LATE AFTERNOON RUN, JANUARY 5 2007

Here I am out for the late afternoon run, about a mile and a half east of Ellendale. For today's four-mile run, I took my rather bulky camera along, so it got bounced around a bit.

I enjoy running on the snow, as long as it's not more than a few inches deep. A week ago we had our first real snow of the season--about six inches. I was out running (six and a half miles) as soon as the snow stopped, which was at night. I had to wear my work boots because I did not want to get snow in with my socks. Also, I wore my Yak Traks, which are a sort of snow-tread device that fits around the soles of shoes. The next day I was back to my regular running shoes (an older pair), which were pretty well soaked when I got home.

Speed work is harder on snowy and icy surfaces. I don't particularly want to fall down. So far in my short running career, I have not fallen down.

EATING CHRISTMAS FOOD AND WEARING IT TOO

I learned something new at the Community dinner on Christmas day. I was chatting with someone about multi-use gifts. For example, a screwdriver that doubles as a pair of pliers, or a hat that unfurls into a rain poncho. I happened to ask if she had received anything of the sort. No, she said, not this time.

Then the conversation drifted to food items, which seem to be a major gift category at Christmas (at least in my house). I suggested that perhaps someone could invent a multi-use food item-- a gift that could be eaten and also worn. My friend said that there's nothing at all unusual about eating something and wearing it. In fact, she said, we do it all the time.

I wonder. How long will we be wearing the food we ate this Christmas? Talk about a multi-use gift! And one that keeps on giving!

MY NEW BLOG

It's Christmas day, 2006. The temperature is about 36 degrees Fahrenheit, and the sun is shining. The gifts are unwrapped, and the family seems happy. In another hour we will be at the community center to help serve meals to the old folks. I'm here at the iMac getting ready to post my first blog on this new account. I'm calling it "Prairie Roads."

I got a Gmail blog account last summer. I used it once. This time I hope to do more. There's no lack of things to write about. The question is, why do it? This time I have a reason. I just read a book and the author says I can get a free copy if I review it on my blog and at Amazon.com. That makes sense, right? I buy the book, read it, review, and then get another copy. OK. Then I sell the original copy? Well, OK.