Where the sidewalk ends

Hello friends.
We had a nice weekend and kicked off our many holiday parties. 

Friday night we hosted a little Christmas get together.

We even got a real tree this year that we are enjoying immensely.

Neil was in charge of the tree gettin' this year and he called asking me if I wanted

"the big one or the small one?"

He came home with the "small" one. It's taller than him.
He was on his way to exams in this picture...

Saturday, the girls headed out to Blenheim Palace.

Birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.

It was the last weekend the Palace would be open until after Christmas.

So while the guys were busy studying for exams, we weren't having any fun at all...

Image via my friend Meg.  

image via my friend Meg

Looking a little more civilized.

Then Sunday I took another little trip out of town for a 10k race.

It was a great experience, but I found myself in somewhat of a pickle...
The only way to get to Chesterton was to take the bus,
and then walk 2 miles to the start of the race.
Which is fine in theory, but in reality it didn't work out so seamlessly.
I made it to Chesterton and started walking...
Everything was going fine until I reached a point where the sidewalk literally ended.
So my only option was to either keep walking in hopes of the sidewalk picking up again, soon.
Or turn back and miss the race.
I should mention that this particular road was tree lined without medians.
As in, the sidewalk ends and the only place to walk is IN the road.

Imagine something like this but the trees on the right side were on both sides.

I kept walking (you may be questioning my judgement right about now).
Country roads don't have much traffic, right? Wrong.
Cars were flying around corners and giving me just enough wiggle room.
I was flapping my arms trying to create enough movement for cars to see me
without crossing that fine line of looking like a crazy person in
danger needing someone to stop and help.
I know that if I were driving around a corner on a country road and saw me,
I would be thinking "what is this insane person doing just walking down this road?"

This continued for a good 1.5 miles.
Eventually the sidewalk started again and I made it to the race. Alive.
Adrenaline pumping.
I think google maps needs to add an option to check for sidewalks in England or add a disclaimer.
"Oh sure you can get to Chesterton from Oxford on the bus and then walk,
but beware for your life because there are no sidewalks!"

  I think this chic would've looked less crazy than I did.
Did I mention it was 0°C while I was on this adventure?
I won't even begin to tell you how I got home. But I did. Eventually.
And when I did, the couch was my spot for the next few hours.
 I was enjoying my small Christmas tree and drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows.
~
Hope you are all having a great week!