The Beauty of Life

There is definitely not a day that goes by in my life right now where I do not look around and say, "Wow...look at how beautiful this city is! How lucky am I to be here?". It's true - ask Julia. Every time we bike together, we usually comment on the beauty of Missoula. Today this was especially true. It's cold today - this morning, my computer said that it felt like 38 degrees. We biked to the farmer's market and enjoyed hot spiced apple cider, sampled different types of apples, and bought a few pounds of apples, potatoes, and strawberry-banana bread. We also made a trek to the Artisans' Fair, where there were many neat things that I chose not to buy. It makes me want to get out my knitting or crocheting again and make some scarves. Possbly I'll learn how to make a hat. But Missoula, amazing. Not only this, but it's homecoming week. Montanans go crazy for homecoming - every bit of it! There was a huge parade downtown which was so fun to watch (a little bit of it...we kind of boycotted). There were so many people out that just love Montana, love the University, and love their lives. On the way home, I noticed that the leaves are turning colors. Some trees are so brilliantly red and orange that they remind me of an artist's paintings, while others are still green. It is such a wonderful mix of colors. There is also snow on the tops of the surrounding mountains. Actually, this morning I noticed that the snow on a nearby mountain is actually not that far up or that far away. This means that winter is kind of setting in before fall gets its chance. Hopefully it is picture-esque. But to make a point, how wonderful is life right now?

Our grant is almost finished. We are working on the final copies and will hopefully have everything in by Monday or Tuesday. The stress level is a little down, so this is good. We also have a giant exam on Monday, so I better buckle down and study pretty soon. Life is good.

Laura and I getting ready for our "Almost done with our grant" Celebration - These clothes are darn fancy for Missoula

Lindsay and I - "We're almost done with our grant..."

Homecoming Parade - Yes, these miniature horses are dressed up in Halloween costumes

An old man dressed as a cowboy doing the hula-hoop is actually not that rare of an occurrence here...This is at the Artisans' Market

Missoula has a giant ceramic cow too! I still like Manitowoc's better...simply because it is usually accompanied by ice cream