Tree Down

We both got up this morning feeling much better and took a long walk with Jazz taking note of all the new bear poop filled with chokecherry seeds and wondering if Mr. Bear is hiding in the bushes watching us walk by!! We saw some tracks in the mud, too.

For the last few days, the wind has been ferocious at times. This afternoon I went outside to water my plants on the deck and noticed a HUGE tree in the creek--all of a sudden I realized it was the tree that used to stand at the west end of our deck--it was an aspen tree and had died and we were going to cut it down before we left this fall. The wind took care of it and thank God it blew it away from the house and deck!! We are not sure just exactly when it fell.

The wind blew today and it is predicted that we will get close to an inch of rain tonight, that would be nice, it is very dry here. And the cooler weather is great, too, I guess I am ready for fall.

I managed to get a fake quilt (old sheets with batting between them) loaded onto my new quilting machine and I actually got it to quilt this afternoon. It is wonderful and I am so excited! There is definitely a learning curve--making swirls and circles instead of square corners is harder than it looks!

Nat came up for lunch and I fixed one of his favorite casseroles. He loves to come up here and the Senior Center does not serve meals on weekends or holidays so I thought I better feed him.

This evening while cooking supper, two little birds flew into our windows right at the same time, just whap! Both of them were lying on the deck and I picked them up and put them on the deck railing--later I went out and gave them an encouraging push and they both flew off--success!

Storm clouds over the Crazy Mountains

This photo shows the tree in the creek, it is taken looking down from our deck--it doesn't really do justice to how big this tree is!! It is probably 2 feet in diameter.
This is Nat and Jazz's ritual--he drives up she goes out and they both sit on the rock together.

The Weather Is Changing

I've been a little under the weather or should I say a lot under the weather--thus no blog yesterday. I spent most of yesterday in bed only getting up to drink ginger ale.

In the afternoon, Fed Ex delivered my new longarm quilting machine to Nat's in town and Michael went in and picked it up. I couldn't even get excited about it I felt so bad. We did manage to get it unloaded off the trailer and into the room downstairs. Gosh, it's big!!!

Today, not feeling a whole lot better and Michael is not totally up to par either, we started putting the machine together and had it done in less than 3 hours. Some of the other APQS machine owners had told me if my husband had any kind of technical background, it would be a piece of cake. Well, I and the rest of the folks that know Michael, know he can literally do anything!!

I spent some time this afternoon reading and re-reading the manual and maybe tomorrow I will try her out! I also managed to get a little order to the chaos brought on by moving out of a huge storage room into a small storage room. I least I can now find the groceries--Michael was glad to hear that!

It has been hot the last 3 days but as I write this, the wind is howling and the temperature is dropping. I think the high on Monday is supposed to be in the upper 40's!! Glad we didn't go camping!

Where Did All This Junk Come From??

We started moving shortly before 9am this morning and at 5pm, we gave up! Everything is out of the new sewing room and literally piled into the old sewing room, awaiting its new home. The shelving units Michael's Dad Nat built for us when we moved into this house are heavy! And most of them had to go to the old sewing room.

Late this afternoon we got the carpet rug down in the new room and the furniture arranged like I want it. I spoke with the Fed Ex driver today who assures me my new toy will arrive late Friday afternoon. Fed Ex Ground and Fed Ex Freight really don't know where Montana is and if you live out in the country, forget it, they will turn your packages over to the US Postal Service or some smaller freight carrier. This delays deliveries and you definitely don't get what you pay for when paying for Fed Ex! I used Nat's address in town for delivery so maybe the guy is right and I will get to bring my new longarm quilting machine home tomorrow.

Nat came up and had lunch with us today, I fixed him steaks on the grill and fresh corn on the cob. I even made him his favorite cookies, oatmeal/pecan/chocolate chip. He made some smart crack about he hadn't tasted them in so long he couldn't remember if they were good or not. I reminded him that he needed me next week as a chauffeur for his cataract surgery!

It warmed up considerably today! And WIND again!

Moving Frenzy

Oh, my! Since I got word yesterday that my longarm quilting machine shipped I have been in a moving frenzy! Michael left early to go to Whispering Pines, a summer cabin neighborhood near us to do a small job and I started moving. I managed to get one of the huge shelving units moved from one room to the other with the help of a piano dolly only breaking one light bulb along the way. But by lunch time, my back was killing me!

I settled in for some lunch and decided to call Dell to help me install the new keyboard they shipped me. I got a new laptop in May and recently the shift key and the tab key stopped working. Kind of hard to type without a shift key. Dell ships the new keyboard to you then you call them and they walk you through installing it. I was successful and told the technical support guy from India that I wanted a job.

After lunch I moved some more and Michael got home about 3:30 and started helping me. We managed to get the huge storage cabinet that belonged to his mother moved from the old sewing room to the new--that was the piece I was dreading the most!

My Mom called today and had spoken with my quilting Aunt Margaret. She makes exquisite quilts and told my Mom that she had lots she could send me to quilt. The idea is kind of daunting--do I want to use Aunt Marg as my guinea pig?? Well, come to find out, she will send me some patchwork type quilts she has made to use up scraps of fabric--OK, I can handle that!

We had leftover ribs for dinner with fresh corn on the cob--YUM! Another cool, fall like day in Montana.

A young eagle, I think, that we saw on our walk this morning.

Grooming Day for the Dog and Me

Remember that cute photo I posted yesterday of Jazz rolling in the hayfield? Well--today she found a new spot, a smelly spot and not a good smelly spot. She came back from her walk with Michael very stinky so it was off to the bathtub for her.

After making some phone calls I was off to Big Timber where I indulged in the best massage from massage therapist, Gayle. A quick lunch with Jill at the new Café 121 then it was off to the hairdresser. Do you ever wonder what the hairdresser sees on top of your head when you walk in? I am sure she sees someone else’s hairdo on my head cause I never look like myself when I leave her salon. I guess I should just be thankful she gives me a great cut!

I hung out in Cinnabar Creek gabbing with the ladies then went out and got Nat to take him to Livingston for his post-surgical cataract appointment. We got a great report and will have the other eye done next week.

Finally it was time to head home--after two record breaking days of heat, it was extremely windy and only about 70 degrees today.

Moving Day

We had a wonderful time at the home of friends, MaryLou and Henry last night. Jim and Kathy and Claire and Robyn were also guests so it was an evening of good conversation and outstanding food. MaryLou had "borrowed" the chef of a friend and he prepared a first class meal and Henry always serves the best of wines.

It was a very warm day again but we got out for our walk early. Michael then headed over to Lonn's to begin developing a spring for cattle watering. I began the big move--UGH--it has been a long time since we have had to move! Everything in my current sewing room has to come out before we can get anything from the storage room in. I started with this big huge wall size bookcase--I didn't know we had so many books! I sorted and discarded and still ended up with a bunch of books. By late afternoon, I had made some progress and the room is starting to look emptier.

I made baby back ribs for dinner tonight--my Kansas City friend Kelly's recipe. They turned out perfectly and were delicious! We ate late because Michael didn't get home from Lonn's until almost 7pm.

Jazz finds this same spot every morning and rolls and rolls, kicks and grunts--she is one happy dog!

This is smoke visible this morning probably from a fire at Townsend, MT, you could even smell smoke a little, too. Late this afternoon I got the grass mowed and weed whacked and the floors vacuumed--I am pooped, I think I hear my bed calling me!

I Did It

It has been an exciting day!!! I took the plunge and purchased a used APQS Millennium Longarm Quilting Machine. It will arrive sometime soon from Iowa on a big semi-truck. The table is 14 feet long so needless to say, I won't be taking it with me in the RV. I am so excited I can't think of anything else!

When we built this house, we only put two bedrooms upstairs--the master suite and one very small guest bedroom and bath. But, we put a full basement under the house and Michael uses one of the three rooms downstairs as a workshop, I use the smallest as a sewing room and the largest is our storage room and also holds our extra refrigerator and the freezer. We are going to convert the old sewing room into the storage room and use the largest room as my quilting studio. The refrigerator and freezer will have to remain in that room, too. I am so lucky to have the room for something as big as a longarm quilting machine! I hope to be able to turn this into a business and get so much pleasure from doing so.

After I came down out of the clouds, we decided to take a bike ride into town. We had lunch at the Frosty Freeze, drifted over towards Reed Point then came home. It was a little too hot to be out. Tonight we are going to the home of friends for dinner.

A Different Day

A beautiful almost fall kind of day here in Montana, 38 degrees when we got up. We had coffee, breakfast and then a walk. We halfheartedly talked about going to Big Timber and doing garage sales and the farmer's market but talked ourselves out of it. Sometimes it is just good to stay home.

We are and have been experiencing frustrating issues with our Hughes satellite internet system. I have spent hours on the phone with them the last couple of days and evenings. Other friends and family that have Hughes have also been having problems. But, like any major corporation, you get the runaround. I think we have about decided to put our Hughes satellite on vacation until time to travel again and go back to our telephone company's DSL service. Michael has in the past installed satellite systems for other people as a sideline job so is well acquainted with how they work--thank goodness. It is amazing how we have come to depend on this connection!

Almost ripe chokecherries. All the native growing chokecherry trees are just loaded with berries this year and we are starting to see little piles of bear poop with chokecherry seeds--hope we actually get to see the bears this year! Chokecherries are a major source of food for the black bears this time of year while they are getting ready for hibernation.

A photo of my Lone Star quilt top.
Happy Saturday!

Sixty Degrees

Fall is definitely in the air although the weather people are predicting temperatures in the 90's by Monday again. It only reached a temperature of about 62 degrees today and the wind blew all day.

We took a nice long walk today and saw signs that the bears are starting to eat the chokecherries. It seems as if the berries are ripening about 2 weeks earlier than usual this year. All our trees are just loaded with chokecherries so we should see some bears this fall.

Michael left just after lunch and went over to his son's to work a while, hoping to finish today and bring the equipment home. I took the afternoon off and quilted. I finished the top of the Easy and Elegant Lone Star quilt I am making for our king size bed--I am so pleased with how it turned out--it is gorgeous. I will post photos soon.

I researched a few more longarm quilt machine websites and I seem to get more and more confused as I go. It may be better if I wait until I am in Arizona this year, attend one of the larger sewing festivals and try out all the machines and talk to their representatives.

It was a beautiful Montana day.

A Very Long Week

Fall is in the air this morning. We received 0.3 inches of rain last night and it is a cool 40 degrees this morning. When I went out to look at the rain gauge, I scared a baby rabbit and he hopped across the deck. It is so unusual for us to get any rain this time of year--we are happy!

Nat's surgery was successful--yesterday we took him down to get the patch removed--Michael went with us and they dropped me by the quilt store so I could do some more research. We had lunch and headed back to Big Timber. We are scheduled to have the other cataract done the first week of September.

The HandyQuilter expert was in the quilt store yesterday and I learned a lot. Now I just have to decided exactly which way I want to go and then find a machine--I would love to buy used to start with.

Verizon has been sending me text messages and voice messages for months--my contract with Verizon expired a while back and they sure don't want to lose me to another company--so they are offering me free phones and free other stuff. So, I suckered yesterday and got a new cellphone--it is smaller and much lighter weight than the old one so I am happy.

I am glad today is Friday of a very long week!!

Billings Was HOT

The weather man said a record was broken in Billings today--it was 103 degrees and the record for today was 98. Nat is an extremely cold natured man and even he said it was HOT today. We left Big Timber about 9:30am this morning and started out at Target in Billings. Nat declined to accompany me into the store so I hurried and did my errands so he wouldn't cook sitting in the truck. Then we went to mine and Michael's favorite Billing's restaurant for lunch, CJ's.

We arrived at the physician's office and began the usual mountains of paperwork which was even worse today due to the fact the hospital is working the kinks out of a new registration system. I am a nurse and have worked in health care almost all my adult life before retiring last year and I have absolutely NO patience with hospitals and health care workers, physicians included who spout excuses for poor customer service. Today was no different than usual. We finally left Billings around 3pm.

After dropping Nat off at his house, I saw a sign in Big Timber advertising peaches for sale. Peaches in Montana are not like peaches in the south where I grew up but I thought I would at least look. These peaches came from Oregon and were soft and actually smelled like peaches. When I cut some up for dessert, they even taste like peaches! I will share with my daughter-in-law, LoraLee who loves peaches.

Michael and Jazz worked hard today over on the Twelve Springs Ranch where Michael's son works.

Off to Billings tomorrow again for the cataract surgery--let's hope it is cooler!

Quilting Machine Search

This was one of our warmer Montana days--98 degrees in Billings where we were today. Both of us had a restless night (Jazz slept well) and we didn't get up very early this morning. We took our walk and had a wild idea to go to Billings today. I say wild idea because I have to go to Billings the next three days (105 miles one way) to take Nat down for his cataract surgery. We see the doctor tomorrow, have the surgery on Wednesday and then go back on Thursday to make sure everything is OK and to get the patch off. Nat wants to come home each day and does not like to stay in motels.

I have gotten this crazy idea that I want to buy a longarm quilting machine. I would love to do my own quilting and I could also make extra money doing quilting for others. Having spent hours researching on the internet, we decided to go to Billings today and check out the models sold by the quilt stores there. Now I am really confused!!

It was a great day just being together and leisurely visiting the quilt stores. Michael had a couple of things to return to various stores so we got that accomplished, too. Then we headed home to check on the Jazzy dog who had a wonderful day napping as usual!

This is a snow fence located alongside the road somewhere in Wyoming. It went on for miles and miles. As my friend Ellie says, "I hope I am far, far away before I see the white stuff that necessitates one of these."

Motorcycle Riding and Meeting A New Friend

It was another why we live in Montana kind of day and we decided to take a motorcycle ride. We have been reading a blog written by "Froggi" Donna recommended to us by our friends Jim and Ellie and JoAnn and Doug. Donna is a single woman fulltime traveling in a Class C RV pulling a toad. She is work-kamping in White Sulphur Springs, Montana which is about 90 miles from here and White Sulphur Springs is located on one of the motorcycle loop rides we take frequently. So, we decided to stop and introduce ourselves--she is a delight and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit with her. If you have been reading her blog, you know that she met a gentleman at the Escapee's Rally in Gillette, WY--well, things have progressed and we wish the two of them the absolute best.

On the way to White Sulphur Springs, I felt Michael suddenly let off the throttle and then he started snatching at his right sleeve trying to get the cuff unsnapped all while trying to control the motorcycle--a bee had gone up his sleeve and was stinging him--OUCH! After lunch the same thing happened again only inches from the original sting--OUCH, again! After that, he put his gloves on and pulled them snug around his shirt cuffs.

We had a great lunch which included a heart stopping burger and a milkshake made with real Montana Wilcoxson's ice cream and then it was on toward home where one little Schnauzer was glad to see us!

My Mom called and is feeling much better which is a relief to me and I am also feeling better. All my tests were normal and the doctors are treating me like the vets treated Jazz last winter--don't know what is wrong with you but here are some pills and the pills are helping!

These are some more photos taken on the A Bar A Ranch. This barn was built in the late 1800's and is still in use.

Another of those fabulous bronzes located on the ranch. Mom arrived at this ranch in late May and said this little creek was so full of water that you could not see this little guy's fish--it was underwater. See the fish in the lower right corner of the photo?
The Round House where guests gather for happy hour and after dinner drinks. The ranch frequently has live music here. There is a huge round fireplace in the center of the room and beautiful, comfortable tables and chairs everywhere.

You Couldn't Ask For a More Beautiful Day

Jazzy is much better so we all slept well last night and woke to a beautiful blue sky Montana day. Michael wanted to go to an auction in Big Timber so after breakfast and our walk, off we went. He dropped me off downtown and I wandered into Cinnabar Creek and the quilt store. I am thinking of purchasing a longarm quilting machine and Vickie in Little Timber Quilts was a wealth of information. It wasn't long before Michael was ready to go having not found any treasures he couldn't live without (thank you God!) and we went to have lunch at the Frosty Freeze.

At home I did some laundry and researched quilting machines on the internet. There is a store in Billings that carries one of the brands I am leaning toward so maybe this next week I can stop in the store. I am taking Michael's Dad Nat to Billings next week for cataract surgery.

This is my wonderful Mom, Martha and I standing on a bridge at the A Bar A guest ranch. The ranch can accommodate 100 guests and employes over 80 people--so you are well cared for when staying there. The accommodations are luxurious and beautiful. There are activities such as horseback riding, hiking, fishing and shooting. The grounds are just spectacular with life size bronze statues, creeks, ponds and flowers everywhere.

This barn was built in the late 1800's. The A Bar A Ranch was established in 1926 and is one of the oldest and largest guest ranches in the country. The ranch occupies 140,000 acres and is surrounded by national forest and wilderness land. 12 miles of the North Platte River runs through the ranch.
The wranglers bring 120 head of horses down from the meadows into the corrals getting ready for the day's rides. This is one of the life size bronzes--children walking a log across the little creek. The photo doesn't do justice to the beauty of the statues.

My Wyoming Trip

My trip to Wyoming was great fun but it feels good to be home, too. I left last Sunday afternoon and drove to Powell, WY to the home of my dear friend Jane and her husband Rich. When I moved to Powell in 1992, Jane and Rich became some of the best friends I have ever had, taking me under their wing when my ex-husband decided he was more Texan than he thought and headed back to Houston. Jane is a registered nurse and I taught her to be an operating room nurse and Rich is a medical technologist who now manages the lab at the Powell hospital where we all worked. We had an enjoyable evening visiting and on Monday morning I headed south towards Encampment.

Having heard praise for the quilt store in Greybull, WY, it was a must that I stop there. It was everything LoraLee said it would be. Beautiful fabrics, rooms full of fabric and patterns, kits and ideas. I left there a little lighter in the pocketbook!!

It was a beautiful drive on to Encampment and I arrived about 4:30pm and Mom was very glad to see me. We spent some time visiting physicians to try and get her blood pressure under control and we spent the rest of my visit sightseeing. The A Bar A guest ranch where she is working is an incredibly beautiful place and I will post more about the ranch along with photos in the days to come.

Yesterday, after a really early start and fighting a headwind all day that sucked that expensive gas right out of the tank, I got close to Big Timber and called Michael. He was headed into town with Jazzy dog who was not feeling well at all. She has a very upset tummy and our vet drew some blood and gave her medication to settle her tummy and some antibiotics. She and I spent the night up and down getting very little sleep but she is much better this afternoon.

I spent the day today doing laundry and cleaning the messes Michael and Jazz made while I was gone. We are having some exceptionally cool weather for the middle of August, it has not even been 70 degrees in the daytime for the last three days.

This is Heart Mountain located between Cody and Powell, WY. There was a Japanese relocation camp here during WWII and some of the buildings are still standing.

Jane and I
The entrance to the A Bar A guest ranch.

An Evening With Friends

Yesterday Michael got the metal placed on one whole side of the garage roof. I went out and helped him with a few sheets of tin. He worked way too hard and now he has a back ache but is back out there today.

I worked on the dog bed for Jazzy but it has a few design flaws and I need to work on that.

Last night we went to the home of our neighbors, Geoff and Nancy. They bought the home of our good friends Jill and Terry and just love being in Montana. Part of their home is an original log cabin probably built in the late 1800's. Terry added rooms and made all of the house look as if it had been there for decades. It sits on the East Boulder River and their deck is just such a beautiful place to be. We had a wonderful time--our neighbors George and Shirley were also there and we enjoyed catching up on their travels--they had been gone for the last month to their condo on northern Vancouver Island. It was a great evening!

Today I am off to Encampment, WY for a visit with my Mom. On the way I am stopping in Powell, WY to spend tonight with my dear friend Jane and her husband Rich. We became such good friends while I lived and worked there before marrying Michael. We don't see as much of each other as I wish we could. I will spend 2 days with Mom and stop in some quilt stores along the way to Encampment. So--no blog posts probably until Thursday--see you when I get back!

This is a photo of our granddaughter Kristen barrel racing on a stud horse belonging to her Mom, Shannen. We all tease her for making a boy horse wear pink rigging but Kristen says "good guys can wear pink." Kristen is only 8 years old and has all ready won many buckles and ribbons for her rodeoing. I think she, like her Mom was born on the back of a horse!

Dog Beds and Family

We started the morning off with a long walk then Michael got busy arranging stuff in his new garage--it doesn't have doors or tin on the roof but he has moved in! I started sewing on the Jazzy dog's new bed but didn't have time to get it completed.

I made us lunch then I headed in to Big Timber. I stopped at the quilt store to pick up a couple things I needed, made a stop at the library to exchange some books and picked up a few groceries.

Then I attended the funeral of one of our elderly neighbors, Barney who has resided in the nursing home in town for the last 2-3 years. Barney was 92 and was born here in Big Timber, MT. He and his wife had a good sized ranch just up the road from us. Several of the older couples that have lived here on the East Boulder River never had children, Barney and his wife Maxine were one of those couples. Barney was a good story teller and was always ready to stop and visit. He was legendary around here for being extremely frugal. His wife Maxine loved to visit and go to town (remember, town for them would be over 25 miles away) and Barney limited her trips to town to once a month!!!!

Michael's daughter Shannen, her husband Mark and their daughter Kristen came this evening to get another load of hay and stayed and had hamburgers on the grill with us. We had a great visit and then we rested--I am feeling much better today, the new medication is working! Hallelujah!

I have been lazy about picture taking lately--I'll do better!

A Very Early Morning

The crack of dawn arrived way after we had been up this morning. I rolled out of bed around 4:30am so we could be in Billings by 8:30. I'm getting set in my ways since retiring--I don't like to get up early and if I have to get up early I am giving myself time to have coffee and read the paper.

In a nutshell, the doctors I saw today still don't know what is wrong with my mouth and hands. The vampires drew lots of blood after THREE sticks which has never happened before. One doctor biopsied my finger and that is a big ouch! So we shall see when all the results are back.

It was HOT in Billings today, 98 degrees. We had a nice lunch at our favorite restaurant, CJ's and then we started on the errands. I want to make Jazzy a bed that will fit the top of the antique trunk that sits at the foot of our bed. She wiggles too much to continue to let her sleep with us and since her last winter illness, she does not seem to like to be snuggled into her regular bed that has always sat on the trunk. So, I bought a foam pad and some fleece to make a bed and if she knows what's good for her she will use it or else it's the dreaded kennel which she and Michael hate!

A stop at Target and then on to Costco for lots and lots of groceries. We made good time shopping and were back in Big Timber by 4pm. Jazzy spent the day with Nat and was glad to see us.

As I write this we are getting lightening and thunder and a little rain--hope it keeps on raining.

A Sewing Day

Another beautiful morning in Montana. We, as in Michael and I and many of our friends, keep saying that it has been a beautiful, "normal" summer here. When I first came to Montana we had summers in which it was rare to see 90 degrees and hardly ever did we get over 100. The temperature always cooled down significantly at night making the need for air conditioning nonexistent. Then the drought came and we had weeks of 90+ degrees and forest fires for several years. Summer 2008 is quickly drawing to a close around here, the birds seem to be stuffing themselves for winter migration, the chokecherries are getting ripe and the sun is setting earlier and earlier. We like this kind of summer!

I decided when I got up this morning that since I felt so lousy, I would just treat myself and work on a sewing project all day which I did. I purchased fabric last fall for a quilt for our king size bed and I started on that project today. Because of the size of the pattern pieces, the quilt goes together very quickly and by the end of the day I was able to see what it would look like when finished--it is going to be gorgeous!

In the late afternoon, we rode the motorcycle in to town for a light supper. My mouth ulcers feel better when I eat things cold so a chocolate shake was on my menu and it did help. I have appointments with two doctors tomorrow in Billings trying to figure out what is causing these mouth and hand ulcers--lets hope they have the answers!

Such A Pleasant Day

It was a beautiful Montana day today, not very hot, sunny and pleasant. Later in the day the wind picked up which doesn't bode well for the forest fires around. Montana has several fires burning at this time, even one in Yellowstone Park. The largest fire this year so far is near Red Lodge, a small ski resort town about 40 miles from us as the crow flies over the mountains--yesterday the firefighters were even getting a handle on it but with this wind today, who knows. There is also a small fire that lightening started about 6 crow flying miles from us. We could see smoke and a red glow from it over the weekend--let's hope the wind doesn't send it this direction!!

Jazzy girl has an upset tummy and kept me up and down ALL night long so I have been a zombie today. I did take a long nap this afternoon and am feeling sort of normal again.

I got the laundry caught up and Michael worked on the garage. His daughter Shannen, our granddaughter Kristen and a friend of theirs arrived this morning about 9am to pick up a load of round bale hay. We have little use for the hay, only two very fat horses and Shannen has a herd of horses to feed so we usually donate to her cause. Shannen is a school teacher near Billings.

Not a very busy day but a beautiful one.

A Great Weekend

Our Vancouver Island friends arrived on Saturday about 6:30pm with sore fannies from riding all the way from Sturgis, South Dakota to our house. We met Jeannine and Garnet several years ago in Tucson, AZ. Garnet participates in the shooting sport, Cowboy Action Shooting, as we used to do. We have visited them on Vancouver Island, too. Their friend Donna was traveling with them, riding her own bike--very brave woman! We had a delightful weekend, visiting and doing a little sightseeing. We received lots of encouragement for attending Sturgis next year, we enjoyed hearing about all their fun they had while there. Don't know whether Michael and I are cut out for Sturgis or not, we will see.

The three of them got up early to get started north today and we joined them on our motorcycle for a while. We had breakfast in Big Timber then headed toward Livingston, MT saying our goodbyes in Clyde Park, MT. On our way back, we stopped at the home of our friend and realtor Gwen to discuss her trying to sell our land we own near Billings.

Yesterday afternoon on the deck--it was a delightful, cool evening and the pesky mosquitoes had finally settled down.

Sightseeing at Natural Bridge. Donna is on the far left, then Jeannine and Garnet.
Jazz found a new friend!
I baked a sour cream pound cake yesterday, using a recipe I have used dozens of time--guess I must have been talking too much to our friends because it was a mess--flat and way too dense. My friends were nice and all said it was delicious in spite of its strange appearance!!

A great weekend spent with good friends.

Road Trip

We got up this morning early and decided on a road trip. There was an auction over in the small community of Martinsdale and Michael thought he might find some treasures as if he needed any "more" treasures. The weather was cooler today so off we went. We took the Jazzy girl and a picnic lunch.

In Big Timber, friends Gemma, Ellen and Peg were having a garage sale and we stopped to browse there for treasures. We found an oak coffee table for a bargain price and we are going to recover the top in dark brown leather--should look good. I have been searching for a leather topped coffee table for a while and they were just too expensive, so now I am set! I all ready have the foam, leather and buttons.

The auction had not started when we got to Martinsdale so we were able to browse through all the stuff and quickly decided they did not have any treasures we needed. We continued on down the road and found a pretty little USFS campground by a creek and had our picnic lunch.

Tonight we are awaiting the arrival of our Vancouver Island friends Jeanine and Garnet. They have been to Sturgis on their motorcycle.

It was another wonderful day!

Electricity generating windmills near Harlowton. These photos don't do justice to the immense size of these windmills. They are HUGE!!

Jill's Birthday Party

Early yesterday morning, I got up on the roof of the new garage and helped Michael put the tar paper down. Our garage is now dry and we have ordered the roofing materials which should be here by next Tuesday. I was so excited, I went and got the truck and parked it inside the garage.

Yesterday was our friend Jill's birthday and she and her husband Terry's 32nd wedding anniversary. We invited them to have dinner with us here at home along with friends Jeane and Steve. I spent the day leisurely getting ready and cooking. I love to entertain and it seems to be even more fun now that I have so much retirement time! In the afternoon, we took the motorcycle into town, I wanted some limeade to make margaritas but of course our "wonderful" Big Timber grocery store had no limeade. I attempted to make my own with just lime juice but the margaritas didn't turn out well at all! I use a recipe given to me by a lady Michael used to work for, the margaritas have buttermilk in them--yes, buttermilk and anyone that has ever had one loves them! Our friends arrived about 7pm and we had a wonderful evening. Michael and I were married in the home of Jill and Terry and we have traveled far and wide with them--they visited us in Mexico this past winter while we were renting the house in Alamos. Steve and Jeane were some of the first people I met when I moved here with Michael--they have been friends of Michael's forever and Jeane bought my half of the store, Cinnabar Creek, from me many years ago. Jeane, Jill and I along with other friends hiked into the bottom of the Grand Canyon several years ago.

We have been invaded by a huge infestation of mosquitoes. In the time I have been living here, almost 14 years, we have never had mosquitoes like this. Makes being outside very unpleasant!

Our Vancouver Island friends, Jeanine and Garnet called this morning and they are in Sturgis, South Dakota on their motorcycle and will be arriving here at our house tomorrow evening. It will be great fun to see them. I got busy and cleaned the RV so they can stay out in it and their friend that is traveling with them can use our guest room. Michael was even motivated by my cleaning frenzy and emptied out the storage bay in the RV and cleaned it.

We are going to head into town, this week is the Sweet Grass County fair and I like to look at the exhibits such as the quilts.