Nanaimo Hike

Sunday was our day in Nanaimo, and we spent most of it in this beautiful park. We went there for mushrooms.

And it didn't disappoint. We did find lots of oysters. Not all of them were in the best shape, but we did bring home a nice bag that we split with my step-dad, pw.

We carried on down the trail that led to the water. It was beautiful.

This was all of the wildlife I saw.

The wildflowers

Stonecrop was everywhere.

The Starfish were abundant. They're a bit difficult to see in the photo, but they are all over the rocks underwater.

There were also lots of Jellyfish. Very cool looking.

The rock along the coast was all carved out like this, and there were little tidepools all over teeming with life.

This is what I want my garden to look like: moss, stonecrop, rocks, and shrubs.

pw's daughter found this starfish with a missing leg. I took a few photos before we put it back into the water.

Looking toward Gabriola Island.

Bronte Sisters

My sister sent me this. Every girl should have a Bronte Sister Power Doll.

Pleurotus ostreatus

db and I were out for a walk in the woods in our local park. We weren't mushroom hunting, but I did bring my quick reference guide with me because it's a handy thing to have.

About half way along the looped trail I looked up at this dead tree and saw something that looked like oyster mushrooms. Upon closer inspection, we realized that we had found a great source; however, they were a bit high up the tree. I found a fallen branch long enough to knock a few mushrooms down and we collected a nice handful (enough for 1 meal).

The ones in the photos are the ones we could not reach. They were so high up, and in these great clusters. I think db momentarily thought about climbing the tree somehow, but that was an unrealistic scenario.

I think if we go back to this spot we could find more. There was also a log on the ground with more oysters to easily collect.

After that we were on the lookout for more. There's one spot we visited last year where we found the angel wings (another pleurotus) that we thought we should re-visit to look for oysters. Hopefully we can find time to do that.

Next weekend we're headed to Nanaimo to visit with my step-dad (pw) and his daughter, and her step-dad (never mind it's a long story). pw said he has great spot for oysters, and he even found a morel there. I can't wait.

I thought I should at least include a picture of Gigi because you can never have enough cat photos to look at.

Sunday's bike ride

Achilles Update

I know you are all desperately waiting to find out what my decision is (lots of sarcasm).

I decided to see my physiotherapist, get some treatment, and ask her what she knows about the injection option. db also suggested that I ask her if she would suggest a specialist. She's an excellent physiotherapist who is an ultra trail runner (meaning she runs ridiculously long distances on trails. Ultra usually refers to 50k and up-- yes, there are further distances that people willingly run), so I feel well cared for and know that she understands how frustrating it is when you can't run.

This morning I got up much earlier than usual, and went to the gym (I've got to get the most out of my month's pass) to put in some bike mileage. It took me exactly 12 minutes to know that I'd had enough of the bike, and was itching to try the treadmill. I hopped off the bike and took my chances on the treadmill. While I ran, I looked out at the inlet's trail that I often run. It was an absolutely glorious morning. The sky was solid blue, and the temperature was warm enough to run in shorts. Oh well. Inside on the treadmill, I ran for 18 minutes at an easy pace. I stopped when I started to feel a little pain.

That was it. That was the extent of my workout. I would have spent more time there, but I had to get home to get ready for work. I didn't even have time to do a proper stretch, which is how I probably got this injury to begin with! Not wise. Anywho...at least I could run a little bit without too much pain.

I see my physiotherapist on Tuesday!

Ah my Aching Achilles

There it is connecting the two larger calf muscles. It looks resilient doesn't it? My left Achilles tendon is not, and any amount of running I do right now makes it very sore. The sore point for me is at the insertion point of the heel.

The theory was that Achilles tendonitis was an inflammation of the tendon caused by "too much too soon" in your training (too many accelerations, too much mileage before you're ready).  However, there is another theory that suggests it is not caused by overuse, but rather restricted blood flow. Whatever the cause, my problem has resurfaced.

When I first started running (when was that? 2004? 2005?), I acquired an Achilles injury that sidelined me for almost a month, and I was panicked because I was planning my first half marathon. I applied the RICE treatment (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation), and was fine. Since then I've been nagged by that injury that seems to flair up randomly. This suggests to me that it's a chronic problem.

So here's my dilemma: Do I go with my Naturopath's suggestion and start an injection treatment, a Traumeel solution (homeopathic remedy), of 3 injections around the ankle once a week over six weeks twice a week the first week though) that would permit me to run the Scotiabank half at the end of June; or do I go with visits to my physiotherapist, which involves the usual heat, ice, massage, and exercises, for who knows how many weeks? Since I haven't seen my physiotherapist yet, I'm not sure how long my treatment would be. There's also a price difference. The injections are $90, and my physiotherapist is $50 (since I don't get coverage since I switched jobs). What to do, what to do.

I've also had to go back to the gym, which I don't really like, but it's a necessary move to keep my endurance up. I bought a months pass so I can use the bike and the rowing machine. I did use the treadmill after the bike yesterday, and went on the track, but I paid for it later with an achy heel.

It's so hard to not run. I'm missing my long Sunday runs the most. The short runs often feel more like work than the long ones so I don't mind that so much, but the long Sunday run with no pressures on how far to go. I just go out and run until I'm tired. It's pretty unstructured right now, but it is working for me, or at least it was.

here we go again

After a short run this morning, I decided that I do need to go back to the physiotherapist, but I really don't want to. Not only am I having problems with the knot again in my right calf, but I am also worried about a tender Achilles tendon on my left heel. Needless to say but I'll say it anyway, this is very frustrating.

I've been pacing myself quite slowly to build up to a training program that starts in May (just around the corner) with hopes of running a marathon in the fall, but even "the best laid plans of mice and men..." or however that goes. The point is my season has barely started and I'm already faltering.

The calf has been getting worse. Last week I ran 45 minutes before it started to ache; today, it was 15 minutes when the ache set in. My Achilles only seems to be bothered when I run uphill. Ha! Okay, so I can stop running up hills. Haha! There's no such thing as flat terrain around here. 

I'm not so eager to go see my physiotherapist who will quickly realize that I have done little to improve the strength in my calves. Lesson learned? Not really. However, after my morning run, I did do some strengthening exercises and my static stretches. I also rolled a tennis ball under my calf hitting that knot to try and work it out a little. Am I grasping at straws?

Sunday is the long run day. Let's see how it goes. I was hoping to bump up the distance, but that may not be possible.

craigslist posting

I found this ad on craigslist today, and not only did I like the pictures, but I really liked the info about the free items. 


Just left out around the back of ****St.

PLEASE DO NOT KNOCK ON DOORS!!!!! Residents do not know anything about it. If it's not there, then you are too late!!!

Everything is in good condition. Double mattress/boxspring, Sony 27" TV with remote, small loveseat/2 seater couch. Please do not rumage through anything by the house, they belong to the residents living there.

Pictures are kind of reddish. Just imagine everything to be a bit brighter. Come get it before the rain gets it!!!

first hike of the season

On the weekend we took our first hike of the season. It was a warm-up short hike around Buntzen Lake. We had invited red jane out for dinner since she's moving east at the end of the month, and I suggested she arrive a little earlier so we could go for a hike close by.

I thought it would be a bit cooler and muckier at Buntzen Lake, but it was fairly warm and quite dry.  The dry winter really made a difference. There was a little snow to be seen up on these peaks, but not much. It was also quite a bit busier in the park that I expected. It's a popular spot in the summer for BBQs and swimming, but I didn't think people would bother much with the lake in the spring.

I'm not sure what wildflower this is. If you know, let me know. The flowers remind me of a primrose, but I really have no idea what it could be.

 There's a suspension bridge at the lake's north end, just over an hour from the lake's south end where we started. The water was beautifully still.

 I took the photo from the suspension bridge.

View from the north beach.

 Back at the start, we crossed another little bridge over this very dry creek. It will be interested to see what other trails are like as we continue our hiking season.

It was great to be on a well maintained trail with lots of ups and downs, but nothing too steep to climb. I think this was an excellent warm-up for our future hikes. Perhaps we should make it our annual warm-up trail.  My legs were a little tired because I had also run 12 k that morning, so any more of an intense hike and someone would have had to carry me.

The next hike will be Diez Vista?

Happy Anniversary.

Okay so I need to work on my decorating skills. In other words, I need to invest in some sort of decorating tools to apply icings and glazes. These were really yummy though.
Yes it's another recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra-Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. This recipe is called "Carrot Raisin Spice Chewies," and they taste like carrot cake in cookie form. I used currents instead of raisins because that's what I had on hand, and they have bits of coconut and walnut in them, and are spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; the grated carrot in the recipe brings it all together. 

Because I'm eager to move on to the next recipe, I don't know when I'll come back to this one. When I do,  I hope I have some decorating skills to speak of.

I also thought I'd end with a picture of Gigi because I haven't posted enough cat pictures lately. She's returned to this basket that she hasn't slept in since we moved into our new place, which is almost a year ago now. Who knows why she decided to sleep in it again? She has a few choice spots around the apartment. The basket she doesn't use as much, but whenever I can't find her I know she must be there. When she was a kitten, she was able to stretch out fully and still be contained in the basket. Aw my little kitten has grown up.

She's grown a bit hasn't she?

Fiston

I'm sad to say that my mom's kitty Fiston made his last trip to the vet yesterday. Today mom sent an email out with this beautiful picture of Fiston.

Mom thinks he may have been 16, but she's not really sure since he was a neighbourhood feral that she took in. I think his name is the french (Quebec) word for son (mom or db will have to correct me on that).

Fiston was always people shy, but not with mom. He seemed to always know that he was safe with her, and that he could feel safe in his home.

I'm always grateful to those who take in the "unwanted" street cats or ferals because sometimes they need extra love and care. Fiston was one of those cats. Thanks mom for giving him such a loving home.

Run Vegan Run

I had a great run today. It was easy, breezy (for real), and I felt strong even though I was running into the wind half of the time.

My ipod has become a regular attachment during because it can be a great way to lose myself in thought or a rhythm and think less about an ache or how hard that hill is to run. However, sometimes I turn it off especially when I'm running along trails so I can hear the birds, or in today's case hear the river.

Compared to last week's long run where I spent the whole time struggling, stopping and starting, and feeling completely unmotivated, this week's run was a pleasure even with the hills. I thought about why this might be, and considered that maybe much of it depends on my mental preparation. I'm not kidding. For 2 days I've been thinking about Sunday's long run, looking forward to having the day off, and hoping to have a little break in the rain to make the running a little easier. Last night I thought about what I was eating and how it might affect my run, and I had the same thoughts this morning when I ate a light breakfast. I went out without a plan in direction, but knowing that I wanted to run for at least an hour and a half so I could break it into three 30 minute runs. I really think it made a difference. I had mentally prepared myself to be out there for a certain amount of time, and with no pressure on where to go.

I use to go for a run with a certain route mapped out so I would know exactly what distance I had covered, but I've stopped doing that for about a year now, and I find it's so much easier to go out and just run with a time goal in mind.

I ran for an hour and 20 minutes.  At the bottom of the hill I decided I'd walk the rest of the way. I didn't want to end my run by struggling for 12 minutes running uphill. It's steep climb on the lower part of the hill, and my legs just didn't have enough. Walking up the hill is a great way to cool down though.

When I reached our turn off I saw a deer dart across the road. The traffic slowed and crept passed. Then another deer trotted across the road to join the first one. They stood on the side of the road and munched a little. I called db so he could come out and see them. He seems to always miss the deer sightings. By the time he reached me, the deer had just gone down into the woods. There's a creek and a trail that cuts alongside the road, and leads to our street. We went into the trail and saw their tracks, and headed alongside the creek. There they were on the other side of the creek watching us, and they had probably been watching us for a while before we even saw them.

I ran home and grabbed the camera. 

We could only see one by the time I got back. The second one had moved further into the brush.  The light behind this deer is coming from the road above. So they were still fairly close to the road, but if you were walking along the road, you would never know they were there.

some food highlights of the week

Butternut squash and parsnip soup was on the menu on the night that we had the wind storm. It was a miserable day being cold, rainy, and extremely windy. Stanley Park was closed as was the Lions Gate bridge. Our backyard was scattered with small branches that had blown from the trees. It's quite something to watch those very tall trees sway back and forth in the wind. The wind blew right through me, and I felt like it would take hours to get warm again. I needed to make something quick and warming. We also had a butternut squash that had been sitting on the counter for a couple of weeks. Soup is such a simple meal to put together and is so rewarding.

More cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. These are Chocolate Fudgy Oatmeal Cookies. I have perhaps an unrealistic goal of baking every cookie in this book. There are 100 recipes. I've now made 9 recipes from this book. Hmm. It could take a while. db figured out that it might take me 2 years to make every recipe. I think I can do it in less. He may have been saying that to see if I would bake more cookies more often since it's his favorite sweet treat.

I'm also trying the gluten free flour mix from the book to make my cookies so I can enjoy them without too much worry. These were loaded with chocolate chips and cocoa so they were very chocolatey.

Okay these aren't mine. I'm not a maraschino cherry fan so that's one sign that I didn't make these (no offense to the cupcake maker though. They do make them look beautiful). Another indication would be that I could never frost and decorate a cupcake to make it look so beautiful. I guess a third give-away would be the packaging. They are packaged in a take-out container.
These were chocolate (note the past tense because they didn't last long) cupcakes with vanilla icing. Actually, I would call them a Black Forest cupcake because there was a cherry filling in the middle.

They were very generously given to me from the baker. She came into the store yesterday to load up on some vegan goodies, and mentioned that she'd just come from the market. I found out that she goes to a few markets on the weekend and sells vegan sweets including cupcakes. She asked me if I liked chocolate. That's an easy one to answer. Then she dashed out to her car and came back with 2 containers of cupcakes. She also gave me some mini chocolate cupcakes with a mint frosting that I shared with customers in the store. It was so kind of her. I got her card that has her website and reads, "Sweet Delights from the kitchen of the Vegan Vixen." I think I'll be seeking out which market she's at on the weekends, and try to make it to one. We have the best customers.

My Pen

I'll tell you an odd thing about myself. When I'm at work, I always use the same pen, and I don't really like to share it. If I loan it to someone it's usually with reluctance.
I was mimicking this character from Kids in the Hall to db, but he didn't know the reference so I had to look it up for him to watch. Thought I'd share.

Earth hour menu

db and I started a tradition of making an all raw meal for earth hour. The idea is that we'll be using less energy if we're not using the stove and/or oven. We still had to use the food processor, and blender, but they used far less energy than having the stove on.

Anyway, the idea is to try something we don't always do like turning the lights off at night, and just use candlelight to see, and making a raw meal.

I made a Swiss Chard soup for our starter. You can just barely see my glass of pineapple, ginger & pear juice. I forgot to take a photo of the juice.

Here's the main course. We made vegetable fettucine with a macadamia nut alfredo sauce. The sauce was amazing! I think creamy nut sauces are my favorite now. It's the best way to make a cream sauce. We also consume less soy that way, and being vegan you can consume quite a bit of soy if you let yourself. We're actually not too bad though.

Anywho...the dinner was delcious. (The heavy shadows in the picture must be from the candlelight. I like how the basil is casting a dark shadow on the pasta).

The desert was a chocolate mousse made with avocado (don't knock it until you try it!), dates, raw agave syrup, and cocoa. It's so creamy and smooth. I also added some cacao nibs for an extra rich chocolatey flavour. The mousse was so rich and delicious. I finished mine before I could take a picture, but I'll be making this again soon because it really is so tasty, and again no soy or refined sugars. It's all good.

2010 Paralympics Men's Cross Country Skiing.MOV

Apparently this wasn't accessible the first time I posted it. So here it is again.
I did not catch them crossing the finish, but you know how it ended.

Paralympics 2010

db and I bought tickets to an Alpine event for the last day of the Paralympics. Everything was selling out so fast, and we couldn't see all that we wanted, but we were happy to get Alpine event tickets.
Alas, it was not meant to be. The Alpine events for Sunday were canceled in anticipation of bad weather. The only tickets left were Cross Country Skiing. We had seen Olympic Cross Country Skiing, and although we weren't as excited to be going back to the last venue we had been at, we were happy to at least be going to see something.

The Paralympics were much more relaxed. We could drive to the venue since the Sea to Sky highway was opened to regular traffic once the Olympics left town. From the parking lot, we were taken on a short shuttle bus ride from the parking lot to the entrance. There was no security. Our tickets were scanned, and we walked through to begin our climb to the venue.

There was a good crowd with flags from Norway to Mongolia. It was a good atmosphere.

Once there all of my enthusiasm returned. I was so inspired and in awe of these athletes. By the end of the day I was perhaps more in awe of these athletes than the Olympic athletes simply because they are competing with a disability. Imagine being blind and skiing with the help of a guide ahead of you. Imagine skiing with no poles, or having to rely on your upper body strength to climb a hill while on skis. I found it very moving to see these athletes perform at this world class event.

We saw several events: the men's and women's sit skiing 1 km sprints, the men's and women's visually impaired 1 km Classic sprints, and the men's and women's standing 1 km Classic sprints. db and I saw from the qualifying to the medal round, and were able to follow the overall performance of an athlete.

In this picture you can see that the Olympic rings have been covered over, and the Paralympic symbol with the three "agitos" (latin for "I move") replaced the Olympics symbols.

The weather wasn't the best. It rained on and off and the wind picked up at one point.  We made several trips to the "warming tent" that was set up near the concession stand.

Even the Aussie's inflatable kangaroo was in the warming tent at one point. I think everyone made a trip there at some point during the day.

We probably lasted as long as we did because of the warming tent, and we were pretty well dressed for the weather, but clearly not dressed well enough (I could have worn my long underwear, for example). However, I saw some young girls there who were horribly dressed. One girl was wearing a mini-skirt with leggings and some flimsy looking boots. She had no hat or gloves that I could see. Ah kids. At least she had her phone to message her friends about how cold she probably was.

Anywho...

The Russian men swept the sit skiing, and took a moment to celebrate together, as well as before their Russian fans that were present.

They did have to be moved off the course though because another event was already underway, and soon skiers would be entering the stadium.

Perhaps most exciting was watching Brian and Robin McKeever win their third gold medal in the Men's 1 km sprint.

Here's Brian McKeever warming up before his event.
Many skiers jogged near the start gate before their event.

We were standing at the final corner where the athletes take their last turn before heading towards the finish line. We watched Brian's sprint to the finish, and it was remarkable. What a race.

I wish we had stayed for the medal presentation, but the weather got the better of us, and had worn us down. After their medal win, we headed home.

I have some more shaky video of the sprint to the finish for the McKeevers. I'll have to post it. I stopped my camera before they crossed the finish line though because I forgot all about the camera, and wanted to watch them finish. I'm not the best when it comes to sport video since my enthusiasm tends to get the better of me. 

I think I'm a bigger fan of the Paralympics now than I am of the Olympics. It was frustrating to not be able to see much of it on t.v. Maybe next time the networks will get it right, and give the Paralympics the coverage it deserves, and has earned. Or maybe next time I'll stick to watching what I can on-line.

Happy Anniversary

It's our 7th anniversary with Primavera. 7 years ago we drove to Richmond Hill to pick her up from her foster home. It's been an active 7 years! Prima is so loving, and sweet. She's got her crazy side. I always thought she'd settle down a little as she aged, but she hasn't really slowed down much.

It was pure coincidence that we picked her up on the first day of spring, and her name was Primavera. It suits her, but she also has picked up a few other names such as, Chicken (the most common one now) or Chik, Babs, Ba, Farfallina, and Suprima. She is, though, first and foremost our Primavera, and I'm so glad that we found her.

Run Vegan Run

The cold weather suprised me. Seeing that the morning sunny and clear, and after hearing a weather report that was promising mid-teen temperatures, I was ready for a good run. I wondered if I was perhaps overdressed since on Tuesday I had to peel a layer off after only 2 minutes of running. Then I stepped outside and brrr. I hopped back in and put on my hat and grabbed my gloves. It was almost frosty. It's got to be the higher elevation. Problem one was solved. Problem two was that my legs felt like lead. I hate the lead leg days. It's so tough to keep going, and I spend a lot of time fighting the urge to walk. I kept running. The lead legs did not pass.

I decided to run the exact route I ran on Tuesday just to see how the lead legs would affect me. On Tuesday I had felt good after completing a short run up the hill, over a few streets and back. That's my short run route. Tuesday's time was okay for a short easy run. Today's time was faster! Huh? Even though I felt like I was running slower than ever, I actually did the loop 45 seconds faster. I know 45 seconds doesn't sound like a lot, but it is when you feel sluggish, and have to fight almost every step of the way.

Very strange, but at least I'm consistent, and I know if I work through the tough bouts then it will pay off.

The paralympic coverage

What coverage? I was hoping for another run of olympic viewing, but alas it is not going to happen. Instead we get highlights. Oh well. It's a start. Perhaps by the next winter paralympics there will be more televised events. I guess CTV wasn't prepared for the demand. After all most of the events have sold out in ticket sales, leaving those who couldn't buy tickets with nothing but highlights. Well done CTV.

We do, however, get full coverage of the sledge hockey, which is great. I'm enjoying that, or at least I'm enjoying the Canadian sledge hockey games (even though it was a 10-1 blowout against Sweden. I didn't hear a peep about maybe it shouldn't be an event because it's not competitive enough like they said about the women's hockey. It's probably not a great comparison, but I'm not going to rant now). So, yes I am enjoying the hockey. There doesn't seem to be coverage of the hockey unless Canada is playing though. I really wanted to see Norway play, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow when they play Canada.

I guess we have to take what we can get for now.

db and I did manage to get tickets for some Alpine events next Sunday, but we're not sure what it will be since they had to reshuffle the whole schedule after poor conditions cancelled some events this past weekend. Whatever Alpine event it is, I'm sure it will be fun and exciting. I'm looking forward to it.

It seems funny though to be going to the winter paralympics when the daffodils have already bloomed, and maybe by then I'll have a few tulips as well. It's a good thing the event is at Whistler.

International Women's Day

I invite you to check out the International Women's Day website to find out what is going on around the world to celebrate women today.

I think it should be a national holiday as it is in some other countries.

CBC News - Politics - PM defends spy agency's Afghan role

The plot thickens.

CBC News - Politics - PM defends spy agency's Afghan role