Beef, It's What's for Dinner (And Lunch)

Just got back from visiting my brother and his wife in Oregon, had a blast, will post pix here as soon as I upload 'em. Took lots and lots of pix of Mount Hood (we were 7,000 feet above sea level), a really neat waterfall, the beach (nothing like the Jersey shore), and a very cool county fair.

And we ate. It seems we ate non-stop and we ate things that I normally don't eat at home: handfuls of delicious pistachio nuts, real ice cream (not frozen yogurt) almost on a daily basis, real butter and beef, lots of it. This IS the West after all. My brother and Tom kept telling me to relax, you're on vacation. Eventually, I acquiesced. There was no fighting it. I did tell Tom that I was not going anywhere NEAR a scale until after I had been home for a week.

I lied. I got on the scale the night we got home and to my surprise, I WAS ONE POUND LIGHTER THAN WHEN I LEFT! How the heck did THAT happen? Tom pointed out to me that we did run almost every day that we were there. In fact, I ran more miles during the past week that I have all year, being that we are gearng up for a fall marathon. (On Sunday ran 13+ miles as well). So, that's probably the explanation for it.

I tell ya one thing. If I trained in Oregon with all those hills and at the higher altitudes, I'd kick butt in Jersey. I don't have any races till Sept. 2 and I am anxious to see if all this hill training translates into faster times. If it does, it will be solid proof that I need to ramp up the mileage and hill work if I want to see personal records (PRs).

Anyhoo, the higher altitudes made us both very sleepy the first couple of days. Naturally, as soon as got used to them, it was time to come home!

Some cool surprises: Watching kids throw snowballs on Mount Hood (in August!) The best peaches I have ever had in my life. Ditto for fresh rye bread. How big and good-looking my nephews got (21 and 25, respectively). How dog-friendly Portland is. Lying on the beach and looking at fog-covered mountains.

Well, more on this later, when I post the pix.

Some good news while I was gone: my house closed!
The bad news: We are being raped by the government (both state and federal) in the form of capital gains taxes, most likely to the tune of $20,000 or thereabouts (don't know yet how much). And yes, it's rape from where I sit.

Every time you try to get ahead in this state/country, there's Big Brother with his hand out. I'd like to go back to 1911, before income taxes. Of course, my house would not be worth as much then! :-)

BUDK--The Cutting Edge of Catalogs

My BF & I get a lot of catalogs, everything from Victoria's Secret (sometimes 3 a week, no lie) to pet products(even though we are currently dogless, boo-hoo!) to runners' products (no surprises there), to those that feature all kinds of kooky household gadgets. But I have to say that the one that wins the prize for the most bizarre is The BUDK Catalog. The strangest part is why my BF's name appears on it.

The BUDK catalog features everything your local sword collector, knife aficianado, white supremacist, neo-Nazi, psychopath would want. Here are some samples of what you can order from BUDK:

A semi-automatic C02 pistol
A belt buckle that has a nickel coin slot and says, "Insert Coin, unzip, shake well, guaranteed action, internal use only."
A Confederate Flag belt buckle
A full-size German WWII 1942 helmet with your choice of insignia, including the swastika
An SS Officer's Dagger circa 1933 imprinted with the motto, "Meine Ehre Heisst Treue" (My honor is truth).
A leather bullwhip
A Grim Reaper Clock
Lock picks
Stun guns
Various types of battle axes
A Medieval Barbarian War Helmet
An M-16 Air Assault Rife with BB bullets
Precision handcuffs "for all your law enforcement needs"

Well, at least they're all made in the good ol' USA. BUDK is owned by one Clint H. Kadel of Moultrie, GA, right in the heart of the Bible Belt (although I didn't see any Bibles for sale). There's a bunch of legalese on the order form, exempting BUDK from any indemnity for improper use of any of the products. But we know that only bonafide collectors would order this stuff. Right.

Good for Mr. Kadel. Where else can you go for a 16-gauge chain mail shirt to "protect your hide from the hordes?" Or a Lord of the Rings Battle Axe of Gimli that lets you be "ready for battle at a moment's notice?"

Granted, I have to admit there were somethings I liked in the catalog and would consider ordering (but I shudder to think what kind of catalog list I'd end up on). There's the Medieval chess set, the five-pointed star pewter pendants, the Medieval shields, the silver dragon necklace, the Viking Horn helmet (not historically accurate, I know, but cool as hell!), and a tiny hand-carved coffin for all your keepsakes. It WOULD be kinda fun to open my mail with a battle axe.

And, if I was single, I would always keep a copy of The BUDK catalog on my coffee table to help ward off predatory suitors.