Soul Runnings

I went for a walk on the trail yesterday, after the rain let up. I had not been on the trail in nearly a month. I was curious to see if the tent dwellers were still there. I have seen a lot of stories in the media lately about the people living in tents along the trail, but I wondered if anything had changed. It had. There were more tents. I counted twelve tents in a quarter mile stretch of the trail. All several feet off the trail, many using an existing fence as a supporting structure. Many looked permanent, complete with little walking paths. One tent had a small fence with a gate! But it looked cleaner than last time. It was like a little village. I saw several people walking amongst the tents. Someone was barbecuing. Nobody was walking on the trail, but me. I did see a couple of people on bikes. I felt a little vulnerable, but no one bothered me. I am curious what will happen in the summer. Last summer the trail was hopping with cyclists, runners and hike...

I woke up to the sound of spring rain.  I opened the sliding door to let Honey Dog out. She just glared at me. Honey Dog does not do rain. But I do. I love the smell, the sound, how green it makes everything.  I feel a bit lazy today.  Like staying at home in my pajamas lazy. I put in one of our prepared, frozen crockpot meals. On the menu today: Chicken fajitas. All I did was plopped the frozen meal in the crockpot, set it for 6 hours on low, squeezed a lime on top and then secured the lid. Dinner is done! And already the aroma wafting through the house is making my tummy growl! I do not think I have time to get to the gym before I go teach. It is r aining outside, but the temperat ure is mild. I think I might tr y a trail walk and some stretching.  Nearly a year ago, when I first began writing this blog, I talked about running. This is a quote from my first post on Tuesday, May 12, 2015: The Time is Now! "...the bottom line is that I need to take drasti...

I feel rested today. I am officially cutting back on the caffeine. At least after 6 p.m! I slept like a rock last night. Hit the snooze button multiple times.  But I managed to make it to the gym a little earlier than usual.I worked up a sweat on the treadmill, while watching the comedy called "2016 Election" on CNN. What? It's not a comedy? Not a reality show?  It is the real news? Ha!  But it is quite entertaining to watch. And it makes my cardio go by in a flash. I did 20 minutes on the treadmill at a faster pace than usual. (1.25 miles). Then I did some upper body strength training:  Lat pull down - 50 pounds, 1 set of 12; Bench Press - 50 pounds, 1 set of 12; Shoulder Press - 50 pounds 1 set of 12. Then I did about 10 minutes of stretching, 10 minutes in the sauna and a nice soak in the jacuzzi. I haven't posted a psalm in several days. My psalm today is Psalm 33, a very uplifting one! It is very joyful, suggesting praising God with music.  I p...

Lavender Mocha! After St. Johns, I had a few students. I was quite worn out after my busy morning, so I stopped for an early evening cup of coffee. I have found the only way to survive choir practice of the Mozart Requiem is with a good stiff cup of caffeine. I stopped at the First Cup Coffeehouse on Woodstock. (  http://www.firstcupcoffeehouse.com/ ) Their daily special was Lavender Mocha. I had them make it with almond milk.  Wow! I have a new favorite cup of Joe! Choir practice went well. I do believe the caffeine helps my focus. The down side is it exacerbates my insomnia. Today I am planning on an extra long workout, sauna, and jacuzzi.  I am also food prepping with my daughter.  We went through our last batch of freezer meals in only a week, so I think we should double the prep work. Our chamber group has our final concert of the season this Saturday and the Mozart Requiem is looming, so a good piano practice session is also in order. I canno...

I am blogging from the Multnomah County Library in St. John's today. I was so thrilled to come out of the concert, walk around the corner and find a library. A library! One of my absolute favorite places to be. Ever! St. John's Library ( https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Johns_Library_in_Portland.jpg) Our chamber music group gave a little noon concert at St. John's Christian Church as part of the St. John's Tuesday Noon Music program. (www.saintjohnsmusic.com). We had a small, but very appreciate audience. I was especially impressed by a baby boy. He was maybe 11 months old, but one of the most enthusiastic audience members I have ever seen. Especially on my piano solos, when I would play the high notes, or loud, booming chords, I would hear him singing along with me with gusto! I think a musician was born today! St. John's is lovely. I had not been her for many years. The community is thriving. Many cute little restaurants and lovely old Portl...

 Dearly beloved We are gathered here today To get through this thing called life " Let's Go Crazy", Prince http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/prince/lets+go+crazy_20111277.html   I will admit it: I am still sad about the passing of Prince. The media is still going crazy.  The more I learn about him, the more it affects me.  He was just a few years older then me, but he accomplished ten times more in his lifetime. And it appears that he really embraced life! I heard on a news program that he had composed at least one song a day and kept oodles of unpublished manuscripts in a locked safe.  He was only five foot two, but apparently quite the basketball player. Geez, what are my excuses?  What will I leave behind?  No, we are not all superstars, or musical "geniuses".  But I am a musician. Pretty decent. Above average at sight reading.  But I have merely dabbled in composition. I like to write, but I just blog away. Why not publish a book...

Yesterday started out very calm and peaceful.  I made it to 8 a.m. Mass, then had the most extraordinary breakfast at Tecos.  The Chorizo breakfast. I often eat at this little Mexican restaurant after mass, but usually order the Huevos Rancheros. Which are also wonderful. But let me tell about the Chorizo breakfast! Oh, words fail me. Hunks of salty, chorizo and scrambled eggs, plump black beans, rice and guacamole with a steamy hot corn tortilla.   It held me over until way past lunchtime. Which was a good thing since my mother was not meeting me for our weekly lunch. She is playing the piano in my student recital today and said she needed to stay home and practice. Such a good student! After breakfast, I taught a few piano classes. Then I stopped at the store and picked up a large container of fresh melon, some shredded, cooked chicken and unsweetened iced tea.  That was my lunch.  Along with a few homemade peanut butter power balls cour...

Hellooooo! A mere 15 days until my 1 year anniversary of this blog! Time does not stand still. I am so thankful that I have stuck with it. Some days it was difficult. But now, it is one of the highlights of my day.  I am often out and about, walking to students houses and something will occur to me or catch my eye. And I think, "I cannot wait to blog about this!" I have found purpose. It's funny, I do not even really know who is reading this. I know some people do. I have a few friends who tell me so. It always surprises me. That I type what is going on in my head, and click "publish" and then send it out into the atmosphere. And soon others can read what was going on in my head. I don't know what my outlet would have been if the internet had not been discovered! I am planning on continuing after year 1. I don't know if I will call the day after "Day 366" or Year 2, Day 1.  I guess I will cross that bridge when I come to it. I...

 I was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee when I heard Prince had died.  I was studying my bible. The sliding glass door was open behind me. There was soft, warm breeze ruffling my hair, the bird songs floating above me.  At first, I thought it was another social media rumor. But then I logged onto the internet and saw Google was in purple letters, with purple rain drops coming down. Sudden deaths cause me to pause.  I always wish I would have paid more attention.  Of course, I never knew Prince.  But he did affect me. I was mesmerized by him. His face, especially those soulful eyes and the way his hair would partially cover one eye and the other, usually rimmed with dark eyeliner, would peer out in a soulful way. On his videos, when he would suddenly look straight into the camera, I would catch my breath. He was physically beautiful. And as a product of the 80's, I did love his music. I loved to dance.  Like it was 1999 all the time. I mad...

"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'" °Matthew 25:40. NIV version. Marker for Springwater Trail where I have been walking for nearly a year It has recently been brought to my attention that my daughter and her husband identify with the Republican Party.  I am ok with it. I just encourage them to vote. I still love them. We can still live under the same roof, eat together, pray together, watch the Blazers and The Voice together. We are family. We had begun discussing politics. Especially since the primary elections are coming up in Oregon.  They did not realized that Oregon has closed primaries. So they were facing a deadline to register with a party. My son in law texted me yesterday and told me he had updated his voter registration. I was so proud! "Republican?", I asked casually. "Yes. I am terrified of Hillary", he replied. ...

I have perfected the art of making a Greek salad!  I have made two huge bowls in the last week. My kinds rave. Essentially the secret is f vegetables , good feta cheese, Greek olives and a homemade dressing made with light, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar,  and oregano. Here is my recipe: MY BIG FAT GREEK SALAD Serves 4 hungry adults 4 cups greens (I used a "spring mix" from Fred Meyer) 2 cucumbers 6 roma tomatoes one small red onion 1 cup cubed feta cheese 1 cup Greek olives (pitted) Get out a big bowl. Peel a clove of garlic, cut in half and rub it over the interior of the bowl.  Wash the lettuce if it is not prewashed and packaged like mine was.  Dry the leaves, and tear into bite sized pieces. Throw into the big bowl. Note: Romaine lettuce is good to include in the mix, because it is hearty. Peel the cucumbers and dice. Add to bowl. Cut the roma tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds (otherwise they make th...

I am laying in bed with the window open, feeling the cool breeze and listening to the birds sing their morning song. I am also periodically bellowing my son's name. He asked me to help him wake up this morning. We all watched "The Voice" last night. It's our family television show of choice. My son just bellowed back, "Those birds are annoying!" Lol.  I  don't know, maybe it is just me, but I think an alarm clock going off every ten minutes, followed by the thunk of the snooze button is slightly more annoying than the bird choir we have assembled  outside in our big tree. I really should figure out what kind of tree it is. The birds in our neighborhood love it. It is in full bloom right now with tiny white flowers. I am playing the piano this morning at a music club meeting. A Bach concerto for two violins and piano,  Vivaldi concerto for two violins and piano and two piano solos- the Chopin nocturne I played last week at another music club as...

My new shoes! :) My old Nikes were falling apart.  And I am feeling the need for more rewards, so I bought myself a new pair of workout shoes yesterday.  I tried on some Nikes, but the ones I liked did not come in wide. So I talked to the young man at Famous Footwear. He recommended Asics.  And they were on sale! Even more motivation to keep on trekking to the gym daily!  On the Max, heading to the gym. Notice my water cup! They are so comfortable and colorful! And the friendly shoe salesman told me about the "extra loop" for the shoelaces. It provides ankle support.  Like! :) I had a wonderful workout today. Spent it all on the eliptical.  Unfortunately I forgot my bathing suit, so I did not do the sauna. But hey, it is supposed to be 90 degrees here in Portland today! I can just sit in the sun! Enjoying the sun after my workout It's been a few days since I have studied a psalm. I woke up early again this morning and sat at the ki...

7:50 a.m. Max station. On my way to the gym! 8:00 a.m. On the Max train. My gym is just a 5 minute train ride! I have no excuse! 9:15 a.m. Back on the Max after my workout. On my way to church. Feeling good! 12:30 p.m. On the bus. Off to pick up ingredients for my Big Fat Greek salad. I am so proud! I popped right up this morning at 6:00 a.m.!  I wonder if I am turning into a morning person after all these years? My new goal is to increase my exercise. I am aiming for one hour 5 to 6 days a week.  Year two is looming!  I do not have enough time in my day unless I rise earlier. There is just no way around it. The unseasonably warm spring weather does help. I did not get an hour workout in this morning. But I made it to the gym.  I did upper body strength training, crunches, yoga stretches and a sauna session.  Half of the battle for me is just getting there. Oh, who am I kidding? MOST of the battle is just getting there. But ...