2025, November 3-9

We are facing new challenges as the month moves along. But we get by with a little help from our friends. 

Monday dawned relatively warm and sunny in Springville but about 10 degrees colder and gray in Missoula. 

Mike hung snowflakes cut last week and from years past in his office window. Technically, they're seasonal decorations, not Christmas ones. 

Eliza wrote a haiku and shared it with Mike. 

On Tuesday, we voted. It was a municipal election, and it was Landon's first election. 

Now Mike can tell which office is his from the courtyard. 

Spooky vibes from the Oval. 

Plus an encounter with a night visitor. 

Eliza saw these chickens in a tree on one of her walks. 

Here she is on the road on the way to Springville High School where Jocie got honored with other seniors in the marching band. 

Turns out Landon and three other Springville were honored honored by the Springville City Public Safety Department with the inaugural Art City Spirit Award for their actions related to the accident in which they provided assistance last month. He seems to have forgotten getting the invitation to attend the award ceremony, so we didn't get to attend, and we don't have a picture. 

Hallie, Mike, and Eliza have been doing family therapy while Eliza is at Summit. On Thursday, Eliza didn't go to school there stating that she wasn't feeling well, which meant she wouldn't be able to go to help out and practice at Leslie's or participate in the equestrian event on Saturday. During therapy, Eliza was feeling salty, and after some conversation with our therapist, we decided to have her go to a behavioral hospital for a few days. This is a really hard situation, and there's no sugarcoating it. 

Between his mom's passing and everything going on with Eliza, Mike has had to deal with not being able to be there or do much more than be a listening ear while up in Missoula. He goes walking a lot, occasionally seeing members of the local herd in some of the oddest places off campus.    

Lots of podcasts, audiobooks, and old TV shows while cutting paper snowflakes. Beats fretting over situations that are out of his control or influence. 

He has some of Eliza's handiwork, lots of pictures, and phone and video chats to keep everyone connected. 

Hallie's friends in Springville have been really supportive. Ty made her this Starbucks drink with all the fancy add-ins and toppings.

Fergus has had a hard time adjusting to people feeding him late now that we're back to standard time. Plus, now two of his people are missing from the house. 

Somehow, he manages to find Hallie's warm lap. 

Cristy took Hallie out to play Bingo on Saturday night over at Last Call. She even got Bingo and won a prize! 

Hallie worked at Starbucks on Sunday and got to see customers she doesn't normally see when she goes for her own drinks during the week. Always nice to know there are people who brighten our days. This customer said Hallie made his drink perfect. Hallie made sure to brag to her coworkers.

Up in Missoula, Mike made friends with the local ladies . . . 

. . . and this friendly feline on his neighborhood walk.  

Landon took some time to cuddle with the kitty, and we got some goofy photos to boot.  

 

2025, October 27-November 2

In brief, the week involved sleeping domesticated animals, surprising semi-wild animals, Halloween, and paper cutting. 

Here are three sleepers on Mike's side of the bed on Monday morning. Eliza didn't want to go to school, complaining of stomach pains (shades of 3rd grade?).

Here are the sleeping animals later in the day. Must be nice. 

The landscapers cut back the shrub blocking the window. We can see daylight again! It's so much brighter now. 

Eliza helped out at Leslie's after SCS on Tuesday. She got a little dusty while riding bareback. 

Fergus sleeps a lot when it's cold outside. He appreciates having a warm lap to sleep on. 

While wandering around campus, Mike discovered the UM Food Pantry. On the bulletin board, he saw a sign requesting volunteers, so he signed up to help on Saturday. 

Fall has come fully to the area around campus, and the leaves are abundant. 

Looks at this magnificent oak outside the Law Building! 

On his walks to and from campus, Mike often encounters the local herd. Here he found them near the Oval. 

Here he surprised (and got surprised by) these two in the alley behind his apartment. 

Every year, Danforth Pewter puts out a Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley photomicrograph-inspired ornament. Mike took it as inspiration for his first digital paper snowflake of the season.  

Later, he took some of his after-work time to cut some paper ones while chatting with family and either listening to audiobooks, podcasts, and the World Series (Go, Dodgers!) or watching streaming videos online at the office. 

He might get around to making digital versions of some, but too much screen time hurts his eyes. 

More deer in the alley later in the week. 

More falling leaves as well. 

Halloween Friday meant an anxious Kai reacting to everyone coming near to the house.

Hallie caught sight of this ladybug on our wall. This little lady must be a late-season survivor. 

Our neighbors from Chile and their visiting family members had a lot of fun dressing up and going out for trick-or-treat. They sent us this pic. 

As Mike went home Halloween evening, this little guy and he startled each other. What's worse, the young buck probably didn't appreciate that it seemed that Mike was stalking him as the followed the same route to Mike's apartment. 

Eventually, the little guy walked into a relatively darker area below the oak tree mentioned above, and Mike quietly walked past. 

Later on as Mike went back on campus, he saw the larger buck presumably resting over by the Music Building. He was gone by the time Mike returned home. Maybe the home-coming student Halloween revelers made too much noise as they went back to their dorms. 

Landon (last name misspelled) got Employee of the Month at Jimmy John's. Congratulations! 

He and Hallie sent Mike some Panda Express to eat while he listened to the World Series Game 7 play-by-play on ESPN Radio online (we make do with what we have). Both Mike and Hallie appreciated the fortune he got (although faraway travel for its own sake is fun too). They also appreciated that the Dodgers won the World Series for the second straight year. Woot! 

Hallie took a picture of a fun LEGO vase that their neighbor had.

Hallie and the kids got vaccinated on Saturday, and Hallie did not feel at all well on Sunday. The pets decided to join her in bed, Kai readily and Ferg eventually. 

As he stepped out of his apartment, he surprised (and got surprised by) the herd yet again. They hung out for a while browsing and then disappeared again by mid-morning. 

In the afternoon, Mike took a stroll around the Oval. The pumpkin seems to have fallen off the spire on Old Main, and the maples' leaves seem more on the ground than on the trees at this point.