I can usually find no shortage of things to do to keep me busy. Today I am fondly thinking of all the places I have lived and found activities to do in and around. Just the other day I was telling the kids about when I lived at the top of a very long hill in Council Bluffs, Iowa and how my Dad would take a running start in the car to make it up, which I remember taking a few tries to do in the icy winters we had there. In the summer we kids would ride our bikes down the hill, oh so fast, with our legs flying out like we were ready to take off with wings. I actually hit the curb with such speed that I bit through below my lip once. Then when we moved to Bemidji my parents bought us ice skates(I actually have memories of doing this in Iowa too but at parks) and my Dad would flood the front yard and we had our own personal pond. One Christmas we all got Nordic cross-country skiis and we would go on the trails very close to where we lived by the Concordia language village. I have taken these skiis with me wherever I lived after I got married and used them in Pocatello on a golf course that they groomed with trails. Tim got a pair as well and then they went in storage. Not much snow in Seattle close to where we lived and we didn't go and do much in the way of getting out and enjoying it. But we did visit the beach and we had a great walking path and bike trail close to our house there. But the skiis stayed in storage. We moved back to MN and for the first time yesterday I pulled them out of the garage, tried on the old boots and made my way to the park/lake across the street. It was a beautiful day. The conditions were just right. It had snowed a few days ago. February snow is so good for skiing and it was still cold enough to not be sticky. The no-wax glide bottle was frozen (purchased in Pocatello) and after a brief thaw and application to the skiis that had been dug out of the garage cobwebs and brought in the house, I was off! I have been looking forward to this all week. I could just tell it was going to be perfect. I arrived at the edge of the lake, and no one was around except the busy city traffic and freeway nearby. I looked up as I had a feeling I wasn't alone as the birds were all a twitter and this guy/gal Eagle had probably just finished a meal of fish. 
Well there is no better greeting than that for a good morning! So off I went and someone else had broken a trail before me so I hopped right on to the frozen ice and skiied around the trail. It didn't go all the way around the lake so I made more trail on the other side. Now it is said that cross-country skiing is one of the best aerobic excersises to do. It doesn't seem like one does much but I was sweating and shedding layers after 20 minutes. Another 30 minutes later and trying to take photos of myself, I headed for home. I had a marvelous time and it is a gray day today so I am going to surround myself with these photos!
