Nothing Happened Today

Nothing happened today. Nothing happened today. Nothing happened today.

When I was in my early double digits, I tried off and on to keep a diary. Diaries are supposed to be daily rituals, at least they are if you judge them by the overwhelming number of dated pages filling their binders when you purchase one. I tried, but I could never manage the daily part so when something I deemed exciting enough happened to warrant an entry, after writing it down I would look at all of the blank pages between entries and fill them with…

Nothing happened today.

Over and over again. And now, instead of keeping your deepest thoughts and desires safely hidden from prying eyes, there’s Facebook and Twitter and Instagram to act as a memoir of your life…assuming you have something to say. Even with all of the memes and gifs and reposting options to express myself, I’m still terrible at jotting down the details of daily life. And let’s face it, no one shares ALL of the details of their life, only what allows others to perceive them the way they wish to be seen.

This isn’t too say life is always boring, it just isn’t always exciting. Granted the first part of December was definitely more on the boring side. Wake up, go to work, clean the house, watch tv, work on my projects, go to bed. All in the same 2000 square foot space. Same routine day in, day out. I needed out but the cold temperatures of winter were firmly in place, limiting my outdoor time. What was I to do? Sigh heavily and complain to my husband, what else? Dave, who feels housebound no matter what time of year it is if he isn’t able to leave the area for a weekend just to be somewhere else occasionally, readily came up with a solution. That Saturday we drove a couple of hours away to Lava Hot Springs to spend the night. As the name suggests, Lava is a tourist town built around it’s naturally occurring hot springs. Summertime finds it overflowing with people, wintertime fortunately, it is neither overflowing nor closed. Dave had made reservations in a lovely grand old lady of a hotel, The Riverside Inn. Built in 1914, she has lovely woodwork and an inviting atmosphere, so much so in fact, that I forgot to take pictures the entire time. She is also, as Dave informed me, an adults only hotel. Ahhhh the quietness. I’m not saying one should always avoid children, but sometimes it’s nice to enjoy the peace.

The hotel offers a five star restaurant as well which may be the real reason my husband chose it as he is a foodie. The dining room is intimate and the other guests were so quiet it almost made one afraid to whisper for fear of being considered loud. I try not to be boisterous but I am a talker so hopefully the other patrons were not too offended. The food was incredible. I wish I had taken pictures as words do not do it justice. It’s been almost a month since we ate there and my husband still randomly mentions wanting more seared Ahi Tuna(his dinner choice). It was the best he’s ever had.

When we checked in, we were told the hotel also included three mineral bath rooms available for guests to use in thirty minute increments, we only had to sign up for the times we wanted. During those thirty minutes, the room, which locks from the inside, was only for whomever signed up to use it. Over the less than twenty-four hours we were at the inn, we used the mineral baths three times, and didn’t get our swimsuits wet once; it was pure delight. Like many grand old lady hotels though, The Riverside Inn does require a fair amount of maintenance and the mineral bath area shows this. That being said, I would go back without any coaxing during the winter…I’m not a crowd person.

As a tourist town, Lava really only has the hot springs for something to do so the overnight stay was plenty of time. Mid Sunday morning we were on our way home, taking a slightly longer route than normal, around the far side of Bear Lake. Neither of us had been that way before as it’s a bit out of the way for a normal trip but we weren’t in any hurry to be home.

Bear Lake is beautiful. The pale blue of the sky and water against snow capped peaks was breathtaking. As we drove along, I saw an eagle sitting on a tree branch. Dave promptly backed up so I could take some pictures and enjoy the sights himself.

Pictures snapped we began to move forward when the most horrendous grinding noise screeched at us. We stopped and started, slowed down and sped up…same terrible noise. We were trying to figure out what it could be. Brake pads were a serious concern. After driving forever, or at least 10 minutes, Dave pulled over to take a closer look at the problem. The noise was so bad the few fisherman on the lake were scowling at us. A closer look meant jacking the vehicle up and taking the tire off. I should mention at this point I rather needed to to use the bathroom and it was looking like it would be awhile before we made it to one. So there we sat, me uncomfortably playing on my phone inside the vehicle hoping we would be moving soon and Dave working outside. The grinding noise turned out to be a pebble perfectly caught next to the rotor in a manner in which it could not escape, all he needed was a small, thin item to push it out. The leatherman he kept in the center console would be great…if it hadn’t been removed and put somewhere else, not the first time I’ve heard this complaint.

After a rather extensive search of the vehicle he did manage to find something to pry it loose. Just had to put the tire back on and we would be on the road again, simple right? The tire had elevated the vehicle a bit above the fully extended jack which meant when it was removed, the vehicle sank…oh…just enough to where the tire wouldn’t slip easily back on. Dave had to jerry rig and manipulate the tire back into place. By this time I really had to go to the bathroom. Sadly the gas station we were planning on stopping at was closed so onward towards Garden City to find an open restroom. It had been a lonely drive around Bear Lake and Dave wondered why I didn’t go along the side of the road then. Now we were in a slightly more populated area so that option was out of the question. My husband must live off of death glares. I was saved by a rest stop, not the first time I have blessed those wonderful sights with thanks and appreciation. After a leisurely lunch, we finally made our way home.

The rest of December was filled with ups and downs, boredom and excitement, blessings and complaints. It was the holiday season after all and we were watching our eight month old 90 lb great dane grandpuppy for ten days. That, however, is another story.

And I still barely posted on my Facebook page. Argh.