Day 17: From House to House

Today was another example of how this blog & challenge came through to encourage me to walk when I might normally drive.  I did a lot of driving today - to the next town to attend a funeral, then back home.  Dropping off a few Christmas presents.  Into Glasgow to a friend's house.   And I can say unequivocally that I can see why i am walking.  Driving makes me frustrated, ticked off, easily angered, keeping records of wrongs...all those things that love does not do, according to I Corinthians 13, my mind and heart want to do when I am driving in traffic!  

So once I got to my friend's flat in Glasgow, I realised that it was a 4 minute drive to visit another friend nearby - or, according to Googlemaps, an 18 minute walk.  Seeing as I hadn't had my walk yet, I chose that option. 

It was a very wise choice.  Perhaps because I was in Glasgow as opposed to Airdrie, but I found myself not needing my hat, scarf, gloves, and even my coat.  It wasn't just the walking - I've been walking every day in sub zero temperatures and not warming up!  There was a warmth in the air, which I attributed to the predicted snow.  I've learned from experience that when it gets very, very cold and suddenly, surprisingly, warms up - it often means snow is about to show up.  (I remember where I went to university this would happen.  I would leave my dorm and find it surprisingly warm all of a sudden, so I would leave my coat and set off to class, coming out less than an hour later to huge snowflakes falling, and me with no protection from them!)

I passed a Christmas-tree lot, hidden away in a corner of the street.  I wanted to stop and take a photo, but there was a guy standing there looking like a Christmas Tree Bouncer of some kind - he eyed me suspiciously as I crossed over to the other side.  I just wanted to smell the fragrance - the clean, sharp smell of fir trees.  I wish so often I could take a picture of smells like that.  It brings up all kinds of feelings and emotions - family, opening gifts, love, joy, baking cookies, sparkling lights, 'Silent Night' on the radio - all this passes through your mind in a moment as you walk past live Christmas trees.  I left others to purchase their trees, and walked on.

Also passed a place called The Church On The Hill.  It was beautifully lit, with that soft golden light glowing out of the windows.  Not used for a church anymore, as is sadly the case with many such buildings in Scotland, but a beautiful venue, and I never knew it existed.   

Made it to my friend's flat and enjoyed a lovely catch-up and some red wine, and then back out in the mild evening air to Chinese & Indian food and a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit, complete with Christmas crackers.  Then home to my wee flat, where all is calm, and all is...quiet.

Day 10: Snow Feathers

One of the most beautiful things about snow is how it changes.  One day it's little pellets striking at your face; another day you can see big flakes, beautiful in their individuality, landing on your gloves.  Some days it comes thick and fast; other days it floats lazily down and you hum 'Silent Night' as you watch it.

Today I stepped out for my walk.  I expected a long one as the sun is out and I had the afternoon before me: but I didn't get a few feet out my door before I was stopping to pull out the camera.  The snow is like individual sparkling feathers, and when the sun catches it, there are diamonds everywhere.  You want to reach out and touch them.  At one place I stopped to walk through this feathered snow where no one else had passed, and it had a sound like fine sand - whishhh, whishhh, instead of the usual schoonk, schoonk (or, sometimes, a soft crunch, crunch).  I wish I could take a picture of a sound, but just close your eyes and imagine fine white sand pouring from one vessel into another, and you'll hear the sound of walking through snow feathers.

It was about -9 during the day while the sun was shining.  Strange to feel very warm, with my scarf tied close around my neck, and also very cold at the same time.  My face felt frozen into position so that I struggled to smile at those I passed.  One of those I passed was a guy walking into Morrisons, saying to his mate, "Okay, so I need bread, milk, sausages, and Irn Bru."  Basic Scottish needs.  I stopped to take a photo of the train tracks, and an older lady and her husband stopped to speak with me, and we discovered we are neighbours.  She had seen me clearing the road in our estate on Saturday.  Imagine leaving my flat for a long walk and running into two people who live almost next door to me!  

I walked a long way today - probably three hours at least.  Everywhere I went there was beauty.  You could even see the distant mountains, what the Bible calls the "everlasting hills", from certain heights.  I even walked through a cemetery - normally quiet and peaceful places, they are even more so when covered with snow.  A lonely bird perched on a celtic cross surveyed its position, and me, before flying haughtily away. I had disturbed it, and it was not best pleased. Walked past a flowing stream, with the water steaming up where it met the cold air.  A lone tree in a wood.  Quiet, quiet everywhere. 

After a few hours I walked past a friend's house, and they spied me from the window and invited me in for a cup of tea.  I delayed them an hour whilst I caught the end of the setting sun, and then nipped in on my way home.  By this time the sun was setting, and I was so cold I could hardly speak.  It took me a few minutes to get my wellies off (having learned my lesson yesterday, I had three pairs of socks on, so thick it's difficult to get the wellies off! - but my feet were not blocks of ice today!), and they graciously gave me not only a cup of black coffee (is there anything nicer), but a bowl of soup and sandwiches to go with it!  It was difficult to hoist myself together and venture out into the negative temperatures to walk home, but it was lovely to know that my warm cosy flat was waiting patiently for me, as always.

Walk Length: Approx 3.5 hours