http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/ knitting and spinning my heart out in the far, far north... en-us 2008-06-25T09:07:07-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000303.html But wait, there's more. First, an obligatory "knitting in the tent" self-portrait. The hat is for a friend's baby born last week. The yarn is that stretchy Cascade Fixation, in bright, lovely, self-striping colors. It's pretty cute. And here's a... photos cmandala 2008-06-25T09:07:07-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000302.html Had a wonderful camping trip to Blackstone Bay this weekend with our visiting friends, Lauri and Joel. Friday was cool and cloudy. We took a water taxi out on to Willard Island that afternoon, set up camp, then went for... photos cmandala 2008-06-25T08:48:36-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000301.html This weekend is both the summer solstice and our fifth wedding anniversary. Good times all around. Our friends Joel and Lauri are in town visiting from Milwaukee, and we're heading out to beautiful Blackstone for some kayaking -- my first... blogging cmandala 2008-06-20T10:45:53-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000300.html As promised, and specifically prompted by the news that Peter continues to read my blog for updates about life here on the last frontier, here are some photos of our camping trip from last weekend. It was the first camping... photos cmandala 2008-06-20T10:43:36-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000299.html Shockingly enough, this will be a post about knitting. I know -- it's hard to believe. We spent the weekend camping in our wonderful new pop-up camper (which will require a separate post extolling its virtues). It was a very... photos cmandala 2008-06-15T15:57:02-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000298.html This is actually not new news, but falls under "the last thing I did before getting really sick 2 weeks ago".... I was really struck, during the GNT, at how much harder I felt like I was working and how... Tri cmandala 2008-06-04T19:48:04-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000297.html OK, my post-GNT blogging has been pretty severely curtailed by getting really sick for the last two weeks. We've had a terrible allergy season here, and my asthma wound up completely out of control. Many doctors visits later, I feel... Tri cmandala 2008-06-04T19:37:37-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000296.html Finished! In under 2:30, which (while very slow by normal person standards, is way better than I had hoped for). It was a very emotional experience. Pretty difficult on a lot of levels. Pretty fun, too. Very rewarding. My bionic... GNT cmandala 2008-05-18T18:59:09-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000295.html OK, when I signed up to do a late May triathlon, I was imagining a certain type of day. The triathlon in my imagination was sunny at 65 degrees. Today, however, was cold, rainy and in the high 40s/low 50s.... GNT cmandala 2008-05-12T22:21:21-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000294.html i can't believe that the GNT is a week from today. i don't feel ready at all. i went swimming again today and am amazed that no matter how many times i go, i don't get any better. i have... GNT cmandala 2008-05-11T19:07:23-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000293.html what a beautiful weekend here in anchor-town. hard to believe that two weeks ago we got two feet of snow. today was windier than yesterday, but in the high fifties and sunny most of the day. and the trees are... blogging cmandala 2008-05-11T19:06:49-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000292.html I thought I was going to have to spend most of this weekend prepping for a big hearing on Monday. So I was pretty bummed to wake up to the nicest, sunniest day we've had all year. Until I checked... GNT cmandala 2008-05-10T16:06:32-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000291.html i know it's been awhile since i checked in. training has really been up and down ... a lot of false starts and random little problems (arches, ankles, etc.) that sidetracked me for a few days here and there. the... GNT cmandala 2008-05-10T15:56:26-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000290.html my dad called me friday night after seeing the very sad news reports about the swimmer in san diego getting killed by a shark while training for a triathlon. since i am doing a triathlon in may, my dad was... GNT cmandala 2008-04-27T14:00:02-09:00 http://www.virtualmandala.com/mt/archives/000289.html i took advantage of the snowy weather yesterday to engage in some online retail therapy to bust me out of the foul, foul mood i was in. i'll soon be the proud owner of a polar heart-rate-monitor watch and "coded... GNT cmandala 2008-04-27T11:37:11-09:00