spring
April 30, 2011
The season’s first bit of broken blue eggshell.
Posted by jodi on April 30, 2011 at 9.02am
why so quiet
April 29, 2011
A deadline coming up means the usual scramble to finish some new work. These newly woodblock-printed fabrics are currently hanging up in the studio, waiting to become skirts:
Which I will be bringing, along with books and other wonderful and amazing things, to the Made in Windsor spring show on Sunday, May 1. If you’re down this way, you should come! I’m hoping to make a little bit of scratch so I can buy more tattoos, but don’t tell my mom.
Bonus: it’s happening in the God Loves Students church. Aw yeah.
Posted by jodi on April 29, 2011 at 1.21pm
in which twenty minutes is an awfully long time
April 25, 2011
(weekend workout update, y’all)
Monday, April 18
Couch to 5K week 5 day 1: [5 minutes run, 3 minutes walk] x3.
5 sets of push ups with 60s rest in between: 12, 14, 11, 10, 16 (minimum of 16 for the last set), for a total of 63 push ups.
Tuesday, April 19
15 minutes on the bike, hill profile, level 12.
Free weights grab bag workout, 2x through the following:
-10 wide front pull downs, 130lb
-10 narrow front pull downs, 140lb
-10 lunges, front and back, 2 x 20lb dumbbells for the first set, 2 x 15lb second set
-12 barbell rows, 60lb
-biceps 21s, 2 x 20lb dumbbells first set, 2 x 15lb second set
-12 upright rows with squats, 35lb kettlebell
-10 hammer curls, 2 x 15lb dumbbells
Cool-down: 10 minutes on the treadmill.
Wednesday April 20
Couch to 5K week 5 day 2: 8 minutes run, 5 minutes walk, 8 minutes run.
5 sets of pushups with 90s of rest in between: 14, 16, 12, 12, 17 (minimum 18 for the last set, but I just could. not. push it out), for a total of 71 push ups.
Wednesday evening: 2 hour skating practice.
Thursday April 21
15 minutes on the bike, hill profile, level 12.
Free weights grab bag workout, 2x through the following:
-12 triceps push downs, 90lb
-10 front barbell raise, 14lb bar
-15 sumo squats, 35lb kettlebell
-12 each side bent over rows, 30lb kettlebell (30lb is around 14kg, so this is up from lifting 12kg before)
-10 military press, 2 x 15lb dumbbells
-12 overhead rope pulls, 50lb
To keep in mind for next time: this workout was too easy and Tuesday’s was too hard, so the exercises need to be arranged differently.
Cool-down: 10 minutes on the treadmill.
(Friday: day off/gym closed for stat day)
Saturday, April 23
Couch to 5K week 4 day 3: 20 minutes of running. You guys. I have never done this before IN MY LIFE. I’d had a rough couple of days and wasn’t emotionally ready for this, but I don’t look ahead at what the runs will be so I didn’t know what was in store until I was on the treadmill. Right after Podcast Lady told me how long I’d be running for, Peter tapped me on the shoulder to remind me about stretching and I nearly bit his head off. At the end of the 20 minute run I very nearly cried. Then I pulled myself together, went upstairs and did:
5 sets of push ups with 120s rest in between: 16, 18, 13, 13, 23 (minimum of 20 for the last set). For a total of 83 push ups.
I’ve been noticing some changes in my arms lately. When I pull my arm across my chest to stretch the shoulder, it doesn’t seem to want to go as far as it used to because a strong meat-on-meat pressure between deltoid and pectoral is getting in the way (don’t worry, I promise I’ll stop if my arms ever get so meaty they won’t hang straight down my sides anymore, okay?). Also, when I do my late-night flexing and preening in the bathroom (NO IT’S NOT a daily ritual! Pretty close, though) I’m seeing a prominent indent between deltoid and biceps that wasn’t there before. It’s there when not flexing, too. It makes me hopeful that in another few months I’ll have reached my short term vanity goal, which is to have A Pair of Kick Ass Shoulders (something I’m okay focusing my efforts on now that I’m well on my way to my long term health goals, namely Not Getting Heart Disease or Osteoporosis).
Posted by jodi on April 25, 2011 at 7.26pm
projects tend to drag on around here
April 21, 2011
This china cabinet came to our house with its veneer already destroyed from years of water overflowing out of flowerpots in my dad’s farmhouse kitchen. Sitting for a couple more years in our damp basement pretty much sealed the deal. So what is probably my first ever furniture restoration project is really not so much a restoration but more of a remaking. What’s most important to me about the cabinet are the curved lines and the red trim (and the lovely red decorative inserts in the window glass, which aren’t shown in any of these photos as the doors are still sitting in the basement waiting for their turn with the orbital sander), so I was willing to cover up a once-lovely finish with a whole lot of paint in order to salvage the form of this piece.
In August the cabinet came upstairs and had its veneer stripped off. This photo was taken with the doors removed and the top (most damaged) veneer already peeled away, and you can see pretty clearly in the rest just how bad the damage was. While I sat pulling veneer away in huge water-stained strips, my neighbour called across from his porch that there was no way I could save this cabinet. Hah. He knows more than I do about fixing stuff, perhaps, but less about my persistent nature.
(yeah, we got the ten dollar plastic box of mixed herbs from the grocery store and then left it on the porch until one by one they all died. That’s what everybody does with those, I think)
It took me a few weeks of waiting out bad weather and neighbours’ yard sales (nobody wants to be the jerk running power tools when somebody’s trying to have a yard sale next door, right?) to get the whole thing sanded, after which it sat under a tarp until the fall weather got wet enough that we brought it in to the front room (my so-called home studio). Where it sat for a really long time.
In January, it got some coats of primer. Shiny!
(I almost forgot to take a photo of the primer, and only remembered after starting to apply the first coat of paint. Hence the streaky black patch, there)
It sat in the front room for a few more months in between coats of black paint, until the day before we were having a party. Because right before throwing a party is when all big chores get done. I applied the final coat of paint to the main cabinet, a first coat to the three drawers, and took a somewhat messy first go at retouching the red trim, then moved it into the dining room and filled it with our collection of bar glasses, stacking Japanese coffee mugs, and booze.
(because clearly every photo needs its parenthetical aside: please note that the fake brick wall in this corner of our dining room, like so much else in this house, is only temporary. Remnants of past owners we haven’t yet had mustered the energy to rid ourselves of)
Still to come: another coat of paint on the drawers, sanding and painting of the drawer handles and doors, touch-ups on the red trim (and some sort of glaze to tone the red down a bit). My deadline for that is the first week of June (yep, that’d be right before the next party).
Posted by jodi on April 21, 2011 at 11.32am
turn me loose
April 19, 2011
Posted by jodi on April 19, 2011 at 3.07pm
in which she indulges in a little bit of canada’s favourite pastime
April 18, 2011
Snow in April is hardly unheard of in Southwestern Ontario, but way down here in the Sun Parlour we’re usually the only ones not getting it. So this is a nice surprise so long as it goes away quickly, right? I may have spoken too soon this morning when I told somebody I’d rather have half a metre of fresh new snow than one more day of those 65km/hr winds. It seems some of this snow is sticking.
On the forsythia:
On the rhubarb, garlic and chives (yes, they’re too close together, I KNOW; that rhubarb is moving this year, I promise):
On the tulips!
On the irises:
Posted by jodi on April 18, 2011 at 12.09pm
weekend workout update
April 17, 2011
Monday, April 11:
Couch to 5K week four. Week four is quite a jump from week three, with the runs arranged thus: 3 minutes running, 90 seconds walking, 5 minutes running, 2.5 minutes walking, repeat (total of 16 minutes running). This week it finally felt like a challenge.
5 sets of pushups with 60s of rest in between: 10, 12, 7, 7, 12 (min. 9 for the last set) for a total of 48. This is down from last week, because the week three workout is determined by a test at the end of week two, to see how many push ups you can do before collapsing in exhaustion. In the test, I could only manage 17, which bumped me down a bit in the workout. I’m not in any hurry though, and trying to take it easy on my wrists so the RSIs don’t flare up again. Besides, last week I was struggling to make the bare minimum on the final sets, and this week I was consistently over the minimum. So: progress!
Tuesday, April 12: 20 minutes on the bike hill profile, level 12.
Weightless A routine, which is supposed to be 5x through the following exercises, but I could only manage 4. Looking back a few weeks I only got through it 4 times last time as well.
-15 squats
-30 bicycle crunches
-12 push ups (for the first time, I’m doing “real” push ups in this workout instead of from the knees. Because I can do them now!)
-20 scissor kicks
-lunges, 15 each leg: 5 front, 5 back, 5 side. This was in place of the usual burpees, because I’d been feeling some pain in my right knee from the running.
-20 seated abdominal twist
Followed by a one time finisher of 60 plank runs.
Cool-down: 10 minutes on the treadmill.
Later Tuesday night I did a one hour power yoga class. And ended up with a sore left wrist again.
Wednesday, April 13:
Couch to 5K week four.
5 sets of push ups with 90s rest in between: 10, 12, 8, 8, 15 (min. 12 for the last set), for a total of 53.
Wednesday night: two hour derby practice with the Border City Brawlers. Which will eventually be a decent workout for me once I can actually skate. Progress this week, though: last time I couldn’t even figure out how to propel myself forward from a standing position without pushing off something (seriously, this is how much I cannot skate at all, y’all).
Thursday, April 14: 15 minutes on the bike, hill profile level 12.
Kettlebells, 2x the following:
-25 swings, 12kg
-12 each side 1-armed squat press, 8kg
-15 dead lifts, 20kg
-15 sumo squats, 16kg
-15 each side Gaspari’s crunch, 12kg
-15 upright rows with squats, 16kg
-12 overhead extensions, 12kg
-16 seated abdominal twist, 8kg
-12 each side bentover rows: here I tried raising my weight from 12kg to 16kg but could only manage 10 each in the first set, and went back to 12kg for the second set. Next time I’ll grab the 30lb kettlebell from the other room, which is in between 12 and 16kg.
-15 jumping jacks after every two exercises through the first round and then not again until the end of the second round.
Cool-down: 10 minutes on the treadmill.
Friday, April 15:
Couch to 5K week four. This time it started to feel easy, just in time to move on to week 5. Perfect.
5 sets of push ups with 120s of rest in between: 11, 13, 9, 9, 16 (min. 13 for the last set), for a total of 58.
Saturday, April 16: day off.
Sunday, April 17: 20 minutes on the bike, hill profile level 12.
Once around the gym circuit of six weight machines:
-Leg extension, 75lb (up 5lb from last time) x12
-Leg curl, 80lb x 12
-Lateral pull down, 135lb x 12
-Chest fly, 80lb x 12
-Chest press, 80lb x 13
-Shoulder press, 40lb x 12
Cool-down: 10 minutes on the treadmill.
Posted by jodi on April 17, 2011 at 7.23pm
za’atar chips
April 17, 2011
I know everyone’s on the edge of their chairs waiting for another chilling installment of the weekend workout update, but first! This.
Do you ever have one of those lazy Sunday afternoons with the house to yourself when you’re feeling vaguely exhausted even though you didn’t really work very hard at the gym at all, and you get a hankering for something just a little bit junk-foodish but not actually too bad for you? And also you have a few pieces of stale pita bread in the cupboard that are too stiff for wrapping around or dipping into things anymore? We all have that exact same day, I’m sure. This is a snack we don’t have often, mostly because I rarely eat bread anymore. We eat it all the time at camp, though, where outdoor living makes the pita bread go stale pretty much right as soon as you buy it.
Za’atar spice is a mixture of thyme, sumac and sesame seeds. We’re fortunate to live in a neighbourhood with a large Middle Eastern population, so there’s no shortage of shawarma counters and halal grocery stores and bakeries within easy walking distance. If you don’t have access to a grocery that stocks za’atar spice it’s fairly easy to find online. (You can make your own, but if nobody near you sells za’atar then you might have difficulty finding the sumac too). If you do go looking for it at your local Middle Eastern grocery, keep in mind that it’s often packaged in bags that just say “thyme” or “thyme spice”; you can tell it’s za’atar mix and not just the za’ater herb (thyme) because you’ll be able to see the sesame seeds all through it.
What you’ll need:
-a couple of pieces of pita bread; stale is good, but fresh is okay too
-a couple of tablespoons of olive oil
-za’atar powder, probably about 1 tablespoon per pita for large loaves, half a tablespoon each for small loaves
How to make the chips:
First, cut your pita bread into wedges. You’ll want to make them smallish, about half the size you’d cut them into for a hummus platter (so precise!).
Heat some olive oil on high heat (be careful! olive oil doesn’t like to be that hot and will start smoking if you look away for even a second) in a heavy bottomed enameled or nonstick frying pan. Toss in the bread and stir it constantly until each wedge is at least partially crispy and brown. When the chips seem sufficiently crispy and have soaked up all of the oil, turn the heat off and toss with the za’atar spice until good and coated. That’s it! Easiest not-too-unhealthy snack ever.
Here’s a salad recipe posted a few days ago at one my favourite food weblogs, FatFree Vegan Kitchen, that uses za’atar. I’m going to try it later this week.
Posted by jodi on April 17, 2011 at 3.44pm
quick and dirty pasta variation: roasted tomatoes and eggplant
April 14, 2011
Ever since the end of August there’s been a huge container of quartered Roma tomatoes taking up valuable real estate in our fridge-top freezer, the last salsa batch’s worth of a bushel that I didn’t quite have time to can up before our Labour Day weekend camping trip. Inspired by the roasted tomato base in this appetizer recipe (which I made last weekend for a party, to rave reviews), I got them out of the freezer yesterday and popped them in the oven. While they bounced back just fine from being frozen, there was quite a lot of water that had to be poured off the pan halfway through the cooking and it was kind of a mess. So I recommend using fresh tomatoes, or thawing your frozen tomatoes fully and draining them well before roasting.
Wednesdays are Claire’s night to make supper, but while she’s still learning how to cook I get to tell her what to make every week. I had her whip up a variation on the simplest pasta dish (oil, garlic, herbs, noodles) to use up some of the tomatoes. It’s not something you need a recipe for, but here’s an approximation of one anyway.
The stuff:
-Roma tomatoes; I probably had about 8 cups’ worth of quartered tomatoes in the freezer, enough to do a six-pint batch of salsa. Only half of them wound up in this dish so you could get away with 3-4 cups of tomatoes, trimmed and quartered
-one eggplant, peeled, quartered lengthwise and sliced (about 1/2cm thick)
-one onion, diced
-a couple of cloves of garlic, pressed
-extra virgin olive oil
-sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
-dried basil and oregano
-cayenne pepper
-whatever kind of pasta you like; we used flat spinach noodles
-three of four good-sized leaves of fresh basil, shredded (optional)
To roast the tomatoes: preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread out your quartered tomatoes (it’s okay if they’re all mashed together, they don’t need a lot of breathing room) and brush them generously with olive oil. I probably used a quarter cup to do two very full trays, which is probably too much oil but whatever. Sprinkle them with salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Roast them for at least an hour, or closer to an hour and a half if you like some of the bits to get a little blackened, like I do. Please keep in mind that your fresh tomatoes might get cooked faster than my waterlogged frozen ones did, and set the stove timer for 30 minute intervals to check on them.
Here is my attempt to photograph myself grinding pepper over a tray of tomatoes (just look at all that liquid in there, eek):
While that’s going on, prepare your eggplant and fry it in a nonstick pan on med-high heat, with lots of oil, stirring it until it’s nicely golden all over and starting to caramelize in places. FYI, y’all, this is not a low fat meal. Once the eggplant’s almost done you’ll want to add a little bit of salt and pepper to it, then set it aside.
By this time you should also have your water on for pasta so that it can be cooking while you’re doing the rest, which is fairly quick.
Now get out your big heavy bottomed soup pot and heat up EVEN MORE olive oil (holy smokes!) on medium heat. Fry the onion with a pinch of cayenne pepper until translucent, then add the garlic and cook just a minute or two longer. Throw in a pinch of dried basil and oregano (or whatever other Italian-type herb combination you choose) and add the tomatoes and eggplant. Go ahead and put whatever oil is still hanging around the bottom of the eggplant pan as well, because at this point you’d might as well. And it’s tasty.
Drain your cooked pasta, stir it in, and there you have it! The easiest meal ever made with the most amount of pans. Oh, and stir in the fresh basil, if desired, right before serving. Throw on some parmesan cheese at the table if that’s your thing; the non-vegans in my household (that’d be everyone but me) say it’s better that way.
Posted by jodi on April 14, 2011 at 3.37pm
tear down this fence
April 12, 2011
This afternoon saw some progress on the latest demolition project around here:
The truly sad state of this fence, aside from the fact that it is the ugliest kind of fence, isn’t apparent in this photo. Were you, dear reader, to view this fence from the vantage point of the gate you would see a line that lists violently from side to side seemingly in a desperate attempt not to topple completely. The two largest trees have either pushed the fence boards into the yard at the bottom (second tree in from the left) or grown around the boards altogether (second tree in from the right). The gate, which latches into the corner of the neighbour’s fence, is either too tight to close without scraping or too loose to remain closed, depending on the season’s swelling of the wood. And of course, because nobody in the history of this house has ever done a job on it that wasn’t completely half-assed, all of the boards are slightly different lengths, some of them full centimetres off from their neighbours (far more than can be accounted for by having weathered twenty plus Canadian winters).
So this afternoon, off came those boards! And straight into the trailer, destination: city dump. The frame will wait for another day while I figure out how best to dismantle it; I’d half hoped that one good pull would bring the whole thing down, but it’s not far gone enough yet for that to be possible (although I easily pulled down many of the boards with one hand). The fastest way may be to saw the pieces in half and then just wrench them loose. At any rate, here’s the current state of things:
The temporary lack of privacy is already skeeving me out a little. The plan is to remove some of the trees (before mulberry season to spare our new car) and then replace the fence with a low wall of concrete screen block, and replace the gate with a metal gate whose functionality will in no way depend on the swelling or shrinking of the fence next door. While I don’t want our property this wide open in the back the old fence seemed unnecessarily high, and a block wall is thick enough to put things on! Like gnomes, or potted plants. Whether to use plain or fancy block is still an open question, and honestly as long as it’s concrete and has holes in it I don’t care if it’s fancy, like this wall at Nipissing University’s Monastery Hall:
or if it’s more like this plainer, more utilitarian backyard wall off an alley a few blocks from here:
Both would look amazing with gnomes on them. And maybe a couple of mushroom logs?
Posted by jodi on April 12, 2011 at 3.13pm
