Beware of Stairs.

They are vicious this year. And I can only foresee them becoming more so as we head into the lean and hungry winter season.

Be careful!

They feed on broken legs and are not picky who they eat.

(No, I didn't fall or break a leg or anything else. But everyone else is, by all reports!)

I was going to tell the tale of the Return From North Dakota.

(which reminds me of a kid's book called Return From Witch Mountain, which I haven't read for so long that I have no idea what it's about any longer and am surprised I still remember the name.)

((And now that I google it, I find it is also a movie, and the contents don't sound at all familiar, which makes me wonder if I ever did really read the book, or just somehow got the title lodged in my brain.))

(((This is like P.S. and P.P.S and P.P.P.S at the end of a letter. Just thought I'd mention it.)))

Right. So. We drove off in that wonderful after-convention haze. And it was still glorious weather. Made it just over the border into Montana to spend the night with Nichole's folks (thanks again, Mr&Mrs Nichole'sParents!)

Monday, headed south to a place called Medicine Rocks. This is a seriously cool place to roam around in. We allotted ourselves 30-60 minutes in the Grand Time Scheme, and it totally was not enough. I forget but I think it's sandstone; anyways, there are all of these incredible rocks bulging up out of the ground, sculpted into all kinds of neat shapes by the wind. It's not desert, though it reminds me of some of the pictures of southern Utah desert rocks. But there is lots of grass and plenty of trees around. Very peaceful and beautiful. When I find the pictures I took of it, I'll post one.

When we finally tore ourselves away and headed on south, it was just about time to roll into some teeny burg, the name of which I have forgotten, but which boasted 2 entire restaurants for us to choose between! The prices were exceedingly cheap - and though the portions were a bit on the small side, it was decent food. Not great, but no complaints. Then on to Gillette where I acquired a brand-new, good for another four years, drivers' license. Good thing too, as that was the day it expired. Another hour west and we crashed into Darla and Michael's in time for supper.

Tuesday, we managed to keep Dad in the house until about 9:30... stopped for lunch in Billings, and carried on to Lewistown. It was fun to get to spend a little time with Debbie - we've known each other since we were about 3, I think. We got there in good time that afternoon. There were some people from New Zealand who had stopped by to visit, and they were all going off to the Elk Refuge - so Mom and Dad went along. They said it was definitely worth the drive - we've seen elk before, but not in such vast quantities. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it, too, but I decided to stay home where it was quiet instead. Wednesday, Lloyd took Dad out and we girls took ourselves off to lunch, and then paint-chip-hunting. And Thursday, we sped back to Ronan.

I am currently sitting at the table, surrounded by lots and lots and LOTS of chocolate! :D

It was all waiting for me on my arrival back from North Dakota. What a lovely way to make a girl feel welcomed back!

AND I just read recently that eating 1.4 oz of dark chocolate per day lowers stress hormones. Obviously, I haven't been eating enough. On the other hand...

Stressed and skinny, or calm and fat??? Such decisions!

Thanks everyone. :)

Well, I got a nice birthday present today!

I'm sitting on the couch at Debbie's and Mom's cellphone rings. K, fine, I'm busy, I don't talk on phones, nobody would be calling for me on Mom's phone...

She comes in and gives me the phone.

And it's Jonathan! He got a new book at school today and wanted to read it to me. :D Wasn't that sweet? I thought so. I even got into his Book (of people he's read to) by proxy. Darla signed me in.

Welcome to Obsessively Manicured North Dakota!

Which, to be honest, was not quite so obsessively manicured on this trip (or perhaps just in this location) as it was the last time I was in that lovely (and overly tidy) state.

Convention was - need I say it? - wonderful. And the weather was beautiful too! It was gloriously sunny the entire week, not a cloud in the sky. It averaged around 68-70 during the day, colder at night. Saturday was the coolest day, and I did leave my jacket on most of the day (light jacket, don't get any ideas about down or winter or anything here).

And for being right in the middle of a city, it was amazingly quiet. Very nice. Saturday, also, we took a walk down by the river which was really nice. No turtles, alas, but lots of leaves to rustle through (something I was deprived of as a child, growing up as I did in rainy western Washington. We never had crisp dried leaves. We had sodden black-spotted leaves.), and was a very nice walk all around.

One thing we heard about which I really enjoyed was gratitude. I will make a separate post for that, otherwise this one will be way too long. It probably already is, but you'll have to suffer through. Or not, I guess. You could stop reading!

Oh - it was my birthday today. I'm not even there at Mandan. But my dearly beloved brother, may all his hair turn grey and fall out, sent me numerous (read 4) birthday cards, all of which were waiting for me on my arrival last Tuesday - and all of which mentioned prominently that I'm turning 40. Am 40 now.

I think I'll save the account of the departure for another post too. For one, I'm getting sleepy and can't think of anything interesting to say. Other than this: Going east is much harder than going west, in the matter of time changes. At least for me. I don't know about the rest of you. Breakfast is at 6:00 in the morning! That's insane!! (7 for them, 6 for me. I slept through it anyways, but it still is insane!) And everyone is in bed with the lights out at 9:15. (10:15... 9 for me.)

More to come...

Catching up - Again!

I've been a busy lady!

I was in Missoula in August, with Karen Tenniswood. I really enjoyed being back there again; so nice to catch up with everyone.

The weather was really bizarre though. It kept swinging between really hot and really cold. So one day, Karen and I are driving by the river (hot day), and looking at everyone out enjoying themselves, and Karen says what fun it would be to go canoeing. A few days later, we are driving along the river again (cold day) - it doesn't look nearly so enticing! But not too long after, it's hot again, so I started looking for rentals. You can rent a canoe or a kayak fairly cheaply. $20-40 depending on how long you want it. But they wanted $1000 deposits!

Erm, I think. Not so doable, alas. But! We saw innertubes in Mary P's garage, and took note of them... and one morning, when it was supposed to get up to 98, we invited ourselves up to her house, and the three of us went floating down the river. I'm glad it was that hot, because the water was extremely cold.

Jane and Nichole returned from their various sides of the country at about the same time - just in time for Reuben's funeral - and we swapped places. Jane and I went up to Jay B's for a week of doing as close to nothing as possible. My 'nothing' included going horseback riding. (Bareback! Using only a halter!) It was great. Then a day or two before we moved on, we met Joe K's sister for a picnic, and went out kayaking. It looked like a lake but I think it was a large bay off the river. We saw an osprey and several eagles, and some really huge fish lurking down in the waterweeds.

That brings us up to starting mtgs Sunday in Charlo (last Sunday was the first), and me going to Mandan (I leave a week from today).

And Voila! For anyone who actually checks this as infrequently as I update it, I am updated! Current! Present and accounted for! Hooray!