What a lovely day we had today. Ed left early to hike up Mt. Bachelor and the rest of us (Joey, Baylee, Stace, Markus and I) went up at 11:00 when the chair lift opened and took the lift up to the restaurant and met Ed there. Then we hiked up to some snow and had a snowball fight. It was a kind of steep hike and at 9000 feet, I was having trouble being able to catch my breath. I used Stacy's inhaler which helped a lot.

Then we decided to eat lunch at Elk Lake lodge but they (ODOT) were paving the road just beyond where the entrance was and we had to wait about 30 minutes to go. Finally we got there and had great food. It was very basic but my BLT was delicious. After eating, we hiked around the lake a bit and found a nice sandy spot to cool off our dogs (feet) so we took off our shoes and socks and got into the water up to knee or midthigh level. Markus and Stace wanted to hike more so they left us with the kids and walked around for another 30 minutes. The girls were highly entertained by catching frogs on shore and taking them into the water and letting them free and then watching them swim around and then catching them again, etc. etc. etc. I just loved being at this very serene lake with crystal clear water. No motorized watercraft is allowed on the water so it is very peaceful there.

After that, we went back to the car and drove to my sister's country club where she met us with a cooler full of cold beverages. We went swimming for an hour and then showered up and headed home. For dinner we started with yummy fresh peaches and saganaki (sliced kasseri cheese melted under the broiler then flamed with bourbon or ouzo and extinguished with lemon juice--you dip thick, crusty Italian or Greek bread in it) and then had luscious grilled hamburgers or bratwurst followed by ice cold chunks of watermelon and ice cream sandwiches. Everyone's watching Gladiator right now but I wasn't interested.

It is so nice to be here with Ed. He doesn't usually come out here on my GirlTown retreats so this has been a pleasant treat. Tomorrow he and Markus are probably going to play golf while Stacy and I take the girls to Old Navy for the last bit of school shopping.

The four of us want to move out here to Bend. We love this town and this whole area. It's an absolute playground and everything is so accessible. I love that about this place. We figure that in about 2-3 years, we'll have made the transition here, depending on how long it takes Ed or me to get a job here. I'll have to finish graduate school first. At least my course work. I can be working on my thesis from here, if necessary.

I really need to finish my novel. I haven't been in a place where I can write. I need to be alone, or at least in a group of people who don't need anything from me. I can write at church. I can write in a restaurant. I can write sitting in my car or at the park or in a restaurant. I can't write at home if Ed or Joey are there. I just can't. But I need to finish it. I was on a roll before Ed's sabbatical started. I've written less than 500 words since then. I can't believe he only has 10 days left before he has to go back to work.

That's all the news that's fit to print tonight. More later...

--L