Donuts, Jackfruit and Pinecones

No, it's not some kind of Euell Gibbons breakfast throwback. (If you're too young to remember Euell Gibbons, google on it.)

Yesterday I had a couple of small misadventures during the day.

Act I. Donuts

I started out early going to the Donut Friday run, because it was National Donut Day. I decided to take Velcro and Gypsy with me, and they were extremely and surprisingly well-behaved. They tried to steal Nelly's donut and begged for Colin's powdered sugar donut, but they mostly sat in the shade and drank their water. Even though the donuts were free, I didn't have one. Didn't sound appealing.

Act II. The Pinecone

We only got about 4 miles in that morning so I decided to take them for a few extra miles while it was still cool, afterward, on the Power Trail.

About 50 meters from the car I was running directly into the sun and didn't see a pinecone in front of me on the sidewalk, and I stepped on it and rolled my ankle. I heard and felt a pop and it hurt!!

As I was bent over, recovering as the pain subsided, wondering how much damage I did, I could see my summer plans disappearing into the ether.

I walked slowly back to the car, girls attached. It seemed okay, but I knew on a fresh injury you sometimes don't feel the extent of the damage.

I got home and iced the crap out of it. It felt like I rolled forward, more anteriorly onto the front of my foot, my lower shin and the top of my foot seemed to be where the damage was.

Alternating with ice on and off all day, I finally got the guts to see if I could walk around. It didn't feel too bad, a bit tender, but I managed to walk around the block slowly without much discomfort.

Act III. Jackfruit

Lately I've been experimenting with vegan food, just to wean us away from meat, make our diet healthier, and add some variety to our usual meals. We eat healthy meals except just a little too much meat. I've been an enabler of sorts, Dennis likes meat, and I tend to do most of the cooking and I steer toward fish whenever possible. But I'd refer to eat much less meat. I've tried convincing Dennis in the past and it lasts for a short time and somehow it always backslides.

I have been wanting to try cooking some vegan meals for a while and finally put my foot down. And it's been amazing- Dennis likes it and hasn't complained. So I must be doing something right. We've had a lot of quinoa, sweet potatoes, avocado, veggie burgers, and a few other things. But one thing I had not tried, that I was curious about, was jackfruit. I've seen the things at Whole Foods- they are huge and look like this big green oblong orb with bumps all over. Not the most appetizing-looking outside.

But I heard the texture resembled shredded meat. I thought that would be perfect for Dennis. I bought a can last time I was at Trader Joe's and have procrastinated on opening it. Since I was stuck in the house with my ankle I decided to try cooking it.

I looked up a few recipes online and found one using canned jackfruit. It reminded me of a sloppy joe recipe. You cook the jackfruit in barbecue sauce with some onions and peppers and spices, and then shred the jackfruit chunks. Easy enough.

I opened the can and drained and rinsed the jackfruit. It looked kind of gross, with these things that looked like bloated seeds, they reminded me of little baby alien heads floating in the liquid. I kept working and managed to shred the parts that looked like shredded meat anyway. The other parts of the fruit were sort of gelatinous and I smashed them as well as I could. The whole mixture looked unappealing. After the cooking process was done, I tasted it.

The texture reminded me of chewing on little baby alien heads. And it didn't taste all that great either, despite the recipe. Maybe it was the brine they were soaking in, in the can.

I put it away in the fridge and tried to figure out what went wrong. I came back to it after an hour and reheated it to see if I might have a different take on it. It was the taste and the texture- I just couldn't do it. It gave me the chills- sort of like drinking mag citrate before a colonoscopy. I chewed on a few bites and it was just too gross. I dumped the rest of it down the sink and mentally scratched it off my list. I decided to ask on Facebook to see if anyone had any jackfruit cooking advice.

I found out you can buy it in the refrigerated section of a grocery store- so maybe that will be the way to go. I am willing to try it again, but the texture really grossed me out. I'll keep you posted if I have success next time, but I'm going to need some time to forget this experience.

As it turned out, this morning when I woke up, the top of my foot was a little puffy and tender, but not bad. I can walk, no problem. I'll take the weekend off and ice it, see if that takes care of it. I'm glad it wasn't worse. Maybe I should put some frozen jackfruit on it- might be a better use of it!

I guess I'll use my extra time this weekend when I'm not running to find a new recipe...or maybe I'll eat a donut instead!

2016: The Year of The Donut

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This year will go down in my mind as The Year of The Donut. It's a good way to put a sweeter spin on a year that rather sucked, in many ways, but also had a lot of good and great moments and was full of learning and experiences.

Death and History

In popular culture, of course, there was the fact that we lost many well-respected and loved celebrities in the entertainment business, David Bowie, Prince, Gene Wilder, George Michael, and Carrie Fisher, followed by Debbie Reynolds, among many others. I happened to like Prince, but David Bowie was an important icon in my life, I wrote about that in an earlier post.

It's a weird coincidence that I recently re-connected with my junior high friend on Facebook, the one with whom I went to the David Bowie concert in 1978 in Philadelphia.

Death has been nearby around here too, having said goodbye or in the process of saying goodbye to people who have been important in my life. Death is part of life, as I was telling a friend this morning on the run. We don't get to choose our time to exit this world, not most of us, anyway. But we can be happy when the person gets to choose comfort at the end of their life, because not everyone does. You can have a quality death as part of a quality life.

Donuts Saved Me

One of the things I struggled with this past year was getting back into a running routine, and I have to admit, if it were not for the Donut Friday runs, I wouldn't have gotten any momentum going. I also met new people or got to know several people better from the running community, and that would not have happened if I didn't start attending the Donut runs. Now I am being more consistent, although not running as often as I'd like, I am making progress.

The Dumpers

My friend Emma is training for her first ultra early in 2017 and I'm doing long runs with her. We had a couple of great runs at the bacon strip, I'll share some pics. We have done a 16 mile run and a 20 mile run in the past two weeks out at the Bacon Strip and got to see some interesting sights along the way. Namely, a TV, and a fridge.

The story behind the TV and fridge is that on our first long run, we found the TV that had been dumped on the roadside, it was screen down in the snow, and we turned it upright, there was dirt and grass stuck to the front of it.

We wondered how it got there, and as we ran that day, we fabricated elaborate stories about how it arrived at its dumping place. I guess you could say we found the remote.

Toward the end of our 16 miles that day, we were passed by a pickup truck hauling a fridge in the back of it. We joked about how they should dump the fridge next to the TV so it would be there for the Superbowl. Then all we'd need is some beer and a couch, and maybe a grill.

The next week we headed out there for a 20 miler. As we climbed the first hill, the TV was still there, with some fresh bullet holes! We laughed that it was still out there, no one had picked it up. As we proceeded on our run, we made a turn to do a small 4 mile loop before we went out for our big 10 mile loop.

When we made the turn at 2 miles, we were about the same distance into the road headed west, parallel to the road with the TV on it, and we saw a fridge lying at the roadside, in the snow. We went that way the previous week and there had been no fridge out there, so we're pretty certain that the people we saw driving with the fridge dumped it there, and were probably the same dumpers of the TV.

Trumpocalypse- The Gift That Keeps On Giving

OMG. I am freaking out daily on the Cabinet appointee recommendations coming out of Trump Tower, or from wherever he is making his edicts. I am trying not to think about it and just breathe for now. I am hoping this whole debacle sheds light on the mess that is Washington, and the mess that lies outside of Washington, namely the great masses of the uninformed, misinformed, and generally clueless.

I cannot go into a rant about that, too upsetting. I value the outdoors, the environment, peace, justice and equality and it's countering everything I value. If someone had some common sense, they would create a giant orange wind turbine, because we have a giant windbag about to run the country. Now that would be environmental stewardship.

The Reluctant Entrepreneur

Let me just say when it comes to the commonly accepted ways of doing things, I am not cut out for this business shit. I don't have the burning desire in the pit of my stomach to go balls out (okay, ovaries) and go after money. I am not motivated by the stuff. Especially when it takes me further away from who I am and I have to deal with people I'd rather not deal with, namely, people who are motivated by greed and/or function in that world that expects 24/7 focus on business and money.

It's not that I don't want to make money, I really do want to, but it is not the reason that drives me in what I love to do, and that conflicts with how the world of business operates. I like to do things at my pace, when it appeals to me, and what appeals to me, otherwise, I'm not happy. And I certainly have re-discovered that quality in myself, confirmed it, again. The lessons will be repeated until they are learned.

The online program for Cancer Harbors did not go as planned. And that's fine, you have to try things and they don't always work. I did learn a lot though, from the many people I've talked with and the clients I have. As a result I am redirecting my energies around my project, Cancer Harbors, into the publication of a book this coming year. It's going to be aimed not just at people with cancer, but everyone who has any dealing with cancer and healthcare. Namely, all of us.

Now THAT's something I can get excited about.

Returning to My Creative Roots

I am going to go back to where I feel happiest and most comfortable, which is, where I can write, paint, and create as the ideas come to me. That is where I belong. If you wipe clean the messy slate of all of the "career"-type pursuits: education, business, nursing, and look underneath, dig a little into the dirt and look at my roots, they harbor unlimited creative energy.

I've learned a lot, and I have a great collection of knowledge and skills to share if I allow myself to be creative and unencumbered by day-to-day bullshit that being in the business world dumps on top of you. Getting past the old wounds and traumas and moving forward. I see things differently, I do things differently, and I'm not going to make any more attempts to "fit" anywhere.

I just am. Alene. Gone Bad.

Allowing that energy to come back into my life and relieving myself of the burden of feeling tied to a business model has allowed some great opportunities to come along: a paid writing gig, an opportunity to get my artwork out there again, and putting a workshop together for runners, women runners, that a couple of friends suggested was needed. I will have a separate blogpost about that within the next week, and I'll post a link to allow people to sign up in the right-hand column of the blog. It's in Fort Collins, so you have to be local, or willing to travel to the Fort for it. If it goes well, I'll do more.

And running, dammit.

And did I mention running? I want to get back to doing long runs again. I miss them. Now that I got my ipod to work again, I'm loving the tunes, miles, and fresh air.

Despite Struggle, Gratitude

I am so fortunate to have experienced some great things this past year, my dad's improvement with his cancer, that is in remission now. He does have some other health problems, but he is doing well in terms of being able to stay active and busy and enjoying life. I am also thankful for our little family that has grown over the past two months with Velcro, and Gypsy, the newest member of The Buffalo Family.

I am healthy enough to be increasing the amount of running I'm doing, and have been able to take the time to do the necessary soul-searching to get myself back on track again with what I do with my energy when I'm not running.

Being a Stay-At-Home-Dogmom is pretty damn great.

And I'm thankful for donuts. Even though I can't eat them anymore because I'm trying to bring my cholesterol down again. Last time I quit eating wheat I dropped my cholesterol by 65 points and now it's creeping back up again, probably because I've been indulging in various wheat-containing foods too often. Menopause has a way of messing with every part of your body. Things you would never even imagine are related to hormones are affected. I just take one thing at a time.

So...my personal mission statement over the coming year as I write my book and move forward with reclaiming my enjoyment of life again will be something along the lines of fostering creativity, respect, authenticity and empathy and showing people the value of those qualities. Which are sorely missing from many things...

Let's see what 2017 has in store for us. I'm not sure I want to know, but some things like the earth's rotation are unavoidable.

And donuts are round too, sort of like the earth's path around the sun. Donuts revolve around the donut hole, like the earth revolves around the sun.

Even my puppy understands that, along with other concepts in physics, like gravity. She's not an elitist, she just values science and facts more than faith.

Someone needs to tell a certain orange windbag to share these small facts with his Cabinet. They might be small details, but they should prove helpful in 2017.

Happy New Year!

Old and New

The past few weeks have been busy since we got back from vacation, and vacation itself was awesome, I got a chance to stop thinking so much, finally. My brain needed a break. I've been spinning my wheels trying to figure out some of the issues that always come up around having a business, and what I needed was to get away from it all for a while.

One thing I have figured out is that I threw myself into my work so intensely, that I neglected to grieve and resolve the grief over the loss of our two girls last year. I've been working to distract myself, and I never really processed the grief, and it's come back to bite me in the butt. Like an Australian Shepherd.

I have begun working on a memory book of the girls, with pictures, and I also put together a little book of the archives of a newsletter I shared with family and friends during the first 5 years of the girls' lives, called The Daily Buffalo, that I wrote before I went to nursing school.

It's an ongoing project, but I needed to do it. I also realized that I have been giving and giving so much, to others and not putting anything back into myself. I need to do that. That is one thing that nurses tend to do, and I'm guilty of it. So I have resolved to find ways to give back to myself. I have neglected my running, my painting for way too long, and just taking time to take care of myself- body and mind.

I've also figured out some of the frustration with the business model I've chosen, and that's ongoing, but I am going to take a different approach as I move forward. I took a break from social media, which I love in some ways, don't love in other ways, but also drives me crazy. I need less screen time and more unplugging.

I am going to take time for myself and my needs, and hopefully a clearer perspective will follow. It already seems to be working.

Once I process more of this stuff, I will be excited to move forward.

On the running front, last week I managed to do nearly 90 miles on my feet including three long days: An 18 miler, a 30 miler, and a 22 miler. The 30 mile day was on Donut Friday. I now feel ready to get out and be on my feet for 12 hours during the There Goes the Sun Fatass coming up September 3.

The weather is about to change. We've already had a hint of cooler weather in the mornings, it's been in the 50s all week when we wake up, and that is such a relief. And it's dark until after 5:30 am now. I know this is the time for the weather to change because it always happens right around Leadville Trail 100 weekend. It's supposed to possibly dip down to 48 degrees here one night this weekend, according to the forecast. I love it. I am done with the heat this year. I know we might have a hot weekend during the Fat Ass run, but I will be ready with ice.

I like some things about summer, but fall is my favorite season. The cool air feels so good on hot flashes...

Vicarious Vlogging: DoNut Stop...

Last Friday was my friend Connie's 60th birthday. We had a special donut run planned for her, all caught on video. Watch a bunch of runners try to figure out how to light a candle on top of a donut.

Between becoming a card-carrying member of the frequent donut club and celebrating the long-awaited M Day, it's been a busy couple of weeks and we're getting ready to go on vacation soon. We'll be going through Las Vegas on our way to LA. As long as Pokémon Go players don't destroy it by then. As long as Sushi Koma is safe, I don't care.

Some crazy F#$@! was playing this stupid new obsession in the empty Mormon church parking lot last week and nearly ran me over. I was walking on the sidewalk, crossing the exit drive from the parking lot , and this dumbshit in a Subaru screeched to a halt right in front of me. I looked at him like, WTF? and he had his head down, looking at his phone. I don't know if he saw me, or if he was stopping to get one of the characters. I wanted to go over and bash the shit out of the side of his car, Beyoncé style, but I didn't feel like dealing with him. And I didn't have my baseball bat, left it home. Damn.

Exciting news, we are a little closer to becoming parents again. There are four litters expected by mid-August and depending on how many puppies there are, that means by October we will either be near the top of the list for first pick or first pick for the next breeding cycle. One of my favorite girls, Spark, is having her first litter. We'll see what happens there. She's a black tri and the dad is a blue merle.

Last week I spoke to a gathering of about 30 people at a local nonprofit event for cancer survivors in the community, it went well. I could go on and on about healthcare and why we do such a lousy job with post-treatment care for people, and why this moonshot is still missing a huge target: earth. That's where real people are.

Between ignoring the fact that there are millions of people who've been through cancer treatment and need help living with the ongoing effects, and the fact that our horrible approach to educating people about the basics of health and taking care of their bodies is creating more disease that threatens to destroy not only our economy but our entire species...but no one is going to listen to that because the powers that be know they will make more money off of the "moonshot" crap in the short run and their philosophy is "I've got mine, screw you." Sound familiar? Cleveland, anyone?

I'm sure there will be plenty of laughs in Cleveland this week, I just hope no shootings or violence. Seems like the world is going batshit crazier these past few weeks. More shootings...so crazy. People are so stupid. People are just really freaking stupid. Guns don't solve anything. Live human beings could, but that seems to be out of the question these days.

I got my 3D mammogram done, all turned out okay, fortunately. And tomorrow I have an appointment for my DEXA scan. Last week I also had blood drawn for a clinical trial, and a robotic front desk clerk couldn't figure out what a clinical trial was. But it's all done and figured out now.

I've been screened to the hilt, so I hope to be done with being squeezed, poked, and prodded for a while.

I'm working on a grant application I need to finish before I leave. For that, I need to make a video and I am struggling with it. It takes so long to make those damn things. If I wouldn't stumble over my words so much it would take less time.

And I need to pull up all the lettuce that's going to seed and plant more so we'll have some big salads this fall, to go along with the tomatoes and cucumbers that should be out of control by the time we get home. My neighbor is so lucky, she'll be eating our raspberries and cherry tomatoes while we're gone. This year we got some black raspberries, which only happens every couple of years. I can't figure that out.

Last week I slacked off just a little on the running. It was so miserably hot and I had so much to do that I didn't get out in time and it sucked. I still managed 60+ miles but didn't run very much of it. Maybe this week I can get some miles in.

And I am still waiting for my official DoNut Stop Running tank top to arrive in the mail.

Off to brave another week before heading to the desert...

DoNut Stop Running! Donut Friday, Redstone Saturday

I did the unthinkable...woke up at 4:15 am before my alarm, and ran across town in the dawn rain, to meet a group of runners at Lamar's Donuts at 6 am, go for a 4 mile run, and come back to eat donuts. It was a great start to what turned out to be a cool, drizzly, 17 mile day.

This all came about because Melody and Nelly are donut freaks and decided to start meeting each other, with a few others, at the donut shop on Friday mornings. I've resisted, because normally there is no way I'm going to get up that early in the morning unless it's an all day run, and for 4 miles it is not worth it. I don't even like donuts very much. I like plain glazed donuts and that is about it. But Melody and Nelly already have donut tank tops.

I figured it would be those two, me, my friend Connie, and maybe one or two others. When I woke up to the rain I wondered if no one would show up. But when I got there, there were 13 people, plus Melody's dog, Faraday, all ready to run in the rain for donuts!

We headed out on the Spring Creek Trail and did an out and back, to the owl tree. Then we all sat there and these people are serious about their donuts. They even have frequent donut cards. They've figured out how to get the most donut for their money- they get free donut holes, and they know all the special deals on donuts.

Up the Spring Creek Trail, to the turnaround, then the miraculous burst of speed on the way back, downhill to the donuts.

A group of sweaty, rain-drenched runners took over the inside of the quiet donut shop, raising a few gray eyebrows of the regulars...

We sat there on the patio, overlooking Drake road and early morning rush hour traffic, along with Faraday, who impersonates a miniature Australian Shepherd and is the donut run mascot.

Later after I got home and went out to the lake to do a few more miles, the pelicans were out again. It continued to rain all day, what a nice relief from the heat.

This morning I met Dale, aka Sasquatch, for a run/walk up Redstone Canyon. It was cool and cloudy again, looked like rain, but it didn't rain.

The wildflowers were out and we had a nice view of the west face of Horsetooth Rock.

We had the canyon pretty much to ourselves, it was a holiday weekend and there were tons of cars up at the Horsetooth Mountain Park and Blue Sky Trailheads, but no one once you went down the hill toward Redstone and Masonville, just a few scattered cyclists.

At one point a couple of hotshot fast young runners, probably from the university, came flying by us, and on their way back down, they brought a stampede of cattle with them, which startled us.

Sasquatch had never run Redstone before so he was having shutterbug moments.

Nice day for a cool low key shuffle with the Sasquatch.