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| Climate emergency is on everyone's minds these days. |
Friday, September 27, 2019
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
TO PAINT
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| St Bruno and Lac Seigneural |
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| Girl on Lac Bouleax |
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| St. Bruno and Etang de la roche |
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| Barn shingles and shutters |
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| Sunset with dorval lanterns hanging like bluebells |
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| Backyard with cat |
SAINT BRUNO PARK : A SEPAQ GEM
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| 400 year old forests |
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| Lac des Boileaux |
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| Frogs appear everywhere, once you take the time to look. |
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| Deer are cautious. This one was not shy! |
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| Etang de la Roche |
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| Murray's house |
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| Even with a map, it's easy to get lost (and found) here, if you have the time. |
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
BOOK REPORT: WHISPER NETWORK
I loved and hated this book in equal measures. It was difficult to separate the interesting plot from the weight of the reality of being a female that was so well described. I read it in small bites, angered on my way to work on the train in one moment, and validated at having my feelings voiced at another.
These are a couple of quotes that spoke to me:
" We will say this: none of us thought that motherhood and work could exist harmoniously If anything, they were forces, diametrically opposed. We were the prisoners, strapped to the medieval stretching device, having enjoyed the rare privilege of both loving and having chose our torturers."
"Because, whatever happened, we were the defaults, the ones stuck with the task of figuring out what to do about, well, everything."
The characters were not that well fleshed out, nor relatable to me, but they did serve the purpose of standing in for stereotypes that are very real, and their relationships were entertaining and complicated.
There is the type A Sloane who speaks her mind and is the highest ranking female, but still passed over for being female. There is new mother Grace, struggling with post partum depression, who finds work more validating than motherhood. There is Archie, a newly divorced woman struggling to move on as her ex dates a younger woman who overlaps with her friend circles. There is the office cleaner Rosa who works hard, and lives in a class below these other executive women while raising a son on her own. And then in comes Kate, the new hire, who left her previous employment under unclear circumstances, and tries to find her place between the new male boss and the females that stick together.
It was worth the read, and it was speaking to the choir for me! It goes to some pretty dark places that are all too real. If I had a man in my life, I would insist he reads it. It goes a long way to explain how life feels to many of us, and is a real myth-buster for the entitlement many men have no idea they are carrying.
So for the Bianca's who make bigger news and finally have equal pay ($3.85 million at the US Open, just like Rafael!)
These are a couple of quotes that spoke to me:
" We will say this: none of us thought that motherhood and work could exist harmoniously If anything, they were forces, diametrically opposed. We were the prisoners, strapped to the medieval stretching device, having enjoyed the rare privilege of both loving and having chose our torturers."
"Because, whatever happened, we were the defaults, the ones stuck with the task of figuring out what to do about, well, everything."
The characters were not that well fleshed out, nor relatable to me, but they did serve the purpose of standing in for stereotypes that are very real, and their relationships were entertaining and complicated.
There is the type A Sloane who speaks her mind and is the highest ranking female, but still passed over for being female. There is new mother Grace, struggling with post partum depression, who finds work more validating than motherhood. There is Archie, a newly divorced woman struggling to move on as her ex dates a younger woman who overlaps with her friend circles. There is the office cleaner Rosa who works hard, and lives in a class below these other executive women while raising a son on her own. And then in comes Kate, the new hire, who left her previous employment under unclear circumstances, and tries to find her place between the new male boss and the females that stick together.
It was worth the read, and it was speaking to the choir for me! It goes to some pretty dark places that are all too real. If I had a man in my life, I would insist he reads it. It goes a long way to explain how life feels to many of us, and is a real myth-buster for the entitlement many men have no idea they are carrying.
So for the Bianca's who make bigger news and finally have equal pay ($3.85 million at the US Open, just like Rafael!)
Monday, September 16, 2019
THE END OF SUMMER IS NIGH!
I am sitting at my computer. The Boston ivy on my back shed is turning a vibrant red. The sun is less intense, and the night is winning the balance of the day. I hear geese honking overhead. The mosquitos have disappeared but the midges hang in clusters in the last rays of sun. The last full moon is a harvest moon. The cicadas are gone and the monarchs are heading south. The crickets left playing their instruments are diminishing, with squirrels busy with acorns filling their mouths. The apple trees have almost finished dropping their fruit. The water of the lake is just cold enough to dip your feet, and want no more. Here and there a tree is turning shades of autumn. There are a few more days, but summer is already making way for fall. Enjoy the last days of summer! The end is near!
Friday, September 13, 2019
BISTRO KAPZAK, GRANBY: REVIEW
I love Polish food. It reminds me of Ukranian influences I grew up with on the Prairies, and AustroHungarian food I loved when I lived in Europe. My daughter adores pirogies, so when we decided last minute to drive to the Granby zoo for the day, I thought I'd surprise her and found a Polish place at Granby with plans to eat supper at Bistro Kapzak before we drove home.
Usually she's a reluctant omnivore, but she was feeling vegetarian after a day admiring the beauty of the animal kingdom. So the lack of vegetarian perogies was disappointing to her, but she rallied when we found three appetizers that would suit.
When they came, I knew I was going to be very happy, but Princess Pirate proved to be adventurous, and enjoyed a taste of all the food, with the spätzle dish becoming her own!
The food was creative, delicious, and elevated. My tendency to hearty rich flavours had to step up a notch, but I have eaten enough food to see great food when I see it. There was a deconstruction of every dish, and reconstruction in a original way that was fascinating. We ate first with our eyes, and then with our mouth. It was surprising, and satisfying. I would go back again, especially with a foodlover adult like my carnivore brother.
Usually she's a reluctant omnivore, but she was feeling vegetarian after a day admiring the beauty of the animal kingdom. So the lack of vegetarian perogies was disappointing to her, but she rallied when we found three appetizers that would suit.
When they came, I knew I was going to be very happy, but Princess Pirate proved to be adventurous, and enjoyed a taste of all the food, with the spätzle dish becoming her own!
The food was creative, delicious, and elevated. My tendency to hearty rich flavours had to step up a notch, but I have eaten enough food to see great food when I see it. There was a deconstruction of every dish, and reconstruction in a original way that was fascinating. We ate first with our eyes, and then with our mouth. It was surprising, and satisfying. I would go back again, especially with a foodlover adult like my carnivore brother.
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| Spatzle z Buraczkami Served in a hot skillet, this was my daughter's favourite. Macadamia nuts on beet egg noodles. Yum! |
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| Dauphinoise Burakow I expected this to be a baked dish, and had asked to hold the duck to choose a vegetarian option. It was not baked, but the deconstructed dish was fresh and original, with thinly sliced beets, cashews, and dill. |
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| Ser Z Burakow When I saw this dish, I asked for bread, and it was a great idea. The cheese dish was very dense, and very spreadable on their excellent pumpernickel bread, as the menu advertised. It was sweet with white currants and covered by the deep red colour of beet jelly. The deep fried chips and fresh dill were a good start, but there was more than enough for a couple of slices of bread too. |
Sunday, September 8, 2019
ART AU BORD DU LAC/ART BY THE LAKE
There is a fall show every year that I love to visit. Every piece of art is being sold by the artist, and this year, I could talk to over 36 artists if I wanted. I don't love every item, thankfully, but I do love a lot, and I have had an amazing time talking to some fascinating people, all while being filled with pride that my daughter chose to be a volunteer this year, and was running around with other kids her age, giving out maps and helping artists with whatever they needed.
My two favorite artists here this weekend, reflected in the two most represented in my home, are Susanne Strater and Helena Scheffer.
I associate Susanne with a pastel periwinkle that creeps into her shadows and margins in many pieces. Her work never ceases to amaze me in its exquisite beauty, and she surprises me by often changing inspirations and media. Her rooftops of Luxembourg can come in almost monochromatic greys and browns, to brick reds with royal blues. She is recently working acrylic gouache, and collaging medieval knights jousting beside her detailed paper cuttings of triplexs. She has luminous yellow skies beside fairytale night ones, dotted with stars.
The last work I bought from her was a night sky paper cutting I saw over her hearth at her home at one of her rare home shows. I asked her friend Linda to guard it for me, as I had fallen instantly in love. This weekend, I spent more time talking with Linda and her husband Christopher (an English professor who calls her Rose) than anyone, and adored their varied perspectives, and her art. We had in common my colleague who was his friend from Kindergarten, and we talked about art, medicine, history, family, travel, and math (E was the last thing Linda remembered from Trigonometry, and 30 years later, Allan was working on the Maxwell's Equations to explain it plainly to her once he understood it.
Linda Creasey Brown is a Lakeshore painter whose life spanned California and Quebec with interesting perspectives on churches, which she loves to paint from below, with awe-inspiring silhouettes that people have mistakeningly interpreted as a statement, and react to in transference of their feelings on religion. Her grandchildren are painted on docks and beaches, and in snowsuits, and they resonate with a happy childhood. She validates me by saying I should write my memoirs about growing up in an evangelical church, as though my opinion was valued.
I met Helena when she and her husband owned a gallery in St. Anne's. Her quilts were show stoppers, and still travel the world on oversized walls only galleries and mansions can do justice to their scale. Her uniquely named colour explosions have now evolved from square and rectangular to circular. Her show stopper in sea blues is called Coral Reef and sold the first day of the sale. Her hand sown flower stamen and colour matching are meticulous and rich.
Valerie Ferenczy-Reichman surprised me with her collection of sweet animals in a medium I don't often love; clay. She had the most incredible totem, with each animal face on the base of a neck, and colours to make a mallard jealous. She was most proud of her singing performances, which she gave daily, and the fact that all her pottery was hand thrown on the wheel. She answered the question I always wondered: do you dislike it for others to take a picture of your work? Yes, she does, but admits she has no website so the only images out there are because others have posted them.
Thomas De Souza is an enthusiastic man who paints in bright colours as a reflection of his lively personality. He remains faithful to gold frames, even though the organizer suggests to avoid them. His Rideau Canal complete with Chateau Laurier is quivering with colour. He takes the real and adds his own imagination. His horses dance, and his skies are inspired by Vincent Van Gogh. (Do you know Vincent Van Gogh? He asks, without judgement or expectation.)
Charmian Gibson Silver mirrors the landscape in her display of the water shadows she paints. Subtle and impressionistic, they make me want to look up and see what makes their reflection.
Sara Barnoff loves the fall, and takes ethereal colours to create masterpieces that trail often onto the border around the painting. The leaves are from a real garden, so rare in pictures, with holes that insects have made. The milkweed open, and seed float away, in fairytale silver.
Norma Bradley-Walker paints Montreal archictecture with a watercolourist's delicate treatment of light and form. She tells me of her similar impression of the passion of Heritage Montreal tour guides, having recently been in Lachine for an outing. We are both convinced at its value, see it as a locally attended program, and are surprised at its low key visibility but large crowds. Her newest creation is a street view done with two different depths with a feeling of a triptych. She paints on paper, then carefully folds it around to meet the next corner. She calls it 3-D architecture.
Muriel Smith Baran surprises with close-ups of trees and a love of woods, which we share in our favoured Terra Cotta, while limping with a cane. I didn't take her card, but I did look up her website TreesRMe!
Craig Skinner is not only a detailed realist painter, but a boyscout at heart, at the ready to help secure wobbly paintings on a windy day, with a cordless drill, screws, a well-weighted down tent, and clear hockey tape that serves as a sophisticated answer to duct tape.
Manjit Singh Chatrik and his wife are a great team. He paint and writes and she suppports with cleaning and cooking. They acknowledge each other in a way only good teammates can. I have met him painting in front of Galerie d'Art Pointe-Claire, on the pedestrian street He excitedly brings over his "first and last" pastel that he just completed.
Two notable absentees from the Lakeshore Artists association were: Janice Poltrick-Donato (who was probably off hiking a tall mountain) and Martine Legrand whose work echoes for me the great Jean-Paul Lemieux. I hope they can make it next time!
How is it possible to have so much beauty and passion? What a perfect way to spend the day! Thank you for letting me admire and converse with you today.
I was asked to lend back two pieces for an upcoming show by an artist. For me, this is a dream come true: to be a patron of the arts! (mécène ou bienfacteur/se des arts, en français):
My two favorite artists here this weekend, reflected in the two most represented in my home, are Susanne Strater and Helena Scheffer.
I associate Susanne with a pastel periwinkle that creeps into her shadows and margins in many pieces. Her work never ceases to amaze me in its exquisite beauty, and she surprises me by often changing inspirations and media. Her rooftops of Luxembourg can come in almost monochromatic greys and browns, to brick reds with royal blues. She is recently working acrylic gouache, and collaging medieval knights jousting beside her detailed paper cuttings of triplexs. She has luminous yellow skies beside fairytale night ones, dotted with stars.
The last work I bought from her was a night sky paper cutting I saw over her hearth at her home at one of her rare home shows. I asked her friend Linda to guard it for me, as I had fallen instantly in love. This weekend, I spent more time talking with Linda and her husband Christopher (an English professor who calls her Rose) than anyone, and adored their varied perspectives, and her art. We had in common my colleague who was his friend from Kindergarten, and we talked about art, medicine, history, family, travel, and math (E was the last thing Linda remembered from Trigonometry, and 30 years later, Allan was working on the Maxwell's Equations to explain it plainly to her once he understood it.
Linda Creasey Brown is a Lakeshore painter whose life spanned California and Quebec with interesting perspectives on churches, which she loves to paint from below, with awe-inspiring silhouettes that people have mistakeningly interpreted as a statement, and react to in transference of their feelings on religion. Her grandchildren are painted on docks and beaches, and in snowsuits, and they resonate with a happy childhood. She validates me by saying I should write my memoirs about growing up in an evangelical church, as though my opinion was valued.
I met Helena when she and her husband owned a gallery in St. Anne's. Her quilts were show stoppers, and still travel the world on oversized walls only galleries and mansions can do justice to their scale. Her uniquely named colour explosions have now evolved from square and rectangular to circular. Her show stopper in sea blues is called Coral Reef and sold the first day of the sale. Her hand sown flower stamen and colour matching are meticulous and rich.
Valerie Ferenczy-Reichman surprised me with her collection of sweet animals in a medium I don't often love; clay. She had the most incredible totem, with each animal face on the base of a neck, and colours to make a mallard jealous. She was most proud of her singing performances, which she gave daily, and the fact that all her pottery was hand thrown on the wheel. She answered the question I always wondered: do you dislike it for others to take a picture of your work? Yes, she does, but admits she has no website so the only images out there are because others have posted them.
Thomas De Souza is an enthusiastic man who paints in bright colours as a reflection of his lively personality. He remains faithful to gold frames, even though the organizer suggests to avoid them. His Rideau Canal complete with Chateau Laurier is quivering with colour. He takes the real and adds his own imagination. His horses dance, and his skies are inspired by Vincent Van Gogh. (Do you know Vincent Van Gogh? He asks, without judgement or expectation.)
Charmian Gibson Silver mirrors the landscape in her display of the water shadows she paints. Subtle and impressionistic, they make me want to look up and see what makes their reflection.
Sara Barnoff loves the fall, and takes ethereal colours to create masterpieces that trail often onto the border around the painting. The leaves are from a real garden, so rare in pictures, with holes that insects have made. The milkweed open, and seed float away, in fairytale silver.
Norma Bradley-Walker paints Montreal archictecture with a watercolourist's delicate treatment of light and form. She tells me of her similar impression of the passion of Heritage Montreal tour guides, having recently been in Lachine for an outing. We are both convinced at its value, see it as a locally attended program, and are surprised at its low key visibility but large crowds. Her newest creation is a street view done with two different depths with a feeling of a triptych. She paints on paper, then carefully folds it around to meet the next corner. She calls it 3-D architecture.
Muriel Smith Baran surprises with close-ups of trees and a love of woods, which we share in our favoured Terra Cotta, while limping with a cane. I didn't take her card, but I did look up her website TreesRMe!
Craig Skinner is not only a detailed realist painter, but a boyscout at heart, at the ready to help secure wobbly paintings on a windy day, with a cordless drill, screws, a well-weighted down tent, and clear hockey tape that serves as a sophisticated answer to duct tape.
Manjit Singh Chatrik and his wife are a great team. He paint and writes and she suppports with cleaning and cooking. They acknowledge each other in a way only good teammates can. I have met him painting in front of Galerie d'Art Pointe-Claire, on the pedestrian street He excitedly brings over his "first and last" pastel that he just completed.
Two notable absentees from the Lakeshore Artists association were: Janice Poltrick-Donato (who was probably off hiking a tall mountain) and Martine Legrand whose work echoes for me the great Jean-Paul Lemieux. I hope they can make it next time!
How is it possible to have so much beauty and passion? What a perfect way to spend the day! Thank you for letting me admire and converse with you today.
I was asked to lend back two pieces for an upcoming show by an artist. For me, this is a dream come true: to be a patron of the arts! (mécène ou bienfacteur/se des arts, en français):
From the personal collection of Dr. Em.
Saturday, September 7, 2019
FAIRMOUNT BAGELS CELEBRATES 100 YEARS
Irwin Shlafman is a born storyteller. When I met him, I wasn't sure if he was telling a true story or not, but for the first time in a long time, I didn't care. I just listened and was transported into the story of the Montreal Bagel.
Today, Fairmount Bagel, owned by Mr. Shlafman, celebrated 100 years of business. It has never expanded, which I respect greatly, and upgraded to a system that doesn't pollute the air with the woodburning ovens so vital to the Montreal bagel.
I have eaten bagels in a lot of places, but the Montreal bagel is my favourite, and Fairmount is the place I wish I go each time. If you ever get to chat with Mr. Shlafman, you are in for an even bigger treat than a perfect sesame bagel!
Today, Fairmount Bagel, owned by Mr. Shlafman, celebrated 100 years of business. It has never expanded, which I respect greatly, and upgraded to a system that doesn't pollute the air with the woodburning ovens so vital to the Montreal bagel.
I have eaten bagels in a lot of places, but the Montreal bagel is my favourite, and Fairmount is the place I wish I go each time. If you ever get to chat with Mr. Shlafman, you are in for an even bigger treat than a perfect sesame bagel!
GLASS BOTTOM DRAWER
My kitchen, like my house, was built in the 1950s. The cupboards are amazing, but the draws and doors are showing their age, and have none of the modern technology that is so nice, like whisper-close. I am not a fancy person, and I prefer conservation over style, so, feeling the design perfectly acceptable, my biggest problem was the deteriorating pressboard at the bottom. Initially I thought I might have a termite problem, which doesn't happen this far north, thankfully. But over time the small applicances below the cutlery drawer would be covered in sawdust, and I figured it was time to replace the inserts. The thin space, however proved a challenge, and I worried the more ecological options of pressboard that I could buy for the job might be two flimsy for the weight of 2 sets of cutlery. So I bought a sheet of plexiglass and a scorer. It took me a while to be convinced this was going to be sufficient to cut the edge. As you can see, I did it half-assed at first, and had the hard job of fixing my mistake with smaller pieces than are idea. I suggest you score it deeply along the edge until you are ready to do the whole edge at once. It breaks off quite nicely, and I have no more extra dishes when I want the rice cooker or crockpot! My favourite effect is the glass bottom drawer. Just a step ahead of those of you with a modern kitchen renovation!
ROSE WATER TEA
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| Inspired by a meal at a Lebanese restaurant and an almost full bottle of rose water in my cupboard from Turkish Delight ages ago! 1 tsp rose water and fill the mug of hot water. Aromatic, delicious and calorie-free! |
SPAGHETTI SQUASH SLOPPY JOES
Leftover spaghetti ground round tomato sauce
1 medium spaghetti squash
Seeded, halved, face down
400 F 45 minutes
2 meals for mom
Princess Pirate prefers wheat pasta!
CINNAMON ROLL MUG CAKE FAIL
As soon as I started having to mix ingredients outside of the mug, I knew was in trouble. I even had to get the rolling pin out! I was warned not to overcook it, but this ended up as firm as rubber, while tasting undercooked. I do not recommend! Maybe a cinnamon coffee cake recipe next time?
LEGO IS A PUZZLE WITH MANY PIECES!
I am not sure if it was fun or torture, but I needed to see if we could find all the pieces of several sets that had scattered slowly over two houses. It was like doing 10 1000 piece puzzles out of 1 box. There were some late nights, but when the sets started to come together, we could recognize a piece across the table upside down, even if there were three shades of the same colour! Some things were unfortunately a write-off, but unlike a puzzle with a few missing pieces, there is lots of fun to be had when the dust settled. I am glad to have the dining room table back though. Patio weather is pretty much done!
MONARCHS ARE RARE, BUT WE ARE SEEING THEM NOW!
There are imposters to the monarch that we are seeing everywhere, but once in a while, we see the real thing! I find the monarch much more skittish, and that's probably just one more way to survive the 4000 mile migration home this time of year. There is a copycat called the Viceroy that I could mistake it for, but the most common imposter here is called the Painted Lady (even prettier named Vanessa in Latin!). Up close, the body and interior part of the wings is a brown colour, and it's closed wings make it seem like a collage between a monarch butterfly and a moth!
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| A male in our front yard asters! (Note the black spots) |
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| Other pollinators in the sedum. (Did you know that there are 20,000 species of bees, and that 70 % of them live underground?!) |
DRAGONFLY CLOTHESPINS
While we were on holiday in Saskatchewan, we drove by a store window that had upcycled ceiling fan blades that were turned into dragonflies. I had saved the wooden sticks from our last box of Häagen Dazs bars, and with her allowance, Princess Pirate had bought clothes pins for crafting. So, one day after school, the project started. A little hot glue to attach the pieces, and these cuties were made!
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| Day One |
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| I loved the eyes! |
CARAMEL TOFFEE SQUARES RECIPE
Company's Coming 100 Delicious Squares, p. 116
Preheat oven to 350F. Pack into 9x9' pan or mini-muffin tin.
Bottom layer:
1/2 c margarine
1/4 c sugar
1 1/4 c flour (change to nuts to make gluten free)
Crumble three ingredients well and pack into ungreased pan. Use pampered chef tool for the muffins.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Second layer:
1/2 c margarine
1/2 c packed brown sugar
2 T corn syrup
1/2 c sweetened condensed milk (half a can so can double the batch)
Combine in saucepan. Bring to boil, and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Beat and pour over bottom layer.
Let cool.
Third Layer:
270 g semi-sweet chocolate chips
Melt in increments in microwave, stirring frequently after 22 seconds then every 11. Pour over second layer (that has set). Chill. Cut.
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| Rough - serves 36 and tastes great! |
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| Mini muffin - much neater and sophisticated. Makes 30. |
A LITTLE FIBRE IN LIFE IS A GOOD THING
MOLASSES BRAN MUFFINS
Betty Crocker Cookbook p.
230 calories per muffin
3/4 c milk
1 1/2 c wheat bran
1 egg
1/2 c oil
1/3 c molasses
1 1/4 c flour
3 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 cup chopped dates
Heat oven to 400F. Grease bottoms only of 12 muffin cups.
Pour milk over bran and let stand 1 minute. Beat in egg, oil, and molasses. Mix in remaining ingredients. Stir into cereal mixture all at once until flour is moistened. Fold in dates.
Divide evenly into muffin cups.
Bake 20 minutes. Remove immediately from tin.
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| Date Bran Muffins |
DR. OETKER FOR DESSERT
It's the end of summer, and the beginning of school. Some parts of the day are feeling like fall, and winter is coming. For the first time in months, I feel like making soups and lasagnes, and saving seconds for the freezer. It makes me think of decadent Christmas dinners with cheese and chocolate fondues. Princess Pirate has asked me for years for the pizza equivalent of that day. I usually make my own pizza, but her dad buys her Dr. Oetker Ristorante, and she always asks for the chocolate pizza. Today, they were all on sale, so I bought 6 cheeses for her, mushroom for me, and the chocolate to share. It was quite decadent when warm. PP preferred more white chocolate and less dark. It was a fun way to use the oven after disuse since June!
Friday, September 6, 2019
SCOTT JUREK AND HIS BOOK, EAT AND RUN
Scott Jurek is one the most well-known ultimate racer back when the field was so new they just ran for themselves and didn't even have a name. He ran in the race I became obsessed with, written about by the brilliant author Christopher McDougall in his historic book Born to Run. He wasn't a great runner at short distances (take that with a grain of salt) but he just kept increasing the distance until he found himself outrunning the competition. He wrote an autobiographical book called Eat and Run that includes a lot of his favourite vegetarian recipes. He eats a lot of calories, so there are a lot of recipes! I always loved reports that, even as the winner of a race, he would wrap himself up in a sleeping bag and keep cheering the field of racers that were finishing behind him. That's a rare sportmanship that I adore.
Here is some of the quotes and sage advice from his book:
The best way out is through. --Robert Frost
Racing ultras requires absolute confidence tempered with humility. To be a champion, you have to believe that you can destroy your competition. But you also have to realize that winning requires total commitment, and a wavering of focus, a lack of drive, a single misstep, might lead to defeat or worse.
Scott's mom, Lynn, "You don't have to be a chef to cook great food".
His dad, Gordy, in answer to the question why? "Sometimes you just do things".
Why suffering may be important:
"He tempered his discipline with compassion and a sense of fun...he [Scotts's dad] was teaching me that competition could turn the most mundane task into a thrill, and that successfully completing a job - no matter how onerous - made me unaccountably happy... I don't think they knew it at the time - and I certainly didn't - but my parents were training me to be an endurance athlete. By the time I started running, I knew how to suffer. "
"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have." Anon.
Coach Sorensen 1. Be in shape. 2. Work hard. 3. Have fun.
Pain only hurts.
Not all pain is significant.
"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." Kurt Cobain
Existentialists "did not believe in living life from the neck up. They challenged me to reject artifice and the expectations of others, to create a meaningful life."
Hippy Dan: "Simplicity and a connection to the land made us happy and granted us freedom."
"Always do what you are afraid to do." George Bernard Shaw
"What we eat is a matter of life and death. Food is who we are."
"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." Mahatma Gandhi
Ponderosa pine forests of the Black Hills of South Dakota
When you run on the earth and with the earth, you can run forever.
"Storms" philosophy- hardness, toughness
"If you are not on the edge, you are taking up too much room. " Randy "Macho Man" Savage
"If you could walk a mile in my shoes you'd be crazy too." Tupac Shakur
Death as a motivator to keep running!
The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei
Tendai Buddhism Kaihogyo
Most run a 25 mile run every day for 1000 days with a knife at their waist, used to kill themselves should they fail to continue!
Kyoto. 9 day fast. Great Marathon on the 7th year of 52.5 miles a day, stopping to bless the people of Kyoto.
"Don't work towards freedom, but allow the work itself to be freedom."Dogen Roshi
American Journal of Epidemiology
Men sitting more than 6 hours 17% more likely to die than men sitting 3 per day. Women 34%! (Regardless of smoking status, obesity or regular exercise)
"All it takes is all you got-" Marc Davis
FOUR STEPS TO DEALING WITH ANXIETY:
1. Let yourself worry a little
2. Take stock
3. Ask what you can do to remedy the situation.
4. Separate the negative feelings from the situation.
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." Ernest Hemingway
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." Hippocrates
"Injuries are our best teachers. "Scott's yoga teacher
"Let the beauty we love be what we do. " Rumi
RUNNING BOOKS BIBLIOGRAPHY
Running with the Whole Body - Jack Heggie
Running Wild- John Annerino
The Man Who Walked Through Time- Colin Fletcher
Mad Cowboy: Plain truth from the cattle rancher that won't eat meat-Howard Lyman
Surviving Extremes: a doctor's journey to the limits of human endurance -Kenneth Kamler
Exercise and fluid replacement- position paper Amer Coll Sports Med 2007 Are you peeing?
The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei -John Stevens
The food revolution: how your diet can help ace your life- John Robbins( Dr Frederick Stare Eat right for your own blood type, sugar conflict of interest?)
Leisure Time Spent Sitting Amer J Epidemiology 2010
Why we run- Bernd Heinrich
What is ultra running? Yiannis Kouros
Doaism - wu wei "doing without doing "
EPILOGUE
We all lose sometimes. We fail to get what we want. Friends and loved ones leave. We make a decision we regret. We try our hardest and come up short. It's not the losing that defines us. It's how we lose. It's what we do afterwards.
Here is some of the quotes and sage advice from his book:
The best way out is through. --Robert Frost
Racing ultras requires absolute confidence tempered with humility. To be a champion, you have to believe that you can destroy your competition. But you also have to realize that winning requires total commitment, and a wavering of focus, a lack of drive, a single misstep, might lead to defeat or worse.
Scott's mom, Lynn, "You don't have to be a chef to cook great food".
His dad, Gordy, in answer to the question why? "Sometimes you just do things".
Why suffering may be important:
"He tempered his discipline with compassion and a sense of fun...he [Scotts's dad] was teaching me that competition could turn the most mundane task into a thrill, and that successfully completing a job - no matter how onerous - made me unaccountably happy... I don't think they knew it at the time - and I certainly didn't - but my parents were training me to be an endurance athlete. By the time I started running, I knew how to suffer. "
"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have." Anon.
Coach Sorensen 1. Be in shape. 2. Work hard. 3. Have fun.
Pain only hurts.
Not all pain is significant.
"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." Kurt Cobain
Existentialists "did not believe in living life from the neck up. They challenged me to reject artifice and the expectations of others, to create a meaningful life."
Hippy Dan: "Simplicity and a connection to the land made us happy and granted us freedom."
"Always do what you are afraid to do." George Bernard Shaw
"What we eat is a matter of life and death. Food is who we are."
"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." Mahatma Gandhi
Ponderosa pine forests of the Black Hills of South Dakota
When you run on the earth and with the earth, you can run forever.
"Storms" philosophy- hardness, toughness
"If you are not on the edge, you are taking up too much room. " Randy "Macho Man" Savage
"If you could walk a mile in my shoes you'd be crazy too." Tupac Shakur
Death as a motivator to keep running!
The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei
Tendai Buddhism Kaihogyo
Most run a 25 mile run every day for 1000 days with a knife at their waist, used to kill themselves should they fail to continue!
Kyoto. 9 day fast. Great Marathon on the 7th year of 52.5 miles a day, stopping to bless the people of Kyoto.
"Don't work towards freedom, but allow the work itself to be freedom."Dogen Roshi
American Journal of Epidemiology
Men sitting more than 6 hours 17% more likely to die than men sitting 3 per day. Women 34%! (Regardless of smoking status, obesity or regular exercise)
"All it takes is all you got-" Marc Davis
FOUR STEPS TO DEALING WITH ANXIETY:
1. Let yourself worry a little
2. Take stock
3. Ask what you can do to remedy the situation.
4. Separate the negative feelings from the situation.
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." Ernest Hemingway
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." Hippocrates
"Injuries are our best teachers. "Scott's yoga teacher
"Let the beauty we love be what we do. " Rumi
RUNNING BOOKS BIBLIOGRAPHY
Running with the Whole Body - Jack Heggie
Running Wild- John Annerino
The Man Who Walked Through Time- Colin Fletcher
Mad Cowboy: Plain truth from the cattle rancher that won't eat meat-Howard Lyman
Surviving Extremes: a doctor's journey to the limits of human endurance -Kenneth Kamler
Exercise and fluid replacement- position paper Amer Coll Sports Med 2007 Are you peeing?
The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei -John Stevens
The food revolution: how your diet can help ace your life- John Robbins( Dr Frederick Stare Eat right for your own blood type, sugar conflict of interest?)
Leisure Time Spent Sitting Amer J Epidemiology 2010
Why we run- Bernd Heinrich
What is ultra running? Yiannis Kouros
Doaism - wu wei "doing without doing "
EPILOGUE
We all lose sometimes. We fail to get what we want. Friends and loved ones leave. We make a decision we regret. We try our hardest and come up short. It's not the losing that defines us. It's how we lose. It's what we do afterwards.
SCOTT JUREK RECIPES FROM EAT AND RUN
RICE BALLS (ONIGIRI)
2 cups sushi rice
4 cups water
2 tsp miso (or pickled ginger or umeboshi paste)
3-4 sheets nori
Cook rice in the water in a rice cooker. Cool.
Fill a small bowl with water adn wet both hands so the rice does not stick. Form 1/4 cup rice into a triangle. Spread 1/4 tsp miso evenly on one side. Cover with another 1/4 cup rice. Shape into one triangle, making sure the miso is covered. Fold the nori sheets in half, and tear them apart. Wrap the rice triangle in half of one nori sheet, completely covering the rice. Repeat. Makes 8.
Purported to be great food to cool your body. Looking for images, I found this blog with a rich collection of recipes to look at on another day! Coach Dean's blog, Run Dean Run, has the best explanations and image, and some great links for running resources.
MINNESOTA MASHED POTATOES
5-6 medium red or yellow potatoes
1 cup rice milk (RECIPE BELOW)
2 T olive oil
1/2 t salt
1/2 t crushed black pepper
paprika (optional)
Wash potatoes. Peel if preferred. Place in pot and cover completely with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, covered, over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer 20-25 minutes until tender with a fork.
Drain and mash with masher. Add the remaining ingredients, until smooth and fluffy.
RICE MILK
1 cup cooked rice
4 cups water
1/8 t salt
1 T sunflower oil (optional)
Blend on high 1-2 minutes, until smooth. Oil makes it creamier. Refrigerate. Keeps for 4-5 days.
Makes 4-6 servings.
2 cups sushi rice
4 cups water
2 tsp miso (or pickled ginger or umeboshi paste)
3-4 sheets nori
Cook rice in the water in a rice cooker. Cool.
Fill a small bowl with water adn wet both hands so the rice does not stick. Form 1/4 cup rice into a triangle. Spread 1/4 tsp miso evenly on one side. Cover with another 1/4 cup rice. Shape into one triangle, making sure the miso is covered. Fold the nori sheets in half, and tear them apart. Wrap the rice triangle in half of one nori sheet, completely covering the rice. Repeat. Makes 8.
Purported to be great food to cool your body. Looking for images, I found this blog with a rich collection of recipes to look at on another day! Coach Dean's blog, Run Dean Run, has the best explanations and image, and some great links for running resources.
MINNESOTA MASHED POTATOES
5-6 medium red or yellow potatoes
1 cup rice milk (RECIPE BELOW)
2 T olive oil
1/2 t salt
1/2 t crushed black pepper
paprika (optional)
Wash potatoes. Peel if preferred. Place in pot and cover completely with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, covered, over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer 20-25 minutes until tender with a fork.
Drain and mash with masher. Add the remaining ingredients, until smooth and fluffy.
RICE MILK
1 cup cooked rice
4 cups water
1/8 t salt
1 T sunflower oil (optional)
Blend on high 1-2 minutes, until smooth. Oil makes it creamier. Refrigerate. Keeps for 4-5 days.
Makes 4-6 servings.
THE SPARTATHLON
From Scott Jurek's Eat and Run:
"The most famous long-distance race with a Greek origin is the marathon, which celebrates the arduous journey of the messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens, a distance of 26.2 miles, to announce Greece's victory over the Persians in 490 BC; he then dropped deat from exhaustion. Though Pheidippides is the messenger most often credited with noble and fatal trip, the runner was probably named Eucles, according to the ancient writer Plutarch.
The real story of Pheidippides, according to those same historicans, is much better and has a happier ending. It also inspired the modern Spartathlon.
The Persian fleet was on a roll. They had plundered their way through the Greek islands, sacked the city-state of Eritrea, and then had their sights set on Athens. The Athenians sent a small force, commanded by General Miltiades, to seal off the exits from the Bay of Marathon, named after the ancient Greek word for the fennel that probably grew wild there. The ancient historian Herodotus writes that the Athenian generals dispatched Pheidippides to the great city of Sparta to ask for reinforcements in holding off the much larger invading force.
Pheidippides reached Sparta the day after he left Athens, but his plea fell on deaf ears. Although sympathetic to their fellow Greeks' plight, the religious Spartans were in the middle of a festival to Apollo and could not wage war until the full moon. It must have been a long 152.4 miles back home with the bad news, but luckily Pheidippides had something else to report.
While running through the mountains above the ancient city of Tegea (checkpoint 60 of the modern Spartathlon), he had a vision of the nature god, Pan. The son of Hermes, the divine messenger, Pan ruled over shepherds, nymphs, and rustic places. He was a great guy to have on your side in a big battle, because he could induce a wild fear in mortals called "panic." This god called Pheidippides by name, "and bade him ask the Athenians why they paid him no attention, though he was of goodwill to the Athenians, had often been of service oto them, and would be in the future."
If we read it closely, everything we need to know about running is in Pheidippides' story. He ran over 300 miles- the first half in a little over one day - and he didn't even get what he wanted! If you run long enough, that tends to happen. Whatever quantitative measure of success you set out to achieve becomes either unattainable or meaningless. The reward of running - of anything - lies within us. As I sought bigger rewards and more victories in my sport, it was a lesson I learned over and over again. We focus on something external to motivate us, but we need to remember that it's the process of reaching for that prize - not the prize itself - that can bring us peace and joy. Life, as countless posters and bumper stickers rightly attest, is a journey, not a destination. Pheidippides kept going, and he ended up getting something even better, something outside the normal realm of human experience. Nature itself called out his name - Pan is nature incarnate - and it gave the great runner a sacred message to bring home to his people. The message was pretty much what nature's message always is: Pay more attention to me, and I will help you the way I've always helped you in the past.
Pheidippides recounted his vision to the Athenian generals, who took it seriously and erected a new temple to Pan after the war. Unable to wait until the Spartans arrived, the Athenians charged the Persians. The Athenians fought with legendary courage, dividing and conquering the Persian force. Their underdog victory at Marathon is considered the tipping point in the Persian Wars, heralding the golden age of Greece.
The Spartathlon, first run in 1983, was the brainchild of Wing Commander John Foden, a native Australian on the verge of retirement from the British Royal Air Force. Foden's forty-year military career included service in the Korean War, the Suez Crisis, the Brunei Revolt, and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, but he was also an avid amateur athlete and a student of the classics. One day, whle rereading Herodotus, he started wondering if Pheidippides' legendary run was somehting within a modern runner's power.
John and four buddies from the RAF decided to make the attempt. In the words of the Irishman John McCarthy," We established a credible and historically correct route using ancient military roads, pilgrim ways, dry river beds and goat tracks, taking into consideration the ancient political alighments and enemy states to be skirted." The five runers set off from Athens on October 8, 1982, and the "three Johns" succeeded, arriving in Sparta in front of the statue of Leonidas on October 9: John Scholten in 35.5 hours, John Foeden in 36 hours, and John McCarhty in just under 40 hours.
They decided to establish a yearly run that, in the Olympic vein, would offer no prize money or commercial gain but would instead promote a spirit of international cooperation and fellowship. Indeed, the Spartathlon is one of the best values in the world of ultra running. The entry fee of $525 gets you lodging and meals for six days as well as two of the best awards ceremonies you'll ever attend, museum tours, bus transportation, and ample food and water at the aid stations.
In 1983, 4 runers from 11 countries competed. In 1984, the International Spartathlon Association was founded to manage the race.
After he retired, Foden stayed active in the ultra community, promoting races all over the world. I found his booklet, "Preparing for & Competing in Your First Spartathlon," very helpful my first year. He continued to break age group records into his seventies, and in 2005 he was the oldes participan in the 300-km Haervejsvandring Walk from Schleswig in Germany to Viborg in North Denmark in seven days.
"
"The most famous long-distance race with a Greek origin is the marathon, which celebrates the arduous journey of the messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens, a distance of 26.2 miles, to announce Greece's victory over the Persians in 490 BC; he then dropped deat from exhaustion. Though Pheidippides is the messenger most often credited with noble and fatal trip, the runner was probably named Eucles, according to the ancient writer Plutarch.
The real story of Pheidippides, according to those same historicans, is much better and has a happier ending. It also inspired the modern Spartathlon.
The Persian fleet was on a roll. They had plundered their way through the Greek islands, sacked the city-state of Eritrea, and then had their sights set on Athens. The Athenians sent a small force, commanded by General Miltiades, to seal off the exits from the Bay of Marathon, named after the ancient Greek word for the fennel that probably grew wild there. The ancient historian Herodotus writes that the Athenian generals dispatched Pheidippides to the great city of Sparta to ask for reinforcements in holding off the much larger invading force.
Pheidippides reached Sparta the day after he left Athens, but his plea fell on deaf ears. Although sympathetic to their fellow Greeks' plight, the religious Spartans were in the middle of a festival to Apollo and could not wage war until the full moon. It must have been a long 152.4 miles back home with the bad news, but luckily Pheidippides had something else to report.
While running through the mountains above the ancient city of Tegea (checkpoint 60 of the modern Spartathlon), he had a vision of the nature god, Pan. The son of Hermes, the divine messenger, Pan ruled over shepherds, nymphs, and rustic places. He was a great guy to have on your side in a big battle, because he could induce a wild fear in mortals called "panic." This god called Pheidippides by name, "and bade him ask the Athenians why they paid him no attention, though he was of goodwill to the Athenians, had often been of service oto them, and would be in the future."
If we read it closely, everything we need to know about running is in Pheidippides' story. He ran over 300 miles- the first half in a little over one day - and he didn't even get what he wanted! If you run long enough, that tends to happen. Whatever quantitative measure of success you set out to achieve becomes either unattainable or meaningless. The reward of running - of anything - lies within us. As I sought bigger rewards and more victories in my sport, it was a lesson I learned over and over again. We focus on something external to motivate us, but we need to remember that it's the process of reaching for that prize - not the prize itself - that can bring us peace and joy. Life, as countless posters and bumper stickers rightly attest, is a journey, not a destination. Pheidippides kept going, and he ended up getting something even better, something outside the normal realm of human experience. Nature itself called out his name - Pan is nature incarnate - and it gave the great runner a sacred message to bring home to his people. The message was pretty much what nature's message always is: Pay more attention to me, and I will help you the way I've always helped you in the past.
Pheidippides recounted his vision to the Athenian generals, who took it seriously and erected a new temple to Pan after the war. Unable to wait until the Spartans arrived, the Athenians charged the Persians. The Athenians fought with legendary courage, dividing and conquering the Persian force. Their underdog victory at Marathon is considered the tipping point in the Persian Wars, heralding the golden age of Greece.
The Spartathlon, first run in 1983, was the brainchild of Wing Commander John Foden, a native Australian on the verge of retirement from the British Royal Air Force. Foden's forty-year military career included service in the Korean War, the Suez Crisis, the Brunei Revolt, and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, but he was also an avid amateur athlete and a student of the classics. One day, whle rereading Herodotus, he started wondering if Pheidippides' legendary run was somehting within a modern runner's power.
John and four buddies from the RAF decided to make the attempt. In the words of the Irishman John McCarthy," We established a credible and historically correct route using ancient military roads, pilgrim ways, dry river beds and goat tracks, taking into consideration the ancient political alighments and enemy states to be skirted." The five runers set off from Athens on October 8, 1982, and the "three Johns" succeeded, arriving in Sparta in front of the statue of Leonidas on October 9: John Scholten in 35.5 hours, John Foeden in 36 hours, and John McCarhty in just under 40 hours.
They decided to establish a yearly run that, in the Olympic vein, would offer no prize money or commercial gain but would instead promote a spirit of international cooperation and fellowship. Indeed, the Spartathlon is one of the best values in the world of ultra running. The entry fee of $525 gets you lodging and meals for six days as well as two of the best awards ceremonies you'll ever attend, museum tours, bus transportation, and ample food and water at the aid stations.
In 1983, 4 runers from 11 countries competed. In 1984, the International Spartathlon Association was founded to manage the race.
After he retired, Foden stayed active in the ultra community, promoting races all over the world. I found his booklet, "Preparing for & Competing in Your First Spartathlon," very helpful my first year. He continued to break age group records into his seventies, and in 2005 he was the oldes participan in the 300-km Haervejsvandring Walk from Schleswig in Germany to Viborg in North Denmark in seven days.
"
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