Thursday, July 17, 2008

Another week almost gone: six weeks left of summer. I haven't accomplished as much by this point as I'd hoped, in terms of the independent study and assembling/beginning revisions of my thesis. But I've made progress in other areas, namely running. Yes, that's right: I've decided to take up that former pursuit of mine, a decision that surprised even me, as I'd proclaimed (throughout college) that I'd never run again, that only crazy/masochistic people run, and so on, and so forth. I [re]started about two weeks ago, alternating two minutes of running with two of walking, then moving to five of running/two of walking. Now, I'm working on a sequence of ten minutes of running, three of walking. Baby steps, for sure, but a pleasant re-learning.

Saturday, Eric and I spent the day in Brattleboro. Superficially, it seems similar to Northampton: both have a lot of cafes, "quirky," independent shops, pedestrians, strange vagrants lounging on the sidewalks, etc. But, Brattleboro feels decidedly like Vermont: there's a mountain overlooking the town, a cooler breeze in the air, and something else that I couldn't quite identify. Went to a few thrift stores, a bookstore, and a three-story antique center that vaguely reminded me of the Galesburg Antique Mall (but wasn't as good). Attempted to visit the Farmers' Market, which was open as we drove to lunch, but closed as we returned. Walked & bummed, looked at expensive bike gear. Drove home around five and refreshed ourselves with freeze-pops. Farmers' markets always close too early! And freeze-pops have been one of my favorite parts of summer since I was like, six.

Ali arrives in a week! Sooner, possibly - she sets sail on the 22nd. The apartment is mostly organized, the kitchen and living room walls left blank for Ali to decorate. A. shared her recipe for tzatziki with me last night (am planning to make tomorrow evening, to go with falafel):

Ali's Tzatziki
1 lb. Greek yogurt
1 cucumber, grated and drained of liquid
4-5 cloves garlic
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
salt, pepper, and chopped mint to taste.

Combine yogurt and cucumber; mix well. Add garlic, then oil and lemon juice. Season with salt, pepper, mint or dill. Chill before serving.

***
To the weekend: cheers.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Good luck with the running. Try not to run on concrete.

Mmmm, that recipe sounds delicious.

Peach Pit said...

Oh, do not worry: I've only been running on the treadmill :) Are you and Alison still running?

I made a batch of the tzatziki last night, and it turned out really well (though I did only use 2 tbsp. of olive oil). It's a little more garlicky/not as creamy as comercially-prepared cucumber sauces, but I like it better this way.