If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always had.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Finished the West Coast Trail

I finished the 47 mile trail along the west coast of British Columbia last night. Our next virtual hike--the Appalachian Trail--officially starts tomorrow. There's still time to join us!

It's really much easier than I thought it would be. The weather has been lousy this month, and I still managed to average 1.7 miles a day. Most of that was at work or around the house; I just put my pedometer on in the morning. I think I went outside to walk three or four times. Now that the weather is improving I should be able to bump my average up with no hardship. If I average two miles a day, the AT will take me three years to complete. If that doesn't get the habit good and ingrained, nothing will!

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Thursday, February 28, 2008

Signs of life

The earth is still sleeping here. We have sunlight today, but it's weak, diluted by clouds. On my walk this morning, I detoured onto the hiking path behind our neighborhood. Most of the ice is melted, and it's not snowing today, so I was pretty sure I could walk it without killing myself. (I stuck my cell phone in my pocket, though, just in case!) I didn't bother to dig out my MP3 player this morning, and I'm glad I didn't. I'd have missed the bird calls.

I didn't know the birds were coming back already. We've seen ducks and swans, but we always see them here. They head a little further south when the weather gets really nasty, but they're around most of the year. The crows didn't surprise me too much. There was another bird I could hear but couldn't identify until I was further down the path and they flew by: redwing blackbirds. I heard woodpeckers and spotted pairs of kildares and mourning doves. I heard another one that might have been a variety of crow, but it stayed back in the woods. Grandma would have known what it was right away.

The weather guessers are saying that we're not quite done with winter. There is still snow and sleet in the long-range forecast and still some nights in the single digits. (It seems such a short time ago that I was watching long-range forecasts and thanking God that the highest temp was below 60*!) I'd rather have it that way, really. Last year we had a warm spell followed by an ice storm, and we lost most of our peach crop and a lot of the apples. My magnolias were in bloom, and of course they refused to bloom again after the ice. It's still cold, but there are signs of change. She who has eyes, let her see.

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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Reciprocity

It's been a while since I've had a blog-worthy day at work. Even through the holidays, Valentines Day, and the start of the shower season the weirdness factor hasn't spiked.

Until today.

Before the lunch rush, a guy came in carrying a bag from The Limited. The Boss asked if she could help him, and he said he hoped they could help each other. He had two pairs of ladies shoes, one size 9 and one size seven, and he offered to sell a pair to one of us for $2.00 and a cup of coffee. Fortunately, none of us wears a size 7 or 9! She offered to sell him a cup of coffee, and he said, "Oh, I'm sure you will, but I believe in reciprocity!" And walked out the door. We all waited until the door was shut and we saw him get into his car across the street before we burst out laughing. (And oh, by the way, I've never been in a Limited store that sold shoes.)

Later, a family--older parents with their grown daughter and grandson (who was about 9 or 10)--came in for lunch. They looked over the menu, and then asked the waitress if we have grilled chicken. Or boiled chicken. Or grilled chicken salad. I guess they thought that since we feature a chicken salad sandwich that we must have chicken lying around, ready to cook to order. Such is not the case; I don't know what they settled for. I was busy washing dishes. I'm so glad to be the dishwasher! They were high maintenance in general, and the grandmother told The Boss at one point that she wished we had some kind of chicken because her husband wasn't feeling well, which made us all wonder why they were out for lunch. (I live with two Typhoid Marys just now, but thank you for adding your germs to the mix!) He looked like he was feeling all right to me, though, when he came to look over our desserts, ordered a cookie to go, and ate it at the table. They were lousy tippers, too. I guess it was because we didn't have grilled chicken.

Other than that, and the fact that not one but two pieces of quiche fell apart on me, it was a pretty normal day. My hands were warm for a little while; they're not anymore, of course. It's still freaking February, after all.

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