Before I accepted my current job, I didn’t know if I liked kids or not. But now, I can safely say I absolutely adore them. They give out hugs freely and they always want to play games. Such a lovely set of souls.

There’s a lovely young girl in first grade that loves to call me “Mar Mar.” Every time she sees me, she yells, “Mar Mar!” and runs up to me and gives me a hug. It is one of the absolute best parts of my job. I love it so much.

Some snow has melted and the weather was a bit warmer. One of the students must’ve made this snowball and set it here on the table. They all leave for Thanksgiving break tomorrow and I will miss them, but I will enjoy my extended weekend, too.

When I first moved to Montana, all the provisions I needed fit in two bags. Now, when I look around and see all the new stuff I’ve gathered over the years, I feel a need to declutter and simplify. But I also a feel proud of how far I’ve come. Hmm.

It’s snowing. Coming from southern California where the weather was always 70° and sunny, the snow in Montana makes me happy.

Only the K-5 students are back today. I’m glad the kids can enjoy this short week with friends and in relative safety.

But we have a long winter ahead.

Toward the end of June, I drove down to the river and made this recording of the sounds around me. It was my attempt to expand my walls and embrace a moment where I succeeded in this goal. The summer feels so far away now, but I love that I captured a memory of it.

I’ve been vegan for almost four years, but I just recently started cooking with tofu. This is a mushroom and spinach tofu scramble that I modified from this recipe. This has been my goto weekend brunch meal for the past month and when paired with a cup of black coffee? So good!

Other than living within the borders of my country, state, and town, I’ve been living within my own mental borders, too. By living within my comfort zone, I’ve missed opportunities and let life flow by. One day I’ll travel again, but I can expand these other borders now.

I spent more time today tweaking my website. I updated my home page with a brief biography and I love it. The next things on my todo list are to:

• Update the colors
• Use new fonts
• Revise my bio with a bit more information

I’m really enjoying this corner of the web.

Our first winter snowfall came last month, but it’s been nothing but rain since. More members of our staff are in quarantine after a possible positive case among the administrative staff, and I just hope we can get through winter safely.