Walking or Running?
We thought it was getting cooler. Well it was. We woke up last Sunday and it was 65 degrees with a nice breeze. It was fall. A week later we are back in August. It has been getting progressively warmer all week and culminating in the kind of weather that fogs up your glasses when you step outside after being in an air conditioned space. The pool has been great, the beach wonderful especially for Wyke, and thank goodness we have air conditioning so we can sleep at night.
Lots of walking this week with a big walk on Friday that did me in. I did something really stupid. I wanted to see if I could run/jog and how fast I was, so, feeling good, I left my house and started running up towards the Community Center. I felt great. Strong, breathing good, legs good, and so I just kept on going. When I looked at my time I discovered that I actually walk faster than I run. Shock! So the pounding on my poor old body is not necessary. Whew…however, now I can hardly move. My legs were so sore the next day I couldn’t believe it. My back is also sore and really, really doesn’t like me sitting down at all. It’s ok to stand up and it’s ok to lie down but forget sitting. Some good stretching and yoga moves and it is beginning to feel much better. During this adventure I had turned on my Runkeeper to keep the stats for me and somewhere along the way it went into Pause mode. That made me rather angry to say the least. I like to know how far I have gone, how long it has taken me and I like the routes on the map. So, I sulked on Saturday and since it was so darn hot, I went to the pool instead of walking. Maybe it’s ok to take a day off now and then. The straight line on the above map is when it wasn’t working.
Birthday Week and Cat Tree
It was John’s birthday this week so the cats and I gave him a project. A giant cat tree that he needed to put together. Little did we know that there would be more laughs than we thought. The kittens got right into the project from the get go. They both jumped in the box and started scratching on the scratching posts. Cleo thought she could really help and kept trying to swat at the giant bolts that hold the thing together. Naturally, Wyke had to get his oar in there too and he arrived with a bone in his mouth to help. A screwdriver would have been more appropriate. Once the tree was finished they were all over it, trying to climb it before it was actually attached. It is spring loaded to the ceiling which was also an interesting wrinkle. We have very high ceilings so we had to actually prop it up so that it would reach the ceiling. Both kittens have climbed all the way to the top and often we see them chasing each other up the platforms. Hours of amusement for them and for us. Are our kittens spoiled, you bet they are.
We actually celebrated John’s birthday the day after as we had the formal installation of our churches rector on Thursday night. It was a wonderful celebration and they even had a large, gooey, sugary cake that certainly could pass as a birthday cake. So John had his cake and was able to eat it too.
The next day we went with good friends to a new spot in Beaufort called the Ribault Social Club. Don’t you love the name? It is in one of the local inns and is an absolutely gem of a place to go and watch the sunset over the Beaufort River (Intracoastal Waterway) and have a cocktail. We all loved it and would certainly go back again. The Shrimp Festival is going on in Beaufort so the town was alive with the hustle and bustle that goes along with a festival and gorgeous evening weather. Great band playing music in the park, the shrimp boats decorated and lit up like it was Christmas, people milling around and lots of energy. Our shrimp is without a doubt the best you can have anywhere. Monday we went to a shrimp boil and I have never had shrimp as good as that was. It was peel and eat and cooked perfectly. No need for any other food at all even though they did serve corn and potato salad and cole slaw. Love that shrimp!
A Little Beach and a lot of Water
Wyke and I have been out to the beach a few times recently. He just loves it out there and we took his best friend Abby with us this week which was even better. We walked for almost two hours and the dogs ran and played and jumped in the waves and chased birds. It was glorious. However, the tide was really, really high. We have had coastal flood warnings all week and it was easy to see why. With a full moon and I think the storms that have been offshore, the water has been very rough. There were rip tide warnings too and you could actually see where there was one when we were out on the beach. It did make me a little nervous so I kept the whistle close and when the dogs got too far ahead or too far out in the water we called them back. No need to have a repeat of the goose episode of the summer with a pelican and the ocean. There would be absolutely no way I could get him back if he decided to go. However, he was very good and came back each and every time I called him. He wasn’t that far out, he was still standing in the water not swimming but I wasn’t taking any chances.
Autumn Quinoa Salad from Blue Zones
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup quinoa
Salt and ground black pepper
2 green onions, minced
1 carrot, shredded
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 (15.5-oz.) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
Directions
1. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the quinoa and salt to taste. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook until the water has been absorbed, about 12 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the green onions, carrot and peas, and set aside to come to room temperature.
3. Add the beans, peanuts, cranberries, oil, vinegar and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
Variation: Substitute cooked brown rice for the quinoa, or a different type of nut in place of the peanuts.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all my family and friends north of the border.