I experienced a little winter while driving home from Flag - the skies turned from blue to gray and the temperature dropped from 60 to 38 in a couple of hours. As soon as I started driving out of town flurries started, then heavy snow which stuck to the windshield and road. Since I was headed downhill, within 30 minutes it was rain and after I climbed out of the Verde Valley, the sun was again shining and it was clear at home.

I enjoyed my overnight in Flag - Darlene has an adorable old house right downtown so we walked to restaurants and even for shopping. I'd never experienced Flag from the perspective of a resident - it is really a cool place and I would even consider living there but not particularly attracted to it though. What does attract me is red rock and desert! I saw a picture of Terry Tempest Williams (author) seated outside her Castle Valley (isn't that a cool name?) UT home (outside of Moab) which included spires of red rock and I was immediately envious and had to look it up on the web. She is coming to Changing Hands Thursday so maybe I can talk to her. One of these days I hope to fulfill this dream of living in such a place.

I'm watching less TV these days because I got rid of my cable recorder. More reading, more listening to radio and music. I still catch Oprah most nights.

Hooray - I did several hours of filing, purging, tossing in my office and it feels so good to have all that done! Now I can just shred and file as things come in, thereby avoiding such a back log. I'm learning to make it easier = moving the files that I need to the spot where I go through my mail (laundry room), instead of creating a pile in the laundry room or on my desk to be sorted some months down the road.

That sure was a lot of leaves Doug!