"Normal" being a relative term

Went for a five mile run this evening. That's become standard. About three miles into it, I thought, "when did five miles become routine?" I used to hover in the three mile range, and now that is the warmup. At three miles, I am finally loosened up, and feeling less tight than when I started.

I promised myself I'd run 70 miles in 4 weeks. 9 more to go, and four days left! Should hit it no problem. It's counterintuitive, really - the stiffer I get the more I know running will help. Sitting at a desk is no way to limber up, for sure.

In other news, I finally grabbed some of the photos that have been sitting on my camera. Various Christmas shots.





Here is NYC, at Columbus Circle. They changed colors, which was pretty fantastic, and quite mesmerizing...



Below is a house in Manchester with which we are fascinated. Is it tacky, or timeless? We've learned that the woman living here hand makes all of the costumes on these dolls (which move, by the way). We estimated about 100 dolls, spanning across two floors. When you walk by, carols start playing; there must be a sensor somewhere that picks up motion. What you can't really appreciate here is that this is one small section of a house decorated on all four sides. Heartily decorated, I might add.

At first we felt bad about taking pictures, but then we saw others doing the same, and felt less guilty. After all, would you put in all this effort if you didn't want to be seen?

We also saw a few people freely walking into their backyard to get a closer look at the gazebo decorated to look like the North Pole. I thought that might have crossed the line (the tourism; not the gazebo).

Now that we have seen their zeal for decorating, we can't wait to see what they do for other occasions!