How often does that happen anymore? It is rare for me to receive a call. I keep a house phone simply for the convenience of the answering machine. I give out my home number when I am asked for one by a business or individual I’m not familiar with.
Every month, on my cell phone invoice the minutes used are minimal. Everyone I know texts. My daughter and one of my sisters are both great at calling. And my dad, one of my aunt’s, my granddaughter….. Ok, maybe it’s a few more people than I first thought.
When my cell phone rings, it’s like getting a call in the middle of the night. I immediately picture chaos and mayhem.
Tonight, as I was leaving work my cell phone rang. Halfway down the stairs, I began to shift my lunch bag so I could dig through the suitcase I call a purse in search of the vibration tingling my hip. Just as I pulled it free from the tangle of phone chargers, lipstick etc., it stopped ringing.
I smiled when I saw it was my sister. I immediately returned the call. She answered and said, “Hey, I haven’t talked to you in a while and wanted to see how you are doing.” Then she waited for an answer and actually listened for a response.
It was an amazing thing! A real conversation, listening, talking and listening some more. How lovely is that!
With a smile on my face and well caught up on the family news, I said goodbye to my sister and tossed the phone back into my purse. Immediately, I felt it vibrate once again.
This time it was my daughter. After a too brief conversation, I hung up smiling even more broadly and declared it to be “The Night of Phone Calls!”
A lovely surprise which I highly recommend! Maybe I should try it myself occasionally!
Today, Sunday June 7th, 2015; I have been given the gift of relaxation. I’ve decided not to work at my day job this weekend. We are in the process of a major software implementation. I am woefully behind and next week promises to be jam packed with tasks. But I need some recovery time. This is the last weekend before training begins for our fall marathons and soon we will begin summer hours at work. 10 hour days, four days a week.
Yesterday I cleaned house. I mean actually cleaned! I scrubbed, mopped, dusted organized and polished. This morning, I made pancakes, hash browns and scrambled eggs for breakfast. With the help of my family, the leftovers are put away, the dishwasher loaded and I find myself sitting at the computer with a full day to write.
I fiddled through my email, opened my current novel in progress, and reviewed and edited some short stories. I recently rescued the stories from an old computer I am going to retire. Making a mental list of writing tasks on my plate, I contemplated what I should do first.
I decided to move outside to the deck to write. Moving outside required digging up an extension cord for the laptop and my phone charger. Check, I’m hooked up to power and ready to work.
It’s already hot outside, but the deck is still shaded by the overhead oak and pine trees surrounding it. Just as I’m thinking how cool it is, I realize I should be preemptive and put up the umbrella before the sun shifts and I start to sweat. Now if I could just remember where I stored it last summer. Maybe it is in the front hall closet. I pull coats and bags aside to search and I am not having much luck. Pushing the door closed, I couldn’t think where else to look, so I give it one more try. I found it! It was tucked in the back corner, shorter than I remembered, so it had been overlooked on my first try.
Now, I’m golden. The breeze is cool, I have power and a wonderfully cold bottle of water. I’m watching the cats play while my husband is digging weeds and adding another raised bed. Our garden rarely produces much, but we are quite successful at feeding the deer and the rabbits.
I think I should go help him for a while. We need to decide what to put into the new garden space. Perhaps today is a day to enjoy small victories and random tasks. Maybe I’ll catch up with writing later….. I’m off to the garden center.
What a crazy May we have had. At least the last part of May has been crazy hectic by my standards. On Saturday, May 23rd, we left Austin, TX for Tulsa, OK to celebrate my granddaughter’s birthday. The rain began as we arrived and increased in intensity quickly.
We checked into a hotel. My daughter was due to fly in to Tulsa around 10:00 PM and our plan was to touch base on Sunday morning. The heavy rain quickly turned into a dangerous situation, flooding a few areas around town and many of the outlying towns.
Local television stations ceased regular programming and provided constant updates of the flooding situation, including water rescues. I was also monitoring the flooding situation in Wichita Falls, TX. I have family in the area and was concerned with their situations.
By 9:00 PM, my daughter had telephoned to say she had been diverted to Wichita, Kansas due to weather conditions in Tulsa. The main concern was the danger of wind shears.
Around the same time, my phone rang. My sister was calling to say she was also in Tulsa. She had come to visit a friend and contacted my daughter to let her know she was in town. What an oddity to find ourselves miles from our homes, and both in Tulsa in the midst of storms and flooding.
My daughter finally made it in around midnight; my sister and I were safe in our hotels and the rain continued. On Sunday, a little tired but excited to be together, we had a wonderful birthday celebration for my granddaughter which turned into a slumber party. My sister and I stayed Sunday night with my daughter and had a wonderful time playing games, laughing and just having fun. Early Monday morning we left Tulsa for Austin. The weather cooperated until we neared Waco, TX. I received a weather alert and text about the same time. Apparently there was rotation 15 miles ahead and coming our direction. My friend’s text basically said if you are in Waco take cover unless you’re at Twin Peaks, then keep driving!
With the radio warning we should seek cover immediately, we ducked into a Hastings. Of course I would find a book store to take refuge! When the rain lessened and the warning changed from a tornado warning to a severe thunderstorm warning, we decided to try to head home. When we headed for Interstate 35, we discovered the access roads were underwater and raging. Trying to avoid the flood waters, we turned away from the interstate and headed through a neighborhood, driving through a downpour and hoping we were moving uphill. My son pulled out his phone and switched his maps to a topographic map to guide us to higher ground.
We made it safely back on the interstate a few miles down the road. All the way home we were watching emergency vehicles working accidents, closing roads and rescuing underwater vehicles.
When we finally made it home, we were relieved to find our roads passable although there was water running across the roads and the ditches were rushing with muddy water. We pulled into the drive, opened the front door and discovered we had no power. Since it was just before dusk, it wasn’t quite too dark to see.
A call to the electric company provided an update. Electricity should be back on by 6:00 AM tomorrow morning. Absolutely unprepared to return home to no power, we made a quick trip to Wal-Mart for flashlights, batteries, food, etc.
By 6:00 AM the power outage was predicted to last until 6:00 PM. While we waited for the sunshine to rise and peek through the windows, we slept in. We had to conserve our phone usage, live without internet or computers and try to keep our food from spoiling.
We had a forced night of relaxation, the water never made it over the porch and our drive didn’t wash out until three days later, but that’s a story for another day. We were very fortunate. It seemed we were able to avoid floods, tornados and lightning storms. My heart and condolences go out to all the flood victims and I am extremely grateful we were spared.
Keeping my promise to get serious about fitness this week, I attended my first “Power Yoga Class”. What an experience! I haven’t been to a yoga class in five years and my weekly boot camp class ended several years ago. True to the description, this 45 minute class with Vinyasa flow sequencing and the addition of cardio bursts to get your heart pumping and your muscles moving, got everything moving! Sweat ran in rivulets down my back, face arms, well, everywhere.
Not so much the next day. Nothing was moving very fast! I know it was good for me, but my muscles were grumbling.
Tuesday I scheduled a run to give my sore arms a break. 4.25 miles at 5:30 PM in Austin, TX meant lots of heat. At 86 degrees even the ancient oak trees lining the streets couldn’t block the sun’s rays. At least my arms felt less sore!
Wednesday found me back in class for a Yoga/Pilates fusion class. One thing I didn’t learn from Monday night’s class was when to arrive. I always try to be punctual and strive to arrive 15 minutes ahead of schedule to allow for unforeseen traffic, etc. That put me front and center, directly facing the instructor. Next time I will arrive on time and move to the back row! This class focused on core strengthening to make my yoga practice stronger and my tummy trimmer. The intent was to tone, refine, and strengthen from deep in your core. The first half hour was core focused and the second half hour Yoga focused. That should have sent me running back out the door, but I blithely tossed my mat on the floor and prepared to tone and refine.
The first 15 minutes of the class went remarkably well. We lay on our backs while we incorporated leg lifts, shoulders off the floor etc. I patted myself (not literally) on the back thinking this isn’t too bad when we kicked into high gear.
I’m not sure which poses we did, but I dripped as I watched the clock and waited to transition to the second half of the class.
I don’t know why but I thought the second half would be a rest. I was definitely mistaken! I dropped into plank position while everyone else smoothly transitioned through plank and back into downward dog.
I valiantly plowed through the rest of the class, slipping into child’s pose as needed for a quick rest. After the class, the instructor seemed concerned as she watched me try to get feeling back in my arms. As I attempted to fold my mat, she asked “Are you okay?”
“Sure”, I lied and tried not to limp as I walked away.
I stepped outside and realized it had started to sprinkle so I pulled on my jacket. My car was parked a few blocks away at the office. As soon as we stepped from under the awning, the rain began to pick up. A few more steps and we were starting to get wet. Suddenly, I felt like a kid playing in the rain. Wearing my sandals and carrying my yoga mat, I started running. Rain soaked and laughing we made it back to the car at a sprint.
If all workouts could only end with this much fun, I would work out every day!
Now I just have to keep the momentum going. Wish me luck!
Saturday morning I was up at 6:00 am and on a mission. I was determined to find a recipe for the perfect soap. I was planning to make the soap as a gift for someone special.
I decided to take a few days off from training and running this weekend. I will get serious next week (I promise :p). So, I joined a studio this week, which offers yoga classes, Pilates, boot camps and more. Next week, I am going to take a few classes and increase my mileage. Hopefully, I can get myself ready for a half marathon in November.
But Saturday was a day for creativity. I began by catching up on some writing projects. I spent a few minutes on Pinterest and found some perfect recipes. One for the soap and also one for some lotion I thought might be fun to try. I checked the ingredients and found I needed rosemary essential oil.
No problem. There is a small rosemary plant out in my garden. I love my little garden…… and it is little. I have two tomato plants and a couple of pepper plants along with my herbs. I clipped some fresh rosemary from my garden to blend my essential oil.
I researched and found two different methods for infusing essential oil. One method required drying the rosemary for a few days, dropping it into a bottle and covering with oil to infuse over time. The second method called for warming fresh rosemary and oil in a crock pot for about 6 hours to infuse. I chose the latter for several reasons. The main reason? I wanted to enjoy the aroma of the oil while it infused.
Mixing the oils together for the lotion was relatively easy, but I was disappointed in the consistency of the lotion. Nonetheless, I now have a lovely jar of rosemary essential oil in my cabinet. It has already been used to sauté a handful of mushrooms which were tossed into a skillet of quinoa for a delicious meal.
But now it is dinner time, and I think I will go out and pick some fresh tomatoes for my salad.
My husband has been in search of a classic older pickup for years. Recently he has become a bit more serious in his search. His criteria is a bit loose. Somewhere in the 1963 to 1972 range, preferably a Chevrolet, but he would consider a Ford.
We had an appointment in San Antonio on Saturday afternoon and while we were there we planned to look at a 1971 lilac pickup. Yes, it was painted lilac, but it was the right price range and the right year model. Then he discovered a 1969 blue Chevy in Waco. The ad for the Waco pickup said, runs good and well it wasn’t purple. So even though Waco is about 100 miles north and slightly East of Austin and San Antonio is approximately 80 miles south and slightly west of Austin, we decided we had time to see both vehicles.
We arrived at the dealer in a small town just outside of Waco a few minutes before it opened. We wandered over to a Walgreens to kill time. As we were passing the dealer we were glancing at the cars on the lot, when my son said, “Hey that Jeep has a bench seat on it.” Literally, someone had welded an actual bench on the back of a Jeep. Hmm, you don’t see that every day.
In Walgreen’s we roamed over to the clearance aisle, past the “as seen on TV aisle” and on to the toy and candy sections. I took a minute to check out all the pens and pencils. I love shopping for new pens and pencils but I managed to resist purchasing anything except an extra-large bag of M&M’s and some birthday and graduation cards!
Back at the car lot, we parked. While my son and husband got out to look at the truck, I waited in the car. I watched a pretty blond “girl” inside the building. She was wearing cut off shorts, a black tank topped with an unbuttoned white shirt. She stepped up to a mirror, gave her boobs an upward push while pulling downward on her tank top. Smiling I watched her fluff her hair and saunter out to the pickup. I’m sure she is very good at her job and knows a lot about cars, but she couldn’t quite get the hood to open and it wouldn’t start…… She wasn’t able to open the passenger door but she did have a beautiful smile. After a few minutes, one of her male associates came to assist but still the pickup didn’t start.
About 30 minutes and more patience than I would have had, my husband and son finally said thank you and stepped away. I asked if they were sure the vehicle had gas and was informed that yes, the plastic tank sitting in the bed of the pickup had plenty of gas. Uh, oh my! We left that pickup behind.
Bluebonnets in Bloom
To get to San Antonio we took Highway 190 over to 281 which is a lined with beautiful Texas wild flowers and is much less congested than Interstate 35. Along the route there is sign after sign proclaiming numerous ranches. We briefly debated what is required to call your home a ranch. Just outside of Kempner, TX a sign proclaimed miniature donkeys for sale. When I commented, “Look, we don’t have one of those!” My husband and son said in unison, “No! And we don’t need one!”
As we passed through Burnet, TX we spotted a sign for a farmer’s market. It was a small market with probably ten vendors, but it looked like it might be worth stopping in. We started browsing the stalls when we noticed the wind was picking up. Just as we stepped in front of the Texas Herb Company and Crafty Threads, a huge gust of wind lifted the canopy and flipped it upside down behind the tables. Handmade soaps and other craft items were scattered all over the ground. Everyone rushed up to help. No one was injured and the table was righted with crafts stacked atop. I was amazed no one was injured by all the flying products and was heartened how quickly everyone rushed to help. Still willing to try shopping, we wandered to the Sage Creek Farms booth where we bought a lovely mahogany rolling pin. It turned out to be a successful stop after all.
When we got to Marble Falls we started searching for somewhere to eat. I spotted a food trailer that looked promising. Lee’s Food Trailer sported ads for a philly sandwich, gyros, catfish dinners and more. It seemed as if I wouldn’t have any trouble finding a non-meat food option.
I had the Falafel gyro, my husband had the beef and lamb gyro. My son had a classic philly sandwich. Lee’s did not disappoint. Everything was delicious! As we drove away completely satiated, my husband proclaimed, you know if you ever wanted to double back there to eat, I would go! High praise indeed.
Somewhere along the backroads of Texas, I discussed my funeral plans. All my nephews should be prepared. I requested they all show up with 1980’s shorts, tanks and sweatbands as I am laid to rest in my running clothes. Seemed fitting to me! I also learned that if you are going to honk at someone, you should always use the Chicago honk or just don’t bother. You should hold the horn down for at least 2 minutes.
We arrived in San Antonio finally, laughing and talking. After our appointment, we checked in on the lilac truck only to find out it was not on the market anymore.
So we have to start over on the pickup search but since it was mother’s day weekend, I was treated to a buffet at India Taj Palace where they have tasty dishes and serve warm from the grill naan bread made after you arrive and carried immediately to your table.
It was a wonderful day of meandering! I look forward to many more days just like it.
Last Saturday I had three things on my “must do” list.
Make homemade ginger ale
Make some peppermint sugar soap bars
Make some French Toast to use up some day old French bread slices
Sounds easy enough. I didn’t have any other obligations or specific plans. Saturday morning I decided to go the resale shop in search of a used crock pot or sauce pan to use for the soap making. I thought I may as well look for a new soap mold since I was out and about anyway. I found a small crockpot at Goodwill and a silicone ice tray at T. J. Maxx that would work great. Score! On the way back to the house we drove passed a Baskin Robbins and it just sounded so good! So yes, I diverted again and it was delicious!
Finally back home, it was 4:00 PM and I was about to start making the ginger ale. Then I got an invitation to go to the theatre and watch the Avengers. Hmm…. What to do?
Okay, so I did hesitate briefly but not long. Avengers won out of course. I organized the supplies and then headed for the shower to get ready for my movie date. I did watch a video on how to make a box out of cardstock on my way to the movies, so I was somewhat productive.
I vowed to finish at least one of my projects when I returned home after the movie. Nope, never happened. By the time we arrived back home, it was after 9:30 PM and my thoughts were filled with mutants. The last thing I wanted to do was stay up late and be creative.
Up at 5:30 AM on Sunday, I started the ginger ale first. Water boiling, ginger root peeled and lemons juiced, I was off to a good start.
While the ginger mixture simmered, I pulled out my soap supplies and added the melt and pour pieces to my new “old” crockpot. I lined up the sugar, essential oils, coconut oil etc. Woohoo! Things were coming together.
Time to start on the French toast. Naturally I decided to try a new recipe. After I beat the eggs and milk together, I stirred in the warm honey. (I had to warm the honey, because it had thickened too much to pour.) The honey clumped as soon as it hit the cold egg and cream mixture. Oops, not what I intended.
As I pondered the best way to handle the honey, I noticed my soap mixture was melted and it was time to start mixing it together to pour into the molds. There was no way I could finish the French toast in time for breakfast and get the soap into molds at the same time. I turned the soap off so I could finish the French toast. I warmed the mixture slightly, beat it with a fork to incorporate the honey and then promptly added chopped, frozen cherry pieces to the mix for flavor. I really should have realized the cold cherries would solidify the honey, but, well I didn’t.
Just in case the toast wasn’t edible, I quickly mixed up some pancakes as well. Breakfast was ready, everyone was up and pancakes disappeared much faster than the toast.
After breakfast, I poured the ginger ale into mason jars and refrigerated for later. After cleaning up and putting everything else away I finally made it back to my soap. Unfortunately, melting the soap base and then allowing it to cool and set made it difficult to reheat and melt. I spent most of the afternoon trying to salvage the soap. I finally got it all mixed, oils added and poured into the molds. The soap didn’t look anything like the picture, but it set well, smelled nice and was pretty when packed in my handmade white box!
The ginger ale was delicious, the toast edible and the soap unexpectedly “soap”. I guess two out of three ain’t bad.
Saturday morning Mar 29, 2015, the much awaited/dreaded race day. Up at 4:20 AM, we needed to arrive at the Cedar Creek high school parking lot before 6:00 AM. The shuttle buses would start running at that time to transport runners and spectators to the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa for the Zooma Texas 2015. We were out the door by 5:10 AM and on our way. We arrived at the parking lot by 5:55 AM and scrambled to make sure we had our watches, gels and sunscreen before boarding the bus.
The temperature was mild at 55 degrees with a light breeze. By the time we arrived at the Resort, I was grateful to be wearing my jacket as the temperature dipped to 47 degrees. The resort is beautifully nestled in a wilderness setting. The run is not ‘a walk in the park’. It is peppered with multiple hills from slight rises to steep grades. If you plan to run this race, you should train on hills.
Mile 9!
We arrived at the resort and moved inside where staff opened the door and welcomed us. Inside additional staff were stationed throughout the building offering smiles, greetings and directions as needed.
For runners who are used to port-a-potties at the start of a race, it was quite a treat to have indoor, clean and warm restroom facilities. It was wonderfully relaxing to sip a cup of complimentary coffee seated on a comfortable chair and visit with fellow runners. In the lobby, I met Shonda and Lisa from Houston, TX where we joked, laughed and discussed race strategy.
As we lined up at the starting line there were a couple of llama’s on the sidelines to send us on the way.
The Llamas
Once on the course, runners were full of smiles and waves. As I turned onto Highway 71, a school bus full of kids passed by. With the windows down, they were all shouting ‘Run Forrest Run’! I smiled for several miles remembering their enthusiasm.
The last couple of miles were on the resort property, along a relatively flat only slightly rolling path on the golf course. Mile 13 was marked by the resident longhorns lounging in the grass.
The golf course
This is the third time I have run Zooma at the Lost Pines Resort. It has not disappointed yet. If you can forget about those hills for a minute, the scenery is lovely. The run starts in the parking lot and continues to Pope Bend which is a county road. The road is lined with wildflowers including Bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes and natural grasses. There is a short leg of the course that takes you down the shoulder of Highway 71, but it’s relatively short and downhill.
The temperature and winds both rose as I neared the finish line. The wind, although gusting at times, was a relief from the 70+ degree temperatures.
Bluebonnets in Bloom
The Zooma race mission is to inspire women to live healthy, happy, & active lives. The post-race celebrations included vendors, live music, food, and massages. Sponsor Barefoot wines provided post-race samples and complimentary coffee was also available.
The race field the inaugural year 2009 was over 1200 women. This year the event included a 5K and a 10K in addition to the half marathon. There were only 362 runners in the half marathon, 162 in the 5K and 173 in the 10K but the celebration was just as entertaining.
On the journey to recapture my fitness, I am trying to remind myself to draw on my chi. Chi Running, defines chi (pronounced ‘chee’) as the energy that unites body, mind, and spirit. How awesome is that. If only I could learn to tap into that!
A few years ago, when we traveled to in San Francisco, CA for the Nike Women’s Marathon, my running partner and I purchased stones with Chinese symbols engraved on them. We each chose a symbol that had special meaning for us. We often trade them at the beginning of a race as a symbol of support for each other. We call them our chi.
As fun things often do, they took on a life of their own. On our training runs, if someone just a little faster ran past us, we would challenge ourselves and pick up the pace, shouting “It’s our chi!”
If someone sprinted by much faster, we would look at each other and proclaim, “Not my chi!”
Those little engraved stones have become a symbol of support and companionship, but occasionally even they aren’t enough to push me up a hill.
Years ago, someone told me a secret to running hills. You should visualize a rope at the top of the hill and imagine someone is pulling you forward. It’s a great visualization and can help. But it can’t really pull you. You still have to move your legs and when you haven’t trained; well it isn’t as easy to make it up the hill.
Recently, I was out for a run with my two favorite running partners. It was an easy and pleasant run and things were going well. We were at the start of our training plan, so the run was short and not too aggressive. Near the end of the run, we were faced with a hill. The hill is about a 45 degree incline alongside a busy road. When I looked ahead and saw the hill I said, “I’m going to run to the bottom of the hill and then I’ll walk the actual hill.” I was thinking I was already tired and would not have the energy to run up the hill. Both my companions nodded and headed for the hill determined to beat it.
I realized I had allowed anticipatory failure to keep me from making it up the hill. No it’s not ‘rocket science’ but for me it was an eye opener. I actually got it. If you don’t start, you can’t finish is a real thing. I ran the hill, huffing and puffing the entire way, but I didn’t stop until I reached the top. Even if I had taken a break half way it would have been fine. I wasn’t attempting to set a record, just keep moving until my body said stop instead of my head.
I have a half marathon to run in this weekend and haven’t trained as well as I could have, but I never do. I considered switching to the 10k instead. Then I remembered the hill and changed my mind. I may not finish, but I will start and I will listen to my body not the anticipatory failure in my head.
While much of the country has been dealing with extreme weather, in my area we’ve been more fortunate. Austin, TX residents woke Saturday morning to a mild 64 degrees. It was a perfect day for a long training run. If you have to run long, you may as well run for fun! Bastrop State Park is a short 15 miles from my home. Running in nature while I train is a great distraction.
A fire devastated Bastrop State Park in September 2011 along with many other areas of Bastrop County. The fire destroyed many of the ancient pine trees. It affected 96 percent of the park. The fire was a tragedy, but it has been wonderful watching the rebirth of the park, aided by many volunteer organizations and their members.
Dez, Ron, and myself arrived at the park with two expectations; to complete an 11 mile training run and to enjoy ourselves. We put no constraints on time or speed. Dez and I kept to the trails as much as possible while Ron opted for the park roads.
The trails range from sand, gravel, or packed dirt and is easier on your body than pounding on pavement. The steep inclines and declines work muscles not used in street running and compel careful navigation to prevent falls. The combination is a great workout.
We quickly realized that it was going to be a silly, fun day when we started laughing at everything. We stopped along the way to take pictures, to view the blackened, fallen trees and to enjoy the newly planted baby pines.
Throughout the morning, park guests greeted us and we shared waves and greetings in return. At mile 6 we found a restroom, which had been recently renovated and was sparkling clean. While we were stopped, we visited with Ranger Carpenter and learned a few facts about the park rehabilitation.
We stopped at mile 9.25 to enjoy a bit of solitude at a pond hidden among the trees. I had spent the day in search of the elusive Houston Toad. We were pretty sure we heard one in the distance while we were at the pond.
The park ranger we spoke with encouraged us to find a tree and claim it. He suggested we take our picture with the tree and return annually to document the growth. So we each picked one and began a tradition.
Our final mile tally of 11.5 miles was full of fun. After surviving our trek through nature, we ate lunch and stopped by Austin City Wide Garage Sale. This weekend the sale was being held in Bastop, Texas. After an hour and a half of wandering through the maze of exhibits we were a few dollars poorer and a few items richer, and our energies had been fully expended.
We ended our day with sweets from the Sugar Shack in Bastrop. We each had two scoops of ice cream and I brought home treats for later. It was a lovely day and the best one I’ve had in a while. A special thanks to my cohorts today for helping me make wonderful memories!
Nana's Apron Strings 