Just a Little Origami.

An origami Moose. 

Because we have used up just over 75% of our internet,  I have had to be discriminating when it comes to my computer time.  But blogging seems like a good waste of it...   And why not post something that has nothing to do with much of anything.  Origami!

Robert Lang's version. 

Not much has been going on this week,  so I have been folding stuff and leaving it at random places.  It makes the days go by and helps me to harness a skill that will never make me money.   How great is that!

Box pleating... Made Easy! 

Today's model:  An origami Moose!     I chose the Robert Lang version because what better way to test my skills.

Form a square...

I folded this model (not shown on  this posting...) years ago.   And surprisingly, it was pretty good for a first time attempt.   The method is called "Box Pleating"   I find this simpler than Circle Packing,  Circle Packing With Rivers, or Polygon Packing.  Trust me!  They are as confusing as they sound. 

Pinch the corner. 

But box pleating is like an acordian.   You form a little square box...

Collapse it into a box.

Add clips to keep it in line. 

And them pleat it.  Simple!   Now do that over and over again.

Do this until  it looks like a moose. 

There was one moment where I had to ????? the description and the diagram.  But I managed to figure it out.    One note:  The paper Cheryl and I made last year was FAR SUPERIOR to the stuff I origimally folded this model with .  It never tore. ( unlike the first attempt...  several tears back then.)  And the paper allowed me to really manipulate things.

Now add some shaping.. 

In the end,  I'm drying it now.  To get that "sculpted" look,  you need to add a little moisture and sizing. (essentally glue...)  So I have it set up on my table to hopefully dry in a shape that stands on it's own.

Tada!   A horse!   I mean a Moose behind a horse. 

Other than that,  A few origami Horses and some more rabbits.  Cheryl has been embracing her inner hobbyist as well. she has made several cool seasonal necklaces and pendants.  Neither of which will ever make her any money either.  It's our curse to be smart at creativity bu dumb at business.   Ah well,   there is always stockings and Pearson.

Hope everyone is staying warm today.   A cold snap has hit us over the last two days.   Frost, ice, and bitter, strong winds are hiting us on all sides.  I'm so ready for spring to get here.   For now,   I'll be making myself a nice warm beverage.  Thanks for stopping in.

When Cats Do Bad Things.

So Cute!  So Destructive!

We all love our cats... even when they do things that make us rather angry.   How could you possibly be mad at some cute, furry, fuzz-ball after he destroys some precious artifact or piece of Furniture after you hear them purr and brush up against your leg as if they did it all for you....  With affection in mind...

Evidence of his vandalism.

Well,   Hiro is one of those cats.   But  not as bad as others we have had previously.   Red would drink my milk.  Rasha would pee on new rugs and carpeting she did not approve of.   Sasha would eat our butterflies and Zulu would disappear and not come back when we would call him.   Orange was the only cat that was possibly the most behaved...  He was old and rather lazy... But I digress.

Hiro loves to attack bird shadows on the window...  tearing up the blinders as he does so.   A few of the slats were broken and that was fairly easy to repair with some tape.   But eventually,   as the number of broken slats increase...  it become impossible to hide the shabbiness. 

"Helping" Cheryl string up beads.

Though, his help is not really wanted.

So I had to repair them.   Easy!  But time consuming....  Luckily,  we have had this issue before and had the fore thought to keep several extra slats around just for this moment.   Now the shades look like new and with the show gone,  there will most likely be less birds to attract Hiro to break more.   Fingers crossed that they last a little while before I need to replace them again.

Kinda like Poyopoyo.

Hiro has also taken an interest in Cheryl's Beading.   It reminds me of one of our favorite Poyopoyo episodes where the cat comes to help and ends up spilling the beads all over.



Other than that,  I have been folding and leaving Origami at the local store.   They blend in with the surroundings so well, it is difficult to distinguish them from the actual display.   The perfect crime!

Find the Origami Rabbits.

I noted that one of them was missing, so maybe one of the employees is onto me.    Or some kid decided to give it a good home.   Either way, I'm happy to share the joy of folding.

With one Origami Chick....(It's Yellow.)

Cheryl is looking forward to the weekend.... as long as it does not rain....  to much.    She was planning a longer run this weekend, as long as the weather and temps stay mild.    Fingers crossed that we can enjoy fair weather and a good run time.    We shall see.


Hope everyone is has a great upcoming weekend.   We are all over due for one after that long winter.  Thanks for stopping in.

Releasing The Lion's Mane!

An Awesome Edible Mushroom!

Not the Lion's mane I'm talking
about!

For those who do not know;  That is a species of Mushroom!   (And where I get an African Cat "of size" anyway?)   Our cultivated culture was actually blooming mushrooms inside the bag. 
But they say you can not expect more than two fruitings from a single sample.   Time to either compost it,   throw it away,  OR.....  Release it into the WILD where it may possibly colonize and grow on its own.   Being a responsible naturalist...  And loving all God's creatures... Why not give this mushroom a fighting chance at a second life? 

Go eat your Kale,  Leave me and my
Mushrooms alone.

I know there are possibly, ( though doubtful) some people out there reading this blog thinking how Irresponsible I am for setting loose  an "exotic cultivated species of fungus" out into the natural ecosystem of Iowa.  And that the "GMO" version of a common species of edible mushroom will destroy the environment.   Lord have mercy! 

If they would only open a book...

But to those folks I say:   Eat your organic greens and back off.   Lions mane is a mushroom that eats dead trees.   And the cultivated strain is probably similar or exactly the same as the wild version.  And if the "Wild" species can't compete with the Lion's Mane for dead timber,  than that is a Yummy problem to have.  Besides,  can you define what is a "Wild" or "Native" species of anything?   It was here first?   50 years ago?   100?   1000?  Did it have to out compete the native species back then?   Everything is a circle,  so learn a little about nature before repeating Green Peace's Talking Points.   Oh!  And Yes!  Technically, Mushrooms DO actually destroy the planet.  It's kind of their JOB!   

Adding the Mycylium to the
dead logs. 

Some of the Logs already had some
stuff in them. 

Besides,   I may not have picked the "best" places for the fungus to grow.   Several of the stumps I chose already had turkey tail and some other Polypore mushroom in them.   One of the things Mushroom Growers stress about is "contamination" for your mushroom strata.

Hope some of these will fruit. 

Since many dead logs may have several types of mushrooms on them at any time,  I figured they might be able to duke it out for certain areas.   And that is not to mention the possibility of choosing a log that was too dry,   too old, or just the worst species of tree for the Lion's Mane.   But

Lots of different ways to set them up. 

I'm positive Mother Nature will find a way to sort things out.  Besides,  I read somewhere that many mushrooms work hand in hand to break wood down.   Some like fresh logs while others like older ones.  So when the Golden Oyster mushrooms are done... the Lion's Mane may pick up where the Oysters left off.    For now,  It's simply a waiting game for me. 


Other than that,   the spring-like weather has triggered all the gardeners to dust off their trowels and begin the planting prep rituals.  Cheryl ordered about a dozen different types of heirloom tomatoes to plant this year.   I think she was a little disappointed that out of the several versions I planted last year,  only two really showed up.    She has elected to take the planting over from me.   I get to do the watering and trimming when it comes time to put them into the ground.   Maybe things will work out beer his time.  We certainly have a lot of them to experiment with. 

15 miles complete! 

Proper log set up.... if you
have property... and a
chainsaw. 

And that is all.   We biked today because Cheryl did not want to strain a tender muscle.   Riding bikes are no as "heat generating" as running,   but we managed to finish 15 miles even with the strong wind  in our face.  I think the temps are currently 65-ish.  If the wind were to die down, it would probably be totally awesome outside!   But it is not meant to last, and the sun and temps are rumored to dip back down.   Currently,  the sun is hidden from the clouds..  Making things look like rain is on the way. 

I doubt I need this many of any kind...

With a little luck,  we may have a fruiting in a year or two.   With some AWESOME luck...  perhaps later this fall.   Fingers crossed at least some of the mycilium survives and becomes established.   There are lots of logs around here that could use the decomposes...   And I know at least two people that would prefer to be able to eat those mushrooms... if they ever appear. 

Cheryl's Hot Dash PR. Finished!

23 degree start.   Staying warm
in the Subaru.

But eventually we have to get to
the start line

Words are like the wind:  They blow through your mind and are lost forever...unless you manage to capture them in prose.   For this reason,  I am writing a blog post late at night because the inspiration is flowing and the memories of the recent events are fresh in my mind.   And History is created by the historians who record it, right?    So let us begin.

At leaast they had warm-up fires.

Cheryl and I took advantage
of them. 

A chilly morning in the Twin Cities... But we were warm and toasty in the Subaru waiting for the start time.   They warned us to arrive early for the best parking, and so we did.   Better to arrive early and have a parking spot rather than drive around for several minutes trying to find one...  And risking a Tow!   No, thank you!

And the Pre-race bathroom visit.

Lining up at the start.  Note the
Shorts,

But as the start time approached,  we headed to the bathrooms for last minute calls and prepped for the start.  There were lots of people running only the 5K.   And they started earlier than the 10 miler, so we did not have to dodge and deal with them at all during the race.   Yeah for organization!

Most of the front runners wore
shorts. 

Cheryl runs by. 

With her Nike Super Fly Shoes.

Cheryl lined up and prepped for battle.   The reports said that the chilly start would warm up later to the mid 40's.    For this reason,   she chose to go with the shorts.    In fact,  most of the "elites"  were wearing shorts.  It is a quick and easy way to distinguish the "serious" runners from the "just for fun" runners.   For the first time this year....  they played the national anthem before the race.   Nice!

I track her on the race App. 

Front runner Female wearing the same
shoes as Cheryl 

Cheryl took off near he front.   The course was an "out and back" course...  So I would only have two opportunities to see her:  The start and the finish.  I snapped as many pics as I could at the start and headed towards the finish line.

A Boston veteran.   Same shoes. 

A Running group.   Same Shoes as
Cheryl 

As the "winners'   approached the finish line,  I noted that many of them were wearing the new Nike Zoom Vapor Fly 4% shoe. ( Try saying that five times fast!)  Cheryl got lucky and bought hers on sale as a promotion.. ( or something...)  They bragged that they will increase your performance 4% over other shoes.   People swear by them!   Unfortunately,  they actually only improved Cheryl's performance 1%.

Who knew Nike Super Fly shoes
would be so popular.

Cheryl dashes By. 

And apparently,   many of the runners got the same memo.   I saw more than one pair out there,  and I know nothing about shoes!   I guess the larger versions also came in a dark blue.  But mostly I noted the Blaze Orange colors that matched Cheryl's shoes.   With all those elites wearing the same gear, Cheryl's quest to move up in the ranks seemed less achievable now.

Almost 30 mseconds faster than last
time she ran this race. 

With a New PR.   

But she did finish strong and with a new PR for the course.  YEAH!   She did not win any awards for her age or weight,  but who cares about those  awards anyway?

Getting the medal and some water.

Cheryl shows off her Bling. 

 She got the medal and the Hot Dish!   ( A potato and meat casserole served hot.)    Let's ring that PR bell!   Yeah! Potatoes!

And BEER! 

Now for some Free "Hot Dish" 

We did get to sample one of the many beers offered by Summit Brewing company.   Pretty good.   Cheryl drank most of it.    I guess she must have thought she earned it or something.  But I did get at least a sample.   And the beer was good enough to suggest purchasing some later on here in Iowa City.   We shall see.

Who doesn't want to win 20 lbs of Meat?

After all the running and drinking,   there was a Meat Raffle.  Meat!    Who doesn't want 20 lbs of Meat?   Especially if you won it in a raffle?    We hung around for an additional 30 minutes to find out if we had won anything.   We did not.  In fact,  we actually were more interested in the left over clothing items that were raffled off after  the meat.   (Who has the container large enough to keep 20 lbs of meat fresh for a 6 hour drive?)  But we were not winners there, either.   Ah well.   We got the beer and casserole... what else would we possibly want after that?

Close up of the medal

It is very shiny!   Like a mirror.

So the race was an overall success.   Cheryl got faster and set a new PR for the course. (1:17:09) despite being under trained, old and fat.   She suspects that the shoes may have helped the 4% that they promise,  but the other factors took 3% away from the performance.   She can't get any younger, but she can lose the weight and maybe train harder.   Hey!  I'm just reporting  what she tells me.   Don't hate me for pointing out the obvious!

Now the two of us have to get back
home.  6 hours!   Like paddling up-
stream....

So now we are home.   It is late and I am tired.  Hopefully my fatigue will not cause me any trouble tomorrow after I read this with a clear head.   I would like that think that drowsiness creates a slight flair to my writing.  Or at least humor.    But sometimes I re-read things and cringe slightly...  or chuckle.   We shall have to wait until tomorrow to truly know where things fall.    Thanks for stopping in.