Washing Up

Washing up is a pain in the butt with kids.  Obviously there is twice as much of it but most of it seems to be plastic.  The plastic stuff floats on the top and makes a bid for freedom, out of the bowl and into the sink, at every opportunity.  The plastic stuff loves to be greasy even when its clean it feels greasy thus wasting more time working out if the damned thing is clean or not. The plastic stuff gets stained and microwave etched thus making it even more difficult to work out if it is clean or not. Before kids the bit of the bowl, plate, spoon etc that really needed cleaning was the concaved bit, you know the bit where an adult would put the food. Kids put the food everywhere so now washing up is like, well you might as well chuck it all on the drive and get the pressure washer out.  I hate plastic. Just give them regular crockery and cutlery, if it breaks then they learnt something.

Posted via web from visionset's posterous

Run in the Snow

Managed to get in a 6½ mile run before dark. Running in all this snow is just the best! Running shoes stay dry (and clean!). Defying the bone chilling cold, though a balmy -1°C this afternoon. And it makes the hills even more interesting, though the times less than impressive. You feel like you've stolen a precious moment...
I don't usually listen to anything when I run, I generally prefer all senses plugged in to the outdoors. Though lately I've been out with the iPod. Today's random selection:

• Kasabian - Stuntman
• The The - Sweet Bird of Truth
• Underworld - Tongue
• Radiohead - Faust Arp
• Arctic Monkeys - Still Take You Home
• Shriekback - Big Hush
• David Guetta - Always
• Arctic Monkeys - Red Light...
• Yello - She's Got a Gun
• Yellow Magic Orchestra - Cue
• Aleski Virta - Cosmos Bossa
• Killers - Glamorous...

Abney circuit in the snow

Lovely 15 mile walk along Froggatt, Padley, Millstone, Hathersage, Offerton Moor, Abney, Eyam Moor & Stoney Middleton. Lots of snow that just materialised in the space of a few hours. Whippet Charlie was struggling!

Plantation above Beech Hurst, Eyam

Revolting & miserable ride to Stone

Very cold ride with almost continuous rain. Lots of standing water meant that with nearly 8hrs in the saddle, everything was wet and at 2C with an 18mph headwind for the return leg, progress was slow and miserable.

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Ride to Thorne Cafe around Doncaster

A 125 mile northwards loop with a hilly out leg through the Notts mining villages and a sling-shot around Doncaster to Thorne Cafe - the very cheap and cheerful cyclist haven of Humberside. The return leg takes a very flat route south to Bawtry, Retford, Ollerton and Papplewick.

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