After falling into a working-from-home slump late last year, and hardly ever managing to get myself out of the apartment during the week, I’m aiming for more weekday walks in 2019. This week, I managed not one but two - a significant improvement considering I managed only one in the entire month of December! We’ve had sunny skies and bizarrely warm temperatures lately, with only the bare branches to confirm it is in fact still winter. Andy is still ridiculously busy at work and wound up working both Saturday and Sunday. While I’d considered a solo Saturday hike, I wound up sleeping in, then spending the afternoon baking and cooking in preparation for my upcoming long weekend at the cabin for the January Alpine Trails Book Club. Sadly I’m sure there will be another full weekend of work for him in the future, so next time I’ll just have to rope a friend into an adventure so I have someone to hold me accountable for getting out of the apartment!
Read moreLife: Week 1
I started 2019 on the couch, armed with soup and juice, attempting to fight off a nasty cold. While it wasn’t the best start to the year, thankfully I’m now fully recovered. Even with my cold, I managed to make it through my three-day work week and by the weekend, was even up to a long walk in Paradise Valley. Thank goodness too, since an epic windstorm Saturday night meant we spent Sunday without power and it’s no fun being stuck at home sick without electricity to watch movies and cartoons! A long walk in the chilly, muddy woods was exactly what I needed to get out of my post-holiday gloom. All things considered, 2019 is off to a good start!
Read moreLife: Week 50
Knitting. This week, that's what my life was. Outside the time I spent working, nearly every waking moment was spent in a desperate scramble to finish all the handknit Christmas gifts I'd planned. I knit in the morning, I knit at night, and on a couple of days I even knit through my lunch break. In between all the knitting, I did manage to find time for a well timed brunch with one of my oldest friends. The weather was even nice enough to walk - at least at the time we left home. Andy and I definitely found ourselves walking home in some unfortunately cold and soggy conditions. Then again, we did find some pink blossoms on a poor confused cherry tree in our apartment complex, so perhaps the weather has been more vernal than I’ve noticed.
Read moreLife: Week 49
While I loved our non-traditional Christmas tree last year, I’m so glad that this year, Andy and I once again had time for our annual Christmas Tree Hunt! It’s one of the few holiday traditions that Andy enjoys, and even with him working crazy amounts of overtime, he was able to make time for our snowy expedition. While it had dumped snow in the mountains after Thanksgiving, it hadn't really snowed much since, so Andy and I weren't sure what to expect. It turned out that the snow along Smithbrook Road was so well packed that we didn't even need snowshoes. Our tree hunt was much quicker than usual, even with Andy's stepsister's young kids in the group, because it turns out it's much easier to pick a tree when you don't have to shake off tons of wet snow off multiple trees to find the right one! After we all had our trees securely tied down for the trip home, we headed just a little further east for lunch at the newly reopened 59er Diner. After hauling our tree home, getting it into the stand proved more of a challenge than we’d expected, since our tree was a good foot too tall! After some careful trimming, we managed to get the tree in place, and made a careful note for the future that with 1-2 feet of snow on the ground, any tree taller than me should be avoided!
Read moreLife: Week 48
After a year full of epic adventures with Alpine Trails Book Club, Ashley and I decided to end the year with a low-key get together, especially since December can be such a hectic month. Last fall, the two of us had spent a relaxing day walking through Seward Park, followed by brunch and some book browsing at the Seward Park Third Place Books, and we agreed that a repeat of that trip would be the perfect outing for our group. I gave my friend Ingunn a ride into the city, and as we waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, we were confused to find flowers blooming abundantly as if it were early May and not early December. We even spotted a few hummingbirds darting between the flowers. Even after the group arrived, we took our time swapping stories of recent travels and plans for the holidays before setting off on our short loop around the park. After our walk, there was still plenty to discuss over an absolutely delicious brunch before it was time to head home with a pile of new reading material. I can never resist picking up a least one new book when I’m in a local bookstore!
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