Sadly, code school was so demanding of Faye’s time that between being on the computer and being on the computer, she had little time for sleep and no time for being crafty in the kitchen. But last year’s gifts have not gone forgotten.

Flash forward 9 months to this past weekend, and in the spirit of GSTD, I finally decided to give the soap a try. (OK, it was prompted by an impromptu doll-cleanup project.) While I wouldn’t count grating a bar of soap as my favorite way to spend 15 minutes, the overall process took less than a half an hour and I wondered why it’d taken so long!^ I’d already had a Nancy’s yogurt container within reach that used to hold detergent from the coop which made for an excellent shaker. The steps were simple:

1. grate soap into Nancy’s yogurt container
2. mix in washing soda & borax
3. put the lid on & shake, preferably to a pop song

Voila! To boot, the soap worked well (though I want to share the proof in a not-related post about the doll).

Ingredients for Laundry Soap Powder:

• 1c Washing Soda – Portland Homestead Supply Store, $3 for 3 pounds.
• 1c Borax – I’ve had this box in the house so long, I don’t remember. I’ll consider it free.
• Grated Natural Handmade Laundry Bar – “From Santa” only $5.5 at Sellwood Soap Company (though there are many cheaper alternatives) – Not into grating? They have a great post about an alternative process requiring some melting & a food processor.

In fact, it worked so well, I decided it was time to bake some bread. Thanks to my last housemate leaving a bread maker -and- a bread maker recipe book, I found a Peasant’s Bread recipe for which I already had all of the ingredients:

• 3 c flour
• 1 c water
• 1 tsp honey (though I ended up putting in closer to 1.5T in an effort to finish the last of the local honey from across the Bridge of the Gods)
• salt to taste & yeast

Since bread calls for mayonnaise and we’d just boiled a dozen eggs for our recent hiking & camping trip with some left over crying to be made into egg salad – I had to round out the evening with some homemade mayo from The Silver Spoon. This time I was patient in letting my 2 eggs come to room temperature and lucky to have some delicious white wine vinegar & saffloa oil on hand. It was the best batch I’d made in a while.

Waking up to fresh bread in the morning, I enjoyed making our lunches more than most Mondays.

While I *was* gearing up to make my next 30 day challenge focused on reading more – I’m spontaneously throwing my hat into the ring for 30 days of homesteading. As for what that means, I’m going to start small and say that means continuing this awesome momentum of fixing the shit that keeps breaking and using what’s already here. It could also mean tracking everything I purchase, though I doubt I’ll be drawing it anytime soon. Whatever it manifests as, I’m going to start small and give myself room to grow.

^ When I asked Faye what took us so long to make the laundry soap, she said she’d looked at it several times and didn’t want to wait all that time. What time? Oh, the time between when you boil it and it’s ready. Boil it? What – What instructions were you reading? Oh, I don’t know. The ones on the bag? I immediately went to Google and started looking at DIY fails. Maybe it was tooo simple to be true. Alas, I found recounts of this powder story, got out of bed, went down 2 flights of stairs into the basement to see just what I’d used (Sellwood Soap Co), browsed their website and finally felt confident that I’d done it right. Phew. 

The post 3 simple DIYs for clean clothes and better sandwiches: a homesteading weekend 9 months in the making appeared first on Jewels.

What I’ve learned from my past 2 30 day challenges (blogging every day and walking every day) is that I still suck at doing something every day. I didn’t walk 10k+ *every* day. By the second week I cleared 6k every day and I was stoked with my new low. By the third, I cleared 8k and by the last … well, I had used the last drop of consistency in my body. I was back down to my erratic 3k days and I knew I needed something big to keep this month from being a bust. So I sweet talked my girlfriend into a 9 mile hike in the Tillamook forest alongside mushroom hunters and adventure seekers riding off highway vehicles. Thankfully, I more than made up for my last week’s deficit and paid into the future, allowing me to sit here typing while not walking, guilt free.

When I’m not the first pony out of the gate, or playing pacer, I can finish my race. But I need breaks. I’m the sprinter running a marathon. I’m a manic depressive. I’m a vinyl playing on a manual turntable. Or am I the silence between the flips with the songs my break?

Either way, while setting a habit forming goal, I must be careful to:

1. Give myself room to grow: set a daily low below my end average daily goal. I said my goal was 10k steps a day. I entered 6k and later 8k as my daily goal into my Fitbit’s tracker app. And because of that, I got to celebrate hitting a daily goal every day for 7 days for the first time since I started tracking (back in February). And that little win gave me the momentum to keep going when I wanted to take a break.
2. Give myself room to take a break. When my records end, I need to flip ’em! And sometimes I’m in the other room and it takes a while. What’s great is that taking a break from one challenge may mean feeding another. Taking a break from work feeds my family. Taking a break from art feeds my work. Taking a break from family means guilt around the holidays.
3. Keep up with my own velocity and don’t go into debt. Easier done in conjunction with number 1 above, as it’s easier to keep up with a daily goal when that goal starts low. While I started skipping a day or two on the blogging challenge after a week – if I’d had done that out of the gate, I’d have only ever felt behind. Same for my steps.

Now to apply these to my next one and report back. Now to decide between reading and sleeping, I’m off to bed to see which one comes first.

The post On Being a Vinyl Playing on a Manual Turntable (or 3 Rules for a Successful 30 Day Challenge) appeared first on Jewels.

No!

I wasn’t so sure about this, so I waited a day and then another … sure thing. No weight (nor fat %) gained. So I looked at Fitbit and I realized that I nearly doubled my steps & stairs count for the days I was on vacation. I also noticed that my activity counts went up on a last-minute and short, 2 day trip to San Francisco, too. (Airports are made for walking and those hills for stepping.)

Doing a quick average for the days I was not traveling against the days I was, I found a significant difference:

• 11,000 vs 6,000 steps = 5,000 more steps!
• 31 vs 21 floors = 10 more floors!

The best part is that I wasn’t trying to be more active. I was simply impatient. Instead of waiting for elevators, we took the stairs. The entrances & exits from the boat were typically on floors 5 & 6 and the front desk and promenade where you could walk around the boat in hopes of spotting wild life were on floor 7. We were on floor 12. And the hot tubs, dance club and top deck viewing were on floors 14 & 15. Want to naturally get some more steps into your otherwise leisurely cruise days? Rule 1: Get a room on the 10, 11 or 12th floor. 

One thing I’m absolutely terrible at tracking is stuff like what I’m eating, drinking and how much I’m sleeping, but you can rest assured that I had dessert for breakfast on more than one occasion. So I’m going to guess that my net loss of less than a pound can be attributed to my one gym workout (which I’m putting in here in case my trainer reads this), being more active by default even if not to a cardio level and better sleep. Many studies have shown that the less you sleep, the more likely you are to gain weight. Rule 2: Sleep 8-9 hours each night.

That’s it!

To celebrate, I’ve decided that for my next 30 day challenge, I’m going to walk to a daily average of 10,000 steps right here in my own city. A nice bonus will be seeing myself rise to the top of the Fitbit friends leaderboard. That’s right, it’s challenge time.


ps. That first spike in floors is due to a HIKE. As such, I’m expecting my next 30 days to include some more outdoors.

The post How to Not Gain 10 Pounds on a Cruise (and still eat what you want) appeared first on Jewels.

We decide to celebrate Faye’s birthday at the stroke of midnight with some dancing at the glamorous One-5 lounge on the (you guessed it) 15th floor. I even get Faye to dance her famous discos and I’m happy racking up my steps count on the fitbit.

Despite docking in Victoria, BC early on Friday, I start the day with laundry. Being Faye’s birthday and all, I decide to let her sleep in and only wake her when laundry is nearly dry so we can squeeze in a quick walk on land. Like Juneau, we’re only docked in Victoria for a few hours. Opting out of any planned excursions (and costs) we follow the walkway to downtown though only get as far as the wharf. The floating village is adorable and we watch kids feed a fat seal and snag another real coffee. (Have I mentioned how bad the cruise coffee is yet?)

We even spot a chowder cart off the beaten path and fill up on some chowder with halibut confit (read: delicious heaven) and fish sans chips and a coke. Soda on the ship is astronomically expensive, yet happens to be one of Faye’s favorite delights – so instead of sneaking on more bottles of wine, we decide to bring back a coke.

Without knowing it’ll be my last, I make it for another day of Duplicate Bridge. I’m with Jean again, the well dressed, laid back risk taker from my first day of Party Bridge and I like her style. We hit a stride in a few hands and she patiently puts up with my learning in others. We’re East/West again, which I like since that means we get to walk in between rounds. That first day we were North/South and I felt far too much like a programmer again, being glued to my chair and punching numbers into the scoring computer for hours. If I knew I wasn’t going to make the final game tomorrow, I’d do a better job of saying goodbye to everyone, but I leave as if I’ll see them all tomorrow.

The evening blows by with the great buffet birthday dinner, family portraits, napkin crown and evening at the One-5. Being the last Formal Night of the cruise, the dance club is filled with the crew’s entertainment staff and what reminds me of what I remember of freshman year fraternity party sorority girls. Only I’m not having to snatch passed out girls out of the arms of untrustworthy boys. (Growing older has its perks!)

I’m not sure why I’m not in the mood for drinking, so I play with the discomfort of dancing – of being visible – in front of people, fully inhibited. When a country song comes on, it’s like I just took 5 shots of whisky. While I never liked country growing up, I loved dancing to it as those town dances were the prime opportunity to meet boys from other towns! The gentleman I find free to dance isn’t very coordinated, so The Pretzel is out of the question. Still, we manage to make it through without any major injuries and I no longer feel awkward dancing alone, sober and to a variety of music I will not remember tomorrow. My realization is that country is my gateway dancing music*. I wonder if I can use that next time I’m in a situation, room or mood where I’m too anxious to move. I might need to add another Power Song to my iPod…

* I’ve used the gateway practice most commonly with food. For example, I never used to like tomatoes. One day I discovered a pasta pomodoro dish that I absolutely loved. I used that to like tomatoes. Raw onions? It took a Russian raw onion, tomato, basil and sunflower oil salad. Blue Cheese? Cranberry Stetson on steak. Gin? Still working on it via Hendricks and a mix of bitters, Saint Germaine, soda water and grapefruit juice though not all at once. The list goes on.

Extra: Today* is Day 34, Post 28 of my 30 day blog challenge. Click ‘Follow’ at the bottom of the page to receive weekly updates in your inbox or follow me on Tumblr if that’s your scene.

* Living on a boat for 10 days, I had limited access to the internet so post-dating my entries for the date written (vs the date actually uploaded).

The post Days 8+9: Asea, a Birthday, Canada + a Gateway Dance appeared first on Jewels.

My only other sky tram experiences include riding with the cavemen dummies at Santa Cruz and Portland’s arial tram to OHSU, neither of which prepared me for the Mount Roberts Tramway. When the doors open at the top, I can peer down through the large crack and see that we’re suspended above the trees with no solid ground in sight. While I appreciate the fact that the windows open for prime picture taking, I can’t shake the visions of people falling through and I keep my picture taking to a minimum.

We’ve got time to hike the short trail, though I’d like to revisit and take the steep trail down through gold valley to the city. After getting a few panoramas in, we’re just in time for the American Bald Eagle viewing and measure our armspams against wingspans.

With an hour to spare, we make it back to the boat just in time for me to make it to my first game of Duplicate Bridge which deserves a post all on its own. For now I’ll simply say how pleased I was to play with such a gracious and patient group, high ranked ACBL players and all. I’d also like to thank my father and brother for always beating me at games growing up, as they taught me how to lose graciously and still love the games.

Extra: Today* is Day 31, Post 27 of my 30 day blog challenge. Click ‘Follow’ at the bottom of the page to receive weekly updates in your inbox or follow me on Tumblr if that’s your scene.

* Living on a boat for 10 days, I had limited access to the internet so post-dating my entries for the date written (vs the date actually uploaded).

The post Day 7: Juneau, Alaska appeared first on Jewels.

No, I didn’t know that Moose were so freakishly big! Or that “halibut” came from a Middle English word for “flat fish we eat on holy days” and that they can grow bigger than a … than an otter! Or that a Bald Eagle doesn’t get its white plumage until it’s 4 and can live upwards of 30 years in the wild (though the average expectancy is 15-20). While I certainly don’t cram everything in, I enjoy the large room filled with fabulous taxidermy tableaus including plenty of animals (including birds) I’ve never heard of, let alone seen in the wild, before. The bird handlers are all very friendly, especially a younger girl who can’t be over the age of 12 who I’ll later relate to the little girl in “We Bought a Zoo.”

At this point, I don’t have time for a full hike to the top of any mountain anymore, so I walk beyond the edge of town a ways on a gravel road that’s no stranger to tourists, checked out a hiker and cyclist only campground boasting bear-safe rope ties for food supplies and squeeze in some local art skimming before joining up with my fellow travelers.

Highlights from our evening tour include the tour guide herself for her stories and verve after a long day entertaining folks from the largest boat Haines gets all year. While taking us out to the mud flats (where folks have to time their walks to and from home with the low tide) and a hippy community of artists and tradespeople, she squeezes in history and personal anecdotes that have me dreaming of a life living in Alaska during the summer and Mexico during the winter. We even get to see another glacier.

After spending a music fest or two with an Alaskan who belts her state song better than I’ve ever heard it, I snap a quick shot of the fort building where the song was born. And then comes the Hammer Museum with an impressive nail display and chatty guide. Her story starts with a man who wanted more hammers and a wife who put a limit in the house at 100. As one would expect, he starts a museum and a few short years later, he’s amassed over 5,000 including donations and contributions from the Smithsonian. They have a hammer dating to the making of the Pyramids, hammer patents and countless varieties including “drink hammers” from the golden era of talkies when folks needed a way to let the waiters know they needed another drink. I imagine all bars sounding like weddings. And I want to bring the drink hammer back. (Not to be confused with bringing MC Hammer back, though I’d love to see a picture of MC Hammer at the Hammer Museum.)

More photos from Haines, Alaska.

Extra: Today* is Day 30, Post 26 of my 30 day blog challenge. Click ‘Follow’ at the bottom of the page to receive weekly updates in your inbox or follow me on Tumblr if that’s your scene.

* Living on a boat for 10 days, I had limited access to the internet so post-dating my entries for the date written (vs the date actually uploaded).

The post Day 6: Haines, Alaska + Cabin Fever appeared first on Jewels.

Now it’s just me against the fog and it burns off quickly. Everyone who’d been to Alaska before warned me of the rain and lack of sunshine, so I’m not quite prepared for what the day delivers. Bright sun, warm breezes and a ship full of photographers make for my longest day yet of walking. Faye and I stake out prime spots on the promenade where a Princess paparazzi bombard us with pleas for poses against this glacier and that glacier and the magnanimous backdrops. After the umpteen decline, they finally recognize us and stop asking.

While the glaciers seem like little more than snowy crevasses from afar, as the cruise ship gets close we can see the colors pick up and splashes of icebergs breaking off into the ocean. They suddenly tower and hint at an ice age that was as recent as 20,000 years ago. (I have some history to learn!) Needless to say, I take several photos and enjoy an evening at sea, watching the glaciers fade into the sunset and trying to avoid picturing them fading away forever.

All Glacier Bay, Alaska set on Flickr … I hope to share the panoramas soon.

Extra: Today* is Day 29, Post 25 of my 30 day blog challenge. Click ‘Follow’ at the bottom of the page to receive weekly updates in your inbox or follow me on Tumblr if that’s your scene.

* Living on a boat for 10 days, I had limited access to the internet so post-dating my entries for the date written (vs the date actually uploaded).

The post Day 5: Glacier Bay appeared first on Jewels.

I decided to let Faye sleep in and found a comfortable spot at my mother’s namesake’s O’Brien’s cafe for an off ship Irish Coffee and blogging time. The New York Hotel is next door and I’m drawn to an official looking historical plaque which summarizes the hotel’s history. Started by a Japanese family who was sent away to an interment camp after Pearl Harbor, the hotel stayed open and was returned to the family after they were able to return home, along with the profits. What a beautiful town, I decided at the moment.

Less sincere is Creek Street, which boasts itself as the place where “Salmon -and- Men go upstream to spawn.” A curvy woman in red greets the droves of tourists in front of a former brothel and we weave through families watching salmon climb rapids and trying our best to ignore the odor of dead fish. Here at the top of the streams, is where the salmon spawn and die. And while I know this to be true, I’ve never seen so many dead fish and can understand one kid’s confusion and laugh at his mother’s response. “That, my dear, is global warming.”

With some cell phone coverage, I’m able to share one of the many pictures I will take in Alaska. Ever since visiting the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, BC, I’ve been in love with First Nation art and this place is crawling with totem poles, sketches and regional art of the flavor.

Luckily, Faye and I had booked an excursion for the afternoon that would take us away from the crowds and into kayaks and a fjord. We spot bald eagles, a seal and race fellow kayakers, taking advantage of an upper body workout opportunity we won’t get for the rest of the trip.

Overall, my first day in Alaska has been a wild success and I’m excited for the next few days of (Nebr)Alaskan Adventure.

Extra: Today* is Day 28, Post 24 of my 30 day blog challenge. Click ‘Follow’ at the bottom of the page to receive weekly updates in your inbox or follow me on Tumblr if that’s your scene.

* Living on a boat for 10 days, I had limited access to the internet so post-dating my entries for the date written (vs the date actually uploaded).

The post Day 4: Ketchikan, Alaska appeared first on Jewels.

Bam! I forgot how fun reading fiction is. After watching The Hunger Games on Cruise TV yesterday, I decided that I’d look for the second book in the library and much to my luck, I found it.

As expected, the book, Catching Fire, was a quick read and a perfect way to spend a day at sea. As unexpected, the stories will tint how I interact with my world for the coming week, from the food sculptures at the buffet and mentions of the natives use of the moss found on forests of Sitka Spruces.

Extra: Today* is Day 27, Post 23 of my 30 day blog challenge. Click ‘Follow’ at the bottom of the page to receive weekly updates in your inbox or follow me on Tumblr if that’s your scene.

* Living on a boat for 10 days, I had limited access to the internet so post-dating my entries for the date written (vs the date actually uploaded).

The post Day 3: At Sea – There is no District 12 appeared first on Jewels.

When I was in high school, I wanted to be a teacher. My guidance counselor told me I was too young. (For many years, I thought he meant in age since I was the youngest in my class, graduating at 17.) By the time I’d be teaching high school, somewhere during my 4 year pursuit of a college degree, I’d be the same age as my older students. This, he posited, would be a challenge for establishing trust and respect. Live life first and teach from experience led me away from teaching as I had a lot of life to experience first.

On a hunt for bridge – my final Facebook post before embarking on the cruise.

Of the many activities circled on our Princess Patter, I was most excited about ScholarShip@Sea: Bridge Play. ¹ Having come alone with no Duplicate Bridge experience, I was easily coaxed into playing Party Bridge with an opinionated, head strong woman from Quincy, California, a meek risk taker from the Bay Area and a newbie from Sacramento. I was indeed the youngest, by 25 or more years, though age only mattered when my references to my childhood “Book It” program fell on deaf ears. There were no cries of “Pizza Hut!” when making books. ²

We played the first hand with our cards face up on the table and played 2 hours without scoring, focusing instead on teaching the newbie, coaching myself and swapping stories. At one point, the woman to my left proclaimed: isn’t it amazing what we learn through teaching others? I had nodded in agreement, trying to figure out what I was learning at the moment beyond the importance of finesse. I needed my concentration for the game, however, so shook off the pondering for a later moment.

During those later moments, I flashed on my recent and very brief mentorship with some female students at Portland Code School, supporting my girlfriend through her learning of my profession, the role of teacher in project management and passing on the passion of photography. Surely there will be time in the next 8 days to give all of this more thought.

Notes, just like we used to pass in class:

1. The Princess Patter was our daily ‘paper’ listing the activities on the ship for the day, including the day’s date, day of the week, temperature and location information. Little did I anticipate that this would become my only insight into how much time had passed since we departed. (back)
2. A book is equal to 6 tricks. When bidding, you declare how many tricks you will win beyond the book. As such, my fellow Bridge City Bridge Club players enjoy yelling Pizza Hut! upon the completion of booking our first 6 tricks.  (back)

Extra: Today* is Day 26, Post 22 of my 30 day blog challenge. Click ‘Follow’ at the bottom of the page to receive weekly updates in your inbox or follow me on Tumblr if that’s your scene.

* Living on a boat for 10 days, I had limited access to the internet so post-dating my entries for the date written (vs the date actually uploaded).

The post Day 2: Bridge + Learning from Teaching appeared first on Jewels.