Chapter 10....In Which Honesty Prevails

This weekend was a good one. We are taking care of our friend's dogs, so Friday I took them on a 6 or 8 mile hike. It was a gorgeous day! The sky was blue, and the colors are starting to turn, so I would come upon these brilliant red patches of tundra. I saw 8 Dall sheep, which was rare for the hike I took, and about 12 moose (maybe more). One moose had a HUGE rack! I saw him from a mile or two away, but thought he was a dead tree gleaming in the sun--until I took out my binoculars, that is. I didn't bother taking a picture because he was too far away to show up very well.

Saturday I had to man the National Weather Service booth at the state fair. That wasn't too bad. The two guys who worked with me were really nice and fun to talk to, and I got to talk to a lot of people. One group of kids was really excited about the weather balloon, so that was great! I love showing my job to kids! Then E came up and we went around the fair. We ate a bunch of fried food and watched a dog and pony show (no kidding!). Before I went home, I stopped by a booth called the Opal Mine that had a box with loose stones in it that you could pick one for $10. So I picked one, and the owner said "Oh, let me throw a couple more in there for you". So he picked out 3 more. Then when I gave him the $10 bill, he went to get change, and I said "Oh, the sign says 'Your choice for $10'". He replied "Oh yeah, it's the other bin that's $5 each" (those were the uncut stones). Then he threw in an extra since I was honest. So I got 5 opals for $10! They're not super high-quality, but hey, they're pretty and you can't beat the price! :)

Yesterday, E and I hung around all day. It was pouring, so we didn't feel like doing anything. I studied my Japanese, and called my sister on the phone. Finally, we decided we should take the dogs out. So we went to his mom's house and hung out for a few minutes before donning our raincoats and walking the dogs to the park. It was nice to get out of the house, even if we did get a little wet. But mostly, it was just a nice, relaxing day.

Anyway, I had a really good weekend with E, and I felt really relaxed to come into work, which was good. So now I think I'm ready for the week. Maybe.