Season's Greetings!

Hello all! Even though I’m way up here in The Boondocks for a few more days staying with my parents, I thought I’d tackle the long, patience-filled process of connecting to their dial-up internet, wading through various web pages, waiting for each to load slowwwwwwwly and finally posting some new news from your favorite Bait.

I especially wanted to add a little something to greet any newcomers to my blog. We have had outstanding feedback from all those who received my family’s newsletter and, since my blog address was printed in it, I wanted to make sure people got the right impression that yes, I DO check and post on this blogsite quite often. Just not so often from dial-up locations, as it turns out. :)

I have been very busy since I’ve been home. Just today, however, the last of the visiting family members bade their farewell so I assume the rest of the week should slow down considerably. The Christmas Eve service this year was especially wonderful, including the traditional children’s nativity scene with wonderful historic facts about some of the more famous Christmas carols. As per usual, we opened our presents on Christmas Eve, but my Mean Old Sister made me wait until Christmas DAY to open our sock presents. Draw out the excitement, she said. BaHumbug. No worries, though; ALL the presents have been opened now and I am quite satisfied.

Although I’ve acquired a cold since arriving home, I haven’t seemed to slow down at all. Several get-togethers and a birthday part were in order, since most of my childhood friends were in town and we only see each other about once a year these days, therefore mandating as much catching up as possible. There were also the extended relatives to visit with. My cousin’s four kids were a ton of fun to watch and be around for all the family dinners.

Oh, and I almost forgot! Some of the most fun was being a pyro with my dad, burning the last few slash piles down by the creek (sorry Gordon, no more this year, but I hear we’ve got some more work cut out for us next year!). Although I burned two new spark holes in my nice coat, I did have a heck of a time. Darn near burned my face off the first night, though, since I was new to the bonfire scene. Note: Always come prepared with a billed baseball cap when burned slash piles so you can get close to them without exposing your face…. Of course that does mean, with your head tipped down for protection, you won’t be able to SEE anything you’re doing at all, but hey, it’s only a bonfire, what’s the worst that can happen, right?

Today I am a pygmy owl, because dad and I saw one while burning the last of the piles yesterday. Until then, I didn’t know what one was. It’s called a ‘pygmy’ because it is one of the smallest owls you’ll ever see. In fact, we weren’t sure what on earth it was at first. It has a robust breast, like a robin, and fairly long tail feathers, but had a THICK neck, stubby nose and a neck that turned RIGHT around. I had to run up the hill to grab the binocs and camera so we could get a better look (photo to appear on this blog soon). It had the COOLEST black spots on the back of its head, so whether it was facing you or not, it looked like it had eyes staring right through you. Very cool. And small. And cute.

Today we are going for a ski (the first of the season for me), but I am very tired from staying out late last night (cheers to the Tav’s bartender who was incredibly kind to us even though it was past closing time and we weren’t really moving out the door with any measurable speed at all). (Cheers also to the friends of mine who left our little town today to return to work. It was wonderful seeing you all!) (My condolences to those returning to Spokane… I hear it has snowed continuously since my departure.)

Well, I’ll leave it at that, but I’ll try checking in here every few days and giving you all the update. Thanks for checking out my blog and feel free to leave me a comment or two!