"Missoula Made" me happy!

We had a wonderful time in Missoula this week-end. The weather was beautiful. We drove over because Kate was exhibiting at the "Missoula Made" fair so it was a chance to see her and Cy and get out of town for a short time.

Our first pleasant experience was the hotel! We were sharing a room with Kate and Cy that they had reserved using Priceline. It was such a nice hotel. Most people stay there for extended periods of time because Missoula is such a great launching point. It has fantastic outdoors opportunities (more on that later) and is close to glacier, golfing, and I'm sure many other things that I don't know about. The hotel had a small theater room, a nice dining area with individual flat screen TVs at some tables, fitness center, outdoor sport court and barbecue. Our room was large and included a small, full kitchen. Incredible! All this for $80, which we split.

Sunday morning (it was a one day show), we helped Kate unload at the fair and then wandered around Missoula while she and Cy set up her booth. Missoula is a very outdoorsy place so there are lovely trails with plenty of people biking, walking, running, and exercising their dogs. Of course, Missoula has the beautiful Clark Fork River running through it and Sunday there were several kayakers practicing tricks at a perfect wave spot in the river. If I were in a boat my main objective would be to keep myself upright, but I soon came to realize that they were flipping on purpose. It was very entertaining to watch them practice flipping, turning, and rolling, while trying to stay in the wave and not be carried downstream.

When the fair officially opened we did some shopping. Kate's work stood out as being creative and well crafted. It was fun to see her in a show.

We got to have lunch with her and Cy in shifts and then headed home to Spokane to see a baseball game. They finally won one at home!! And yes, Norm protects me with a glove.

The only negative about the week-end was that we all felt a Jeff sized hole while we were in Missoula. We associate Missoula with Jeff. The good news is that Jeff, Kate, and Cy will be here in a month!! Definitely something to look forward to. (Jeff)>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Fun run

Today I went on a fun run.

I've been a little frustrated with my lack of pace improvement/endurance. My runs have felt challenging so I decided that today I would enjoy myself a little more. Instead of taking a dog, I took a camera. Sprecka and Ginger were not happy with that decision, but at least the camera doesn't try to pull my arm off when a deer prances across the road.

I especially wanted to take pictures of a dream house I pass when I run. It's such an impressive house because of the patience the homeowners have demonstrated in the way it has progressed. Clearly, they have done much of the work themselves. The house is nothing special, except it's nice and small. The landscaping is what I love. They've put in raised beds, and a beautiful flat garden also. Then, chickens made their appearance! I really want chickens. Many chickens now roam about between two small, cute outbuildings that I had assumed were luxury chicken coops. I stopped my run to take pictures (none of which really turned out or I would share them with you), and talked to the homeowner, Ellie. I shared my admiration of her house. She shared the fact that she was actually quite weary of the whole process. I understand. The amount of work that they have done is impressive. I found out they actually have 50 chickens!! What I thought were upscale chicken digs were actually garden sheds, although they must have someplace to go because most of them were not in sight due to the heat. I'm excited that I know the home owner's name now and can call out a greeting when I run by. I'm hoping that my admiration of her home helps to ease her weariness of her labors.

I continued on my run, stopping to photograph things that caught my eye. I wish more of them had turned out for you, but I sure enjoyed the process. It was just a lovely day and the smells of summer were wonderful. I let myself walk whenever I needed to instead of forcing myself to run for an allotted amount of time. It was still stinking hard to make it up the final hill, though!! Patience, patience.

My running is just one self-improvement endeavor. I've also decided to make some other changes. I know it would probably be best to incorporate these changes one at a time, but of course, I'm not so patient. First, I've drastically cut back on sugar. My hope is that my blood sugar levels will be more steady throughout the day, which will help me in many ways. I'm also slowly tapering off the sleep medication the doctor prescribed a year ago with the hope that eventually I'll be off of it completely. I don't like using medicine every day for something that should be a pretty natural process. My thought is that with less stress, I'll be able to sleep without them. I'm also starting a yoga class next month that lasts for six weeks. I'm hoping to learn enough during that time to continue practicing on my own.

Of course, I'm also beginning to put the house back in order. I allow it to fall apart during the school year. There are plenty of projects on the horizon also: fixing up the basement, doing some landscaping, and getting the art studio up and ready for business.

This week-end will be a fun week-end in Missoula with Kate and Cy. I'm so excited! I love Missoula; Kate is participating in a art fair, and it's supposed to be a beautiful week-end. Norm and I are looking forward to seeing them and just getting away. I'll take pictures for you.