In the past, when I worked in the office, a week of heat was only moderately uncomfortable because my building had air conditioning. This year, I'm learning the limits of my productivity when my working environment is 82 degrees. Bring it, I say! I'll take it over being cold, almost always. My fingers are fluid, my feet are warm, I get to bare the arms I work so hard to tone all year long, and I can easily air-dry my hair. Still, it's tough to keep up the energy when, as I wrote my boss on Friday afternoon, the only thing sweating more than me is my glass of ice water.
 |
| Office upgrades so far: a laptop platform, wireless keyboard and mouse, and a desk mat |
 |
| My new rainbow window (not pictured, rainbows on the floor/walls around 8 a.m.) |
The main event this week, though, was the final preparation for Joel's Midnight Century ride, a non-organized bike ride that starts at the stroke of midnight Sunday morning that takes him from our old Browne's Addition neighborhood to the state border, down to gravelly stretches of country roads south of the Spokane Valley, back west to Cheney, and finishing at Kendall Yards near downtown. His brother trained with him on the opposite side of the state for months and was able to make it over for the insane undertaking. I've watched Joel work through every element to prepare for this, from building his bike (this started last year, pre-pandemic), to making and freezing his own road food, to designing his schedule around getting in the miles on short and long rides, to researching and test-riding portions of the route, to figuring out the best ways to carry supplies and determining which places to stash water and food along the way, to, perhaps most importantly, convincing his brother to do it with him. I am so thankful he didn't do this alone, because all I could think about was the presence of nocturnal animals on stretches of road with no service.
 |
| 11:48 p.m. |
I'm writing this on Sunday, so I can give you the spoiler alert that the brothers reigned triumphant with no incident and only one porcupine sighting. I'm so proud. Now what is Joel going to spend his time doing? Time will tell. I haven't yet asked him if he wants to do this again. He's sleeping now.
A few more highlights...
Reading
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is such a worthwhile read from the perspective of a Black teen who straddles two worlds.
I've also been thinking a lot about this article this week: Don't Read Books, Read Authors. (This sentence sums me up so well: "I enjoy reading someone who loves something, and who encourages me to love it, too.")
And this final inspiring act by John Lewis: Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation
Watching
The TV was hardly on this week. Our A/C unit competes with the sound, so we either have to turn up the TV to a ridiculously loud volume, or turn off the A/C, so it's just easier to stay cool and save the shows for later. I did watch that Anne Frank documentary and a few episodes of "Love on the Spectrum" on Netflix on Saturday evening while Joel slept before the ride. Both shows are fascinating.
Making
Making my Akita top was a lesson in how to sew when you don't think you have much time. I cut out the pattern pieces last Saturday, and on Monday after work, I cut the fabric. On Wednesday, I ran to Joann to buy bias tape. By Saturday, I carved out a few separate hours to sew the darn thing, which took longer than the 2-hour window it promised. Still, it was a relatively easy pattern and I finished it and it's kinda cute! Pics to follow.
Knitting isn't that attractive to me right now, but I am a toes-length away from finishing a sock. And I'm up to my bicep on my sweater sleeve.
Recipes
Joel requested our beloved lemon-parsley chicken as his last pre-ride meal, which we enjoyed with the outdoor company of his brother and nephew. I made a cabbage slaw with peanut sauce, too (recipe from David Lebovitz's The Sweet Life in Paris, of all places), and brown rice, which soaks up the same dressing you use for the chicken in a perfectly lovely way.
He made a big batch of pesto on Wednesday which went with pasta that night, into a two-bean salad on Thursday night (served with grilled pork chops), then on a toasty sandwich on Friday night, and mixed into scrambled eggs Saturday morning. We still have a little left! It's a versatile base for things that don't require much kitchen heat.
I also made more carrot top chimichurri, so that's good with whatever, too. I've been incorporating it into salad dressing for the three heads of lettuce I'm trying to eat this week.
Listening
The album from the "Mozart y Mambo" project was just released, which was produced/organized/directed by horn player Sarah Willis in Havana, working with local musicians to blend Cuban rhythms with Mozart's works. The result is super fun, and a great pick-me-up around 3:30 in the afternoon when I start to hit a wall. You might have seen this flash mob video circulating, which is how I heard about it. You can stream it on Spotify and Amazon.
No comments:
Post a Comment