http-equiv='refresh'/> Tin TeePee/Log Cabin: October 2008

Friday, October 31, 2008

Hauling Cows

It is a good think we are retired and flexible! Yesterday morning the phone rang about 8am and it was Lonnie, Mike's son. He wanted to know if we could haul a horse trailer load of calves to the stockyards in Billings in the afternoon. Of course, Michael said yes. I scurried around and got ready and headed into Big Timber to run some much needed errands. Michael hooked up the horse trailer and brought it down to the garage to make sure everything such as lights were in good working order.

After going to the bank, the auto parts store, the feed store, the hardware store and the library, I stopped in at the nursing home to visit our friends Beryl and Jim. Beryl's health is deteriorating rapidly and it makes my heart hurt to see her like this.

Michael arrived in town with his load of calves about 3pm and we headed to Billings. There were three other trailers in our group, too. That is one of the things I love about this community, the willingness of friends and neighbors to help. After we unloaded our trailers at the stockyards, we headed to the Outback to have dinner compliments of the ranch for which Lonnie works. One of the couples, Bobbie and Scott have a 2 year old, Lane, and he kept the party entertained.

After dinner we made a quick stop at Costco and then headed home.

Today we took a long walk and then Michael helped me put the new canvas "leader" on my quilt machine. He then began the icky task of cleaning out the horse trailer after hauling a load of calves around. I guess he was in a clean mode, too, because he washed both vehicles, too--they needed it! I went out and helped for a while.

A busy Friday!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

And More Woodcutting

We are accumulating a very large pile of firewood and logs. Nat has one of those portable sawmills and likes to make boards and it seems that Michael can always find a use for the boards. We only got one load today and then Michael went back up and got the mini-excavator. Claire and Robyn encouraged us to come back and get some more firewood and maybe we will before the weather changes again.

Sawdust flying.

While Michael was retrieving the mini-excavator, I vacuumed and cleaned a little. I also got caught up on laundry. Our front door which opens onto the deck over the creek is a leaf catcher this time of year. Then, when you open the door to let Jazz inside, several leaves manage to come in also. I got out the noisy leaf blower and got rid of all those leaves. Guess my next step is to clean the gutters--all the leaves are off the trees and it looks very wintry.
A little cooler today and not as much sunshine.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Firewood Cutting

Our friends Robyn and Claire live about 4 miles farther up the East Boulder than we do. They have been encouraging us for a long time to come cut firewood so today was the day. We got two huge trailer loads and both of us are exhausted! You have heard the old saying about firewood, it warms you three times, cutting, stacking and then burning it. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day, sunny and 72 degrees and to think that two weeks ago, we had 3 feet of snow on the ground!

Robyn and Claire coming to get some firewood, too.
Michael working hard!
My father-in-law is now sure I am his favorite daughter-in-law (actually, I am his only daughter-in-law, Mike is an only child). He has worn these same socks for years and was able to get them through our little local department store. The store doesn't want to order the socks anymore because their supplier requires large quantity orders. I found the company online today and they are willing to sell directly to me, Nat is thrilled!!! What did we do before the internet?? (We had never heard of blogs for sure!)


Monday, October 27, 2008

Tree Cutting and A Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful day, around 60 degrees, no wind and sunny, what more could you ask for??

I spoke with the folks at APQS, manufacturer of my quilt machine, and a new canvas "leader" is on its way to me, problem solved.

Michael's son Lonn and his wife LoraLee came over today to help with a tree cutting project. There were 4-5 large aspen trees near the house and deck. We decided to be safe rather than sorry and cut them down. Aspen trees as they mature have a short life expectancy and start to have very few limbs and leaves. These 4-5 trees were very mature, providing us little shade and were probably a hazard, so down they came today.

Prior to the tree cutting, we enjoyed a lunch of baby back ribs, parmesan potatoes and salad. One of Lonn's favorite meals is ribs and I have been wanting to fix my friend Kelly's rib recipe for him--today was a good day and he pronounced the ribs delicious.

Which one next?
Two down, three to go.
What a beautiful day, we are so blessed to live here. The peace and quiet are tremendous!


Sunday, October 26, 2008

Wind and Wood Cutting

Oh, my did the wind ever blow here yesterday and into the night. The newspaper said we had gusts of 50 mph and I believe it! We lost 6 large aspen trees in our little ravine here.

Michael cut some trees that were all ready down into firewood yesterday and then cut some of the ones that fell into firewood today. He also built an entrance over the creek to our little trail through the aspen grove that we use on our walks. He has been wanting to get that built and yesterday seemed the time to do it.

I fought the quilt machine all day yesterday and Michael stopped in to help me frequently. The "canvas leaders" to which you attach all your quilts were not straight and it is essential that they be straight or your quilts come out crooked. Nothing I did by following directions from the quilt forums and from my manual helped so I will call the company tomorrow for directions. I was about ready to scream by day's end!

Nat came up for lunch today and he was very late which is unusual for him. Michael had gone out to the garage to get a vehicle to go look for him, that's how concerned we were. Michael came back in the house and asked me, "do you think he changed his clock last night?" Well, that is exactly what he had done, changed it a week early! Why couldn't the powers that be have left the date for changing the clocks the same after all these years? An announcement was made Friday at the Senior Center where Nat lunches about not forgetting to turn your clocks back. I told Nat that there was probably a lot of little old ladies that were late for church this morning that would be complaining at the Senior Center on Monday.

We had an enjoyable lunch, I made homemade beef stew and chocolate chip/oatmeal/pecan cookies, Nat's favorite. After lunch, I decided the quilt studio could stand a cleaning.

Michael's version of a log splitter!
Building the trail across the creek.



Friday, October 24, 2008

A Very Boring Place

Not a thing happening around here unless you call me sucking a burning ember up into the vacuum bag exciting. Yes, I was vacuuming the hearth and an ember popped out and without thinking, I sucked it right up and the next thing I knew, I could smell something burning. I ripped that bag right out of the vacuum cleaner and took it outside.

I have been under the weather again with an infection in one of these ulcers on my hands so as a result, not much happening around here.

Michael did some outside work today and I did feel a little better and got in some mild cleaning but that's about it. Maybe it will be a more exciting day tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Cold

It was only 18 degrees when we got up this morning but we did have sunshine. Our walk was a little on the nippy side!

When we were in Billings the other day, we purchased two light fixtures that use the full spectrum fluorescent bulbs for my quilting studio. Michael installed those while I cleaned house--it needed it! The new lights made a world of difference in how well I see. And speaking of seeing--the new bifocal contact lens is not working--I can see great to sew but I can't see to read. So, back to the drawing board.

Michael decided to clean up the tree that had fallen into the creek back in the summer and turn it into firewood. He also got a roof jack installed for the wood burning stove in the garage.

I had a ball quilting today, it was as if everything finally came together and went so smoothly. I almost finished my Aunt's last little quilt she sent--I only have one more row to go.

Snow on the West Boulder Mountains--looks kind of wintery, doesn't it??

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

New Hair Color

OK, guys you can ignore this first part--I went to my hairdresser in Billings, Becky. When we got home this past spring from Arizona, I attempted to began using a hairdresser in Big Timber. She does a great cut but couldn't get the color thing right. I came home with black hair both times. I gave up and went back to Becky today and once I was there I remembered why I liked her so much. She and the rest of the girls in their salon give you faith in the younger generation again besides the fact my hair color is perfect! Becky and her other business partners were tired of being pushed around by salon owners and decided to open their own salon about 2 years ago and it has been a great success. Becky and her husband, a policeman have been married 5 years and have a 2 year old daughter that does not go to daycare. The two of them arrange their schedules so that one of them is with their child each day. They purchased a new to them house this past April and they did not get an interest only loan!! With everything going on in our economy, it is a joy to see young people like Becky and the group of women with whom she works.

After the hair thing, we had lunch and then it was off to Costco. I had an appointment for a much needed eye exam--I needed new contacts and glasses. We are trying bifocal contact lenses!! So far so good. I ordered some sporty new glasses, too. My old glasses were 4 years old--no wonder I couldn't see!

We woke this morning to another 2 inches of snow and more must have fallen during the day because there is still snow on the ground and it is cold. I hear Arizona calling!

Monday, October 20, 2008

A Normal Day

Not much going on around here today. Michael headed over to his son's early this morning and was able to finish that project today and bring his equipment home.

I got so involved in the quilting studio that I lost all track of time. I worked on my Quilt For An Hour project (I am behind) and then I practiced and practiced. I am ready to load the last quilt my Aunt sent me and get it quilted and then I can send the three of them back to her in Arkansas.

We had spaghetti for supper, I had made the sauce and frozen it a while back so it was an easy meal to put together.

I spent the evening watching Myrna Ficken's Beginning Long Arm Quilting DVD and got some great pointers from it.

See, I told you there wasn't much going on around here today!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

We've Been Busy

Let's see, it's Sunday and I need to get caught up! Friday Michael headed off to his son's to try and complete the digging project but didn't finish. I went into Big Timber to run a few errands but primarily to visit friends in the nursing home. It was a difficult visit--our friend Beryl is having a difficult time being in the nursing home and has a very debilitating, sad illness. I wish I could fix the situation, but I can't.

Friday evening we went to the home of our friends Robyn and Claire to have dinner, Terry and Bo were there, too. It was a great evening, Robyn is a fabulous cook and she had made prime rib. We just had a wonderful time and stayed rather late!

Yesterday, we took a nice long walk with Jazz and she ran and rolled in the grass to her heart's content. About lunch time, we drove into Big Timber, dropped Jazz off at Nat's and picked up our friends Jill and Terry. Thursday was our 14th wedding anniversary and we were married in the home of Jill and Terry. We were headed to Red Lodge, a ski resort town about 2 hours from us. There is shopping and great places to have dinner. It was a very enjoyable afternoon and evening. We had dinner at the Grizzly Bar and after a main course of prime rib and shrimp, we all indulged in one of their famous desserts--ice cream rolled in miniature chocolate chips and drizzled with raspberry sauce, YUM!

This morning, it is raining and Michael said it rained most of the night, I slept!

This is a photo of Boone Mountain taken from near our home. After all the snow we had, I don't think we are going to have much fall color, the leaves look like they are going to turn brown and fall off.


We heard from our friends in Alamos, Mexico and all are OK but the damage to that little village is incredible they said. The Mexican government has been very prompt in getting aide to the town and repairs have all ready begun. You can view photos of the damage at www.alamosportfolio.com. Click on the left door, when the page loads, double click on the top photo on the far right side. All the photos will load and you can just click "next" to view them all.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Ouch!

It was an early morning for us--we left home about 7:30 headed for Billings. The doctors and I discussed and discussed this little 3 month problem I am having with hand and mouth ulcers and they decided to biopsy my finger again, OUCH! They also took me off the super expensive medicine since it certainly wasn't curing me--my pocketbook thanks them! Maybe this biopsy will tell them something!

After the doctor visit we started to enjoy the day--it is our 14th wedding anniversary. We had a nice lunch and did some shopping before heading back to Big Timber. We stopped to visit Michael's Dad and had a glass of wine with him.

On our way into town this morning, we were almost creamed by a golden eagle. He and a lot of other large birds were eating something beside the road, the eagle flew up just as we drove past and I could have sworn he was coming in the windshield! Probably took a few years off the eagle's life too!

The past few nights the moon has been so bright on all the snow we have on the ground that it seems as if it is daylight.

Today we received an e-mail with photos of hurricane related rain damage to the little Mexican town of Alamos where we spent 2 months last winter. Last Saturday night a sudden, severe rainstorm hit this little town, devastating it. All the bridges across the arroyos (washes, dry creek beds) that connect one part of the town to another are gone. Twenty people are confirmed dead and another ten are missing. The damage is just incredible. We have sent e-mails to people we know there and are anxious to hear from them.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

More Snow Melt and No Sleep

For some reason, Michael has not been sleeping well lately, getting up around 4:30-5:00am every morning. This morning, he really did it, getting out of bed at 2:30am!! I struggled trying to fall back asleep for what seemed like hours and finally gave up and got up at 5am. So--it has been a very long day.

I worked in the quilt studio, practicing on the longarm machine and also making more quilt blocks. Michael worked out in the garage for a while and did a lot of reading this afternoon. Jazzy snoozed most of the day--lazy dog.

A lot of our snow left today as we had some sunshine but it still isn't very warm.

We are off to Billings tomorrow, I am seeing the dermatologist/internist again, I am still, 3 months later, having these recurring hand and mouth ulcers. I am about at the end of my rope so to speak!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Melting Snow and Mud

The snow is melting much more quickly than I thought it would and now we have a sea of mud! We still have lots of snow in places as you can see in this photo.


Michael needed to pick up some things at the local lumber yard and decided to go into town. I wanted to finish quilting the quilt I had on the machine so I stayed home. The quilt is one my Aunt sent for practice for me and it didn't turn out as well as the first quilt I did for her but it is OK. I did it totally freehand, no pattern, so that might be why! I did complete a couple of the quilt blocks for my Quilt for An Hour project and it was quickly apparent that I either need a more accurate ruler or I need to be a more accurate cutter! But, the pattern is beautiful and so are the colors I chose--it's a learning process, right??

Monday, October 13, 2008

Sunshine and Plowing

We have sunshine today! Last night's dinner at Geoff and Nancy's was very pleasant. Our other neighbors Shirley and George were also there. Great food and conversation.

Michael plowed some snow today and I shoveled some snow. I think a snow blower may be in my future if this weather keeps up. Huge planks of snow keep sliding off our metal roof making a big whoosh sound followed by a thud! Then, I have to go out and shovel some more.

I had been having a problem with my new quilting machine and called the company. Boy, did I feel stupid when I got off the phone, total operator error for sure! I've been practicing quilting and finished my Quilt for An Hour project for the day.

It sure looked like more snow was coming when I took this photo early this morning.
Another photo of what we looked like yesterday.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Snow, Snow and More Snow

It has not stopped snowing since Thursday evening. We currently have over 3 feet on the ground, yes 3 FEET! We started to be concerned about the amount of weight from the snow on our deck so I got out this morning and shoveled a large portion--now I am resting!

Yesterday we took a short walk in the morning, it is hard to walk in this much snow. I practiced my quilting the rest of the day and Michael built shelves. We had been invited to our friends Jill & Terry's for dinner, they live north of Big Timber about 25 miles from here. Our neighbors, Geoff and Nancy who purchased Jill and Terry's former house were also invited. After much weather discussion, we all decided to brave the roads and Michael was our designated driver. Took us a while but we made it and had a very enjoyable evening--Jill had made lamb stew and it was delicious. The snow plow had been up the Boulder road so it was a little less treacherous going home. Big Timber does not have near as much snow as we do, only about 6 inches.

We are invited to Nancy and Geoff's for dinner tonight and they only live a mile up the road from us, so we should have no problem getting there.

This trio just watched us yesterday morning as we walked.
Jazzy just couldn't stand it and had to go chase a deer. The snow was almost up to her shoulders when I took this photo, now it is over her head by a long shot!
These magnificent guys were guarding their herd this morning. The snow is belly deep on these mule deer.
We look a little snowbound, don't we??


Friday, October 10, 2008

The Weather Man was Right!

We were kind of hoping the weatherman might be over estimating the amount of snow we might get, no such luck!! As I write this we have over 12 inches on the ground and the wind has blown at times making huge drifts! More snow is predicted for tonight and into the weekend, could get deep around here.

Jazzy dog doesn't like snow any better than she likes rain--we took a walk down the driveway this morning and she has been in her bed on her heating pad ever since! Poor dog.

I have quilted all day in between listening to Michael moan about the market--we finally decided to pull some of our investments today, enough loss was enough.

I'm going to try my hand at making homemade pizza tonight for dinner--it's a long way to a pizza restaurant and who wants to get out in this weather??

This photo was taken about 8am this morning and snow has fallen all day--looks like a winter wonderland doesn't it?


We still have green leaves on the trees, some of our trees haven't even changed color for the season.
Our little pond with the house in the distance.


Thursday, October 9, 2008

Getting Ready for Winter

We got up early this morning, Jazz seems to think that 3am is the time for her to shake herself all over and come to bed with us. Then she proceeds to try and push both of us out of the king size bed--she sure takes up a lot of room for such a small dog.

The weather man is predicting historical, record breaking snowfall for tonight and into the weekend and as I write this, a light misty snow is falling. One to two feet of snow is predicted for our area and the weather people are warning that because we still have leaves on the trees, extensive damage may occur to trees and power lines.

Oh, and it was 22 degrees this morning. With all this weather talk in mind, I decided today might be the day to get some outside things done. The summer flowers bit the dust, they were very droopy this morning as cold as it was, so in the compost heap they went. I stored the deck furniture under the eaves of the house, blew the water out of all the water hoses and stored them and mulched some plants. We should be ready for old man winter.

And, as I have quilted everyday this week all day, I decided the house needed some attention so I vacuumed and did all that wonderful stuff that just somehow needs to get done--certainly not my favorite thing to do!

We are nice and warm, tucked in by the fireplace--life is good.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Chilly Weather

The wind blew all night I think, even blowing one of my potted plants off the deck rail and into the creek--oh, well, it is going to frost tonight so the summer plants are done for. We bundled up and took our morning walk and let me tell you, that cold wind made me think of going south!

Michael headed over to the West Boulder again and I hit the quilting studio. I purchased a APQS quilting machine and on the website for this company there is one of the best forums. I love to see the photos of quilts others have made and hear about all the trials and joys of quilting. It is also a great source for help when you need it. Many of the people on the forum have a small photo next to their name and each of their entries is signed with a pretty signature. I started trying to add both a photo and a signature early this morning and was not successful so I posted a call for help on the forum. A lady named Bonnie who posts often sent me a reply and I was still unable to get it to work. Well, mid-morning, the phone rang and it was Bonnie--she has marvelous tracking skills because no where on the forum do you find my phone number. She walked me through the steps and we were successful. But--the most amazing thing is her profile lists her home as upstate New York--she was born and raised in Montana in a very small town about 2 hours from here--Winnett!! What a coincidence and what a pleasure to talk to her!

I spent a large portion of my day doing those half square triangles again. I'm only supposed to sew for a hour each day for this little project but either I am extremely slow or Judy is extremely fast! But, I got them all done. I also attempted to put some "feather" quilting on my Aunt's quilt and I am thinking perhaps I was not ready for feathers, yet!

Mom, my cousin and his wife arrived home in Arkansas today. I bet there was a granddaughter and two great-granddaughters who were very excited to see Grandma.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Half Square Triangles

Michael left early for the West Boulder and as I write this he is still not home--he will be one pooped guy when he walks in for sure!

I spent the entire day in the quilting studio. I finished 120 half square triangles for my Quilt for a Hour project from Judy's blog. Then I put a new pantograph (a pattern that you trace with a laser light onto the quilt fabric) on the machine and practiced until I ran out of practicing space on my fake quilt.

Then I loaded one of my Aunt's small quilts onto the machine and got it all ready to start quilting in the morning. I absolutely love this new hobby/job to be/passion. I have several projects I would love to get started and now that it is about to be winter, I bet I have lots of time for quilting. In the summer I seem to be too busy, spraying weeds, mowing grass, and helping Michael to get anything else done.

I think I can say without a doubt that I am truly blessed to be retired at so early an age and that I have the time to learn this new passion!

Mike and Jazz on our morning walk

Fall on the East Boulder


Monday, October 6, 2008

Happy Birthday, Michael

A cold windy day for Michael's birthday. We took a walk then he loaded up the trailer with equipment and pipe and headed for his son's to work today.

I started the "Quilt for a Hour" project and I think those other ladies from Judy's blog must be faster sewers than me--I was supposed to get 60 1/2 square triangles done in that hour and I got 30 of them done--guess I will play catch up tomorrow! I will have lots more time for sewing then.

When we were in Livingston on Saturday, I bought Michael a down vest--he is probably the most cold natured man on earth and wears a vest even on most summer mornings. Well, when I gave it to him this morning, it was too small and I had forgotten a couple of things for the birthday dinner tonight, so I made a flying trip over to Livingston just before lunch time. (See, I didn't have much time for sewing today.)

Spent the rest of the afternoon cooking for the birthday dinner. I had planned steaks on the grill, my family famous garlic mashed potatoes and the poppy seed dressing/mandarin orange salad everyone loves. Our daughter-in-law LoraLee is having some very extensive dental work done and is currently on a soft food diet. So, I made my corn pudding and a jello salad so she would have something to eat other than mashed potatoes. Michael had requested a lemon pie for dessert and because I thought the sour of the lemon pie might be too much for LoraLee, I alos made pumpkin pies.

Nat joined us and it was a wonderful evening.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

A Nip in the Air

Yesterday it rained a little and became cooler, today there was a brisk wind blowing all day.

Saturday we decided to have a miniature mid-life crisis and drove over to White Sulphur Springs to look at a convertible. The car was a little mis-represented--it had a salvage title, had been totaled by an insurance company at one time and it was doubtful if the mileage on the odometer was correct.

We came back to Livingston and I went to the Piece by Peace Quilt Guild quilt show for a while. Beautiful quilts were displayed, there were some great vendors and I got lots of ideas for quilting quilts. Michael and Jazz took a walk while I browsed. Mike is so good about things like that!

In the evening, we met our friends Gwen and Arch for dinner at the Rib and Chop house and enjoyed a great meal. It was a long day, fun, but long and we were ready to call it a day.

As we were drinking coffee and reading the newspaper on the internet this morning, we heard an owl hooting. On our walk we saw about six buck mule deer and a couple of them had huge racks.

After our walk, I gave the Jazzy dog a haircut and I don't think she was impressed. She didn't spend much time outside today--it is almost winter, Mom, she seemed to say--why did you cut all my hair off??

Michael drained all our underground sprinkler lines and winterized the RV. After lunch he modified my fabric cutting table so the self healing cutting mat would fit it better. I practiced on the quilting machine and cut out the pieces for a quilt. Tomorrow morning, one of the blogs I read by Judy is starting a "Quilt for A Hour" project. It will be as if someone was watching over my shoulder--should be a good way to get a quilt pieced.

Some friends have asked me to post photos of my new toy, so here they are. Ignore the surroundings, it is a basement that needs work!

The table on which the quilts are rolled is 14 feet long and the machine has a quilting space called the throat that allows you to do a lot of quilting across the 14 feet before you have to roll the quilt. The fabric that you see is not a quilt, it is just an old sheet for practice.


Friday, October 3, 2008

Costco Run

Well, the bailout bill passed and if you read any of the financial news you are lead to believe that not much help is going to trickle down to us average folks anytime soon. What made anyone think, me included, that the politicians were going to listen to us??

Michael had a load of pipe delivered from his supplier to his Dad's house this morning and knew if he beat the delivery guy there with our truck and trailer, the delivery guy would put the pipe in the trailer and Michael wouldn't have to reload it later--so he headed to Big Timber early this morning. Jazz and I followed at a more leisurely pace, stopping by Cinnabar Creek for a coffee. Jazz spent the day with Nat.

I got to visit JoAnn's fabric and one of my favorite quilt stores, Fiberworks and we had lunch at CJ's before heading to Costco where we did some major damage just buying groceries. We hadn't done one of these major grocery buying trips in a while. I am blessed to have tons of storage, two refrigerators and a freezer (that at the moment isn't working, the repairman, aka Michael is waiting for a rainy day).

I had picked up some cream puffs for a neighbor and I dropped those off and still beat Michael and Jazz home AND got the entire Explorer unloaded and the groceries put away. He took a lot of grief for that!!

Our beautiful fall weather keeps going and going--it was gorgeous today and warm.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

A Trip to Big Timber

Last night was one of those night, I woke up at 1am and never went back to sleep--finally got out of bed at 4:30 and when Michael got up around 5:30, I did go back to bed and sleep for a couple of hours.

When I finally came to life this morning, I got ready and headed into Big Timber. Ran some errands then had lunch with my friends Jill and Phyllis. I hadn't seem Phyllis all summer and she lives near us. After lunch, I stopped in at the nursing home to visit our friends Jim and Beryl. They owned the ranch that adjoins our until they became too elderly and moved to town. More ill health has forced them into the nursing home. They would prefer and are capable of living in the assisted living facility but it currently has a waiting list. My heart goes out to them, Beryl is especially not happy there.

I came home and had an energy spurt--washed my Explorer, vacuumed it and the house and dusted--how's that for energy!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Michael Struck Gold

When we dug out the mountain of dirt to place our garage into the hillside last summer, water was coming out of the ground in a couple of places. Michael put perforated pipe in those areas and piped the water under our driveway over to the pond. It never totally stopped the water and lately it has gotten worse, running down the driveway. There has been a very wet spot above the garage in the hayfield--this summer there was even standing water up there. On a hunch, Michael dug a trench up there today and hit water or gold as we say in this country when we find unexpected water!! So, he is developing this water spring and directing it into a tank for horse water. Maybe this will stop the water around the garage.

I taught myself how to do "feathers" on the quilting machine today--fun!! Hours go by while I am practicing and I look at my watch and can't believe it is time for lunch, etc.

The medication the physician is giving me for this problem I have--I knew it was expensive but today I sat down and figured out how expensive--$11 per pill!!!!!!!!! I have ordered some out of Canada and it is $5 per pill--now US drug companies, why is that??? Hopefully I won't be on it much more than a month, now.

Another beautiful fall day here, so happy we live in Montana.
Remember the other day about a week ago, we saw a bear at the end of our deck and I went outside to take photos? Well, I think my hands must have been shaking I was so excited or scared, after all, he was just across the creek from me and looking right at me--this photo is kind of cool.