Out of practice

I spent the weekend and most of Monday rounding up the things I need to go gem hunting in Oregon (sunstones). I am appalled at how long it takes me to find and assemble what I need for what is essentially a weekend camping trip.  I know what I have but is it in the basement or the garage?  Upstairs or downstairs? Should the snake bite kit (which I will NEVER need, knock on wood) go in my daypack or gear bag? This would go much faster if it hadn’t been almost a full year since I last had this stuff out.  I’m resolving to get out on a few more short adventures this year so maybe it will only take half a day to prep.

I finished up reading Julia Child’s My Life in France this week. It was an impulse buy while standing in line at Barnes & Noble; I dislike being an accurately judged marketing target by succumbing to those carefully placed browsing tables, but it had been on my reading list so I took as a sign and bought it.  I’m still trying to decide if I like the book, and/or JC.  It may be that we simply have no point of connection other than an appreciation of cats.  She barely mentioned her time in the Secret Service which I was curious about and dwelled more intently on a variety of sauces and culinary challenges. While generally I love to read rich descriptions of foreign food, I don’t think my soul is French.

A large part of my heart is pure treasure hunter – my sister and I tried gold panning for the first time as adults this weekend and are planning a trip to Florida on the off chance that we’ll be lucky enough to find some Spanish gold that’s made it’s way from the ocean floor to the beach.  It doesn’t really matter if we don’t the hunt is fun part. I guess this is my form of gambling (card games bore me) so I don’t think I’ll ever turn it into a career although I may be able to make jewelry from gem hunting or some such.  Still, it’s something I love and I need to get it more in balance with the other aspect of ‘career’ I have going on.  I’m hoping my No Excuses project has a quick and immediate impact on how I spend my time

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