Egad!

It's August 29. Which means my cousin turns 40 today. And in 3 short months, so does my brother. How can that be?! I'm not old enough to have a big brother who's 40!

It's been a crazy last few weeks: busy working, playing, meeting friends (new and old), teaching and spending time with Nermal. She continually amazes me. And demonstrates just how much love can change someone. In four short years, she's gone from a scared-y cat to uber cuddler. Still chatty and is always game to play. And really good at knowing when to just sit and be. I've learned a lot from her.

And summer just wooshed by! I have a good feeling about fall, though. And I'm fully equipped with a new pack that will serve double duty: day pack in summer and avalanche gear pack in winter. This weekend is going to be awesome: I'm heading out to hike in the meadows that hide under the snow in my winter wonderland.

And that's what I know today.

May Long Weekend

AKA the start of summer in Canada!

Saturday was a glorious day: sunshine, good friends, good yoga and vino! Started the day on my local S'bucks rooftop patio with E. & C. Then I went to yoga--lots of twisting culminating in:

Parsva Bakasana (side crane)



Source

After yoga, C. picked me up and we headed over to E.'s house for some champagne (Congrats on the 30 year one-night stand!), food and girl talk.

On Sunday I got up and went for a quick run, just my Stanley Park loop (4.1 km). It was really humid, but felt good. Then I met some WW online girls downtown at Cora's for breakfast! They make a pretty good hashbrown (which is how a breakfast place is judged, remember). Then home and off to work.

Today Nerm and I have had a very quiet, relaxing day. We're still in our jammies at 2130h and have done not much more than the occasional yoga pose, knitting and catching up on Coronation Street. There may also have been a cuddlefest/nap, but I can't be certain. I seem to have lost about an hour and a half though....

It's been raining all day so it was a perfect day to decompress. I'm also excited for the week of rainy weather for a number of reasons:

1. These boots:



2. The various shades of green that pop out at this time of year. There probably won't be lilacs (my favourite flower, in case anyone ever asks) for the Lilac Festival next weekend, but for sure by the first of June! I'm excited for the first weekend of June because guess who's coming to town? This man: Noah Maze. And since my Barbados trip in November has been cancelled, I think I might take Immersion I with Noah in February...I'll check the vacation schedule tomorrow when I go to work!

3. To put out the wildfires in Alberta.

4. Knitting! I've made good progress today. And I got word from my friends in Oz that IT'S A GIRL!! Congrats to S. & D.! Now I'll need to find a quick baby project to whip up and send.

5. More cuddle time with Nerm. 'Cause there's nothing else like it. =)

Lovin' Life

What's not to love? I've slept for THREE (count 'em, THREE) days in a row, the sun is streaming in my kitchen window, Nerm's sitting on the windowsill giving the magpies the what-for and I've got a big mug of chai to sip on.

I had a great day skiing, although the morning didn't feel that great. I wandered around the mountain, not really finding my groove anywhere. I took a break after a few runs on Goat's Eye (right when the kidlet ski racers were eating lunch--it was not a quiet break, by any means!). When I went out again to shred the mountain, a Sunshine Snow Host approached me and asked if he could ski with me. Well sure! The more the merrier, I say and by this time I was pretty bored with the conversations I was having with myself.

We did a few runs on Goat's Eye--ones that I would never, EVER have attempted on my own (and probably not with anyone else, either). Goat's Eye is STEEP. That's it's claim to fame. There are NO green runs off the Goat's Eye chair. Anyhoo, black is my favourite colour, and don't they say that diamonds are a girl's best friend?! The best part of my new ski buddy: he is SEVENTY (or almost). New hero. We skied around on Goat's Eye, then headed over to the Divide chair and skied in BC for a bit! We have a date next Saturday, too! He also lives in my area of town, so I may have a new ski buddy next season! =)

This is what the top of Goat's Eye is like (it's the easiest way down to the tree line from the chair lift):


Last week when I was skiing with my cousin and his buddy, they showed me this video and we laughed all day. I still laugh, so I know it wasn't just the beer and natural mountain high. Enjoy!

Insomnia Sucks Part Deux

Doctor's appointment at 1530h today.

Is it bad that all I want is to sleep?! My head hurts. My body aches. My eyes hurt. Arrrrgh! I just wish I could curl up with Nerm and sleep for days (and no, I'm not depressed, I'm just TIRED!!).

On a much happier note, Miss Nermal Ruth got a clean bill of health from her doctor this morning. Check out my hunter-in-residence(it's an old photo--I haven't had a tv for almost 2 years!):

Flyin' by!

Time, that is! I had a lovely jammie day with Nerm on Sunday, worked then taught yoga yesterday and worked, then went to my Course in Miracles group tonight. Did I mention that I've been up since 4? Oh, and there was a yoga practice in there each day, too!

Must get some zzzzz's soon, though!

Whew! Wednesday

A numbered list of things I'm grateful for today:

1. My legs. For carrying me 5.3km with no pain in my old shoes. I can't wait to discuss with my physio tomorrow.

2. My lungs. For taking in enough oxygen so that I could run those 5.3K, even in 93% humidity.

3. The crisp, fall air. I love running in the fall! (I don't love running in the dark so much, though.)

4. My mom. Just 'cause I know I'm lucky that we have such a great relationship. She's not just my mom, she's my friend, too.

5. My hairdresser, Jody. She makes the sparkly bits go away!

6. The Banff Tea Company's Ayurvedic Keep Well Tea. It's yummy!

7. Nerm. 'Cause she makes me laugh. And she's getting to be such a good snuggler. That's important as the temperature drops!

8. My trip to Africa. I was going through some photos tonight and it brought back some wonderful memories. It was worth working two jobs for!

All About Nerm

Today is Nerm's birthday! Well, not technically her birthday, but it's her second birthday with me!

She's taught me patience, made me laugh out loud, cry, and giggle (often all in the same day). She's shown me that it is possible to mend a broken heart and love again.

She knows that kitty spit is the secret to perfectly white paws & that there is a mouse graveyard under the couch ('specially the green ones!).

She's shown me that the secret to a perfect adho mukha svanasana (downward facing dog) is active paws and melting your heart so that your spine lengthens.

She's taught me to slow down and appreciate the joy in basking in the warmth of a fire and watching the flames flicker.

But best of all is a head-butt and a snuggle.

I ♥ you, Nermal Ruth.
Your Human

Glorious!

While the day started out rainy and icky, the rest of my day off was glorious!

- a nap on the couch with Nerm and the fireplace on

- catching up with my cousin on the phone

- knitting

- an amazing yoga class! Who knew that backbends could be so much fun? Ustrasana (camel), I heart you! (and now can't get the song, Alice the Camel, out of my head!)

Time for bed!

It's the Weekend!

Reasons to celebrate:

- Michelle's in town again this weekend!

- The AMAZING fish and chips with tartar sauce I made for dinner last night. The recipe in Crazy Plates was a guide, I added some Epicure Tyee fish rub (I think it's just called fish rub now, 'cause nobody knows what "tyee" means. FYI: "the big one") to the coating. I also fiddled with the tartar sauce: I added 1/2 TB asparagus relish from the farmer's market and a chopped sweet pickle for the sweet relish and then added capers just cause capers make everything better.

- The Peach & Raspberry Cobbler I made. I was inspired by Jaime's post the other day. I substituted raspberries for the blackberries (I'm not a big fan) and Oh My! A photo doesn't do this baby justice, so I won't include one.

- My WI. Another 0.4 gone. I like it.

- Starting the day with an awesome Yoga class filled with wonderful yogis and an inspiring teacher. Mind, body and spirit are all happy.

- Registering for a knitting workshop! A new skill: entrelac! It looks like this. I WILL have the baby blankie done by then, I swear!

- Registering for a weekend workshop with another wonderful yoga teacher!

- A bike ride, perhaps? We'll see what Mother Nature has in store for later this afternoon.

- An afternoon nap with Nerm. Need I say more?

Garden goodness

Sweet and Spicy Swiss Chard
from All Recipes dot com
The onion and chard all came from my garden!

I doubled the recipe and threw in some black beans (1/2 cup). Calorie King says the whole thing plus the beans is 579 calories. It's tasty, although I think I'd put more ginger in next time. It's definitely different than how I usually eat chard (one of my very favourite veggies!)

And here's Nerm in her new penthouse: