It’s always tough to leave behind the hush and relaxation of the snow-covered cabin to return to the real world, and after taking Monday off, I returned to a hectic four day work week. Typically, January is a fairly slow time for me at work, allowing me some much needed time to catch up on all the lower priority but still necessary tasks that pile up during the busy season leading up to the holidays. Not so this year! After a brief window of downtime between Christmas and New Year’s, work has been one scramble after another. Andy has continued to be even busier than me, working both late nights and weekends. This weekend, feeling a little under the weather (or possibly just completely worn down from all the overtime he’s been working) Andy actually took both Saturday and Sunday off and we enjoyed a much needed lazy weekend at home. We didn’t spend the entire weekend on the couch though - Saturday night, we had a luxuriously decadent dinner at Cafe Juanita for no special reason. We took our time over our several courses, and were amazed to find they even had a lactose-free dessert item in addition to their seasonal sorbet options. It was even lemon - Andy’s favorite! If you too are intolerant of lactose, I’m sure you’ll understand our amazement. In case you’re not, trust me when I say it was borderline miraculous!
Read moreLife: Week 3
It’s been a mild winter, but this weekend, headed to my parents cabin to prepare for the January Alpine Trails Book Club, we found plenty of snow! After getting a later start than we’d hoped, we wound up venturing off in the dark, armed with headlamps to light our way in the driving snow. By the time Andy, Ingunn, and I made it to the cabin, over an inch of wet snow had accumulated on all our gear. While it took several hours to warm the cabin, we had plenty of blankets along with soup for dinner to warm us. Saturday, the temperature climbed quickly, with snow slipping from the trees in soggy clumps as we hiked out to help Ashley and her family make their way to the cabin.
Read moreLife: Week 2
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.
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