Thanksgiving Week

A lot of Thanksgiving memories popping up in my Facebook feed this week. The photos have made me smile, but also feel melancholy, as we did not make our traditional trek to MA to Irene and Dana's for Wednesday dinner prep and lots of cousin chaos rounded out by lots of eating, laughter and family fun on Thanksgiving Day. But with the rise in Covid cases and the restrictions around travel, it is just not meant to be this year 😥 Holiday Facetiming will not be the same as seeing and spending time with everyone in person, but we know this is just a one-year blip and we would much rather a holiday season apart than to contribute in any way to the transmission of the virus or anyone close to us getting sick. News of the Covid vaccine sounds promising and the restrictions are not forever. Yes, it is hard for sure, but it is the best and wisest decision right now to stay apart. And maybe we will just have to celebrate Christmas in July when it is safe to all get together again! 😄😉🎄

It poured all day on Monday, so there was no outside time. Just a lot of time spent at our computers in an attempt to get things done before the holidays, with Sam doing her remote work as usual for the day. I'm pretty sure we all felt like this...

Temperatures dropped by about 20 degrees overnight, so I chose not to go out the darkness on a windy, cold morning with ice underfoot. Instead, worked and got out for a late afternoon walk. We walked on the road to check out the demolition progress, only to find the building had finally been completely knocked down. Bye bye, old high school. Very cold and windy, so we looped back through the woods. (2.3 miles walked)

Wednesday was the start of school vacation, so I took the day off as well, even though I did hop on several times through the day to answer emails. Headed out around 6:40 am for my run and was wowed by the fiery orange glow in the sky as I ran through our complex and across the street. Wish I had headed out 20 minutes earlier so that I could have captured it over the Heath. Instead, I caught a picture of it across the school parking lot 😂 And then by the time I hit the rise before Highland Green Road, where I could have gotten a decent photo, the sky had returned to a flat, dull grey. Ran the cart paths and the Heath. Some ice underfoot and spitting snow. (7.0 miles)

Then it was onto Thanksgiving prep! Not quite the same this year, with me doing most of the veggie chopping early and then just Sam in the kitchen with me to put together the sweet potato & apple casserole and make the cranberry sauce, but such is life in this weird Covid year. We are just rolling with it and making the most of it, as we have with pretty much everything else for the past 8 months...

Snow fell for most of the morning, and there was a thin coating on the ground plus some rather icy spots when we headed out around 3:30 for a late walk. Just a quick tour around the schools for a bit of fresh air and movement before darkness fell. (1.7 miles walked)

Then it was on to pie making and the traditional pre-Thanksgiving pizza dinner. Ryan and Sam aren't big apple pie fans, so we suggested swapping that pie out for blueberry. Mom and Dad weren't convinced, so we decided to just add blueberry too. I mean, 3 pies for 5 people, that's perfect, right?! 😂😋

Rainy, dark and temps hovering just above freezing when I padded downstairs at 5:00 am on Thanksgiving Day, so I spent the next few hours relaxing, drinking coffee, catching up on the computer - the house quiet, the cats sleeping, rain pitter pattering outside, the happy lights in the kitchen twinkling in the darkness. While this isn't the Thanksgiving we imagined and even though the world seems upside down in so many ways, there is much to be thankful for. A roof over my head and a steady income in a time when many are facing instability. An amazing husband and kid and the two crazy cats that make us laugh. My parents now only a few miles away. Technology so we can keep connected with the rest of the family, even if we can't see them in person right now. A new incoming President. Hope for a vaccine. Running. Friends. That we are healthy, safe, and happy (or as happy as we can be 8 months into a global pandemic that has shifted everything we think of as normal). I know there are so many struggling out there now, and I am grateful for all that I have and realize how lucky we are. 💗

Finally headed out around 8:00 am into the rain for a short road run. Rainy and grey and 34 degrees, with the dirt road through the fairgrounds covered in wet ice and the sidewalks and paths still covered in an icy slush beneath the rain in many spots. Lovely. 😐 Not ideal conditions to say the least, but grateful to be able to get out. Didn't see anyone else out there (surprise, surprise) but did see 5 turkeys. (6.1 miles)

Mom and Dad came over with the turkey around 10:30. I so appreciate Mom prepping the turkey at their place and just being able to put it right in the oven when they arrived! I don't mind doing all the veggies, etc, but the turkey I am not sure I could handle! 😁😁 And of course, we are incredibly grateful that they now live so close and that we were able to spend this Thanksgiving with them 💖

We then commenced with some additional chopping, while also making Facetime calls to Kristen, Meg and Irene and Dana. It was nice to see everyone, even if remotely 💗

Amazingly, things went along fairly smoothly and came together well, with the typical chaotic maneuverings required by trying to cook a huge turkey that takes up the whole oven plus 8 sides 😂😊 and we even ended up eating within 30 minutes of our intended dinner time! Everything was delish!!

Happy Thanksgiving all! 

We were all incredibly stuffed and got the kitchen all cleaned up, leftovers put away and relaxed on the couch for a bit until Sam's incessant "Can we have pie yet?!" got the best of us and we were back at the table for another round of deliciousness. Three pies for five people, sounds about right, doesn't it?!? 😂😋

Yum!

Started Friday off right with pie for breakfast, of course 😀 and then headed out for my run around 8:00 am. Low 30s, but very wet and humid. Weird combination, and a very soggy one. Ran the powerlines, and got to say hi to the alpacas, who were near the fence in their enclosure. (8.1 miles)

After lunch, with a second piece of pie, of course, we walked over to Mom and Dad's to help with a bit more unpacking. Mom and Sam went into the house while Ryan, Dad and I continued on for an exploration of a trail up in the woods behind their house that a neighbor had told Dad about. A new trail that I didn't know about, how exciting! Will have it explore it a bit more. Fun! (3.0 miles walked)

Then a few hours later, we all drove back to our house for leftovers for dinner, with yet another piece of pie for me 😂😋 I think I might like the day after Thanksgiving best - all the yummy food to eat with none of the cooking and prep, and pie available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. What's not to love?!

Another rather humid morning run on Saturday. Last day of regular rifle hunting season, so I stuck to the roads. Realized when I got home that I hit 2,000 miles for the year en-route. Hurray. Took a look back at the past few years, and in 2017, it took me until 12/31 to hit 2000; in 2018 it was 12/9; in 2019, it was 12/7; so I feel pretty good hitting that milestone on 11/28! (8.0 miles) 

We dropped Sam off at Mom and Dad's after lunch to help them decorate the Christmas tree and then headed out for an afternoon walk. Last day of regular rifle hunting season and rather dreary out, so we just stuck with a loop around home, but it was nice to get outside together 💗 (3.5 miles walked)

Came back to find the tree looking quite lovely 🎄Nice to have the house filled with holiday cheer, even if there is still a lot to get done!

Headed out Sunday morning for a run around the Heath and out on the powerlines. Slick leaves, some very sketchy bog bridges and iced over puddles, plus some mud as it warmed up once I got out there. A lovely, calm, quiet and sunny morning to be out on the trails. (13.1 miles)

Later in the day, we headed over to Skofield Shores for a short walk. Shady and cool in the woods but the late afternoon light was lovely down by the water. Good to get outside and a nice way to wrap up an extra long weekend! (1.5 miles walked)

It's Official!

On Friday, Mom and Dad closed on their condo so they are now officially Maine home owners! 🎉🏡 We are so excited for them, and so happy to have them only 2.5 miles down the road! 💗 The place looks great and I think it is going to be the perfect spot for them. 

But before that, back to the rest of the week... Monday was an intentional zero day, but I seriously have to work on the Tuesday morning run! Not sure why it is so hard to get out there... so yet another Tuesday morning run missed. Went into work for the morning and came home for lunch. With afternoon light fading fast these days, we decided to make a break for it and get in our walk after Sam had finished her school work and Ryan had eaten his (what I always call a late) lunch. Stuck to the roads and the looped around the deserted road up in the Canam neighborhood. Kinda creepy but interesting to see how nature has taken over. (2.7 miles walked)

Wednesday, I headed out just as the sky was beginning to lighten. Cold with iced over puddles, a pretty sky and a strong, chilly wind. Ran the powerlines. (7.1 miles)

Didn't warm up much all day, so our early afternoon walk was a cold one. Brrr! We were all bundled up but the wind was biting. Walked past the high school, where they are making fast work of the removing the remaining structure, and looped up into the woods on the way back to stay out of the wind. (2.3 miles walked)

Thursday, I headed out into the darkness to run the cart paths. Temps were hovering right at 20 degrees, but although it was colder than Wednesday, it was calm so it didn't seem that bad. And a pretty sunrise too! (6.1 miles)

I have my eye on 2,200 miles for this year, but I am also finding it hard to motivate right now. Lack of light, the greyness of November, what seems like so much time spent alone running this year without the lightness that running with friends brings, lack of variety in routes right now due to the hunting season, and so much time spent sticking close to home due to the pandemic. All of these things seem to be pushing against my will to get out the door and are making running a bit less joyful at the moment. I know I am better and happier and saner when I get out the door and run, so I just need to keep going, and not let my head get the better of me. Of course, I recognize that I am insanely lucky to be able to be running, to have beautiful places so close to me to run to and to not be injured, and I know that mileage doesn't really matter, but having some sort of goal does help keep me determined. As of the end of the week, 1,972 miles have been run. Can I get the other 228 miles before December 31st? It seems doable, but I'm going to have to stay on top of it and squash the dreariness! 

Friday morning, I dropped Sam at school, took the recycling to the dump and then headed out from home, clad it a lot of orange, onto the powerlines. So dreary, but nice and mild out at least. Over 20 degrees warmer than Thursday morning! Crazy weather. (8.0 miles)

Mom and Dad closed on the condo mid-morning 🎉🎉, which is so exciting. I know it has been sort of a tough 3 months for them after they moved up here not having their own place and being slightly unmoored, but I think this is going to be a great place for them. We are so happy it worked out! 

Saturday morning, Ryan was meeting my dad and the movers at the storage unit, so I headed out soon after the sky started to lighten to get my run in, and was rewarded with a colorful sky as I ran through the fairgrounds and a beautiful sunrise over the Androscoggin 😍 So pretty, and another balmy morning. (6.0 miles)

Got a few things done around the house and then Sam and I met up with Mom over at the new house to unpack the car before the movers arrived. Once they got there, it was several crazy hours of putting boxes in the right spot, helping get the beds set up and then finally, the last things were off the truck and it was done! Of course, then the real fun began! Nothing like being surrounded by boxes 😁😁📦📦

We got to work unpacking some of the important stuff for the kitchen and bedroom and then realized we were all exhausted 😴 and stopped for an early pizza dinner. Nothing like moving chaos!

Early to bed for everyone Saturday night! I was awoken by Ronnie doing circles around my head early on Sunday morning - sigh - but it took a while for me to actually get out of the house for my run. Decided to keep it short and sweet this week, and ran out into the Cathance to enjoy the woods. Pretty morning. Crisp and bright. (8.0 miles)

Then it was across the street for a family walk before lunch. Guessing the high school demolition is going to be complete in a day or two. It has been interesting to see how they've taken the structure apart. Not much left now. (2.0 miles walked)

Interesting milkweed 'sculpture' roadside

Then it was back to Mom and Dad's for the afternoon. There is a lot of unpacking and reorganizing to be done, but we still had a bit of fun and made some progress too 😉😊

And just in case you need more photos... 😃

Gigi was not quite sure about Sam's lap, but she was the one that jumped up there!

And an early morning scene of the two kitty cat vultures 😹😹