Typical Monday morning

I did not get out for a run this weekend mainly due to other commitments like shopping, cleaning and so on. (Had to tackle the horror that is the boys' bathroom as my father-in-law is coming to stay this Saturday and he will have to share it with them.) We did manage to have a nice long walk all together yesterday, stomping across the frosty fields with the boys jumping on the frozen puddles and trying to scrape the frost together to make a snowball.

I was feeling sufficiently guilty about the lack of running however that last night I made husband promise to physically turf me out of bed this morning to go for a run. And he did. At 6am. He's just too damn efficient for his own good!

So, I struggled into several layers of clothes, including a fleece that will zip up to my nose if I need it to. Did you know it was COLD this morning? Minus 6 outside our house. It was however really nice to be out in the frosty dark with no-one else around. Gave me a satisfyingly smug feeling. I had no feeling in my face and fingers to start with, but after about 5 minutes I warmed up nicely and even the fingers (I can't run wearing gloves, it just feels odd) defrosted. I saw absolutely no-one else out and about and even the wildlife seemed to have decided to stay in bed. I ran about 3.5km in about 27 minutes, taking things fairly easily as I wasn't sure how slippery it was going to be underfoot. It was actually fine as what we had was a thick white frost rather than ice and it didn't seem to be too treacherous. The weather has been sufficiently weird this year that there were loads of gardens with flowers out, completely coated in frost. We even saw daisies in the grass yesterday, preserved in ice!

As I got back to the house I was eyeing up the car, which was coated with frost, and mentally calculating how long it was going to take me to scrape it off and get it ready for the drive to school and work. As it happens I needn't have worried. It wouldn't start anyway. When I turned the ignition I just got a sort of n-n-n-n-no way noise. Engine wouldn't even fire. I am hoping it was just the long cold night causing the diesel to freeze up and that it will be okay by tonight. Anyway, the boys and I had to call a taxi.

Second Born was actually quite pleased about that. He had been saying yesterday that despite having reached the grand old age of 7, he had never been in a taxi. I am now wondering if he has sabotaged the car just to get a go in a cab! Whatever the cause, it has confirmed to me that the boys need to get their bikes and scooters and assorted junk out of the garage and into their shed so we can get the car in there! A job for Wednesday when school finishes up, methinks. Bet that will go down well!

EDITED FOR THE BENEFIT OF MY HUSBAND: Okay, you're TOO damn efficient, not "to damn efficient". Happy now? (You're still damn efficient!)