Less is more

I just set up mobile blogging and it seemed like a waste of time so I deleted the account before the first blog was posted. Anyway, my sinuses are killing me and I'm cranky from work. On the up side, Dawn made a kick ass pumpkin coconut soup and pumpkin coconut bread. I added almost half a bottle of hot sauce hoping that my head would clear, but no luck. Now on to mint tea. If dinner wasn't sitting like lead(we had a veggie burger on homemade crumpets after the soup) I'd do some QiGong or yoga. Free, Lee and Avery came by for a visit last week for the first time. It was really nice to see them after all these years. Hopefully it won't be the last time. Now if Mucus would just get up here we could get some music written. Sigh, whatever.

settling in

Today was a good day. The past few weeks I've been putting in crazy hours at work. The shortest day was, like, 10 hours. In the middle of that I did an AIDS awareness benefit ride with the company team on a day off. 100 miles around a lake. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and I met great people and had good conversation while riding for a good cause. So, today. I took a half day and Dawn and I went to get things for the house. We stopped in Sears just to check and got a great deal on our first roto-tiller. $300 for a brand new rear tine tiller because it was the last of last year's models!!! Now to learn how to use it.

Charred beets

Yep, tried to grill some beets over a large wood fire and burned them. Whatever. Dawn sliced up and breaded some fresh jalapenos to deep fry on the grill that were then followed by fried yellow squash. Fat fest was then rounded out by a tofu/eggplant coconut stew. For some reason cooking this over fire makes it so much better. Maybe all the smoke? Maybe. The new Profane Existence is back in print and should be in my filthy hands any day now. I think it's been almost two years! Pretty soon there's going to be plenty of time to read now that the weather is cooling down and the days are getting shorter. Unfortunately work has gotten in the way of a lot of out door time, but at least I got that 100 mile ride in. I feel better afterward this year than the past two years for some reason. Now, I just have to stay in shape over the Winter. Ah, Winter. We thought we'd have the other house close to being built by now, but it's being put off for a few years. There's a possibility that we may end up owning this one. Either way, we'll own a house....hopefully. Then, a wood stove.

Total Monday

Had a great weekend. Going to Farm Sanctuary and seeing Fiona was awesome. The giftshop was out of Sweet and Sara stuff, but we bought some other things to further support them. Today was a rough Monday, but my Ani Phyo inspired raw nut pate over a salad of rainbow chard with blueberries and raspberries, carrots and orange miso dressing made it easier.

still warm

I just can't seem to get enough yellow squash:brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and freshed cracked pepper and grilled. Oh, grilled corn as well. Both are coming in abundance from the inlaws' garden. Did I mention that Dawn talked me into buying a half gas half wood grill? It's been pretty sweet. Tonight we are eating perogies that Dawn made with potatoes and onions from our garden. We bought some organic apple sauce and Tofurkey Keilbasa to go with it. We're not much for the fake meats, but I just felt like it. I did a 45 mile bike ride this morning to train for the AIDS Ride next month. For the first time, I rode down the mountain. It was fun, but had to walk part way up 3 hours later. Surprisingly, it only took me 1 hour and 17 minutes to get to work on a bike, but it was rough! Thankfully I have a road bike. I do miss living in an area where I can ride the fixie every where. sigh

like a shark

Lately I've had the feeling that there's just enough time in the day...or week...or month. July has been super hectic with work, weddings and life. I had a really nice training schedule worked out that was preparing me for the 100 mile ride that's coming up in September, but I haven't gone for a good long ride in two or three weeks now. Things are balancing out, though. When I can't ride, I try to fit in some qigong or yoga. If I'm at work I can focus on breathing and take time to stretch. No for a quick lunch break/ride.

Dentistry

Went to the dentist this morning for some more poking and scraping. Ugh. What is it about getting work done that makes me avoid eating? I'm sitting next to a beautiful bowl of tofu and veggie coconut soup and I can't bring myself to touch it! Is going to the dentist the new weight loss fad? My if I go a few more times before September, I'll drop 10 pounds before the 100 mile ride.

Here are a few Spring pictures from around the compound.

Rainy May

I've been so wound up lately. Not really sure why, but I've had crazy mood swings that just make me feel, well, crazy. Tonight I feel relaxed, though. Something about a soft chair and a few cups of Oolong that make everything better.

Yep, me again

The past few weeks have been so busy that I haven't had the energy to type, but at least I've got my own office now. Kevin was even kind enough to leave one of those Gaiam ball rolling chairs for me. Apparently I'm the only person willing to use it. Anyway, I'm enjoying the Production Manager position even if it means long hours for another few weeks. 10 hour shift s builds character right? I's only been about three weeks of that, but I do get to promote someone to take some of the workload of my hands so that I can concentrate on roasting some of the new coffees coming through. Looks like this is going to being an exciting year for coffee for us!
Spring finally started to poke through, even for only a few days. WE had some flurries the other day, but I'm pretty sure that's all behind us now. Dawn and I started tomatoes, peppers(hot and sweet), eggplant , tomatillos and some herbs the other day. Maybe a little late, but we'll see. The garden has been tilled once. Now we are going to put some organic fertilizer in and till it again. Hopefully we'll have better luck this year and actually put all that canning gear to work! Plus a new local vegan restaurant, GEKA'S, said they'd be willing to buy or trade veggies if we were into the idea. Sounds good, but who knows if things will go right? Last year we mostly got potatoes, long purple beans, onions, and garlic. That's fine and all, but we planted SO much more.
It also looks like things are looking up for Dan and the crew over at www.profaneexistence.org
The magazine may go back into print, new shirts are in the works and other projects are under way. Loose ends and dead weight are being cut in order to streamline the whole project. It'll be nice to have a physical copy again, even thought I realize that an eZine is the better approach environmentally. Although, it's easier to take a magazine in the bathroom...I mean, on the bus.

a little more snow

We were graced with another small snowstorm last night. Not too much, maybe a couple of inches, though it's supposed to really come down in the next day or two. Thankfully it's nothing like last year! Before we know it , the growing season with be here and hopefully we won't get caught off guard. There's a random seed catalog that Dawn came across that has portable greenhouses for around $500 that are 8'x8'x6'. Might be a smart investment considering we used a windowsill and a 1'x3'x4' indoor greenhouse the last two years. It worked, but was crowded and awkward and all the starts had to compete for the little bit of light coming in through the window. We will not fail his year! Off to the oatmeal and then work.

Back to work

It really doesn't feel like I've been out for a week. It actually feels like it's just been a 3 day weekend. Oh well, back to it. New coffees to roast and plenty to catch up on. I've got 15 roast today and a cupping at 2pm. My body seems to have adjusted to the caffeine-less state fairly well after only a few days. I still feel a little tense, but the deep breathing exercises seem to be helping a little. The new BURZUM was sent to me in an email last night(my friends are right in not paying for this due to Varg's personal politics), so I'm giving it a listen before work. It's not blowing me away by any means, but in all fairness I am listening to the news at the same time. Didn't really know what to expect from a racist douche who has spent the last 16 years in prison. Anyway, gotta make some oatmeal, take a shower and get to work.

winding down

Well, my vacation is just about over, and it was nice to be around the house for a change. I didn't do all the little things that I thought I would, but I got a chance to relax and clear my head. I made the mistake of having a couple of cups of black tea yesterday to ease the lack-of-caffeine-headache and coupled that with some stressful email. All the tension that had left my body was instantly back and I woke up in a tense ball. I feel like I'm at ground zero again.

It figures

Lately I've been more than a bit nervous that something was going horribly wrong in my body. Between the split second headaches that felt similar to what I would imagine getting hit with a hammer would feel like, near crippling panic attacks(sometimes while driving) and odd numbing in different parts of my body. Not being the type to rush to a doctor, I used the handy internet to see if I could figure out what all this meant which lead to a couple of theories including diabetes, cirrhosis and stroke. Any of which seemed likely considering the way I've pushed myself the last 15 years. Finally I'd had enough and decided to see a doctor. Unfortunately I the only appointment I could get would have me waiting a week long than I was comfortable with, so I went to the ER. Weird. First came the questions. Fine. Then the blood pressure test. Oops, pretty high, but totally expected. Then the blood sugar test. Normal. Normal? Sweet, looks like I can take diabetes of the table. The Doc listens to my heart. Murmurs? No murmurs this time. Check the eyes. Seems fine. Now they decided it's time to take half my blood. Off it goes. Now this is the part that made me nervous. They want chest x-rays and CT scans. Crap. Off I go to get zapped. Now I'm a bit freaked out. The nurse tells me they're looking for tumors. I HATE the T word. I still have that one in my arm that showed up when I was about 19 and I don't need any more. Okay, the radiation is done and I'm back in the ER with Dawn waiting for results. After a Doctors' 10 minutes(that's 20 to the real world) the results are back. Nothing is wrong. Really? Really. All the test came back normal. Hmm. Okay, so I ask about the punching bag. Yep, liver works just fine. I'll take it. So, I ask about all the weird symptoms that I've been having and they tell me it's more or less stress. I need to relax, because it's manifesting itself physically. I was told to rest, drink clear liquids and avoid booze(okay), cigarettes(sure) and caffeine. Caffeine? I roast coffee for a living and I've been drinking coffee since I was five! This is going to prove to be a challenge. At least it's just stress, right?

Day one

Today is the first day of the first official vacation I've ever taken. Woke up before 6am as usual, but that's fine. I'm not really one for sleeping in, because it makes me feel like I've wasted part of the day. We've decided not to go anywhere and just get the house organized, getting rid of things we haven't used in a long time. We've pulled out the seeds that we want to plant this year and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring. Hopefully the seeds still have life in them as they are leftover from last year and we aren't experienced is storage techniques. Live and learn, live and learn. This Winter has been quite mild compared to last year. For us anyway, Philly and D.C. got absolutely hammered, effectively shutting down the government for a week. There's still time for us too get some of that snow, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't happen. It's becoming more apparent that we are going to need an AWD car or truck living up here. Last week I had trouble again getting up the "mountain" and had to drive 12 miles around the other side and still had a little trouble. I'm still getting used to living like this.