6

6. "Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air." -Ralph Waldo Emerson 

 

This isn't the sort of thing you can cross off a list, but it is the sort of thing that happens when you make a spontaneous decision to head for the water when you see the sunset in the distance. All these buildings and trees are in the way--must get to the ocean!

 

Thankfully we live in a place where we can drive past the buildings, watching the edge of the sunset in the distance, and just drive toward the sea. It's not too far, and if I just keep driving toward the orange glow I will get there.

 

Ok, there wasn't any swimming in the sea this night. And as far as drinking the wild air, I'm not sure how wild this particular place was...

 

...but there were lots of shells and seaweed and sand in our toes.

And there was that sunset.

If you are wondering about these photos, since this was a spontaneous visit the camera was at home and the camera on my not-fancy cell-phone had to suffice.

27

27. Give away something that is meaningful and important to me.

When I first showed this list to a friend, she asked me if I had something specific in mind when I wrote number twenty-seven. I didn't. It was just something that came to me as I wrote the list and I figured whatever it was would just come to me when the time was right and I would know it.

I didn't think it was going to happen. I thought about it from time to time over the last year and I just didn't have something to give away, or someone to give this unknown object to. I couldn't come up with anything and I was coming to terms with it being one of several things on my list that wouldn't be crossed off by my birthday.

Then a few days ago I was skimming through my emails, deleting a lot of daily digests from email groups when something caught my eye on freecycle. Most of the time I don't even read the freecycle emails, just click and delete. But there it was, my eyes were drawn to it, "Wanted: Flute and/or music stand."

Ohhhhh...I don't know if I can do this.

 

I immediately sent an email to my friend (and to Lyle) asking them what I should do. No one would tell me what to do though, just all this wishy-washy stuff, "maybe you should, maybe you shouldn't, follow your heart!" Bah!

 

I forgot about it for the rest of the day. Then I was laying in bed that night and I remembered it and my first thought was, "Oh no, what if someone else already offered her a flute?!" Right, as if that would be a problem. If someone did, then great--she gets a flute and I get to keep mine locked away in my trunk for another fifteen years. But I guess when I had that thought I knew it was right. Some kid out there should be playing this flute. It's not perfect with its dings and a bit of tarnish. It wasn't a high quality flute to begin with, but I got it in the fourth grade and played for six years before retiring it to my trunk of keepsakes. I took it out every few years to play a scale or two and then put it away. It is meaningful to me, it is important, it is sentimental. But a flute should never sit in a box. It should be played, and if I am honest with myself I'm not likely to start playing it again.

But oh, when I took it out and played (ahem, tried to play) a few scales and Lucy asked for a turn I did second guess myself. My friend had said, "I am wondering why you wouldn't save it for your kids.  I mean, if you want my honest first gut response, that is it," (and then she started in on all the wishy washy stuff). What if...what if my kids want to play the flute someday?

I gave it away anyway. Maybe I'll be looking for another flute in the future, but this flute wanted someone to play her now and I didn't want to play the "what if" game. I didn't want to open my trunk a few years from now and see my flute in there and wonder if that little girl ever got a flute.

The next day I got an email:

"Thank you so much for your flute!  My daughter was so excited yesterday when she came home from school  ... it will be well cared for I promise. "


I gave it away, and I'm glad I did.

9 DONE

16.97 cross-country skiing miles
52.77 biking miles
140.48 running miles

210.22 miles total.

I think I can safely take out those skiing miles (since they were not part of the original plan) and hit 200 miles by running and biking alone. I even picked up a flyer for an upcoming 10k. I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that, the longest distance I've run today is just 4 miles, but I am thinking about it. The fact that I would even pick up a flyer for a 10k as anything other than a joke is something I would not have imagined last October when I made my list. If I don't run a 10k this October, I'll be running one next year.

14 (oops)

I mean really, how could I resist? Five skeins of sock yarn (really nice sock yarn!) for $6.50? Yep, I broke the stashbusting rule and I am okay with that.

26

26. Enter something in a fair.

I did it. I entered something (5 somethings) in the county fair and I even won ribbons. I'm fairly sure my ribbons for the yarn (6th place and 2nd) had to do with very few entries in the handspun yarn department, but I'm glad I decided to enter them despite being very much a beginner when it comes to spinning (plus for some reason there seems to be a lot more money for prizes in the spinning department than there is in the knitting department). I did win one blue ribbon for an infant size vest I knit, so I was really happy with that. Josh is also proud that his beloved sweater won a red ribbon and I won another red ribbon for the baby bonnet I entered.

I also entered the spinning bee and won third place for most consistent yarn...out of three people competing. Well, what can I say--I just started spinning last fall and I was competing against people who have been spinning for years and years. It was a fun experience and I definitely plan to try again next year.

Here is a better view of my five entries. In the end I came away with $30 in prize money (most of it from spinning) and $15 saved on tickets to the fair.

I also came away with several days of fair fun, including fried dough and a ride on the ferris wheel. More photos over on my flickr.

3

It has been a while since I posted. Summer is a busy time between the miles on the bike (less on the running) and playing outside and caring for our chickens and our bunny (oh yes, we now have chickens and an angora bunny). Then there is the Tour de Fleece (a spinning challenge that coincides with the Tour de France this month) and days at the pond and evenings at the beach with friends. There is sunshine and lots of go go going, and some of the things on my list seems to be on the backburner while new things have captured my interest. Sometimes it seems like there is so much to do and explore and learn in life and I will never manage to do everything I want--and that is a good thing because it means life is full!

But one thing that I have managed to focus on, though a bit haphazardly, is our vegetable garden. The radishes are abundant around here as they are just so easy to grow, but I know a lot of people aren't a fan of the spicy root. I like them sliced or shredded on salad, but a few years ago I found out that you can cook radishes (maybe that is silly, but the idea had never really occurred to me before and I've always liked radishes). It has become one of our favorite side dishes, and it is super easy and uses up all those radish greens as well. Quarter your radishes (more or less, depending on their size) and saute them in butter. Remove them from the pan and throw the radish greens with the wash water still clinging to them into the pan. Stir and cook until they are just wilted in the pan. Throw the radish quarters back in, turn off the heat, and top with fresh squeezed lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

We have a gourd teepee with a bean tunnel, though the gourds have me wondering if they will ever get big enough to grow anything. We've been eating lettuce and swiss chard (and tonight baby pac choi) from our garden, and watching the kale and carrots and tomatoes grow with anticipation.

I'm really hoping all those pumpkins we planted (three varieties) line our driveway this coming fall. These were the very first thing I put in the ground this spring and they are starting to blossom. If all goes well, I will be inviting friends over to pick pumpkins and making a lot of jack-o-lanterns and pies.

Other parts of the garden are a little more overgrown by surrounding plants. Since these two garden plots used to be koi ponds they are surrounding by a lot of flowers. Now that those are growing and blooming, my potatoes and onions are in the middle of my overgrown jungle of a yard.

One of the best things I did was to plant a lettuce mix in a container on our deck. I'm the only one in the family that eats lettuce so growing our own was out of the question. I have a hard time getting through an entire head of lettuce before it starts to wilt in the fridge, so growing multiple heads of lettuce in the garden seemed like it would take up valuable space and a lot of it would wind up in the compost (or in the chickens). Instead I planted a mesclun mix (from Renee's Garden Seeds) and it was the perfect solution. I can go out and pick just enough lettuce for a salad whenever I want. Having it on the deck makes it quick and easy (no excuses!) and I don't have lettuce going to waste.

Back to the garden...

My Schwinn

This is my pretty little vintage Schwinn Hollywood, Flavia de Luce (named after the main character in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, who had a bike named Gladys--great series by the way). We picked her up from a guy we found on Craigslist. This guy loves bikes the way I love yarn and fiber, maybe even moreso (is that possible?!). He easily had over a hundred different bikes--his garage was full, his shed was full, and my little gem was behind the shed in a stack of bikes under a tarp. He was super nice and gave us a great deal on a bike for me and a bike for Lyle. You could tell that he really loves bikes and it sounded like he actually rode all of them at one time or another.

It is about time I got around to getting a bike so I could keep working on #9 (run and bike 200 miles). Although at this point I am thinking I might be able to make it at 200 miles from running alone (110 and counting right now). Either way, the bike has been a great way for me to get a workout in during the day without being stuck in the gym. This may be why I haven't run at all in over a week now, but I have logged miles on my bike. The weather has been beautiful and I'd much rather be outside with the wind in my face and the kids riding in a bike trailer instead of in the childcare at the gym.

As far as I can tell everything on this bike is original, even the tires (which could probably use replacing). I believe he said it was from 1967, not that I know anything about vintage bikes. I just know that I like this one and it was perfect for me in size and color (yes, purplish pink!). Now I just need a basket and a bell and I am all set.

144.35 miles down, 55.65 to go.