"half a skull"

Migraine is a neurological syndrome characterized by altered bodily perceptions, severe headaches, and nausea. Physiologically, the migraine headache is a neurological condition more common to women than to men.^[1][2] The word migraine was borrowed from Old French migraigne (originally as "megrim", but respelled in 1777 on a contemporary French model). The French term derived from a vulgar pronunciation of the Late Latin word hemicrania, itself based on Greek hemikrania, from Greek roots for "half" and "skull".^[3]

^{welcome to my world}

^{I thank my dad for these (thanks pops) but in this post-chemo/radiation world they seem to hit more often than before diagnosis. Supposedly going to a gluten-free diet is supposed to help but I have not gone that far. Yet.}

^{I feel like ass.}

^Blergh.

Another humanoid on the planet

Welcome to the world Jack! Kendra and Doug are the proud parents of a tiny poo machine.

I am so happy for them, and feel so bad for the kid 'cause he's gonna have to put up with all his non-related 'aunties' and 'funcles' who will pester him his whole life.

6lb 14 oz 19.74 inches

the picture catch-up episodes - in somewhat logical order

The dogs of Gardiner - Callie and Eddie passed out after play.
I titled this photo "3 dog night" - not that the three of them are the most energetic in the world, but they pass out well on the floor.

Spring road trip, Arizona to Montana. I started at a conference in Denver, flew to Phoenix, convinced pops to fly Tuck in from Shreveport. We spent a couple days in Arizona, then packed up for the migration north. I love their house down there. Here's pops and TJ looking at the green of the desert - lots of rain this spring down there.
CC and TJ in GRCA - Tuck was a baby when he was here last, and poppa had never been. We spent a fun day touring the south rim.

the picture catch-up episodes - continuation

Poppa's first visit (Tucker's second) to the Grand Canyon - had to DRAG him off the major byway, but I think it was worth it.
Poppa in his natural environment - looking at old cars - rural Utah.
The end of our trip - poppa visits the Tetons for the first time!
Squashy eggs and math homework - a typical morning for Tucks 6 weeks in Montana.
Tuck hiking into the Boiling River - we went a few times while he was here and the boy whose first words were "hot" and "pring" is happy as a clam. Just like his mom (and CC) - luvs soaking in hot water

Tuck enjoys the beauty of the Boiling River - and spots a badger across the Gardner River lol!
Ben and Tuck play rugby - Gardiner style
Poppa and TJ on the Lewis River. It's spring - the snow is almost gone!
CC and Mike hiking the Lower Geyser Basin, searching for Norris' road.
Ben in his happy place - the leather chair next to the TV, in Warcraft land.

The stupid things we do

1. Get sick 2 nights before the Park to Paradise Triathlon

OK, atm I am blaming the questionably old cream cheese I scarfed on crackers, but suffice it to say I woke up at 4 am Friday morning with severe gastrointestinal distress. Fell asleep on the bathroom floor, time unknown, and woke up at noon Friday on said floor.

2. Agree to work on the day before P2P

What the hell was I thinking? I have a TON of little projects to get done, and I arranged an afternoon meeting with Bob at the HRC. I have been volunteering for this race for like 9 years now - I should know better.

3. Call my boss immediately after waking up to explain what I'm doing today

This is basic. Don't know if I even made sense on the phone. 'Nuff said.

4. Agree to make 2 big pots of veggie-friendly chili for the P2P picnic

Again, thought this would be easy. I have a big tub of Bear Creek Damn Good Chili and it's really easy to make and spice up. Problem: read the ingredients (rendered chicken fat and beef broth) not a vegetarian delight. Off to the store to buy ingredients for my homemade chili (after above meeting) Tossing together ingredients quickly, water boiling, looking over meeting notes.

Pots boiling over on the stove, still tired and not feeling very well. Put together the signs for tomorrow and they look fine, still need to go up the hill and get vests. What a day.

Missing post?

So I spent a few hours downloading my 2 SD cards (6gb) of photos and video from the first half of the year (yikes), sorted through them, pulled some for the blog, resized them, and THOUGHT I got them posted last night. Guess not.

Spent a lazy evening at the river metal detecting -- haul = 1 dime, 10mm shell casing, huge snelled fish hook. Convinced Ssej to give up taking the recycling up the hill and go along (I valiantly offered to take the party bin of glass up with my stuff today). Corso and Eddie came along too. Eddster still won't go very far into the water, but he isn't as afraid and will come up to me when I'm wading.

Tried out the new fishing rod, the "emmrod" and am not convinced of its prowess. Just used the spinning setup. Need to watch more youtube videos on that one.

Ran into 3 raft/yakers from Boze who were using AlpacaRafts and I'm more stoked than ever to get mine on the river. Theirs were set up for whitewater, with spray decks, and one guy came into the eddy upside-down (said he was testing how far he could take it).

Anyway, I'm not convinced that fishing from my inflatable is a great idea...yet.

Herbs are growing well, and my tomatoes are producing green blobs. Almost cold enough to start bringing them in at night to nestle under the grow light.

How is it mid-August already????

July heat and high visitation

Summer has reached the Rockies. We are in the high 90s in the banana belt here in Gardiner, and the interior of the park is in the 80s. A heat wave.

The Eddster is handling the heat pretty well - drinking gallons of water and hanging out in the cave here, mostly.

The park is INSANELY busy - more than usual. We had a record-breaking year last year, with almost 3.3 million last year. Almost 700,000 last month...

----------------------------------------------------
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK NEWS RELEASE
----------------------------------------------------

Yellowstone Sets Visitation Record For June

Nearly 700,000 visitors came to Yellowstone National Park during June. It marks the second record June in a row, and the third record June out of the last four years. Visitor numbers this June are 100,000 higher than those recorded in June 2008.

Recreational Visitors 2010 2009 Change

-----------------------------------------------------

January 25,595 24,770 + 3.3 %

February 29,108 28,355 + 2.7 %

March 21,028 17,317 + 21.4 %

April 32,763 24,831 + 31.9 %

May 250,445 261,763 - 4.3 %

June 694,841 643,844 + 7.9 %

Total Year-To-Date 1,053,780 1,000,880 + 5.3 %

Recreational Visitors June Year to Year Change

-----------------------------------------------------

2010 694,841 + 7.9 %

2009 643,844 + 8.5 %

2008 593,405 - 2.7 %

2007 609,606 + 9.4 %

2006 557,213 - 0.5 %

2005 560,014

So, it's tougher than usual to find a nice, quiet place to fish or sketch, but in another month I'll have the park back to myself.

Very busy with work, and with course work, but managing to squeeze in a little fun.

The "new Steve" (he hates being called that) happens to be a brewer, so we have put together 2 batches so far. The first is a dunkelweissen (dark hefeweisen) and is just OK. Hopefully it will mellow a bit. We fired up a Koelsch on Friday, and the fermentation may have stalled. So not much luck yet. I just ordered ingredients for a Kriek Lambic. It's going to be my most involved beer to date, with about 5 months wait before even sampling the initial product. It's best drunk around one year later, so next summer should be the real test. I love Lambic. The whole brewing operation is one big chemistry experiment and I love it. Only two big fails so far, and some great successes. I'm planning on visiting the local orchard this fall to do about 10 gallons of cider - the last batch was excellent - very dry and refreshing.

EXTREMELY jealous

OK, Eric & Trish's pics of beautiful Copper River Salmon is making me feel very jealous. I keep thinking one of these days I will head up to do some fishing, but I will just have to be satisfied with my lake trout ambitions this year.

Posting once a month, I guess

Well, it's been a whirlwind 5 weeks. A great conference in Ft. Collins followed by a trip down to Arid-zone to help Pops with a drive north. TJ visiting Pops, then staying with me for 5 weeks was an added bonus. Mostly...

Naw, Tuck and I had a pretty good time - he made a new buddy in Ben and got to fish, hike, bike, play rugby, grill out, play Bingo, go crazy on the computer, and generally hang out with the Gardiner Gals. Pops came back last weekend for opening of fishing season and to pick up Tuck. Bad fishing in the streams, iced over lakes, and cold wet days made for no luck fishing.

Finally, one fish each on Joffee lake! Nice little browns that are back in the ecosystem to grow bigger and eat bugs. Need to take Ben and Izzy up there...

Pops and TJ were off to Spokane, and I made it home in time to upchuck my breakfast. Looks like the flu being passed around the YCR found a place to nest. Been living on gatorade for the past couple days, can't find my phone, and have way too much to do to be sick right now.

The weather is a perfect mirror for my mood. Cold. Wet. Miserable.

Ugh.

days like these

So, there are days when I feel brilliant, inspired, full of promise and ideas.

Then there's today. I feel un- all of those things.

Smacking my head against a wall, attempting to finish a project and having NO success.

Damn you ArcGIS!

making up for lost time...

...is impossible!

After being laid down with ANOTHER wicked cold (as were Christie and several others) and still having bouts of coughing and clogged ears...ok I'm done whining now.

Super-volunteer Kat was also laid out with the same cold earlier in the week, so with Ann on vacation and Steve gone for good, it was a skeleton crew this week in the office - Julie popped in for 2 days and was a HUGE help. A few emergency requests, no remote sensing software (the ERDAS license was down and computer support has no answers for us yet) it has been an interesting week of work. Kat, Em, and Heidi pitched in with an impromptu afternoon of lab cleaning and re-arranging which looks quite good, imho. I still have a big list of items to do so I'll be going in this weekend as well.

So much work, I'm behind on school and trying to catch up. Stuck on a math issue and I need to do a remedial math refresher in the trig/precalculus realm. It's been a LONG time since I took those classes! I picked up a good used textbook on my Phoenix trip and am lugging it around hoping that by osmosis the correct theory and formulae will soak in. Suppose I should crack the book and get to work.

Woke to 3 or so inches of fresh snow this morning. Ah, spring in Montana is here!

Sick...again

I'm certainly convinced that something is afoot. After returning from a few days rest and relaxation in Mesa, the sore throat began, then the tight, phlegmy chest, hacking cough, fever and headache. Jeez. This is getting ridiculous.
Two days on the couch (sorry for the lack of fun during your visit, TC) and every pharmaceutical in the cabinet later and I'm still feeling crap.
So in between bouts of sweating I've decided to deep-clean the house (in case there's something afoot in the cave here). Beautiful days outside and I spend most of them either couch-bound or in the office.
Oh, and I'm feeling very sorry for myself.
:)

Spring???

Well, it's March. We have very little snow and are having 50+ degree days. Weird weather, but nice to get outside in shirtsleves. The Gardiner dust bowl is in full swing - no snow cover to keep the dust down. I think I'm going to suggest that our friends here splurge on a load of gravel to cover some of the dirt in the parking areas on our road. We'll see how that goes.

I'm on my "shift" taking care of Ruffers. Has not been very fun to tell the truth. He's been pooing in the house and I've spent more time cleaning carpets in the past week than anything else. The good news is, I think I've tracked down the source - he's raiding the cat food when left alone at home. He's fine when spending the day in my yard and nights at my house. The cat food is getting put away when Ruffers has to be home alone (sorry to Lucy the cat!)

Add to that I'm having issues with my computer suddenly deciding to go blue screen of death on me on a regular basis, and it's been an interesting week. The darn thing is just out of warranty, of course.

Been doing a ton of schoolwork and work-work as well, so super busy. And not much of a social life. The nasty cold/flu/strep crap looks like it's finally clearing up so that's a plus.

and...

to add to the joy of a snow-free yet cold February, I'm sick. Again. I think each and every bug that swam through the North American continent made a stop in my respiratory tract this year. Diagnosis (this time): acute upper respiratory infection, acute pharyngitis, with a side of streptococci. Super.
Stay away from my house for a while - you can call me "typhoid carrie"

February Musings

Well, it's February. It's cold. Very little snow this year (depressing for skiing). The cold just seems to settle in the bones. Ho hum.
Spent some time helping out a co-worker who is headed for 3 weeks in Tanzania (for work), then read Tricia and Eric's blogs of their Hawaii trip, Jessi is gone to Guatemala, and I'm thinking - what in the heck am I doing here???

Clear scans and a clearer outlook

So every year I have to get a CT scan to check for the dreaded lymphoma. I usually do this before Xmas, but this year with the big trip down south it did not get scheduled until last week. Thanks to the crack staff at the Bozeman Deaconess Cancer center (more on them later) they managed to schedule all the scans on the same day - AND have the techs process them, write up the reports, and get them to my doc by my 3:30 appointment.
Good news - scans are all clear! Yay!
Ok, so now a bit on the Cancer Center - I can't stress this enough - having spent WAY too much time in the Spokane Cancer Center, Bozeman is a much happier place.

Spokane:
Good docs
Warehouse of a main waiting room (with the most uncomfortable chairs EVER - ask my mom and dad)
Going in every day and having to give your name to the same receptionist (apparently has too many faces to see)
Chemo room is a HUGE sterile warehouse, with about 30 chemo chairs and 3 TV's mounted far away up on the 12-foot ceiling. You get your own wireless headphones but have to watch whatever the nurses decide. 10 of the chairs face the "wall of heads" a cheap-looking display of styrofoam heads with wigs people have donated. VERY depressing sight. Inmates from the county jail are brought in for chemo in shackles and jumpsuits.
Radiation waiting room - managed to be scheduled (daily, for 2 months) in front of a guy who brought his whole unwashed family in early to enjoy free coffee.

Bozeman
Main waiting room feels like you are walking into a friend's living room - Comfy couches, arm chairs, fireplace, HUGE flat screen TV, treat and drink bar, kids' corner with puzzles, fish tank, and toys. Receptionist greets you by name even though she hasn't seen you for 6 months.
Chemo rooms are very cozy (2 of them, 8 beds each) with curtains to surround your area and a personal flatscreen TV on every chair. No used wigs. A small display of free warm fuzzy hats donated by a knitting/craft club if you need one.
Radiation/CT/Mammogram suite - except for the big loud machines, you would think you are in a day spa. Individual changing rooms with locking cupboards for your stuff. Sweatsuits and terrycloth robes to wear instead of the gaping cotton gown. Smaller waiting rooms for each group contain espresso carts!
And they have the BEST phlebotomists around. Can't even feel blood draws, for crying out loud!
This is why I will drive 160 miles round trip for blood work - those peeps are incredible.

Small note on Mammograms:
Whatever sick Nazi man invented the mammogram machine needs to have his nads squeezed in it. Daily.

where my day takes me

OK, so I'm entering data and there's a note that makes no sense in the context, "edge of treeline next to door (sic)"

And that's what I put in the database (the "sic" is mine). I know how to use it, just couldn't recall the etymology of it. Go to Wikipedia. Note that:

"On occasion, sic has been misidentified as an abbreviation for "said in context", "spelled in context", "said in copy", "spelling is correct", "spelled incorrectly" and other phrases.^[3] These are all backronyms from sic."

Backronym. Cool. Word I've never heard or used before. Click on the link, and for those of you who are wondering:

A backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed after the fact to make an existing word or words into an acronym. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology.

The word is understood as a portmanteau combining back and acronym. Its earliest known citation in print is "bacronym" in the November 1983^[1] edition of the Washington Post monthly neologism contest (1983–2004): journalist Bob Levey quoted winning reader "Meredith G. Williams of Potomac" defining it as the "same as an acronym, except that the words were chosen to fit the letters."^[1] Actual use of the word is found in texts since at least 1994.^[1]

[edit]Backronym versus acronym

An acronym is a word derived from the initial letters of a phrase:^[2] For example, the word radar comes from "Radio Detection and Ranging."^[3]

By contrast, a backronym is constructed by taking an existing word already in common usage, and creating a new phrase using the letters in the word as the initial letters of the words in the phrase. For example, the United States Department of Justice assigns to their Amber Alert program the meaning "America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response."[3], although the term originally referred to Amber Hagerman, a 9-year old abducted and murdered in Texas in 1996.

The idea that a backronym, like an acronym, is a pronounceable word is sometimes broken, even by dictionaries providing examples such as DVD(an initialism)^[4] and SOS (a representation of the emergency signal used in Morse code).^[5]

Explaination

Ok, so I flummoxed one person - Jessi. TC2 got it, though.
You see, I have this sticky note on my desk that I was writing on while talking to someone or listening in on a conference call (can't recall which). It says "What if".
Now I know there was more that went along with that thought, but I neglected to write it down. So the sticky is just sitting on my desk.
When I'm dealing with a particularly rough day or a GIS problem that just won't be solved I glance at it and allow my mind to wander/ponder a bit. More often than not I end up having a better day and/or solving the problem.
It's just a thing.
There isn't an answer guys.

?

what if?
if then, when?
:)

A long, long trip

OK, so the trip meter puts me at about 4,600 miles. First leg from Gardiner to Bossier City took about 2 days. It was a marathon drive with a purpose - needed to get to see my boys!
A trashed house and a line of broken computers to fix sobered my enthusiasm quickly. (Ended up leaving with 2 of 5 running - brought the laptop back to get a new hard drive installed, but the 2 desktops stayed. I'm hoping the 2 left behind will get fixed, but I'm not holding my breath.) Cleaned up quite a bit of the house, had a major breakdown (see post below) semi-enjoyed Christmas (mom and dad had to brave the Texas blizzards and made it for the x-mas afternoon) Two days of power cleaning and house-fixing later, the caravan hit the road. Oma and Poppa driving truck, pulling trailer with broken car - me, mitch, and the dog trailing behind in the Element.
In case you were not aware it is a LONG drive across Texas. Oh, and El Paso is nowhere you will ever want to live. We tried visiting 2 hot springs in the NM/AZ area but the first was lackluster and the second was closed due to excessive partying. Sigh. Wanted to be back home where the hot springs are beautiful and available. Visited casa de oma & poppa in Gold Canyon, AZ - GORGEOUS house, but way too little time to appreciate the beauty of the area.
Mitch and I drove north to the Grand Canyon and woke up on New Year's day to a beautiful view of the canyon. Cold, but a very nice day. We drove up through Zion (stopping at park HQ to see if Greg was around, but then realized it was a federal holiday) and made it to SLC that night. Mitch hopped on the plane headed for Spokane to visit his dad while the dog and I drove north for home. Really sad leaving Mitch - it was a fun road trip with him.
Eddie and I drove through some bad weather in Idaho and holed up in Butte for the night. Last night before returning for work and I'm exhausted. Another relaxing vacation.

Loiusiana sucks ass

Believe me, I put some thought into the above statement. Perhaps I judge a bit too harshly by lumping in the ENTIRE state, but I will go so far as to say that Northern Louisiana sucks ass.

The weather here is horrible. It's either hot and wet, cold and wet, or cold an dry (rare). Never just "pleasant". People here are rude. Now I'm talking service people in general here. They would rather talk to each other, or a friend on the phone rather than helping a customer. Note that WalMart no longer has the "did your salesperson greet you pleasantly today?" question on the electronic pad. People drive like crap down here. Enough said.

Everything molds (back to weather, above) and rusts. I get deathly ill EVERY time I come down here. I'm convinced it's the climate.

The whole place feels like a ghetto, and this is coming from someone who lives in Gardiner for crying out loud. There may be antebellum homes and mardi gras, but it just is not worth the bother. Raze the whole state and drill for the oil. Smells like swamp and petroleum here anyway.

Louisiana xmas break, 2009

As is typical, nothing is ever boring at sister's house.
Only took me 2 and a half days to drive the 1800 miles down - though I was pretty worn out after doing it all by myself. It will be nice to have Mitch with me on the trip north to share the load. Hunter Eddie settled into life (aka the softest spot in the house) like he never left. Gotta wonder what's going on in his mind.
Mitch and I have gotten time to hang out which is really cool, but Tuck man is still in school until the day before xmas. Aims is working a lot as well, so it's just me and the boys until the evenings.
I've fixed one computer up for TJ and am working on a second at the moment, as well as moving a ton of crap around the house, so staying very busy.
Chilly down herre, but nothing like up north for sure.

Quite probably the shittiest week ever

Joy and fun for the holiday season.
No luck hunting.
The GIS server was (still is?) down this week, then I got roaring stomach cramps Wednesday - thought it was food poisoning so i threw out all the leftovers in the fridge. By day 2 sure I have the stomach flu. Day 3 and I'm finally feeling a bit better. Sleeping a lot.
Still SO much work to do.
Supposed to be leaving for the deep south next weekend, but have no idea how I'm going to get everything done before then.
What a week.

Lessons learned - hunting season 2009

I know many things.
So many things.

I am an excellent marksman.
I suck as a hunter.

You can't do the majority of your hunting on closing weekend.

Blowing out your knee at the beginning of hunting season sucks.

Roy knows best. Always listen to Roy.

Hunting without a truck is un-American (I still do it)

99% of hunters are male
the 1% that are female are sitting in the front seat of the truck with their man.

JoJo and I are the only two women out there hunting by ourselves.

Even though it's the last day and I don't have ANY tags filled, I will still pass up a shot on a beautiful buck 'cause I'm not positive I can get a clean kill.

The freezer is empty.

I am sad.

no luck hunting...yet

so unfortunately there's no carcasses hanging in Jessi's garage yet - a fact for which I'm sure she's eternally grateful!

Headed out tomorrow - wish me luck.

OMG - I'm FAMOUS

lol, well, not really

The amount of work, interview, phone calls, emails, etc. that went into this VERY short article...

Ah well, I don't know.

http://www.thesca.org/hands-on/2009/10/mapping-yellowstone

how lucky can a girl get?

I have THE GREATEST friends.

So first of all, my car is broken and I need a ride from Livingston to Bozeman to pick up the rental. Ssej hops up and says sure. Spent the day running errands - Ssej picks up medicine for "Drool" the cat (one friend), we return and pick up and return library books (for another friend), and have a House-watching appetizer-filled evening for Allie's birthday. (sans House - it's moved to Friday)

Right now Heidi and Allie are sniggled on the couch under a down blanket. Em has Callie at her feet, and Ssej and I are on separate computers.

A perfect Monday.

broken knee, broken car

Well, I guess things could be worse.
Apparently I have a "derangement of the post medial meniscus" meaning I ripped up some of the cartilage in my left knee. One week of knee brace, a cane (trekking pole in my case), and a Vicodin scrip - wait, does this sound like someone we know an love? Paging Dr. Gregory House...
Then we will re-evaluate.
Either more of the same, or in for an MRI and possible surgery.
Hunting season is definitely in question at this point, and I'm VERY upset about that.

Next big fun.
Taking recycling in, got backed into by government employee in government vehicle. Govt. does not carry regular insurance - instead you file a tort claim. (isn't that a dessert?) Joyful. Car is still driveable, but Ellie the Element, aka the TARDIS, is my good friend and now we are both broken.
I'm certainly feeling sorry for myself today.

so I know the big news is of Obama...

...but you need to get an update on our weather for the year.

dead of Winter (snow, wind, snow, wind) = November - April

Spring (rainy, chilly) = May, June, July

Summer (warm to hot days, chilly nights) = August, September

WINTER (snow, wind, snow wind) = 30 September

One week later? low of -1F/-18C

High tomorrow? 31F/-1C

I want to cry.

Photographic catch-up

I have been remiss in my posting this summer - so here's a photographic diary for ya:

fishing with Ben and Izzy at Yellowstone Lake, Jeff, Poppa, and Tuck visit the park, making beer and cider in the kitchen, and tons of other daily fun I did not take photos of! Just too busy this summer. Seems like I missed June and half of July this year - just runs by too fast. Now the talk is of hunting tags and snow. Might have to head south for a while to extend the season this year.

35, man, I'm old

OK, so it's my birthday again. No matter how hard I try I can't seem to outrun it. The ladies came over and made me chicken fingers, jalapeno poppers, bbq chicken pizza, and bananna split sundaes. MMMMM. Health food.
Bigger party Saturday. Stay tuned...

Fishin...

Well, after my killer craigslist find of 5 spinning rods, huge tackle box (not much tackle), 4 piece 5-weight rod with case, fly vest with net, box of flies, neoprene waders (too small), and boots (perfect fit) $20. That's not a mis-print. Had to drive a bit, but TOTALLY worth it.
Tried spinning at the Gardner/Yellowstone confluence and caught one small rainbow. Had ripped lips so I took it easy and let him go - I use barbless hooks cause I can't stand mangled fishies. Jessi got a picture, I think.
Couple more bites, but no more brought to shore. Salmon flies were hatching so next time I bring the fly rod and try my luck.
I dragged Jessi along and she made me laugh - sitting in a camp chair with her ipod on playing her game boy - getting back to nature!
Eddie actually got his toes wet - perhaps the life jacket was a ridiculous purchase since he barely goes near the water...
Anyway, hope we have better luck when Jeff, Tuck, and pops show up on Friday. I can't wait!!!

Explainations

OK, so I realize the last blog entry was a little cryptic, but that's what you get when Jessi is typing in your blog. Yes, I shaved my head. There were many reasons - the hair is going to locks of love, btw. Suffice it to say I have been having a rather melancholy time of things lately and needed a big change.
There was definitely alcohol involved (kids, don't try this at home) and the one who shaved my head was on whiskey shot #2 I think. There was full video coverage and I promise to at least get some stills up for you all.

Quotes from shaving my head

Heidi (begging to be the one to shave) : I would not send you out looking anything but completely bald
Carrie: Allie would you please do it? You've shorn sheep before
Heidi: Do you want me to practice on Hunter, would that make you feel better?
Allie: Heidi's been drinking and baking
Allie: Oh my lands, you have a scar... This is so personal, we're going to see all your scars
Heidi: It's not too late, it won't look bad, just a little thin
Allie : Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...
Jessi (after holding hair for about 30 seconds, freaking out): I have hair in my hand! There's hair in my hand! (and doing a little high-stepping dance lol)
Carrie: It feels about 20 degrees cooler
Allie: I was doubtful, but [bald] looks good on you
Carrie: Thanks Heidi, you're a mensch.

Enjoying the soft air of Louisiana

Well, it's day 2 in Bossier City and so far we have done a ton of work - I say "we" but really the constant stream of the boys and their friends keep things going. Spreading gravel, digging a vegetable garden, building a chicken coop, cleaning, cooking, and endless laundry!
I'm trying to cobble together two working laptops from three semi-functional ones as well. Apparently the biggest post-graduation party on earth is happening here Saturday, so we are getting the yard up to scratch for that. Movies are happening in the back yard (ala Gardiner, yay!) including one the boys put together. They have been making short movies using whatever cameras they can find, and editor extrordinnaire "G-Whiz" perfects them on his laptop. They're doing an awesome job and are crazily creative.
Anyway, I promise to take some pics and get updates this week.

Hunter Eddie's evil twin in G-Town

I've run into this guy a time or two, and friends have done a double-take thinking Eddie was stolen. Well, they finally met yesterday, Hunter and "Cha-Cha" I think her name was. Sniffed noses and bits, then Cha-Cha went nutsy - jumping and snarling. Eddie turned away.

Jessi got this great picture, though.

Just another Thursday night in Gardiner

So, I'm just back from Livingston, picking up a convalescing dog with loose bowels. The phone rings. Jessi says, hey, can Trudy and I come over? Sure. Bottle of wine, some leftover venison spaghetti, phone rings again. Heidi. Wants to know if I have "Wedding Crashers" nope, but come over 'cause we're eating and watching the series finale of ER. K, maybe. Phone rings again. A frantic Heidi "THERE'S WATER POURING INTO MY BASEMENT!!!" Did you turn off the water? AAAARRRGGGHHHH! Ok, we'll be right over.

Yup. There's about 1/2 inch of water covering the concrete. Heidi's on the phone with her landlord (who lives in Idaho, not anywhere nearby). Jessi and I are trying to ID a valve we can turn off the water.

I run back for Trudy and found a couple of shop vacs. We have decided that we all earned our Lady Scout merit badges in leaking water heaters. Here's a couple of pics from the fun.

Remember when school was great?

Remember when you were a kid, and weekends seemed to last forever? Spring break? SUMMER VACATION? It seemed like an eternity.
This all came to a head the other night when I stopped by to visit my fave kids in G-Town, Ben and Izzy. Ben asked, "So what are you doing for spring break?" Good question Ben. Working, man! Rather be playing video games, board games, baking cookies, and watching Harry Potter marathons, though.

Days like this

So yesterday sucked. Car issues (smell of something burning and a check engine light, but the experts at the Gardiner Tire Iron assured me nothing is wrong...) continuing financial woes with doggy hip surgery a week away, bills, bills, bills, realizing I have to do my damn taxes, applying for a possibly groovy better paying job, getting course work done, and, oh, my job where I never seem to get caught up.
Today was a bit better. Burning smell is gone, still haven't gotten a hell of a lot done with personal finances, but decided to have people over for venison spaghetti at 3:30. So just those of us with no plans on a Wednesday night :-)
Too tired to do much of anything (just finished the dishes from Friday's sushi night, last night, and now have a new pile) but totally worth the work cause it was quite fun to sit around and watch Project Runway re-runs with the girls.
I can feel it - I'll be falling asleep in chapter 4 of my remote sensing book tonight...

Let it snow!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...
Well, it's felt almost like spring the past week, but we've returned to winter - here's the forecast for the next few days:
Hazardous weather condition(s):
Hazardous Weather Outlook
Tonight: Snow. Low around 7. Wind chill values as low as zero. Northwest wind between 3 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of around 2 inches.
Monday: Snow, mainly before noon. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 22. Wind chill values as low as zero. West wind between 3 and 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than 1 inch possible.
Monday Night: Snow likely. The snow could be heavy at times. Cloudy, with a low around 5. Wind chill values as low as -5. North northwest wind between 6 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of around 2 inches.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 22. Wind chill values as low as -5. West wind between 8 and 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 2. West southwest wind around 10 mph.

Home again

Well, I just realized I took no pictures while in Florida. Silly, but honestly the training really could have been anywhere and it would not have made a difference. I flew in late Sunday night, and took a shuttle to the hotel that took over 2 hours. Checked in at 0230 and was up for class at 0730. That set the scene for the week. Up, classes till noon, grab some lunch, back in class, back to the room, get some reading done, sleep, repeat. I had some time free Friday afternoon, but really it was just enough to get things packed and take a nap. Had to leave for the airport at o330 Saturday (0130 MT time ugh). Flights into and out of Atlanta were delayed by weather so didn't end up getting to Bozeman until 1500. Grabbed a few groceries and drove home at 1730. A long day by any standards.
On the up side, S-341 GIS for Incident Management was an excellent course. It brought a lot of things into focus for me that had previously been ambiguous. If we are mapping fire at YELL, we should be using the same tools and SOP's as the rest of the world. I'm not sure it's any easier than the way we are doing things now, but at least it's a national standard that other people are maintaining. It will certainly reduce the amount of time needed to maintain our ad hoc mapping efforts, file structure, training, and naming conventions. But I digress.
It's good to be home. Emily took excellent care of Hunter Eddie and the apartment for me. He seemed excited to have me back, but I'm sure he had a blast being spoiled while I was gone. I took a few minutes to put away the perishables, then fell exhausted onto my lovely couch. I'd been dreaming of it for days - sitting uncomfortably in a vinyl chair in my hotel room! The snow was a welcome relief. Although the southern warmth was a welcome diversion, I am happy to be home to winter. Still many trails to ski before spring!
It is a little quiet after spending a week in Louisiana with the craziness of my boys' lives, but things will soon be back to normal here in Gardiner, with friends coming over to watch TV and knit. I do miss them horribly. The daily happenings of the house on Holiday Place are always entertaining! I ponied up for a voice over IP channel that the boys and I share - it's great to be able to talk to them almost every day and stay involved with their lives.
The river is running pretty freely, so spring feels imminent but there are a few more months of weather before summer backpacking season.
Well, it's about 0230 now and I need to get some sleep. For details of my time in LA, see my sister's blog (photos posted). It's great to be home!

Louisiana and Florida

Well, finally I have a minute to blog! I'm now in Kissimmee, Florida taking some GIS/Incident Management training, but spent last week hanging out with sis and the boys in Bossier City. Caught a terrible cold (AGAIN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!) and was sick for the first few days, so that sucked. Still have a lingering cough but the worst seems to be over. That's what I get for living in the relatively immunologically sequestered haven of rural Montana.
Got to attend my first Mardi Gras parade on Saturday with Aims, the boys, and their friends - what a hoot! Can't imagine I would have enjoyed New Orleans more. I was just starting to have fun with the kids when it was time to jump on the plane for Florida. I love being at that crazy, loud, busy, fun house! We got some projects done while I was there (see Aimee's blog for more in-depth info) seems like a recurring theme whenever I go visit her. The fixer-upper house is always a work in progress though, so it's to be expected. Still didn't get to see my gator, but I may have a few hours Friday so I'll check into the options here.

So far training has been interesting - mostly focusing on using the FIMT toolset for ArcGIS and general ICS. Some NPS GIS folks I know are here, so good to see them again. Lots of USFS and state foresters as well, so quite a good interagency mix.
The "resort" is not super impressive, but along the lines of what one would expect for a government operation. The weather has been chilly, so being inside is not a chore. Supposed to get better as the week goes on. I'll be home late Saturday night if all goes to plan. Will post pics when I have a chance.

'tis a sad, sad time in Gardiner...

Number 6 has been an enigmatic figure for the past few years, and a big part of life for some friends of mine (sorry TD). I will miss seeing him run his harem outside my office window each fall and the squeal of his bugle. Farewell, old man. We will miss you.

Slumber Party!!!!

Well, Ben & Izzy got to come over and hang out with Hunter Eddie & I. I think they had a good time, but I had TONS of fun!! We started to watch Bedknobs & Broomsticks (one of Izzy's favorites, and mine too!) then both of them played WoW for a bit. Later we went to Bruce-Fest over at the 2-Bit - a huge rousing success btw - and had some dinner. We poked around a bit and saw pretty much everyone in Gardiner. Next a walk with the dog, then a Harry Potter movie fest. Izzy fell asleep before the first movie was over (using Eddie as a pillow), but Ben and I made it to Prisoner of Azkaban before falling to sleep.

Thankfully, we slept in till about 8 then made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Izzy was a great help! The kids played video games and watched cartoons while I got the dishes done, then we walked Eddie back to their house.

The kids were a lot of fun, and I told them we would for sure do it again. I snapped a few pics of Saturday night - Ben was a bit addicted to gaming, but Izzy was great with Eddie and loves her "new pillow" He tolerates anything, really, and likes getting scratched so it worked out fine for both.

An hour in the life of Hunter Eddie...

What can I say? It's cold!

Not too many posts - just too busy (how long can I use that as an excuse?)
Got sick with a bad cold this week - thankfully ther's such a thing as nyquil - read a couple of books, though. Dark Summit - thanks to a loan from Heidi - and The Great Influenza about the 1918 epidemic. Interestingly, most young healthy people died because their immune systems overreacted to the virus. Subject matter is interesting, but the book is not an easy or pleasureable read. Author could have done better with the subject matter. What else?
It's freaking cold. The wind just blows right through you. BTW, my sis said IT SNOWED IN BOSSIER CITY, LA TODAY! Freak occurrence...
hmm, what else?
Downloaded the 2009 Sustainable Seafood Guide from http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx
Oh, and studying Map Accuracy Assessment - which is as exciting as it sounds. That's why my blog is being updated - Kappa calculations!
Anyway, hope to feel much better so I feel like skiing this weekend.
A regular Gardiner winter, it is.

At least I shot a deer - not a llama!

Sorry, that llama sure looked like elk Photo of hunting mistake becomes Web sensation

By BRETT FRENCHOf The Gazette Staff
A New York hunter may be feeling a bit sheepish after mistaking a feral llama in Paradise Valley for a Rocky Mountain elk, but he apparently did not violate any laws.
Rusty Saunders of Fort Edward, N.Y., called a Fish, Wildlife and Parks warden in Livingston in November to turn himself in after shooting the llama, according to Mel Frost, FWP information officer in Bozeman.
Since FWP does not deal with livestock shootings, they immediately turned the investigation over to the Montana Department of Livestock.
After investigating, the Livestock Department turned the matter over to Park County authorities without issuing any citations. "We don't have any statute to prevent that kind of thing," said Steve Merritt, information officer for the Livestock Department in Helena.
A telephone call to the Park County sheriff was not immediately returned.
Photos that the Livestock Department took during its investigation showed the dark brown and black llama gutted and lying in the back of a red pickup truck. The photos included a shot of Saunders' notched 2008 elk tag, dated Nov. 18. Somehow, the photos ended up circulating through e-mails, trekking across the nation and even north of the border into Canada.
Under a subject heading of "hunting llamas in Big Sky Country," the e-mail parodied MasterCard's "priceless" advertising campaign"
".30-06 rifle with Leupold Scope - $650.
"Out of state license - $600.
"Gas to drive from New York - $700.
"Taking a trophy Montana llama - priceless."
The photos have ended up on blogs across the country, as well, generating derisive remarks from hunters.
It's not clear how Saunders realized his error, and it's not known what happened to the wild llama.
Messages left for Saunders on his home answering machine were not immediately returned.
Saunders is not the first person to mistake a llama for a game animal. On opening day of the 1999 hunting season, a 21-year-old Sun Prairie deer hunter shot a 300-pound llama on the Cascade Hutterite Colony near Fort Shaw, then gutted and tagged the animal. He didn't realize his mistake until he took it to a Great Falls meat processor, which turned him away.
The man turned himself in and the colony didn't press charges.
Montana's hunter safety education program emphasizes that hunters should always identify their target before pulling the trigger.
Contact Brett French at french@billingsgazette.com or at 657-1387.
Published on Thursday, January 15, 2009.Last modified on 1/15/2009 at 12:30 am

HE EVEN GUTTED THE DAMN THING!!! LOL

Sunday, Sunday...COLD!!!

So, working on packages to send to Louisiana for Christmas today. Stuff is strewn everywhere. Wish I could load myself into one of the packages and spend time with my boys and sis.

Also Bob needs to get into the in-floor heating system in my entry, so the shelves came down and more crap is strewn everywhere. Always a fun job.

Headed up to Mammoth this AM to grab a couple things from the office - the car barely started. Forgot to plug in last night. Bitterly cold weather plus gusty wind has made things wicked cold. Was digging through the shed to pull out the winter gear and everything is frozen solid. Found my furry hat, though.

Really can't wait to get back to work tomorrow - have too much work and not enough hours to do it in. In other words an entirely normal state of affairs.

What keeps me going on days like this...

Music. Johnny Cash, to be exact.
Dad and I started most of our days on the road with selections from the greatest hits album, and now it makes getting through marathon digitizing sessions a hell of a lot easier.
I'll get it one piece at a time...

Oh, deer!

So the word has made it around Gardiner that I made my first kill. All I can say is thank goodness for stupid deer. And thank Roy for not laughing at me.

I have to say that I was really expecting to get nothing this year, but Roy managed to drag me out up Eagle Creek to fill my antlerless mule tag on the afternoon before Thanksgiving.

My first chance was at a beautiful muley at about 140 yards or so. A perfect shot. But of course I couldn't find a dang thing to brace against and really wondered what the hell I was doing up there. Couldn't see a thing through the scope, and the bugger sauntered over a small hill. I moved back to the truck and Roy suggested I sidehill it a bit to try for a better angle. As I was waiting for a good one, Roy said, "Psst - hold it - look above you" 2 lovely muleys at about 100 yards. I got a good bead on one, squeezed the trigger - click - son of a bitch. Forgot to chamber a round! Popped one in quickly, tried to settle down, took a shot - and missed. The deer were so used to shots popping off that they just looked around for crying out loud! Chambered another round, sighted in, deep breath, and smack - hit one.

Roy did the dirty work in the field but let me drag the little yearling buck down the hill (note to self - always shoot uphill - makes dragging a lot easier). We got him back to Jessi's garage and Roy talked Alicia and I through the skinning and quartering process. Took a lot longer than if he would have just done it himself, I'm sure, but it was nice of him to take the time.

After a few days hanging, I started butchering over the weekend. Unfortunately the bullet exited out a rear leg and ruined most of the meat on that quarter. Still got about 15 pounds of tender yearling out of it. Just finished up grinding the rest of the burger - LOVE that Kitchen Aid grinder attachment! Would have been nice if my sis were here - she would get a kick out of the whole processing part of it and it would have been nice to have an extra set of hands.

Here's a couple of pics Jessi took during the evening - the little guy in the truck, and Roy instructing Alicia how to skin. Unfortunately both Roy and I forgot our cameras so no "trophy" pics of the little guy. I like hunting a lot. Elk season has been extended...hmmm...

A day in the life

Well, I had many things planned for the day, since it's Veterans' Day and most of us employees got the day off. I did my traditional wash-the-dog-then-clean-the-bathroom job - not too fun really, but Hunter-Eddie is looking and smelling much better (thanks auntie Jessi for helping with ear-cleaning chores!).
When I was down south, Aims and I traded out her old laptop for my now old laptop. So I have my old-old laptop back and Aims gets a new-to-her machine. The old one will be my loaner/outside movie laptop. It got some updates, a clean-up, and a disk defragmentation. I also rescued some shelving/cabinets from the trash and cleaned them up to replace some cruddy shelving and make a more secure place for dog food and such. Worked out quite well and only cost me some elbow grease. Good day for reusing stuff.
I tried to tidy up the house before the Gardiner gals came over for "House" tonight, but the place was still pretty messy. Jessi brought pizza and we had a good old time. I'm finishing up the day by scouring the bathroom floor and working on school work. Whew! Can't wait to get back to work tomorrow so I can have a break from housework!

Bears in the garbage cans

So very sorry I don't have pics of this, but according to my neighbors the bear that has been raiding garbage cans in the Gardiner area finally hit our house. Apparently my landlord thought a dog had gotten into things two nights ago and cleaned up the mess. Then my upstairs neighbor saw the bear going through the cans and cleaned up the mess today. The trash went to the dump and the cans are now put away until the winter hits and the bears are in their dens.
I forsee a change for trash-handling in Gardiner for the future. It's about time if you ask me. Below-average whitebark pine nut harvests are driving the bears to town for a final fill-up before hibernation. Compost heaps and trash cans are easy targets.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

Savoring an afternoon at home after a 3 week plus journey by RV to Bossier City, Louisiana. Lovely to be here.





For those of you who don't know already, Hunter Eddie Guiles is now in residence in Gardiner. I have been looking for a dog for a few months, and I got the call a month or so ago from my sister saying that she was giving Hunter to me if I wanted him. I of course accepted, but really did not get my hopes up - the boys love him and so does Aimee - so it didn't seem real until I had him in the rig for the long ride home. He has a few health problems that a drier climate should lessen, so moving him up was partly for that reason. I don't think he really knows what is going on right now. We spent four days and nights in the RV, stopping off at a new place every few hours. That must have been bewildering. As I was transferring all my stuff over to my car in Bozeman he sat right at the drivers' side door - not willing to let me leave without him. He even whined a bit (very out of character). Well, now he's installed in my apartment and has already had several visitors. Mitch and Lauren had a blast with him 'cause he's "so squishy" Hunter Eddie is a hit with the Gardiner crowd.

Hunter Eddie in his typical pose in the RV

5,000 miles of joy

ok, so my big three week "vacation" is coming to an end - I am blogging from the road - in Bozeman. Dad and I met up with Oma at the C'mon Inn here in Boze-angeles for dinner. Since it was dark and I was getting tired, I decided to spend one more lovely night in the RV with the snoring dog. Tomorrow I will finish packing up my car and part ways with mom and dad. Hard to describe the past few weeks - a ton of driving, workworkwork, joy in spending time with the boys, and many stories to tell. Too tired to do much tonight, but I plan to get photos downloaded tomorrow.
Peace all.