Housewarming Parties

re-post

If you are moving into a new house or apartment and you want to make a clean start and have a no-shoes rule, you have an ideal opportunity to kick it off with an housewarming party.

The best thing to do is to indicate clearly on invitations that you will be requiring shoes-off. That way people will have no surpises. They can bring slippers, wear clean socks with no holes or a floaty skirt that looks great with barefeet (Trinny and Susanah actually recommend that hostesses of dinner parties should wear a long skirt with barefeet or slippers).

Having an housewarming party is such an excellent way to send the message that your new house will be a shoe-free zone. Even those of your friends who do not come will see on the invitation that you want shoes-off.

Requiring shoes-off at a housewarming party sends the message that you are really serious about the rule and that it is not just an exception for a wet winter evening. After all, some people with shoeless homes actually make an exception and allow shoes-on in parties. However, having shoes-off at an housewarming makes it clear that you want the house to stay as it was when you bought it.

The Meaning of Life

For a long time now I have been eager to get up to what appeared to be a magical place. So far as I could tell by the homemade youtube movies laboriously produced by none other than local bouldering messiah Kelley Sheridan, Lake Serene was a bouldering/chilling paradise! The stage was set, the fire lit, and all I needed was a cast of willing characters to support me in my trek to find this outdoor enthusiast promise land. Last year my friend Nick and I kicked the idea around of carrying a crash pad or two up there to see what all the fuss was about, but those plans were run over by the all too accessible bouldering Mecca that is Leavenworth. Ho hum.
This summer has been a bit different. Adding some new faces to the crowd, and a bit of a twist on our incentives to seek out this place, we were off. 7:00 a.m. brought Greg, Erica, and Sarah to my door step. We loaded up the car, picked up Nick and were driving up route 2 at 10:30. We stumbled upon the access road to the trail head for Lake Serene with little to no directions and in a matter of turns were at the parking lot. The hike was rumored to be a killer. 3.7 miles doesn’t sound all too impressive to the weathered hiker but keep in mind that 1.5 of those miles you gain several thousand feet in elevation. We set a furious pace, reaching the more tedious switch backs in less than half an hour passing Bridal Veil Falls on our way:


Bridal Veil Falls as seen from the main trail.


Greg is a true master of stone.


Almost there, the views really start to open up.

The switch back part was not that bad. In fact the whole hike up wasn’t that bad, especially since I had been training my extreme hiking skills by slogging to and from Bob’s area 4 times in one week! We laughed our abs off the whole way up the trail and a big props/shout out/thank you goes to Greg who manned up and carried a half case of beer, bottle of wine, pounds of food, AND crash pad the whole way up. I don’t want to hear anyone complain about a hike ever again in this mans presence; he WILL school your ass! The farther we made it up the mountainside the more apparent the far reaching views and absolute solitude became. We finally reached a stretch of trail that reeked of flowers and herbs and I could tell we were close. I ran p and over a small hill after hearing a shriek of delight there it was, the mouth of the Lake Serene area. It was absolutely a dream…


The small rock in the distance on the lake is the huge slab of granite we called home for the day.

I knew exactly where our party had reservations and did not stop until I had crossed a small granite slab, snow field, and talus field passing several impressive boulders along the way. We made our home on a huge boulder with a slanted flat top, perfectly overlooking the lake, and conveniently sporting an absolutely fitting 20foot drop into a deep pool of water.


Nick swallowed up by the brilliance of the snow field.

The sun was blazing down and we spread ourselves out on the rocks flat surface soaking it in and occasionally(okay frequently) jumping into the lake. The water was crystal clear. You could see another perfect boulder field mirrored back at you from the surface which made the jump a little intimidating until you actually did it and realized it was waaaay deeper than you imagined. The water was so clear, so blue, so life giving. It was absolutely frigid, but on this day it seemed to inspire some sort of boyhood giddiness. We were all in a constant state of bewilderment at the powerful nature of our surroundings. We were kissed by the sun and rejuvenated by the water. It was dreamlike. A day you wish could last forever, and one that will soon not be forgotten. With Mt. Index at our backs, and a calm blue lake spread out before us the mood could only be described as positive, childish fun, and big kids laughing a lot. I know, not very articulate, but I don’t really have words to describe it, literally, you have to be there.


Sarah takes the plunge!


Greg decides to handle the crack in our apartment floor.


Serene.


Psicobloc in the Northwest.


Venga! Nick!


The storm approaches.


Day dreamer.

The sun began to dip behind the towering granitic peak of Mt. Index and we had had enough of the lake. We finally decided it was time to check out the bouldering. The boulder field I can only describe as a close resemblance to Chaos Canyon in RMNP. The rock is exactly the same, polished granite with green and yellow lichen, lazer cut edges, slopers, shelves, arêtes, overhangs, caves, face climbs, thin cracks, and a multitude of overhanging faces with barley enough holds to get to the top. I was blown away by the amount of rock, and the absolute potential this place holds. I saw a couple V.hard projects that would probably be some of Washington’s finest and hardest. Tall proud lines with bad landings, small overhung climbs with flat landings, the spectrum was in full effect. We had one crash pad so we looked for the least intimidating lines, with the softest landings. We had a great time on a few problems:


The first boulder of the trip, a sweet V.1 I called The Slide, because someone almost did take a slide off the backside.


Nick on the Slide with Mt. Index in the background.


Goodbye Erica!


The boulder field, this is only a small portion of the rock we saw that day.


Sarah on a brilliantly straightforward V.0 arete.


Greg wrangles the arete.


This had to be one of the cleanest lines I saw all day, a perfect seam with barley enough handholds and a clean face on both sides. Victory jugs at the top, but pulling on was super hard! Unfortunately all we could do was pull on.


A super aggressive V.3 Nick found. Great jug start to a cool pull over the lip.







Before you knew it, the clouds rolled in, the day’s atmosphere took a 180 and we were packed up and ready to hit the trail. Thunderclaps, bolts of lightening, and fat rain drops accompanied our hurried pace to the bottom. When we arrived at the car the storm had passed and we were back on the road, with a quick stop for Mexican food.
To sum it all up, the day was close to perfect and those don’t come along too often. I would have loved to have more of the crew there sharing in this wonderful place, but I know there will be more hot days to come, and this kind of activity never gets old.
I wish everyone a safe and productive trip to Squamish, and I might add I’m jealous I won’t be there!! Have fun guys.

Learning to Crawl

Finally! A blog post. This is more of a photo dump though. I'll have some words for you later tonight. This is basically a recap of a wild week spent at a wonderful climbing area called Bob's Area at Exit 38, located a steep little hop, skip, and jump up Mt. Washington. It was a stellar week of hiking and climbing, and getting shut down on my new project. The good news is that at least someone sent it. Dom nabbed his second .13a and I hope the rest of the Oly' crew will be right behind him. For now here is the story board.


Friday

Loevely little bells.



Me starting the day right with an interesting .10d.


Dom braves the waters for his first try on Crawling from the Wreckage(5.13a)


Nick had a great first burn on Crawling only hanging a few times before meeting the chains.


A blurry photo of the fine dining at Alpinia, one of my favorite restaurants.


Aaaaawwww, the night life in North Bend.

Saturday

Laura trying to Fire Up Bob(5.10c), with a huge reach for the first move.


Dom battles the bulges on Firing Up Bob(5.10c)


Dom faces his destiny on Crawling from the Wreckage(5.13a)


I think this is a 5.10 commercial.


Dom enters the last crux of Crawling. We were both exhausted from the day before but Dom sailed up this impressive route making it look more like some of the .12a's I've seen him flash. Brilliant job Dom.


I guess I'll just have to hike back up here.


North Bend.


Laura not only snagged a 5.11a redpoint earlier in the day, but also ate this .10d up with a solid onsight.


One of the greats up at Bob's Area, a 5.9 called Awannaduya.


We managed to get home just in time for dinner.


Tuesday.

Erica got our day started with a sweet redpoint lead of Firing Up Bob(5.10c), this has become the habitual warm up for the crag. Nice lead Erica!


Dasso comes face to face with his nemesis Salterello Presto(5.11a). He did manage to get to the chains but no send on this day. We got back up on the following Friday and he handled business though. His second ever 5.11a redpoint, SICK!


Erica decided to dance with Salterello Presto as well.


To wrap up the day Erica went for another bold lead of Stemming Out Beyond the Grey(5.11b), but this one might be a little over her head for now. This is one of my favorite routes at this area.
My day went as follows, try project, fall on project, repeat as needed.

Friday.
No pictures, but Greg sent his project while I managed a few one hangers on mine. I feel confident and I'm looking forward to taking a little break from it. I just got back from one of the most amazing trips to lake Serene, so look for the post soon...

Being Proactive

A major part of my job is making people aware of the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption. I have to be proactive in my day job. So I thought maybe I should be more proactive in promoting my pet cause.

To that end I asked a colleague whether she wore shoes in her house. She replied that she did, though she also wore those slippers socks some times. I asked her whether she was concerned about the wear and tear to her carpet. She replied that she had never even thought about that (probably the reaction of the average 18-year old when I warn them that drinking seven pints of lager is a bad idea). When I explained my policy, she said she thought people had ever right to insist on no-shoes in their homes.

Inspiration?

Sneaker thief's stupid police station raid

This totally reminded me of A Woman's Right to Shoes, the infamous Sex and the City episode where Carrie's shoes are stolen at a shoes-off party.

Totally Together: Creating a Mud Room—even if you don’t have one.

Totally Together: Creating a Mud Room—even if you don’t have one.

Children

re-post

I am always a little surprised when I see children wearing shoes at home, whether on television or in person. It surprises me because when I was a child, my parents expected me to remove my shoes at the door. When I visited my friends' homes, their parents often expected me to take my shoes off. So it always seems a little strange when I see children keeping their shoes on at home.

The practise of removing shoes was expected until I reached the age of about 12. My parents became less stringent about it as I got older. Occasionally this house rule would be revived in later years. It was restored when I was 21 when my parents and I moved to a house with cream carpets, though they were not consistent in keeping to it.

There are some homes, in the UK, where the hosts will expect the children of guests to remove their shoes, but would not expect it of adult guests. Some guests will insist that their children remove their shoes without removing their own. I can understand why some people may be more concerned about children's shoes; children do tend to be less careful about what they step in and are more likely to run around in long and wet grass. However, adults should never forget that their own shoes pick up an awful lot of less noticeable dirt. There is also the fact that children learn to follow rules better when adults act consistently. There is a certain amount of 'do as I say, not do as I do' in the requirement of shoes-off for children only.

Some childcare experts are of the opinion that children should wear shoes to the minimum necessary and therefore recommend shoes-off indoors for health reasons.

Really?

Working at the hospital is turning me into a weird telly addict who does not own a television. Yesterday, I saw an episode of the soap Hollyoaks on the staff room television.

In this episode there was a south asian family who were wearing shoes in their home. While removing shoes is the norm in countries like Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, I know that some south asians in Britain do keep their shoes on. I visited a Pakistani family who wore shoes in their house (though I did not see the house upstairs, perhaps they did not wear shoes upstairs). Nevertheless, I am not entirely convinced by what I saw in the programe. They had their shoes on the whole time they were onscreen in the episode (at home), both upstairs and downstairs and the lady was wearing boots. Does anybody wear boots indoors?

I think this had more to do with the weird tendency of t.v. drama to always show people with their shoes on.

NHS Choices: Facts about Germs in the Home

NHS Choices: Facts about Germs in the Home

An NHS website suggests adopting a shoes off policy.

One of those 'Housey' Programes again

There was a 'housey' programe on the t.v. in the hospital accident and emergency waiting room. In this programe, a couple are shown a variety of properties that they might like to buy.

When the couple finally chose their property, both they and the two presenters were shoeless in it. A good deal of the time, the presenters of these programes never take their shoes off, but you get exceptions.

Visited my new neighbour

I visited my new neighbour yesterday. We had coffee together, then later went for an India take-away.

I removed my shoes without being asked. He was in his socks himself. His carpet was as light in colour as mine, if not slightly lighter, so not wearing shoes in the apartment makes sense.

Watched an anime film yesterday

I watched an anime film yesterday, Spirited Away. I got it at a very low price at the DVD sale in Tescos. Anime films are getting pretty popular here in the west. As I have commented on this blog before, a lot of western young people are exposed to a lot of Japanese culture (including removing shoes) through media.

I love Japanese culture, but I prefer not to make this too obvious. Lots of other people love Japanese culture, so being a big fan of Japanese things is hardly original. Loving Japan is one of the characteristics of the liberal, middle class whites satirised in the blog Stuff White People Like.

Smelly Feet

re-post

The issue of 'smelly feet' is often raised as an argument against the Shoes-Off rule.

In Western society there seems to be a lot of paranoia about the phenomena of 'smelly feet'. I think this is simply a result of people not removing their shoes very often. Your feet will actually smell a lot less if you remove your shoes regularly. It is unfortunate that we in Britain have not yet reached the civilised heights of Finland, where it is acceptable to remove shoes in business meetings and on trains (not that people do not do so in Britain, but it is frowned upon somewhat).

Nevertheless, I think most people worry too much about this issue. People imagine their feet smell far more than they actually do. I have met very few people who let off much of an aroma after removing their shoes, and most of them were people who did not wash and change their socks regularly.

If people know in advance that they need to remove their shoes, they can make sure they wear clean socks, or even better, bring slippers with them. If they are especially worried about it, they can use some of those fancy foot deoderents.

Feet wil smell a lot less if people wear sandals. Sneakers are best avoided in favour of leather shoes.

Some people will say 'I would rather put up with a dirty floor than people's smelly feet.' Well, I guess people decide on their own priorities. However, stinking feet will leave with the guests. A dirty floor will not. Nor will the dust they brought in on their shoes, and that is very bad for your health.

JDD Media

Okay, I promised you all a video of my send of Judgment Day Direct, so here it is. I still get chills watching the vid and I lived it! Such an awesome day, and I'm glad I have the privilege to share it with all my friends and be able to re-live it again and again. It wouldn't have been the same without Greg's and Nick's cheers throughout the send.

New Neighbour

A new neighbour moved into the apartment downstairs. He seemed a very nice chap and a I invited him in for a cup of tea.

He was from south Wales. Naturally, I asked him to remove his shoes. I suspected, that being from wild Wales, he might not be aware of how us civilised folks in Hertfordshire are so houseproud.

Sacrificial Slugs

Good lord, I feel completely wiped out from yesterday. My skin is running thin and I need to take my 'old person' medicine. I've been trying to keep up with all these youngsters lately but they keep pushing me to climb sheer rock faces, forcing me to pretend like I actually enjoy this crap.



A Little si flower.

Tuesday found myself, Nick, and Dom hanging out at on the Little si ledge with what seemed like the rest of Seattle. For a weekday it was pretty busy. I won't drop any names, because I don't really know any but we were deferred from our current project Californicator and made to endure the bushy nature of Slug Lover. Not a bad climb at all if you don't mind prickly bushes, large amounts of bird guano, and an uncomfortable crux sequence. Truthfully though, it climbs a lot better than it looks. Getting through all of the aforementioned 'hazards' is worth it to climb the beautiful sequence at the top. I owe Dom a huge thank you for putting me on this route. He put the draws up, chalked up some holds, and held my hand as I shakily sent the thing second go. The only reason he didn't send was because of a lousy dry fire on a fin-like hold at the crux. It's certainly not the proudest .12c I've done but undoubtedly the fastest .12c ascent I've ever done. I'm certain the rest of the Oly' crew will follow suit in the near future.
Anyway, my achievement falls a distant second to the main event of the day. Nick had been feverishly working Californicator, most likely the proudest .12d at Little si, for well over a year now and his time had come. Dom made an impressive go hanging only once at the crux before clipping the chains.



Dom on Californicator(5.12d)



After a shaky first go, Nick had collected himself and bolted up the first few boulder problems only to find himself locked in hand to hand combat with the redpoint crux. He smoothed his sequence out, a few tenuous moves coupled with Nick growls and he was on the 'almost victory jug'. Just a few clips of .11b and he would be staring down the 'real victory jug'. He grappled onto the last face peppered with good crimps and lunged upwards snagging the last jug with a victory shout and clipped the chains.










We lit up the crag with our howls of delight. It was by far the hardest route I have ever seen any of our crew send, and I was proud to witness it. Nick deserves this send; he worked hard for it just like every route he has sent and his effort is completely inspiring.
It was a great day at the crag with the boys and I look forward to the rest of the summer and projecting the hell out of Californicator.


Propaganda(5.12c).