it was totally high-centered. I called work to say I would be late. My husband came out to help dig and push, and after lots of laying on the ground, scraping snow out from under the car with the shovel, and multiple attempts, we got me out of the driveway and started down our rather large hill. I nearly buried the vehicle again, but recovered. Also, did I mention that I'd turned off the defroster while we did all the digging, and couldn't see much at all? Narrowly avoided a pack of wee dogs running in the street. Barreled around the corner and gunned it, but the plow hadn't been anywhere near, and I high-centered my dear little CR-V once more, well and truly. Neighbor gal got dropped off at her house; I asked for a shovel. She provided two, plus her husband and their snowblower. We got me out, again, and as I approached the end of the street, I knew I couldn't stop without getting stuck YET AGAIN, so I prayed and hit the accelerator. The main road had been plowed, and was passable. I got to work, an hour late, soaking wet, and sore. Happy Monday!!

I had a dream

2009-01-01T09:32:00.000-08:00

in which we were moving to a new house (no plans to do so, relax, kid), and though we had presumably gone through the entire purchasing process, I kept discovering rooms in it. For instance, we were debating whether a walk-in closet could be configured into a studio space for Mark, when, HEY! Look here! There's another room.

Also, the kitchen had a salad bar in the center island, complete with a sneeze guard.

And due to the ubiquity of the internet, all of the neighbors were expecting us, and came over for coffee. They weren't really having coffee with us, as we were moving, but they were all gathered around a table in our kitchen.

Photo was taken this morning. It snowed all night, and hasn't let up. The snow is sliding off the roof of our house, but the studio building (pictured) isn't heated, so the snow isn't moving, and it's making me nervous. I may see if I can rake some snow off the lower edge and get it moving, but I'm worried about disturbing the even distribution of the weight. The building is about 400 square feet, and the snow depth is about two feet.

Currently all three of the major passes that connect eastern Washington with western Washington are closed. Good times!

xmas morning 2008

2008-12-25T19:36:00.001-08:00

xmas morning 2008
Originally uploaded by ann14989

I shoveled snow

2008-12-17T20:36:00.000-08:00

five times today (twice at home, three times at work), and could easily have done twice that many times. (And in fact, the neighbors ran the snowblower on the driveway at home, one other person shoveled the walk at work, and at one point, someone ran a small bobcat on the sidewalk.)

It. is. still. snowing.

I love my AWD, and I detest people who tailgate.

That is all.

observations

2008-12-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

1) I told my kid that the difference between adults and kids is that generally, adults WANT to put their pj's on.

2) It is COLD. There is probably 1/4 inch of frost on the *inside* of my kitchen windows--we were cooking, or doing laundry, or something when the temp really started to drop. Supposedly we made it to around 19F at midday, when the sun was out, but it's back down to about 5F now. I am not amused.

do the hustle

2008-12-06T23:50:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

apparently

2008-12-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

things happen at school of which I am unaware.

Today, the school librarian came into the post office. She mentioned that she couldn't believe that the kid had read all of Brisngr. "He did?" I replied. "Yes, he took the test on it, and got almost all the questions right. He renewed it about four times, and I saw the bookmark moving along in it."

It is a 784 page book. He had it at home briefly, but I never saw him pick it up at all. I called home and asked him about it, and oh, yeah, I read that, Mom.

It could be worse. But 784 pages! And me, not a clue.

why veganomicon cracks me up

2008-11-30T20:52:00.000-08:00

"Broccoli gives polenta a great texture. It just makes it, like, "RAR!" That's the only way we can describe it."

I made the Maple Walnut Cookies from Vegan with a Vengeance this afternoon, and while they are tasty, they weren't very pretty. The first couple of trays, I didn't oil the cookie sheet, as suggested, because I was using my silicone baking mat and our well-seasoned pizza stone. NOTE TO SELF: JUST FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. Much of the non-prettiness resulted from their reluctance to leave the cookie sheets.

I thought the dough seemed a little thin, and if I was making them again, I would add a bit more flour, and/or crush the walnuts more finely. But, tasty. And when I finished, the kid asked me if he could take a plate to our neighbors who have a very large family. Which was darned sweet.

obama playlist

2008-11-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

iTunes doesn't have all the tracks necessary to build this as an iMix, but I burned this CD for my brother-in-law the other day. It's quite good :)

Elect Obama Remix - Big Hit Buda
Clap Your Hands - They Might Be Giants
Supersoulfighter - Lenny Kravitz
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
It's a New Day - will.i.am
Sure Hope You Mean It - Raphael Saddiq
Ain't Nothin' Like the Real Thing - Marvin Gaye
Sweet Potato Pie - Ray Charles & James Taylor
People Get Ready - Aretha Franklin
Beautiful Day - U2
Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End - Phil Collins
Put a Little Love in Your Heart - Al Green & Annie Lennox
Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Ooh Child - Beth Orton
All That We Let In - Indigo Girls
Down to the River to Pray - Alison Krauss
2004 Democratic National Convention - Barack Obama

'cause I keep forgetting

2008-11-20T23:34:00.001-08:00

First snow (no accumulation): November 6, and then some MSAR (my abbreviation for mixed snow and rain) tonight, November 20. Okay with me if it fails to accumulate for awhile, though I should probably have the person who knows the location of the snow shovel bring it out of storage.

(IT CAN'T BE BURIED THAT DEEP, SINCE IT ONLY STOPPED SNOWING IN JUNE.)

in which

2008-11-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

the President Elect wears a bicycle helmet. You can too.

too lazy to upload the photo

2008-11-12T22:04:00.000-08:00

of my bike computer when I hit 1000 (.1) miles on Saturday, November 2nd. It was the day before the time change, and I rode in to work in conditions I would not have ridden in on a week day (i.e. in more traffic). Dense fog, dark, and really not all that super safe.

I haven't ridden since (sadly) because it's now dark when I come home from work, and while my small-town traffic hardly qualifies, there are a couple of spots on the ride where I don't have much of an alternative, route-wise, and the lack of light just isn't good. Even though I blink A LOT when I ride in the dark. With LED lights, that is, not with my eyelids.

Re: lack of blogging, my laptop had to go see the doctors at Dell. It seems fine now. It was gone during the election, which was a mixed blessing. I couldn't obsess as much, but the obsessing I did do was challenging. Fivethirtyeight.com doesn't format very well for my cell phone screen.

I spotted my choice for all-time oddest vehicle name the other day: the Pontiac Parisienne Safari. Which is a 1970s fake-wood-panel station wagon. I cannot begin to fathom what they were going for with that name.

the aminals

2008-10-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

I've been carrying mail for the last two weeks, and anyone following me would conclude that I am a certifiable lunatic. I talk in goofy dog voice to almost all the dogs, and I meow at all the cats. Today, my heart just about burst when, after I'd already delivered the mail and was on my way back to the truck, the big husky emerged from behind the fence and loped over to me, and when I scratched behind her ears, she immediately flopped onto the ground for a belly rub. Awwwww. Shortly after that, I got to my favorite kitty's house, and she seemed hungry, and I couldn't tell if the people had been around lately, so later on, I went back with a plate of cat food. She didn't come when I meowed, and the people *may* have been around, so I didn't stay too long, but I did leave the food.

I'm lurching toward 1000--I think I'm at 980 miles right now. I missed two days of riding this week--one planned, and one the result of being ridiculously foggy headed, and thereby LATE. Thursday might be the day...

my kid is funny.

2008-10-21T22:25:00.000-07:00

I have one of those square peg sorts of kids, which is awesome, and which tends to mean that our many, many parenting challenges do *not* include staving off boredom.

That said, he may be catching on.

(notation in the corner of his school planner): "Note to self: Do not make Coach angry."

me: Hey kiddo, did you get into trouble in PE class?

kid: No! But another kid did, and he was doing something I would do, like making smart alecky comments, and he had to do eighteen pushups!

leavenworth, pt. 2

2008-10-20T22:33:00.000-07:00

Hi Mark!

Okay, Mark, in the comments on the previous post, took me to task for describing Leavenworth as "kitschy." I take his point, sort of, in that I actually do know enough about the history of the town to appreciate its transformation into a successful Bavarian-themed tourist destination. (Short version: hard times, dying local economy, business community transforms the city by mutual decision and sheer force of will. Inventive, and fairly awesome.) HOWEVER, it was created, and while its achievements are notable*, without actual Bavarians, it is not authentic.

*It is thriving--I was there on a Monday, and there were LOTS of people in the streets.

It should be further noted that I *like* kitsch. Folks were very friendly, I was able to find a satisfactory vegetarian lunch with no trouble at all, and the natural beauty is breathtaking. Plus there is Bavarian-themed mini-golf, which I didn't play (why?!??), so I will return. That there's an artificial conceit in play bothers me not at all.

In other news, the rain is potentially hampering my efforts at reaching the 1000 mile mark. I rode today, but got utterly drenched on the way home. Hopefully it will let up by morning, as arriving at work that wet is not so fabulous. At least if I come home soaking wet, I can take a hot shower and put on my pajamas right away.

leavenworth

2008-10-17T21:27:00.001-07:00

Columbus Day is a minor annual holiday for me; a day on which I take myself off on an adventure someplace. Alone. This year, I drove north to Leavenworth, a kind of kitschy Bavarian-themed tourist town. I managed to get my hair trimmed (a major achievement), wandered around a lot, bought only a couple of balls of yarn, and rode my bike* on the rather excellent city trails that parallel the river.

I enjoy monkeying around with the self-timer, although I tend to try to avoid being observed....

*Bianchi, not the electric. It did quite well on the trail, even though I had to switch to the road tires. I dismounted briefly three times--once for loose gravel, once for big rocks, and once for mud.

pointing out the obvious

2008-10-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

(Listening to the third presidential debate in the car on the way home from soccer practice. Kid starts talking about something unrelated with great enthusiasm.)

Me: SSHHHH! This is really important!

Me: I'm sorry. You're really important, too. But they're only going to say this once.

Kid: MOM, it'll be on YouTube later....

I love it when he is in steam train mode.

2008-10-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

bonus post!

2008-10-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

1) Using Biology, Not Religion, to Argue Against Same-Sex Marriage HEAD THUNK. 6.6 billion people, folks. Protecting human procreation is not really our issue just now.

2) Raphael Saadiq.

That an album released in 2008 sounds like this makes me REALLY happy. There's a live video on YouTube, but it doesn't do this track justice.

3) Charlie Haden - Rambling Boy

No adequate video on this, but go listen at iTunes or Amazon or something. Or you could go to the official site but I warned you about the Flash attack. Lots of the Haden Triplets, together and separately, plus lots of well-chosen guest artists. Even Jack Black's contribution on "Old Joe Clark" works.

4) Extra more, because I am nice like that:

5) (further video aside: Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! is on heavy rotation around here, but Nick Cave's mustache here is blowing my mind.)

2008-10-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

Oh. hi.

Regular busy, three places at once, etc. etc. sort of stuff. Riding still, even though it has only been 30 freaking degrees in the morning. I gave up and wore long johns the last two days, and my wool mittens are pulled on over my riding gloves, and sometimes I'm wearing my Buff and a wool stocking cap, but whatever. It's also getting darker, so there are lots of blinkies--LED headlight, a seatpost taillight, and one attached to my messenger bag. My coworkers who pass me up in their cars assure me that I am visible.

I'm up to 920 miles since I installed the bike computer, and my goal is 1000 before the snow sidelines me for the winter. I ride about 45 miles/week, so I fervently hope this is not unrealistic.

I've also had a number of irritating mechanical issues, which are making me a bit paranoid. It started a couple of months ago when I had a bent front rim, but no corresponding bending event. Then a while later, I went out back one afternoon, and my rear tire was flat. Then again this week. (Lucky break: dad (and all-around nice guy) of one of the kid's friends was driving by in his pickup, threw my bike in the back, and gave me a ride home.) Anyway, that all of these events have occurred in conjunction with my commute HOME, not TO work, has me struggling not to be a paranoid freak. I have my reasons. So the bike is coming inside in the afternoons, even though there is no incredibly spectacular place for it.

We have Columbus Day off at work, and even though I harbor all the usual skepticism about that particular holiday, it serves the annual purpose of providing me with a day to go mess around all by myself. The town I am visiting this year has a yarn shop, an independent bookstore, and bike paths, so it's all good. I am taking the Bianchi with me, and in advance of this, I knew I had a flat to change (I'm getting quite good at this...). When I went to do it, discovered that it wasn't the tube, exactly, that was the problem--the tire itself was totally shredded. Luckily, I had the original road tires for the bike in the basement, so I swapped them for the hybrid tires I'd been riding with. On which I'd been riding. I adore that bike, even though the electric suits my commuting needs better. Hoping for a nice day.

I highly

2008-10-04T22:08:00.000-07:00

highly, highly recommend the audiobook version of Dreams from My Father, read by the author.

Sarah Palin makes me furious on so many levels, but her snarky description of him as a "man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate" (which is false) makes me wonder if she has bothered to read them, which I think would surely be wise. Dreams is a thoughtful, honest, and insightful meditation on race and family. Mocking it reveals a world view that is so debased and cynical, that...well, consider the source.

the awesome allure

2008-09-21T22:52:00.000-07:00

of items that aren't in commercial production yet, and which I probably could not afford if they were. But cool!

I rode only half my normal distance on Friday, and about two-thirds of it on Saturday. On Friday, at the conclusion of a week in which I worked many hours, and had only one lunch break, I went out back to get a piece of equipment and noticed that my rear tire was flat. Three little letters would express my reaction to that, and I'll leave you to guess which three. I don't carry a frame pump (yeah, I probably should), and fixing it on the spot would have been a pain anyway, so I called for backup. When we arrived home, I left the bike on the bike rack, using it as sort of a pseudo shop stand. I used the bathtub method to find the leak, patched it, and all was well with my biking world again. On Saturday, it just happened that my family passed me on my way home--they were returning from a soccer game. So they stopped to pick me up.

This slayed me.

I'm a big geek.

2008-09-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

Yay, Sulu's getting married!

I am not a hockey mom.

2008-09-11T23:30:00.000-07:00

And I am going to go ahead and blast Sarah Palin's parenting.

Not because of choices her children have made. I know full well that kids don't always behave in the ways their parents would like, and they deserve our continuing unconditional love and support anyway.

What I find utterly damning about Sarah Palin's parenting is that her position on abortion would potentially cause her own children to endure a pregnancy that was the result of rape or incest. (Citation here.) The lack of compassion present in that position is incomprehensible to me.

Here's a story: my own child was not the result of a neatly planned pregnancy. But I was (and am) married to a good man, in whom I could see the heart of a great dad, and I consciously *chose* to have a baby. And let me state this in unequivocal terms: it was the BEST, most joyous decision I ever made. The fact that it was a decision informs my parenting every day. This is the path I chose, and I have the responsibility to do everything in my power to make it worthwhile for all of us. I make mistakes--we all do. But I choose to do my best to show my kid that he is wanted and cherished, absolutely.

That's my story. Here's another one, abbreviated and incomplete, because it's not mine. In high school, I was friends with a girl. She was being raised by a single mom, and their finances were tight. Still, she found a way to get herself to college. At some point, she was still broke, she needed to get from point A to point B, and for whatever reason, hitchhiking was the option that she chose. She was picked up by a long-haul trucker, and he raped her. She got pregnant, and she had an abortion.

That story haunts me. She was someone I knew, and if I couldn't imagine myself in that position, not exactly, I could imagine her in that position. I could imagine her pain. I shudder at having to make a decision in that situation, and I cringe at the at the idea of a woman who believes she could make it for someone else. For her own daughters.

By the way, I still support Barack Obama

2008-09-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

and check out these awesome anti-theft bike stands (via Bike Hugger).

My two main parking locations are at home and at work. At home, I noose a cable to connect the frame and the front wheel, then take the remaining loop in the cable and attach it and the frame to one of the posts on the front porch. Which you could saw through, but if we were home, such shenanigans would wake us up, and if we weren't, the dog would have a full-blown fit. She's a love, but she can sound quite ferocious. At work, it's the same strategy, only I'm locking to some huge metal pipe that comes down the back wall. If I stop at the grocery, the bike gets locked to one of the cart corrals, and all the peripherals go in with me. (Which always confuses the checkers and baggers--yes, I KNOW there is stuff in the bottom of the bag (my pannier). Put the groceries in anyway!)

A friend emailed me this op piece on why Sarah Palin is scary, and not to be trifled with.

Why I support Barack Obama

2008-09-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

This is what I wrote when prompted in my profile at the campaign website.

Why I support Barack Obama: I support Barack Obama because I believe we need a President who believes in the American people--one who can inspire us to start believing in ourselves again. We need a national leader who is thoughtful, who can listen to a variety of viewpoints in a deep way, who can bring people together rather than drive them apart. I support Barack Obama because of his opposition to the war. I support him because he believes in diplomacy. I support him because I think the world he wants for his daughters is the world I want for my son--one in which the US is strong, but not arrogant; where we have a healthy economy that is not built on exploitation; where people are treated with dignity and respect without regard to gender, race, class or creed; where the environment is our treasure, not our plunder; where we try, and think, and work, and hope, and work some more.

(That's my main reason, above. Photo taken on the beach at Lincoln Park in October 2000, when he was 17 months old. Deluge followed very soon after the pix were taken.)

90 Days

2008-09-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

As of today, it has been three months since I last drove to work. Although I was on vacation for two weeks, so I am requiring myself to bike for an additional two weeks before I think about driving, and truly, I will go for as long as possible after that. I am also confident that I will be able to start biking earlier in the year next year. Although I was biking pretty regularly in April and May.

This morning was very chilly--maybe 40 or so. However, I recently purchased a fleece and cycling jacket combination from REI, and gloves from my local bike shop, and I've been fairly comfortable on those brisk mornings and in the windy afternoons. I also bought a Buff head scarf thing, which works incredibly well as both a helmet liner and a neck gaiter.

Proper clothing makes all the difference.

That

2008-08-26T23:01:00.000-07:00

was one hell of a speech.

Yay!

2008-08-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

NPR story on electric bikes.

I think it overplays the "it's so easy!" aspect of things, but I was grateful for mine today. First day back at work after a two-week vacation, it was chilly and threatening rain*, also windy, and I carried mail. Flip the assist on, baby!

*I even fished out the rain cover for my pannier, since I was ferrying paperwork and returning books to my coworkers. It covers five sides of the cube, and while I'll have to wait for a wetter day to truly test it, it shows promise.

Also, Ted Kennedy. *sniff*

only exciting if you are me

2008-08-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

In a final fit of Accomplishing Something While On Vacation, I cleaned my office.

Removed:

--1 1/2 bags* of recycled paper
--2 banker's boxes of magazines
--1 paper grocery bag of outgrown children's books
--1 banker's box of miscellaneous stuff to go to Goodwill
--1 banker's box of stuff to sell or swap

*These bags are the approximate size of a first grader.

I also revamped my filing system, cleared out the holding bin downstairs where my husband tosses my stuff which he doesn't know what else to do with it (or doesn't want to, which is fine), finished sewing the knitted top on a throw pillow--a project which has been languishing for at least three years, and fixed a sweater I'd made for the kid in order to pass it along to the younger cousins.

So, while I mostly screwed around, played Guitar Hero, and went camping, I did knock a couple of items off the to-do list....

at least I didn't get wakened at 3 am

2008-08-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

B- U bsy? Cuz u didnt txt me.

(Aside: when we were camping, the kid had made friends with a pack of kids, and wanted to go over to their campsite. I told him he had to wait until the dad, the supervising adult, was back from the store. He started petitioning me: "Well, if Barack Obama went with me, could I go now? How about Hillary Clinton?" Yes, fine, but I think they're both a little busy right now...)

went campin'

2008-08-21T21:23:00.000-07:00

I've been on vacation, and we went camping. Top to bottom: 1) My kid paddling a canoe from the rear position, never having done so before in his life. (He buddied up to a kid who was with a Boy Scout Troop at the same park we were camping at. One of the other scouts commented, when the boat, predictably, started drifting off course, "Mr. Kirby, we have a situation here.") 2) She Who Watches 3) A snail. 4) Touch-Me-Not Jewelweed. 5) Me, my husband, my mom, and my kid in front of the yurt we stayed in at Paradise Point State Park. It rained a lot when we were there--the yurt as awesome. We'd tent camped at our previous site, where it was 115 F one day. The difference a day and a couple hundred miles makes....

Like all such outings, it had its ups and downs, but all in all we had a fun time, and didn't do much. Which was the point.

Onai

2008-08-08T20:41:00.001-07:00

With the addition of this guinea pig, the critters in our household now outnumber the humans.

I was initially entirely against the adoption of this little beastie, because rodents, ew. But he is terribly cute, and sweet, and the kid is extremely gentle with him. I call him the wee rattie. He's not, of course.

He is enjoying some green bell pepper in this photo.

zeropergallon.com

2008-08-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

So far, I haven't been beat up because of my new sticker.

sending you away from my blog

2008-07-30T21:19:00.000-07:00

I think everyone who believes in equality and fairness should carry a wallet photo of this picture.

Also, I am a Unitarian Universalist, too.

500!

2008-07-29T22:55:00.001-07:00

Due to a bout of daydreaming in the shower about a situation that was bothering me, I was very nearly late for work on Monday, but I still stopped to photograph my bike computer when I hit 500 miles. (It's the last reading on the screen.) Speed is at the top (I was stopped), then ride time and trip distance. I'd forgotten to reset the computer after the previous day's ride, so those weren't accurate just then.

I rode part way home with one of the nurses from the medical clinic, which was kind of fun, even though my natural instinct is to wave a cheery hello and the pedal on by...

lame blogger steals meme. news at 11.

2008-07-27T21:31:00.000-07:00

Lifting this meme from Michelle.

firsts

Who was your first prom date? I only went to my senior prom, and I went with my friend John. I wish we lived closer, because he is way fun, and so is his wife, and his kid, and our families totally get along.

Do you still talk to your first love? Oh hell no.

What was your first alcoholic drink? Probably some kind of wine cooler, and not much of it. I had a foolproof routine for ordering gin and tonics with my boss at the Peanut Barrel in East Lansing before I was of age. Foolproof except that I was drinking bad G&Ts--ick.

What was your first job? I taught music theory to 2-3 year olds.

What was your first car? Land yacht. 1976 Ford LTD. 8 whopping miles to the gallon.

Who was the first person to text you today? The coworker I text with is on vacation. I did text her, though.

Who is the first person you thought of this morning? Well, my husband, since the dumb cat woke us both up at the same time trying to walk around *behind* the blinds in our bedroom.

Who was your first grade teacher? Mrs. Donovan. She was kind of crabby, and I got in trouble for talking to my best friend. I was MORTIFIED.

Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane? Probably back to Grand Island, NE from college in East Lansing, MI.

Who was your first best friend and are you still friends? Cindy Grooms. We see each other about once a decade now.

What was your first sport played? Outside of PE class, softball. I played for several years, but ultimately quit because of an episode of appalling sportsmanship on the part of my teammates.

Where was your first sleepover? Probably at Grandma's.

Who was the first person you talked to this morning? My husband, cf the cat issue, above. The first *creature* I talked to was the CAT.

Whose wedding were you first in? I have mostly dodged that bullet, but I was the maid of honor in my sister's wedding when I was nursing my 3 1/2 month old baby. The dress was NOT designed for nursing moms.

What was the first thing you did this morning? FLIPPED ON THE COFFEEMAKER.

What was the first concert you went to? Lionel Richie, baby.

What was your first tattoo or piercing? Ears, age 12. I rarely wear jewelry other than my wedding rings and a ring that my friend Wendy made for me when the kid was born.

What was the first foreign country you went to? Canada, where I went to piano camp for a week, or maybe two.

What was your first run in with the law? Pleading the Fifth. Way too embarrassing.

When was your first detention? I was mortified when I got busted for TALKING in the first grade. Do you really think I ever had detention?

What was the first state you lived in? Nebraska. I still consider myself a native, even though I've been away for 22 years now.

Who was the first person to break your heart? Ugh. I'll say this: it wasn't worth it.

Who was your first roommate? April Tagge. Freshman year of college.

Where did you go in your first limo ride? To the wedding chapel in Las Vegas, the second time my parents got married.

new saddle

2008-07-20T21:25:00.001-07:00

I haven't been completely happy with the saddle that came on my bike--it looked pretty good, but it wasn't that comfortable, and I wasn't that impressed by the quality of whatever synthetic the cover was made from.

I considered replacing it with one of many beautiful Brooks saddles, in part because they are what the original saddle was emulating. However, I decided that paying upwards of $100 for a new saddle was not what I needed to be doing right now. Not that they are not worth the price: on the balance, I think that they probably are.

Color was a consideration, because I just don't see a black saddle on my bike, and there aren't that many other options. This saddle is orange, but it's subtle enough to fall into the honey-colored leather spectrum. It's a synthetic with a nice feel, and an embossed flower print. The look of it on my bike isn't perfect, but it's nice enough, and I think I'll get used to it. Test ride says it's quite comfortable, though I'm probably going to be monkeying with the positioning for a while yet.

Also: Wall-E. AMAZING.

Farmer's Pasta Primavera

2008-07-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

Sources on the ingredients: spaghetti and angel hair plus lemon all purchased at independent local natural grocery, organic zucchini grown by my father-in-law, peas and onions grown about 10 miles away and purchased at farmer's market, carrots purchased from regional grower at farmer's market, regional supermarket broccoli and garlic.

Can you tell I recently read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle?

hey, I'm supposed to be paying bills. time to blog!

2008-07-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

(insert annoyance about small, time-consuming aggravations here)

Anyway.

I dragged my family to the farmer's market today. I went by myself last week, but harassed them to come with me today. I bought organic carrots, chioggia beets, and bing cherries, and possibly organic, but very, very local potatoes, peas, onions, and lettuce. Local as in 25 miles away, tops. When we got home, I cleaned what needed cleaning, cut things up, shelled the peas. Weirdly (or not), it's much easier to attend to that sort of thing when you just bought the veggies from the person who grew them. The kid helped me with the peas, even though he refuses to eat them.

Yesterday, I made grissini. Again with the connections sort of thing, the recipe I used came to me via one of the letter carriers in the office, who had brought it in from one of the older ladies on his route. I am not a great baker (cf too-doughy pizza dough, and rock-hard loaves of bread), but I have been wanting to give it a shot for awhile now. And it worked! For what it's worth, I accomplished this on a day when a saner person would NOT have turned on the oven...

Weekly mileage: 49.04, BAT/KAT trips 13

well, hi.

2008-07-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

I am just about recovered. From carrying mail in the heat, from freezing to death on the 4th of July (NOT FAIR), from waiting impatiently for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith to arrive.

I am still sadly lacking in all enthusiasm, but I think it's because I need a break, which I will get in a few weeks.

And then, sometime, there will be an extra break, because at the FREEZING COLD FOURTH OF JULY EVENT, we somehow won a raffle prize for three days on the ocean. I didn't even know that the boys had purchased a ticket until the kid called me to tell me WE WON.

That's all for now.

eleven billion degrees, and some photos

2008-06-30T23:21:00.000-07:00

These were from yesterday, when it was also eleven billion degrees, but I was riding my bike instead of driving around in a convection oven, so it was actually quite pleasant.

Today, I was ridiculously hot and filthy by the end of my shift, and I had NO qualms about using the assist all the way home. I was tired, but more importantly, I couldn't afford any delay that would keep me from the shower.

oops.

2008-06-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

I just realized that the camera went to California, but the memory card stayed behind. To be fair, I thought that the other camera was going, and I also thought I had put the card back in the camera last time I uploaded pix, but apparently not.

Right now is the earliest my guys could get back, like if they didn't have to pee at all on the road.

My total mileage for this week was 72.47 miles, and I rode every day. There was the regular commute, Monday through Saturday, plus a trip back into town to see the cycling film, and today was our UU congregation's annual garden tour. I parked at the church (under a wonderful, wonderful shade tree), then biked the 15 mile loop in 17.12 miles. (I made a navigational error traveling from the last stop back to the car.) I tried to use the assist as little as possible, but there was a gnarly bit going through a freeway interchange positioned on an overpass, and then toward the end I was starting to get tired, and wanted to finish up my errands and get back home to finish cleaning up the house. Oh, did I mention that it was 100 degrees out today?

(T-storm right now.)

I need to pay bills, but then perhaps I'll go sit on the front porch, wait for my guys, and listen to the thunder. And hope for not too much lightning. It's not super dry yet, but the fire danger got boosted from low to moderate in the last few days, and I suspect most of our fire fighters are in California right now.

i suck at going to bed.

2008-06-29T01:37:00.000-07:00

Back at my old blog, I had this busybody reader who would periodically nag me about posting at 3 am. I was doing freelance work after the kid went to bed then (and he, like his parents, is a night owl), but you know--Charlotte knew best.

I forgot to link to Evan's website yesterday.

I think my windbreaker got ripped off while I was at the movie last night. It is just an orange nylon windbreaker that stuffs into its own pocket, but geez, people. I'd be less irritated if it was actually cold last night. It might have flown out of my pannier somewhere, but I've retraced my steps three times now, so maybe not.

I've been rearranging furniture tonight. Not sure if it is an improvement, but the bookcase is such a pain to move it's going to stay this way for a bit, anyway.

I went to see Evan Schmitt's new film tonight, his second, which at the age of 18, is really kind of amazing. He's got a great eye, and oh my god, I could watch cyclocross racing forever. I kinda think I want to go watch Star Crossed CX for my birthday.

Also: this was my odometer reading when I rolled back up to the house after the film tonight. 299.9 miles. Guess I will pass 300 tomorrow.

I ordered the Guitar Hero: Aerosmith bundle for the Wii today. Decided that if I wait for Guitar Hero World Tour instead of Rock Band, the guitar compatibility issue should not be a problem.

I should go to bed. I am really not excited about going to work tomorrow. I would much rather stay home, make lemonade, and finish my room rearranging project.

reason eleventy million

2008-06-26T23:17:00.000-07:00

why I love my local bike shop:

Today, riding to work, and then home again, I noticed a shimmy in my front wheel. It was ridiculously windy, and I was trying to convince myself that the crosswinds were causing the wobble. Then I started thinking about stopping by the shop on Saturday after work, or, or, or. I ended up riding straight to the shop, and asked John to look at it.

Turns out I'd bent the rim, and the wheel was out of true. On the one hand, ugh. On the other, I'm weirdly gratified when I am paying attention to my instincts AND I'M RIGHT.

John trued it up in short order, and then informed me that adjustments were included in the original purchase price of the bike. Dude was turning down money, because I am happy to pay for people to help me with things I don't have the skill to accomplish myself, but okay. Excellent, excellent customer service.

Also: my dog is awesome. She was crated for most of today, though I gave her breaks at decent intervals (before work, at lunch, after work, when I came home later at night). She is a very nervous dog, but she handled the day well. Even though we got her for my kid (ostensibly), she has been *my* dog from the time she was a puppy.

lonely

2008-06-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

I'm spending the week with the animals, trying to keep on top of the chores I normally don't do, and trying not to kill the lawn with benign neglect. My boys went to California, and due to some kind of ugly circumstances, I couldn't get the vacation time off to join them. At least not without a huge amount of drama.

Before they left, I bought a pay-as-you-go cell phone to send with my little monkey. Nine year olds get VERY excited if you get them their OWN cell phone. But I'm pretty reliant on my phone, didn't want to send it, and couldn't imagine not talking with the kid (and his dad) a few times a day.

Problem is, my little one is *sad*. He is the human equivalent of the border collie (in all respects, really), and he does NOT like it when his pack is not all together. Hopefully his cousins will distract him a bit--the purpose of this trip is a wedding, which will add two to the three he already has.

Sure miss them.

61.01 miles

2008-06-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

That was my total for June 16-22. I hadn't ridden anywhere today, then decided Dilly Bars would be yummy for dessert, and then further decided that if I wasn't willing to ride to get them, I didn't really want one. I ended up riding all but the big hills coming home in manual mode, as I realized I wouldn't have enough electric power to make it all the way. It wasn't that bad--just slower than I like (about 10 mph vs. 15 mph).

Friday left me less enamored than usual with the driving public, as I would have been creamed (or nearly so) three times if I wasn't a VERY careful cyclist. (All three incidents involved failing to signal and/or yield. I am ALWAYS prepared to yield, because right of way is meaningless except as a social nicety when you are a bike.)

Any photos this week will be limited to lo-res cell cam pics, as both cameras will be on the road. I made a really fantastic vegan pizza with garlic, mushrooms, garden greens, and sundried tomatoes, but you will have to imagine it. And feel free to note the discrepancy between making a lovely vegan pizza and then biking eight miles to get Dairy Queen for dessert.

and another weird thing

2008-06-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

I carry a Timbuk2 Metro Messenger bag. Tonight, due to a tedious sequence of events, my stuff went home in the car, while I went home on my bike. And I discovered that the strap of my bag feels like a seatbelt, and I feel really, really weird riding without it.

I have two, or possibly three, trips to a nearby town planned for next week, but I have a goal of not driving otherwise.

planning

2008-06-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

I had a two hour lunch break today, so I rode home. My coworker was having a memorable birthday, and dinner plans were being formulated, but weren't perfectly clear yet, so I rode my Bianchi back to work, figuring it was easier to a) leave at work or b) throw in the back of somebody else's rig if need be. (It's MUCH lighter than the e-bike.)

It turned out that dinner wasn't until 6:30, leaving me time to go home and change into civilian clothes if I scammed a ride. I did, with the birthday guy, and we picked up a (known, local) hitchhiker, who rode in the bed of the truck with my bike.

Dinner was fun; large sombreros were worn. Not by me; though that might be on the horizon in a few months...

greenway

2008-06-17T22:44:00.000-07:00

I had a "scheduled day off" today (euphemism for weekend comprised of non- consecutive days), and almost the first words out of the kid's mouth were, "Can we go for a bike ride?" He knows the answer to this is nearly always yes. He's no dummy.

However, it was really windy, and a little cold. Since swimming lessons were on the evening agenda, I decided to load the bikes on the rack and drive us a bit further to the Yakima Greenway, a 10 mile paved path that parallels the Yakima and Naches rivers. (Yakima is typically 10-15 degrees warmer, and a bit less windy than home.) This photograph was taken at a huge playground which we have seen from the freeway many times, but have never been to because (kind of gloriously) it is not accessible by car. You have to walk or bike about a mile to get to it. My kid devised an obstacle course for himself, complete with a crazy scoring system and video game style "boss battles." A girl, several years older, stopped with her father while we were there, and he was surprised at how long she wanted to stay. It's a really nice playground.

We rode a little over four miles out to a point where the path continues, but involves crossing a busy overpass and riding in a bike lane in traffic. If I had been alone, I wouldn't have hesitated, but with the kid, it seemed the appropriate place to turn around. We finished with the wind at our backs, pedaling past lots of folks fishing, and there was a park volunteer scooting around in a golf cart, offering cold water served in those cone shaped paper cups.

I rode my Bianchi because I knew there would be no need for the electric assist, and it is so much lighter than the e-bike. Much easier to maneuver on the rack.

We went to look at refrigerators, but did not buy one. The kid liked the big stainless steel, french door, bottom freezer model, on sale for a mere $2700. The salesman told him he had excellent taste.

I also did not go put a deposit on Rock Band. This was more a time crunch than any kind of good sense on my part. Oh, and we watched a commercial for the Aerosmith Guitar Hero game, which made me laugh (in a good way). "Sweet Pandora, smelling like a flora" being one of the most awesomely bad rock lyrics ever.

will wonders never...

2008-06-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

I previously posted this photo, sans arrow, with a description of the electric assist controls. Later, I edited that description when I realized that the indicator lights correspond to the battery charge, not one's speed. Or maybe it's the amount of assist being employed. I'm not 100% sure, and the owner's manual for the bike is weirdly mum on the subject. It's also weirdly mum on the subject of the thumb lever the arrow is pointing to, and which, up until today, I thought was an unused control within the U.S. market. TURNS OUT IT'S LIKE A POWER UP BUTTON. I was just messing around on my way home, and accidentally discovered this.

Potential uses for this feature (though obviously, I've been getting along without it just fine): accelerating from a stop (the assist doesn't come on until about 10 mph otherwise), going up the steeper hills I usually go around, and accelerating up the hill I have to ride without any kind of bike lane or shoulder.

I am trying to convince myself not to buy Rock Band or Guitar Hero until the guitar compatibility issues for Wii are sorted out. On the other hand, if I buy Rock Band, then eventually someone should make a controller playable with both games, which could then function as the bass guitar. On the other other hand, we still need to replace our refrigerator....

my electric ride was rode this week.

2008-06-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

Except for that one day when it snowed. But Monday, and Wednesday-Saturday, I rode. If I go straight to work and back, my round trip is 7.67 miles. If I ride to lunch somewhere, it's 8.13-10. If I add errands, it's another half-mile to mile. I forgot to note my beginning and ending mileage, but my total for the week was about 40, and I rolled the odometer past 200. I'm trying to figure out what a good yearly goal would be. Whatever I decide, proper clothing will be key to making it happen. I have been pretty disciplined about riding--my standard rule is that if I'm not going to, I need a specific, concrete reason that is better than "I don't feel like it." However, even with the electric assist, the wind kicks my behind, and even if it it's not that cold otherwise, the stiff "breeze" can make for a chilly ride.

In other important news, we got to borrow Guitar Hero III for the Wii this weekend, and oh my goodness, I rock. I realize that the Guitar Hero franchise has no shortage of positive reviews, but I was amazed at how much crazy fun it is. Obviously, it's not exactly equivalent of playing the guitar, but there is real musical value to it--you have to listen for the guitar melody within the full song, you need the same types of fingering skills (even if there are differences), and you need to find and keep the beat. I beat the game on easy mode, but I probably will have to get a copy of our own so that I can conquer medium, difficult, and expert modes. I will also need a timer, because it is a giant, fun time suck.

yes, really.

2008-06-10T22:27:00.000-07:00

This didn't last long, but ugh.

Juneuary.

2008-06-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

I was biking home in traffic, but pulled over to snap this shot of the sky. THAT was a big, black cloud. Not too much later, it started to sprinkle. I stopped to get a pizza for dinner (using my bungee cargo net to fasten it to my rear bike rack), and a few blocks from home, it was raining hard enough that I made an emergency call--"Meet me at the post office!" I was afraid the pizza box would get too wet and start disintegrating. The P.O. is only a few blocks from home, so the trip to rescue the pizza didn't negate the benefits of riding to and from work. Also, I rode my bike back home after handing off the pizza, and beat the boys by at least 30 seconds.

Now, it's raining even harder, and people have been saying all day that the snow level is supposed to drop to 2500 feet tonight. We're at 2280. So yeah. Juneuary.

not complaining.

2008-06-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

I love beautiful sunny days, with a light breeze, especially late in the afternoon when the very slowly descending sun makes the forest all around me glow a warm, deep, golden green. I hope we will have some of these days this summer.

I also really enjoy it when other cyclists ride on the correct side of the road, with helmets, and when, if they are riding three abreast, they drop into a single file line when I pass them.

I am very appreciative of the road crews when they sweep the shoulders of broken glass. Also, I like it when weekenders take their beer bottles home with them for recycling, instead of tossing them onto the road.

Automotive UV film that allows me to make eye contact with drivers (who would not dream of talking on their cell phones while driving) is awesome!

Relief from huge propane bills is a welcome sign of summer! I hope it's coming!

***

It's been a bit of a long week; you can read between the lines for my petty complaints. Hopefully I will boost my mileage a little tomorrow--it was raining hard Tuesday morning, and today, and I wasn't scheduled to work on Wednesday. I did ride back to work from lunch today, but got quite damp. I considered picking up pizza on my way home, but I was too tired to contemplate waiting for it to be cooked.

On the brighter side of things, the elementary school spring concert was this week, I got to spend a big chunk of my day off with my guys, and my little guy called my cell phone while I was at work, just to tell me he loves me. And also, the third graders kicked the fourth graders' butts in kickball.

2008-05-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

This is my ride home. Where I live, pickup trucks outnumber bicycles by...well, a lot, but there's not a lot of traffic in general, and there are some really lovely roads to travel. This part of my route goes past several acres of horse pasture, and the only loose dog is one I know, who wags his tail when I call out hello.

Odometer right now is at 130; I think I started the week at 79.2. In addition to my commute, I rode to the new natural market (yay), and to the hardware store to get line for the stupid weed whacker. (That was the same errand, and a short one.) Weed whacking is just slightly above cleaning the bathtub on my list of hated chores, but I was mad at the time, which is when many onerous tasks are completed.

goobers

2008-05-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

I rode my bike to work and back twice today (scheduled for long lunch, and didn't pack my lunchbox). At lunch, I grabbed the grocery panniers so I could stop at the store after work.

At the store, I placed the bags on the conveyor belt, side by side, with the items that fit in them lined up neatly behind each one. The annoying bag boy took my panniers, put them in the grocery cart, and then put my groceries in three separate plastic bags. (I was distracted by fishing out my discount card, paying the bill, etc.) I try not to have fits in public, but I did, a little bit.

Right after, though, I ran into a neighbor I hadn't seen in quite awhile, with her darling children. That took the edge off. A little.

Tomorrow's commute will bring me to six consecutive days, and approximately 50 miles.

ye gads

2008-05-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things take on a life of their own. I called my mom as soon as I got home to find out the name of the artist at her gallery who made the bigger knit? felted? bike bags that inspired my little bag. Cindy Krushenisky showed a series of bags at the art gallery my mom is a member of last February. Hers were much larger, designed more like a traditional front basket, but they gave me the idea to hey! knit something for my bike.

I finished a gift project yesterday. It will probably be late arriving to its recipient, but only by a day or two. I am rarely on time, but I try.

My odometer rolled past 100 today. I'd intended to photograph it (geek), but I was too busy thinking about the near-miss slow speed accident I avoided. Note to people in cars: you have to check crosswalks before you turn! Really! And turn signals are good, too.