Ausable Beach Vacation

Schools in the area are delayed and closed because of the nasty weather conditions today. Right about now you might be looking out your window through a thin sheet of ice and day dreaming about a southern getaway. Is this the location of the beach vacation you are imagining?

No? Well, maybe if you squint, you can change the snowy river into white waves and those snow banks, turn them into white sand dunes.

If this dreamy, beach location on "Lake Everest" is for you, you are in luck! The Owaissa Club, the future home of an Ausable beach front community is busy building you that townhouse just a quick walk from the shores of the West Branch of the Ausable River.

If you are so inclined to invest in this opportunity, please let me know. I'll bring over my bathing suit and a pitcher of margaritas!

Oh, to the Oval I go!

The day started off just like all the others with the alarm going off at 6:30 am, the thermometer was in the single digits and it was snowing outside, so I opted out of my morning run and watched something on hulu instead. This pattern is bad for someone that is supposed to be in marathon training.

I decided I'd pack my running things and run after work around Mirror Lake a couple times. As it turned out, I spent too much time watching internet tv and did not pack a couple crucial layers to do this. I figured I'd compromise and run around the 1980 rink. Fail. The ipod didn't want to work and there was no way I was going to torture myself with that kind of boredom.

As I ran past the windows of the mezzanine, I looked down at the speed skating oval and knew that I could join my friend Ann for some laps. Faster than I had run in months, I darted out of the building and ran down to the Lake Placid Skate Shop to grab some speed skates.

Linda was so helpful, she had the skates ready for me before I could even tell her my size! She could tell I was a little nervous because I had only been on speed skates once before. Luckily, the first person I ran into was her daughter and so she skated a couple laps with my friend Ann and I, giving me pointers along the way.

Honestly, I should be ashamed of myself that I had not done this sooner in the season. The night was gorgeous and the ice was perfect for my beginner's glide. It is so sad to think how quickly Mother Nature might change that surface tomorrow.

Having been a figure skater, it took me awhile to adjust to the blades and find my center of balance. Once I got a little bit better and my feet weren't shaking, the distance runner in me kicked in and I started mentally calculating laps and counting miles. This was way more fun than running around an indoor ice rink.

I've been known to say that if I had been introduced to speed skating as a teenager after giving up figure skating and turning to track that "I could have been a contender." A legend in my own mind I suppose, but tonight I skated on the same rink as the real "Legends of the Oval."

Snowy Gargoyles

The snow banks surrounding the Gargoyles are high and threaten to bury them, but have no fear that they haven't been forgotten and have been getting plowed out.

Bragging About Pacman and Inspiration

Back in the day I worked in Boston with a very creative gal. Sometimes on lunch breaks she'd drag me around the city to show me interesting architecture, obsolete T stops or parade me to Chinatown for awesome food. I always admired her excitement over the little things in life and was so glad she befriended me. She is a true original and her blog This Is Framingham was the inspiration behind starting my Along the Ausable blog.

Recently, we have reconnected and she still amazes me. She has become quite the baker and has been sending me tasty treats in the mail. Wanting to do something for her, I thought I'd knit. She's a lover of all things retro and has a long lasting love of pac man. So, I went ahead and pieced together a few patterns I found online at ravelry, graphed it out and started knitting a headband she could wear while training for the Boston marathon.

Since my last knitter's night was cancelled due to the snow storm, I wasn't able to "brag" about my latest project. Every time we meet, the ladies come in and "show off" their completed projects. Finally, I had something to show off and the snow stopped me. So, here I am bragging all over the world wide web over the pac man headband I sent to my friend.

pac man side

ghost side

I've had word that pacman and the ghosties traveled safely from the post office along the Ausable all the way to Framingham and a certain role model of mine was nicely surprised.

Lilac Morning

in just a few short months, the lilacs will be blooming...