So Quiet

What a Quiet Day! All the Company Has Gone Home

click on image for a larger view

This is "Laura Bear", a funny looking little crocheted bear my mother made years ago for Tracy. She has funny moving eyes and is cross eyed - one eye ended up higher than the other. She has traveled many miles, was left in a cafe in Casper once, and has spent several years on the top shelf of my closet. My family was remembering her, I took her out of the closet, and Kasey took her and loved her. I guess Laura Bear is out in the world again.



This little buck, along with several other deer, spent the afternoon napping in my yard today. He makes me laugh. Those are the cutest little antlers, and he was hanging out with the other bucks.

******************************

Tracy called this afternoon. They had a nice Thanksgiving. She sent me a couple of great sounding recipes. One is for turkey/broccoli quiche and one for kahlua pumpkin pie. They both sound sinfully good!

Alice read all the comments left on the photos of her gourds yesterday, and was very pleased. Also, Lynn, we wish we would have had time to come visit you and see your new house.

Leftovers

Well, Thnksgiving is over, and now we have an abundance of leftovers - turkey, ham, and pies, mostly. Everyone eats leftovers for lunch, and pick at them all day, but there is so much left! Barrie made chicken enchiladas Friday. They were deliciious! I had a pan of frozen lasagna in the freezer, and we had that today. And of course there are leftovers from them too.

Mike and Barb and Braxton went home today. It was so great to see them, they helped make the holiday special. Braxton has changed so much since the last time I saw him. I guess that's the nature of children!

Mike took Braxton for a walk up on the ditchbank, and he came home with a deer skull and some bones. He was pretty excited. The next day, he found an antler up there.

Barrie and Kasey were both still a little under the weather, but they are better. Kasey. of course. totally charmed everyone.

********************************

Alice has been doing a lot of work with gourds, and brought about 20 of her pieces over for me to photograph. We set up the backdrop and card table upstairs today, put the camera on the tripod - and I started taking pictures. She has some really neat ones! I am posting just a couple of my favorites here. The gourds photograph well, but she had one bronze of a cow and calf that just doesn't. Bronzes are so hard for me to photograph. I have a small light box, and we are going to try the bronze again tomorrow in the box.

Click on images for a larger view

***************************************

I did a terrible job taking pictures. The only pictures I have are two that Barrie took with my camera. Braxton has parted with some of his old books, and they also brought a wooden alphabet puzzle for Kasey. Here is my niece Barb, working on the puzzle with Kasey.

Day Before Thanksgiving

Yesterday I made the Chex Party Mix and made two loaves of banana bread. Today I am baking pies and "thinking" about dressing. I found Stovetop Stuffing in the cupboard, but also have some seasoned bread cubes I made myself some time ago, thinking I would use it to make stuffing. It's amazing what I can find on the top shelf of my pantry when I get the little ladder so I can see up there. I also have some chicken broth I made in the freezer, and I have celery and onions. So I might make the stuffing myself. I also found some napkins way in the back on the top shelf. Napkins are something I never think about until we sit down at the table.

Today I am doing laundry to get the uptsairs bed ready for Mike and Barb (and Braxton). The king sized bed is big enough if Braxton ends up sleeping with them.

******************************

Click on images for a larger view

Several years ago, Barrie and I were arrowhead hunting on the Mesa when a sage hen flew up, and when we checked, we found this nest. I didn't even have my camera with me, but left a "marker" so I could find it, and came back the next day. I took some photos of her on the nest with my telephoto lens, but she was so camouflaged it was hard to see her, even when you knew she was there. I felt guilty disturbing her again, so I took a few pictures and quickly left.

We used to go the Mesa a lot, hunting arrowheads and antlers, and generally just wandering around. I haven't even been out there since the gas rigs moved in.

When I first got my 200mm lens, I took this photo out the upstairs window. Boy, was I impressed with the sharpness of the lens. Then I found with experience, that not all the photos were this sharp. It's hard to hold a long lens perfectly steady, so I consider this to be a lucky shot.

Barrie, probably two years old, absorbed in reading about Bambi.

Tuesday

Click on images for a larger view.

Kasey watching TV with Mom and Nester.

I never realized this cat had such blue eyes! I thought they were either blue or green, but I never got close enough to tell for sure. My chickadees were out of food and were picking up food off the ground in the back yard. This cat was there, hoping to catch one. I took a picture out the window with a 300 mm lens, and saw these eyes clearly for the first time. It looks like I enhanced this photo on the computer, but this is exactly what came out of the camera. He/She looks cross eyed.

***************************

Barrie got sent home from work today because she is still coughing badly, and one other person in her office is sick. Her boss decided they would all start over again after Thanksgiving, and all be healthy!

Kasey seems to be feeling much better, and me? I am stuffy, but mostly just lazy.

*******************************

Last time I tried to use my little compact camera, it gave me the message that the card was locked. I do have another card for it, so I got some pictures. Later, I looked through the camera's menu, and got the manual out and could find nothing about a locked card. So I got on the internet and googled "locked SD card", and immediately found what I needed to know in a forum discussion. It seems the little SD cards have a little white tab on the side that will slide up and down. Down, it is locked, and if you slide it up it unlocks it. A small victory, and something I never knew before.

Monday

Click on images for a larger view

I found this little pencil drawing of a pinecone in a drawer yesterday. It is only about three inches square.

Kasey, reading "The Gingerbread Man". I don't like using the flash, but it is necessary sometimes. I also like to try to catch "candid moments", when she is not looking at the camera.

*****************************

Barrie brought diaper rash ointment, children's tylenol, and Triaminic cold and cough medice for Kasey this morning. She said Kasey coughed last night and wouldn't eat breakfast. She puttered around here, played with the kitten and with some toys, and looked at her books. I fixed her some lunch, and she ate like a horse. But she had started coughing again. I checked out the cough medicine, and have never seen anything like it before! It looks like a bandaide for a Barbie Doll, and is supposed to dissolve instantly on the tongue. I think Barrie just hands it to her and tells her to eat it. But I hid it under some spagetti-O's, and she ate it. When I put her in her bed for a nap, she went to sleep almost immiately.

I took some old black ugly bananas out of the freezer this morning, and hope to get a loaf of banana bread made today.

Barrie took the glass dishes off the top open shelf in the kitchen for me, and I have them in the dishwasher. They were SO BAD. Dust and grime!

When I was a kid and had allergy attacks, I remember how tired it made me. After my dust yesterday, I am looking at my recliner chair longingly. Would be nice to take a nap.

Cleaning House

Click on images for a larger view

Snow on the old pump I have in my front yard.

A squirrel I fed peanuts to in my yard.

*****************************************

Spent the day dusting, straightening, washing, and putting away. Barrie came in the afternoon and vacuumed for me. Good God! She even does the edges and corners! How nice. I got the downstairs bathroom clean to within an inch of its life.

I definitely breathed in too much dust. Sneezing and coughing all night. Or maybe I am coming down with something. Anyway, I looked for sinus/cold tablets and found that they all expired as least three years ago. I took two anyway.

I am worn out. Barrie is too, because before she came to my house, she shampooed the carpet at their house. She rented the sampooer from Ridley's and did not have pleasant dealings with them. They tried to charge her for two days when she had used it for five hours. And she found that they gave her the large one without even asking, which is $5 more. Neither of us is impressed with Ridley's.

***********************************

Tracy sent me pictures of the new kitten they got from the shelter in Denver. He is black. So far, Rowdy, the other cat, is ignoring him and pouting. Even if he doesn' t really like the kitten, it will keep his mind off pulling out his hair, hopefully. But I bet they will become friends.

Dry Weather

I wonder if we will EVER get snow! This has the makings of a bad winter - It will probably get cold and not snow.

*******************************************

I'm starting to see some bucks around. This one was sleeping on the south side of my house yesterday. He and a doe were there most of the day.

Here is a picture of Kasey taken when she was about 7 months old.

**************************

Kasey was sick last night, and by the time I got up (late) this morning, she had been to the doctor, and was taking a nap downstairs - and Barrie was gone to take care of her dogs. She slept until almost noon, and Barrie was back about the time she woke up - jusst in time to miss changing the dirty diaper! We fixed lunch and Kasey acts like she will take another nap.

I got my new VCR/DVD recorder yesterday, and hooked it up. It didn't work. I really hate the TV I have upstairs. It is too small for this room, and is hard to see it, especially read anything on the screen. Barrie, with her younger eyes, says it is hard for her to read too. I ended up ordering a new 32"flat screen TV from WalMart. The price keeps getting lower on them. This morning Barrie pushed some buttons on the top of the TV, and the VCR we had in started playing. So everything is working. But I am looking forward to a larger screen.

***********************************

Peep was here

"Peep" was a big hit!

Click on images for a larger view.

I tried to run the "Peep and the Big Wide World" video on my desktop computer this morning, and it worked perfectly. I have no idea why it wouldn't work before. Anyway, Kasey loved it, and we had to watch it twice. Thanks for telling me about this, Judi.

Another beautiful sunset from a couple days ago, taken out my window. The colors lasted such a short time, and the sky was brilliant for just a minute or so.

The cat starting to work on the phone cord. You notice nothing else is on the table. I keep a spray bottle downstairs filled with water for times like this. Kasey carries the spray bottle around, points it at the cat, and says "psth". Don't know how I should spell that, but you get the idea.

***********************************

Tracy and Paul are planning on coming here for Christmas this year. They are worried about their cat. He stays alone too much. And since his friend Bogie (the dog) is gone, he has problems. He pulls his hair out. I told Tracy to bring him here for Christmas. I think he will travel just fine, and they can see how he would react to another cat. If he kills our kitten, I guess we will know it wasn't a good idea.

Kasey starts going to Julie Belton next Monday. I'm glad Julie was able to take her. She used to bring all her kids to kindergarten once in a while to pick someone up, and I was always so impressed with her crew. She had a waiting list, but she left Barrie voice mail yesterday telling her Kasey can start Monday.

Yes, I will miss having her, but I'm too old and slow to be a full-time baby sitter.

No pink ruffles here

Happy Birthday, Lynn!

*************************

Click on images for a larger view

I guess Grandmas are supposed to buy cute little ruffly dresses for their grandaughters. But I bought my grandaughter a new flannel shirt and a pair of blue jeans. This is her "lumberjack" look. I wonder what she would look like in a little frilly dress?

***********************************

We downloaded all the pictures from Barrie's camera's card onto my hard drive. Here is one she took from the sled, with an 8 dog team. Imagine what it would be like with 16 dogs up there!


This is a photo I took a couple years ago on the stretch of road between Ethete and Kinnear in Fremont County. The sun was just going down, and was shining on these buttes off to the north.

*******************************

My nephew, Mike, called last night, and we had a nice visit. They are going to try to come on Wednesday night, but if not, they will drive over early Thanksgiving morning. It's about a 3 hour drive for them, and it looks like the weather will probably be good. While he was talking to me, he said "just a minute" and this voice said "Does Kasey like books?" It was their son, Braxton - and he sounded about 21 years old!! He is 5 I still think of him as a little toddler, but it has been over a year since I have seen him. He was talking like an adult then. He is probably shaving by now! Braxton is going to bring Kasey some of his old books.

Painting for Practice

This painting is not a keeper. I will put it on the shower floor, turn the strongest spray setting on it to wash off what I can. Then I can tape it to a board and paint something on the back

Click on images for a larger view

The top photo shows what I brought home from paining group today. It was supposed to be a snow scene, but that failed. So I tried turning it into water, and that didn't turn out great either. After I got it home, and tried painting a foreground and some closer trees.

I got a lot of miles out of this one piece of paper! I did like the effect of the trees in the distance, so it was not a total waste of time. I think the painting would have worked better if I had painted a soft, loose foreground and left out the dark colored trees.

Back to the small studies again - snow and water.

*******************************

Conley got the mysterious mat cutter out today and cut a mat for his new painting of a salmon. He better not get good at it!! We will all be asking him to cut mats for us. We have some nice mats in the art room, but we always seem to forget to paint something that will fit in the mats we have.

****************************************

Barrie and Kasey came in just before I left. Barrie's dad was taking them to lunch at the senior center.

Sunset Sky

Sunset on Sunday Evening

Click on images for a larger view.

The sunset was spectacular on Sunday, and I took this photo out my upstairs bedroom window.

The kitten has learned to climb up the netting and get into Kasey's "baby pen". Kasey threw the stuffed pig in with her today, and she played with it.

Two photos of a pensive Kasey. These were taken shortly before she laid down for a nap. I think the second one especially would be a good reference photo for a portrait.

She had a busy day - she and that cat travel miles through the house playing and chasing. It seems like Kasey should have more scratches and bite marks on her than she does, but maybe the kitten is being more careful of her than it looks. The kitten is meaner than heck to me!!

******************************

Alice (my sister-in-law) called this morning. They were heading into town and wondered what they should get for Thanksgiving dinner. We decided on some stuff for a relish tray, and some cranberries. Bill is already planning to make a dessert/salad with cherries. Alice says they plan to stay several days "IF" I will photograph some of her work. I always enjoy doing that. I have found that bronzes are extremely hard to photograph, but I think she may have jewelry and maybe some gourd bowls.

The propane truck filled my tank today. It was $2.16 per gallon. But I don't know where the last ticket is, so don't know if the price has gone down or not.

Banking

The last several times the Bank changed hands, I didn't even notice it. This chanage to Wells Fargo is not so smooth. I had automatic payment set up with several companies, like the power company, telephone company, my pickup payment, Union Cellular, life insurance, home insurance, and my Blue Cross insurance.

I got an overdue notice from Union Cellular, and when I called to see what had happened, the woman said they had submitted it, but the payment did not go through. So I paid that with my credit card. By the way, do you know that if you call Union Cellular, you get to talk to a real person! How nice, instead of listening to a recording and pressing "2 if you want . . .". Then sitting and waiting because all their people are busy with other customers.

I was little concerned that all my bills were going to be unpaid, so tried calling. I gave up after about 20 minutes waiting until someone was available. Then I tried to register so I could have online access to my account, and could not register without my ATM PIN number. I don't even have an ATM card.

I started over today, and was finally on the phone with a very nice helpful Wells Fargo person, who set my account up differently, with free checks and interest paid on my balance. That's nice. They set me up with user name and password so I can do everything online. I will probably change the method of paying bills. I tried to set up online bill payment several years ago, and it never happened. I don't think they knew what they were doing then. So I set it up individually with each company. The Wells Fargo person thought it was not a good idea for all those companies to have my account information, and I suppose he's right.

When I just now accessed information about my account, I find that they have two savings accounts listed for me, and I only have one. I'm tired of dealing with it today. I'll be like "Scarlet" in "Gone With the Wind" and think about it tomorrow.

Kasey's Watercolor

Kasey's First Watercolor

Click on images for a larger view

Here is Kasey's first watercolor, and she loved doing it. I don't think she was too impressed with the colored pencils, but she sure liked using watercolors. I did the palette part, getting paint on the brush, then handed it to her.

I couldn't stand looking at this painting of the old cabin. I corrected the roof, and added some bushes at the base of the tree on the left. The roof is still not finished, but I think it is a big improvement.

********************************

I am reading another book by the Gears about the prehistoric Indian settlements. I think the location of this one is set in Georgia. Anyway, last night I read about one of the visions, or totems of one of the Indians, and it mentioned a "Many Colored Crow". I envisioned a painting of a crow with lots of different colors, and maybe will paint it one of these days.

I got caught up on some laundry today, and washed my dining room windows. I tried one of the little Windex cloths, and was not impressed. As I haven't been to WalMart to get one of the cloths Judi told me about, I guess I will keep using my old flour sack dish cloths and old cotton diapers.

Barrie gave me some help yesterday - took the dog kennels off the front porch and put them in the basement, hauled an old piece of exercise equipment down to the garage, picked up the hoses, and cleaned up some old dead flower stalks and put them in the wheelbarrow. Now it doesn't look so much like I live in the slums!!

Painting Progress

Work in Progress - Old Cabin

Click on photos for a larger view

It looks like I probably won't get this finished for a while, so decided to post what I have so far. It looks like I need to bring the roof line down on the right side. It will look different when I paint the logs, so I will wait and see. Also need to vary the line of the tin left on the roof. I didn't plan on the tree on the left, but my blue paint had a little hard granule in it and left a mark in the sky. It was either turn the mark into birds, or put in another tree to cover it.

**************************************

I'm not sure if Kasey was showing off for the camera, or if she just enjoys looking at her reflection in the lens.

********************************

I am sort of shopping for a new VCR/DVD player recorder today. The one I have upstairs does not work right, and gets my temper going when I try to use it. I recorded a Discovery Channel program onto a DVD last night - at least the little icon was turning that said it was recording. When the program was over, the DVD recorder would not turn off, and we ended up just unplugging it. This morning I plugged it in and turned it on. It took me about an hour to get it to communicate with my TV, and then it told me that DVD was blank.

Not much progress on my cleaning and organizing today. I did get the little windows in my front door washed, and did some dusting upstairs. But that is about it. I had sort of planned on cleaning up my font yard and porch this morning, but the wind was blowing so hard I didn't do it. When did I become such a fair-weather person??

Thursday

I have had Kasey for the last two days, and am trying to get ready for guests. My house is so dusty and cluttered!! I honestly don't notice it too much, until I make myself see it through someone else's eyes. My relatives are not at all fussy, but I would like to have things half way presentable for them. Anyway, I am not making a great deal of progress. I can't work like I used to in my younger days, and Kasey takes attention.

I came upstairs to get something this morning, and told Kasey to "stay". She climbed up one step and waited for me. When I started down, she stood up, turned around, and stepped off into space on the bottom step, about six inches. She crashed, and was pretty upset for a little while. I think she thought I did it. Later, I was in the kitchen, turned around and knocked her flat. I didn't know she was right behind me. She didn't even cry then, but later, she was running across the dining room floor, her feet slipped, and she fell forward. Thank goodness she didn't fall on her face. But she wimpered a little bit. She has had one of those days her Mom calls "lessons in gravity".

I baked an apple pie this morning and put it in the freezer. I don't know what to expect of it, as it was made with dehydrated applies from a surplus of applies given to me from someone who grows them in Riverton. I soaked them in water for a day, then made a pie just like normal. It may not be fit to eat.

While looking for my Swiffer duster refills, I found a box of "Windex Dry Microfiber Cloths". I bought them some time ago, put them away, and forgot about them. So I left them out and will see what they are all about.

*********************************

Click on images for a larger view

These wild turkeys were in the Black Hills. I really dislike turkeys. When I was a little girl, they used to chase me on my Grandad's farm. My older brothers and my cousin would tease the turkeys until they were mad, then call us young cousins to come see something. At least that's how I remember it. My brother may have a different version of this story! Anyway, to this day, the sound of a turkey gobble makes the hair on my back of my neck stand up.


This is a photo from one of the old slides I recently scanned. I should remember more about this shot, but I don't. I think it was taken up Horse Creek.

Wednesday

I finished this pencil drawing of an antelope a few days ago. It's quite similar to one I did a month or so ago, but a little smaller, and the head is at a different angle.

I started a new watercolor in art group this morning of Rattlesnake Dick's cabin. Or is it Rattlesnake Jack? I threw the last attempt away. I was very happy with the sky and trees, but I messed the cabin up so badly I had to throw it out. I know I can paint the cabin, if I will just pay attention to what I am doing.

*****************************

I received a cute card from my neice's daughter and son-in-law today. They are expecting a baby in March, and Nicki sent a cute scrapbooking type card announcing that "I am a girl and excited to be joining my family in March". I have never received an announcement of this type before! Very creative and fun.

Barrie is not going to be able to take Kasey to the day care provider she was hoping to use. Seems there is a limit on the number of children under two she can take. So Barrie is back to square one on finding someone. I love having Kasey, but don't think I am able to do it full time.

When Barrie came up this afternoon, there were deer lying down in my front yard. Kasey "mooed" at them. She thought they were cows.

My brother has been going through slides our Mom took through the years. He sent me a few, and they look like the color has changed and have lots of small dust spots and marks in the sky. I scanned some of them, and was able to improve them some. The only way he has to look at them is holding them up to the light, one by one. It's pretty hard to see them that way.

Cold and cloudy today. It really looks like snow.

More Kasey

Fast War Dance

Click on images for a larger view

Some time ago, Kasey started using the top of the cat food container in the kitchen as a drum, and I started singing Native American style along with it. She is now hooked on American Indian music. I downloaded a couple of Sioux songs from itunes, and played one this morning. Here she is dancing to the music. Hmmm - must be some Indian blood in her past somewhere.

She was really wired up when Barrie brought her this morning. Tomorrow they are going to "interview" the woman who will probably be her new day care provider. The old one has moved.

********************************

Here is Kasey's first drawing with colored pencils. Well, she more or less drew it. She kept wanting to hold on to the very end of the pencil, and wasn't putting enough pressure on the point to make a mark. I wrote her name, and she kind of guided the pencil on her own for the "S". I assure you it was just an accident that it looked a little like an "S". She doesn't know an "S" from a hole in the ground.

Today we might try watercolors.

***************************

I made a big pan of lasagna yesterday and put it in the freezer. Something we can use for a meal when I have company, although I think we will have so many left-overs we won't need it.

My neice from Idaho called last night, and now I know a bit more what the plans are. They are planning to come Wednesday evening, and we decided they would take the king sized bed upstairs, so Braxton can sleep with them if need be. As they are coming Wednesday, probably Bill and Alice will come then too.

A Kasey Day

It snowed just a bit this morning, but not enough to even make the ground white. I am so ready for snow, but I guess it had better wait until my friend Lynn gets moved to town!! She has been so busy, and keeping her two daughters pretty busy too, during this moving process. Her new house looks beautiful, and I know they will enjoy it.

************************************

I have Kasey today, and as usual she is entertaining me. She and the kitten play, and the kitten left red scratches on one of her hands. I don't know when it happened, because Kasey never fussed about it. The kitten plays rough, and I spray her with a water bottle once in a while when she bites my feet. The kitten seems to be napping somewhere now, and Kasey is in her baby cage (what Judi calls a porta crib) reading and jabbering to herself getting ready for a nap. She ate a banana for lunch, and I tried to slip a grape in on her. She wanted no part of it.

Click on images for a larger view

Kasey pushing Buzz Lightyear's button.

Kasey with a cat attached to her leg.

Eating bananas

Please take this slimy thing off my fork!

Salad

Salad Ingredients

Click on images for a larger view

I finally have two ripe tomatoes! There are other stems with tiny tomatoes, and more blooms, but only two ready to eat. They are about the size of a tennis ball, maybe a little smaller. The lettuce is about out of control.

*******************************

Here is the cow moose we saw yesterday on Gros Ventre Road. She looks old.

Saw some interesting hunting methods up there, and we don't know what they were hunting. Barrie thought the elk season was over, and that maybe these guys were hunting buffalo. There were many cars and pickups parked alongside the road, all facing north, and full of guys in orange gear. They were just sitting there waiting for something to come by, I guess. I am so curious about it. If a buffalo wandered over the hill, it seems to me there would be about a dozen or more hunters shooting at the same time. We didn't see anyone out walking the hills - they were just sitting in their vehicles. Looked like a good opportunity for someone to get shot, or at least a fight about whose game it was.

****************************

I am so sorry I didn't take my good DSLR camera in the hotel for the graduation ceremony yesterday. I thought it would be much easier to use my little compact camera. Well, it was, but the pictures were not good.

Graduation

Click on images for a larger view

Barrie graduated from "Climb Wyoming" today. I think there were seven women who graduated. Kasey has a sign that says "Climb Wyoming - My Mom Graduated Today. Barrie's Dad, and brother and sister were all there. It was held at the Wort Hotel in Jackson. There must have been about 40 people there, and we were served a delicious brunch afterwards.

After we left the Wort, Barrie and I drove out to look at the Tetons, which weren't there today, but saw a moose, lots of ducks and swans, and geese, and some elk way far away. Then we went to Smiths. It rained most of the day.



I got most of the fixings for Thanksgiving dinner - a ham and a turkey. Last time I had Thanksgiving, I made pies, baked bread, and peeled potatoes. Today I bought frozen pies, bakery rolls, and instant potatoes. Will still need to pick up a few things at Ridleys later, but I think I got most of what I need in Jackson. So much nicer than shopping in Ridleys.



Last week, I bought one tube of chapstick, the kind I always use, at Ridley's for over $3.00. Today I got four tubes at Smiths for $1.57 apiece. Smiths is so nice and bright and clean, with wide aisles. Ridley's is NOT.



When we got home, I warmed up the leftover potato soup, and we ate. The kitten was lonesome and hungry! After we all ate, Barrie harrassed the kitten.



Kasey was so good in Jackson today. She sat on my lap through most of the ceremony. They wore black robes, and Kasey wasn't too sure that was even her mom! At the end of the ceremony, they had all the women bring their kids up and presented them with flowers.

Red White and Blue at the rig

Click on images for a larger view.

Well, this is not a popular view for Pinedale natives, I guess, but it's here to stay for a long time. I thought the mountains and sky were so beautiful in the background. I took this photo for a photo hunt for "red, white and blue". The rig did have some nice colors.

Spring Ritual

Another picture from the past. Every year, Chuck had to keep a close watch on Meadow Lake, because as soon as the ice went off, the Grayling spawned. So we always drove up as soon as possible in the spring. Some years were easier than others. This trip took a lot of digging, and a winch and large boulder to get through. I don't know why he didn't drive around this drift in the sagegrush. It's a man thing, I guess.

***********************************

I am slowly working on getting my king-sized down comforter stuffed back into the duvet, which I washed this morning. It's not an easy job. I moved two twin beds upstairs when I remodeled. A twin size was the largest we could get up the stairs. After sleeping on one for a while, I ordered a kit with straps and a sheepskin strip for the middle, and fastened them together. Then I put a thick piece of "memory foam" on top of that, then a mattress pad. So I had a king sized bed, and put a down comforter on it. It's no wonder I like to lie in bed in the mornings!! Pure comfort! Also, the down lets me keep it really cool at night.

I am working on a painting I started some time ago of an old cabin. I am having problems with the perspecitve, but this old cabin is crooked in real life. It is tipping off into a creek and kind of sags.