Home again!

And so, we are home. I love coming home, almost as much as I love going away. Although this time I came home to an unhappy daughter and a pissed off CrazyDog---she certainly can be a handful, the dog-not the daughter, and that she was while we were gone. She is getting too old to change her ways, and really getting more Crazy by the day. She hates everyone but H and OS. Unfortunately, neither of them could be here, and life for her these past five days has been unbearable. And she knows how to make it just that way for everyone around her, as well. I am beginning to think that we are not going to be able to leave her anymore---it causes too much stress and strain on her life, and also on all of those around her---she is almost as vindictive as a cat, and I didn't know any dog could act that way. But anyway...



We are home. We had a wonderful time. It really was awesome. H and I laughed, and seriously did just as we pleased. We played tourist at most every monument in South Dakota and we took a ton of pics... I will have to post a few. We drove up and down the mountains, it's funny, but i have decided i LOVE the mountains these past few years, and I fell in love with the area. Yes, it really is all touristy, it is all gunked up with billboards and signs and fun things to do, but I loved the rocks and the trees, and the altitude, and the highways, and the respect that most have for the wildlife (that was one of the coolest things about the area, the deer just wander where they damned well please, everyone stops their cars and let them pass...I live in Iowa, where people love to shoot them or hit them with their cars....). I was surprised that there was little to NO indian population anywhere to be found, unless of course you visited the near-by reservations, but the majority of the local were orientals...and that is fine with me of course, but surprising. EVERYONE we met was friendly, from the lowly-est looking biker types, to the locals, to the other tourists. We drank a little, partied during the day, because in Keystone, they roll up the sidewalks before nine pm, we went to sleep early, and H then slept in, and I got to spend the GREATEST time ever, on the balcony of our suite in the early pre-dawn, and after the sun came up, alone with my thoughts, my prayers, my books. It was heavenly. Seriously. Then we would take off for no particular place, and laugh all day. On the last night, we went to Deadwood. It was a fun place to be, and we had a riot, in the casinos most of the afternoon and into the night. The last day, we went through the badlands, did a little bit of walking around, took some great photos and headed home. All in all, a great little trip. But coming back home is awesome, getting things put back where they belong, getting the order back into my life. Too much free time on one's hands is a dangerous thing for me.



I have felt okay. I have managed. The entire trip required walking, and I did the best I could. We even purposely took a hike through Keystone one afternoon, and i really enjoyed it. But I paid dearly for it later. Had i not had my friendly vicoden available to me, I would not have survived it.

I will post a few of the photos that I have----i have two rolls of regular film being developed, and if they are any good at all, i will scan a few of them then. I am terribly unhappy about the way i look, I haven't seen a pic of me for months, and i realize now that i have that awful-puffy-medicine face, that i haven't seen on myself for years. THAT will have to be dealt with. But i will put up the ones I can stand, I am what I am, I suppose.

Today, I am off to the doctor. Yippee. It will mean more tests, more explaining. I dread the hell right out of it. But I know that something has to be done. And now. So.

I will let you all know what he has to say. I have alot to catch up on with each of you....and i will. I have missed you - and I can't tell you how much I appreciated all the comments I got while I was away...thanks so much. Have a great day, everyone. Out!