Motorcycle Ride

We were having trouble with our internet service last night, so no blog posting. Yesterday we took off about 11am on a motorcycle ride. We went 250 miles on a loop through Harlowton, Martinsdale and back to Big Timber. The weather was nice and cool until about the last 60 miles of the ride. We had lunch and took our time, enjoying the scenery. When we got back to Big Timber, we stopped and had ice cream sandwiches (not on the diet) and noticed the black clouds building to the south toward home. We got it in gear and headed home getting sprinkled on a couple of times but about halfway up our driveway, less than a quarter mile from the house, it dumped and we got soaking wet. Those were the biggest, coldest raindrops! It was a great day.

The Ringling Church in the VERY small community of Ringling, MT

An abandoned homestead, if those walls could only talk!

Summer thundershower up the Boulder Valley

Rain is coming and soon.

I got really energetic this morning and went out with the weed sprayer and weed cutter. I cut and cut and came back with a Kawasaki Mule load of houndstongue and burdock plants--a good morning's work! Michael is out working on the garage and I have been doing some phone and paperwork.

This retirement life is the greatest.

A Busy Summer Day

We started the day out with a nice walk then Michael got started on garage building again. I did one of my least favorite chores, vacuuming. I also got brave and got online at the Social Security website (yes, Michael is old enough to get Social Security) and changed the bank where we have his checks deposited. It was so easy I was nervous!!

After lunch I headed into town with the truck and dump trailer. I had an appointment to get my hair cut and gray disguised and Michael needed some supplies from the lumber store for the garage.

I also stopped by the nursing home and visited our friend Beryl. My heart hurts for her, she is 92 years old and very independent and has always said she never, ever wanted to be in the nursing home. Her husband has been there since March and she only recently developed a health problem that caused her to be admitted to the hospital section and now that she is better, she feels she cannot leave her husband there by himself. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it all better for her. She and her husband were our neighbors until their health forced them to sell their ranch and move into town. They still own a cabin and small acreage just up the road from us and Michael just cut the hay on their place for them--they worry about fire danger so much. They have spent many holiday gatherings with us and were good friends of Michael's parents also.

I picked up a few groceries and headed home. I attempted to rent a carpet cleaner to clean the RV carpets but they charge you extra if you don't bring it back the same day--do they think everyone that needs a carpet cleaner lives in town?? So, I will have to come up with another solution.

Just some photos of my glorious summer flowers on the decks

A Summer Sunday

I kind of took the day off today and puttered. Nat came up and had lunch with us, chicken on the grill, wonderful cantaloupe and potatoes. The rest of the day I worked on quilting projects and ironed the mountain of clothes that had accumulated!

This is a photo of Kelly and me that Kelly's husband Tom took while I was visiting them in Kansas City.

This is our granddaughter, Laci, upon completion of USAF boot camp in San Antonio, TX this month.
This is one of the quilting projects I completed today. It is a large tote bag for taking to the grocery store or wherever.
The entire bag when not in use folds into its own pocket--how cool is that??

Michael worked on the garage until lunchtime and after lunch, he and his Dad spent a long time visiting about the history of this area. Michael's family came to Montana in the 1880's so there is a lot of history to talk about! When Nat headed back to Big Timber, Michael started baling hay. He had to work on his old tractor a while before it would go--the tractor and hay swather are both over 40 years old!!! Only Mike Clark could keep them running. He got most of our hay baled and all the hay belonging to our neighbors baled.

It was a very warm Montana summer day.

The 4-W's Workshop

It was another wonderful day in the Boulder Valley. We took a nice long walk this morning with the Jazzy girl and then Michael got started on the garage building again. I puttered, watering plants, feeding the birds and picking the rhubarb.

Several weeks ago I ordered a pattern from the quilt store Creations in Kerrville, TX. The pattern is for a bag to take to the grocery store, farmer's market or anywhere and eliminate using one of those awful plastic things. It took me less than an hour to make the bag and it turned out great!

This afternoon we attended a workshop at the old Historic Main Boulder Ranger Station. It was sponsored by our local watershed group and the USFS. It was called the 4-W's Workshop and a short 30 minute presentation was given by various people such as our local weed control coordinator, Stacey. It covered weeds, wildfire, water quality and wildlife. You could also take a tour of the Ranger Station. Following the presentations, an absolutely wonderful meal was catered by Brian, a local young man with an up and coming meat market.

The Ranger Station was built in 1905 by Harry Kaufman, a Guard Ranger who in 1903 signed on with the Forest Reserve as our Forest Service was called then. As a prerequisite to the job, Kaufman had to provide 2 horses, riding and packing gear, camp equipment and his services 24 hours a day in exchange for about $60 per month!! Kaufman was a ranger in this area for many, many years and was well known by Michael's family who lived just down the road from this ranger station.

Lots of friends and neighbors were at this gathering and it was fun to visit and also to sit and look at the wonderful views and be grateful that we live in this beautiful place. Of course, I forgot the camera!

Hay Cutting

Michael started cutting our hay this afternoon. Our hay fields are not very big and don't produce a great deal of hay but enough to feed our two horses in the winter. He also cuts a small field for our neighbors. Our equipment is old, old and I think only Mike Clark is capable of keeping it running.

Hay Cutting

More Hay Cutting

I feel so much better today, my mouth is not as painful and eating is easier. I got a lot done today because I feel so much better--laundry, weed whacking and lawn mowing. This afternoon I have started a sewing project--another bag and also some bags to take to the grocery store to eliminate the use of those plastic ones.

The ranch adjoining ours has cut their hay and is now irrigating with a center pivot sprinkler.

My Kansas City friend's husband is sending me some of the photos we took from this past week and I will post them when they arrive.

Billings, AGAIN

No improvement in my mouth and hand ulcers this morning, perhaps even a little worse. Bright and early I phoned my internist in Billings and was able to convince them to see me this afternoon. So, just after lunch we were off to Billings again! My doctor seems to think as the one in Kansas City that this is a viral problem and gave me some steroids in addition to the medication I got while in Kansas. If things are not much improved by Monday, we will go back for a biopsy.

I spent the morning cleaning, unpacking and doing laundry. Jazz and Michael sure seem to be able to create more messes when I am gone than when I am here!

When we got back to Big Timber about 6pm, we took Nat to the Steakhouse for dinner. We haven't been eating out much as we are trying to diet--Michael has lost 30 pounds!! We had a severe case of sticker shock when we got the menus, maybe our pocketbooks will have to be on diets, too. This is a little restaurant that will seat probably less than 50 people and it costs over $50 a couple to have dinner, now. We aren't talking tablecloths and cloth napkins--the restaurant is attached to the local bowling alley and has a very busy bar, too.

It was a beautiful day in Montana weather wise--sunny and in the mid-80's with a breeze--perfect!

Home

4am came awfully early this morning and my friend Kelly was kind enough to get up with me and take me to the airport. It is good to be home and I had a wonderful, wonderful time--Kelly is such a gracious hostess.

Yesterday we went to Atchison, Kansas home of the famous home decor store, Nell Hill's. I read an article about the store in Southern Living Magazine several years ago and told Kelly about the article. The store is very well known, many of its customers come from long distances and Kelly says at Christmas time, it is considered an "event" to go to the store. I wasn't disappointed--beautiful things on top of gorgeous things. I bought a birthday gift for my friend Jill who lives here in Montana.

Since before July 4, I have been having problems with these mouth ulcers and they are not getting any better. While in Kansas, the ulcers really began to hurt and cause me problems even to the point that I couldn't sleep. Yesterday afternoon when we got back from Atchison, Kelly took me to one of the urgent care centers run by the hospital where she formerly worked. The clinician I saw isn't sure what is causing them but gave me a truly nasty tasting rinse for my mouth and some pills. The ulcers are no better today so I guess I will be seeking further medical attention and soon. I was really bummed, too, because I could not eat fresh tomatoes or peaches--it just hurt too much!

I had such a great time visiting with Kelly and her husband Tom, meeting Kelly's family and seeing Kansas City through her eyes. It was good to get home to Michael and the Jazzy girl, too, today.