During which I learned some valuable lessons

I was awarded two red ribbons for my first year entering at the Idaho County Fair, for photos that I had less confidence in, this being rural Idaho and all (this one and this one). But that goes to show what I know: not much!

First mistake: waiting until the week before to order photos. Costly. And unnecessary.
Second mistake: ordering a dozen photos. Should have narrowed it down and saved myself some money.
Third mistake: Showing up with them not ready to hang. The rule book was kind of vague about hanging. The fair helper scrambled to find me some yarn and scotch tape to hang them on the hooks. I said, "Obviously this is my first time."
Fourth mistake: Taking the rules in the rule book to heart. It said "No Fancy Frames" so I chose some nice colored mats. And showed up to see MANY fancy frames. The frames don't help a bad photo win, but they do help good photos get Best in Show.

But it was a good experience overall. This afternoon I go up to collect my photos (and ribbons) and to meet with a couple whose wedding I'm shooting in a couple of weeks (as a gift).

Other things are brewing and there's a lot going on, what with the tomatoes, etc. coming on.

Heading to Missoula again next weekend for a quick day-trip for supplies.

This time over we'll have something to listen to going over the pass, other than the wind, since Keith installed a new stereo for us. The radio in the truck was AM only... and didn't work. As people who really like to listen to music, that was a downer for us. For about $70 we bought a radio/CD player (plays burned CDs, too) that also has an in-front AUX jack, meaning we can plug our mp3 players right into the front.

He hit some snags during the install. At one point the radio came on when the headlights were on, even with the key out. And then the radio worked but the taillights and turn signals didn't. Anyway, he got it working and we'll have much more enjoyable road trips from now on.

Today I finally got my ruling in the court case for the rental car accident that happened in Nov. '07. The party who caused the accident is responsible for part, but I am responsible for more (lawyers' fees mostly). At this point it's been so long and drawn out that I'm just moving on. In checking my blog stats I see that the lawyers for Dollar Rent-A-Car have been looking for me, so I can only assume they're pursuing wage garnishment. Which really isn't all that painful for me. If they want to take 25% of my tiny paychecks, I won't starve and it will take 10 years for them to get the whole amount. As my mom says, "They can't eat you." In hindsight I should have done whatever it took to pay the original amount up front and then try to collect from the other party later. (Although I felt at the time I didn't have the means to pay anyone $1,000+ for anything. Heck, I've been paying off my therapist in $50 increments for over a year). Expensive lesson.

Moving on...