Prelude to Lent

So I've decided on a simple Lent activity: go for a walk, take a picture, and post it in blog. I decided to go ahead and start it today even though Lent doesn't officially start until tomorrow. I did go on a walk Sunday but didn't take a picture and was feeling really under the weather yesterday so the real start is today. For now, I'll ignore the Sundays off idea. This will mean 45 walks, 45 pictures posted.

Reasons: I was spurred into thinking up something when Tom mentioned he was going to attempt veganism for Lent. I've been a big fan of adding rather than subtracting for Lent - instead of depriving myself of something, I'd *do* something. Even religiously, I still think it's appropriate since it's a way to mark the occasion and remind myself what it is every day. I promise not to get really "preachy" but this passage says it all:

"Lent is a time of stripping down to essentials, as each Christian focuses on his or her individual relationship with God. It is a time when Christians remember our baptisms, when Jesus washed away our sins, giving us newness of life to celebrate in the triumph of Palm Sunday and the glory of Easter." (http://www.sundayschoollessons.com/lent.htm)

It doesn't matter if I say anything else and there are times when I'm not going to be able to post it on the very day (such as on the cruise) but this will hopefully prove to be fruitful and fun. At the very least, it will be a way to initiate a post everyday and push me to go on walks more.

Today's photo was taking of the turning around point, Lake Michigan:

It was a damp cold (just below freezing) but strangely very little wind that I noticed only on the way back. I only saw a woman with a dog on the way there and on the way back (different pair each time). Most of the sidewalk was covered in snow (left from last week's storm) with patches of ice and bare pavement and I had to walk in the road for the last block. Since the sun was setting somewhere behind me with clouds in most of the sky except to the north, the lighting was neat when I was taking the picture but I only had my cellphone. The ice is kind of ugly with the brown tint but it was still cool to watch the water and ice. Now I'm off to prepare for my very first chicken roast!