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In 1863 US Army lieutenant John J. Dunbar gets a chance to fulfill a long-cherished dream: service on the western frontier of the United States. He did not come by it easily, however. Suffering a severe foot wound in a battle in the eastern theater of the Civil War, Dunbar patches his foot up and returns to service.

A short time later, maddened by pain, he volunteers to ride between the Union and Confederate lines to draw fire from the boys in gray. He also hopes it will result in his own death. Instead, he unintentionally triggers a Union attack that scatters the rebels and sees himself emerge alive.   Thanks to a kindly general, he keeps his foot and gets to request a transfer to whatever post he desires.  

So it is that as the novel opens he is riding in a wagon with an uncouth teamster named Timmons bound from Fort Hays to Fort Sedgwick in Comanche country. But little does he know that post commander Captain Cargill at Sedgwick, despairing that the army will ever send a supply wagon and down to a tiny garrison winnowed down by disease, desertion, and Indian raids, decides to abandon the garrison.   

They miss Dunbar and Timmons by miles, and when the latter reach the fort Timmons notes it is no longer a going concern and advises going back to Hays. Dunbar, however, insists on staying. It is his post, after all, and he will see his duties through. After all, the garrison might be out on other duties and may return at any moment. So Timmons and Dunbar unload the wagon, unhitch Dunbar’s buckskin named Cisco (the same horse that carried Dunbar on his ride to glory), and Timmons departs.

Dunbar does not know he will be cut off from the white man’s world when Timmons gets killed by a band of Pawnee far from Hays, where the commander who gave Dunbar his orders has gone insane. Both men’s fate cause Dunbar to drop off the face of the earth as far as the Army is concerned leaving Dunbar high and dry. Unaware of this, Dunbar begins his duties at the fort by making them up as he goes, taking notice of and become friendly with an old wolf he soon names Two Socks because of the white coloring of his forepaws.  

He also begins to encounter Comanche from a nearby village, but they are tense at first, especially whenever the likes of medicine man Kicking Bird, youngsters like Smiles A Lot and Frog, and warriors like Wind In His Hair all try to capture Cisco for themselves only to be   thwarted time and again by the mounts strong will and devotion to Dunbar which enables him to break free every time.   Finally, Kicking Bird opens a tentative connection with Dunbar that ultimately leads to Dunbar embarking on a journey of friendship, romance, and personal change.

Michael Blake narrates Dunbar’s story with a deft narrative that keeps the pages turning. I wish, however, that he spent a little more time on the backstory of his central character. Who, for example, is the young woman Dunbar dreams of but consciously pushes her memory out of his mind? I kept waiting for a revelation, but none came. Apart from that, however, it is worth a read, especially if you have seen the film version and wonder how it compares to the book.

A small segment of the fitness world was up in arms over a blog posting in the New York Times, titled, “Why Women Can’t Do Pull-Ups.” If the author was looking for click bait with that title, I would say she succeeded based on the number of comments. 

Although the article reviewed a study conducted by exercise researchers, the results were that only that pull-ups seem to be substantially more difficult for women compared to men, and it gave some reasons why this might be true. 

Yes, men tend to have more testosterone and can build muscle more easily than women. It’s also true that women need more body fat than men, and the ratio of body weight to muscle effects people’s ability to do pull-ups. Another factor, however, which would give women an edge is that shorter people have an easier time with pull-ups than taller people do. 

What I found interesting was the number of comments from women who had started a fitness program believing they could not do pull-ups. With hard work and proper training, many women built the necessary strength, and are now ripping off an impressive number. 

And I found that was true for me. When I started strength and conditioning at a gym a few years ago, I could not do one pull-up. My coach believed in me, or at least he pretended to, and every time I went in, I started working on pull-ups. Now I can do five or more in a row. By the way, I am female, tall and far from a college athlete. 

And now I’m on to my next challenge....muscle-ups!

How do you feel about training toward pull-ups? Is it something you aspire to do? Please share. 

The last day of fall Seattle Restaurant Week marks another successful celebration of Seattle's extensive cuisine scene, featured at more than 150 local restaurants with a three-course set menu for $28. What's not to love?

Spur Gastropub in Belltown deserves a special mention for romantic ambiance, exquisite dishes and strong cocktails. A rainy Monday evening hosted a small, intimate crowd in dim candlelight with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly playing silently behind the bar. A large screen displayed projected black and white images of iconic Seattle landmarks in another time.

The meal commenced with a brown butter sunchoke soup with fresh caraway creme and sweet currants and a mustard leaf salad with aged cheddar, candied pecans and oaked apple cider vinegar dressing. The combination of the bright, liquefied artichokes with the thick cream and squishy currants was magic in a bowl while the sugared nuts, savory cheese and apple cider dressing provided a pleasant contrast to the warm, creamy soup. 

The soup and salad were followed by pan roasted trout, accompanied with fingerling potatoes, fennel and an olive vinaigrette and tagliatelle pasta with oyster mushrooms, pine nuts and fresh Parmesan. The thin cut of trout was doused in select spices that mingled well with the potatoes and fennel, while the oyster mushrooms, nuts and cheese were covered with an overeasy egg whose yolk broke over the pasta, giving it a bright, appealing appearance. 

The icing on the cake, or on the meal as it were, was the warm chocolate custard with caraway shortbread, frozen yogurt and huckleberries. The chocolate was rich and tantalizing, contrasting well with the shortbread, yogurt and fruit.

The meal was accompanied by two different drinks to accommodate the two diners' preferences: a glass of house cabernet sauvignon and a caipririnha, both in which were pleasant and effective. Visit Spur during their last evening of fall Seattle Restaurant Week or any evening beginning at 5 p.m. for a delicious meal in a comfortable, inviting environment. Bon appétit!

As is likely true of many of you, every time I hear that Apple is releasing a new product, I calculate a couple of things, namely how I can afford it and when I will buy it. Sadly, it usually stops with not being able to afford it, but it is fun to dream for a few moments. 

I do love my iPad with a passion, although it still has a cracked screen. It’s heavy, too, and definitely not a pleasant thing when I’m lying on my back, reading, nod off, and the iPad drops from my hands and lands on my nose. 

So, because of the cracked screen and the weight of my current iPad, I might be in the market for a mini. I use my iPad mostly to read, surf and check e-mail, and a paperback book sized device will be fine for that. I also do use it for writing and art if I’ll be away from home for any length of time, so I’m a little leery of how it will work for that. The iPad Mini’s screen looks to be stunning, and is probably plenty large for many apps. 

The iPad Mini will be available to pre-order October 26, and they are scheduled to start shipping November 2nd. I’ll be watching the sales numbers for these; interestingly enough, general iPad sales have been disappointing according to the Business Insider website. 

Will the iPad Mini help spur sales and turn Apple’s tablet sales around? Please let us know what you think.