Mildly abstract week. Best thing about this week was gaining access to the WWC swimming pool (!!!) - it's been a year since I've had access to a lap pool and I'm quite happy to go 3-5 times a week. I think I've hit a bit of a bump in this project. Perhaps next week will pick up - it may be time to start "themes"


Sunday Night Stir Fry
WWC veggies - fantastic (but gas-inducing) purple cabbage.
Made homemade sweet and sour sauce - loved it and no MSG.


( Project 365 - Week 32 )

Hot hot hot. That's what it is here. Well, mountain hot.


here's our WWC box-o-veggies. Our CSA box. This week we have
BLACKBERRIES, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, cabbage, squash, and peppers.


( Project 365 - Week 31 )

Started my new position this week. So my head is over saturated at the moment with new rules, new counties, new coworkers... New foods include skate, crepes, and souffles (and a new cookbook to boot). Not quite new skin - the itch isn't quite gone, but it's improving. Tomorrow is the weekly test hike to see if my itch is gone.



6.8.08
This one is here for graphic purposes primarily.
It is a somewhat flat chocolatesouffle. The
morning started off with a belated bday breakfast for coffeeofrtwo. So along with it
being my first souffle, it was my first real attempt at strawberry crepes.


( Project 365 - Week 24 )

It's that time of the week again. Sometimes, when I look back at the week in pictures (182 to choose from this time), my life seems incredibly boring. hikes, dogs, cooking, hikes, dogs...And yet, my Friday post is fun even while I left off my hike, Bennett Gap trail in the Pisgah Nat'l forest - which really, sums up my life here. I WANTED this. I worked for this. I just have to keep getting outside and trying to be more social.


4.27.08
I was guilted/cajoled into shipping cookies southward.
(to be fair, it was owed/overdue and EC was right in calling in the cookie favor)
So I went for an entirely Caker Cookbook menu of Mama Peplinski's Pecan Mini-Muffins (seen below),
Grandma Lois' Brownies, Oato-Choc-Toffee cookies (the big hit)...and rice krispies. mmm.


( the rest of the week... )

I've decided to post about my 'big' hikes...now that they are 10 miles or more. I will still summarize my week in my filtered format. But these long hikes are a breed of their own and possibly worth documenting differently. Although, for the most part they will be the same hikes over and over again and will look essentially like this:




Saturday (yesterday) I did my first 12-miler (Loop E twice). I have run that distance before, but it was a few years ago and I had forgotten a bit about how each and every time you take on a new distance, the added length (in this case, 2 miles more than previous long hikes) is *the* test.

Challenges this week:
83 effing degrees. OK, so i know my marathon is in mid July and will most likely be hotter than that...but it sucked. The first 6 miles were physically easy but hot hot hot. Then around mile 8 a storm started to roll in and I was torn between joy for the cool breeze and worry over whether or not the lighting/thunder/rain was actually going to hit me with an hour left in my hike.
Additionally, my iPod is still dead and I forgot to ask for coffeefortwo's. So the rhythm was all in my head. Which does some odd things (see below).

Random Thoughts (from what I can remember and probably best left unsaid):

Miles One-Four: Why haven't wasps adapted to NOT building their underground holes in the middle of the beaten path? Are people born evil and taught to be good...born good and taught to be evil...or born with the capacity for both and taught gradations of both? All this downhill is really going to suck when it is mile 10 through 12 on my way back.

Miles Four-Seven: Perhaps my problem is that my inner rhythm, my repeated word in my head, is "no.no.no.no.no" some people probably dance to a tune of YES! But not me. Not even sure what started the first 'no' but they lasted a while. The particular black shorts I was wearing cannot be worn on distances over 6 miles as they start to chafe.

Miles Seven-Ten: Worrying about the storm - loving the storm. Remembered the childhood story of thunder being bowling in the sky (or some such thing). thought about how we (family) used to sit out on our porch in WI and watch the storms roll in (or walk down to the river). Blisters really started after mile 8 (on feet). Got tired of cranberry flavored water. Created film reel in head on how to get the gydgs on 'what not to wear' (i was very convincing).

Miles Ten-Twelve: Realized that the sound of my voice in my head (my unspoken voice) actually has no sound? I think that I had a concept of sound when I thought words to myself. I mean, I can sing in my head and 'hear' the notes kind of...but my voice, which i had thought was a variation on what I hear when I speak...was not there. it is more like a whisper - but not because it is not quiet, it has force and inflection and emotion...but no sound. The uphill wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but i was moving VERY slowly on the way down to the car.

First 6 miles in 1:45, Final time - 3:45. Not great but ok. At that rate, if I improve my fitness level on the longer distances...i should be able to hike the full marathon in 9 hours. Maybe a bit more depending on breaks. Sounds eternal I imagine to those of you that bike or run...or even who walk flat surfaces. But for hiking roughish terrain with ups and downs, it's good enough for me.

Last week Sunday was my first really long training hike (10 miles). I've learned that while it is cool to get a few photos along the way, pulling the camera in and out of my day pack slows me way down and is both okay (forced water break) and annoying as crap.


4.20.08
So here is WWC college, Dam Pasture Trail at about mile 4ish or so.
Rain was coming in at this point and the picture doesn't quite do the colors
justice. The rain kept it cool...i'm not looking forward to summer heat.


( Rest of the Week )

Picture Day for Week 16!
(the !!! are to cover for the complete and utter lack of energy I have right now, must still be recovering from last weekend).




4.13.08
Stevens Point! Wisconsin! Trivia!
Go Gregg's baby belly! Go Cakers!
I could go on and on about this particular weekend, but i didn't
want to throw out people pics in the interest of privacy.



( the rest of the week lies here )

We are in full Spring swing...most of the pictures will reflect that, whether spring cleaning, or springing plants/flowers. It has been a week of rain/drizzle, visiting friends, work work work, and pre-Trivia preparation. I'm changing up my post format and copying junipterjupiter by kicking things off with last Sunday:


3.30.08
A visit from some northern friends led me downtown to a fantastic toy store,
thankfully open on Sundays. Shopped, ate at the Early Girl, and brought home
more Chocolate Fetish
truffle samples to share with coffeefortwo as he had been
house-bound for the day. Truffle flavors sampled:
Dragon's Kiss (wasabi), Sweet and Stout (Guinness), Chai, and Grand Marnier.


Click here for the rest of the pics - ( Project 365 )

It's that time again...under the wire with my ( Project 365 )

This week has been a roller coaster of good-bad-good-bad. There was a moment today when things felt so right, so perfect, that I wanted to share the joy. Unfortunately, the day went a little south and my mood can't quite capture what I was feeling. We'll see, maybe this will improve as I go.

The week started with a family hike at Warren Wilson College - new trail for me...the Dam Pasture Trail. Midweek a fella who has lived in the area for quite a while taught me how to trespass properly. Turns out WWC used to own this property a while back...now, If I'd ever owned a waterfall like this



I would never give it up. But then, I'm not an entity, I'm a me. The climb in was this fantastic chute of wet rocks...and climbing rocks is one of my favorite things to do...right evilpirate007?

I also like moss, lichen and such.




Before hitting this particular trail, I had the opportunity to go through chintzville and glimpse my very first view of Chimney Rock!!!! This is where 2-time Oscar winner-to-be DDL filmed a great cliff sequence. I promise better pictures once it is fully open as a State Park.

Another exploration this week was of Stone Mountain State Park where I climbed up a gorgeous, leaf-ridden trail to get to Chestnut Knob Overlook. Along the way, more dead trees
and moss.




One notable part of the hike was the not-normally-notable wooded flat area I hiked through that brought back my own flashbacks to this weeks running movie and the only wonderful thing about it...



Don't judge me...horror movies and subtitled movies are the BEST exercise flicks...lots of running or dialogue that you don't have to hear to understand. That said, possibly the best sort of running movie is the one where you get subtitled chase scenes and enough nasty, gratuitous violence that it keeps some part of your brain's adrenaline center hooked on Mel Gibson's gore fetish - meaning this of course.

This week in my year long photo project seems to be animal infested. It has been cold, cold, cold with some snow (!) and very little new exploration. But productive in other ways.

( Project 365 )

ha.
okay, so the whole crew hiked up at WWC today (before the *scary* snow storm was due to hit)...

Best View:





Best Dog (she never got tired)

Best thing I've done for me in a long time...this will eventually be our master bedroom. When we can afford real flooring, that dream bed I have designed in my head, and that Rothko art - well, it may have to wait. So for now, I'm unveiling my very own playroom.

In 500 words or less, "my first North Carolina winter" - by me.
no. no words for me. photos. perhaps as we ease into 2008 there will be more room for introspection. currently, i'm just enjoying my last few hot chocolate-and-kahluas before the week, and the new year, starts.

The best meal of our holiday week was by far the shrimp toast with tomato-pepper glaze and green onion slaw. kudos to coffeefortwo for picking it out.


Continuing my current obsession with textures, here's a pic of the river by WWC. still looks warm doesn't it? Here's the river in all it's winter glory:



what I like best is the mirroring effect.

Here's an homage to my favorite Willie Nelson song.

Blue days, all of them gone
Nothin' but blue skies from now on
Nothin' but blue skies from now on.

Today was a busy day. NOLA was on the go with me most of the day and I had a revelation that while I will be doing quite a lot of my exploring alone, she's a pretty good companion. Throwing all this out here helps as well.

Here's the intrepid explorer - very serious.

We started out the day with a 1.5 mile walk for the sunrise.




We finished with a rather long hike at WWC later in the day. She likes to take the lead. Her first cattle encounter actually stunned her silent for a bit.

But the views are what works for me. Can you believe coffeefortwo actually WORKS here?