and while it was beautiful out, the dogs left a lot to be desired, theirs barking at passing cyclists and faster walkers, our younger one losing his mind whenever he detected another dog, which was often. so it was stressful, and my heart rate was elevated pretty much the entire time: not from the pace, but from the stress. it was weirdly incongruous, the beautiful surroundings and having to be constantly vigilant, trying to anticipate when the dogs would be idiots so we could jump down a side trail to give everyone else (and there were a lot of others out today) a bit of peace.
but it was good to see our friends. and it was good to get out of the city for a bit, even just for the morning. we came back and gave the dogs a bath, and now have a nice garlic roast beef going in the oven, crusted in salt, pepper, oregano, and thyme. my partner made yorkshire puds before we started: we'll heat them up later, re-crisp them under the broiler. and in a few minutes, i'll start my side of things. peeling potatoes, cutting up the broccoli, getting the gravy ready.
we both agreed, this was the long weekend we needed. saturday we had thanksgiving with a couple other friends, and were kind of focused on that (we were bringing the baking). sunday i did a bunch of pre-winter yardwork, mowing the lawn, trimming back the irises, that sort of thing. but today, all we wanted to do was relax. and while that didn't happen (thanks, dogs!), we did enjoy the walk, got some nice pictures as couples and as a group, and in an hour or so i should have a plate full of roast beef dinner. that's a good way to spend a thanksgiving monday.