Wachusett Mt. Race

I completed the second of my mountain races this past Saturday.  I have to admit, this one was way easier then the week before.  The race was 3 miles up a state park road, and 3 miles down the back mostly on a class 4 road. The weather was perfect for running.  The views on the way up were amazing.  This onemade me feel a little bit better about signing up for the series.  I might just live after all.

Chicks

It is that time of year again.  The chicks have arrived! Once again a brooder full of chirping has been moved into the kitchen.  

This year, however, we have a different type of chicken. We have Araucana's this year (the Easter eggers).Little Man has fallen in love with one in particular and has clearly stated that "my chicken will not be eaten." 

 This one is not Little Man's, however, it has already escaped a few times and thinks it rules the roost.

Dandelion Wine

A year ago I made dandelion wine.  Everyone I told afterwords, told me dandelion wine was horrible.  I was slightly worried as it sat in the basement slowly being refined by time.

Monday we broke open our first bottle.  Not too bad for my first bottle of wine.  A little sweet and more like a cider then a wine.  I might make more some day.

My Lovely Yard

Little Man's Garden

 The marsh marigolds in the marsh that surrounds our land.

 My beautiful cherry tree in front of the kitchen window.

 The flowers I see on the way out the door every morning. 

Tuesday Nigh Trail Running

Tuesday night trail runs are back!

 And this year Little Man is moving up to the big kid races.  Right after he runs his three allotted little kid races.

Sleepy Hollow Mountain Race

One of my goals for the year is to run the New England USAT&F Mountain Race Series this summer.  Honestly I am doing it to bypass the lottery into Mt. Washington for next summer. To bypass the lottery and earn mountain goat status, I need to run at least 6 of 8 mountain races.  My first one was this weekend.

For starters Sleepy Hollow is the only race in the series I have actually run before.  At least for this one I went in knowing what I was getting myself into, and I brought a friend along.  The race is a 10K (6.2 Miles) trail race.  For every mile you go up, you come down another mile.  There are some pretty muddy sections of the course and it starts at noon (the hottest part of the day).  This is not a beginners race.

 Since Andy was a spectator for this one, he had no problem pointing out that my friend did not look happy when she passed him.  As we were standing at the finish line waiting for her to come in, he fully expected her to punch me at the finish for convincing her to do the race with me.  She did not, and happily pointed out that she was not one of the people she saw lose a shoe on the course (there were a lot of shoe-less people finishing the race), throwing up on the course, or the lady she passed who was crying.  She also resolved to beat me next year. 

Now on to the next 5 races!

Care Net

I had this great plan for May.  Care Net, an organization that helps young moms in unplanned pregnancies is having a fundraising walk. I had this great plan to do the fundraising and have my mom join me for the afternoon.  Then I found out the whole thing is only a mile.  Suddenly going all the way into Burlington and having my mother who made me walk six miles with her last week come all the way over didn't seem like such a great plan.  I needed a new plan.

So.......Care Net does this baby bottle campaign from Mother's day to Father's day.  Fill the bottle with loose change, bring it back.  If anyone would like to contribute to the baby bottle; feel free to bring your change on over.

Knot-weed Chuttney

There is a plant in Vermont called knot-weed.  The stuff is incredibly hard to get rid of and horribly invasive.  It is not native to Vermont and there is a whole campaign to get rid of the stuff.  We, unfortunately, have a small patch that just does not want to die.  Little Man is actually encouraged to hack at this particular plant.

Last year one of our local farmers was selling knot-weed chutney at the farmers market.  She was always sold out of the stuff by the time I got there.  I wanted to try it and see if it might be a way to get rid of the stuff.    I decided it needed to go on my list of things to do this year. 

Today Little Man was given the task to hack out 5 pieces for me.  I found a recipe online and off I headed to the kitchen.  A small batch was made just in case it was horrible.  It actually did not come out all that bad.  However, neither male in the household will try the stuff because it is a weed from the back yard.  They keep mentioning something about the "dandelion fritters" I made them try one year....  

Vermont Wine

I determined that one of my tasks for 2015 would be to complete a Vermont Winery Passport.  Visit at least 10 Vermont Vineyards to be entered in a drawing at the end of the year for a night in a Bed and Breakfast. Honestly, it just gives me an excuse to drink wine all summer. 

 I figured Mother's Day weekend would be the perfect time to begin my wine tasting journey; with my mom of course.  First stop: Fresh Tracks Farm in Berlin, Vermont.  A beautiful barn, with a lovely patio that invites you to stay and enjoy.

 Of course we did just that!

 I even brought home a bottle of maple wine.  Only in Vermont can you find a maple dessert wine. I have to say it is pretty good.

We also visited a second vineyard the next day in Montpelier, Vermont on Sunday.  It did not scream, sit and stay a while.  In fact, quite the opposite.  The tasting room was in the basement of a persons house. A very tinny room with a wine rack, lacking much wine.  A small table, no chairs.  No frills, not even a parking area-just a driveway.  Honestly we almost did not go in. I had to rationalize that it was a second stamp for my book and an adventure.  Oh well, there are many more vineyards to explore. Hopefully the rest will be more like Fresh Tracks. 

What is a Runner?

What makes one a runner?  I ran cross-country and track in high school and college and have coached runners for 14 years, however until the past few years, I really did not consider myself a runner.  So what makes one a runner?  I guess it is different for everyone.  For me it means being able to brush myself off after a bad race that made me want to quit running all together, and then run 9 minutes faster the next significantly harder race a month later - enjoying every minute of it.

 It means getting excited at races where I get a jar of pasta sauce instead of a medal.  I mean really, the medal is going to end up in a shoe box with the others.  The pasta sauce is going to be fuel for the next race. 

 It means waking up on Monday and realizing that there is a 5 mile race on your favorite weekday running route on Saturday.  Texting your running buddies, and running the race without having to train for months. Then going out to brunch after.  

So what does it mean to be a runner?  It means that running is finally a fun social thing you do because you love it. Not because you are trying to lose weight (although that is a nice perk), not because it is your Fall sport, not because you're trying to bag that bucket list marathon (I do have bucket list races though).  Running because it is just what you do with your friends on a Saturday.

Road Trip to Virginia

In April, Little Man and I went on a road trip to Virginia and back.  I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about the whole thing to begin with, and as a result I planned a good chunk of the trip out ahead of time. Andy went to Barnes and Noble the night before and bought some books for the car, and we went to the Lego store for an alternate activity for the car. The last time I made the trip with Little Man, my knee locked up, and I wanted to cry most of the way home.  Also, Little Man was smaller then and would sleep for most of the trip.  

To begin the trip, I planned a mid-way stop between home and Virginia.  I knew that Steamtown National Park was about half way there, and Little Man was still at an age that he would enjoy the trains.  Upon arriving we were met with two surprises.  1. It was free entry to all national Parks weekend. 2. We had made it just in time to catch the train ride for the day/first ride of the season.  It turned out to be a perfect sunny day and the perfect stop along the way.  Little Man traveled well, and the mid-way stop was at just the right spot.

 Our first stop in Virginia was at a friend's house along the Shenandoah Mountain range. Little Man loved her because she let him watch TV and took him to the movies when it started raining.  I loved being able to visit with an old friend and checking out all the cool little places she took us to.  She fed right into my localvore spirit and took us to a great little cafe, greenhouses, a coffee roasters (I am still drinking the coffee that I got from there, it is wonderful) and James Madison's Montpelier.  Little Man did mention that being in the spot that much of the Constitution was planned at was pretty cool.  He would not admit that the gardens were beautiful though.  

 After leaving my friends house, we were off again to Grandma and Papa's house. They live near Washington DC. so a trip into the city was planned for this leg of the trip.  We did a lot of walking that day.  Someone had the bright idea of getting off the Metro at Arlington Cemetery to see the tomb of the unknown soldier and the walk to the National Mall.  While the cherry blossoms at Arlington Cemetery were wonderful and we did learn a lot from the hop on hop off tour, the walk ended up being a lot longer then expected.  By the time we reached the Lincoln Memorial Little Man thought I was crazy when I suggested we walk all the way up the stairs.  His argument was that it was going to be some puny little statue that was by no means going to "cool" to see.  Thankfully when we reached the top, he did in fact think it was worth the trip up the stairs. It was further reinforced that night when he saw something on TV about the memorial that talked about why there were so many steps to the top.  For once, Mommy was right! I was wrong, however, about the food trucks near the WWII and the Washington Monument though.  That did not go over well.

 Also Little Man's highlight of the trip was that he was able to drive Papa's boat for the first time.  I am pretty sure Papa is crazy, and Little Man was trying to crash the boat.  

 Then of course there were the Alligator Bites.  There was no way Little Man was going to try them.  Finally after much convincing, he tried one and then finished off the whole plate! Once again; mommy was right!

 On the way home I had meticulously planned out a trip into Philadelphia to the Franklin Institute to see Art of the Brick, only to find the museum was closed for the day.  Disheartened and slightly bummed, we headed for my cousin's in New Jersey.  Upon arriving home, Little Man would declare this the best part of the trip.  He was able to watch Loony Toons and eat ice cream with my cousin's husband.  Topped off by LEGOs and being able to sleep in the cool room of a college student. I kid you not, this was his favorite part and probably the part he will remember for the rest of his life.

Our last stop was a walkway over the Hudson River.  Nothing big, just a walkway, but we had a lot of fun racing from one joint in the bridge to the other and it was a nice way to end the trip. 

Water

I have a tendency to camp out in the the shower.  On average I could take a good 20 minute shower on a daily basis.  Yep, you read that right.  And some days because of running, it would be twice a day.  My goal for April was to reduce the time I spend in the shower. 

I started the month by trying to find a shower clock like the one of my friends has for her two boys (I use it when I visit them).  I was hoping to find it in the kids bath section at several stores.  Then I went away for a week with Little Man.  I am pretty sure my showers were long because my in-laws kept sending Little Man down to hurry me along while I was in the shower.  

When we returned from our vacation, I decided to use the timer on my phone.  As of right now, my showers have been around 7 minutes.  My phone is set for 10 minutes, and is a nice reminder when I start to camp out.  My goal would be to bring my showers closer to 5, but I figured half the time was a good place to start.  Wish me luck.