White Friday

The day after Thanksgiving has come to be known as "Black Friday." I've never been one to get up and chase the sales. I've either had to work or if I had the day off, slept in. Some of those sales start as early as 5 a.m. There isn't much that will get me up that early, especially on a cold, dreary day. This part of Colorado doesn't normally have white Christmases, but this year we got a white Thanksgiving -- sort of. It started snowing yesterday evening, and this morning, we have a nice little mantel of white.

Of course, not everyone thinks the snow is great.

10 things I'm thankful for today

I am thankful:
For a roof over my head
For my family and their health
For space heaters and warm pajamas
For friends who read blogs (and those who don't)
For good coffee and sweet potato pie
That I don't have to drive anywhere today

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thirsty

I missed out on the beginning of National Blog Posting Month for November but have posted every day since I found out about it. Today, I'm having a hard time coming up with something to write about.

So, instead of writing something less than profound, I'll share a picture. Because who doesn't love a picture of a cat drinking from the bathroom faucet?Ok, probably lots of people. But I know there are plenty who do love it, as evidenced by sites like this and all the cat-drinking-from-the-sink-related videos on YouTube.

What I read: "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck

I know I had to have read "The Grapes of Wrath" at some point in high school, but all I could remember about it was the daughter named Rose of Sharon and the fact that the Joads had to leave Oklahoma. I must have read the book at a point in my life when I thought times would never be tough, or perhaps I really just disliked my teacher at the time and projected that onto this book. Whatever the reason, I didn't remember much about this book, and that's a shame.

I can't believe I didn't remember Steinbeck's poetic prose:

In the middle of that night the wind passed on and left the land quiet. The dust-filled air muffled sound more completely than fog does. The people, lying in their beds, heard the wind stop. They awakened when the rushing wind was gone. They lay quietly and listened deep into the stillness. Then the roosters crowed, and their voices were muffled, and the people stirred restlessly in their beds and wanted the morning. They knew it would take a long time for the dust to settle out of the air. In the morning the dust hung like fog, and the sun was as red as ripe new blood. All day the dust sifted down from the sky, and the next day it sifted down. An even blanket covered the earth. It settled on the corn, piled up on the tops of the fence posts, piled up on the wires; it settled on roofs, blanketed the weeds and trees.

Or the strength and courage of a family plagued by misfortune and tragedy:

Ma looked down at her hands, lying together like tired lovers in her lap. "I wisht i could wait an' not tell you. I wisht it could be all--nice."
Pa said, "Then Granma's bad."
Ma raised her eyes and looked over the valley. "Granma's dead."
They looked at her, all of them, and Pa asked, "When?"
"Before they stopped us las' night."
"So that's why you didn' want 'em to look."
"I was afraid we wouldn' get acrost," she said. "I tol' Granma we couldn' he'p her. The fambly had ta get acrost. I tol' her, tol' her when she was a-dyin'. We couldn' stop in the desert. there was the young ones--an' Rosasharn's baby. I tol' her." She put up her hands and covered her face for a moment. "She can get buried in a nice green place," Ma said softly. "Trees aroun' an' a nice place. She got to lay her head down in California."
The family looked at Ma with a little terror at her strength.

I feel like I just read this book for the first time. It got under my skin. I dreamed about it. I thought about how we would handle such desperate times. Despite today's economic climate, it's hard to imagine having to live the way the Joads did -- 14 people traveling in a truck made by cutting away the back of a sedan, sleeping under a tarp, eating little more than fried bread and black coffee. It often occurred to me the reason this book was so sharply opposed when it was first published.

A kind of insurance developed in these nights. A man with food fed a hungry man, and thus insured himself against hunger. And when a baby died a pile of silver coins grew at a door flap, for a baby must be well buried, since it has had nothing else of life.

Talk of unions and strikes and even a kind of socialism, disguised as helping those less fortunate must have scared the haves and stirred the have-nots.

The great companies did not know that the line between hunder and anger is a thin line. and money that might have gone to wages went for gas, for guns, for agents and spies, for blacklists, for drilling. On the highways the people moved like ants and searched for work, for food. and the anger began to forment.

Above all "The Grapes of Wrath" is beautifully written and worth reading or re-reading.

It was featured in this year's All Pikes Peak Reads, but I was late in reading it and getting in on discussions. I see it as a timely selection.

More photos

Views from the Piedra River Trail near Pagosa Springs

Sandy

We hiked in Great Sand Dunes National Park. My photographs don't do it justice. It's incredibly stark and beautiful. We'd like to go back in the spring when the water is flowing and the plants are lush. Hiking up sand is hard work but a lot of fun. A great ending to a great weekend.

Steamy

This is the Springs Resort in Pagosa Springs. The hot mineral springs are toasty and the rooms are comfy and quiet. My significant other gets brownie points for creating this romantic weekend getaway.

I plan to put up more pictures from the weekend in the next few days.

Piedra River Trail

We took a trip to Pagosa Springs. This picture is from our hike along the Piedra River Trail. After this, we soaked in the hot springs and had a tasty mocha latte at a cafe and gallery owned by a really nice couple.

UPDATE: If you're in Pagosa Springs, make sure you stop by The Quaking Aspen for some organic foods and some cool photography.

Frosty

It may look like a dangerous thorny plant but it's just the balusters on our deck, covered in a wicked frost.

How does anyone ever learn to read this language?

As I've mentioned before, I work with the Children's Literacy Center, tutoring and acting as a site coordinator. It's fulfilling helping the kids, and they really enjoy it.

What I don't understand is how the heck anyone ever learns to read the English language. There are no hard and fast rules. Really. There's "i before e, except after c or when it sound like a, as in neighbor and weigh." But what about height and weird? And one the kids taught me: "When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking -- like in ceiling or quiet. Oops. Guess that one doesn't follow the rules either. (Hey! There's another one right there.) When a kid is struggling with a word, you can't always tell him to sound it out. Think about sounding out the word "phone" or "one." Then you see words with "gh" in them, like "through" (makes the "oo" sound), "though" (makes the long "o" sound) and "cough" (makes an "awf" sound) and things just spiral into insanity.

Luckily kids are really smart and really resilient, so they take this in stride. They trust us when we tell them that's just how it is. They work hard to remember the rules and don't get too frustrated by the "naughty words" that don't follow the rules -- or any rule at all. Seriously, look at "two." What kind of word is that?

Here's an interesting factoid for you today:

Studies have shown the relationship between language development in early childhood and later success in reading. Parents and other family members have great influence on a child’s development of language and other pre-literacy skills.

No pain, no gain

We've all heard the slogan no pain, no gain. I always subscribed to the idea of no pain, no pain. I worked out. I just never believed I had to hurt in order to be in shape. When I did wind up with sore muscles, I knew not to push myself quite so hard next time. I think it worked for me. Granted I've never really been buff, but I'd like to think I look OK.

But now, I've gone and done it. In taking up running, I have caused myself pain in the name of fitness. I know there's a difference between muscle pain and joint pain. I've experienced both. I know to stretch and work through the achy muscles and to rest and rehab achy joints. But this latest pain is worse than achy muscles or sore joints, and it's not something I can really work through.

I have a blister on the arch of my foot! I didn't realize my sock had bunched up there. And I must have been in the zone, because I didn't feel it until walking around later. And I could sure feel it today when I ran. I'm not going to let it stop me. If Tiger Woods could win the U.S. Open with a broken leg, surely I can run with a little blister. I mean, sure, he had to play one of the toughest games of his life, and I just have to get through a non-competitive 5k. But, yeah, they're comparable.

Four books I want to read by the end of the year

I know I'm being overly optimistic thinking I can get through these. But I'm going to give it a shot.

1. "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck
I'm halfway through this one, but it goes on the list because I have to finish it.
2. "Dreams From My Father" by Barack Obama
I want to know more about our next president.
3. "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama
Ok, I want to know a lot more. And I got a discount at Amazon.com for ordering them together.
4. "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Polan
I started this but haven't finished it. It's not much fun. But I feel it's "important" to read. This is the one book I'm not sure I'll get through. But I'll give it another shot because it comes highly recommended by two different friends.

I can get through these books if I sit down and read, rather than let myself get distracted by what's on TV or some stupid computer game. I do have other things I have to get done (besides TV and computer games) so unfortunately, I can't just sit and read all day. I would if I could.

Always preparing

I've thought of a side benefit to training for a 5k run: When the zombie apocalypse comes, I'll have the stamina to outrun them* -- or at least I'll be able to outrun all the people who don't work out, giving me time to get away.





*Of course, if they're the fast-moving variety, I'm still totally screwed.

Did you ever notice

Did you ever notice when manufacturers try to market something that's traditionally male-oriented -- sporting goods, tools -- to women, they often don't change much except the color? You want a set of household tools in one handy case? Well, because you're a woman, here's a pink one! You want a set of golf clubs. Hmm, you're a woman. You must want them in pink! Not pink? Ok, here's some in pastel blue! Oh, you don't want pastel colors either? Hmmm. Oh, here we go, here's a set in beige ... with flowers on them! They're even making football jerseys in pink. Huh. I thought the Denver Broncos colors were orange and blue, but here's a women's version in pink.

I get the Pink Ribbon items, although I don't think everything has to actually be pink in order to get the word out about breast cancer awareness. But I'm not addressing the items that are pink for a cause. I'm talking about things that are pink (or flowered or pastel) just to try to appeal to women.

Maybe it's because I've always been a bit of a tomboy. Maybe it's because I have three older brothers who I always felt a need to compete with. Maybe it's because I grew up watching ERA demonstrations and hearing about Title IX. (Shut up. I know I'm old.) Or maybe I just don't like the color pink. It's probably all of those things but I don't understand trying to make these things more girly.

On the other hand, if the item is made with the same quality as the men's version, but sized to fit a woman, I'm all for that.

Movie night!

10 Reasons Movie Night is better at home:

1. No driving required.
2. Parking is better.
3. The snacks are cheaper.
4. You can have healthy snacks if you really want them.
5. You can wear pajamas.
6. You can snuggle under a blanket.
7. You can pause the movie if you have to go pee.
8. No one talks on a cell phone during a pivotal scene.
9. If you fall asleep, you can rewind the movie.
10. No one kicks the back of your seat.

Change of plans

Looking through a two-day old newspaper this morning, I came across a brief about a 5k run to benefit the El Paso County nature centers. The LiveWell 5k takes place the Saturday after Thanksgiving instead of Thanksgiving Day. So while it's not technically a "turkey trot," the Fountain Creek and Bear Creek Nature Centers are awesome and are struggling for funding. And I think it's close enough to the day that I'll still need to burn off calories from the leftovers. The entry fee is the same, so I've made the decision to run this 5k instead of the YMCA 5k.

Now, I have to convince myself that it's time to bundle up and get outside for my run this morning. Brrrr.

Update: I managed to motivate myself to get outside and run for 20 minutes. I'm glad for the new running pants I bought to help keep me warm.

Tales of the unexplained

My favorite TV show is "Ghost Hunters" on the Sci Fi channel. In case you don't know what "Ghost Hunters" is (first of all, stop reading now, click that link above, go get the earlier season DVDs and watch some episodes. I'll wait.) it's about a real-life group of paranormal investigators and it's creepy and fun. I wouldn't call it a reality show. While it focuses on real people, there's no conniving or backstabbing and the drama is usually provided by things going bump in the night -- or disembodied voices saying, "You don't belong here."

Having watched the show for a couple years now, I have convinced myself that I could deal with something paranormal if it should occur. I think I could look at a strange happening and decide if there's a scientific explanation or not. And if there wasn't a reasonable explanation and I believed it to be paranormal, I think I could be rational in dealing with whatever's there.

With that said, I had a strange occurrence in my home last night. I'm 90 percent sure it wasn't paranormal but I've yet to figure out what happened. It was scary in a way that a ghost could never be.

We have a smoke alarm/carbon monoxide detector outside our bedroom. It's a newfangled one that actually says, "Fire. Fire." or "Carbon Monoxide."About 3:45 this morning our smoke alarm sounded. "Fire. Fire," said the monotone alarm. But the voice along with the shrieking of the alarm got us out of bed pretty quickly. The dog ran and jumped into my arms, shaking. Before we really got our senses together to start our escape, the alarm stopped.

Because the Significant Other was already out in the hallway by this time, I got it in my sleep-addled mind that he had turned off the alarm -- he hadn't. We moved from room to room -- the dog still in my arms -- looking for anything that might be smoldering. It's been cold, so we've had electric heaters plugged in. But they were off and safe. The furnace actually kicked on after the alarm stopped so it wasn't the cause. The stove was off. No smoking appliances or electronic equipment. No explanation.

The alarms are linked together, so maybe when one has a low battery, rather that chirping (and making the dog crazy) like the old ones did, these go off. Seems like a silly design to me. We have to find the manuals and see what it says about low batteries.

The only other explanation I can come up with is we now have a ghost -- even though we never had one before -- and he likes to play with smoke alarms ... at 3:45 in the morning ... when it's freezing ... and windy ... and snowing. I think I'll do a little more investigating on my own before I call in TAPS.

Encouragement

Yesterday I worried I would never be ready to run a 5k on Thanksgiving. But I received words of encouragement, and today I got up and ran. It was only about 1.5 miles, but it was all outside, with inclines and obstacles (pick up your dog's poop, people!) and the brisk autumn air. I reached the goal I set for myself today and will try to run farther -- and faster -- next time.

The biggest downside to running outside, especially in the morning, are the exhaust fumes from the cars and trucks passing. It makes me wonder if it really isn't healthier to just run at the gym, even if running on a treadmill gets boring pretty quickly. I'm going to have to find a place to run where I won't be breathing exhaust fumes -- either a good running trail or just less traveled roads. Although with winter just around the corner, running on the treadmill may have to be the way to go for a while.

I'm feeling pretty good about the running. I've always exercised, but it's easy to get burned out. I'm not really into Spinning (the instructors for those classes have to be sadists!) or the class setting in general. I guess I'm just too independent to enjoy them. Running fits with the kind of exerciser I am. I just have to get better at it. Now that I've written about it, I have to stick with it.

What was I thinking

One day at the gym, I saw a story on the news about running in a Turkey Trot. Because the sound is always turned down on the TVs at the gym, all I saw were smiling people bundled up, pushing strollers, holding dog leashes, having a great time. I thought to myself I should do a Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving. These 5k runs are designed to get you moving and burn some calories before you stuff yourself on stuffing, as well as bring in some money for a good cause (locally, it's the YMCA). "What a great idea," I thought at the time. I could run this race, then not feel guilty about pigging out later.

Instead of doing a search for information on a 5k run, I asked the Significant Other how many miles are in 5k. His answer: 2.5 miles give or take. So I've been hopping on the treadmill at the gym, slogging through 2.5 miles at about 5.2 miles per hour (I'm not much of a runner) and starting to feel like I could make it. Until today, that is. Today, I decided to look up some information about training for my first ever 5k.

I found this at About.com:

"Running a 5K is an excellent goal for new runners. You'll get lots of motivation, as well as enjoyment, from participating in a race, and 5K (3.1 miles) is the perfect distance for first-timers."

You probably already knew this, but in case, like me (and apparently my S.O.), you were never good with the Metric system, 5 kilometers is equivalent to 3.1 miles. I need to run .6 miles farther than I have been. I know it doesn't seem like much -- and it probably really isn't -- but I know running on a treadmill is easier than running on the street. And I'm just starting to feel like I could run this on a treadmill. While, I work out on a regular basis, easily completing 2 or 3 miles on the elliptical machine or the stair stepper, running has always been a whole other ballgame to me.

If I really want to complete the 5k on Thanksgiving (and I do), I'm going to have to step it up a notch. I have just over two weeks to feel comfortable running 3.1 miles. I have to keep telling myself I can do it.

I would blog more ...

if there were more room on my chair.





I know he's thinking, "Why is she crowding me? And what's with the pictures?"