December 15th, 2011
If you’re reading this blog you’re probably wondering what all the food talk is all about. Once again this year I am participating in the Dark Days Challenge, started by my daughter a few years ago. It’s a challenge to cook using local and sustainable ingredients during the dark days of winter. Most of the other participants are food bloggers and so I’m one of those tag alongs.
In keeping with the spirit of my blog and life, I would like to invite you to join me in an Outdoor Dark Days Challenge. As we head into winter and it’s harder for many of us to get outdoors, accept the challenge of doing one fun outdoor activity each week from now until the first days of spring. You can choose anything! Go for hard core winter activities: snow shoeing, skiing, cross country skiing, skijoring, sledding. Or just go out and play in the snow, take a walk or build a snowman.
Be creative, have fun but most important, get outdoors! Don’t let old man winter keep you huddled up inside!
And let me know what you do! I’d love to hear about your winter adventures.
December 14th, 2011
 People are creative in the midwest. When the ground freezes they turn to hydroponics to grow fresh lettuce and tomatoes all year round. We have Bushel Boy, a local Minnesota company and I’ve just discovered Future Farm Food and Fuel LLC from Baldwin, Wisconsin. Their marketing tag is “a deeper shade of green” and it’s amazing what they’re doing!
My local meal this week was a family raised chicken roasted in the oven stuffed with home grown garlic and lemon and brushed with olive oil. Accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes, corn and strawberries from the freezer and a delightful salad simply made from a head of butter head lettuce from Future Farm topped with local blue cheese and Brianna’s salad dressing ( I don’t make my own dressing, lazy I guess)
Once again, simple home grown cooking from the queen, but I had to have time to ski and play outdoors last weekend so no real time for cooking 
December 8th, 2011
It’s the dark days of winter and the Dark Days Challenge is on again this year. My daughter Laura started it a few years ago, challenging all of us to cook one completely local meal each week during the winter. Being her mom and responsible raising her on the family “gentleman’s farm” as her grandpa called it, complete with garden chores and fresh meals from the land, I couldn’t resist taking on the challenge.
The good news for me is that I am in Minnesota. Even tho the ground is white and frozen right now we still have a family garden, raise both layer and broiler chickens, and live in the middle of dairy and wheat country. I don’t have to worry about finding local butter, grains and cheese. My meals are pretty simple, and even during the rest of the week I cook with mostly local and organic ingredients. Just like going outdoors everyday, it’s a lifestyle choice and one that fits well for me.
To kick off the Challenge this year we are trying to finish up our pig from last year. Amazing that we still have pork chops and bacon in the bottom of the freezer. Dan cooked the chops on the grill, enhanced with minced garlic from the garden while I roasted potatoes, onions and brussle sprouts in the oven. We finished them with a quick sauté in bacon fat with bacon crumbles, yum, everything is better with bacon. The plate was finished with slices of Minnesota honey crisp apples from Minnetonka Orchards.
Simple, delicious and quick to do at the end of a long day on the retail floor. Did I mention that Dan is diabetic? That’s the other part of my challenge. Anyone else working with dietary restrictions I’d love to hear from you.
Now you know what I cooked, what did you do to get outdoors today?
November 11th, 2011
Dan and I are in Washington, our annual fall visit with our daughter Laura and her husband Mike. Our tradition is to come in a day early and enjoy a bit of sight seeing in the area. We’ve had lots of adventures including Mt Rainier this past Memorial Day weekend. It was opening weekend for Paradise Inn and it was still snowing. We were only there for about 48 hours but we never saw the mountain for the clouds. This time we were lucky and enjoyed Mt Rainier out in all it’s glory!
We stayed at the historic National Park Inn, Paradise was closed for the season. It was quiet in the park, that inbetween season when fall is over and winter has yet to arrive.
We slept beneath Mt Rainier glowing with the full moon. In the morning we enjoyed a 5 mile hike up through the forest to the ridge with a view of the mountain and back down again. We shared the trail with birds and two young deer at the top of the ridge but no other hikers. The peace, solitude and tranquility of the old forest. If you walk quiet, look and listen to the old life around you it has the power to transform you. I walked off the stress and drain of the past month of hard work and emerged from the forest renewed and reconnected.
We did make it up to Paradise. Snow covered the trails, the Inn is closed and boarded up for the season (I wonder who dances in the ball rooms when it snows?) but Mt Rainier was beautiful and inspiring. We did a short hike to get the right view of Myrtle Falls and left a prayer for a safe season at the foot of the mountain.
November 3rd, 2011
I’ve been walking with women. That’s not unusual as most of the people I walk with are women. Seems that women are not afraid to be seen walking with poles even when there is no snow. But seriously, I love walking with women and count it as one of the blessings I’ve received from Nordic walking.
There’s grace in walking with older women. We walk a little slower, we share our stories, time slows down. They find themselves standing a little taller, I let myself relax and enjoy the moment. We both find balance.
I turn 60 next month. I’ve been struggling with what that really means to me. Since walking with women who have 20 years of life experiences on me, it’s all coming into perspective. Turning 60 means being able to live in the moment so you don’t miss it. And don’t be afraid to try something new!
November 1st, 2011
In October of 2007 I went to Italy with my daughter Laura. We had 10 magical days including a day of hiking the Cinque Terre. I can close my eyes and see the villages perched on the coastal mountains, the fishing boats lifted up into the streets, the olive trees ready for harvest. It’s a beautiful place like nowhere I’d ever been before. And we talk often of going back with more time to explore and enjoy the area and it’s people.
 
Cinque Terre was hit by heavy rains and destructive floods last week. Much of what was there is gone. My heart and prayers are with the people of this region. I count my blessings that I was able to walk the trail with Laura before it was wiped out.
October 20th, 2011
I love walking in the fall. After the heat and thunderstorms of the summer it’s wonderful to have the cooler weather even if it comes with shorter days. There’s just something special about shuffling through the leaves on the trails.
Nordic walking in the fall has it’s unique issues. First, and most obvious, it’s dark for most of us when we walk. Never assume that anyone can see you in the dark. Gail and I have donned our stylish reflective vests and added headlamps with red blinking lights on the back band to increase our visibility in the early morning. Eventually we’ll even add lights on the poles, there are small bike lights with stretchy bands that will wrap around your poles.
Slipping tips on slippery leaves is another issue. The best solution is to get off the pavement and find a turf trail. Here in Minnesota there are cross country ski trails that are lit for fall hiking, it’s magical to be in the woods under the lights. You might even see some evening critters or hear an owl calling your name. If you must walk on hard surfaces you can either take off the rubber tips and put up with the noise of carbide on pavement or try LEKI’s studded tip for extra traction.
Dressing for the change in the weather is the other challenge. Dress in layers and remember that it’s ok to be cool when you start. You’ll quickly warm up and don’t want to overheat. If you’re one of those that love your short pants remember that knees like to be covered when it’s below 65 degrees. Keep those joints warm for best performance.
Those leaves will soon enough be replaced with snow so get out and kick through some while you can!
October 18th, 2011
My degree is in Recreational Therapy and I worked in the field for several years after graduation before moving back to Minnesota and starting Alg’s Gang, my own family daycare business. As I continue to grow my Nordic Walking Queen business and promote Nordic Walking, Lindy Smith recommended that I reconnect with my past and attend the MN State Activity Professionals convention.
This was the first time I had attended an event as a “vendor”. I had a lot to do to be credible. Dan had already helped me to build my pole display and it was all dressed up with gold glitter paint. I had my Youtube slide show that I could use on the computer but I had no posters or banners or signage. I borrowed Lindy’s ideas from Own Your Walk and got my daughter, Laura, on board to do the art work and eps files. She’s really great with the internet and even found a site for chapstick so I could have a Nordic Walking Queen give away at the table. It all came together with pictures and handouts.
The best part of the event was taking Gail along with me. As a social worker she’s specialized in Senior services and programs and is my “go to” person for information as well as my walking partner. We strategized together about how to present Nordic walking, just what the message was to be and what we were going to do to have fun with it.
There was lots of curiosity and interest in the poles, both for personal use and for senior programing. It was a challenge to keep up with all of the different conversations and I quickly learned that I need to provide more specific information on poles and available programs. We were able to demonstrate the many different uses of the poles from fitness walking to providing balance and stability and finally to using them for upper body strength while pushing along in a wheel chair. We went for walks around the pool area (walking with the Queen of course) and Gail was even promoting wheel chair races for residents, hope we don’t get anyone thrown out.
It was a very positive experience and we met so many amazing, caring people. I’m looking forward to connecting with them and Nordic walking all over the state.
October 18th, 2011
One of the ways that Nordic walking can grow is by being visible in lots of different venues. Rhea and I took Nordic walking to the South Metro Senior Expo last week at the Eagan Community Center. We had a great time talking with seniors and a variety of senior programs about all the benefits and joys of walking with poles.
Eagan is actually one of the hot spots for Nordic walking.They have beautiful grounds with both paved and turf trails, some gentle hills and even a “killer” hill to really get your heart rate up.Loudi Rivamonte, Senior Program Director, saw the light a few years ago. She bought LEKI poles for the senior center and I did a Nordic Walking Instructor training for the staff and program volunteers that would be leading the groups of walkers. Today they have an active Nordic walking program and poles are a common sight on their trails.
Daily Independent Walking is the easiest prescription for a long and healthy life. Share a walk with a friend, spend a little time outdoors and keep your whole body healthy. Simple? you bet. Nordic Walking can help ensure the strength and confidence to walk everyday for the rest of your life. What are you waiting for?
October 7th, 2011
And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street…
One of my favorite Dr Seuss books, so many possibilities of what you might see if you just look around you. On Monday nite I had the second of a 2 part Nordic Walking Class at Como Lake in St Paul. It’s a long way from home but it’s a delightful lake to walk around. I plan to go back for a drink on the deck of the restaurant next summer.
Monday was warm and wonderful so the trail was full of walkers and runners. Many had dogs on leashes and there is one cat walker that we saw again that night. But imagine my surprise when I saw a man walking toward me with a monkey on his shoulder. I’m sorry to say I don’t know what kind of monkey it was but it was beautiful and very content with his high perch and great view of all that was happening around him.
I’m already missing the blue herons and egrets of summer but obviously I need to keep my eyes open for surprises on the trails!
|
Ready to Give it a Try? I am available to teach Nordic Walking Classes to individuals and groups.
Email me or call me at 952.475.0891 for more information.
|
Comments are closed 
