Moving

Hi. I am in the process of moving this blog over to my new site:
 

Please come visit me there. 

Friday Night Date

Me, eight-year-old, root beer, wine, mac-n-cheese with complimentary peas, kimchee cauliflower, popcorn, and the Duke.

Right about perfect.

That Was Fun. Let's Never Do It Again

About three years ago, I ran my first marathon. I finished it. I didn't walk (that much). And most importantly, I felt good enough after it that I was able to walk, eat, and drink and enjoy the fact that I was in one of my favorite cities (I even ran a few miles the next day). Still, I knew that this marathon was going to my first and last. I couldn't understand why a person would repeatedly expose herself to such painful conditions (and these are not specific to super slow runners like me: I spoke to a friend who consistently does marathons and he admitted that even he experiences the moment of utter pain and death at some point in the marathon). There were plenty of painful things I could do in my life that would make me a stronger person that I didn't have to overtly pay for  on the internet (e.g. raising a child). And while most of these things didn't come with a kicky tee-shirt, I could alway just order one off Zazzle from The Bloggess or even better, buy a beautiful dress or muscle leggings to commemorate the non-marathon rite of passage of my choice.  So I had checked my marathon box. Been there, done that. Halfs for me from now on. I could put that annoying 26.2 sticker on my car, talk knowingly about distance training, etc . . .  

Unfortunately, I didn't fully shut and lock that door on my life. I distinctly remember telling people that I would NEVER run another marathon UNLESS it was somewhere cool and out of the country. My bad. I should have just stopped at the NEVER clause. Because for worse or worse, my lovely friend in Australia managed to get me drunk from half a world away and convince me to sign up for a marathon in Helsinki, Finland. Yes, it is definitely out of the country. And yes, it is also definitely cool--in the very literal sense. She covered both contingencies. And bought me muscle leggings to help me feel strong. 

So, apparently, I am running another marathon. And since I don't want to prolong my pain, my goals have shifted from "just finishing" to "finishing as fast as I can" (hey, there is valuable eating, walking, and drinking to do in Finland in addition to awesome death metal concerts that I must get to quickly). So I am now fully training to cut at least 30 minutes and ideally an hour off my last marathon time. Since the last marathon was super slow (5:34:??), that goal isn't too difficult. But it does require that I run more than I want to and drink less than I want to and just implement more all around discipline than I like in my life. 

At least I have muscle leggings.

Sometimes You Just Need To Find a Counterpoint

Hiking Essentials

Random wrecked car about 4 miles in at Portola Redwoods S.P.

Mid-August, I will be doing a long-ish hike in Mammoth with some friends.  Initially (over a few beers), we envisioned doing 28 miles of the John Muir trail in one day.  One of our party, who is from that area, mentioned that she had done that stretch in 4.5 hours when she was in her twenties, and that comment set all of us off on visions of doing the same with small allowances for 15+ years of aging, living at sea level, not currently in training for marathon-length distances, etc . . .


Because I really don't have a realistic idea of how long it takes to hike specific distances on rough terrain (I know my marathon and half times, but running in a city is very very different than hiking trails), I started hiking the areas around Monterey to get an idea of time needed as well as how much water, food, and other sundries I will need to carry.  

Touriga for stamina

Things I've learned:
~I can do almost any hike on a well-maintained trail in flip flops if the distance is under ten miles
~I cannot do 28 miles in a day and enjoy it
~I live in close proximity to some absolutely gorgeous places
~I love redwoods and cypress trees
~banana slugs look like scary, skinny penises
~I tend to over pack and gravitate towards non-hike friendly foods
~arm-warmers are utter miracles of clothing science
~packing in a Klean Kanteen of beer or a bottle of wine makes even a 14-mile hike well worth it

If I Had a Bucket List . . .

Putting a lock on this bridge in Germany would be on it.

Photo by Louisa Osorio

As would post-it noting someone's car like this.

Photo by Marian Cristina Debenedetti

And I just like this one . . . hey, it's reading! And reading in Amsterdam! For sure on my retroactive bucket list.

Photo by Peter Leeuwerink

From GOOD.

My Love

Two Books, Two Pictures

Yay! It's finally spring and my CSA is delivering again.

I am making a soup from the oyster mushrooms tonight (and a kale and baby mizuna salad--baby mizuna not shown). These absolutely gorgeous mushrooms makes me think of a rainy San Francisco morning, walking through a bedraggled farmers' market in the financial district. Shining bright yellow through the wet grey were a bunch of yellow oyster mushrooms as if the earth had actually sprouted the missing sunshine. An impulse purchase of these mushrooms left me holding a soggy paper bag and munching on a piece of Northern California turf while walking up to Caffe Trieste in North Beach. The mushroom's earthy smoke flavor perfectly complemented my coffee.

It was indeed never a waste of life.

(The book is one of my 2011 reads. It is very good scifi/post apocalyptic reading. I will be sending it to my Australia wife shortly).

This picture is for @coldfuture. He is teaching me the name of the wind.

I thought something as rare as fantasy that covers the big questions of life (such as when truth can be as damaging as a lie and how to achieve the ability to do things simply because they are right no matter what they are) should be paired with something as incongruous as sparkling wine in a juice can with a kicky pink straw.

'nuff said.

(okay, so it is actually three books)

Oh My, Oh Bounty

This is My Future

Except I probably won't have such a nice, quirky house. And, if the past is any indicator, I'll be reading while doing something dangerous like straightening my hair, and then I will accidentally burn my face. True story.