A day in the life.....

You know I like to picture you doing what you do each day, knowing what your schedules might be, and where you might be at any given time of the day. I try to imagine what Hayden and Tyler are doing at Rachel's house, and whether she is walking them to school or the park, or fixing them dinner. I imagine Martha getting up before the crack of dawn and driving to the studio to give someone extra attention, and I picture Will at the computer or on his cellphone arranging the next big buy. Em is at the Y and I can easily imagine what life looks like there, having been there many times. Jess is in his basement and life is full of surprises upstairs. These scenarios all give me comfort, because I can imagine them and feel connected to each of you.

So, in the spirit of connection I decided to give you a day in the life...a peek at our daily routine.

TODAY--SUNDAY
I got up at 6 a.m., and since Dad was on the computer I decided to update the white board schedule of games for February. I listed all the games for the month for each of the 4 high schools (Cody, Powell, Rocky, and Lovell) and for Lovell's Middle School. That took about an hour.

Then I tallied up all the games we have shot, noting which teams we haven't shot yet, or haven't shot enough of. Then, I updated the website organizing the pictures in the galleries into groups and categories. That took another hour. Dad asked me if I was having fun, or just getting things done. I told him I really didn't know.

At 8 a.m. he left to feed the cows, and when he returned he fixed breakfast, since it looked like I was not headed in that direction. Hash browns and sausage.

After breakfast and clean up we went to church. It starts at 11:30 and ends at 2:30. So, 3 hours of reflection and self-examination, and admonition. The 3 messages--one from each hour--were: think of your spouse's needs more than your own; work to receive personal revelation(and inspiration) from God; and support your leaders and be not critical. I think they were all meant for me---areas to consider more deeply. So going to church was constructive.

At 3:30, after church Dad fixed hamburgers for lunch. I talked to Vicky on the phone for an hour and Dad went to the farm and fed the cows..(again) He is reading and I am blogging and it's 7:00 now and Dad wants to know when we will be eating again, and what. I'm not hungry yet. Poor dad. He's either feeding cows or eating. And not much happens in between. I seem to be either sitting at the computer or feeding Dad. We are quite a weird pair.

I bet you were bored after the first paragraph. I know I often am bored. I know I said I was glad to be done working on Aunt Grace's salon.... but it did get me out of the house, and it was a project with a beginning and an end. Basketball, it seems, will never end. Or at least not until the end of February. I tallied up the number of games we have shot--34 games! About 6 a week. Dad is getting sick of Basketball and so am I.

And why, you may ask, aren't we out doing something more interesting? well, for one thing, it is cold and there is snow on the ground--about 5 inches of it. And the other thing is...we are in Lovell, where there really isn't anything interesting to do.

We did go to KFC last week when we were in Cody and the Girls' game was cancelled, because Rocky doesn't have a girls' team, and we had an hour to kill until the boys played. But it was a big mistake. The chicken was dark brown--overcooked--and we got the last of the potatoes and gravy, lucky for us??? The poor kid at the counter had to keep apologizing to everyone because they ran out and they were out of some other stuff too because there were just 2 of them running the place. They were seriously understaffed. So, that was obviously a bust.

We learned last week while attending the Powell Freshman Boys' game that Powell and Cody have Soccer teams. They play in March. Dad thinks that will be great. He loves soccer. I think it will be great because it is outdoors, and he certainly won't mind if I don't go with him and sit outside while he shoots. I hope that doesn't sound mean, but it is so incredibly boring going to games and sitting alone for 5 hours. The snack bars are overpriced and Lovell's popcorn is the worst!

YESTERDAY--SATURDAY
I got up at 4 a.m. and began processing and editing Friday night's Boys' Varsity game while watching The West Wing, Season 1. That took about 4 hours. (I could do it faster if the TV wasn't on, but sometimes I get bored, and I need the background stimulation. I fell asleep once with my finger on the arrow key and I thought I was 50 pictures closer to being done. Now, I put on the headphones and listen to Mozart or a movie so I can stay awake.) It just takes time. Then I fixed breakfast and Dad went to an auction with Uncle Glen (after feeding the cows), from 9 til noon. I laid down at 10:30 and took a nap. (Well, I did get up at 4 a.m., remember?)

Dad came home at noon and cooked hamburgers and we had lunch. Does it seem like Dad is doing a lot of cooking? I guess he is.

I printed out a few photographs of Uncle Glen's family and then we went to Katrina's baptism. His granddaughter. When we got home Dad went and fed the cows again, (they do eat twice a day) and I began editing and processing the Girls' Varsity game, so I could upload it. I finished that 4 hours later, while watching Hitch. Dad fixed dinner--Swanson's pot pies and baked potatoes.

Two days is enough. It's pretty much the same, just substitute going to a game for church and add in Dad writing mornings, and me editing when he gets 20 or 30 pages ahead. Right now we have the first 85 pages of CROW WOMAN ON DEADMAN edited, and he has about 50 pages he has additionally, as inserts--corollary stories. So, that's our life: Writing, Editing what he writes, Photographing, Editing what he shoots. Feeding Cows and feeding ourselves. And driving--to Powell, mostly. Twice a week, because they have the best gym.

Oh, and the first of the calves were born last week. We are hoping for 92 new calves in the next 6 weeks. I'd say we have our hands full, wouldn't you?