How To Make Do When You Have To Do Without

Hello, friends! 

In the midst of my mom's recovery from open-heart surgery, my daughter Melanie and I came to Pennsylvania for a few days to attend a dear friend's wedding.  Our trip had been planned for months, while my mom's surgery was planned just recently.  We decided not to cancel our trip, as my brother Mark and my step dad Dan were holding down the fort in our absence.

Our plan was to fly home today, but Hurricane Sandy had other ideas.  By Saturday, we learned that our flight had been canceled.  While we are stranded in Pennsylvania, my brother is stranded in San Francisco, as his flight home to Nepal was to have gone through New York.    So now Melanie and I have an unexpected bonus two days in Pennsylvania, giving me two more days with some family and friends.  We are hunkered down at my cousin's house with plenty of food, water, and other emergency supplies.  

Meanwhile, there has been no skating in my life for over a week and won't be for a number of days in my future.  This is the longest I've gone without skating since January of this year.  So what to do?

First of all, I am counting my blessings for my brother and step dad keeping an eye on things with my mom.  She is recovering quickly and is in good hands, having been released from the hospital to a rehab facility a few days ago.  

Secondly, although I am jonesing to go out for a long skate, I am appeasing myself with the knowledge that I have made skating such an integral part of my life that I know I will jump right back into it as soon as I can.  I'm relaxing and enjoying a bit of a break, eating all the yummy foods of my childhood: ring bologna, Philly cheese steaks, pizza, Tastykakes, and Aunt Barbara's chocolate cake (see recipe below).

I am also enjoying just hanging with some family and friends.  Today for instance, we hunkered down inside, watched endless mindless TV interspersed with updates on Hurricane Sandy, played cards, and howled over funny YouTube videos.  Here's one I particularly liked...it makes me cry with laughter every time I view it:

Click here for the video "Every Infomercial Ever"

So while this is where I can't wait to be skating...

...instead I'm practicing the life skill of patience.  I know my skates and my trail will be waiting for me when I get home and get my mom settled back into her home.  Will my muscles be a bit squishier and my desire to skate more intense by the time I can get back out on the trail?  Perhaps.  Will I get back to my favorite exercise knowing that the interruption was just a temporary blip?  You bet!

Keep skating! 

Nancie ♥ 

My last skate (9 days ago!):

10/20/12 

Skate #143

Lafayette-Moraga Trail 4.52 mi

Aunt Barbara’s Extra-Rich Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bring to a boil in a saucepan:

1-1/2 sticks butter

1 c. water

Sift together in a bowl:

2 c. flour

2 c. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

Pour hot mixture over dry ingredients.  Stir.

Add to bowl:

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 buttermilk or sour milk (to make sour milk: put 1/2 tsp. vinegar in a measuring cup, fill to 1/2 c. mark with milk, stir)

Beat together.  Pour into a 9 x 13 pan and back for 20-20 minutes at 375 degrees.  Do NOT over bake...it may seem a little undone in the middle, but this is just right.

While cake is still hot, sift together in a mixing bowl:

1 lb. sifted confectioners sugar

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa

Bring the following to a boil in a medium saucepan:

1 stick butter

6 T. milk

Remove pan from heat, pour over dry ingredient and stir.  Add 1 tsp. vanilla. (If desired, add 1 c. chopped nuts such as almonds, pecans or walnuts.)  Beat until well mixed.  Pour icing over hot cake and allow to cool.

This cake is fantastic when served with cold milk.  

Seizing Opportunity...Making Hay While the Sun Shines

Hello, friends!

Sometimes life situations get in the way of doing what we want to do.  In my case, I've been prevented from skating as much as I'd like by a combination of life events and weather.  That's just how life is.  It's like that John Lennon quote:

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."  - John Lennon

We can't control what life throws at us, but we can control how we respond to it.  

For instance, our Bay Area fall has been so warm and sunny, but last week we had a couple of wet days.  It sidelined my skating and made me realize that there would be no-skating days ahead as our wet winter arrives.  And when it comes to skating--at least for me--there's no such thing as just a little moisture.  Even the slightest bit of wetness on the trail means that I can't skate.  

I learned my lesson on this score last spring when I accidentally slid through a puddle and ended up flat on the pavement face first.  (Okay, to be honest I was doing some hot dog maneuvers around some puddles...I could have easily avoided them but I was showing off a bit and was thinking to myself, "Damn, I'm looking pretty great at this...I wonder if anyone is watching what a good skater I am?"  Then I hit the puddle, skidded and "splat!"  I was glad no one was actually watching!)

Anyway, I didn't get to skate for about three days in a row last week and I was starting to feel a bit antsy.  As I prepared for my mom's open-heart surgery this week, I knew that I had to make every opportunity to skate as soon as the pavement dried.  

Here's a self-portrait I took
while skating earlier this week.

And skate I did!  I skated 4 days in a row for a total of over 20 miles.  I felt so satisfied that I haven't even minded missing the last 2 days while camping out in the hospital for my mom's surgery.  Which brings me to the lesson I've learned: take every opportunity you have when it presents itself, because you don't know when the next opportunity will come around.  For me this applies to finding time to skate, creating a new piece of jewelry, or spending time with those you love.

If life is what happens while you're making other plans, then make sure you are ready to capitalize on whatever it is that does happen.  

My mom, Jane, right before surgery.
She'd be upset with me if she knew I
posted a picture of her without her makeup.

By the way, my 88-year-old mom's surgery went off without a hitch Wednesday and she is doing better than anyone could have expected.  And now I'm making the most of the opportunity to spend time with her, my stepdad Dan, and my brother Mark, who has delayed his trip back to his home in Nepal for her surgery.  

My mom and Dan, laughing at something funny her
anesthesiologist said.  She is so great--she's about
to have her chest split open and she can still laugh!

It surely wasn't our plan for my mom to have to go through this procedure at this time, but I'm trying to see it as a wonderful chance for all of us to have a close shared experience, and I'm making the most of that.  And when my next opportunity comes around to hit the trails again, you can be sure that I will seize that opportunity too.

As they say, "Make hay while the sun shines."  And in my case, skate while the sun shines.

What opportunities do you want to take advantage of?

Keep skating and tell somebody you love them!

Nancie ♥ 

Click here to see my online jewelry shop

10/16/12 

Skate #142

Lafayette-Moraga Trail 5.40 miles

Patterns While Skating: Wheels!

Hello, friends! 

Have you ever noticed that once one event happens, a string of events seem to follow in the same pattern or theme?  That's how it's been for me lately where it relates to wheels. (I've also got a pattern developing with one of our cats and a skunk, but that's another story and a pattern I hope won't extend past the 2 encounters we've already had in the last month!)

Case in point where wheels are concerned:  last week, I picked up a screw in the tire of one of our cars, necessitating a trip to Big O Tires.  No big deal, although I first tried filling the tire with air more than once, hoping I delay dealing with it.  No dice!

Then the next day I was out skating, and one of the wheels on my favorite rollerblades started sounding like the bearing was packed with sand...more like tiny particles of dirt, but enough to make it sound like metal grinding as I skated.  This is my favorite pair of skates and the only ones I feel comfortable skating the hills with.  Have I mentioned I'm addicted to hill skating...I love the speed.  It really gets my adrenaline going.  Yee-haaaaa!  Sometimes it's exactly what I require.

The best solution to my troublesome wheel would have been to remove the wheel and clean or replace the bearings.  Not having the required cleaning kit or extra bearings, I did the next best thing...cannibalized parts from one of my other pairs of skates.  This is where having 3 pairs of skates comes in handy!  Problem solved--or at least postponed for another day! 

(Note to self--order cleaning kit, extra bearings, and, while I'm at it, a new set of wheels...for inline skate supplies I love the site Inline Warehouse.)

Unbelievably a day or two later, I took one of our other cars into the shop for regular servicing and was told that we needed 2 new tires.  It wasn't a total surprise, but seriously, what's up with me and wheels lately?

The universe was not done showing me that this is the month for wheel and tire maintenance.  Yesterday I was again skating the Lafayette Moraga Trail on the steepest part...the only part that I need my brake for...and my brake picked up a small stick and lodged it against my rear wheel.  When this happens, the stick essentially acts like a chock on that wheel, locking it into a stopped position.  Normally, the forward momentum of the skate on the pavement breaks the stick and releases the wheel or at least merely slows down the wheel, but not this time.  This time, the stick was lodged in so well, that the wheel would not turn even a tiny bit.  I had to make an emergency stop, take off the skate, and dig the stick out.  All this on the fastest part of the downhill.  All part of the excitement, my friends!

I'm hoping I'm done with wheels for a little bit!  In the grand scheme of things, I realize that these problems are tiny.  I'm just wondering if there is some message here for me and what it could possibly be.  

Speaking of round things, here is the exercise ball I use for stretching and also as a fantastic ergonomic chair when sitting at my jewelry bench or working on the computer.  It is the largest size they make.  It's been so great for my back and my posture--I recommend it.  Plus look at that pretty color:

click here to check it out at Gaiam.com

Remember, keep your tires inflated properly, rotate your tires, rotate your rollerblade wheels, and clean your rollerblade bearings every once in a blue moon....or keep some extra wheels on hand!

What patterns are you noticing in your life?

Keep skating!

Nancie ♥ 

P.S. If you have a skunk encounter, here is a good recipe and instructions for dealing with it:

Click here for directions to deskunk a pet

Click here to see my online jewelry shop

10/9/12 

Skate #138

Lafayette-Moraga Trail 5.22 miles

(Fastest mile ever today: 4.31 minutes)

How Do You Play?

Hello, friends! 

"Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game."  - Michael Jordan 

What do you like to do to play?  I like to skate, make jewelry, decoupage--basically gluing things to other things!--play board games, hang out with friends.  Like the dessert I talked about in my last blog, play keeps you young at heart, enlivens your spirit, takes your mind off sad times.

Early yesterday morning, our family was jolted awake with one of those phone calls nobody wants to receive.  My father-in-law, Dick Giedlin, had suffered an apparent heart attack outside his home in Virginia Beach and had been rushed to the local emergency room.  Sadly, soon after that initial call, we got word that he had passed away.  

Dick Giedlin was an amazingly warm, generous, smiling, funny man.  He took his responsibilities seriously, but he loved to laugh and enjoy those around him.  From the moment I met him as my future father-in-law, he treated me like family.  I was lucky to have had him in my life, in my husband's life, and in the lives of my children.  How would he respond to sad news like we received upon hearing of his death?  He would have grieved, of course, but he would make sure to keep enjoying life and the people around him. 

My way of handling the sadness was to strap on my skates and hit the trails.  Did it make me any less sad than I had been?  Not really.  Did it lighten my spirit and allow me to think of all the wonderful memories I've shared with my father-in-law and not dwell entirely on the sorrow?  Yes, it did.  

Here is the bridge next to the trail in Moraga where I like to skate.  Those wooden slats can be a bit tricky, so I had never before gotten the nerve to skate across this bridge and into the Commons Park.  I didn't really know what lay on the other side.  Today, knowing that I needed a bit of a boost, I gave it a try.  To my surprise, it took me to a part of the park I had never seen before.  Just the playful mood-booster I sorely needed.

In Memory of Richard John Giedlin 1929-2012

Tell your family and friends you love them, and don't forget to build in some time for play.

Keep skating! 

Nancie ♥ 

Click here to see my online jewelry shop

10/3/12 

Skate #134

Lafayette-Moraga Trail 4.54 miles