Surprised on Monday morning to wake up to several inches of fluffy snow.
A quick brush of the car and got Sam over to school, as her cohort had in-person learning this week Monday and Tuesday to even out the fact that the other cohort was in school the first few days Thanksgiving week. I do appreciate all the thought that went into the cohort plan. Definitely not an easy juggle! Then it was back home to work at the computer for the day.
Sam came home and headed right back out the door to sled and play in the snow with Abby. Always nice to have enough snow for the sledding hill! ⛄❅
Was determined to get in a run on Tuesday morning before work so that I didn't have to run on Christmas morning. And amazingly, I actually did get up and out 😂 Must be some sort of Christmas miracle! 😉 There had been a thick dusting of snow overnight, which made me a little wary as I was sure it was covering up some ice beneath, so I made my way cautiously across the street. Cut through to Highland Green via the powerlines, which was not a good idea. Way too little traffic and way too soft, which led me to turn left on the sidewalks and not continue on the trails. The sidewalks were fairly tacky, and I was happy to find that there had been some traffic down in the Cathance, despite the preserve still being officially closed. Couldn't resist doing the short lollypop down to the river and back. Packed enough and grippy enough in my trail shoes, and a good test of the new UltraSpire waist light and headlamp. As a combo, they definitely were quite bright! I think I'd have to get used to only using the waist light, as it is weird to turn your head and not have light shining in that direction, but the wider and lower light angle definitely seems like it is a good addition to the lighting arsenal and certainly adds some depth. Will have to keep trying it out, but the first use was 👍 Also quite comfortable, and did not bounce or ride up on my waist.
Turned around after the trail lollypop and came back home via the cut through on Mountain Rd/Canam and a bit of wandering around the neighborhoods. Glad to have gotten in a few miles! (6.1 miles)
Vacation started on Wednesday for Sam so I took the rest of the week off as well. Always good to have a few extra days off, even if I did have to check in and get a few things done in the morning and my to do list for the day was long with non-work related items. Headed over to the transfer station around 7:30 for a run on the Gone Fishing trails, with a stop to drop off the recycling after. Weather is looking like it is turning for the worse Thursday evening with a Christmas rain and wind storm, so I figured this was my chance to try to get out on the snow for a good trail run and it was great! Nicely groomed and packed out by the fat tire bikers, and perfect for the Hillsounds. Followed a group of three bikers throughout the system, and due to all the twists and turns the trails make to get in 5 miles within a small area, I kept seeing them a few turns ahead of me. At one point, at a trail junction, they were stopped and when they saw me a short ways back, I could hear one of them say, there she is, we better go! Ha. When I finally passed them around mile 5 at the end of the system as they were deciding where to go next, they were like, just couldn't shake you. Made me laugh, as they just seemed so surprised I could "keep up" 😂 In any event, a fun snow run, and nice to get off the roads and onto some trails for a few miles! (6.0 miles)
This morning, I headed out a little after 7:00 with one plan in mind, and ended up running something entirely different. Couldn't resist following the two fat tire bike tracks that led down the powerlines, not to mention the sky was gorgeous and I always love chasing a sunrise.
Definitely not ideal conditions for those first 2 miles, but once I got down to the main dump loop, it was sweet, packed trails for 4 miles. Ran a portion of the Gone Fishing trails, and funny enough, ran into one of the bikers from Wednesday, at the one junction where our paths could have crossed, and he stopped and said, hey you were out here running yesterday! You were fast 😂 Guess he had a different definition of fast, but it was an amusing exchange. 😉 We wished each other Merry Christmas and both continued on. I took the back dirt road - icy! - and roads back, but it was a nice loop and happy to get in another trail run before the rain and wind arrived and takes away all the snow. (8.0 miles)
Once the run was done, it was onto baking! Banana bread, blueberry pie and lasagna, all set and ready to go for Christmas 😋 Then after lunch, we headed over to Anne's so that the girls could exchange presents and spend some time out in the snow together. It was such a nice afternoon, and it is so good to have such good friends who we've been able to see outside and safely throughout this crazy time. Sam was so happy to have been able to spend some time with her bestest friend 💗
From there, it was on to my parents for our traditional Indian food and gingerbread Christmas Eve dinner. It might be an odd combination, but it sure is delicious! Sam opened a few gifts and we had fun playing the new game she got, Maki Staki, and laughing together.
I know this holiday season isn't what we all hoped it would be, and we are missing Ryan's family especially, but I am grateful to have my parents nearby and to still be able to laugh and find joy in the midst of it all. Wishing everyone as much joy and happiness as is possible right now.
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