Slowing down

The first snow fell yesterday. And then melted.

It's a transitional time of year for everyone; we're no exception. Shorter days, colder weather and less money coming in during winter forces us to re-think our habits. Whittling down to where we should be, physically, financially, psychologically. 

The holidays are usually not our favorite time of year for a bunch of reasons - one of them being the cultural expectation surrounding gift giving. I am going to try to put an emphasis more on experiences than items when I make my list. We keep trying to opt-out of the family xmas celebration (none of us religious, why do we do this?) but it hasn't happened yet. I may claim to be part of the BuyNothingNew crew. (Bonus reading: How Your Stuff is Killing You and You Don't Even Know It)

Lazlo loves hazelnuts. Look at all that white on his face. Considering the fate of our oldest dog who really only has 2.5 good legs on his best day. Winter snow and ice is not going to make that any easier. Hard decisions coming up.

Mia has a perch where she can enjoy the sun - when it's out. She was a bad dog earlier this year (fighting with a neighbor dog, nothing serious) so the tie-out cable keeps her safe if she feels the impulse to chase marauding canines.

My bedside table was re-purposed into our new TV stand. We move it out of the way (or in the way) as needed and it plugs in to the same outlet (outlets are a new development - yay!) as our new heater which is working fabulously. (The slim white thing on the wall there is the heater.)

Huge mushrooms growing under some trees at the end of the driveway

Keith at Fish Creek on the way home from Missoula where we saw Hank 3 in concert 

We took Mia to The Island for some exercise a couple weeks ago on a gorgeous day
a few more photos on flickr