Month: October 2026

In addition to the Magnificent Seven and the Longmont Yahoos, I have a local group of board-game friends and enjoy spending time with them. (Yeah, I guess I play a lot of board games!) Today part of the group got together to wish bon voyage to Brian and Marie, who are heading south for the winter. Like many people around here, they love Montana summers but aren’t fans of the winter. They have grandkids in Las Vegas, and that’s a big draw… as is their modest little home in Arizona.

We’d planned to have dinner at the Sitting Duck, but found out this morning it’s closed for the season (another bummer about summer versus winter around here). That meant the old fallback, Rosa’s.

Regardless of where we ate, we knew the food would be good and the company better.

The funny thing is that we’ll see these two in a couple of weeks, when we meet up with them in the Caribbean for a cruise. And on the cruise we’ll be– you guessed it– playing board games.

Other than being far too small, with narrow doors, our garage is great. We love the expansive wood cabinets, the large workbench, and especially the amazing lighting. But over time, the concrete has been getting dirty and deteriorated. In the winter months– and for much of the summer as well– we walk through the garage many times a day going between houses. We decided it was time to clean up the place.

We hired a crew to install new epoxy flooring. We’ve seen it in other homes, and it always looks spectacular. In addition to looking good, it feels nice (on my bare feet) and it’s really easy to clean.

This week they came over each day. On day one they used a diamond grinder to take off the top layer of concrete and rough up the surface, then on day two they poured a base coat of epoxy. Day three: atop that they sprinkled a gazillion little black, white, and grey ceramic flakes. Finally, on day four, they overlaid everything with a topcoat. This is what it looks like now:

We still have to wait about three days until it’s fully cured and can handle the weight of our cars, so for now we can only look at how pretty it is. Wow, what a difference!

Today was a gorgeous fall day, and that meant we simply had to get outside. We loaded up our e-bikes and drove an hour north to Whitefish, where we’d opted to bike around Whitefish Lake. It was pretty chilly at the start– not even fifty degrees– but the sun was out and that always feels better.

Two hours later, much farther around the lake, we’d shed our long sleeves and were basking in the warm day.

We finished our ride and stopped in at a local pizza joint several friends had recommended. We weren’t disappointed. It’s no Rosa’s, but it’s now my second-favorite pizza place in the Valley.

We’re so fortunate to live in this beautiful part of the world, and to have the time to enjoy it.

Last week Zack texted me this picture without any context:

After a bit of back-and-forth, I learned he’d finally realized his dream of owning a motorcycle. It’s a 2011 Yamaha Concours, and has a staggering 1,250cc engine. That’s way more acceleration than a 25-year-old needs, but he insists he’s “being careful”.

Today, Kyra bought some new wheels as well:

This is a 2014 Honda Fit, which is (in her words) kind of a derpy little car, but since most people in New Zealand drive derpy cars anyway, she’ll fit right in.

Obviously they’re both very excited, and I’m excited for them. It’s always fun to have some new wheels.

It’s been about a year since we last visited Missouri, and I’ve been wanting to go for a while. After a bit of discussion about scheduling (it’s hard to line up calendars!), Pepper and I hopped on a flight and headed back to the ol’ homestead.

Kathy and Annette came down from Kirksville, Anakin and July from Chicago, and Kari, DJ, and Theo made the ten-mile trip from St Charles. We had a grand time catching up.

Kari took us on a tour of the farm where she’s been working for a few years, and it was cool to meet her co-workers and learn about all the organic techniques she and the team are practicing there.

All of us took turns riding Mom and Dad’s new e-bikes, and we agreed they’re a lot of fun. It’s always interesting to go around my old subdivision, remembering streets and where friends lived (and forgetting some too), but still feeling comfortable knowing where things are.

The days seemed to whiz past and soon it was time to head home. It feels good to be able to return to my roots, as it were. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to visit my family and trade stories and just enjoy being together as all of us continue on our winding paths.