More Vegetables, Please

For various reasons we have been trying to eat a more vegetable based diet, with the more prominent goal of cutting back on fats, oils, and especially dairy. They all sort of go hand in hand. We are not vegans, which I don't think is that healthy, and we flavor dishes with a bit of meat so technically we're not even vegetarians, but that's not the goal here. A bit of lean meat is okay. We also eat a lot of fish, but all in all, we have definitely embraced a more plant-based approach. This means tons of fruits and vegetables, and more beans than you can imagine. Soups and grains help us get through a meal, and being the cook in this household it's my job to come up with things novel and tasty throughout the week. Everyone is good natured about this and nobody complains, partly because they will incur the wrath of dad, but also because mom and kids appreciate the effort. It helps to make the food taste good.

Consequently, meal planning a whole heck of a lot more challenging, but with greater challenge comes greater reward, right? I've found that things like whole grains and beans can be made pretty tasty with a little olive oil (not too much), vinegar, and salt. What else do you need? As I mentioned, soups are a great way to be a vegetarian, though I tend to add a slice or two of ham to flavor it. Even still, gone are the days of meatloaf and ground beef tacos. Meat definitely makes a meal a lot easier, but who wants easy? Not us, that's for sure. Plus, when it's just N and I, usually traveling for hockey, we usually grab cheeseburgers or beef burritos, so we're hardly living the vegetarian life. It's at home where we put on our vegetarian hats, and so far it hasn't been too bad.

We'll how long this lasts, but part of me thinks it's going to work out okay in the long term. One bump we're going to hit is with the holidays, but engorging ourselves on meat every now and then isn't such a big deal, is it? Just eat an extra portion of broccoli and you're on your way.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to David Stanley for the pic.

Dancing Days

In the quest to find some aerobic activities for A, we are looking into dance classes over at the college and came up short. Most of the stuff is for experienced and college aged people, which I think A could handle but it might be logistically challenging. Plus, I'm not sure how comfortable she would feel, though she's a good dancer and I know she'd be fine. There are potential options through the homeschool pipeline, though I've found them to be difficult to peg down and in some cases I've learned that they're a bit pricey.

Well, mom went out and did some investigating and found a Zumba class that is offered through the rec department (or something like that) at the college. It's reasonably priced, not filled with old people like me (it's mostly college-age people), and according to the girls, it's a blast.

Mom and A take the class together so it's a nice opportunity to have mom/daughter time, so it's a win-win situation. As long as everyone else is happy, then I tend to be happy as well. The net result is that everyone is happy. Don't you just love when that happens?

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Jeremy for the pic.

Snow Tire Dilemma

I managed to get my snow tires on the car, and the guys at the shop told me I have more tread on my all-seasons. I guess they were suggesting that I keep my all seasons on, which is a bummer because it also implies that it's time to get new snow tires. Last year when I took the snow tires off, I asked the guy if I could get another year out of them and they said yes. I was stoked because they are an expensive albeit necessary acquisition. I took their word to heart and didn't plan on getting new ones, even though even I could tell that they were on their last leg.

Now that they've expressed some concern, naturally my neurotic OCD is kicking in and wondering if I need to get new ones. My dream scenario would be to get one more year out of these snow tires, but the biggest concern is that A is driving a lot now, and she doesn't have a lot of experience in these conditions. Saving money is important but what good does that do you if you're compromising safety? Maybe I should start a GoFundMe drive.

We'll see how this goes, but I'm leaning toward getting new ones at some point. The conditions are only going to get worse from here on in, and I just don't think it's worth the risk. One major bummer in all this is that it makes me less enthused about the coming snow, and I love the snow.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to crosslens for the pic.

Quiet Campus

Speaking of slowdowns, everything around here seems to be slowing down, especially the college campus. I didn't realize this but the students here at Dartmouth get what seems like 6 weeks of vacation time over the holidays. This seems excessive to say the least, but the students are probably stoked about it. I guess in a way it makes sense because otherwise they would take Thanksgiving off, come back, and simply head out again over Christmas, so why not just leave at Thanksgiving and come back in the new year? I can tell you one thing, I sure as heck never got that much time off in college. Then again, I went to a school that didn't coddle you like maybe a school you're dropping $45,000 a year might. For me, it was survival of the fittest, and believe me when I tell you that it was a dog eat dog academic environment. I probably could have used a little coddling back then.

Either way, the one nice thing about all of this is that the campus is amazingly quiet. Sure, there's not as much going on, but it's not as if I do much anyway. Traffic lighter, parking is a breeze, and in some places I get the facility all to myself. I love when that happens.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to minerva1891 for the pic.

The Big Slowdown

The holidays are upon us and like every year they seem to come out of nowhere. Chalk it up to a busy life, or something like that, but I honestly never see the holidays coming and suddenly it's time to get a tree. Maybe it's due in part to the weather, which has been uncharacteristically mild, with little in the way of snow.

Whatever be the case, one thing that does get my attention is that employment dwindles, and in some cases, comes to a halt. Work at the Inn has pretty much non-existent because nobody wants to get married in dreary November weather, though I personally like the moody ambiance. Then again, I also like east coast beaches in the winter. The holidays also mean that school is out so poster boy work is on break, as well.

There are two ways to look at this situation. On the one hand, it's nice to get a break, because in addition to domestic duties, which can be extensive when you're training to be a real man, the kids have school and various activities that require transportation, not to mention parental participation. Plus, it's nice to be able to all have supper together on a regular basis, which is something we really work hard on maintaining and seems to be lacking in the modern family.

On the other hand, it's hard not making the fat paycheck that helps us support our fabulous lifestyles, especially with the holidays et al. What this means is that we just have to live a little more sensibly, not that we don't already do this, but also maybe I need to get my fabulous freelance career off the ground. We'll see how this goes.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Juliet Kay for the pic.

Photo Op

We have an older digital camera that we use for everyday usage, not to mention pics when we travel. It's about 5 years old, which in new technology means that it's beyond ancient, and truth be told, even I acknowledge that we could use an upgrade. The camera uses 4 AA batteries, so for a small point and shoot, it's on the bigger side. This makes it a little less convenient when we are traveling or out and about, mainly because it doesn't sit well in my pocket. When we travel I try to keep it there and if I'm wearing shorts, they inevitably get pulled down. If I'm wearing jeans, forget about it.

Now I know I'm whining about first world problems and there are bigger issues that deserve my attention in this world, so I didn't put too much time or resources into it. In fact, I didn't put any, figuring I could just use our old camera and deal with it. For all intents and purposes, it still works, though I've been led to believe that digital cameras have a finite lifetime.

When we were heading off to a trip last spring we were debating whether or not to upgrade our camera but as usual, with the overload of information, didn't know where to begin. Since mom is a photographer she consulted with one of her associates and he not only recommended a few models, but offered to lend us one of his "spares." He's a pro so he has multiple cameras, and the one he lent us was a nice. It fit nicely in my pocket, took awesome pics, and charged like a smartphone or laptop - you simply plugged the thing directly into the outlet, alleviating the need to replace batteries. This is the modern way to go if you don't have a smartphone, which you may have guessed we don't have.

Well if you can believe this, after our trip he mentioned that we could simply keep the camera, he never uses it. I wasn't sure how to respond, but he insisted, and now we have the camera we (or at least I) was hoping for. I feel sort of guilty because it's not a small gift, but am also grateful because it was a generous gesture.

I guess in the end I should stop over-analyzing it and go out and take some pictures. What a great idea.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to peterwoelwer for the pic.

Fat Logs

Splitting wood can be a chore, though I enjoy it a lot. There are, however, limitations in my ability to split certain blocks of wood, especially when I'm dealing with hard maple or really knotty logs. I can tell just by looking at it that it's going to be difficult, and sure enough, when that maul blade hits the surface, it bounces off like it was rubber. It's really amazing how tough wood can be, going along the grain, no less. This is even more impressive when you've somehow managed to split the block in half and you still can't split it any further - the first split often compromises the grains so every subsequent split becomes easier.

I could definitely split most of the pieces given enough time with a wedge and sledgehammer, but at some point you have to get on with your life, and spending 10 minutes on one piece of wood is not worth it. Before I was able to borrow a splitter I would simply put these fat logs aside and eventually they would just rot out in the woods. Kind of a waste but what was I supposed to do?

Well, I realized that in many cases, I could burn them. I piled them on a pallet in spring and let them dry all summer, than in the fall put them in the basement. As long as they were reasonably dry they would burn nice and slow, helping to keep the house warm overnight. Usually there are coals glowing in the morning, which not only makes it easier to get a new fire going, but the stove is also warm. I'm not a big fan of having a raging fire going and then leaving the stove alone, but on the nights when it gets below zero degrees, it sure is nice to have the fire going as long as possible. Plus, I don't have to waste the pieces of wood that are too hard to split, which breaks my heart.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Andy Bowen for the pic.