An offering and a treat.

We had some friends over last night. When people come over Guinness gets really excited and shows off his toys and scarfs down his food...almost as if to show what is his and not anyone else's.
After the initial excitement wears off he then kind of hovers over everyone or lays down in the middle of the group {under the dining table, for example} and just waits for something exciting to happen to him. 
He must have felt neglected last night because when I got out of bed this morning there was an offering/sign left for me. Our bed frame creates a sort of ridge/edge and on it I found one of what I thought was Guinness' favorite things; his rawhide bone. He nurses one of these for about two weeks, slowly consuming it and getting gnarly little bits of it in his beard but perhaps this morning's show was his way of expressing that even his bone can't make him happy when there's a whole apartment full of people not.paying.attention.to.him.

"You can have it."

Poor guy. He's getting plenty of loving today and with my mother coming to visit for two weeks starting tomorrow night he is going to be living high off the hog.
In other news, we discovered a new tasty treat. I ventured off the beaten gastric path at Trader Joe's yesterday and came home with a new find.
I had a couple last night and wasn't feeling thrilled but...tonight! Tonight, my friends, is a different story; they're delicious! Albeit quite sweet with an almost weird flavor to them. But I'm enjoying.

In my last bit of news for this Sunday, I am cautiously ecstatic; I ran FIVE miles this morning. I hadn't run that long since December of last year. Nine months later I'm kind of building up my IT band strength. Yikes. Is this what getting older has to bring?
If so, I'd like to un-check that box on the agreement form! 

But truly, even though I'm staying steady at three miles most days, getting up to five today was a thrill and a pleasure. I'm a bit slower than I used to be and though I know I could go faster {the kick is definitely still there}, the speed seems to aggravate my little-yet-persistent pain. During my miles I meandered through the tony Georgetown neighborhood and absolutely marveled at the quaint brick sidewalks and the ancient {by "new world" standards...or at least to a California girl} homes all the while enjoying the BEAUTIFUL late summer/almost fall weather. It was warm but cool, I wasn't dripping sweat, people were out and about, and it was SO apparent to me what I love about running and I really hope and pray that this five-miler can turn into a daily occurrence and that I can get back to running half and full marathons.
xoxo, natty ♥