Sunday, September 16, 2012

Truckin' Like the Do-Dah Man



I got to the race early.  I was nervous about the location (outside of town at a lake that I have only been to a few times).  I was worried about parking.  I was worried about getting my bike set up.  I got all of that taken care of and then I was standing around wondering where Shirley was.  Shirley is the one who got me hooked on swimming again and talked me into an individual triathalon in July.  Her proposal this time was that we do an Olympic distance team triathalon - she would swim, I would bike, and Laurel would run.  I worried (and articulated) that I was going to hold them back - Shirley and Laurel are nothing short of amazing at their sports.  They were competitive in college (which wasn't that many years ago for them!).

So one minute before the pre-race meeting Shirley strode up in sweats and stripped to her suit and pulled her wetsuit on.  It was cold.  It was windy.  Some pranksters stole the buoys that marked the swim route in the lake.  Shirley smiled and laughed.  She plunged into the lake with a smile, swam her mile, and came out with a smile.  I took her lead.

Technically I took her hand off.  She came out of the lake and we high fived for an exchange in the transition area and then I was off on the bike.  It was cold.  It was windy.  And there were lots of hills.  I had a well marked course though and I had two really good laps around the lake (26.5 miles at 15 mph on hills!  I am happy!).  I came into the transition after my second lap and tagged Laurel, who took off for her 10k.  She came in at just under 40 minutes.  (I told you she was fast!)

And?  We won the women's team division for the Olympic Distance Triathalon.  Our boss (who sponsored us) will be really happy.

I love triathalons.  I love the friendly competitors.  I love the different events.  I love the challenge of transitioning to different events.  I love that I have gotten to know these two women and I have learned a lot from them.  I want to be positive and relaxed and heck yeah, let's go swim in a lake, ride a bike around it and run.  There is nothing cooler than that.  I need to relax and smile.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise

This is a lovely, but very sad book.  I enjoyed the soft humor very much.  It also made me realize that I do not know much about English history.

The main character is a Beefeater who is put in charge of the Queen's Menagerie due to his success in raising a tortoise as a family pet.  He is mourning the loss of his son and not functioning very well.

This was a One Book One Lincoln selection and my September book club book.  I highly recommend it.

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Thursday, September 06, 2012

In One Person

John Irving is, without a doubt, my favorite author.  I will read anything he writes.  His last few books have not been his best.  They have long, arcing stories that tie in brilliantly, but the last few have cut some corners and seem to be draft-like and not the perfect connections that some of his books have.  There are very familiar themes - sexuality, childhood nemeses affecting our lives, single mothers, absent fathers, etc.  He tries to put these themes in a modern context and does very well with that actually.  You can't write a novel with gay men in the 80s without dealing with AIDS, and he deals with it very well.  One of my favorite scenes was two childhood friends who reunite on one friend's deathbed.

It's always curious to me that not just one but ALL of the characters fixate on people from their childhood.  Frequently the children of the characters even fixate on an individual.  I am one of those people who remembers people, events and even dialogue for years and years.  It is reassuring to me to think that there is an arc to life that results in satisfaction of childhood issues in adulthood.  Unfortunately I think that reality is that I lack an editor.

I can tell it is the end of summer - my stepdaughters have gone back to Gordon, NE and my kids are back in school.  I have quiet time in the evenings to read again.

I had ambitious plans to read this year and I have not come close to meeting those goals, but I have done better than I did last year, and I will take that.

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Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Adult Children

My middle kid turns fifteen today.  My son, the youngest, turns thirteen in a few weeks and the thought makes me tear up.  No more kids.  Just teenagers.

As much as teenagers irritate me, I prefer them to younger kids in many ways.  My oldest got bored on Friday night and decided to make banana bread which she tweaked to add chocolate and nuts.  She even cleaned up after herself.  My middle kid went to see "Beasts of the Southern Wild" with me at the local indie theater and when the preview for the Ai Wei Wei documentary came on, she elbowed me and smiled.  "Can we go to that when it comes?" she whispered.  Hell yes.  And my son, recuperating from a football injury on my chaise lounge, straddles childhood and adult hood.  His body is the body of a man, but his face and mannerisms are still child-like.

She got a cool bike for her birthday - steel frame in a blue that nearly glows.  Brown wrapped handlebars and a brown leather seat.

"It's not a Brooks seat, it's a generic Brooks seat," she explained.

"You're such a hipster," her brother teased.

"Well, yeah, maybe, but I think a real hipster would have a real Brooks seat.  I'm keepin' it real."

"You're a punk rock hipster," I suggested.

We all laughed.  I loved them the moment they were put in my arms.  It was overwhelming, the wholeness of my love for my child.  The difference now is that I love them for the people they are and will become.  They are just fun to be around.

Monday, September 03, 2012

Yes I Can!

My counter was a bounty of tomatoes, peppers and plums.  It was time.

I went to the basement to get the giant canning pot.  I inventoried jars, lids, rings, vinegar and pectin.  I made salsa and pickled pepeprs.  I made jalapeno and plum jelly.  I make beautiful layers of heirloom tomatoes and canned that sunshine to be tasted in winter chili.

Canning is hot and messy.  My kids like the outcome and are fascinated with the process, but they stay out of the kitchen when I start running water.  Canning involves a lot of water.  The giant canning pot is filled first and I start it boiling while I prepare the jars to go in it.  Blanching requires both hot water to loosen the skins and ice water to prevent the tomato or pepper from cooking.  The jars, stored in the dusty basement, require washing and then sterilizing in boiling water.  The jelly bubbles.  The salsa simmers.  And the kitchen fills with a steam that tastes like vinegar.  I carefully monitor boiling water processing times and my counter tip fills with little jars - pop, pop, pop - as the air escapes and the seal sets.  Bring on storage.

Eighteen years ago I bought tomato and pepper plants at the Walmart on a whim.  Pregnant, I planted them in the yard of my apartment and watched them grow as my belly grew.  That summer Eric and I found ourselves with an abundance of tomatoes and peppers and made salsa for the first time.  I have a very distinct memory of nursing baby Anna while the scent of salsa filled our little apartment.  When friends and family came to meet the baby that I grew, it amused me to also offer salsa that I grew.

I use the same recipes and instructions that I have used for eighteen years.  Some years there is more abundance than other years.  This year there was no local strawberry crop, which means no strawberry jelly.  And this year I got gifted several pounds of jalapenos on top of the ones that I grew myself, so not only did I end up with twice as much jelly as usual, I made some pickled jalapenos as well.

Canning is a lot of work.  Luckily my family appreciates my efforts and I hear frequently that the store jelly is not as good as my jelly.  (Hopefully the plum jam will make up for the lack of strawberry jam this year.)  I think that canning can be taught, but no one wants to learn it right now.  I do think they will have fond memories of pickled vegetables and jellies and someday they may grow their own tomatoes and ask me for my salsa recipe.  Yesterday I came home to see my eighteen year old having a snack of chips and salsa.  "This is amazing, mom!"  Aw.