When Waffles Go Right!

Today, I made the waffles.   That is really not saying much.   I added vanilla and made sure the batter was of a viscosity that would allow the batter to spread out evenly.   Cheryl stuck to her strawberry sauce and added bananas to the mix.  They looked ( and tasted) pretty good….Well,  As good as any waffle could taste.   I did not have any nuts to add to mine, but settled for the traditional  maple syrup instead.  

It was a pretty nice day today  I guess it was pretty miserable in L.A. During their marathon.  No records were broken during the 90+ degree temperature. But here in Iowa, although warm,  was just pleasant.

So today I was busy doing various errands around the house.   Well, “house” meaning home here in Wellman.   Mostly it had to do with the Subie.   The Subie needed an Oil Change….so I did it.   The only thing to say about that is that it seems to get easier with the warmer temps. 

 

Then I finally replaced the Dash light that was behind the fuel gauge.   It took a bit of maneuvering, but I replaced it and cant wait to see if it is working properly.  You see….I can’t tell in the middle of the sunny day.  I need the darkness of night to show me if the dash is once again illuminated. 

 

Then I added  a water bottle to the bike and oiled the chain with the left over motor oil from the Subaru.  I also noticed that the rear tire of the bike is out of alignment.   A quick search on You Tube shows that it is fairly simple to fix….with a spoke wrench…which I do not have.   So I guess that task will have to wait until tomorrow as I do not want to damage the spokes with a needle nose pliers.

Blame it on the Beets!

As mentioned yesterday,  Cheryl had a tough time with her 13 mile long run.   We did a slight investigating as to how this event might have happened.    I made the observation that Cheryl started taking a regiment of Beet juice on Tuesday of last week.   We retraced our steps and the events that followed that regiment and decided that Beets WERE, in fact, the cause!

Now you may be wondering:   Why would anyone eat or drink beets in the first place?    Good Question!  Along with flipflops,  I have been asking this question of Humanity ever since my mother force fed me her world famous pickled beets when I was a child.   Disgusting does not even come close!   Now I know that every child is a picky eater..( Except my brother) and there are moments in their childhood where they refuse to eat this thing or that.  But  we all tend to grow out of it as adults in one form or another.   However,  Beets remain on my “Devil root from Hell!” list.  

But apparently there are people who eat them and seem to like them.   I guess they are “good for you”    Here are just a few of the claims people use to try to sell this beet fad to the unsuspecting public.   

They may as well add beets protect you from alien abductions and unprotected sex.  I’m sure they would LOVE to lobby the government to mandate beets be put into the school lunch program;  To ensure “healthy” eating habits.   I’m sure this will fail, because  I have first hand knowledge of what happens when children are force fed beets. 

But, despite all my efforts to warn Cheryl of the “Junk Science” that goes into these claims of super human speed with beets,  she decided to  try them anyway.   I guess if you consume beets in juice form,  ( along with X-ray vision)  it dilates your blood vessels allowing more blood to flow to the oxygen starved muscles. This causes you to stay aerobic and causes you to run slightly ( about 2 %) faster.

In my opinion,  the only reason consuming beet juice would make you faster is by making you run for the bathroom.  I’m sure that there are people who swear that beets are improving their performance in their training and races…but what about the side effect?    Let’s not forget that Beets are FILLED with  a purple pigment betacyanin and a yellow pigment betaxanthin known collectively as betalins.   These pigments can cause some SERIOUS issues for people who consume too many beets.

Cheryl now is skeptical of the promises from Beet Juice.  I’m not sure how I feel about it..as it was a rather expensive experiment.   But Cheryl decided to pour the rest of the beets down the drain and continue her normal routine of water and diet coke.   Hey!   Whatever works, right?

So blame it on the Beets!  Even if they are not to blame, they still taste like junk and cause frequent bathroom visits.   And really,   Who wants that? 

Hitting the Wall with Cheryl

  Let’s face it…..Running is fun!   Just look at all the people with huge smiles on their faces as they cross some finish line or frolic in the fields as they trot along.   Running is just down right intoxicating……

 

 

Unless you hit the wall.

Now…Let’s explore the facts and the myths of “hitting the wall”.   Technically….it is the physical limit to the amount of sugar and ATP you have in your muscles.   You hit the wall due to several factors:  Muscle fatigue,  dehydration,  or just plain exhaustion.   Your Muscles cramp up and you stop…like when an 18 wheel truck loses its air brakes.   It’s a safety feature that causes the truck to come to a screeching halt rather than pole vaulting over a guard rail  and into a chasm.    This is why it is called hitting the wall.  

However….there is another definition to hitting the wall.    And that is the “Mental” factor where your brain causes you to think you hit the wall when you are actually  still running “ok”.  Sure, it is hot; You are sore; Your legs feel like limp spaghetti….but you are technically “ok”.   You still have energy and can still move.  But the brain is a powerful thing.    It can override the body and cause it to cramp up and stop.

So Cheryl will hit the wall at around 45 miles.   Or more….We are not exactly sure.   She has been training everyday this week with no break and it has begun to wear on her.   Today was the 13 mile “long run”.   Where we cap off the week with a half marathon distance then take Sunday off.   Last week she ran it under 2 hours.   But this week she was feeling rather “groggy”  from endless  running and weather fluxes that hindered her performance.   Eventually the mind decided that things were looking bad and we should stop the insanity.

It was cool, but still warmer than what we are used to.   We did not pack water…( because we never needed to before) so there was a bit of dehydration going on.   There were hills that seemed even higher than usual….and so…Cheryl stopped running….Only for a second.  

In Cheryl's mind, walking is “bad”,   so she tries to never  do it.   But an injury or knee pain probably means there is something wrong and it is best to not push through the pain only to mess up your chances at a race.   But then, just as the mind can mess you up…it can cause you to drive on.    So she started back up and continued to run…..Slowly at first, but then steadily faster.   
The entire episode ended with only a 5 minute difference in her times from last week.   So “hitting the wall” and having a break down will only slow you down  about  5 minutes!   Good to know for the future!   Besides…this is technically a training run and what better place to find your limits than in training as opposed to an actual run. 

  In the end…she finished the entire 13 mile run.   She said she would never forgive herself if she did not make it today as it  was a wonderful day to run….nice and cool and bright.  I’d like to think this was a successful training session as we pushed back the limits a bit….( insert cliché’ here)   She has powered through another barrier and is ready to find her next one….hopefully not for a long time. 

As for me,  well, all I could do was joke about the situation and ask her to stop at 10 miles.   I’m not a doctor!   How should I know what to do?   I was simply thinking about myself and how was I going to carry her 4 miles back if she melted down?  With this she has also learned that she can not depend on me….for pretty much anything….. except to be annoying in the face of eminent doom.  I’d like to think that is a good thing to know…..teaching self reliance instead of dependency.   

So now we pay the rest card and take a break.    This week has also shown us that we should take a mid week break from training as well.  So:   No running over 8 miles a day for a week; and now, no running continuous for 6 days.  We have a  non-training run coming up and don’t want to miss that. 

Origami Africa…..with a hidden cat.

A request from a customer has given me a little direction on my latest origami.   They liked the Doberman so much they put in a request for an elephant and a lion.   Luckily, these are items I have folded before.   Nevertheless,  I still folded up a couple of prototypes to see which size and style I liked best.   And here they are!   

The lion was folded out of a 12 inch equilateral triangle.  The elephant folded out of 20 inch paper..I think they turned out pretty good  and even to scale.  Now the final test is to see if the client likes them as well.   We shall see. 

I Also have been working on a beetle made from Tissue paper and glassine.   I have to make the paper, so it is a rather messy process.  However, this paper seems to be working out for the more complicated origami.   Better than foil in that you can reverse a crease.   Stronger as well.  I’ll have to see if I can make the paper better and ultimately see if I can fold some other complicated models. 

 

As for us.  The weather has been rather nice lately.   We totally skilled spring and are heading into summer apparently.    The temps range in the 60’s now and drop to the 50’s,  Totally bypassing the upper30’s and 40’s!    This has caused Cheryl to experience a bit of overheating as we both struggle to figure out how we should strategize  our wardrobe Is it too early for shorts and T-shirt?  Will it warm up in mid run?  Do we down dress half way though?   Hopefully things will even out and stabilize so we can hatch a plan.

 

In addition to working on my book,   I have to deal with distractions such as a car blinker that was about to short out.   And cats…..  Hiro always seems to have something up his sleeve..( paw?)  And every now and then,  he sets up a great Photo Op.  Now, you may thing that “every cat does this”  But our cats are strange in that they do not typically do the “cute” things that YouTube is famous for.   So when they actually behave like a cat….well,  we just have to catalog that behavior.  

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As for the Subie?   We had a wonderful moment today because the turn signal “ticker” was stuck ON.   The turn lights continued to work, and would go OFF when you completed the turn…but the annoying “TICK TICK TICK” would not stop.   I thought it was a short.( and ultimately…it was!)  But the fuses all checked out and the turn signals worked fine.   I decided it was ok to drive to Iowa City and back…But researching the cause on Bing showed that the grease used for lubrication on the signal assembly gets hot and drips down on parts it is not meant to come into contact with.   This causes a short…and over time may cause an electrical fire.  Luckily for me,  I caught it in time and the guy who also had this happen, was cool enough to have a picture “how to” that showed how to take out the assembly and clean it up.    5 easy screws later and a few  Q-tips and the problem was solved.   I’m very proud of my self as I did not have to take it to a mechanic or ask Andy the Subie In-Law for his diagnosis.    Thank Goodness for Subaru Forums out there. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/replacing-turn-signal-switch-226683.html?t=226683&highlight=turn+signal+stuck  Thank you Subaru Community!  He also made a video!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAW7QhLXJW8

The Spring Weekend In Review

First, It is nice outside!   That is pretty much all there is to say.  I believe is hit over 50 today and Cheryl even ran in short…briefly.  You see..yesterday was our Long Run so today we are meant to take it easy.   However, when you set yourself up for a routine, it is difficult to break… .Even if the rest day is meant to be part of the routine!   
So,  I have been having trouble with my bike…namely the handlebars….and replaced them today.   I needed an excuse to test them out, and Cheryl has an Idea to snap pictures of her while she was running.   Mostly to see how her form works out.   With the weather so nice, I’m sure she was looking for an excuse to be outside as well. 
But besides all that,  I guess the only other thing to note is the beer and waffles.   Waffles?
Cheryl has been inching to eat waffles ( or French Toast) ever since the waffle house.   We have a wonderful waffle iron here at home, but as a RULE:  Never let Cheryl make the batter!
There are things that normal recipes do not tell you.   Like,   make the batter slightly runny….add vanilla, add some sugar!   All of these to TASTE.    Meaning…if you do not taste it in the batter…you need to add a little more.  Now I’m one to never really follow a recipe….I always add the LOVE that makes me more of an artist and less of a scientist.  But Cheryl believes in the science of baking…and that should follow over to the art of cooking.  That might look right on paper….but in practice, they are worlds apart.
So we made the waffles.   A Little out of practice, but they turned out pretty good.   Cheryl’s Idea was that the topping would add the flavor and the waffle was a blank, bland, platter for the flavors to sit upon.   Namely, the waffle did not need to actually taste “good” ,  just not taste “bad”.  
And so it happened.    The batter was thick….failed to run into the cracks and crevasse of the waffle iron properly.     Thus causing it to rise like bread instead of a pancake.    The Waffle was bland.    How Bland?    Think IHOP bland.    ( Remember our ill fated IHOP expedition?)   With no flavor in the waffle ( even a LITTLE vanilla would have been helpful) the strawberries had to pull ALL of the weight.   And without Whipped cream or Cream Cheese…..it lacked the blending of creamy sweet tart that strawberry waffles are known for.  
Not that I was much better.   I tried to salvage the batter by adding a little more milk….but forgot to add the vanilla…and sugar.   I really should have added the sugar.   But Cheryl wanted to follow the recipe and not have me mess things up.  ( I always add calories!)   Then while cooking mine…I forgot to add my almonds.    So…you see…I have little room to talk.      Besides that,   Cooking usually requires a trial run before perfection is achieved anyway.  That is usually why it is called “ Adventures in the Kitchen…with Cheryl And Ethan. “   At least we do not hurt ourselves or burn the apartment down.
Other than that…..Beer!   The Beer test subject this week was a hoppy Japanese Green Tea Beer.  Most notable was the hops.   It was hoppy.   But not happy.    I can’t even remember what was special about it.   It did not taste like green tea.   I’m not even sure what the name even suggests.   It was nice and drinkable…but I’ll stick with my Honey Brown.

hopefully everyone is having a great week so far…and if you are in Iowa….Hope you are Enjoying the weather as much as we are.   I’m looking forward to running/biking this week as it is meant to get into the 60’s   We shall see!

 

Latest Paper Towel Origami

Just a quick post on the latest foldings.   Mostly they are the paper towel items, but I have a couple of foil models along with a rectangle cardstock model.   See if you can guess which one.

  The weather has been very cold lately…but it is supposed to warm up rapidly over the next few days….hopefully it is true.  last time they predicted a warm spell…it rained …they froze!   It was total Ice Skating that day….and it took several days for the sidewalks to clear…there are still several places where the ice is like glass.

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Hope everyone is having a great week so far.   Cheryl and I have been watching videos by the Ginger Runner.    He is a guy who podcasts about running gear and runs marathons and ultras.  They are short  you tube films that are quite entertaining.    

Check out his Blog/website/ YouTube channel here:http://gingerrunner.com/

Wrestling with Pigs!

Origami ones that is.  After the paper towel version,  I decided to add another piglet to my shop.   My first attempt with cardstock was disappointing. 

 

So I tried again…this is usually pretty easy….But again….I was not happy with the finished model.

 

I theorized that I’m missing something when I set it up to dry…and that there is one part of the head that is causing all the trouble.    So I folded it my way…and finally got one to turn out.    

 

It might not be exactly like the previous version I folded…but I  like it and put it in the shop.   I also added a lizard and have been trying my luck with perfecting some ducks.   I’m not sure about the duck yet….but I think they show promise.    Enjoy the pics

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