Caffinara|Melanie Watts, Caffinara: Wake up to life

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Saturday, February 6, 2010

Woe Is Me

Posted by Melanie at 17:37 0 comments

My right arm hurts or more specifically my shoulder and part of my neck. Lifting my arm above my head is painful. Everyone’s been telling me the pain is from scrolling and clicking on the trackpad of my Macbook.

I’ve tried limiting the amount of scrolling and clicking I do but even with keyboard shortcuts there are still things one needs a mouse for. Someone suggested I get a special mouse, sort of like a joystick, made especially for people with problems like mine.

I‘ve decided to train myself to use my left hand for all mousing activities, and after reading this article, make an appointment with a physiotherapist.

Last week was not a good week for running. I’ve discovered running 13 k through 2 inches of snow is like running through sand and makes me feel extremely tired. Downhill skiing the next day, hard and fast, makes me feel even more tired. Despite having a great run, after a couple of days rest, I found running today was making me feel tired again. I’m really hoping next week will be better.

A few days ago I found out Blogger will no longer be supporting FTP blogging. that's how I publish this blog. It seems I can either move all my files back over to their servers, still keeping my domain, or find some other blogging software to manage my blog. I have no idea what I’m going to do. I’m scared my limited HTML knowledge is not up to figuring out how to meld my blog with new software.

Update: I've found these stretching exercises to help with my RSI pain.

Labels: pain, rant, whine

Thursday, February 4, 2010

A Dream Come True part two

Posted by Melanie at 17:29 3 comments

Today I signed a contract with Caitlin Press, to write a book of approximately 65000 words, to be finished and delivered by June of 2011.

I've already written about half of it, the words I wrote were what got me to this point. Caitlin Press sent the original manuscript to an editor, who extracted and distilled my thoughts, giving me a direction and focus, for my book, that I never could have come up with by myself.

The book is about the three gardens and the houses attached to them that I have lived in, designed and built for most of my adult life. It is full of anecdotes and information about life, gardening and what to do with the harvest.

Now I have to finish writing the book.

I’ve got to stop biting my nails and get on with it.

Labels: writing

Saturday, January 30, 2010

January 29 2010

Posted by Melanie at 10:59 2 comments

It was getting dark, piles of dirty snow lined the roads and there were puddles in the gutters. I noticed an empty parking spot in a strip mall, so I drove in. There were people standing on the sidewalk. Down the road I saw the blue flash of a cop car. I waited for the traffic light to change, crossed the street and stood next to a tall guy, with a little girl sitting on his shoulder. A group of seven year olds showed up with their attendant parents, just as a red truck stopped in front of us. People jumped out, their arms full of red plastic flags, advertising 2010 Olympics, Vancouver BC, icoke.com. I took the flag handed to me. Right after that came the Bank Of Montreal van, blaring music, we waved our flags and cheered. A handy dart stopped right in front of me. A young man wearing a white, Olympic logo emblazoned suit and carrying a slim white plastic stick, climbed out. The kids surrounded him, their eyes like fluorescent, Christmas tree lights, all talking at once, they got their hands autographed and their photos taken with him. He said his name was Brian. He got chosen to be a torch barer, after he wrote a letter to the committee extolling his virtues as a science student. He said he had represented Canada in some world wide science fair. His brother appeared holding a camera. Then came his mother, smiling and holding a red Olympic banner. She posed with him for more photos. Meanwhile, we all stood on tiptoe, and leaned out into the street, wanting to be first to see the torch. A guy riding a bicycle roared up and stopped in front of us, he approached Brian. He took a key on a string, he wore around his neck, and used it to turn something on the torch to see if it was working. Apparently it is filled with propane. Wearing a grin that could span the Strait of Georgia, Brian stood out in the middle of the road holding his torch high. The kids yelled and screamed and we all waved our flags, as the preceding torch barer ran up to Brian. He tilted his torch towards Brian’s so it lit his. Brian ran off down the road with kids trailing behind him. The guy on the bike went over to the preceding torch barer and turned off his torch. I noticed it was a little black and soot covered from the flames. I turned around and followed the police cars, back towards my car.

Labels: "2010 Olympics" "Prince George BC"

Sunday, January 17, 2010

"The Times They are a Changing" Book Review: The help by Kathryn Stockett

Posted by Melanie at 10:26 0 comments

The best book I have read lately is called, The Help, written by Kathryn Stockett. I put it on my hold list at the library back in November. Five days ago I bought it home and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish reading it.

All the action in this story takes place in Jackson Mississippi from 1960-1964.

The story unfolds from the eyes of two black domestic workers, Aibileen and Minny, they spend their days cleaning up after white families, cooking their meals and raising their children.

Skeeter, a young white woman just returned from college, is struggling with the racial inequalities she sees all around her. As well, her mother would like her to be like her friends and settle down with a husband and kids. But Skeeter is desperate to become a writer.

Following her curiosity and passions she becomes embroiled in writing a manuscript, which, given the conservative almost fascist views off the white majority, needs to be kept secret.

As the story evolves and historical events such as president Kennedy’s death, the 1963 march on Washington DC and Martin Luther Kings, I Have A Dream, speech, unfold, other events, like Skeeter’s boyfriends confusion, over the shortness of her skirt, and a scene in the car, when she listens to Bob Dylan sing the words,

'…you’ll sink like a stone
for the times they are a changing’,

remind me that is wasn’t just the racist tumult in the southern United States but increasing liberal attitudes everywhere, that were turning the world upside down.

Dylan’s words, leave Skeeter with a feeling of relief, like she’s “just heard something from the future.”

Stockett's exceptional writing and engaging story telling, are reasons why you should get this book. You will not be disappointed. I’ve added it to my Amazon wish list, because I’m definitely going to want to read it again.

Labels: book

Sunday, January 10, 2010

It’s Not Complicated

Posted by Melanie at 15:02 1 comments

I've been making croissants for years. I’m not daunted, anymore, by all the folding and rolling required for that wonderful flaky texture and refrigeration of the dough, necessary so the butter doesn’t melt.

In Meryl Streeps latest movie she works in a bakery coffee shop. Given her recent movies I wonder if she, really, knows how to cook? Anyhow In one scene, with Steve Martin, she makes croissants from scratch, seductively rolling chocolate up into each one.

In another one of my marathon kitchen baking blitzes, which included bagels, chocolate chip cookies and croissants I decided to put chocolate into some of the croissants. I used an organic baking chocolate called Vivani, available at Save On Foods or health food stores. I like it because the first ingredient is cocoa mass not sugar and it tastes fabulous.

I was unsure how much to use and worried about chocolate oozing all over the place. Silly me, next time I’m definitely using a lot more chocolate.

Labels: baking

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

New Years Day at Red Mountain Cabin

Posted by Melanie at 20:48 0 comments

On the first day of 2010 I drove with a friend to a tiny place north of the Fraser river and East of Prince George called Penny. We left the truck at Clarence and Olga’s house, skinned up and began the mammoth climb to the cabin. It actually only took us five and half hours. We arrived just as it was getting dark and the others were getting back from a days skiing. The cabin was a bit crowded with eight of us but after a much needed dinner, and a glass of red wine we all managed to find a place to sleep.

The next day was warm, minus 4. A thin raincrust had formed over the snow and it was snowing some more. It was disappointing but we skied anyway. I could hear the crunch of the raincrust as we poled up the slope. Visibility was poor and there were no views anywhere. The warmer weather had also made the snow a bit heavier. Even so we did five runs and had a relaxing two hour lunch.

By 3:30 PM it was getting dark.

After dinner and some more wine we tuned the short wave radio to CFMI the best classic rock channel of all time. It came in loud and clear. Apparently it is only available in the evening along that stretch of highway sixteen. Seems weird that the signal can beam so far north all the way from Vancouver.

Sunday dawned clear, I could see the Big Dipper above the cabin door. The rain crust had evaporated and we could hardly wait to eat breakfast and get out he door. We headed straight up Green Mountain for a look on the other side.

The sky was endless blue.

The trees were frozen into weird, royal icing like sculptures. The powder was almost perfect. Skiing was awesome.

Go to my flickr to see more photos

Labels: skiing

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Christmas Holidays

Posted by Melanie at 16:18 0 comments

I'm getting to do a ton of skiing and visiting. I even got to visit friends in Dawson Creek although the reason for going there is sad.

It was my first non family funeral. My friends husband had this very aggressive cancer that exploded into his life and left him, as my friends said, in five months less a day. It was not my favourite thing to do. But you know the more I think about it, I realize life is a gift and I'm damn well making the most of every second.

I've watched with interest as the wind turbine project on Bear Mountain, in Dawson Creek, was developed and came into being in August 2009. Read more about it here. After the funeral we went for a tour, taking pictures of the turbines from every angle imaginable.

The Peace is a great place for wind turbines. Ridiculous as it may seem, when I first moved to Prince George I used to miss the wind. In any case the electricity these turbines produce is enough, I hope, to put to rest the whole notion of flooding the Peace River valley. Apart from the people who eke out their livelihood in the valley it is a beautiful place, not one we want to have disapear, under the water created by the proposed site C dam.

Labels: funeral, The Peace, wind turbines

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Toffee

Posted by Melanie at 15:41 2 comments

Nuts were a part of my childhood, every Christmas we had a large bowl of walnuts, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, almonds and a nutcracker to open them. Walnuts were a standard in cookie recipes and coconut was a close second. Peanut butter sandwiches were our favourite substitute for meat.

My innocent nutty life came to an abrupt end when I met Robert.

I offered him a cookie from my latest baking frenzy. I was surprised when he tentatively asked if it contained nuts. I had never heard of anyone being allergic to nuts. My first reaction was that he was making it up.

It wasn’t until after we were married that I realized I could no longer spread peanut butter on my toast, then use the same knife to spread jam on top if it. It meant no more peanut butter cookies since the smell of them baking, made him feel sick. It meant no more walnuts in my baking, no almonds in salads, no Christmas nuts, no Malaysian or Thai curries, they contain coconut, he’s allergic to that as well.

I’ve been piously avoiding nuts at home for twenty six years. I’m missing nuts more then ever this Christmas because I‘ve discovered homemade toffee.

First Lisa, over on get in the garden, raved about her English toffee so much I requested her recipe. she generously printed it on her December recipe page for me. Scroll down to the bottom.

Then Kathie over on Threadlines sent me her recipe and Molly over on Orangette has yet another variation.

I’ve made all three of them. We’ve managed to gobble up at least half of it. Even without the nuts it’s still delicious.

Labels: nuts, toffee

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Garmin Forerunner 305: Review

Posted by Melanie at 20:04 0 comments garmin forerunner 305

Anxious to get going with this wristwatch like GPS, designed for running, I took a hasty look at the quick-start-guide, strapped the Garmin too my wrist, put on my running gear and went outside. The device took a couple of minutes, or less, to find a satellite. I pressed the start button and I was off.

What it keeps track off

You can keep track of useful things like how far you run, the time it takes you to do the run, your pace, your heart rate and not so useful things like how many calories you burn.

The GPS comes with software to program the Garmin for the type of run you want to do and the pace and heart rate zone you want to do it at. The software keeps track of all your runs and also comes with a set of prepackaged workouts.

You can also just program the Garmin.

Heart Rate Monitor

I haven’t tried using the heart rate monitor yet. It is a rubber strap like thing you wrap around your chest. Because, you have to wet the sensors to create a connection between your pulse and the transmitter, it doesn’t seem like the ideal thing to be wearing when the temperatures outside are below zero. I'm waiting until Spring.

Programs

In addition to running, the forerunner 305 is able to keep track of all your cycling statistics. You can also program it to keep track of one other sport. Although the forerunner 305 is water resistant it is not waterproof so it would not be the ideal device if you are a triathlete.

The forerunner 305 can tell you the direction you are heading, the elevation and the grade or inclination of the slope you are on. Thus, I decided my third program was going to be hiking/skiing.

Why The Forerunner 305 is great to use for Hiking and Skiing

It is always interesting to know how high you are, but knowing the degree of steepness, of the slope you are skiing is crucial, when making decisions about whether to ski it or not.

Thirty-eight degrees is the sweet spot when it comes to avalanches. It is also the best slope for powder skiing. When out in the back-country, terrain is the only thing you can control, so having a device that can accurately measure the slope is just another thing for us geeks to chortle about. After all you don’t want to become dependent on a device you could lose, or that could break down, or not function due to a whiteout or heavy fog.

Even though it is not as much fun, an old fashioned compass and your brain are still the best tools you have in the backcountry.

Reading the Manual

After a few days I began to notice that the statistics my Garmin was downloading to the computer had the wrong time and date on them. I spent ages flipping through the manual and fiddling with the Garmin trying to figure out how to fix it.

Finally, out of sheer frustration, I Googled something like,

why do my workouts on the forerunner 305 have the wrong date?

Almost the first hit told me. It said- after completing each workout press the stop button, duh, AND, press the lap button until the forerunner resets itself.

Now if I had just RTFM before I ran off that first time…

Labels: Garmin Forerunner 305

Monday, December 14, 2009

If George Elliot can do it so can I

Posted by Melanie at 15:55 0 comments

I find this story amazing and disturbing, in fact it makes me angry. Given my own experience as a freelance writer I'm beginning to think I should change my name.

I'm thinking maybe I should adopt the pseudonym, Thomas Hall. That's my Dads name. He died twelve years ago with prostate cancer. I'm sure he would be pleased and proud if signed his name to my writing instead of using my own.

Labels: writing

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Windchill

Posted by Melanie at 07:15 0 comments

Running shoes just don't cut it when the temperature is minus eighteen and the windchill makes it feel like minus twenty eight. I was thinking of getting a balaclava but nixed the idea when I realized how stupid it was too run in temperatures like this anyway. Even skiing is a bit dicey at these temperatures despite the fact ski boots are warmer than running shoes.

By midday it has warmed up to minus thirteen but the windchill is still making it feel like minus twenty, and my body is rebelling at the thought of running, maybe because the promised sunshine has not shown up.

The other thing, is the house is finding it hard to keep warm, even with all the heat sources cranked. It's not cold, just cool enough that I feel the need to wear a wool sweater, to take the chill off. I'm not complaining just stating a fact.

Labels: Running, windchill, winter

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Real books versus ebooks,

Posted by Melanie at 20:35 1 comments

I want something that is portable, durable, scanable, searchable ….

The Amazon Kindle is now available for sale in Canada. For the non technies among you the Kindle is an electronic device you can use to read digital books, you buy the digital books from Amazon. I have no idea if you can get them anywhere else in fact I know very little about it since I’m not interested in it.

I prefer my books to be made of paper, with pages I can turn. I like seeing them on my bookshelves and browsing through the titles on their spines. I like that books I got as a child and that I still own, bring back so many memories. I doubt you can get any of this with pixels, arranged to form words and displayed on a computer like screen.

OK, so you can adjust the text size on the Kindle to suit the degree of deterioration of your eyes. You can fill the Kindle with a stack of books and it will still weigh the same and take up the same amount of room, unlike a stack of real books.

David Pogue discusses the merits of the Kindle and other ebook readers in one of his, "collection of holiday gift guide videos," here.

But, if I could get the Canadian Oxford Dictionary in digital format. I would be first in line to get it.

The digital dictionary would anticipate the word I'm trying to spell, much like Words spell checker. It would be small and light. Much easier than my unwieldy paper version to carry around. It would be easy to look up exact definitions of words anytime, anywhere. When new words come into the language I could easily download them. The digital dictionary would be portable, updatable and smart.

Labels: books, ebooks, kindle

Friday, November 27, 2009

Black Friday Dilemma, Shopping deals for runners

Posted by Melanie at 06:55 0 comments

Today is Black Friday but it is also Buy Nothing Day however, one should be prepared for the other 364 days when you can spend, without worrying about your conscience, therefore I present to you the, The Ars Technica Holiday Gift Guide.

This year they’ve conveniently divided it up into sections. Under the kitchen section for example, the first item is an Impressa E Espresso Machine, made by Jura-Capressoit it will set you back an astonishing $899 although, when it comes to the coffee fiend who shares your bed you should spare no expense.

Moving along the next section to catch my eye was the fitness section.

The first item on the list is the Gramin forerunner 305 GPS. It’s a special gadget made for runners. You strap it too your wrist like a watch. If you are a runner and feel the need for something to track how far, how fast and at what pace you are running you want this. It also comes with a heart rate monitor you strap around your chest so it can send data wirelessly to the GPS. The cheapest place to get this is at GPScity .ca or .com. For a cool $169.95 CAD you are saving $80 -$100 over the competition. Mine arrived in the mail two days ago. I will post a review in another week or two once I get on to it.

Next up is the Spibelt running belt. At an affordable $21.95 it would make a great stocking stuffer for your favourite runner.

The belt is also the same price as the Road id, a bracelet, engraved with your name, address and phone number, that you attach to you wrist. In the event you get run over by a car or slip and bonk your head, while running, this will let the paramedics know whom to contact. You shouldn’t depend on your technological device to provide all your details since it could get broken in your fall.

For the price you should get the belt, just throw in your drivers license. The pocket expands to accommodate your ipod, car key, lip balm or other small items you deem necessary to take on your run.

Under the iphone section RunKeeper is listed as being the iphone ap of choice for those fanatical runners on your shopping list. It takes advantage of the iphones GPS to map your run much like the Garmin does. The app costs $10 for the pro version. While it sounds cool I’m a little worried about how much it would actually cost since the iphone has too dial through the phone line to connect to the satellite and with my runs lasting 1.5 hours or more I can see the dollar signs piling up behind my eyeballs.

I've thought long and hard about what gear to get for running. Apart from buying good quality shoes and replacing them when they wear out these 3 items are extra things I want.

Update: If you are buying the Spibelt go to this coupon page to save! Use US15 to get 15 % off and Ship 09 to get free shipping, even to Canada

Labels: black friday, gifts for runners

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Get a Yaktrax, How to Run Safely on Icy Roads

Posted by Melanie at 18:18 2 comments

I got these Yaktrax gizmos to put on the bottom of my running shoes, to help me get some grip on the icy roads and sidewalks that have suddenly become de rigueur around here. I don't want to have to give up running just because it's winter.

I've never liked going to the gym. I don't like all those stinky, sweaty bodies working out right next to me, not to mention all the intimidating machines. I've only run on a treadmill once and I didn't like it at all.

The yaktrax are made of rubber and have metal coils, that bite into the snow or ice. They come in three sizes that stretch to fit your feet. They have two rubber pieces, one fits around the toe and the other around the heel. There is also a velcro strap that folds over the front of your foot to make sure it stays on. The metal coils criss cross over the bottom of the shoe. They are very easy to put on.

I felt fairly safe wearing these things on my shoes today, when I went running. I didn't think about where to put my feet, to avoid slipping, or even think about slipping at all. I just concentrated on my breathing and rejoiced because I was outside running for the first time in over a week.

So I don't slip on the icy street while out running

I have decided to leave them permanently on my running shoes, after all winter is going to be here for a few more long months and I want to be outside.

Labels: Running, Yaktrax

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

What's with this Vancouver-Like Snow?

Posted by Melanie at 07:26 1 comments

Yuck! It's the grossest most horrible weather ever. I don't understand why it's not raining. The temperature is just around zero, the worst temperature for travelling, snow tires don't help when it's slippery. I've had to shake some of the trees so they don't break under the weight.

I want some real winter

Labels: snow, winter

Sunday, November 15, 2009

First Skiing Snow

Posted by Melanie at 21:12 1 comments

A couple of days ago a friend and I went to Sugarbowl. There was snow right down to the road, but we still managed to walk almost up to the meadow before being forced to put on our snowshoes to get up to the ridge. We decided, since there was almost enough snow to ski, we should check out the Pine pass on the weekend.

View of the Pine Pass taken from the ski hill

It turned out Powder King was open.

So today we drove up. It started to snow the second we got there and continued for most of the day. Visibility was not great so we decided to pay our money and ski the hill. It was fun, way better than I thought it would be. The only problem was I re-pulled my hamstring, a tiny bit, while climbing out of the elevator shaft. There wasn't really enough snow to ski it.

We might just go back there next weekend.

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