Leisurely run

All miles have a purpose. The purpose varies wildly from day to day, and although I can guess, I don't always know what it's going to be when I start running. It can be very specific to the workout (a long run to practice spending time on my feet or hill repeats to build leg strength) - or it can be broader: to explore a new place, to push me past what I thought I could do, to show me where I can improve, or to serve as an outlet through which I can sort through a challenge.

Today's purpose was decidedly less structured. Today the cold snap ended. It was 19 degrees when I went outside this afternoon and brilliantly sunny, and it was about the best thing ever. I was enjoying being outside (and running without a facemask) so much that I actually cut the run's distance short so I could take some leisurely walk breaks, just for the heck of it. I practiced my deep breaths and looked at shadows and storefronts and snow on the trees.

Those unstructured miles won't help me break any personal records, but they're just as important to me as the rest.

More snowflakes

Two years ago, I remembered how much I love making paper snowflakes and ended up with a window full of taped-up snowflakes.

This year, I wondered if I might try to recreate that snowflake window, but I hadn't decided for sure. Then, earlier this week, I walked by a boutique with a window display featuring snowflakes strung into garland with white ribbon. (It caught me by surprise and I might have yelped "OH HOW BEAUTIFUL!")

My inspiration was set.

My goal: make a bunch of snowflakes out of scrap paper we had around the house and then string them on ribbon to decorate the window between our living room and dining area.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, the snowflakes had to be made. The construction scene one morning last weekend:

I remember this process being messy two years ago, but I think it was a hundred times messier this year. When I last made snowflakes, Wish wasn't part of our family, and this time around, he made his presence known by 1) sitting in the snowflake scraps 2) tracking them all over the home and 3) trying to eat the remnants.

I didn't clean up as I went, but I did put the snowflakes into old textbooks to press them overnight.

Later, I took a few out and strung up one strand of snowflakes, just to see how it looked:

I liked where it was going, so I kept going: threading the ribbon through sturdy cutouts on the snowflakes, then using little pieces of tape to hold each snowflake approximately in place on the ribbon.

The final result:

I didn't actually count how many snowflakes I would need - just merrily cut out snowflakes to my heart's content - and I had a bunch left over. I looked at our mantel and decided that it, too, would benefit from some snowflake decor. I made little loops with ribbon and tape and hung eight snowflakes on a long piece of ribbon, then attached that with more tape to the mantel.

It was appropriate timing: lots of winter weather around the country made for some snowy football games. Snow on the TV + snow on the mantel!

My window display in 2011 stayed up long into 2012. I can only predict the same for these little snowflakes.

Marvelous Monday: Week 49

It was a chilly weekend with at least a few more months days left in this cold snap. Brr! Here are some more marvelous tidbits about the weekend and upcoming week:

1) I have obtained a Minnesota-shaped cookie cutter and am very excited about it. I botched a batch of sugar cookies this weekend so I missed an opportunity already, but I am going to try it out sometime this month. More cookie-making is on tap for tomorrow night, too.

2) I finished my sort-of-holiday table runner over the weekend! Here it is on top of a red tablecloth, just to show you the fabric (I did not stencil this one):

3) It's officially grapefruit time at my house. I had the first grapefruit of the season (possibly of 2014) this morning for breakfast and it was wonderful.

4) I spent a few minutes today wandering aimlessly around the library after picking up my reserved copy of Eleanor & Park. (Thanks to Steph for this recommendation!)

5) I had a great yoga class tonight. We spent a few minutes at the start of class practicing deep breaths, because the teacher reminded us that we all tend to hold our breath in cold weather (not to mention the shoulder-hunching that goes on), which does no one any favors. It's so true! Take a deep breath, right now!

What's marvelous about the start of your week? Do you love or hate grapefruit? Do you have holiday decorations up? And what are you reading?

Cold snap

Today's run:

• a few miles
• a few degrees
• a lot of layers
• a sunset

Onward with the weekend!

Winter run

There will be plenty of time later to grumble about tricky winter running conditions.

Today, my first snowy run of the season, was not that time. The miles felt like play. It was a wonderful combination of conditions: it was warm enough to skip wearing gloves, the sidewalks weren't icy yet, and the snow was dry enough so it wasn't piling up in my shoes under my heels - and I saw kids sledding and making snowmen.

I ran on a trail and followed the tracks of a human and dog who had traveled the same path just before I did:

I liked the scenery, too.

A cold snap is arriving soon, so I was very glad to get out for a run today.