Today it was a cool and rainy trip south to Missoula. I made the trip to take Addy so she can show a dog and to also watch Meghan show another one. Meghan has been at the show for a couple of days and she has done very well there so far, bringing home several ribbons and titles.

Since it is a couple hours of driving and possibly an early show for Addy it was an early morning out the door to get there on time.

Addy & I got to Missoula and she won two ribbons her first show just minutes out of the truck. She did good. Meghan gathered several more honors today so it was a fantastic weekend for Saddle Peak Aussies!

One house I have seen several times along the way on this trip has an interesting feature. It is built into the side of a hill and has a little room with a door on the back of the upper level (actually the attic?). I am not certain, but I wonder if they keep their mower in there.

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Saw this on the way back and was utterly shocked. Price? An unbelievable $2.29, and it is around the same size as my middle finger. I am seeing a correlation between those two things.

Easy to see how they really live up to the name “Snickers”these days. Everyone needs to revolt against this bullshit and quit buying this stuff like this just – like the $7.00 Doritos. Frito-Lay learned that a few months back and now they say “New lower price!” – rat bastards. They are probably still more expensive than what they originally were. All these companies are pushing the limit to see what they can get away with, charging us more while downsizing at the same time. It is time we show them we are over being treated like this. I hope PepsiCo loses millions for that price gouging and I hope Mars, Inc. chokes on these Snickers; given the size of this candy bar I do not know if that is even possible.

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It has really cooled down today and the rain & wind did not help to make it any warmer. I saw it was going to be cool but thought I could still wear shorts and a t-shirt to the dog show. First…it was outside. Did not know. And the bleachers were aluminum. It was much cooler than what it ended up being forecast. Luckily I had grabbed a hooded sweatshirt and had a rain jacket with me since I saw rain forecast (and I know mountain weather pretty well). A double-espresso and a food-truck burger & fries later helped warm me up.

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Speaking of that espresso, ever since I ended up in the ER for the kidney stone I have had one cup of coffee, and that was in the hospital. It was not horrible coffee – better than most hospitals – and I drank it all (it was my typical 5-6 oz. cup). Today’s espresso is the first coffee I have had since then, and that was three weeks ago.

I need to get my morning coffee ritual going again. I have missed it but just was not feeling it for several reasons. That 2.6 oz. jolt of delicious just brought me right back and I realize I have missed the ritual and the taste.

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I caught some episodes of Rick Steves’ Europe last night and it really got me thinking of going back again. The first few episodes I saw were Paris and areas around it. It looked interesting but I want to go other places more. The other episodes I saw are a couple of places I have no interest in seeing for personal reasons. As I type this post I have his channel on again and he is in a place that is so special to me – Ireland.

Now that I feel better I am so ready to go everywhere. I probably should not have clicked on his channel but it is too late now! I have a sizable amount of credit card miles & points so I am trying to figure out the best thing to do with them.

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Many people use their rewards for hotel room redemptions but I tend to stay in local hotels and those are not always available using a travel portal with your credit card. I would tend to lean toward upgrading my seat on an international flight, but many domestic flights can be a really good use.

I am very new to the points game and claim no expertise about what to do. I wanted some detailed information so I used an AI agent, telling it which cards I have and the credit limits, along with my points/miles balances. It really gave me logical, practical advice. It first told me I have an impressive credit card portfolio with the big-name cards I have so I have some great rewards possibilities. Then it offered some really good advice on which cards to use for some basic, everyday purchases to get the best rewards possible plus comparing rewards through the card portal vs. transferring. It also told me the nuances of the rewards on my travel cards. That advice was really good and it was rather involved to post here but it was easy to understand.

The big question I asked – and really the main reason I wanted information – was “How do I keep my rewards from disappearing or devaluing?”. I wanted advice on the best things to do with the miles and points. Should I keep them until I want to use or transfer now?

Basically, if you find a good exchange rate over 1:1 (which should be your minimum) then perhaps you should transfer if it is also something you will use, but there are caveats.

It also gave me some good websites that specialize in credit card points and rewards. I will be looking further into protecting my rewards while benefitting myself the most that I can.

It is a complicated game and one I probably won’t continue to play because I just don’t spend enough to make it pay. I tend to use my cashback card for big purchases so that amount adds up fast. My Apple Card gets me cashback and interest-free payments on Apple devices. I got the travel cards for their large sign-up bonus and no other reason because I know how long it takes to get a usable reward amount. I use them enough to keep active but I will be figuring out my options. Maybe I just need to fly to some foreign land…

That is it for today’s post. Thanks for having a look, and I hope you come back.

Shawn