Weekend, with Pie...
Night Passage - Robert B. Parker
The first novel in Parker's Jesse Stone series. I read a couple of the Spenser books back when Brooks was calling Urich "Spensah!", but they didn't really grab me. Stone caught my attention when I watched Tom Selleck's portrayal in the TV version of Sea Change. Apart from the heavy alcohol usage, I found myself identifying way too much with the character, so I figured I'd check out the books. It's a procedural rather than a mystery, and a very quick read. The main plot is preposterous, about man who launders money for the mob to fund a white supremacist militia headquartered in a small coastal town on the North Shore, but the stuff surrounding it is pretty good. After I finished I downloaded the TV version, and whoever did the adaptation had the good sense to drop the militia while keeping the good stuff.
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The weather was miserable yesterday, so I didn't ride. It was sunny today, but it was windy as heck and the temperature never did get past 55° or so. I wore my new chilly weather gear, and it did a pretty good job of keeping me toasty while I rode. The only snag was the ear band, which was dragging the bill of my baseball cap down over my eyes as I pedaled along. No big deal today because my ears were warm enough without, but I'll have to figure something out. Somewhere around here I have a pair of earmuffs, but I haven't seen them in ages. I did 21 miles. The wind was wicked. When it was behind me I was pedaling up hills at two gears higher than usual. That's a lot of help. Coming back, on the other hand...
I've been trying to keep up with the stationary bike during the week, but it's been spotty. Part of the problem is that the seat is miserable, and even with a pad I have trouble going more than twenty-five minutes or so. I need to figure out how to adapt one of my spare saddles to the seat post. The other problem is that half the time I just forget to get on the thing when I get home at night. Usually I don't remember until midway through dinner. It's just a matter of getting used to a new routine, but it's hard given my lack of enthusiasm for it.
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I'm exacerbating the upset in the exercise routine by doing some more elaborate than usual cooking. Last weekend I made an oven stuffer, so I had a ton of leftover chicken to use up. Last night I made a terrific chicken pot pie for dinner out of some of it. I followed the CI recipe for the most part, although I bought the pie crusts from Pillsbury. I had some more for lunch today, and there's still half a pie left. There's also still more chicken, so I'll make a big pot of soup tomorrow night. Tonight I made sweet and sour pork, and there's plenty of that left over, too. And Halloween is Wednesday, so there's several bags of candy in the house. Bother.
The first novel in Parker's Jesse Stone series. I read a couple of the Spenser books back when Brooks was calling Urich "Spensah!", but they didn't really grab me. Stone caught my attention when I watched Tom Selleck's portrayal in the TV version of Sea Change. Apart from the heavy alcohol usage, I found myself identifying way too much with the character, so I figured I'd check out the books. It's a procedural rather than a mystery, and a very quick read. The main plot is preposterous, about man who launders money for the mob to fund a white supremacist militia headquartered in a small coastal town on the North Shore, but the stuff surrounding it is pretty good. After I finished I downloaded the TV version, and whoever did the adaptation had the good sense to drop the militia while keeping the good stuff.
---
The weather was miserable yesterday, so I didn't ride. It was sunny today, but it was windy as heck and the temperature never did get past 55° or so. I wore my new chilly weather gear, and it did a pretty good job of keeping me toasty while I rode. The only snag was the ear band, which was dragging the bill of my baseball cap down over my eyes as I pedaled along. No big deal today because my ears were warm enough without, but I'll have to figure something out. Somewhere around here I have a pair of earmuffs, but I haven't seen them in ages. I did 21 miles. The wind was wicked. When it was behind me I was pedaling up hills at two gears higher than usual. That's a lot of help. Coming back, on the other hand...
I've been trying to keep up with the stationary bike during the week, but it's been spotty. Part of the problem is that the seat is miserable, and even with a pad I have trouble going more than twenty-five minutes or so. I need to figure out how to adapt one of my spare saddles to the seat post. The other problem is that half the time I just forget to get on the thing when I get home at night. Usually I don't remember until midway through dinner. It's just a matter of getting used to a new routine, but it's hard given my lack of enthusiasm for it.
---
I'm exacerbating the upset in the exercise routine by doing some more elaborate than usual cooking. Last weekend I made an oven stuffer, so I had a ton of leftover chicken to use up. Last night I made a terrific chicken pot pie for dinner out of some of it. I followed the CI recipe for the most part, although I bought the pie crusts from Pillsbury. I had some more for lunch today, and there's still half a pie left. There's also still more chicken, so I'll make a big pot of soup tomorrow night. Tonight I made sweet and sour pork, and there's plenty of that left over, too. And Halloween is Wednesday, so there's several bags of candy in the house. Bother.