Football Epilogue

I've been feeling the need to get more cardio. Honestly, part of it has to do with going to Iron Maiden with a friend who "runs 4 to 5 miles every day". So, ok, time for me to saddle up and get moving as I see room for improvement in my workout.  I'm not looking to compete, but instead felt more motivated. Thanks, Old Top! The nice part about living in the land of 10k lakes is that there area a lot of little lakes with paths around them. Thus, for the last couple weeks I've been packing a small bag of workout clothes, changing at the end of the work day and taking a jog around Mt. Normandale Lake pictured above.  I don't typically feel the need to run a marathon so something between 1.5 miles and 4 miles feels perfect. This lake has an excellent path with just enough elevation variation to have to kick into small hill gear and a second lap (which I'm already starting to do) doesn't feel entirely daunting. There are enough shiny happy peopl...

Some Strawberries from the garden, this is my sixth haul like this this year; not bad for a little two foot by four foot swath. Previous years haven't been nearly so fruitful. I guess it takes a couple years for things to really get going. There are more than can be eaten so I made a simple strawberry sauce taking hints from looking at a few recipes: 4 cups strawberries, stemmed and hulled 1/4 cup lime juice (lemon could work too, but was out) 1/2 cup sugar 1 tbsp cornstarch Mash strawberries lightly in saucepan and stir in other ingredients. Heat to dissolve sugar on low-med heat. Once more fluid heat to a boil on med-high. Turn down the heat and simmer, stirring frequently/continuously for 7-ish minutes. Allow to cool or serve warm on ice cream, pancakes, waffles, steak, hot dogs, sushi, kale or anything that could use a flavor improvement. :) Store or hot water can/jar for later. The sauce is definitely a "sometimes" food, but does preserve that tast...

My son's first big concert was last Friday. We went and saw IRON MAIDEN. It was a lot of fun although he was a little disappointed they didn't play "Run to the Hills", but they did play my favorite song of theirs, "The Trooper". Here's a version by The Two Cellos. Enjoy!

I came home to this girl laying eggs next to my driveway/garden.

It seems beer may have peaked.  These are some interesting charts to peruse while you enjoy a chardonnay, or a Miller High Life in a champagne flute. http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2017/06/daily-chart-8

This workout was both physical and mentally tiring. It required two solid weekends without special equipment. Lots of shoveling and heavy lifting. Lots of core strength working things into the right balance and ensuring proper hydration...of the ground off my new patio! I was mulling how to do this over last summer. I even had a person come out and give me an obnoxiously priced quote to pave it. I considered a deck versus a concrete pour versus pavers versus brick. I opted for the brick. The job was complicated due to the sloping grade in front of my house and the fact that my house itself is sagging a little. This made the grading interesting, but I was able to get something that looked promising. This "alternative" workout had several phases. Dig out This was the biggest pain as what was there was gravel packed into clay-ish soil. I just had to fight through it. A spade shovel and a heavy foot allowed for some good progress. I got the area dug out at least 5 inche...