Skiing days are back

After a very off and on snow season so far I finally managed to get up on the mighty hill that is Glencoe on Friday with Lizzie and Garret. The day was clear and not too cold and my ski partners were off for the top slopes virtually before I had reached the top of the first tow. The ski legs were slow to kick in after a time away but the place is so beautiful the experience is enough for any soul. The ski buddies swooped after a while and dragged me to a higher place. Softer deeper snow was the reward with consequently better sport. Bliss.

Lazy Sunday?

Not in this house! Having set the alarm on my trusty phone I woke at 8:30, half an hour late as I had switched off the sound. Playing catch up all the way I managed to get out of the door at 9:30 having consumed pre run breakfast. Only Rosie was up to see departure and to hear worries about clothing issues. All the preparation was for a run out with an ultra marathon running friend who is suffering low mojo the same as I am. We met at Kilmory, Lochgilphead for a sunny, rainy, hailey hill run and a damn good chat!! In fact such a good chat that we totally missed a turn on the way back and did a good two-three miles further than intended but in the language of teenagedom.... Whoop whoop eleven miles!! Been a while since I have done that distance. So a happy Fee! Was only twenty minutes late to collect Freya from her sleeps over..... Oops.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/65435930

Rainy Saturday

Well..... Not wishing to put off any potential tourists but today was a pretty rubbish day! Winds, hail and rain filled most of the day. The three minutes that I was at the bottle recycling bins was especially joyous.... And very wet. So what to do. Of all the things available I decided to make scallop ravioli. The scallops come from Fyne Fish and were very fyne indeed. It took most of the afternoon, I did enjoy the whole process... Very aka Masterchef. Toby had his first driving lesson today, the instructor is the father of a boy a year older than Toby. In a world a few years ago I met him and his boy at play group and knew one day I would be contacting him professionally. Circles within circles.

Three guests and a run....and a walk

Three guests today which is awfully good for the finances in the lean old month that is January. The very dear Howard and Myrna, horse riders extraordinaire and a chap doing something electronic to several Post Offices in the area. From Hamilton his English head office had bizarrely chosen Claonairigh for him to stay in despite it being at least an hours drive yesterday morning and again this morning...still the pound notes are better in my hot sticky little paw than in someone else's. A very typical January day, a wee bit of chill and mist and and on and off drizzle. Perfect for a run... I am having to try to get myself into gear as The Mighty Deerstalker beckons at the end of March. I have to be competent if not competitive at running up two blooming great hills, the second one a scree surface, run 1/2 a mile up a raging river ( very fast running wide stream but still...) and for light relief crawl through a few water filled tunnels. Last year the final few yards of the 10k (ish...nearer 10 miles) was covered by a cargo net which in my innocence I thought would be quite light. Had I had any breath left the Marshall who cheerfully urged me to " just crawl!" might have had a case for disqualification due to "marshal abuse". Back to this year...we shall just say that I am a work in progress. A pesky hamstring at the back of my weaker left leg is being troublesome but despite this I managed a cross country 8:08 miler today with Liz and Denise. The last mile was quite fast and I am loving my new trainers which have hooky things underneath especially for the downs. Home, a bath and huge amounts of food cos I deserved it and then the gradual dawning that I had a puppy that needed walking...different set of clothes and shorter route. Quite nice to get out walking (or falling into steams for both of us) through the rough bits of the woods instead of sticking to the tracks. Pizza Friday for four Corners this week as Freya is on an weekend sleepover. At present I am waiting for Rosie to appear for a movie after her revision ( so much nicer when the carrot is more acceptable than the stick.....) whilst Toby at long last appears to be mucking out his room prior to being bought his first driving lesson tomorrow.





Ps the photo is winter lichen.