A weekly round up: eats, workouts, watches, reads, and sploots. This week's edition is c/o the NPS's important announcement about splooting.
In case you are unfamiliar, here is how to sploot:
1. Get on your belly.
2. Stick your legs out behind you.
The only reason that I know about splooting is that it's one of Doggo's favorite things. Her life's motto is to always be splooting.
The NPS agrees, because they brought sploots to the forefront recently.
Food
Recently the men in my life were at Boy Scout camp for a few days, and Sarah's Vegan kitchen released a new YouTube video with a round up of good eats. Since I was on my lonesome for dinner, I was able to dive right in and cook up the goods.
Exhibit A: peanut noodles are good year round, and even better in summer. I don't think that there is a bad peanut sauce recipe out there, but Sarah's was extra good. It involves cooking the garlic for a minute. My changes to the recipe were to use julienned carrots, diced red pepper, and a box of tofu skins instead of pan fried tofu. I also topped it with a spoonful of chili crisp. I made two batches of this before I was ready to move on to something else.
Exhibit B: black bean tacos. The seasoning was on point and I will make these again. She gives two options for the final crisping, which is either to pan fry them or bake them. I made these on a very hot day when I didn't want to keep standing over the stove or turn on the over, so I chose Option C and put them in the air fryer for a few minutes.
Workouts
It's over! I finished the hiking challenge last weekend. 100 miles total done and dusted. Last year I did the hikes as fast as possible and finished in March, and this year I took it slower and held myself back so that I would finish closer to the end of the challenge on June 30 ("I paid for the whole challenge so I used the whole challenge"). TBH I learned very quickly that I do not like summer hiking, so if I do the challenge again I will finish earlier in the year.
Now that the hiking is out of the way I'm free to bike on weekends, so I'll get back to my biking trails very soon.
Watching
Meh. I'm floundering.
Reading
I don't have much in the way of quantity, but I can make up for that with quality. On the audio book side, I'm listening to The Tell by Amy Griffin, which is a trauma memoir. Every runner out there has had someone joke at them "but what are you running from?" and of course there is an element of truth to that. But it just happened to be more true that most for the author. She was a compulsive runner who was sidelined by injuries, and her husband just happened to get into psychedelic therapy and suggested that she try it. Let's just say that the drugs were the key to unlocking what she was running from. It's a hard listen, but very well written.
On the fiction side, after finishing Gone With the Wind, it felt like all of my Libby holds came in at the same time. All of the dust finally cleared, and I set about finding my next book. An episode of the Sarah's Bookshelves podcast really talked up a civil war novel called The Jackal's Mistress...hmm was I ready for another Civil War book? The first few pages were promising and then it was clear that the answer was no. At least not this Civil war book.
Out of nowhere the answer came to me. One billion people have told me to read Kindred by Octavia Butler, and the message finally got through. This is an excellent book any way that you look at it, and also a perfect companion to GWTW. Kindred is about a black woman in the 1970s who time travels to 1815, where everyday life is just a bit different. I'm about 80% in and DYING to find out what happens.
Peace Out!
I had never heard of the word sploot so thank you for an explanation. Looks like you have an expert on your hands!
ReplyDeleteYou could watch poop cruise on Netflix like Phil and I did. I didn’t really want to go on a cruise before watching it, and I’m even less likely to go on one now (but I recognize the chances of something like that happening again is very slim).
I am reading ‘help wanted’ which a blog commenter with similar tastes recommended. It’s too early to say if I would like it. I have heard about The Tell. It sounds intriguing. I know of several people who have done guided psyillocibin (sp?) journeys. Everyone raves about it. Several had lost one or both parents and said it really helped them deal with their grief. I am too much of a chicken to try it though!!
I'm with you - too chicken to try "however you spell it" therapy. I have to say that the way she describes it in the book is very compelling, and it got her to the root of her problem pretty instantly.
DeleteAlright, we'll add Poop Cruise to our potential Hot Couples TV watchlist.
Yay! Congratulations on finishing your hiking challenge! I love to see dogs splooting, and your Doggo is a pro! Our dog doesn't sploot, he lays on his side with his legs stretched out, and sometimes he runs in his sleep. That's adorable. I also love it when dogs lay on their back, feet in the air, and tummies exposed. Ok, I love anything dogs do!
ReplyDeleteI am obsessed with when dogs run in their sleep. I have videos of both of the dogs doing it.
DeleteStepdog was not a splooter, but she did love to lie belly up. Doggo loves to sploot but she's rarely belly up. Trade offs!
Way to go on finishing your hiking challenge!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteIf you would have given me the word sploot with no context, I would have assumed it was some sort of bathroom accident. "Oh, you splooted? Don't even worry about it; it happens to everyone!"
ReplyDeleteNice work on the hiking challenge! My trick when it is hot/summer is to try to start early in the day, especially when it is humid (my worst enemy). Also this satisfies my own obsession to not be on the trail with other people either. I am trying to get back into running and I have to do it early for the heat but also for the motivation, which goes downhill like a rock as the day gets later.
I just finished Wild Dark Shore, which was pretty good, but definitely not as good as Kindred! That book really (pleasantly) surprised me!
Word. I didn't start working out in the morning until my work/grad school schedule forced me to, but it really solves the motivation issues. Get 'er done first thing, then spend the rest of the day not having to figure out when to work out.
DeleteWell, aren’t you teaching me things today, Birchie! First “splooting” (so cool, thank you!) and then tofu skins—I had to google it. Now I’m determined to earn some Insufferability Points by casually dropping both into conversation and then smugly explaining them to my unsuspecting victim 😂
ReplyDeleteCongrats on wrapping up the hiking challenge! I love the “I used the whole challenge” mindset.
I’m still trying to source GWTW here in Switzerland. The Kindle version is surprisingly pricey, but I’ve tracked down a secondhand copy from Germany for 3 bucks. Since I can’t ship it to Switzerland, I’m sending it to my mother-in-law over the border - and because they have tons of other cheap English books, I've ordered a whole shipload!
Shipload of books! Yay! Can I push for a reading roundup post from you? I'd love to read that.
DeleteI'm with you about no bad peanut sauce recipes out there. The black bean tacos look delicious. I've not heard about Kindred but will add it to my list of books to read. Sounds like I'd enjoy it. Thanks for the suggestion.
ReplyDeleteThe only bad peanut sauce is no peanut sauce!
DeleteMy hot take is that I did NOT like Kindred. But then I'm not a fan of time travel as a literary device. I'm reading Show Don't Tell right now and wow, is it a perfect book for me! Not including that one I have five books from the library and I just got a notification that four more are in transit so NO ONE TALK TO ME I'M READING.
ReplyDeleteSploot! I have never heard the term although I have seen it in practice.
Time travel is tricky. I feel like sometimes books get too bogged down with the why and the mechanics. I think that as long as it's a good book to start with that time travel doesn't bother me. Outlander and 11/22/63 did it well.
DeleteIs Rex a splooter? Once you've heard the term, there's no other word for it.
Okay, how about Series 19 of Taskmaster as a lighthearted, fun thing to watch? All the episodes are on YouTube and the last episode of the series comes out tomorrow. Then you would have 18 more series to watch if it turns out you like it!
ReplyDeleteI never thought of the GWTW/Kindred pairing, but I think you're right that they would be awesome together! Super smart!
My adult cats no longer sploot, which is a big loss for me. They used to do it a lot as kittens and young cats, but now they're too mature for that, I guess. My granddog is a champion splooter, thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, finishing up your hiking challenge. With the heat lately, I feel like my daily miles are a hiking challenge, and all I'm doing is walking. I'm starting to feel very Anti-Summer this year.