staycation

used to be i'd have to be someplace else to have a good time5trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (that was kitten on the keys... peewee, that is; hardly a kitten, but had to reference the song!) like paris or austin or LA or wherever, but not HOME, for pete's sake!! we were talking about this as we drove thru the mountains on one of our "big" trips during this staycation (we went to santa clarita 2x, bakersfield once, each about 40 mins from home). we just have had such a nice time this time not going no place. i ran... a LOT! and dad insisted on early-gifting me some HOKAS!! i've wanted hokas for years!! they were supposed to be my christmas gift. so i've been running every day since i got them. the pie run was fantastic fun: looked like at least 1500 people there, sad the fellow that started the run was hit by a car while bicycle riding; i believe many were there to commemorate him. mr toad's wild run at the end of the pie run is SO SO FUN!!! i dream about it even now. i wish i were bounding & careening down it all the time. then back at the gias, we ate like hogs. we'd gone to the movies the night before, what a treat (no movies up on the mountain), the latest blockbuster, we hadn't been in forever, so we munched popcorn & craned our necks to watch from the front row. the movies! hogging out! running! just being home, doing yardwork, walking the dog, doing lovely yoga outside in the park cause the library was closed, yoga looking up at the dark & lovely oaks, birdsong, clean air, wow, taking short day trips to shop & eat some more: staycations are the way to go now, i think, or at least a way to go i'd never thought would appeal to me. just resting in our bed with the windows looking out on beautiful mountain view, james gently snoring or playing words w/friends, penny the dog warm between us: that is my favorite place in the world to be, i think. what a gigantic change! this is something about getting old i definitely love.
this is sloppily written bc we are making dinner & the room is cozy w/sizzling food smells. tonight i prep to return to school tomorrow, & tonight we'll do something wild like watch "chopped," or something. i couldn't be more grateful. this life w/james, this life on the mountain, w/clean air, w/runs getting longer always, w/sobriety & love: wow. i'm so glad to have been changed so i can appreciate & love this life.
may you also love your life, life ever-changing
bye for now

died & went to heaven!!!!

...james tells me not to go out after dark running. sometimes i use his warning as excuse to be lazy, like when it's an especially cold or dark eve, but sometimes it's a bummer bc i need some exercise!! he asks me not to do semi-dangerous stuff i used to enjoy --  even when that frisson of warning would chill my neck -- specifically pulling off lonely roads to explore abandoned buildings when by myself... aaaarrrghh...i know his concern is for my safety... ... this time of yr, it's rough to get in runs some eves cause of having become so absorbed in my job (my calling? work's definitely increasingly absorbing!). i stay too late, too often, & w/the time change, it gets dark so early...
partial solution here!!! check this out!!! you may love this, too!!!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq5O2ZfzRQChMdahnpKpGVg/videos
also... in case you don't know about it, THIS IS AN AWESOME WEBSITE!! you can log your every single workout!!!
https://www.mapmyrun.com
thursday is the pie run... won't be a fog run this yr, no way. dad says it's predicted to be 85 degrees in bakingfield on thanksgiving day!! that is quite scary, in a way, harbinger of global doom, maybe, but i selfishly know due to the warm morn i'll easily be able to hop out of bed & therefore run.  james will help brother doug & sister angie distribute food to those in need, so it'll be a great start to thanksgiving for us all!!
i feel so little conflict right now about turkey day. i still care about the holiday's conflicted history, yes, quite a bit, but outweighing my liberal guilt this time are happy thoughts of james, pets, cooking (we're making the baked yams/sweet potaters as well as a cherpumple!!), running, rest, fun, & family.
happy holidays!!!