The Tibetan Cookbook of the Dead

I bought that tank top, thewronghands! Wore it to the gym and had to explain it to the trainer. I don't think she got the Ripley reference though, which I didn't realize until later. Not used to people who don't have the same SF background!

( Oops, cut for size )

I also bought a copy of Spots the Space Marine, which I am now enjoying.

( Vanity shots, if anyone cares. )

Tomorrow is my three-month anniversary of joining Crossfit. In addition, while my weight has stayed roughly the same, I've gone down 1.5 sizes.

Whenever I go to a white elephant gift exchange, I fail to nail it. If I bring a true white elephant gift; everyone else brings nice gifts. If I forgo the bottle of deer urine (or another hilarious gift that suddenly becomes AWKWARD amongst all the nice offerings), my good-intentioned gift still usually falls flat. Having no clue where the gym party fell along those lines, I bought a few things that I figured would be hated. Turns out, this was a group of people who understood that "white elephant" means "awesomely stupid gifts."

I almost ended up with a pair of Hello Kitty walkie-talkies, but they were stolen from me at the last minute. The cute stuffed kitty I brought was swooped up by a tough body-builder guy, who tucked it under his arm and dared anyone to steal it. I brought a spare gift in case someone forgot theirs (they did), so the last one opened was my pair of gaudy toe-socks decorated with penguins. The guy who got them had to fight off his wife, and finally pointed out that she could borrow them since they live in the same house. :D

Wow, I embrace my awkward gift-giving habits and it works! I need to go get some Hello Kitty walkie talkies for myself, to make up for what I lost.

The gym threw one of their multi-gym competitions today (the Frostbite Throwdown), which I did not participate in. However, the gift I ended up with was a competition t-shirt that says SnoCo Crossfit Frostbite Throwdown COMPETITOR. In other words, I look like an enormous douchebag wearing it. :D It'll be a workout shirt only.

The guy who had the best "ugly Christmas sweater" wore this. I think they're going to get a flood of orders from everyone else at the party, who suddenly NEEDS this sweater.


PS. I've never actually given a bottle of deer pee as a joke present, but I keep thinking it's an awesome idea. But holy hell, that's asking for trouble. Everyone else will bring fine wine and chocolates, just watch.

I had to run Tashi into the vet this morning for an emergency manicure. She's been growing these thick, horny nails on her front paws, which have puzzled me for maintenance purposes. I just don't have the right kind of clippers to get through them. I thought it was because of her arthritis--she doesn't scratch her claws anymore--but I still thought they'd shed off sooner or later. However, last night, after clipping her rear claws, I noticed her front claws had curled all the way around and were digging into her paw pads. OUCH.

The vet thanked me profusely for bringing her right in, as opposed to waiting until her claws had actually broken the skin. (I thought they had and was highly relieved that they hadn't.) She was merely walking, on her arthritic paws, on little claw points with every step. Poor baby.

This vet, new to me and the THIRD she's seen in 1.5 months--diagnosed a return of her thyroid condition. Horny nails are a symptom, and my other vet has been thinking thyroid for a while now, too. Joy. I ordered a diagnostic test to verify.

Let's see: arthritis, chronic ear condition, possible nasopharyngeal polyp causing breathing issues OR dental issues leading to breathing issues, and now a return of the thyroid disease. Geriatric cats... I hope her kidneys stay in good health.

Happy 17th birthday, kittycat! (Sadly, I missed it by a few days. Bad catmom! All this drama with Celeste-the-other-cat distracted me.)

Old pic, but one of my faves:

When I realized Celeste (the cat) was abandoned, I gave her a box with a rug inside and another draped over it, to give her some shelter. Today, I decided to make a more all-weather cat house, since it may be a while before she finds a home. Cardboard just wasn't going to cut it and the rugs were going to start getting damp, even though the set-up is in a sheltered spot.

I started with a large rubbermaid-ish tub with a locking lid and carefully cut a 6" hole in one side, as well as two small drainage holes in the bottom. I then fit in 1" styrofoam insulation, leaving another inch of space --supported by insulation blocks-- between the tub walls and the insulation walls. Once that was firmly in place, I carpet-taped in vinyl flooring to both the floor and the sides, so kitty claws wouldn't shred the insulation. I left a block of insulation free for the "ceiling," that fit under the lid. ( Read more... )

Unbelievably gorgeous hike up on Ptarmigan Ridge today. I didn't mean to hike the whole thing, but I couldn't stop. It was only about eight miles or so, but a long drive home.

Last night, I finally sat down at watched the National Geographic Special Journey to the Edge of the Universe on Youtube. It's a special-effects masterpiece that takes you up-close and personal with our neighboring planets, sun, and then extends out. I find it hypnotizing and glorious. To go from that to hiking in what is surely one of the most beautiful places on Earth is pretty amazing.



( Following Ptarmigan Ridge to Mount Baker )

I keep wondering how long the high-altitude season will last. I only tried one hike in July (Chatter Creek), but bailed due to the insane heat. Went to Leavenworth instead, if I remember correctly, and ate gingerbread. It's never too hot for gingerbread.

August, did Ozette, Oyster Dome with thewronghands --and ran into my "Oh we must hike together sometime" friend, Kristen-- and something I'm forgetting. September did Snow/Gem Lake, Burroughs (both with TWH), and now Hannegan Pass. Not a heavy hiking summer, but intense heat ain't my thing unless I'm in the Grand Canyon. I *did* also do Colorado and Stehekin earlier. Next week, possibly Ozette again for another volunteer clean-up, then I'm hoping the forest fires die down and air clears enough to head out to Roslyn for some of my old favorites. Maybe the snow will be late? It was late melting, darnit. Either way, in my stalwart attempt to support TWH in her SAR training, I'll be hiking all winter. Rain, sleet, snow-- search and rescue training won't wait. At least I'll be in the company of a wilderness EMT.

[Oh, right, I also did a hike with Kitty, but hell if I can remember which one... Lake Annette? We got stopped by the snow, ultimately. Must redo.]

I wish I could put in that epic Wilderness EMT shot I took of her right here, but I leave hiking logs public and her face is, uh, private.

Anyway, Hannegan Pass. In lovely weather, the views are awesome. Or so I surmise. I remember, I think, hiking this trail many years ago. It's quite long and tough, and I am going to be sore tomorrow. The views, sadly, were all covered with a rusty tinge of the forest fires. The fires are breaking my heart already, since they're burning down the Teanaways, which is sacred ground to me. :( I can't bear to go over to Cle Elum quite yet. Well, the fires are also not out and even my healthy lungs would act up with that air quality.

I took a few pics of Hannegan, which is off of Mt. Baker.
( A few pics of the hike up. )

I did not hike Hannegan Peak, although I meant to. The trail is an absurd scramble, quite brutal. I simply wasn't up for it. Next time, with better air.

A couple of weekends ago, I went hiking at Dungeness and Ozette. Did the loop hike at Ozette and hauled out three garbage bags of trash. It was a nine mile hike, so I had the bags hanging off a hiking pole, which was sitting horizontally across the top of my backpack. (Had some comedian tell me I looked like one of "those Chinese coolies." Nice.) In between doing a million lunges to pick up sea trash (mainly tsunami-related styrofoam), I took a few photos.

( Dungeness and Ozette )

Just a quick note recording that on Saturday I ran the Taylor Mountain half-marathon. I was leaving it up to fate whether I did it or not. I set my alarm for 7:00 and said, "If it's raining, I'll sleep in. If it's not raining, I'll go." I accidentally set my alarm for 7:00 pm, though. Woke up at 7:45, saw that it was pretty much not raining, and shot out of the house. I didn't have time to think about it, so I just went.

( Race talk )

In a little bit of a last-minute decision, I drove out to Chelan on Friday to tackle my first official trail race. I trail run all the time, but running and racing are really pretty different. I just did the North Olympic Discovery Half two weeks ago, but I wanted to see how an actual trail run went before I started signing up for tons of them. They all *look* like fun and they're way cheaper than the road races.

( Doom! )

Soaked out my sore muscles in the Hot House today. I think that's going to become a post-race tradition from here on out. I need to start a massage fund, so I always have cash for that as well.

ETA: From their FAQ -
Q: What is your recommendation for refueling during a run?
A: Unless you are like Lance Armstrong with an exceptional ability to digest food, on average the body can absorb roughly 250 calories per hour. Because of this, we suggest you eat roughly a bar or two gels per hour. If you wait until you’re hungry to eat, you will be running on low blood sugar which is commonly known as “bonking” and you will experience a significant drop in performance.

Yeah, I totally bonked. Now I know that I absolutely need more calories for trail running than for road running.