As I start this post in the morning darkness of the winter solstice, I have just cut a large Yule Log (the reason for the season?), and I am eagerly awaiting today’s very limited appearance from the sun before heading into the woods to burn some incense and get freaky with a nymphomanic Yule Goddess in celebration of longer days returning.
Or perhaps I will just get 4 to 5 miles of hiking in my feets before preparing for Winter Storm Elliot Smith to arrive.
In other—slightly less Pagan—news, I hit the 3-month mark of my 2022 Not Dead Yet Comeback Special on Monday and officially have 338.68 miles of woodsy walking in my legs, averaging 3.98 miles per hike.
[EDIT: 347.07 miles/3.99 miles per hike avg. as of 4:56 PM this evening].
Frozen tips.
I’m oddly surprised with how my body has adapted to hiking/woodsy walking, and I have seen drastic improvements in long-time overuse/improper bike fit injuries I picked up via 25+ years of cycling; hip flexor, lower back, elbows, wrists, and neck pain and/or mobility have all improved, along with just feeling mentally and physically better than I have in a couple years.
The Mighty Chip in the rain.
I still have not answered the whats and whys of the Comeback Special, nor do I know how it all ends. But just like the near-daily post-work rides I did for years, I am enjoying the routine and being outside in the sun, rain, wind, snow, and mud rather than in the House of Body Dysmorphia, walking miles to nowhere.
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I do know that I have no plans to quit anytime soon and plan to extend the Comeback Special into a full-on, yet-to-be-named tour in 2023.
Trail find.
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Snow fleas found.
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Lastly, WE’RE STAYING IN MICHIGAN FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!
No, nothing to do with the coming blizzard, although it would have caused us to abort for sure; it was dog issues again.
Lola had her flu shots for staying at the Bed & Biscuit, but the 2-week post-shot waiting period extends beyond the holiday, and Jake (the dog) is at a stage where he can be “problematic” unless the kennel is also a veterinarian which can attend to his Jake-ness. So, we’re here; cha-cha-cha.
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It hasn’t really sunk in yet, and I don’t know how I’ll react to the holiday without driving 14 hours round trip to sit at a dinner table listening to gems like this at the dinner table:
Sister: “Do you guys like the ham?”
Everyone: “Yeah, it’s really good, thanks!”
My Dad: “You know, these [insert racial/bigoted slur of your choice here] complaining about [insert legit human rights violation here].
Me: *Giving Wifey the “NEVER A-FUCKING-GAIN!!” look*
Time to fire up the Yule Log and find my incense.
Later.
THE SOILED SOUNDS TRACK OF THE POST
We’re celebrating the winter solstice, getting pagan and shit, and returning to some stoner rock-metal today with Wo Fat and the track The Snows of Banquo IV.
Wo Fat is another one of those bands I just started listening to a year or so ago as I dipped my toes back into metal. I have to say I’ve been diggin’ them, especially this album! Usually, a band’s albums tend to get a bit more “meh” as they mature, not Wo Fat. Great stoner metal to paint your Warhammer figures to. OR drink a beer and watch soccer highlights on the night of the year.
Me: Girl, listen to this song [plays The Snows of Banquo IV on the hi-fi at high volume]
“Remote Mining outpost, backwater planet
Cyclopean relic found, alien symbols on it”
Wifey: I’m out. Enjoy your aliens. [walks upstairs]