Quick Check-in

Vacation was amazing. I spent lots of time with friends and LOTS of time hiking in the mountains. Yeah, I do that at home, but these were different mountains with different plants and animals.

On the morning that I left, a couple others woke up early with me and hiked steep trails for an hour to reach the top of the highest ridge in time to greet the sun.

It was fantastic and well worth the hike.

And now I'm home for a day before I head to the next show. Today is also the day that I pack up the green beam to deliver to Portland on Monday after the show.

Here's a quick snapshot of the sample blanket to give an idea of how many fantastic colors are coming from it.

Of course the iPod camera doesn't capture color so well, but you can get an idea. Every piece of cloth from this beam will be vastly different from every other. Exciting!

And, on the fitness front... I have had to put the brakes on my weight loss. Even though I eat a lot of balanced, healthy food, the two hours of strenuous exercise (and scenery appreciation) have caused me to lose 8 pounds in 3 weeks. That's a little too fast to be sustainably healthy so I'm adding more food to my daily routine to slow it down.

I also hit a big milestone yesterday. At first, my heart and lungs were the weak spot. I had to go slow so I wasn't panting and getting woozy. After just a few weeks, they are conditioned enough that I can push hard and feel the muscles getting a workout. Yesterday's fast hike was a stretch for the glutes, but the muscle seems to have recovered overnight.

And just in time for a good batch of cardio: setting up a booth in Bandon, Oregon for their annual Cranberry Festival.