Burrrrr...eezy

Thursday was like a Thursday... Thursday will be remembered I’m sure for the first REAL artic blast! I woke Thursday morning to crystal clear skies but very cold temperatures. It was only 17 degrees when Ykraps and I were out on our morning prowl. I bundled for it though. I wore head and hand covers, or more commonly called a hat and gloves, something I haven’t always done on our early morning winter walks. This brings to mind a problem I have suffered with for a number of years, cracking finger tips. Each winter the cold, dry conditions cause my finger tips to crack at the point where my nails tuck behind a sliver of skin. And when they crack, some worse than others, it is extremely painful. Painful enough to wake me at night. I battle it all winter. Last winter was the first year that I ran with gloves almost everyday. In years past I would tough it out and only wear them when it was like 10 degrees or colder. No longer. Still, though, I wasn’t in the habit of wearing them when I would walk Ykraps in the early wee hours. Any strain of a finger or thumb would result in a crack that takes a week or more to heal. I am going to try to be more conscientious this winter and wear the gloves on my morning and evening walks too, in an effort to avoid the finger cracks. I have had a couple that have turned purple with a blood blister. OUCH! Those REALLY hurt. I could feel an elevated stress level with all I wanted to accomplish today both at work and at home. As is usually the case before an upcoming trip, I had many stops, tasks, and details I needed to accomplish before leaving on my trip. Most of those had to be done today. At this point, the stress level felt more like excitement, nothing too overwhelming. I know me though. I can go from excited to overwhelmed in the bat of an eye. With everything on my mind, I still managed to stay on task relative to work. Come 1215pm I was on my way to the gym for my daily run. I was excited to run in the artic air. I was prepared! With the addition of my fleece cap and gloves, I was pretty damn comfortable save for forgetting an extra layer for my upper extremities. I’ll remember that tomorrow! The temperature at run time was 24 degrees and the wind was gusting to 25mph. That translated into 8 degrees with wind chill. After my run I left the office to run a few errands. I got a haircut, grabbed some cash, and stopped at Macy’s to look for a new, larger suitcase. I have a nice set of luggage but it’s more for business travel, os I don't have a large upright. I sorely need one so I don’t have to always take two suitcases. I found one reasonably priced and of decent quality. And, because I love to shop, I took the opportunity to browse the Men’s department as well as the kitchen department. I ended up buying myself a new set of knives. I got them for half price, plus I used a 10% off coupon. WAHOO! They are extra sharp, smart looking (stainless steel blade and handles), and very functional. They’ll come in handy. While I have many knives, the only really sharp knives I have at the moment are some steak knives I received as a gift several years ago. I was gone from the office for only 1 extra hour. Not bad! Tuttle’s really close to work (less than a mile). Back at the office things were winding down for the day. I was certainly happy for that. We’ve been going at it hot and heavy for a couple of weeks now. I managed to get out the door at 515pm. I had a couple of stops to make before heading home, though. I needed a couple of things from the grocery for myself and daughter Lindsey. This was supposed to be guitar lesson night but I just had too much planned. I called Josh and left a VM around 4pm. I hope that he got it before traveling to my house. I wouldn't be there at are agreed time. By the time I finished at Walmart and dropped a few things off to Lindsey, it was almost 7pm. I could feel the stress coming on! Furthermore, my Dad called and asked if it was OK to stop by and review a few things he needed to be aware of to properly tend to Ykraps, my house, and hot tubbing. He would be stopping over within the hour. Once home I quickly walked Ykraps. He hadn’t been out in 13 hours. Next I put away the items I bought at Walmart. I was feeling stressed. One Pumpkin Ale later – no more stress! J While washing my new knives my Dad showed up. We spent the next hour or so reviewing my itinerary and all the stuff he needed to be aware of mentioned earlier. Too, I off’d my last piece of cheesecake on him. He enjoyed it. By the time he left, he knew where to find Ykraps’ food, how to operate the hot tub, where to find his leash and poop scoop, and knew what time he needed to be at my home early Saturday morning. Done deal! I spent the next two hours packing and organizing for my trip. I went to bed at 1045pm with plenty still to do but everything is well prepared and ready to stowed for take-off!!!