Family - the best gift

Mom and I decorating the Vaughan Christmas tree

This has been a whirlwind holiday season. My mom was rushed to the hospital in mid-December and Kendall and I flew to Michigan to check her out first-hand - and, thankfully, to take her back home and get her settled before we returned to Colorado. It ended up being a delightful trip, finally getting a (big) taste of winter after the balminess of Colorado, finishing the decorations in mom's already beautifully decorated home, celebrating early Christmas with her, and generally having a relaxed and lovely visit.


(Left to right: mom ready for early Christmas dinner, ready for church, and trying out her new hammer)


Kendall and I returned to Colorado with four days to do all of our Christmas preparations: cards, shopping, baking... And it turned out to be a pretty good way to go!

• Tuesday: shop.
• Wednesday morning/afternoon: write and mail cards - in time to reach at least the Colorado folk before Christmas!
• Wednesday afternoon/evening: go to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert with some friends (wow - over the top sound & lights!).
• Thursday night/Friday morning & afternoon: bake bake bake and deliver plates of cookies to neighbors and friends in time for Christmas Eve feasting.

Friday night (Christmas Eve) we enjoyed our traditional pizza and movie with the boys...ahhhh...relaxation.

Christmas Day started with me running to Paul via trails, he running with me back toward the house, meeting up with Kendall, Devon and Jester in the park for a leisurely stroll back to home, stockings, and presents. Since we wrap our presents in Sunday comics, our present opening is a rather slow process as we simply must read the comic that was oh-so-carefully chosen to highlight the present.

Lots of laughter accompanying the presents - especially so this year since Kendall and I had showered the fellas with science nerd t-shirts.
(Left: Devon & 'rock, paper, scissors, lizard, spock.' Right: Paul & his favorite reply to almost anything)





Celebrations and laughter continued on Sunday with the Miller Christmas gathering. The most uproarious moment? When Kendall and his brothers (the 'high foreheaded' Miller boys) opened a package addressed to the three of them containing hair hats (complements of Kendall). What a hoot!

Looking for winter

Little Traverse Bay from one of my favorite running trails
(xc skis might have been the wiser choice over my runnin' shoes)

Last week I ran in shorts every day that I started my run after the sun was up. Being December, I thought that was a bit ridiculous. Then on Sunday my husband and I made a spur-of-the-moment trip to Petoskey - and found winter. We flew into Flint (in southeast Michigan) and drove through a blizzard to Petoskey (northwest Michigan). I've been running in breezy, snowy, chilly (way chilly) weather ever since. But as a good friend has said many times, there is no such thing as weather too bad to run in, there's just inadequate clothing. Three cheers for many many layers, and a winter wonderland!

December what?!

December 8th actually. And I ran in shorts today!

I told my mom, who is battling yet another snowy northern Michigan winter (in addition to rebounding from some medical issues) that I would run in shorts today in her honor. And that's just what I did. A fine run it was too! Cows, two magnificent hawks (one who played leapfrog with me as I ran through CU's cross-country property), a chickadee, and a fly! What a wacky entry into winter we're having here in Boulder!

Keeping an eye on the trail

This was my view during the bulk of my run today, eyes glued to the ground before each foot plant. If I wanted to look about at the blue sky, glowing flatirons, snow-capped Longs Peak, tall amber grasses, critters hiding in those tall amber grasses, I came to a full stop then gazed. Why such caution? 16 days ago I hit a patch of black ice while running in the wee hours of the morning and fell hard on my right side. My knee is still cranky, and my upper arm is outright furious. I do not wish to take another tumble. (I usually have one big one each winter, do you suppose I've already reached my quota?!) Today's run up Skunk Creek Trail was pure indulgence...running through the pain in order to revel in the day. Some days just gotta be seized!

Bovine adventures

Attentive cows east of Burwell, Nebraska - June 30, 2007

Cows continue to add entertainment to my life. When I lived on a farm on the island of Nord Hidle, Norway (spring and summer, 1971) I herded cows, milked cows, fed cows, shoveled after cows and, most excitingly, outran a bull. Several years later, as a young mother, I experienced the adrenaline rush of warding off some charging cows while Kendall whisked our boys out of harms way as we hiked along a trail that, apparently, a herd of cows did not wish to share.

During my run to Michigan I startled many a cow along the way. I suspect runners are not as common on the backroads of the heartland as we are here in Boulder. The cows pictured above were the exception to the typical skittish prairie cow. Rather than stampeding away from the oddball runner as was the norm, these cows gathered along the fence as I ran past with Paul. My theory is they were eavesdropping on Paul who was giving me a play-by-play account of the latest Spiderman movie. Either those cows love a good movie narration or Paul is a closet cow whisperer.

Today presented an entirely new cow adventure. I was running around the eastern boundary of CU-Boulder's south campus (home of the CU cross-country course) through a herd of cows - a mix of moms and juveniles - when I noticed one of the youngsters was playing with a long strip of tyvek that had blown onto the property. He'd toss it around then chew on it...and chew some more. Figuring that tyvek was pr'y not the healthiest snack for a young bull, I decided I'd best get it away from him. So I wound my way through those moms and juveniles, yannering on in my calmest voice, until I got up to the young fella. I looked him in the eye and told him I really needed to take his plaything away. He looked back at me none to pleased but, what with sign language and forceful chit chat, I convinced him to move on, leaving the tyvek behind. With many glances around to all the watching bovines, I bundled up the tyvek and marched my way out of the herd. No charging cows today. Whew!

Defunkin/grumpin'

I don't know what set it off, but my-oh-my I was in a grumpy mood today. I don't like being in a funk, nor do I like being a grump. So, what to do, what to do.

Here's the pjv method for chasing away the blues (today's version):

1. Go for a run (what a shocker, eh?!). To break the routine/rut of late (and hopefully break the funk), I went to the track and did some drills and ran some quarters. There's a whole lot of rust that needs to be busted; at least today was a start.
2. Go to exercise class for a big dose of sweat, movement, muscle, music, and friendship. It definitely takes one's mind off one's troubles.
3. Stay after class with one of your buddies and shoot hoops. Ahhhh, now you're talkin'!
4. Run back home (good) and make a hot bowl of soup for a cold almost-winter's day (good) and get interrupted by the painter who's coming to paint your house tomorrow (bad).
5. Chow down on luke warm soup and sit down at the computer to work (not helping!).
6. Jazz things up by adding some Baileys to that first cup of coffee you're just getting around to drinking. Yeah!
7. Go back and forth on whether or not to go to class and decide, yes, it would be good to get out of the house...and yes it was.
8. Being the first cold snowy day of the season, put on your spanky (almost) new hat. Now that is what absolutely turned the tide. It's just not possible to wear that hat without smiling.

And now we have a de-funked de-grumped kind of day!

Addicted? Apparently so!

Phil, Joe, and AndyE near this morning's turnaround point
my phone camera leaves much to be desired...

October, as mentioned previously, was a very low-mileage month for me. Today, I burst out of that mode ...somewhat unintentionally. The plan was to meet up with the satboys gang at Coal Creek Golf Course where Joe would lead us out onto a new trail. Joe is famously navigationally challenged, but he had already thoroughly explored this trail plus we all knew roughly where it was so we had a high degree of confidence that we'd find our way there and back. And, when we were deciding on the plan for the day, Joe gave us options of a 6 mile out/back or a 7.5 mile lollipop loop; we chose the 6-mile option. To that 6-mile option, I added roughly 8 miles by running to the rendezvous point from home.

After arriving at the golf course and taking a boat-load of ribbing for all my blinky lights and reflective gear (at least I arrived unflattened after having left home at o-dark-thirty and running on high-traffic thoroughfares!) we set out to find this new trail on a glorious balmy autumn day. We first followed a familiar trail along a creek through a bit of town and into a quiet valley where we arrived at the new trail. Up and up, zigging and zagging we went across high dessert prairie and lo and behold, what a view opened up in front of us - the Continental Divide with snow-covered peaks hovering over the flatirons and foothills. Stunning....and just exactly what I wanted to be doing this morning...running, smiling, wind in my face, friends by my side. Perfect!

And, oh yeah, that 3 miles out/3 miles back? Not unless it took us 47 minutes to run 3 miles. Joe is no longer in charge of distance - in addition to directions. But it was a most excellent not-six-miles!

So why did I title this "Addicted? Apparently so!" ? I arrived back home in the best mood I've been in in ages...singing, laughing, dancing around the house. Yep yep, give me a long morning run any day!

Wow do I have a lot of catching up to do!

Four months since I've posted. Terrible!

So, what's new? Well, starting with the most current:

Halloween! Finally we have a porch with a stoop wide enough for trick or treaters. That was one September-October project that kept us entertained! A new bay window, a west- (mountains) facing window where there was a wall, in addition to the new front porch were all part of the project. We're loving the result!







As for recent running, October was a rather puny month. Great autumn weather, lovely trails beckoning, but I just did not seem to be in the mood. Perhaps because of travel interruptions, perhaps because of dark cold mornings, perhaps because of achy body parts, perhaps because of taking on actual paid work (perhaps I'm allergic?). Who knows. But my October total mileage is almost 30% lower than my next lowest mileage month of 2010. This morning, as I put on my gear, I was debating where to run. I toyed with the idea of running with Jester, which would have guaranteed a run no longer than 20-30 minutes (he's gettin' old). I rejected that idea (perhaps the tide is turning), and decided to go out the door and head west and see what happened. A few minutes into the run, my brain took over my body, and trails were before me.

Over to NIST I headed, up Skunk Canyon - my most favorite autumn trail. It is well past prime color season but still delightful. I ran up Skunk to the Mesa Trail then over to Bear Canyon Road, and back out into the neighborhoods for a quick visit with son Paul, then back home. My achy body parts are still talking to me, but my head sure is happy!

Now backing up for a quick review of summer and autumn highlights:











Corinne came for a Fourth of July weekend visit with Devon. Great weather, great hiking!

We had great success with cherry trees this summer.
Enough cherries for 5 pies and 2 crisps. We froze most of the cherries, but had to have at least one fresh-from-the-tree homemade cherry pie. Yum!





Summer included a road trip to Oregon with stops along the way to:

- the Golden Spike National Historic Site...way cool
,









- and a Diners Drive-ins and Dives restaurant in Boise:
Pizzalchik where we feasted on a most excellent meal of, yes, pizza and salad (but no chicken...this time. If we ever find ourselves in Idaho again we are making the trip to Boise just to get another meal at Pizzalchik.)




Then it was on to Oregon and a wonderful visit with Kendall's sister Cheryl.




The highlight of the past month was my mom's 90th birthday. We went back to Petoskey and threw her a party including a surprise visit from her baby brother (a youngster at 87). Mom is inspiring with her high energy and wonderful friendships. A great time was had by all!

What to give a grad

So there's Paul, new graduate from Knox College, and the boy who seldom asks for anything. What do you give a fella who had such a stellar college career? Well, Kendall and I settled on a droid seeing as how math & science dudes seem to like their gadgets. And I've got to admit, it was pretty fun to have the magic box along during the road trip to/from Galesburg/Petoskey and back home to Boulder.

But, being a mom, I really wanted to give him something from the heart. I had given this plenty of thought over the past year and had decided on a quilt. And not just any quilt, but a quilt made from t-shirts we collected during the run, one from each state plus an extra for Boulder, Petoskey, and Wisconsin (which took an awfully long time to run through). Problem was, I barely know how to sew, and am clueless about quilting. So! Sister-in-law Kitty to the rescue.


I showed her the design I had in mind:
t-shirts laid out roughly in the shape of the route, the bandanna I carried with me every step of the way laid out as Lake Michigan, and two digital pictures on cloth, one of me and Paul when I first saw the Michigan state line, and the other of the route map with markers for each days' end point. Kitty put that all together and added many more great touches...footprints stitched in, great lay out of the t-shirts, highlight stitching on the map... Absolutely fabulous.




Absolutely a gift from the heart for the fella who gave me his heart, soul, and energy throughout The Run.











Pictures:
top - Paul taking pictures with his droid at his Boulder graduation party.
middle - me and Kitty watching Paul opening his quilt.
bottom left - showing the quilt at the graduation party.
bottom right - the quilt about to be laid on Paul's bed.

Big days in Illinois and Michigan

We've just returned to Colorado from one more road trip to the midwest, this trip highlighted by two grand events:

The most momentous event was Knox College's 2010 Commencement where our son Paul graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Math & Physics - a very proud day for the family! The next phase of his life brings Paul back to Boulder where he'll pursue a PhD in Applied Math at the University of Colorado. The entire VaughanMiller family will be back in Boulder again. Woohoo!

Next up on the road trip: Kendall's birthday,

celebrated during our post-graduation visit to Petoskey.

'Twas a lovely day which started with coffee and friends at our favorite coffee spot (Roast & Toast in Petoskey), followed by lunch out at Leggs Inn, a most excellent and unique Polish restaurant in Cross Village, and capped off with an evening stroll along Petoskey's waterfront.

Now we're back in Boulder where it seems extraordinarily damp - like much of the plains we drove through. Our garden is flourishing, our dog is wriggling all over, our elder son is happy to have company (so happy he had dinner waiting for us when we drove up!), and the trails are calling to me...mud and all.

A two-month review

My goodness, it's been a while since I've posted! Here's a quick (well, sort of quick) synopsis of the last couple of months:

The entire Prairie Spirit Trail run was wonderful.
It scratched the itch I had for multi-day long quiet runs.
It also heightened my desire to work through the list of Rail Trails.
So many marvelous miles, so little time!



Through April and into May, I had the privilege and joy of coaching a girls running club at Kendall's elementary school. What a fantastic group! And what a fantastic community to be coaching in. I cold-called a number of athletes in the area to invite them to join us and had an overwhelming positive response: Sara Slattery, Colleen DeReuck, Coach Ceal Barry - and my running buddies (to show that friendship is also a benefit of running in addition to fitness) all helped out with the young runners. It was such a successful experience, Kendall (the school's librarian) and I will be doing a Running and Reading Club this summer.

The girls jumping with their new shoes - donated by Mark Plaatjes & Boulder Running Company

May also saw two family celebrations. One of my cousins came to visit (a rare occurrence for our midwest oriented family). In fact, she had the honor of christening our newly remodeled guest room. She also was the official courier for delivering the gift from that branch of the family to my brother in celebration of his 60th birthday. And that was the second of the family celebrations. Yes, my brother turned 60. And to do it up right, his birthday party was a Vaughan + Miller talent show - which turned out to be one of the most fun parties we've ever hosted. Talent ranged from story telling to comedy to magic tricks to dancing, fiddling, guitar playing (with yodeling!), and singing. A fabulous afternoon!

Great niece Kira, me, my brother Dave, and my son Devon doing the twist at Dave's 60th bday party

May's finale' was the Bolder Boulder with many family and friends running followed by Memorial Day tributes and elite athlete race finishes in the stadium...one of the best community events I've ever experienced. Icing on the cake: I beat my age in the 10k. A good day.

Now June is here. AND PAUL'S COLLEGE GRADUATION!!!! Yes, tomorrow we leave for Knox College, Paul graduates on Saturday, we head up to Petoskey on Sunday, return to Knox on Friday so Paul can go to a friend's wedding, then it's back to Boulder and summertime in the Rockies - with our entire family here to enjoy it. Weeehaww!!!

Prairie Spirit perfect running

Prairie Spirit Trail, Princeton trail head, ready for the rain and runnin' toward Richmond

Well...I'm not a perfect runner, but it sure was a perfect running day today. Soft smooth trail, lightly wooded on either side, the occasional cow, the sound of chirping birds and ribbiting frogs, cloud cover, every now and then a bit of drizzle, cool temps but warm enough for shorts. Just fantastic.

Given these primo running conditions and the forecast for heavy rain later in the day and on into tomorrow, and since I had gotten a three mile headstart on the trail with yesterday's early evening run, I added a little extra today. The first bit was from Ottawa to Princeton with a light hum from the highway traffic one-half mile to the east, and all other sound just frogs and birds. Clouds above, fields to the left and right, and trail ahead. Charge!

As I ran into Princeton, the rain picked up so I hopped into waiting Hedwig and donned raincoat, gloves & hat, hopped back out, realized the rain had let up again, and continued happily down the trail, destination Richmond. Still a delightful run - but getting hungry and was very pleased to see Hedwig waiting at the Richmond trail head. Hopped in, got a banana, and decided, yup, I've got more miles in me so hopped back out for the final stretch of the day: Richmond to Garnett.

This one's for Joe - it's me trying to click my heels as I run toward the Richmond trail head.
Joe's way WAY better at clicking his heels...
my heels seem completely incapable of finding each other much less clicking.

Kendall and Jester met me a couple miles south of Richmond and we walked along the trail together for a few minutes before he drove off to check on campgrounds while I finished the stretch to Garnett. This bit of the run was absolutely marvelous. Away from the highway so no more car noise, just the frogs and birds and lots more trees, creeks and rivers. Really a lovely way to wrap up the twenty-mile day!

Garnett courthouse - in the center of a classic town square.
Good walking for shaking the miles out of my legs.

Getting acquainted with the Prairie Spirit Trail

pj & Jester at the Prairie Spirit trailhead marker, Ottawa, Kansas

Hedwig (and Kendall, Jester dog, & I) rolled into Ottawa, Kansas today with enough light - and glorious weather - for me to run the first few miles of the Prairie Spirit Trail. 'Twas just a taste - but quite delectable!

...and the run begins...

pjv heading south from the Prairie Spirit trailhead
Ottawa, Kansas, March 23, 2010

Surprise in the concrete city

Saline Wetlands at sunrise, Lincoln, Nebraska

We spent the night in Lincoln, Nebraska and when I headed out for my run it was right onto a concrete road, concrete sidewalks, and a neighborhood built on concrete. But that neighborhood bordered on a wetlands so I kept my eyes peeled for a gap in the houses that might lead away from all that concrete. Sure enough, as I got to the far end of the neighborhood I spotted a faint set of tire tracks. That was all the encouragement I needed. I followed the tracks, picked my way through some tall grasses and onto a two track which circled all around the Saline Wetlands that have been preserved right in the city of Lincoln. Birds chirping, sun rising - a lovely way to start the day!

Lincoln Highway in the spring time

Lincoln Highway, trains, autos, cattle, corn fields, and a very happy runner

While the fellas ate lunch at Ole's in Paxton, Nebraska, I treated myself to another run along the Lincoln Highway. Today's run was under a warm sun, with cows grazing in corn fields still dotted with last year's husks. The road was as quiet as I remembered it, drivers waving as they went by giving me plenty of room along the generous shoulder. I even got a "toot toot" out of the passing train. Only seven miles rather than 30...but seven very delightful miles along one of my most favorite roads from the run to Michigan!

First day of spring

A "challenging" morning run today. A fresh foot of snow covering the ground and trees, ice covering the roads - but we've got blue sky, sunshine, and crystalline glow filling the air now.
Spring has sprung!

Look at this!

See that?! That trail?! That trail with NO SNOW!!!!!!!

That's what I got to run on today. Me and many other folks and dogs,
running, walking, splashing through the mud, smiling, and calling out cheery hellos every one!
Spring: 17 days to go, and counting!