Noodle mania

Ramen noodles are the food of the gods; just ask any college kid who does his own cooking.

They are also the lifesaver go-to basic food group of backpacking, at least in my world. My relationship with ramen noodles has been long and varied, but I never knew until this week that each package was two servings. How could I have missed this important fact? Erg. I always eat a whole package by myself. Sometimes two packages, although I'm not bragging about that. The calories in a package are 190 per serving. Times two. That's 380 calories of hiking fuel wrapped in plastic.

This was a good moment of enlightenment, although it required my brain to shift a bit, which always pains me. It just made ramen noodles even better as trail food, because you need a lot of calories when you're hiking (which is what I tell myself as I wolf down that third Snickers bar...)

I have a standby noodle recipe we like so well that we make it at home as well as when we're camping. It involves noodles, peanut butter, and lime juice.

I found these single serving packets of peanut butter at Target. I love grocery stores for camping food, it's way cheaper and more creative than the speciality foods.

When you add two tablespoons of peanut butter, you just added another 190 calories. Now your total caloric intake from one package of noodles that you are going to inhale all by yourself is 570. Only hikers and college kids can withstand that kind of calorie load.

Cook the noodles and add the seasoning per the package instructions (I like the oriental and chicken flavors because they blend better with subtle additions like lime. Beef and pork tend to overpower other flavors).

Pour the broth into your bowl and mix in the peanut butter till smooth. Add the noodles, squeeze a few squirts of lime juice over the whole thing, stir, and viola'! -gourmet Thai for the trail.

At Homeland I found more interesting noodle dressings in the form of tomato paste and pesto- in a tube. I find this fascinating for some reason, even beyond the fact I'm easily entertained.

I cooked some noodles and divided them into small bowls (it's ok if I eat two packages in the interest of research and development).

In one bowl I squished out some tomato paste. I foresee this causing spirited marital discussions in camp about squeezing the tube from the bottom.

The paste has a fresh tomato taste. Delicious.

In the other bowl I squeezed and dribbled some pesto.  There's a lot of oil in the pesto, so keep that in mind as it shoots out and stains your shirt, dribbles down the tube and covers your hands, and spreads to every surface. This convinced me I would carry the tubes in a ziploc to prevent tomato/pesto flavored sleeping bags. I hear bears love those.

The pesto has an intense basil flavor, and is saltier than the tomato. Then, in the interest of resaerch, I mixed them together.  Yum.

I sent a desperate email plea to Amore company begging them to package these in single serve size. We'll see how that goes. I'm pleased with the new go-to recipe.  If you have ramen specialties, send 'em in! Variety is the spice of life.

Needing a breathing treatment

When I go into a Backwoods, or a Cabelas, or heck, even a Dick's Sporting Goods, I start to have trouble breathing. I get short of breath, start panting, my ears begin to ring. Then I progress to drooling. I can't help it. When I'm surrounded by boots and backpacks and bags, it gets ugly.

There's prevention for this sort of thing, which entails me rushing from the store and flinging myself into the Braum's next door. I'm sure I'll get over this eventually, but don't hold your breath.


And then there's treatment for my disorder, which entails me finding "just one more thing" I might need for backpacking, or hiking, or biking, or kayaking.
Like socks. Wool socks, to be exact. I am now a lifelong fan of Smartwool socks. They come in all sorts of lengths and weights. I am now the proud owner of these lightweight, colorful summer wool socks.

Wool doesn't wear out, it keeps you warm even when wet, and it inhibits odor. I am trying to move The Whee into full time wool-sock wearing, because she has a serious case of odorous toe disorder.

"MOM!  Why do you tell people things like that about me!"

Because it's true, dear.

Take a deep breath, there's more to come from my foray into Backwoods this week, as well as some new food ideas for camping and backpacking. I know you're waiting with bated breath.

Girls' Night Out

It started innocently enough: a dainty succulent for the first twenty folks in the door...

and ended with people dancing in the aisles. Really dancing. In the aisles.

This is what happens when you take a major outdoor gear retailer,

invite a lot of fun-loving outdoor women into your store,

serve them a gorgeous spread of delectable desserts and appetizers, soft drinks and wine,

give away lots of super-cool doorprizes...

You end up with a party called Ladies Night at Backwoods!

I attended this event Tuesday night, and boy, was it fun! No boys allowed!  (Although I saw one poor guy wandering through with a confused look on his face. I think he must have stumbled in by accident, because I didn't see any female directing him.)

Manager Pam Cherek and her crew put on this great evening once a year, prior to Mother's Day. This is Jim. Jim celebrated his 60th birthday by hiking the Grand Canyon.

Jim is always working when I go in the store (which either means Jim works too much, or I go into Backwoods too often, or both). Jim has a fantastic talent for convincing me there's "just one more thing" I need from this store.  Philoboy would prefer Jim not talk to me; the mass in my gear closet grows in inverse proportion to the mass in Philo's wallet.


The event also included free chair massages. The longest line in the store was in front of these smiling folks.  Ahhh, heaven with hands.

The second longest line in the store was through the dessert table, which included chocolate, and delicious mango salsa, and chocolate, and cheeses and nuts, and chocolate. I might have made more than one trip through this line.

An instructor from Sonders Music dropped in to give us a Zumba and hip-hop demo, and soon had people dancing along with her. I am decidedly unchoreographable. Trust me, if that isn't a word, it IS a concept you can grasp.

And plenty of good deals, steals and shopping of all sorts. I love these boots. I think I will trade one of my children for these. I just haven't decided which child goes yet.

Of course, I didn't leave there empty-handed (sorry, Philo honey. You don't mind working a few extra hours this week, do you?  Philo says, "Thanks a lot, Jim!").  I'll be sharing pictures of my bounty (and it being used) in the coming days. 

In the meantime, drop in the Norman Backwoods store and say hi to Pam, Jim, Blossom and the rest of the crew. Surely there's just one more thing you need for your outdoor adventures, even if you don't know it yet.

Oh, to be sick of the indoors

I spent a good part of the winter torturing my self with Jillian Michaels videos. I'm pretty sure I'm still closer to 'dead' than I am to 'shred' and I'm no more fond of her than I was four months ago.

So I've moved to self-induced torture. No wait, no one made me watch those dvd's so that was self-induced torture too. Now it's self-flagellation of the dumbbell variety. Someone just told me the dumbbell was the one lifting the handweights...

I want to be able to go farther and stay out longer when I'm backpacking, so I need to be able to carry more weight in my pack. Therefore, my legs, arms, core, and back need more muscle.  Removing some of my brain might help also.

All so I can enjoy scenes like this...

For some reason, muscles sore from hauling a pack and tripping over rocks all day never hurts in quite the same way as muscles sore from heaving chunks of steel while stinky guys grunt all around you.

Or how about another option? I'll just go to my doctor and tell her I need a prescription for the outdoors. Specifically, for a national park. Check out this great health plan in Indiana. I think this is the greatest idea ever. I'm going to call my doctor right now, and see if we can work a deal using our state parks.

    Happy Trails, and may you always get a healthy dose of adventure!

Rain, rein, reign, don't go away yet

I'm rained in, which means I'm reined in. This is not to say I reign, necessarily, but I like to think I do. 

This IS to say I'm ever so grateful for the moisture we're finally receiving. Even if it does make my hair frizz.

I'm grateful we don't have to water the garden this week, even if I do have puddles on my carpet from raincoats and boots.

I'm delighted the burn ban will be lifted for a while, even if all my running shoes are sopping wet when I put them on. That's the reined in part. I'm averse to wet feet.

I'm grateful that the rain is bringing out some of the flowers. It's also watering my creative side as well, in the form of new KaleidoScapes. I've added some more to the Digital Chicanery page.

Here's a couple of nods to spring blooms!

MAGENTA- makes me feel energetic! This is one of the daintiest 'Scapes I've done.

I love the airy feel of this one. Makes me think of looking up at the sun early on a spring morning. Maybe cause I was when I took the picture.

Different kind of bloom.  Blooms mostly on rivers in spring and summer.  Only seen by avid (or rabid) kayakers.


     Happy Trails,  and may adventures sprout up all around you!

Rainy Day ramblings

The last week or so has been scary, weather-wise, for a lot of people south and east of us. Seriously scary and bad. My heart goes out to them for their losses.

Being raised on a short hill in the middle of a flat spot in Oklahoma, tornadoes were a pretty common occurrence. You get kinda inured to it, like living in a place with bears, or in California with the earthquakes. You're just used to the hazards in your environment.

So all that rambling is to say that I don't get too panicky when there's a tornado warning.  Like a lot of Okies, I get my camera and go stand outside. This time, my camera caught this...

And then I thought about my baby was on the second story of an apartment building with her dog-wanna-be cat, and I got a little panicky. No cellar. No community storm shelter. For the first time, the thought of a tornado warning made think I might want to be somewhere else.

And then my baby came out, saw this, and went, "Oh, cool!", and we talked about what we would do if the sirens went off, and I realized she wasn't the least bit panicky or worried, so I handed her my camera, and went inside to cook dinner.

And she caught this...

And I realized you just prepare as best you can. You talk about the what-ifs and the what-should-you-do's, and instill some good sense and respect for nature. Because life's always gonna have some kind of storm...

Hallelujah!

He is risen! May Easter blessings fall upon you today!

Easter is my second-most favorite holiday. Nothing will ever top Christmas, but Easter is close. Beautiful choir music. Chocolate rabbits. The sounds of spring. A day of family and fun. No presents necessary. Need I say more?
My girls decorate cookies with lewd frosting costumes. You haven't had cookies until you've eaten a buttercream-bikini clad bunny. These are not the cookies we serve the preacher.

and then sugar addicts that they are, the girls go straight to fighting for a hit of the frosting to see who can OD first.

Perhaps you celebrate with a huge ham, a bountiful brunch, or a sunrise service with your church. And then a nap.

Which isn't really a nap at all, but a chance to nibble your sister until she screams, and your mother threatens to smother you both with a pillow. Most holidays at my house involve threats of bodily harm.

 
Sniff.. Easter memories make me all sappy. Pardon me while I get a tissue.

Easter is egg hunts. Oh dear. That ponytail. My little chicky. Pardon me while I get a whole box of tissues.


Easter is barefoot and bunny ears, and your baby getting bigger.

And your baby getting big enough to reach the eggs in scary places...

Easter is watching your girls run all over your tiny town in an Easter Basket scavenger hunt, and realizing the little one is almost as tall as the big one

WAAHHHHH!!!

I'm not sure I'll be able to survive another Easter. My little chicks have hatched into big girls. I just won't take pictures. If I can't see it, it doesn't exist. I'm going to go eat another tackily dressed cookie and hide under the covers.

And then when they're asleep I'm going to eat all their chocolate bunnies and marshmallow eggs.

You're never too old to hunt to hunt for Easter eggs, or to hide them.

 

You're never too old for chocolate bunnies,

You're never too old for Easter baskets.

And you can never, ever, never, never, never, ever, eat too many marshmallow rabbits.
And that's all I have to say about that...

Death of an appliance

My dishwasher just died. It was slow and painful expiration process. It started out with tiny rust spots, and worn areas on the rubberized racks.

It grew to a refusal to drain. To a sullen, sodden, refusal to drain. And an insidious dirtying of my already dirty dishes- slathering them with bits of belt, or gasket, or whatever those little black bits are.  Ewwww.

It's not that I mind washing dishes by hand, as long as I can look out the window. It's standing at the sink looking at a wall (even if that wall is covered with glass hummingbirds given to me by my daughter) that I mind. It offends my aesthetics. I feel like I've been put in timeout by the teacher.

It's going to require man hours and manly tools to fix the problem. Whew, that eliminates me from the process!  Downside- it will also be replaced in a man's timeframe.... 
Said man does not do the cooking...
said man is not missing her favorite pans...
said man thinks washing dishes by hand is no big deal.

Said man will be taking me out to eat until this is fixed...

Urban wilderness

We live in a big ol' city, surrounded by people and stores and cars and eating establishments. Only one of those do I consider to be a good thing (it's a good thing in its many forms: Greek, Chinese, bar-b-q, Greek, farmers' market, sushi, Greek, pizza delivery, did I mention Greek?)

What we are not surrounded by is forest, wilderness, mountains, large bodies of water, or any element of the outdoors. Sometimes it makes me short of breath, and not in a good way. Sometimes it makes me downright cranky. At least that's what I blame it on when Philo asks me why I'm cranky.

Philo: "Why are you cranky?"

Me: "Because there's no National Park within walking distance."

Philo: "Really? It's not because I left seven pairs of socks in the living room and a sink full of dirty dishes?"

Me: "Dishes?  I didn't notice any dirty dishes. Socks? Oh no dear, that doesn't bother me at all. Or at least, not as much as the fact that the Rocky Mountains aren't outside my window."

See what I mean? Lack of outdoorness makes me hard to get along with. Philo decided to ameliorate the burr under my saddle before I started bucking. He found an urban wilderness only five miles from our house.

Known as Sutton Wilderness, there's a trail around a small lake. If you can ignore the sound of traffic on your right, and concentrate on the bird sounds on your left, you can almost convince yourself that you are in a real wilderness.

It got better as we got to the far side of the lake. The traffic sounds really did go away and we spotted some wildlife. We've decided this would be a good place to put in a few hours while wearing a pack, just as a sort of practice run.

Cheap, easy, and readily available internet is also a benefit of the big city. In our tiny town in Kansas internet providers were few and far between, certainly not cheap, and the service was less than reliable.  Now we can have four computers going at once in the house, and never have to talk to one another face to face. We just IM between rooms.

It also means we have found new and fascinating things to do with said computers. By we I mean the Whee. I don't have the energy or patience to peruse programs. I think an application is something you use to get a job.

The Whee has been applying Picnik to her Facebook photos, which actually inspired me to run one of my photos through PhotoSlop, I mean Photoshop, again. Photoshop is not my friend. I think I may be too old to learn new tricks, but I keep trying.

According to Photoshop for Dummies, with a few simple clicks (HA! false advertising!) I turned this dull, lifeless photo of the Sutton Trail ...

into this fabulously rich, colorful, detailed masterpiece. I know, you're underwhelmed, aren't you?  Me too.

I feel like Photoshop is like the club where you don't get the good stuff unless you know the secret handshake. I haven't broken the code yet.

At least now when I get that 'gonna-smack-somebody' feeling, I know a place to which I can escape,  thus saving mankind.  Who knew a little body of water in the middle of Urban America could work such miracles?

       Happy Trails, and may you find all the well-hidden adventures!

Biophilia Babes

I love dictionaries, and word-of-the-day, and thesauruses, and Scrabble, and all things wordy, except people who talk a lot.

I am perfectly ok with being a word nerd and a misanthrope. They go well together.

The best word of the day from the last week was biophilia:
bahy-oh-fil-ee-uh, ‐feel-yuh] –noun
a love of life and the living world; the affinity of human beings for other life forms.
 
Note that this definition does not say an affinity for other humans. So I can safely say I'm a biophiliac and not lose my misanthropric status.
 
But maybe it could also be interpreted as the affinity FOR humans by other life forms, as evidenced by this close encounter of the armadillo kind by The Whee.
 

 
 
We were wandering down by the pond when six of these little critters came running by, causing waves in the grass and squeals from the Whee. Is he wondering where to get shoes like that? 
 
Regardless of what you think of armadillos in general (makes holes in your yard, pests, varmints, etc.), surely you can't deny these miniature tanks of nature are cute.  And they weren't at all afraid of us.
 
These instruments of lawn destruction were curious and energetic and such excellent life forms. This  is the type of moment I dream about for my child. We tend to categorize creatures based on their convenience to our modern, mostly urban life. I want the Whee to understand that every creature has beauty and value.
 
The Whee was in wonder that a wild creature came to investigate her. That they shared a moment. A biophiliac exchange.
 
And that's never, ever, a bad thing.
 

 
      Hey girl!  What that writing  on your shoes?  Do you speak 'dillo?

National Park Week

I feel I'm been somewhat remiss in not posting this earlier. My abject apologies!  Please feel free to beat me with a bar of chocolate.

April 16-24 is National Park Week and admission is free to all national parks. You should immediately stop what you are doing and drive to your nearest National Park. Right now. Put down the paper,  pack up a lunch, throw the kids in the car, and GO.

If that's not possible, then at least take a day and spend it at the nearest national recreation area, historic site or monument in your area (although I'm not sure the admission is free to those places this week).

The National Parks nearest to me are all in Arkansas, which can brag about having SIX National Parks. Hey, Hogs- share the love, will ya?!?! 

My favorite Arkansas spot just happens to be a National River, the Buffalo, and it also happens to rank in my top five trips ever.

This was the trip in which we had a close encounter of the hog type, and I'm not talking about rabid football fans.

I'd have to say some of my best outdoor memories take place in national parks. One of my other top 5 involves a national park in Colorado.

Oklahoma has national sites and monuments, as does Kansas. I could wander down into Texas to the LBJ Park, but probably won't right now, but I can't see not at least wandering through some historic sites locally. Otherwise, I might lose my Outdoor-Kinda-Gal Card.

However, whenever, with whomever, and as soon as ever...celebrate the outdoors!!!

    Happy Trails, and may your adventures be a walk in the park!