Third time's the charm?

It is Sunday night. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It was a pretty good weekend except for the lack of running. The walk yesterday along the canal was good.







And with the exception of my bedroom, my flat is no longer a disaster area! I can even eat at my kitchen table again!

Last week I said I would:

• Run 3 days for a total of 3 miles
  
• Dance class Thursday
  
• Pilates class Friday
  
• Stretching 3 days for 10 minutes each
  
• Walk at least 3 miles this weekend
  

Note the stars. If I'd run all three times, there would be three stars. Guess I didn't want the chocolate enough. :p

New camera!

After much gnashing of teeth and railing against the fates, I finally have a new camera! It is this beauty here.



You may or may not recall that my last camera is now off cavorting with sheep. I've gone back and forth about whether to get a new one or just use the camera on my new phone. And once I decided that indeed I did want a new one now, because it's a bummer to be out walking and not be able to take good pictures, plus my 'rents are coming for a visit soon, the question was whether I wanted it to just be a cheap, inexpensive one (in the event I drop it on top of another remote Scottish hill) or one that was a bit better.

So far, based on taking a few pictures of flowers in George Square over lunch on Wednesday, I'm going to like this camera.

Pretty

Walking to work today...

Randomness

Egads, it's been almost a month. Because I'm lazy and haven't yet organized any of the pictures from my various trips this past year, I shall share some random stuff in the interest of pretending that I actually blog occasionally.

First, a couple of pictures that I took early in November from the Mound here in Edinburgh:



Ok, those are probably the most interesting. You might want to move along now, because it's pretty lame from here on out.

Because I'm leaving in a couple days to spend Christmas in Ohio, I'm trying to eat up the food in my fridge. So for dinner this evening, I had tacos:

and cauliflower:

What, cauliflower isn't typically a side dish in Tex-Mex food?

A couple weeks ago, I did put up my few Christmas decorations. I'm enjoying them, but I realize overall effect is a bit pathetic when captured for pictures to post here.

My tree:

Santa with garland:

Holiday potholder/towel decoration:

My countdown-to-Christmas calendar:


And finally, I have been running. See, look at the stars on my calendar. I'm also re-attempting the 100 Pushup Challenge again. Those are the stars on the charts below the calendars. I made it through week 4 (actually week 6 because I had to redo a couple weeks) the first time.

My last couple runs in particular were very good! I was able to maintain a good pace (for me) for 3 miles without needing to slow down or stop to catch my breath. I feel like I'm finally, finally back to my fitness level from before my 6 week holiday from running. Yay!

Ok, that's all. End randomness.

To and From: Saarbrucken

This past week I traveled to Saarbrucken, Germany for a work meeting. It was a quick trip that basically went something like this:

• Tuesday afternoon, get watch battery replaced so I at least have a chance at not missing my travel connections. Whew!


• Tuesday evening, fly to Frankfurt. Rats. Where is the shuttle to the hotel? No shuttle. Fine. Take taxi to hotel. Yay! The taxi driver speaks English.


• Sleep.


• Wednesday(early) morning, take hotel shuttle back to airport. Run around airport, train station(s) and Sheraton airport hotel looking for a place to buy an electrical adapter. Eventually find one. Whew! Buy train ticket to Saarbrucken, and head to platform. Rats. What happened to my ticket from Mannheim to Saarbrucken? Oh no, did I drop it?!?! Go back up escalator to start retracing my steps. Oh wait. It’s stuck to the back of my ticket to Mannheim. Whew! Back down escalator. Agh! The train is leaving! Jump on train and collapse in relief that I didn’t miss it.


• Arrive in Saarbrucken and take taxi to meeting location. Taxi driver is a nice older woman who doesn’t speak English, but very nicely put up with me anyway. Geez, I have become an annoying American who expects everyone to speak English.


• Meeting….meeting…..meeting.


• Wednesday evening, dine with group at nice restaurant. Parmesan creme brulee and big leafy green salad. Yum! Go to hotel and check in.


• Sleep.


• Thursday morning, RUN (literally and on purpose): about 25 minutes of running and walking along the Saar River. Yay! I get a star!


• Meeting….meeting….meeting.


• Bus to train station and train back to Frankfurt airport. Thank you Benedikt for help with the ticket machine! Go through the usual airport stuff, and reach gate, only to discover that there is no real food in Concourse C! Aaagghhh! I wanted a real meal with green vegetables for dinner! Whine, whine. Instead, my dinner consisted of: a giant cheesy bread blob from a tiny snack bar and chips from the vending machine, plus chocolate, nuts, and raisins from my emergency travel rations. Mmmm. Nutritious.


• Thursday evening, fly back to Edinburgh and take taxi to flat.


• Collapse.

Given that this was a work trip, there's not much that was even moderately interesting to share. But, I did take a few pictures that may qualify. There was this nifty shoe shining machine in both of the hotels that I stayed in, which makes me think they take their shoe shining seriously in Germany.

Also, in the building where the meeting was held, they had this artwork, which was kind of interesting, if a little creepy. I realize that because it's art you're not really supposed to sit in the chairs, but if you did, look where the guy in blue's hand would be. The lady looks like she's been duck taped to the chair. Where are her arms? And the guy in the green pants is sitting on top of the elevator, so you'd be able to see his legs hanging down when you go up or down. That would freak me out every day.

And really, since I decided against turning this post into a rant about concourse C at the airport, there's not much else to share. It was a fairly uneventful trip, which although boring to write about, is always a good thing.

The Union Canal

A couple weekends ago, I took myself for a walk along the Union Canal. I'd been told the canal was a nice place to walk, and it's only a short 5 minute walk away from my flat. Once I got there, I realized that I am a complete idiot. I could have been going for walks along here since I moved here, almost a year ago.





It was a beautiful day. Fall, my favorite time of year, was in full swing. Folks were out walking their dogs, running, and riding bikes. People smiled when you passed them. I passed a grandpa and grandkid feeding bread to some of the local wildlife. There are lots of ducks. I like ducks.

This morning I went for a run/walk down by the canal. Even though two weeks have passed, it's still beautiful with fall. After about 10 minutes, it started to feel like my soul had just released a long sigh and eased down into a comfy, soft sofa. That's really the only way I can think to describe it. I must, must, must make this part of my routine.

Below are a few more pictures that I particularly liked from my walk a couple weeks ago. The sweet kitty is one that I passed on the way home who let me pet her for a few minutes. Getting to scratch a cat behind his or her ears always makes my day.