Day 28 – (AD 251) – Jim’s Trek Part II – The Sequel – 20.6 Miles - I'll Be in California for Some Time

Good Day,

Today's cycling equaled 20.6 miles... To date 4,843.7 miles.

Not much to add. I'm in California. I will be in California for some time. And I will be seeing California, virtually, for an indefinite period of cycling time. California, here I am.

Will I hit my 5,000th mile, on my Schwinn 150, in California?

Had an appointment this morning and then decided to stop at the new Wawa on the way home. First time I've ever entered the establishment. I'm impressed by the organization...but definitely not over the moon by the food. Hoagie roll of my roast beef sandwich was stale, and I did not order it toasted. And I was enticed by the Cheddar Jalapeño Bites. Just take a note at the Nutrition Facts. The five inch-and-a-half bites offset more than 50% of the calories I burned this morning on my Schwinn 150.
 

And the list of Ingredients? Hell, by the time you read the unending list, apart from needing a PhD in Chemistry, them bites with the minuscule bits of jalapeño peppers all turned cold.  I suppose I paid more for the lines of text displaying the ingredients versus the actual pepper bits.

Mad Men – Season 2, Episode 12. Don spends time off in California, he just disappears. More facts and truths of his past are revealed, another couple pieces of the puzzle.





Be healthy, and enjoy,

Jim

Day 27 – (AD 250) – Jim’s Trek Part II – The Sequel – On The Road in California

Good Day,

This morning I cycled, on my Schwinn 150, an additional 21.1 miles into California. I have now completed 566 miles on my return journey from Seattle to Tampa. I’m headed southeast on CA-139 S toward Tickner Road. It looks like CA-139 S eventually turns into Tickner Road… and I do not think that the landscape will change much over the next couple of days.

This Internet sure is strange, funny. It appears that as I have been blogging about my destination goals to my Interlake address, when I surf and open other and totally unrelated pages one of the embedded advertisements is for the company Interlake Mecalux. It is a company that offers “warehouse solutions.” This is happening on a regular and consistent basis. Does this mean that Big Brother truly is watching me?

Supper last night – Steak fried rice; Sirloin, rice, yellow bell pepper, green onion, tomato, bean sprouts, garlic, ginger, Soya sauce, Oyster, sauce, and Sriracha. Accompanied by Thai Cucumber salad… Chocolate ice cream and chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches. Blood sugar drops another 16 points to 106. Attempt this week – Okonomiyaki.

EssbeeCon and Who Did Desi Adore? have both been shipped to Jacksonville for QuiltFest 2013 which will be held September 26 to 28 at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center. Sea Foam is now at 50" by 48"... Sixteen more inches to go; 66" by 48" for the inner top. The finished Sea Foam will be considered a double bed/large adult afghan. I am amazed.

Mad Men – Season 2, Episode 11. Business trip New York to California and rumors and wheels turning regarding a takeover/merger.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 26 – (AD 249) – Jim’s Trek Part II – The Sequel – 21.0 Miles – I Have Now Reached 4,800 Miles on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

Today I crossed the Oregon/California State line. I cycled 21.0 miles this morning on my Schwinn 150… and I am currently on CA-139 S. I have reached the community of Stronghold in Modoc County, California.

Today I crossed the 4,800 mile on my Trek. I am now averaging 19.2 miles a day since I began on December 2, 2013. And as predicted, I will be taking off an intentional day on my 261st day of cycling.

I am stopped at Captain Jack’s Stronghold Restaurant. It is time for breakfast.

Last night Italian Sausage with Baby Bok Choy – ever so simple Italian sausage, baby Bok Choy, onion, red chili peppers, olive oil, ground sea salt, Strozzapreti, and Parmesan Cheese. Quick, easy, simple, and delicious. Blood sugar dropped 9 points.

And of course I had to look up the type of pasta I used, Strozzapreti… I discovered that translating the Italian to English, this one-and-a-half-inch sort-of pencil-like of pasta is known as “Priest Strangler”. Also known as “Priest Choker” and legend has it that some gluttonous priests were so taken by the pasta dish that they ate too quickly and choked themselves… sometimes to death. And I thought of trying to make some fresh pasta tonight. It is amazing the things that I sometimes just grab off of the grocery shelves.


My viewing fare this morning was Mad Men, Season 2, Episode 10. Sub-plots regarding family life outside of the office take up the time of this episode. And every so often I notice that Don Draper and some of the other characters occasionally possess Frank O-Hara’s 52-page book, published 1957, Meditations in an Emergency. Did Matthew Weiner purposely embed Meditations in Don Draper’s psyche?

Blumish Two quilt and wall hanging has now been transferred to the Longarm. Sea Foam afghan has increased to 46”in length.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 25 – (AD 248) – Jim’s Trek Part II – The Sequel – 21.1 Miles - Almost California

Good Day,

21.1 miles on my Schwinn 150 this morning, to date 4,781.0 miles. I am travelling southeast on the Klamath Falls-Malin Highway, (OR-39), and I just passed Elliot Road. I now have 12 miles left in the State of Oregon.

Last night we went to a fashionable all-you-can-eat restaurant for number 24. Why is it that all-you-can-eat restaurants seem to be the watering-holes of the corpulent? It certainly would be a detriment if the dining room was located on the water. And, of course, I increased my weight by 2.0 pounds and my blood sugar counts by 30… The protein definitely was good. Please remind me that number 25 should be a sensible and quiet repast.

Mad Men, Season 2, Episode 9 – Now the pot is calling the kettle black, with the amount of drinking in the office.  A staff member is given a six-month hiatus. What shall we do without the blond bombshell… and it was not Madonna? And where have I been since 1999? I discovered The West Wing last night.

And the US Government takes the step to reveal and come clean, heaven forbid... Area 51 exists. Newly declassified CIA documents acknowledge the existence, and we should be surprised?

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 24 – (AD 247) – Jim’s Trek Part II – The Sequel – 20.7 Miles – Still Oregon on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

Today’s Trek miles totaled 20.7 on my Schwinn 150, alliteration not intended. And I am still on The Dalles-California Highway at the junction of Shady Pine Road. To my left are the southern banks and marsh shores of the Upper Klamath Lake.

At this point in my return journey, from Seattle to Tampa, I have now completed 502.8 miles. My next Interlake address goal is about 640 miles away.

And today is a day worth celebrating. Today August 16th is Bratwurst Day and International Tell-a-Joke Day. And why did the chicken…?

This morning on CNN I tuned into a Norfolk Southern advertisement. Not sure if it is my concentration with Mad Men and Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged but I swear that the background music to the Norfolk Southern ad was/is Conjunction Junction from the show Schoolhouse Rock…


How apropos to my writing.

Mad Men, Season 2, that’s Season 2 MW, Episode 8 – The three main women characters are sort of front and center in this episode; Betty, Joan, and Peggy. Each has her own story line and each story, within the whole, is a subset of their lives on the set, and Heineken appears to be the backdrop.


My posting is short and sweet today. Not a joke, just to the point.


Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 23 – (AD 246) – Jim’s Trek Part II – The Sequel – 20.9 Miles – Still in Oregon on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

This morning I cycled on my Schwinn 150 20.9 miles. It looks like I am still on The Dalles-California Highway just south of Collier Memorial State Park. The next intersection on the right side of the highway will be Rainbow Park Drive. It looks like I will still be cycling in Oregon for the next three days… Then its California here I come.

My stats for Day 23 of my Sequel Trek are:

• Location – Collier Memorial State Park, Oregon
• Sequel Distance – 20.8; Total 482.1 miles
• Grand Total Miles – 4,739.2
• Calories Burned - 606
• Weight – 162.4 lbs; Total Loss – 6.6 lbs
• Belly Measurement – 35 ½ "; Total Loss – 9 ½ "
• Blood Sugar - 111 mg/dL
• Blood Pressure – 110/79
• BMI – 22.8

Last night’s supper was sort of simple and relatively easy to compose, and definitely really, really good to eat. I made Honey Pork Belly and Simple Pea Tip Stir-Fry and served on white rice. It was the Pea Tips that were the new adventure. These were the vines and the leaves of the snap pea pods.

Episode 7 of Mad Men Season 2 was the movie fare on this morning’s cycling on my Schwinn 150. Abstract painting by Mark Rothko in Bertram Cooper’s office causes intrigue and bewilderment.

Just waiting to find out, and hoping that our three quilts - Tampa Lightning, Blue Diamonds, and Civil War Re-Enactment I were not on the catastrophic UPS cargo flight that went down yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama. Blumish Two quilt and wall hanging is currently in progress of being quilted. Sea Foam afghan inner top continues to lengthen.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 22 – (AD 245) – Jim’s Trek Part II – The Sequel – 21.0 Miles – I Topped 4,700 Miles on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

Today I started my day by updating our order and the progress of our new quilts and wall hangings. Completely another journey that keeps me preoccupied is the design and work of the craft that I am trying to learn. Check out our updates and progress at Quilts SB.

And so I started my cycling somewhat later than usual this morning. I did complete 21.0 miles on my Schwinn 150. On the 22nd day of my return Trek, The Sequel, I have clocked 461.2 miles. In total I have passed the 4,700 mile mark, and my total to date is 4,718.3 miles. I still have another 682 miles to my next Interlake address destination.

I am currently located on The Dalles California Highway headed south. I am just about at the intersection of Pumice Street. In the image you can see the entrance to Pumice Street on the left-hand side of the Highway. The landscape has been pretty much the same these past couple of days.

In Tampa, well an image is worth one thousand drops of condensation of humidity on the sliding glass doors to my backyard. Dueling weather websites - Humidity 77% versus 60%. I would say it is hot, and wet, and steamy, sticky and tropical… and bloody humid.

And then there are those evening meals that I just cannot decide what to make. Last night’s supper Sautéed Shrimp and Spinach, with Mushrooms and Onions, Beans, and Couscous. Quick, easy but one hell of a lot of pots and pans.

Earlier I Goggled “Shrimp and Spinach” and found the following image by Vivmom. I thought that I would try and duplicate the meal. A close facsimile resulted, ‘cepting the colorful plate, and my version was something I thoroughly enjoyed.



An AP article published yesterday by SeattlePI caught my eye this morning – “Teen charged in bomb plot loses in mayoral primary.” I’m sorry, did I miss something? “A Utah teenager arrested last year in a Columbine-inspired plot to blow up his high school was eliminated in the race Tuesday for mayor of a small Utah City.”

The small city is Roy, in Utah. The population is about 37,000… and this 18-year old, would-be bomber and terror plotter, “received less that 5 percent of the vote in the primary…” Again I’m sorry. Am I truly that dense? There were actually persons in that less than 5% who voted for him. That approximates just fewer than 370 people. That’s the part that I do not understand.

People, this young man in 2012 had “pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon of mass destruction”, and had “spent months plotting an attack…” And his campaign thought was “People should trust me because I have proven one thing: That I am human… I have made mistakes, just like the rest of us. We’ve all made mistakes in our pasts, and I am no exception.” Well, at my age, I have made a fair number of mistakes, But, and that is a But with a capital “B”, I have never, ever, plotted to cause destruction to the extent that may or would put the lives of others at risk. And I am NOT part of "the rest of us"!!!

And who are the Idiots, with a capital “I”, who had the audacity and sheer ignorance to vote for him? Check out the article at the above link. I am just flabbergasted.

And on to my viewing pleasure this morning on my Trek on my Schwinn 150, Mad Men – Season 2, Episode 6. The issue for the professionals is the position of Maidenform versus Playtex in the market. Yup, that’s the episode.

Be healthy, and enjoy,

Jim

Day 21 – (AD 244) – Jim’s Trek Part II – The Sequel – 21.3 Miles – At 4,764 feet on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

Another 21.3 miles added on my Schwinn 150 this morning. Total miles to date 4,697.3 miles. The habit is now ingrained. My cycling has now become a part of my daily agenda. I’m still considering the sit-ups.

Today I can be found, traveling south on The Dalles-California Highway. I am still in Oregon on route US-97. I am just on the southern outskirts of the community of Chemult. The altitude is 4,764 feet, and with a population of about 300 Chemult is Amtrak stop.

Okay, I have learned something, and it is only the tip of the iceberg. The Public Web <-> The Deep Web <-> The Private Web. Not sure if I want to turn my PC into a Titanic.



Last night’s supper a variation on Indonesian Beef Rendang… Onion, ginger, garlic, Scotch bonnets (instead of red chili peppers), water, soya sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, turmeric, bay leaf, creamed coconut, unsalted peanuts, coriander… and I added some cubed Kabocha squash, and all over Jasmine rice. Very easy to prep and just simmer for a couple of hours… And then I made a Chickpea Salad.

The odors wafting through the house make an introduction to the Essbee Restaurant. You’re welcome.




I have been watching a very interesting 2011 documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi. I am intrigued by the dedication of Jiro Ono, to his craft and his sense of commitment to his life work. The commentator’s description of Jiro Ono and good restaurants and their management:

• They take their works very seriously and consistently perform on the highest level.
• They aspire to improve their skills.
• Cleanliness. If the restaurants doesn’t feel clean the food isn’t going to taste good.
• They are better leaders than collaborators. They are stubborn and insist on having it their way.
• The chef is passionate.

Definitely transferable and something to think about.

Mad Men – Season 2, Episode 5. Not sure why another new secretary is introduced, but Don is continually chasing ghosts and creating complications, sort of. This show is certainly keeping me consistent on my cycling journey.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 20 - (AD 243) – Jim’s Trek Part II – The Sequel – 21.1 Miles – Gilchrist, Oregon

Good Day,

Today’s cycling on my Schwinn 150, I finished 21.1 miles. My total return, Seattle to Tampa, mileage is now 418.9.

I am currently on The Dalles California Highway, and I am a wee bit north of the community of Gilchrist, Oregon.

As I went to IKEA yesterday, I thought that a Swedish meatball supper would be the fare-de-jour for supper last night. The Cream Sauce or Gräddsås, pronounced graad-sauce, is probably the most difficult part to create. A package, water, and cream to make the Gräddsås. But I was a wee bit puzzled at the expectancy of 1 ⅕ cups of water. I do not have any measuring cup graduated in fifths… And then I tried Tångkorn, pronounced tonguecorn. Looks like caviar. English on the label – Seaweed topping; Google translation – Seaweed barley. It tastes like a dull caviar.

Recollections of my favorite character on The Muppet Show – Swedish Chef… and one of his most recent mixtures, Popcorn Shrimp.


Sea Foam afghan has now lengthened to 44 inches. By my calculations we have now 12 more inches to complete the inner top before the perimeter border is constructed.  The quilting continues on our Blumish Two. It is a wonder to behold the results.

My viewing pleasure to my cycling this morning was Mad Men – Season 2 Episode 4. This definitely is a modern day retro soap-opera. A new Parish priest is introduced, and there may be something happening, thematically for Peggy. And the theme is, are, work, power, sex, smoking, and drinking.

And I continue my Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 19 – (AD 242) – Jim’s Trek Part II – The Sequel – 20.8 Miles – On My Schwinn 150 in Oregon

Good Day,

I’m running somewhat late today on my posting to my Jim’s Trek Blog. I did complete 20.8 miles on my Schwinn 150 this morning, and then I got myself involved with housework. Next, lunch was with my family; CK now sports and walks with a pair of Croc-ettes… I didn’t realize that this footwear was made so, so small.

And then I made my triennial slog to IKEA… I am stunned at the number of youngish couples shopping to furnish their habitats. But I nearly lost myself when as I entered the megalith marketplace when one of the youngish-type gentleman whispers loudly to his mate, “This is what Sweden smells like.” Say what? I did have to wipe away my tears of mirth.

This morning I am currently somewhere in the center of Oregon and located on US-97 South. It appears that I am coming up on Prairie Ct/Paulina Lake Road. On the Goggle Map I am just left of the “O” in Oregon.

I have now completed 397.8 miles on The Sequel part of my return journey from Seattle to Tampa. Overall I have now cycled 4,654.9 miles on my Schwinn 150.

Supper last night – Texas Mesquite Beef and Cowboy Burgers (from Whole Foods)… and so keeping with the Texas theme I decided to make my variation on a Texas Potato Salad. New Potatoes, celery, green onion, jalapeño, apple cider vinegar, yellow mustard, cottage cheese, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. My one comment about the Whole Food burgers, good but too dense.  Excellent potato salad.

Mad Men – Season 2, Episode 3 – Two themes are introduced in this episode; First, working and dealing with actors working with the client, and Second, the issue of illegitimate birth and abortion.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim