Felicity Part Three

In case there were any lingering doubts about colors and places to be, take a look at this cookie jar I painted circa 1998 at the beginning of my blue and yellow phase.

It is one of very few possessions that made it through the last 12 moves. I love this cookie jar. And it's never even held cookies! Only tea and recipe cards! I love it because it is so calming and blissful. Light, airy spaces -- that's all I want in life.

Right now it sits on the counter in my yellow (!) kitchen next to a window that looks out on a bed of wildflowers in the summer.

Does it look familiar? It should.

Here is my favorite picture of myself, taken by the side of the road somewhere in Oregon in 1997. It doesn't really point to a special time in my life, but I think it captures the best of my spirit -- who I would like to be, without the mania that sometimes accompanies orange.

But you know what takes the cake? This picture I took on a bike ride a couple weeks after I moved to Iowa. Oh, and for the record, I did not get off my bike or stop pedaling to take this picture. What can I say? You can take the girl out of orange, but you can't take orange out of the girl...

"Is this heaven?"
"No. It's Iowa."

Feeding My Inner Taoist

Iowa Today: Sunny 66° F
Ultimate Frisbee: 2 hours
Me: Blissfully happy.

Tomorrow: Bike ride with Jen to Hills. Which is flat.

No, I don't get it either.

I'm a Country Runner

June 30 was the one-year anniversary of my arrival in Iowa. I celebrated with a short (40 minutes is short now?) run. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this, but I get a unique joy from running on country roads that I just don't get from neighborhood running.

Don't get me wrong, the neighborhoods of Iowa City have a special brand of serenity and peace that I've not found anywhere else. But the Zen of country running is on a level all its own. As I was pondering this entry, I happened upon a post on the Zen of Running. Reading through it, I realized that I get this from all the sports in triathlon. I'd say that breathing is particularly meditative for me when I swim, but contemplation and being in the moment are what buoy me on the bike and run.

I suppose this also explains why I haven't been blogging as much as of late. At first, I thought it was something about only being able to train or blog, but not both at the same time. But mostly, I've just been more introspective and in my own head for quite a while now. It's probably for that reason I'm unable to render this feeling in a satisfactory way.

Happy running.