#Peakwood

[holyplumbbob]

Built a supermarket for Peakwood, my new neighbourhood. Nice and modern with both a food and non food department and even a diner.

[yesllsonya]

Время репостить

Оригинальное сообщение  https://bjdclub.ru/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=113030

Внимание!

По информации от китайских дилеров и фирм, а так же сайта-каталога торговых марок США, известный производитель рекастов Луо Лигуй зарегистрировал от своего имени множество торговых марок известных фирм-производителей БЖД. Это уже привело к закрытию некоторых магазинов и удалению множества товарных позиций с легальными куклами на Таобао.

Известно, что Loongsoul и Spiritdoll подали в суд, Angell Studio, Doll Chateau и некоторые другие фирмы объединяются для коллективного иска.

На данный момент на территории Китая за Лигуем числятся торговые марки: Fairyland, AprilStory, AileenDoll, Sadoll, RSDoll, Lillycat, MyouDol, WithDoll, Linachouchou, IrrealDoll, Monodee, DollPamm, LeekeWorld, LittleMonica, IBJD, DollMore, PeakWood, SoulDoll, Dollsh, RosenLied, DollTown, DollSoom, Idealian, LuoDoll, LutsBJD, Marina Bychkova, Dollshe Craft, KremeDoll, DollNDoll, Chicabi Doll, PukiFee, Feeple, Peak's Woods, Iplehouse, Realfee, DolkBJD, LittleFee, Monochrome, Code Noire, Bambicorny, Neo Angelregion, Alchemiclabo, DollBom, Chicabonita, RamCube, DearMin, Napi, Cocoriang, MigiDoll, Dara, Sadol, RSDoll, BlueFairy

На территории США: Fairyland, Iplehouse, DollsheCraft

Будьте предельно бдительны, приобретая кукол не на официальных сайтах!

Ссылки по теме: https://www.trademarkia.com/company-luo-ligui-4866177-page-1-2 https://www.instagram.com/p/BiBoBqiAZ4z/?utm_source=ig_embed https://www.instagram.com/puffypuffers/ https://scontent-frx5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/31281721_10155191876632163_1773332983667752960_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=bafd8ec1b4d6c4bdd9eceddcd472b1ff&oe=5B695740

[badbugs]

#Dark #Triangles (#PeakWoods) #Abstract #Grunge #Mountains #Design (#redblack) #ShowerCurtain @Society6 #society6 Link: https://buff.ly/2WIRITi #showercurtains #homedecor #homedecoration #darkartwork #darkart #redblacks #creepyart #blodmoon http://bit.ly/2IgYE1g

[notallfay]

Ico having even less luck, with people not wanting to play with #dolls with her. #bjd #balljointeddoll #doll #minifee #mnf #abjd #shushu #peakwoods #bjdmeet #dollmeet #manchester #manchesterbjdmeet (at Ziferblat Edge St)

[rattisfaction]

Titre : Les Enfants de Peakwood

Auteur : Rod Marty

Pages : environ 332

Résumé : "Quels sont ces étranges maux qui affligent les habitants de Peakwood, petite ville du Montana, USA?D'où viennent les blessures qui apparaissent sur le corps de certains de ses habitants? Pourquoi d'autres commencent-ils à agir étrangement?Seuls Chayton, le médecin de la ville, et son père, vieux chaman au savoir ancestral, savent reconnaître les signes. Le bouleversement qui approche. Quelque chose en lien avec un accident qui n'aurait jamais dû avoir lieu, dix ans plus tôt. Un secret dont ils ont juré de ne jamais reparler...Félicitations, la mort vous offre une seconde chance..."

Note Booknode : 7.18/10

Ma note : 5/10

Mon avis : Je suis plutôt mitigé après la lecture de ce roman. Je ne sais pas trop quoi en penser, si j’ai aimée, si il m’a laissé indifférente, si je n’ai pas aimée. Le roman est bien écrit, bien structuré, sur la forme, l'écriture je n’ai strictement rien à redire ! L'histoire est bien menée du début à la fin. Je n’ai relevée aucune incohérence malgré la pléthore de personnages différents. Chacun à un petit truc bien à lui qui les différencies bien des uns des autres. On suit quelques épisodes de la vie de chacun, ce qui nous permet d'en apprendre plus sur eux et ainsi de nous rapprocher un peu. Les personnages dont nous nous sommes senties les plus proche sont Tom et Nora. Peut-être car ce sont ceux auxquels je me suis le plus identifiée ? Je n’ai pas eu de mal a rentrer dans l'histoire. Les changements de points de vu ne sont pas dérangeant ni difficile à suivre / comprendre. Ils sont bien placés et font que l'histoire et tout le roman prennent vie de cette manière. L'intrigue est bien ficelé et la chute a été une vraie surprise pour moi, je ne m’y attendais pas bien que j’avais devinée certaines petites choses avant cela. Je n’ai pas été emportés dans l'histoire au point de vouloir connaitre absolument le dénouement. Néanmoins, la lecture étant fluide, bien écrite et pas ennuyeuse pour un sous j’ai quand même désirer connaître le dénouement à celle-ci. 

Pour résumer : beaucoup de personnages différents qui ne sont pas difficile à retenir, des changements de points de vu qui ne dérange absolument pas. Un scénario et une intrigue bien ficelés et entretenu tout du long du roman. Une lecture fluide et pas de tout ennuyeuse. Est-ce que je le recommanderais ? Probablement pas, néanmoins, si vous avez envie d'une petite lecture qui ne vous fera pas vous ennuyez et avec laquelle vous n'avez pas envie de vous triturez le cerveau. Une lecture sans prise de tête, et bien vous pouvez aller le lire sans soucis vous ne serez probablement pas déçu du petit voyage à Peakwood. Si vous l'avez lu, qu'en avez vous pensé ? Quel est ou quels sont vos personnages préférés ?

[wakandamama]

No Auntie G, Bill Clinton was not the first fucking Black president. Just cus the peakwood can play a saxophone dont mean he cool wit the niggas he was a nasty ass wack ass bitch just like all them others before 44. 😒

[forwardtillthefinish]

“Going to the mountains is going home”: Blue Ridge Half Marathon

I rarely do the same race twice but I loved this race so much last year that it was only right to come back again to tackle mountains.While I did not beat last years time, I really took this race all in, stayed positive and kept it moving more than last year. From packet pickup to the finish line party, I had a blast and I am pretty sure I am going to come back next year for round three of Americas’ Toughest Road Half Marathon. 

This year, the race expo was significantly bigger than last year. I was interested to see how the race expo would be set up when I saw that it was going to be at the Patrick Henry. In my college days, we had a formal in the lobby of the Patrick Henry. I knew that the expo wouldn’t be like Pittsburgh, Richmond or Shamrock but was impressed to see how they were able to utilize multiple floors to have more presentation tables and a much larger swag selection. I got my traditional pint glass and even a hat... 

When I asked one of the swag booth employees about the hats (and the lack of a quarter zip), rather than assume I was running a race of a lower distance, she asked me which race I was running. Immediately, my grouchiness soothed and I bought a hat I NEVER would have bought but now I’m in love. 

We even got a cute gifs done at the booth before dropping stuff off at the hotel and heading to dinner. The hotel situation could have been horrible but Holiday Inn Express near the Civic Center saved the day when the former Cambria Suites did not have my reservation FROM JULY. 

We went to Fork in the Alley for dinner. I knew they had something for everyone and also thought there was a Bubblecake next door. To my surprise when we pulled up, I saw that Viva la Cupcake had moved in next door. Sadly they were closed but saw that Bubblecake had moved to the Towers Shopping Center around the corner. Nothing like pizza, a beer and cupcakes to carb up for a serious race that was going to tax me hard core. 

Kim and I got back to the hotel and I shortly took an Estrella PM to help me fall asleep. Between a pill and NPR, I was out before I could count to 10. It was my first time trying this brand of sleep aid but it worked wonders and did not leave me feeling dry and drowsy the next morning. 

Race morning Kim and I got up, got dressed and took an Uber to the start. While the start was only a mile from the hotel, I really did not want to put extra mileage on my feet giving the climb we were going to take on. The race had around 2,000 runners so it was easy to get to Elmwood Park, the start, even with all the roads being closed. Getting dropped off at the back of the park was smart because there was a long line of porta potties, bag check and we ran into quite a few Richmond folks even before our meet up.

We got a good many of our Richmond friends and my college friends in a photo right before the start. Little did I know that the Patrick Henry was the perfect spot for a group photo because it put all of us right at the start line, got a chance to see everyone before the task before us and the ability to pop into the building for a last minute potty break. I saw the race director Molly before the cannon at the start. She not only remembered by name and took the couple minutes to talk to me. WHAT RACE HAVE YOU RUN WHERE THE RACE DIRECTOR CAN HAVE A LEISURELY CHAT MINUTES BEFORE THE RACE START?! If that doesn’t make you feel comfortable and taken care of, I don’t know what will.

Once we got outside, the race was starting and I looked for Jeremiah (J-Money aka Mr. Gigi aka the guy from Baltimore/MCM10k). I wasn’t sure of Jeremiah's goals for this race other than survival so I was hoping I could stick with him for a little bit of the race. We ended up climbing Mill Mountain together and we split off after reaching the Mill Mountain star which is the top of the first mountain. The first mountain is hard because it is a long steady climb. Luckily my memory served me well and I figured out the climb was longer than I remembered. Once you get to the top of the three mile climb, you are greeted by the Mill Mountain Star and nice soft gravel for a quarter of a mile. After that, I released J-Money to run how he wished and did not see him to the end. 

Coming down Mill Mountain, I let the wind and gravity do the work. I also knew there was mimosas on the one of the switchbacks. While being passed by the first marathoner, I made friends with some folks that grew up in Roanoke but now live in Raleigh. I hung with them until I got a mimosa, which I stopped and savored. While I continuously got passed by speedy marathoners, almost all of them told me good job as I passed or threw up a thumbs up. One guy even patted me on the back as he passed. So friendly! 

After Mill Mountain, there is a couple miles of flat-ish course along the greenway, passing the hospital and through a park/ soccer field. It is just long enough to stretch your legs, get a real run going, fuel up and get ready for the even steeper climb of Peakwood. As I started the ascent into Peakwood I hear “Nikkia!” and I look up and there is a sorority sister directing traffic. She was accompanied by a woman with two young girls. They had fruit and gummy bears This was one of the several unofficial SAG stops. I am not sure what is in the water in Roanoke, but these residents welcome and look forward to this race. While the streets aren’t lined with spectators, the spectators and volunteers that were out there give it all. 

Lord have mercy Peakwood. I feel like Peakwood was harder this year. The funny part about Peakwood is that you think you made it to the top but then you turn a corner and there is EVEN MORE. There is a pretty cool pay off at the top of this mountain- Champagne and Fresh Cut Fruit. A very nice and friendly lady offered to refill my water bottle while I walked the cul de sac, drank my champagne and threw back a mini cup of strawberries. I met her on the other side, slid on my handheld and flew down Peakwood for the next 3 miles. Coming off of Peakwood, I saw a woman that seemed to be struggling to stay upright. I stopped and asked what was wrong. I’m First Aid trained and rather than assume someone else will take care of it, I would like to be sure before leaving someone. She said she was cramping. I offered her two SaltStick tabs because I always carry extra. She later found me on Instagram and thanked me for the help. I was happy to see she made it to the finish! 

So I’ve climbed two mountains so the rest of the race must be flat right? Wrong. There is a pretty good climb around mile 10 and two long over passes between mile 11 and the finish. I affectionately call them insult to injury. 

I came across another woman who was having some issues with her feet and shoes. The more she talked about how her feet hurt, I thought about my feet. Even with my sport shield soaked feet, compression socks and well fitted shoes, the climbing, shuffling, and gliding down the mountains made the sides of my feet raw. At this point, I knew the finish was not too far off and then I could land my feet in my new pair of oofos! 

Coming into the finish shutte a nice spectator was cheering me on telling me how “ I was going to complete a half marathon today!”. I responded, yeah number 19! With that, I had what I needed to push to the finish. There was Molly and the coveted medal! I happily took it and ran to my friends in the finish. 

While I did not beat my 2017 time, I felt better. I felt strong and like I had another couple miles in me. I will take that and count it as progress. I can’t wait to go back next year with an even larger group from Richmond and an even stronger respect and love for those great mountains that feel like home. 

[legrenierdesbrumes]

Les enfants de Peakwood de Rod Marty. Un livre excellent, presque coup de cœur. Dans le cadre du Cold Winter Challenge, j'ai commencé par cette lecture qui sera finalement la seule que j'aurai terminée dans le cadre de ce challenge.

[woodworkingpastor]

The glory without the struggle? -- Luke 9:28-36 -- Transfiguration Sunday -- February 27, 2022

Running the Blue Ridge Marathon

I ran the Blue Ridge Marathon in April of 2014. To date, it is the only marathon I have ever attempted. Whether it ends up being the only marathon I run remains to be seen, because every year on race day, I feel a pang of regret for not having made another attempt. You see, my first experience was pretty good—at least until mile 20. The last six miles were just about the worst running experience of my life, and I feel that I have some unfinished business that I’d like to deal with.

The thing is, you don’t make a decision to run a marathon on race day. The decision to run a marathon is made about six months prior to the race when you make the commitment to increase your training to accomplish the goal. The decision is made by getting up before sunrise on cold winter mornings to run 4 or 6 or 8 or 10 miles. The decision is made by running up Mill Mountain and Roanoke Mountain and Peakwood Road to gain strength for the mountains that are part of the course.

Those are the decisions I haven’t made. It’s not that I don’t enjoy running anymore—I enjoy it as much as ever—it’s just that I don’t want to commit to the level of training required to run the Blue Ridge Marathon because there are other things that are currently more important to me, and I can’t do everything. I must accept the fact that I cannot run the Blue Ridge Marathon because I do not choose to do the training required—annual pang of regret and all.

But let’s turn our thoughts to heavenly things. In a world of competing choices, what decisions are we making to be shaped into the image of Jesus? The importance of making those choices is significant because they are a choice in how we will make sense of our lives; they are a choice of how we will invest our lives in the world. Do we want to experience the glory of God? Are we willing to walk with Jesus to learn to know him more?

The Transfiguration of Jesus is a challenging story. It’s one that the Christian calendar gives us each year, right along with Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Easter. We might ask ourselves, “Why? What do we need to learn here?” When we hear the voice from the cloud saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” what do we expect to hear?

An unexpected epiphany

The Transfiguration reminds us of Jesus’ majesty on the threshold of Lent.

To understand this story more fully, we want to see where it comes in Luke’s Gospel. One of the most important verses in Luke is 9:51:

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

Remember that Luke has a story to tell and he chooses to tell the story in a particular way. In his telling of the Gospel, Luke organizes things so that when we get to 9:51 we will focus on Jesus differently. Everything that comes before that is in some way preparing us for Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem where he will suffer and die and be raised. Notice, then, the topic of conversation between Jesus, Moses, and Elijah:

They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:31).

Here, just before the story pivots, the disciples witness this divine, mystical, holy, spiritual moment that is something of a struggle to account for. They thought they were going to “just” a prayer meeting! They were tired, and they might not have wanted to be there.

Have you ever been there? I have. We’re tired, we’ve been busy, and maybe we go to the prayer meeting or maybe we don’t, but we really don’t have much expectation that what we will do when we get there will matter all that much. Staying home seems like a better option.

In the disciples’ case, they’re so tired they can barely stay awake, and they probably wish Jesus would have just left them behind. But then this magnificent transformation happens and suddenly Jesus is different:

the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white (Luke 9:29).

The disciples are having a “mountain top experience.” Many of you have had one of those. Maybe it came when you were a youth at Camp Bethel or at National Youth Conference; maybe it came at Pilgrimage or FaithQuest. You make all the necessary arrangements to get away for a weekend—it’s not easy!—because you recognize the necessity of getting away from the routine and the noise of life so you can immerse yourself in focused prayer and worship and Biblical reflection. And then you meet Jesus in a new way. This is why we support events like these as a congregation.

I believe Luke gives us this story because he knows we will need to remember this as we walk along the road to Jerusalem with Jesus, and I believe it’s why the church gives us Transfiguration Sunday right before Lent. There’s a lot of darkness coming in our faith experience, beginning with Ash Wednesday and moving on through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, we will be spending a lot of time thinking about weakness and temptation and abandonment and emptiness. It’s not completely unlike running the Blue Ridge Marathon, in that one of the cruelties of all three mountain peaks are that the steepest sections are right before you get the top. Just when you think you’re almost there, the grade increases a bit more. But here on this mountaintop, just before the challenging days ahead, the disciples get a glimpse that God is and will be at work in Jesus, and they are called to come along.

This is important for we Brethren to realize.

We are a people of ethical faith. We take seriously the call to be doers of the word, and we invest a great deal of time and energy in living our faith in a particular way.

We pay great attention to the words of prophets like Amos who complain about things like “dishonest scales” (Amos 8:4) that literally tip the balance of justice in favor of the rich against the poor.

We value the prophet Micah’s voice, calling us to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8).

I so value the conversations we’re having on Sunday afternoons around Drew Hart’s book, Trouble I’ve Seen, taking a deeper dive into understanding how racism is a factor in people’s lives today, creating safe spaces for us to talk and learn together how to live our faith in the world.

This is our spiritual formation at work in the world—this is our baptism showing. Whenever the values of the cross win out over the values of nation and culture, then we are living for Jesus. What happens on the mountaintop is that we are reminded of what is most important, so that when we encounter difficulties in the valley, we have been strengthened.

Someone told me recently that they listen to and appreciate my sermons each Sunday but can’t seem to remember a specific one. I told them that I was ok with that. That’s not all that surprising, really; I don’t really remember which hymns we sang a month ago, or what I had for supper a month ago, either.

What I do remember, however, are themes and areas of emphasis. This applies to both supper and sermons, as it turns out. When Lynette is planning the grocery list and asks me what we ought to have for supper in the next week, I can often name a particular something we’ve made, even if I can’t tell you when she made it.

A similar thing happened one day here in the church office about a year ago: I had a fragment of a hymn lyric in my head, but I could not call up enough of it to remember what it was—I wouldn’t have won “Name that tune” on this day. When Carol came in, I told her the little snippet of lyric I could remember and after a few minutes she brought me a copy of the hymn. It turns out that the hymn was Canticle of the Turning, which we used in our combined Sunday School class last June, and then became the centerpiece of our Christmas cantata last December.

We might not be able to remember a particular meal on a particular day, but if the overall consumption of family dinners is helping us maintain good health, then we are doing things correctly. And if some health condition crops up that requires a change in diet, then we can adjust our cooking and eating and continue in a healthy way.

Likewise, if our overall consumption of sermons and studies helps us grow closer to Jesus so that the values of the cross are dominant over the values of the current age, then we are doing things well. In the hymn God of grace and God of glory (which we’re singing next Sunday, by the way) we ask God to

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage for the facing of this hour (v. 1)

and

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage for the living of these days (v. 2).

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:18,

And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

This is what we are working for.

The transfiguration reminds us that our faith is not only ethical. God is at work in our worship; God is worthy of our worship. Bowing our knees to the Lordship of Jesus is a crucial part of our spiritual formation.

Learning to love Jesus more

Last week I mentioned that I had just finished the book The Choice by Dr. Edith Eger. As part of my devotional reading, I’ve been working my way through Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich. Mystics like Dame Julian (as she is known) are a real challenge for me to read and understand; they are far more mystical and poetic than they are logical and systematic.

Julian lived in the English city of Norwich in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, secluded in a small cell attached to the church there. Hers was a position of great responsibility and honor, as she was devoted to prayer and Scripture study. As such, many people sought her out for wisdom and spiritual insight.

When Julian was 30 years old, she became so sick that she believed her death was imminent. Reflecting on this later in life, she wrote:

And being in youth as yet, I thought it great sorrow to die—but for nothing that was in earth that I liked to live for, nor for no pain that I had fear of: for I trusted in God of His mercy. But it was to have lived that I might have loved God better, and longer time, that I might have the more knowing and loving of God in bliss of Heaven. For I thought all the time that I had lived here so little and so short in regard of that endless bliss, I thought it was as nothing (Chapter 3).

Julian came to know something of meeting Jesus on the mountain top. She was later blessed with sixteen revelations of Jesus’ character that were so significant people still seek out her experiences to this day. Her words are an encouragement for us to keep our eyes on Jesus, to keep pursuing Jesus, to keep seeking the transformation of life and soul that can only come through him as we live our lives and labor for the Gospel and the Kingdom of God in these dark, difficult days.

[dollheimr]

💞 #resindoll #instadoll #stilllifephotography #artdoll #balljointeddoll #dollheimr #dollstagram #dollphotography  #bjdphotography #bjdshirt #bjd #peakwoods

[holyplumbbob]

Alex went on a couple of dates in his first week and was lucky enough to meet Cassidy, who he had 2 bolts for and fell absolutely head over heels in love.

Cassidy is a knowledge Sim just like Alex and interestingly enough, has a LTW to be a mad scientist. However, she only brought one simolean in. One!! Thanks, Cassidy.

[eatsliftsandruns]

Race Recap: Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Half Marathon

Apparently, finally crossing a finish line makes me TERRIBLE at blogging.  I started a race recap within a day or so of finishing the Blue Ridge Half Marathon…and then I absolutely dragged my feet about finishing it.  In an effort to get this in before the one month anniversary of completing the race…here is my race recap!

On Saturday, April 22, I completed the Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Half Marathon.  It was my first half marathon, and the longest run I’ve completed to date.  A lot of friends told me I was absolutely crazy to choose a race that bills itself as “America’s toughest road half marathon” for my first time, but I was tempted by the promise of Blue Ridge vistas and a visit to Roanoke, and I decided to go for it.

As anyone following my blog knows, my training did not go as planned. Minor injuries and work travel proved more detrimental than I anticipated, and I made the super questionable decision of prioritizing competing in the 2017 Crossfit Open when I probably should have put more emphasis on completing my training runs.  However, I made it to the starting line, and, after DNFing the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler a few weeks before the race, I was completely committed to finishing, no matter how long it took!

We drove down to Roanoke on Friday before the race – it’s about a 3.5 hour drive from where I live, so we got in with tons of time to spare.  I started with the expo, which was small but lively and easily accessible in downtown Roanoke.  The packet pick-up was extremely expeditious and I was quickly funneled to pick up my shirt (one of the nicest race shirt’s I’ve ever gotten) and my free Farm to Feet socks (awesome race swag!).  There was a vendor area where a representative from RockTape taped my shins for the race, and it looked like they had some good stuff for sale but I was a bit scared off by the crowd and didn’t spend too much time looking around.  I’d been told to do a shakeout run on Friday, but the day got away from me a bit, and by evening I didn’t really want to do any extra miles so I got a pre-race beer instead (whoops).

A major perk of this race is that it starts and ends right in downtown Roanoke.  I stayed in a hotel about 2 blocks from the start and finish lines, which made race morning a breeze.  I slept until about 6:30am, tried to throw some breakfast into my nervous stomach, and was at the start line with about 20 minutes to spare.

It started to rain as I was waiting for the starting cannon (note: real cannon.  Pretty crazy).  I’d known the weather was going to be wet, and I was nervous about that because I didn’t do any outdoor training in the rain.  However, it wasn’t cold, so the rain actually felt rather nice.  It rained on and off throughout the day.

The first few couple of miles felt predictably bad.  I quickly learned that “flat” is a relative term in Roanoke, and the flattest sections of the course closely resembled the “hills” on which I trained.  After about a mile of “flat,” the first climb starts – up Mill Mountain, to the Roanoke star.  This is where the walking started – pretty soon, everyone around me was walking.   I tried to make myself run whenever the grade evened out slightly, but I was already walking way more than anticipated.

Since I’d set an arbitrary goal of finishing in under 3 hours, I tried to stay ahead of the 3 hour pacer, but I couldn’t resist stopping for photos at the Star.  Despite the weather, I had amazing views of the city and the mountains in the distance.

After the Star, the course heads downhill for about 2 miles.  At this point in the race, it was hard to keep from flying down the hills – my legs felt good though, and I was able to hold a comfortable pace down the descent.  At the bottom, the course runs through a park…and here’s where things got a little less good for me.  My stomach wasn’t feeling so great at this point, and I decided to wait in line and visit a port-o-potty.  Unfortunately, the person ahead of me opted for a rather lengthy stay in the porto, and I lost a lot of time and momentum in the park.

After the flat section, you head toward Peakwood.  I’d heard a lot about the Peakwood climb, and it was every bit as hard as promised.  It just goes on and on and on.  And on.  And every time you think you’ve finished the worst of it, there’s more climb.  It was pouring at this point, but the residents of the totally beautiful Peakwood neighborhood were out in force, cheering on runners, offering water/snacks/booze/coffee and lots of encouragement.  It was easy to keep having fun, even while slogging up the hills.  One aid station even had a puppy sound asleep under a table.  But seriously – the climb never ends. I was pretty much exclusively walking the uphills at this point, and, even with that, my legs were feeling pretty shredded.

What goes up must come down, though, and the downhill felt soooooo good…for about a minute.  Pretty soon, entirely different parts of my legs started screaming at me.  After Peakwood, the course heads downhill for about two miles, and MAN did I feel every step of that – I’ve never had knee pain while running before, but I kept finding new parts of my body that hurt during the descent.  The rain picked up again, and, at about 11 miles, I was pretty ready to be done.

The final chunk of the course sends you back over a bridge and into downtown.  I was really tired by this point, but I was able to run the last mile or so into the finish line.  Again, despite the rain, there were tons of supporters cheering finishers home.  I ran across the finish line in 3 hours in 17 minutes, which is slower than I was hoping but I’ll take it!  I heard from others to expect to be about 45 minutes slower on this course than other half marathons, because of the mountains, and I’d trained about a 2:30 half marathon pace, so that’s pretty much right on target for me.

Overall, I’m incredibly stoked to have finished the race.  It definitely lived up to its reputation – the 1897 ft of elevation gain/3790 ft of total elevation change really added up!  Due to weather, the race organizers made the tough call to cancel the race and pull runners from the course just after 4 hours – I’m sure that was a hard decision to make, but I’m really glad I got in before the cut off.  Start to finish, the race was really well run, and the Roanoke neighborhoods I traveled through were incredibly welcoming to runners fast and slow.

I loved that this was a slower race.  As generally fit person but a slow runner, I’m self-conscious about my pace, and I have a tendency to go out too fast in races to try to keep up with people around me.  I didn’t mind being slow in this race because everyone was slow, and there was so much to enjoy about being out in Roanoke and in the Blue Ridge in the spring, even in the rain.  I remember thinking at mile 3 or so how much fun I was having, and how surprised I was to be enjoying the experience as much as I was.  

On a practical level, the race seemed to mostly go very smoothly.  The water stations were well-spaced and well-stocked, even for slower runners.  I carried my own water with Tailwind powder, which is what I trained with, but there was Skratch hydration available on the course (I tried it and it tasted amazing!).  The biggest hiccup was definitely the weather, but hey, it’s spring in Virginia – what can you do (I got married in April a few years ago, and it hailed.  So it goes).

The race swag for this race is GREAT -- love the shirt, and the Farm to Feet socks are so comfy I’m seriously considering buying more!  I also like that they provided free race photos, which were available a few days after the event.  I didn’t see many photographers on the course (maybe in part because of the rain?) but I’d rather have a couple of free photos than lots of photos I have to pay to get.

All in all – I had a great time running the Blue Ridge, and I’ll definitely be back!  I’d highly recommend this race to anyone looking for a fun and challenging race.

Disclaimer: I was chosen as an official blogger for this year’s race, which means I received a free entry.  All views are my own, however.

[badbugs]

#Dark #Triangles (#PeakWoods) #Abstract #Grunge #Mountains #Design (#redblack) #iPhoneCase | @Society6 #society6 Link: >>> https://buff.ly/2F3MPJL #society6artist #designpine #philipprietz #geometricart #geometricartwork #darkartwork #darkarts #onlyblackart #deepred #woodsart #mountainsart http://bit.ly/2wJBkmc

[notallfay]

The pretty #peakwoods girl at the #manchester #bjdmeet today. I really think she was so pretty. #bjd #balljointeddoll #doll #dollmeet #manchester #manchesterbjdmeet (at Ziferblat Edge St)

[navisseli]

Les Enfants de Peakwood

Auteurice : Rod Marty

Maison d’édition : Scrinea

Date de publication : 2015

Nombre de pages : 383

Genre : Fantastique

Ce qu’en pense Seli :

Ce fut une lecture assez surprenante. Non pas qu’elle révolutionne le genre, mais étant donné que je n’avais quasiment aucune information sur l’intrigue et les personnages et que j’ai surtout acheté ce roman à cause des critiques plutôt bonnes que j’ai pu voir, j’ai pu me laisser surprendre. Enfin, dans les grandes lignes surtout...

Non, pas beaucoup de surprise dans ce roman, si ce n’est au début, quand le contexte se pose. On peut clairement couper ce roman en deux : l’exposition, et l’intrigue. Et c’est la première qui est la plus réussie. En effet, le mélange de mystère, le cadre du roman (une toute petite ville perdue dans le Montana dont une partie des habitants sont des amérindiens Black Foot) et l’ambiance hivernale contribuent à créer un cocktail vraiment accrocheur. Le “prologue”, qui met en scène l’accident de bus présenté sur la couverture est somme toute classique mais a eu le mérite de me rappeler la scène d’introduction de la série Les Revenants, dont l’atmosphère est semblable. Il n’en fallait pas plus pour que j’accroche... 

La construction de cette partie est aussi très bien pensée. Passé ce prologue, l’auteur nous présente les personnages et la ville. On alterne les points de vue, passant d’un personnage à l’autre avec une grande fluidité car l’auteur essaie de les mettre en relation assez rapidement. Je reconnais qu’il faut être attentif, mais cette exposition de personnages est très efficace sur deux aspects. Le premier est qu’il permet de cerner très vite les personnages et les rapports qu’ils ont avec leur entourage, et quand il y  en a beaucoup, c’est salutaire. Ensuite, cela nous fait clairement ressentir l’effet de la bourgade paumée, où tout le monde se connait et se surveille plus ou moins. Ainsi, si on peut rapidement se mélanger les pinceaux entre les noms des personnages, on les reconnait facilement grâce à leurs tics et leurs caractères respectifs. 

La suite du roman est plus prévisible, et les inspirations de l’auteur sont assez visibles. C’est un mélange plus ou moins habile du teen movie avec une vieille histoire de malédiction qui va toucher les gens les uns après les autres et d’une histoire de zombie. Plus ou moins habile parce que l’exécution est très efficace : la petite voix qui va hanter les “infectés” en utilisant leurs névroses est inquiétante à souhait et on la craint de plus en plus au fur et à mesure qu’on la croise. En revanche, le fond est super cliché, à base de folklore amérindien bien cliché et un peu raciste (si si si vous savez, on a le vieux chaman très sage qui parle de manière sibylline et la malédiction des esprits blablabla, le truc que même le cinéma a arrêté de pomper...), et de poncifs de cinéma d’horreur. La fin est assez prévisible au demeurant. 

Arrivent ensuite les personnages, dont je ne saurai dire si je les aime ou si je les déteste. Déjà, à signaler que de très nombreux personnages neuroatypiques (pas des fous promis), comme Tom qui est a priori HPI, Nora qui est dyslexique, mais aussi l’institutrice qui est non valide, et d’autres... Ensuite, en dehors de la représentation de ces personnes, quelques jugements de valeur aux bon gros relents de grossophobie et de sexisme : les jumeaux caractérisés uniquement sur le fait qu’ils sont feignants, adorent bouffer et sont gros, et la bonne petite remarque à propos de la mère de Tom qui établit direct que c’est trop pour une femme de gérer seule un dinner alors que son patron y arrivait tout seul (bah oui mais lui c’était un mec, rien à voir !). Au final, je reste mitigée. D’un côté on a Nora, Tom et Chayton qui sont des personnages assez réalistes et très cool (bien qu’un peu clichés), de l’autre le classique personnage du bullie (sérieusement si il y a un bingo du bullie, il les coche tous : sexiste, homophobe, grossophobe, raciste, le tout saupoudrés d’une bonne couche d’égo mal placé et de suprême mépris) et enfin Andrew. Andrew, c’est le paradoxe d’un personnage aussi détestable qu’appréciable. Au début on nous le présente comme un porc qui matte le cul d’une institutrice en jupe forcée de se pencher pour s’occuper de ses élèves, puis on découvre que si il la juge surtout sur son physique au début, il est toujours autant attiré par elle après l’accident qui lui coûte ses jambes (je m’attendais au contraire !) et se montre à la fois présent et prévenant pour elle sans être lourd alors qu’elle est très seule, pour finir par se comporter comme un héros dans le dernier tiers du bouquin. C’est un mec super sexiste, mais sans doute un des plus empathiques et gentils du bouquin... 

J’y reviens mais c’est assez important car c’est ce qui m’a tenue en haleine jusqu’à la fin (j’ai tout lu d’une traite) : l’ambiance apocalyptique est réussie une fois la moitié du récit franchie. Imaginez une tempête de neige atroce, le blizzard qui glace, recouvre tout et des gens que vous connaissez et que vous aimez qui se comportent comme des psychopathes et essaient de vous faire la peau de façon aussi gore que créative. Si on se doute que des gens vont mourir, on serre quand même les fesses pour certains personnages qui luttent pour survivre et d’autres qui pêtent complètement les plombs. On voit que l’auteur a travaillé sur son ambiance et ses répercussions sur le comportement des personnages. On a de tout : des héros, des gens qui se planquent, d’autres qui deviennent fous, ceux qui veulent protéger leurs proches, etc... Le tout sur ce fil qui me fait toujours frissonner dans la littérature fantastique : le moment où votre quotidien s’aliène et devient étrange, inquiétant, sans même qu’on le réalise complètement. Ainsi, l’intrigue prévisible et clichée est contrebalancée par un traitement réussi, haletant et qui n’économise pas ses rebondissements...

Du bon et du moins bon, mais globalement de bonnes intentions et de bonnes idées qui font de ce roman une lecture divertissante, immersive et addictive à défaut d’être originale. Je reste curieuse de découvrir le reste de l’univers de l’auteur, apparemment très marqué par l’horreur, et je recommande ce roman si vous avez juste envie de passer un bon moment. 

Ma note : 15/20

[caseymidkiff]

Urban Legends

Students from our Paranormal Activity camp wrote their own urban legends. I wonder if they would catch on?

I really do hate urban legends.

I mean, who came up with the idea to scare kids out of their minds with untraceable stories? Had to be some creepy doll in the park, didn’t it? You couldn’t perhaps include a puppy?

It’s a sunny Sunday afternoon, and I’m sitting on a bench in my neighborhood dog park. My best friend, Sarah, sits next to me, scratching behind her toy poodle’s ears. My golden retriever is still running, his golden pelt sticking out in the green meadow.

Sarah suddenly turns to me. “You want to hear a story?”

Now, I should have said no right then and there. But nooooo. I never do that.

“Sure,” I say, not realizing the death letter I just signed. 

“My mother’s sister’s child’s friend told me this legend,” she whispered. “She said that her boyfriend, Elliott, had a friend that died in a car crash a couple years ago. He heard that someone was hiking on the Peakwood Mountain, where they saw a young boy sitting on the cliff. The hiker ran over to help the boy, but he recognized him immediately as his son.”

“He had a s-” I interrupt, but Sarah stops me.

“That was Elliott’s friend’s dad. He said that his son, which he thought was dead, was on the ledge. The boy said that ‘whenever you hear thunder in a clear sky, you are close to death.’ And then the ledge cracked, and the boy fell.”

I shiver, but laugh it off. “That’s a weird story.”

But I think the gods want to play with me, because I hear a loud crack split the air. I turn wildly, looking at everyone in the park. That’s thunder, I’m sure of it.

The weird thing?

No one else seems to hear it.

-Alexis

My friend’s father’s aunt said she saw an old farmer tilling a field in the middle of winter, so she went over to help. When she got over there, something wasn’t quite right. The farmer was tilling and she asked if he needed help, but he just asked her to leave. She looked at the ground to see why he was tilling in winter but when she looked down, she saw instead of dirt bones and skulls. So she ran away and called the cops but they couldn’t find the farmer again.

-Caleb