Save the Bay

 http://swim.savebay.org/

I pretend I am swimming the bay each day.

A Swimmer's Breakfast

 It's tricky because if you eat more than a handful of anything you feel it on the flip-turns. I usually have black coffee and a banana and half of homemade whole wheat waffle. Today I had hot Irish oats and perhaps it was a bit more than a serving and I felt it on the flip-turns. The real eating happens after the swim.

80 Laps in 80 Degree Water

 I wish the water was 75 degrees but it was beautiful to swim and watch the sun come up.

Dream

 I dreamed I was walking home with a friend. She started walking without me.  I took a wrong door to get out of the building and ended up in another room. I was inside of a bicycle shop full of antique bicycles and photographs and stuff everywhere even on the ceiling. Someone will think I broke in but I am trying to get out, I thought.

I dreamed I was in the backyard of my childhood psychologist and all of the trees were plastic and even the fall leaves were plastic. "Look," I said, "all fake!"

Blackout 2020 at PriceRite

We were shopping at Price Rite and the lights went out and stayed out. People used their cellphones as flashlights. We had to leave everything and come home.

Brushing the Dog's Teeth

 I am a huge fan of dog breath but up to a point. So I finally did it. I bought a tube of doggie toothpaste. I'm not ready to subject Romeo to this humiliation today but perhaps over the weekend.

Classical music as weapon.

  My mother used to blast classical radio as a way to drown me out in the car. Classical music as weapon.

Rice and Beans

 I pressure cooked a bowl of brown basmati rice in the Instant Pot on the steamer tray. The soaked chick peas were cooked at the same time in the remaining space below. I walked Romeo downtown during the cooking hour. The rice+ chick peas were delicious and I ate them with my imitation crabmeat salad.

80 Laps: The Turning 60 Challenge

 Swimming at dawn in the dark. Gradually the sky brightened. Maybe I could spend a winter in Iceland after all.

 On my walk home I spotted a cluster of undercover police in the garage of the PD. They were celebrating a victory and it was only 8:30 AM.

Yesterday I found three huge woven straw baskets on my walk. I carted them home and they are temporarily living on the porch with the basil plants.

All I want to do is buy more imitation crab meat and make another salad.

This weekend is normally a 2 parade weekend. We'll chill out and read and walk Romeo and maybe jump in the lake.

Chris Colin

 I suppose this is why we worry in the first place — we know so little. The world unspools a little each day, and we strain to see over the horizon, but it never works. We’re just left to wonder.

-Chris Colin

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Chris Colin is the editor of “Six Feet of Separation,” and co-author of “What to Talk About.” His picture book, “Off: The Day the Internet Died,” comes out in March.

James Allen

The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. -James Allen

Winter Swimming

 https://www.lemorecn.com/collections/women

I'm considering a wet-suit for swimming in the Mill River over the winter.

80 Laps

 I'm on a roll to fight my allergies and keep swimming.

Corn Tortillas Made from Scratch

 https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_corn_tortillas/

Michelle Goldberg

 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/opinion/trump-coronavirus-white-house.html

Alan Watts

 "You can't live at all unless you can live fully now." 

— Alan Watts

Gish Jen

 “We consume to avoid living.”

― Gish Jen

Gish Jen

 https://lithub.com/gish-jen-on-the-profound-differences-between-chinese-and-american-culture/

Diane Cook

 Write what you want to write, not what you think you should. And if you’re worried that a story has been written before, don’t let that stop you because it has never been written by you. 

Diane Cook

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Recipe courtesy of Catherine McCord  

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Level: Easy

• Total: 2 hr (includes cooling time)
• Active: 15 min

• Yield: 30 cookies

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 heaping cup pitted dates, finely chopped

1/4 cup neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chocolate chips, raisins or chopped walnuts

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. Place the bananas in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until the bananas are mashed. Stop the machine and add in the oats, chopped dates, oil, cinnamon, chocolate chips and salt. Mix on low to medium speed until the bananas are in very small pieces, the batter is moist and the ingredients are well combined, about 30 seconds.
3. Using a mini ice cream scoop or tablespoon, scoop the batter into thirty 1-inch balls, spacing them evenly over the prepared baking sheets. Gently pat each ball to flatten into a round.
4. Bake until the cookies just start to turn golden brown and dried on top, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5. Serve or freeze in a resealable plastic bag for up to 3 months.

Cook’s Note

To make bars instead of cookies, bake the batter in a greased 7-by-11-inch baking dish for 35 to 40 minutes then let cool. Cut into bars or squares.