Cheryl's 14 Mile Hypothermia Run.

Today... We ran long.   14 miles to be exact.   It was cool, pleasant, and rather uneventful.... until....

Well, let us start at the beginning first.   It was a pleasant 50 degrees  with a light wind blowing form the west. ( From the side,   not to our backs and not in our faces.)   That was the best we could have hoped for other than having no wind at all.

Cheryl started out in good spirits and ready to run.   I tried to keep the pictures down to a reasonable limit,  since I have cataloged this trail many times before.  
The ground had finally dried enough for my bike to not sink into the soft mud.
Meaning:  I was able to actually enjoy my ride alongside her today.  There were not many animals to see or chase, but that did not matter too much.

Check out the cool waves in the sky.

The clouds looked overcast, but not dark in a foreboding kind of way.  In fact,  we were able to witness cool wave patterns in the sky.   Kinda fun on a 2 hour run.

Cheryl completely soaked!

And then...just over three miles left from the car...the flood gates unleashed a deluge.  We knew there was a chance of showers today.  I had hoped that it would hold off until we had finished.

But alas,  it did not.
I don't have any pictures of the downpour, since I did not want to ruin the high-tech digital camera.   All I could do was snap a final picture of Cheryl before we crammed into the Subie.   Hopefully the rain on the windows and glasses will give you a hint of the conditions.  I also discovered I'm not very good at taking Selfies.   I have a knack for shooting up my nostrils. (pictures NOT shown for aesthetic reasons.)

In less than 5 minutes we were totally soaked.   I was slightly more lucky in that I had several layers on to slow the dampness down.  However,  it still permeated through to my skin.
 I was thankful that the camera did not get damaged from the dampness since the inside of my coat offered very limited protection.  Cheryl had even less protection from the elements, and was forced to change out of her soaked clothes and wrap up in the blanket.   ( Yeah Wool!) There is not much one can do at that point, other than finish.  There was no where to stop or seek shelter.  There was only one place to run, and that was the three miles to the car.  We were already totally wet, with the wind now blowing cold air.  This is how you practice being miserable.

So....after showering up and drying off...Cheryl is once again, showing off her Sushi Skills.   We are having smoked salmon with cream cheese and green onion Sushi.
  Yum!  Tonight we shall sample Longboard Island Lager,  A beer inspired by the beaches of Hawaii.   And who could not use a taste of the warm Pacific beaches on a rainy day in Iowa?

Hope everyone else is staying dry and warm.   I hear it is snowing in Michigan...again.   It snowed here just yesterday...briefly.  It did not stay on the ground, but there were definitely flakes in the air.   I'm just hopeful that the cold front has pushed through and now the warmer weather will stay around for a while.

  Cheryl has a Run next weekend after all.   The Dam to Downtown 10 K will have to be Cheryl's "Comeback" race since the ill-fated Turkey Trot.  Wish her luck.   I know I will be there cheering her on and taking pics.....

A Passion for Pizza? And Big Editing Finish!

Another Cheryl Creation

Cheryl's Sushi with no job.  Pretty!

 With Cheryl working and my novel editing over,   I have discovered I have lots of spare time on my hands.   What better way to invest that time, than to work on my cooking magic!

Cheryl's Sushi with job...Gross!

Not that Sushi is boring,  but we have had a lot of it lately.   And,  ever since Cheryl took that menu over,   it has been a challenge to keep things up the way they were....Namely,  she is tired after work and ends up making something ....different.

Like a modernist painting!

So clean.  So neat.  So plain.

Not to mention I get hungry if I have to wait until 5 PM for food!  So,  say goodbye to Cheryl's pretty paintings and say hello to Ethan's Splatter Fest!

Like a Van Gogh Painting.

Get it?  The painting reverences?   Cheryl is a sleek Modernist Minimalist and I'm a Vincent Van Gogh. It's a comparison to her Sushi vs my Pizza dinners.
 Of course,  I could attempt to make sushi as well.  It's not like it is impossible for me,   But Cheryl does not like the way I do things.  Her Sushi has to be "just so".

So messy, So random,  So chaotic

Ok,  So the first couple of attempts at artisan pizza need a little polish, (not the sausage...)   that is why we experiment in the Kitchen...Right?

Feeling better about this dough

  I have better expectations for this next round.   The wheat flour did not rise as I had hoped and the bake time was skewed because Cheryl came home exactly when she said she would.... TOTALLY screwing me up and throwing off my "later than expected" prep time.   This time,    I started over with new dough,  which is rising nicely on the kitchen table as I write this.

This dough is Rising on my list.

As for the old stuff,  I tried to play around with it this afternoon seeing if I could get it to work out better if I tried different baking methods.  

Time for taste testing.

In the end,  it was edible...but not the gourmet stuff you read about in Rachel Ray's Magazine.

As for the Novel....240 pages 81,157 words total, out the door!   I guess I added a few words during the editing process.  There were far fewer problems with pacing or grammar than I had first thought. I'm quite pleased.

Over all opinion? Not to bad!   Better than my early attempts at pizza anyway.   Perhaps in the hands of a real editor,  it could actually be really good.   I doubt it will ever be required reading in some English Lit' class.  They have to keep those things pretty "G" rated  for all those college students, after all.   Mine has all the bad stuff.....things every Parent or Born Again Christian hates:   Drugs, Sex, Harsh Language, and Dragons!

Monty Python and Spain....Loves Dungeons

Seriously,  why do Christians hate Dragons so?   Ok maybe just us Lutherans.....( I should point out I deviate from the faith a little here...)  I think Dragons are cool!   We used to play Dungeons and Dragons and the S.O.P. for the W.E.L.S. was D&D was B.A.D!   And I doubt it was because of the Dungeons.....(Hello.... Spanish Inquisition.   We Christians LOVE dungeons!)
But no...Dragons = Devil somehow.  Last time I checked,  I have not been riding goats  ( or dragons)  towards the apocalypse.  ( Ok,  maybe in a video game....but not lately)

But...Where is the Pepperoni?

Other than that,  I currently await Cheryl's arrival so I can begin a new masterpiece of Italian Culinary Artistry.  This time I'll be able to put on more toppings and hopefully the crust will not end up like a cracker.   Thin and Healthy Pizza Crusts traditionally suffered from a lack of flavor.  If I can at least make it less like cardboard and more like ....pizza crust,  Then I will consider this effort a success....even if it is minimal.

Happy 200,000 Miles, Subaru!

Welcome to the MASTERS! Subie!

Today,  Subie turned 200 K!   I have been watching the Odometer for a while and it has finally arrived!  WHOOHOOO! Time to Celebrate!

Yeah!  It's kinda like that...

Silver Subie is just plain Awesome!    If you have never drove a Subaru....you should before you die.   It is as close to riding on Angel's wings as you can get without either dying or being under the influence of really bad drugs.   I know Subarues might seem expensive,  but think about all the therapy you can avoid if you buy one.

So to celebrate,   We are having Sushi...again.   But with Sake'!   We bought some fancy Tuna for this one.  AND Cheryl's favorite organic Saki' from Japan...( Based out of California)   Because Subie is worth it!

Cheryl had been preparing for this moment ever since she discovered the badges online free from Subaru.  Luckily,  I got all of my begging paid off and I was allowed to put them on under her close supervision.

You may notice that there is a 2nd next to the badges.   Unfortunately,  she forgot that we have now gone through 3 other Subies before Silver Bullet Subie here.    Shall I name them?

Misty Dawn Subie  ( 300,000= MILES BABY!)  2 wheel drive...but a stick! ( Manual transmission)   Talk about Fun to Drive!

Hello Kitty Subie, ( Cheryl's automatic version of misty dawn)    This one was the "all wheel drive twin" to mine.   it was also one year younger.   We had to cover a little rust with a Hello Kitty head.   And Cheryl bought "accessories"  for the interior.   Not really a man's Subaru...but still fun to drive.

Misty Dawn Subie....300K!

Old Blue!   Remember him?

Old Blue.  I think everyone in the Miner family drove that guy.   He was the last one before Silver Subie.   All of them had over 200,000 miles on them.   Although Misty Dawn was the only one who made it past 300,000 miles with us.

So Subie is now officially in the "Master Class" of Subarues.  (Spell Check is no help when it comes to the plural of Subaru.  Subarus?   Subaru's?  I'll stick to Subies.)    Hopefully he will last a very long time with us.

Other than that,  Cheryl scores, runs and prepares sushi.   She has become pretty good at it, so now store bought sushi no longer appeals to me.  The only important change we are making today is the addition of Sake'.   Sake' is the best with Sushi...but probably not the best with scoring.

I'm over 70,000 words now.   I managed to write 1200 words today.   Any day over 1000 is a good one...so  today is pretty good.  Hope everyone else is having a great week so far.   Tomorrow is Friday....which means Anime for me and Ice cream for Cheryl.

50,000 words! Break Out the Champagne, Or Sake in this Case.

Finally!   only 4 months late...

So,  why have I not been blogging lately?   Because I have been focused on the novel...which has finally crossed over the 50,000 words mark.  YEAH!   Does this mean I've met my goal?  Well, One of them...  Does this mean I'm done?
 Hardly.   The story has a ways to go and the entire story currently tops out at 148 pages....single spaced!  Hardly Literature length.   I'm sure I have to add at least 10,000 more words if I choose to rival Shakespeare!

Move over Will!   The Great Ethan Allen Cometh!

Ok, maybe that is a bit ambitious.   I'd settle for a publisher liking it enough to make a Twilight type series out of it.   Or Harry Potter....But let's not get too greedy.




So what is there to say?   Cheryl does not want me to read it to her and I would feel weird if I did anyway.   The story makes no sense to anyone who has not read it from the beginning, so there is no reason to try to explain it on this blog.  The only thing to note about the 50,000 word mark is the celebration over the milestone!  (Too bad I couldn't complete that number during November.)

Sushi on black?

Tuna and Salmon for me.

Finding a gift has never been easier!

And what better way to celebrate than with Sake!   Sake is great with Sushi, and Cheryl has been making all of the sushi lately...now that she has developed a certain level of expertise.   She has even purchased new plates and Origami Chopstick rests...to show off the pretty colors.   Black plates?  Sounds like the kind of wedding gift you buy for a Mortician.   (Do Morticians even get married?)  It may be odd, but it works for sushi..and that is why Cheryl loves to do the sushi making.

Fruit and salmon for Cheryl

As for me,  I still have to battle the cat while writing.   Instead of the big screen,

Check out the Origami Crane at the end!

  sometimes he watches videos on my computer directly.   I give up typing after a while because he is too close to my elbow,  but watching birds and squirrels scurry about is entertaining and a welcome break for me.

Cat attention span is short.

So it is a cold day here in Iowa.   Temps dropped from 60's back down to 20's yesterday and today.   However,  the eagles are all but gone now and we even saw a groundhog in the middle of a field.  I guess it was possible that he would come out earlier than usual.  now that the eagles have left.

But so is mine. 

Cheryl is back to running and I'm back to biking.   I'll have to see if I can keep up my contributions to the other blog as well.  Sometimes the water in the creative well is not as deep.   So I should focus on what comes naturally.

We'll run over those eagles and claim what is ours!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far.   Heute ist Mittwock already?  Times sure flies when you are writing.