Day 1 (the beginning)

The first day of the new year, the new decade, a year full of ambitious hopes and desires after 2009 left many of my friends and family exhausted, sickened, brokenhearted, poorer, etc. etc.

The Run
Woke up late, about 10.45, so didn't run until about noon or so.  Running is very new to me. Having been an asthmatic all my life, I never thought I would be able to run, in fact, couldn't run, but about 3 months ago I decided to try, and have built up my stamina from running 60 steps then walking 20, to the point where now I can run for 2.5km (1.6 miles), sometimes longer, without stopping.

My daughter is visiting so she and I have been running a few circuits each day of her stay, putting in my regular distance, but with much more laughter than when I am on my own.  My circuit is a meadow and part of a dirt road behind our house, like a cross-country course, I suppose. I have my own Heartbreak Hill, as in the Boston Marathon, which is followed by Refridgerator Corner, with its own personal wind-chill factor, and then we come up to Smelly-Side, near where an animal must have perished fairly recently. 

There was a snowfall of about 2 inches yesterday, so this can make the going a bit more difficult.  My husband came out to try to photograph a small kestrel or sharp-shinned hawk that I had seen chasing what looked like a flock of tufted titmouses (titmice?) and took this picture of me and my crazy black dog Molly.

Now to the creative side of my resolution, the self-portrait.

While everyone else watched the movie "Up" which I have seen already, I went to the upstairs bathroom, which has light in which I look quite good to myself.  I listened to the radio while I drew the portrait, and an hour went by very quickly and pleasantly.  I used a charcoal pencil which I had forgotten I had, and then rubbed a bit with my thumb, although I am always rather loath to do that, having been forbidden to do such things by a very influential and domineering lecturer at art school.  My family liked the portrait and I was quite pleased with it myself.