Our breakfast cereal is narrated by the morning news while the Girl is dripping honey down the front of her pajamas. But then such a mess is nothing compared to usual coverage of overseas protests, international economics, and local traffic reports that have been following a late-night snow on the already icy streets. It’s only a bit of honey after all, but: “Daddy.” She bleats. “Oh! *gasp* No!” And an exasperated and futile attempt to wipe the spill with fingers even stickier than the mess itself ensues. “It’s just your pajamas. Wait.” I sigh, pulling a damp cloth from the nearby sink and — smudging-more-than-cleaning — dab the honey from the cartoon visage of some Disney princess emblazoned in fleece fabric. “Wait. Stop touching it.”

A “reloaded” post is a quick-clipped summary of a bunch of small things from the past few days. I want to write them down, but I am either lacking in (a) details or (b) time. That’s just how it goes sometimes. Enjoy. Tree & Cold The downtown business association last weekend held it’s annual tree-lighting celebration, where the forty-one foot spruce that will adorn the pedestrian strip in front of City Hall was set to power and all ten-thousand-ish (or so they claim) lights were turned on. Santa rolled the countdown and it was quickly followed by a sparkling fireworks display. Karin was sick, but Claire and I braved the bitter, bitter cold — a chilly and windy minus twenty-five Celsius below zero — and [...]

I haven’t signed up for a running clinic for ages, but I’ll be starting again soon, joining the next round of the ten click clinic that kicks off next week from the local rec-centre. Winter is looming. I can feel it, so the lots-longer longer distances — those half-marathon distances — are off the agenda until spring pokes her shining smile from beneath the yet-to-fall snow. But, that’s a long way off, and I figured I’d better pump myself into a motivated routine for the upcoming winter, else face the inevitable stagnation and excuse-filled laziness that is sure to set in as we approach the dim, dark cold that usually wraps us for three or so post-Halloween months. Because it will. Cold is inevitable. The [...]

I must have been in some kind of post-run daze, having forgot to mention while prolifically spouting off in two blog posts last night, that yesterday was another experience in extreme weather running. Specifically — and I don’t know why, sitting here in the coffee shop at seven-thirty this morning I am reminded and compelled to share — an experience of running in the rain. Wednesdays are typically a run club night.  My attendance has been spotty at best, our weekday evening schedules either cluttered by other obligations or just simple fatigue from the day.  But I’d taken the bus to and from work, had a fairly relaxing commute curled up in a train or bus seat with my Kindle, and (having struck lucky with [...]

I had planned to go out on a more adventurous romp through somewhere more interesting than my own backyard. An expedition, maybe. I had noticed there has been an awesome fog sitting on Whitemud Creek at Smyth Crossing every morning these days as I drive or bus by. I thought it might be interested to take the dog over there. But I was good: I did my chores first, mowing the lawn, cleaning up the yard, and tending to the dog. And then we got rain.

The weather being cooperative for once, Claire and I spent some time in the front yard yesterday morning photographing flowers and bugs. She had her camera out, too, but I’m sorry to say her largest contribution to the collection was the jitter-focus you might see in some of my shots. She was having a great time climbing onto my back while I lay in the grass, leaning into and amongst the flower beds with my camera and macro lens attempting to capture the miniscopic-macroscopic wild kingdom of insects that has occupied my shrubbery. *shake-climb-grab* “I’ll help you daddy. Can I press the button? Can I take a picture?” *shake-bump-jostle* I’ve posted the best of what we captured, a mere eight more photos to add to [...]