It's all how you look at it..

For the past week it's been dark, cold and unbelievably rainy here. I was reminded much of the Pacific Northwest! And today, as I stepped out.. it was clear, crisp, and gloriously sunny. It was amazing.

You know, one of those days where the air fills your lungs, the sun makes you tingle and everything just seems right with the world??? Yeah, one of those days.

As I drove back to Eagan today, I was so completely taken by the scenery. I felt so serene and at ease. I stopped a couple times for a shot or two with the camera. I love fall. I love the quick change. It was reminding me of my own life of late. I have had so much on my mind the past 6 weeks. And a lot of it seems so much easier or insignificant now. Or maybe 'in perspective' is a better term. It's funny how a twist of fate, an event, a person can do so much for your outlook.

And to top it off.. my friend, Jeremy, had a set of IKEA-ware waiting for me when I got home! I am THRILLED :) Don't worry...it's something only Jer and I are suppose to get! So it's ok if you don't understand my enthusiasm. Thanks, Jeremy! Not just for the gift, but all the help you lent this weekend. But that plasticware...superb!

The day I graced the planet..

Yesterday I began my downward slide into the BIG 4-0 .. I find it hard to believe that I am 36. I don't feel 36 (whatever that means) and apparently (and thankfully) I don't look it. Several classmates asked to see my license to prove my age upon a few others leaking it was my birthday.

Like I mentioned, the concert was an awesome start! Then I got a lovely surprise on Monday evening when I learned I'd be getting a visit from one of the guys I met @ the K-bar while in Montana. Remember? Todd took the afternoon off and drove up!! Whatta shock! We (Me and like 12 other people) had a small gathering at a restaurant called Doolittle's. Great meal, a bottle of my favorite wine, Kumala (all to myself!) and a shared gooey dessert!!

Oh!! And gifts!!! Let's not skip the good parts! (You all know that your company was the good part!!). I received copious amounts of chocolate! My friends know me TOO well!! Beautiful flowers, a couple of Caribou Coffee cards, bath gel/lotion, and Todd got me a bottle of my favorite wine to take with me! All in all, a good day!

Thank you all for coming out with me and sharing in a grand time! I am so lucky to be surrounded by so many wonderful people! And a special shout out to Todd for taking the time to come up! It was great! And Troy, thanks, man, for being sport enough to reschedule to accomodate unexpected events! You are a doll!

Here's to another year!!

Eric, you were wonderful tonight..

Ok...technically, it was last night... but then the pun on the lyrics to "Wonderful" wouldn't really work then LOL

My birthday festivities kicked off early with Doug taking me to the Eric Clapton concert last night at the Xcel Center in St. Paul. It was the first stop of the North American leg of the tour. Of which he is only doing the eastern part of the US. This is common and probably why I have waited about 20 years to catch him live. And it was SO worth the wait.

Clapton has more cool in his pinky than most of us could hope to have in our entire bodies. His voice is still fantastic and his guitar playing .. breathtaking. The Robert Cray Band did an opening set.. and he too is still amazing and I swear hasn't aged a bit in all the years I've been listening to him.

I even found a new interest... the second lead guitar, was played by a young man named Derek Trucks (27). Again, he is incredible. But I guess you need to be if you get to play with Clapton! Doug looked him up online this morning and come to find out he's the nephew of an Ullman, which explained a lot. And well deservedly is the youngest guitarist ever named to the Rolling Stone Top 100 Guitar Players of All Time list. He has his own band called, not so originally, The Derek Trucks Band. I'm gonna check out some of his stuff!

Summer fades away..

Well, yesterday marked the end of the glorious days of summer. Hard to believe it is gone. It went SO fast. Michaela entered 8th grade - hard to believe she's off to high school next year. Ask me if that doesn't have me feeling OLD! Rebecca is now in 2nd and Alex is in his final year of pre-school. The pics on the stairs were funny. I had them smile and then asked them to show me how the really felt .. OBVIOUS LOL!! I wasn't ready to go back either. The two weeks I had off were not near enough. Long day it was, Becca and Alex were passed out on couches by dinner or shortly after!

8 and counting!!

Miss Rebecca turned 8 on Monday! Though we had her party a couple weeks ago, we had a small family celebration at home. It was a bit rushed as we had just returned home from Montana, but she seemed to enjoy it nonetheless!

No matter where I roam...

Ok, this will be the final posting regarding my trip to Montana. Honest! The shot of the mountain peak (Electric Peak) and of the red striped mountain (Devil's Slide) were taken from the front porch my dad's house. Imagine walking out the door every day to that?? I obviously appreciate it more now than I did when I lived there. The Yellowstone River, pictured above, lies between my dad's place and the mountains. I've spent countless hours fishing her waters and sitting upon her banks.

It's been 17 years since I left Montana. Yet, I still do, and always will, call it home. No matter how many years I've spent in the city (which I love!), I am still very much country. Whenever I cross her border, I feel an elation that literally overtakes me. I swear my BP drops 10 points and my mood reaches new highs. I have never had an explanation for these reactions...must just be that feeling of belonging....that feeling of 'home'.

The Last Best Place

Well, folks, here are a few glimpes of my home town, Gardiner, Montana. Many of you know that Montana is known as the "Big Sky State", but it's also known as "The Last Best Place". And if you could just step out on clear day and take in the clean air and enjoy the peace, you'd know why. Or to step out at night and see so many stars you hardly notice the sky behind them.

Gardiner itself probably has a population of 600 and is nestled in a valley at the northern end of Yellowstone Park. The stone arch you see, Roosevelt Arch, is actually the northern entrance to the park. Roosevelt himself laid the first cornerstone of the arch in the early 1900's.

There are just some things to be said about small town life. Everyone knows you (which is both comforting and disturbing), life is laid back, everyone is VERY friendly and I bet it's the only place I know where you'd get helped if broken down on the side of the road. The sheer simplicity of this place is at times annoying and yet others, refreshing and welcoming.

I did not get to see my buddy, Max, this go around do to the fact that he was out of town with work. He and I have been friends since we were 3. His wife, Nikki (pictured in the white shirt above), and I hung out and had a girls' dinner at her friend, Rebecca's, house. I had never met the other two women, but was made to feel instantly at home and honestly felt like I'd know them for some time. That's just the way Montanans are, really. Max and Nikki's sons are about the same age as Becca and Alex and they always enjoy playing together.

The hardest part of my trips home are always the visits to my mother's grave site. She passed away over 8 years ago now. I know and accept that she is gone. I feel her presence with me often and even still talk to her. I have never been as close to a person as I was with her. There's just something about being there...staring at the finality of it all, that still gets me. I miss her every single day.

Oddly, I didn't get a picture of my dad and my nephew. DUH!!! The two bachelors... oh they are funny and very good for one another. Daniel has just gotten his license and started his sophomore year in high school.

Even had a nice surprise at my favorite local hang out the K-bar. Little dive pizza/bar place. Met some guys there from Minnesota and had a nice chat. Ran into them again the next day. You'll probably be hearing more about them in future posts, I think!

This trip home was far too short. Especially since I have to drive about twice as far as I did when I lived in Spokane. Always worth it though. Will definitely plan to stay longer next year.

Wildfire Season

Summer also means wildfires in much of the west and this year is no exception. Upon reaching Columbus, MT, about 2 hours from my dad's house, we came across the above roadblock on I-90. The interstate was closed due to a shift in winds which made visibility on the interstate on the next 50ish mile stretch near nil. So we hopped off in Columbus and while most people were renting rooms for the night, I knew there HAD to be a back road out of this place. Our time in MT was short, and I wasn't wasting a night of it.

Sure enough, stopped in a gas station and the lady there directed us to the road that would lead us to Big Timber, where the other end of the roadblock was. This road was nearly an hour of dirt, washboards and hair-pin turns on a road barely able to fit 2 car widths. The kids loved it! We also got some amazing shots of the smoke with the sun.

The fire, when we were leaving, had burned in excess of 150,000 acres. The helicopter shot was taken of one the fire camps near Big Timber.

*Jeremy, these are the shots I had mentioned. And truly, my camera doesn't do them justice. I wish you could've seen it!

Signs you're not in the city..

There are just certain things that you would only run into out in the country. That buffalo pie is an obvious indicator, but I mean, where else do you run into such signage as those above?? Pretty funny! Thought you might get a kick out of those.

Oh yeah...We may have been in the Badlands, but I was definitely in a bad hair zone! The winds up there are atrocious!

Westward Ho!!!

Well...last Tuesday we took off on our annual trek to Montana to visit my dad and my nephew, Daniel. As you can see, along the way we started the usual bug collection! The bumper and windshield of the van would get MUCH worse than that photo. But that was just the North Dakota portion!

We made a stop in Theodore Roosevelt National Park and showed the kids the Badlands. They are quite cool! And a very nice thing to see after driving across the flat nothingness for hours on end.