Hard vs. Fast

My September and October races were a week apart.  One was a 10K in Vermont, the other a half marathon in New Hampshire.  The first was a hilly, windy course by a beautiful lake that started and ended in a vineyard I love.  The second, a fast and flat course that was mostly in the boardwalk area at the beach.  The first one was a decent, but not my fastest, 10k time. The second was my personal best for a half marathon.  I will do the first one again and loved every minute. I probably will not do the second one again.  I prefer a race in which I have to grind it out to a race that I may run my fastest time on, but  find myself longing for some change in the grade.  

One fun fact: The first metal was a wine bottle stopper, the second was a bottle opener.

Cider

We have a big,beautiful apple tree in front of our house.  Two years ago, a friend told us that they were edible apples, and if we wanted to use their cider press we could bring them over.  Of course we did, and the cider was amazing. This year we decided to try out hand at making our own cider press.  Andy did a lot of research into types of (cheap - really cheap) cider presses, and Little Man and I happily picked a batch to be pressed.  

Everything came together perfectly.  Or so we thought.  We found out that using a hydraulic jack system created too much pressure on the beam above, eventually causing the whole system to crack.

Oh well; at least we got some cider out of the first batch. 

Montreal Botanical Garden

Haven't blogged in a while; must be cross-country season, and soccer season, and I am training for a marathon. I have a lot of excuses.  I have not, however, continued to plug away at my tasks for 2015.  Although there are going to be a lot undone this year due to lack of time.  One of the best trips made though was one I made with friends.  Little Man had school, Hubby had work and I had the day off with no cross-country practice.  

So off to Montreal we go! Yes, Canadian cities are closer to my house than American cities, so I spend a lot of time in Canada.  

First Stop: Dim Sum! I spend a lot of time at this wonderful place in China Town with my friends.  You can eat a lot of food for fairly cheap if your group is big enough.  Family or three and you're in trouble.  Thankfully we had a big group and empty stomachs.  The food was delightful as usual. 

Next we spend some daytime hours at the Botanical Gardens in the places we would not be coming back to that night.  I even managed to impress a bunch of girls(not everyone's kids had school) in the Insectatorium.  Some days it pays off to be a mom of a boy.  I have to admit, some of those bugs were crazy huge--- and Little Man is a little mad at me for going without him.  

Next we made a quick side trip across town to Marche Jean-Talon.  This great open air market with a whole lot to choose from.  It was a wonderful dinner of meat, cheese and bread.  

 Then back to the botanical gardens for the best part of the trip.  Mid-September through mid-October they light up the Chinese and Japanese gardens in this awesome display of light.  The Chinese Garden (below) is more of a big party of lights, while the Japaneses gardens are a soft play on lights.  It was really cool! I would totally go back next year, although maybe next time I might consider bringing my family along.