Friday, August 29, 2008

Who Decides?


> More in the Perspective Series

Morning Commute


Context
Originally uploaded by Kitty LaRoux.

This morning I boarded the Q-train as usual at 7th Ave. in Brooklyn. I glanced down and noticed grass wrapped around each of the poles that run up the middle of the car - just little patches of wheat grass. It was lovely and unexpected and passengers smiled when they saw the grass. I noticed other people photographing and sketching it, and heard one woman comment that she wish she had coloured pencils with her.

When the train stopped at 14th St., there was an announcement of a brief delay so that one of the cars could be cleared because of vandalism. We gathered ourselves and shuffled off the train amidst quiet comments of "bummer" and "that sucks," and most of us continued our commutes on the R-train that had pulled in across the platform.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Twenty-Six Minutes

That's how long it took me to run 5km tonight. I know, I was shocked too! At the beginning of July I raced that distance and proudly clocked in at 29:20. That, my friends, is a vast improvement, and one of which I am quite proud! And while I have a reputation as a purveyor of baked goods and lover of all things orange, I am not known for my sub-9-minute miles.

Hilariously, as I entered my mile splits (8:24, 8:17, and 8:32, plus 0:52 for the last 0.1) I realized that running faster means you get to stop running sooner. And stopping running sooner means you get to eat ice cream sooner, which is really all the incentive I need.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Size Does Matter

About a month ago I was at Anthropologie browsing their delightful bits (holla Ali!) when I came across these little glasses that cost all of $3 or $4 each. I think they were meant to be juice glasses, but they looked like the perfect size to hold a tiny summer parfait. It worked out just fine, don't you think?


(I haven't been quite as ambitious as the lovely and talented Miss Amy, who's making her own frozen treats this year, but this store-bought variety is really delicious.)

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Not Wishing It Was Over

Further to Saturday's post about feeling like a runner, tonight I went for a quickie around Prospect Park. Often when I run the park I find myself hoping it'll be over soon, dreading the North hill (situated at the very end of my run), and sometimes even pausing to walk a few steps because I'm bored/distracted/tired.

Tonight, though, I felt wonderful. I felt present and alive and strong. I smiled at the other runners and the cyclists and the people congregating in the meadow to watch a late-summer movie. I noticed a lone firefly in my path and several bats overhead, silhouetted in the sunset as it became twilight. I found myself hitting my stride on the hill, and when I reached the end, I sprinted home feeling almost euphoric and craving more.

In other words, I felt like a runner.

Reminder

Resemblance

A couple of sites I read linked to Yearbook Yourself today. I went through all the years and I have to tell you, my 1960 image's resemblance to my mom is startling. Mom, if you have a yearbook photo from when you were 16 I think we need to compare it with this:

Saturday, August 16, 2008

An Even 14

This morning I laced up and met the TNTers (plus a rogue fellow from work who's training for the NYC Marathon and had decided to join us) at 7 a.m. to take advantage of another of Mayor Bloomberg's awesome ideas, Summer Streets. We started in Brooklyn and ran across the Manhattan Bridge, then covered most of the 7-mile closure of Park Ave., with a detour to go across the Queensborough Bridge and back.

View Interactive Map on MapMyRun.com

Throughout the run I remarked at how great I felt, even after 14 miles, when I mostly stopped running because I had other things to do - not because I felt like I needed to stop. That feeling was new to me, that whole thing about liking running and maybe even being a runner.

Me? A runner? That's so weird.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

I'll Tumbl 4 Ya

I'll be your baby
I'll be your score
I'll run the gun for you
And so much more

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Slashfood'd!

Check it out, yo! My apricots picture (below, top right) was featured on Slashfood on Monday!

They were delicious, by the way - I'm going to make them again tonight.

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Grillin' Like A Villian

1. Perfection, 2. Sunny Side Up, 3. Drizzled, 4. Bean & Tomato Salad

I'm not sure what the best part of having a backyard is, but having a grill is up there. Tonight for dinner I 'cued up a turkey burger and corn on the cob, and then tried my hand at grilling apricots for dessert. Delish. The sides are a bean & tomato salad (both of which I picked up at the farmers' market yesterday) and spicy mixed greens from a pot in the backyard. The basil in the salad is also homegrown. I love summer.

Love and Ice Cream

Two weeks ago I attended the wedding of my good friends Heather & Doug in Townshend, VT. This was my first trip to VT, though neither my first nor last tryst with the state's most notorious residents. God I love those guys.

Anyway, Heather & Doug asked me to take a few photos for them and I uploaded them to Flickr last night (with minimal processing; learning Lightroom is on my to-do list).


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