Even stranger, again

For the third week in a row, this week has been stranger than the one before it.

On Monday, I had to drive up to Layton to take my niece to a driving test, then head back down to NSL for a dentist appointment (a risky business these days), then back to Layton to pick her up.

That evening I ran to Ensign Peak from my house, which I haven't done since September. It was 9.3 miles, with an overall climb of 1600 feet. It really makes me happy that not only can I run up and down hills for nine miles, it's not too difficult for me, and in fact I enjoy it! I saw the first springbeauties of the season.

 Right above Ensign Peak is a very steep hill that I have to descend and then ascend again. I was happy that I was able to run up it without stopping—the first time I was able to do so! (I usually stop to drink water and catch my breath.)

One of my goals for 2020 was to do something social in connection with every holiday. But that didn't work out for St. Patrick's Day, and it might not work out for Easter as well. It was a relatively boring St. Patrick's Day. I made corned beef and cabbage. That was something we never had when I was growing up, but I've been making it every year since 2015, and I really look forward to it.

 I also made Irish soda bread.

 But few people got to see me dressed in green from head to toe: glasses, shirt, belt, pants, socks, and shoes. I raked pine needles in the front yard and then went on a walk with my family in the evening. (I also wore a green shirt on my run that day, my first Wild Rose run of the season, but I wasn't dressed head to toe in green.)

Over the course of several nights, I dreamed that:

• I woke up to find myself covered in temporary tattoos, and I wondered who had put them on me and how they did it without waking me up
• I was put in jail for a very minor crime, and another woman was put in jail for carrying cupcakes in a nonpublic part of the jail, which wasn't even a crime
• I stole a handful of meth from an abusive father, then threw it in his neighbor's trash can
• I put chocolate milk on my cereal, then put ten Peeps on top

So on Wednesday morning, when the house was shaking, I knew immediately it was an earthquake, but I didn't know whether I was dreaming or not. I darted out of bed to get in my doorframe, while Jimmy (who was sleeping on the floor) darted under my bed. Having minored in geology, I probably know more than the average person about the science behind earthquakes, but I was really clueless about what to do in an earthquake. Do I go outside in case this was a foreshock? Is the house safe now?

I went to the doorframe because I had always been taught that's where you should go. Then I learned that was a myth. But in my defense, that probably was the best spot in my room, because that's where stuff was least likely to fall on me. Ten years ago, they said you should crouch next to furniture, then things that fell would lean against the furniture and create a safe triangle next to the furniture. But I always thought that was a dumb idea, because it only worked for things that were big enough to hit the edge of the furniture.

The earthquake combined with the quarantine certainly made Wednesday feel weird, but it wasn't the only thing. My mom called someone to make sure they were doing all right from the earthquake, and they hung up on her! Then I found that that family had a truck parked entirely on the sidewalk, even though there was lots of room in the driveway. Jerk family!

Then I ran to Wild Rose, and there were some boys (preteens, I'm guessing) playing off on the side of the trail, and they had a dog off leash. The dog came up to me and barked. Six months ago, I was bit by a leashed dog, so you must understand my fears. As I ran past the kids, I muttered, "I hate dogs!" And then I heard one of them say, "I hate runners!" I kind of felt like a childish jerk for my reaction. However, I think I am 100 percent justified in my annoyance at the dog.

I passionately abhor dogs. That was not the only dog incident that week. I had many other unleashed dogs follow me or get in my way. As I ran past the park, I saw one family holding their dog in their arms, while another person's dog was jumping up at it. The owner kept calling for her dog, but it wouldn't listen. People! If you can't control your dog, keep it on a leash! Sheesh! There are individual dogs I like, but so many people are irresponsible that I hate dogs collectively. They are the worst.

Of course, I adore Jimmy, and I know that's how dog owners feel about their pets. But I don't take Jimmy out in public and expect everyone else to love him and ignore his faults.

My repaired laptop arrived this week, and Jimmy liked sitting on it.

Thursday and Friday were rainy, so no running for me. I still haven't lost the weight I gained at Christmastime, so I've been trying to eat more breath mints and gum rather than snacks. And it's been better than I expected.

On Saturday, I ran to all the radio towers again, eight miles round trip. That was the busiest I had ever seen the trail. Between quarantine and the start of spring, everyone is desperate to get outside.

Then we had an unexpected development. Since my California nephews are under quarantine as well, we all figured it would be better for us to be quarantined together. They live in a tiny little apartment. So yesterday my brother and his family drove here! They came for Christmas, and we didn't expect to see them again until summer. But this pandemic has changed everything, and not everything is bad.

I heard that some people are putting up Christmas decorations for the virus. But it is already Eastertime, and Easter is a wonderful time of year. Why replace something wonderful? Or you could also put up coronavirus decorations.