First Robin of Spring, meet the first Turkeys of Fall

New England is, justifiably, famous for its fall colors - the leaves and the little towns, warm days and crisp evenings. If you climb up West Rattlesnake (which is a very little mountain in the Lakes region) in New Hampshire and sit on the ledge and look over the landscape, you see a farm with a grain silo and a red barn, and a little town with a white church steeple. It is fall the way people imagine it and, for all that it means that winter is coming, it is my favorite season.

The most classical sign of fall so far was a huge flock of wild turkeys that I passed down by the golf course as I was driving home this afternoon. There had to be at least 20 of them, wandering across the road, eating the seed off the neighbor's lawn. I used to see turkeys on the road when I worked in Bedford, Massachusetts, but I have never seen them around here before. It was so random. Wild turkeys are surprisingly big - one of the neighbor has a big, friendly golden retriever, who was visibly keeping his distance from them. Most of their feathers are an iridescent black. The wattles aside, they are actually quite attractive birds. I'm bringing my camera tomorrow, in hopes they'll be there again so I can get a picture.

This year has been a little strange. First, there has been a plague of "seed bug" in our development. I've seen them in smaller numbers before, but this is almost at the level of a plague of locusts. Big, slow, ugly, clumsy things. They are actually a variety of stink bugs, so even more incentive to keep them out of the house. Being absolutely terrified of bugs, I am sure that my neighbors have been quite amused at my daily yelping and swatting and running out the door rituals. Honestly, I may have to start entering and exiting via my living room windows. I shamelessly called Terminex on Friday, which was particularly bad in terms of bug density. Now, I have a pile of dead, ugly bugs on the stoop. *sigh*  The engineer part of me knows that they are harmless (if smelly), but there is just nothing I can do... they disgust me. I would rather they go away, then have to kill them, but I can't live with them.

I am (working on being) Runner 5

Those of you who already use the Zombies, Run! app know exactly what I am referencing. Those of you who don't, well, probably think I'm crazy (and you're probably right). This is an app, multi-platform though I use it on my iPhone, that provides you with a storyline that you interact with while you run. The basic idea is that you are a post-zombie-apocalypse survivor. In order to support the little outpost of safety you find yourself in, you need to run around and collect stuff (no actual picking up required) while evading marauding herds of zombies. Herds of zombies... that doesn't sound right, sounds too organized. Swarms maybe?

The storyline plays while you run, and your music is played in between segments (1 song or so between segments for 30 minute runs, 2 songs between segments for hour runs). When zombies are approaching, you have to move faster for ~ 1 minute to outrun them. It seems pretty simple, and it is, but it's totally addictive. You can use the stuff you pick up to improve your base and, if you go longer than 1 hour, you can interact with what they call Radio Mode - you still listen to music, you still get story segments and you still pick up stuff. Thus far, I haven't been in Radio Mode long enough at any one time to find out if you also have to sprint from zombies, as in the main story.

Even though intellectually, I know I'm running in a park full of pedestrians and dogs and babies in strollers and the local high school cross country team, it's surprisingly engrossing and realistic... and creepy. I bring this up because if any of you saw someone jump nearly out of her sneakers today because of a squirrel, there was actually a reason that has nothing to do with an irrational fear of rodents. Still a long way from being ready for either a sprint triathlon or a half marathon (not sure which I'm going to set as my 2013 goal yet; maybe I should put it to a vote), but definitely makes training way more fun.

Technical review: The app is stable, with no crashes in ~3 hours of use so far. Ties into the GPS on your phone to measure distance and determine if you've outrun or been caught by the zombies. If you're running indoors, you can use the device's accelerometer instead of GPS, but I don't know how well (or if) the zombie chases work that way. There are a lot of different levels in the app, and they have added new content recently. I don't know if you have the option of starting over once you finish all the levels, as I'm not nearly there yet (perhaps running through once in 30 minute mode and once in hour mode?). The cost of the app is a bit high by app store standards, at $7.99, but given the many, many hours of use, the different features and the motivation boost I definitely think it's worth it.

Think I might go for a hot stone massage this weekend as a reward if I run at least 21 miles this week (note, 4.6 down if so). Date with "Looks Like Lochte" #3 next weekend. Whale watching. At least it's creative and different, right?

The Farmshare Dilema

This year, I decided to sign up for a farm share and go *mostly* vegetarian for the summer. I say mostly because I love sea food and this is the best season for it. At first it was pretty great, but lately it's a little overwhelming. First there was an avalanche of zucchini, then the flood of cucumbers and now I'm buried in greens. I'm not a Cordon Bleu chef, but I'm a decent cook and I enjoy figuring out how to prepare new things. I just don't know what to do with 13 (yes THIRTEEN) ears of corn. 

A few months ago, my friend and I had dinner at a Boston restaurant, Toro, that serves Barcelona style tapas. The house specialty is a fabulous grilled corn-on-the-cob dish that I may try to recreate with my husked bounty. Actually, I already figured out how to duplicate the garlic shrimp (from a place who's name I do not know actually in Barcelona) ... if I can ever make a Spanish style tortilla without burning it and duplicate that corn, I can make my next party a tapas party!

I don't know that I'd do a farmshare again, to be honest. I think it's just too much for one person, so I've had to do a lot of preserving and freezing. I spent a rainy day last weekend canning jars of my very own homemade tomato sauce, which turned out to be surprisingly easy. I've also got a very, very full freezer and Swiss Chard running through my veins. I love supporting local farms, and I love the fact that I get fresh food, instead of food shipped from the other side of the planet, but I think I can do that by just shopping at the local farmers markets. There are some great ones nearby in Litchfield, NH. 

In marginally related health news - I am in the market for a new gym. My current one, part of a fairly large chain, used to be great, but they really expanded their membership really quickly and haven't expanded the facility at all. It's gotten very crowded and the maintenance hasn't kept up. It's kind of... gross actually. I think I'm going to sign up for a sprint triathlon for 2013 - I need to have goals to work toward and I think that would be a fun one.

Salem, MA - Minus the Witches

Decided to kick off Labor Day weekend with a day trip to Salem, MA. Famously the Witch City, I should confess that I didn't visit any of the assorted witch-themed attractions this trip. There is too much to do in one trip, and I figure witches, pirates and graveyards are best appreciated in the fall, ideally on an overcast day during leaf season.

This trip, wandered down to the House of Seven Gables, past a number of really cute older homes and shops. I was persuaded to stop in at Ye Olde Pepper Companie - the oldest commercial candy store in the US. They had a great selection, and I was sorely tempted to just say "Yes", but restricted myself to a few things, some fudge, a couple of peppermint patties and some chocolate-peanut butter varieties. So much better than mass-produced candy. While I would highly recommend the place for the atmosphere, they do have an online presence and will ship.

We decided to wander back to the car (I decided on a parking garage spot, so the car was shaded) to drop our stuff off so it wouldn't melt in the mid-day sun. On the way we stopped at several different shops, mostly variations on the witchcraft and New Age theme, though highly variable in quality. My favorite things tended to be the bumper stickers ("Cats, Not Kids", how appropriate) though they did have quite a number of items that spoke to my inner Goth. Aside from the historic witch trial tie-in, you can tell there is a very active Wiccan community there. Kind of ironic, the town that became famous because it allowed its paranoia and isolation to explode into a fiesta of false accusations and executions is now home to a plethora of the very people they were trying to hunt down and eliminate. Not that things have entirely changed, there is a church in town that hosts "Holy Happenings" every October to compete with Salem's Haunted Happenings events. It hasn't exactly caught on.

Lunch was Salem BeerWorks. I am not a big beer drinker, so I went for the tasting menu instead of a regulation size beer. Still not a beer person, but even I enjoyed the selections. I give them credit, the menu is definite pub food, but well executed. I particularly liked the unexpectedness of the potato, cheese and bacon spring rolls. Sort of like a twice-baked potato in a spring roll shell. I also compliment them on making Pepsi tolerable. When I made a face at the "Is Pepsi ok" query, the server suggested she add an extra spritz of seltzer to cut the sweetness. Not exactly coke, but tolerable. I'll have to remember that trick for later. 

Last stop in town was the Peabody-Essex museum, which is great. Not "great for a little town" great, but really fabulous. The architecture is very light and airy and the collections are extremely well curated. They are currently hosting a selection of Ansel Adams work that is fabulous. Unlike his more famous mountain west photographs, this one focused on his pictures of water. Very unusual, and absolutely stunning. The museum also has a Chinese house, moved here in the 1980s I think, that you can tour. It was really interesting to see the architecture, and to hear the history on the audio tour. The upstairs is getting pretty rickety, though, so definitely watch your step there. 

About that parking garage - cost to park for basically the entire day in a garage in the middle of town: $1.25. Cheaper than a meter, and much more convenient. One note on getting to and from Salem, even though it sounds easy (just take 128 to 114), what that doesn't tell you is that 114 takes all sorts of turns and jogs. I know most of the streets and routes in Massachusetts follow old cow paths and such, but whatever cow blazed this trail was very, very drunk. My GPS (a TomTom) kept up with all the turns, so recommend you either go with a native or bring a digital navigator.

Dating and the Olympics Effect

While I'm a huge fan of the Olympics, why is it that suddenly every time my friends try to fix me up with someone he "looks just like Ryan Lochte"? It's so cute that they're still trying to get me married off, the dears (note: I am still 2 cats shy of the Crazy Cat Lady mark), but even if all these Lochte comparisons were accurate, that still isn't necessarily a good thing. Oh, he's cute enough and has great abs, but he also seems shallow and immature. A grill at the Olympics? Seriously? Rochester is not the Hood and while he is a great swimmer, its kind of hard to be gangster in a speedo.

Anyway, getting marginally back on topic, while I'd much rather a Chris Pine or Jake Gyllenhal type, my friends have thus far suggested three Lochtes in the past two weeks. I had my first date with one last night. No stupid grill, but not a lot to recommend him otherwise.  I would really like to be able to sit down and talk to someone about topics other than a) the Red Sox (I think baseball is pointless and dull) or b) the Patriots (American football is really wimpy rugby). Have I mentioned I'm not from New England and thus have non-standard team loyalties for those sports I do watch? Alas, it seems all he's good for is Boston sports. Couldn't even think up any hobbies that didn't involve "his" teams. I've had more interesting conversations in elevators.

The real killer, though, was the drinking. While I have no issues with a little social drinking, I don't go for sloppy aging frat boys who drink 14 (yes, I was so bored I counted) beers in under 2 hours. I particularly can't stand sloppy drunks who think I'm going to sleep with them on the first date. Ugh. Maybe he really is channeling Lochte. The best part of this date was laughing about it with the girls over lunch today.

In happier news, I've been changing up my workout lately. I hate, hate, HATE intervals, but they seem to be working. My little black dress is a little too loose. Gives me an excuse to go shopping for a new one before next Friday's blind date. *sigh* I am so not looking forward to it after this last one. Maybe I should just get another cat.

Boston 3-Day for a Cure Weekend!

In late January 2008, my stepmother Kathy died after her metastasized breast cancer reached her brain before her doctors could build her up enough to withstand another round of chemo. No complaints with the doctors, she had a particularly aggressive cancer. After crying hysterically for many days and being generally miserable, I got angry. It wasn't fair that a terrific person (no evil stepmother, she) could be taken so long before her time. So, I decided I had to do something to fight back, since she no longer could. I started out that first year as a crew member on the Boston 3-Day (Pit Crew, whoot!). I have participated, as crew and as a walker, in at least one walk each year. This year, I got my 5 year anniversary pin.

I just crewed Boston and (work permitting) will be walking in Philadelphia. This past weekend, pouring rain, thunder and all, was 3-Day weekend. No amount of soggy sneakers can dampen the spirits of the happy pink people, and it is so uplifting to spend a weekend with my 3-Day family. The whole community gets involved in some towns:

And you get to spend time with all sorts of characters:

Even the occasional stray alligator.

Sure, the soccer fields we were sleeping on flooded, turning air mattresses into water beds, yes, the mosquitos have a particular love for my blood, and no, I don't like using port-a-potties (in fact, I spent the entire weekend doing everything in my power to avoid using them), but it's all worth it, and it does make me feel like I'm doing something to reclaim my voice. I didn't have a choice about losing someone I love to cancer, but in some small way, I feel like I'm helping to make sure that some day, no one will have to face this disease or the gaping hole it can leave in families.

Each year, with my feet quaking in my sneakers knowing what's coming, I hope that this is the last year we have to walk, that we'll get the call saying that they've found a cure and we can hang up our sneakers. Maybe there could be one last 3-Day... just a party in pink tents, no walking required. Didn't happen this year, at least not yet. Here's hoping that day comes soon.

A Dark Knight Rises and a New York Weekend

This week, my second must see movie of the year, the Dark Knight Rises, was released. A group of us scored tickets to a midnight screening to the final chapter of perhaps the greatest superhero movie trilogy that has ever, or will ever, be made. I absolutely loved the movie (yes, it plods a teensy bit in the second half, but the ending is amazing) and the experience of seeing it with a theater full of fellow fans. While the entire case is amazing (Gary Oldman is perhaps the most under appreciated living actor), I have to give special points to Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who really is the main reason that the plot manages to hold together. Of course, Christian Bale is an amazing actor and he and Michael Cain play off each other so well, as always, but there are enough plot gaps that they needed an assist to make the movie work. I won't go into details, since this isn't a movie blog, but the quality of the acting was astounding.   Our post-film euphoria was short lived, though... while we were having fun watching a movie, a different theater in Colorado was having a very different evening. Even though we were on the far side of the country, there's a little bit of survivors guilt (why them, and not us).

Already, the newspapers are talking about how dark and violent the movies are, etc. The thing is, people all over the world have watched these movies, and loved them, and only one person stocked up on guns and gas canisters, dressed up in body armor, booby trapped his apartment and killed people. Shouldn't we all be trying to find out what caused this one person to commit mass murder, and not trying to blame it on a movie that millions watched without killing anyone? Also, why is it that someone can go out and buy multiple guns, and explosives, and gas canisters, and gas masks, and body armor and no one anywhere pauses to think maybe he might be planning something violent. I know the NRA would have kittens at the thought, but just maybe it would make sense to have a system that generates a "This looks weird" alert when a cluster of purchases like this is made. Because, not for nothing, but Mexico is in the middle of a drug war, and you're still statistically twice as likely to be shot in the US, and I think that's a problem.

On a different note, last weekend, I took a quick hop down to NYC. Not really time for a full-up trip report, but who would have guessed you'd see something like this:

in the Bronx? New York is full of contrasts. Also, is it really that unusual to cross stitch on a train? I had about seven people come up to me and comment about how strange it was to see someone not my grandmother's age sewing. I guess the hard rock, sci-fi fangirl, engineer cross stitcher demographic is a bit sparse.