Give and Gobble

One of the things that we have noticed since moving to the PNW is all the work that is done for food banks. Our local one is FISH which is right down the street from us. Aleene volunteers there a half day on Monday. I have helped pick up cardboard and even made a trip to pick up food in a truck with a friend, which they do weekly. They will occasionally call to have me run over to help unload a truck or two. But that is not why I am writing, today.

Aleene saw the advertisement for the G 'n G event in our neighboring Sherwood. It was a 3/6 K run or walk. There was a relatively hefty registration, but to get a Tee you had to bring a sack of dry food. Since we were not celebrating Tgiving until Friday, we decided to get up early and take part.

Gotta tell you it was cold this morning; about 35 with a stiff east wind. That is an indication of two things: clear skies and cold temps (hot in the summer). We drove the eight miles to Sherwood High and got ourselves registered even though we were pre-registered...early. We had some spare time and so tried to wait in the rising sun. There were two arcs on the football field, so we dove out there to soak up some rays.

SHS has synthetic turf and (like Newberg HS) a covered stadium. It was the nicest artificial turf field I have been on, which is not saying much because I have not walked on many. It was smooth and cushion-like. It just made you want to run really fast.

We did our 5K walk in about 50 minutes, which for us was really quite good. We trucked along up and down hills around streets and through the woods on a paved walking path that got a little hairy when the 10K runners were passing through. But it was fun. Afterward we went to Shari's for breakfast and then home in time to watch the Lions get whipped...just like I remember so many times before.

This afternoon we did yard work (leaves and lawn for me and rose bush trimming for Aleene) and are now watching Dallas whoop the Jets. Aleene is baking pies for tomorrow...I am guessing now, but there will be a pecan for Bren and pumpkin for tradition.

Incidentally, there were several hundred people out this morning and they had a cornucopia of food donated. Not sure why food banks are so pervasive here, but they are and we like to support them.