Well, I had to give it all back.

It’s not every day you get a FedEx envelope with a vast fortune inside.

Slowly turning into Gandalf.

Keep an eye on your belongings at Disney, so you don’t tempt The Happiest Muggers on Earth.

I’ve learned a few things after running the wood stove insert for several weeks.

CHUNK! CHUNK! CRACK!

In America, a completely ordinary person can do an extraordinary thing and we will honor her on the same level as our greatest leaders.

Yes, I’m insane for not turning the furnace on yet.

Yesterday I had no idea who Emma was. Today I can’t stop thinking about her.

Naturally on the last day at the hotel I discovered we have free Wifi.

Yellowstone doesn’t erupt often, but when it does it’s a doozy.

Definitely not going back to that cafe for breakfast.

Lots of things to see and do in the Black Hills.

Saturday began much like any other Saturday. After breakfast, I left the kids in the talented care of She Who Puts Up With Me, and went to the grocery store. Once there, I discovered--amazingly enough!--bratwurst, chicken drumsticks, hot dogs, buns, and all sorts of other barbecue goodies were featured sale items. It was almost as though they expected people to fire up the grill on Memorial Day weekend.

The sale had its intended effect. Ignoring the fact that it has been raining almost nonstop since quitting time on Friday (we've gotten about 2.5" of rain at our house since Friday evening, with more expected before the long weekend is over), I succumbed to the siren call and loaded up on stuff to grill.

Seth Godin writes in a recent article about the difference between a seminar for local CPA's and one for high-powered banking executives: "The snacks didn't seem as good. The booklets weren't that interesting either, apparently. But what occurred to me is that the folks in the second room were just as smart and just as talented as the execs in the first room....it's sad to see someone choosing to be stuck."

Now, I know that Seth meant this as an inspirational message to try to achieve your dreams, and he acknowledges that "not everyone should be a banking executive," but this really rubbed me the wrong way.

She Who Puts Up With Me made Amish Friendship Bread last week. For those of you who not familiar with the concept, this is a bread which starts with a cup of starter which ferments for ten days. After ten days, it makes about a pound of very dense, sweet bread plus four more cups of starter. The "Friendship" part comes when you give four of your closest friends one cup of new starter each, and the process starts over.

An article about a high school student fighting expulsion over incidents involving chemistry experiments with explosions brought back some interesting memories, and thoughts about how times have changed. In this case, the student's chemistry teacher apparently demonstrated to the class how to make a "bomb" with aluminum foil, household cleaner, and an empty soda bottle. Not surprisingly, some of the students decided to try this on their own, and now the school is trying to expel those students who decided to repeat the demonstration.