Truth

We begin our journey today to Aotearoa. This is a Maori name, others call it New Zealand and some even say Middle-Earth. We won't be blogging again for three weeks. We'll post some highlights of our trip when we return. We will not deluge you with pictures as we are planning to be as present as possible in every moment and will probably not take many pictures, just the one in our hearts.


I wanted to leave you with a book recommendation. I am a very avid reader but don't usually share what I'm reading on a large scale. However, I think every citizen of this country should read this book by John Perkins. It comes with my very highest recommendation. It puts the evening news in a completely different light and provides a clear understanding of our current world's situation. It was a true epiphany for me as I felt I was finally hearing the truth about all the history classes I have ever taken. I hope it does the same for you. See you in three weeks!

10 years!

I can hardly believe it. Just one month shy of her 10th birthday, my little black Honda reached a milestone: 150,000 miles! And amazingly, all but five miles of that was under my ownership. I was fortunate enough to be at the Honda dealership the day after a delivery and I snagged my beautiful, sporty, 5-speed brand new automobile. She's been super dependable and definitely road-worthy. We've burned up the miles from Missoula to Portland and Seattle on a regular basis over the last eight years. I intend to get another 150,000 out of her and continue loving every one of them.

River Time

I've been biking home lately trying to get ready for New Zealand. It's about 11 miles and usually provides a good warmup prior to taking Tiika out. Today, however, there was a strong headwind and I was pretty tired by the time I came home. It was time to hit the river!This is the Blackfoot River and as you can see, it's running high and fast due to spring runoff. A little too high and fast for me.
On the other hand, it doesn't faze our Tiika girl. I threw a stick and she launched herself off the bank. Here she is in her seeking position.
Success! In spite of being out in the middle of a strong current, she casually turns and swims towards shore. I envy her oneness with the river and her supreme confidence in her own self. Not making it to shore is just not part of her vision, so, of course, she arrives safe and sound.And she's ready to go again. This scenario was repeated many times until finally it was time to head home and make dinner.

Happy Mother's Day

Yesterday, for Mother's Day, Tiika and I took Jenn out for a Thai coffee. Of course this was after getting her a new outfit! I thought she might wear it on the plane, but she decided to show it off. She looks GREAT! After coffee, we went out for breakfast. The deciding factor for both places was that they had outside seating and allowed dogs.
This was an Irish variation of Eggs Benedict using sausage instead of ham and Irish soda bread underneath. Hmmmm, good! Notice the paws at the bottom of the picture, just in case anything was spilled. The Irish coffee was just the right finishing touch.

Jenn, Tiika and I wish all mothers out there a very "HAPPY MOTHER"S DAY!"

Imagine....

A good friend of ours, Teri, shared this YouTube clip with us. On March 23rd at 8:00AM, passengers using the Central Rail Station in Antwerp, Belgium were given a real treat. I love the faces of the people watching the performance. This song is not even in their native language and is still able to transform them. Perfect strangers were all bound up in the sheer joy of the music and the air was filled with love. It reminded me of the scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off when he starts singing Twist and Shout. Two songs come to mind - Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" and Isreal Kamakawiwo'ole's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What A Wonderful World". This the world I imagine. I imagine Afghanistan singing and dancing. I imagine Iraq singing and dancing. I imagine people all over our planet coming together in song and dance and laughing. I imagine....

Spring continues to burst forth

Today was a great day to be out and about in the woods. Yesterday's hike showed me exactly where I wanted to go today! I am amazed and the difference one day makes in the spring. On the same trail where only 24 hours prior I had seen one wild bloom there were now probably a dozen of them. Mother Nature is nothing if not prolific.

I saw Rob's favorite, the Indian Paintbrush...















my favorite, the Shooting Star...















that most hearty of yellow flowers, the Balsam Root...







and even a lupine beginning to show itself...















What an exhibition of color! I love spring wild flowers.

(Oh and yes, and this was also a training ride to get my bottom ready for a few days of cycling in New Zealand.)