Goodbye to my neighbors!

Well, I knew at some point my old neighbors across the street would be gone. I honestly thought they would die up here. But, they have come to that bridge in their lives where they were having much difficulty taking care of themselves. Recent illnesses with frequent falls has made them decide to move into an assisted living facility downstate. It is where all of their 7 children live, so it probably is best that they will be down there. They seemed all eager and excited. They said they would be putting the house up for sale. A scary thought for myself. Who knows who or what may buy the place. Or maybe it will just stay on the market forever, just like all the other houses for sale in the county. So the moving truck left today and the house was pitch black when I got home tonight. Now that they are gone, I don't have any close neighbors who live here all the time. I'm not sure why, but I have this feeling of greater isolation and aloneness from the rest of the world.

And the Winter Lingers....

You would think after living my entire 28 years in Gaylord, I should know better than to think I "have the weather figured out." Waking up this morning, I found approx 6 to 7 inches of snow in my driveway. The ride into work was snowy, wet and the roads were awful. Since it is the end of March and it is officially spring, I think the county figured the winter was also over. The roads are still a total mess and I refuse to do any type of maintenance to my driveway. I know it will all melt someday....

The winter blahs...

Even though there is technically two more days of winter left, we are currently under a winter storm warning. Ice with a possible 3 inches of snow accumulating. I'm so sick of this crap....

Backpacking!

Well, I finally got some of my backpacking equipment in the mail the other day. I set the tent up in the living room this evening, gosh is it small. But incredibly light. Hopefully my hiking partner will lose some weight before we head out, otherwise it is going to be rather tight. My sleeping bag only weighs 2 pounds, and stuffs into a small bag about the size of two loaves of bread. Incredible.

I've also started a more regular aggressive workout regimen. I have an elliptical machine, a stationary bike and several hand weights. Most people will laugh when I say I'm going to start running when things finally warm up around here. I hope to head to some of the mountain bike trails in the area, more hilly and uneven terrain.

Hopefully here in a month or so I'll be able to head out on my days off and start taking small hiking and backpacking trips. Should be a busy summer!!

It has been awhile...

It has been a long time since I had anything to blog about, which was pretty aimless in itself. Of course I'm going to come up with about the same quality of material. A funny story, but you probably had to be there to laugh so hard you start to cry. My sister is on her spring break and she has been staying at my house. Today we decided to "get crafty" and attempt to make our Mother her upcoming birthday present. This included paint of various colors. As I am painting away, my pretty calico cat decided to hop up onto the table and land right in the middle of my hot pink paint. Of course this freaked her out, and she bolted. Running around the house as we are chasing her, leaving pretty hot pink paw prints all over the house. After catching her, we had no other choice but to try and wash her foot off in water. If you don't know already, cats don't like water. For the most part the paint is off her, but the paint is still all over my carpet. It looks awful, and I haven't the slightest idea how to get it out. The whole thing is still pretty funny.

I also just finished watching the new release, Into the Wild. It is about a young man who follows his dream of living out in the woods of Alaska. Awesome movie and highly recommended, even though it is a bit lengthy. It does push me even more to follow my dream of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. Of course he does die at the end....

Well, off to bed. I have an early morning meeting at the Woman's Shelter. Something new that I am volunteering at to help coordinate the care of physically and sexually abused woman who come into the ER. I think it will be quite rewarding.

Walking for the Fallen

My Dad met up with this guy at a gas station this afternoon in Gaylord. He started walking in Nevada, and is walking a mile for every fallen soldier. I guess he was quite the site. He had just gotten squared away with a set of snow shoes and was headed to the Upper Peninsula. Pretty damn cool!

It ALMOST feels like spring!

So today the temps were in the mid 30's, the sun was out and things are kinda sorta starting to thaw. Its amazing how 30 degrees is warm. I'm able to run around without a jacket. Thats actually really messed up. But not to worry, we have another Lake Effect Snow Storm coming on Wednesday. More cold, wind and snow. Seriously, it is getting old.

So what have I been doing lately? I've become a very sedentary, lazy, couch potato. I sleep in, lay on the couch and nap, eat, do as little as possible and than go back to bed. Some days I am able to find enough energy to get on the bike for 30 minutes. Other days I am so tired I'm only able to take a shower and get the mail, than lay around. I always get like this toward the end of winter. I've been reading up and learning as much as I can about the Appalachian Trail and have started buying equipment. The more I read about it, the more I want to go out and hike the entire trail. But, considering I could only find one person to hike with me for 100 miles, the chances of finding someone to leave civilization for 6 or 7 months are slim. However it is easy to dream about while I'm laying on the couch. Whats a person to do?