Commence Level Five

 
First day of level five- Joan the Author! It came in with a whimper because I had to get up without enough sleep after last night. Now I feel like you-know-what, but I'm going to bed very early with the hopes of being able to operate at rocket speed tomorrow.

You saw the little notebook that I purchased over a year ago to replace the level four one. Today I ordered a new messenger bag. I won't have it right away. I had it shipped to Loretta's and I'll pick it up there on my trip because I'm leaving Monday. Yikes! That's why I need rocket speed tomorrow. Anyway, with careful shopping, I think I've got myself a really nice leather messenger bag for a very reasonable price. This is my retirement/birthday present to myself. I think it looks like it cost about twice what I paid. This is just the online picture.

It's smallish- but big enough to fit a clipboard. That was critical. And it will contain those pesky things that are too big and numerous to stuff in pockets, and tend to slither away when stacked on the clipboard.



Here's why I needed it. On the way out the door this morning, I was struggling to find a bag in which to put my little notebook, checkbook, clipboard, etc. I've totally finished off two book-backpacks at the most recent job. They were both already well-used when I put them into service at the paper, but between the dirt and rough handling at the Daily News, one is completely done- trash can level.

The other was already beyond looking good enough to look professional. It's still OK for some things. It was actually a good-quality backpack that I bought at the beginning of level four- grad school. But I've repaired it several times and replaced the main zipper once. It's great when filled with books, but is just an off-balance wad when filled with odd-sized things. And filthy. Not going to give me a professional look. And that's a look on which I need all the help I can get. My favorite small tote bag is also beyond hope for looking good. Needs repair, badly stained and beat up. Diagnosis- new bag time. One good enough to make me look and feel more like I know what I'm doing.

I had also purchased, in the middle of level four, a Duluth Trading Post Engineer's bag. I really liked that, and carried it a LOT, but the canvas gets dirty and some of the hardware wore out. I still store some things in it, but it's also beyond professional.

I'm hopeful this new purchase will stay cleaner. I carefully avoided any canvas or polyester exterior surfaces because we know what I can do to them. A little treatment of the leather on occasion should keep this looking good.

So where was I going this morning? Out to the Shagway Arts Barn to do paperwork for the current season and spend a couple hours with cleanup and organization. Enough people showed up that we really got things in pretty good shape.





It's ready for artists to start bringing their items in for display. I'll do that when I get home from this trip.

Now it's back to bed. Groan... but I am cheered by knowing that there won't be any more Saturdays like this!

	See A Piece of the Next Level See The Road Ahead to Level Five
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A Piece of the Next Level

 
A writing friend posted a meme on Facebook a few days ago that says "Every next level of your life will demand a new version of you."

That sort of spoke to me since I've been somewhat in transition to what I'm defining as level/version five, and I don't know exactly what it looks like yet. But, oddly, saying goodbye to a small mundane piece of level four was more emotional than I expected. You will chuckle at me. Go ahead. I had no idea myself that it would feel so sad until I tossed the item in the trash. So I hauled it out to take a picture and document this passing.

Here's the item I'm saying goodbye to.



Yup, it's just a small notebook. But I kept all my calendars, personal records, to-do lists-- all that stuff-- in there through level four which included grad school and being totally self-employed.

I've tried to use electronic calendars. It's not that I'm a technophobe (not at all, you know), it's just that my life and the way I work doesn't fit into ordinary calendars. I'm a project person. I've devised a personalized project planner over the years, and it doesn't work like a calendar.

Anyway, I did find one on-line calendar that was working pretty well for me, but every time my browser updated it would dump all the data, and I'd have to go recover it. At first this was just annoying. Then I missed an important meeting, and also A SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT because of that fatal flaw.

That did it... back to paper for at least that part of my life. But the little gray notebook, which I love, has reached the end of its life. It's only fake leather and the finish flakes off on my hands whenever I pick it up (feels nasty). The binder rings still work, but the spine is broken.

I started looking for a replacement months ago, but the company I got it from only makes one style and color now, neither of which I like. A few days ago I decided to see what I could find on eBay. Score! It had to fit all the blank notepages I already have (and I have the hole punch to make any kind I want). It had to have some pockets in the cover. It had to be at least fake leather, because the cheap vinyl covers just don't last and they don't hold as many pages. It had to not be black (ick). OK, it's red, which is pretty low on my list, but it's not bright red; I'm thinking of it as cordovan. Humor me. It's used, but in great shape and even with shipping was under $20. Lots less than the new one I didn't like. Also fake leather, but it looks and feels pretty nice.





Both notebooks photographed on my newly cleaned-off desk- part of the big sorting project I've been doing this week.

Now if I could just get all the rest of level/version five to come into focus...

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I Cleaned and Baked, Just for You!

 


OK, I'm lying. I baked for Om and me. However, I did clean up the cabinet for you. I didn't want to take a picture for the blog with it as messy as it was looking.

On the Minnesota hike I was fatally tempted by a new cookbook. Why, I'm not entirely sure, since I've all but abandoned kitchen duties here. All I can say is that I was suckered into it by how wonderful the restaurant is where it was for sale. The location is called "Betty's Pies." It's just north of Two Harbors, Minnesota. If you are ever traveling up the North Shore, don't miss the opportunity to eat here. Of course their specialty is pies, but you won't be disappointed with their sandwiches either! We always eat there when we are in the area. So, with "fruits of the forest" dancing on the backs of my eyeballs, I bought the book, full of recipes from the many successful decades of Betty's Pies.

What was I thinking! Om has been startlingly disciplined on his restricted diet. I sure don't need to bake desserts when I am the one who needs to eat the whole thing... because... I will, of course.

And yet, there in the book was a recipe called "Chocolate Zucchini Bread," and it's summer. You know that means that there was zucchini in the refrigerator. So last weekend I used our "standard" adaptations to make recipes healthier and made the two loaves the recipe produces. WELL! It was SO good, more like cake than bread, that we had to slice it up, package and freeze most of it so that we could be disciplined enough to ration ourselves.

With one more zucchini left, I made another batch today. If you are curious, the changes we make are:

• use Smart Balance Shortening instead of whatever fat is called for
  
• replace half the sugar with Splenda
  
• leave out the salt
  
• replace the eggs with Egg Beaters (I use store brand)

Here's how it came out.
I also went for a 10-mile bike ride today. I've been working up to this because my hike at the end of the month will require me to spot myself with my car and bike each hiking day. I say "working up," because you may recall that I came home with a stress fracture. It seems to be healed! (holding breath and being good) My leg wasn't sore today, but I iced it for a while anyway, just as a precaution. Next time, I'm going to ride 10 miles, but more on dirt roads. I was mostly on pavement today.

	See Trying New Recipes - Always an Adventure
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Spooky Symphony and other Tricks and Treats

We went to GR last night and met up with Jason M. who got us in to the Symphony as guests on his student pass for $5 each! Om said, "Nobody dresses up for concerts anymore," so we went in jeans. I saw 5 people in jeans and we were three of them... o well!

We got to spend some time with friends Fred and Margie H, and son Dan too, since Jason is bunking at their place! We went out for dinner and chose an Italian Restaurant where Om and Jason had eaten lunch. Well, the dinner menu is quite a bit different (more expensive) from lunch! We finally decided that instead of leaving (they had already brought our bread basket) we just ordered soup or salad! Jason had beef tortellini, I had carrot-ginger, and Om had an endive walnut salad. The tortellini broth was very thin. I think I got the best deal with the creamy carrots, and the endive must have been hearts or stalks... it was long shards of white rather than curly green stuff! But Om bravely ate it and said it was good. I am continually amazed at his new fearless attitudes toward foods!

On to the symphony. The musicians were very good, and it's always great to hear live music! I didn't think most of the pieces were very spooky, but most were new to me, so that was fun. My favorites (given the Halloween theme) were Kikomara by Liadov, and The Miraculous Mandarin by Bartok. Kikomara is a theme based on a small Russian monster with a head of a thimble and body of straw. The Bartok piece is music for a play which is so lurid that it is rarely performed even 100 years later. But the music fit the theme well. And they also did Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain... always a winner.

Afterwards we went back to where Jason lives and ate a little more food. I got to try something new... one of my QD Elements. He had dried kelp from the Asian foods store. It was terrible! unless you like melt on your tongue green dead fish taste! So now I know I don't need to buy any of that! The best was pumpkin malted milk balls (instead of chocolate). Also a new experience and they go on the treat list, rather than the tricks.

I think the best of the best was reading about the composers in the program. It seems that I can place myself among the greats. Here's what it said of Mussorgsky. "Modest Mussorgsky was the most individual composer of the lot of five innovative Russians. He was undisciplined, had a drinking problem [not tested, but I'm sure I could develop one if needed], and rarely finished any of the many compositions he started." Sound familiar? I'm still chuckling. Turns out he didn't even finish Night on Bald Mountain. It was finished after his death by Rimsky-Korsakov who described that effort as "difficult, and for two years I could find neither the form, the key-scheme, nor the scoring." But thanks to R-K's persistence, we now enjoy this piece which has become so familiar.

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Trying New Recipes- Always an Adventure

 



Since I'll be continuing my temp job painting an apartment this week I wanted to make enough good food to see me through the week. If I come home too tired to fix something I'll just grab something really junky to eat, even though I prefer some good veggies or something. So today I made a pot of Gypsy Stew from the Moosewood Cookbook. Trying to do too much at one time, I overcooked it a little, but it's pretty good, just not so pretty to look at, as it would be if the colors were still bright. And I was brave and even added the tofu. It's ok, doesn't taste like much of anything really.

Pictured with the soup are Carrot Sweet Potato low-fat Muffins. I'll actually be eating those for my breakfasts. Now these are a loser on two fronts, but I'll eat them anyway. First of all, I thought I was trying a new recipe, but discovered when I was all done that the values were already in our big nutrition data base... so much for new. But why hadn't I made any notes on the recipe card? Who knows... I should have. They are pretty low on my list of favorite muffins, and they were a lot of work too.

The big winner was more Pumpkin Bread which we already knew turns out to be quite good on a consistent basis. No exception today. Yum!

So, I made a list to do all this cooking for today, and finished it by 3 pm, with the kitchen cleaned. That's a big accomplishment!

	See Maybe I Finally Have the Hang of It
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