I love Montana. I love the wide open spaces, I love the scenic beauty, I love that all the gas stations here sell diesel, and I love that—in most places—the speed limit is really only a suggestion. I made it to Billings in exactly 8 hours. I made it home in 7 hours and 10 minutes, because the weather was better on the way back.

I left Kalispell in the tail end of a blizzard Thursday morning, decked out in my wool long underwear, wool hunting pants, wool sweater, wool socks, and wool coat (thank you, God, for inventing sheep). I had packed food, water, emergency supplies, a sleeping bag, and an extension cord so I could plug my truck in because temperatures were supposed to get down to -20. I looked like I was heading to the Arctic Circle. The wind blew and it snowed all the way from Kalispell to Butte. I positioned myself behind a semi and drafted all the way from Missoula to Butte. Once I got over the mountains, though, the weather improved considerably. The sun was even shining as I headed into Billings.

Wild Purls is a wonderful store. If you ever find yourself within 100 miles of Billings, you NEED to stop and visit. Julia, the owner, is a delight. I walked in and she told me how great it was that she didn't have to worry about me coming to Billings unprepared for the weather (apparently some teachers don't believe that boots are required footwear in Montana in February—go figure). In fact, she introduced me before class as "a real Montana girl," which is high praise coming from a Montana native.

I had full classes both days. The students were terrific. They asked great questions, worked hard, and it was lots of fun getting to know them. We did Aran sweater design on Friday, and finishing and cables on Saturday. I ate well. A woman named Connie (who works at the store) took me to breakfast each morning and made a killer corn chowder for us for lunch on Friday. Julia and Linda (who also works at the store) and I went to an Indian restaurant after class on Saturday. Oh. My. Goodness. It was delicious. We had samosas, four different kinds of nan (bread), curried chicken, a lamb dish, and saag paneer (spinach and cheese), with mango sherbet for dessert. Yum.

Hopefully this will not be the last time I get to visit Wild Purls.

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DD#2 was wrapping up her science fair project yesterday afternoon when I got home. I am glad, because the petri dishes in my office were getting very stinky. I forgot how bad they start to smell after a few days. It seems to have been a success and now she is working on the display part of it for the science fair.

I sat in my chair and watched "Life After People" and a couple of westerns on Netflix yesterday evening while I finished two knitting projects. One was a prayer shawl, and the other is a cowl in a mosaic knitting pattern. I really like mosaic knitting. Once you get into it, it's very rhythmic. It was nice to be able to finish a couple of projects. Now I have to decide what else to work on.