Springtime: melting, girl guide walk/run, accessorizing, new snow, record cold

I can't remember whether I mentioned this on a previous blog post, but for Christmas we decorated the trees in our front yard with ball ornaments. Before we could take them down, a windstorm blew them all off of the trees, and then a snowstorm covered them up. So, last week as the snow started to melt in earnest, little treasures started to emerge:

We came home Tuesday after work to a front lawn littered with Christmas balls

All week the snow melted. By Friday, snow only remained in completely shaded areas and spots where snow had been shoveled into big piles related to clearing paths and sidewalks. 

Maddy soaking up the sun

But then on Friday it got cold, and stayed cold on Saturday, and snow started to fall and accumulate while we were eating dinner tonight. Jeff checked the weather and it is supposed to be record-breaking cold tonight. Spring in Saskatchewan.

On Saturday morning the temperature was hovering around freezing, and it was lightly raining. Despite the miserable weather, we got up early and headed out to a run/walk benefiting Girl Guides (the Canadian version of Girl Scouts) in Saskatchewan. With frozen fingers inside gloves and even more frozen faces as we walked head on into wind gusting at 40 km/h, we bravely weathered the 3 km journey. I walked with my new walker, and in the last 500 m I did two short bursts of jogging, the last one across the finish line. I think that in the future, in nicer weather, I will be able to do slightly longer distances, perhaps slightly faster, with more bursts of jogging.

This afternoon I participated in an "accessories exchange" with the newcomers club. I brought a couple of pairs of earrings that I've had for a long time but have never worn, and a purse that I never use, and everyone else also brought various accessories: scarves, jewelry, hats, and other miscellany. All the goods were laid out on tables, and we took turns "shopping" for one item at a time. There was not much there that was really my style. Lots of people brought what seemed to me like enormous earrings and necklaces, and very flashy scarves. So one of the items I ended up going home with was this hat:

It is made of hemp and recycled plastic, and although it is not the most fashionable hat in the world, it spoke to me somehow. Also, it is relatively warm, and given the current weather might be an appropriate new spring hat :-)