I wonder exactly when that switch takes place, when we expect kids to transition from childhood pursuits to more grown-up interests. An 8-year-old says that she likes to play on the playground, climb trees and ride a bike? Perfectly normal. A 38 year old says those things, on the other hand, and people glance askance at her. Who is she to think that she has that sort of time? Why isn’t she doing something more worthwhile? Why is she wasting her life doing such silly things? Why is it okay for kids to do what feels good, when most of these things are actually good and healthy, but when an adult does those same things they are considered immature or frivolous? Which is healthier for an adult-swinging on the swing at a park or drinking, gambling, spending money they do not have?
When I talk to people about triathlons I typically hear a variation on the same statement, “Oh, wow, that is impressive/sounds hard/too big of a goal”. First, I don’t think that they realize that I am talking about a Sprint distance triathlon. A 400 meter swim followed by a 12 mile bike ride then a 3.2 mile run is well within the scope of accomplishment of most moderately or even minimally fit individuals. But, more important than that is this fact, the recurring theme of my training: It’s what I loved to do as a kid.
When I was a child I never said to my mom, “I’m going to go swim laps, practice cycling/run”. I said things like, “I’m going swimming, Joel & I are gonna go ride bikes, we were running all over town”. When kids play they don’t usually talk about ‘working out/exercising’, they just play; they just do what is fun and if it stops being fun then they do something else that IS fun. So, today as I finally get back to it, after a too-long hiatus, I make this pledge: All I’m gonna do is go have fun. When race day hits I’m just gonna go swimming, then ride my bike, then go run. Then, at the finish line I’m gonna have a popsicle and probably run back into the lake. Maybe not in that order. I can almost guarantee you that I won’t win the race, but that was never the point, anyway.
02 March 2012
27 January 2011
The Midnight Raid of Mom the Cook
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Listen, children and you shall hear
Of the midnight plunder your mother dear
Made upon your Frigidaire
And the cold-cuts lurking there.
Her eyes scoured the inside
She flung open the doors wide
And there she captured first the butter
Then the cookies, too of Nutter.
The apples, oh their eyes she spied
And laid the butter on it’s side
Then eggs, they too she then a-took
And laid it all down for a book.
That book of Julia, writ so well
Tales of beef and fish do tell
Expertly cooked and poached and such
Those dishes that she cooked so much.
The stories stopped her in her tracks
Of boning fish, of stewing backs
For stock so good her family ate
Pre-packaged stuff they came to hate.
And so this story ends so nice
She stopped, she studies, then used some spice
Her family ate, they learned the good
When food gets cooked just as it should.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Listen, children and you shall hear
Of the midnight plunder your mother dear
Made upon your Frigidaire
And the cold-cuts lurking there.
Her eyes scoured the inside
She flung open the doors wide
And there she captured first the butter
Then the cookies, too of Nutter.
The apples, oh their eyes she spied
And laid the butter on it’s side
Then eggs, they too she then a-took
And laid it all down for a book.
That book of Julia, writ so well
Tales of beef and fish do tell
Expertly cooked and poached and such
Those dishes that she cooked so much.
The stories stopped her in her tracks
Of boning fish, of stewing backs
For stock so good her family ate
Pre-packaged stuff they came to hate.
And so this story ends so nice
She stopped, she studies, then used some spice
Her family ate, they learned the good
When food gets cooked just as it should.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
03 November 2010
Is it just me?
Or does the "alleged furniture" in this picture look like something from a Witness Relocation Program?
Is the chair ashamed? Shy? Has it been captured by insurgents and will only be released if the captor's demands have been met?
http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/fuo/2037791570.html
It's not his fault, though, the guy has a phone that doesn't take "well pictures". (his pictures are sick, see, THAT'S the problem!
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Is the chair ashamed? Shy? Has it been captured by insurgents and will only be released if the captor's demands have been met?
http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/fuo/2037791570.html
It's not his fault, though, the guy has a phone that doesn't take "well pictures". (his pictures are sick, see, THAT'S the problem!
01 November 2010
The Cheap Plastic Pony of Knitting
As we now sneak up on my first anniversary of my acquisition of Knitting Knowledge I have realized something.
I don't really know much about knitting after all.
I told Laura the other day that I think of her every time I cast on and knit in the round with double pointed needles (DPN's) since she was the one who taught me the whole Circular Knitting Lore.
She sniffed and said,"Heh. Using DPN's (double pointed needles for all of you knit neophytes) is so last century. I use Magic Loop now. It's so much easier!" I know what's gonna happen, though. I'll finally learn to use this mysterious contraption they call "Magic Loop" then the Knitting Socialites I hang with will have moved on to something even MORE cool and amazing. It will be all, "Oh, we knit with Space Needles now. All we have to do is just THINK about what we want to knit and there it is!"
You see, as usual, I'm friends with people who are WA-A-A-A-AY cooler than I am. Laura is riding the Knitting Stallion while I sit perched atop one of those cheap plastic ponies on huge springs. Ya know, the kind that make you so giddy that you keep bouncing like an idiot and then you pitch forward and chip a tooth? Yeah, that one. (I'd like to point out that I have only had ONE knitting injury thus far, thankyouverymuch!)
She is knitting beaded scarves, the sort of thing that is so lovely and exquisite and doesn't look warm at all. (the kind of fine knitwear I'd spill hot chocolate on, to be honest!) I knit the sort of scarves that induce exclamations of, "Oh, it must be homemade......uhm,....it looks very warm!"
I look at her knitting.....then look down at the yarn mess in my own lap and steal myself for the inevitable inner monologue. "It's okay, Cyndi....what you're making looks nice, too. Someone will love it, even if it doesn't have any beads."
I don't really know much about knitting after all.
I told Laura the other day that I think of her every time I cast on and knit in the round with double pointed needles (DPN's) since she was the one who taught me the whole Circular Knitting Lore.
She sniffed and said,"Heh. Using DPN's (double pointed needles for all of you knit neophytes) is so last century. I use Magic Loop now. It's so much easier!" I know what's gonna happen, though. I'll finally learn to use this mysterious contraption they call "Magic Loop" then the Knitting Socialites I hang with will have moved on to something even MORE cool and amazing. It will be all, "Oh, we knit with Space Needles now. All we have to do is just THINK about what we want to knit and there it is!"
You see, as usual, I'm friends with people who are WA-A-A-A-AY cooler than I am. Laura is riding the Knitting Stallion while I sit perched atop one of those cheap plastic ponies on huge springs. Ya know, the kind that make you so giddy that you keep bouncing like an idiot and then you pitch forward and chip a tooth? Yeah, that one. (I'd like to point out that I have only had ONE knitting injury thus far, thankyouverymuch!)
She is knitting beaded scarves, the sort of thing that is so lovely and exquisite and doesn't look warm at all. (the kind of fine knitwear I'd spill hot chocolate on, to be honest!) I knit the sort of scarves that induce exclamations of, "Oh, it must be homemade......uhm,....it looks very warm!"
I look at her knitting.....then look down at the yarn mess in my own lap and steal myself for the inevitable inner monologue. "It's okay, Cyndi....what you're making looks nice, too. Someone will love it, even if it doesn't have any beads."
28 October 2010
Curtains, Coffee and Midnight Murderous Rampages
So, today is Day Two of the Drop Cloth Curtain Project. I have just been made privy to The Secret That is Drop Cloth Curtains which means that the fad is probably about to go the way of pet rocks and zoot suits, but, alas, I'm doing it anyway.
Yesterday I bought the drop cloths then went home and fell asleep. Today I plan to make coffe (lots of it) and use the coffee to dye the cloths. (On second thought, I drink way more Diet Dr. Pepper than coffee. I wonder if soda dyes fabric just the same as coffee?) I may do some sort of border on them,but, knowing me, they will be trimmed with paperclips and dog hair.
Don’t get your hopes up.
Of course, none of this will happen if Kirk and I end up in jail. You see, we have been on a Murderous Rampage of sorts lately.
A killing spree.
It started with a possum who just refused to get out of my way as I drove home from work in the dark.
Swerve.
Thud.
Then Kirk arrived home to tell me that he killed a squirrel on my behalf by plowing it down with his car. He told me that he was defending the honour of my garden.
Uhm....thanks?
So, I apologize for the inadvertant killing spree. We didn't mean it. Well, I didn't mean it. Kirk? Oh, he has Wildlife Murder in his soul for sure, bless his heart.
Yesterday I bought the drop cloths then went home and fell asleep. Today I plan to make coffe (lots of it) and use the coffee to dye the cloths. (On second thought, I drink way more Diet Dr. Pepper than coffee. I wonder if soda dyes fabric just the same as coffee?) I may do some sort of border on them,but, knowing me, they will be trimmed with paperclips and dog hair.
Don’t get your hopes up.
Of course, none of this will happen if Kirk and I end up in jail. You see, we have been on a Murderous Rampage of sorts lately.
A killing spree.
It started with a possum who just refused to get out of my way as I drove home from work in the dark.
Swerve.
Thud.
Then Kirk arrived home to tell me that he killed a squirrel on my behalf by plowing it down with his car. He told me that he was defending the honour of my garden.
Uhm....thanks?
So, I apologize for the inadvertant killing spree. We didn't mean it. Well, I didn't mean it. Kirk? Oh, he has Wildlife Murder in his soul for sure, bless his heart.
25 September 2010
Coffee: Now
Today I remembered that I learned how to do embroidery about well,...let's just say MANY years ago. I decided to make this tea towel as practice before I move on to stitching for others:
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