may wrap up: a 5k and slow horses.

It seems a bit incredible that May is over. Perhaps because here in Seattle it’s been raining for almost the entire month of May and it has been unseasonable cold, but it doesn’t feel like June is tomorrow or that summer is right around the corner. Truthfully, the rain has put a damper on things recently and I haven’t been doing as much because going out in the rain can be a bit of a bummer. Nevertheless, here is my monthly wrap-up of some of the things I’ve been up to in May.

What I’m doing:
I participated in the Beat the Bridge 5k at the beginning of the month. Beat the Bridge is a race that takes place in the area around the University of Washington where the racecourse goes over a drawbridge. The drawbridge goes up about 20 minutes after the race begins and the goal is to make it to and over the bridge before it goes up. Otherwise, you have to wait at the bridge until it goes back down again to finish the race. I did not take part in the actual Beat the Bridge run because I knew there was no way that I could beat the bridge. Instead, I chose to participate in the 5k walk/run through part of the Univerisity of Washington and the surrounding area.

It was great to get out and actually do a 5k in person. I think it is the first in-person 5k I’ve participated in since the pandemic began. There were a lot of people there and, since we were outside, not a lot of people were masking up. I was a bit disappointed that we had to pay extra for a race t-shirt and, at least for the 5k, there were no finisher’s medals. Yes, I am one of those people who sign up for races based on the swag you receive!

What I’m eating:
I made a batch of brownies and experimented a little with the recipe. I had read that if you add an extra egg to the batter the brownies will turn out more cake-like and airy. Well, I realized that I do not like cake-like brownies and prefer a more fudgy brownie, the kind where it’s almost not done on the inside. As a result of my experiment, I was stuck with a bunch of subpar brownies. Honestly, they were fine, they just weren’t great. By the end, I was mainly eating them so that I could finish them off and then make more brownies – but the fudgy kind. I definitely didn’t want to throw them away because, like I said, they were still good, they just weren’t what I was looking for. However, now that I’ve finished that batch I can now make more.

What I’m watching:
I watched the show Slow Horses on Apple TV+. Slow Horses is based on the novel by the same name by Mick Herron. It’s the first book in a series about the agents of Slough House, casts offs from MI5. I read the book a while ago (and am thinking about rereading it and continuing the series) but from what I can remember the series follows the novel quite well. The show stars Gary Oldman who is fabulous in just about everything he does. It also stars Kristin Scott Thomas who, in my opinion, is a great actress and why don’t we see her in more things. I did subscribe to Apple TV+ just for this show but now that I’m here there are some other shows that look interesting to watch – specifically For All Mankind and the new docuseries Prehistoric Planet. I’ll let you know what I think about the service.

That’s all I have for you. See you next month!