tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-168609115668932222024-02-19T02:43:23.199-05:00Spotted Dog Farm - Asheville, NCBotanical Resin Jewelry (with some running, mountain biking
and wandering thrown in for seasoning)Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.comBlogger164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-16207274799206189302016-09-07T09:46:00.000-04:002016-09-07T09:46:11.545-04:00New BlogHi Guys - you can find my new blog over on my new website: <a href="http://spotteddogfarm.com/blogs/blog">http://spotteddogfarm.com/blogs/blog</a><br />
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Thanks!Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-576105648023939862014-09-10T10:38:00.000-04:002014-09-10T10:38:40.432-04:00The Summer O' FunSchool's back in session, which is always about the time of year I remember I'm an adult and have things to do. You know, things that don't involve playing with Sam. Because for the summer, I pretty much just play with Sam. Particularly this summer - he's 12, and sometime around mid May it hit me that the summers when he thinks it's fun to hang with his mom may be limited. That meant that for the past few months, no matter what the question was, the answer was yes. "Do you want to play tennis?" yes. "Do you want to go run in the woods?" yes. "Do you want to watch me do baseball drills?" yes. "Do you want to learn to play Call of Duty with me?" yes. (full disclosure - that one started as "do you want to learn to play Madden?" and I tried a yes, but it turned out that game sucked. So I moved on to throwing C4 and firing fake artillery, and created my own Call of Duty avatar (named Beastly), and discovered that I'm way more Call of Duty than Madden.) So with all of those yeses, this was very high on my all-time list of favorite summers. Maybe my favorite one ever.<br />
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Photographic proof of the summer of fun:<br />
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But all good things eventually transition a bit, and school started, and I'm back in adult land. Well, sort of, since I still tend to have a lot of the aforementioned fun. But it also includes making jewelry, which is also high on my list of fun things. <br />
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I made quite a bit of jewelry over the summer, I just didn't actually do anything about letting anyone else *know* I was making new jewelry. Until now, when I listed the new rings on <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpottedDogAsheville?ref=si_shop" target="_blank">Etsy</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/202344039/extra-wide-resin-ring-with-green-babys?ref=shop_home_feat_1" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikmbk0VZ1yhj_HTfVYZweTnC5KcN0P1VfK_GMFACuyrLSosKCkgshS3L132u85SVZ_WTnWAApBlnsc-d6j33YiyLkTvsOTNnPkYLEyn1vfnmBtei8NlsKhyphenhypheny8xDePKXgoY93MgeUEHI3k/s1600/100_9576.jpg" height="400" width="398" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/202317772/extra-wide-resin-ring-with-red-babys?ref=shop_home_feat_4" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Gis1YY12y3p6ijsEuYoe77kfaljyLAvJ8G1-gNueQiWHpKtzmnnQoQ_hy8Pze7HKNR6f26Zw_NKdM8mMytxl05nKSF-J2n0Gv5htJbmdBoePt9GE6LH5SvvTJbIpxze8Suoy5fbc61I/s1600/100_9555.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/202245094/extra-wide-resin-ring-with-purple?ref=shop_home_feat_3" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6affEEwh1XAMUqvYKUfSLqmD8OYluQrWPRSWwMKSfUmTzw3Uubh2ltYxz6RIbJmcLxrQRW0vc3DHxnJ-O74PaUcW1oKorL-mZGyBKVb_TJ19J43x_KYmtdL_ozjFlFT7a36a14tzNc1M/s1600/100_9568.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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I wore these all summer, and people would ask where to get them and I would say "ummmm….." So it feels a little less loserish to now have a real answer. <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpottedDogAsheville?ref=si_shop" target="_blank">"In my Etsy shop."</a> <br />
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<br />Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-85070175684998072402014-04-29T11:39:00.003-04:002014-04-29T11:39:55.766-04:00Bead Style<br />
Thanks to Bead Style magazine for using one of my bangles on their blog! <div>
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<a href="http://bds.jewelrymakingmagazines.com/reference/bead-room/2014/04/spring-inspiration-for-jewelry-makers" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPkpznyITTqw6ToHRYmvryvtxZpIELoJAw44VyA0e68HIrMVUyTxu-hhVWaiZb1YQpfxlS13e1WjvgvKHYeF0QYG-RpqjRocZ7S5U3G4xX_KAVeVjsudiv5-S2S-3EEIYl7OknitWPtw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-29+at+11.35.01+AM.png" height="272" width="400" /></a></div>
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Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-70350147848944166182014-04-25T14:09:00.000-04:002014-04-25T14:09:02.016-04:00Woods WanderingsLots of time spent in the woods here lately. Someone asked me how I spend my time, and I said watching baseball, working, and running in the woods. And that's actually a pretty fair assessment, with a few side excursions now and then. And some Pilates.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's that time of year when Biltmore gets beautiful again. And this isn't even the acres of flowers and towering castle - even random river banks are beautiful!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU2oRC7ObGJ_L3jF5kRjwo6FZotLVBk4vPbOoKLbrD18kc4PmJJnT0eckhmXgMGt2ems4XPPmbq7pM8npE6SL2lqS1vjp5Yruyu-oe1IjWWWvaunB1RQvk_A6qhZbpMYAWGWtrsaZ04DI/s1600/10155656_10151970391402854_7379851897702877204_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU2oRC7ObGJ_L3jF5kRjwo6FZotLVBk4vPbOoKLbrD18kc4PmJJnT0eckhmXgMGt2ems4XPPmbq7pM8npE6SL2lqS1vjp5Yruyu-oe1IjWWWvaunB1RQvk_A6qhZbpMYAWGWtrsaZ04DI/s1600/10155656_10151970391402854_7379851897702877204_n.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turkey Pen. Kelly and I have memorized Bent Creek so we've decided to venture out for Adventure Tuesdays. In which we. . . you know, try to find some adventure. If you consider wading across a freezing cold yet beautiful river adventurous then Turkey Pen fits the bill. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baseball player.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The baseball player and his elder have somewhat surprisingly turned into fishermen here lately. Yes they have waders and everything. Which is fortunate because mountain rivers in the spring = really cold. Sam can state that with certainly, having fallen in a few times last weekend.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiJngXcu9rlYizk95bIVT60un2FNcin_2fmJ3f58xQFyTbEJNqjYDbp2xT4RRoW3cP-D0vNU-ZXXN-tyFVRDykKGfQajtMO1R_WXTF15dW6_sDMdGTRdiW9p-TpPRochvryqeHvOwILus/s1600/IMG_0701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiJngXcu9rlYizk95bIVT60un2FNcin_2fmJ3f58xQFyTbEJNqjYDbp2xT4RRoW3cP-D0vNU-ZXXN-tyFVRDykKGfQajtMO1R_WXTF15dW6_sDMdGTRdiW9p-TpPRochvryqeHvOwILus/s1600/IMG_0701.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who me, fall in?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMWWA7qpB6sHtg8mfMuHOe4Ja5t4E_YmmSzvd2igIXvRzVx5icvX4BS3xY1gKOD3csDWt33UKTIxTMqFh6WU6z4ObKRpq7CWf52ZhZr7g5bcD5nMe0g2WSD0UT7zIMPg9YqfixsXNJVQ/s1600/IMG_0718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMWWA7qpB6sHtg8mfMuHOe4Ja5t4E_YmmSzvd2igIXvRzVx5icvX4BS3xY1gKOD3csDWt33UKTIxTMqFh6WU6z4ObKRpq7CWf52ZhZr7g5bcD5nMe0g2WSD0UT7zIMPg9YqfixsXNJVQ/s1600/IMG_0718.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pack o' Boys in the creek. The essence of youth. If you're lucky.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKB6UOgZknxUer7qvq1NxgooG0Jo5noC8jIM03Ww-n3t3DhpAn0b8-cRB6X6sojFoDWDGFE4TgubXTxc_eU1eClTmTye27rkQY4pGr7LTAbgUzME-fA7Qc2B6SQ8z7K0lOBm2yHON1stk/s1600/IMG_0728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKB6UOgZknxUer7qvq1NxgooG0Jo5noC8jIM03Ww-n3t3DhpAn0b8-cRB6X6sojFoDWDGFE4TgubXTxc_eU1eClTmTye27rkQY4pGr7LTAbgUzME-fA7Qc2B6SQ8z7K0lOBm2yHON1stk/s1600/IMG_0728.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cattail Creek.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmKo551CQhly8H1EDIKhAcO_L8F_DIZuwaV_CbrI8ALRfJlob8yeo3XGNCNpd0cDtKdgXy98J4NafM48UyLCvo2LF3b1GsE3-ZNqCVJdqxgoE1Gt55JEpEt4JlbpvmVlgeQeT_If6ToQ/s1600/IMG_3686.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmKo551CQhly8H1EDIKhAcO_L8F_DIZuwaV_CbrI8ALRfJlob8yeo3XGNCNpd0cDtKdgXy98J4NafM48UyLCvo2LF3b1GsE3-ZNqCVJdqxgoE1Gt55JEpEt4JlbpvmVlgeQeT_If6ToQ/s1600/IMG_3686.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My main running buddy. Unbeknownst to me, poodles are kick ass trail runners.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nWqY2OAja6M-4dnJ6FXkh-HBQdFt180YOdQQHpSV2Nvsrto4RUUPo9ADBZtDdG1oGOq0cQfGrl4z16B-a9a7J8oJOm484i7E4ErYwFC1U2YrayK4gAGvs3xO-3ezrDTNqUEeHd7Bc_A/s1600/IMG_3738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nWqY2OAja6M-4dnJ6FXkh-HBQdFt180YOdQQHpSV2Nvsrto4RUUPo9ADBZtDdG1oGOq0cQfGrl4z16B-a9a7J8oJOm484i7E4ErYwFC1U2YrayK4gAGvs3xO-3ezrDTNqUEeHd7Bc_A/s1600/IMG_3738.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain to Sea trail near Craven Gap. A lot of rocks, not so much actual running. But lots of fun.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJ0pKrc_FqhXhpnIEgzUCLvIqWdULqd1m5S7vnYdXXm6LXgZevYr0K4fCeg2Hd17uhyphenhyphenkD4pkBgGNTfp7edLoMqo22303JNcswDTQ2HaqtbpJjGjVrVvdcfnzH6V1UC5zNQJWjzTUwL_g/s1600/IMG_3709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJ0pKrc_FqhXhpnIEgzUCLvIqWdULqd1m5S7vnYdXXm6LXgZevYr0K4fCeg2Hd17uhyphenhyphenkD4pkBgGNTfp7edLoMqo22303JNcswDTQ2HaqtbpJjGjVrVvdcfnzH6V1UC5zNQJWjzTUwL_g/s1600/IMG_3709.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you look carefully you will see my friend's son's Flat Stanley enjoying the view.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNIFP15G4H4VQUXtYeMHGfytRiDX9QD9NCYZJ_eE5Ka39jynxbHk1fiSSzPIzYoE_Yf4ed9pDoBOqFH2Se_DdVPUtc6J_QCC7vn-ErYNdGFPUjy3a20qJt3K6Zkc4MIFdT46E7XtHJGM/s1600/IMG_3703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNIFP15G4H4VQUXtYeMHGfytRiDX9QD9NCYZJ_eE5Ka39jynxbHk1fiSSzPIzYoE_Yf4ed9pDoBOqFH2Se_DdVPUtc6J_QCC7vn-ErYNdGFPUjy3a20qJt3K6Zkc4MIFdT46E7XtHJGM/s1600/IMG_3703.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flat Stanley's legs are short. He sometimes needs a ride.<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqj2elzTRmd56oT-iUWnzeq_oX_LoxH62nflV2jAYpGvugCw8DzYr1Dr7xVNg433NjxtgsFs_BXwyN2fRBViZiERzu5pyUdWPysrkAnwGungZ83gnF400sNIWfyZFdOst5VR1mZ0rwvlM/s1600/IMG_3690.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqj2elzTRmd56oT-iUWnzeq_oX_LoxH62nflV2jAYpGvugCw8DzYr1Dr7xVNg433NjxtgsFs_BXwyN2fRBViZiERzu5pyUdWPysrkAnwGungZ83gnF400sNIWfyZFdOst5VR1mZ0rwvlM/s1600/IMG_3690.jpg" height="170" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random parkway panorama.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpVZHXRO_Vu89_XJ8tTINzHv1bz9iX_oS54mu08QQu1E7lbnhBTZgEYJSndxoBzkO_e1MIbulLwnLqd4DqZGl0HX6w3ZFcxDCi9Ep0alGKRqPSyoB0f3pIsZpZ4cqTVw2wD8bdcXqMvw/s1600/IMG_3766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpVZHXRO_Vu89_XJ8tTINzHv1bz9iX_oS54mu08QQu1E7lbnhBTZgEYJSndxoBzkO_e1MIbulLwnLqd4DqZGl0HX6w3ZFcxDCi9Ep0alGKRqPSyoB0f3pIsZpZ4cqTVw2wD8bdcXqMvw/s1600/IMG_3766.jpg" height="198" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain to Sea trail at the Haw Creek overlook rock.</td></tr>
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<br />Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-78894195432227060752014-03-13T14:49:00.001-04:002014-03-13T14:57:20.647-04:00HGTV!Remember back in January when I had the <a href="http://www.spotteddogfarm.com/2014/01/theres-nothing-more-flattering-than.html" target="_blank">"hi res photo" fire drill? </a> Turns out it was more than just a fire drill - HGTV Gardens posted the<a href="http://www.hgtvgardens.com/weddings/garden-wedding-gifts-for-the-bridesmaids" target="_blank"> article on garden gifts for bridesmaids</a> - and my necklace is front and center! Woohoo!<br />
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<a href="http://www.hgtvgardens.com/weddings/garden-wedding-gifts-for-the-bridesmaids" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzb0a-X1fe7EmPHvuPOgMOHXc9bS-t6UvFFfY9o79PWGjCVW4u5IgMKdIqogC5lis6zf8GXd92E_s2LgFd33KQahpvbcvua8Opg6FBTNOKrpOpiJJwA5Mmb-v59B2xyOdwZoS0heMC8eE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-13+at+10.35.54+AM.png" height="331" width="400" /></a></div>
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Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-33901396862363937262014-03-05T17:22:00.000-05:002014-03-05T17:22:17.810-05:00The Big CityThings have been slightly manic around here for the last couple of weeks. First I was getting ready to head out of town, then I actually was out of town, and then I was playing catch up from the out of town. So basically a 4 day trip ended up having two weeks worth of effect. But it was totally worth it! <br />
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<a href="http://roostinteriordesign.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Leslie</a>, friend since the first day of college, is getting married, and so a group of us head to NYC to do some wedding dress shopping. Because that's how she rolls. Ok, that's a lie. Heading to NYC to shop is kind of the opposite of how she rolls. But her sister lives nearby in Pennsylvania, and there was a designer that she liked with a showroom in NYC, so off we went! Like we were living someone else's life. Which is totally fun every once in a while.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpE-mcltv-DIYbHSEm0DYXGqAa1KkcTBfNTBJyxjOaQCa4xU8kLP0VlA6mHRWrYpZcXaT8oyv_B8QhC84LAgPhR_E-INRAihwbaKhDQdYl6WUy7QxGmQiIvm_SIzgHCS8bO3i5pGcknDo/s1600/IMG_3589.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpE-mcltv-DIYbHSEm0DYXGqAa1KkcTBfNTBJyxjOaQCa4xU8kLP0VlA6mHRWrYpZcXaT8oyv_B8QhC84LAgPhR_E-INRAihwbaKhDQdYl6WUy7QxGmQiIvm_SIzgHCS8bO3i5pGcknDo/s1600/IMG_3589.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's what Lancaster, PA looked like when we arrived. I'll be honest, I wasn't quite expecting this.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbIwtGPT3VIrsrVe3IbnInXxGZiIh37KSQ2C2IYf7Cghkx2dHDURXi99fCErGEPwIqWdKA18l82h0tA-y4MDht6RCYr6lHUEW_ddjjVUBmIRwUhczh2ZUaRhQWBi0ekbYqUx7ERqJcfg/s1600/IMG_3596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbIwtGPT3VIrsrVe3IbnInXxGZiIh37KSQ2C2IYf7Cghkx2dHDURXi99fCErGEPwIqWdKA18l82h0tA-y4MDht6RCYr6lHUEW_ddjjVUBmIRwUhczh2ZUaRhQWBi0ekbYqUx7ERqJcfg/s1600/IMG_3596.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But then by the time we got to NYC on Saturday the weather cleared up and turned beautiful. <br />We hit the Northeast-in-February jackpot. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjde4EjCwOWVfDL3qprLElJUelGB2wnIZ6dOJeeX8zCmUgXchYwVuSWgeHypOqWDYciENK7BtHRx-5Ffo9npuH3BHaERrmxifdJ3hQGjCbbrSL3Ii0pBvl7T5fqoerGaFBCVYEECASUZjg/s1600/IMG_3626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjde4EjCwOWVfDL3qprLElJUelGB2wnIZ6dOJeeX8zCmUgXchYwVuSWgeHypOqWDYciENK7BtHRx-5Ffo9npuH3BHaERrmxifdJ3hQGjCbbrSL3Ii0pBvl7T5fqoerGaFBCVYEECASUZjg/s1600/IMG_3626.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the (successful!) wedding dress shopping, we went to dinner at <a href="http://becco-nyc.com/" target="_blank">Becco</a>. Best. Food. Ever. Then we went to see Kinky Boots. I am not known for my great love of theater, but it turns out I made a major discovery. I don't hate theater, I just hate bad theater. Since this show just won a Tony Award, and featured actors that also won Tony Awards, this was not bad theater. And so it was great.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqLc3uLMQU_8gOl-BzUqk-14zsk9q4uer81fEMV_vieFZcareuJRFoZAfQ3UKEsVAInDhNEF7etsttYDPxKpAoTMcP829ubZOPO_jOr6vfkz6lf3PtOIFwwH0fqp9jKFn14rqgvA2ZVOY/s1600/IMG_3637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqLc3uLMQU_8gOl-BzUqk-14zsk9q4uer81fEMV_vieFZcareuJRFoZAfQ3UKEsVAInDhNEF7etsttYDPxKpAoTMcP829ubZOPO_jOr6vfkz6lf3PtOIFwwH0fqp9jKFn14rqgvA2ZVOY/s1600/IMG_3637.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then, on Sunday, we headed to Philadelphia to see Leslie's nephew's band play. If you would like to feel very, very old I suggest you go to a college bar. But before we went to the bar we went to a very good Mexican tapas restaurant. I can't remember the name, but I did take a picture of their impressive collection of Mexican wrestling masks.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVNXbjlOloDfGBkSdxizWcDnd3Od_81u6adwvGLg9e6jfNSU1dTXz13UJlbPH0rsYJJ2SdoXCFWkG41yLPCDbolNl3zveVYmqZmwzPwBNGsbmkd0jfF5gFLHYMHfHoWe5bXGdJ0Xzg6A/s1600/IMG_3643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVNXbjlOloDfGBkSdxizWcDnd3Od_81u6adwvGLg9e6jfNSU1dTXz13UJlbPH0rsYJJ2SdoXCFWkG41yLPCDbolNl3zveVYmqZmwzPwBNGsbmkd0jfF5gFLHYMHfHoWe5bXGdJ0Xzg6A/s1600/IMG_3643.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And then it was back to Lancaster for a run on Monday morning before we flew home. In the distance is an Amish farm. I was a little surprised to see the Amish family unloading groceries from Costco out of a friend's Prius, but apparently that's a thing. The Prius doesn't negate the Amish-ness if it belongs to a friend and not to the Amish themselves. Convenient, yes?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggq69cao7uxmpWPrwTrWA_Myi9OOFcBbFps7u99jfnXnAWFwBZdkfwN83xXdKVRRsHxRAWBU12sd2zaeQA-dkkWiLIRCc4BbCp8EPJy4ImT2EvDyfMw1aWta_wOzmI_1fv_HG1eYi8bXk/s1600/IMG_3642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggq69cao7uxmpWPrwTrWA_Myi9OOFcBbFps7u99jfnXnAWFwBZdkfwN83xXdKVRRsHxRAWBU12sd2zaeQA-dkkWiLIRCc4BbCp8EPJy4ImT2EvDyfMw1aWta_wOzmI_1fv_HG1eYi8bXk/s1600/IMG_3642.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lancaster is beautiful. Better than the first picture.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvtfQSse4GSKk2dnv2wyBVQMw6Ec4rsKA9SHtRGxf6Y9-_ByTICCl0tlJ0dNHSteg9hg1RdOHl3JJ5BewM4H3-vR_qt6DBT7Hlbyo5UOLwzKE6Yrfi4BFosOUlMeQseBxT2izrmhdDlU/s1600/IMG_3638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvtfQSse4GSKk2dnv2wyBVQMw6Ec4rsKA9SHtRGxf6Y9-_ByTICCl0tlJ0dNHSteg9hg1RdOHl3JJ5BewM4H3-vR_qt6DBT7Hlbyo5UOLwzKE6Yrfi4BFosOUlMeQseBxT2izrmhdDlU/s1600/IMG_3638.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PdBld-xp22H9cnDcta35viKOdgQgmXePQsC8bopU1ayucj3NYS3-sWNUu_oKhLlrBBgRWkUcWOSlJP9PgwxzyLpM7l3YnXGEbVRHSZJY0aMN5b2iOS-5emwMy0iTErU9NSemPgoHDHo/s1600/IMG_3594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PdBld-xp22H9cnDcta35viKOdgQgmXePQsC8bopU1ayucj3NYS3-sWNUu_oKhLlrBBgRWkUcWOSlJP9PgwxzyLpM7l3YnXGEbVRHSZJY0aMN5b2iOS-5emwMy0iTErU9NSemPgoHDHo/s1600/IMG_3594.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With the bride-to-be. We are expecting to do our hair just like this for the ceremony.</td></tr>
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<br />Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-89223546182598533202014-02-17T09:59:00.000-05:002014-02-17T10:04:34.276-05:00Snow Day. For Real.We finally got our snow day. We were predicted to get at least 8", and on Wednesday school was canceled preemptively. And then. . . nothing really happened. It flurried. It was cold. That was it. Sam and I walked to Pilates, had fun, flittered about. But no real snow. I got cranky. I walked around declaring "This storm is a DUD!" And then. . . natured payed me back. It *really* started to snow. (Well, for Asheville, which doesn't generally get much.) By Thursday morning we had at least 8". I was supposed to be working, but instead I tried to just enjoy it. It's beginning to occur to me that, at age 11, my time is getting shorter rather than longer for Sam to want to play with his parents, and I better soak it all in and have fun. And that's what we did.<br />
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<br />Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-65076562248871752872014-02-12T08:55:00.002-05:002014-02-12T08:57:57.558-05:00HRV - The Truth Teller<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Continuing with recent trends, yesterday was a run in the snow. If you can call what I've been doing with the <a href="http://www.spotteddogfarm.com/search/label/MAF%20training" target="_blank">MAF Training </a>running (sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't), and if you can call what was on the ground snow. It was more like a mud run with lovely scenery.<br />
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The MAF training, though, is pretty fascinating, and the <a href="http://www.philmaffetone.com/hrv.cfm" target="_blank">HRV analysis</a> is even more interesting. Basically, to analyze HRV (and thus how recovered your body is), you strap on a heart rate monitor every morning and use an<a href="http://myithlete.com/" target="_blank"> iPhone app</a> to give you a reading. So far I've decided to do whatever it says - train more - yes! Take it easy - whatever you say. And what's kind of interesting is that it's always right, and I often wouldn't have figured it out on my own. I kind of always feel like crap in the morning - I'm not a morning person! So when I stumble out of bed with the intention of running first thing in the morning, I'm not all that good at analyzing whether I'm ready to go run. Instead it's more like - of course I feel terrible, it's morning! But the HRV has said not to go and then I've ended up feeling like a zombie all day, thus proving it right. And it's said to go when I really wanted to just curl up and read trashy novels all day, and it was right again and I had a good run. So, as I told <a href="http://www.spotteddogfarm.com/2014/02/snow-day-on-bike.html" target="_blank">Kelly</a>, I'm now outsourcing all decision making. My new training plan is no training plan. If the HRV says go, then I go, and if it says don't then I don't. <br />
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This is not very much like me, but then the things that are very much like me haven't actually served me all that well over the years, so I've decided to embrace it. And. . . I feel better than I have in months. Nothing hurts. At all. Which is big news.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tiny white blob up the trail - that's Moose, my training partner. </td></tr>
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I think the best thing about the HRV app is that it forces me to prioritize and make some choices. Left to my own devices, I'll do Chisel twice a week, and a tempo run, and a track workout, and meet friends to hammer on the bike. But with HRV telling the truth about what's going on, I know that I have to pick and choose - because if I go hard too often then I'm going to keep getting a big red NO, and have to do nothing for a few days. Basically, I'm learning the lesson in my sporting life that I learned in my real life a long time ago: You can do anything you want, but you can't do everything at the same time. 41 years later, I'm still taking this in.<br />
<br />Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-83866910281853785122014-02-01T13:02:00.000-05:002014-02-01T13:02:11.636-05:00Snow Day on the Bike<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Kelly and I met at 8 this morning at Bent Creek to ride. We have a new winter rule - anything above 20 degrees is fair game. It's fortuitous that we revised our previous rule (which was flexible but definitely did not include temperatures below freezing), for two reasons: (1) it's been a crazy cold winter so far, so we'd NEVER make it out on the bike if we waited for it to warm up, and (2) it's also been a very wet winter, and it's sooo much nicer to ride frozen trails than boggy trails. Or to not ride at all because it's too much of a mess. So off we went this morning, but with a twist - in keeping with the MAF training, my heart rate was not to exceed 134. Kelly is not normally the type that wants to ride slowly, but she seems somewhat interested/somewhat bemused by my low heart rate idea, so she came along for the ride.<br />
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We weren't expecting a ton of snow - it's all melted outside of the woods. But not so much in the woods.<br />
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Which meant that not only were we CRAWLING up the hills to stay in my MAF zone, we were also creeping on the downhills because there were a lot of icy patches. Which meant this was not exactly our fastest ride ever.<br />
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In fact, when we finished we simultaneously remarked that it was the slowest we'd ever ridden a bike in our life. I'm kind of really banking on the MAF theory that you can get faster at the lower heart rate if you improve your aerobic conditioning. Because honest to God, we couldn't get much slower.<br />
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But in the category of "there's always a silver lining", we did take a lot more time to stop and smell the roses - hence the pictures. And we had a great time chatting, and now I'm back home and not sacked out for the rest of the day, which is convenient since I have a fair bit of work to do.<br />
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And, in our smelling the roses, we also found some cool ice climbing possibilities. Not that I engage in such activities, but if one did (and Kelly does), this was apparently a pretty interesting find.<br />
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<br />Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-62423469719238918632014-01-28T16:21:00.001-05:002014-01-28T16:21:37.833-05:00Experiments in the Slow Lane - MAF, Moose and I Hit the Woods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've started my flirtation with the <a href="http://www.spotteddogfarm.com/2014/01/time-to-slow-down-literally.html" target="_blank">MAF/low heart rate training I mentioned last time</a>. I don't know if it's going to be a magic bullet, but it does seem like a very nice step off my roller coaster of get injured/go hard/get injured. And the leg that I think is slightly wonky feels totally fine when tooling around with my heart rate monitor on. My MAF zone is 124-134. yes, that's low. Which means that it's slow, and theoretically, as someone who likes to work hard, I should hate this. But you know what - I don't. At least not yet. So far I just toodle around, smell the roses and enjoy the idea that I'm hopefully gaining some aerobic strength, but at least I'm not hurting myself. And I think the reason this works for people is that you're going at a low effort, so you can go long - I don't think anyone ever got a fabulous aerobic system by running in their MAF zone for 20 miles a week. And maybe I'll get there, which would be novel and interesting and fun, for the time being I'm just toodling happily along for a bit and then calling it a day.</div>
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Among other things, it gives me a good excuse to take Moose out in the woods and play. And take pictures of the frozen creek. And hike up the big hills while still in my heart rate zone! I am WALKING, and playing with the dog, and still in my heart rate zone? Ok, I'll take it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNENY0N6puGMJ8AXaaWHU-ppi-dGMBxvGRrDKpf3kLuZSQ3ximxBnmHkV7-QiQkymstTWsoBXhNHxVySFtwkiiq7AE84arAdTvYBHJg0aUIsc7AannQmIQvLZv-BsuPFzNTQwS0LbJFI/s1600/IMG_3436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNENY0N6puGMJ8AXaaWHU-ppi-dGMBxvGRrDKpf3kLuZSQ3ximxBnmHkV7-QiQkymstTWsoBXhNHxVySFtwkiiq7AE84arAdTvYBHJg0aUIsc7AannQmIQvLZv-BsuPFzNTQwS0LbJFI/s1600/IMG_3436.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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One fly in the ointment - Maffetone reallllly doesn't like anything anaerobic during the aerobic phase, and he includes any sort of body weight training in his definition. Which means Chisel would definitely not work for him.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4idIaSSt85z-cBf3LqmbxuJiu5UUJYZ9Dql2SnXTnt9pLWz-2E4zCPg2hoBkpO8gtgv8Ye3cMloR2Inxlam34vsEoLIpl6wHAXuk-Y5WCgq-C4_3DqUMvBucjObw39iqlIU2hZNa7eKc/s1600/526861_505162336268100_907015992_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4idIaSSt85z-cBf3LqmbxuJiu5UUJYZ9Dql2SnXTnt9pLWz-2E4zCPg2hoBkpO8gtgv8Ye3cMloR2Inxlam34vsEoLIpl6wHAXuk-Y5WCgq-C4_3DqUMvBucjObw39iqlIU2hZNa7eKc/s1600/526861_505162336268100_907015992_n.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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Brooke took this picture of me at Chisel a couple of weeks ago. I think mainly to document my awesome purple pants. $20 on sale at Target. Eat your heart out Lululemon.<br />
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And the lower leg has felt sort of iffy after Chisel the last couple of times, so maybe I'll take a small Chisel hiatus. He's fine with regular Pilates though, which is good because no way am I giving that up, so maybe I'll just add an extra mat class instead.<br />
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But today, I actually haven't done much of anything, because we're on an unexpected snow day. Here's the family walk we took earlier.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz05OSGqCURoR_oLETIK14ss2tfSfrDIi8cDfThxW-9JvxJ6SAjRX_vG5oIsxg27ubdyTHKFxXCfcU7iuxPBfnW5JwOg-pMExK53rsAVGnuacEWtCc1Lt3w26qIPt8rmptyId-y8-HWFw/s1600/IMG_3445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz05OSGqCURoR_oLETIK14ss2tfSfrDIi8cDfThxW-9JvxJ6SAjRX_vG5oIsxg27ubdyTHKFxXCfcU7iuxPBfnW5JwOg-pMExK53rsAVGnuacEWtCc1Lt3w26qIPt8rmptyId-y8-HWFw/s1600/IMG_3445.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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Unexpected snow days - doesn't get much better than that.</div>
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Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-46134565866042973692014-01-22T19:28:00.002-05:002014-01-28T16:22:31.897-05:00Time to Slow Down. Literally.Today was one of those days where Sam was SO HOPING for no school - but alas only got a 2 hour delay, which is sort of funny since the roads were completely dry. It is freezing, though (8 degrees, which for around here is COLD), so probably that alone was worth a 2 hour delay - otherwise there would have been kidcicles at the bus stops.<br />
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The 2 hour delay always gets my morning off to a wonky start - this morning I was going to swim Masters at the Y at 5:30, but I have a rule (learned the hard way), that I don't set my alarm for 5am if there's a chance of snow and ice in the forecast - because getting up at 5 to discover the roads are bad or the pool is closed is a quick recipe to bitterness and resentment. Strong emotions, yes, but 5 is an early and cranky hour. <br />
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The timing was also good because I'm doing a bit of evaluating on the training front (exercise front? I'm not sure what I've been doing lately could actually be called training.) Last year, coming of a 2 year (2 YEAR) foot injury, I eased myself back into it, and then started doing the<a href="http://www2.furman.edu/sites/first/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank"> FIRST training</a> - and I will say it seemed to be working well for a while. But I've had a few niggles here and there, and then in November I cramped up my calf in a track workout, and just haven't seemed able to get over it. No doubt aided by the fact that when my leg didn't want to run I just rode my uni, and rode my uni and rode my uni - and when it got sort of boring I went to the woods with the uni, which for me means a lot of off and on, and I mount the uni off of my left leg (the one with the bum calf.) The mount didn't seem to hurt the calf at all, so I didn't think much of it, but now the my whole lower left leg seems kind of tired and strained. Bummer. Which made me think, maybe what I really need to do is take a big step back and start at the beginning. I like training hard, so that's what I gravitate towards - but I think I keep doing the stuff that should be the icing on the cake, when I have no cake. I think the solution should probably be to take a big step back and build a base - which is something, in truth, I've probably *never* had. Speed and strength have never been my limiter - I mean, I went to college running hurdles for heaven's sake, which is pretty much the most speed + strength event out there. But I have no endurance base at all - which is evident in lots of ways, most particularly my struggle with nutrition/reliance on a million gels in longer rides/runs, and my ability to hold a crazy high heart rate for a long time - which probably, if I was aerobically efficient, wouldn't really be so necessary. <br />
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Sooooo, I think I'm about to take a big step back and commit to <a href="http://www.runningahead.com/groups/LOWHRTR/forum/60275b29d3324bd384739e880f6a7495" target="_blank">MAF training</a> for a block -MAF being a system in which you calculate your ideal aerobic heart rate and stay under it, no matter what. According to the formula, and my recent injury status, my heart range will be 125-135. I foresee a lot of walking on hills. But what the hell, I've tried most everything else with frustrating results. Of course, I finally found my heart rate monitor strap today and discovered that it's dead - not even a new battery revived it. I'm trying not to take that as an omen.Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-77241420544915918892014-01-15T21:07:00.000-05:002014-01-15T21:07:23.703-05:00How to Kill Your Etsy TrafficHow to kill your Etsy traffic, in one easy step. . . it turns out I'm now an expert! <br />
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It's kind of a long story -but it all starts<a href="http://www.spotteddogfarm.com/2013/12/under-construction.html" target="_blank"> here. </a> Remember how I streamlined my Etsy shop, because it had gotten out of control with multiple listings for the same pieces? The problem was some of the pieces were ready to ship, and some were in the regular made to order section, and lots of them were identical. It felt like some many-tentacled urchin creature that was slowly taking over my Etsy shop (and maybe also my life.) So I (brilliantly!) decided to streamline everything, and pull down all of the listings except for what was ready to ship. And truly, I do love the simplicity of having everything ready to go out the door after it's ordered, and also of having slightly fewer listings. <br />
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But. . . what I didn't really take into account was that some of those listings were really popular. And if I wasn't going to keep fully stocked inventory of every single one of those pieces, I was going to lose a *lot* of traffic. Because some of these pieces had a lot of favorites and Facebook likes. Here's my favorite example:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg30w2MMhM45DI7eOQN9cYjCkPDYm16-hh_t5DPgjuvEl9pWZs1dRLoncW4FfKPBtHveIgxEwlfOyNnvHnKvYsWjXF5UbSM6OI2UQlmeqG6gMBhFPhqoE420jqKI86wRQDnlLcv0YFBhPY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-15+at+8.49.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg30w2MMhM45DI7eOQN9cYjCkPDYm16-hh_t5DPgjuvEl9pWZs1dRLoncW4FfKPBtHveIgxEwlfOyNnvHnKvYsWjXF5UbSM6OI2UQlmeqG6gMBhFPhqoE420jqKI86wRQDnlLcv0YFBhPY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-15+at+8.49.07+PM.png" height="433" width="640" /></a></div>
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Yes, the listing for this rose bangle was down for a while. And if you look closely -<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnBQ1DVOPFhKXqn20i6QKQ_ggeSME8vNrq_Hkgkqm_n9cbPsa2V-h8OI7aPFO4B70hi7se8uztBOWb2PdwUZN5Ng7bwc4LFtDm0wW1roscjTkvMZeUX0KkmWYTP51aGj7JhKY6RY-xhU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-15+at+8.49.16+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnBQ1DVOPFhKXqn20i6QKQ_ggeSME8vNrq_Hkgkqm_n9cbPsa2V-h8OI7aPFO4B70hi7se8uztBOWb2PdwUZN5Ng7bwc4LFtDm0wW1roscjTkvMZeUX0KkmWYTP51aGj7JhKY6RY-xhU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-15+at+8.49.16+PM.png" height="87" width="320" /></a></div>
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That bangle has been favorited 3561 times. Which means when it's down, that's three THOUSAND fewer people who can click on their favorites and see it. Holy shit. Now combine that by 20 or 30 more listings - granted most don't have as many favorites, but it's the same basic idea. Problem.<br />
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So it seems I had two choices - either put everything back up as made to order (which is problematic for gift shoppers, who usually need something rightthisminute), or I could just stock everything in inventory and make sure it's all ready to go out the door. The second option definitely seems like the best - so that's what I'm in the process of doing now. Building up the inventory so the listings go back up - and it's working. Not too surprisingly, as more listings go back up, the traffic comes back. Lighbulb moment, folks. So. . . I suppose the moral of the story is, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Although I'm hoping the Etsy shop ends up similar but BETTER than it was before - with everything ready to be shipped ASAP. It turns out that it just takes a little time to end up with that new and improved version, since the holidays weren't conducive to immediately producing 200 ready to ship pieces. But now I'm back into the swing of it and making progress.<br />
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And by the way, I do remember that I offered to answer a few "how to sell on Etsy" questions, and I do realize that this greatly reduces my credibility. But just think, now this is one less mistake you'll have to make!Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-32614175856745397582014-01-13T19:53:00.000-05:002014-01-13T19:53:10.390-05:00Adventures in ResinThe last few days have been rather adventuresome in the world of resin. For years I've used a basic epoxy resin - and I've gotten very familiar with it. We're like old friends, or possibly a quarrelsome but basically content married couple. Resin is quirky - that's the nicest way to put it. If I'm not feeling so generous, I'd say it's maddening - just when you think you have it totally figured out it'll turn on you. Teeny little weird bubbles. Giant obnoxious obvious bubbles. Strangely inexplicably halfway full of bubbles. Basically, lots of bubbles.<br />
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To combat this, I control everything that's possible to control - temperature, curing time, mixing time etc. In other words, I parsed the resin directions like I was getting ready for a law school exam. And then I did actual experiments and took notes and tried a zillion different combinations until I had a fairly predictable system. (Yes, after all of that, the resin is still only *fairly* predictable.)<br />
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So it would kind of make you think that I'd *never* change the type of resin I use, right? That seems reasonable.<br />
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But… I keep hearing about <a href="http://www.entropyresins.com/home" target="_blank">bio-resins</a>. And their attributes sound pretty compelling. I mean, look at this: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIuzCwLLypTCG67PCcB2PcHDdOcRw_oheIinYrl6-BduI7sX7KoBxiFnqrJJRSSs5ahh-UhS7oNmsYqHsAuj_PmSrhmtphH6reVOLgGurCKZKn9FPDKLTfenwNG8kqqgku04TC52glOhs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+7.46.45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIuzCwLLypTCG67PCcB2PcHDdOcRw_oheIinYrl6-BduI7sX7KoBxiFnqrJJRSSs5ahh-UhS7oNmsYqHsAuj_PmSrhmtphH6reVOLgGurCKZKn9FPDKLTfenwNG8kqqgku04TC52glOhs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+7.46.45+PM.png" height="640" width="291" /></a></div>
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Who wouldn't want to reduce environmental impact and significantly reduce carbon footprint? I know, I do too.</div>
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So I ordered a bunch of it and have started experimenting. Experiment being the optimal word - because does it behave exactly like the other epoxy resin I have studied in such minute detail? Of course not. After all, it's resin - and resin doesn't make anything easy. So now I'm back to the beginning - keeping notes, running experiments, controlling all of the variables. Which also means that about 30 new pieces I meant to have up in my Etsy shop are not in my Etsy shop at all - they're sitting in a box marked "oops". But I think I'm gaining on it, because the last batch looked beautiful. So I'm soldiering forth with this bio-resin idea, and will report back once it's fully operational.</div>
<br />Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-12185540731394287892014-01-08T20:44:00.000-05:002014-01-08T20:44:24.183-05:00Of Swimming Pools and Magazine Editors <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhA-yU_A9ETwme6beT3xZX4jz7s2GxIGW3w9uunkdBjv_03h4gVIF0p_CIM79BVjHc1hi8z4OJ9LZIogrWv-6FBpQ40z8YLMgWHua4SZmqHVGEkm8Uw9vWp-2Oe_aMDYtHiJq78D4W_IQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-08+at+8.38.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhA-yU_A9ETwme6beT3xZX4jz7s2GxIGW3w9uunkdBjv_03h4gVIF0p_CIM79BVjHc1hi8z4OJ9LZIogrWv-6FBpQ40z8YLMgWHua4SZmqHVGEkm8Uw9vWp-2Oe_aMDYtHiJq78D4W_IQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-08+at+8.38.53+PM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's nothing more flattering than a swim cap.</td></tr>
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I did it. This morning I set my alarm for the ungodly hour of 5:05 am, and then woke up at 3:30, 4:15, 4:20 and 4:50 in anticipation of having to get up so freaking early. And then I slunk out to my freezing cold car (10 degrees according to the thermometer those reliable Swedes put in my old Volvo), and drove to the Y and forced my somewhat sleepy/somewhat disbelieving body into the swimming pool. And then, for the first time in a couple of years, I actually did a masters swim workout. And it was good - I liked the coach, I made it through a couple thousand yards, I felt super accomplished for having finished some exercise by 6:30 in the morning. Of course later in the morning I felt like a zombie, I kept desperately sucking down coffee, and at one point I was so out if I almost took a header down the stairs. But still, I'm sure in the long run I'm going to be happy to be back in the pool, so I'm going to keep it up at least a couple times a week.<br />
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And when I got back and sat down at my computer, I found an exciting message in my Etsy convos. A message from a magazine editor interested in one of my necklaces for a story on bridesmaid gifts. Perfect! Except that he needed a hi-res copy of the picture. Not perfect! Because the camera I take my product shots with is not hi-res. In fact, to be honest, I'm not even exactly sure what hi-res means, even after spending some quality time on google. But fortunately I have <a href="http://roostinteriordesign.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">a neighbor </a>(and friend of 23 years - seriously we met on the first day of college) that I thought might be able to help. <br />
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So I called and woke her up, and then went over to her house where she is currently trying to integrate her new fiancé's house full of stuff into her house full of stuff, and we dug through boxes and bags and the hooks in her mudroom, and a few kitchen drawers, and finally found all of the components to her extremely fancy camera. That's a good friend. And at the last minute she also gave me her point and shoot that she thought might work. And thank god for the last minute addition of the point and shoot, because it turns out I have No Idea how to operate the fancy camera, and I couldn't make myself go back over there and ask her for a lesson when she's trying to dig out from all of that stuff and hadn't had any coffee yet. But the point and shoot did much higher resolution pictures than my camera, so I just ran with it and hoped for the best.<br />
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Here's what I ended up with. Hopefully it works? I sent them off to the editor, and fingers are crossed I hear something back in the positive. Or even the negative if it's just about the quality of the pictures, because I'm not above bothering Leslie on another day for a tutorial on the super fancy camera.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDuMGYn1C9t-pw1QUkRyH018YETuG4UrXHbaBhOTcdB7IqPa7W1cdA0je87A-v9VldQNpeDlCA7up3LiT27llcE9UZApRWFyovFfOALwA-P_eqJD9pQ3tnrv0nNlVVB9TOX3ZlTcyf4qs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-08+at+8.33.45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDuMGYn1C9t-pw1QUkRyH018YETuG4UrXHbaBhOTcdB7IqPa7W1cdA0je87A-v9VldQNpeDlCA7up3LiT27llcE9UZApRWFyovFfOALwA-P_eqJD9pQ3tnrv0nNlVVB9TOX3ZlTcyf4qs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-08+at+8.33.45+PM.png" height="400" width="392" /></a></div>
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Soooo, let's hope for the best on the magazine. Seriously, bridesmaids love ferns!<br />
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<br />Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-37861261520275935052014-01-06T22:02:00.000-05:002014-01-06T22:02:44.985-05:00The Power of HandmadeThis is a repost from my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/spotteddogfarm" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a> today. With all of the post-holiday flurry I have had one (ONE!!!) actual workday since December 20 - between Christmas break and snow days, Sam has been home every day but one since then. Now I LOVE having him around, but it is not exactly a productivity enhancer. So I've been feeling behind on work and a little on the stressed side, which meant this was such nice reminder of one of the coolest parts of what I do:<br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXP6ZwOgHjv5hYilC82HwS3k1cHWRgyU7YTehJCjGBsnYm70VebePyDWOwY3j1TJrPVq5nf3a1YXoTBmDanJPQ_Co6FpCzZ8OR3URdOOGLBk4vnUTGAX2sn4aMOa_x3YyxowlkRYpzYn4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-06+at+9.58.17+PM.png" /></div>
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Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-23901873861152650892014-01-04T21:07:00.000-05:002014-01-04T21:07:49.033-05:00Happy SaturdayPretty great Saturday around here. Started with. . . Chisel. I'm a creature of habit, and my Saturdays almost always start with Chisel. I was smart this time, though, and swore off anything that made my SI joint open up (at least that's how I think of it.) So, no fire hydrant-ish stuff, no hurdleish stuff. But still a lot of other stuff. Here we are in all of our sweaty glory.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYl4WurYMsNmnGdZ-yoj8W1o_DbSg5wiIj7_9iwBt3FvmdNvXfwtNzJyjpj9HP3-6HlQcJBqEgB9HH36hBxJD61KaVaLwqW_0CP4ra4nzugkWTidbOjrpS_s5pFCpQ5z2hyphenhyphenBSKDbHF_aU/s1600/1469745_495922530525414_1183789415_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYl4WurYMsNmnGdZ-yoj8W1o_DbSg5wiIj7_9iwBt3FvmdNvXfwtNzJyjpj9HP3-6HlQcJBqEgB9HH36hBxJD61KaVaLwqW_0CP4ra4nzugkWTidbOjrpS_s5pFCpQ5z2hyphenhyphenBSKDbHF_aU/s400/1469745_495922530525414_1183789415_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Want a fun workout in AVL? That will leave you unable to sit the first 2 or 14 times you do it? I'll <a href="http://studioclasique.com/" target="_blank">hook you up</a>.</td></tr>
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And then while I walked home I took some pictures of street art in downtown Asheville.<br />
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And then I was all, "oh right, I have a ton of work to do!" And I sanded a bunch of bangles I poured yesterday - in fact here's the group right before I poured:<br />
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But then, instead of continuing my diligent work-ish ways, we picked Sam up from a friend's house where he spent the night, and then I played with my Facebook Ads (which I seriously think I'm about to figure out! Joy! Or at least satisfaction!), and then I went to the mall (I know, WTF?), and then I went and picked up Moose from *his* play date, and then it was 7 pm and we ate dinner and watched Breaking Bad, and now it's now and I never got any more work done. Oops. But it is Saturday, so I guess I'll let it go.<br />
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I'll leave you with Moose and his sister (host of his play date.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moose (L) and his sister Betty Grable (R.) They're from the same litter, and Betty lives with my Dad. They meet up for play dates on a regular basis, and carouse around like maniacs. They love each other.</td></tr>
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<br />Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-87880030036838194652014-01-02T21:08:00.000-05:002014-01-07T09:23:13.443-05:00Social ManiaMy first day back on the job (no husband no kid in the house) is winding down, and I'm supposed to be making jewelry right now. Instead I've been watching a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EntrepreneuressAcademy" target="_blank">webinar</a> on how to best use Pinterest, and fixing the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/spotteddogfarm/app_196248510415671" target="_blank">shop on my Facebook page</a>. Oops. My social media might've become social mania. I've been using Facebook forever, and dipping my toe into doing more than lurking on <a href="https://twitter.com/spotteddogavl" target="_blank">twitter</a>, but now I've got the bug and I've been playing with <a href="http://instagram.com/spotteddogfarm" target="_blank">Instagram</a> today too. I'm sure there's a happy medium, some sweet spot where I'm having fun interacting with people, but not turning all of my work time into internet time. Today I have clearly failed that test - no sweet spot for me.<br />
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But, in addition to all of my internet playing, I did manage to make a new batch of molds today (super shiny new bracelets heading your way!), and then headed out to Carrier Park for a little bit of uni. The river was quite high.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is from the Carrier Park side looking over at the Biltmore Estate. <br />
Also this pic is brought to you by<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://instagram.com/spotteddogfarm" target="_blank"> Instagram</a> - </span>today's boondoggle of choice. If you'd like to see more, <a href="http://instagram.com/sumnersmith" target="_blank">come find me </a>over there - and then I'll find you back!</td></tr>
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Uni at Carrier Park was about all I had in me today. Yesterday I did the "Pop-Up Chisel" at <a href="http://clasique./">Clasique.</a> Which I love, but which turned out to be just like regular Chisel, except it meant I had done it three times in five days, and thus the only thing popping was my lower back when I went into a hurdle position. Apparently my body decided it was chiseled enough. So today I very leisurely rode Thor around Carrier Park for 30 minutes, and then went to the chiropractor and had my lower back returned to its normal position, and that seemed like plenty.<br />
<br />Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-54840306581252537512014-01-01T20:13:00.000-05:002014-01-01T20:13:54.404-05:00Almost Back At ItIt's a New Year, and I'm ready to get going with it. We've had the loveliest of holidays, but I'm beginning to get that itch to be back in my routine. Clark and Sam go back to work and school tomorrow, and I'll very quietly whisper aloud that it's kind of ok with me. Not because I don't like having them home - I do! - it's just that they're too tempting when they're here. If there's a pool tournament going on downstairs I don't want to miss it! If there's a Walking Dead marathon - ok, I don't mind missing that one.<br />
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But I thrive in a routine, and that requires an absence of fun distractions to really put into play. I'm also excited about a lot of new ideas for my business in 2014, and have a (dauntingly long) list of articles I want to read, and new designs to try, and analysis to compile from last year. I suppose the downtime is good, because without it I'd still be feeling a bit sleep deprived and bedraggled, but now I'm ready to go!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Among the many ideas floating around in my head for the new year is this one - it's a big (2"?) round disc set onto a channel bead so that it slides on the wire. I've been wearing it for a few weeks and am excited to add it to my Etsy collection in 2014.</td></tr>
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One other idea I've got for the new year is to add some Etsy "How To's". I get lots of questions about how to sell on Etsy, so I'm going to start covering a few of the topics and posting them on here. If you've got any specific questions let me know, and I'll move them to the top of my list.<br />
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I'm wishing everyone a happy and joyful New Year, filled with people you love and work that inspires you. This is your life - make the most of it!Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-6345043229295418282013-12-30T20:23:00.000-05:002013-12-30T20:23:07.160-05:00When Bad Ideas Are Good<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Santa brought Clark some fishing gear for Christmas. So of course he wanted to try it out asap. And so on Saturday, when it was 37 degrees, we decided to head up to the headwaters above Lake Logan to try it out. At first blush I wasn't so sure this was a great idea. After all, even though the water isn't deep up there, its COLD in the best of circumstances - this is trout water. But what the hell, it was Christmas break after all, when all ideas are considered, and even the not-so-great ones get some follow through.</div>
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The thing is, it's really pretty near Lake Logan - I've been up there a fair bit for triathlons, both <a href="http://www.spotteddogfarm.com/2009/08/andrew-pulsifer-is-genius-or-my-race.html" target="_blank">actual races</a> and when the tri club does open water swims there every Wednesday during the summer - so I figured worst case at least we would freeze our asses off under lovely conditions. And in fact when we got there the creek was lovely indeed.<br />
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I'm probably giving the wrong impression here - in that I don't fish. I've tried, and it's just not my thing. So instead on our way out of town I got an XL peppermint mocha in a thermos, and sat on the bank drinking coffee and taking pictures. Which turned out to be completely satisfying. The boys were having a great time, I had on 48 layers of clothes so I was plenty warm with my coffee and entertained with my camera, and it was actually surprisingly fun.<br />
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And then things took a turn for the truly entertaining. Clark had to wade out into the middle of the creek, and for a second there it looked like he was definitely going to take a bath.<br />
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He bobs.</div>
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And he weaves. But miraculously he manages to stay on his feet. But his boots do not manage to stay above water. In fact the boots completely fill with totally frigid creek water.<br />
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And when the boots fill with 40 degree water, the party is pretty much over. <br />
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Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-17745887721855258472013-12-27T20:08:00.001-05:002013-12-27T20:08:59.476-05:00Biltmore <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB57Rviqp3YYtScXRdvbnWlKzDYi-ppJFwmj2fkF98laETePCnzlm9d7RHqxqGL2o93s1E41-x_wPQASA2EewmCtY4b0LriJDDaeA8EAn_HKko0Kl0iXLsKOIEWB7GX8SYDkGgRwwJ1U4/s1600/IMG_3177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB57Rviqp3YYtScXRdvbnWlKzDYi-ppJFwmj2fkF98laETePCnzlm9d7RHqxqGL2o93s1E41-x_wPQASA2EewmCtY4b0LriJDDaeA8EAn_HKko0Kl0iXLsKOIEWB7GX8SYDkGgRwwJ1U4/s640/IMG_3177.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Continuing with our vacation week, we woke up this morning thinking. . . what to do, what to do? Actually, no - that's how Sam and Clark woke up. I woke up thinking about the packages I needed to get ready to ship. But once that was done, and Sam had crushed me in bumper pool, we turned our attention to the rest of the day. And decided to head over to <a href="http://www.biltmore.com/" target="_blank">Biltmore Estate</a> to see the Christmas decorations. </div>
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I have been to Biltmore approximately 1,989,989 times. I grew up in Asheville, and for several years boarded a horse there (which is AMAZING - you can ride all over the Estate.) More recently, I spend a lot of time running there - you can run a 10 mile out and back on the river that's dead flat - which is hard to come by in this area, and perfect for tempo runs. </div>
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But, it's been a while since I've been to Biltmore when the Christmas decorations are up. And Christmas is kind of one of their things. So we went.</div>
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You can see Biltmore really brings out the gravitas in Clark and Sam.</div>
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Biltmore is so beautiful, that even this is pretty - and this is the side of the stables that you can only see from the public restrooms. </div>
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We made it through the downstairs of the house - which is where most of the decorations are - but sadly I have no photographic proof since picture taking isn't allowed in the house. We gave up on seeing the upstairs - it was crazy crowded, and we've been through the house a zillion times, so we headed outside instead.<br />
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Where Sam and I played with the panoramic feature of the iPhone. Pretty good.<br />
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And finally we hung around long enough to see it lit up at night - which was all that Sam really wanted. <br />
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Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-90740831056184134092013-12-26T19:41:00.000-05:002013-12-26T19:42:27.899-05:00Christmas RecapWe've had the loveliest of Christmas holidays. Thanksgiving can be kind of nuts around here - I always feel like we're driving around to a zillion different gatherings, and in the meantime I'm usually having one of my busiest work weeks of the year. Christmas, on the other hand, is different. I've usually hit a lull at work and am taking a deep breath and relaxing, and we don't travel around nearly as much. We do Christmas Eve with my family, and then we host a Christmas morning brunch for any family and friends that want to come over, and then usually we don't much of anything else. It's the best, and here's how it all went down:<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Christmas Eve we started what should be a new family tradition. We headed out to Richmond Hill Park and played in the woods together. Clark ran, and Sam went with me and ran while I rode my uni. It turned out to be FREEZING, and I was feeling kind of bad for dragging Sam out in it. The kid has no body fat, and he looked like he was turning blue even after I added a bunch of layers of bike clothes to him from my stash in the car. But then it started snowing and all was forgiven. Snow on Christmas Eve = fabulous, no matter the temperature.</span><br />
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Somewhere out there Sam and I ran into Clark, and we took some pictures.</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">This is one my favorites. If you look closely you'll see Sam peeping out from behind the tree. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Once we got ourselves out of the woods we started prepping the brunch we were going to serve on Christmas morning. We procured sausage at the new <a href="http://www.katuahmarket.com/" target="_blank">Katuah Market</a> - it just opened, and is owned and largely staffed by the same folks that ran Greenlife before it sold to Whole Foods. It was like old home week seeing all of the familiar faces, and is beautiful. Of course since we live within a 2 block walk of Greenlife/Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Harris Teeter, our grocery cup overfloweth and we don't usually need to get in a car and go looking for yet another grocery store. But I did like Katuah and will no doubt be back.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Lots, and lots, and lots of sausage balls. And a few other things. French toast figured prominently. And some <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/03/eggs-in-hash-brown-nests/" target="_blank">hash brown/egg cup things</a> that seemed to take about 400 times longer than promised, but were actually pretty good.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Christmas Eve with my family - woohoo! </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Our tree on Christmas Eve night. It looked basically the same on Christmas morning, except it wasn't dark outside and the pictures therefore looked kind of weird with all of the lights.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Let the present opening begin! Moose was really fascinated by the poodle ornament. Strangely perceptive, or strangely delicious smelling? I'm going with the latter.</span><br />
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Yes, that's my cat in a military portrait. I cannot stop laughing. Thanks to Clark and Sam and Skymall, this now has a place of honor in my studio.</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Christmas brunch with the family and friends - all of that sausage-ball making pays off.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Bumper pool tourney after the brunch. Family competitiveness never takes a break.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">And after brunch. . . more uni in Richmond Park. Like Groundhog Day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And then Christmas dinner with Leslie and Ed - for which I made <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake-recipe/index.html" target="_blank">my very first ever cake</a>. Seriously. I had so little idea of what I was doing that I had to watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARm5oDzaMAA" target="_blank">a youtube video</a> to figure out how to properly prep the pans. But the cake itself was (and I'm loathe to toot my own horn here, but…) AMAZING. I attribute this entirely to (1) Ina Garten and (2) my ability to follow directions, because as I've mentioned. . . I have no idea how to bake a cake.</span></div>
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Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. (and a good beer.)Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-13544153452710407102013-12-21T14:32:00.000-05:002013-12-21T14:32:10.754-05:00How to Make Your Baby Look Like a Badass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Holiday orders have slowed down a bit, which means I finally take a deep breath and feel the Christmas spirit in the air. We're having friends over for dinner, I went to <a href="http://studioclasique.com/" target="_blank">my favorite Pilates class</a> this morning, and I'm lolling about watching Sports Center like a sloth right now. Perfect. <br />
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One of my favorite parts of the holiday slackerdom is that I get a chance to pick up my knitting needles again. Which reminds me of one of my all-time favorite knitting projects.<br />
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<a href="http://roostinteriordesign.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Leslie</a> and I have been friends since the first day of college (and now live a block apart), and she's a gooood gift-giver. So a few years ago when another of mutual friends, Meredith, was pregnant, Leslie decided to commission a truly unique baby gift. Meredith and her husband Pete are big Johnny Cash fans, and Leslie thought it would be cool to translate that into knitwear (because wouldn't everyone think of Johnny Cash and baby knitting as a logical connection?)<br />
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So I looked at the iconic Johnny Cash pictures. I thought about trying this one, but something about it didn't quite say "baby".<br />
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So then I moved on to this album cover:</div>
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And then I got out the graph paper, and the light box (I mean my kitchen window), and came up with a pattern. And then. . . I eventually came up with the finished product.<br />
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And actually, considering that I was working with wool and knitting needles, I was pretty surprised it turned out as well as it did. My current projects aren't quite as elaborate - think cable knit mittens, instead of badass baby gear - but I'm still really looking forward to getting back to them.<br />
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<br />Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-5831731682569180582013-12-17T22:21:00.000-05:002013-12-17T22:21:09.377-05:00My One True Love<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> I totally stopped and asked some very nice, unsuspecting biker to take this picture. I couldn't quite bring myself to tell her it was for a blog, so I told her it was for a friend. It's not a total lie, we're friendly, right?</td></tr>
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All this talk of the uni was making my one true love feel neglected. Well, that and the fact that he's been hanging in the bathroom untouched for the last. . . month?? Eek, how did the holiday order crunch do that to us? Never fear Flash, I still love you.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4L5_xBM_WqsDrzldrACK51T7HnLI8vwqaF9T5MucHKB4BLAkm6Ys0i66kKqBs29C1ktL6SuVYzzHb6HUmpEWqIMef6VOpYbcwUaHmmXaObIo1CrQHUyXiuT_tTxQG4OO_mb7zwitPFlg/s1600/IMG_3007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4L5_xBM_WqsDrzldrACK51T7HnLI8vwqaF9T5MucHKB4BLAkm6Ys0i66kKqBs29C1ktL6SuVYzzHb6HUmpEWqIMef6VOpYbcwUaHmmXaObIo1CrQHUyXiuT_tTxQG4OO_mb7zwitPFlg/s640/IMG_3007.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look! I'm actually wearing a full bike kit! For the first time in weeks!</td></tr>
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To prove my love, Flash and I headed out for a quick ride today. You know it's 60 degrees in December when the parking lot at Bent Creek is full at 2:00 on a Tuesday.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1XtDnZpmdfwyJc_KHQ3c2mycP94pczlLzpwtgpZK1XErPj447DzZmCOFmAaXwXWmQyrWt6ziJzrRu13pBSjkKrd0T_pUmYj6MEb8EkKBAAmYLu2hxPLMbtivD8X2M_DZuro0WKZ20Hs/s1600/IMG_3004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1XtDnZpmdfwyJc_KHQ3c2mycP94pczlLzpwtgpZK1XErPj447DzZmCOFmAaXwXWmQyrWt6ziJzrRu13pBSjkKrd0T_pUmYj6MEb8EkKBAAmYLu2hxPLMbtivD8X2M_DZuro0WKZ20Hs/s640/IMG_3004.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proof - 2:00 on a Tuesday and the parking lot's full. Doesn't anybody work in this town?</td></tr>
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The weather was dreamy. The trails. . . not quite so much. They've been frozen, so when you add 60 degrees to frozen trails you get that lovely trail condition known as grease. Eeps. So after trying one trail, Flash and I stuck mainly to the fire roads. Still totally lovely. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigePv0tLG9j1aG6ET8DEGwSpn2Mf9FMgVz0hXHInY4lbKeRM9DQVZ2jTMFnU0rEJ6Fia3N7LT2byGHVg07zR-qIC81mr9xInDWgfEPQD_6VwRWsZEKNmEaUfLSFowbcms6KP9E26SHFeI/s1600/IMG_3009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigePv0tLG9j1aG6ET8DEGwSpn2Mf9FMgVz0hXHInY4lbKeRM9DQVZ2jTMFnU0rEJ6Fia3N7LT2byGHVg07zR-qIC81mr9xInDWgfEPQD_6VwRWsZEKNmEaUfLSFowbcms6KP9E26SHFeI/s640/IMG_3009.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Powhatan.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiColVZvTrSTEDeaNo3xL0gj5JXoyC9fzTDI00vnYLVZl27yuXfEIKktIwJ-AgzwpG_PyK029ZSvZ-bqqvt1zbbyN5gKNrD0an0xvBTUTzvwQGPhzma0TlSMFMA6Mtq00wo9AzCZAKwLA8/s1600/IMG_3011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiColVZvTrSTEDeaNo3xL0gj5JXoyC9fzTDI00vnYLVZl27yuXfEIKktIwJ-AgzwpG_PyK029ZSvZ-bqqvt1zbbyN5gKNrD0an0xvBTUTzvwQGPhzma0TlSMFMA6Mtq00wo9AzCZAKwLA8/s640/IMG_3011.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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The thing about Bent Creek is, the views are beautiful, but not cleared out enough to be conducive to pictures that would provide proof. But if you'll just trust me, the mountains are lovely, and there's a tiny white speck in this picture that is actually The Biltmore House. Fun.<br />
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So what'd I do with the rest of my day? Mainly lots of this:<br />
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Playing Santa and packing lots of orders. And if you've had the kind of November and December that I've had, then this makes you very, very happy:<br />
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Yes! More Priority Mail envelopes delivered from the post office! My level of excitement over these reminded me that December is not exactly an average month. But it's still a really fun one.Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-22925940511149256642013-12-16T10:47:00.000-05:002013-12-16T10:47:46.083-05:00The God of Thunder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQ36kREmUCqbdTpV2NSUwept_LZWeukTLMbx5agjS2UfWTheV25aJ5Fwz94Bp_tqKy5Rb8zl9_4ayQz5yJFvIn2M35XCfjjIiVZO7jbnTA3eZOY1JHitgf6Mm2WmLB-LJ36Oyh2jUhY4/s1600/IMG_2973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQ36kREmUCqbdTpV2NSUwept_LZWeukTLMbx5agjS2UfWTheV25aJ5Fwz94Bp_tqKy5Rb8zl9_4ayQz5yJFvIn2M35XCfjjIiVZO7jbnTA3eZOY1JHitgf6Mm2WmLB-LJ36Oyh2jUhY4/s1600/IMG_2973.jpg" height="640" width="484" /></a></div>
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So last year, when my foot was not operational for running, I found myself at loose ends. Bored. Out of sorts. I needed something to fill the void, and it turned out what I needed was. . . a unicycle. I've always liked the idea of them - I mean, they look fun, right? If also a little strange.<br />
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Unicycles have been floating around in my mind for a long time, and then one day last year I just did it - walked into Second Gear and bought a starter one. And then the fun started. If you call crashing into things for weeks and weeks fun. It was seriously like watching a baby learn to walk. If the person doing the watching was a dog walker at Weaver Park, and I was the baby. It was *weeks* of getting on and jumping off, and getting on and falling off, and getting back on. The crucial part for learning to ride a unicycle (and anything else, I suppose): the getting back on. And of course I looked like a complete lunatic - a 40 year old woman in full knee and shin guards learning to ride a unicycle in a public park. So the dog walkers started by just observing in silence, while their thoughts echoed loudly (WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OVER THERE???) But eventually familiarity breeds contempt, or at least familiarity, so as the days wore on they started commenting as well "hey you almost made it that time! Good job! I think you're looking better!" Seriously, the whole situation was comical. <br />
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But eventually I started to get a tiny glimmer that it might work. Holy shit I made it halfway across the basketball court! Omigod I almost made it around the baseball field!<br />
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So then, of course, I started to want a bigger, more adventuresome steed. My starter uni had served me well (and been blessedly close to the ground when things went awry), but what I *really* wanted was not to entertain the dog walkers, but to head out into the woods. So my bemused but supportive parents got me a mountain uni for Christmas last year. <br />
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Meet Thor: The God of Thunder. Here we are on Christmas Eve.<br />
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Why is he named Thor you might ask? Because look at that tire. It's huge. Much bigger than anything I've ever run on my mountain bike. Thor is ready to kick some ass.<br />
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On Friday Thor and I headed out to Richmond Hill. I still spend a fair amount of time on paved bike paths, because it's convenient and easy, but Thor and I keep venturing out a little further into the woods too.<br />
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At Richmond Hill I do a lot of riding on the old road beds, but Thor and I are starting to get our shizz together. Yes, we're on the trail marked "beginners and kids", but I keep telling him that the important thing is that we're on a trail at all. I mean, it's a freaking unicycle.<br />
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Although. . . roots and rocks are starting to be a little less intimidating, and I'm getting the hang of holding the seat to stay in one unit through deep mud puddles and unexpected bumps. (my previous strategy for these obstacles - shooting through the air like a lawn dart as Thor remained at the obstacle and I remained at our previous speed. Usually I land on my feet from these dismounts. Usually.)<br />
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There's pretty much nothing more fun than a uni in the woods. You're going slow enough to really see what's going on, but it's still interesting enough to be entertaining.<br />
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Here's the obligatory forest selfie from Friday. <br />
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Let's be honest though, this picture came while Thor and I were stopped and taking in the scenery. My skills definitely do not yet extend to riding and picture taking at the same time.<br />
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<br />Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16860911566893222.post-14905239765592381612013-12-13T17:25:00.000-05:002013-12-13T17:25:36.810-05:00A Boy and His Dog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Meet Moose. He's a poodle in the guise of stuffed animal. He also is apparently invertebrate, based on the way he stretches out for a nap. Like his spine is a slinky.<br />
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So the way it works in Spotted Dog Land is that after dinner I return to my lair (aka studio) and Clark and Moose stretch out downstairs on the sofa to watch a little television. And in order to keep our marital bond strong, we occasionally text back and forth. (I know! You're blown away by the romance!)<br />
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Clark's favorite topic for the nightly check-in is the Sleeping Moose Selfie You'll notice a certain pattern in Clark and Moose's night.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGPy0KHveONLkL-kju08VPlnNohpNkX6G8vpeX-CPcn9BxSiMFvMuhNft9X7GgFvi4Za46Mna30S0eR3wrXImZA3YIONGoFet39JsEQvx0OVPkVotnujXq-kBnVAnVUZ-Mhk_mAG05TEY/s1600/IMG_2966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGPy0KHveONLkL-kju08VPlnNohpNkX6G8vpeX-CPcn9BxSiMFvMuhNft9X7GgFvi4Za46Mna30S0eR3wrXImZA3YIONGoFet39JsEQvx0OVPkVotnujXq-kBnVAnVUZ-Mhk_mAG05TEY/s1600/IMG_2966.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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After a while I commented on how serious they both are. So the next few nights Clark added some enthusiasm to the project. Makes all the difference.<br />
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<br /><br />Sumnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416915221051614608noreply@blogger.com2