Back from Vacation

I'm back! I had an amazing vacation and I never left home! Well, we left the house, but we never ventured more than a day drive from home.

It was the best birthday (should I say ever?). My family spoiled me rotten, which was fab. They all pitched in a bought me a beautiful new camera with so many bells and whistles I'm going to take a course on how to use it. For now I've got it on an automatic setting for the most part and that takes great photos.

There's so much to post about the vacation that I can't post it all at once so I think I'll just do some random days and photos to go along with it.

If you didn't know from the photo above that's Seattle. db & I went to Seattle on Saturday. Even though the family left on Thursday, we still wanted the vacation to go on. We've never been to Seattle and it was overdue. It's only a 2 1/2 hour car ride from Port Whoody (plus the border wait).

hand-blown glass outside of the Pike Place Market

The market is a main attraction right downtown on the waterfront. It was packed with mostly tourists (including us). I found the crowd a bit overwhelming, but the market was worth it. I especially loved the flower alley with nothing but flowers on table after table after table.
It's a great city to walk in and we did a lot of walking in several neighbourhoods. I really like the University district. It was less polished than the downtown and had a relaxed easy-going feel. Plus, there are several vegan restaurants and shops to check out.

For dinner we found Pizza Pi , a vegan pizzeria with everything a pizzeria has to offer and it's all vegan. We each had our own choice. I selected the Olive lovers pizza with a spinach artichoke cream sauce. db had the Aloha pizza with some additional jalapenos. The woman who made the pizzas was very nice and made wonderful pizzas. Another bonus was that they had a gluten free crust that I tried. It was so so so incredibly good.
When I go back, I'm going to Pizza Pi.
Oh and then there was Mighty-O donuts. The vegan donut shop! Everything on the menu is vegan. The shop is in a renovated garage so there is the garage door that opens up for an open air cafe feel. The coffee is delicious and the selection of donuts seems endless.
Did I mention that they are delicious?
We brought a dozen home. It's a good think we don't live closer to Mighty-O. It could be very dangerous.

Vacation

My vacation starts Saturday. The family arrives Sunday and after that I probably won't be blogging so much (even less than I am now) because I expect we'll be too busy.

So I'll see you after my vacation.

Ciao.

A few quick notes on the week so far.

Just 3 more days of work before my vacation starts! My mom, brother and his girlfriend arrive on Sunday and will be here until the 9th of July so it's going to be a fun and busy vacation.

db and I decided to use our place as our home base and then just do day trips from here. There is so much to see and do within a short driving distance. We've mapped out some plans and just need to go over everything again before they arrive. I guess I should also google map destinations and read about anything else that might be in the area that we should see.

Vacation aside, I also have my run on Sunday with the 7 a.m. start. Wow that's early and it's a long drive from home so I'm anticipating a 4 am rise-and-shine (I think the birds are just starting to wake up at that time). I really hope to finish in a decent time, but I won't think about that too much.

Tonight, I'm just trying to get out for my run. My legs are tired even though I worked in the office all day. It's just tougher to go out and run after work, but I know I'll feel fine once I get going.

***

My cousins were just here on the weekend. When I was 16 or 17 I spent the summer with my aunt and uncle in Vermont looking after my 3 cousins who were 10, 8 and 4 (I believe those ages are correct). It was an incredible summer for me. I loved being there. My aunt and uncle were so kind to me. Even though I may not have been the best at child care I did enjoy looking after them. They were bad and did fight a lot, but if anything it has only made me fonder of them because we went through it together.

At the time I was...let's say...a bit of a troubled teen, so this trip to Vermont was a learning experience that was good for me. I wish I'd been a little less of a troubled teen, but I can't change that now.

Anywho...two of my cousins were here this weekend. R, the youngest, is about to leave for New Zealand to do research for her Phd, while N. lives in Nelson and, as I've mentioned before, is a coffee roaster there. We arranged to have dinner Sunday night, but since they were leaving for Kelowna the next day we also arranged for them to stay over.

It was so nice to see them and see what incredible adults they've become. What I found most remarkable was how close they are as siblings. All that fighting when they were little and it didn't affect their relationships as adults. It made me miss my brother and sister and how much fun we have together. I miss how we can just pick up where we left off and feel completely at ease with one another. So to see my cousins having such a positive relationship really made me happy.

We had a nice dinner. db and I had prepped most of the food earlier in the day so we had more visiting time. db made bruschetta with mushrooms, pinenuts and tomatoes. I made my creamy pesto pasta with green beans and potatoes. We had a salad mix that I had picked up at the market that morning and for dessert I made a mixed berry crisp with fresh local strawberries, blueberries and some cherries I found in the freezer that my stepdad, pw, had given us at least a year ago. I also had some leftover rhubarb and strawberry compote to serve with it and made the cashew whipped cream that is absolutely divine. What a meal.

N had brought his dog Pitou so the cats were kept in the bedroom since Pitou hasn't had much exposure to cats and he looked a little too eager to chase (and perhaps nip a little) when he looked through the window at our kitties. Both of the cats' tails puffed up. Prima was curious, but Gigi wanted nothing to do with Pitou. The bedroom was a good place for them to relax while Pitou stayed over.

At 4 am I discovered that Gigi is an early riser and has stuff to do; therefore, she needs to get out of the bedroom now. I didn't want to wake everyone and put Pitou out in the backyard so I just lay awake and tried to stop Gigi from tearing at the door. She'd give up just long enough for me to drift off and then she'd start up again. At 6:30 I got up and we got Pitou up and moved him out. Sorry Pitou, but I had to let Gigi out of the room as she was going squirrly. Poor little Gi.

Anywho...it was nice to see R & N. Hopefully db and I will make it to Nelson sometime soon for a visit.

Star Trek as The A-Team

I saw this on Wandering Coyote's blog and I just had to share it here since I know my family will appreciate this.

Run Vegan Run

15 k tomorrow. Am I up for it? I'll find out tomorrow.

I've changed my long run days to Fridays since I tend to be off work on Fridays and I'd really like to sleep in one of these Sundays, although that never seems to happen. db has started running again so I want to run with him on those Sunday mornings and it is so peaceful early in the morning. Last Sunday we saw a deer just up the hill. That's not going to happen at the same time on a weekday.

So this will be my last long run before the race. I hope we have good weather and a great turn out. We haven't had rain since the 26th of May so I'm a little worried that when it turns back to rain it will really rain. I've run in the rain a few times, but at an event it's never been an issue. It rained a little in Tofino during my marathon there, but nothing to worry about, and by the end of the run it was sunny and hot.

I'm also excited about the new course. I love running a new course. Surprise hills are always fun (sarcasm). As always I'd like to drive the route before running it, but that may not be possible since I don't have a car. We'll have a car that weekend because the family arrives (mom, gp & c-loo), but I don't imagine I'll have time to drive the route since I'll be getting house and home ready for their arrival.

This will also be my last run in a certain...ahem...age group (35-39) and that's all I'm going to say about that.

For now, I'll just focus on tomorrow's run. I'll get up early and get out the door at a reasonable time so I can just take my time and enjoy the run.

recent photos

Pink geranium.db with foxglove.

Sunday we went for a short hike in the woods behind our place. We wanted to find the trail down to the water.
There are foxgloves growing everywhere.

There's a little bridge along one path that overlooks a dry creek. I love the leafy tree amongst all the spruce and cedar.
Looking down at the dry creek.
Eventually we ended up in a clearing of sorts. There was very little ground cover and the slope was quite dry from the weeks of sunshine we've had. It was beautiful to look at the tree trunks all around us with the canopy so far above.
The observant db spotted this robin's egg on the forest floor. The photo (of course) doesn't bring out the bright blue as it should.

Eventually we did make it down to the mainroad and crossed the street to a lower road and walked along to the inlet park. We overshot our destination, but found a more direct and steeper trail on the way home.

Back at the garden...

Everything is filling in nicely. The beans are coming up and the lettuce. I've staked the roses that were already in the beds and we've put some tomatoes in pots on the level up above (fingers crossed).
One clematis has bloomed. This one is called Niobe.
One yellow rose has bloomed so far.

Of course a picture of Gigi is the best way to end a series of photos.

To bike or not to bike. I'm balancing my running with my biking and I'm finding it tricky. I'm training for the half on June 28th, but the weather has been so incredibly beautiful I just want to be on my bike. If I bike too much, I get fatigued and can't always run as well as I'd like to.

I love biking to work. There's a freedom in getting on my bike and being out in the open enjoying the fresh (as fresh as it can be) air.

So this morning...I will...I'm still trying to decide.

Sometimes life just gets too busy and I never seem to catch up. Even though I'm sitting here and taking time to blog, meaning that I must have spare time on my hands, I really am overwhelmed with the every day.

First, I want to talk about my Great Aunt Viki. She passed away this past week and I am so sorry for the family. She was such a great woman who was always so kind and welcoming. Whenever I visited with she and my Great Uncle Hanf, I was always reminded of how wonderful it is to be part of this large family we have spread across the country...or actually... across the continent.

One of my favorite traits of Viki's was how she would often say how nice it was to see me. We'd be having dinner or sitting in her living room having drinks and she'd just say how wonderful it was to see me, speaking exactly what I was feeling. Her smile was lovely and warm. Her face showed the signs of someone who smiled and laughed a lot. She loved her family, immediate and extended, and loved nothing more than to be with that family.

I saw her not too long ago when her illness had progressed so that she wasn't always aware of what was going on around her. This was heartbreaking to see, but she still wanted to be with us all and she still greeted me with her broad smile and a warm hug and kiss to the cheek.

***

So this news about my Great Aunt has been hovering around me since I found out from my sister on Friday and it put into motion the arrangements to fly my mom out from Quebec so she can be here for the funeral.

Friday morning was spent on the phone with my sister and aeroplan working through the process of purchasing a ticket by using my miles to bring the price down as far as possible. It wasn't going well. I was having trouble getting through to aeorplan and was learning to navigate the process when I got completely fed up. I called my sister and told her I needed to go for my run before it got to hot (we also had a heat wave here this past week).

I finally got out the door for my run about an hour and a half later than expected. My mind was focused on just getting it over with (13 k to go). However, running doesn't work that way. The body reminds you of the niggling aches and pains you've collected or are working through, so you can't just get a run over with. It doesn't take long for the mind to wander elsewhere. After only about 3 k into the run, my thoughts turned to Viki and I got the opportunity to go over all of my memories I had of her. I got to grieve a little, which is what I really needed to do because I hadn't given myself a chance to do that yet. This changed the whole feeling of my run that then became about every step and enjoying each moment I had.

By the end of the run it was very hot out, and I was more than happy to be finished with a nice walk up the long hill towards home.

I finalized the ticket for my mom and carried on with my day.

Since then I've been working. We had inventory today-- it's once a year--so I was at work all day long. Tomorrow I'm back at work and Tuesday and Wednesday.

My mom arrives Wednesday evening.

Thursday is the funeral. Thursday is the day we can all come together to remember Viki. I know it's an odd thing to say about a funeral, but I'm looking forward to it so I can have the chance to say good-bye in a more formal way. I want to say good-bye without the everyday of my life getting in the way. Thursday will be about Viki and I can't think of a better way to spend my day.

Progressive Portland” a model for smart growth with many lessons for Vancouver

Progressive Portland” a model for smart growth with many lessons for Vancouver

A co-worker brought this article to my attention last fall and I came across the newspaper clipping after the move. I find Portland to be inspiring.

Has it really been so long since I wrote on my blog? We must be having some pretty spectacular weather and I've been busy finishing up the details of our new place, including the garden details.

Here's our patio. I've set clematis against the poles and there's also one against the fence in this picture. The one on the fence probably won't bloom this year since that type of clematis needs to bloom on last year's growth and I had to cut last year's growth so I could bring the plant with me. Oh well, next year.

We've set up our rolling composter against the fence. We'll use it until the new bins arrive at the end of June. We're getting green waste bins when the city changes over to automated garbage pick-up. The bins will have special clips on them to keep the bears out. After that I suppose we'll use the compost just enough to keep some going for the garden. Looking at this picture I feel I could double the pots. I may have to go up the pole and hang some more plants.

We refurbished the raised beds and filled them with the garden I brought with me. There are 3 roses that were already there so I just pruned and staked them. Two of them have buds so we'll see what they produce. It's a pretty shady yard so I'm not sure how well these roses can do.

The other rhodos are at the end of their blooming, but there are two along the fence that are in full bloom now and the colour is very striking.
Here's our little patio.
***

Because Sunday was so beautiful, I thought it would be nice to go to the beach. We were heading into the city to see a movie at the Doxa film festival anyway so I thought we may as well head to the water.

We parked at Spanish banks and walked along the path. There's a nice view of the city from the beach. I like the downtown from here.
It's hard to see but there were scads of sailboats on the water. There were almost as many boats on the water as there were people on the beach. I also noticed that people were quite far out and seemed not to be only up to their waists in water. I guess that's why the boats are so far out.



Finally, this one is for my brother, a Chicago fan. Who knew the Blackhawks were retro? The only thing missing from the photo is the sound of db laughing.

Run Vegan Run

The training is in full swing. I've signed up for the Scotiabank 1/2 in Vancouver at the end of June. Incidentally, the run is on the same day my family arrives from Montreal and N.B., so I can run the event and then head to the airport to pick them up. That worked out well.

I feel motivated more than ever right now.

The sun was shining when I left work, and the air was cool. It was a good night for a run. I changed as soon as I got home and headed up that hill. No matter what way I go, once I leave the house, I have to either go up a steep hill or down it. To start my run I'd rather go up. It's a decent climb and nothing to take lightly. Tonight when I started up the hill, I looked at the path ahead and the hill looked almost completely flat. It didn't look like a climb at all. For the first time I felt like I had overcome the mental block of running up the hill and subsequently my body seemed to hurt less. I knew it would be work, but I knew I could run up it and would be able to again and again. Facing obstacles head on seems to be the lesson of the day. Let's see if I can apply that to my non-running side of my life.

The colour pink

I don't wear a lot of pink. I have one long sleeve running shirt in pink and that's about it, so I suppose I don't consider the colour much. However, this week it stood up and asked me to take notice. When I flipped through my pictures from this past week I noticed that pink was the dominate colour.

This rhododendron is in full bloom right now. I'm really enjoying it as a bright accent in an otherwise predominately green landscape.
When I saw this dessert at the post punk kitchen blog, I knew it was the dessert for me. It's raw and it's loaded with strawberries. The recipe is simple and takes little time to make (minus the cashew soaking time, and the chilling time in the fridge -- ah, I've discovered the brilliance of coconut oil!).

The strawberries turned the "cake" this beautiful pink colour that really appeals to me.

What do you think of the colour?

Garden day

Sunday was all about gardens. I know it was about Mother's Day for some of you, but I can only call my mom since she lives so far away. Seeing as I'm not a mom myself (unless you count the cats, which I do), I didn't really want to go to a popular Mother's Day destination, but it was the Geranium and Pelargonium Club's sale and it was being held at Van Dusen Botanical Gardens.

We didn't go into the gardens itself. Mother's Day was not the time for that.

This photo is near the entrance in the parking lot. It looks very enticing and now I know I'll have to go back to Van Dusen for a tour.









All entrances to major attractions have totems and Van Dusen is no exception.

It does look relatively quiet, but believe me it was teeming with moms and their families.

There wasn't much left at the sale in the afternoon of its last day. If I hadn't worked Saturday I would have gone earlier for more selection. However, I found some beautiful geraniums (hardy geraniums that include a white double, called Double Jewel, and a phaeum, called Samobor) and a scented geranium that smells of nutmeg.


After I'd made my choices, we had planned to go to the Sustainable Expo, but because it was such a beautiful day, we decided to spend the time in our new garden that needs a lot of work.


This isn't our garden. This is one of the pathways leading away from the Van Dusen parking lot. The rhodos lined the whole path.










Okay so here's part of our garden. There are several raised beds as you enter the garden that leads to our door. Each bed has a rose in it (varieties unknown since they were already here).

Here db has joined in to help me weed the dandelions out of the area. They were abundant, but I had two tools to try out from LV tools. The Dandelion Digger and the Grandpa's Weeder were the two tools. I preferred the digger because it was less cumbersome to use than the weeder. Also, the weeder took out large chunks of earth so it left more of a hole that looked a lot nastier on the lawn.
I found that the digger did equally as good a job and it was light and easy to use.

Into the earth it goes.














It's hard to tell here, but the plant is being lifted out easily. The cup part of the tool presses against the earth and the plant lifts out.












Here's the result. It's hard to tell because of the out of focus foreground, but there is a significant amount of the taproot removed from the soil. Yay!

And so it went dandelion after dandelion until the trug was overflowing, and then I had to stash the rest of them alongside the house until I get some yardwaste bags.





Here's the view from our kitchen looking west.














Here's another view looking in the other direction (south).

db took the Christmas lights down that were left up by the last tenant.

As you can see from these last two photos, we do border the forest. One of the really nice aspects of this position is that we get to hear lots of birdsong.
While out in the garden we heard this very loud crazy sounding call that neither of us had ever heard before. I looked up to see a sizeable bird and it looked like he had a red head. It was definitely a woodpecker, and not just any woodpecker, but a Pileated Woodpecker. They are about the size of a large crow and have a striking red tuft on top.

Fortunately, I had unpacked the binoculars and left them near the door. The binoculars gave us a good view of him (I later confirmed it was a him since only the males have the red streak on the face). It was the largest woodpecker I've ever seen.

Here's an image to give you an idea of what they look like. I don't have a telephoto lens so I did not take this picture.

Amazing looking aren't they?

Election day

We have a provincial election today and I'm still trying to decide who I'm going to vote from. I'm leaving work early so I'll do some more research when I get home.

My uncle

My aunt and uncle were visiting from Vermont. As I mentioned I saw my cousin as well. We all got a chance to get together at another cousin's house in Ladner. It was great to see everyone.

My uncle is a painter and I was very touched when he gave me one of his paintings (I'm sorry I couldn't get a better picture of it than the one above). He said he wants to give something to all the nieces and nephews (there's a lot of us), which is such a generous gesture.

If you'd like to see a sample of his work, you can visit his website. From his website you can visit his blog and see more of his kimono series.

My cousin #494 Roasting coffee at Oso Negro

I recently saw my cousin, who I haven't seen in years, and found out that he's a coffee roaster. He's the roaster seen in this video.

garden pictures

Finally I can post pictures again!

These were taken 2-3 weeks ago before we moved and left our garden behind. Checkered lily (fritillaria)
Dogtooth violet
Some of the tulips (Gavota & Midnight Mystique) and a few (Thalia) daffodils in the background
Persian tulips. I absolutely loved these smaller bright tulips.

I'm still alive

It's been a while, hasn't it?

I still cannot find my camera cord to load photos, so until then there will only be text.

The move went fine. The cats settled quickly. Prima settled in almost immediately and was back to her routine of having a bath on the couch in no time. Gigi took a little more time exploring, peeking around corners, and jumping up on boxes to check them out.

The week has been hectic. Every time I tried to catch up on unpacking something came up. First there's work and then there was my long day on Thursday when I had my last grammar class after a full day of work. Friday was my day off so I slept in because I really needed to and then got up to go for a run. Later, I remembered that I had to go to the race expo downtown and pick up my race package for Sunday's Vancouver half marathon (oh, I tried the new Sport drink by Vega at the expo and loved it. I definitely have to pick up some and use that for my training. I also tried their new Chai flavoured mix and it was also delicious. I have to order some). I also had Saturday off, but we had an annual vet trip to make with the cats and then I had to make something to take to dinner that evening for a get together with some cousins, aunts, and uncles. (I made black bean and quinoa salad from Veganomicon. It has mango and cilantro in it and is, of course, delicious and simple to make). Meanwhile, as I'm making the dish for that night, the cable guy is in the house to hook us up to telus and it's taking him a lot longer than he thought so he's coming and going. It was a little chaotic and I felt like not much unpacking was actually getting done. However, we did do better than I thought. I'm not even sure if I need anything in the boxes that are left unpacked. I guess I will want to unpack the artwork and pictures when I do finally get around to decorating.

Sunday I awoke at five a.m. after getting to bed around midnight (dinner ran way longer than I thought. We were having such a good time and didn't want to leave). I realized at 5:30 a.m. that I should have gotten up at 4:30 since we have at least a 40 minute drive into the city and the race starts at 7:00 a.m. I was sleepy and rushing around. Toast and tea in hand, I got into the car before 6:00 a.m. but was panicked. There was zero traffic and db got me downtown to drop me near the start with 25 minutes to spare (which really means getting in line for the port-0-potty with all the other runners). I was so worried that I'd have to run to the start line like last year, but I was there with all the other runners and had time to just take it all in, sing the national anthem (It's true. I may have been one of the few singing), and listen to the countdown.

The run went pretty well. 1:56:40 is the official time. I've already knocked off 3 minutes from my run in February so the next one in June should be even better. We had beautiful weather. All week long the forecast had been predicting rain, and Saturday night confirmed that the rain had moved into the area. When I woke this morning I was so happy to see that it was clear and the morning just kept getting brighter and brighter. The whole day was sunshine; it was a beautiful day.

After the run db and I stopped by to see red jane, who I haven't seen in ages. It was great to see her. She made her famous power cookies for me and made them gluten free. They are the best. We had a nice visit. I started to feel pretty tired so we headed home.

Once we got home, I ate and napped. Now here I am. The place is finally starting to shape up. We are starting to win over the boxes. Outside our patio is framed by temporary pots with plants I dug out of the last garden. Those will just have to wait. The homeowners, M & N, did say that I could use the three raised beds that aren't being used in the backyard so I think I'll get a few nice plants for that area. They'll need some new soil since it's mostly packed clay and moss now. I can't wait to get into the garden.

Pictures are coming as soon as I can find that damned cord!

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.