November Flew Right By Me

I knew I had saved a draft to publish, but I didn't realize it was about OCTOBER!  I am obviously having a hard time keeping up!  I thought October whizzed by, but November, too?  It's lucky that I keep a separate journal, or I'd have no sense of accomplishment.

I spent the first 3 weeks of November working on the annual Super Saturday activity at the church.  I was in charge and I had a committee of 1 -- 1 other person.  We planned and executed an all day crafting activity at the church for the ladies.  They worked on Xmas gifts.  We had a great turnout -- 46 women came and participated.  Some of them brought homemade soups and bread for the luncheon.  We had 7 crafts available to work on, with examples and instructions and the materials all packaged up into individual kits, labeled and ready to go.  It was a huge success.  We put together 170 kits,  purchased (pre-paid).  The first two weeks of November I spent getting it all ready, and the 3rd week of November I spent putting it all away, and distributing the extras.   It was such a big production.  And, of course, I forgot to take pictures because I was so busy working that day.

The 4th week of November was Thanksgiving week.  It came in with a ton of snow.  (Really, 8 inches.)  But freezing temps the previous week followed by snow.  I did take pics. 

 This is the picture I took on my back porch when I opened the door.  This branch was hanging down, weighted in snow.  It is about 6 inches from the door. 

 I went to the front door to take this picture.  Check out how much snow is sitting on the ladder. 

This is the view of the north side of the house taken from the front porch.  My trampoline is covered! 

We stayed inside most of the week because the roads were icy and slushy.  It started to warm up a little on Wednesday and we ventured to town to do some errands and get some groceries. Sharon and Judy were kind enough to invite us to join them for Thanksgiving Dinner at the Lovell Bible Church.  Here we are eating and visiting with one another.  Judy took pictures and posted them on Facebook.

On Black Friday we ventured out -- the snow mostly melted -- and drove to Cody for a movie and dinner out.  We saw Mockingjay Part 1.  The 3rd book of the Hunger Games Trilogy is being shown in 2 parts.  It was very good, and we were happy to get out of town and do something entertaining.  And it's a good thing we did, because a cold front moved in on us.  Saturday morning it was 44 degrees when I went out to walk, and at 10 p.m., when I came home from volunteering at he Hyart Theater, it was 5 degrees!  I don't think I have ever seen such a radical change in temperature in one day!    It started snowing about 6 p.m. and I drove home from the theater in a blinding snowstorm.  (Oh, how I hate those!)  Sunday morning we fixed our own Thanksgiving dinner.  Dad wanted some of those fabulous Turkey sandwiches we always have with the leftovers -- only we had no leftovers!  So, we bought a turkey Saturday while we were in Powell getting the flat tire on his truck fixed.  (Oh, there's always something!) 

This morning, it's 10 below out.  Brrrrrrr!  I'm staying inside where it's nice and warm today. 

Where did October go?

The first part of October can be characterized by one of my Dad's favorite jokes.

 What time do most people go to the dentist?    At tooth-hurty (2:30)!

Looking for a more respectable (meaning not so corny) joke, I came across this one:

 "Open wider." requested the dentist, as he began his examination of the patient. "Good God !" he said startled. "You've got the biggest cavity I've ever seen - the biggest cavity I've ever seen." "OK Doc !" replied the patient. "I'm scared enough without you saying something like that twice." "I didn't !" said the dentist. "That was the echo." *

I was happy to be able to go to the dentist in October.  No one likes talking about their pain and cavities and root canals, etc.  Nor do they look happily upon the idea of visiting the dentist.  But eventually.... you just get down to it.  My visit took some planning, since my dentist is in Mexico.  But first, we went to California to visit with the family, friends, and take care of some important family business. And since Grover and I both have birthdays in October, our kids threw a surprise birthday party for us! That was the fun part!

Afterwards, we drove to Yuma and checked into our motel (low budget digs, but with a great pool!!!) The next day (Monday) and every day thereafter (through Friday) we trekked in and out of Mexico - Los Algodones - for dental treatment.  5 days running!  I spent a good part of my week  (20 hrs) in the dentist's chair--almost like a part-time job.  I will spare you the details.  Suffice it to say that my dentist's parting words were:  "You had a hard week.  You were brave."  I consider that to be real validation, and even sympathy.  Do you ever get that from a dentist?  You should.  It's worth a lot.

 Once at home again, I spent the next five days bragging/boasting about my brutal intensive dental experience.  Why would you do that? was the question people asked.  A good question.  The main answer is:  Cost.  One third of the cost of  local dental estimates.  And of course, the 2 jokes above are the other answers:  pain, and cavities. This summer I was enjoying a candy with a nougat inside when all of a sudden the candy pulled my filling right out of its space.  Now, I had not really a cavity, but a cavern.  The last thought was,  how many dentist visits would it would take with the normal, average extended approach?  Suppose each visit is about an hour, that would mean 20 visits.  And even with 1 visit each week = 20+ weeks!   There is definitely an advantage to getting it all over with!

Ok, enough of that.  Where did the rest of October go?  I cleaned up the house and finished canning all the tomatoes that we grew this year.  We went out to dinner for my birthday.  I officially turned 65.  I decided that I am going to use that number--wear it as a badge.  Not as an excuse, but as a badge of honor.  Crazy?  Yes, but I see so many people start to give in because they're 65+.  Surrender to it.  Not me.  I am going to own it and use it, and keep doing things and trying things.  And then, I'm going to tell people that I know stuff, because after all, I'm 65!

 One of the advantages of turning 65 is the Medicare Wellness Medical appointment.  My family will be happy to know I went in and had tests and medical care.  And so far, so good!  No worries.  Now, I am back to the exercise routine I have:  swimming and walking, mostly.  Last week Grover and I went out and tried a little tennis exercise, and we went bowling on Saturday.  Fun stuff! 

For Halloween I dressed up as a cowgirl (Caroline Lockhart, local rancher, newspaper editor, now deceased) and handed out candy at the Museum to all the town kids.  Very fun.  I'll try to find the photo Dad took.

*source: http://www.jokes4us.com/peoplejokes/dentistjokes/dentistonelinersjokes.html

Summer 2014 - Part 3

Summer 2014 - Part 3

We took the next week off from Museum activities and concentrated on the farm (Grover) and fitness (Me).  There's always tractor repair work to be done and haying.  Nothing new there.  And I have been focusing on getting more exercise.  That means walking, swimming, treadmill work, elliptical workouts, and riding my bike in the evenings with my friend, Sharon.

September 2014

On Labor Day we separated the cows and calves, and 3 days later we trucked the calves over to the corral.  So now Grover is on calf duty--making sure they have hay and water and are happy in their new digs.  The cows are still down the road in the pasture.  (They are, after all, grass-fed beef!)  I never knew that was such a big deal until recently.  Funny how advertising labels are used to sell a product.

The next day we headed for Billings to pick up the girls -- Emily and Martha -- at the airport.  They flew in for a weekend visit.  We went to Yellowstone on Saturday and stayed overnight in West Yellowstone, so we could see more of Yellowstone on Sunday.

Waving hello at Yellowstone Lake, on the way to Canyon Falls

  

Aren't the falls magnificent?

 We got some great photos in Yellowstone and saw so many buffalo on Saturday that by Sunday we weren't even interested in stopping to see them along the road.

We hiked to the Fairy Falls -- 5.2 miles roundtrip.  It was a pretty easy hike--mostly flat and we sang and talked along the way--just in case there were any bears nearby.  We were certain that our singing would most likely scare them off!

We had a lot of fun.  The girls made us laugh--they are so funny!  They gave Grover and I a hard time--teasing us about the things we said and did when they were little. 

Summer 2014 - Part 2

July 2014

Two days after everyone departed, I came down with Bronchitis!  Oh phooey!  Not in the middle of the summer!  I had already neglected the gardening while everyone was visiting.  10 days of being sick with bronchitis didn't help at all!  The weeds grew ... well, like weeds!  They were so tall!  By the time I got out there I was really searching for the stuff that we planted.  It was hidden in tall weeds!

The next 2 weeks I spent a lot of my time tearing out the weeds, and hoping to give the plants a chance to grow.  We had a late spring, and a rainy summer.  So, they weren't doing too well, even without weeds overtaking them!

August 2014

In August we were pretty busy getting in gear for the Museum Annual Dinner, and the Election.  I was in charge of putting a slide show together of photos from the 6 towns included in our museum plan.  Just getting the photos was a struggle, let alone fixing them and sizing them and photoshopping them for use.  I spent a good week doing that.  Everyone enjoyed looking at the old pictures though, so I was happy.  Grover wrote a stirring letter to the Editor for the Lovell Chronicle, calling for support for the mil levy to fund our museum.  Several people came up to him at the dinner and thanked him for expressing his opinion.  We were all very hopeful that the people would vote for a museum in Lovell.

But, unfortunately, they didn't.  A huge anti-museum campaign was waged against it by the other 4 towns.  And even Lovell's vote was 60% against it.  Too bad we couldn't get all the people from Kane to vote.  But most all of them have moved away or died.  On August 19th our cumulative efforts to get a museum going in Lovell came to a screeching halt. 

We were surprised and disappointed with the election results, and decided to get away and relax.  So the next day Grover and I went on another hike.  We drove up to the Big Horn Mountains and spent the day at the Jaws.  It was beautiful and peaceful and very pleasant.  It was our 3rd hike this summer. hiking. 

 

You can see the wildflowers are abundant--creating a purple and white haze.  A beautiful day!

....more in Part 3

Summer 2014

I can't believe I am recapping the whole summer.  It's too much to do in one blog.  I'll break it down and use some pics if I can dig some up.

June 2014

At the beginning of summer we decided to start hiking.  We took a day off and went up
to John Blue's Cabin.

The second week of June we spent prepping for Lovell Days and for the kids' visit.  I worked on the museum float. 

 Apparently we were so excited about having the kids visit we forgot to take any pictures.  I asked Grover about that and he said, "Well, we were pretty busy!" 

Rachel and family came to visit us--arriving just in time for the Lovell Parade and an amazing fireworks show at Horseshoe Bend!  Will and Fallon joined us during Rachel's visit.  I think Fallie had a great time with the kiddos!  We sure did get a lot of fireworks going while everyone was here.

With the kids here we worked and played.  Rachel called up REA - the electric company - and asked them to help us with cutting down a huge partially burnt tree because the power lines were near it.  And to our great surprise, they came out and did.  Brilliant idea, Rachel!  Grover and all built/constructed a firepit in the back by the Methusaleh tree while I tended baby Jordan.  We had a great time roasting hot dogs and marshmallows several nights!

 Everyone helped us clear out the farm tools and junk in our garage and transport it to the Trailer Toolshed at the farm.  (We also cleared that trailer--whewww!! what a job!) Thanks for all your help.  It was a big (dirty) job!   Rachel and Jeff also cut down  and trimmed out some trees in our way.  Every time I walk out to the garden now, I think about how nice it is not to be tripped up by the stumps and trees in the path.  Hooray!  You made a difference in my life.

We had some fun too-- we went up to Five Springs twice for picnics and fun at the creek! 

July 2014

We went to the Cody 4th of July Parade 1 day early--on the 3rd.  That was weird, but they had the same floats and a lot fewer people!  We had a nice front row seat! Afterwards we had a picnic in the Cody Park and looked at some of the booths and food stands.  Rachel and family left on the 4th.  Will and Fallie stayed and we drove into Yellowstone for the day!  We saw some fireworks going on as we drove home that night.

...more in Part 2

Get Ready!

Spring is here now and everyday I think about how much there is to do to get ready for Summer, my favorite season, and the advent of company!   And just 2 months to do it in.  Yikes!

  Here's the list:
* Empty the guest bedroom so we can actually have guests
* Set up a bed and crib for the baby and parents of the youngest/newest baby  (See tent below for older children)
* Find the tent and set up and air it out to make sure we actually have additional housing
* Finish the bathroom tile work and install the power shower head so we can actually shower
* Clean up, and register, and name the boat so we can actually use it on the lake this summer
* Find and buy some life jackets and life preservers for our boating adventures

                                                                          (Doesn't it look like fun?)

* Install the battery and rev up the 4 wheeler so we can actually ride around in the dirt and up and down the road
*  Helmets for motorcycle safety
*  Rebuild the warped picnic tables and benches so we can eat outside and enjoy the barbeques and firepit that Dad is planning to build for our wienie roasts and s'more treats
*  Clear space in the office (couch) and the dark room (inflatable bed ?) to accommodate more  sleeping family members

Dad is also on board in this thinking:  Monday Dad told me that everyone could sleep wherever they want - as in  "not my problem."  Tuesday Dad suggested to me that we should be doing stuff to get ready for everyone.  Wednesday Dad mentioned how much fun it would be to get that boat ready. Wednesday afternoon Dad suggested we set up the hockey table so everyone could have some fun.  Oh, and I suggested we hang the punching bag.  Good idea, Dad said.  And since I finally found the pool (up in the loft) we'll be able to cool off when the temperature rises!  And of course, with some help we'll get the trampoline set up again, and probably go get a new load of sand for Grandpa's sandbox.  Add to that a few trips to the Fireworks stand and you have the makings of  a pretty entertaining visit!

Oh, and I mentioned that work was one of the activities on the visitors' agenda.  And how he needed to let the everyone work if they want to.  "I'm not stopping them," he said.  So..... Get ready.  It's going to be a blast!

2014 CA VISIT

 Welcome Baby Jordan!
 Rachel's baby boy, Jordan Isaac Montgomery, was born on March 20, 2014.  He weighed 8 lbs 12 oz. He was so well-mannered.  Even from the start--he barely cried as he entered his new life.  Here he is sleeping so peacefully in the warming bassinette.  His first heat lamp! 

 At home he was quite the popular fellow.  Dad and brothers and sister all pretty enchanted with his tiny moves, sounds, hands, and toes.  I think Jeff's taking a picture here.

Everyone wants to "hold the baby" --even if it's just for a minute or two.  

 He usually blinks when the flash goes off, but I caught him here with his eyes wide open.  I think he certainly looks like a Montgomery baby.


Pretty alert in these pictures.

Jordan is  awfully sweet.  Eats and sleeps.  Not a big crybaby at all.  Ha ha.  I was so lucky to be with Jeff and Rachel for his birth.  And lucky to be able to stay a good while to help out both before and after Jordan's birth.


I think he's just adorable.  Oh, and by the way, he is grandbaby
number 11 -- the Howe lucky number!  Should be lots of
fun having him in our family.

Rachel and Jeff have certainly got their hands
full now -- with 4 boys and 1 girl.  Sounds
pretty familiar for Pete and Kay, Jeff's parents.
I imagine they will have some good advice to
share.

CONGRATULATIONS RACHEL AND JEFF!

December Fun

 December was soooo cold this year!  The coldest December I have ever seen!  BRRR!  Martha and Will and Fallon were intrepid and came to visit us anyway--Hooray!  I think they may have even enjoyed all the snow. Here are just a few pictures of our Christmas visitors.

                                          Of course there was the snowball fight!

And the trip to the farm to see the cows and hay bales iced with snow.

The llamas look warm enough.

What?  It looks like Martha is on TV!

 I hope Daddy likes it!

Santa dropped in with presents!

 We always visit Lovell Drug for an ice cream at their soda fountain, even if we have to bundle up to do it!

Add a stop at Aunt Grace's salon for a manicure and a little dancing fun. 

We had a lot of fun in spite of the freezing temperatures!