Wednesday

Went to art group today.  There were only four of us there, Conley, Vicky, Barbara and me.  Vicky brought a pumpkin pie and whipped cream.  Yum.  It was SO good.  Vicky sent two pieces home with me for Barrie and Kasey. 

Got the new bookcase out of its box and the pieces hauled upstairs.  Whew, that thing is heavy!  And you could injure yourself just unpacking it - heavy cardboard and those mean big copper staples.

Desert Dust

I you are old (like me) and have lived in Wyoming a long time, you may remember this horse.  His picture used to be on every postcard rack in the state.  He was a wild stud, captured down by Wamsutter on the desert.  The rancher who caught him decided to keep him.  He lived for years, and sired many colts.  He was in a pasture down by Glenrock, when someone shot him and several other horses. 

Here is a link to the story about him:

http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/field_offices/Rawlins/wh/desertdust.html

The rancher who owned him was named Frank Robbins, and I met him once, under comical circumstances.  Some of my friends and I were goofing around in Shoshoni, just driving around.  It was time for the little bus to come in from Casper, so we went down to the Shoshoni garage to watch it.  (Yeah, that's the kind of thing you do if you grow up in Shoshoni.  Once in a while, someone actually got off the bus!)

And this night, someone did get off the bus - a drunk cowboy, no coat in the middle of winter, no shoes, and no wallet.  Seems he was drinking with some friends in the Elbow Room in Casper, and when he reached a certain point, they decided to put him on the bus to Shoshoni, as a prank.

He was pretty confused, and looked pretty helpless to us, and cold.  So we took him to the Derby Bar and Dining Room, where Nick fixed him a steak.  The bartender gave him a pair of shoes, and someone else found him a coat.  Nick let him sleep on the mattress in the old gambling room, and staked him to bus fare back to Casper the next day. 

And that's how I met the owner of Desert Dust.

Tuesday

 Kasey is listening to "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" on my iPad.  She had never heard the story before, and was very worried about the "Whos" and said the Grinch was rude.  She loves that word. 

Cats from the Past

When I posted pictures of Chloe yesterday, I saw pictures of a couple cats we had years ago.

This is Midnight.  He  just showed up one day and stayed.  He terrorized Barrie.  Once he left and was gone quite a while.  I looked out my classroom window at school, and he was rubbing on the tires of my jeep.  So I took him back home. 

  

This is a kitten I raised on a bottle.  Her  name was Muffy, and Boomer thought she was his cat.  They would play together. When she got run over, Boomed searched the house over looking for her for days.

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

The coat hooks and boot rack are here.  Now if I can get Barrie away from the TV to put them up . . . .



Monday

Happy Birthday to my friend Sally today! Have a good one.

Chloe came to visit again last night, and to eat, and rub on everything.  Kasey was happy to see her.  I had a new book (The Grinch), on the iPad, but  KC would rather play with Chloe.

I was trying to think how old Chloe was, and went back through my old pictures and found one of her as a kitten, taken in the fall of 2006.

This is Chloe with her sister, Dan.  Dan was supposed to be little tom cat, but presented me with a litter of kittens in the spring.  So did Chloe.  They each had two litters before I bit the bullet, grabbed my checkbook, and had them spayed. 

I don't know where they were born, but their mother had them stashed down by my driveway.  Three or four of the kittens had bob tails.  Their mother left with the rest of them, but for some reason, Chloe and Dan didn't follow.  So I started feeding them.  They were pretty wild, because I never handled them.

I'm pretty sure Kat is the great, (or great great?) granddaughter of one of them.

Saturday

 This is a little (4" x 6") watercolor I did this morning.  This is the view from Paul and Tracy's deck in Silverthorne.

 Chloe's moto is, "if it's there, rub against it."

Barrie and Kasey got home last night.  They went to Encampment for Thanksgiving. 

Tracy called Friday.  She and Paul are at their condo in Florida.  They had dinner with Leslie (Snow) and Russell at his parents' house.  While she was talking to me, I could hear a noisy bird.  She said there is a big bird of some kind that hangs out on the pier in front of their place.  Tracy said she's very polite, just sits and watches people, waiting for bite of fish, maybe?  Sounded like a heron - Tracy said it's as tall as she is.

Friday

Now playing on my iPod, Nancy Sinatra, "These Boots are Made for Walkin':

No Black Friday shopping for me.  I ordered two new art books online yesterday.  Besides, where would I go shopping?  Ridleys?

I finished this watercolor of a buffalo yesterday.  Maybe he needs more shadow under him.  I wanted to paint some sagebrush, but couldn't pull it off.

A couple years ago, Barrie, Kasey and I were in West Yellowstone for a sled dog race.  We were in the race headquarters for the drivers' meeting, and there was a mounted buffalo head on the wall.  Some woman from Minnesota had Kasey on her lap and was talking to her.  She pointed to the buffalo head, and told Kasey, "See the bison?  That's a bison."

Kasey looked at her like she was nuts and said "That's a buffalo." 

Chloe came to visit yesterday and finished off the dish of cat food.  Kat watched her, then reached out with her front paw and swatted Chloe on the head.  Chloe laid her ears back, but didn't pay any more attention to her.

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Tuesday

Am I off the hook, Roger? Here are some pictures of Kasey.

Kasey is reading "The Pokey Little Puppy" on my iPad.

And now for Grover and "The Monster at the End of This Book.  For the fourteenth or fifteenth time.  The Grover book is interactive - she can tickle his tummy, or touch the knots he tied so sho couldn't trun the page, and the knots come undone.  She loves it, and Grover is very loud, and I needed a break from him.



Looks like I put Barrie in the dryer and shrunk her.

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

As soon as I finished the order for a new lapatop and came upstairs, I tried this one again, and it booted right up.  And it ran better and faster than it has for a long time.  Hmmm, kind of spooky, don't you think?  I saw a movie once where a computer had human traits.  It's almost like this one was telling me, Okay, I'll be good.  I didn't turn it off after that - left it in sleep mode all night.

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

Kasey came running upstairs the other night to tell me Chloe was here.  She was so excited.  Barrie heard a cat in the garage and thought it was probably her, couldn't get her to come out of hiding.  She was up in the loft of the garage.  So she sent Kasey in the garage, Kasey called her, and Chloe came right to her.  We don't know how long she was in there, but she was kind of hungry and thirsty.

Kasey said "Chloe likes me, but Kat doesn't."  Don't feel bad, kiddo.  Kat doesn't like anybody.  Well that's not quite true.  She sleeps  on my feeet and rubs on my ankles, but she won't let me touch her.

Computer died

I just finished ordering a new laptop computer.  My laptop has died, dead, gone.  I'm going with a Dell this time, giving up on HP.  I've known for some time it was going down.  Wouldn't boot up sometimes, and was so slow,  When I was typing, it was always about five or six words behind me. 

Haven't decided yet whether to take it to Mike and see if it can be fixed.  Our other HP, the one Barrie uses, had a hard drive failure, just a couple of days after the warranty ran out.  Mike talked to HP and convinced them to send a new hard drive, free of charge. 

I did back up the files not long ago, so won't lose much.  But it's a hassle to reinstall programs.

Had a yard full of deer yesterday.  The front gate was open, and they came in, six or seven of them.  Something under the snow must have been really good.

The other deer left, and this poor little guy couldn't remember where the gate was where he came in.  He finally found it.

The magpies are still working on the rib cage of the deer on the ditchbank.



Sunday

A cold gray day outside. Looks like it wants to snow.
I am reading "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote. That guy sure goes into detail.  For some reason, I thought that was the only book he wrote, but I checked on Amazon, and he's authored several books.  I was surprised to see he wrote "Breakfast at Tiffany's".

I was looking through some National Geographic photos online the other day, and found this picture of a snowy owl.  Wow!  Breathtaking photo, isn't it?

XM Radio already has a channel for Christmas music.  I'm not listening, it's too early.  Besides, I have a playlist of my favorite Christmas songs on my iPod.  I just don't care much for most of the new music.  Give me Bing Crosby any day, singing "White Christmas".

Saturday

We had some new snow, and Barrie plowed our driveway.  She loves plowing snow, says all the other "snow plowers" wave at her.  Sounds like a good way to pick up guys, doesn't it?

Did another little 4" x 6" painting in the little Moleskine book.  I have only 12 pages left in the book.  Don't ask what that is on the right, because I don't have a clue.  Maybe a fence?

Poor kid was not "politically correct." 

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

Had much better luck shopping on the Internet yesterday.  Found flannel pajamas at JC Penney for a reasonable price.  For some reason, I refuse to spend $70 or $80 for a pair of flannel pajamas.

Found the perfect bookshelf for upstairs.  I have books stacked on tables and corners of the room. 

Also found a boot rack I like.  It's wall mounted, holds four pair of boots upside down.  We can put it up right over the heater vent in the dining room. 

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

I don't want to read any more media coverage about the scandal at Penn State, and no more "Occupy" stories.



Magazine cover

The Sublette County Magazine and Real Estate Guide has been printed, and one of my paintings is on the front cover.  Gives me a good feeling, and maybe a shot in the arm to get busy and keep my brushes wet!

 And Barrie has pictures and an article she wrote about dog sledding in the magazine.  We will probably have autograph seekers pounding at the front door!

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

Tried to do some Internet shopping today.  Grrrr!  Finally ordered one pair of flannel pajamas.  Then I tried to find a coat rack.  I looked at hundreds of them, and was getting really frustrated.  The only ones I even half-way liked were two or three hundred dollars.  (We have some big nails in the basement.)

And then I got a brain fart, and found these neat looking coat hooks.  The wall is knotty pine, so they won't be hard to put up.  Barrie can do it easily with her handy dandy cordless drill.  (Notice I always say "Barrie will do it.") They won't be out in the room like a coat rack would be, and we can put boots and shoes on the floor under the hooks.  Still thinking about a boot rack. 

Thursday

This is the watercolor I started at Art Group yesterday.  It has possibilities.  I do a lot of pencil drawings of animals, but have never been able to paint them.  I figure the only way I will learn is to just jump in and do it.

I'm using my Daniel Smith watercolors again.  Just can't get used to them.

Les and I were the  only ones at art group, then Conley and Dorothy showed up.  Conley is working on a paining of a fish, Les was working on his Big Horn Sheep painting, and Dorothy is painting peppers, onions, etc. 

Barrie had the bakers rack from the dining room down in the driveway when I got home.  Gina wants it and said she would come pick it up today.

My nice neat dining room is already a mess.  Don't have a coat rack  or boot rack yet, so coats are hung on the backs of chairs, and boots and shoes are just there.  And I have a pile of magazines and cookbooks on a chair to go to the recycling center and/or the Food Basket.  And a large box was delivered by Big Brown yesterday, still sitting on the floor.  Why in the heck do I have so many cookbooks when I can't even cook?  And millions of recipes are available on the Internet anyway.

My flannel pajamas have a split on the back and another on a sleeve.  Guess I will get on the Internet and find some new flannel pajamas today.  Also look for coat racks and boot rack.  By the time I'm done with all that shopping, I will probably just have to relax with a good book and watch it snow.

Tuesday

This will be a quick post.  Have nothing to say, and no pictures to post.

Barrie and Kasey got home yesterday, and the boyfriend left with Barrie's bootprint on his rear.  Oh well.  Barrie is okay, she says she likes her dogs better anyway.

Beautiful sunny day today.  Barrie plowed snow all day.  She's plowing and shoveling different properties all over town.  There are plenty of places to clean, but she would rather plow snow. She's related to her father.

More or less got caught up on the word count for the book today.  I'm about half way through, and have run out of story.  Time to dig deeper.

I'm so ready to read or watch a movie.  I thought about cooking, but maybe tomorrow.  I think Barrie will make our "Ridley's Run" tomorrow.  I have a list, and big plans.

Monday

Got to get the furnace fixed!  I had to go to the basement yesterday afternoon and start it, and again this morning.  Have a gas  log fireplace in the living room that needs cleaned or adjusted or something, and same with my gas log stove upstairs.  Brrr. My hands are cold. Kat is following the patches of sunshine around on the floor, making sure she sleeps in the sun.

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

The interstsate was closed for a while yesterday, and no light trailer traffic allowed.  So Barrie and Kasey did not come home yesterday.  She called last night. Kasey talked to  me and asked if I got anything new for the iPad.

Tracy called yesterday, and wanted suggestions for Kasey for Christmas.  I told  her KC liked little tiny things.  We were both on our computers, and Tracy found this fun stuff on Amazon.  She was sort of looking for Polly Pockets.

These are some  of The Littlest Pet Shop critters.  Tracy got  her the 10 piece collectors starter kit.

And I got her a little pink car and a tree house for her critters.  

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

Don't worry any more about Pinedale power outages, because I have fixed it.  I finally remembered to bring my little battery powered lantern upstairs, so if I'm now ready for it, we know the power won't be going off.

Sunday

Got the dining room uncluttered today. It seems so nice in there now.

If you looked at my blog yesterday, you saw a picture of my dining room table.  What a difference!  The extensions weren't pulled out right, so the table wasn't very steady.  I just pushed both entensions back in and it took care of that problem.  We don't need the extensions out anyway.  It's not like anyone ever eats at the table, although we might now.

The petunians we planted in the aero-garden are blooming on the shelf under the window behind the table.

The china closet is a little cluttered now.  I'll probably rearrange things some later.  Lots of good stuff on here, my grandmother's rolling pin and hand mixer (the kind you had to turn the handle). There's a flat iron, a churn, and my grandma's old biscuit cutter. 

My grandmother's old poetry books are on here too.  I'm not sure what to do with them, the bookshelves are overflowing.  But you can't throw away your grandmother's antique poetry books, can you?

And here is the bakers rack, all naked and ready to go to the Food Bank.  The things on the bottom shelf are going to the Food Basket too. All the recipe books actually fit on the shelves behind the table.  If they hadn't all fit, I was prepared to get rid of some.  I still might.  Too many books.

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

Got a nice snow last night.  Must not have been any wind, because all the branches of the trees had snow on them.  Snow is still sifting down. It's pretty out.



Saturday - clutter, clutter, clutter

Brrr - cold in the house this morning.  I never leave my heat on upstairs at night, and the furnace had gone out.  It was 43 degrees downstairs when I got up.  I went down to the basement, took the cover off the furnace and pushed the round black thing to start it. 


While the cat's away, the mouse will play. Barrie and Kasey might be a little upset with me when they get home.

This is the dining room table.  I am putting it all in a box and it goes in Barrie's room.  She has a card table in there. I think the plastic bags have rotton bananas in them.  Wonder if they are important?

This is my old antique china cabinet. (The only thing I ever bought at The Barn Door.)  The pictues are going in a box in the closet, the sundial pieces are going back outside, and I am cleaning the top off too.

This is the bakers rack.  The big electric roaster is going in the basement, and the Wok is going to the Food Basket.  The fruit can go on the table, and I think I can find a place for the rest of it on the china closet.  If not, I'll get rid of it!  The recipe books can go on the white shelves that are under the dining room window.  Then the bakers rack can go to the Food Basket, and there will be a place to put the coat rack. I just now noticed a tripod is leaning up in the corner.

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

It's starting to look like a blizzard out there.  Nice to be inside where it's warm and cozy.

Need to do some writing this afternoon.  In order to get 50,000 words written in a month, I need to write 1667 words a day.  I'm keeping up, but got behind for a while because I needed to do some reasearch about army life in Iraq.

What's in it for me?  Well, I get to print out a certificate that says I'm a NaNoWriMo winner, and I get a free draft copy of the book.  That's it.



Friday

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

I watched The Country Music Awards on TV the other night.  Interesting, and I couldn't help but compare the stars to singers of long ago.  Yeah, I know I'm old as dirt, but I remember seeing Webb Pierce and Marty Robbins (and others I don't remember).  Webb Pierce wore a bright red western cut jacket with a big sparkly spider web embroidered across the back.  Marty Robbins wore a suit and tie.

Couldn't help but compare them to the male singers today, who wear ratty old jeans, tee shirts (usually black) and a hat that looks like it was run over by cows in the corral.  Gotta love their music, though.

Miranda Lambert looked like she was worried about a costume malfunction.  She wore a strapless dress and kept tugging it up.

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

Just read a news item about a study that has been done in Sweden.  The study shows that men who donate to a sperm bank are well adjusted.  Whew!  I am so glad to hear it.  It's been worrying me.

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

• You've got to be careful if you don't know where you're going .... because you might not get there."

Yogi Berra





Thursday

I've been trying for three years to get rid of this tail, and the darned thing is still there.

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

Small group in art yesterday.  Conley is back.  He has had a tough time with his back, and had cataract surgery.

I needed Conley's expertise on this painting I did some time back. I took this to art group and Conley spotted a problem immediately - it was missing a fin (where I drew the circle).  Conley was a taxidermist, and knows his stuff.

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

I downloaded a couple new apps for the iPad that Kasey will enjoy.  I also got the book "The Night Before Christmas, illustrated by Jan Brett.  She fills the pages with little delightful things.  When Kasey touches Santa's picture, he "Ho Ho Hos", there's a little dog that barks when you touch him, a toy train whistles, and so on.   

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

Maddy stayed in the yard yesterday.  Maybe she's like those dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.  She tests the electric fence, and never goes over the same place twice.  Maybe she'll figure it out. 

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

I have tried several times to upload the video, and it wouldn't upload.  Yesterday I decided to switch from Internet Explorer to Fire Fox, and it uploaded just fine.  Go figure.



Wednesday

Barrie worked late on an office yesterday afternoon and Kasey hung out with Grandma.  I have been thoroughly enlightened.

First, do not cover your cough with your hand.  Cough into your elbow.  If you cough into your hand, you are getting all these germs on your hand. If you cover your cough with your arm, your hands don't get all germy.  (I knew that.)

Next, it is rude to say "shut up".  So when the dogs are barking, I am supposed to yell "hush" to them, instead.  I don't suppose "Hush #!&#;**" would be acceptable, either.

You must say "excuse me" if you burp.

I know what yellow snow is. Kasey told me.

I listen to too many songs.

Kasey doesn't fart, the cat farted.

 

Just think, I used to spend all day five days a week with a whole classroom of them.  I must have been much younger then. 

I also heard of lot of "Mama says ......"  Barrie, your day is coming.  When Kasey gets in kindergarten you will start hearing "But Mom, my teacher says . . . ." Hehe, been there, done that.

KC spelled words and made music on the iPad for a while.

Then she painted rocks and sticks. She switches between her right and left hands.  I think she may be a lefty.

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

Maddy went over the fence and out of the yard yesterday.   She went over onto the garage roof.  I don't see how she didn't get zapped, and maybe she did.  She has stayed in the yard today.  I went down to the garage yesterday and called her, and put her in a kennel in the basement.

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

I cleaned out my spam folder today.  Interesting.  The majority of my spam used to be how to enlarge my penis.  Now most of them are how to get an extension on my incomce tax.



Monday

Barrie harness broke the puppies yesterday and they got to go out.  Barrie said "Instant Sled Dogs, just add water."  They are only 4 1/2 months old.  Those people who say sled dogs are forced to run don't know sled dogs.  They were happy pups.

 Karma, first time in harness.

Kori looks happy.



 Kudar is ready to run.

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

Barrrie put electric fence around the back yard.  Maddie went over , but the fence must have "bit" her on her way over, because she's stayed in since then. 

Oops!  That's gotta smart.

Sunday

 Not the nicest language in this message, but it makes me laugh.  No, that isn't my cat.  I would never ever be able to get her outside!

 The coleus I bought last spring is finally starting to look like something.  It's getting more light, I fertilize it once in a while, and I pinch it back constantly.  It's still not the gorgeous color it was when I brought it home, but it's looking better

Warning

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

Barrie got the back yard fence put back up,   She had to take one side down when I had the big tree taken out.  Yesterday, she put an electric fence up.  Hopefully, this will keep Maddy in.  Maddy is not only as big as a moose, but she goes over a fence like a moose too.

Saturday

The snow the National Weather Service predicted for last Tuesday is finally here today.  I doubt if we get very much.  The wind is blowing a little here, so I imagine it's really blowing out of town on the flats.

Another picture of the polar bears playing with sled dogs.

Calvin and I agree on how to live well.

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

I just read that over 200,000 people took part in the National Novel Writing Month (Nano).  Don't know how many there are this year.  When I checked the forums this morning, it said 52,399 people were currently on line.

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

I was so hungry when I woke up this morning, that I went downstairs and made fried potatoes and eggs.  I burned everything, including the toast, and by the time I got my plate upstairs, the eggs were cold.  I ate part of it and threw the rest out the window to the dogs.