Almost there...

Greetings blog readers. It’s that time again. No, not time to check the batteries in the smoke detector (well, maybe it is that time…why don’t you go check them now while you are thinking about it). No…it’s time to read what all has been going on lately.

The last few weeks have been somewhat rocky. I know that some of you are used to the ups and downs of that which is known as “Scott’s Life”…but this was…different. There really is no way to really describe it other than to say it was different. Certainly not a “good” different, and not necessarily a “bad” different. Just “different”. The important thing to note here is that I survived.

So, what exactly happened? Well, let’s start at the beginning.

Last Saturday, I went with a couple of the people I work with (Ms. Far Side, Mrs. Malta, Ms. Bird, Ms. Paralegal, and Ms. Bobcat) went to do the Race for the Cure here in Helena. The weather was a nice and warm 80+ and the sky was perfectly clear. I am pleased to say that Ms. Far Side and I both ran about 2 miles of the 3.2 mile race…and got sunburned in the process, but the sore muscles and sunburn were all for a good cause.

I also went to talk with Mrs. Lois’ husband (Superman, I think that’s what I’ve called him before…I went to their house to clean the deer that one time) about hunting this year and what I should be aware of and where to hunt and when and with what type of rifle (oh, did I mention I was going to hunt this year?) that I should look at. We decided that I should put off purchasing a rifle this year until I know for sure that I like hunting so that if I don’t, I didn’t waste a couple hundred dollars. While I was there, we had Elk tenderloin (was REALLY good!!!). The next day after work, I went by a local sporting goods store and purchased my deer license (which affords me the rights to hunt a deer of any flavor, anywhere in the state). I may end up purchasing another “tag” so that I can go with Superman to his hunting area in the Fall. My thoughts: I’m hunting for food…not for a trophy. This meat will go in my freezer and will feed me for many months…all for $26. Yes…and assuming I get the other tag (for $10), there will be PLENTY of meat for me (and whoever else wants some) for several months more.

As an aside, since I helped Superman clean the deer, I’ve become a pretty good deer venison cook…if I do say so myself. Plus, it’s better for you than beef!

I came home that night and signed up to do the Governor’s Cup 5k race on June 7^th. I don’t plan on running all of this one (it’s a LOT harder, or so I’ve heard, because it’s half uphill…and yes, that means the other half is downhill, but that’s just as bad). What is my training regimen for this one? Well, I’m going to get up at 5:45 and get ready for work, ride my bike to work, work all day and then ride my bike home. Rinse and repeat. Not much of a training schedule, I know…but it’s something.

I was going to write more here…I know none of the above really explains the first bit about “different”…but I just think I’ll close with this: I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for my friends…I cherish every one of you, even if I never really say it. The following song is for you all (except for the “high” parts):

Snow...in May?

Hello everyone. Before I begin, let me just say that the title of this post happened this morning here. I realize it wasn’t on the 9^th (my first year here it snowed on one of my sister’s birthday, and the other one had her birthday on the 9^th…so I tried), but still…snow in May? Apparently it CAN happen! So…winter makes it’s appearance around the middle of September, and will try to hang around till the beginning of May. Spring will be May and June, Summer is July, and Fall is August and part of September….which is pretty much the opposite of weather in Louisiana!

I got a call from Ms. Beatle (let me know if that name doesn’t work out for you!!) on Saturday morning asking if I wanted to go around to the Archie Bray place (pottery place here in town) to look at their things, and then to the Farmers Market. We were both going to go to Ms. Canada’s wedding scheduled for later on that day, so we had a finite amount of time. The Bray was cool if you are into pottery stuff, and the Farmers Market was also cool…as it usually is.

We were driving down a 4 lane street on our way across town for something she needed to pick up, when we noticed this brown Toyota with handicapped plates in the inside lane, just sitting there, with an elderly man just standing around. We passed him and both decided we should probably go back and help him, so we parked in a parking area about a block and half away. We start walking back and enjoy the nice weather. As we got closer, we looked up and a green Subaru had pulled in behind him. I thought maybe they were just going to push him using their car, which kinda made sense but could damage the car. The elderly man just got in the car, started it up, and drove off…with the green Subaru following closely behind. As near as we can tell, they got separated somewhere and he was just waiting for her while sitting in the middle of the road, and when she showed up, they took off again. As we walked back, Ms. Beatle asked if that counted as our Good Turn for the day, and I said I thought it did because at least we tried.

A bunch of us from work went to see Ms. Canada become Mrs. Formerly-Canadian. It was a really nice wedding with pure white doves flapping through the air, rose petals sprinkled everywhere, and a half-trained mountain lion as the ring bearer. Wait, it would have made more sense to say “and a half-trained brown bear as the ring bearer”…and I’m joking about all of it except for the fact that it was a nice wedding. Congrats to the both of you.

Smokey was in town this weekend as well. We got to hang out a bit…and it was nice to just relax. At Rook and Mrs. Rook’s house, I did a fair bit of cooking this weekend: Salmon (having never cooked it before…or any other fish for that matter), some steaks, corn and potatoes with Cajun seasonings, a apple dump cake…it was a lot of fun to cook and it all turned out pretty well, which I was happy about.

Anyway, just wanted to update everyone on how things are going (well) and how I’m doing (also well).

In other news, I would appreciate everyone remembering my grandmother…talked with my mom on Friday night, and my grandmother was diagnosed with colon cancer. She drove up to Kansas and is with her now. Will let you know how things go. Thanks.

Oh, for shame...

Greetings one and all. I’m here still. Been an interesting couple weeks since I last wrote, and I know few people really care what’s going on up here in Montana, but I’m really writing this for those of you that DO care. So, for those few…on with it already.

To finish the last bit I wrote, Smokey came over to my house on that Sunday afternoon and we ended up cooking enchiladas and generally just goofing off until Rook and his family showed up for supper. I know it sounds strange, but it was nice to be able to cook with someone for a change instead of just cooking for them. We all sat down and watched Transformers (which Smokey hadn’t seen, but liked). So…all-in-all, a great ending to a great weekend.

I’ve cooked for Rook and family a couple more times since then: deer steaks, mashed potatoes and other stuff once, chicken casserole and Cajun corn and potatoes once, and deer chili once (which I thought was really good, but they thought was a little warm).

Two weekends ago, when one of my friends was going to be moving from Missoula to Wyoming, I decided that I would go over there to say goodbye to her and to just hang out with Smokey, if she felt like it which she did. I met up with Cat at our office in Missoula and we ended up walking for a while in downtown Missoula. As it turns out, there was a race going on that neither one of us knew about, so we ended up walking up the street that they were all running down. The three of us ate lunch at Iron Horse and then Smokey and I left to go to Forestry Days…or something like that.

What is “Forestry Days” (I really don’t recall the name, sorry…you’ll get the point here soon) you may be asking. Well, imagine a bunch of lumberjacks all getting together and competing against one another in various feats of strength, endurance, skill and anything else they can compete about. For example, there was this one thing that these women were racing to see who could chop through a log that was about a foot and a half in diameter the fastest with these axes. The woman that won had it done in less than a minute and almost 30 seconds before the next one was finished. I turned to Smokey and said, “I bet you she could pick me up and throw me across a room.” She smiled and said, “I bet you are right.” At that point, I was glad for the fence that separated the competitors from the on-lookers (namely me).

We left there and went to Maggot Fest…which is the largest group of Rugby players ever convened this side of the Mississippi River in which they, too, compete to see who is the best at Rugby. You may be asking yourself why I keep capitalizing “Rugby”…well, Rugby players are people that play a combination of football (without pads or helmets) and soccer (without the annoying flags and drama)…they are used to smashing people into the ground, being broken and bloodied and generally not thinking before acting (I am generalizing here). I want to show Rugby players as much respect as I can…hahah. Anyway, we were there for about 4 hours…walking around, watching matches and, as it turned out, getting very badly sunburned. Yeah…Mr. Anglo-Saxon isn’t really known for dark skin, is he? Nope…I looked like a cross between a Stop sign and a slightly faded Stop sign. It was bad enough that on Monday, my friend “V” saw me walking from almost a block away and said, “That’s some sunburn you got there, buddy!” Indeed it was.

There’s been some excitement at work (ceiling falling in, etc)…but hey, it’s just work. Anyway, that’s all I have time to write about now. Hope everyone is doing well and all that. If you feel like chatting, drop me an email some time.