Day 39: Post

Today was one of those days when I just didn't feel like a walk.  It's cold. It's raining.  There's ice on the ground which, combined with the ice, is not a happy walking combination.  But, I went out to the nearby post box despite all that, and it really is a good feeling to go for a brisk walk when you don't feel like it!  The sharp wind, the icy air down your throat, waving hello to the lollipop man, dropping off my letter, and then rushing back home as quickly as possible!  It wasn't a long walk, but it was definitely one of those days when I wouldn't have gone at all if it wasn't for my walking plan and this blog.  So thanks, and press on yourself! 

Day 37: Back In Scotland

As I landed yesterday, there was snow falling.  It was a perfect homecoming for me, who loves to see snow falling and to enjoy it as it has fallen.  I was pleased the country welcomed me back with my favourite winter weather.  I took two walks again today - the first one didn't really 'count' as it was a shopping walk, which as noted previously involves a lot of dandering and dawdling and pausing.  So I walked to prayer meeting at church tonight, with that strange snow/rain combination that isn't as pleasant as when big flakes of snow are gently covering the landscape.  There was nothing extraordinary about my walk tonight - the snow is still a combination of ice and brown slush, the air cold, and I've traced this path to and from the church many times.  I did have an opportunity for a lift on the way home, which I refused, but it took a bit of willpower as the combination of rain and snow had worsened and the cold wetness in my face was not as much of a pleasure as I would have liked.  But the Christmas lights are still up, so I feel like I'm still on my holidays, and that's always an enjoyable feeling.

Day 24: Boxing Day...of Rest

Today is Boxing Day.  Normally, when it doesn't fall on a Sunday, we (me and Megs) lie around in our jammies and watch films all day long.  The goal is to recuperate from the incredibly difficult work of eating a huge Christmas meal and opening so many gifts the day before.  But today being the Lord's Day, I got to go worship with the saints at God's house, and afterwards go to the minister's family for lunch and then build a gingerbread house! 

I do really enjoy a day of being refreshed in soul, and not having responsibilities to work or even walk.  I did a miniature amount of walking (from the church to the manse and back, I think, is about it), but right now it's a time to sit back and rest and meditate on the sermon, which was absolutely excellent.  The story was of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, and I have always felt that some of the most amazing (and difficult, for us) verses in the Bible are in John 11.5-6:  "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was."  Jesus' ways are so inscrutable at times.  But His goal is not to make us happy or please us or make all our trouble go away, right away.  His goal is the glory of God revealed in us.  And often that means that instead of nice, tidy, simple, incremental steps of growth, He uses something so powerful and so difficult and so heart-wrenching that we must grow swiftly, suddenly, shatteringly. 

And the result is more amazing that we can imagine.

Enjoy your rest and meditation on God today.

Day 22: Happy Christmas Eve!

My walk today consisted of walking all around Carfin Grotto, in and out of the church, to take photos for a Christmas Eve wedding.  I think I did a lot of walking if you combine it - and considering I'm carrying all my camera equipment too, I'm more or less set in terms of exercise!

It was all that could be wished for in a Christmassy wedding.  The bride showed up in Ugg boots under her dress; the bridesmaid had a white furry stole around her shoulders; the snow was still lying, and frosting the trees, but the roads were clear for the wedding cars to get through; all the guests showed up in big heavy coats; the groom shivered his way through the snow photos; the sun shone, but didn't melt the snow. 

I dared a few shops, but the whole time I was muttering to myself, 'comfort and joy, comfort and joy', so that I remembered not to holler at the person or car or trolley in front of me.  I think I missed the ultimate in madness (not completely last minute, but late enough to miss those who congratulated themselves on nipping in early), but still I was thankful to get back to the wee flat. 

And now it's Christmas Eve night and after a hilarious laugh-session with the Fisher family (legend, can I just say, legend) I am ready to put on my fuzzy warm socks and pour myself a cup of tea (hot chocolate? coffee? the options are limitless) and read Harry Potter and, a little later, video-Skype with my family in the States.  Ahhhhh. 

Happy Christmas Eve to you all.

Day 20: Handing Round Gifts

Today was the day I wandered around like Father Christmas with my trusty little red reindeer, Otis, helping me deliver parcels and good cheer to friends all over Airdrie.  We had good times.  We had slidy, whoooaaaaa, icy times.  We stuck together.  But at the end of the day Otis decided he was tired of doing all the work and...broke down.  :(  So, most of the walking I got to do today was from house to car, car to house, house to house.  It was an enjoyable day, but I'm beat, and off to bed!  Thanking God for watching over me in all the areas of my life, walking OR driving.

Postscript, Day 3: Back In Time

I took a very, very mini walk tonight to get my dinner.  The local Chinese was actually open!  (Although the lady who ran it kept answering the phone and explaining that no, there were no deliveries, and we all laughed.)

Snow at this level makes me feel like I've gone back fifty - or maybe a hundred - years.  The roads are so quiet, and still.  The noise of drivers and driving is gone.  People are walking everywhere.  There are greetings being passed across the road - "Hiya, nice to see you" and "Aye, I'll come by later".

Laughter floats across the cool night air and the street lamps cover everything with a soft orange glow.  Everyone talks to each other, they share stories about how they were stuck or couldn't get to work or didn't want to bother going to work.  The news is on the telly, but we get the most important news from each other.  "Is the post office open, do you know?"  "Aye, they were saying the football match is postponed indefinitely."  "Is the airport still shut?"  And a random stranger to sympathise with your hard times, or laugh at your snow story.

It's heartwarming.  Almost makes you want to go back a hundred years.

But then you wouldn't hear from me. :)

Day 2 and 1/2: Fool Me Twice

Okay, so, despite my great blog post earlier today and subsequent lessons learned, I still ventured forth hoping for the best when asked to do an engagement shoot in the snow.  I wasn't sure whether we would have a blizzard on our hands or not and I thought, 'Surely the bitterness of too much snow is past'.  (Rough quote from I Samuel 15.32, in case you think I don't like snow! I do!)

At 2.15 the sun was shining brightly on the snow.  At 2.30, when I walked out the door, it was really coming down!!  Fortunately everything came together for our shoot and we got both 'snowing pictures' and 'snowy pictures', to the happiness of all.

And another hour's walk for me!  The thing is, it doesn't count for two days.  You don't get to walk 6 times in a day and take the day off for the next six days.  But hey - I'm a sucker for taking photos in the snow!

The walk was good.  The sun goes down a little before 4pm here, so I walked home in the dark.  People were still cheerful everywhere I went: or perhaps it was just me.  It's amazing how friendly everyone else is when I'm in a happy mood!  Every house that I passed looked like a little gingerbread cottage.  The train tracks were smooth and clean; every car a little heap of white; and the streetlights sparkled on the snow like glitter.  I smelled the crisp burning of a wood fire.  Mmmmmm.  Winter nights!

Well, as they say, fool me twice, shame on me.  But I don't regret it.  I'd do it again!

Day 2: Fool Me Once

Classic schoolgirl error, as one of my friends would put it.  I looked out the window at snow softly falling, and as it slowed down I thought, 'Beautiful time for a walk!'  I layered up, suited up, booted up (wellied up?), and launched forth.  I even took my camera bag with me in case I saw some beautiful scenery on my walk.

The first minute and a half were lovely.  The sun shone through on a tree with red berries, and I stopped to take a photo.  The sky was blue.  There is almost a foot of snow on the ground.  My wellies made that muffled crunching sound that is peculiar to snow.  Ah, walking in all weathers.  This isn't so bad!

Five minutes later, it had begun to snow lightly.  Still lovely; still a nice morning walk. I passed a shop with laughter floating out as everyone discussed the unusual weather for Airdrie in November.  An old woman passed me on the bridge and we smiled and said 'Good morning', and wasn't it a lovely day?  I could see the sun rising against the mountains and snow-covered trees everywhere.  The fresh air made me feel alive, brisk, alert.
  
Ten minutes after that I had my head down, snow pellets attacking me from all round, and not a beautiful scenic photo in sight.  I took refuge underneath an old bridge, gave thanks for my Lowepro Slingshot camera bag (which has a handy little weather-jacket to pull up and around the bag to protect it in all weathers), pulled my hat down and my scarf up, and tramped on.  Now I was passing the effects of difficult weather.  A man with a flat tyre, pumping a jack in the driving snow. A man carrying a small child, being pelted not only by snow but by the interminable "why's" of a three year old.  Cars who were driving more slowly than I was walking.  Countless cars stuck in snow and ice and muck, and drivers still attempting to dig themselves out.  (Obviously heading for places or events of critical importance).

I took a 40-minute walk today, not because I intended to, but because that's how long a 15 minute walk took today!   Fool me once, weather, shame on you....

The snow is still coming down, in huge flakes now instead of pellets.  I'm warm and comfortable and very thankful that I took my walk at the start of the day - because the snow is a foot high, and more is still falling!

Excelsior, indeed!

Day 1: Quoth The Potato, Nevermore

My life can tend towards the sedentary.  I work from home, I live in a small town, I have what is called chronic fatigue or M.E., and it is easy to order anything I need online.  Whilst I enjoy the fresh air and re-awakening of the mind by a good walk, some days the CBB syndrome kicks in (Can't Be Bothered).  And in the past I have found it difficult to determine whether this is a day to rest and not do too much, or a day to push myself a bit and be glad I did.

And what is the difference between rest and too much lying around?  Some people call that a couch potato, when you lie about rather than being active.  Me, I have more of a tendency to become a bed potato. I like my comfy, warm, everything-I-need-around-me bedroom, with two duvets for the winter cold, and I can sit there with my laptop or a good book and while the hours away quite comfortably. 

Lately, though, I'm learning that there is rarely a day on which going for a walk is a bad idea. It doesn't have to be a long walk - some days I do 5 or 10 minutes, other days several hours.  But consistency is the key.  You can achieve great things in life not by starting them, but by starting them and then continuing to do them day after day after day after long, cold, dark day.  I can feel a quote at the edges of my mind about how the difference between good work and excellence, or between genius and invention, is hard work. 

So I'm starting this blog because I don't want to tend towards the potato, no matter what kind.  For the past few weeks I've been making a real effort to go out walking regardless of where I am or what's going on in the sky.  In Arizona, where I was visiting my family a few weeks ago, it was a little easier.  Last week it started snowing in Airdrie.  We have a half a foot already and it's still coming down.  Getting ready for a walk has become complicated.  Layer upon layer upon layer, and I look more like the abominable snowman than anything else!

But this potato saith, nevermore.  And excelsior, and all those feel-good words.  I looked up excelsior for the exact meaning, and it means 'ever higher', which isn't quite my motto.  'Ever onwards' would be more accurate.  I'm not climing Everest (or even Ben Nevis), I'm just walking.  Every day, six days a week, for 90 days.  (God took a day of rest from creating the universe, so I figure I will do the same in my walking-in-all-weathers. I fully expect most Sundays from now on to have beautiful, easy, want-to-walk-in-it weather.  But no matter!)

So today I began my walk of intent.  I suited up and sallied forth, not daunted by the fact that a huge fence has been erected around one of my favourite walking paths.  I found a way around it and had a good 40-minute walk in the driving snow.  It was fairly light, but little snow pieces dashed at my cold face whenever I was walking into the wind.  Snow pieces, not snowflakes.  Snowflakes are much more kind, and appear when there is no wind.  My wellies were legendary, though.  Like walking in snow with socks on, and yet never getting cold.  Highly recommended.

Now I'm cosied up inside, and I can be a bed potato all I want.  Until tomorrow!