We spent some time at the ranch over the weekend, mostly just hanging out and eating well. Mona made great 'Ranch Food' - chicken fried elk steaks with white gravy, homemade soup from scratch, breakfasts with fresh eggs and fruit and bacon and toast... I brought up a few bottles of wine, and we compared Zinfandels.

It's hard for me to acept that we might not get to go up there more than twice a year or so if we head for Mexico to live. Cold weather up there makes the wood stove feel great - it makes the place a lot more comfortable than our central-heat furnace can make this place without a ridiculous gas bill. We helped stack some firewood, which is all it really costs to stay warm up there.

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