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Favorite Fall Facts Friday

Sep 9th, 2011
by gazelle.
2 comments

Since I missed three thing Thursday due to actually having to work, I am, instead, going to talk about why I love fall, and why I might have a break-down if the weather doesn’t break soon. (Although, I do love the PNW – my weather channel app keeps sending me weather alerts due to our unseasonable heat. Highs in the low 90s. I love this climate.)

Autumn leaves. Cool morning temps. Wood fire smell. Geese flying in formation. Sweaters. Soup. Sitting outside after the sun goes down. Garden tomatoes. Chrysanthemums. New Castle episodes!

Fall boots. Roasted Root Vegetables. Needing a blanket. Hallowe’en. Crockpot cooking. Vinter Varmer. Tweed skirts. Corn mazes. Fall spice smells (cinnamon & cloves). Blustery days.

Warm kitten bellies. Baking. Peacoats. Red wine. Fall fruits. My anniversary! Pumpkins. Thanksgiving. Snuggling. Fall runs in Forest Park. Apples.

Scarves. Pumpkin spice lattes. Flannel sheets. Canning season.  Pie.  Red wine. Argyle socks. No more mosquitos! Full rain barrels. Hot cocoa.

Apple cider. Chili and cornbread. Chocolate chip cookies. Slippers and robes. Good books on chilly days. The maple tree down the street. School supplies. Squashes. The sound of dying leaves under my boots.  Jack-o-Lanterns.

 

I just hope I survive this weekend heat wave and that autumn, and all its wonderfulness, starts soon!

Keep your bones on!

Nov 4th, 2010
by gazelle.
Comments are off for this post

There are so many things I want to tell you, but unfortunately I do not have time.

  1. Brew Review! It was just pre-sugery, and I haven’t yet posted the review.
  2. Book Reviews! I still haven’t recapped my last 75 books I’ve read!
  3. Shoe Reveiw! I actually don’t have any shoes to review, per se, but review was the theme, and review and shoe rhyme, so that’s kinda awesome.

But instead, I’m working like crazy, trying to stay awake, doing school work, fending off my back to normal appetite, and pretending that there is no Halloween clean up left at my house.

BUT – a small amusement!

I work with a bunch of doctors – both research docs and clinician docs. As I was crutching my way down the hall to fill up my water this morning, one of them said, “Hey! I could’ve filled that for you.”

Me: No big – it’s good to get up & walk around.

Doc: Yes, it is actually. Otherwise your bones could fall off.

Me: Ha, ha!

Doc: No seriously. That’s why astronauts….blah blah blah….isn’t medical school awesome?

So – there you have it folks. Medical opinion. Get up and walk around or else your bones could fall off!

The Harvest

Oct 25th, 2010
by gazelle.
2 comments

In the last couple of weekends, the architect and I finished harvesting everything that needed to be harvested. Green tomatoes, the last of the peppers, the carrots, the butternut squash and (yesterday) my first fall broccoli.

We had so many green tomatoes, but rather than let them stand for broken dreams and sadness, we decided to not let them go to waste.

Saturday, we made 7 pints of green tomato/tomatillo salsa. We ended up with another quart of it that will be used at the Spooktacular this weekend.

Sunday, the architect took the remaining green tomatoes and slow-roasted them with kosher salt and olive oil. So good! (Thanks to In the Garden Online for that delicious idea.)

Yesterday, we slow cooked a chicken with potatoes, garlic & carrots from the garden, and served it up with the steamed broccoli. (The architect made an appetizer of crackers with sliced Black Krimm tomatoes – yum!)

I have no pictures because (1) my camera is STILL broken and (2) I am gimpy and drop things a lot, so I’m not allowed to use the DSLR (says me – I drop everything).

The cover crops are sown, and in the next few weeks (quite possibly the weekend of 11/19-20 if the weather cooperates), next spring’s garlic will get planted. I have some cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts remaining in the garden, as well as my so-almost-ripe pumpkins. I also have an impressive array of weeds that I am unable to do anything about until I get rid of the boot.

Even though I’m still having a lot of frustrations with the post-surgery and the limitations, I am trying to remember what makes this time of year so magical for me.

I love autumn. I love picking the fall crops. I love the smells in the air as people start to light their fireplaces. I love the changing colors of the sky and trees, and I love the blank slate of the garden.

I even love the fall storms that swept through this weekend – rain & wind. I love being curled up under a blanket with a steaming cup of coffee in the morning watching the trees whip around and the rain pound into the windows.

I love pumpkins and Hallowe’en, and watching the geese vee through the sky.

I love the brisk mornings and full rain barrels.

I love watching the maple down the street turn scarlet. I love the fog under the St. John’s Bridge and Forest Park’s variegated greens, browns & golds above it.

I love fall foods – the pumpkins and squashes; all the root vegetables, Brussels sprouts.

I love fall smells – wood smoke and cinnamon, roasting apples.

I know why so many people and places do harvest festivals. It’s such a significant time of year. The time to gather with friends and family before weather makes it more difficult. The time to rejoice in the bounty of the summer and give thanks that you have enough to get through another winter. The time when the field work is done (for now) and there’s time for pie.

I kind of even love being me.

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Lists (10 things that make me happy today)

May 26th, 2010
by gazelle.
4 comments

I LOVE making lists. Anyone who knows me well, probably knows that. I have to-do lists everyday (for work, school, home stuff). I have shopping lists. Menus. (You should see the monster list that I have made, with spreadsheets and timetables, for this weekend’s festivities.) (I also love spreadsheets.) (And parentheses.)

The weather the last couple of weeks has been a little less than May-like. We had one gorgeous weekend, and then the temperatures dropped and the sun disappeared. My hopes for a beautiful weekend are slowly crumbling away.

So in honor of our rainy gray May, I am making a list.

Things that make me happy, regardless of weather

  1. My awesome husband
  2. My beautiful garden
  3. Having kick-ass neighbors (not just the blogger ones, but quite a few kick-ass neighbors, we are so lucky!)
  4. Living in my neighborhood (see also #3)
  5. My awesome workout buddies – without them, I’d be much fatter
  6. Portland – I love living here, even when we’re not sunny
  7. Food carts (random, I know – but the food cart culture here is fantastic)
  8. My families – the ones I’m related to by blood, the ones I’m related to by marriage (seriously lucked out in the in-law department), and the ones that have come into my life throughout the years (see also #5)
  9. Cats. I really love my cats. 94% of the time, anyways
  10. Yoga – I have been loving the yoga lately, and since I’m not doing as much running/biking as planned, I’m glad I have a great substitute!

15 Random Thoughts When Recovering from the Flu

Nov 17th, 2008
by gazelle.
22 comments
  1. I think I won’t die. (Well, eventually, I will likely die – just not anytime today. Probably.) However, I am still lacking a lot of focus, so today, I just have bullet points.
  2. Yesterday afternoon I started feeling better – able to keep the food where it belongs.
  3. I made African Chicken Peanut Soup for dinner last night, and it was amazing – I was able to eat an entire bowl of soup without once even contemplating puking. So – definite progress.
  4. My friend Kim brought me over a bunch of pumpkins (two large & two smallish), so more pumpkin butter is in the making. Also other pumpkin-y things.
  5. I really really need a chest freezer. My little freezer is always so full.
  6. I need to go out today & get some groceries and some inserts for my running shoes.
  7. I think I’m going to take today off (4th day in a row – boo) and get back into some exercise tomorrow with some light elliptical. Run on Wednesday & Friday & Sunday.
  8. There is something in my diet that is bad. I’m not sure what it is, and I think I need to start tracking my food – but every few meals, I get uncomfortably full & bloated feeling, even when I haven’t eaten much. This morning for breakfast, I had coffee with soy creamer, one slice of 12-grain bread (from the store), an egg & some cheese (the bread, egg & cheese were a delicious little sandwich). Is it the bread? the cheese? I have some issues with dairy. BUT, not usually cheese (lately). Should I give up the most delicious food ever created (cheese, in all forms) or should I cut back on my wheat? Is it the egg? I can probably give up eggs. (Bread & cheese, along with tomatoes are the most perfect foods. Everything else is just a vehicle for the enjoyment of bread & cheese.)
  9. I am lactose intolerant – although I can usually do cheese lately. However, there was a time when even cheese was bad – hence my cheese worry with this morning’s breakfast. In related news, today I won something. My first win for anything blog-related. Free ice cream.  I would’ve turned it down, but they do make frozen fruit bars with very little dairy. Also, I love ice cream, even if it hates me. And I love Blue Bunny. Also, I was pretty sure the architect would be angry if I’d turned down free ice cream.)
  10. Why did I get the flu? I just had a flu shot like three weeks ago. That was a total waste of money (okay, fine, it was a free shot, but still). [Also, I realize that influenza does not often come with vomiting, but it CAN! And I had the symptoms: fever, severe body aches & muscle pain, headache as well as general malaise. I did not get the respiratory symptoms, which probably means I didn't actually have influenza, but STILL!]
  11. I really like the phrase “general malaise.” It sounds so genteel.
  12. I really really wish I had someone to come clean my house for me. I like having a clean house – I just can’t really be bothered.
  13. I have spent all morning researching cookie recipes. I am totally going to kick the holiday bake-off’s ass. Or something.
  14. I am not going to my lady appointment today. Hair removal & the last vestiges of the flu do not go together.
  15. Week One of not being on a diet seemed to go pretty well. I paid a lot of attention to hunger & full signals, and almost acted accordingly. I was really good about not over-stuffing myself. I felt that I made good choices. I brought my lunch to work. I brought snacks. I went to yoga on Monday, ran on Tuesday, Shredded on Wednesday, Crazy Weights on Thursday. I also got sick & vomited for 24 hours. The result? I gained 2.6 lbs. Seriously. What the hell happened? How do you eat right, exercise, throw up everything for a day & still gain 2.6 pounds? I am now at my highest weight in well over a year. I am 10 pounds over my lowest weight (since high school). This is complete insanity! ACK!!!!  I’m not quite sure I understand. It’s going to be hard to stay off the scale until next Monday.  I have gained 5.6 lbs in the last 2 weeks, and I’m not quite sure why. If I’m not careful, I’m going to have to go buy new pants again (since I got rid of everything over a size 6 last year). And that is unacceptable.  No plan yet….but I’m working on it.

I almost forgot! I have now participated in a listless Monday!  WOO!

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