This summer has been busy, so I haven’t been writing as much as I would like, but here I am now with a three-week gratitude list.
- A wound on my hand seems to be healing well
- Quick medical appointment to look at the wound
- Watching my wife’s team win their first softball playoff game of this year’s tournament
- Taking the team picture
- Beautiful sky while taking the picture
- Exploring the timer feature on the audio Bible on my phone
- Packing ice and water for the second day of the softball tournament
- My wife’s team took second place in the tournament
- Thank you to the Black Hills Astronomical Society for volunteering to create a wonderful star party for a high school girls’ cybersecurity summer camp at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology on Tuesday!
- The campers were exemplary in their patience (certainly more than me) as we waited for clouds to clear and in their curiosity.
- We saw Jupiter, three of its moons, Saturn’s rings, the Ring Nebula, a globular cluster, and others.
- All of the work my wife put into organizing and teaching at the camp
- Time to rest this week
- New RAM for my Entertainment PC
- Ideas for how to record the upcoming total solar eclipse
- Progress in preparing for my class this fall
- Making hotel reservations for our upcoming trip
- Making airport transportation arrangements for the upcoming trip
- Our rain barrels have started collecting rain!
- Good conversation at the Wobbly Table (July 21)
- Watching the LBNF groundbreaking ceremony at the Sanford Underground Research Facility
- Meeting the Governor of South Dakota at the groundbreaking
- Meeting our sole representative in Congress Kristi Noem at the groundbreaking
- Meeting Senator Mike Rounds
- Our School prepared a press release to go with the groundbreaking
- Good conversation about finding “our song” at The Well
- Beautiful and delicious fruit bowl (made out of a watermelon) at The Well
- Helping my wife make homemade chicken noodle soup
- The wound on my hand is healed and almost invisible
- Planning for my next set of NOvA shifts at the U of MN
- Completing the outline for my visit to Anselm House, which under a different name was a critical group for my spiritual growth in college.
- Skype conversation with a good friend (July 24)
- Dinner with my wife’s softball team to celebrate the season
- Some of the children of team members found a giant Connect Four game in the restaurant’s outdoor section
- Stared writing my part of our department’s five-year review
- Finding good deals and helping a friend’s family while shopping at an estate sale
- Kayaking on Canyon Lake
- Our kayaks still float
- Good (less hot) weather for kayaking
- Buying and preparing snacks for The Well
- Meeting about renovations to the building that houses my lab
- Good conversation about difficult life events at prayer and book group
- My new phone (Motorola Moto E4)
- Activating my new phone online
- My new memory cards fully work in my camera
- Taking bad news in a healthy way
- Getting the second experiment for PHYS 350 set up
- Getting bathrooms cleaned
- De-cluttering living room
- Putting kayaks away
- Getting many other house chores done (Aug. 6).
- My parent’s wedding anniversary
- Time to rest this weekend (Aug 5)
- Finding a good deal on lodging for my upcoming trip to Minneapolis
- Riding on the Mickelson Trail for the first time
- A colleague to guide me on the trail
- Seeing wildlife (including young turkeys) and lush scenery on the trail
- Riding longer that I though possible when I first started (10 miles uphill)
- Grilling for our weekly Community Meal
- The weather was good for grilling and eating outside
- Harvesting our first garden carrots of the year!
- Conversation and good food with friends at the meal
- Adjusting my bike seat to a more appropriate height
- Starting to watch Doctor Who
