A bunch of randomness and some pictures.

Well, maybe I didn't promise the randomness, but I did promise the pictures.

Enjoy!

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Quote heard on Iron Chef America

"The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." Alton Brown

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Quote from the C.S. Lewis quote book that Faramir gave me for my birthday. It's why I have a hard time believing any politician. I think he hits the true problem squarely on the head.

"What is the good of telling the ships how to steer so as to avoid collisions if, in fact, they are such crazy old tubs that they cannot be steered at all? What is the good of drawing up, on paper, rules for social behavior, if we know that, in fact, our greed, cowardice, ill temper, and self-conceit are going to prevent us from keeping them? I do not mean for a moment that we ought not to think, and think hard, about improvements in our social and economic system. What I do mean is that all that thinking will be mere moonshine unless we realise that nothing but the courage and unselfishness of individuals is ever going to make any system work properly. It is easy enough to remove the particular kinds of graft or bullying that go on under the present system: but as long as men are twisters or bullies they will find some new way of carrying on the old game under the new system. You cannot make men good by law: and without good men you cannot have a good society."

From Mere Christianity

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It's amazing how quickly life can change. Faramir lost one of his two jobs today. From a career standpoint, this is a great thing. He didn't Love working there to begin with. Unfortunately this was the job that did the most towards paying bills and contributing towards retirement.

I'm sad. I'm upset as it was very badly handled by the company in question (in my own humble opinion, however that unfortunately hardly counts in this world). And yet, I don't feel horrible about it. We've lived poor before. We can do it again until whatever is next comes along.

The thing I'm feeling the most right now is awe. Wonder at how fast this corner was suddenly turned for us. Our vacation this weekend was peaceful and fun. I have felt calm and relief at finally being "settled" for quite some time. 6 hours into our first full day back home, the corner has been turned. His last day is in two weeks.

And I am left wondering what is next. There is no concern for food or clothing Thank heavens for the constant encouragement for a years supply of food from my church leaders. We don't have that much, but we have enough that I can cut waay back on my food budget for a while.

And suddenly I am thankful. Thankful for parents who made me learn how to work and clean. Thankful that my mother taught me to cook. Thankful that we have had enough and to spare of late so that we could invest in some things that we have not been able to afford before, like a lawn mower. Thankful that while my husband has lost one job, he has not lost both of them. Particularly I am thankful for parents who taught me to look ahead and consider my options. Already we have a plan in place, places Faramir can go for information and help in looking for a job. There are one, possibly two options out there that can be a back up plan. I am thankful for parents who taught me how to survive on little so that when it was necessary, I could survive on little. And I will do it again.

And I'm ok with that.

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Ok, on to the pictures. It's fall here, and for the greater Wasatch Front, fall means about two weeks of color and then lots and lots of brown. I wondered, as we drove along the highway towards the Tetons, if it could possibly be beautiful with the land around it dying in preparation of winter.

I was proven wrong over and over again, and the juxtaposition of the dying and the beauty and the living struck me over and over again.

My favorite time of day is morning, but the most beautiful time of day is the witching hour of twilight. The Idaho farmland was bathed in the glow of a day gone by, and it was breathtaking.



We also were treated to a spectacular sunset. Who needs the land to be alive for the sky to catch your breath in wonder?



As I said before, we spent Friday in Yellowstone. I didn't think about it much until we drove into the park and were greeted with miles and miles of forests that looked like this.



I had forgotten the fires that happened (in my mind at least) a gazillion years ago. There were miles of dead trees. And the same miles were filled with the Firebird- like regrowth of the new trees. Yellowstone is healing.

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We stopped at Old Faithful and I loved seeing the Bison camped out next to the geyser. That water would mean death if they got too close, and yet those animals depended on those geysers during the winter because the heat would melt the snow around it, thus making it easier to forage for food.



Another striking thing that awes me every time I think of it, is the resiliency of our world. Here the pools and geysers create an environment hostile to human beings. And yet the spectacular colors in these pools are created by organisms that thrive in these conditions. What would mean death to us as human beings means life to those organisms.



My children loved Yellowstone and questioned many times when we could come back. I was a bit surprised. We didn't get to even spend a whole day there. (Who knows, maybe that worked to our benefit.) They were as awed by the pools and geysers as we were. Well. . .Maybe not Tyrone, but he's two, so we'll forgive him.

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Friday was spent at Grand Teton National Park.

Even in death it was. . .what. . .what word works here? Awe-inspiring. Grand. Majestic. Breath taking. None of those words seems to grasp my feelings about this place. It is beyond words for me. I'm hoping you'll be able to see these alright.







And finally, for my weird obsession this trip.

What we miss when we forget to look behind. (I took a gazillion of these pictures. This one is my favorite.)



What a fabulous trip, is all that I can say.