There are a really surprising number of houses with Christmas decorations in my neighbourhood. Depending on the snow and cold, it is not unusual to see lights up throughout January, and perhaps even to February, but now it’s April 11, we haven’t had significant snow or really frigid temperatures for a long while, and some people are still feeling merry. It’s not just lights on houses; there are a few candy cane lanes still up, and even the occasional snowman. It makes me smile, seeing the juxtaposition of Santa with the emergence of spring bulbs.
One of my favourite houses on my walk route, has, after a winter hiatus, reinstated its extensive gnome collection and garden tchotchkes in its front yard. Those happy little gnomes, bumblebees, and animals are a Sign of Spring, to be sure.
It’s been Calgary Spring Weather around here: chilly and windy days, mixed in with the occasional gorgeous warm day and sporadic snowfalls. Last week I saw my first shirtless runner of the year; another Sign of Spring! One can spot runners in shorts any month of the year in Calgary; as long as it’s sunny there will be a runner with purple legs and probably painful knees dashing down the paths, even in temperatures well below zero. But a shirtless runner! It’s like spotting the first robin of the year.
Speaking of running, I have restarted my running routine. I am very much a fair-weather outdoor runner; I will not run when the paths are icy, and I will not run in below zero temperatures. I will walk in any weather, in any and all terrible conditions, but running? NO SIR. Typically, in the winter, I use the treadmill at the gym, but over the last two years for some reason, I just don’t know why, I have not. I actually was using the treadmill up until early December 2021 – my club required all adult members to be vaccinated to use the facilities – but at that point I just did not feel comfortable taking off my mask and breathing heavily in the presence of other people taking of their masks and breathing heavily. Or breathing at all. In any case, I took a little hiatus, using the cardio equipment in the comfort of my own home, and I am happy to report my reentry into the running world has been completely smooth and painless.
It’s not like I was concerned that my Olympic dreams would be crushed or anything, taking off a few months, but I did wonder how it would feel, getting back into it. I am not getting any younger, people. I practiced non-attachment by not looking at my Garmin until the end of the run – pretty easy to do when it’s 1 degree Celsius and I had my thumbholes and gloves on – I wanted to just run by feel. Do numbers matter? No, they do not. Still, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my time was only one minute slower, total, on six kilometres, as compared to when I started my hiatus. By my third run, I was basically back to my old pace, but this week looks like my run days will be below zero for the daily high temperature, so perhaps I am back to cross-training for a few days. I suppose I could go to the fitness centre and use the treadmill, but honestly, I don’t want to, and joyful movement is all about doing what I want to do when I want to do it. Right?
Barkley went in for his spring grooming; every April I feel like we could enter him into some kind of Extreme Makeover contest, because he looks like a completely different dog. For one thing, after a winter of Extreme Fuzziness, he seems to lose about ten percent of his body weight JUST with a haircut. For at least a week after his grooming, we all marvel at how small he is, relatively speaking, underneath all that fur. He’s still over 50 pounds, so it’s not like he turns into a teacup poodle, but he’s small relative to his winter self.
My beloved groomer might generally hate people, but I think she likes me, because when I took him in she petted him and then looked at me with extreme kindness and compassion, and said “He’s pretty matted, we’re going to have to go short, are you going to be okay?” I said of course, and that she should do what she needs to do, and I have to tell you that Barkley now has a renewed lease on life. It’s like he shed the weight of the world with the weight of his fur, and has a spring in his step like I haven’t seen for a while. Spring! He’s Springing into Spring! His lump is, honestly, pretty hard to look at, but he’s so happy right now.
As a bonus, not one person has mentioned it, while passing us on walks. Are the people in my neighbourhood reading my blog? Am I giving off A Vibe? Is the lump so horrible looking that people are actually shying away from asking about it? I think it’s the latter.
No matter. It’s a part of Barkley and will be for the rest of his life, and I’m just happy he’s here, he’s moving and grooving, and that spring is starting to show itself, in all sorts of ways, big and small.
Pandemic Reading
Good Citizens Need Not Fear. I love when an author is inspired to write a book based on family experiences, and that was this collection of stories, set in Ukraine in the years leading up to and immediately following the fall of the Soviet Union. It follows people living in a building that “does not exist,” according to municipal records, and how those people make a life for themselves. Those lives are pretty bleak and grim, but the strength of community is apparent. Very interesting and cleverly written.
Everything Happens For A Reason. If you believe in the prosperity gospel, which states that good things will come to you, material things, if you believe and surrender to God, then what does it say about your faith if you become suddenly diagnosed with Stage IV cancer? This divinity scholar writes about her experiences and her grapple with faith throughout the process. I found it a fascinating, fast read.
The Secret Keeper of Jaipur. This is the sequel to The Henna Artist, which I read a while ago and could not remember much about. However, it all came back to me as I read this book; happily, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur catches the reader up on the preceding book and all the characters. I didn’t love this book about gold smuggling and an engineering crisis but I liked it just fine.
I hope you all have a wonderful week, filled with signs of spring! xo
Nicole! Barkley does look like a smaller, younger version of his winter self :)! And he looks shiny and beautiful. Love him and your your sense of joyful movement–exercise is important to me, but I’ve never believed in the no-pain-no-gain gospel. Oh, and I never thought of shirtless runners and sunbathers (we had some yesterday while it was just 50 degrees out) as a sign of Spring before–bot of course! They’re the robins of the human world 😀
He is shiny and he smells…well, not great, but not bad!
And something I realized while thinking about kids is *they* don’t feel bad about whatever it is about them that’s causing us worry–so that’s something I’m going to *try* to emulate.
I ran a race yesterday and the weather was decent – 35F and a little snow. Darned if there wasn’t a shirtless runner! I feel like that’s pretty rare to see at a race anytime of the year.
My husband and I have a dog walking game where we try to track the last person to take their Christmas lights down. There were 1 or 2 houses still going strong when DST started.
That is a chilly temperature for a shirtless runner! Hope the race went well.
I just finished Kate Bowler’s follow-up book, No Cure For Being Human. Recommended.
I’ll put it on my list!
i’m intrigued by these people who still have their Christmas lights up. Are they still turning them on? Is this a Canadian thing? People don’t do that down here but maybe it’s because it would look ridiculous in the Florida heat.
I’m excited that you’re running again! Also impressed that you got back to your old pace so quickly. Whenever I have to take a break from running, even if I’ve kept myself in shape by doing all sorts of cross training, it still feels so hard when I go back to it.
I’ve heard Kate Bowler interviewed on the Happier podcast a couple times but haven’t read her books. Maybe I’ll check this one out- it sounds really interesting.
I don’t know if they are still turning them on, I only see them in the daytime. I remember being in Houston in December once, and thinking it was so strange to see blowup snowmen and snowflakes in windows, in a place with no snow!
Hey, good for you, staying in such tiptop running shape over all these months! And I love that a shirtless runner is a sign of spring – that made me giggle.
My parents dog was a golden doodle and he had the same kind of dramatic transformation after a haircut. The fur really adds a lot of bulk! Glad that Barkley is really feeling himself in his new spring attire.
It truly is like having two different dogs!
We still have a few with Christmas decorations in my neighborhood too. I tend to look at those neighbors as harmless, living in their own happy holiday world. I’d like to read the Kate Bowler book. I know of her, but have never read anything by her.
[Hoping this comment goes through. Mine have not done so lately.]
YAY!
YAY! It went through! I’m with you, I like thinking of those people as just being merry and bright, even into April. Why not!
Ooooh I love springtime running! And fall running! But never outside in the summer heat or the winter cold. Fairweather runners unite 🙂
HIGH FIVE!
We still have our winter planters out front. I was going to deal with them yesterday… and then I didn’t get around to it! But we woke up to snow most mornings last week so it feels more like winter here than spring! But I never took down the fake flowers in our 2nd floor window boxes, so we’ve a “spring on top, winter on the main level” thing going this winter. 😉
I will run if it’s around 0F or warmer as long as it’s not super windy. So my running was sporadic this winter since it was a cold, windy winter here. I’m signed up to do a 10 mile race in mid-May so that is looming in front of me. I am sure it will go fine, I just need to remind myself that spring races are never a good idea since my running isn’t very consistent in the winter!
I’m sure it will go great! Good for you for running in such temps! I dislike running in the wind but I will if it’s above freezing.
There’s an apartment building across the street from our house and one of the apartments still has a mini Christmas tree up in the window. He turns the lights on every night still. I don’t know if I find it as charming as you do, but it’s purposeful, so I can’t be too grumpy about it.
Barkley does look happy with his new cut! Isn’t it funny how similar dogs getting a haircut act to people – it’s a brand new lease on life!
He must be a very merry guy!
I love Barkley’s reaction to his haircut – he’s got such pep in his step!
I also enjoyed Everything Happens for a Reason. I’m a Christian but find nothing Biblical in the prosperity gospel and thought she did a great job handling this topic (No Excuse for Being Human is also an excellent read).
The underlying stuff that happened with mismanagement by her health care team, though, was just…tragic to read about.
People definitely leave Christmas items up late here in the Maritimes/Eastern Canada. We had snow last night – and snow day last Monday – so it’s not that much of a stretch to still have winter-themed items out. Though I very much want to move on from Christmas by early January. That said, I LOVE when people still put on just lights. A blow-up Santa is a bit much, but a pergola or some front bushes decked out in lights still gives me warm fuzzies until DST.
That’s two for No Excuse for Being Human – I’ll have to check it out. I was brought up Lutheran and the prosperity gospel was not something we were taught AT ALL. I think it is a dangerous concept, to be honest.
We don’t have snow right now but it is COLD!
I need to read Kate Bowlers’ books. I’ve heard such great things about them!
Hooray for it being warm enough (hehe, “warm”) to run outside again. That must have felt so, so lovely! And look at you, back to your normal running speed in no time. All of those Peloton rides must be working!
One of my neighbors just took down her Christmas window clings sometime in March. She put them up the first week of November, which felt aggressive, but hey, if it makes her happy! It’s always very weird to me to see Christmas decorations up past January. I’m the kind of person who gets deeply involved in decorating my apartment for Christmas but then wants everything OUT and the apartment BACK TO ORDER on December 26th. I have a little bit of the Grinch in me after all. 🙂
I hear you! I love decorating for Christmas, but on New Year’s, I want my decorations back in their boxes and the house cleaned. Our house is not big and so it always feels so expansive when the decorations come down!
I think you might freeze to death on our warm days!
I am so jealous of people who run. I don’t like all the jostling. My body simply doesn’t agree with it 😉 And your sweet dog! I can’t wait to read more about him. He looks very well loved. Enjoy your early days of spring. I complain about how long it takes, but I often believe the anticipation of spring can be even better than the actual season. It’s so much fun finding new signs that the weather is (finally!) turning.
Thank you! Barkley is a real sweetheart (if a bit spoiled!). The change of seasons is really fun!
We drove from Maryland to West Virginia yesterday and watched spring rewind a bit. They still have crocuses here and cherry blossoms and those are done where we live. It’s nice to see them again, as they are so fleeting.
Your Maryland springs are so lovely!
I hate it when life interferes with my blog reading. Yesterday was jam packed and on top of everything on my list I was packing to go to Florida later today. I feel like I didn’t do enough yesterday, because I am not yet ready.
Anyway, yeah for spring. I love your comparison of a shirtless runner to seeing the first robin. I am a big wimp and will not run if it is cold out – like it has to be around 40 for me to attempt a run. I won’t do a walk in cold weather either. Really my workout videos on FB are so amazing that I feel those give me a better workout than what I can do outside.
So glad to hear that Barkley has more spring in his step. I’m also relieved that people aren’t asking about his lump. I would think people would gather that there is a sad story behind it and would be smart enough not to ask.
Your ability to fly through so many books a week never ceases to amaze me.
Florida! Did I mention it snowed yesterday? *dies of jealousy* Have a great trip!
Numbers don’t matter, but Joy always matters!
A shirtless runner in the winter; that man is dedicated. Or numb. Wait, you didn’t say it was a man…I’m just assuming here.
I love Barkley. Please tell him so. I’m glad your ‘hood has finally caught on that keep their pie holes shut about his love lump.
Hahahaha Suz, you assumed correctly!
I’ll give Barkley a big snuggle for you!
I have a long sordid history with running. I’m trying to do it again this spring. It’s not working out so far.
That McSweeney’s post you shared is fantastic. I have RBF and have been encouraged many times throughout my life to just “smile.”
Barkley is just beautiful. I adore him.
We leave our tiny white lights on our garden fence all year. Our neighbors do not complain. I wonder if they would if they weren’t white lights. Hmmm…
I bet the lights are lovely! And that McSweeney’s post cracked me up so much!
We left our Christmas lights on for longer than usual, but Matt disconnected them in March. I did just take the Christmas balls off our outside bush after our walk yesterday – there was too much snow to get to them and then I kind of just forgot.
Apparently we are also having Calgary spring weather – cold and sunny, warm and sunny, surprise snowfall. Yesterday was almost too warm for me, I need some time to ease into it!
Once we had lights on our garage until almost March because we had two months of super cold weather and it just never happened.
No Christmas lights here (I’m a grinch…) but I did think I was the only person in the world who went to the gym masked and distanced as soon as it reopened post-initial-shutdown… then left after masks became optional. I actually canceled a membership I’d had for nearly 10 years! It just a) wasn’t worth the drive (particularly in January, thanks), and b) wasn’t worth worrying about whether dumb-dude-who-never-wears-a-mask-and-drips-sweat-everywhere would be there. That stressed me out more than COVID, to be honest! Anyway, I blather on but thankful there are others like me out there…
Also, sigh, Calgary. I have happy memories of visiting a friend in HS who lived in Olds, north of Calgary. I loved it. Also? Mars bars. Do you still have them? Whatever anyone says, they are NOT Milky Ways. No way, no how.
Hi Anne! We’re in this together, it sounds like!
I just drove by Olds this weekend on my way to my parents’! We do have Mars bars, they are great – I have had Milky Way but it’s so long ago I can’t remember what they are like!
Thanks for your lovely comment.
Oh, how I miss having access to a treadmill, but when I canceled my gym membership and got a Peloton during the pandemic, I knew it was “outdoor running only” for me from here on out… luckily, weather is usually pretty accommodating where I live, I just don’t like to run in the dark, wich makes winter running still challenging during the work week.
All this to say, I am excited you are getting back to running… yay!
Barkely does look like a completely different dog – and yes, his lump is pretty visible , but I would never comment on it unless we had a serious conversation about his health and I wasn’t just saying something to say something… if you know what I mean. I am so happy to hear he has a spring in his step 🙂