Again, drove to Libby because Sherri didn’t have anyone else to get a ride. It’s only a 3 hour drive or so one way, and I like to drive so I volunteered again. But, I had to get out and hike a little. There’s the old Hwy 2 that goes up the mountain side which is now a hiking / biking trail. I walked up a mile, and 400’ in elevation, and that was enough to at least get some fresh air. It was a good hike, but not long enough!

Yesterday, the first Kodiak airplane for New Tribes Mission was completed, and once NTM obtained ownership they flew out. Gene and Travis flew over for the ceremony, but didn’t really have enough time to get back over the mountains before dark, so they spent the night w/ me. Next morning it took a bit to get the little 152 started again. Part of this was the fact that it was 16 degrees, and 15 mph wind! But once we did, he took off for home.

Today I picked up Sherri to take her to Libby, as she needed a ride. On the way back I stopped at the Kootenai Falls for some quick shots before it got way too dark!

Drove home today, leaving Bellingham at around 10:00 am or so. Drove to Sauk Mountain to see whether my Corolla would navigate the steep snow covered road. Did ok, but had to hike the last few miles. All in all, I hiked almost 8 miles, and 2300’ up (and then down.) At least had a good time on the snowshoes.

Didn’t get up too early, opened presents, tried to get the 152 started, went shooting, and left for the Law’s in the evening. Not many picts, however!

Spent the day with the Ketchams and then ran up to see the Laws in Bellingham.

Spent the day up on Mt Baker with a dozen or so of International students, from Korea, China and Japan, who have never really spent much time sledding before!

Drove out to Mt Vernon to see the Ketchams and Laws.

Today I spent several hours working on fixing changes on The Lamb in Yakut. The characters used in the alphabet are the same as Russian, but is very different. Of course for me it’s the same—but my job isn’t too difficult at the end of the day. We hope to have this printed in Russia in the coming months. More information from Wikipedia.

Took off over lunch to take a look-see at the bald eagles on the Coeur d’Alene lake. They were featured on the CBS Evening news on Sunday—so I figured I better drive down since I’m only 6 miles away. It was a cloudy, light snow, but nice to get out, though got cold soon enough!

After church, took a DRZ ride up Canfield. It was a good ride, other than freezing cold hands and feet. My rear tire is still missing a row of knobbies, good enough for now, but will need to be replaced (I have at lest 5 more tires in the garage).  I didn’t get carried away climbing the tough stuff, because being cold, I wasn’t too limber, so figured it best to take it easy.

Took the day off work, or so it seems. Met with the guys at church in the morning, went shopping (oil for the truck, battery charger for the bike), washed and changed the oil in the truck, and got the crawl space ready for the furnace. There were other things done too, but took too long to write it up, and hence forgot what they were!

Among the things today, I shipped out the skid to Australia. It was a little nip and tuck at the end, when the final paperwork came just minutes before the truck came to pick up the skid. It always seems to be a rush job when the paperwork comes in, because one never knows when the truck’s going to arrive.

After work today, came home and made my first batch of cinnamon bread. I pulled it out too early, but stuck it back in to finish things off. At the end, it all worked out ok. Had just a little too much cinnamon, a result of taking too much time off of baking.

So, back in the office again. Packed a skid to go to Australia (they sold out of the Christmas and Easter books already). Also signed off on the Arabic All that the Prophets Have Spoken, which has been a long-awaited book. I think we were trying to get this printed in March, and now just coming to fruition.