The Rambler

One very cold morning back when I was in high school, probably it was in January, Mike and I met early at the high school to go for a pre-track-season run. It was tens of degrees below zero - not a temperature that most would consider appropriate for running. But we bundled up layer after layer, covered our heads and faces with full-face masks, hats, and surgical masks, wore gloves inside mittens, and charged out into the frigid air. The surgical masks quickly froze over with the moisture in our breath so that we couldn't breathe through them, so they came off. Soon after, our facemasks developed thick white frosty deposits around our mouths, noses and eyebrows, and streaming back to our ears. The cold air in our lungs burned. It was a short and bracing run, only a couple miles.

This past week we experienced a cold snap here. On the coldest morning, when I left the house at 5:20am to go to rowing practice, the temperature was three below zero. The air was calm and crisp, and the sky was crystal clear with bright stars and just a hint of pink to the east. It didn't feel too bad. On return from rowing at 7:15am, the car reported minus one. I fed the dog and took him out for his morning walk. Quickly I felt my nose hairs and the whiskers around my mouth freezing and getting crunchy. After a few minutes my upper lip began to numb with the cold, to where it would be difficult to speak. I remembered my cold run with Mike those many years ago. I am not particularly fond of the cold, and less so as I get older. But there is beauty in those super crisp clear cold mornings that I can't help but appreciate. With enough clothing it can be downright pleasant. Nevertheless, I'd much rather be where I can pad outside in bare feet, shorts and a t-shirt, and feel the radiant heat of a high sun burrowing deep beneath my skin.

When we left Decorah, I proclaimed that I would never again mow grass or shovel snow. Of course I knew that by buying a house in Iowa City I was, regretfully, relinquishing that proclamation. It would be a small price to pay to be back in a house, not paying rent, and being closer to family. My first and last mowing experience this year, just a few weeks ago, was not so bad. But my first snow event, with Kristin at her folks and not present to help, was not fun. We had ten inches of heavy wet snow over twenty-four hours, sending me out four times to shovel, leaving me tired, sore, not happy, and really wondering if we've made the right decision. Alas, it would be difficult to change direction now.

I mentioned rowing. I (re)joined the rowing club a week ago for indoor workouts and training over the winter. I could have started sooner and gotten into a boat, but my knee is still on a slow mend, doing very well but still not perfect. Should I need to lighten up (or worse, if I were to re-injure the knee), I wouldn't be affecting anyone else by slowing down or stopping. But so far, all has been well, and it has been a delight to come back to the club and reconnect with many of the people I got to know before Kristin and I left on our adventures. In fact, my return to the club has come with a strong sense of déjà vu, as little has changed in the past year and a half - the people, the place, and the routine. It's been fun!

Things in the house are continuing to settle. The dog seems pretty happy and likes to keep watch at the front window. Laura and Karl came to visit us for an overnighter, and it was really good to see them and hang out.

The new couch came in last week, and it is very nice. It presents a bit of an odd picture, sitting proud and imposing in our otherwise sparse living room. But we can now begin to visualize how the rest of the space should be furnished and arranged, and we'll continue making improvements, bit by bit.

I also completed my build of a workbench for my office space. My computer desk is just that, not suitable for doing projects, and the garage bench is intended for outdoor and construction-type projects. I'd been scanning the secondhand stores for a suitable desk or workbench and failing to find anything. I had noted that the ReStore was selling used hollow-core doors for a dollar, and I thought they'd make a good table, so I proceeded down the DIY path. The end result is quite nice, and is maybe the best project table I've ever had.