wet..inside & out

Then, without realizing it, you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in the course of time. Anyone can do this, it costs nothing and is certainly very helpful. Whoever doesn't know it must learn and find by experience that a quiet conscience makes one strong.-Anne Frank

so like it's raining again right now   same time as last nite after a day of sunshine   fortunately it wasn't as hot today   i could feel the difference while on my hike   i was able to go longer and i think a lighter pack helped also   i had to remind myself this is only my second day back into conditioning for my trip   i need 2 find my wind again before carrying the heavy pack   build some stamina....anyways, while on the hike, my son called   i haven't talked about him lately   he told me the other day that he wasn't going to be able to come home before he returns to Iraq in October   so i talked to him again today   he apparently doesn't want to travel without his wife   think she has him wrapped around her finger, but i think he likes it that way   anyways, i hope to see him before he goes   when he called a couple days ago, he told me he was in California   he'll be there for a month   wish i had known before, i would have tried to go see him there   but he didn't tell me   don't think he thinks of me as much since his marriage is getting straightened out   they've had a rocky road in the beginning   both have not been very smart initially   anyways, things seem to be smoothing out for them   i'd just like to see him for a few days before he heads back overseas   so we'll see   if they make it, i'll actually be surprised....

in the meantime, my mother made it safely to my brother's house last nite   she's now in Oregon   she'll be there at least a couple years   maybe she'll settle in there and just retire there in a couple years   but she loves Kentucky  her true place of home   so her being there means she won't be in for a visit here for awhile   i'm relieved   i love her dearly, but goodness, i can only hang with her for a few days at best   my sister said mom would come here after Oregon   i pray not   i have dogs and she's allergic   i'm not vacuuming every day for her allergies as she had me do last year while she visited   it just aint happening!    so who knows, maybe i'll drop into Oregon next year when i visit Washington state   will see, for the trip up northwest isn't a definite either   first things first-the Grand Canyon!  ....that's the latest    now i need a shower   i came home after the hike and crashed   still drenched in sweat and the weather cooled off  i'm a little chilled...

on the home front for me   for a moment yesterday, i was thinking about not going back to school   for some reason it hasn't been on my mind and it starts just around the corner   well i talked to my D.A., Maggie   i explored some ideas she suggested, like studying photography online   i checked out numerous online schools and even the New York Institute of Photography where you study at home...well, it came back to me   i want the bachelor's degree   i was struggling to the idea of the long haul for me to do this   it's going to take YEARS by the pace i'll do it at   but i couldn't imagine me studying it without obtaining the degree  so..i'm going to school after all   something about having that degree IS important to me   i should finish it..now the question is will i take the class at church   at the moment i'm thinking taking both of those wood be too much while working and preparing for my trip   i have a little more time to contemplate that  so i will   i'm enjoying my simple life   don't want to make it too busy again anymore....