Slight Detour: Mark 190, Et. Al.

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.

"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.

"Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."

Politicians and diapers must be changed often and for the same reason.

A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."

Today marks the 190th birthday of Samuel Clemons aka Mark Twain. He was born in Hannibal, Miss., Nov. 30, 1835, during the appearance of Hailey's Comet. He died in 1910, when once again the comet was visible.

Happy Birthday, Mark Twain, and thank you for your thoughts and observations.

Always timely and pretty accurate.

My solar-powered lights arrived a couple of days ago. After realizing they had switches under the hood, I have managed to get most of them to light up.

I'm a bit disappointed because I thought they would be colored.

Since they've already been stuck in the ground, which is now frozen, they'll have to do and, even with just one color, they create some neat effects.

As each day gets shorter, the amount of time they stay lit up with shorten also.

Since they're permanent fixtures in their respective spots, I'm sure that I'll get an abundance of enjoyment from them over the months and years, especially when we have longer days.

Bill and Bridie have been doing a lot of work in the woods, and much of it involves tending little bon fires, which help clean up the areas where he has been sawing and chopping wood.

I hope that the snow will not get too deep this winter so we can still walk around the woods.

It's a pretty and peaceful place.

We see several of the same deer several times each day, but we saw this buck for the first time yesterday.

I hope he doesn't look in the mirror and get too disappointed with his antlers.

It was a monumental night last night for our family as we proudly watched Willie coached his boys to a solid victory over Bonners Ferry.

It was definitely a nice way for him to get his start as the boys varsity head coach at Sandpoint High School, his alma mater where he played basketball and earned a plaque as Most Inspirational Player back in the 1990s.

The most dramatic difference I've noticed between girls and boys basketball is that the boys jump really high and with a lot of flair.

As I told Bill when we were walking to the parking lot, I just sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the game.

We also enjoyed visiting with longtime friends and family.

Twas a real treat to see Emma.

As a German exchange student, she lived with Willie and Debbie for a year where she gained experience as a cheerleader, played tennis and received academic accolades as an outstanding student.

Emma has continued to excel as a student at the University of Montana in Missoula where she will graduate in May.

We are all proud of her.