mud run

It's a wild and crazy day! Not much sun and flurries later in the afternoon. I did something today that is so far out of my wheelhouse that I never would have imagined that I would do it myself… I got a little team together to do the Mud Girl Run this July!!! Two years ago I would not have foreseen that I would want to do any sort of athletic endeavour, least of which would be a mud run, but here we are and I'm super excited about it!

We tried a new restaurant in the nearby village which was okay although Carm said the fries were terrible and his club sandwich was mediocre. I had a philly cheese steak with a salad which was good but left me feeling ill from all the melted cheese - my guts are not attuned to rich food these days. However, as always, it was great to get out and spend time with friends.

Today was a rest day for me exercise wise… I did do a short, slow walk on the treadmill, just to keep my blood moving, but I didn't walk hard enough to work up a sweat. No snowshoes either.

Chapter 17 Cato and Bailey Walk on Sunshine

It was a bit cloudy in the morning so the sun didn't shine into Cato and Bailey's cage. They were a bit sad about this as they have gotten used to waking up and feeling energized by the sunshine. Laura said she felt a bit sad that it wasn't sunny as well, so to cheer everyone up, she played a song that makes her feel all sunshiny and happy..

https://youtu.be/9MTAhQIPMOU?si=DF2uQ4OiJkGlEs0Q  (Walking on Sunshine)

Everyone enjoyed it, singing along and dancing. And wouldn't you know it, the sun seemed to like it too as it pushed away all the clouds for a few minutes.

They all agreed that they liked the chorus best as they weren't sure about the love story stuff. Cato wondered what it would be like to walk on sunshine. Bailey thought it would be like walking on a sunny spot but Grace thought it was more special than that, that maybe her spirit would feel like it had sunshine. They all agreed that it sounded like a good thing to do.

Awesome!

"lunch with friends"

"signing up for Mud Run!"

when you open your eyes

The sun was back again today, perhaps for the last time for several days so we took advantage and hit the snowshoe trails again. Adia wasn't too sure about her outfit when we were putting it on her - she was shaking like a leaf - but seemed okay once outside. Lupa tries to hide for any sorts of clothing, including her harness, but once dressed, she's raring to go.

Chapter 16 Cato and Bailey Have a Good Day in the Sunshine

First thing in the morning Laura always sings the good morning song which the birds find enjoyable even though Laura is not a very good singer, but they like the words of the song. Laura was going to play it for them but she listened to the rest of the lyrics and thought it wasn't a good topic so she only played them a short verse. After listening to it they thought that Laura sang it okay and they hoped she'd continue to sing it every day.

When you open your eyes

To a brand new morning

And the sun shines

Above you

You pull on your breeches and say

Oh well,

It's the start of a brand new day

It was sunny in the morning again and the clouds stayed away until later in the afternoon, just after Laura and Carm took the dogs snowshoeing. Cato and Bailey wondered if that would be a fun thing for them to do as well, but Laura reminded them that it was cold so they'd have to wear a snowsuit but they don't make them for birds. They'd have to wear boots too which they didn't think would be very good - how would they hold their snacks? Because surely there are snacks eaten outside. Adia and Lupa told them that there were sometimes tiny snacks but that it wouldn't be worth it for them to get their feet cold. When Laura is wearing her mittens there aren't so many treats.

https://youtu.be/R9ncBUcInTM?si=IoH76BgauNAQMb2D

Later Laura played the good day sunshine song which the parrots thought was a very good song. Laura told them that it was the song that she kept in her mind when she was going through radiation and had to hold her breath for so long so that her heart was not getting any radiation. They didn't know what that was but Laura told them that it was a life saver which they thought was good.

Awesome!

"another sunny day!"

"leftover buffalo tofu chili"

"perfect day on the snowshoes"

snowsuit

Well! It seems like the winter felt like parting the curtains on the sun again today! Another stunning day with gorgeous sunshine, brilliant white snow, and a powder blue sky. I managed to talk myself into starting resistance training again (hummm… Carm might wonder if that is resistance to house-cleaning, but no, merely resistance for my weak muscles)! Five minutes on the bike and then long enough on the treadmill to watch 3 'Schitts Creek' episodes. 

Today I retired my original walking shoes… they've done good service with around 2700 kilometers on their worn out tread. Enough to walk from here to just past Moose Jaw! All that said, it took 2 years!

After recovering from all that - it took ages to catch my breath and cool down - I had a coffee and then we stuck Lupa in her crate and popped Adia into the car for a trip to the pet store to try on outfits! Our snowsuit order was in! I poked around the store while waiting for the manager to dig out the coats and noticed the same outfit in black. So rather than taking the pink one out of the packaging we tried the black on her and bingo! An almost perfectly fitting snowsuit!

When we got home, I caught Lupa, jammed her into her outfit, then we hit the trails! The hayfield has a labyrinth of packed down paths that criss-cross and loop - another few days and we'll have the whole thing tamped down! Goals 😱 . I tried to keep a nice visual (I see it out of the kitchen window), but gave up after our second time out. Both dogs went crazy with joy 😀  Unfortunately whenever I tried to get a photo they'd end up under my feet which makes it impossible to get a good shot.

Chapter 15 Cato and Bailey Listen to Music

There was sun in the sky in the morning so everyone felt very happy. Cato wondered if it was summer yet, but Laura told her that there were still many months. Bailey thought that was too long and agreed with Cato that Laura should make summer come more quickly.

Laura was listening to music again which the parrots all really liked. Grace told Cato and Bailey that sometimes Laura dances around like crazy and that she likes to join in. Grace told them that there were some songs that Laura would play over and over again when she wasn't feeling well a few years ago and that sometimes she still plays them when she wants to feel upbeat and strong.

Grace said that she really enjoyed those songs as they made her feel good too and that she agreed with this song that said that she was born to be alive. She couldn't think of what other way there was to be born but didn't think about that too much.

https://youtu.be/vb5a-GYty-o?si=eOjHEmau4RahXd5w

Cato and Bailey were amazed and loved this song. They agreed that we were all born to be alive and that they were glad for the sunshine and that today was going to be another really good day. Bailey thought that it would be an even better day if he had more snacks.

Carm was busy again on the phone with Bell trying to troubleshoot our home phone issues… the tech on their end has possibly identified the problem - something about us having the same address as someone else (?)... they'll fix it and call back tomorrow. Note related, except that it was a scam that used Bell, Carm had a weird phone call from someone claiming to be Bell but obviously weren't… he asked the guy a few questions and got alarming answers 😯 We felt pretty bad for him as it seems he was in Myanmar and possibly a prisoner...

Awesome!

"Adia's new outfit"

"another sunny day!"

"dogs asleep in sunspots after playing outside"

"birds quietly napping after filling up on glop"