It’s been a heck of a December. It was unseasonably cold for the first two and a half weeks, without mercy. And by unseasonably cold I mean holy christ cold. Poor Maggie would freeze almost instantly, especially in the mornings. Her arthritis is not compatible with frigid temperatures. On several occasions, we had to rescue her from the yard, and lift her up the three steps to the deck. Since then it’s been relatively mild, up and down, or in other words, seasonable. It snowed on Christmas and the blue sky returned, so it was a quintessentially gorgeous, picture perfect Christmas day. Cold (about -15C), but pretty.

Today, I went for an hour’s walk in Whitemud Ravine. I am sooo out of shape. Not out of breath (yet), but I could feel my leg muscles straining on the hills. Yuck. I miss the body that was. The strength that was. I hope to walk more the rest of this week, and into 2017. It’s now 20+ years of walking in Edmonton’s river valley and ravines, with the last few years being a bit of a geographical struggle. At least I have that 1996 to 2011 memory of a time when I priorized my life differently. Some things have been out of my control (especially the location), but I’ve still made counter-productive choices along the way, and no doubt will continue to make them, but hopefully I can strike a new balance. That’s my resolution for 2017. Health. Relocation. And to wear fewer clothes from Reitman’s. Is that too much to ask?

Noon-1:30PM/-2C