Not sure where my running training is going this year. At this point it seems to be going no where fast...
March I was lying low because of an recurring Achilles injury. Luckily, the rest and no running regime helped and so far the Achilles tendon is pain free.
After completing the Burnaby Mountain Run (12km) early April and fighting some motivational issues, Pat and I were back on the trails on Easter Saturday, enjoying the late season snow that greeted us in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve. April started looking good...until the flu bug hit hard. Missed out on the sunniest CFA run of this year last weekend. While a bunch of Fat Asses enjoyed the brilliant blue skies over Coquitlam at the Run To The Clouds (which clouds), I spent the day coughing and hacking in bed. Bummer.
Feel like any endurance is long gone by now, legs still feel rubbery from fever and doing nothing all week...we'll see how tomorrows planned run with Michelle plays out. What does not kill me only makes me stronger... Or so I hope!
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Asleep and Trusting
Asleep and Trusting, originally uploaded by Turtlepace.
This is one relaxed fellow. Not only does he groom and eat when in my children's hands, he also falls asleep at times. Having his head rubbed makes him all drowsy until he drifts off. During this particular session he ended up sleeping on his back. Talk about trust!
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Gewuerzkuchen
Gewuerzkuchen, originally uploaded by Turtlepace.
After looking on ebay, Buy and Sell and Craigslist for years, I finally found exactly the convection range I was hoping for.
I've been baking up a storm since I brought the beast home last week.
This Gewuerzkuchen is the latest creation. BTW, family loves the stove...or should I say the end results ;-)
Ingredients:
125g butter
150g sugar (original recipe calls for 350g - yikes)
320g whole wheat flour
1 tbls baking powder
125g grated dark chocolate
4 eggs
1/2 tblsp ground gloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup milk
Combine all ingedients with electric mixer. Pour into greased bundt or 2 loaf pans. Bake on 175C or 75 min (less if using 2 loaf pans) or on 200C for 60 min. In the convection oven I baked at 175C for 50min.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Burnaby Mountain Killer Hill
I have to admit that in the 15 years I have been living and running in Vancouver I had never ventured to Burnaby Mountain. Fortunately, I tested the course descriptions a few weeks before the Burnaby Mountain Run and can vouch that the views are spectacular. Unfortunately, on the morning of the events, the clouds hung very low and none of the participants were treated to the breathtaking scenery.Not only did the clouds hang low, rain also hammered down on the group of diehards assembled at the start line in Burnaby Mountain Park. Nevertheless, the majority of the Fat Asses planned to do the full 2 loops for a total of 24km. Not so Maureen and myself who gingerly set out to run 12km and were hoping not to be lapped by the hot shots...
Following Pandora's Trail steeply downhill through deep mud puddles we soon lost sight of the leaders and tried stay close to Craig and Sharon whose bright jackets lead the way. Alas, they took a wrong turn and we found ourselves alone on the course.
The first half of the course is either downhill or flat...which leaves the question what to expect from the second half. Answer: A killer hill! Old Buck and Homestead are benign in comparison to this ascent. As Maureen and myself huffed and puffed to the top, we traded war stories of being lost in the fog during some previous adventures. Thanks to Maureen for pulling me up there!
The rain was still coming down when we finally made our way back to the start. Luckily, nice restrooms allowed us to get rid of the wet gear and change into warm fleecies. I only thawed eating soup at the post party get together....
Gotta come back in the sunshine.
Please wait while the page is being loaded. If this message is shown forever, the page did not load. So try again...
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
March 27 2006 Book Club Meeting
The new read for the next meeting will most likely be "Blade of Grass" by Lewis DeSoto.
"A Blade of Grass "
(reviewed by Kam Aures JAN 11, 2004)
Set in the 1970's along the South African border, A Blade of Grass is a novel about survival, friendship and pride. The two main characters are Marit Laurens and Tembi. Marit is a young British woman who is newly married to Ben and together they have recently purchased a farm.
Tembi, a young black girl, works on the Laurens' land where she lives in a hut with her mother Grace who is the Laurens' housekeeper. Her father lives in the city where he works in a gold mine to help support the family.
After a series of tragic events, both women find themselves alone with no one else to turn to except for each other. With Tembi's support, Marit addresses the workers to let them know that she will continue to keep the farm going. "If you think that I can't do it, then you are wrong. If you think that because I am a woman I can't do it, then you are wrong. You will give me the same respect that you gave to Baas Ben. And if you cannot, then you must leave this farm. If you think that you can take advantage of me because I am a woman alone and without a husband now, then you must leave this farm. If you cannot help me to run this farm, then you must leave. I say these things to you now, at the beginning, to give you a choice. Because if you cannot accept me, or work for me, you must leave." In the following days the workers begin to leave the farm in groups eventually leaving Marit and Tembi to fend for themselves.
The main storyline focuses on the development of Marit and Tembi's relationship from master-servant to friends. In the beginning, after Tembi has taken her Mother's place as the Laurens' housekeeper, Marit is jealous of the attention that her husband Ben is showing toward Tembi. "There is an unspoken admission on his part that he has looked with lust at Tembi, and an unspoken admission on her part that she saw this."
However, when situations change Marit's feelings toward Tembi start to soften when she realizes that she needs Tembi in order to keep her farm and to survive. This interracial friendship, in apartheid South Africa is frowned upon by the neighbors and by the increasingly segregated community in which they live, but they ignore the scorn and let their friendship grow stronger.
Although the concept of the story is very intriguing, there are some parts of the novel that seem to drag with an excessive amount of description which causes the story to lose it's smooth flow. Without these long passages the book would be more gripping and engaging, as the story would move along at a faster pace.
All in all, DeSoto's novel is a good start for his debut work. He is very talented in the area of character development so much so that the main plot centers around it. I really enjoyed his choice of subject matter and the interesting way in which he crafted the story and relationships. Originally from South African, DeSoto has experienced the very surroundings that he is writing about and is able to paint us an accurate picture so we ourselves are able to visualize the settings in our heads. I do look forward to more of DeSoto's novels in the future and hope that as he grows as a novelist his words will flow less choppily and more smoothly. A BLADE OF GRASS, despite its minor flaws, is worth the read.
"A Blade of Grass "
(reviewed by Kam Aures JAN 11, 2004)
Set in the 1970's along the South African border, A Blade of Grass is a novel about survival, friendship and pride. The two main characters are Marit Laurens and Tembi. Marit is a young British woman who is newly married to Ben and together they have recently purchased a farm.Tembi, a young black girl, works on the Laurens' land where she lives in a hut with her mother Grace who is the Laurens' housekeeper. Her father lives in the city where he works in a gold mine to help support the family.After a series of tragic events, both women find themselves alone with no one else to turn to except for each other. With Tembi's support, Marit addresses the workers to let them know that she will continue to keep the farm going. "If you think that I can't do it, then you are wrong. If you think that because I am a woman I can't do it, then you are wrong. You will give me the same respect that you gave to Baas Ben. And if you cannot, then you must leave this farm. If you think that you can take advantage of me because I am a woman alone and without a husband now, then you must leave this farm. If you cannot help me to run this farm, then you must leave. I say these things to you now, at the beginning, to give you a choice. Because if you cannot accept me, or work for me, you must leave." In the following days the workers begin to leave the farm in groups eventually leaving Marit and Tembi to fend for themselves.
The main storyline focuses on the development of Marit and Tembi's relationship from master-servant to friends. In the beginning, after Tembi has taken her Mother's place as the Laurens' housekeeper, Marit is jealous of the attention that her husband Ben is showing toward Tembi. "There is an unspoken admission on his part that he has looked with lust at Tembi, and an unspoken admission on her part that she saw this."
However, when situations change Marit's feelings toward Tembi start to soften when she realizes that she needs Tembi in order to keep her farm and to survive. This interracial friendship, in apartheid South Africa is frowned upon by the neighbors and by the increasingly segregated community in which they live, but they ignore the scorn and let their friendship grow stronger.
Although the concept of the story is very intriguing, there are some parts of the novel that seem to drag with an excessive amount of description which causes the story to lose it's smooth flow. Without these long passages the book would be more gripping and engaging, as the story would move along at a faster pace.
All in all, DeSoto's novel is a good start for his debut work. He is very talented in the area of character development so much so that the main plot centers around it. I really enjoyed his choice of subject matter and the interesting way in which he crafted the story and relationships. Originally from South African, DeSoto has experienced the very surroundings that he is writing about and is able to paint us an accurate picture so we ourselves are able to visualize the settings in our heads. I do look forward to more of DeSoto's novels in the future and hope that as he grows as a novelist his words will flow less choppily and more smoothly. A BLADE OF GRASS, despite its minor flaws, is worth the read.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)