Getting Fit

For the past six weeks or so, I've been walking two to three times a week with Kim, my walking buddy and new good friend. I've been so blessed by our time together, and have seen a difference in my body as well as my energy level. We walk about three miles a couple of times a week. It feels good to get out and get exercise, to look in the mirror and know that things are getting *better,* that they're firming up instead of sagging down.

While in Chicago over the Thanksgiving holiday, my husband Bo's family along with all of the inlaws and grandchildren took our traditional Turkey Walk. We begin early, rousted from our beds by my father-in-laws incessant gobbling, his imitation of a sick turkey, and take a brisk Thanksgiving morning stroll through one of my inlaws local parks.

This year, there was a run being held at the same park where we were walking.

As I watched these runners pass us, and watched them cross the finish line, saw their fit, lithe bodies pushing themselves to complete a physical goal, I was inspired.

So, this morning, I decided to begin training for a 5K.

Yes, I, who hasn't run since high school track, am making a commitment to begin a regular running routine.

This morning, in the rain (see how dedicated I am?), I began the Couch Potato to 5K training program.

And I survived.

Actually, I more than survived. I feel great. Yes, it was work, even though it's supposed to be the very, very simple first week, but I'm so glad I did it. I just hope I can oust myself from bed on Saturday morning to do it again. Kim and I walk on Friday morning, so I'll still get my walk in, but I don't want to push too hard, so I'll wait until Saturday to do the 5K program again.

The jogging was hard. I found that, after I got to about 45 seconds of jogging, I was dying, looking habitually at my stopwatch at just that time and every few seconds afterwards until I got to sixty seconds. A minute and a half was just enough time to get my breathing back to steady.

It's supposed to take about 8 weeks to complete the program. That means by the end of January, I should be regularly running three miles, three times a week.

I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, here's the first four weeks' training schedule:


Week One:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Week Two:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Week Three:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Week Four:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

I 'm Spring

You Belong in Spring

Optimistic, lively, and almost always happy with the world... You can truly appreciate the blooming nature of spring. Whether you're planting flowers or dyeing Easter eggs, spring is definitely your season!

What Season Are You?

Descending

Here are Bo, the Baby and I coming back down from the dune. It's much easier than going up. 

At the Dunes

As part of our Thanksgiving holiday, we spent a portion of the day at Mt. Baldy, a dune on Lake Michigan. One of the fun parts (after climbing the dune itself, which *wasn't* a fun part), was watching the guys take running leaps off the edge of the dune. Here, we see Houdin and my sister-in-law Li'l Sis's boyfriend, A.B. taking long jumps off the edge. 

After Turkeyday Feast

One of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions is to make Turkey Carcass Soup. First of all, I just love the name. It sounds so...barbaric and medieval. Secondly, it's absolutely delicious and feels very resourceful to use all of the turkey this way. I got this recipe from Jane Brody's Good Food Cookbook, one of my all-time favorites.

Add a loaf of homemade bread, and you've got yourself a meal.

Turkey Carcass Soup

Stock:

Turkey carcass, broken into pieces

Any defatted pan juices or leftover gravy

12 cups of water, or enough to cover the carcass completely

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

2 ribs of celery with leaves, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup diced well-washed leek (optional)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt, if desired

Bouquet garni, made by tying in cheesecloth:

6 sprigs fresh parsley (or 2 tsp. dried parsley flakes)

1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

Soup:

1/2 onion, finely copped

2 - 3 cloves minced garlic

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup diced celery

1 1/2 tbsp. flour

6 - 7 cups turkey stock

1 tsp. dried marjoram

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/3 cup raw barley or rice

1 cup diced turkey meat

Hot pepper sauce, to taste (optional)

2 tbsp. chopped parsley or chives

For the stock, combine all the ingredients in a large stock pot, bring the stock to a boil and simmer it, partially covered for 2 to 3 hours. (It tastes better the longer it simmers, but be careful not to cook away the liquid.)

Strain the stock; cool, then skim off the fat.

Remove all of the meat from the bones and refrigerate for adding to the soup later. Discard other vegetables, bones, turkey skin, etc. Makes 10 - 12 cups.

To make the soup, in a large stockpot saute the onion and garlic in oil until soft. Add the carrots and celery and mushrooms and cook the vegetables for an additional 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Add the flour and stir for one minute.

Add the stock, marjoram, salt and pepper, and barley or rice. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover the pot, and simmer the soup for about 1 hour. Add the turkey meat and hot pepper sauce. Adjust seasonings, and heat the soup to boiling. Sprinkle the soup with parsley just before serving. Serves 6 - 8.

From "Jane Brody's Good Food Book," Jane Brody

"No Blood"

These are the "outlaws." Whenever we gather for a family photo at my in-laws house, there inevitably comes the "blood only" shot, where only those who are in the family bloodline are in the photo. My sister-in-law, G, (to the left) suggested this "no blood" shot of the inlaws (or "outlaws"). When we took it, we were surprised to realize that there are only four of us! 

Bo's Sibs

Aren't they a good lookin' bunch? 

Bo's Extended Family

It's always like this... 

Thicket Dweller

 

Bo getting a kiss

 

"He sure is goofy, but I simply adore him"

The Baby with Cousin D.

My handsome son

 

The Baby

 

Bo and Our Niece

 

The whole family

 

Beautiful daughter

 

Cousins

 

We have something in common, then

"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." -- E.B. White

The ABC Thingy

Got this from Firefly who got it from Equuschick

*A- Favourite Animals: Dogs, goats and chickens
*B- Favourite Bad Habit: (You know, that one that you like too much to even try to break. You like being addicted.) E-mail, thrift shopping. I'm addicted to both
*C- Favourite Cookie: Warm, fresh-from-the oven chocolate chip.
*D- Favourite Drink: Mint iced tea with mint from my very own mint garden.
*E-Favourite Egg Style: As a quiche (see below) or mixed with sour cream and chives, then scrambled.
*F- Five Favourite Fiction Books: Life of Pi by Yann Martell, Peace Like a River by Leif Unger, Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler, Midwives by Chris Bojhalian
*G-Favourite Gadget: Bard's iPod.
*H- Favourite Hymn: I don't know if it's my favorite, but today I'm singing Come Thy Fount
*I- Favourite Ice Cream: This is very hard. I think it's currently Haagen-Dazs Dulce de Leche.
*J- Favourite Jam: A musical one. Preferably old-time music. :-) Oh! You meant the kind you EAT! Either red currant or strawberry-rhubarb.
*K-Favourite Kid's Books: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeliene L'Engle; Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieska; Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snickett; Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling; Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards; Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner; The Chronicles, of course; Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne; Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder; Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll; Ring Lardner; Langston Hughes.
*L-Favourite Love Song: I have too many. Your Song by Elton John, Kindness by David Wilcox, Song of Songs by Pierce Pettis (who will be playing a houseconcert for us in March), Sara Smile, which my dear Bo sings to me, even though my name's not Sara.
*M-Favourite Memories: I sat last week and watched Bo play with the girls. The sunlight was filtering through the windows as it set behind our house, and the girls' blond hair was backlit and beautiful. I cried. Watching my kids and/or my husband play instruments or sing. Sitting in my piano room watching the various performers play--Jake Armerding, Jason Harrod, D-Squared, etc. Looking into my infant son's eyes and watching him look back. Building our house. Lighting a real Christmas tree at the cabin with real candles.
*N-Favourite Nonfiction Books: My Life and Hard Times by James Thurber; Traveling Mercies by Ann Lamott; Circle of Quiet by Madeline L'Engle; James Herriot books; Anything about midwifery; John Holt books; How to Write Your Own Low-Cost, No-Cost Curriculum by Bjorg Hendrickson; The Kon Tiki Expedition by...somebody. Thor Heeganthal or something?
*O-Favourite Operatic Song: Not a clue in the world.
*P-Favourite Piece of Music at the moment: Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen
*Q-Favourite Quiet Spot: The cabin
*R-Favourite Reading when you're sick: Anything Bo will read to me.
*S-Favourite Song that you want played at your funeral:

Fall Away
from the album Into the Mystery

Everything I knew
Falls away
All the shining lights and music
Will not stay

Everything I do
Falls away
All the songs that I remember
Will not play

When my time is through
Call my name
Show the way to sweet surrender
Help me say

Everything but You

Everything but You

Everything but You

Fall away

© David Wilcox, all rights reserved

AND

Everywhere
from the album Vista

Everywhere:
(Wayne Kirkpatrick and J.D. Martin)

Tonight I call out your name
And thought of you is carried on the wind
It echoes through the canyon like a train
Winding back home to me again


I can almost touch your face
I know you never went away


Everywhere I go
I can feel you
All around me
In the sunrise
In the moonlight
I breathe you in like the air
You're everywhere


I walk through the forest green
Far from all the chaos and the noise
And the river she sang to me
I could swear it sounded like your voice
There to comfort me

Soothing as a gentle breeze


Everywhere I go
I can feel you
All around me
In the sunrise
In the moonlight
I breathe you in like the air
You're everywhere

Everywhere I go
I can feel you
All around me
In the sunrise
In the moonlight
I breathe you in like the air
Oh, I breath you in like the air
You're everywhere

© 2000 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI), Sell The Cow Music (BMI), WB Music Corp. (ASCAP) & Lillywilly Music (ASCAP) All rights on behalf of Sell The Cow Music administered by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI) All rights on behalf of Lillywilly Music administered by WB Music Corp. (ASCAP)
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

AND

Kindness
from the album Turning Point

I love your sense of humor

I love to see you smile

I love your sense of balance

I love your sense of time



I love your music in the morning

Your rhythm in the night

But it's your kindness

Thatshines so bright



Yes I love your beauty

I love your sexy moves

But more I love your honesty

You always tell the truth



I love your vision of the future

Your hope that never dies

But it's your kindness that clears my skies



Yes I love your wisdom

Your knowledge of the past

Your willingness to listen

And taste for what will last



Your compassion for the suffering

And your solid happiness

But it's your kindness that I love best



I love...

I love...

I love...

©1997 Midnight Ocean Bonfire Music/Nine-Ten Music,

a division of Soroka Music Ltd. (BMI)

All Rights Reserved/International Copyright Secured


*T-Favourite Task: Lighting candles, folding clean laundry
*U- Favourite Ugly Animal: (Can you think of a better question for u?) Opossum
*V-Favourite Vintage Book: Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare. Old, old, old leather-bound copy.
*W-Favourite Writing of C.S Lewis: The Great Divorce, That Hideous Strength
*X-Favourite Word That Starts with X, Because The Equuschick Couldn't think of Any But xylophone: xerography
*Z-Favourite Zoo: Cleveland...it's the only one I've been to, I think.

Daily recap/capper

Since we have another VERY EXCITING houseconcert coming up (this one with fiddle and mandolin wiz, Jake Armerding), today was a kind of get-ready day. Bo and I did some shopping, first to the local thrift store.

I had kind of started losing faith in the thrift store, because their book prices have recently increased. Kind of a bummer. I used to go in and buy a stack of books for our schooling for .50 and .25 each, and now they're individually marked. There was a Shakespeare that I've really wanted, and it was marked $3.00. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I passed up an annotated Sherlock Holmes set because I only had a few quarters in my pocket, and they were a dollar apiece. So I don't go out with armloads of books like I used to, but I still do get to find treasures now and then.

Today, I found a lamp for Monet's room. It was a little more than I wanted to pay, but he's been asking for one, and we likely won't do Christmas gifts this year, with the exception of whatever I can thrift. He needs the lamp now, so I didn't wait. I also found a little alarm clock that will be very nice for us. We're currently sharing one between us all! If someone needs an alarm clock, we unplug and reset. This is a cute little vintage wind-up clock, so no unplugging is necessary, no resetting. Nice.

But the real bargain was this: a bottle capper! We've been trying to get things together to make our own sodas--ginger brew, root beer, apple brew, whatever. I have the bottles, which were donated to me by a friend, but I didn't have the capper. While talking to a friend who works at the thrift store, I happened to catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye, and it was ...a bottle capper! At $4, it wasn't much cheaper than eBay, which has one just like it for $4.99, but I saved on shipping, though the caps are included in the one on eBay. I can't wait to get some caps and start brewing!

Actually, the realio trulio bargain was 10 gallons of whole milk, and I do mean whole, whole, whole. I love watching Bo fill the bottles from the great big tank, loading them into the car, filling up my fridge, straining the cream off the top, drinking very , very yummy organic, raw milk, complete with all of the bacteria our bodies need to fight the nasty allergies our culture has begun developing since we started pasteurizing everything.

We spent the evening making homemade potato chips, playing various instruments--Bard played piano very nicely, and working with Flash animation (that's Monet's new thing, given to us by a friend).

Oh! And I had fun perusing through my stack of Country Living and Country Home magazines that I got for .10 a piece at the thrift. Excellent! Lots of great ideas.

In the morning, we will be visiting a new church with friends. I'm really looking forward to this new experience.

And with that, it's time for bed. Bless your socks, friend!

Stranger than Stranger than Fiction

It's not like I try to find metaphors in mainstream films.

Okay, maybe I do.

But some of them just jump out at me. Like when I saw Lady in the Water. The metaphors just mobbed me right and left. I tried to just watch the nice little fairy tale, but it was useless. All I could see was how the metaphor either worked or it didn't. It's kinda like solving a puzzle.

You wouldn't think I'd get attacked by a metaphor during a Will Ferrell movie, but I did. Nuts, ain't it?

Tonight, Bo took me to see Stranger Than Fiction with the aforementioned Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dustin Hoffman. I was simply expecting the regular funniness of Ferrell, my favorite Elf. And, in many ways, it was.

But in other ways, it wasn't.

I seem to be more prone to attacks by religious metaphors than any. STF was no exception. I couldn't help seeing the Messianic symbols: Emma Thompson as God (Ha! Can you imagine that?!?); Dustin Hoffman as John the Baptist, complete with prophecies and water baptism (he was the volunteer lifeguard at his academic center), and Will Ferrell as the Messiah character, knowing that he will die, asking--begging, even--that this cup would pass by him, yet in the end accepting that he must sacrifice his life to save another.

What can I say? It's not my fault. It's like a strange, uninvited gift. :-/

It didn't help that Emma Thompson spoke the line (and I paraphrase), "Here's a man who knows that he's going to die and has the power to stop it, yet he chooses not to. Isn't that the kind of guy you want to keep around?"

The movie kept me entertained, with the quirky cinematography, Will Ferrell's funniness, the intriguing plotline and Emma Thompson's role as a slightly touched author in conflict with herself and her main character. There were some flaws in the logic, some decent-sized plot-holes, but it was, for the most part, well-written.

I have no idea if the writers really intended the Messiah metaphor, and you probably won't see it at all.

But if you do, let me know. You may have that uninvited gift, too. Maybe we can form a club or something.

I give the movie four stars. ****

Beautiful

This is what "beautiful" means to me. I look at this photo of Bard from last year, and I'm just struck with the beauty. Does she believe it? No. She questions herself constantly.

And I understand, because I question myself, too.

I was talking to a friend of mine this morning about daughters, about how much they question their worth and their beauty. "We all want to be worshipped," she said. I think there's some truth to that. It's frustrating to be a mom, to see your child do well at something, to see her loveliness and yet hear her doubt. Where does it come from? When does it go?

I know it hasn't gone from me. Not a day goes by that I don't criticize my appearance, aloud or silently, and wish that I could change "just this thing."

Yet I know that changing "just that thing" wouldn't make me happy.

Today, I pray for my daughters, and your daughters, and for you, daughters, that you'll see yourselves the way our Heavenly Father sees you.

You're so breathtakingly beautiful.

D-Squared

Bard, Houdin and Sweetheart wrote this song and shared it with Don Charles and Deb Gessner of D-Squared after one of our houseconcerts. Deb and Don loved the song so much that they decided to add it to their repetoire. This is snippet of Deb and Don performing it for the first time at a folk fest in Arizona. How cool is that??

The BEST Quiche Recipe

Wonderful recipe. My son, Monet, is craving this today. So I just may have to whip up a batch. I can't alway find Gruyere, so sometimes I use Asiago. I love using the Pate Brisee because it contains no shortening.

Bacon and Onion Quiche

Makes 5 four-inch tarts

1/2 recipe Pâte Brisée

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 strips bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 medium onions, cut into small dice

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (1 1/2 cups)

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough less than 1/8 inch thick. Use a 5-inch fluted cookie cutter to cut into rounds. Fit into five 4-inch nonstick tart pans. Transfer to refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 375°. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook until fat renders and bacon is crisp and brown, about 8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to paper towels to drain. Add onions to the same skillet, reduce heat to medium low, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are dark golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes. Combine onions and bacon in a small bowl; set aside.

3. Divide half of the cheese evenly among the pans. Sprinkle with bacon and onion mixture, then top with remaining cheese. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, cream, eggs, and egg yolk. Season with, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Divide evenly among pans, pouring over cheese. Transfer to oven, and bake until just set in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before serving.

Pâte brisée is the French version of classic pie or tart pastry. Pressing the dough into a disk rather than shaping it into a ball allows it to chill faster. This will also make the dough easier to roll out, and if you freeze it, it will thaw more quickly.

Ingredients

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 ts salt
1 ts sugar
1 c cold unsalted butter, cut
1 into small
1 pieces
1/2 c ice water

Instructions

Place flour, salt and sugar in the work bowl of a food processor. Add
butter pieces and process for about 10 seconds, or just until mixture
resembles a coarse meal.

With machine running, add ice water, drop by drop, through
food-processor feed tube. When dough holds together but is not wet or
sticky, stop adding; do not process for longer than 30 seconds. Test
dough by squeezing a small amount together. If it is still crumbly,
add more water.

Divide dough in half and turn out onto two large pieces of plastic
wrap. Press dough into flat circles (this makes rolling easier than
if the pastry is chilled as a ball). Wrap in plastic and chill for at
least an hour.

Recipe By : Martha Stewart Living November 1994

A Life Saved

The Baby the night of Bard's birthday square dance
A couple of people asked me whose life I'd saved as a result of this post.

We were at Bard's sixteenth birthday dance, with commotion and music and laughing going on everywhere. Every once in a while, I'd look around to find that The Baby was missing. I'd go searching for her, and she'd be down in the basement of the grange hall, alone, munching on the chips or celery that were set out for the dinner after the dance.

Towards the end of the dance, I headed downstairs to get the food set out. I was chatting with another woman when I heard a strange strangling sound. I looked down, and there was The Baby, her eyes bulging, her lips blue, choking on some unknown object. I grabbed her and slammed my fist hard into her back, and out popped a round, juicy grape tomato. She sputtered, breathed and then wailed. And then I held her tight, keeping an incredibly close eye on her from then on.

Even now.

I'm so grateful that I was there. I had thought that she'd been upstairs with Bo at that point, and I think of all of the times that she had snuck downstairs to nibble when no one else had been there.

Still gives me chills.

The lineup