Final Stretch

Final stretch of August, coming right up! This is Sam's last week of work as a lifeguard, as the pool is closed next week for cleaning. And while school doesn't start until after Labor Day so there is one more week of vacation left, it just feels like summer is coming to a close.

Monday, Ryan and I got out for an after dinner walk. He was headed to a Mt A booster meeting, so he stopped at the school and I looped back home. (2.6 miles walked)

Wednesday was a 7:00 am run down to the river and back. Overcast and cool but humid and absolutely no air movement. (6.0 miles)

Sam worked until 3:00 and then headed over to Abby's for a sleepover, so Ryan and I headed to 555 for dinner, which was delicious!

Thursday was an afternoon road run once I was done with work. Tired. (6.0) 

Then we headed down to my cousin Sarah's house in Portland to have dinner with her, my cousin Nick and his son, and get the scoop on Sarah and Tom's dog Sugar, who we are dogsitting for this weekend at their house while they are away. They have a cute cat too, but he was hiding the whole time. Typical cat 😂

Friday used to be a lovely day where I didn't work and mostly focused on getting in a long run along with some errands. Things have morphed in the past year and work has crept more and more into my Fridays. I've also found that as I'm also often trying to get things crossed off my to do list and get to appointments that I've scheduled on my "day off," my Friday runs have just gotten shorter and shorter. Case in point today. Got up early and got some work done. Headed to the farmer's market, grocery store and to the dump to drop off the recycling. Did some packing for Sarah and Tom's. Got Sam up to the Y for her lifeguard shift. Stopped at the library on the way home, did my stretches and exercises and then finally got out the door at 10:50. Did a random run on the roads and then up along the Heath and back on the roads. Felt rushed. Didn't even take any photos! (6.0 miles)

Then it was home to shower and eat and try to get some things done on the personal computer before a massage with Lauren, which was lovely, and then up to the Y to pick up Sam, get home and finalize packing and head south to Portland. Whew. 

Ryan had gotten down to the house earlier in the day but was on the phone when we arrived, so Sam and I headed out with Sugar for a walk before dinner. (0.70 miles walked)

We headed into town for dinner at Crispy Gai - yum! - and then had an ice cream at Beal's and wandered around a bit before heading back to the house, and taking Sugar out for another walk before calling it a night. Sugar has two speed, full on or stopping to smell all.the.smells 😂 (0.64 miles walked)

Saturday morning, I got up and headed out around 7:30 and running up the road to Evergreen Cemetary, where I wandered around without a plan. Cool out but humid. One egret in the pond and two blubirds fliting about among the gravestones. (8.0 miles)

Then it was back to the house and off to the mall for school shopping with Sam. Way too many people doing the exact same thing, but she found some good stuff. Stopped at Crumbl on the return trip, although honestly none of us were that impressed with the cookies. Still, at least we can say we tried! 

Got out with Sugar for a short walk when we got back around 4:00. Warm out! (0.88 miles walked)

After a poke bowl dinner, I headed back to Topsham for the night, to check in on Gigi and get a few things done around the house. Got up and out for a run around 7:30, running roads around town, and sporting the new hat that I couldn't resist while we were out in the Old Port on Friday night. The image is from a series of paintings by a local artist called Shared Environment. Most are of critters that people often see as pests or "bad" creatures - raccoons, fox, squirrel, pigeons, skunks, etc. Personally, raccoons are one of my favorite backyard critters so the hat is just about perfect. (6.0 miles)

After my run, I headed back down to Portland, as Ryan was off golfing with Neal for the morning. I hung out snd got done work done and once Sam woke up we got out  for a lunchtime walk with Sugar. (0.88 mile walked)

Spent the rest of the afternoon working and doing a bit of reading, and then met up with Mom and Dad for an early dinner at Empire. Delish as always! 

Finished up the way with a 7:00 pm walk around the block with Sugar. She was fun to hang out with and a very good girl for the weekend! (0.86 miles walked)