Activity

Now that spring is about to, uh, spring (?), I've been feeling motivated to get moving. We've always been good about being active while at TP, but from Monday to Friday an active lifestyle is far from reality.  Despite my best efforts at jogging, roller blading, [insert activity here], I can never stick with any of it.

I think this year I'd like to change that.

Today I decided I'm going to try a new approach and pick up a Fitbit which is really just a glorified pedometer. It's cool, though, because it not only tracks the number of steps you take, but also the number of stairs you climb, the length and quality of your sleep, and even the food you eat if you decide to enter it. The real selling point for me was that you can use it socially so you can try to keep up with friends or participate in daily and weekly challenges. That's something I've never tried before but it seems like fun.

Anyone interested in joining me?

Photo credit: Dave and Lauren

Winter Reading

I'm not a reader and aside from a short fling with R. L. Stine's popular Goosebumps series of the early '90s, I never have been. Then I did so much reading in undergrad and grad school (all academic publications: journal article after journal article) I think I decided that once I was finally done school, I was done with reading. Pretty bad attitude, I know, but there you have it.

For the first few years after grad school I held true. I didn't even think about it, really. Reading just wasn't part of my life. I did read a book recommended by a friend here and there, but I wasn't reading more than one or two books per year. And that would have been a "good" year.

2013 was different for a reason I still haven't put my finger on. I started reading again. I spent beautiful summer afternoons lying in our burgundy hammock gently rocked by a breeze under the shade of a towering pine tree canopy, book in hand. I loved it.

Last summer I read Damien Echols's Life After Death, J.K. Rowling's two adult fiction books, and Wil Wheaton's Just a Geek. I know it doesn't sound like much, but for me it was.

Then fall arrived early with its chilly anti-hammock breezes and my reading stopped.

But I'm back! I just finished Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl which was my second book of the year. I'm not well read enough to be able to offer a review that anyone would find interesting let alone useful so I won't even try.

I'm reminded of an exchange in the book: "'Yeah, right. Something Wicked This Way Comes,' Greta says. 'It's good.' She chirps the last bit as if that were all to say about a book: It's good or it's bad. I liked it or I didn't. No discussions of the writing, the themes, the nuances, the structure. Just good or bad. Like a hot dog."

Yup. Don't worry, Greta. That's my level too.

So my reading so far for 2014 has been:
1. Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold: I loved it. Now one of my favourite books.
2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: I really hated that I really liked it. Does that make sense? I need to find copies of her two other books, just to see what I really think. It was weird to find out today that they're turning this book into a movie with Ben Affleck. Then again, maybe I should have seen that one coming.

Next on the list is Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Eiko, that one's because of you.

  

Pre-Super Bowl Huddle

Whaaaaa? Two posts in one day? Yes, it's true.

Had to post this pic Spence took today. Minnie is so ridiculously adorable.

I'll let you in on a little secret. We were both thinking, "Go Broncos!"

Board Gaming Table: Step 1

Since we're experiencing one of the most severe winters in recent memory (complete with a state of emergency in a county we routinely drive through), we've been spending a lot of time in the city. It's okay though; we've been using the time to recharge and just take it easy which is something neither of us realized we needed as much as we did.

It's also given me a chance to think more about what steps I need to take to achieve the goals I set out at the beginning of the year. There's a garden to plan and a table to design, after all! This week I finally managed to set aside a few hours and get to work on the latter. Here's what I came up with:

I've had this ruler since grade 4 when a classmate left and gave it to me as a parting gift (I know that's a fact that's only interesting to me, but there you have it.)

There will be 10 tongue and groove slats that will fit on the top of the table to turn it into a typical dining table. Unlike a lot of gaming tables that are on the market, I've decided to run the slats across the short edge. This allows the slats to be stored under the table on the support that joins the pedestals. No need to worry about trying to store 7" boards while the table is in use. As well, I think this orientation is much better for two players -- when you're playing a two player game I think you're much more likely to sit across from each other on the short edge. When that's the case, you can just leave some of the slats in place and only remove a few to reveal enough room for your game.

Depending on the cost of wood, I'd ideally like to make the table out of walnut with a maple inlay for the sunken playing surface. If it's too expensive I figure I'll just reverse the wood: maple table with a walnut inlay. Either way, I think hard wood is the way to go.

With any luck we can start work on this puppy in March!