Finally went kayaking

So I finally went kayaking today. I managed to get the kayak onto the roof of the car without hitting the car. I did manage to bang my shoulder really good in the process though, that will be sore tomorrow. I tossed in the 240cm paddle to give it a try to see if maybe it might be too long. After using it I am undecided, I should compare to the 230cm before deciding which will be my full time paddle and which will be a back up paddle. I had to stop at REI on the way to pick up a life jacket. I found a realitively nice one that mostly fits. The fit is a little loose but there is still a little room to cinch some of the straps tighter. I could have stood for a size smaller but this is what I get when I go last minute shopping. I will try on a smaller one next time I am at REI just to check if I should have the smaller one, but this way, if anyone wants to borrow the kayak, at least the vest will fit a wider range of people. Mind you, I am not sure I really want someone else sweating in my life jacket. One of those thing I should not think about. I did ask if there was an easier way to lift the kayak onto the roof of the car without having to fork out for new roof saddles. Seems the towel on the trunk method is the way to go. So I tossed an old towel in the trunk for next time. At least it should save my shoulder.

For a first time out on the water, I managed to do an hour of paddling without too many problems. I did notice that the kayak is not as stable as I remember. Not sure if this is me, the kayak or me remembering a better kayak. I also somehow managed to give my legs a workout. They were a little sore, probably from bracing against the inside of the kayak to help stablize it.

So saturday was a bust and today I did everything. I went to REI, did some kayaking, stopped for groceries, worked on some knitting, and cooked a nice supper. I decided on Indian so I could use up some of the old brown rice I have sitting around. The faster I use it up, the sooner I can start on the new, fresh bag. I actually made near perfect brown rice on the stove this time. This is actually saying a lot. I have tried unsuccessfully to cook this brown rice for over a year. I started on the stove at 35 minutes then went up to 45 minutes then tried in the oven for 1 hour. The oven was better than the stove top methods as they were uncooked. But the oven was cooked and a little wet on the bottom and not quite cooked and dry on the top. This time I did 1 hour on the stove top. I started at a high simmer than stepped it down with the cooking time. It worked really well. I will have to see if I can reproduce the effect next time. I made a nice chicken with tomatoes and garam masala from the new Madhur Jaffrey's Indian cook book I just bought. I also had some lavosh bread in the freezer so I ate some of that with it. While it is not a naan substitute, it was a good bread to accompany the meal. I like good food, too bad it settles in around the hips and stomach. If I eat less, that means more good leftovers. grin