(From June, 2016, about a month after being laid off from my job of 24+ years) When you’re on a road or mountain bike with multiple gears, the goal is to shift smoothly whether you are increasing or decreasing your speed. Ideally, you will coordinate your hand controls, navigate the…
Part 2 – A Look Back at my Cancer Journey – Diagnosis, Tests and Staging
(Note: I just realized that the calendar days from 2006 are the same as in 2011. April 10th was a Monday and Easter was on the 16th in both years. Weird. According to my old day-timer scheduler, I hiked the Manitou Incline Monday, April 10th before going to work and then meeting…
First Spartan Race – Minnesota Sprint 2016
Spartan Racing – the Senior Version! As some of you know, I participated in my first Spartan Race last June, 2016. Prior to that, I could not have told you much about the sport of obstacle racing or how many different versions and brands there are. To me, it was…
Classic Basil Pesto
(This is what I make every year when our garden basil is at its peak. The recipe was on the back of a store-bought package of fresh basil, so there’s nothing secret about it. You can freeze the finished product in plastic or glass containers. You can also substitute walnuts…
“Better Than Scout” Cookies
The original recipe was based loosely on the flavor of the the Girl Scout Samoa cookie, but this is a far healthier version that I found here: http://paleomg.com/guest-post-better-than-scout-cookies/ (I prefer to put mini-chocolate chips in the cookie, vs melt & drizzle on top. Less messy, & doesn’t crack off in…
Nutty Bars
This recipe first appeared in our local newspaper 10+ years ago, and was created (as I recall) by a couple of cyclists from Boulder, CO. I have been unable to locate their information to give credit, but it’s undergone so many modifications since then, that I’m probably not going to…
Dates with Dirt
As the 5th child of 10, I grew up in rural North Dakota on land that was as fertile as my parents. We planted, weeded, harvested and put up crops via canning, freezing, pickling, or stashing in a root cellar. I can’t say I enjoyed every bent-over hour picking…
Part 1 – A Look Back at my Cancer Journey – Overview
(In honor of being 11 years cancer-free, I’m sharing part of my journey so that others may be educated, encouraged, and possibly entertained. The following journal entry has been slightly modified from its 2008 creation.) I’ve been reading health and nutrition books since I was 14 and following all the…