More Gardenin'

Well, we pulled the damn broccoli out. Also most of our lettuces, as they had bolted as well.

What's left? Two tomato plants that have seemingly been cross-bred with oak trees, a spunky eggplant, assorted herbs, two cucumber plants that are holding their own, and a spaghetti squash that is already on its way to taking over the garden, the yard, and possibly the neighborhood.

Apart from the main garden, our zucchini plant has been feeding us for over a week now, and sticking my fingers a couple of inches into the barrels of potatoes revealed spuds ready for harvest.

Yep, it's that tall.

Like she points out every chance she gets, size does matter.

Fun for my wife: pulling plants out of the ground. Also: stomping on butterflies.

Now a purple flower, soon a purple eggplant. Never had eggpplant? Picture Grimace from the McDonald's ads, but sliced and served with marinara.

Run, Fatboy, Run!

On July 25th I ran in my first 5k race, the Torchlight Run in Seattle's Seafair.

I had started running and training for races back in December, but quit when I had my first thyroidectomy, and didn't get started again until about a month ago.

Luckily - miraculously - I managed to not only participate, but to finish, and maintained a running pace the entire time, except for a brief pause to drink water. I just can't drink when I run, apparently.

My time was 39:13, which is pretty good for an out of shape guy.

The only bummer - apart from nearly puking and having the world spin around me at finish - was that my Nike+iPod announced that I had completed 5 kilometers when, in reality, I had several hundred more meters to go. Kat said that they can be re-calibrated, but still, it was depressing to hear the digital voice announce that I was done, but to see the finish line so, so far away.

So yay, one more down!

Veggie Tales

Our garden has certainly been a learning experience.

Lesson 1: Broccoli sucks. I don't mean it tastes bad or anything; in fact, I wouldn't know, since we never got to harvest any. Before I knew that broccoli was notoriously hard to grow, I planted several of them. Never again. The plants took off fast, but apparently due to unseasonable warmth (thank you, GM), they went to seed before we got anything out of them. We keep cutting them back, though, hoping the next growth will be the winner.

Lesson 2: Tomatoes do a lot better in the PNW than had previously been thought. I planted a bush cherry tomato, which is doing quite well, and a regular tomato plant that has become a one-plant jungle. Seriously, whatever combination of sun, water, and my special blend of soils, fertilizers, and coffee grounds there were seemed to be exactly what the doctor ordered. The thing is currently being held up by a tomato cage, two five-foot stakes, several twist ties, and a length of twine.

Lesson 3: Get more strawberries. Our strawberries are producing, but if we wanted quantity, we should have gotten more plants.

Lesson 4: Why buy seeds and plants when the seeds from veggies do just fine? Upon attempting to compost the guts of a spaghetti squash, the seeds all sprouted in our worm bin, and now a couple of the plants I transplanted are booming.

Lesson 5: Gardening is awesome! K and I have had a blast, working on something and seeing progress. It's great to get outdoors, and eating our own produce is one of the most rewarding things ever!

This was probably the most pristine zucchini I have ever seen, and it was just as delicious as it looked.

Our first pea pod, and Kat's first ever pea right off the vine. She doesn't like peas, but she liked ours!

Ta-da!

Nike+

My running has slowly but surely been getting back on track, thanks largely in part to our good friends at Nike. I have been using a little gadget from their Nike+ line which attaches to my iPod and tracks my workouts.

So thanks to this teeny little attachment on my iPod and another teeny little sensor attached to my shoe, I am able to track my distance, time, and calories burned. I can even set goals on the iPod before I start a workout; for example, lately I've been setting a distance when I start, and as I run, a voice comes on periodically and tells me how far I've gone and how far I have left.

On the Nike+ site, I can track all of my workouts, set goals, get challenges, and even sync with Mapquest to plan a route.

And the best part of all is that whenever a new personal best - for example, a new best MPM - a sports figure comes on in my headphones and tells me that I've just reached a new personal record.

Hooray for motivation!

Guns, gardens, and beers

When grandfather-in-law and wife visited recently, George took me to a shooting range to pop off a few rounds. We rented a .22 Ruger, and also fired his brand new .38 Colt snub-nosed revolver. Had fun, and also found out I'm a pretty good shot.

Our garden is doing well; strawberries are starting to blush, spaghetti squash has been transferred from worm bin to garden, and various bolting plants have been cropped.

I have also tried a few new brews: Werewolf, Lobster Lover's Beer, and Zhiguly Grande, all Lithuanian beers. I enjoyed Lithuanian beers while there, but they have been damn near impossible to find here in the States. 99 Bottles, a chain store that stocks hundreds of beers by the singles, had a few of them that I had not tried. Zhiguly wins on taste, but all of them roll high. Lithuanian beers also tend to land near 9.5% alc./vol., an astounding figure Stateside.

Take that, piece of paper!

George is a pro when it comes to shooting. Ironically, he made his money burying people. Another time, another place, and he might be the one sending them to the mortician.

Spongebob should have known not to cross me in that armored car deal...

Number 4, the bottom left target, was my pride and glory, all ten shots hitting the targets at 45 feet.

Bruce Lee, strawberries, and Fatty McFatterson

I can scratch one more thing off my list!

We recently visited Lake View Cemetery in the Capitol Hill District of Seattle to see some of the many famous graves located there. The popular one, and the other grave besides Jimi Hendrix's that I had wanted to see, is that of martial arts movie star and founder of Jeet Kune Do Bruce Lee.

On the garden front, our broccoli and some lettuces have bolted (gone to seed) early due to unseasonably warm weather. Our strawberries and zucchini, however, are taking off.

On the running front, I have packed on several pounds since "finishing" thyroid treatment, and whether the fluctuations in my endocirne system or my habit of "emotional eating" or both are to blame, it has set me back in my plan to run in a 5k on July 25th. I need to get back with the program. Now. I'll keep you updated.


Bruce and son Brandon Lee.

Exit the Dragon.

Zucchini.

Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse

One more item crossed off the list: I got to see a play at the Theater at the Bathhouse!

According to Wikipedia, "The bathhouse was built in 1927 next to an outdoor swimming area with concrete steps leading into the water. A lifeguard station and boat were built next to this area in 1930 after several drownings in 1929. The bathhouse is now home to the Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, a small but popular venue for plays."

The building was much smaller than I expected, but it made for a very comfortable and homey setting. Built only a few yards from the water, the exterior of the theater is an old-timey brick facade surrounded by trees, lawns, and part of the 2.8-mile long running path that encircles Greenlake. It was really quite a beautiful scene.

The interior of the Bathhouse was that kind of small that would seem cramped if it wasn't such a cool Seattle-y joint.

The stage built for this show was interesting; a white-washed stage with a backdrop made of wedding dresses evoked the importance of the actual ceremony of weddings in modern society.

The play was multi-faceted, primarily focusing on a mother's descent into Alzheimer's disease, but also looking at gay relationships, the bond between children and their parents, and spouses dealing with losing their loved ones. Deep.

The night was well spent. The show was beautifully acted, the venue was charming, and the company was extremely hot.

A chunk of Greenlake, visible from right behind the Bathhouse.

The Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse.

The stage as set for A Wedding Story.