Mornin' Masters.
Mushrooms are so versatile. We often caramelize them and incorporate them into a chicken dish for some added richness and depth of flavor. If you eat them, how do you prepare them?
Congrats on completing your molecular biology class, bioguy. How was the family party yesterday?
I'm glad you got some walking done in NYC, Henrun. I hope the rain doesn't make for a uncomfortable trip back home today. We haven't been to MOMA in quite a few years, so we're due. We don't mind the hubbub in Manhattan, but then again, we lived there for a couple of years when we got married, so we're quasi-used to it.
Good 30 minutes on the bike, Norm. If you got out for a run later, how did your legs respond?
Nice 2 walking miles ahead of your family gathering, Jlynn. I hope it was a good time all around.
Good work at the quiet, cozy gym, Doug. I hope you had a good time later with DS.
Tet, I decided I was ready for walking by, well, walking and seeing what happened. Also, the doc said it was OK to walk, and that I should use pain as my guide for deciding how much was too much. While I'm sure you don't like the 'sausage' look, keep in mind that every day you will look and feel a little better. Meanwhile, nice double moonset!
Good 3 miles before the 'monster' storm, Twocat. As much as I think it is silly too, I'd rather the TV guys go over the top about the weather than some of the other things they are reporting on these days. I'm sorry your DW didn't get a more meaningful award for her great AG finish at Rocket City. It is purely because of cost issues that RDs go for those generic awards, but it sure does suck the meaning and excitement out of receiving one. Maybe you should make a custom Rocket City award for your DW.
Sounds like a great 12-miler with the group, sub7. It's nice when everything comes together like that.
Nice noonish 4.3 miles with the new Rabbit jacket, KSA. Indeed, the little things often make a big difference. I'm so sorry to learn about the cyclists who were hit. I sure wish there was a way to keep DUI drivers off the road.
Good call on the 4.15 mile walk, Enke. It's always nice when listening to your body pays off.
Good combo of dog walks and runs and yoga and PT, dnaff. I hope the new coffee maker serves you well. The one we have now is from Bonavita, and has a thermal carafe, and we like it a lot.
Nice 3 miles between rain showers, Holly, and before errands and wrapping.
Good 8.1 miles in shorts before the 'monster' storm arrived, moebo.
Sounds like a successful rest day, Mr. Begley.
Hi Mike, Are you running these days?
Nice 30 minutes on the bike,and 15 minutes of core work, Leslie. I sure hope you can find out what the *bleep* is going on with your stretching. Sounds like you did pretty well at the stores, with "girded loins" and all. What are "girded loins?"
6 hours is a long breakfast, Steve. Thanks for volunteering, again.
DW and I did most of the last of our holiday shopping yesterday, including a stop at the Lindt Chocolate factory outlet store. It wasn't near as crazed as what Jlynn has been dealing with, so we had a fun and relaxed time there, and of course, we bought more chocolate than we should have. I also got in about 4.1 miles of slow and EZ walking in the afternoon.
I did 80 minutes of knee and core work, weights, and stretching this morning while listening to the wind-driven rain pelting the the house. I guess that 'monster' storm arrived. It is supposed to be raining and windy all day, so we've made sure our electronics are all charged, and DW filled a couple of big pots with water, just in case...
Have a greta Monday.
Jay
Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.
Thanks, Jay. Great recap. I have to take Ken to PT and will run while he's there- but not FROM the PT place since that wasn't so good.
Norm- I have a good friend whose son plays for the Colts and is doing really well. He and his brother were Vandy players- Dayo Odeyinbo. They are Nigerian and the coolest people. They live in the Dallas area but we met them through Vandy sports. The Mom (my friend) is known to all Vandy athletes as YoMamaO.
Out there running since dinosaurs roamed the earth
Marathon Maniac #957
Good Morning!
Jay - you know that we have been to Jamaica several times, and have a short trip there planned for February. Well, apparently psychedelic mushrooms are legal in Jamaica, and they are working to capitalize on that by offering "Magic Mushroom Retreats" - all inclusive resorts that offer a "psychedelic experience in a safe, legal setting." You can also purchase these mushrooms at the marijuana dispensaries there. DH asked me if I wanted to try them when we are there, but I declined. I'm just not that adventurous these days. I read, though, that Jamaica expects to have an $8-billion magic mushroom tourist industry going by 2028.
It's cold and windy out there, with snow showers in the forecast. Rest day for me.
Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."
Thanks for the start, Jay.
Dawn, now you've got me shaken up. I always set up our Cuisinart coffee maker the night before and set it to brew so that a full carafe of hot coffee is ready when I come downstairs in the morning. Occasionally I get mildly anxious about this, picturing coming down to find coffee all over the countertop, floor, etc. Now that I know that it can actually happen...
We got a large package of products from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory sent to us by a financial advisor (maybe she wants more of our business?). It's really too much for the two of us but I'm afraid that won't stop it from all being consumed. Anyway, in one of the boxes was a couple of what looked like really large peanut butter cups. My first thought was whether there was a way for me to send them to Dave Mr. Begley. Anyway, I actually cut one open to see what was in it and it was indeed peanut butter surrounded by a very thick dark chocolate shell. I ditched the filling and ate the chocolate...
We enjoyed our visit with our DS yesterday, When we left for the restaurant, I've always done the driving but his car was behind me in the driveway so we asked him to drive. In the darkness of a mildly rainy evening, I ended up being glad that he drove; it made me realize that my driving ability is not what it was in adverse conditions, especially at night.
We had an early morning appointment at my DW's ophthalmologist to discuss her upcoming cataract surgery. I've got my meals deliveries shortly and then after lunch plan on going to use the pool at our fitness center. I'll report back in later.
Doug, runnin' cycling in Rochester, MI
"Think blue, count two, and look for a red shoe"
roachrunner cutting out the peanut butter from a fancy Reese's cup! Sacrilege!!!
This is a question for our DIYers here. We are seeing mice looking to rent space in our house for the winter. While they are cute, they are really poor tenants (they chew everything!) and we have told them no. But they keep sneaking in. I have looked around the house for the entrance and cannot find it. Any ideas on how to locate where they are coming in from so that I can block it? Have some idea as to where it might be, since I keep catching them in the same area.
P.S. As some of you might recall, I cannot bring myself to kill the mice. So those are live traps we have set for them. Once caught we take them for a ride to a local nature preserve, where they can join all of their friends.
In working out, nothing but some upper body work.
Live like you are dying not like you are afraid to die.
Drunken Irish Soda Bread and Irish Brown Bread this way --> http://allrecipes.com/cook/4379041/
Twocat-- I've heard of folks sprinkling a bit of flour on the floor where you know they are to see where they're coming from. I've not tried that myself though. In fact, this used to be a big issue here and I never had luck trying to block from inside the house. Instead, I went outside--in our case the crawl space--and used expanding foam insulation in a can to block up any cracks in foundation, spaces between foundation and sill plate, areas around pipes or cables entering, etc. They can get through tiny gaps. The same would apply for a basement. Every couple of years or so we'll still have one that gets through but TomCat traps with a dab of peanut butter makes quick work of that.
Yesterday was a washout and rest day. The plan today was to ride a regular 20-miler. After getting dressed and loading the bikes on the truck to drive the 3 miles to our nearby starting spot, we ran into flooded roads and aborted our attempt. I switched to running gear and got a sluggish 4-miler done. I'd eaten breakfast--which I do before riding but not before running--and.... Something is better than nothing, I suppose. Try again tomorrow if the waters recede.
Have a good week.
Be safe. Be kind.
Good Monday Morning.
I did not get a chance to read much here over the weekend. Not that I was all that busy, just didn't do much computer time.
We are pretty much stuck in heavy rain the next two days, so I guess this is my opportunity to finish up the last minute C'mas stuff - stocking stuffers for DH and DS. I did get everything wrapped yesterday though. And do my C'mas shopping for the couple of things I'm making - just a few side dishes for our chinese food themed meal, and a few C'mas goodies I'm making.
Last PT session this morning. I thought it was my last about a month ago, but we decided to tack on a few more sessions since I had met my deductible, so it's not costing me anything out-of-pocket, and I still had some unused pre-authorized sessions to do. Later Taters!
Tammy
Thanks for the start, Jay. To "gird your loins" is to "prepare to do something difficult or dangerous."
One time, many, many moons ago, I tried mushrooms - and not your grocery store variety. It did not end well.
Nothing for me so far, but I'll get my core/ST in after work. Sleeping in has become a very bad habit that I need to overcome. The cold, dark, nasty weather doesn't help.
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
MM#209 / JapanJoyful#803
Mr. B - nice running, sir.
May I hold the door open for you?
Leslie (loins) - for sure but I decided to look it up and, voila!, found out it's much higher up, actually between the hips and the rib cage than my youthful images had me imagining throughout my life until now. Thanks. Jeremiah1:17.
Roch - with all the fleetingly furtive figures in black hoodies wandering and stumbling around here and there without purpose into the middle of the street without regard to nighttime traffic often made harder to see in the pouring down rain (and identified as one of local bus drivers' main nemeses), I haven't driven at night anymore for a long time but, when I did, I would stick right behind and following the red tail lights of a bus or other driver so I could stop when they stopped rather than when it might finally dawn on me that the dark shadow up ahead was not from a telephone pole but a person walking blissfully, if not intoxicatedly from alcohol or drugs, into danger.
ps - even the slightest of cataracts that most ophthalmologists don't think are bad enough to treat may produce blinding glare from oncoming cars, direct sunshine, etc.
Twocat - good luck, . . . but I doubt it.
However, based on first hand
observation in Japan,
best may be to get a cat
or maybe volunteer
to take one out for a day
from the shelter..
. . . that I should use pain as my guide for deciding how much was too much.
Jay - however, since pain is an indication that something is wrong, isn't waiting for the pain to start too late to ease up on the weight on your foot same as if you wait until pain manifests in our races, it may already be too late to do anything about it? At least, that's what I'm worried about when my doctor will probably say the same to me at our first post-op appointment on Wednesday. Since I'm still reduced to a walker, I guess gently increasing the weight on Mr. Right Knee as I progress and then stop at the very first twinge of pain would be enough, or if, not, it won't do so much damage that any damage done won't heal up back again pretty fast. I just don't want to show up in March and have him say, "looks like you put too much weight on your knee so let's add another year on to your recovery before any of the running, hiking, etc. you underwent the surgery for. ps - I am not paranoid, . . . I don't think.
In the meantime, the high thigh sausage swelling has gone down enough so that no more punching it in like holes in clay but knee itself is still grapefruit size feeling the same tightness as when the tourniquet tight elastic gauze was around everything thereby resulting in another fitful first part of the night before the beloved PK dosages made up for it from 1am - 6am of uninterrupted bliss. .
"Enjoy yourself. Your younger days never come again." 100yo T. Igarashi to me in geta at top of Mt. Fuji (8/2/87)
KSA, horrible about the cyclist.
Jay, I like mushrooms on steak, ha ha. I just fry them in olive oil, or a bit of butter. Yumm. I fried some this week for a mozzarella, mushroom, and broccoli pesto quesadilla.
Holly, interesting about the magic 'shroom tourism in Jamaica.
Leslie, I'm too scared to try them or the marijuana gummies that are legal and popular here. I've had friends say they can sometimes be too potent. I'll stick to red wine or beer, with its predictable effects.
Last night's college basketball game was well worth the money. University of Washington versus Seattle University. Seattle U was comfortably ahead for most of the game, but somehow UW tied with a throw as the buzzer went (and a review of the tape was needed). So then a 5 minute overtime, and again, Seattle U was ahead but UW tied at the buzzer! So a 2nd 5 minute overtime ensued, and UW got lucky and won. What a close game! I was cheering for Seattle U just to irritate MBE (a UW alumni).
May take a rest day today...tired from getting to sleep late last night.
Mice, yeah, I've had those at the cabin, and had no qualms about using glue traps inside the cabin along their pathway. Very effective. We could never really figure out how they were getting in, but it may have been near an outdoor electrical box. Look for the poops.
I used a couple spring-loaded killer rat traps for the rats that got into my crawlspace in the summer. Gross but efficient.
"During a marathon, I run about two-thirds of the time. That's plenty." - Margaret Davis, 85 Ed Whitlock regarding his 2:54:48 marathon at age 73, "That was a good day. It was never a struggle."
Tammy, is pre authorized PT sessions a common thing? I have not had it happen until this latest go round. My authorization came through for 4 sessions to be completed between 11/29 and 12/28/23. Yet the authorization was dated 12/15. Impossible to arrange more than one session before it expires. I’m glad I’m not in a ton of pain and believe the one session will be enough.
Doug, don’t bet all your money on that Cuisinart…when you least expect it, well you know.
Jay, I’m going to answer your mushroom question with the grocery store variety. Do a search on Mushroom Wellington, The one I made was full of mushrooms, onions, rosemary, pecans, and fresh grated Parmesan. All wrapped in puff pastry with an egg wash. It was delicious!
I went to coffee with a bunch of volunteers from the animal shelter, we call it cat lady coffee and meet every Monday for laughs and good cheer. Today was no exceptions as the topics ranged from baton twirling and tap dancing to how many nipples a mama dog has. Like, if she has 8 but has 10 puppies who gets left out? Or do they eat in shifts?
ok, time to buckle down now and get after my PT stuff, wrap some more gifts, and hit the grocery store yet again. I also get to go to the bank as I found a couple donation checks at the food pantry that total close to $10,000. Tis the season for year end gifts and we are so thankful!!
And one more thing, Tet thank you so much for the sunset picture! Lovely.
Dnaff - pre-auth for a certain number of sessions to be completed within a certain time frame is the norm for my health insurance. That's how it was a couple yrs back when I had PT for my broken shoulder. I think it's easy enough for a PT to request more sessions if he/she requests for medical necessity and can show the patient needs more to reach pre-injury status. Today I graduated though. with "Honors" says my PT
yesterday as I was wrapping gifts, I realized I could not find a GC that I bought my parents and another for DH. I figured I just left them in my office. Nope, not here either. I have no idea where I put them. I hope I find them. Otherwise, I guess on Friday I will re-purchase them. and then maybe some day I'll come across wherever I put them, and then it'll be like a belated gift to myself.
Mushrooms; love them and can hardly get enough! Yes, talking about the culinary varieties. Enke, that quesadilla sounds wonderful, and so does Dawn's Wellington. Wow, those would be lovely. We go through a lot of mushrooms and love the organic "baby bella" brown cremini we get at Costco. I make an awesome mushroom risotto with rehydrated dried mushrooms (nice variety mixes available), the hydrating liquid ("mushroom liquor"), and homemade chicken stock. Wonderful.
Tet, I think "as pain is the guide" is like saying "as tolerated," meaning you don't do it until it's excruciatingly painful and you have to stop, but if you feel up to it, and it's not too uncomfortable, that's a good way to ease back into weight bearing exercise. If I just had the orders to use the walker for xx number of weeks before trying or transitioning to something else, that wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. I've been just using a cane around the house the last couple of days, saving the walker for first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and night time potty trips. Times I'm a little less steady on my feet.
And for anyone wondering if we fly or drive... I just gotta wonder, why? Why would we drive 6-7 hours through mountain passes and moose/caribou populated areas in the icy darkness when it's a 45 minute flight? No, we don't drive that route. Way too time consuming and dangerous. We've already got our flights booked for the January trip for my 6 week follow-up.
The only time we have problems with our Cuisinart coffee maker is when we forget to dump any remaining coffee left over. Since we rarely have any leftover coffee, this is not usually a problem. But if you don't, or perchance don't get that pot seated back in there securely, the coffee will overflow all over the counter, down the cupboard fronts and all over the floor if you don't catch it. Doesn't happen often, but it does every now and then. Probably not a Cuisinart-specific issue.
Had a pretty good weekend, meaning I just lounged around in here while DH worked so damn hard clearing snow out there. He ran the snowblower Saturday, and then did some finer cleanup yesterday. We got some more snow last night and he used the blower to clear the stairs and the front of the house. I did a whole lot of not much. But, I'm toddling around using the cane, had a visit from Riley (with his parents) yesterday afternoon and reading my latest book. I'm on track to hit 60 books read this year so that's pretty cool. Hey, gotta take your wins where you can, right?
. . . how many nipples a mama dog has. Like, if she has 8 but has 10 puppies who gets left out? Or do they eat in shifts?
Dawn - thanks. We know this couple who, on cloudy days when they are not transfixed with the colorful sunrises and sets plus buildings dancing in and out of the morning mists and fog, track the tail logos on the tranPacific flights turning down right over downtown right in front of them towards their landings at Seatac, often being glad no one can overhear their enthusiasm for something they've watched their whole lives without noticing it.
enke - what a great game you saw especially with their star from Toronto and right after a rare win over ranked Gonzaga.
With loving Japanese food and their dozens of edible mushrooms, hardly a day goes by that we're not having some enoki, shimeji, nameko, shiitake, matsutake or our own white buttons, oyster, etc. In Alaska days, fresh white and still firm puffballs poking up out of the rich soil were such a treat that the local Japanese restaurant would have us bring them in for Pankoed tempura. Hmmmmm.
Erika - thanks. I'm definitely on a slower track but know it will be worth it.
I have seen a number of stories of gift card problems. People take the cards, get the numbers off of them, then put them back. As soon as someone purchases the cards they have a system to empty them. The recipient goes to use them and there is no balance. Just check carefully for tampering.
Ye olde kettlebell workout for me this morning.
I just found out that a very good friend of mine has pancreatic cancer. He was given 3 months to live with no treatment. He is going to try a chemo treatment that could extend that to 9-12 months. Hard to wrap my mind around it.