Starts With Mother...

The word I used this morning when I first looked out the window and saw this.

Yes it's pretty, but this is the suck of all suck...cold, wet, heavy, white, relentless crap coming down all day without stopping. All over the blooming peonies and delphinium, and everything else that is just barely turning green. Will this winter EVER end?

I did get a project partially done, at least the worst of it. All the garbage that was in the closet of the extra bedroom has been piling up and collecting dust for 7 years and I pulled it out, got rid of some of it, and took most of it to the garage, where Dennis helped me stash it out of the way. Mostly art supplies, a lot of things I will want later on when I do have time to take up painting again.

The room feels so much bigger without that pile of crap. I have a lot of old paintings and other stuff that needs to be gone through, organized and discarded, but I can do it in manageable chunks now. I needed to clear the big bulky stuff out of the way.

Iris was patient all day and then I asked her what she wanted. She went down to the closet where we keep the leashes. So I got dressed and found my Sorels, and took her out for a walk. Isabelle didn't want to go.

It was wet, cold, and windy enough to make it unpleasant once my clothes soaked through. The streets were full of slush and puddles. After a mile it was more than enough. It's nearly 40 degrees but the way the stuff is coming down, I'm sure we'll get some heavy snow tonight.

I walked every day this week, today was the only day I didn't do some distance on my feet. My legs still feel tired, but I jogged a little a few times and it felt fine. Next week I'll start doing some short easy running and start working the weights back into the schedule. I anticipate a lot of walking this coming week, too.

I'm trying to get that colonoscopy scheduled in the next two weeks. I want it done and over with before I start training again. I know the GI docs from working with them in ICU, having been present during many, many colonoscopies and other endoscopic procedures. I know which ones I'll feel comfortable with.

And I'm seeing a dermatologist on Wednesday about the sun damage on my lower lip. I really need to find out what's the best thing to use for sunscreen on my lips, because it would be nice to find something that lasts longer than most lip balms. Maybe it's just a habit that I need to get into, reapplying it much more frequently. I couldn't even get an appointment with a physician for 3 months, but I can see the PA this week. I guess that's okay, experienced PAs are good, I'll see what this one does.

Iris's birthday is Tuesday. She'll be 13. She was born on Mother's Day in 2001, she's my Mother's Day baby. Of course we'll have a party for her. Isabelle has her birthday in two months.

I hope this snow stops and goes away soon. Even though I don't have to run in it much yet, I am OVER IT! Ready to hop on the next flight to Phoenix, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Hell, whatever. Anyplace that is above 80 degrees.