Flashback Friday with Heya Sparky!

My friend Lauren does an amazing blog called Heya Sparky. It's really great and you should all check it out. As part of her blog, she does a weekly post called "Flashback Fridays". Here she shares an old photo of herself and a story to go along with it. She has asked a few others to join in on the fun and "link up". Lauren, hopefully I am doing this right.

From Top Left, Clockwise: My Mom, My Brother, My Sister, My Niece and Me

I am the little on the left. This photo was taken the last time I lived in Pittsburgh, well Aliquippa, in the early 90s. My father grew up there and my parents decided for some crazy reason to leave sunny California to come back...who knows? My brother and sister, amidst their crazy lives ended up visiting at the same time once. So this is one of the photos of a visit I will never forget. It would be almost 10 years before my mom had all of her children in one place again, and she has never had all of her grandchildren in one place. My niece and I played and played and we were all a family together. Thanks for the marvelous life family, I wouldn't want any other crazy!

Thanks, Lauren this was fun!

CHICKENS!

I have always been a city girl. I love going camping in the woods, but rural areas kind of give me the heebee geebees. That is why we bought a house in the city and I went to college in the city, I just love "the city". Recently though I have been having these incredible urges to just want to do manual labor. I started having these thoughts that maybe I was wrong and what I really desire is to be a farmer. Which seems crazy because I don't have any experience with handling animals. I have barely ever been on a farm or really seen even a chicken in real life. But I do have a longing to reconnect with my food.

I am not exactly sure when I first had the thought that I wanted chickens. It was somewhere after deciding that I not only really liked eggs, but, more importantly, felt it was okay to eat them. This thought, like most, grew into an idea, and then slowly became a reality. It started with looking up the local laws and regulations. I thought that this would be easy, I guess I forgot I live in Pittsburgh. Then I had to actually do research into what type of chickens, how big of a space they would need and what type of coop I would want to build. I started with going to a friend who also has chickens and asking him for advice. Gleaming knowledge from him and the people he referred me to made me confident that this was something I could actually do.

The Basics

Chickens are one of the easiest "farm" or livestock animals to have. The reason that urban backyard chickens are popular is because you can actually have them in an urban environment, they don't require much care or space. (though more space than some factories would have you believe)

Local Laws & Regulations
We live in a society, and world, filled with rules and restrictions. The first step towards owning chickens is understanding what you can and cannot do. Some cities/towns/boroughs have general laws, others are very specific. One law here in Pittsburgh says we are not allowed "fowl at large". Sometimes it is very difficult to figure out what your specific legal boundaries are and when you do it might still be difficult to get the right permits. Two of the best online compilations of chickens law are City Chicken and Chicken L.O.R.E. But do some of your own research as well.

Also, though it usually isn't part of the law, you should really talk to your neighbors, at least the immediate ones. They might be just as clueless about chickens as you were. You can help to quell some of their potential fears and concerns, and share your newfound poultry knowledge.


Space & Housing

I have seen some pretty creative ways people have housed chickens in small areas, but here are some things to think about.

Coop
The henhouse is where your chickens will sleep at night. The coop needs to be completely sealed and protected. At night chickens enter an almost trance-like state and will not be able to protect themselves or even run away from predator.  For the coop you want at least 2-3 ft² per chicken. You also have to have a "roost". This can be anything that resembles a branch. The chickens actually roost at night, they sleep on the branch.

Fenced Area or Run
In most cities, you can't have your chickens just wondering around and you don't want them to be. Depending on the chicken and if they will be supervised while out, will help determine what kind of fence or run you need to create. Sometimes also clipping the chickens wings, which is completely harmless to them, can make it possible for you to have a shorter fence. The chickens we have are really docile and haven't flew over the 3 ft. fence we have, yet. For a proper run, you should have at least 4-5 ft² per chicken.

When you've determined that you have enough space in your backyard to house a coop and a run, you need to decide how you are going to get them. You can purchase already built coops or you can make them yourself. You can pay thousands of dollars or you can build something with all scrap.There are plans everywhere for coops, search online until you find one you like and is equivalent to your skill level :) If you want to go the pre-made way, the Eglu is supposed to be rather cool, but expensive.


Breed
Once you've figured out that you can legally have chickens and have physical space for them, you need to find which breed is the best for you. What are you looking to get out of this? Eggs or a pretty pet?

The Sultan chicken on the left is going to produce much fewer eggs than say a Rhode Island, because they were breed for their looks not their eggs. Also, you need to think of what environment you are in. Some breeds are more hearty while others require cooler temperatures.

You also need to decide if you are going to raise the chicks or get laying (grown) hens. Since we received our chickens at a year old I have no real experience here. I have heard that chicks are really cute, but can also be work. There are also specific laws about buying chicks vs. chickens. Most of the people I know ordered their chicks online, which seems really ridiculous. To learn about raising chicks, go here.

You can find a complete list of breeds and their various characteristics here.

Care
When you finally get your chickens, coop and run, you'll want to know what to do with them. The chickens need to be let out in the morning. They will roam around and graze, mostly just eating and pooping. Because of the poop, you will need to hose things down. Depending on what method you use  for litter, you can clean the coop every 1-2 weeks or 1-2 times a year. This is the Deep Litter Method. As it gets dark, they will naturally go back into the coop and settle onto the roost. You need to close and secure the coop. Sometimes they need a little encouragement with returning to the coop. If we know we are not going to be home by sundown we put them back in their coop early to avoid any danger. They also need water, especially on hot days like we have had recently, and food, though the amount they consume will vary depending on how much they've grazed or been given treats. You also need to be aware and watch for their health. Here is a little guide to some basic issues.

Links
Urban Farm Store - They have some great resources, I would also highly recommend their book "A Chicken in Every Yard" it is really easy to read and super informative.

Backyard Chickens - A wonderful online resource with pretty much everything you can think of.


All that is left to do is enjoy the eggs and the entertainment your flock brings. I can watch scratch-scratch-peck for hours. And how large and delicious the eggs will be!


This is in no way a comprehensive guide to chickens, but it is at least enough to get you started thinking about it. Do you have chickens or advice to give? I love hearing chicken stories!

Baked (Fried) Green Tomatoes

I don't really remember this movie, because I saw it so long ago. But I am pretty sure I really liked it.

Tomato season is soon upon us, and if you check out your local farmer's markets it has probably already hit. I was lucky enough a couple of weeks ago to find some beautiful green tomatoes. I was unable to resist their color. The classic fried green tomatoes is what I decided to make, but I wanted to see if I could make them tasty if they were baked. The result was pretty delicious, without the dripping oil.

Look at that amazing green

Baked Green Tomatoes

Prep Time 10 min : Cook Time 30 min : Servings 10

Ingredients:

Breading¹
1/2 Cup Cornmeal
1/2 Cup Unseasoned Breadcrumbs
1/4 Cup Unbleached Flour
Hot Paprika
Salt
Pepper

Buttermilk
6 Green Tomatoes

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the tops off of the tomatoes and continue to slice, crosswise, down the fruit.²
2. Combine the breading ingredients in a shallow bowl and mix well.
3. Place the buttermilk in a bowl, I usually start with a little bit (1/2 Cup) then add more when I need it.
4. Set up the breading train. Don't worry about keeping you fingers clean, your efforts will be futile.
5. Start with the buttermilk on both sides and then the breading.
6. Spray or grease a baking sheet. Place breaded slices on the sheet and the sheet into oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip the slices over and bake for another 15 minutes.
7. They should be golden brown and delicious. Serve immediately with homemade ranch dressing, because they are the best piping hot.

Foodnotes
¹This isn't a precise measurement. It will depend on how well you bread each slice and how much they want to hold. You may need to add some more to the mix.
²One of the great things about green tomatoes is that they are firm and super easy to cut. You can use all those extra little tops and bottoms in a green tomato salsa.

Snobby Joes

We had a group of friends coming over for dinner last night and I was trying to think of something easy to make for a large group. Snobby Joes was definitely it. This recipe is from Veganomicon, a very valuable book to the vegan crowd. I change just a few things to make this recipe even more healthy than it already is. The "meat" of it is lentils, but it would be easy to substitute grass-fed ground beef. Though I would suggest you try it with the lentils as it is super tasty! Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any pictures of these, but I did steal one.

Image courtesty Seitan Is My Motor

Snobby Joes

Prep Time 10 Min : Cook Time 40 mins : Servings 4-6

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked lentils¹
4 cups water²
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
2-3 carrots, diced³
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
4-6 buns⁴

Put the lentils in a small sauce pot and pour in 4 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

About 10 minutes before the lentils are done boiling, preheat a medium soup pot or large saucepan over medium heat. In a covered microwave safe bowl, steam the carrots for about 2 minutes, no need to add additional water the carrots will have enough. Saute the onion and carrots in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute a minute more. Add the cooked lentils, the chili powder, oregano and salt and mix. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the maple syrup and mustard and heat through.Turn the heat off and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Serve hot!

Courtesy of PPK(Post Punk Kitchen), a blog of one of the authors of Veganomicon.


Foodnotes:
1 We usually use red/orange lentils
2 I actually used a mix of water and whey, which I had left over from making cheese. Whey is awesome! FYI This makes the recipe not vegan.
3 The original recipe calls for green pepper, but I am not a fan of green pepper. And red, orange and yellow peppers are always incredibly expensive as well as hard to get local. Whereas carrots are cheap, filling and from our area!
4 We had delicious buns from Allegro Hearth in Squirrel Hill

The Great Outdoors - Biking, part 2

This is continued from last Friday's post.

Map Your Route

Not knowing where you're going sucks. Not knowing where you're going when you are biking, sucks more. After you've been biking around and are tired, or it's started to rain, the last thing you want is to be circling around an area. We are incredibly lucky to have multiple resources to map your route in Pittsburgh. First, BikePGH has a free physical map that you can get at many different locations around Pittsburgh, including all bike shops and the East End Food Coop. For a full list of where to pick one up, go here. They also offer a "high quality rip-proof, waterproof paper" map for $10 available for purchase on the same site. Second, they have an interactive online map which you can use to map out where you're going. The online map allows you to see trail access, bike shops, where there are dedicated bike lanes and crash reports. (Here is a great article about why you should report a crash and how to stay protected.) Finally, Google maps offers a "bike" option as one of their modes of transportation under "Get Directions".

Ride With Friends

The more people riding together, the more visible you are. Though this isn't feasible for all situations, you be surprised who else bikes places. Ask around at your job or school and see if others are interested in starting a bikepool. Using your bike to commute even once a week, can make a big difference. Here are more resources on how to start or join a bikepool. One of our favorite spring, summer and fall activities is going for a bike ride with friends. It is a great way to hang out and explore the city together. Also, because biking isn't always as cardio-intensive, you're able to carry on conversations easily with each other.

Ride Often

Like anything, the more you do it, usually the better you are. When I pull out my bike for the first time in a season, I need to re-learn and re-adjust to using a bike again. This biking season my goal is to ride my bike as much as possible. I want to act like I only have a car to use when a bike just won't work, because I would like to think that I could survive without a car. This season is my experiment in that, and it is going well so far. It doesn't help that we live at the top of a hill, but then again it's Pittsburgh which is all hills. Also, it isn't nearly the biggest hill around.

Some Things That Don't Fit Into Categories

Always, I repeat ALWAYS wear a helmet. I see some of my friends riding around and other strangers without helmets, and it makes me really sad. I don't care how stupid you think it looks or how hardcore you think you are, it isn't and you aren't. I was hit by a car once on my bike and I thanked God that I was wearing a helmet, my injury could have been a lot worse without it. Helmets come in so many different styles, pick one you like and wear it every time.
Get a lock! Preferably a U-Lock, but at least a nice chain lock. You don't want to spend months fixing up a junker at Free Ride just to have it stolen. Also, if you only have a U-lock, lock your front tire AND frame to a secure apparatus. You don't want this happening:

If you are going to ride at night you need a bike light. You MUST have a back red light that blinks, and ideally you should get a front, white light that has a solid and blinking setting. Our house really like Planet Bike, in general, but especially for their front, white bike lights.

I hope this has been helpful and encourages you to ride in the city, or to just ride in general. I find bike riding very rewarding. Often times I get nervous or whinny before I start a ride, but once I get out there I am happy that I made the right choice and I have a great time. What good times have you had on your bike? What's your favorite ride through Pittsburgh?

The Great Outdoors - Biking, part 1

It's that time of the year again, when you go dust off the bike you've been neglecting all winter and go for a ride. I personally would love to be one of those hardcore bikers that rides all through the frigid, ice-filled winter, but I'm not. I try to tell myself one day I will be, but we'll see. Now that the weather is nice though, I take every opportunity to ride my bike. It is great for so many reasons, environmentally better, more healthy, and it builds character. When I first started riding in the city, back in college, I was very apprehensive. It was scary, there were cars and pedestrians, and I wasn't all that comfortable on a bike. But after some practice, I became versed in city riding and now feel like I am one of the cars. Don't be discouraged not to ride your bike; there are plenty of things you can do to make yourself more comfortable and, more importantly, more safe.

Like Your Bike

When I first started riding a bike again I was on a little mountain bike. I wasn't really comfortable on it, and therefore my riding experience wasn't that fun. Then I went to Free Ride and was lucky enough to find a great small road bike. It was an old Schwinn and I loved it. It made riding so much more enjoyable. Part of that was because it was made more for city riding, but more of it was that I felt comfortable. Last year I graduated to buying a new bike. It took a lot of debate, but I decided it was well worth the money. And it has been. When I was looking for a new bike, one of the guys I talked to asked if I was looking for a road bike, a cruiser, a hybrid, or a mountain bike. I said that I was going to be doing mostly city riding, so I guess a road bike. He asked if I was going doing a lot of long distance road riding? No. Then you don't have to have a road bike. Really? This changed my world. I like my hybrid because I feel like I have more control over the bike than I did, even with my beloved Schwinn.

My new commuter

And that is the key, the more comfortable you feel, the more confident you'll be. Confidence is what you need when you are riding in the city. So try some different bikes out, see what makes you feel comfortable. Talk to the people who your buying from. They should be able to help you with what you need and what type of bike will work best for you. If you want to brush up on different bike styles before heading to the store REI has a great bike page.

Have A Local Bike Shop

We are blessed in Pittsburgh to have multiple great bike shops to choose from. A local shop where you get to know the people is the best asset to have. You are able to stop in if you have a question, they can show you how to fix things on your own, and they can help when the job is too big for you (though I have been told that no job should be too big).

Thick Bikes

62 South 15th Street, Pittsburgh PA; (412) 390-3590
Located in Southside, this where I bought my new bike. The guys in here are really easy to talk to. They sell some used bikes as well as new bikes and various accessories.

Iron City Bikes

331 S Bouquet St, Pittsburgh, PA; (412) 681-1310
Located in South Oakland, and is probably Ben's favorite bike shop. They are a smaller store but can do orders if they don't have it in the shop. They sell new bikes and accessories. And have a local racing team.

Love Bikes

212 1/2 44th St, Pittsburgh, PA; (412) 235-7026
Pittsburgh newest shop located in Lawrenceville. They are mostly a repair shop right now, but plan to start selling complete and refurbished bikes soon. Unfortunately, I have not been here yet to have a personal opinion of them.

Ted’s Excellent Bike Repair

2110 E Carson St, Pittsburgh PA; (412) 224-2324)
Also located on Southside, it is suppose to be a pretty great repair shop. I haven't needed a repair shop yet, but have heard great things from many friends who've used them.

Kraynick’s Bike Shop

5003 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA; (412) 621-6160)
In Garfield, Kraynick's is the Yinzer of shops. Not the shop to go if you have an overwhelmingly expensive bike, but definitely the place to be if you need to be economical. Also if you want to work on your bike for free and be able to get some knowledgeable advice, come here. Many people can only sing the praises of how awesome this shop is.

Free Ride

214 N. Lexington Ave, Pittsburgh, PA; (412) 731-4094
Another great place to work on your bike for free. Free Ride does a great job of teaching you how to build and take care of a bike. They call themselves a "bicycle educational facility". You can literally start with a frame and build your bike, for free. I highly suggest you check out their website to see all that they have to offer. They also sometimes have finished recycled bikes for sale, which is how I got my Schwinn, but this is rare.

BikeTek

5842 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA; (412) 521-6448
Located in Squirrel Hill, these guys were pretty nice. I ended up getting my rack from them. They sell mostly new bikes and accessories, but they also do repairs.

There is REI(Southside) and Pro Bikes(Squirrel Hill). As per my experience, I am not a huge fan of either of them, especially Pro Bikes. But I love REI, so if I need an accessory I would go here, but I don't use their shop. If you aren't in Pittsburgh, do a google search or talk to friends who bike. If Pittsburgh has this many choices, chances are you city should have at least one.

Here is BikePGH's list of resources in and around Pittsburgh.

Check out Part 2 coming on Monday with the topics "Map Your Route", "Ride With Friends" and "Ride Often".

CSA

...And why you should have one this season!

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. What does that mean? Well, the way a CSA works is through investment. A consumer buys a share with a farm. The consumer pays upfront a certain amount and ensures the farmer that a specific amount of their crop is going to be purchased. The farmer can then rely on the intended consumption. They can use the money to buy seeds and pay for other upfront costs, rather than having to wait until they can sell their crops after harvest. This also gives them cash flow throughout the year, rather than receiving most of their income during just one season. The consumer then picks up their share, usually on a weekly basis, of the crop from the farm. This lasts for the entire season, usually 20-25 weeks.

Shares

Farms usually have different types of shares. Most common are half, full and advanced. The share is the amount of food you will be receiving. It can also indicate which type of food you are receiving as some farms will have a dairy share, which would include milk or cheese every week.

Cost

Though the cost upfront seems like a significant amount of money, it actually works out to be cheaper than buying produce from the grocery store. Most CSAs are between $23-26 per week, much less than if you were to buy the same products individually.

Drop-Off/Pick-Up

If you live by, or are willing to drive to the farm, you can always pick up your share from the farm. However, for those who can't, there are various city drop-offs depending on the CSA. You should factor this into which CSA you choose, you don't want one that drops off on the same night you have Chess Boxing practice.

Farm Tour Day

Almost all farms have what they call Farm Tour Days. This is a time when the CSA members are invited to the farm they have been supporting. It is a great way to get to know the farmers and see the farm. Sometimes you even learn something, on the farm tour last summer I learned that asparagus was grown one stalk at a time. It helps you see the producers of your food as real people. It helps you see the world of food production with your own eyes.

Local

This one is obvious, but you are supporting a local company. CSAs are just as good as going to your local farmer's markets to get food, most of the CSA farms even sell at farmer's markets.

Family Farms/Co-ops

All of the farms are either small family farms or farm co-ops. Pennsylvania in particular has a significant number of small family farms that are dying every year from competition. When harvests go well, things can be easy, however for a small family farm or co-op a bad crop can mean big problems. By participating in a CSA, if the harvest goes badly or doesn't have maximum production, you are ensuring that the farm doesn't go out of business and can continue. You are helping to give them "Rainy Day"(bad analogy since rain is good in the farming world) money to bring them through the bad harvests or unforeseen problems.

Decisions

When I pick up my CSA for the week, all of my decisions are made for me. I don't have to go through the produce aisle and think of what to make. Instead, I am given the fruits and vegetables that I will be using that week. This is a huge plus for me, as decision-making usually leads to frustration in my household.

This past season we had a full share from Harvest Valley Farms. Every Thursday we would go to pick up our share. A sample weeks share would be: 1/2 dozen ears of corn, pint of pickling cucumbers, head of cauliflower, three zucchinis, a bag of green beans, 4 apples and a head of lettuce. Harvest Valley sends out a weekly e-mail letting you know what is in the share and includes a recipe using one or more of the items. I absolutely loved it and we plan to continue getting CSAs every season.

If you have a CSA or decided to get one, which farm are you using and why?

If you are interested in getting a CSA this season, which you should be, Local Harvest is a great website to find one near you. Local Harvest also has information on farmer's markets and other food related things.

Diary of A Slogger, issue 3

...Or why you should shop at Elite Walkers and Runners.

This past Thursday was just one of those runs. I don't know if I had eaten poorly on Wednesday, or if the warm weather threw me for a loop (though I would never complain of the blessed sunshine of wonderfulness), but I wasn't having fun. I kept repeating the Jillian Michael's mantras, "Pain is fear leaving the body" and "When it starts getting uncomfortable, those are the ones that really count", and "We don't get to the finish line and stop, that's when we push even harder".

I focused all of the pain I was feeling on the fact that I needed new shoes. I am a very conscious shopper. I often do a lot of research on the products I buy, especially big purchases. I also hate consumerism in general and get very anxious when buying anything. I will have arguments with myself in the store: "Do I really need this?", "Is this going to help my life?", "Is this clubbing baby seals to make my life easier?", etc. Needless to say, I don't like buying new stuff, especially when they are things just for me. So I wasn't too excited about the idea of buying new running shoes. I mean they looked fine. There weren't any hole; the soles didn't seem terribly worn. But my knees, and even lower back, were beginning to hurt. After being horribly frustrated by a painful run, I decided it was time to finally get new shoes.

My Spiffy New Shoes

It is a rule of thumb to replace your running shoes between 350-550 miles of use. For me that is about 4-6 months, at my current running pace. That seems like an awful lot of shoes. However, I keep telling myself that it is an investment into my future. By using running shoes I am making a happier, healthier me, as corn-tastic as it is. I am preventing diseases such as diabetes, which would cost myself and my insurance significantly more than $150 a year. Also, when it comes to exercising activities, running is one of the cheapest. The only equipment you really need is shoes.

Now that you are convinced you need new running shoes, you should go to Elite Walkers and Runners. Elite is a great local shop. The staff are incredibly friendly and there to help you with whatever you need. Though they are all skilled in delivering you the perfect pair of shoes, they don't flaunt their abilities to make you feel bad. I know nothing about running and probably asked some pretty stupid questions, but Erin, the lady helping me, didn't make me feel as dumb as I sounded. She answered my questions kindly and made me feel comfortable. They are able to look at your old shoes and suggest what new ones might work. They also watch you run to see if the shoes are working properly. One of the pairs I tried on was making me push-off my big toe, which apparently is bad.

They also have an interest in the community. From their mission statement:

Our mission is to be the central hub for the Pittsburgh running community and to spread the passion that the staff has to get people out and moving. We have moved forward with this mission through our involvement in the development and sponsorship of races around the Pittsburgh Region; educating the community through wellness clinics, health fairs, good form running classes, and corporate nights. We have also encouraged our youth to get involved in Track and Cross Country through education about running, injury prevention, and through team nights held at the store.

This is exactly what I want in every business I use. This inspires me to want to support them. They even have a Soles 4 Souls donation box for your old shoes.


And that is why I have been shopping rather exclusively at Elite Walkers and Runners for all of my slogging needs.

It was somewhat serendipitous that the right shoes for me happen to be New Balance. I apparently really like their shoes as I have bought about 3 pairs in various styles from Goodwill over the years. Also, they are a pretty cool company, not amazing, but cool. Here is what they call 'Responsible Leadership'

The East End Food Co-op

...Or why you should shop at your local food co-op.

In case you don't know what a co-op is, aside from a magical, wonderful land of rainbows, it is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit. The East End Food Co-op is a grocery store in Pittsburgh that sells food, cosmetics, vitamins, toiletries and cleaning supplies that are "natural and organic".Therefore everything in the store has been carefully purchased and thought about. Co-ops are the best place to do all your regular shopping, especially in the winter months when you can't rely on farmer's markets and CSAs.

Local

While buying local is very trendy, this doesn't make it any less important.

The Climbing Wall, Inc.

...or why your hands should be callused and your forearms beefy.

Before we left for China I had been going to the Climbing Wall on a weekly basis. I had built up some nice calluses and was starting to feel like I was actually excelling. Then we went to China for six weeks and all of the skills I had picked up vanished. I was willing to give it another go, knowing how much fun I had the last time around. I arrived at the Climbing Wall with some friends and set to work. For the next two hours, it was nothing more than pain and suffering. Everything I tried seemed to kick my butt, my hands hurt, and I just wasn't having a good time.

This past week I debated whether or not to try again. My usual climbing buddy was out-of-town and I could easily use that as an excuse to skip it.