A morning in the life

7.32 AM - peek through one eye at my watch and discover that I've gone on to sleep 31 minutes since the alarm first sounded

7.47 AM - with a grumble towards Tischer because she again poached my bed after I fell asleep I coax her from the nook of my bent legs

7.49 AM - sliding snow pants on over my long johnnies I make my way down the stairs

7.50 AM - crank on the timer for the sauna and pull on my jacket while T waits at the front door

7.54 AM - round the snowbank at the top of E. Mucoy St and scan the ski run for any early skiers

8.16 AM - nuggets in her bowl, T sits patiently waiting for a kiss on the forehead

8. 31 AM - finished with a brief email session, I wrap a towel around my waist and swagger down to the ripe sauna with a cup of water

8.37 AM - good thoughts, relaxing breaths

8.44 AM - step from sauna into the changing room with an open door to the driveway for my first cooling rotation

8.45 AM - stand nude facing the world, which from this standpoint includes mostly piles of snow, trees, my driveway, and the rising steam from my body

9.09 AM - a cool shower getting warmer by the second.  maybe a little soap

9.14 AM - upstairs to my room I find Tischer back on my bed, asleep on my pillow.   I stand watching her and air dry, waiting for my cup of coffee to simmer down a bit

9.49 AM - wrapping up a more involved second session of emails, T and I again head for the front door

10.01 AM - finish shoveling the front steps from a nights worth of snow accumulation

10.36 AM - finish shoveling the "hallway" to the basement door, mostly through snow that has slid off the roof.  Tischer watches and/or chases a twig that she flings in the air by herself

10.37 AM - chase T around the driveway 

10.39 AM - check the temp on the front porch thermometer 

10.40 AM - step in the basement door, re-wax my skinny skis and lace up my nordic boots (at this point Tischer knows what is happening)

11.29 AM - push through some deep, untracked snow from the trail to the road behind the cabin after cross country skiing along the Crosstown Trail

11.45 AM - bring water to a rolling boil and dump in some pasta.  dig through the fridge for something to mix with the pasta while pondering a mug of eggnog, a Hamm's, or a jigger of whiskey.  It's never too early.  

Not in this life anyhow.