The movers come tomorrow morning, and eventhough we're as prepared as we can be, I am still stressed. There are still a lot of little things to pack up that I will hopefully get to today, and what I can't complete I know db will finish up the rest.

We've moved much of it ourselves, the boxes, wine, and garden tools (that our new landlord, M, referred to as "farm tools" that we've since been calling them because we all thought it was so funny). We've tried to leave just the furniture for the movers. My thinking was that if it takes two people to move it, we shouldn't be doing it; however, since we're coming back on Sunday to dig up the garden I can see that we'll have to move the larger containers ourselves.

In June I'll come back for some of the bulbs, although I'm not sure why since I don't think there will be enough sun in our new place for bulbs to thrive. Some of the tulips are so beautiful though. I'll try and take some pictures this afternoon. I really should have some photos becasue spring is in full swing here.

I'm off for a run.

I have only a few words to sum up my week: playoff hockey, grammar, moving, painting, and running. Of course there's work in the daytime, but work is a given so there's no real need to mention that (I guess I just did though).

Hockey

I can't talk too much about that now. db did win the pool for the regular season so that was great news. Let's see how we do in the playoff pool.

Grammar

It all seems to be coming together. I have two more classes and then the take-home exam that we have two weeks to complete.

Moving

We've moved the majority of the boxes. db completed two runs (or was it three?) while I was working this week. There are just odds and ends to pack now and seeing as the movers are coming this Saturday for the furniture, I expect I can pack up quite a bit of it.

Yesterday and today we moved more boxes, db's tools, and the wine. The new place is getting pretty full. We've tried to keep as much clear space as possible for moving furniture.

Painting

Also in the last two days we painted the bedroom, the bathroom, and the kitchen. I hope I don't have to paint for a long, long time.

Running

Last Sunday I didn't run with the RR group because...well because the weather was way too crappy. I knew I had Monday off and I'm glad I waited because Monday was beautiful so I went out for a 10 k run. I have no idea what the group was planning on doing, so I just ran a distance I felt good about doing.

This Sunday I did run with the group and knew we'd be doing 20 k, which is our last big run before the race, and I felt okay about going out and trying to go the full distance. This time I was better prepared with my Sharkies for fuel.

We ran quite a bit of trail that really went up and down a lot. I managed to keep pace, only dropping off once, but then I caught up with the group again. In the end I finished with the front pack and I was thrilled! Now I know I can do the half in two weeks.

I wish I had the skill to knit this sweater.

St. Louis Blues

It's playoff time! The Blues made it! It's been a long year with a lot of injuries and all the ups and downs. They sat at the bottom of the table and it's been questionable whether they'd make the playoffs at all, but here they are.

It's been 5 years since they made the playoffs and that's a long time if you're a Blues fan.

Most exciting is their "kid line." This is T.J. Oshie, David Perron and Patrick Berglund. These three together are great to watch. They've got a lot of skill and spark when they're on the ice. It's fun to watch.

Last night they played Columbus in St. Louis and the fans in the sold out arena went ballistic when their team won knowing that they've clinched a playoff spot. It was fun to watch.

The question now is who will they play in the first round?

Speaking of recipes. I just found these coconut bars on the PPK that look like a must. A celebratory coconut bar for the new home I think.

Hurray for another great vegan cookbook!

Yet another fabulous vegan cookbook! Do I love being vegan? Yes! With all these fabulous ideas and recipes and feeling good about being compassionate it's an all round good feeling.

Despite us not wanting to have more books or more anything, especially at this moving time, db bought a few more vegan cookbooks and I was so thrilled to see that he chose refresh as one of the books.

Fresh restaurant in Toronto is one of the things I miss about that city. It started out as a juice bar called Juice for Life and expanded from there.

On a side note I once applied for a job at the location on Queen St when I decided I should work in the restaurant industry again. I knew I couldn't go back to carrying plates of meat to people and sought out something that fit with my ethics. I didn't get the job and did end up catering and serving meat again, but at least I had red jane to work with so we could commiserate together and at least I'm not doing it anymore. I digress.

Okay, back to the book. There are two sections to the book: fresh food and luscious juice. I've only made the rice bowls from the book so far and found them incredibly simple to put together that contain ingredients that are easy to find. The recipes (again, I've only made the rice bowls so far) often have some prep required with sauces to be made or an ingredient to be marinated, but the recipe itself is quick to prepare. The key to Fresh's recipes is in the sauces and how they are used together in a dish.

As for the juices I haven't explored that section of the book but will once I unpack the juicer in the new home. Juice recipes are broken down into: energy elixirs, immune elixirs, wheatgrass elixirs, super power shakes, espresso shakes, fresh fruit smoothies and vegetable cocktails. The juice section is half of the book and I am really looking forward to sampling from each area and finding my favorites.

With luscious photos that leads into each section of the book and a simple presentation of all the recipes I highly recommend this book. Hmm, maybe I should have posted this on the Bookworm Collective? Maybe not since it's not really a front to back read through.

Anywho...

here is db's rice bowl dish he prepared from the book. I'm showing a photo of his dish because of his presentation. I had made some comment about how the presentation of a meal is part of the enjoyment of the eating experience for me. While db is not as concerned about presentation, he did bring the rice bowl to the table with a tofu triangle in the center and his grilled veg in symmetry. Perhaps he was poking a little fun at my statement? That said, he always does present a meal beautifully.

This rice bowl contained grilled veg, marinated tofu and a miso gravy. Oh my goodness it was delcious.

***

Once again a cat photo seems necessary. Gigi is in her favorite yellow bed in the cat lounge. Looks like a little cat bowl.

She just turned 3, but she's still a kitten to me. She'll always be the kitten that I one day found in my garden. Little Gigi Buffon.

More Lessons for the Vegan Runner

Sunday I ran with the group again. Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, I had stubbed my toes by running into a packed box. Inside the packed box was some wood and I'm pretty sure I hit the wood and hit it hard. By Thursday morning my toes were a lovely shade of purple and quite swollen. I hobbled around work. Friday was better. I still had some swelling, but I continued to ice and noticed that the colour was much improved. By Sunday I was somewhat apprehensive since I wasn't certain how long I could run on bruised toes.

18 k was the planned distance. I had really hoped for a nice 16k or something, but no 18 k was the plan. There would be a lot of trail on the route so that was good. Once again I went with the plan to run as far as I could. I tried keeping pace with the front group and was doing okay. I noticed that S. was lagging back a bit and it sounded like he might have a bit of a cold. Normally, I'd keep pace with him, but I decided to run my own run. I was at the back of the pack, but doing okay.

I chatted a bit with one of the runners. He and I caught up while we ran. Once we entered the trail I felt okay for a little while and then it hit me. The wall. I said to my running partner just as we exited the first half of the trail, "I think I'm fading." He reminded me that we had just done a significant incline, but I knew I was going to fall back. In no time he was well ahead and I was really starting to fall off the pace.

I ran the second half of the trail tired and struggling. I haven't felt like that in a long, long time.

The group leader had set up the course so at a certain point we'd be close to our finishing spot where we could depart early if we wanted to. I did just that. As much as I wanted to turn right at the corner and keep following the group that were now way out of earshot, I forced myself to go left and finish my run for the day. 14k. Not bad, but not great either.

While I was happy that my foot felt fine and hadn't caused me any discomfort, I was disappointed in not being able to go the distance. I'm so unprepared for this next half marathon. I know, I know I've said that before, but it's true. I've been taking my training too lightly since I stopped training for marathons and now I can't keep pace. That was lesson #1. Lesson #2 was, "uh, remember sharkies?" You need to refuel. I can't run more than 8 k without some more carbs and electrolytes. One certain way to find that wall and hit it is to not have enough fuel in the tank. I certainly didn't have enough fuel to sustain me.

Yesterday, I went out and ran some hills to start getting myself into shape. I went out for 50 minutes and did nothing but hills. I felt fine. I was a little slower than usual, but I ran those hills. Now I feel like I'm on the right track. I don't think I'll run a PB in the Vancouver half, but at least I'll have enough gas in the tank to finish.

Dear sweet Ruggles passed away this week. Being a rescue we were never sure of his age.
He had a strong presence in my sister's life since he followed her everywhere and was happiest when he was near her. Even though he only joined the cast of characters 3 1/2 years ago in my sister's home, he won over her heart and had a special place there.

When we lived in Toronto, Ruggles appeared on our front porch, like many of the unwanted or feral cats did. He lived under the porch for a few weeks while we fed him and until my sister felt she could get close enough to encourage him inside. This was easier than we thought. We had planned the scene. We'd move the food bowl into the front hall and once he was inside one of us was going to shut the front door. Hopefully he wouldn't tear back outside.


We never got to execute the plan because my sister discovered she could just go over and pick him up. She just carried him into the house and that was that. He was so gentle and loving that he never resisted or feared her.

At first we didn't know what colour he really was because he was so filthy and his hair was flattened and greasy. red jane who knows a thing or two about Persian cats because her mom has Persians suggested that he was a chocolate point. That's how filthy he was. Then as time went on, Ruggles as he came to be known, cleaned himself up and enjoyed his regular meals which caused him to fluff out and get whiter and whiter until he was the beauty you see in the photos.

Sis didn't know if she would keep him or not. However, the longer she spent debating it the dearer to her heart he grew.

When my sister was out, Ruggles would often come to my door at the foot of the stairs from my sister's place and do his quiet little scratchy meow. I'd let him in and he'd just come and hang out with us. He'd find a nice spot to lie down and just be content to be there with us. One time he got in the little cat tent and curled up or another time he fell asleep on my foot while I was sitting at my desk. He just like to be near someone. The other cats never minded him because he was not territorial at all and was so passive that I think other cats found that he just didn't register on their radar (except for Rupert, but that really was a unique case).


We'll miss you sweet Honey-bunches-of-Snuggelos. We loved you dearly and will miss you greatly.