Spring Break Travel

We had such fun visiting far-away family during Spring Break. Coming home is never fun, but it is a necessity.

We had planned to go to church and leave directly from church. Ah, the "best-laid plans..." A couple of hours before church, it began to snow, heavily. It's almost April for pity's sake! We decided to forego church (truly a tough decision) and head out. This would add 4 hours to our traveling window. We spent 2 hours getting from SLC to Tremonton at 40 miles per hour with the 4-wheel drive one. I thought about putting the posi-track on, but that might have been overkill. At Tremonton we spotted blue in the sky and headed for it. Cool. Alas, Wind can be blue. We had wind, heavy wind, from Snowvilled to Boise. Filling up at Burley was nasty as we had to get out of the car. We averaged 15 mpg for that leg of the trip.

After we arrived in Boise and visited family we headed out again. Arriving in our valley we saw a calm and beautiful evening with the sun shining brightly. Oregon rocks!

Changing the clock

For starters, we have "early" church, at 9:00 a.m. This is always difficult during the Spring time change, more so with children. But, we usually manage. I dutifully set my alarm an hour ahead last night, which was 5:45 a.m., the time I usually get up on weekdays. When it went off, I groaned and moaned but finally got up. I went into the bathroom and next to my bleary-eyed face was a clock saying that it was shortly after 5:00 a.m. I had forgotten that my clock can "think" and resets itself automatically. Dare I admit it, but I think I got up at 4:45 a.m. for church?

The children are VERY lucky I figured it out before I woke them.

Sharing

Each of us shares the space where we live. I'm told that cats who aren't yours are not a blessing. This is true. I love my cats and will put up with a lot from them as we share space.

Interestingly, David does not share my sentiments. The cats will sleep on my bed when he is not there but won't come near it when he is. I think that is due, in large measure, to the fact that he will launch them from the bed. They don't like that.

Right now I have a cat in front of my monitor and I have to peer around her as I post. I could move her, but we share. On her terms.

"Winter" Colds

Now and again I hear people bemoan colds of various seasons. Colds are nasty, no matter the season. Some things I know are: Colds are a virus, all colds are different, and I've had several in my life. Now, shouldn't I be getting immune to some of them?

The trouble with feeling poorly is that one becomes unable to appreciate any goodness in life. This helps me to understand and appreciate my general good health. It's just on hiatus at the moment.

Hidden Things

Today on the early morning bus run I saw a pair of foxes. The one was running across the field and the other was waiting ahead. That paled in comparison to what my neighbor saw on the bridge: a young cougar. Not a puma or a mountain lion, but a cougar. It was a young one, apparently out for a morning walk.

Now, I think this cat has been here all along. I think that, because we didn't see him/her, we might think he wasn't there. We've walked that bridge many times, living life in denial that we were sharing it with such a powerful predator.

And, speaking of predators, I remain grateful that we have no rattlesnakes. Many places in northeast Oregon do. They, too, hide very well.

Perspective

Today is a beautifully crisp, clear, winter day. That is, if one is sitting as I am, on the side of the mountain. The valley floor looks as if as giant cotton ball was dropped on it. If I go down, it'll be a drab, dreary, dark day.

Both areas are the same place by many definitions. But, fog settles. So, we sit and think what a marvelous day this is while our neighbors wonder when they'll see the sun again.

The New Year in Our Community

2009 is here and, with it, the annual Christmas Tree Pickup. Every year the Scouts canvass the city, picking up the trees. The Scouts have a lot of fun - one of the major high points is jumping on them to mash them down into the dumpster so that they can be mulched later. Other Scouts like collecting the many donations. Some like to toss the trees. Service can be fun!

This would not be possible without the support of many volunteers. I have organized this for years and am almost at the point where I could do it in my sleep. The Scout leaders are the backbone of the process but the news paper makes sure everyone knows about it, the garbage service donates the dumpsters, and the entire community is ready and waiting for us to pick up their trees.

So kudos to all the volunteers out there: No one can ever know or gauge all that volunteers do.