Dashing through the snow

It wasn't a super eventful week, but sometimes that's nice.

On Monday, I ran on the Wild Rose Trail, which, depending on the weather in the next few weeks, might have been my last trail run of the season. Sigh. Trail running is a hobby that doubles as exercise. Other forms of exercise are just exercise.

Tuesday was snowy, so I went swimming. At other times this year, I have practiced swimming with the recreational swim team. But with the time change, I've been trying to maintain my old sleep schedule, so now the swim team goes too late for my taste. I just swam on my own, and I was able to swim my fastest 350 consecutive yards, so that was nice.

Also on Tuesday, we noticed that the Fall 2024 issue of Utah Historical Quarterly went online, and the physical copies will go out soon. This issue has a bit of a Thanksgiving theme, complete with a turkey on the cover, and we worried it wouldn't be out in time for the holiday. But it made it!

On Wednesday, I biked up the steep roads in North Salt Lake and Bountiful to the top of Summerwood. One of the problems with biking is that I get hot when I'm going uphill and then cold when I'm going downhill. One of many reasons I prefer running to biking. I got a good case of helmet hair, even though I don't like talking about hair.

I also did some reading, but it is hard to read when someone is trying to lick your chin.

On Thursday, I woke up late after sleeping poorly, and there wasn't anything I care to mention here.

On Friday, I shared an academic article with my colleagues that shows how "Jingle Bells" was originally written as a blackface minstrel song. Yes, really. In the nineteenth century, sleigh riding was a common fad in New England, and there were lots of minstrel songs about Black people riding sleighs. They were meant to be "funny," because the performers/audience thought it was preposterous for Black people from the South to do something associated with white people in the North.

I think about "Jingle Bells" at this time of year because in 2014, I decided to add the song to my Thanksgiving playlist. I had seen numerous sources claiming that it was originally written for Thanksgiving. That is a legend that has mainly been debunked. But the legend is still part of the culture surrounding Thanksgiving, just like the Pilgrim story, even though the Pilgrim story has little to do with Thanksgiving. But what I do know for certain is that when "Jingle Bells" was written, sleighing was very much part of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was seen as a wintry holiday in the nineteenth century, and an ideal Thanksgiving consisted of church, family meal, and sleighing. When you go back to the song's origins, it has as much claim for Thanksgiving as it does for Christmas. I have versions of the song performed by at least seventeen artists.

The article only came out in 2017, and I only learned about it a year or two ago. So what do we do with this knowledge? It wasn't written for Thanksgiving or Christmas, and in fact it was written for horrible reasons. For now, I'm not going to do anything different. Devoid of context, the lyrics are innocuous, if frivolous and irrelevant to the twenty-first century. And we often change things from their original context to make them more palatable—the fact I can call myself "queer" is a testament to that. But this is something we need to think about.

On Friday evening, I went to Provo for the release party for the next issue of Wayfare. I formatted every footnote and proofed every word of the issue. I'm enjoying the lull before work begins on issue 5. It was at the Compass Gallery, which I had never been to. There were a lot of people there. The editor in chief acknowledged me to the crowd as "the reason there are no typos"—which means I'll be embarrassed if there are in fact typos.

I obviously didn't take this picture, since I'm in it

On Saturday, I found that I had time to make an apple pie for a Friendsgiving I'm going to tonight, using the apples in the fridge from our neighbor's tree.

How come the uncooked version looks better than the cooked?

And in the evening I went on a street run, which isn't as fun as a trail run, but I still saw a pretty sunlit mountain.

Last month, my parents visited my aunt and uncle in Flowell (Fillmore). My uncle (aunt's husband) likes to go out in the desert and pick pine nuts, so he gave my parents a paper bag full of the nuts.

I spent some time last night shelling them, which is a very time-consuming process. I can't help but wonder if he gave them to my family so there would be less work for them. I barely made a dent. This seems like a good thing to do while watching movies.

Don't worry, I shelled more than this

And here are this week's AI dreams. There were a few nights this week where I didn't remember my dreams.

Mark patiently waits his turn to climb the ladder to talk to the king of England, but the king ends his interview time

the orange man haphazardly unscrews a building, which makes the walls spin around and a fire almost starts (I had to say "the orange man" because it wouldn't let me say "the president-elect")

parents teach their babies to swim by strapping them to boards

Mark lingers at the pool because he lost his barcode sock (I do actually have barcode socks in real life)

Mark cleans up the sacrament, and Bryce says he wants to put mirrors in the sacrament preparation room

a building at BYU has zip lines for people to get around

an awkward, frumpy singer named Jan is the inventor of Squishmallows

the Invisible Man is chained in Mark's house

Mark wants his ward to assemble feminine hygiene kits, but there aren't enough bottles of vanilla

Mark tries to wipe his green glasses clean while reading infuriating policies

***

This is the antepenultimate pumpkinundation roundup! I have wanted to use the word "antepenultimate" for years, and I even put it on my calendar so I wouldn't forget. 

I love Merriam-Webster

I also realized that I never changed my blog color scheme to orange and black for pumpkin season like I usually do, but it's not worth it this late in the season.

Arby's has two deep-fried turkey sandwiches for the season, and the Arby's Deep Fried Turkey Club is the better of the two. I don't know what else to say except that I enjoyed it. 7/10.

I don't know whether Franz Cranberry Bagels are made special for the season or not; my parents brought them home this week. They're OK. I'm disappointed they use food coloring; why not let the cranberries speak for themselves? 6/10.

The Steak Express Pumpkin Pie Shake tastes like it might have actual pumpkin in it, which is always nice. 8/10.

I love trail mixes, but I've been buying fewer of them. However, the Favorite Day Candy Corn Crunch Trail Mix was on clearance after Halloween, and I consider candy corn a Thanksgiving candy as well. I love the mix of salty and sweet, but the raisins and candy-coated pretzel balls feel like filler. 7/10.

I'm glad that Ghetto Gastro Sweet Potato Toaster Pastries come individually wrapped, unlike Pop-Tarts, so I don't feel obligated to eat two at a time. I also like that they have a pie on the box. They seem classier than Pop-Tarts, but that doesn't necessarily mean better. 7/10.

The Favorite Day Pecan Pie Hot Drink Bomb is very cute. But it looks like chocolate, even though it's white chocolate. If they're going to just add food coloring, they could choose a shade of brown that looks more like a pecan pie. It doesn't really taste like pecan pie. 6/10.

I was disappointed in the Arby's Pumpkin Pie Turnover. The pumpkin filling is nice, but it's overpowered by the bland, flaky pastry. I've never loved Arby's turnovers. 6/10.

And I didn't really like the Arby's Gobbler Sandwich. The sauce and cheese had weird flavors. 5/10.

I really enjoyed the So Cupcake Apple Pie Cupcake, but I can't say that it tasted like apple pie. It had a little crust on the bottom. For some reason, eating a glob of buttercream in a snowstorm made it feel like Valentine's Day. 8/10.

A lot of Favorite Day (Target) fall products have Thanksgiving marketing, including the phrase "Give Thanks," yet they go on clearance after Halloween. Weird. And what's also weird is Favorite Day Pumpkin Spice Peanut Brittle. First of all, peanut brittle is not something I thought needed to be pumpkin-ified. And second, does anyone actually eat peanut brittle? These had a bland, almost stale flavor. They're just spice, not pumpkin. 4/10.

I bought two bags of Trader Joe's Thanksgiving Stuffing Seasoned Popcorn last year, because I was intrigued, but this year I only bought one bag. It has a nice flavor, but I'm not dying to eat it. 7/10.

I had Favorite Day Pecan Pie Whipped Dairy Topping on apple crisp (and then forgot to put it on the pecan pie hot drink). I'm not sure why they bothered, because it's impossible to get the gooey, nutty goodness of pecan pie into whipped topping. 6/10.

I didn't like Trader Joe's Butternut Squash Ravioli as much as the pumpkin version, but it was still good. 7/10.

There are still things to be happy about

Well. Like many others, I was not pleased with the election. I am disheartened that so many people chose to vote for a morally bankrupt bully, all in the name of some vague understanding of "economy." And I want to acknowledge and validate the hurt and pain and suffering that so many are going through.

For me, personally, I'm not going to dwell on it, because there's nothing I can do about it at this point. I did my part. I voted, and I wore my official Harris-Walz t-shirt to church cleaning. Even though I'm discouraged, here are things I choose to be optimistic about.

• We made it through four years of Trump before, and we can do it again.
• There are not riots and insurrections. With Harris immediately conceding and Biden promising a peaceful transfer of power, they demonstrate they are morally superior to Trump and anyone who participated in January 6.
• A month or so ago, I heard on NPR that Trump doesn't publicize his health evaluations, and he has a number of health problems. If we're lucky, he won't last four years. I'm not a fan of JD Vance, but at least he's not Trump.
• On the local level, it appears that the person I voted for for the school board is winning, in a very close race, where it seems like my vote actually made a difference.
• My favorite things are holidays, trail running, and cats, and I will still have those things.

So I will talk about those favorite things.

On the holiday front, yesterday I learned that the US Capitol Christmas Tree was stopping in Utah on its way from Alaska. So I took my niece to go see it. It was underwhelming. They just had a long truck, with a few windows where you could see the tree, which was already lit and decorated. (Good thing they use LED lights, because they probably couldn't get away with incandescent lights this long before Christmas.) It was at Wheeler Farm, and it was very busy and crowded. I saw the tree, and then I didn't really feel a need to stick around. 

There were lots of people taking pictures, so I had to crop people out of this picture

I also made some delightful Walmart, Target, and Trader Joe's runs, which you can read about in pumpkinundation roundup below.

As for the trail running, on Thursday I ran in nearby Springhill Geologic Park, which is the closest trail to my house, but not the best. Though we had a dusting of snow on Tuesday, there was no snow on this trail.

So I was surprised on Friday when I went to the Wild Rose Trail and found much more snow leftover, even though the trailhead is only a mile from my house. But it was really just a dusting, so no big deal.

This is how November looks in my mind

I knew the canyon trails would still be too snowy, so for my Saturday run, I decided to run up past the radio towers from my house and loop down the Woodbriar Trail and Wild Rose. There was a wildfire there in July, and I hadn't seen all the extent of it yet, since I avoid that shadeless trail in warm weather. I also found it harder than usual to make it up the hills. 

But as I got to the Woodbriar Trail, the snow was deeper than I expected, an inch or two. The main problem is that this trail is very steep. Both mud and snow are slippery when it's steep. It took me a long time to inch my way down the trail.

The trail intersects with the new Bonneville Shoreline Trail, which I don't really go on because it's flat and boring. But I went on it this time because it was flatter, so it would more safely take me out of the snowy portion. It was an interesting experience: the north-facing slopes were snowy and cold, but the south-facing slopes were dry and sunny, and I kept feeling things hitting my legs, which I assume were grasshoppers.

I ended up going around eight and a half miles in two hours, but it shouldn't have taken that long.

And as for cats, when I wake up in the middle of the night (usually when I eat too much sugar, which has happened a lot this week), Reggie is often sleeping next to me. He could choose to sleep anywhere in the house, and he opts for me!

In other news, I'm in charge of book reviews for Utah Historical Quarterly, so I subscribe to various university press newsletters. A few months ago, I saw this new book from Yale University Press, The Widening of God's Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story. Of course that has nothing to do with UHQ, but it does relate to my personal life, so I bought it. It's two theologians who argue that the trajectory of the Bible points to fuller inclusion for queer people in Christianity.

I'm still making my way through it (especially as I'm reading the book The Turkey: An American Story as well), but I wanted to share some especially striking passages I read this week:

"Offering children to Molech" is a powerful metaphor for interpreting laws in a way that we know to be harmful to children. Author and historian Garry Wills has tried to raise Americans' consciousness about the deaths of children by gun violence due to the failure in the United States to enact gun control. These deaths, he says, are an "offering, out of devotion to our Moloch, our god. The gun is our Moloch. We sacrifice children to him daily." Most people are capable of understanding the statistics about gun deaths, and the many things we could do to reduce them, but alas, they are sure that the Second Amendment means free access to all sorts of firearms. When we grit our teeth in the face of the death of children, we sacrifice them to false gods.

Many in the church treat sexuality in a similar way: They understand that traditional church teaching about sexuality can be harmful, and they often have people  in their families and networks whom they know are affected, but because of their faith and their reverence for God and tradition, they feel unable to support a systematic rethinking of the questions. The situation is especially excruciating for parents of LGBTQ teens who feel pressure to choose between the teaching of their church communities and support for their own children. . . .

Rather than denying we mean harm and continuing to do harm, it may be better to say that we have been following statutes that are not good. (67–68)

And here are this week's dreams. 

a tiny, mean dog goes into Mark's house, and so do two cats

a scholar leans on Mark before an academic conference

Mark's mom brings home two kittens and their black cat mother

Mark goes to an art fair with food trucks

Mark meets a woman whose name backwards is Imoan Gninaom.

Mark meets famous actresses at the airport, including the woman who played Alice on The Brady Bunch

Maverik is already selling mint donuts in November

DiGiorno sells Thanksgiving pizza with fish instead of turkey

Walgreens stores host events in July where they play patriotic music while showcasing their annual catalog

Mark is swimming in the ocean and moves an injured bird to shore

Ann and Susanne wash Mark's blue car on the lawn

Ya-ping's niece gets sick after eating chocolate cake

Mark parks by the curb to go to an event, and he thinks he's parking in a goathead patch

***

It brings me joy to find seasonal things for pumpkinundation roundup, and I'm happy to see Thanksgiving flavors expanding beyond the typical pumpkin. It will take some time to try all my new things, so not all of them are here yet.

On top here is Blacksmith Hot Honey Cornbread Ice Cream. I declined extra drizzle on top. Hot honey is one current flavor fad, but it didn't taste hot to me. I liked the honey flavor, but I didn't really taste cornbread, but there were crunchy bits, which is not the texture I associate with cornbread. But I liked it! 8/10. And on the bottom is Blacksmith Sweet Potato Ice Cream, which had marshmallows and walnuts. It had the distinct flavor of sweet potato! I worried it would just be vague spices. 7/10.

Trader Joe's Gluten Free Pumpkin Streusel Muffins are better than some gluten-free products, but I can still tell it's gluten free. But really, generally speaking, pumpkin muffins tend to taste the same. 6/10.

I made a special trip to Clearfield to get Lucky Slice Sweater Weather Pizza. Instead of tomato sauce, it has sweet potato and pumpkin puree, and on top it has spiced pecans (which I didn't find spicy) and bacon. It was great! If I patronize Lucky Slice, maybe they'll open a location closer to me. 8/10. (I also liked the chicken and waffles flavor, but they ruined the margherita by putting parmesan on it. Yuck!)

The Pumpkin Spice RX Bar has actual pumpkin in it and an interesting texture. I like these better than Larabars, but they're still energy bars. 6/10.

It's only been in the last few years that I've started counting pomegranate as a Thanksgiving food. These Brookside Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Flavor are not marketed as a Thanksgiving candy. They have chewy interiors in chocolate. But I think the pomegranate gets washed out by the chocolate. 7/10.

Soylent is a protein drink made with soy milk, and I worried Pumpkin Spice Soylent would be gross. But it wasn't! It says "natural flavor," no pumpkin, but it still has a nice flavor. And it has sixteen grams of protein and only one gram of sugar (its sweetness comes from sucralose). 8/10.

Trader Joe's Roasted Turkey & Sweet Potato Burrito also has rice, black beans, and cranberry salsa. It's hard to go wrong with a burrito, but it doesn't really taste like Thanksgiving to me. 7/10.

The Quest Apple Pie Protein Bar was sold on the same shelf as the pumpkin pie and peppermint bark flavors, but it doesn't have the "Limited Edition" banner. It was better than I expected. 7/10.

The Trader Joe's Turkey Gobbler Wrap comes with a "festive dipping sauce," but I don't know what that means. It was good but didn't have an identifiable flavor. But I really enjoyed the wrap! It has turkey and cranberry, but the stuffing made it especially yummy. 8/10.

Normal Ice Cream is a shop that is anything but normal, and there are two locations. I was in the vicinity of both this week, so I tried three flavors in three days. At the store on 900 South, I had the Normal So 'Granateful Composed Cone. It's supposed to have a pomegranate/milk tea swirl, but I got it with just pomegranate sorbet. It is dipped in chocolate and has candied cornflakes on top. The pomegranate was good, but I loved those cornflakes! They were like toffee. 8/10.

I still have Apple Pie Softsoap from last year. It has a pleasant scent, but I wouldn't say it's like apple pie. 6/10.

I had Farr Pumpkin Ice Cream, which is basic but classic. 7/10.

I tried Torani Pumpkin Pie Puremade Sauce on the ice cream. I've been underwhelmed by Torani syrup, but I liked the sauce, which tasted more like pumpkin pie, even though it doesn't have pumpkin. 7/10.

The owner of Spanky's Deli is in my ward, and sometimes there are ward activities there. The Spanky's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie is basic and what you expect. 7/10.

At the Normal truck at Millcreek Commons, I had the Normal Apples 2 Apples Composed Cone, which has apple cider sorbet and apple pie filling. (I asked for no spoon, but the worker put it in by force of habit. He started taking it out, but I said, "If you're just going to throw it away, I'll keep it.") I don't like sorbet as much as ice cream. The apple pie filling was good, but I could tell the apples weren't peeled, which was weird. 6/10.

So Cupcake is a little cupcake shop near my work, and they have both mini and regular cupcakes. The So Cupcake Cornbread Cupcake was not good. I don't know the difference between a cornbread muffin and a cornbread cupcake. But the frosting tasted more like pure butter. I never waste things, but I had to take some of the "frosting" off, and even then it wasn't good. 3/10.

Fortunately, the So Cupcake Pumpkin Pie Cupcake was much better. The pumpkin cake was what you expect, but the buttercream was delightful! I'm not sure what made it "pie," though it had a crisp bottom. 7/10.

I also had the Normal It's Giving...Thanks Composed Cone, which was a twist of sweet potato and marshmallow ice creams, with sweet potato cake pieces on top. I was eating ice cream in a snowstorm, and I was freezing. But it was a delightful cone! 8/10.

Apple Pie Toast Crunch has been around for several years, which is good because it's one of the best seasonal cereals! 9/10.

On Halloween, my mom made a chicken dish served in a roasted pumpkin. I used the leftovers to make this pumpkin chicken soup. I based it off a vegetarian recipe, but it's worse to waste meat than it is to eat it. I was able to use a lot of ingredients in the fridge before they went bad. It has pumpkin chunks, corn, tomatoes, chicken, potatoes, and bell pepper. 8/10.