weekending

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After our short week, we really needed another long weekend, but what we got was a normal sized weekend which felt insufficient. Regardless, it was what we had to work with so we went with it.

Miss L was with her dad, so Brandon and I took our long run out to Kensington and did the 8.5 mile loop around the lake. The weather was ideal – bright and clear, but cool, and we had the added bonus of seeing a cross-country meet in action. The antelope-like high school runners gave me a bit of motivation as I slogged my weary way up and down the rolling hills. I felt good for the first 3 miles, bad for the next 3, and good for the last 2.5. Sadly, in the middle 3 we ran past a horrific biking accident on the paved trail. We’re not sure what happened, as by the time we ran past there was a small knot of onlookers calling for emergency services and administering aid to a fallen biker. She was unconscious and there was blood, but she was wearing a helmet, so my prayers are with her that she received medical attention quickly and won’t suffer any lasting repercussions. WEAR YOUR HELMETS,  BIKERS!!

I took a blissful nap and then Brandon & I drove down to Detroit for dinner at Flowers of Vietnam. This is a lauded restaurant in an old refurbished Coney Island in the middle of Mexican Village – you can tell it was a Coney, but the former pop-up has given it some more polished touches. They’re known for their caramel chicken wings and dear Lord they were to die for. Sweet, sticky, crunchy, chili-hot. Brandon ordered the enormous broken rice dish (with a full pork chop, prawns, and a full sausage) and I had a cold noodle dish with rosewood grilled tofu and Vietnamese-style egg roll. My mouth is watering just writing this. I enjoyed a cold glass of rose and afterwards, we wandered down to Motor City Wine, a cool little shop / sipping bar in Corktown. The patio is supposedly fun, but we just sat at the bar – I had glass of dry Austrian red and Brandon had a delicious cold, sweet Italian red. It was so good that we’ll be back to buy bottles for Thanksgiving or Christmas celebrations.

The weekend ended with more worrying about Pot Roast, whose tummy is still afflicted, and grocery shopping / dinner planning / food prep (maybe those two things shouldn’t be joined in the same sentence?) I did a vegan Pad Thai recipe that will be 2 lunches, I have some leftover quinoa / white bean skillet for 1 lunch, and a Buddha bowl of sweet potato, sauteed kale & black bean, corn and edamame with cilantro and some Bolthouse Farms avocado / yogurt dressing. Brandon’s movers are bringing over all of his belongings from storage at his parent’s house this week, so our full integration will be complete; and the week ended quietly with herbal tea, WRCJ jazz on the radio, Emmett on the chair next to me, incense and a brand new 1,000 piece seasonal puzzle from my mom. We may still be working on it at Christmas…

Be well and have a lovely week, friends.

the short week

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Why do short weeks always seem the longest? I think because everyone has to fit 5 days of work into 4. Plus, although Labor Day is a sort of secondary holiday in the pantheon of US holidays, it marks a big seasonal change for those of us far enough north to experience it, and it’s also sort of the unofficial “New Year” for everyone in school or with school age children. So in my house, the short week after Labor Day is summer end; it’s back to school, back to a different schedule, more routine. Which translates into getting up earlier – Miss L’s school starts an hour earlier, she is riding the bus, so her mornings are early and now mine are too. I actually really enjoy this – I’m most productive in the morning hours and getting to work at an earlier hour means I just get more done, I feel better, etc.

So last week’s short week was also stressful because as a mom, I was full of trepidation and anxiety about Miss L’s transition to middle school. I remember middle school as an absolute horror show. I was miserable to the point of feeling sick every day when I had to walk into what felt like an absolutely chaotic zoo full of mean kids, the horrors of gym class and lockers with combinations, and teachers who didn’t care about me because I was just one of many. This of course was not true, but it took me a solid year to find my footing and feel even a little bit comfortable there, and I was terrified that Miss L would have the same experience. However, she is a different kid than I was, more confident, independent, and resilient, and although I know it won’t all be smooth sailing (understatement of the year), her first week was better than I could have hoped for.

Pot Roast’s tummy troubles continued and necessitated a vet visit. She did not enjoy this one bit and was so grateful to be home with us when it was over, even forgiving me for sprinkling her food with probiotics and forcing antibiotic pills down her throat once a day.

Anyway, it’s Monday again and let’s hope this normal-sized week feels better than the abbreviated one, for us all! I’ll be back tomorrow with a quick update on our weekend dining adventure in Detroit.

bountiful

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And now, Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer. I worked from home for a few days last week to finish out Miss L’s last week of summer holiday and the windows were open, the breeze is cool and the skies are so very blue. The cicadas grind in the trees and it’s my favorite time of year.

Brandon has been working in Miss L’s old room to paint and put up his map collection in preparation for it to become his new study. He’ll be building shelves next. We hit up the hardware store for some supplies and I stocked up on finch socks because the little golden birds have already stripped my coneflowers.

The cooler temps have meant that the windows are open for sleeping, and on Sunday night I was awakened twice by a loudmouthed little owl in the yard – I Googled the call in the morning and identified it as an Eastern Screech-Owl. I’ve had them in the yard before, but I don’t usually hear them at night, so it was kind of a treat for geeky birdloving me.

Sadly, our girl Pot Roast has had some digestive issues – we think related to the cheap wet food that Emmett and Sarge feel absolutely passionate about – so there have been some messes to clean up, mostly in the middle of the night in the most inconvenient places. I’ve switched her to a Royal Canin for sensitive tums and hope that will help, otherwise it will be a trip to the vet for the littlest gangster.

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We rounded out our long weekend with a Tigers game on Saturday night and wonder of wonders, they actually beat the Twins and we got to see a couple of home runs! Before the game, we had burgers, beers for me and Brandon, and a milkshake for Miss L at Lovers Only. I tried the Impossible Burger for the first time and probably would not have known it was not beef, except then I tried Miss L’s Classic Smash and there was a difference. We agreed that for convenience and proximity to Comerica and ease of in-and-out, Lovers Only can’t be beat, but the milkshakes at Royale with Cheese are much better. And I will always rank the olive burger at Checker Bar highly!

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I did some meal prep for the shortish work week – overnight oats with some frozen blueberries and a quinoa & white bean skillet for lunches. Also a sweet potato which I’ll pair with black beans and kale later this week.

Sometimes it’s nice to go away for a long holiday weekend but I like this kind, too, where we just stay at home.

I am hoping that everyone in Hurricane Dorian’s path is safe and sound and if they’ve chosen to evacuate, that they’ll be home again soon.

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crim 2019 race recap

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I’ve never done a “big race” so the 2019 Crim in Flint, MI was new for me. I much prefer smaller, more intimate running events and have steered away from anything with “waves” or “corrals” or thousands of sweaty runners jostling me. However, after the Crim, I may be a changed runner!

Brandon has done 10 Crims so he knew all of the mechanics and the “hacks”, which made it stress-free. On the Friday night before, we carb-loaded on pizza at the Wintergarden Tavern in Livonia before driving up to Flint. We just missed the expo, so we checked into our hotel and got a decent nights’ sleep (I never sleep well in hotels so I tossed and turned but Brandon said it was the best night of sleep he’d ever had before a Crim.) By 530 we were awake, hydrating and noshing on the bananas and PBJ’s that I packed, and by 6 we were checked out of the hotel. We drove downtown, found a great parking spot in a lot a few blocks away from the start, got our packets, and settled in to wait.

The Organization 
I love to run, so I’d be doing it anyway, but it’s even better when an event contributes to or represents a good cause. The Crim Fitness Foundation is just that – a good cause. Flint is a community that has been plagued with obstacles for decades, and the Crim Fitness Foundation gives back to that community and partners with other organizations that do, as well, such as United Way. They provide sports and nutrition programs for kids and adults, support community gardens and teams who walk kids to school, and they also support initiatives such as mindfulness programs for kids and adults. And many more – please see their website for more information on the many ways they help Flint and why it feels good to support this kind of organization through this run.

The Fun
The temps were amazing – low ’50’s, and it felt like fall – the temp wouldn’t break 65 before we finished. Everyone, including Brandon, told me what a blessing this was, as the Crim is usually hot, humid, hot, and more humid, hilly, and the last quarter mile stretch is blazing street and brick without a breath of shade. (And we all know how well I do with humid, hot runs…) The race is exceptionally well-organized and well-attended, with thousands of runners, some of whom came in costume or had a “schtick”. Brandon didn’t see the woman with the tiger tail that he remembered from several Crims, but he’d briefed me on the “dribblers” – at least two runners who do the whole 10 miles dribbling basketballs.

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The participation from spectators is one of the best parts! Every part of the route was graced with people holding signs, ringing cowbells, sitting on their porches & curbs, cheering the runners on, giving high fives and calling out our names (which were printed on our bibs). Brandon recognized many of them from years past and had briefed me to expect “Wavy Gravy” decked in full hippie attire handing out ethically sourced cold brew coffee shots, the “Champagne Corner” at mile 2 where they gave mimosas, the frat brothers dispensing beer (“You are running the Crim! You like beer! These are facts!”), the Pet the Greyhound (“It Makes You Faster!”) station, and – my personal favorite – the older gentleman who had a karaoke machine set up at the bottom of his driveway who warbled “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” as we rounded his corner. There were at least three marching bands, which really got my energy up, and a Dixieland jazz band set up in one of the ritzy neighborhoods. Brandon was hoping for at least 1 beer and 1 Krispy Kreme donut along the route but in fact he got 3 smallish beers, a mimosa, a Jello shot, and a donut. This made me absolutely sick to watch (there are aid stations every mile, but I carried my handheld since that’s what I’m used to, so I consumed a lot of water and an energy gel with caffeine in it around mile 7 – that’s the extent of my experimentations with fueling!!). And he still beat me!!! I lost him on the rolling and seemingly never-ending hills between miles 6-8 and although I saw him ahead of me at several points, I just didn’t have it in me to catch him. But I didn’t mind and loved every minute of this special run!

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The Technical 
The temps helped a lot, but by mile 8 my body was hurting – my knees, my feet, and my hip flexors. My slowest miles were 1 & 5, at 11:55; generally I was between 11:05 and 11:29, which was my sweet spot for a long hilly run. Trying to catch Brandon, my last two miles were 10:55 and 10:50, and the last downhill tenth when I saw the finish line, I zoomed to 8:44 (which USED to be closer to my target race pace GROAN – I am trying not to think about the fact that I did 10 miles in 1:54 and my half marathon PR from years ago was 13 miles in 1:57!!!!).

Garmin Time: 10.08 miles in 1:54 (11:22 average)

Which is pretty much what I’d expected from my training. I’d like to improve this for our November half in Savannah, but who knows if I’m capable of it. My time for the Ann Arbor Half in March was an average of 11:11 so I’ve only gotten slower, but I would also say that although the A2 Half had a couple of more steep, challenging hills (Hill Street and the Arb), this route had more rollers spread out throughout the course, so there’s that. Brandon finished up with an 11:17 average and is really pleased with that since he’s only been clocking one run a week all summer, which is pretty great – I’m very proud of him.

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The Summary 
I loved this race and will definitely do it again! It’s exceptionally well-organized, the vibe is great, the route is challenging but enjoyable and doable, and the spectators and fellow participants are the best I’ve ever experienced. The t-shirts are nice tech shirts and the medals are so hefty they could double as weapons of self-defense in a pinch.
See you in 2020, Flint!

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in which the best thing is a birthday

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The big thing this past weekend was Miss L’s birthday. I cannot believe my little one is 11 and entering middle school this year. It goes without saying that she is the light of my life and I could devote endless pages to her, except that is a little icky because, you know, her safety and privacy. I usually keep her off the blog, except peripherally. However, I will post a pic of her cake, which Busch’s kindly personalized with our favorite dragons.

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And Emmett didn’t quite understand WHY he didn’t get any presents.

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After her celebrations with us on Saturday, she went to her dad’s house on Sunday to celebrate with her family there, and Brandon and I were off for our last long run before next weekend’s Crim. Unfortunately I slept in until almost 9 and Brandon was afraid to wake me up.  I heard him tiptoe in, put his running shorts on, stare at me hopefully for awhile, then leave again. At some point later, I smelled a mug of coffee being put by my head, and after clearing his throat and whispering, “It’s getting really hot out”, he wisely retreated quickly. I was grumpy about it from the very beginning, having no time to wake up gradually and enjoy the morning and my coffee; and he was right, the weather was atrociously hot and humid and as a result it was one of the worst runs I’ve had in months.

Our plan was to do a 3-mile out to our local nature park, do a couple of miles on the trails, and then 3 miles back the same way; however, we got there and spent a long time in front of the bottle-filling water station, and I just wanted to lay down in front of it, continually filling and swilling my hand-held, and Brandon maybe realized that things were going downhill (NOT literally). So we decided to try for more distance inside the park, where it was at least shady, and a shorter 2-mile route back. Of course, inside the park is steep trails, so what we got in shade we lost in hills, and I was basically baked for the 2 miles back, which I spent staring at Brandon’s back as he charged up hills like the engine that could. I pulled the pin at 7.5 excruciatingly slow and frustrating and painful miles and walked the rest of the way while Brandon chugged away ahead of me. He chirpily fist-bumped me and enthused that it was a great sampling of what the Crim will be like next weekend – “MUCH hotter and MUCH hillier” – and I tried not to vomit and pass out at the thought.

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Anyway, I’m looking forward to a week of catching up at work (although “looking forward to” is not really accurate, should maybe be “have no choice about”), and Workplace Violence training in which I apparently learn what to do in case of an active shooter on-site. I am already prepared for this, as my plan is to hide in someone’s locker, although come to think of it I last checked that I could fit into one of those lockers when I was 20 lbs lighter, so maybe I’d better re-validate that as an option.

Pursuant to the 20 lb comment, I’ve been tracking my calories and water intake with Lose It! for the last four weeks, and staying away from wine (this after aforementioned Lose It! documented Cabernet Sauvignon as my top caloric expenditure, with grilled chicken a very distant second, which I felt was WRONG somehow and should be addressed. However, there’s still cake in the refrigerator and ice cream in the icebox so I have to figure out my plan relative to those things, which may just be f- it, I deserve it since I’m not drinking any calories, and I have a horrible death run on Saturday in FLINT, and if the Workplace Violence training is all it’s cracked up to be, maybe I don’t even need to worry about fitting into a locker after all.

late summer

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Miss L and I were up north for several days last week visiting my awesome parents and had a lovely time on the beach. My folks are wonderful and we love spending time with them and the extra benefit is we can fish and enjoy Lake Michigan and the Sleeping Bear while we’re there, too. We spent lots of time outside in the sun getting brown and bug-bit, we ate ice cream and had dinner at Dinghy’s in Frankfort, we visited Fishtown (where I was supposed to run a fundraising 5k in July, but due to the timing of a scheduled trip to Cedar Point with my brother’s family, I had to scratch. I feel sad that I didn’t get that t-shirt. But next year).
The water levels are very high and we watched a small boy drop his fishing line in the channel and pull out fat fish as the tourist crowds milled past. And we had breakfast at the local eatery in the village where friends of my folks were providing live music – they’re a married duo with a guitar and a flute and they did music for beautiful and popular children’s book called “Paddle to the Sea”. I will confess to getting a little misty at some of their songs invoking Paddle’s journey via the Great Lakes and eventually to the Atlantic Ocean.
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I read three books – my Charles Manson beach read, which ended up feeling a little scattered and not satisfying, “The Immortalists” by Chloe Benjamin which I read quickly but also did not enjoy, and a book by the daughter of the BTK serial killer which only stood out to me because of all the times she mentioned Arby’s and Taco Bell. I’d be a serial killer, too, if that’s all I ate. (I’m a grump with my summer reading, I guess, but just wait til I post my thoughts on the book I’m reading NOW – “My Lovely Wife” by Samantha Downing, which may be the most grump-inducing of all).

It all went too fast, as it always does. Still, I managed to do some productive things done besides reading – I had a work conference call AND I pounded out 8 miles on the Betsie Valley trail to fulfill my “long run” obligations. It felt better than the 8 miles Brandon and I did last weekend at Kensington, which was an excruciating miserable slog.
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And yes, for anyone keeping track, I’m still running. I mean, I’m not running *well*, but I’m doggedly logging the miles. I’ve gained weight, I am very slow and lazy, and I don’t feel good about my times. I’m running for the finish line, not the finish time, which makes me embarrassed to tell people that I run, because if the person I tell is another runner, they inevitably ask about my paces, and I have to tell them that my average pace (which used to be between 9 / 9:30 per training mile and under 9 for race miles) is now a solid sub-12 minute mile (barely) for training runs and between 10 & 11 for race miles. And I know what other runners think, because I used to think the exact same thing, which is are you really running if you’re running 11 and 12’s? I hate to say that because it sounds so condescending and snotty now but runners care about their times and now because I’m a slow runner, there are no more gleeful post-run or pre-run selfies to smear all over social media because I know I can be modestly proud of my finish time.
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As previously mentioned, Brandon and I are running the Crim 10-mile in Flint next week and are going up for a romantic (haha) evening in a hotel the night before so we don’t have to get up at 4 AM to drive there and pick up our packets. (I booked our room on Expedia and received an email confirmation “CONGRATULATIONS YOU’RE GOING TO FLINT” which, if you’ve ever been to Flint, is hard to view as anything other than cutting sarcasm on Expedia’s part.)

I’m a little concerned as my last run had to be cut short because of shin pain. I’m very leery of any kind of shin pain because of the terrible shin splints I had several years ago, which resulted in a stress fracture that cut short my fast running days, which will likely never return. Brandon and I are planning another long run this weekend so I’m going to lay off until then, wear my compression sleeve, and hopefully see improvement. I made it through a half marathon training cycle in February and March without shin issues so that’s something I’m clinging to.
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Anyway, that’s the update from late summer here in suburban Elysia, where the days are fading in some ways and brightening in others, and the roads smell like sun-baked fields and a few tired, dusty leaves are beginning an early drift to earth. This time of year will always invoke a pleasant melancholy that is pure nostalgia for my childhood days when I knew summer was growing old and back-to-school clothes and pencils were right around the corner.

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growth and comfort seldom ride the same horse

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Here is something I originally wrote in August of 2017:

“My summer friend knows a lot about day lilies and script-writing and Russian criminal tattoos. All of his belongings can fit in the back of his pickup truck and he has no fear about leaving this place to go to a new place. I wish he would stay, but I also can’t imagine him here in the wintertime, living a stone’s throw from the lights of a racetrack, our favorite ice cream stand shuttered in the snow.”

Brandon has gone from a summer friend to a full-season friend and we’ve been living together for a year in November. He’s just as good in the wintertime as he is in the summertime and he’s happily added to my knowledge of World War II, the Tour de France, the Bible, and Morrissey’s catalogue. He’s as voracious a reader as anyone I’ve ever met, loves finding strange old movies on Prime (see “Kiss Me Monster”), and every weekend we carve out time so I can chase him around local metropark trails on our long runs.  He’s beginning to thaw Miss L, too, and last night, I went upstairs with my “summer beach read” – “Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties” (maybe I should just get a nice light paperback for our trip up north next week) and heard them downstairs together for a solid two hours eating ice cream and watching old Kung Fu movies.

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Anyway, there are a lot of updates, including the fact that I got my hair cut, that we’re revamping, repainting, and reorganizing the second floor of my house to give L a better room, updated and designed to accommodate her more grown-up sensibilities, as well as a study for Brandon. I’m a little over halfway done knitting my first sweater, we’re doing the Crim in August and the Savannah Rock & Roll Half Marathon in November, but all of those will have to wait for different posts. I really sat down to write today, after my typically long hiatus, about Facebook.

I know it seems like a very modern way to complain about social media – by turning to another form of social media – but I’ve been blogging far longer than I’ve been MySpaceing (God, remember THAT) or Facebooking. And honestly, I am beginning to turn back towards the blog as a preferable way to express oneself online. I took a “digital detox” from FB for a few weeks and I don’t know if I want to go back. I have grown increasingly ambivalent about posting there, except for political rants and adoptable cat shares, and increasingly weary of scrolling to see passive-aggressive vagueposting about discontent with some friend or relative or other situation that one can’t be bothered to confront head-on, rundowns of what one did during one’s workout or what one ate (note: only PROFESSIONAL FOOD PHOTOGRAPHERS should post photos of FOOD – unless you have a talent and an eye for it, your picture is going to look like something that belongs in the dog’s bowl, no matter how yummy and lovely it was in real life). I am irritated when people post sad bleats about how lonely or bored they are, sometimes with an accompanying blurry photo of a tureen of Flip Flop or some other bottom-shelf wine. It seems odd, though, to think about deleting my profile altogether. It seems hard to imagine existing in today’s world without a social media profile, and the thought of deleting it makes me feel vaguely Ted Kaczynski-ish. As though my acquaintances will think I’ve gone to live as a hermit, off the digital grid, growing body hair and avoiding human contact (and really, only the last part is right – see above about recently getting my hair cut).

So I’m not too sure what this means but felt compelled to muse. It’s Sunday morning here and I’m sitting with my laptop and coffee on the front porch, watching bunnies in the hedgerow across the street and bees in the hydrangeas. Until next time, be well friends. xo

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in which there’s a big dance and a horse race.

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April showers bring May flowers, as we all know, but as I sit here on Sunday morning typing this, the sleet rattling on the roof is really a bit much.

Nonetheless, we’ve had a fun weekend that I’m sad to see come to an end, especially as it segues into a short (with Good Friday) but very intense week (with large governance meetings at Widget Central, the organization & execution of which are some of my primary annual goals).

On Friday evening, B & I volunteered at Miss L’s school dance. It’s her last dance at this school before leveling up and it was bittersweet to see all of her friends in their dresses and clip-on ties. Miss L met up with a special friend at the dance and he gave her her first wrist corsage which was met with pink cheeks and shy excitement and was much remarked upon by all and sundry. I always love being a part of these moments for her and that’s why I try to volunteer my time at the school when I can (which is not very much compared to how much I’d like to). After, we all went out for ice cream at our beloved local Silver Dairy ice cream stand (staffed by high school kids and home to a somewhat worse for wear plaster mascot cow named Moolinda) to debrief and celebrate.

Last night, we were special guests at the Northville Downs harness racing track in nearby Northville. B’s childhood friends are affiliated with the organization and we spent a fun evening eating dinner and learning how to bet on the 10 races we watched. We got to tour behind the scenes, meet the management, look at all the cameras and equipment, and even peek in the vault to see more more money than any of us will see in our lifetime. Miss L showed a special talent for picking winners (helped by the trackmaster selections) and I staked her and helped her place a few modest bets which she parlayed into a small profit. The highlight of the evening came when we were escorted down to the track and got to ride in the starter vehicle at the beginning of race 6!

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The gentlemen working the starter vehicle (there are two; one who steers, facing forward, and one who controls the speed and communicates with the racing sulky drivers on the track to get them lined up and ready to start) were super kind to us and answered all of Miss L’s questions, and taught us a lot about harness racing. The winner of race 6 was a horse named Liberal which I had joked to B & his friends that I should bet on, considering my strong political views; I didn’t but I should have. I would have made some cash!

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Today will mostly be about hanging out with these faces [insert obligatory cat picture below], watching it rain, and maybe doing some prep work for my meetings this week. I hope you’ve all had a lovely weekend and are looking forward to a quick, sunny lead-in to the Easter holiday coming up. xo

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melting snowdrifts

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I was more than ready for a break when Miss L & I headed up north last week. I have a great flexibility with my job that allows me to work from home when I need it, but it’s still work. First quarter was a long slog without any real time off to speak of, trips to Japan and Mexico, a book fair, a half marathon, Girl Scout cookie sales, and the usual juggling of house, Miss L’s activities, work, etc. So a few days without any responsibility was just what I needed to refill my well a bit.

The weather was sunny one day, rainy the next, and we planned our activities accordingly. We went shopping in Traverse City and Glen Arbor; we got coffees and went to Interlochen and had dinner at Dinghy’s in Frankfort. Miss L learned to knit (!) – I finished a book – Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny, the latest Gamache mystery – and my mom’s Tokyo Sunrise socks in the Jaywalker pattern (unfortunately they rushed off the needles and I didn’t get a picture and they may be too big but knit happens).

I got one nice 4-miler in along the Betsie River bike path, and went out with Miss L another day to do a Couch to 5k workout with her, at her request.

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Later that day, my mom & Miss L & I went out to the Pierce Stocking scenic overlook in the Sleeping Bear. The roads and the scenic overlooks are still closed for winter, but you can park by the guard shack and hike, if you don’t mind lingering snow pack, remains of winter storm damage, and the uncanny echoing emptiness of the big woods all around you. It goes without saying that we didn’t mind, and the feel of the warm spring sunshine on our faces while we picked our way over melting drifts was wonderful. It’s what makes living in Michigan so amazing – spring takes so long, but it always comes, inexorably, with dripping drifts and small snowmelt rivers running downhill and a warm breeze in the pines, speaking.

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We came home downstate to nearly 70 degree temperatures, but a promise of snowfall later in the week. I always miss my parents and being up north, but it’s also time to be home, pay bills, sleep in my own bed, do the laundry, and get back to work. I hope you all had a lovely break, if you took one, and feel ready to go back to your regular life. xoxo

apparatus room + spring break

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Last weekend, B & I had an official date night. We drove downtown and hit Warby Parker for some spectacle shopping (we both found pairs that we like) and then got a drink at the Buhl Bar. Buhl Bar is NOT a dive bar – it is a small, intimate corner bar that apparently was private for awhile and has only been open to the public for a few years.

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It was a blustery evening, but we shared an umbrella and walked down to the Apparatus Room for our reservation. Apparatus Room is on the ground floor of the Detroit Foundation Hotel, which used to be the Detroit Fire Department headquarters and still retains emblems of its past. Big red doors swing open in airy arched doorways; there is a chic post-industrial feel, brick and even fire poles, and art by local artists. There’s also a podcast loft, which we heard about from Karen and Georgia during their My Favorite Murder visit to the Fox Theater a few weeks ago.

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The chef has a 2 Michelin star rating and the food was wonderful. I had the miso eggplant and two glasses of buttery, beautiful pinot noir; B had scallops and we split the Brussels sprouts. It was a delicious evening and we can’t wait to go back. We capped off our date night at home under blankets watching the Motley Crue tell-all on Netflix, which we also thoroughly enjoyed in an entirely different way than our classy Detroit evening.

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In other news, it’s Spring Break week for Miss L so I am trying to wrap some things up at work and then take off up north for a few days with my folks. It’s not exactly the warm tropical destination that most people seek out for their Spring Break, but we never considered doing anything else. Miss L loves her grandparents, it’s the height of relaxation, and having a few days to sleep, knit, read, and maybe do some running, hiking, and shopping is perfect. And I do love a cold winter beach.

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the “killing commendatore” socks matched the cover of the book i was reading

So far this year, I finished one pair of socks, and they went so fast that I immediately cast on for another pair for my mom, thinking that I could get them done in a few weeks and then start the sweater that I’m planning. (My first sweater!)  The second pair, however, have taken forever, and then I ran out of yarn (!!! – the problem with using stash yarn that looks like enough but is just a bit short). So I went to my fave yarn store for a similar colorway and decided to just do the toes in the new colorway (which meant I had to rip back the toe in the sock I’d finished already).
Hopefully I can wrap these up this week and cast on for my new project – yes, the sweater. MTC and happy Spring Breaking.