Work tonight.

Actually taking a night off tomorrow night so that DH & I can spend the day & night together for a change!

I average 1 night a month off until Son's college track meets start Dec 5th. I can't miss those!

Sunday is church, then going to the assisted living home that our Aunt is in to sing for them, then back to work.

I will probably be lifting a hot toddy back at you tomorrow night if I'm not better by then. I made a pot of soup day before yesterday to stave off this cold/sinus/chest whatever.

I'll raise my V8 & vitamin powder to you now!

Betty

I'm canning apples here, but I think I'm done. WE had snow yesterday, and I think the yard is pretty much done, although I have a hose reed that needs to go back into the shed. Elery is talking about running the lawn mower over the leaves, if not, I'm going to have to rake and burn those.

There's always something at the farm, of course. I still have kale in the garden, it's good to about 10F but I need to get it out and can it. Ihave a calf pen that needs cleaning and some turkeys that need to be in the freezer before Thanksgiving, I'd like to get those done before it gets really cold.

I have a cup of coffee now, so I'll clink too.

Diane, I'm glad to see you back and happy to have the tgif thread again, just to catch up on friends.

Annie

My weekend is super busy! On the agenda today was work and then left early to help DD with DGS1 bday party. 20-something for swim and pumpkins
Our landscape Reno is well underway and I need to schedule appointments with the fence company among other todo's.
Sunday is another charity event, life is full!

I'm toasting you all with my water bottle for good health and a peaceful productive weekend!

We're going to fire up the smoker. Haven't decided what yet, going to the store tomorrow.

Still clear skies, mostly, but getting colder. The leaves are mostly down. I'm getting out the winter clothes and wrapping the backyard up for another Oregon rainy season. We are hoping for snow this year, after four years with hardly a trace.

My son wants to build a microscope this weekend, so we'll do that. My daughter may want to go to the darkroom. I want to take one early morning and go for a bike ride. I might go explore some of the steep windy roads in the West Hill that lead to the zoo. Or just do laps up my local hill, less scenic but a more efficient workout.

Sometimes I wear a heart rate monitor on these rides. Afterwards I can look at the data and see how my heart rate spiked when the road turned upwards or when the speed rose.

The rule of thumb is that your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. I think that is bunkum, or at least that it varies so much between individuals that it is no rule at all. I have gotten my heart rate up to 200 beats/ minute, only for a few seconds, but those were exhilarating seconds. On a pretty routine basis, I ride at 170 bpm which is 85% of my max heart rate, or a. "submaximal" heart rate. There is a whole science of training by heart rate - you are supposed to spend X time at 80%+ of max, Y time at 60%, and so on. I don't pay attention to that. I just like to get up to 170 bpm frequently and see if anything untoward happens. It is kind of my personal security blanket.

There is another test you can do, which is a little more useful. You get your heart rate up to 150 bpm or so, which might mean a few minutes of jumping jacks or chopping wood or running fast. Then stop, sit down, and see how long it takes for your heart rate to settle down to 100 bpm. It should only take one or two minutes. If your heart continues to beat at a high rate for much longer, that is a worrisome sign. This is called "recovery heart rate".

Finally, there is "resting pulse". The true resting pulse is taken when you are laying down and completely relaxed. In the morning, right after waking up, is a good time. Some people have a high resting pulse, some a lower one. The interesting thing is how it changes. If you get serious about exercise, you can lower your resting pulse quite dramatically. That is a sign that your heart has become more efficient, which is a good thing.

I've been thinking a lot about getting older. My kids are only teenagers, and I'm fifty. I don't know when they will have kids. When I have grandchildren, I want to take them riding and skiing and fishing. That means I will have to be strong and athletic into my seventies. Gulp. My dad had a heart attack in his mid seventies. My neighbor is seventy-five and has CHF and PAH. I've got a lot of work to do, anyway that is how it feels, so I get on the bike every day and push until it hurts. It actually is kind of pleasant to hurt. I think I've learned a little about masochism.

But I digress. What were we talking about? Cooking. I'm going to go through my Momofuku cookbook and make some Asian comfort food. Daughter is getting interested in sushi so we'll make some basic rolls. Son is a big ramen fan, we'll roast some pork and leeks and make a big hot bowlful. I'll make some meals for my neighbor with the health problems. And I think I will try baking bread again. I was on a low-carb kick this summer, but it turns out I need some carbs. Carbs = glycogen. Glycogen = muscle energy for efforts longer than a few minutes. No carbs = weak muscles. Doesn't work for me.

I don't get here much these days. Glad I checked in and founf the TGIF threads have been resurrected!

This weekend will be a bit less hectic than last, but still have some outdoor work to get taken care of before the serious snow sets in. We did get about an inch last Sunday but it's all melted.

Tim works all weekend, I'll be busy working on dog training.

The rescue dog (German Shepherd) that we adopted two years ago is still having behavior issues. We finally found a trainer that can help us with what we thought was aggression. She came out on Tuesday and worked with us, she feels it's more of a stress issue. I am hopeful we can get him to settle down a bit under her guidance.

Also need to get some jewelry and glass made for an art fair we are having at our clinic next month. Hope to sell a bit of stuff.

Just poured myself a glass of red wine. Happy Friday all! (clink)

Linda

Back with a firmer plan. On Saturday, I will make:
- Ramen broth (this is an eight hour project involving a giant pot, a whole chicken, and several pounds of roasted pork bones)
- Roast pork belly
- Shredded pork shoulder
- Slow poached eggs
- Ginger scallion sauce
- Braised bamboo shoots
- Bacon dashi (like regular dashi, but bacon instead of dried fish)

On Sunday I will take these ingredients and make a bowl of ramen for lunch.

I don't have a pasta maker, or I would be tempted to make my own ramen noodles. Hopefully there are some reasonable noodles in the Asian grocery. I may actually go to the Japanese market for this project.

John, at least you have a plan, and it's an ambitious one. I just plan to do whatever needs to be done as it presents itself.

Not so organized, I know, but it keeps me busy, LOL.

Good luck with the dog, Linda!

Annie

We are baby sitting a dog this weekend. And a teenaged girl. Our friend went to the hot springs this weekend and so his daughter, who we know well, and the family dog, are with us. Lucky, the dog, is a really nice, happy, well- adjusted dog of the shepherd-lab muttish variety. He is not, however, a clean dog. So the first thing I did this afternoon was give him a bath. He is even happier now! Our cat is not, happy, at, all.

Another quite weekend here...no complaints!

I'm dyeing wool for a few hooking projects I want to take south with me. I'm a novice at this dying thing but the first two swatches have turned out to be "acceptable".

Some friends dropping in for "cocktails and nibblies"" about 4:30...Diane making your Palmiers yet again!!

Tomorrow I want to do up a few batches of Chili, Ham and Bean Soup and Spaghetti Sauce for the freezer.

Just doin' what I want to do.... ;)

TGIF!

TGIF a little late. Last week was prepping for an author visit on Thursday...it was a foodie book (The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister). We has a 'nosh with the author' event that involved wrapping proscuitto around melon and threading caprese skewers. It also involved wine and a walk with the author on a gorgeous fall day so it was a fairly painless process, hehe.

Friday was catch-up day. I canned a load of chile verde, prepped a couple of gallons of tomato sauce/juice to simmer down for pizza sauce, roasted a double batch of tomato garlic soup (in the canner now), and prepped a bucketful of tomatillos...thinking I'll just can 'em whole and call it good. We had Ann_T's stacked enchiladas last night...yum.

Today was a short day at work. I came home and pulled my leeks, so it's leek and potato soup tonight (is it still vichyssoise if it's served hot?). Thinking I'd rather be at John's house for dinner, though.

Tomorrow I'll pull my fuchsia and some flowerpots into the greenhouse because a cold front is moving in and I can't stand to let them freeze. We'll get the last bit of garden tilled up and it'll be nite-nite for the garden except for the kale, which we'll pick as long as we can.

Right now I'm listening to the canner weight jiggle and sipping a cup of hot, fresh pressed cider laced with rum. ~clink!~. Have a good rest-of-the-weekend, all.