January 23, 2022 COLD AS ICE

Was feeling a little down and out  last weekend. The weather was FRIGID and DARK clouds loomed overhead for DAYS. It was BITTER. Running is especially hard this time of year--So I did what any seasoned runner would do--bundled up and surrounded myself with other runners who are as crazy as I am and we GOT IT DONE.  Seriously--only the DIEHARDS were out last weekend. THEN I did the ONLY other thing that runners do this time of year to cheer themselves up--Yup--I bought some new gear. There's nothing like some new cold weather gear to turn my frown upside down.  I'm trying out this new brand I read about in Runner's World---BALEAF. Have never heard of this brand but was thrilled when my new fleeced lined pants and jacket arrived the other day-- I was psyched to go out for a run--even if it was only 24 degrees. See that's all it took. Something New. Just finished Sarah Winman's new book Still Life and thoroughly enjoyed it. This beautifully written novel begins in 1944 as Private Ulysses Temper meets Evelyn Skinner, a 60 year old art historian, on a road in Tuscany. She has come to Italy to help salvage art work from the ruins of war. Temper and his best friend Captain Darnley agree to accompany Evelyn to Florence, an event that changes their lives forever. After the war, Ulysses returns home to London and works at the Stoat &  Parot where the reader meets a host of unforgettable characters including Peg, Alys, Pete, Col, and Cress. After Ulysses gets an unexpected inheritance,  he returns to his beloved Florence to live and over the years,  several of his friends from London join him. The novel spans four decades where Evelyn and Ulysses look for each other only to miss at the last moment until Evelyn spies his picture in a newspaper after the Florentine Floods of 1966. This heartwarming novel of friendship, family, love, art, wine, great food and conversation set under the Tuscan sun will definitely help you forget the winter blues. Seriously,  It's a gem of a story that I'll never forget. It's about 450 pages or a 6 mile run that I was sad to finish and will surely read again. It's definitely earned a place on my book shelf.