Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Eating Out

A while ago, I'd heard there was a Peruvian restaurant in Kuna, ID (Lima Limón). My father grew up in Peru, so I have a certain interest in the cuisine. In particular, I was hoping to try their lomo saltado, because I haven't had that dish in over ten years. And the last time I had it, I made it, so it wasn't very authentic. I mean, I never actually learned how to make it from my dad. I just remember enjoying it when he made it, so I looked a recipe up online.

So when my husband was wrapping up a seven day in a row, 800 or more calories in an hour treadmill challenge on a Saturday, I figured that would be the perfect time to go and check the place out. I could drive him out for a little celebration lunch and then drive out to the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area for a little shakedown hike with my new hiking clothes while Ambrose napped in the car.

Ambrose headed to the gym by 8 am on Saturday and I waited for his return at home. I expected him to be home by 10 at the latest, so I prepared myself accordingly. I got ready to go, but not too ready, and watched some TV and waited. 

And waited. 

He got home closer to 11, because he had been sharing exercise knowledge at the gym. And resting and recovering enough to drive. I hurried him into the shower and got us going, because according to the information I'd looked up, the place opened at 11 on Saturdays. 

Well, not this particular Saturday. After all my worry about getting there and finding the place, I managed to navigate the traffic circle near downtown Kuna and arrive at around 11:30 to find the restaurant had a handwritten sign on the door that indicated they would open at noon. And I'm pretty sure google knew that too, and I should have listened when my map app told me the place wouldn't be open. But I was too eager. 

So we waited in the car until just about noon and then stood out front and waited some more, because Peruvians are notoriously late. But it was worth the wait. 

I got to witness Ambrose's first taste of Inca Kola and have an incredibly delicious lomo saltado. Ambrose had a creamy shrimp dish that was also good, I suppose. But it was no lomo. 

If I can ever get my dad to visit, I'll be taking him there. And in the meantime, I definitely intend to go back and try some more of the menu - and next time I'll save room for dessert. 

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Just Keep Writing

I kept up with the 100 words per day goal, and managed to finish off my first draft of the Queens River guide book over the weekend. Ambrose has been reading it over and adding comments. My next step is to work on the comments and try to finalize the actual wording before putting it into the template.

I'd like to have the wording as finalized as possible, because I discovered with the Chamberlain trail guide that the 6x9 Word document template doesn't allow me to take the easy way with placing pictures. I have to place them in exact spots in the text for them to come out right, which means if I change a word, I pretty much have to move all the pictures that come after that word.

There's also choosing the pictures for the book. I have a wealth of Queens River photos to choose from; it's going to be a matter of picking what best illustrates the trail and its various side paths. I might use a few from my Queens River solo book, but I don't want to overuse those. For one thing, I have more recent pictures to choose from. But there are some rather unique pictures illustrating what the aftermath of a storm looks like.

Last time, when I finished drafting my guide book, I moved right on to book production tasks and didn't keep writing. This time, I decided to keep up the writing, using the same 100 words per day goal. I'm actually working on a story for the first time in many months, and I'm enjoying the process. It helps keep me focused on writing to have that small goal to hit and to meet it each day.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Stress Relief

I've been trying to figure out ways to relieve stress, because when I get stressed my shoulders get tight, and when my shoulders get tight I tend to get headaches. The headaches hurt really bad and annoy my husband because he can't do anything to fix them (and also I get cranky).

So I've been getting regular massages. I've been doing yoga, even though I don't really like yoga. I've taken hot baths and spent time using fancy soaps. But yesterday, I found something that I need to keep in mind for next time I'm feeling extra stressed out.

Yesterday, I went to the library, because I thought my card was inactivated. There was a line at the counter when I came in, so I spent some time browsing. I breathed deeply of that lovely old book smell and tension just melted away.

Turns out my library card was fine. The email sent, that I didn't get a reply for, eventually did the trick. The lady at the desk told me I should get the libby app for accessing ebooks from the library. I went back to browsing and checked out a couple books. I could have stayed longer, but I was getting hungry for dinner.

I just need to remember not to underestimate the soothing power of the library.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Queens River Guide Progress

There has been progress on my writing of a Queens River Loop guide book, but not as much as there could be. I've been sick - again! - and there have been some other stresses going on as well. But writing is fun, and I'm working on getting my butt into the writing chair.

I'm going to start the 100 words a day minimum challenge again that got me through the last guide book. It is such a low bar that it's easy to surpass it on days when I'm feeling good and easy to reach on days when I just want to collapse into bed instead of writing anymore.

Plus, I need to start spending a little more time on preparing for my solo hike. The plan is to go at the end of April/beginning of May, but that isn't going to happen unless temperatures start warming up around here. Most of this year's segment will be in the desert, and I don't anticipate any issues with access, but the last 20 or so miles (of 70-ish) will be getting up over 7000 feet and is currently under snow according to the forest service. Plus creek crossings are running high.

My husband and I will be doing a scouting trip later in the month to see if the conditions warrant pushing the trip back. This is a tricky little segment to time.

But even with looking up information on the trail and reviewing the maps and my supplies, I should be able to carve out 100 words per day on the guide until I finish it up. We don't have a Queens River trip scheduled this year, but maybe we can get out for a wham-bam long weekend somewhere in the summer or early fall. Once I get the guide up, I want to keep it up to date.