A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT  

4:00am:  Roll out of bed.  Let out the dogs.  Can't sleep any longer.  A late nap the previous day screws up my sleeping pattern.  Try another hour of sleep but doesn't help much.  It's been a long weekend of writing -- mainly creating a new "Old Wild West" blog.  With experimenting, trying and re-trying, I finally get my first image posted.  Also research and write a post for the "Running Blue in a Red State" blog.

5:30am:  Take a shower and get dressed.  Cut up fruit for breakfast. 

6:30am:  Begin physical therapy exercises -- about a 43-minute routine.  My email includes a message from my walking friend.  "Do you want to walk on snow?" she asks.  I look out the window, no snow.  Respond that I'm out the door.  That's when I feel the almost-invisible flakes on my face -- too light to see or stick.

7:30am:  Our 30-minute walk is cold since neither of us has bundled up very well.  We don't walk as far.  I'm having some problems with knee pain; my new exercise routine of walking as fast as I can as far as I can seems to be a little too much too quickly.  I come back inside after walking -- it feels good.  Warmer but I'm also feeling invigorated.

8:30am:  Review and return emails.  Check to see if today is the deadline for sending in my "Candidate Finance Report" required by the state.  Haven't solicited for fund-raising and haven't spent any money on my campaign.  Won't be much of a report.  Looks like I have several more weeks before the deadline -- thank goodness.  Something I can put off for another day.

9:30am:  I take another step today towards a "Weekend Room at the Nunnery".  Come up with the idea in February to move my bedroom downstairs to the finished basement and use the upstairs bedroom for guests.  It will be available on weekends for history buffs mainly.  My house is built in 1920 and, during the late 1930's and 1940's, is the nunnery for St. Benedict's Catholic School next door.  The School is closed in 1950 and is later bought by the community to house the present-day Musselshell Valley Historical Museum.

By renting this room on weekends, I can share my historical interest in the Old Wild West not just with writing but also in guiding others through the Museum next door and on possibly guiding more local, historical tours.  I'm expecting this idea will meet several goals I had set for myself in January -- making hay while the sun shines while I'm still young(ish)and energetic(ish), making more friends and connections.

The move downstairs is still in transition.  Today I gather odds and ends from both the upper bedroom and bath and reorganize my lower bedroom to make space for it all.  Go to our local hardware for ideas on how to add shelf to a closet.  End up recycling a piece of webbing for the purpose.

12:00 noon:  Break for lunch.  My motor is running down -- good time to catch some shut-eye.

2:00pm:  The dogs are ready for their daily walk; the little ones around our town block and the medium one around several blocks.  Still chilly so we don't dawdle.

2:30pm:  While I begin preparing for our evening meal, I consider several opitons for a major thrust in my campaign.  My focus is on getting out the vote and on discussing issues with women.  I had considered earlier in April creating a bipartisan effort to get out the vote, even for the primary in June.  The primary is for two Republicans -- the incumbent who lives in town and the newcomer who lives close to Billings.  Maybe, I thought, the effort would not only help Tom, the incumbent, but also help myself become more known in the community since I've lived here just two years.  After the primary, it would be each on our own but still working to get out the vote.  Two knowledgeable friends, one Democrat and the other Republican, in Billings discourage my idea.

This morning, however, I receive an email from the Republican friend.  He tells me the incumbent is moderate (which is what I'd expected) and the newcomer is the Tea Party.  He suggests I do what I can to help the incumbent.  Of course he does.  My next step is to contact the Democratic contact for the state and get feedback.  Does it make sense to create a bipartisan effort for getting out the vote when there is less than a month to do it anyway?  And which is better for Democrats:  for a moderate Republican to win the primary or for a Tea Party to win?  If I am in a non-competitive race (as has been described to me by the state Dems), wouldn't it be better for the moderate-Republican incumbent to win rather than the extreme Tea Party?  Wouldn't it be helpful to create a bipartisan effort with the moderate Republican? 

5:00pm:  Eat dinner and feed dogs.  Prepare for a "Friends of the Library" meeting tonight at the Community Library.

6:30pm:  Arrive early for the meeting.  I walk in and see several tables to my left with workers sitting behind them.  When I ask what is happening, I'm reminded that people are voting -- for members of the School Board.  Voting??  Where have I been??  "You're a candidate for office and you don't remember to vote?" asks one of the FOL members.  I rush over and vote (luckily my walking friend had let me know which two of the three names would be most helpful on the Board).  On my return to our meeting, another member tells me that the Tea Party candidate has been in town the evening before holding a meeting.  Where have I been?? I ask myself.  I would like to hear what he has to say and how he explains himself.

It is now morning the next day.  The friend who mows my lawn finishes and knocks at my door.  While I write out my check, he tells me the Republican incumbent visits the Senior Center (basement of Museum) during lunch the previous day.  Where have I been?  A day late and a dollar short!  (Maybe I should just go back to bed...)