Killing Time

Two major hikes

2010-11-07T21:37:00.006-07:00

I have been trying to get into a little better shape.... one not quite as round! As luck would have it, I live in the Rocky Mountains and a good hike is only a few minutes away. I did two pretty awesome (for me, anyway) hikes this past summer.

One hike was to Elkhorn Peak. Here I am at the summit... a measly 9,422 feet! LOL This hike took Joe and I all day to do. The pedometer on my cell phone clocked the hike as 11.9 miles from start to finish, and we felt every step of those eleven miles the next day! It was a pretty intense uphill battle, then rock hopping over those boulders you see in the background to reach the top.

The small ghost town of Elkhorn can be seen here as a few white buildings just behind the rocks. That is just about where we started hiking from!!

Now I know that there are hikers out there that could bag this summit in only a few hours, but neither Joe nor I are one of them! As major hikes go, this one ranks up in the top three that we have accomplished. The other two would be the Highline Trail and Quartz Lake-- both in Glacier National Park. The 12-mile Hanging Garden trail near York, MT (Vigilante Campground is the trail head) was a bitch, too, so I better include it for posterity!

A few weeks after hiking Ellkhorn, we chose to tackle a closer to home and lower elevation peak. We hiked to the two highest points in the Scratchgravel Hills. These photos were taken just down from the summit at an elevation of about 5100ft. This is the view from the top looking North:

It is a nice view of the "Sleeping Giant". Can you pick him out? One other item of note-- I can see my house from here!! LOL The road that is very visible is Green Meadow Drive and that is the road I live off of. Not very green, but hey! That is how Montana can be in late August. Here is a photo looking South-East, down onto Helena from the same spot:

From this vantage point, you can see Elkhorn Peak. It is the highest point in the blue mountains that are across the back of the photo.

You can also see some of the damage from the Mountain Bark Beetle. That is what is killing the pine trees in the foreground. There are some areas that the kill is much worse killing the trees on entire mountains. Dead forests don't just look bad, they are dangerous too. One careless smoker or campfire, or even a lightening strike could cause a devistating fire that would burn hot and fast. For this reason, the forest service and parks departments are teaming up with local volunteers to cut down the dead trees and donate the wood to LIEAP (Low Income Energy Assistance Program). LIEAP then doles out cut cords of wood as a heat source for their clients who have fireplaces or wood stoves as a main heating source at no cost. With a cord of wood selling for $150-$250, this program is going to help out many low income families this winter.

With winter fast approaching, I don't think I will have the chance to do much more hiking over the next few months. I did buy a Wii and the Wii Fit and I plan on using it while it is cold outside. I don't want to just sit around and loose the little bit of ground I have gained (or lost, really!) trying to get into better shape. I hope to be able to go cross-country skiing this winter, too. I didn't even go once last winter!! It is something I really enjoy, just didn't have the time while working. One thing I have alot of since being unemployed is time!

Gonna go watch the first snow storm blow through the valley now....and hope it drops more than just a dusting of the white stuff--

Another update soon!

Canyon Ferry Lake

2010-10-03T14:20:00.001-06:00

With awesome weather for October, Joe and i decided to take a drive around the lake. It's a bit hazy, but the temp's are in the low 80's. Geese are flocking overhead as I am typing this. What am awesome fall day!

The Missouri River

2010-10-01T15:03:00.001-06:00

Palace rock near the tiny town of Dearborn.

The Missouri River

2010-10-01T14:54:00.001-06:00

Palace rock near the tiny town of Dearborn.

Prettier than a rainbow!

2010-10-01T00:16:00.003-06:00

Some of the canning I have on my shelves: Mango Salsa, Pickled Beets, Confetti Pepper jelly (this is really pretty... red, yellow, and orange pepper cut into tiny pieces float in the jelly), Red-Hot Pears (also called Imperial Pears because they get thier color and cinnamon flavor from Red-Hots candy which are also called Imperials), D'anjou pears in light syrup, "Hot" dill pickle chunks (with peppers and red-pepper flakes to create a little heat), and garlic dill pickles.

This is not even close to all that I have made this year! More photos to come...!

A few images from my latest trip to Washington

2010-09-29T00:24:00.003-06:00

Bright Flowers for sale at Pike Street Market; Seattle, WA.

I have been pretty active these past few months. I have gone to Washington twice, climbed a 9422 foot mountain, took a trip up to Kalispell and Glacier National Park (over Labor Day weekend and it snowed!) where we took a boat tour of Two Medicine Lake, drove up to the Canadian boarder on the east side of the park, finally saw Chief Mountain, saw Running Eagle Falls, saw two bears (black, technically, but one was a beautiful cinnamon color), saw an awesome exhibit about DaVinci at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, met many new friends through Geo-Woodstock and other Geocaching events, grew a garden that looks great, but produced poorly (bad year for many gardeners, I hear), and learned how to can-- aka, "Put -Up" or "Preserve"-- many types of foods.

On the household side of things, Krystle moved out, then back in... my new computer FINALLY arrived (!!)... and Joe, who has been suffering with a hernia for two years, finally had to go in for emergency surgery last week and I was the only person in the area who could take care of him.

All that, and more! We have our business plan submitted to MBAC/SBA and they have been helping us try to get the shop open. Congress says there is money to loan for start-ups, but the banks are all saying "NO!". It's been a long process, but someday we will be able to move ahead on this.

Here are a couple more photos. Many more to come.

How can you go to the Pike Street Market and not take This photo?!!

Snoqualmie Falls; Snoqualmie, Washington...the second time I have been to this spot this year (July 1-5, and Sept 11th).
(Check out the very top of the falls...there are large earth movers up there (yes, that smudge of yellow on the far bank)! I framed them in on purpose for perspective on the size of the waterfall!)

Red Rock Lake, Glacier National Park

2010-09-04T22:47:00.001-06:00

I don't remember the mountain's name. I'll look it up and post it when I get home. This is is the Swiftcurrent Valley, Glacier National Park.

Swiftcurrent Valley, Glacier National Park.

2010-09-04T22:41:00.001-06:00

Times are a-changing here!

2010-02-06T10:46:00.002-07:00

Hey There! Remember me? Yeah, it's been awhile so I thought I would drop in and visit for awhile. Catching up may take awhile, so go grab a cup of coffee, a soda, or adult beverage (depending on your preference and time of day) and lets chat for a bit.

I wish I could say that the little over two months that I have been absent from my Blog have been filled with wonder, adventure and excitement. Not even close! Depression, anxiety, and fear of the unknown future?... Yep! Why such a bleak outlook from a normally upbeat and happy-go-lucky person?
Wellllll...... I managed to get myself laid-off from my job at the cell phone place. Laid off is better than being fired, but that instant you find out you will not be employed is quite the shock! I would have blogged about the situation, but my computer here at home is dying a slow and painful death. Sometimes, like today, it allows me to connect to the wireless and for the most part behaves. Usually, though, it won't connect or the screen flashes on and off whenever the CPU needs to "think". The poor thing is 9 years old and I have updated it as much as I can (more RAM, better video card, a DVD player/burner, and a 200 gig hard drive that my old processor can only read as 131 gig). It was "state of the art" when I got it as a Christmas present... Windows XP was just released and the Intel Pentium 3 1200MHz processor with 512MB of RAM (updated size, not original RAM) and 20 GB hard drive was blazing fast for it's time. But today that 20GB drive is dedicated to ONLY operating system and driver files and those use up 16GB of space!! The other drive is for photos, games, music, and the files that support my scanner, printer, iPod, cell phone backup files, downloads... and everything else! Oh yeah... another thing... the cooling fan has died, too! It sure made a racket when it was going out, so the silence is great but I hate to do much on the poor computer for fear of over heating it and loosing everything.
There is a ray of sunshine in my computer future, though. Back in October I ordered a new one, and a new laptop, too. Total for both was only about $500 and a Lay-a-Way plan was available. I had, at the time, thought I could easily pay that off in two or three months, but situations have changed and now I am only able to pay the minimum monthly payment of $50 ($25 on each). Slowly, but surely, I WILL have a new computer!
Enough computer talk! On to the Life and Times of Lil 'ol Me...
This requires going back to mid-November, just after my last post. (Special Fx quys, do that Wayne's Word wavy picture thing and Doodeedoodoo Doodeedoodoo sound now).
There are a few things happening... the owner of the shop I work(ed) at is not stocking the store with needed merchandise, he has abandoned the work on the hair salon next door and immersed himself into a pyramid scheme business, and he is not listening to our business needs.
Also, my trusty Rav-4 is showing signs of its 175000 miles. I have decided to trade it in for a newer vehicle. The weeks before Thanksgiving I have test-driven a number of vehicles, ruling out the Jeep Liberty (didn't feel stable in windy conditions), the Dodge Caliber (just didn't like it), and numerous other used cars with one mechanical problem or another. I thought I had time to be picky! Friday, the 13th of November (coincidence?) the Rav died on my home to Helena from Great Falls...in one of the few cell phone dead areas (of course!). Verdict? Engine is about to throw a rod. Nice. I need another vehicle ASAP. Joe let me borrow his Jeep so I could get around the next week, and I stopped at a small used car lot that I had purchased a car from a few years earlier. There was a 1999 Subaru Legacy in perfect condition on the lot and in my price range. I took it for a drive and was disappointed to discover the over-drive in the automatic transmission was not engaging correctly. I returned to the lot, and the salesman said their shop would check out the problem the next day. As it turned out, their repairman couldn't fix it and the owner of the small lot took the Subaru to the local Subaru dealership's shop to have the repair work done... at no additional cost to me if I still wanted it. A CarFax report showed perfect scores, and the previous owner had taken it to their local Subaru dealer for all repairs and oil changes so those were reflected as well. This was IT! The cherry I had been searching for! I had even been pre-approved for the loan through a local Credit Union with no payments due (except the $1000 down) until Jan. 1st. The salesman even let me split the down payment into two installments, one on the day I signed the papers... the next mid-December.
Life Was Good Again!
Payday was Nov. 18th, papers signed and a $500 check written on the 19th (another post-dated for mid-December). Monday, the 23rd I met with my banker and finalized the loan there, and picked up my new-to-me Subaru Legacy on Wednesday the 25th.. the day before Thanksgiving. The wait was because the dealership's shop had to order in parts to fix the tranny, and my deal (in writing) with the salesman and the bank was I could back out of the sale if the transmission was not fixed to my liking. It was fixed perfect! I love the car! Yea Me!!
Meanwhile, the shelves at work were beginning to look sparse. As a person knowledgeable in business practices (accounting, balance sheets, taxes, yadda-yadda-yadda) I knew we were making decent profits and there was no reason for the lack of inventory. The day after Thanksgiving (biggest shopping day of the year) we could have done twice the business if we had the product. Of course, the owner would not explain himself to us.
Saturday Nov 28th I checked my bank balance like I do every Saturday just in case I forgot to deduct a debit card purchase in my register. My jaw literally dropped! I was over $1000.00 overdrawn! What the Hell? How could that have happened? It only took a moment to see that my previous weeks paycheck had "bounced". I was LIVID! I called my store owner on both of his cell phones. I called his assistant on his cell phone. I had to leave messages on all three. That just pissed me off even more! I sent text messages to all three phones. Not 10 minutes later ( I was still figuring out the over-draft fees. If there was a happy moment in all of this, it was the realization that the $500 check to the car dealer was NOT one of the ones returned NSF!) the owner called me back all sappy-sorry and tried to convince me that he had no clue the business account was bone dry. He promised to have it "taken care of" first thing Monday morning. Now, I could understand this if the business was not making money. I knew better. The business account should have had over $15,000 in it from just the month of November-- especially since he was spending next to nothing on inventory! I also knew that Bob, the store owner, always carried at least $1000 in cash (or more) in his wallet at any given time. Covering my staggering overdrawn (to me, anyways) account was only "chump-change" to him.
On Monday, Nov. 30th my banker and Bob's banker fixed my account by noon. My banker suggested I not make any transactions until Wednesday, if possible, to make sure nothing was "hanging out there somewhere". I actually ended up two dollars ahead!
Tuesday was December first. Our gross sales for November were calculated and sent to the main office. Joe and I had been given a "Sales Incentive Bonus Program" in October and we were excited to see that we had pushed sales, even with low inventory, into a bracket in which we were to both receive a little over $400 in bonus pay. A few hours later, an e-mail from the office stated that the bonus was to be paid out of NET sales and that our bonus was to only be $100 each. They had previously paid out on Gross sales, so this was changing the terms of a signed contract, which clearly states Gross sales in numerous places. I sent the office a FAX telling them this, along with a copy of the contract we had signed in October.
This got me a phone call from Bob. I was still sore about the bounced paycheck, now the sudden change in the bonus, on top of the lack of him doing his job at keeping our store stocked. I did not yell. I did not curse. We talked for over an hour and he kept trying to throw excuses my way and I countered each of them with informed answers (like how much he paid out in wages and federal wage taxes; power and heat; what little inventory he did purchase; etc). I told him he was mismanaging the store and the money it brought in. I asked him why he was throwing away a awesomely profitable business in these woeful economic times. He said I didn't know what I was talking about. I asked him to prove me wrong.
His answer was to Lay me off as of close of business that day. He couldn't fire me for voicing my opinions, thoughts, and quoting figures. He knew if he did, I'd have been at the state Wage and Labor Board with a winnable case against him. With the bounced paycheck, he could say that the business just couldn't support two employees so he had to let me go.
Yeah, I brought it on myself. I guess I wasn't really shocked.
My only thoughts at the time as I was cleaning out three years of personal accumulations was how was I going to cover that post-dated $500 check for the Subaru, the insurance, and registration fees?
I knew I could get onto the Unemployment roles so I wouldn't be totally broke, but I knew Unemployment would not give me enough to cover these expenses, as well as the first payment to the bank due on January first.
For some reason, later that evening (Dec 1st), Joe decided to text message the situation to our mutual friend, Vicki. At 7am the next morning Joe gets a call from Vicki's roommate with information for me.... Vicki works for the State of Montana, Department of Health and Human Services which at that moment were currently hiring temporary data entry workers to handle the onslaught of H1N1 vaccination records that needed to be entered into the statewide immunization database. I called Vicki, and she told me which temp agency to register with, and to tell them that I was specifically requested for the position.
I thanked her, showered and left Great Falls (where I had stayed the night because I was to stressed to drive home) arriving in Helena about 11am. My first stop was to the Unemployment office for information on how to file, what I would expect to get, etc. Next stop, the temp agency.
I filled out their forms, told them I was requested for the DPHHS H1N1 position, and that I could start right away. In the parking lot I called Vicki and told her I was registered. Within the hour, a woman named Becki phoned and asked me when I wanted to start, what hours I was willing to work, and informed me that the pay was to be $11.00 per hour. We agreed on the next morning (Thursday, Dec 3rd) to start and I have been there full time since. I looked at the clock (in the dash of my new Subaru!) and it said 2pm. I had been unemployed for a total of 20 hours! Not bad for a state with a 8.5% unemployment rate (and a national average of 10.1% unemployment).

I was told the job was to be anywhere from 6-10 weeks. That would have put me working until mid-Feb, but I was recently informed we still have enough work to take us into mid-March. I am still looking for an actual full time permanent job and if I don't have one by the time this temp one ends I will still have Unemployment to fall back on. The local office estimates I will make the equivalent of $8 to $8.50 an hour on Unemployment and I am not required to take a job that pays less than $10/hour.

Other future plans? When this job ends, or between jobs... whichever happens first; I plan to attend some of the free or low cost classes that are offered here in Helena on how to start my own business, apply for grants, and how to write a business plan to present to the banks for business funding. My thoughts are to open a cell phone repair & resale shop similar to the one I was just laid off from. Joe said he is "in", too, and with our combined knowledge we know we can make it work. We have "acquired" the actual sales numbers from the past two years showing the growth potential is phenomenal. Bob could have made half a million dollars this year if he would have just listened to us and kept the store stocked. Word of mouth was generating half of our new customers. Repeat customers provided at least half of our revenue. Word on the street gave us excellent reviews. For some reason, Bob has chosen to throw away his best money making venture and is placing a ton of his money into a "get rich quick" pyramid scheme that most of us know better than to even look twice at.
What a fool, but I aim to take what he is throwing away!
Wish me luck.......
There it is, in a nutshell. Yes, there are stories behind the events, and I would have enjoyed telling them, but this is long enough already! I do hope to visit again soon... and don't expect to stay away for another 2 months! So much will be happening that I really will need to write about it... even if just to keep things straight in my own mind!
I hope everyone is well, and appologies to those of you whom I followed regulary and have not been able to lately. It's been a roller coaster ride and I don't see it smoothing out any time soon!
Well, my coffee cup is empty, the dog wants out, and I really should get a shower! Its been good catching up, but I really must get on with the day---

Canyon ferry Lake

2009-11-29T13:50:00.001-07:00

Sorry I haven't been posting, but other things have been taking my time. Today, for example, I am enjoying the late onset of winter by taking a lovely drive out to one of our local lakes. Temperatures are around 45 degrees so it is a very nice late November afternoon! I hope everyone had a Great Thanksgiving! See ya when the weather changes!

Fall Snowstorm

2009-10-28T21:32:00.001-06:00

Ahhh! Nothing like going to the local super market for a bag of dog food and being greeted to this on the way back out. I was only inside for about ten minutes. . . And when I went in there was no snow or rain falling! It was very localized as Less than a mile away down the road everything was dry. Crazy!

Damn!

2009-10-15T10:22:00.001-06:00

Not speeding or anything. My front licence plate was crooked! I have been driving the same road with it like this for two years and have been seen by many, many patrol cars and this is the first time they had a problem with it! I just had to laugh. It did make me late for work though.

Why I Love Geocaching

2009-09-26T19:45:00.001-06:00

Along highway 2 on the way to Kalispell. A beautiful place that I would never have stopped to see if someone hadn't hid a Geocache near here.

I haven't forgot about you!

2009-09-25T23:59:00.003-06:00

Yeah, I know.... I made a personal promise to write at least three times a week. Well, we can all see I have failed miserably on that one! It isn't because I don't have anything to say. Actually, quite the opposite. I just seem to be away from a working computer whenever I have the time to sit and compose a posting. My life goes in stages, and right now it seems to be taking me away from home quite often. When I am at home, there just seems to be so much to do that I haven't had the time to give myself the quiet time I sorely need.
Here are a few of the highlights of these past few weeks:

Every weekend from August 22nd through Sept 20th (5 weekends) Joe and I were cabin sitting for Albert. I have promised, and will fulfill that promise, of a post describing this awesome opportunity. Yes, pictures too!

My tiny garden is still producing, but I think this next week will send it into it's last days. We have been having some record high temperatures and I finally have some ripe tomatoes that the deer haven't eaten! The carrots are still in the ground and seem to be doing great. I do pull a couple out each weekend to eat as a snack, and they have grown from the size of my pinkie to the size of my thumb in two weeks! I may be able to get enough to actually do something with! The parsley will be cut and laid out to dry on Sunday since that will be the beginning of a whole week of nights in the 30's. The lettuce was doing great, but I have eaten as much as I want and have a bit in the fridge, too. I uncovered it and left it to the grasshoppers and rodents who have feasted well on it. I may get a little more from it before it freezes out.

Last Sunday (9/20) Brooke managed to get herself sprayed by a skunk. How? I don't know. She was in the fenced in yard and the skunk was out of the yard but by the gate. I guess the skunk was spooked and got the poor girl right in the face and neck. Brooke is well into her winter coat so the musk soaked through the long outer hair and into the soft downy stuff... and into her collar as well. To make matters worse-- Joe didn't realize what had just happened and let her into the house where she proceeded to rub her just-sprayed muzzle onto my living room carpet! Monday evening after work I gave Brooke a bath (have I ever mentioned she HATES baths?) with a Peroxide / Baking Soda / soap mixture. It worked really well... on the parts I was allowed to get washed really good. The other places? Well, It cut the smell down alot, but she still smelled pretty bad this past week. As for the carpet? Carpet Fabreeze, Oxiclean, and more Fabreeze. When the house is closed up tight it still smells. Looks like another week of the same! On the bright side? The stench is slowly fading from carpet, dog, and yard (where Ms. LaPew sprayed).

On the work front, The Owner of my place of employment has been to town the past two weeks, and has promised another visit next week. He is not coming into town to check up on us, but to supervise a remodel of a hair salon he owns next door to us. In the past two weeks I have now seen the man more than I had in the nearly three years I have been working for him! There was a good side to this, too: since he didn't "have time for us" and really wanted to take us out to dinner he just gave us each $100 to spend "on the town". Not a bad, and totally unexpected, bonus! Did we go out? No, but Joe and I are heading up to Glacier Park on Saturday so the extra cash will come in handy for that. We haven't been up North for quite a long time....

And, tonight I just finished dying Krystle's hair. I don't see much of her anymore since she is pretty much living her own life and with the girls all grown, I am living mine. This gave us a bit of a chance to catch up and chat. SOooo NOW it is going on 2:30 in the morning! One more spray down of the carpet with Fabreeze and it's off to bed! Tomorrow is Glacier, seeing Heather and Lucas, and hopefully our friends Stacey and Trudy either tomorrow or Sunday before heading back home.
Busy, Busy, Busy... but soon winter will be here and life will slow WAY down!

Yummy!

2009-09-17T20:17:00.000-06:00

A weak moment!

Montana Fire Season, from quiet to busy in one week!

2009-09-15T00:17:00.007-06:00

Fire at Holter Lake 9/9/09

Is that tiny bucket of water really going to do much good?! 9/9/09

The big news around here is about fires. We had been enjoying a very quiet fire season this year, but not anymore! Wednesday of last week a large fire broke out near one of our most popular lakes. Holter Lake, formed by a dam on the Missouri River, is a sportsman's paradise. The lake is usually dotted with boats of all types and the surrounding land is dotted with many campgrounds and private cabins. On nice weekends, folks flock to the lake from Great Falls (to the north) and Helena (south of the lake) to fish, hunt, boat, or camp. During the week, especially now that school is in session and summer is unofficially over, there aren't many people playing in the area. That was a good thing last week. The fire broke out in or near a campground in the late morning and burned out quite a few camper-trailers before taking off into the wooded hills. The pine beetle had killed enough of the trees to allow the fire to take a quick jump in size... 2400 acres in only one day! The good news? The fire was on the 'far side' of the lake, where there are fewer cabins. The state had fire crews in place quickly, but the flames were too high and fast for men on the ground. By Wednesday evening the fire was being fought with chemical drops from airplanes and water drops from helicopters. My photos were taken Wednesday evening as I was driving home to Helena. **For you locals out there... my vantage point was the Augusta Exit. Now, five days later, there is hardly any smoke rising from the valley and roads into the area are reopened. I hope it is all under control BECAUSE... only a relatively few miles to the south:

Helena North Hills Fire 9/14/09

....Today, Monday, a fire broke out in the North Hills of the Helena Valley. This is a much more populated area, and the smoke plume could be seen clearly throughout the valley. I figure my house is, as the crow flies, about five or six miles from this fire. I can smell the smoke drifting into my windows as I am typing. I don't know anything about this fire yet... like how it started, or where EXACTLY it is, but looking out the window and seeing the smoke is a bit unsettling. As I watched from my driveway (where the photo was taken) I could see the setting sun reflecting off of two firefighter planes. I am sure this fire will be attacked from all sides and put out quickly. Our wildfire crews are awesome, and with many houses in danger they won't be getting much sleep until the entire thing is contained and totally out.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature is not planning to help out any time soon. The afternoon temperatures are supposed to be in the mid to high 80's, lows in the 50's, and no rain.

Be Careful What You Wish For!

2009-09-04T17:26:00.003-06:00

In yesterdays post, I said I wished I would have visitors just drop by.
Only a few hours after I posted that, my dad called me. Now I know he doesn't read this blog so this is where it gets weird--
He wanted to know if he could come over during this upcoming long weekend and repair the door frame to my main front door (it has started to crack and possibly rot at the bottom). Fixing this problem was actually one of my goals to accomplish in the next three years. I just needed the money, for one thing, and the knowledge from a How-To book for another. Dad knows how to do these things, AND he has the wood, tools, and apparently the time to do this repair.
So... what did I say?
Of course he can come over and do the repairs...even though I am going to be up in the mountains cabin sitting.
Now, I don't know about you, but when a parent wants to come over you don't want your home in disarray!! I guess I am heading home, doing a "quick clean" of the visible areas before I head to the cabin....
So...here is proof! Wishes CAN come true. Unfortunately not in the way you expected them to!

Have a great Labor Day, everyone!

I've been in a bit of a funk lately.

2009-09-03T16:22:00.003-06:00

What does that mean?

Well, I don't really know to tell you the truth. All I know is I am totally unmotivated to do anything. I haven't been writing. I haven't been keeping up with my blogging friends. I haven't been reading any of the many "to be read" books laying around my house. I haven't even kept up on housekeeping (the days I am home, anyway). Even my garden is feeling the effects, but I haven't killed it!

I get up and go to work...then leave with no plans to do anything or go anywhere besides home. Once I am home, I plop my butt in front of my home computer and play mindless games, mindless Internet surfing, or mindless chatter on Facebook. I haven't cooked for myself in over a week, choosing to either forage around the kitchen or grab fast food. My laundry has piled up... most of it clean, just heaped in baskets on the bedroom floor. My fridge needs a good cleaning. My floors all need vacuumed and mopped. I have clutter sitting all over the house, and a layer of dust on top of it all!

I recognize all that needs to be done, but I just turn my back to it. It's not that I am being lazy (or maybe I am?). I'm not depressed about anything (or life in general). I just don't feel like doing it. A pouty little voice in my head says "I don't wanna, so I'm not gonna!" I tell myself that I'll do it later, or the next day. No motivation, no desire. Surprise, Surprise! It hasn't gotten done.

Sometimes I wish I lived closer to town and I had drop in visitors! That would give me motivation to kick myself in the ass and clean, at least. Once the house is clean, I am sure all my other simple pleasures would fall into place. I hope so, anyway! Anyone want to come visit so I can give this idea a try? :-)

Maybe I am all off kilter because my weekends have been too busy? I haven't had a Saturday morning to dedicate to housekeeping in a few weeks now. I'm not complaining.... I have been loving the idea of cabin sitting for Albert. The forest is so peaceful, and the cabin cozy. I am ecstatic that I get two more weekends up on the Continental Divide before giving the keys back. The manual labor of cutting, splitting, and stacking firewood feels good to the body and gives me a sense of accomplishment. I will write about this experience in another post. I need time to put all of the feelings into words.... and decide which photos to post out of the many that I have taken!

Maybe the juxtaposition of the two lifestyles is what is causing this strange funk I am in? Only time will tell.

August has been a strange month!

2009-08-27T12:36:00.002-06:00

I just realized August is almost over, then I realized I haven't written very much here this month.
The whole month kinda slipped away unnoticed. It feels like the month just started but kids are now in school and the leaves are turning yellow in the higher elevations. Where, oh where did the month go?!

I'd like to say I was just too busy to notice the last days of summer slipping away, but I really haven't been doing anything out of the ordinary on a day to day basis. I guess I just haven't taken the time to slow down and enjoy the soft summer nights on my porch, or notice the wheat fields turning gold. I was a bit shocked to see a farmer out cutting his field this week and I think it was that sight which slammed home the fact summer is nearing its reign here in Southwestern Montana.

I did not go camping this year (with the exception of Rockin' the Rivers. THAT is not true camping!).
I did not, as of yet, go to Glacier Park and enjoy the sights of the higher alpine elevations that Going To The Sun Highway passes through for only 4 short months.
I have not visited any of the multitude of nearby lakes for an afternoon or evening of commune with nature.
I have not hiked a trail, even a short distance, since June.

SO... what HAVE I done?
Monday through Fridays have been work as usual. I have become the driver of a ride share agreement on Monday (to Great Falls and home), Tuesday (to Great Falls), and Wednesdays (home to Helena). We met through Craig's list. She doesn't like to drive and was looking to save a few dollars on gas. I love to drive and being paid for it is even better! Her name is Michelle. Odd, huh? We are alike on many levels, which is good. Neither of us are very talkative, so we have decided to listen to books on CD during most of the drive, then discussing the story while I drive through Great Falls before I drop her off at her place of employment. It has been working great! On the days I drive her to Great Falls I have to leave two hours earlier than I have been so that took a little getting used to!
The weekends after Rockin' the Rivers have been full, but not busy. I used the weekend of the 15th to catch up on some house cleaning, then headed to Great Falls early Sunday afternoon to attend a Geocaching BBQ. It is always fun to go to Geocaching events. Everyone brings a pot luck dish to share, and there is always a new face or two to welcome into the group. Stories are exchanged, prizes are given, door prizes raffled off.... just an all around good time! Afterward a small group of us decided to find a few of the newer cache hides in Great Falls, then Joe, Greg (caching buddy and good friend), and I ended up talking in a parking lot until long after the sun went down.
Another normal work week followed.
The weekend of the 22nd (last weekend) was a training weekend on how to "operate" Albert's cabin. He is gong on a three week trip out of state and asked Joe and I to cabin sit for him. Of course we agreed! The place is heavenly and we enthusiastically accept any invitation to spend time there.
I don't work on Saturdays, Joe does. It was decided that I would head up into the mountains on Fridays and Joe would join me when he could on Saturdays. Last weekend, I arrived at Albert's cabin home about 9:30pm. It was too late for him to show me much about the workings of the place so we just enjoyed some adult beverages (white wine for me) and caught up with each others lives. Albert, Joe, and I share many of the same interests and views so conversations are always interesting and lively. Before we knew it, it was 2am! We headed to our rooms and I fell asleep quickly. We both slept in until about 10am, then had a lazy morning breakfasting on toast, fresh fruit, and juice. The day was a relaxing one, mostly spent with Albert on his computer and with me reading a book. We would stop and talk a bit, then back to quiet time. I didn't even change from my sweats and tee shirt until 3pm! The late afternoon was filled with Albert showing me photos on his laptop of some of his journeys throughout the U.S. Joe arrived with Papa Murphy's pizzas about 6pm and we sat around talking some more, then watching a couple DVD's before heading off to another awesome nights sleep. There is something about mountain air that makes me sleep very well!
Sunday morning Joe woke up early, as it is his nature to do so. He hiked up a small mountain and took some photos of Albert's cabin from "up high". Albert and I both woke about 8:30, about the time Joe was returning to the cabin. We all had a light breakfast, packed a lunch and some drinks in a cooler and headed down into Marysville to meet up with a couple of Albert's friends. We were planning on exploring some of the old mining claims in the area. One of the men had lived in the area all of his life and knew of a few places the rest of us hadn't been to, but when we met up with them, this particular gentleman had an appointment he had forgotten about and could only chat for a few minutes before he had to be on his way off the mountain and back to civilization. The remaining four of us headed into the Helena National Forest in a pair of Jeeps. We explored cabins and mine buildings built in the late 1800's, some of which were still being used well into the 1940's. At one point, Albert zigged instead of zagged around a muddy area and got stuck in a pretty bad mud hole. Rich, the guy with the other Jeep, wasn't much of a backwoods explorer and had obviously never pulled any one out of a tight situation. Joe and I talked him through the process, and Albert's Jeep was yanked out in no time at all. Joe did have to use a shovel to dig the back tire out, sinking all the way to his knee in the soft, wet bog. Everyone but Rich thought the whole situation was funny. Rich, who probably never took his Jeep off of maintained roads.... and most defantly had never allowed himself to sink knee-deep in mud, didn't want to attempt going any farther up the road. We could have skirted the mire and continued on, but since Rich balked at the idea we turned around and went the long way around the mountain. Rich did show us some interesting places he had previously been to, and pointed out others for us to explore another time. I am assuming they are on "decent" forest service roads, or can be accessed by a short hike.
We returned to Albert's cabin in the early evening, relaxed and talked about the days adventure, then Albert showed us the few things we needed to know how to operate while we stay there the next three weekends alone. Generator, propane, water pump and purifier, and which appliances had pilot lights. We plan to cut and split some firewood for him while he is gone, too, as the wood stove is his main source of heat during the winter.
Another work week has come and gone. Only a few items to note...My ride share didn't need rides to Great Falls this week, working instead in the Helena office of her employer. I also found out a blog and Facebook friend may be passing through the area. I have never actually met this person and we may meet up if his journey takes him through Central Montana.
Another good friend, Ty, who now lives in Wisconsin, brought his brother to Helena on a trip the two of them are taking together. Tom, Ty's brother, had never seen the Rocky Mountains or their grandfathers childhood homestead in Eastern Montana. Tom is an interesting creature... a bit odd... but I adapt well to new and unusual people so the three of us had a good visit. It was much too short, as we could only meet up on Wednesday evening. He was at a BBQ not far from my house in Helena, and I had some plans that kept me in Great Falls later than usual that same evening. We finally connected at a bar about two miles from my house about 10pm. We ended up closing the place down at 2am!! I haven't seen Ty for three years when I flew out to attend his wedding, so there was much to catch up on. We do phone each other, but that doesn't compare to face-to-face conversations. We have missed each other dearly and made promises to meet up again much sooner than another three years!
Wednesday was also Krystle's 20th birthday. She was closing up at her restaurant job so she cam home about 1am and was surprised I wasn't home. The kids are sometimes shocked that their parents DO have a life on occasion! I told her I had her birthday present in my vehicle and she could come and get it and say hello to Ty, or I'd give it to her when I got home. She was tired so opted for the later. She was sleeping on the couch when I got home, so I just placed the present on a nearby chair and went to bed myself.
Krystle woke about half an hour before me, as she had to work the opening shift on Thursday. When I saw her, she was wearing one of the shirts I had given her for her birthday. I had left the tags on with a note saying if she didn't like what I had picked, she was free to exchange for something she did like. I was happy to see she liked my choice and glad I was not so out of touch with today's young adult fashions!
Thursday evening (yesterday) Joe and I checked out the last of Great Falls' weekly Alive @ Five activities where the city closes off a downtown block to traffic while vendors and live music take over. We had not gone all summer so decided to at least make an appearance and get some of that good, but very bad for you vendor food!
After hanging out a bit downtown, we decided to finish off the evening at the movies. We went to see Inglorious Basterds. I liked it, but it didn't have any of the sudden unexpected plot twists that I have come to associate with Quintin Territino's movies. Twisted humor and gore aplenty, so if you plan to see it expect his work in those area. I'm happy to have seen it on the big screen, and may rent it from Netflix to see it again. To me, it was worth the money the theaters charged. That doesn't happen very often.
Tonight I will be heading back to Albert's cabin. He said he should still be around. That would be nice for a quick once-over, but if he has left for his trip I'm sure I'll not have any troubles.
Pictures are coming, just have to get onto a computer that will not crash or hang when I want to upload them.

Good friends

2009-08-27T00:15:00.001-06:00

Spending time with my good friend Ty and his brother Tom. They are visiting from Wisconsin. This has been a Great visit.

Yummy!

2009-08-15T22:06:00.001-06:00

Rosemary pork chops with Apricot brandied apples.

Back Home, Sunburned and Tired

2009-08-10T19:42:00.007-06:00

...But with a smile on my face and great memories of Rockin' the Rivers 2009. This photo of a full moon was taken on Thursday evening after Joe and I decided to get a good, full nights sleep on a real bed instead of trying to drive to the festival campground and set up in the dark. Now, you DO know crazy stuff happens on a full moon, right? Well, our crazy day began long before the sun went down! The day started innocent enough, but then "the incidents" began. I used my lunch hour to head to Wal-Mart for the last minute perishables. I shopped for 20 minutes, had to stand in the check-out line for 30! Joe used his lunch hour to do some running around, and while he was gone his mechanic dropped off his Jeep. I said something about Joe being happy it was all in good running order, and the shop assistant said something under his breath that I didn't quite catch, but it sounded negative. Then Mr. Shop Assistant asked me to have Joe call the mechanic. Hmmmm...
Joe called and was told the "squeaking noise" was dumbfounding the mechanic. Very odd, as this is a VERY knowledgeable guy. The Jeep should be OK for the short trip and if the noise changes to take it back in.
Fast Forward to 6pm. Yea! Joe has packed the Jeep, my Rav-4 is almost packed, and we are on our way for a much needed and looked forward to 4 day vacation filled with Classic rock, new friends, a little too much alcohol, and lots of fun! I leave first, telling Joe to meet me at my house in Helena as I wanted to make a last minute check on the dog, water the garden, and pack a pair of jeans that were in the drier.
I'm 20 miles outside of Great Falls when my cell rings. Joe is one mile out of Great Falls on the side of the road with coolant running out of the bottom of the car and the engine overheated. He thinks it may just be a hose, but I have a bad feeling and turn around at the next exit and head back to where he sits. When I get there, the mechanic had also just arrived with his tow truck. This is a very nice fellow and he is doing this free of charge (he also did the repairs needed free of charge, working over the weekend!) Joe and I had to make a quick decision of what we needed from the Jeep and what would stay behind. The little Rav was packed from floor to roof! We knew we would have to stop at my house, now not just for the little things I needed to do, but also to remove and re-pack our stuff to be sure we had everything we needed, and to make the load a little safer in the event we had an accident. Decapitation was not on my to-do list for the weekend!
By the time everything was said and done, it was after 10pm. I had been hearing weather reports of thunder storms moving through the area, and made the suggestion for us to just stay at my house and head out in the early morning. Joe was so stressed it didn't take much to convince him this was a good idea! As it turned out... it was an excellent choice. A storm dropped hail ranging in size from golf ball to tennis ball size over the campground that night. (It broke the windshield of a neighboring campers pickup!)
We arrived at the festival area about 9am. You have no idea anything is happening way out here in the middle of nowhere until you crest a hill and see this:

Hundreds of campers, RV's, and tents! We had arrived! We set up camp in our tiny allotted spot (see previous post for a photo!), met some of our neighbors, and finally relaxed into festival / vacation mode!
The music began at noon with some local Montana bands. They were followed up with Jared Stewart, Rhino Bucket (a new artist, not a classic rock band, but in the same style as many of the late 70's rock bands), The Smithereens, Tesla, and closing with a very popular Montana band who are gaining a national following- The Clintons- who finished up about 2am. We went to the air bed and our sleeping bags right after Tesla played while the younger set continued to party all around us. A short rain shower dampened the dust while we were heading back to camp, but only lasted a few minutes.

Saturday we woke to a beautiful morning. The mornings are quiet and actually peaceful! All the parties last into the wee hours, so those people don't even begin to stir until after 10am, leaving the sunrise to those of us who can't last that long anymore! After coffee from the percolator and a breakfast of fruit and bagels, we drove the few miles to Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park. Not many of the festival goers know about the parks little gem--- Hot Showers!! A ten minute shower will cost you $3.00 in quarters, but after a day in the dust it is a small price to pay.

After the showers, we took a little drive to the town of Bozeman. It is about an hour or so south of Rockin' the Rivers, which is between Cardwell and Three Forks, Mt. The Bozeman area Geocachers were holding an event, and as we didn't plan to watch any of the bands playing before 3pm this was a great way to spend the day. One of our Geocaching friends from Great Falls was planning to catch the bands ( mostly wanted to see Peter Frampton!) at RtR that evening, so we invited him to stay at our camp site so he wouldn't have to drive afterwards.
We returned to RtR after the Geocaching event about 3pm, just in time to catch one of our festival favorites Too Slim & the Taildraggers:

Yep, just the 3 of 'em! (Too Slim always reminds me of the actor Steve Buscemi). The rest of the Saturday evening line-up was the Pat Travers Band, Sweet:

Peter Frampton (too dark for photo), and the night closed out with another festival favorite Hells Belles, an all girl AC/DC cover band. Since our friend Greg was hanging out with us, and we all had had a long day, we just sat at the campsite chatting by the light of the Coleman lantern after watching Peter Frampton perform. We headed to bed while listening to the last band's music flow over the campground.

Sunday morning was once again picture perfect. We just sat around chatting about nothing in particular while making omelets, washing them down with Mimosas. Greg took off for home around three, and Joe and I just hung around camp, listening to the music, people watching and swapping stories with our campground neighbors. Sunday's music lineup
was Randy Hansen (playing Jimi Hendrix tunes), Dave Walker Band, Spencer Davis Group-- this photo was taken while we were walking from the campsite to the music arena to watch Spencer Davis. The sunset was glowing off the old Sappington Junction Bridge:

My eye caught this licence plate, too. This was on an old bus style RV painted teal blue:

After Spencer Davis finished, it was Tommy James and the Shondells. I got this (bad) photo during the song "Mony, Mony!":

The Outlaws performed next, but I really wasn't impressed. I guess I'm just not that into 10 minute guitar sequences that were incorporated into every song. "Ghost Riders in the Sky" was about the only song I really knew of theirs. I sat and people-watched while Joe dozed off. We were trying to stay awake to watch the closing band El Loco, a very good ZZ Top cover band. We had never watched them, but many people had given them rave reviews. We managed to stay awake, but the night sky was clear as a bell and the temperature dropped into the 50's. We were both a little sunburned so the cool air was uncomfortably cold to us. We left for our camp site after only a few songs.
Monday morning (wow, was that only earlier today?!) we woke early and after a quick breakfast of coffee, Orange juice, and bagels; we began the task of tearing down our camp. It really didn't take much, but we would stop every now and then to joke with our camp neighbors:

Starting with the two guys sitting closest: Pete and his buddy Sam (who I dubbed re-Pete because I had trouble remembering his name!); Steve (lounging, hung over); Michelle (Mrs. "My Baby"); Tonya (Steve's wife); Lyn (Mr. "My Baby"); and this other dude who I don't think I was ever told his name. This was a great group to be set up next to-- although this was Michelle and Lyn's first anniversary and EVERYTHING was "Hey, My Baby? Can you ...." followed by:" Of course, My Baby!" On Sunday morning I counted six "My Baby"'s in less than 10 minutes!!! It became a running joke in our campsite. Of course, only when the newlyweds were out of earshot, that is! This photo was taken at about 9am, just as Joe and I were about to hop into the Rav-4 and head for home.

Joe was anxious to pick up his Jeep from the shop so we stopped at my house to unload most of the stuff that belongs here, then I took him home to Great Falls. We drove straight to the shop and although the Jeep wasn't quite finished, we did find out the radiator had split when the engine overheated. The squeak was diagnosed as a malfunctioning rocker arm (whatever that is), and since they were in the same area... they checked the water pump. That was looking worn, too, so it was replaced. A radiator, rocker arm replacement, water pump, and thermostat all replaced for free... not to mention the tow truck, too!

The mechanic was going to finish up on that, then deliver it to Joe's house.

I dropped Joe off, we finished unpacking the stuff that belonged there, and I turned around and came back home.

Chores were calling.

Vacation was over! I took a hot shower (no quarters required) and scrubbed my body squeaky clean with a shower loofa. I washed my hair three times. I brushed my teeth for about 10 minutes. Ahhhhhh! Clean again!

Life returned to normal.

Laundry started.

Garden watered.

Dog loved on.

Blog updated.

Now it's bedtime.

P.S. I would have taken more photos, but Joe had just found a great deal on a new camera for me and I am still learning how to use it. It is a Kodak Easy Share Z812 IS. This camera is really nice! 8.1 mega pixel, image stabilizer, 12x Optical zoom.... and I think if I can figure out all the functions, it just may wash dishes and fold laundry, too!

Rockin' The Rivers 2009

2009-08-10T19:39:00.001-06:00

This is our little piece of Jefferson County dirt that was our campsite.

A really, really quick post...

2009-08-06T16:46:00.004-06:00

...But I will try to cover everything!

The garden would be doing great if the deer wouldn't have found it. They ate all my green tomatoes (6 at the time) and my (so far) one and only bell pepper that was the size of a baby's fist. They also stomped all over one of the squash plants.
All of the radishes have been harvested. I learned that if I sliced them thin they weren't too bad in a salad! I have a few left in the fridge. Carrots are about the size of my pinkie, and lettuce continues to grow nicely. I did resort to Sevin bug killer and treated the areas around the garden. The next few days I was literally walking over a grasshopper killing field! There must have been hundreds of them! Seriously. I am a grasshopper killer on a major scale and I am not upset about it one teeny-tiny bit! Now that they are gone the parsley, carrots, and lettuce are able to grow! I do have weird patches where the hellions killed the young plants by eating them continuously all the way to the ground. I will have to do another treatment soon as I am seeing evidence of encroachment of the bugs from outside the treated area.

Work has been very busy. Word of mouth seems to be the way many customers are finding us. I guess that means people are happy with our work! I am also happy to tell everyone that I found someone to car pool with. Joe found a post on Craig's List asking for a driver three days a week to Great Falls and back to Helena. I called, we met, the first week went great! Her name is Michelle, too! Strange, huh? She doesn't like to drive as much, so I am the driver and she pays half the gas. She also likes Books on CD, too, so I don't have to stop listening to them. Works out great.

Life is going good. I went to a Dr's appt two weeks ago. Different doc, this time. She ordered a whole slew of blood work tests (I swear she drained me dry!), then put me on Flexarill and Nurotin. I am sleeping much better, and I hurt much less! YEA!!
I was able to sit and finish my "101 goals in 1001 days" AND begin actually working towards a few,too! Life is great when you don't hurt 24/7!
The only other news.... I will be heading to Rockin' the Rivers this weekend. The classic rock festival runs three days and music plays constantly from noon until about 2am Fri, Sat, and Sun. My one and only party /vacation of the year. This will be my 10th year (it has only been running 11). Weather looks unsettled, so we may get rained on, but Hey! That is part of the fun! Of the 10 years, it has only rained badly only three or four times.... but then it clears up and is nice the rest of the time. Oh yeah, it did snow one Friday night! That was insane, but it warmed up to 75 on Saturday and in the 80's on Sunday. This is Montana... the weather is crazy. I will be hitting the road in about 10 minutes....YeeeHAAA!
If I have signal, I will try to post a photo or two while I am at the festival!
Have a great weekend... we'll chat when I get back to civilization!

Sunset clouds

2009-08-05T20:55:00.001-06:00

Goal setting: 101 goals in 1001 days

2009-08-03T00:16:00.003-06:00

I have been working on this for the past week. I really didn't think it would be so hard to come up with 101 things to accomplish over the next three years. The last 10 were REALLY hard to come up with. BUT... here it is. Posted for everyone to see so I can't back out of it! hahaha I will post updates on occasion just to let you know I am still on track.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Here we go. Starting August 1, 2009; here are the 101 things I'm going to try to accomplish in 1001 Days. Well, actually 1095 days because it was easier to figure out the weeks and months if I bumped it up to three FULL years instead of 2 ¾ years.

My 101 Goals to Accomplish in 1001 1095 Days
( Three Full Years)

PROPERTY

1. Extend Porch over door
2. Screen Door frame fixed / replaced
3. Porch painted yearly (0/3)
4. Repair / Replace shingles on garage roof
5. Fix / Replace heater in hot tub
6. Install patio area or lower deck for BBQ and hot tub
7. Patio or low deck placed between house and garage w/ arbor and fairy lights
8. Paint exterior of house and garage
9. Start saving for sprinkler system
10. Lawn started
11. Clean out garage once a year (0/3)
12. Minimize grasshopper impact each year (0/3) *Started 7/09
13. Fix Hydrant pipe

HOUSE
14. Paint or tile kitchen sink backsplash and sink wall. Replace laminate across counter front.
15. Fix laundry door
16. Paint Bathrooms (0/2)
17. Replace shower enclosure in main bath
18. Replace flooring in bathrooms (0/2)
19. Purchase area rug for living room
20. Install Higher exhaust pipe on furnace
21. Replace kitchen faucet
22. Put doors on open kitchen shelves ( or install new cabinets)
23. Fix outside outlet
24. New(er) energy efficient washer and drier
25. Make kids old room into office / library
26. Wash all mini-blinds at least once a year (0/3)
27. Replace broken door knobs and mouldings
28. Make a door from garage to back yard

FOOD / GARDENING / ENVIRONMENTAL

29. Expand garden each year: (16x16) (16x24) (16x36)
30. Order and plant trees from extension office for wind / dust control.
31. Plant fruit trees (small orchard – apple, pear, plum, or cherry? Research This!)
32. Plant maple trees
33. Cut consumption of sodas to special occasions only
34. Eat “out” only one time or less a week.
35. Try one new main dish meal every month ( 0/36)
36. Build a greenhouse / grasshopper deterrent
37. Start seeds indoors by April 1st each year (0/3)
38. Learn how to can, or otherwise preserve, foods.
39. Make and jar own salsa and tomato sauce.
40. Make my own Vanilla Extract and Kahlua
41. Try to grow a tea tree.
42. Study about (and plant) basic cooking and medicinal herbs.
43. Buy a chest freezer
44. Purchase half a beef
45. Purchase half a hog
46. Finish cutting, sorting, and storing loose recipes in binders. *started 7/09
47. Learn about raising (and harvesting) chickens for eggs and meat.
48. Create flower garden with bird bath and feeders as focal points.
49. Cook one very nice meal a week, just for me (from The Pleasure is All Mine (or similar) Cookbook.
50. Make a new soup once a month. Serve with home made bread and butter. (0/36)

PERSONAL / SPIRITUAL

51. Get rid of 100 items per room:
Kitchen- 0/100
Bedroom- 0/100
Living Room- 0/100
Garage- 0/100
52. Learn to play an instrument (at least 3 songs)
53. Get rid of all clothing I have not worn in over 12 months.
54. Get job with State (at least one state ap per month 0/36)
55. Loose 90 pounds, at least 30 each year. (0/90)
56. Keep writing goals: Blog or journal writing daily,
One short story a month (0/36)
Year 1 create outline, plot, & characters for new WIP
Year 2 & 3 write it!
57. Be to work on time!
58. Do Yoga at least one time a week
59. Take walk or hike once a week (0/156)
60. Watch one foreign or classic DVD a week (0/156)
61. Go camping at least once a summer (besides RTR) (0/3)
62. Take at least one bubble bath a month (0/36)
63. Learn about celebrations of the solstices
64. Visit one museum or cultural center each quarter (0/12)
65. Learn to fly fish.
66. Do something that pushes my mind, body, and spirit farther than I think they can go.

FAMILY / FRIENDS

67. Call Fosters at least once a week.
68. See parents at least once a week.
69. Help Krystle find apartment and move.
70. Go to Kalispell at least once a quarter (0/12)
71. Find and communicate with only cousin
72. Visit Steph
73. Revive three old friendships that have grown distant (0/3, who)
74. Visit Billings and Missoula at least twice a year to see friends (B 0/6; M 0/6)
75. Turn three current acquaintances into good friends (0/3, who)
76. Stay in at least one of Glacier’s hotels or Chalets.
77. Make three new friends (0/3, who)

KNITTING, SEWING, CROCHET, AND OTHER CRAFTY STUFF

78. Learn to knit
79. Knit gifts for friends / family (dish towels, hat, socks, scarf, ?)
80. Finish Joe’s afghan
81. Do one ceramic project a year (0/3)
82. Do one stained glass project and give it as a gift
83. Take a watercolor class
84. Take a tole painting class
85. Make a quilt
86. Finish Hummingbird cross stitch project
87. Finish crocheted kitchen curtains
88. Take a class on natural fibers, use a spinning wheel

MISCELLANY

89. Donate one dollar to a charity for every goal not accomplished in time.
90. Purchase and Read “Back to Basics”. Practice doing things it talks about
91. Purchase and Read The Encyclopedia of Country Living
92. Try home made laundry soap
93. Get Income taxes finished each year by March 1st.
94. Replace American Flag Yearly (0/3)
95. Get fuel efficient car
96. Take a boat ride on one of the Glacier Lakes

THINGS TO SAVE FOR

97. Buy a lawn mower
98. Buy a weed eater
99. Buy a new BBQ
100. Buy a new Laptop computer
101. Boat motor

Maybe I should write more often!

2009-08-02T22:26:00.005-06:00

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.... I could give many excuses or reasons why I didn't post all week, but it reallly comes down to this: I Was Lazy.
BUT, I do have a ton of stuff to talk about. Don't worry! I'm not going to put it all in one post (mostly because it is 10:30pm on a Sunday night and I have to meet my new car-pool gal at 7am. More on that later.)

After my last posting full of writing about all the different bloggers I follow, I was honored with The Superior Scribbler Award from Jamie at The Variety Pages.
To accept this award I have to pass it on to five other bloggers who I feel are deserving of it, and who would be able to fulfill the requirements, too.

Arrgh! Only FIVE?!

Here are my five picks, in no particular order:

Jenna at Cold Antler Farm- OK, anyone who follows me knows I really like this girl!

Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom- because I wish she were my neighbor! Very down to earth as she chats about life on an American Air Force Base. Excellent recipies, awesome photos, and cute kids!

Genius Rock Chef's blog is one of my favorites. I have experienced every emotion while reading his writing. I usually laugh, as he has a truly off the wall sense of humor, but he does write about his life and there have been some very emotional posts, as well as one or two that stirred up some anger (most recently... neighborhood kids abusing animals).

Angela's blog- My Year Without Spending is like my conscience. No, Really! She has made the commitment to not purchase anything new (some exclusions like underthings) for an entire year. She is also trying to lessen her impact on the planet one baby step at a time. This blog is a constant reminder for me to be a little more eco-friendly.

Only Half Nuts is written by a woman who has a firm hold on reality and isn't afraid to "Tell it like it is". She vents her anger at her husband, only to temper it with her next post full of love for the man. Sometimes while being fustrated by the growing pains of her newly out of the nest sons she will ask for advice on some situations. She writes things as she sees them. She doesn't pull any punches. She is known to swear like a sailor. She is as Real as Real gets.

To play along:

1. Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.

2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.

3. Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award.

4. Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit This Post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!

The Wonders of the Blog-O-Sphere

2009-07-27T22:51:00.005-06:00

Like many other folks out there, I follow quite a few blogs.
Some of the owners write daily, or near daily.
Some once a month, or less.
Most are like me, writing only when they have something to say or share, which may be daily or only once a week.
Of course, there are a few that are written by people that I do know on a close personal level and had been friends with long before that first photograph and intro words were written and posted onto this blog. The majority, though, are the writings of strangers.

They all have a unique story to tell. Each post gives me a tiny insight into the writer, and consequently, a peek into their lives. The happiness or the challenges they face. Anger and sadness that must be vented before acceptance or forgiveness can ease their minds. I follow along, a voyeur of sorts I suppose, crying or cheering them on. I laugh when they share something funny. I add a comment or two if inspired. I've noticed I only follow the blogs of the people who I think I would have befriended had I the chance to meet them face to face. Regular people, but with something to share. People who type words onto a computer screen not knowing who will come across them and find something useful. Real people sharing real stories. I don't follow any that are blatantly political, pushy on the religion, or trying to sell me something. Yes, a couple have an agenda, but they also have a heart and a soul. I like to think of these fellow writers as friends, or at least acquaintances, that I check in with periodically. Many also have added me to their reading lists, and we often comment back and forth giving advice, encouragement, or a laugh when needed.

Let me tell you a little about them. (I am not going to put links here. You know you can find them on my profile page, or by clicking on their photo in the right hand sidebar.) I will start with the two young men I have just stumbled upon. Chris and Todd. Two good looking young men (well, they ARE younger than me!) who decided to travel around the U.S. by hitch hiking, leaving all their possessions behind except what they could carry on their backs. They both had their reasons, and their ideologies were similar, so they decided to travel together this summer. As of the latest postings, there has been a bit of a fallout and each has gone their own way for now. I can't wait to read more of the past postings and look at more of their photos. I have just started following them, so I don't have the whole story, BUT they both write intelligent thought provoking posts. I have figured out they both love nature and people watching. Ahhh... I think I will enjoy these two bloggers immensely! I feel I have picked up a new novel and can't wait to dive into their travel stories.

Keeping with the Adventurous types-- Roz Savage is a woman who is rowing solo across the Pacific. She posts daily as long as she has a signal on her satellite phone. Sure, she does have an environmental platform, but most of her writings are about her voyage. Very interesting, and I get a daily glimpse of the ocean, which I haven't seen in much too long!

Suleo is a bit on the outside of my "comfort level". He is a college graduate who chose to live without money, and has done so for a number of years. He lives in a cave, getting all his possessions from charity or dumpster diving. Yeah, food too. He will not accept money. This is a religious thing for him. His writing is brainy and insightful, even if it does have quite a bit of religious fervor thrown in. I read for his experiences; and the people in his life are colorful. He gives his readers a chance to see life from the homeless persons point of view. His last post pretty much summed things up by saying most of Americans are rude, selfish, S.O.B's (although he took five paragraphs to say it!).

Jenna is a young (mid-20's) gal who decided the homestead life is her calling. She works for corporate America during the day; while raising chickens, sheep, a goat, angora rabbits, two pack / sled dogs, and bees the rest of the time. She also has successful gardens and taught herself to bake, knit, sew, and play the fiddle. I "found" her after reading her first (so far, only) book Made From Scratch where she posted her blog address near the end. She is vivacious and loves everything life can give her. I have never heard anyone talk of chicken shit and sheep manure with such humor! She is single, but she seems to have picked up a number of suitable male followers. Hopefully one will eventually come along that sweeps her off her feet.

Pepe' is a fellow Montanan who's passion is climbing mountains. Another blog I live vicariously through! When he isn't climbing, he posts about sports and anti-smoking legislation. Occasionally he will throw in a movie review, too. Some day I hope he and I will meet, if just to say we did. Hell, he is only a few hours away and I do go to Missoula fairly often. I'll be sure to let you know if we do!

Sandra is a stay at home mom of two, a wife to an Air Force man, awesome cook, and story teller. She came to the U.S. from South Africa, after growing up in Portugal. Her writing is fresh and from the heart. I wish she were my neighbor!

Rock Chef is just a joy to read! He lives in Cantebury, Kent; UK. He and his wife are very much in love, and he shares their banter from time to time. He also plays guitar (has posted a few vid's) and has a bit of a whacked out sense of humor. Not many postings go by where I am not laughing out loud. Really! I look forward to his posts more than all the others. The comments section of his posts are a Do Not Miss item, too. He is truly One in a Million.

Only Half Nuts, or OHN as her readers have dubbed her, is the mother of three sons- two of whom are out of the nest and on their own. Her and I have shared many of the same "what should I do about ____" quandaries. She is the wife of a police man who last year had a cancer scare. That is when I first started to read. All is good now, but I enjoyed her writing style so much I just kept following. She is straight forward and pulls no punches. We'd get along great, I think. I wish she were my OTHER neighbor!

Joe and Albert are talked about often in my own writing, but Joe's photos are much better than mine! Albert was a lucky find at a writers conference and I am blessed to have become his friend. His blog is about his daily life living off the grid. He is living my dream!

Andrea (who I have met once, but is a good Facebook friend) writes about geocaching and life in Great Falls.

AND, all the others. A mixture of my other interests. Garden advice, living on a budget, recipes, movie or restaurant reviews, and writing. Some have personal anecdotes and family life intertwined. I read about life in Alaska and many of the lower states, as well as three Providences of Canada.

I thank everyone who has shared a bit of themselves, whether they know I was there or not.
I also thank everyone who has happened by my little piece of the Blog-O-Sphere. Over 2000 visits so far! I hope those visitors had a pleasant experience.
I especially thank all my regular visitors who stop by often, and my cyber friends who comment. You are the ones that let me know at least SOME of my posts are being read!

Now that you made it through all of THAT, my next post will be a lighthearted update on the garden and confessions of my murderous behavior.

In the words of a fellow Blogger

2009-07-25T01:46:00.005-06:00

I have spent the better part of this evening perusing some other blogs. Jenna at Cold Antler Farm (one of the blogs I follow daily- and have for many months) put out a request for her followers to speak up and say "Hello". The last time I looked, she had something like 134 comments! Woo Hoo! Way to go, Jenna!
Most of the posters wrote a little about themselves, and I decided to check out a few that sounded interesting. I saw photos of farm animals, gardens, flowers, pets, people, handicrafts, and landscapes. Most posts were of daily life and observations.
One post actually gave me pause.
I stopped.
Re-read it, slower this time. WOW! Talk about hitting home. I decided I needed to share some of it here.

The following is the words of FruGal, from her blog Living Well and Living Cheaply:
... a list of life experiences people had that made them realize how poor they were. There are some things I can directly relate to, and some things I could add to the list like the time I was 5 days away from a paycheck with 5 dollars to feed myself and deciding how to make one package of raman stretch for a full day, then receiving a letter with a couple of $20 bills in it from a friend with the simple command, “Please buy some food to eat,” and spending an hour crying before I could pull myself together enough to go get real food for the first time in a couple weeks. I have obsessively recounted a handful of change for fear that I miscalculated what the tax would be on an item worth less than a dollar knowing if I was short a penny I’d have to suffer the embarrassment of putting the item back. Real poverty isn’t just about how much money you don’t have, it’s about a lack of dignity. It’s not just stressful, it’s humiliating, degrading, and poison to the soul. When you’re in a situation where you’re trying to decide between paying the cable bill and paying the cell phone bill, you’re not as poor as someone trying to decide between basic needs like food or shelter.
I’ve brushed up against poverty a couple of times in my life, but never stayed there for long. When people criticize my frugal lifestyle now and say I shouldn’t deprive myself of things like take-out teriyaki or clothes that weren’t worn by anyone else but me, I just have to shake my head. What I’m doing is a choice and as long as I’m not making that choice between one basic need or another I’m not really poor. ....... Living in a first-world country as a middle class citizen, people think they’re poor when they can’t afford luxuries. In the same country there are people who die of curable diseases because they can’t afford treatment. When someone says to me they’re really upset that they had to cancel remodeling their kitchen due to the economy and I’m wondering how long it’ll be before the pain gets so bad I can’t work and whether I’ll be able to the afford the surgery I need by then, it makes me think that this country is sadly lacking in clarity. ...... I pay more in a day for the handful of pills I take than for the food I eat. One doctor’s visit is a months worth of groceries and for it I get 10 minutes of face time with a doctor who asks me to schedule a follow-up appointment right after I told them I don’t have health insurance. I really hope someone out there with a loud enough voice has the guts to stand up and point out how ridiculous it is for doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies to continue to pad their pockets with over priced goods and services while people are dying of things we cured 50 years ago.

She put into words so many of the things I have been thinking about lately, but unable to put into a tangible sentence. I did remove some political and some personal sentences, but for the most part, this was her post.
It is very personal to me, after being to the same point of "being poor" she relates to, AND the situation with doctors and medications. I never had a friend send me cash, but I have had a local church send a couple to my home when my kids were very small bearing Christmas gifts for our family. I remember getting kitchen and bath towels, my ex received a robe and a small tool set, but the girls? They received many, many packages of handmade doll furniture, store bought dolls, stuffed toys, bedding, and craft sets. A large food basket with everything needed for a Christmas brunch and dinner was left as well. I never had asked for this. I don't know who told them that our holiday was limited to one gift for each of the girls, nothing for the two of us adults. These folks weren't even of my religious choice! I cried that night, and again on Christmas when the packages were opened and we saw what was so freely given to us strangers. Someday I will be able to repay that gift to another young, needy family.
Before I can do that, though, I have to struggle through the broken U.S. healthcare system and try to get my body back into a semblance of working order... without health insurance.
Wish me luck!
Having seen and experienced "poor", I learned how to live in a very simple way. Sure I buy most of my clothing second hand, and watch the grocery ads. I don't think going out to the movies is worth the money, but do like the experience once in a while. I save and budget for anything "extra". I don't make a ton of money, but I am not in need of any of the basics either. I have learned to live frugally out of neccessity long before it was the "in thing". I have removed most of the stress out of my life, and I am able to say I am happy and content with the way my life has become.

Estrogen Moment (Guys, you should sit this one out!)

2009-07-21T16:46:00.004-06:00

Menopause.

What the Hell? Is this a joke that God placed on all women just to get back at us for tempting Adam with that apple Oh So Long Ago? Talk about holding a grudge!

We all hear about the things "The Change" may make our bodies do. Things like hot flashes, mood swings, crying jags. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! Those I can deal with. The thing that is really annoying me is being off the regular cycle of events. Aw, c'mon, you know what I mean.... Aunt Flo, The Monthly Gift (hahahaha!), my little visitor, on the rag, my period. Why does everyone beat around the bush instead of just calling it what it is-- menstruating? ( Pun was NOT intended, but so funny I have to leave it in!)

I was never a strict 21 or 28 day gal; but I knew it would start within a certain three day time frame, and always right when I woke. Now, I never know when or where my cycle will start. Nor do I know if it will be light on day one like it had for nearly 30 years, or if I will be running to the toilet every hour and a half. Is it going to last three days or seven, or my standard five?

I remember this is how it all began. Not sure when IT would happen each month. It sucked then, and it sucks now.

I don't think it should be this way. I think the female system should run regular, then stop, Just like that. One month Aunt Flo visits, then she is gone forever. Not this little game of "Surprise! I know it has only been 19 days, but I thought I would drop in a bit early! And you thought it was safe to wear your new undies!"
Or, just as bad-- the waiting game of "OK, body, it has been 30 days... I've been wearing liners for the last 10, dammit. Just show up so we can get this over with, already!"

I'm ready for it all to be done with. Sure, passing through menopause is that first stage to "getting old",a rite of passage that turns us middle aged women into old ladies.... but for Me? I am just looking forward to the freedom.
Freedom of not spending money on Kotex, or Tampex, or Stayfree.
Freedom to wear white or light colors whenever I feel like it.
Freedom to know my new pair of expensive panties are not going to be ruined.
Freedom to sleep soundly on my new 1000 count linen sheets (not that I have them, but should I ever have the desire to go buy some....!)
Freedom from the ups and downs of PMS.

Well, you get the idea.

Sooooo, if any of you men DID read this, and I seem a bit cranky these past few months, now you know why. I don't know how long this will be gong on, so I guess you all should just get used to for the time being! Don't even think of patting me on the back and telling me you understand.... there is no way in Hell that you do (unless you had a sex change).
Just smile and pretend nothing is wrong.
I'll know you are pretending, but I won't have to kill you and bury you out back in the field! *evil grin*

A Minor Blogging Milestone!

2009-07-18T12:13:00.013-06:00

This is my 100th post! Yea Me! I think I will go treat myself to something sweet and full of calories! OK, it doesn't take much to give me an excuse to treat myself. Just getting up in the morning can be reason enough. LOL

This is going to be a "Catch Up" post. It will be a long one, so I made a batch of Iced Tea and pulled some of my home made cinnamon rolls out of the freezer! Make yourself at home, and lets chat for a bit.

The last we really talked, I was in the middle of telling you about my trip to Newport, WA. In order to keep the story shorter, I will tell it mostly with photos.

Saturday, June 27th, dawned bright and sunny. We had been told there was to be a parade to coincide with the local rodeo and it would be passing right in front of the motel we stayed at. Harry (the ex-husband) and I were up much earlier than "the kids", so we went to a local cafe' for a very good breakfast. By the time we finished eating and returned to the motel, Heather was up and about to leave on a coffee run. I gave her a few bucks and my order... a double shot Almond Mocha Latte'. Yummm!

The parade was to start at 11am, but like most small town productions, it really didn't get started until about noon. The motel was nice enough to allow us a late check out since the road in front of their place was closed anyway. Here is the family just relaxing while waiting for the parade to begin:

Talia, Lucas, (my grandkids); Harry (the ex), Heather (my oldest daughter), and Mike (My son in law).

Talia and Lucas mugging for the camera!

The parade began, and it was like any other small town America parade! There were school bands, civic groups, majorettes, classic cars, the Shriner's:

Shriner giving "High Fives" to all the kids!

There were many floats of all shapes and sizes, most of which had participants throwing candy to the kids lining the streets:

Adding to the candy spoils! I'm glad I wasn't going to have the kids in MY car for hours on end after this much sugar!

There were fire trucks with sirens blaring, police cars of all shapes and sizes, even inmates from the local jail who volunteered to follow the horses picking up poop! Smokey The Bear made an appearance, too! He was shaking the hands of all the kids... but Lucas was afraid of him!

After the parade, we went to Don and Murial's home for another visit before we all headed out in different directions. Talia, Lucas, and Heather took advantage of the cool river water while playing with Don and Murial's dog. Lucas thought it was the funniest thing when the dog would bring back every stick he threw into the river. There is no sound more precious than a small child's innocent laughter!
When he tired of the water, Lucas discovered how much fun sand can be:

I was the first to leave, right about 3pm Pacific time. I wanted to take my time and see the sights. Harry is all about getting to the destination as soon as possible, so over the years we had been married we had never stopped along the way. Heather, Mike, and the kids were the next to leave. They were meeting a good friend in Coeur d'Alene, ID; and staying with him that evening. Harry was just heading back to his home in Kalispell, so he hung around the longest.

Less than 10 miles from Don's home, I made my first touristy stop here:

The waterfalls have been dammed creating a source of electricity for the area. With the dam to my back, I took this photo of a railroad trestle crossing the river:It was also where I first noticed a large amount of wild daisies blooming:

I drove across the Idaho panhandle, once again passing through the picturesque cities of Sandpoint and Bonner's Ferry. I will be back to explore these towns! Not far from Bonner's Ferry I stopped to read this sign (click on the image to enlarge it enough to read): OK, so aparently you CAN'T expand. I guess if you move the photos after importing them you loose that feature. In order to keep that feature, you have to import all photos, then type around them.(Thanks Albert for letting me know they weren't working).

... after crossing this bridge:

Before I knew it, I was back in Montana! Instead of going back to Kalispell, I was heading home to Helena. I needed to head south, and the turn off I took was just on the other side of Troy.

After passing through the tiny town of Troy, MT; I was looking for my turn. Right at the junction was this welcome sight:

Yep! A Rest Area! This was one of the nicer ones I have seen. It is surrounded by forested land, but the grounds are park-like and landscaped beautifully. I "did my business", ate a snack from my cooler, and walked around stretching the legs for awhile.

Highway 56, the road I was on, took me through forests, crossed many tiny streams, and skirted Bull Lake. It was a beautiful drive! I didn't stop for photos, but just took in all in and saved the scenes in a special place in my head. On the map I had seen a marker for Ross Creek Cedar Trail. I was intrigued, so planned a stop there. It was getting to be late in the afternoon (early evening), so I also planned to eat my supper there. Once I actually got there, the sun was hidden and evening was darkening quickly, as it happens deep in the forest. I chose to hike the short trail first, then eat afterwards.

The trailhead sign.

As soon as I left my vehicle, I knew this was not going to be a "normal" Montana hike. The ground was fairly swampy except in the parking area, picnic areas, and a few parts of the trail. The trail was actually elevated in many places in order to keep human impact to a minimum. I made my hike quickly, stopping only to read the information signs along the trail. The mosquitoes were out in droves! I think I donated two pints of blood to the tiny vampires and I was only out of the car for about half an hour! Here are a few pics of the trail:

The Start.

Ross Creek.

Into the deep, dark forest!

I ate a small supper of a tuna sandwich, strawberries, cheese crackers, and a soda. For dessert I ate a tiny bag (one of those 100 calorie packs) of chocolate cookies. I didn't even try to eat at one of the picnic tables, opting instead to eat in my car in order to keep what little blood I had left!
Once I left the narrow valley and heavy cedar forest, I was once again in sunlight! The trailhead was on a tiny forest service road about 5 miles from the highway. On my way back to the highway I was greeted by this vista:

At the point where the forest service road met the highway, there was a small open area. The entire place was covered with wildflowers:

A few miles down the Highway, I stopped to read some informative signs and take in the view of the setting sun over the Cabinet Mountains:

Information sign #1

Information sign #2.

The Cabinet Mountains and Bull River Basin.

A little farther down the road, I stopped to stretch at this roadside wildflower filled meadow:

At the junction of Highway 56 and Highway 200 was this little business. It had just closed. It looks fun, so my next trip through I'll make plans to be here when it is open. The sign says "Unique birdhouses and Made in Montana gifts".

I drove along highway 200, thoroughly enjoying the sights of the Clark Fork River valley. I passed Noxin Reservoir and drove through a number of quaint small towns. As the evening light was fading past the point of picture taking, I stopped at a fishing access near Thompson Falls to pee and stretch. There is a very touching memorial there:

Memorial and old park bench.

Plaque and poem on the memorial stone. Very sweet!

I took one last look up the Clark Fork River:

And, down the Clark Fork River:

before heading back on my way. It was about 9pm by now. The evening light lasted for about another hour and I really enjoyed watching the sunset colors on the river as I continued to follow it. I got to Saint Regis and the junction with the Interstate about 11pm, arriving in Missoula about midnight. I had thought I would travel into Missoula and stay the night there, but the night was mild, the moon bright and my spirits were high. I decided to just gas up, drink some coffee and drive the rest of the way home. Driving at night doesn't bother me. Sometimes I actually prefer it as there isn't as much traffic to deal with! I got home without incident, pulling into my driveway about 2:15am. It had been a great day!

Ugh!

2009-07-16T03:10:00.002-06:00

Yep. I'm having one of THOSE nights! Just took some pain killers. . . Hopefully sleep will come soon.

Playing tag OR A writing exercise, Either way, it's fun!

2009-07-09T17:18:00.007-06:00

I was just tagged by Jamie Debree at The Variety Pages blog. The best tool a writer can have is the ability to lie, to create a great story that is totally un-true. Isn't that what the entire Fiction section of the book store is full of? This meme looked like it would be really fun!

**********************
‘Sometimes you can learn more about a person by what they don’t tell you. Sometimes you can learn a lot from the things they just make up. If you are tagged with this Meme, lie to me. Then tag 7 other folks (one for each deadly sin) and hope they can lie.’

Pride: What is your biggest contribution to the world? Madonna learned her 1980's style of dress from ME. Yep, I was the one who told her that fingerless gloves, stirrup pants worn under a fluffy mini-skirt, old Converse tennies, and tee-shirts torn to Hell would look AWESOME together. Was I right, or was I right??

Envy: What do your co-workers wish they had which is yours? Oh, I just know Joe (my only co-worker) just longs for my 8 year old Compaq Armads E500 laptop. The things he could do with it.....!

Gluttony: What did you eat last night? An entire Australian Lobster drenched in butter, and a HUGE fillet Mignon steak, covered with sauteed mushrooms. For dessert, I had a piece of Lemon Drop cheesecake. Of course, an entire bottle of wine to wash it all down.

Lust: What really lights your fire? Men who have long stringy, greasy hair and tattoos ALL Over their bodies! Ya Know, the asshole types who like to push you around. They really know how to get their gal to do whatever they want. Mmmmm.... I'd love to get together with one of those "Bad Boy" types! Just thinking of them make me all quivery inside.

Anger: What is the last thing that really pissed you off? When I woke up and the sun was shining. What the hell? Why can't it be rainy all the time? Rainy and cold. I think I am moving to Seattle or England. Sun! It just RUINED my day!

Greed: Name something you keep from others. Everything! I refuse to share anything. If I have it, I'll be G*dd**ned if I'll even let you borrow it. I worked hard for my stuff... so NO, you cannot use it!!

Sloth: What’s the laziest thing you’ve ever done? Stayed in my jammies for three days in a row watching movies and eating junk food. No cleaning, no shower, just DVD's, microwave popcorn, ice cream, sodas, and cold cereal! I never even left the house to go into the yard... YAWN! I think I will go take a nap now......

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I hereby tag MontanaScarecrow, MountainMan, OHN, Pepe, CRC (aka Hot Stuff), Colorado Girl, and Zen Panda. Of course, anyone else can participate if they want to! Please leave a note in the comments section if you post to your own blog, or you can just put your answers into the comments section.

The best laid plans....

2009-07-09T14:28:00.002-06:00

I was planning on writing part two of my Washington trip, and adding some more photos last night, but Mother Nature had another idea for me.
We have been having some pretty severe weather passing through the Helena area and last night was no exception.
Like many of natures shows, this one was beautiful! The sun was setting through the rain storm making the west glow orange with the occasional lightning strike for punctuation. As the storm quickly moved to the east my home was in it's path, causing some power flickers, so I shut down all the electronic stuff. I did look out the window and saw a full double rainbow, but the rain was coming down too hard to take my digital camera (or cell phone) outside. I love rain storms so I stood at my front door and watched.
The storm moved on, the clouds reflecting the sunset, which made them a brilliant mixture of pinks and oranges.
As the sun set, and the weather cleared, I once again turned on the home computer to write a post.... then I heard sirens in the distance. One, no big deal. Two, must have been an accident. But by the time I registered there were four or five emergency vehicles I just had to look! I could see some smoke rising from a forested hill about four miles from my house and a stream of flashing red lights heading towards it. One of those lightning strikes had started a fire.
With Brooke (my dog) "singing" along with the sirens, and the curiosity that is human nature... I abandoned the blog post and sat on my porch watching until it was full dark.
I will finish "part 2", and also "What I did on the 4th" this weekend. I promise! I have tons of photos to share!

Playing Catch-up!

2009-07-06T21:25:00.006-06:00

I promised to write about my short trip to Newport, Washington that I took two weekends ago, so here I am fulfilling that promise.

Sometime near the middle of May I was asked to attend a friends surprise 60th birthday party. This is a friend that I haven't seen in fifteen years (or more!). I was happy to be invited and Joe, my boss, allowed me to take the day off. As the day approached, I became more and more apprehensive about attending. I didn't know anyone that was attending except my own family and the birthday boy and his wife.

When I start to feel this way, many times I chicken out and make some lame excuse as to why I suddenly cannot attend. I have to admit, I was very close to that! But, I did want to see Don and his wife so I packed up the Rav-4 and had an adventure!

I worked a full day on Thursday, then headed north from Great Falls to Kalispell. I had packed a cooler with easy meals so I wouldn't have to eat fast food and I had plenty of cold drinks, too, so I didn't have to stop at the convenience stores. I am not used to eating my supper until about 8pm, so I didn't eat before leaving town at 6pm. By the time I was passing through the tiny town of Valier, I was feeling a little hungry, so I stopped at a picnic area next to Lake Francis. Here is where I ate:

After eating a quick meal consisting of some crackers, cheese, ham, and tuna salad... followed by a dessert of fresh strawberries (thanks, Albert!), I got back on the highway. The drive from Great Falls to Kalispell takes you from the Plains of Central Montana, along the Rocky Mountain Front, and finally into the heart of the Rocky Mountains. About 50 miles of the trip you are in the Blackfoot Indian Reservation. At each boundary line on the major highways the Indians have placed sculptures like these:

This one is at East Glacier, where I left the Reservation. I forgot to take a photo of the sculptures when I entered the Reservation just out of Valier while the sun was still up! Silly me! It was about 9:30pm when I stopped here, and the sun was behind the mountains casting everything in early evening shadows. These sculptures are life sized warriors mounted on horses. They are made completely out of old car parts and the three I have seen are all different! Oh yeah, for all you fellow Geocachers... there is a cache hidden here, too!

After leaving the Blackfoot Reservation and passing through the tiny tourist trap town of East Glacier, the highway enters the mountains. The Great Bear wilderness is to the left, while the towering peaks of Glacier National Park flank the right. Although the light was not good enough for photos, I could see the scenery quite well as I travelled along. The beargrass was in bloom everywhere! I also stopped at a place called Goat Lick and watched mountain goat nannys and kids playing on a steep hillside. The mountain goats like this particular place because salts and minerals seep out of the rocks here.

I finished the drive to Kalispell without another stop, arriving at my daughters home at about 11:15pm. She had already gone to bed, but had left blankets and a pillow for me on the couch. I don't care what anyone says... I personally think a couch at a loved one's home is far better than an impersonal hotel room! I settled in, and a few moments later I was befriended by one of the cats, Socks, who decided I needed company. He slept on my hip, or behind my legs all night. It has been years since I owned a cat, so I thoroughly enjoyed his company.

Friday dawned bright and early. I was awake for about half an hour before Heather and the grandkids, so I quietly enjoyed the morning. I had thought we were going to be leaving Kalispell for Newport, WA fairly early... only to find out my Mike ( my SIL) didn't get off of work until 10am, then they had a few errands to run before leaving town. That meant we weren't going to be on the road until about noon or so. After showering, I had nothing to do so I accompanied my ex-husband on a few errands. He and I had an early lunch at a local taco joint (Taco John's) before I left him to finish his packing while I filled my gas tank and washed the previous nights bugs off the car. Had I known we weren't leaving until noon, I could have left Great Falls early Friday morning instead of driving so late at night. *sigh!* Kids! Oh well...

I had told everyone that I was stopping at Kootenai Falls just outside the town of Libby, no matter what time we left. Everyone else thought that was a great idea, so we planned to all meet there. By everyone, I mean Heather, Mike, and their kids in one car, Harry (my ex) in his car, and me in mine. We were all heading different directions on Saturday after the party, so sharing rides was out of the question. Besides, I didn't want to ride with Harry because although we get along OK, that many hours in a small space, the fact he smokes and I don't, and the crazy way he drives would have combined to push me over the proverbial edge and I would have had to strangle him.

U.S. Highway 2 from Kalispell to Newport, WA is a beautiful drive. Had I been on my own and not part of a caravan, I would have stopped and taken many photos. The only stop we made was at the waterfalls. The photo does not do them justice!

Not too far from the Kootenai Falls is a suspension foot bridge across the river. Harry and I hiked to it since we knew Heather and Mike were at least half an hour behind us leaving Kalispell. They had stopped at McDonald's Drive-Thru for their lunch on the way out of town. The bridge was awesome! I would have loved to have been able to spend more time in the area exploring, so I know I will return! Here are a couple of photos of the bridge:

See the people? I don't know who they are, but I wanted them in the photo to show scale. It's a pretty wide river! Here is one from the "far side" looking back the way I had just came. I snapped the photo, then went back across and hiked the half mile back to the parking lot.

I am glad I insisted on stopping at the falls. It is a beautiful place that I will return to. Next time I will be sure to have more time. I have a goal of taking better pictures of the falls themselves.

We didn't stop the rest of the trip, driving through Libby, MT; then across the Idaho panhandle through Bonner's Ferry, ID; and Sandpoint, ID. Bonner's Ferry and Sandpoint are beautiful towns and appear to be rich in history. I will return there, too!

The state line between Idaho and Washington runs through the middle of what looks like one town, but the Idaho side is named Old Town, while the Washington side is Newport. We had arrived at our destination!

It was 4:15pm Pacific time, and Don's surprise party was to be at 5pm. We checked into our hotel rooms and headed to the restaurant / bar where everyone was to gather before Don showed up. He thought he was meeting his wife and two grown boys for a quiet dinner. His friends and family were so good at keeping the secret that he was truly surprised. His wife had even managed to fly his sister and brother in from California, picking them up from the airport only hours before the party!

The party went well, but I did end up sitting on the sidelines the majority of the evening. I wasn't alone, though. Mike, my SIL, didn't know anyone either, so we drank our bar drinks and "people watched" together. Heather was mingling with some of the guests she had met after Harry and I had divorced while her kids had found other kids to play with. After Heather said her hello's, she joined us, with Harry coming and going as he saw old friends from his past.

I was thankful the party began breaking up early, and was pretty much over by 8:30. Heather and Mike had found out about a carnival that was in town, so they took the kids to that while Harry and I drove out to Don's home to spend some more time with them. I had never been to this house, so I was given "The Tour". Their home is right on the banks of the Pend Oreille River (pronounced Ponderay). While out on the boat dock, I took a photo of the last rays of the evenings sunset:

We visited with Don and his family until about 11:30pm, then returned to the motel. Heather and Mike were just returning also, so after the kids were put in bed all the adults fixed their drink of choice and we sat outside enjoying the summer night. It had been a good day.

(To Be Continued: Saturdays Adventure!)

The first food from the garden!

2009-07-06T20:59:00.001-06:00

Baby lettuce. There would have been more if the grasshoppers would have left my tiny garden alone.

Storm on the divide

2009-07-05T23:22:00.001-06:00

Cool storm cloud over the Helena valley as seen from the Continental Divide friday evening while on the way to Alberts cabin.

Happy July 4th, American Independance Day!

2009-07-03T17:02:00.004-06:00

I have been back from Idaho/Washington for six days now. I have some photos I'd love to share, too, but here is how things went for me:
When I was out of state, for some reason while roaming off of AT&T cellular service, I could not send photos from my cell phone to my blog. Heck, about half the time I couldn't even get a call to go through! I don't know what was up with that, but it was irritating, to say the least.
I have downloaded the photos onto my home computer, and posted some to Facebook, but that is about as far as I got.
I usually use the slow periods at work to write my posts, but this week my lap top here at work is not working very well. I know I really need to just buckle down and buy a new one, and I have been budgeting for one, but that is quite a bit of cash to save up! It takes about five minutes to just log into an Internet page, and about half the time the page crashes the computer. I just don't think this little baby can compete with the newest technology. Her processor is too slow, her hard drive too small.... but she has been good to me and I seem to have a strange attachment to her!
I was planning to write a post about my trip on my home computer, but that hasn't happened, either. Lately, When I get home (Helena) I am just SO tired. I try to not let my physical troubles get in my way, but this week I just couldn't help it. I have been very run down, fatigued, and in a bit of pain. Today (Friday) has been especially bad. I was able to rest up all day on Sunday, so I don't think the road trip is the cause. We have been having some strange weather passing through, so maybe the barometric pressure changes are messing with me... or those pesky hormones? Whatever is the cause, I can't wait till I feel better.
Other items to catch up on:
The garden is doing great... well, it was! On Sunday I had a row of peppers about half an inch tall, and a whole row of onions about 4 inches tall. Last night, as I was watering, I noticed all my peppers are gone, and half the row of onion tops. Also, many of my carrot tops are half gone, my lettuce is looking munched on, as well as the tops of the radishes. A closer look revealed why-- GRASSHOPPERS! UGH! I made a little tent out of nylon mesh to keep the buggers out, and sprayed Sevin onto the plants that were left to kill the 'hoppers that managed to get trapped inside. I did try to get them all out, but some insisted on jumping back into the garden area. Hopefully, all the plants will send up some new leaves. I'd really like to get at least one or two of those pepper plants to grow.
The trip last weekend was awesome! I will post about it in the near future. I promise! If you want a preview of the photos, check them out HERE.
This weekend Joe and I are heading up to our friends mountain home. He lives off the grid high up in the Helena National Forest. If you want to know more about him, check out my followers and click on MountainManAlbert. We are going just to relax, with BBQ'd steaks to celebrate the 4th. Just peace and quiet. No fireworks, no yelling kids, no crowds. Sounds like a perfect holiday weekend.
Hope everyone has a great weekend! Stay safe!

Off I go, on another roadtrip!

2009-06-25T14:30:00.004-06:00

As of 6pm, MDT tonight, I will be on the highway heading north, then west... only to return to my home in Helena sometime late Saturday or possibly as late as Sunday early evening.

"Where are you going?" I hear the peanut gallery ask.

I am going to Newport, WA. If you don't know where that is (and you have a map of the North Western U.S) look along the eastern-most edge of Washington.... or, if you prefer, the western-most edge of northern Idaho. Up there near the top.... no, that is Canada, a little lower.... Yeah, you found it! And, yes! The state line DOES go right through the center of town. OK, actually, the state line separates Newport, WA from Old Town, ID. Basically, one town, but I guess the different states wanted their own sides of the town distinguished or something.
I have not been to Newport, WA for something like 15 years. A great family lives there, but they were my ex-husbands surrogate family during most of his teen years, so when we divorced I did not feel comfortable visiting. If you have ever gone through a divorce or major split of one type or another, then you know all about the "my friends" and "His/her friends" thing.

Well..... many years have passed, and the ex has remarried and divorced, but all the while, whenever the ex would visit Newport, these friends (aka Don and Murial) would ask about lil'ol me. It just so happens that Don is turning 60 years young tomorrow and his family is throwing a surprise party for him. My ex was asked if he would see if I would attend.
Sure, I'd love to see Don and Murial, as well as their kids who are all grown by now.

So, this is where I am going, and why. I am looking forward to the road trip, heading north to Kalispell to meet up with Heather and her family (where I am spending the night tonight), then meeting up with the ex-husband to caravan to the shindig. Yes, I did say caravan. Yes, it would be much more economical to all ride together, but unless someone has the cash to bail me out of a jail in MT, ID, or WA.................. (I think you get the jist of my thoughts here!).

Am I looking forward to the party? Not so much. I really do not like being in a large group of people, especially people I don't know. I'm what used to be known as 'A Wallflower'. A 'people- watcher'. A loner. The 'quiet one'. I will be uncomfortable, to say the least, but I would like to see these fine folks from my past. I am looking forward to doing a little catch-up with Don and his family on Saturday, though.
AND... could I really turn down the chance to take a road trip? A trip that I will be in my own vehicle, alone? My own music choices, potty stops when I want to stop, stopping at sights I want to savor. Sounds heavenly, doesn't it?
I will post some random photos from my phone along the way, with a full write-up and more photos when I return.
In the meantime- Ya'all have a good weekend!

31 and holding!

2009-06-19T16:34:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was my birthday... I turned 31, again, for the 10th time! LOL
It was a good day. Nothing extra special happened, but many little things made me smile and those added up.
Now, I am not the type who likes anyone to make a huge fuss over me... and I have never had a party for my birthday since I was out of school. That is fine with me. Here is how my day full of tiny blessings progressed:
I woke up for work in Helena. It was a bright sunny morning. It usually rains on my birthday. My mood was great right from the start.
Krystle woke up late, as usual, and ran around the house like the proverbial chicken so she could make it to her job on time. Her mind wasn't on what day it was, so I didn't feel slighted when she ran out the door with a hurried "Bye, Mom!" yelled across the house.
Just as I finished getting myself ready for work, and about to give Brookie-Dog her kibble and water, my cell phone rang. It was Heather calling, answering my "Hello, Heather!" with "Happy Birthday, Mommy!" The little girl usage was cute and made me laugh. I stayed on the phone with her for about 30 minutes... yes, I would be late to work, but not by much. Joe is SO understanding and I knew he wouldn't be upset.
While on the phone, I watered the flowers, strawberries, and herbs on my front porch, which are doing great! I noticed the first berry was turning pink, with many new flower buds starting to form. I have about 15 green berries on the two plants. I can't wait to eat them! Just seeing all these plants doing so well boosted my mood even more.
Brooke was being extra lovey, which is strange for her. She usually only allows humans into her personal space for about 5 minutes. Yesterday she followed me all over, and insisted-- yes, the dog who hates attention-- insisted that I scratch her head and shoulders! I think she was just itchy, but I'm telling myself she was saying "Happy Birthday, I'll let you touch me today!"
Just as I was driving down the driveway, I got a text message. From Krystle. In all caps, it read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!!!!" I grinned. I knew she would remember.
The ride to work was beautiful. June is a lovely month to see Montana. Everything is green and the birds and animals are out with their young. The Prickly Pear creek was running clear and the Missouri River was reflecting the sun on it's ripples creating the effect of diamonds on the water. Hawks, Osprey, and even a few Eagles were hunting for their breakfasts over the fields and rivers. The few antelope herds that live near I-90 came out of hiding. They were running full tilt playing a game of chase, and it looks like they had a good batch of babies this year. Speaking of babies, the two Osprey nests I can see from the highway had a couple of tiny heads bobbing around in them. I think the animal kingdom was happy the rain and clouds had gone away for a day!
When I arrived at work, I had to suppress a giggle (there were customers in the showroom, I was just out of sight in the back room looking at my work station). Joe had decorated my area. Balloons, a Happy Birthday banner, cards, a gift box, and a bouquet of flowers!
When all the customers had left, I opened the cards (funny ones, one from him and one from Brooke! LOL) and my gift. It was a new watch. My last one had just stopped last month, and I hadn't gone watch shopping yet. Nothing fancy, with a canvas and leather band. He knows my tastes and my skin sensitivities. It was probably the one and only thing I would have wanted... had I even thought about what I would have liked for a birthday gift. Sometimes your best friend knows you better than you know yourself!
Around lunchtime, Joe went into the office and came back into the shop with two pieces of cake! At least he didn't put a candle on it! I'm not much of a cake eater, so he only bought one of those 4x4 one layer jobbies. It was perfect!
About three o'clock the biggest surprise of the day happened. My sister in law called me! I haven't spoken to her since Christmas. We've gone years without speaking, not out of hatred, but just because we are busy. We love each other dearly. We talked for an hour, ending with promises to talk more often. I then asked her if she was on Facebook. Yes, she is! Now we will be connected! Facebook can come in handy! hahaha
My mom called to wish me a good day, and we made plans to have dinner in Helena on Saturday evening at Chili's, combining my birthday and Father's Day.
My good friend, Deanna, who lives in another town, called me, too! We chatted for quite a long time before I had to get off the phone to finish up some last minute things at work.
After work, Joe and I headed to our usual Geocaching meeting (every third Thursday of each month). I walk in to Ryan's Station... as soon as our friend Greg sees me he very loudly wishes me a Happy Birthday... only to apologize larer for embarrassing me. I had to laugh... I wasn't embarrassed. It was great to be in the company of some great friends for dinner.
After dinner, laughs, tall stories, margaritas, and some semblance of a meeting thrown in the mix, we all headed home. Joe and I stopped at Dairy Queen for a Blizzard. I had cake earlier, so here was the ice cream! We sat on Joe's porch enjoying the mild evening, watching the sun set.
I got onto the computer before heading to bed, and many of my far away friends... and cyber friends, too, wished me well.
I feel truly gifted to have so many friends who did their small part to make my day great.
AND, that, folks... was what I called an amazing Birthday! I fell asleep contented, happy, and all warm and fuzzy inside.
Isn't that what it's really supposed to be about? A celebration of life?
Thank you, everyone! I am blessed!

Summer Storms and More Garden Sprouts

2009-06-16T11:56:00.005-06:00

My drive from Great Falls to Helena last night was awesome! Many might not have thought so, but I LOVED it!

Right after leaving Great Falls, heading south on I-90 (Big oops! I mean I-15! Thanks for the catch Mountain Man!) to Helena, I could see a major storm only a few miles ahead of me. By the time I got to Ulm (a tiny community 10 miles from Great Falls), I was picking up a few raindrops on my windshield, and the ionized smell that is associated with thunderstorms was coming in my open window. I breathed deep... that smell is one of my favorites. It has a way of calming AND energizing me at the same time. I know that sounds weird, but my troubles and thoughts all leave my head, and feelings of... how do I describe it... I guess of Life, unlimited energy, natures power... all that and more... energize my very soul.

A few moments later, the first bright flash of lightning.... then another, and another... all around me. The rain increased from a few sprinkles to a torrent in a matter of seconds, creating a loud pounding sound inside my vehicle overpowering the thunderclaps outside. I know they were loud, because I could actually feel the rumbles. By this time, I had closed my window most of the way. I was still getting some rain in the car, but I didn't want to close out the smells of the storm. I was driving along, big grin on my face, passing other drivers who looked like they were annoyed by the storm. They must have thought "Look at the Crazy Lady!" Hahaha!

The rain began to let up, then the storm was off to my left... then the sun came out. I looked in my rear view and I knew I had to stop and get a photo of the storm (please be kind enough to ignore the dust or hair that seems to have been over the lens.):

Looking North:

Looking North West:

And, finally, I turned around and THIS is where I am headed! Blue skies and sunshine!

Once I got home, I checked on the garden. The ground was still damp, but no longer soaked. The evening was beautiful, and the sun was still pretty high so I dropped my keys in the house and went back out to finally thin the row of radishes. I have to say, I did this with mixed blessings. I was so happy to see all these little plants popping out of the ground, and now I was about to yank about half of them out before they really had a chance to grow. I know that if I didn't, the final product wouldn't be as good, so it had to be done. I couldn't help but laugh to myself about the irony. Me, who can't keep anything alive, is pulling green shoots.

After I finished that chore... Ok, not much of a chore as the row is only 7 feet long... I took a good look at the rest of the garden. Oh Joy! The lettuce is dong great and will need it's own thinning in a few days. The majority of the lettuce plants are about an inch tall already. There are tiny green feathery sprouts where I planted carrots, and half inch tall green onions! Now, I am only waiting on the peppers and the parsley to show.

I am a little worried about my pansies, though. I think the deluge of water and the soaking of the soil has taken it's toll. Many are limp, and some of the leaves are turning yellow. I am going to keep them away from the next few waterings to get all the extra water out. The drain holes in the bottom must have plugged up and the pots were unable to drain properly. Pansies seem to be pretty forgiving, so they may make a comeback.

After playing in the dirt, I fed Brookie-Dog and noticed she was nearly out of kibble. I washed up and headed into Helena (10 miles from home) to Wal-Mart. I couldn't help but notice the cool cloud formations over the eastern mountains. It was getting dark, but there was enough evening light to get a photo:

All in all, a pretty good Monday evening, wouldn't you say?

It Could Be A Fruitful Summer!

2009-06-15T15:22:00.003-06:00

I may be succeeding at this gardening thing. Yes, I AM amazed that I have all these tiny little plants poking out of the ground!
Last week, the first of the sprouts came up... the radishes, which ironically I don't eat. I planted them because 1) I was told they were easy, and 2) My dad, Joe and Krystle's boyfriend like them. I figured if I totally failed, especially with radishes, then I would have to be satisfied with the Farmers Markets and produce sections of the grocery.
On Saturday I noticed another row of very tiny green sprouts! This is my row of lettuce! (See, OHN-- patience-- the lettuce is coming! LOL)
I am thinking the other rows, consisting of Bell Peppers, carrots, parsley, and onions will be peeking up out of the dirt this week.
I do have tiny sprouts of mint in a pot on my porch, right alongside the two strawberry plants that are loaded with green berries!
Even the flowers are doing well, and that is a major accomplishment for me as I tend to kill anything that is green and requires regular care. Good thing my kids were normal pink and not green! hahahaha!

Now, all of this nearly came to an abrupt ending on Friday...into Saturday morning. Krystle, who is as excited about this garden as I am, decided to "help" but nearly washed the entire shebang into the next county! Yes, Krystle wanted to help with something.... so, no, I couldn't have been mad even if it had led to a farm disaster on a miniature scale.
Here is how it went down:
Joe's mother has been visiting him for the past few weeks, so I have been spending a few more nights a week in Great Falls than I normally do, and Friday was one of those nights. I usually go home to Helena on Friday, but Gretchen was leaving soon and we all wanted to have a nice dinner out (Borrie's, for all you local readers). Krystle noticed I had not come home, called me to make sure, then asked me if I needed her to water the garden that evening. I was planning on thinning the row of radishes on Saturday, so I told her it was not necessary but if she really wanted to, to only leave the water on for 15 minutes. I was hoping I wouldn't be kneeling in mud, so planned to thin and weed before giving the garden a good drink.
I didn't think she would turn on the water. Hell, she doesn't even pick up her dishes from the living room!
I pull into the driveway about 10am Saturday morning (dirt, since I live in the country) and although the entire drive home was dry and sunny, there are three large puddles between me and the garage! I'm not talking one or two foot puddles... I am talking LARGE... one all the way across the driveway, and two others claiming most of the land I usually drive on!
I park in my usual spot, step out of the Rav-4, and my shoe sinks half an inch into the mud! Krystle's car is gone, but where she parked was a rectangle shaped dry spot. (Now is the time to tell you what the ground is like on my land... clay and rock. In order for it to get truly muddy, there needs to be ALOT of water.) My potted pansies had four inches of water above the dirt, and the soil was nearly liquid in form! My two poor tomato plants were sitting in a bog.
I stood there, outside my gate next to the garden space and actually laughed out loud. Brooke, my adorable 10 year old Malamute/Rottie cross, looked at me as if I had gone completely bonkers! I said to her "Well, if Mother Nature isn't in the mood to try and kill my garden this weekend, it looks like Krystle IS!"
I called the daughter.... voice mail. She must be at work. I TXT her: "Soooo... just how long WAS the water going?"
Her reply was " Um HaHa! So, its a funny story...!"
I never did get to hear it.
Most of the mud dried up by Sunday morning (yes, 24 hours!), but when I left Helena to return to Great Falls on Sunday evening the areas where the puddles had been was still very muddy. No, I didn't get the radishes thinned. Yes, the garden got watered!
Teenagers.... Gotta love 'em!

Radishes!

2009-06-12T15:38:00.001-06:00

Aren't they cute?

A quiet night

2009-06-06T00:57:00.001-06:00

A Lemon drop martini and a romantic movie. This is how I am spending my Friday night. Just me, my dog, and a storm blowing against the windows.

WTF?!?

2009-06-05T13:56:00.004-06:00

It IS June, isn't it? Wait a sec while I check the calendar on my cell phone.....
Yep..
June 5th!
As I am sitting here at work, I hear the Weather man come on the radio and he says we have a SNOW ADVISORY for this weekend! What??!! SNOW?? Jeeze! It's JUNE! You know...flowers, trips to the lake, BBQ's, motorcycle rides, and sunburns! NOT temps in the 30's and 40's, with the possibility of that wintry white s**t.... um, I mean, stuff! (I don't want to hear it, Joe! He's all excited about it.)
I am hoping that the snow stays in the mountains and it only rains in the lower elevations (Albert, let me know how much you get way up where you are!). I guess I'll have to find something to cover my tomato plants this time. I don't think the one I refer to as "Plant #1" can take another freeze, and "Plant #2" is only about 6 inches tall and not very sturdy yet.
The ground won't freeze, so I don't have to worry about all the seeds I just planted.

Boy! Did I pick a doozy of a year to decide to learn how to garden? :-) I guess if I can get anything out of the ground and to the freezer this year, then next year should be a cake walk.

I'll let ya'all know how it all pans out on Monday.....

Just when I thought it was a goner....!

2009-06-04T11:03:00.003-06:00

Do you remember me telling you about the tomato plant I purchased? Remember I mentioned it was a risk to have plants outside before Memorial Day? Well, turns out I was right. The Wednesday before the long weekend, the night time temps dipped into the low 30's and my beautiful tomato plant with all of it's flowers froze. I thought it was done for, but I took a good look at it last weekend and noticed it was producing new leaves from the base AND from a few of the branches of the main stalk! I didn't kill it after all.

I finished putting in a small raised garden this past weekend, after thinking I wasn't going to be able to manage one this year. On Saturday, I had pretty much given up on the idea, but late Sunday afternoon I changed my mind and decided to give it a go. I was able to construct, fill, level, and plant one tomato plant (a new one after thinking the first had given up the ghost). After work on Tuesday I planted the seeds. The garden is only 8 foot square, so not much room, but I planted one row each of carrots, parsley, lettuce, radishes, onions, and bell peppers. At one end of the pepper row I planted the new tomato plant. The old tomato plant is in a container at one corner of the garden, with containers of flowers at the other three corners. Now I just have to wait and see if anything actually grows!
The radishes and lettuce each say I should have sprouts in about a week and a half, everything else says 14 to 21 days. I guess I'll know just how green my thumb is right around the summer solstice. I know that sounds late to many of you out there, but the growing season here in Montana is short... only about four good months on average (June-Sept). October and May are iffy months. Sometimes they are beautiful, other times they are cold and snowy. A gardener just can't rely on good weather then, but it doesn't hurt to take the chance! SOooo, I am thinking of making another small raised bed and putting in pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers, watermelon hybrid (small and fast growing), and cantaloupe hybrid. Why not? It doesn't hurt to try and if they don't succeed, I am really only out the $1.00 I paid for each pack of seeds. I am going to start on that tonight after work, and finish on Saturday morning.

Apart from being a beginner, and having either luck or failure on that front, I am worried that my little plants will be eaten by the droves of grasshoppers we seem to get each summer. If any of you readers have any ideas on how to protect my garden from these little buggers, Please, PLEASE share them!

Memorial Day Weekend, Part 2 (finally!)

2009-06-03T13:50:00.003-06:00

Ok, Ok, OK.... Yeah, I know Memorial Day weekend was almost two weeks ago, but I have been pretty busy and my laptop has been possessed by a demon! It only works good when it wants to, then on other days it takes me forever to just log onto the net. I shouldn't be surprised... it is almost in it's Teen Years! LOL

For a re-cap... Joe and I picked up Joe's mother from Pocatello, Idaho; driving from Great Falls, MT to Dillion, MT on Friday night then on Saturday we drove from Dillion to Pocatello, ID; visited with Joe's aunts for about an hour, back on the road heading for home with a stop in Idaho Falls for lunch and a side trip to Bannack State Park.

Sunday morning dawn arrived early, but greeted us with a spectacular sunrise over the Helena valley. Joe's mom, Gretchen, was surprised that Montana has casinos so we had to show her one of the local Helena favorites. Last Chance Casino is a great place for a hearty breakfast for only a few dollars. The restaurant was lively with the chatter of the locals and a few travellers. Our food was served fast and hot, as is the norm there. Once breakfast was finished, we hit the road heading North once again.

Since Joe had the long weekend off from work, we wanted to try and show Gretchen as many of our favorite places that we could before returning to Great Falls. We drove from Helena to Kalispell (200 miles) via the Seeley-Swan highway (MT HWY 83). I think this is one of the most beautiful drives the state of Montana has to offer. The 90 mile stretch between the mountain towns of Seeley Lake and Swan Lake passes through a valley with the spectacular Swan Mountains to the right and the majestic Mission Mountains to the left and a chain of 6 lakes (Seeley, Inez, Alva, Rainey, Summit, and Swan) along the highway. All this, and pine forests with the occasional high mountain meadows full of wildflowers, too!

Once in Kalispell, we claimed a couple of motel rooms for the night, then after a small rest and a quick lunch at the local KFC, we drove the 31 miles to the town of West Glacier (formerly known as Belton in it's early years) and the west entrance into Glacier National Park.

The Glacier Park Logo as seen on the door of a Red Bus, or Jammer. The Jammers are open topped buses that the park uses for informative excursions through Glacier.

The main road through Glacier is known as The Going to the Sun Highway. This narrow mountain road is never fully opened until mid-June, and when we arrived the road was opened 18 miles. We drove past Lake McDonald after stopping in the Tourist Trap town of Apgar. This is the only "town" within the borders of Glacier Park. It consists of cafes, restaurants, hotels, and gift shops. There is no gas station. Fuel is only available outside of Glacier Park.

McDonald Creek flows through the narrow valley, eventually emptying into Lake McDonald. There are many pull-outs along the road to stop and see it's many cascades between the lake and Avalanche Creek, where the road begins gaining altitude to cross over Logan Pass.

Sacred Dancing Cascades, McDonald Creek, running fast and milky with spring run off. In the fall, the river is clear and contains only half this much water.

On this trip, the road was closed right at Avalanche Creek. There is a nice picnic area, campground, nature trail, and day hike trails all at this spot.

The confluence of Avalanche Creek and McDonald Creek as seen from the Avalanche Picnic Area.

We chose to take the nature trail, known as The Trail Of The Cedars. It is a short (.25 of a mile) walk that winds it's way through 500 year old cedar trees. The damp environment at this location has kept it safe from the wildfires that have burned many acres of Glacier over the past few decades. The path is peppered with information signs that teach the readers everything from what the local birds are named to what type of trees, insects, animals, and prehistoric peoples have lived in the area over the eons. The highlight of the trail is Avalanche Gorge:

This is one of the most photographed places in Glacier. I have never seen a book or set of post cards on Glacier Park without a picture of Avalanche Gorge. I have taken many photos of this area, and no two are the same. The water and lighting are always different. It is a beautiful place.

Lake McDonald and the Livingston Mountain Range, Glacier National Park. As seen from the boat dock at McDonald Lodge.

After spending the afternoon soaking up the mountain air, we headed back out of Glacier, passing Lake McDonald once again. We stopped at the Lake McDonald Lodge to take a last walk along the lake shore.

We returned to Kalispell about 7pm, but we were so tired from driving over the past few days we just sat in our hotel rooms watching TV until heading to bed fairly early.

On Monday, we woke early, breakfasted from the motel's Continental Breakfast Bar, and headed out of Kalispell towards Great Falls. We had one stop to make before leaving the area... Glacier Park, once again, but the East side this time. We wanted to show Gretchen the Two Medicine area, and Running Eagle Falls before leaving the mountains for the Great Plains of central Montana. (The photos of this part of our trip are on my digital camera, which I don't have with me at work today!... so shoot me! LOL) After spending a few hours driving around the southern tip of Glacier, and about an hour in the Two Medicine area, we stopped in the town of East Glacier (constant readers will remember our alternator went out here a few months ago!). We chose a cute cafe to eat our lunch at, and it was really good!

We arrived back in Great Falls about 4pm on Memorial Day Monday. It was good to be able to just sit on the couch in familiar surroundings and just visit with Joe's mother. We went to a local restaurant (4 B's for all you Montana Folk-- yes, there still IS one Great Falls!!) for a light supper of soup and salads.

We drove many, many miles, but it was tons of fun and Gretchen was able to see SO much of our beautiful state in those few days.

Back to Work, Safe and Sound (Part 1- Friday and Saturday)

2009-05-26T11:50:00.007-06:00

The last few posts were a bit of a teaser to what I did over the Memorial Day weekend. Joe's mother was in dire need of a vacation, so she decided to head west from her home just outside of Pittsburgh, PA to visit her sisters and son. Her sisters all met in Pocatello, Idaho at one of their homes. Instead of paying for another airline ticket from Idaho to Montana, Joe decided to drive down and pick her up. This also gave us the ability to show her some of Montana's historic sites and scenery.

On Friday, Joe and I had to work until 6pm. We had decided to break the trip from Great Falls to Pocatello in half, so we left right after work and headed south. We didn't even eat any supper before driving out of town! It was strange driving right past Helena, throwing a wave out of the window in the general direction of my house. We pulled off the Interstate at about 8:15pm in Butte, MT (155 miles from Great Falls); and ate a quick meal at the Burger King there. A top off of the gas tank, and we were back on the highway in no time. The drive south from Butte to Dillon (57 miles), where we stopped for the night, was scenery we have only seen on a couple of occasions. Seeing new things helped the time and miles pass by. We arrived in Dillon, MT right around 9:30pm and picked out a motel. The rates were pretty low, considering we were travelling on a holiday weekend. We then drove to the local Safeway (grocery) store and bought some breakfast food as we were leaving an hour before the motel's Continental Breakfast room was opened. The room was clean, the bed comfortable, the night pretty quiet... but I had a hard time falling asleep. I would doze a bit, then wake... off and on, until about 2am. The plans were to be on the road by 6am, so when the alarm went off at 5:15 I really wasn't ready to wake up! Joe was already in the shower, so I drug my butt out of bed and got all my stuff ready for my shower and morning routine. I did feel much better after the shower, and eating the bagel with some Orange Juice for breakfast gave me a little boost of energy. The sun was rising as we were heading out of town, and since it was Memorial Weekend, I took the photo of the Flags and the Military Monument.

Saturday Joe and I drove from Dillon, MT to Pocatello, ID (191 miles); only stopping for a couple of geocaches and potty breaks along the way. We arrived at Joe's aunt's home around 10:30am. Introductions were made, we exchanged some small talk, then Joe's mom was ready to go. She told us later (over lunch) that she was happy to see her sisters, but she was VERY much ready to be leaving their company! We didn't waste any time in heading back north... we were back on the Interstate by 11:30am. It had been quite awhile since our small breakfast in the hotel, so we decided to stop for a good lunch in Idaho Falls, ID. Idaho Falls is a very pretty town, and I hope to see more of it someday. We chose to have our lunch at the Olive Garden, which was very good. By chance, I powered up my GPS receiver and noticed we were only 400 feet from a geocache! What luck! It was with this hide (and find) that Joe and I introduced Joe's mother to our little sport. She was ready to find another right away. Since this wasn't planned as a geocaching trip, I hadn't downloaded very many hides, and most of the ones I did were right off the highway in rest stops or tiny towns. Gretchen (Joe's mom) was ready to hit the highway and instructed us to stop at the next goecache so she could find another!
The geocaches along the route to the Montana border were placed just far enough apart to be good leg-stretchers, but not so close that we were stopping all the time. At the Montana border (Monida Pass) we stopped and took a photo under the Welcome to Montana sign for Gretchen's scrapbook. She was loving the mountains and the rustic pioneer homes that dotted the landscape.
The "Old West" ghost town of Bannack lies only 21 miles off the Interstate Highway near Dillon. Gretchen had told Joe that she would like to see the town (now a state park) if she ever came to Montana... so, we took the small detour to Montana's first territorial capital. I'll write more abut Bannack later. I only got a few photos because my camera was acting up, but I promise I'll share them with you. We spent over an hour going in the old cabins and reading the history of each one. The town and many of the buildings are said to be haunted, but the ghosts left us alone while we visited.
Heading north, once again, we arrived in Butte, MT at about 8:30pm. None of us were really hungry after such a heavy Italian lunch, but we needed something small to eat. Gretchen suggested chicken fingers from Burger King. Joe and I just shrugged... Why Not? Neither of us mentioned we had eaten there just about 24 hours ago! So, we had a Deja Vu moment, exiting at Butte, MT; going through the BK drive-thru, stopping at the gas station, and back onto the highway... only heading towards Helena this time.
Sixty-three miles and just about an hour later, we arrived in Helena, MT. The drive from Butte to Helena is beautiful! The highway follows a river through forested mountains and granite cliffs. Along the way, you pass a number of old gold and silver mines and the towns that sprung up around them. The sun was setting and the sky was washed with brilliant roses, magentas, and oranges. A wonderful light show to welcome Gretchen to our state.
The weekend plan was to stay at my house then head farther north to Kalispell, and Glacier Park... so we stopped at Wal Mart as we passed through Helena to pick up a few items, and drove the final 10 miles to my home. By then, it was a little after 9:30pm. A thunderstorm was going strong about 40 miles away giving us a show in the western sky as the clouds covered the remains of the sunset.
After 502 miles in one day , it was good to take a hot shower and sleep in my own bed... just so we could do another 702 miles over the rest of the long weekend. (...to be continued. See Back to work, safe and sound, part 2.)

Memorial day weekend continues!

2009-05-25T07:37:00.001-06:00

After staying the night at home in Helena, we drove northward to Kalispell and spent the afternoon in the west side of Glacier Park. We are staying in a motel then off to the East side ( Two Medicine area) tomorrow.

Still road tripping

2009-05-23T19:57:00.001-06:00

We are here. On our back to montana with joe's mom. These updates are from my cell phone. Longer write up when I arrive back to Helena.

On the road

2009-05-23T08:48:00.001-06:00

Rest stop just south of Idaho Falls.

On the road

2009-05-23T06:15:00.001-06:00

Armed forces memorial, Dillon, Montana.

A warm spring evening on the porch

2009-05-18T23:12:00.004-06:00

So, since I spent all of yesterday afternoon and evening at mom's house going through cookbooks (here is only about a third of 'em)...

... This evening after work I settled into a chair on my porch to dig a little deeper into my "new" collection. How many of you remember the Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks? It seemed like EVERYONE had them in the 1970's. Well, I now have 10 of my very own:

I remember these as always being a part of mom's collection, and as I thumbed through them, I understood why I couldn't think of a time they weren't there. The "newest" is copyrighted 1976, when I was only 8, and the oldest? Well, it is dated 1963... long before I was even thought of.

Just for fun, lets take a look inside:

Birthdays and family Celebrations (1963) - We start out with Children's parties! Here are some of their ideas: Pirate Party (still a good choice!), Giant-Land dinner party (guests are seated at doll sized tables, wear doll sized party hats, and are served thimble-sized hamburgers on tiny biscuits, thumb sized scoops of ice cream - made with a melon baller - and inch-square bits of cake), Circus Party where every one shows up in costume of their fav circus performer (gotta have balloons and a clown for this one!), and... this one is GREAT! A cartoon character party! Ok, so we still have those... but NOT the characters they suggest: Donald Duck, Dagwood, or Wimpy (you absolutely must serve burgers at that party)!

Flip a few pages... ahhh, cakes! Normal white, chocolate, lemon... wait a sec.... What's that one? A Cape Canaveral decorated cake??!! Of course the birthday boy has to "count down" before blowing out the "spaceship" candle. No Space Shuttles back in 1963!

Having a teen party (or wingding-- their word, not mine)? Submarine sandwiches, potato chips, popcorn, and Soda-Fountain style drinks or sundaes. Yep, here are some true "soda-fountain" recipes. I'm gonna have to try a few of these this summer!

The next half of the book is dedicated to holiday entertaining... New years is an indoor burger BBQ and make your own ice cream sundae buffet. Valentine's Day is lots of strange pink molded gelatin stuff, and one cool idea- using a cookie cutter, cut a heart out of the center of a slice of white bread and a slice of wheat bread. Make the bottom half of a sandwich on a whole slice of bread, top with one of the breads with the center removed, fill center heart with cut-out from other bread type. Easy, but not too "cheesy"! Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are all varieties of traditional fare, with a few really odd side dishes. Halloween has the standard treat ideas, but the big difference is these home made sweets are what is handed out to the Trick-or-Treaters! Times sure have changed over the past 46 years... and not always in a good way.

The final few pages are devoted to ideas for Bridal and Baby showers, and the last page is something we don't see much of anymore... an Open House party. I remember my parents having these when I was little. I wonder why they have fallen "out of favor"?

I think there should be more house parties (aka Open houses) where adults can get together and meet one another in a casual, fun atmosphere. Maybe we would know our neighbors once again?

Anyone else think we should bring them back?

And...finally, the evening is getting too dark to read. I put the books down and enjoy the last bit of twilight while the lights of Helena begin to twinkle in the distance. A few more days in the 80's and the snow will be gone from the Elkhorn Mountains... there off in the distance beyond town.

The evening breeze is still a bit chilly, so I gather up my books and bid you all a good night.

Cookbooks from the past 80 years!

2009-05-18T00:13:00.006-06:00

I just spent seven (yep, 7!) hours at my mothers house going through her entire cookbook collection. She is not able to cook as much as she used to, so she decided she wanted to only save a very select few and pass the rest on to me... then if there are ones I don't want, I am to pass them on to someone else. I came home with at least two-thirds of her collection! There are a few I don't think I will be using much, as they are from the 20's and 40's, but they are fun to look at.

The oldest one is from the Price Baking Powder Factory (Royal Baking Powder Company); copyright 1929. They spell 'cookie' as 'cooky' and 'coconut' as 'cocoanut'! Another fun note: the bottom of every page reads: All measurements are level. Four level teaspoons of baking powder about equal one heaping teaspoon as heretofore used. There is a section titled Suggestions For Invalids, too! Here is their advice to the feeding of the sick: Always prepare food for the sick in the most careful and attractive manner. In sickness the senses are unusually acute and far more susceptible to carelessness and mistakes in the preparation and serving of food than in health. Now, as for the recipes in this section... sick or not, I won't be eating them! LOL

Here is a photo of the book:

There were four cookbooks from the 1940's that mom parted with.

Spry was like Crisco. Here is their promo cookbook from 1942:

Here is a page out of the book- All about sending cookies to our service men. I guess some things never change:

There are these two:The right one is one (if not the first) Pillsbury cookbooks. It is actually sub-titled "Ann Pillsbury's Amazing Discovery". It is dated 1945.

The cookbook on the left was, I am guessing, is one that came with a very early electric stove, or was a promotional book given by the Niagara Hudson Power Corporation. The Introduction starts with: Electricity is so radiantly clean and wholesome that it is the ideal fuel to be associated with food. There is no date in the book, but I did find a receipt for a random purchase dated 12/31/1948 tucked in the pages... so I am guessing the book is from around that time, too. (I could be wrong.) Here is a photo of that receipt:

This Searchlight Recipe Book is dated 1949. It was compiled from 1000 questionnaires that were sent to readers of "Household". The recipes were submitted by the readers, then tested by The Household Searchlight, which from 1925 to 1942 was maintained for the study of home products under actual home conditions. The war necessitated closing The Searchlight in April, 1942. After that, all recipes appearing in "Household" carried the approval of the Household's Kitchen. I wonder if that was the beginning of the "Good Housekeeping" and their seal of approval?

These next two are both from 1953:

The one on the left is a church cookbook from Albuquerque, New Mexico. It gives a real look into the comfort foods of the time. The other one is another power company promo cookbook. This one is from the Los Angeles City-Owned Department of Water and Power. Times sure have changed! The introduction to this particular cookbook would NEVER get printed today. Here it is:

Once upon a time- and not so long ago- it was fashionable for all lovely ladies not to know how to cook or at least pretend not to know.

My! How times have changed!

Today a woman can look like a cream confection, but she's got to know how to make one too. Popularity in our modern times, is reserved for those who are good cooks as well as those with good looks!

It's easier than you think to claim your share of that special envy reserved for good cooks. With the way we've worked things out for you on the following pages, you'll be an expert cook in little more time than it takes to roll up your pin curls! If you read our instructions carefully and follow them as faithfully as your best beau follows you, what treasures will be yours to set before your King!

How is THAT for sexism? LOL!

I also brought home many more cookbooks from the 60's to the present. I am going to be spending many evenings looking through all of these! This is going to be FUN!

Cookbooks circa 1953

2009-05-17T23:45:00.000-06:00

A church cookbook and Los Angeles dept. Of water and power.

Hey, Ya'll! Howa Been?

2009-05-14T11:25:00.004-06:00

Things have been pretty good here. With the middle of May already here, the weather has finally decided to be more "spring-like" than "winter-like" after that last freaky record breaking storm that passed through the last week of April. Since then, the skies have been more friendly! A bit of blue sky and sunshine, followed by three or four days of mostly cloudy and some rain showers. Yeah... that is what spring is supposed to be like! We have had some pretty windy conditions, but I can deal with that!

Pansy's in planters along my front deck rail.

With the weather warming up a bit, I decided to tempt fate and buy some flowers for the planters that I like to have on my front deck. I bought a flat of Pansy's and a cool looking Daisy-like flower that has white petals and a pretty purple centers. While at the store, I saw a really nice looking tomato plant and a couple of strawberry plants. Now I was REALLY tempting fate as around here (Central Montana) the general rule of thumb is "If you plant before Memorial Day weekend, you have a high risk of freezing out". I am hoping I get lucky this year and we don't have a late-season freeze! My brand-new tomato plant has three blossoms on it, and the strawberries have flower buds forming.

My new tomato plant (back) and Daisy's with purple centers.

Hmmm, what else? Well, Mother's Day came and went without much fuss. I did go out to dinner with my mom on Saturday evening. Helena has a really great Chinese restaurant called The Jade Garden, and it is our families favorite place to go "out to eat". It was good, as always. Sunday, I caught a quick glimpse of Krystle as she was headed out of the house. Yep, I got a "Happy Mothers Day, Mom" from her. Joe and I went out to IHOP for breakfast. I wanted to try their strawberry stuffed french toast. Our food was cold... the coffee luke warm... No excuse, as they weren't busy yet! A very bad IHOP experience. Oh well! Joe left Helena for Great Falls by noon which left me home alone. It was a beautiful afternoon so I worked uninterrupted in my yard, shopped for the previously mentioned plants, plotted my veggie garden spot, crocheted a kitchen pot scrubbie, read some, played online a little, took a long hot shower, and went to bed late. It was a very good day! Heather did call me on Monday morning first thing to wish me a late Happy Mom's Day. She had spent her Mother's day out of cell phone range at a local lake. My feelings weren't hurt because she didn't call on Sunday. I had just talked to her on Saturday, so I really wasn't expecting a call. I did get a call from my ex-husband (the kids dad) wishing me a good day. I hope all you other Moms out there had a day as good to you and mine was to me!

Spring Plants: Tomato, Daisies, two small strawberry plants (to be re-planted in my garden once it is ready), two pansy plants that didn't fit into the rail-planters, and mint seeds (under plastic... my version of a mini-greenhouse).

Yep, that is 'bout it! Life is currently set on cruise control. That IS a good thing, once in a while. Today the sun is shining in and out of fluffy white clouds. The Air Force is out playing with their toys... those expensive fighter jet toys! I love to hear them flying above the city, and enjoy watching them whenever I get a chance. They remind me of the awesome country I live in, and the freedoms I am lucky to have!

Oh No!....She DIDN"T!!

2009-05-05T13:15:00.005-06:00

Ahh... the wonderful life of customer service!
Let me relate the latest and greatest phone conversation I had with a woman:

Me: Good Afternoon, Action Wireless!
She: Yeah.... Umm... I have a question.
Me: OK.
She: I bought a used phone from you not to long ago.
Me (she paused and was expecting a comment): OK.
She: I lost the battery cover thingy. Do you have one?
Me: What type of phone? (nearly all the callers think I am psychic.)
She: A piece of crap Motorola 551.
Me: Ok, we have the battery door. They are $10.
She: TEN DOLLARS??!!
Me: Yes, ma'am. All of our battery doors are $10.
She: But it came off because the push-button thingy that keeps the cover in place is broken. It has been since I bought this piece of crap from your store. That is why I lost the back, because it kept falling off.
Me: When did you purchase the phone?
She: In January.
Me: It is now the end of April. The phone only has a 30 day warranty. Had you brought it in during those thirty days we would have fixed that problem for free. Now in order to fix the problem so you don't loose another battery door, we would have to charge you $10- $15, depending on what needs to be done to it.
She: SOooo (she is getting a bitchy tone here)-- You want me to pay $10 for a back, PLUS another $10 or $15 for repairs on a phone that I purchased defective from you in the first place?
Me (realizing I am dealing with someone who has the IQ of a mouse): Like I just said, had you brought it in during the 30 day warranty period, we would have fixed the problem for free. That is what the warranty is for.
She (All high and mighty... said in a haughty, condescending tone): I have spent alot of money in your store. This is the second phone I have bought from you. The first one just stopped working after a month and a half. Now, this one. Plus, I have purchased chargers that just stop working or fall apart. NOW you won't fix this issue for me?
Me: ( getting a tad irritated): We WILL fix it for $20-25 dollars. I am sorry you had such bad luck with your previous phone, and, just so you are aware, we do have a lifetime warranty on all of our chargers. If it hasn't been physically damaged, we will replace it for free, as long as you bring in the malfunctioning charger.
She: I know, I was told that.... but I never had my bad charger with me when I had to get a new one.
Me (after thinking to myself "if you knew the policy, and you didn't bring in the broken one, why are you bitching about how much money you HAD to spend?")-- trying to stay calm and reasonable: So, ma'am, you keep coming to our store even though you believe our products are crap?
She: (Angry) I DID NOT say your products are crap, and there is no reason for you to be getting all bitchy with me!!
Me (Breath deep.... Stay calm.....): Ma'am, you called your present phone a piece of crap, you blame us for the misfortune of your first purchase, AND you claim our chargers fall apart. Excuse me for getting a little irritated with you after you attacked our company and our integrity. No one made you, as you claim, "Spend alot of money" here, and you are free to take your money elsewhere. (OK. I didn't manage the Stay Calm part-- LOL)
She: Well you don't have to be a F***ing C**t!!!
Then she hung up on me!

I just stared at the phone for about two seconds, then burst out laughing! A bit shocked, because the only person who had ever called me that was my ex-husband during a few of the fights that preceded the divorce. Coming from a stranger, those words really didn't have the emotional impact that they would have had I actually known this lady. Lady is used very loosely in this context!

This was last week. I still don't know what set her off like that. Was she upset that I was not going to repair her phone for free because she didn't take the time to bring it in during warranty? Was she upset because I reminded her we live in a society where she could choose where she spends her money? Was she used to bully-ing her way into getting everything she wants?
I guess I'll never know.

I won't be loosing any sleep over it, either.

Update on "Official Snowfall" amounts.

2009-04-30T14:45:00.003-06:00

According to the Great Falls Tribune, Great Falls broke a few records. Here is the story:

This week’s spring blizzard smashed snowfall records dating back to 1886, the National Weather Service announced Thursday.

Great Falls received 25.4 inches of snow between Monday and Wednesday, far surpassing the previous record of 18.1 inches set Nov. 26-28, 1970.
The snowfall was heaviest Tuesday and Wednesday, with 24.2 inches falling. That trumped the previous record of 17.3 inches on April 19-20, 1973.
And just for Wednesday, the 16.1 inches of snow recorded at the Great Falls Airport was the second snowiest day in recorded history. On April 20, 1973, the city received 16.5 inches.

To see some really amazing photos from around the area, the newpaper's on-line site asked for readers photos. You really need to look at these to begin to grasp just how bad this late winter storm was!

Hopefully I can get some cool photos, too!

Yea! The storm is over!

2009-04-30T11:48:00.002-06:00

The official snowfall total for Great Falls was 19 inches. At least that is what the TV news said last night. We might have picked up one more inch overnight, but now it seems this freak storm is finally passing us by. I have even seen the sun peeking out every so often this morning!

I count myself lucky. There were some power outages caused by trees falling on power lines, as well as some property and auto damage also caused by falling trees or breaking branches. We never had the electricity even falter, and all our trees came through.

Business was slow, of course, but I have a feeling it will begin to pick back up late this afternoon or tomorrow as the roads to all the outlying communities clear.

I am thinking of driving to Helena tonight. The Prickly Pear valley should be awesomely beautiful with all the new snow. If the light is still good when I get there, I will try to get some photos.

The weather reports for Saturday and Sunday are still calling for temps in the high 50's. That means all this new snow is going to melt fast causing some flooding. I hope the damage is minimal.
Whew! What a spring!

What happened to spring?

2009-04-29T15:40:00.005-06:00

This is what I see as I look out my work window. *sigh* This is NOT normal end-of-April weather! What the hell??!!

It has been snowing steady since 6pm Monday evening... it is now nearly 5pm Wednesday. The snow is supposed to stop tonight or early tomorrow morning. Do you want to know WHY this is SOoooo depressing? It was 80 degrees only two weeks ago!! The grass is green somewhere under all this snow, the trees were budding out, the neighbors had daffodils and tulips blooming. *shaking my head*

OK, now that I have the whining out of the way-- here are the wonders of this storm:

Great Falls set a new snowfall record of 8.1 inches yesterday. The last record had held since 1970, but I don't know how much snow fell on that day. The town of Saint Mary, which is on the East side of Glacier Park, received FOUR FEET of new snow yesterday, with another foot expected today. The town of Browning was experiencing drifting up to 6 feet deep.

Roads were (are?) closed throughout the North Central areas of the state. This is not a small area. We are talking Interstates and major highways being closed in (approx) a 250 mile X 200 mile area! If the roads aren't closed, then they are restricted to emergency travel only. This area is larger than some East Coast states! This is one Hell of a storm. We are a hardy lot, and we know all about winter driving, so our roads don't close very often. Schools, too. Our school districts don't even plan for "snow days", but this storm closed schools in at least 6 districts. It isn't the snow, really, but the wind causing severe blizzards across the Rocky Mountain Front and the plains. Remember the blizzard in the book Little House on the Prairie? Yep, that is what some areas are experiencing here.

As I look out the window, the snow is still falling, the trees are beautiful covered in the spring snow, random clumps dropping from the tops causing mini-cascades of snow. I am happy in the knowledge that this will all be over by tomorrow afternoon, and spring will return for the weekend, with temperatures in the high 50's (still low for this time of year, but better than the 25-30 degrees we have had these past few days). The snow is helping fill the reservoirs that have been so low over the past few years because of drought, and giving the soil much needed moisture. The snow holds the water in place longer than a heavy rain storm would, so the trees which were tinder-dry last summer will have a chance to absorb more water through their roots.

June will be awesome-ly green and there will be tons of wildflowers. So many people are complaining about this late storm, but they are overlooking the benefits that nature will reap from it. It is beautiful and good for the environment... BUT, I really AM ready for winter to be over.

A long lasting case of writers block!

2009-04-28T17:04:00.003-06:00

OK, I have tried to post a few times now, and all I do is stare at the blank screen with nothing coming to mind to write. I'm sure there are things I could write about, but my mind just goes totally blank when I actually get to this point! LOL
SO... knowing that, I decided to post a few "One Liners" about what is going on with my life:

I did go up to Kalispell for Lucas' second birthday.

I did go into Glacier National Park (beautiful as always).

Easter was good, Heather cooked an excellent ham.

No, I didn't get a good chance to confront her about the stupid crap her and her husband are getting themselves into. (Damn! But there are times when you see your kids happy, and everyone else is happy, so you don't want to throw a wrench into the whole thing.)

The weather has been, um... what is the word? Unsettled? Yep, thats it... Unsettled! Here is the summery of the past three weeks: cool, but sunny;... cool and rainy;... cold and windy; ...cold-windy-snow flurries;... warm and cloudy;... HOT (in the 80's!) and sunny (yippie!);... cool and rainy;... 65-70, sunny, but a bit breezy (actually on a weekend so we took a geocaching road trip north to Havre, a small city nearly to the Canadian border!);... cloudy and cool (50's);... clear and cool (40's)....
And now?!! We are in the middle of a winter storm warning, expecting 7-10 inches here in the city with up to two feet of new snow in the mountains. It has been snowing pretty much since 6pm yesterday, and the weather forecast says it will continue through tonight and most of tomorrow. The temps are hovering about 30 degrees, so the roads have been clear all day, but I am sure they will drop overnight which will cause the roads to ice up. The schools all closed early (which is next to unheard of here in Montana... we DON'T HAVE snow-days!!). There are many roads closed already, or with emergency travel only status, including the north-bound Interstate highway and Highway 200, which is a major east/west route. The snow is heavy and wet, and the wind is blowing about 25-30 mph here in the city. Out on the plains, I am sure the wind is really bad... creating blizzards and limited visibility. I am glad I am not driving to Helena tonight!!

Work has been steady. General life has been steady. No car troubles. No new kid troubles.
Yeah... no wonder I haven't had anything to write about! LOL

Well, that is pretty much the news here. Whoopie! LOL

I'm SO glad it is Friday!

2009-04-10T17:47:00.002-06:00

This week, and last week also, seemed to just drag by. I'm thinking it is because I have been so sick and just being upright was a chore on many of those days. I am feeling much better, with the exception of an abnormal case of frequent heartburn. I NEVER get heartburn or indigestion!! My doc told me that the hard coughing I was experiencing taxed all my muscles, including all those one you never think about... the ones that keep the acid in the stomach where it belongs. Basically, he said I was "leaking" around the little flap... similar to a hiatial hernia. IF my condition doesn't get better in a week or two, then there is the possibility that the coughing actually damaged something. I hope not! All I can say is "Heartburn really sucks!" I have a new found respect for all the people out there who have to live with it day in and day out.
About the only thing I found I can eat without pain 15 minutes later is bananas and water. This sucks!!

Well, Anyway, today is FINALLY Friday! Joe and I are heading to Kalispell to see Heather,
Lucas, and the ex-husband. This should be "fun"... I'll clue you all in when I get back to a computer on Monday.
Lucas is turning two today, and we are having a birthday party tomorrow afternoon. I still haven't picked out his present, and will be heading out to Wally-World after dinner to browse the toy isle and see what loud, obnoxious toy Grandma Shell can give him! HAHAHA!! I will also be getting him some little kid books. All kids need to grow up around books. I still buy books for my kids if we happen to be in a shop together and they show an interest in one. My daughters were never real avid readers, but on occasion something would pique their interest (Harry Potter, Goosebumps, etc) and I would be one elated mommy!! Even music related magazines for Krystle... as long as she was sitting down for a while READING!

Well, it is time to turn off the lap top for the weekend.
Have a Great Easter Holiday to anyone who happens along. I will hopefully return with good news on the family front, and lots of pretty photos of springtime in Glacier Park.

Ahhhh.... Kids! sigh...

2009-04-06T15:58:00.002-06:00

I am in a bit of a quandary. I know there is a point in our lives as a parent when one has to just take a step back and let the consequences fall as they may. Unfortunately, if I do that, the law may decide to step in and make things nasty for Heather's little family.

"Whoa!" I hear you saying! "What nonsense are those kids up to now?!"

Well, I'd like to share, but all I know is based on unsubstantiated rumors and I don't want to add fuel to a non-existent fire.
I am going up north to Kalispell this weekend to try and get a clearer picture of what in the Hell is actually going on. It is, by the way, Grandbaby Lucas' second birthday, and Easter, so I am expected to visit. Little do "The Kids" know Harry (my ex-husband) and I are going to blindside them with an intervention of sorts.
I know there will be some harsh words, lots of tears, and heartbreak. We may leave town amid animosity, but like many family problems, these will heal over time. My biggest concern is for Lucas, and if the kids are doing what I hear they are, I may have to try and convince Heather to let him come stay with Grandma for a while. That won't go over very well, but from what I hear of what maybe going on, having Lucas with me will be much better than DFS stepping in.

Ok, just so you know, Lucas and Talia are OK. Nothing bad is being done to them. I am concerned about the choices of Heather and Mike. It is these choices that are impacting the lives of everyone around them, and therefore the well being of the children.

I just wish I didn't have nearly an entire week to stew over the events.

I hope this is a false alarm, that everything is right as rain up in Kalispell. Say a tiny little prayer for me. I can use any help on this that I can!

The Good Doctor

2009-04-01T15:32:00.002-06:00

I've been sick.
Again.
This time it is a doozie. I started feeling under the weather last Wednesday when a new storm system was blowing through the state from the Pacific. I thought I was just having a allergic reaction to foreign pollen blowing in from the greener states of Washington and Idaho. To those of you who don't know, I am pretty much allergic to anything that grows out of the earth, and anything that has fur or hair. Joe tells everyone I am allergic to the air and everything in it. Yeah, that pretty much covers it. Good thing they have pharmaceuticals to help poor sots like me! But...I digress...
Thursday I was still stuffy and sneezy... and still believing allergies to be the culprit. Friday I woke more miserable and even called in a couple of hours late to work to catch a few more winks of sleep. I was SO tired. Hmmm... maybe I was coming down with something?
Friday night I drove home to Helena, looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday, with no plans to go anywhere all weekend. I could drug myself with copious amounts of Benadryl and NyQuil and spend my days off in a bit of a haze! It was a good fantasy.
I developed a new symptom... anytime I would lay down I would begin coughing. Not just a little spat, but a body wrenching, can't catch a breath, dry wheeze, from the soles of the feet kind of spasm. I tried NyQuil. Didn't help much. I tried more NyQuil. Still didn't help much. In desperation I pawed through my past medical history....meaning looking through all those half used prescription bottles that really should have been tossed. BINGO! I found a bottle of Tessalon Pearls (which is a prescription cough inhibitor). I checked the date... Hmmm, discard after 9/08. The logical (aka-smarter) side of my brain says "DON'T TAKE 'EM!!!" The very tired, desperate side of my brain countered with "They are only 6 months old."
Now kids... don't do this at home. I did a very bad thing. I took one.
I lived to tell the tale.
Guess what? It worked. In a little over a half an hour I was able to lay down and finally drift into some much needed sleep. In a little over four hours, I was rudely awakened by the damn cough again. Another Tessalon, a Benadryl to keep an asthma attack at bay, a Sudafed to clear the stuffy ear and sinus', and back to bed. I said a silent prayer that I would awaken feeling refreshed and ready to have a great Saturday.
Apparently, I have not been holding up to my end of the spiritual bargains, and one God or another had chosen to shower me with his (her?) displeasure. I woke up feeling worse.
I ended up staying in bed most of Saturday. I did have to clean out the fridge and take the garbage out. There just wasn't any getting around that. I wanted to wipe and disinfect the fridge, too, but by that time I was spent and just collapsed onto the couch. The cleaning would have to wait.
Sunday I fared much the same. That old prescription of Tessalon had only 6 pills in the bottle when I found it. I was down to two. My cough was not getting any better... possibly even worse, and now I was getting feverish, too. I had no energy to do anything except a little crocheting, a little reading, and a little zoning out staring into a TV screen. I don't remember what was on, just that it was making noise. By the time I fell asleep, all the muscles in my torso were feeling the effects of the near constant deep cough. OK.. to put it bluntly... I felt like shit. Worse, if that is possible.
Monday dawned after a very long fitful night. I had a fever of 1o1.4. I called off work, then showered and headed off to the Helena Urgent Care clinic. My cough must have been a bit of a worry to the nurses there, because I was ushered into the inner sanctums only minutes after arriving, pushed ahead of the others who were already waiting for care. Hmmmm....??
The doctor was awesome. I told him right up that I didn't have any insurance, so I didn't want a bunch of tests that may not really be necessary. He examined me, stethoscoped my insides, looked inside my ears and nose, I said Ahhh over the Popsicle stick. I coughed on him a few times while he patiently waited for the spasm to end.
He asked "Ever have pneumonia?" "Nope" said I. "I think you may. I am not going to order chest X-rays, and we are going to call this an acute case of asthmatic bronchitis. I am prescribing meds. IF this doesn't clear up by the end of the week, you will have to come in for those x-rays."
The meds he gave me were the same ones my oldest was given when she had pneumonia. Zithromax, Prednisone, Promethazine W/codeine, and an inhaler.
I didn't know there were any doctors still out there who actually paid attention to the monetary needs of the patient. I really respect him for his discretion.

NOW... it is Wednesday. Nearly 3 days on antibiotics, steroids, and etc. I am feeling much better! I still have quite the cough, but not like it was. I no longer wheeze. My lungs no longer sound like a bowl of rice crispy's when I breathe in. My ears and sinuses are clear and dry. Unfortunately, those torso muscles? Yep, still very sore and weakened. Know one of those muscle groups? The ones around the bladder. Those ones that all women who have seen an OB/GYN know how to strengthen by doing Keigles. Yeah... well, if this coughing doesn't end soon, I am going to have to get me a box of Depends. Nuff said.

I'm back!

2009-03-25T12:24:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone... yep, I came back! LOL
I haven't written in 15 days! WOW! Here is why:
I ordered some books online. Then I received them and everything just stopped for a while. Anyone who is an avid reader may understand! LOL
BUT, that is only part of it. One of the books I ordered, on a whim, was "Made From Scratch" by Jenna Woginrich. She is young, mid twenties, but chose to live a simpler life away from work (she is a web designer, I think). She wrote the book when she was living in Sandpoint, Idaho; which is only about a 5 hour drive away from my home. The book is a light-hearted look at some of her trials and successes at trying to get back to a homesteaders life. She learned how to raise chickens and angora rabbits, taught her dogs to be working dogs (as well as her house pets and companions), she learned how to plant a garden and harvest the fruits of her labors... then learned how to can or freeze all her veggies. She taught herself how to sew, knit, and play the fiddle.
I read the book cover to cover-- twice! She also keeps a blog, which I am now going to be following. Ms. Woginrich now lives in Vermont, and is writing another book which is just in the proposal stage (meaning she is looking for a publisher to accept her work). I will be one of the first in line to buy it when it is available.
Jenna has inspired me to take a closer look at my life and I have decided to "disconnect" myself from many things. I realized I have not been doing the things I love to do (like crafts, baking, reading, and being by myself in the Great Outdoors just taking a walk... stuff like that). I stopped most of my Internet stuff... I didn't check my e-mail for a week, and then only every 3 days after; I stopped all my freelance writing; I stopped playing computer games; I didn't check in on anyone's blogs; and I even stopped writing here. The only computerized- Internet thing I stayed current with was Facebook, but I cut down my time with that, too. Now, after all the junkie-jitters have worn off, the only thing I really missed was this blog. I work full time, so I don't really need to write for money... at least I know I can do it if I have to. And, it was fun, but took up quite a bit of my time. Freelance writing is going to be shelved for a while.

So, what did I fill my newly found time with? Crafts and reading! The other books I bought were cookbooks focusing on crockpot cooking or casseroles. I poured over them, mouth watering, ohhing and ahhing over new recipes. I can't wait to try a few of them. The only reason I haven't yet, is I just don't know which one to start with-- LOL!! SOooo, this past weekend I fell back to an old standard and made bread. Oh yeah... Jenna's book explained how to make fresh butter. Had I known it was Soo damn easy, I would have been doing it for all these years! For those of you who don't know, go to the store... buy heavy cream... leave it on the counter overnight... in the morning pour it into a jar (I didn't have a large enough jar, so I used a plastic storage container -- aka Gladwear or Tupperware)... sit at the computer and check your e-mail or Facebook page, while giving the cream a light shaking (nothing hard, just an easy shake)... in only a few minutes the cream will become the consistency of whipped cream, but with a few more shakes, the butter separates from the buttermilk into light yellow globs. Drain the buttermilk off the butter for later use... add some salt if you like. That is it! I did have to stir the butter a few times to get all the pockets of milk out of the butter, but that wasn't any trouble. All I can say is... YUMMY! This is from a die hard margarine fan!

I have also been crocheting an afghan. It is made with 64 large "granny squares" and now only needs to be sewn together. I will hopefully finish it this coming weekend! I also tried my hand at crocheting socks! I have been crocheting for over 25 years, but I have never made anything wearable. I have one sock finished, and I am so proud of myself--LOL! I was strutting around for about 15 minutes yesterday wearing my one finished sock, fawning over it like it was a handmade diamond ring or something! It is an awesome feeling making something wearable... I should have done this years ago.

I also received the book, "The Black Dahlia" from PaperbackSwap.com . Once the afghan is finished, I am diving into that.
And so... now that I am here, online,.... I am going to check all the blogs I follow to catch up with everyone!

3 facts of the day.

2009-03-10T12:55:00.002-06:00

It's cold. It's snowing. I'm tired of winter.

I'd go out and take a photo, but I have no inclination to subject myself to wind chills of 20 below zero!
I want to go back to my burrow and hibernate for a few more weeks.

On a more positive note, I have now lost 15 pounds since Jan 1!! I am trying really hard to not fall into comfort eating today.... (especially after CRC talked about cream cheese and bacon bagles AND lemon cheesecake!)

C'mon in and give me some much needed advice!

2009-03-04T15:22:00.004-07:00

Why is it when the weather starts to turn bad, my brain just kinda shuts down? It doesn't help that the past two days have been slow customer days, too. No... I don't mean that we are getting customers with diminished capacity ( hmmm, now that I mention it, those last few I had in may fall into that category.... )... We just aren't getting the walk in traffic that we normally do. **YAWN**

Since my brain seems to have gone on vacation without the rest of me, I am asking all my readers and lurkers for some advice. Many of you are aware I keep another blog that I get paid to write. I just haven't been writing on THAT one because I really like this one for my little ramblings of day to day life. I would like to make the other one follow more of a theme. I have thought about different lines to follow there, but what I really want to know is what would YOU like to read about?
Since my family/personal life is pretty much here, I have thought about these topics (but if YOU have an idea, PLEASE share it!)
--Making it a diet / weight loss blog.
--Writing about Montana weather, climate, and environmental (Montana related) stuff
--Writing about the cell phone repair industry, tips on use, new product reviews, and anecdotes.
-- Writing about The day to day happenings of what I see out the shop window. There is an apartment across the street that seems to cater to lower income folks. There is always something going on over there from little kids playing to domestic calls involving the police. People moving in and out... well, you get the idea! We also work on a very busy street where accidents are common, strange people wander through my field of vision, AND, for all you 'cachers out there, there is a geocache right across the street, too!

NOW it is up to YOU, my dear fellow Time Killers. Help me out. Tell me what I should dedicate my other blog to. All my posts over there all need to be 100 words or more for me to get paid for them, so I do need a subject that I can write at least two paragraphs a day about.

Thanks in advance for your advice!-- Michele

Being Her Mommy, even if she is 21!

2009-03-02T16:04:00.002-07:00

I just talked to my oldest. She lives 200 miles away, is married, and has a son and step-daughter. BUT, her life is in a tempest right now. Sometimes I really hate being so far away when I know she could use a hug, and possibly a babysitter for a few hours of alone time, just her and God.

Her husband is a construction worker, which pays pretty good, but he also has a temper which gets him either fired or worked up enough to walk away from a job. This has caused many stressful, teary phone calls from Heather just to decompress before she went ballistic on her spouse. This past fall, the SIL had been laid off from the job he was at when the weather turned bad. He was (is?) collecting unemployment, which seemed to give him the idea that he didn't need to go and seriously look for another job. While this was saving on daycare costs, he didn't help matters much by constantly imbibing in the recreational use of marijuana. (That is the nice way to say he was smoking more than the occasional joint! *sigh*) They are adults and there isn't much I could do except express my displeasure at his choices.
Fast forward to the middle of January--SIL decides he is going to help a friend cut and sell firewood. He is supposed to get a part of the profits, this is supposed to bring in extra cash for the family, blah, blah, blah... What actually happened is the SIL would be gone 12-16 hours, usually only on the weekends, maybe bring in $100 dollars IF there wasn't trailer trouble, mechanical trouble, or whatever else under the sky that could happen. Since the SIL was helping, the boss figured the SIL should pitch in for the repairs. (The boss, by the way, would clear $2000 a weekend!)
Feb. 14th. Valentines Day. The SIL was supposed to only be gone a few hours... ended up being 15! Daughter was a little pissed, but since the husband was supposedly making money, she dealt with it. He came home with very little pay. Of course, there was a fight that had been in the making for many weeks.
Today, March 2nd. Heather finally hit a wall. SIL wasn't looking for better work, nor was he insisting on more cash for his labor from the firewood job. SIL refused to take the time to sit and discuss the problems that were quickly becoming a huge rift in the relationship. This morning, (as in all at-wits-end marital spats) things were said that really shouldn't have been. SIL packed a bag and went to his dad's house. Heather said she is at a point where she is all used up and just doesn't care. She is just numb, and she is at the point where she doesn't care if he is gone, or where he went. She is tired of being the only "bread-winner" in the home, the (seemingly) only responsible adult, and really tired of being home alone waiting for her husband to come home "whenever".
My Mother's heart is breaking. I was crying silent tears for her when we were on the phone together. She would laugh if she knew just how often I am on my end of the line with tears just streaming down my face. I'm a real softie when it comes to my girls. Heather is a very strong young woman and I have no doubt she will pull through this.
I know from personal experience that however I feel about the SIL, the final decision to separate, divorce, or work things out lies with her. I will stand by her whatever happens.

I don't know who needs the hug more... her or I!! Her because this is a very hard thing to deal with, or me because I have lived through it and know how hard these decisions and the ones yet to come can be and my soul is aching just with the knowledge.

I just registered with e-How

2009-03-02T14:38:00.004-07:00

I was catching up with my blog reading, and one that I follow- A Heart For A Home- had a link to a site where you can write how-to articles and get paid for them (see my link on the sideboard---> ). I signed up, but haven't posted an article yet. I have to get all my thoughts (ducks?) in a row and decide what I am going to write about. I know I have TONS of knowledge to share! I lived through a bad abusive marriage, I learned about womens shelters and restraining orders; been through a divorce; I had to work full time while raising two daughters; I have worked in many (7 or8) different fields through the years; I nursed grandparents before they had to be placed in more complete care homes; I have raised cats, dogs, hamsters, and fish; I know how to cook, bake, shop, and budget; and through the years I have learned how to play and be happy (even as an adult!) ... I'm sure I have something of value to share!

Takin' a Break

2009-02-28T14:28:00.002-07:00

I don't usually post on Saturdays, but I have been busy all morning and decided to take a break and catch up on everyone else's blogs! Then I just HAD to go on over to Facebook, just to see what was going on over there! OK, yeah, I think I am addicted. Jen and Peggy-- I blame you! (But no hard feelings, OK!)
After many evenings at home eating only meals that comprised of chicken, I said to myself "Self, you need to put more meals into your freezer-- and NO CHICKEN!"
So I defrosted 12 pounds of burger this morning and got to work.
Since Krystle and I both like to make tacos, burritos, and nachos I cooked up 14 cups of taco meat. I packaged each cup separately in Zip Lock freezer bags so whenever the craving hits, one serving is already made up! OK, I confess, I only froze 13, and I make a big plate of nachos for lunch...
While the taco meat was cooling enough to package, I prepared something new from another blogger. It is called Crock Pot hamburger steaks. They are simmering away right now, and smell awesome! Joe and I will have these for supper tonight, and I will freeze whatever is left over.
Once I am done here, I am going to get off my lazy butt and make meatballs out of four pounds of burger (excellent for spaghetti, sandwiches, or in a stroganoff type sauce). I don't make them huge, only about walnut sized, so four or five is perfect for a meal. They are pre-cooked before freezing, so meal prep only includes re-heating in whatever sauce I choose.
AND, while those are cooking, I will throw together some green chili enchiladas. I freeze these two at a time in small Pyrex baking dishes. My recipe gives me enough to make five servings.

While I am doing all of that, I am also trying to catch up on my laundry. I'll have a few loads to fold before I go to bed tonight!
Tomorrow I may make a pot of spaghetti sauce, which I will freeze in one cup portions. If I am feeling up to it, I may even prepare stuffed shells or mini lasagnas with some of the sauce. If I don't do it tomorrow, it will be on the agenda for next Saturday.

OK, Breaks Over...dryer just finished! Switch laundry, then back to the kitchen!

East Glacier, Cut Bank, and Shelby, MT

2009-02-26T11:57:00.008-07:00

Since we never made it to Kalispell (which is on the other side of those mountains!), Joe and I decided to make the most of being along the High Line of Montana and do some sight seeing. As you can see, Sunday was a beautiful day. This photo is of an old house that collapsed, leaving just the front entry area standing. You can see by the drift that hasn't melted by the door just how much snow this area can get! This was taken about 10 miles east of East Glacier. The mountains in the background are part of Glacier National Park.

As we were driving along Highway 2, we saw a sign pointing to a Historic Point. Joe and I always stop at these! Just off the highway, there was this monument to Captain Meriweather Lewis of the famed Lewis and Clark expedition. The full monument is actually an obelisk about 15 feet tall, but it most of it is covered in graffiti and shot gun blasts. The entire area around the monument was littered with empty and broken beer and liquor bottles. So Sad! This is still on the Blackfoot Reservation, and it seems everything they are given they destroy. I'm not being discriminatory against the tribe, or any American Indians, but of all the reservations I have been on, the Blackfeet seem to have the most garbage, broken down vehicles, and dirty, dilapidated towns. They profess "Native Pride" but I have yet to see any evidence of it. They live in such a beautiful place, too! I am nearly driven to tears any time I drive through Browning, MT. It hurts my own Montana Pride when I see how badly they are treating their land and resources.

Looking up from the Monument, this next photo is the view! Breathtaking!

This is what is known as the Northern Rocky Mountain Front, or the Front Range of the Rockies. The mountains just jump right out of the plains! No foothills, just rolling fields then steep mountain sides. I could go into a geology lesson about the Overthrust Belt, and how these mountains were formed, but if you really want to know all of that, you can do a search on the 'Net. Geologists say there is a large amount of oil deposits along the Rocky Mountain Front, but the environmentalists and conservationists have kept that from being accessed. I have mixed feelings about the whole idea, and I don't feel like being political today, so that is all I am going to say on the subject, for now.

What is the "high-line", anyways? It is the local term for the area across the top of Montana, usually in reference to either the railroad or Highway 2 which crosses the state from east to west, only a few dozen miles from the Canadian border. Anyone who has been along the high line knows the power of the wind, which blows constantly! Finally, Montana has the opportunity to harvest this clean energy source. We are one of the leaders in wind generated power in the U.S. Wind farms like this one are being built across the eastern two-thirds of the state. I think it is an awesome thing, but there seems to be quite a number of people against these wind farms. I don't even try to understand those people! They want electricity, but don't want us to drill for the oil that is known to exist along the Rocky Mountain Front, they don't want Coal generated plants, and NOW they are against wind farms! I just shake my head in frustration. This particular wind farm is located between the towns of Cut Bank and Shelby.

I had to laugh at this guy, and knew I had to share this one with everyone! Cut Bank is in the Guiness Book of World Records for being the coldest place in the Continental US. AND... yes, it was pretty cold on Sunday. I think the temperature was actually in the high 30's, but the wind made it very uncomfortable. I would have to say the wind chill was close to 10 or 15 degrees. Joe and I were geocaching in the area, and my pen became so cold it didn't want to write. (The same thing was happening to my fingers, too! LOL)

Welcome to Shelby, Montana, and the United States of America! This is a HUGE flag. The smaller flag poles are standard, school or city sized ones. Shelby is the first town of any substantial size after crossing into Montana from Canada. By the way, those small mountains in the background? They are right on the US side of the border.

This little farm house is in a field between Shelby and Great Falls. As you can see, the wind has nearly knocked it over. We have many homestead cabins and barns that lean at strange, gravity defying angles! I wanted to get a photo of this one before it finally succumbed to the elements.

Another point of interest: As you can see, Montana is not all mountains! Only the western third has the mountains, while the rest of the state looks much like this photo. One of our biggest crops is wheat, and where the wheat isn't growing we have cows.

SO-- that is what we did this past weekend. After being on the road, exploring places we haven't been to before, I am now suffering from cabin fever! I want it to warm up so we can explore more of the state.

The East Glacier Experience (Part 2)

2009-02-25T16:51:00.004-07:00

OK, where was I? Broken down truck in a tiny podunk town. My daughter Heather was finally able to get our alternator into her pretty little hands, but she was 90 miles of mountain driving away, and it was getting dark.

A quick look around (trust me, the town is only 4 blocks long and maybe 4 blocks wide!) and we could see a motel was open throughout the winter months, and it had a vacancy sign in the window. I called Heather and we made plans for her to drive up in the morning. Joe and I walked the two blocks to the motel and checked in for the evening. We were informed we were (so far) the only patrons and the really nice owner lady gave the nicest room she had. For a mom and pop kind of place, it was actually very nice! Brocade wallpaper, oak vanity and desk, good bedding (not the cheap, scratchy type) over a memory foam topped mattress. Oh Yeah... Very Clean! And, all this for only $64.00! The owner told me she gave us a discount, but I don't know how much it was. I did ask about "On Season, summer rates" and our room would have been $154.00 a night!

East Glacier is a booming town during the summer, mostly feeding off of the Glacier National Park tourists. In the winter, the park is mostly closed, and the tourists and seasonal workers have all gone home. We found out there was one cafe open for dinner, one gas station / convenience store, one tiny market, and one bar!

It was a nice evening, so after we retrieved our bags from the truck and used the clean, private facilities of the room, we headed out for a night on the town! *hahaha*

We walked to the far end of the town, to the convenience store, where we purchased some pain relievers and a couple of sodas. Next stop was the cafe, another place we were the only patrons as it was about 7pm and the place closed at 8. The waitress was nice, but not overly friendly. Joe and I shared a Philly steak and cheese sandwich, fries, and we each had a cup of beef veggie soup. It was good food, but nothing special. On the way back to the motel, we decided to pop into the bar for a drink and some atmosphere, as we didn't have anything else to do.

The bar was occupied by about 8 or 9 locals, and the barmaid. Nothing special about the bar... it looked like a small town bar, smelled like a small town bar, and had the liquor selection of a very small town bar! Joe and I ordered our simple drinks and took a table in a corner. The first thing we really noticed was we were the only non-Indian people in the bar. We were also the only ones that didn't look like we drank every meal for the past 5 years. We finished our drinks while watching two others play a game of pool, then we left. With nowhere else to go, we retired to the motel.

We had brought along a bottle of wine, so we had a couple glasses of that while relaxing. Joe was suffering through a broken tooth, so he was in a bit of pain, but otherwise the evening was very quiet. We didn't even turn on the TV, and we retired pretty early.

The next morning dawned bright and sunny. Heather called about 8am to let us know she was on her way with the alternator, tools, and jumper cables. God Bless Her! LOL We packed up, signed out of the motel and toured the area in the day light. Here are a few photos:

Glacier Park Lodge, East Glacier, MT

A care takers cabin, Glacier Park Lodge, East Glacier, MT

I think this was an old Station Agent's office, as it is very close to the East Glacier Depot. All the windows are gone, but the sink and toilet are still there. The main room was barely big enough for a desk and chair.

Heather arrived about 11am, we got the part installed, then instead of heading over the pass to Kalispell, just to turn around, we decided to head back to Great Falls, taking a tour of a couple of towns we had not been to yet. I have a few photos to share of Shelby, MT tomorrow!

I only have 10 minutes!

2009-02-24T17:48:00.002-07:00

Work today has been pretty busy, but it has been awhile since my last post, I just HAD to write something!
I will try to summarize last weekend... It was interesting to say the least!
The plan WAS to work on Saturday with Joe, and leave from Great Falls to go and visit my daughter and her family 200 miles north in Kalispell.
We were on our way right at 3pm, no last minute shoppers keeping us from locking up! Yea! We were both in excellent spirits, the sun was shining, the Rocky Mountain Front (where the Rockies jut right out of the plains) was visible about 30 miles to the west, blue and purple, with snow capped peaks. Beautiful!
The CD player was playing, the miles rolling under the tires...not a care in the world...until almost 5pm when suddenly the CD player stopped working...then the lights on the panel shut off, then the Battery Light came on. DAMN!
We were just passing through a tiny little (seasonal) town called East Glacier. Joe pulled over, thinking he had maybe broke a belt. Nope! All indications were pointing to the alternator up and dying. Just like that. Now this tiny little town does not have a parts store, heck it barely had a grocery store!
Kalispell is still 90 miles down the highway, on the other side of a mountain pass, and it is beginning to get dark. I call my daughter, we get the number to the parts store, call them. Yes, they have the part...no they won't let us pay for it by credit card over the phone. Finally the manager told us that we could have my daughter order the part On-line, using one of our cards, then she could go pick it up. What a pain!! By the time this was all finished, it was after 6pm.

OK... my 10 minutes is over.... Story to resume on next post! Ohhh the suspense!

A trip through the Way Back Machine!

2009-02-17T14:45:00.006-07:00

Black Bart

On Valentine's Day Joe and I paid a visit to my parents home. Joe and Dad were talking guns, and I was reminded of a bit of family history that may or may not be true. I asked Dad to re-tell this tale and here it is so I don't forget it again:

My father is in possession of a sawed off, side hammer, double barrel shot gun (modified so it can not shoot, so it is legal to own). It was given to him from his father (my Grandpa John who lived 1911-1995). Grandpa John was given this gun by his Brother-in-Law, who was named George Hackett . This is the history of the gun that was given to Grandpa John at that time...

Now this is where the story gets interesting, as well as a bit fuzzy on the facts! It is a known fact that Black Bart, who was a notorious Wells Fargo Stage robber in California, was only wounded twice during his illegal deeds. The first time was on July 13, 1882. The stage driver was named George Hackett (distant relative? Coincidence in names?). A web page dedicated to Black Bart can tell the story better than I:

'Most stagecoach drivers were submissive to Bart, seldom defying him with a cross word and obediently tossing down the strongbox when ordered to do so. This was not so with hard case George W. Hackett who, on July 13, 1882, was driving a Wells Fargo stage some nine miles outside of Strawberry, California. Bart suddenly darted from a boulder and stood in front of the stage, stopping it and leveling a shotgun at Hackett. He politely said: "Please throw down your strongbox." Hackett was not pleased to do so; he reached for a rifle and fired a shot at the bandit. Bart dashed into the woods and vanished, but he received a scalp wound that would leave a permanent scar on the top right side of his forehead.'

*Note: Wells Fargo drivers did not usually carry rifles, but instead carried sawed off shot guns for protection

The sawed off shot gun that has passed from hand to hand; family member to family member; is rumored to be THE gun that almost finished off Black Bart!

My Dad is thinking about tracing back that side of the family once he retires, just to see if the relations add up. My Grandfather's Brother-in-Law did grow up in the right area of California, and his family had been in the area for a few generations, from what I understand. The Brother-in-law George Hackett could have been the grandson, or great-grandson of the Stage Coach Mr. Hackett.

SO, is this a true story or just a fantasy tale attached to this gun? Many things do add up (time, place, family names) but there is ONE very major flaw. THE gun that shot and wounded Black Bart was put on display by Wells Fargo during the 1911 Worlds Fair. I guess the question here is: Does Wells Fargo still have possession of the famous gun, or did they borrow it from Mr. Hackett for the display, returning it after the Worlds Fair?

Hmmmmm??

Just another Monday.

2009-02-16T13:39:00.002-07:00

So, today is President's Day. What does that mean to me? Pretty much Nada, nothing, zilch. I had to come into work and deal with all the people who DO have the day off! For the most part, everyone is being decent, but there are the Uppity few who think we have to drop everything to work on their phones because "I need it!" or "I just can't be without it for two hours!" or "I am only in town for today, and this is my last stop before heading back home." (Now why, oh why, did they not make us the FIRST stop?)
Sorry, Folks, but we do all work on a first in, first worked on basis. We don't care if you think you are "Going to die" without your cell phone, you really will make it through! Trust us on this!

OK, now that that is off my chest...
After dealing with a bugger of a cold, I think I really, truely... ok, hopefully am getting better. This virus seems to take hold and not want to leave. I have been talking to many customers who have had it, too. We all agree, it really sucks! The kicker? It seems my fellow co-worker and friend Joe is getting it. All I can say to him is "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to share!"

Valentine's Day came and went, with only a little mention. I sat at home alone most of the day, Facebooking, reading blogs, going through some crochet pattern books, laundry, and dishes. Just me and Brooke, my "puppy" (she is 70lbs and 10 years old!). Joe came by after he was finished with work and bless his heart, he brought me a card and box of chocolates! Then we called up a couple of our friends and we all went out to the local Chinese Buffet for dinner. On the way home, I bought a boquet of flowers for my mom and stopped by her house. Joe and I visited my parents for about an hour. Then home. I did hear an interesting story though... see my next post for that one!

Sunday Joe and I decided to take the hour drive to see our friends in Deer Lodge. We had only planned to be there for a few hours, but we were invited to join them for dinner at a local restaurant, so we didn't leave for Helena until about 7:30pm, arriving home close to 8:30. Highlights of the day?
*We went to the hills and "played" with the boy's guns. I got to shoot a 17mm Magnum (revolver) and a 40 s&w automatic. Don't ask me anything about them... they are guns, they shoot bullets, they make loud noises...LOL!
*We almost got stuck in a snowbank.
*We had steak and crab legs for supper, washed down with a glass of white zin (served by clueless bar maid. I asked her about a house white, she offered the "white zin" as the only "white" wine they have, which is NOT a white wine! I look at the menu afterwards, and they offer a Chardonney by the glass, which IS a white! LOL) Dinner was decent, the crab very good, but the steak was only OK. The company we were in was excellent!
*AND--I put two dollars into a Keno gambling machine, and won 6! Ok, so I could have tried to "Hit it Big", but I am never THAT lucky, and decided to cash out.

All in all, a good visit, putting an end to a good weekend!

Blah, just Blah!

2009-02-11T12:36:00.002-07:00

Blah... that is how I feel. I haven't done much, nor has anything exciting happened around me. Or, if it has, I just haven't been up to noticing.
I have been suffering through a cold for a week now. It hasn't been bad enough to keep me home from work, but it is making me miserable. I'm just worried that it is going to settle into a sinus infection and make me miserable for another week.
The worst part of this cold is every time I lay down I can't breathe out of my nose, and I start coughing so badly I can't catch my breath... or until I gag. I have spent a few nights propped up into a seated position just so I can get a little sleep. Many nights I have not been able to sleep until sheer exhaustion took over, then I fell into a very restless sleep.

I don't know if it is the strange weather we are having, or if there is just a bad bug going around, but I have noticed many people are going through the same thing.

I think I may (finally) be on the upswing, and kicking it. Monday I felt awesome... at least until late afternoon when I began to drag a bit, then the congestion came back, followed by a bad night of coughing. Tuesday was so/so, but I was able to sleep pretty good last night. Today it feels as if the congestion may be breaking up, and the cough seems to be gone.

On the bright side... I haven't been eating much, so I haven't been having any trouble sticking to my diet! I guess if you look hard enough, there is always a silver lining.....

Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and Nine Inch Nails "Pretty Hate Machine"

2009-02-06T17:38:00.004-07:00

Confused by the title of this post? Well, those are two of the cd's I listened to this week during my drives to work and home. The third pick was Billy Joel's Greatest Hits, but I actually never even put that one into the player. Why, you ask?

Well, to me, music is a HUGE part of my life, and many events can be brought back from the farthest reaches of my brain with just a song or two. This is what happened this week. I was in grade school when "The Wall" was released, but I never really listened to it until I was out of high school, married, and having some problems with depression. This cd, which is the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, spoke to me on many levels. For those of you who don't know, the basic story is a Rock Star who succumbs to depression and builds "a wall" around his emotions so he will not be hurt anymore by the people who he thought loved him... and then the breaking down of that wall, leading to a mental breakdown and schizophrenic episodes.
OK, so I was nowhere near that point, but the haunting lyrics and music spoke to me back then. Now, many years later, I still enjoy the cd, but when I played it this week, I was transported back to the late 80's and early 90's. I drove home in a bit of a daze, the music filled my brain with many memories, both good and bad. BUT, that is the good part...they are now just memories of events that made me who I am today.

The cd "Pretty Hate Machine" by Nine Inch Nails is a set of songs in which Trent Reznor (the main band member) is dealing with a failing relationship and the manic feelings that go along with it. Anger, Lust, Self doubt, lashing out.... all of it. We have all been there. This CD was my therapy during my divorce! Many memories here, too, as one can imagine.

These are, and have been for many years, a couple of my treasured cd's in my collection. I am not usually one to reminisce like this, dredging up painful memories and such. Music is usually uplifting to me, which is why I listened to so much of it during the low points in my life. But sometimes the melodies actually haunt me.

Remember When...?

2009-02-04T16:08:00.003-07:00

OK, I may be showing my age a bit here, but I was thinking of how much some things have changed over the years.
I remember running errands with my mother when I was very young. She would park in the lot, go into the store, dry cleaners, wherever... and leave me in the car by myself, or with my older brother. He is only two years older, so we were maybe 4 & 6. Sometimes we would be left alone for up to half an hour, but never when it was too cold or too hot outside. OR, what about all the times we acted up in a restaurant? We were told to go and sit by ourselves in the car until the rest of the family was finished eating. I don't think these episodes hurt me or my brother. In fact I think they gave us a chance to use our imagination to pass the time away. My brother used to "hide" behind the car door, then peek over the edge of the window and "shoot" the aliens (monsters, bad guys) with his fingers pointed like a gun. Sometimes I was his partner, others I was "saved" by him. LOL We played all kinds of games while we were waiting in the car.
If anyone left a kid in the car for even 5 minutes these days, the Department of Family Services would be called! Is life really that much different today from the early to mid 70's?

Also, does anyone think the proliferation of handheld games is actually hurting the imaginations of our children and grandchildren? When they "go out to play", it seems they just move from the indoors X-box to the handheld PS2 and continue living in their virtual worlds. I rarely see kids just out PLAYING. You know... running, jumping, climbing trees.

Many things for this Monday

2009-02-02T11:38:00.007-07:00

I have many thoughts today, so I will try to keep each one short in order to keep this from being a novella.

On my way into work this morning, driving between Helena and Great Falls, I was passed by a young lady. She wasn't speeding or anything, just going a little faster than I was. About a half mile from where she passed me, she blew out a tire. I pulled up behind her to see if she was alright, had a spare tire, whatever... since we were in an area where there is little to no cell phone coverage. As she walked back to me, I could see she was a bit shaken, and only in her young twenties. When I asked if she had a spare and a jack, she really didn't know! So I had her pop the trunk.. I saw she did have a spare AND the jack! (So many young people take them out and forget to put them back in). I handed her the lug wrench, and she just looked at it with a quizzical expression. I knew right then she had no clue how to change a tire. I personally think that should be part of the drivers exam. The Written, The Driving, The Changing of a tire. SO, I showed her how to loosen the lug nuts, position the jack and showed her how to crank it up (lovely scissor jack), I finished removing the tire (I was late for work, and I could tell she wasn't a girl who likes to ruin a good manicure) while I had her grab, position, and re-tighten the tire into place. All said, it took only about 15 or 20 minutes. The young lady thanked me over and over again, while telling me that she had no idea that changing a tire was SO EASY!

I smiled the rest of the way to work.....

Superbowl Sunday was yesterday. That is pretty much the only football game I like to watch. I was hoping the Arizona Cardinals would win, since I usually side with the underdog team. SO Close, but no cigar. Joe was happy that the Steelers took the title once again since he grew up in that part of the country.

I got a bit off track on the dieting thing, and gained one pound since mid-January (for a one month loss of only four pounds). I knew these past few weeks I wasn't sticking to eating right, with a pizza party one weekend, Superbowl treats, and eating out a few times... and yes, that lovely piece of cheesecake from the other night! It is time to get my (big) butt back in gear for February.

I did 15 loads of laundry this weekend! Washed, dried, folded, and put them all away! I think I need to stay home more often so this doesn't happen again. And to those people who really know me... yes, I even matched up the socks! LOL

I am putting five paperbacks onto http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php. If you like to read, check it out. Very cool idea.

Joe and I went out yesterday afternoon (before the big game) to the National Forest to go target shooting with Joe's new Taurus .40 s&w. My dad is an excellent marksman and has trophies to prove it. I am not! Out of 30 shots, I hit the board the target was attached to only twice. I totally missed the target!

Still no new snow. Everything is brown and dirty. We have had some pretty awesome winds though! We are talking 40-60mph, with gusts to 70mph. If this happened anywhere in the Eastern half of the US, entire cities would be shut down... emergency procedures in place...BUT, here in Montana, we just deal with it. It is just hard to drive in!!

AND-- I picked up my crochet hooks for the first time in many, many years. Here are the results: This one is a white yarn heart that really didn't turn out as nice as I had hoped, so the photo is from a bit of a distance.

This one is worked in #10 thread, and is a small doily. The hooks I used are shown, too. The white one was my grandmothers and is made of ivory. OK, I know... don't get all environmental on me! I didn't buy it, and when Grandma did (way back when) the tragedy of ivory harvesting was unknown to the public. That hook has made many, many items; and I couldn't bear to throw it away. We went to visit my parents Saturday night and I took these hearts to show mom. She thought they were nice and kept them!

So... that was my weekend! Hope yours was fun and productive as well.

Is Cheesecake with caramel sauce diet food?

2009-01-30T15:49:00.003-07:00

Yeah, I know it isn't! But I had a weak moment. Who knew Pizza Hut now sold Cheesecake??!! By the time dessert rolled around, I was already so far off my diet, I knew THIS wouldn't do any more harm. Joe and I went for some hot wings, then ordered a personal sized pasta meal. I only ate half, saving the other half for lunch, but then the waitress tempted me,and I am a weak... very weak... soul when cheesecake is offered. I would sell secrets for this stuff! LOL

So, that meal last night most likely just tipped the scale the wrong way, but that is ok. It's not like I am going to eat like that everyday. The weekend is almost upon us and I can do an extra aerobic tape (DVD, old terms die hard) tonight and again tomorrow. Like I said in an earlier post, I am not weighing in except on the 15th and last day of the month, so come Monday I'll post a status report.

I have been having fun exploring Facebook. I have been playing a game there called Mob Wars, which at one time I had played online way before Facebook was around. Nothing like mugging someone, or breaking and entering to feel nostalgic! LOL It's all just fun and games, RELAX!

We don't have much planned for this weekend, but I have a mountain of laundry to do, change my bed linens, vacuum, and all those other weekend chores we working ladies have to do. (UGH!) There is a reason I have a magnet on my house door that reads " I don't Do Housework... I just turn off the lights!"

The U.S. Banking crisis

2009-01-29T12:50:00.003-07:00

I tried to do something new to me, but couldn't figure out how! I have never tried to attach a YouTube video before, and failed! Tips on how to do this would be greatly appreciated.
BUT, since this is one video that is really worth watching, here is the link and a quote from the page I found it on-
"This video drives home a point: we have entered a new era. We have just barely entered it. Our world will not be the same for much longer.
This is what a home-brew video can do. After seeing it, you may have doubts about the financial media. They never explained things this way."

I was directed to this from another blogger: k. Baxter's Survival Kitchen

Facebook

2009-01-28T18:00:00.002-07:00

OK, I did it. I was talked into joining Facebook, so I am now a part of all that hype. If anyone here is part of Facebook and wants me as a "friend", let me know. I don't want to put my full name on here, so I will give it to you in an e-mail.

Musical Monday (even though it is Tuesday)!!

2009-01-27T17:23:00.003-07:00

Two weeks ago, I wrote a post about listening to all my CD's. I realized I never posted last weeks picks, so here I am to remedy that, and include this weeks music.
Last week the home CD Changer gave me:
Godsmack "Awake"
Earshot "Two"
and The Firm "The Firm".
Godsmack is one of my favorite artists, so I knew I was keeping this one. It was fun to listen to it top to bottom again. I usually just have my home cd player on shuffle so I don't listen to full cd's except in the vehicle. Earshot must have been an impulse buy, because I felt like I was hearing most of it for the first time. It is an OK cd, but I don't know if I am going to keep it. I'll have to listen to it a few more times before I make a decision on that one. The Firm "The Firm" has been a favorite of mine for many, many years. I wore out two cassettes before switching to cd, and I know I have had at least two cd's over the years!

This week, the home changer spit out these CD's for my listening pleasure:
Enya "Watermark"
Def Leppard "Vault"
and Cold "13 Ways to Bleed On Stage".

Time to catch up

2009-01-27T13:08:00.004-07:00

To everyone who asked (here and in personal e-mail)-- Yes, I am OK. Wait...! I am as ok as I get-- we are not counting mental health here! LOL
Saturday afternoon Joe and I decided to head over to Missoula for a Geocaching event there. It was a pizza party and many of our geocaching friends were going to be in attendance. Missoula is about a two and a half hour drive from Great Falls. Joe was driving, so I could just sit and relax and watch the scenery go by. We had plans to stay in a local motel overnight before heading to Helena on Sunday.
The event (party) was tons of fun! Joe and I met some new cachers (people who geocache), caught up with many others, we both won a gift, ate some awesome pizza, and had a very good time. If anyone takes a trip to Missoula, Mt I would suggest the buffet at Freemo's Pizza. Excellent food for a great price.
Near the end of the evening, as people were heading out into the cold and snow, we were asked by a family we are friends with where we were planning on staying the evening. We told them the name of a local hotel, but that we hadn't checked in yet. They offered up their home and their good company for the evening. We accepted, and finished off Saturday evening visiting with Peggy, Ron, and Peggy's mom, Mary. They opened a very nice bottle of Port wine, then when that was gone, Mary produced Blue Martinis for everyone. We were all tucked into bed by midnight. SO, a Saturday that started out very badly, ended very nicely.
After leaving our friends home, Joe and I headed to Helena, which is about two hours from Missoula. Since the route takes us close to Deer Lodge, MT (only 15 miles out of our way); we dropped in to see Jeff and Barb. They are friends who moved recently from Helena. Jeff had been called in to work, and his wife Barb had decided to take a trip to Missoula to go shopping. We ate a good lunch (prepared by Jeff since he is a cook at a local restaurant), visited with him for a minute or two, then, while we were there, dropped in to see "Mom", Jeff's mother.
After about an hour in Deer Lodge, we were back on the road to Helena.

Once in Helena, I had to take my couch frame over to my dad's wood shop for repairs. This is part of a whole 'nuther post (tomorrow, maybe?) that started with this post on "Diary of a Stay at Home Mom's" blog about cleaning out the couch! Stay tuned for THAT story!

A late Sunday afternoon nap, then a visit to another friends home for about an hour, followed by a salad for dinner (had to redeem myself after pigging out on pizza the evening before). I picked up my now FIXED couch at about 8pm, loved the puppy for awhile, then off to bed.

All in all, a very good weekend, once I got the body moving! I saw many friends that I had not seen for months, travelled a total of 458 miles (and didn't have to drive at all!), and got my couch repaired when I was thinking it was "done for"!

If I was a horse, I'd have been shot!

2009-01-24T14:35:00.003-07:00

Today can be summed up in very few words. I don't feel well.

I woke up at about 5am sneezing and stuffy. Allergies. I hate 'em. I drugged myself then fell back asleep about an hour (and half box of kleenex) later when the pills finally took hold. If dealing with my allergies wasn't enough, my entire body hurts. OK, not the entire thing, but enough of it to make it seem that way. (For those new here, I suffer from Rheumetoid Arthritis)
I went to bed last night with slight pain in my neck (from a displaced cervical disk) and my legs were uncomfortable. Tylenol helped, but I slept fitfully until after 1:30am. Then the 5am sneezing thing. Then I tried to crawl out of bed at 9:30, but my body revolted against me and demanded I just roll over and sleep some more... so I did. 10:30 nature called, and I felt like I needed a walker just to get there. My feet and ankles hurt SO bad, the knees didn't want to bend, my lower back was nearly seized up (regular arthritis there from a 1985 broken pelvis), and my hands were so affected I could hardly move them. On top of all of that unpleantness, that monthly womanly curse is upon me as well. I stumbled into the bathroom, took more Tylenol, fell back into bed and slept until the cell phone rang at 12:15!! Yep!! I chatted for a few minutes, thought I was getting up and showering, but I actually just rolled back over and slept for another hour. DAMN!! I know my body does this. When I am in major pain it just shuts down and I sleep. I finally got up and moved around a bit to loosen up the seized up joints. Well, hopefully the rest of the weekend is better!

The Laptop and I had a fight....!

2009-01-23T16:26:00.005-07:00

Old business first-- here are the links to the original posts that should have been attached to the interviews:
Chief Rock Chef's page
TZ's Zimmerhouse

Thanks for your questions! That was fun. If anyone wants to be interviewed by Me, just post a comment.

OK, now on to our regularly scheduled post!
For the main part of the week I have been struggling with my wireless connection here on my laptop. I had purchased an upgrade to the Belkin USB wireless card I use, installed the new software, and attempted to get online. The computer would "see" the wireless network, but refused to connect to it. All day on Tuesday and a good part of Wednesday I tried to troubleshoot the problem between the customers and repair work (yeah, real work had to come first). I even called my ex-husband (a computer guru) for advice. Now, I can get around a computer a bit, but I by no means what-so-ever really know much about these little machines. I am always afraid to ask for advice because while I may understand the first sentence or two, after that my eyes kinda glaze over and all my ears hear is "Blah Blah Blab blah Blah". From what I understood, my computer was trying to use both the old and the updated drivers (even though I had uninstalled the previous version) at the same time, cancelling each other out (or something like that). There is a file that stores any drivers a computer used during it's life that could be cleared, but that is a last resort. OK, I was at the blah-blah stage by now!! (Think-- adults "speaking" in the old Charlie Brown movies).
Exasperated I asked WHAT CAN I DO??!! Of course, the answer was easy. Just re-install the old software and use the old card! DUH!!!!! So, I am seemingly out $35, but live and learn, I guess.
I had taken my laptop home last weekend, and only brought it and the new card, installation disk, etc with me to work. I had to wait until I drove to Helena, found the old software disk, then bring the old stuff back to work. Yesterday (Thursday) I was able to re-install the old card. Guess what? Yep, all the old stuff is working like a champ! YEA!!!!!

Have I ever mentioned I have a love/hate relationship with computers? I love 'em when they are working just like they should.... but as soon as they start acting up I really hate dealing with them. It is one of the very few things that really stress me out.

TZ Sent an interview, too! Woo Hoo!

2009-01-21T14:53:00.002-07:00

The only rules are that you have to link back to the original post and you have to put these rules in your post:
"Want to be part of it? Follow these instructions:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions."

** Does anyone (CRC, Maybe?) have the link to the "Original Post"? I didn't get it attached via hyperlink when I received my questions in my e-mail. I'd like to add it if I can. **

Here are the questions that TZ sent to me. Very Good! You made me think all afternoon on some of these ones! Sometimes we don't even really know the answers ourselves--LOL.

1.I, myself, struggle with eating right, what do you find the hardest, the easiest and what do you have in place to help you succeed?
I find that being single, with no kids at home (for the most part) makes dinner times the hardest. It is too easy to just go to a drive thru instead of preparing a "meal for one". I counteract this by trying to have home made dinners in the freezer in single serving sizes. Just thaw then bake (or even pop 'em in frozen- just add longer cook time).
The easiest? Hmm... drinking water instead of sodas. Sure, I have my slips and drink a soda on occasion, but not like I used to. I don't really have anything in place to help my success, but Joe helps keep me going in the right direction--usually! Other than that, I guess just how I look in the mirror is my motivation, as well as health concerns.

2. Having kids who are older, what is the best advice you can give those of us who haven't hit the teen years yet, about parenting a teen?
My best advice would be to remember what it was like when you were a teen. Remember how much fun it was, what ticked YOU off back then, and try to spin that around into adult thinking. Really listening to what your kids say, asking about their friends without being pushy or judgemental, and letting them become their own person by giving them a little room to spread their wings are good, too. Relate your own stories of your teen years, the more embarrassing the better. If they realize you really DO understand what "they are going through" they will stay pretty open with you. Good communication is always the key to good relationships... even teen- parent ones. Expect angst and sullenness, as that is just what teens do. Don't over react, but if you do, don't be afraid to apologize.

3 You had a post about wanting to experience a nudist colony before you die (fun peek into who you are by the way), name a couple of other things you would like to accomplish before you die and why.
**Clarification on "nudist colony"-- they prefer to be called "Naturalists" and colonies, camps, and many beaches have been re-named "private venues" or "resorts"** Just a little FYI!
1.) I would love to travel to all 50 states, staying in small towns along the way. I would compile a photo journal of my travels, too. Why? Because I long to see more of America, learn more about other Americans, and I love to travel!
2.) I would also like to travel to Europe, most notably the Celtic regions because of the history and beauty of the area. I am English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh by heritage, and would like to see those regions of my ancestors. BUT, if I got the chance to get that far, I would have to go to Spain, France, and Italy too! If time was unlimited, I would travel to see as much as I could from Russia to the Mediterranean!
3.) I would like to purchase at least one Brand New Car. All of mine, so far, have been used. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, but I would like to have the chance to break in and enjoy my very own vehicle.

4. What is the 'thing' that defines who you are, the thing that if anyone said this -- characteristic, color, object, whatever -- others would think of you?
I would be: color- Cobalt Blue with Sparklies (nuff said)
characteristic- Realist (I'm not over pessimistic or optimistic)
object- Snowflake (at first meeting, a bit cold or frosty, but with a closer look very unique with a hidden beauty).

5. What is your favorite room in the house and why. What would you do to change it, if anything?
This changes by the day... lol! With just Krystle and me in the house, and we each have different "home hours" it is as if I live by myself most of the time. SO, if it is sunny outside I like to be in my living room because it fills with light and I have crystals hanging in the windows so there are rainbows everywhere. IF it is my day off and it is cold outside, I like to be in the kitchen baking or cooking; filling the house with warm smells. IF anyone else is in the house (daughters, etc) I tend to stay in my bedroom. I have a small TV/DVD player attached to a Nintendo 64 in there, as well as most of my yarn or sewing projects, and my bookcase filled to overflowing with books (read and not-yet-read)... and the electric blanket! When I am not feeling well I tend to stay in my bedroom, too.
If I could change anything...I would give myself a larger kitchen. I live in a mobile so none of the rooms are very large, but a larger kitchen would be awesome!

Now it is up to all of you readers out there! If you want to be interviewed, you have to let me know in the comments section. Remember, I get to pick the 5 questions! :-)

CRC's Interview of Yours Truly

2009-01-21T11:02:00.002-07:00

Chief Rock Chef tagged me with interview questions. It is always interesting to see what people want to know! I really enjoy this kind of thing because 1) I like to share, and 2) I don't have to think of a subject to write about!

1. The earliest thing I can remember is being in a pushchair and falling out if it into the road. What is your earliest memory?

My earliest memory is when I was three or four years old. It was a summer day and I remember sitting at the table eating Rasin Bran cereal while my mom brushed my hair. I never really liked that cereal (still don't) and was just picking out the rasins. A few strands of hair fell into the bowl so mom let me leave the bowl unfinished. Mom also reached into the cereal box and gave me the "prize" from inside. It was a sticker of Mr. Sun (the Two-Scoops cartoon sun character). I ran outside and put the sticker onto my new tricycle.

2. I suspect that you get some rather unpleasant weather where you live. Have you ever thought of trying to escape from it, moving to somewhere else?

Actually, the weather here isn't as bad as many believe! When I lived in Illinois, we would get more snow and ice storms than we get here. Sure, it does get cold sometimes but it doesn't last very long. As for leaving? I couldn't stay away for long. When I retire, I may travel to warmer areas during the coldest part of winter, but my home will always be Montana.

3. When you worked at the radio station did you get to rub shoulders with any famous, or almost famous, people?

Yes. Famous to me, anyway. My two favorites were: Meeting (and getting a photo together) the lead singer of Cinderella (an 80's rock band) and going back stage to meet the band 7-Mary-3. I met many local celeb's, too. The govenor of Montana, Brian Schweitzer (many times) and many local bands among them.

4. The eagle that you featured a while ago is wonderful. What other wildlife do you get to see where you are?

In the wild I have seen bears (black and Grizzly), Moose, Big Horn Sheep, Mountain Goats, Elk, Wolves, Coyotes, Marmots, Skunks, Beaver, tons and tons of Deer, and tiny rodents like mice, Chipmunks, and Squirrles. There are SO many different types of birds, too. Eagles, Osprey, Hawks, Jays, Magpies, Pelicans, Blue Herons, Seagulls (even though we are not near the sea!), Doves, Pidgeons, Robins, Starlings, Bluebirds, Chic-a-dees, and many, many others I don't know the names of. The Rocky Mountain West is a photographers paradise with all the wild life!

5. (Stolen from Ali because I love this question). If you could have one super-power what would it be? What would your super-hero name be?

This is a hard one! I think I would want the ablility to fly. Yeah, I know CRC said the same thing, but it would be SO awesome to just fly to anywhere I wanted, at anytime. Saving drowning people, or finding lost hikers would be a breeze (as well as many other situations). On my own time, I would be able to fly into a private lake high up in Glacier Park that is impossible to hike to. As for a super-hero name? The Raptor (after many types of beautiful, graceful hunting birds).

There ya go. This was fun! Now, the rules state I need to interview someone else. If anyone wants me to ask them a few questions, let me know. Otherwise I get to pick! LOL

Some People....!!

2009-01-15T16:07:00.003-07:00

Today is going to be a few random items that have been simmering in my brain today.

You know what really burns my butt? When you make a deal with someone and they go behind your back and don't follow through. What happened, do I hear you asking? There was a posting on Craigslist for a free couch. I went on Monday night and took a look. It was decent and I told the guy I would like to have it, but I was without a full size truck until Wednesday evening. He said that would be alright. SO, last night I called him to make arrangements on a pick up time and he told me "I had Goodwill come and take it". WHAT??!! Why did he say it was ok to wait till Wednesday if it really wasn't? If he knew it was being taken by ME on Wednesday, why did he call charity to come and get it? AARRGGGGHHH!!! Yeah, I was steamed all night over that one.

Since I was already peeved before I headed home, I was not amused by all the stupid drivers that occupy the highways with me. I really hate the drivers who refuse to dim their lights. I'm not only talking about the jerks who are coming from the other direction, but the really arrogant ones who are travelling 20 miles an hour over the speed limit (or more), weaving in and out of traffic, barrelling down on you like you are sitting still, all the while keeping their bright lights on. Then they get right on your ass-end before getting into the passing lane, jump right back in barely passed you, spraying winter road sand (pebbles) all over the windshield... usually leaving a star in the glass. Yeah... those ones! I had one do that to me last night, then he stopped at the rest area (too much beer in the bladder, maybe?)... only to do an encore performance. I called him all kinds of colorful names that I will not repeat here.

And now I will leave you on a lighter note... It is now day 15 of the new year, and the new diet. I am still doing OK. I weighed myself this morning and found I have lost a solid five pounds! I have decided to try and stay off the scale except on the 1st and the 15th of every month. I did have a small fast food burger one evening, and Joe and I had pizza on Tuesday, but all in all, we are sticking to healthier eating. Neither one of us have had soda's throughout the day, and fast food lunches have been non-existent this year. My sleep patterns have improved, my mood is better, and, yes, I do feel a little better, too. I'll keep you posted.....

Ahhhh...getting all that out of my head is SO nice!

I Am Part of Blogroll!

2009-01-13T17:39:00.003-07:00

One of the blogs I follow had a link to condron.us
It is a cool site that shows random blogs for a few seconds, then on to another. If you see one that seems interesting, you can stop the randomization and read it. It's fun! You should check it out here: http://condron.us/
I added this blog to the mix. Should be fun....

The Music Of My Life

2009-01-13T12:26:00.002-07:00

Wow! Had I known that I would gain so many visitors, I may have written about my Lifes Dreams and Journeys Yet to Take much sooner! LOL
I want to say Hello to everyone who visits from cnvillage. Your visits and comments (here and over there) have all been taken to heart. Thanks for the kind words and encouragement.

Now on to today's subject...
I was at home last night looking through my extensive music collection and an idea hit me. There are so many CD's that I own which I haven't taken the time to listen to in quite some time. I spend quite a number of hours in my vehicle, but for the past year I have only listened to the radio or Books on CD during my commutes. Well, last night I decided I am going to have my 300 cd changer randomly pick three CD's for me each Monday morning and those are what I am going to listen to for the week. Once a month I will fill in the empty spaces in the home CD changer with the music that didn't originally fit. Yeah, I said I have a large collection! At the top of my head I think I own close to 500 music CD's. It's no wonder there are some I haven't listened to in over a year (or more).

The purpose of this exercise? I am going to try and thin out my collection a little. I know there are going to be some CD's that I just don't care for anymore, or ones that I bought thinking I would enjoy but really didn't. Many of the latter have one or two songs I like, so maybe I'll put those songs onto my computer playlist to burn onto my I-Pod or cell phone (Sony Ericsson W580i) then sell the CD to someone who would enjoy it more than I do.

This morning (even though it is Tuesday) I was given Sheryl Crow, Billy Idol (Charmed Life), and The Foo Fighters by the "All Knowing CD Player God". I promise I'll do better next week and know the album names, too! LOL

Yep, I DID say Nudist Camp!

2009-01-09T16:44:00.003-07:00

I have been thinking about writing about a few different things. The first subject was writing about one of the "ones that got away". I am sure we all have a story about someone in our past who we let walk away and years later we wonder "What If...". I have one that seems to haunt those sleepless nights, creeping in uninvited.

The other subject I thought to write about was an extension on one of my answers from yesterday. Since that subject is still fresh here, I will go with it.

In my answers to "things I want to do before I die" I mentioned I would like to go to a nudist camp. Oh Hush!! I hear the murmurs from the peanut gallery!!
This is the event which planted the seeds of this strange idea in my head:
I have a good friend who has travelled all over the US and even some places overseas. He is a fellow writer and we met at a writers conference. One evening, while enjoying drinks and good company at his mountain cabin he asked if Joe and I wanted to see some photos of his last trip. Since his photos are always accompanied by great stories, we most certainly were willing.
After a few computer files of various photos and his reminiscing, he opened a photo file and quickly closed it saying he didn't think we would be interested in those ones. After a bit of goading, we got the story. This friend had visited a nudest camp for a few days and it changed his views on some of the trappings of society. THEN he showed us the photo file. The people in the pictures were all very happy folks. Most of them were older. There was just this sense of freedom and oneness with nature. A childlike happiness. There was no feeling of sexual tensions or shame that accompanies many people who are undressed. These were not beautiful people, but very ordinary. They had tummies, wrinkles, and sags but nobody seemed to be worried about how their bodies looked. My first thought was "This is awesome!"

Before that evening, I had never given a thought one way or the other about these camps or beaches. I have always lived with a "Do what makes you happy, just don't push your beliefs onto me" attitude. It has been quite a few months since that evening, and I find myself remembering the happiness and joy in those strangers faces in the photos.
Now that I have had some time to think, here are my thoughts on the whole idea. I know that being naked is not "dirty", "nasty", or something to be ashamed of. These views are learned behavior. Anyone who has had small kids around have seen the naked kid just out of the bath run from the bathroom throughout the house, using the towel more as a cape than a cover-up. They are always laughing and have no clue that in only a few short years they will no longer be able to behave "that way". It is as natural as one can get. There are many cultures in which women do not wear tops, and never have. Then there are the places like Rio and the Riviera where women have the option to be topless. Then there are places like the California and Florida beaches were women prance around in string bikinis with only three itty-bitty triangles strategically placed on their bodies. Hell, I have washcloths with more to them than some of these swimsuits! We all know what is under the fabric. It is only our CULTURE that makes us cover up our bodies. It was the early Europeans that decided the body must be covered, and we civilized cultures still hang on to those beliefs.
I think a few days of living life without the rules of society deciding what, or how much, I have to wear (or cover up) would be very enlightening. A feeling of being one with the sun and the wind with other like minded people. A place like that may make me enjoy MY body more, with all of its varied bulges and sags. I'd like to give it a try, in any case. If I felt uneasy, I could always leave. I would at the very least be able to say "Yep! I did that!"
(Also, Think of the stories that would be past on for generations.... hahaha)

I Didn't Have A Subject Today, Sooooo.....

2009-01-08T13:17:00.004-07:00

I was wasting time reading back posts on a blog that I just recently found ( http://rock-chef.blogspot.com/ ). I found this little gem:

8 things I am passionate about:
1. My Family
2. My home
3. Montana
4. Glacier National Park
5. Photography
6. Nature in all her forms
7. The freedoms given to me as a Natural Born United States Citizen
8. The freedoms that SHOULD NOT (in my opinion) be given to non-U.S. citizens (illegal immigrants)
8 things I often say:
1. Not especially
2. You guy'ziz (As in " What are you guy'ziz plans for the weekend?") *note: this is one of the very few regional terms used in the Northwest part of the U.S.*
3. Are you coming home tonight? (Asked of Krystle on weekend nights)
4. Did you feed and water the dog? (Asked of Krystle on weekday nights that I stay in Great Falls)
5. What happened to it!? (Asked to the majority of customers who come into the shop looking for cell phone repair)
6. What's our plans for dinner? (Unless Joe asks me first!)
7. FOUND IT! (Exclamation when finding a Geocache hide.)
8. Can I have the salad dressing on the side, please?
8 books I have read recently:
1. "T" Is For Trespass-- Sue Grafton
2. Alaska -- James Mitchner
3. The Chase-- Clive Cussler
4. McNally's Caper-- Lawrence Sanders
5. McNally's Risk-- Lawrence Sanders (reading the entire series right now)
6. Blood Lure-- Nevada Barr (for the third time!)
7. The Better Homes and Gardens Baking Cookbook
8. Thriller: Stories to keep you up all night-- collection of short thriller stories Edited by James Patterson
8 things to do before I die:
1. See New York, New York.
2. Stay at least one night in each of the 50 United States.
3. Travel to Europe (mainly the Celtic areas, but If I am there, I would hope to see many other areas, too!)
4. Hike to, and stay a few nights in the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
5. Get my affairs "in order" so my kids aren't burdened with unnecessary things when I do pass on.
6. Try whitewater rafting at least once.
7. Fly an Ultra-light aircraft.
8. Take a hot-air balloon ride (longer than 1 hour).
and, #9-- extra credit! Go to a nudist camp just so I can say I Did It! (Albert, this one is for you!)
8 songs I could listen to over and over again: (Only 8??!! Oh, Jeeze....)
1. Sweet Child Of Mine-- Guns and Roses (My theme song for Heather)
2. New York State of Mind-- Billy Joel
3. Fields Of Gold-- Sting
4. All I Have To Do (Is Dream)-- Everly Brothers
5. (Hey Man) Nice Shot-- Filter
6. Your Lies Become You-- Monster Magnet
7. Pretty Much Everything by Pink Floyd (including solo work from Roger Waters)
8. Anything and Everything by Godsmack
ok, I have to add a #9 here, too. Anything and everything by the band Tool.
Do not think, in any way, that this is a complete list of even the most favorite of all my favorites. Five minutes after I post this, I will kick myself for forgetting some band or another! Music is the soundtrack to my life!
8 things that attract me to my friends
1. Their sense of Humor
2. Their zest for life.
3. My friends cannot be petty.
4. My friends do not play head-games.
5. Loyality
6. Sincerity
7 and 8. I can't think of anything else. Either we click right away, or we don't.
8 things I have learned in the last year
1. That the Apple i-phone is not as good as it is cracked up to be
2. I learned that even at 63 someone can finally meet their best friend.
3. Blogging is a great stress reliever, time waster, and friend maker.
4. Grandkids are God's way of thanking you for not killing your offspring!
5. People who you think are your good friends can suddenly become strangers to whom you never speak to.
6. On the otherhand, I learned it can be both scary but awesome to re-connect with an old friend you haven't spoken with, or heard from, in over 15 years. (Thank you, Google White Pages!)
7. Nabisco's Chicken in a Biscuit crackers are actually REALLY GOOD!
8. I learned how to ride (and purchased) my very own motorcycle, I no longer have to ride double behind someone else.

Killing Time

Two major hikes

Canyon Ferry Lake

The Missouri River

The Missouri River

Prettier than a rainbow!

A few images from my latest trip to Washington

Red Rock Lake, Glacier National Park

Swiftcurrent Valley, Glacier National Park.

Times are a-changing here!

Canyon ferry Lake

Fall Snowstorm

Damn!

Why I Love Geocaching

I haven't forgot about you!

Yummy!

Montana Fire Season, from quiet to busy in one week!

Be Careful What You Wish For!

I've been in a bit of a funk lately.

August has been a strange month!

Good friends

Yummy!

Back Home, Sunburned and Tired

Rockin' The Rivers 2009

A really, really quick post...

Sunset clouds

Goal setting: 101 goals in 1001 days

Maybe I should write more often!

The Wonders of the Blog-O-Sphere

In the words of a fellow Blogger

Estrogen Moment (Guys, you should sit this one out!)

A Minor Blogging Milestone!

Ugh!

Playing tag OR A writing exercise, Either way, it's fun!

The best laid plans....

Playing Catch-up!

The first food from the garden!

Storm on the divide

Happy July 4th, American Independance Day!

Off I go, on another roadtrip!

31 and holding!

Summer Storms and More Garden Sprouts

It Could Be A Fruitful Summer!

Radishes!

A quiet night

WTF?!?

Just when I thought it was a goner....!

Memorial Day Weekend, Part 2 (finally!)

Back to Work, Safe and Sound (Part 1- Friday and Saturday)

Memorial day weekend continues!

Still road tripping

On the road

On the road

A warm spring evening on the porch

Cookbooks from the past 80 years!

Cookbooks circa 1953

Hey, Ya'll! Howa Been?

Oh No!....She DIDN"T!!

Update on "Official Snowfall" amounts.

Yea! The storm is over!

What happened to spring?

A long lasting case of writers block!

I'm SO glad it is Friday!

Ahhhh.... Kids! *sigh*...

The Good Doctor

I'm back!

3 facts of the day.

C'mon in and give me some much needed advice!

Being Her Mommy, even if she is 21!

I just registered with e-How

Takin' a Break

East Glacier, Cut Bank, and Shelby, MT

The East Glacier Experience (Part 2)

I only have 10 minutes!

A trip through the Way Back Machine!

Just another Monday.

Blah, just Blah!

Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and Nine Inch Nails "Pretty Hate Machine"

Remember When...?

Many things for this Monday

Ahhhh.... Kids! sigh...