Wednesday

When Kasey arrived after swimming yesterday, the first thing she wanted to do was watch "The Wizard of Oz" again.  I think she enjoyed it even more the second time around!  There's a reason that movie has been around since 1939.

I read on the Internet that there were 127 midgets on the cast as the Munchkins, and twelve children. 

I put KC on the iPad so I could use the computer.

Kasey helped me make chocolate chip cookies to take to art group today. It's a wonder there were any chocolate chips left in the cookie dough by the time we got them in the oven.  She kept picking them out and eating them.

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Hugh took several art classes in Tucson last winter, and brought some of his work to share with us.

 





Tuesday

Kasey came to spend the afternoon with me after she had her swimming lesson yesterday.  We had a wonderful afternoon.

 

She had a peanut butter sandwich in her backpack for lunch, but I was fixing my "brunch".  So KC helped me make biscuits.  Then she sat down and ate a biscuit, a slice of ham, and two helpings of cooked carrots.   She said, "Grandma, your cooking isn't always bad."

I had met a woman last week who just moved in, and she had a French Poodle, which her Granddaughter was walking for her.  So KC and I went to her apartment, and KC asked her if she could walk her dog for her. 

Good grief!  I talk to my cat, and my granddaughter is walking ugly little dogs!  What's next?  Kasey will be here again this afternoon, and I'm sure she will want to go walk the dog.

Then we watched "The Wizard of Oz" together on the computer. After she read to me, KC was  getting squirmy, so when her mom came to pick her up, I had her outside running up and down the sidewalk as fast as she could go.

Monday

 
 
I visited with Tracy yesterday.  They had been camping and came home to their new backsplash in the kitchen. CLASSY!  Now, if they could get water and electricity in the kitchen, they would be in business.    

 
Kasey told me they got her aquarium moved to her bedroom, and she put a new seashell in it.  So I gave her a shell that had been in with some stuff I moved here.  I love the way she wears her helmet at that rakish angle.  Reminds me of a local cowboy I won't name.
 

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I called Dr. Glenn's office to get the name of the doctor she recommends  in Rock Springs for cataract surgery, but she's not in on Mondays.  I am ready to do it.  I know I can't see very well any more, and there's no point in waiting.

 



 



 

 Don't bug me!



Saturday

Aha!  I have found the culprit that is messing up Blogger.  Seems there are ads right above the Blogger bar, which I don't remember seeing until recently.  And those ads are the ones that won't go to the background when I am editing or writing a new blog.  They cover up all the formatting options.  Today I noticed the ads load just a little slower then the blog text, and when it loads, some of my words turn white!  I messed around a little with the ad banner and discovered it is little app that was somehow installed on my computer.  I went to the Control Panel, found the program, and removed it.  I have no idea how it got on my computer.  You have to be so darned careful about what you download, and this snuck in on me.

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The deer was here again this morning.  She ate, scratched an itch, and laid down for a while.  Taking a picture of wildlife in front of a brick wall is a little disconcerting.

 

 

 

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 I never even knew there was a National Cowboy Day!

 

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Barrie and Kasey stopped by yesterday.  Barrie hung up the big metal sun for me, and changed the location of the Navajo rug I had on the living room wall.  Now I have a place to put up some of my own work.

 

Barrie is feeling better.  She had quit her job to go to Montana, and then Pinedale Properties sold that part of their business.  Chauncey came to see her yesterday and wants her to come back to work, so she is still employed. 

 

 

 

 



Friday

I just read Albert's article on the Common Core State Standards for education.  I respect Albert's view on this.  He has a lot of common sense.  Too bad we don't have more people in government with common sense.
 

 
I found this on the Internet.  The truth!  I once found a quote in the Casper paper years ago that said you can't make a calf gain weight by weighing him.  I made it into a poster and put it up in the teachers' room at school.  The Superintendent happened to be in the building the next week, and took the poster down.  I guess he had no sense of humor!
 

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Kasey brought my NYPD baseball cap for me last weekend.  My son-in-law Paul got this for me several years ago.  I was wearing it while driving through the Fremont Lake Campground.  I stopped to ask the campground host a question, and she said "Oh, you're from New York!  I've always wanted to go to New York!"  I wonder if she thought I was a cop?
 
 

Thursday

Blogger is being weird.  Maybe it's just on my computer, but some of the words don't show up after I publish.  They are there, they are just white.  And when I try to edit, the advertisements overlay the editing page, so it's difficult to see what I am doing. 

They had a wonderful ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the new apartments, and served a free lunch to a good sized crowd.  I went to Ridley's after art group, then when I got home, I took off my shoes, and my feet wouldn't allow me to put them back on.  So I missed it.

 

 

No deer came to eat outside my window yesterday, but Rollie and Judi did!

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Wednesday

 

This is what I was doing yesterday while the residents here gathered for a cocktail party.  Darn!  Missed it again. (Freudian slip??)  I decided I had placed my bedroom furniture wrong.  I had a huge space in the middle of the floor I wasn't using for anything.  By trading the bed and dresser around, the bed takes up most of that space, and it all looks more "put together".  The bed wasn't that hard to push around, but I had to take all the drawers out of the dresser before I could move it. I had already moved it before I remembered to take this picture.  It is behind the headboard of the bed.

Stay tuned tomorrow.  I'll post a photo of what I ended up with.

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The deer returned yesterday afternoon, and brought a friend with her.  This magpie followed her around, and finally just jumped up on her back. 

 

I've been told the groundskeepers here sometimes spray the plants with something that is offensive to deer and moose.  I think I'll protest.  They are constantly trying to come with activities to keep the residents from being bored and lonely.  Why not encourage the deer and moose to come in and look in the windows at them.  I bet no one would be bored by that!  I'd much rather watch a deer or moose up close than play Bingo.

 

That 's the reason I have said I don't want to be buried in the Pinedale cemetery - they have fenced all the deer and moose out. 

 

 





Tuesday

My friend Judi is a first class detective.  She has located Marvin, or at least someone who says she knows where he is.  Marvin is wrapped up and inside the Road & Bridges building at the Daniel Y. She also found the story about how Marvin came to be.  See her blog for the link. 

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I

I made a pizza (from scratch) yesterday.  So I had pizza for breakfast this morning, and will probably have pizza tonight.  And maybe tomorrow for lunch?  It was good, but not that good!

 

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I haven't seen the buck that was hanging around here lately, but this pretty little doe rested for a while outside my window, after trimming some of the flowers and bushes.  Maybe she has a fawn stashed somewhere near.

 

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I just ripped up a watercolor painting I started a while back.  I always use Arches watercolor paper, but am having problems with the 11" x 14" block.  The paper buckles when it gets wet, and doesn't flatten again.  I guess I will have to wet it, stretch it, and staple it to my board before I can paint on it.

 







So where the heck IS Marvin?

Judi posted on Facebook wondering if anyone knew the location of Marvin.  There was  plenty of speculation, but it appears no one knows for certain where Marvin is.  (See yesterday's blog.) Maybe someone should notify the Sheriff's Department that Marvin is missing!

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There was a plastic bag under the art table I thought contained things that needed to be put away in the medicine cabinet.  When I emptied it this morning, I found my missing mechanical pencils, my missing pocket knife, and some more items from the art room.  I knew these things would turn up, because I already have a new pocket knife and two new mechanical pencils.

 

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Kasey is showing me where she lost two teeth. 

 

A lean, mean, pedaling machine! 

 

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It got very warm here yesterday - in the 80's, but I never even turned the fan on.  For some reason, my apartment never got too hot.  Nice.

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So, will someone please tell me why I have a sense of accomplishment when I make a list, when I haven't really accomplished anything?



 

 





Saturday

My blog yesterday sparked a discussion about "Marvin".  Remember Marvin, the controversial large sculpture of a cowboy's head that was full of holes.  Many didn't consider the sculpture "art" at all, and I have to admit I wasn't real impressed with him.  There was a debate whether or not to leave him out in view, and eventually he was stored "somewhere" while they were landscaping or something.

Well, Marvin never appeared in public again in Pinedale, and some of us are wondering what became of him.  Betty thought maybe he was in Big Piney, maybe at the fairgrounds?

Anyone know where Marvin is?

 
Poor Marvin!  Gone but not forgotten!

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"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"   On this day in 1969.  I remember watching this on TV when I was in summer school in Laramie.  First step on the moon!

Friday

About the only news I found in the paper this morning was about the ongoing debate in Big Piney whether to allow chickens within the town limits or not.  It sounds like the whole town has chosen  sides and is ready for battle.

 

There is a petition being circulated, and this graphic has been on the Internet.  There have been a few famous debates in Pinedale I remember from the past.  Like whether or not to allow "Tyler's Twirlers" to march in the Rendezvous parade.  And whether or not to let Buck Martin carry his gun in the bar.  The Buck Martin incident even got national TV coverage.

Well, personally, I would love to hear a rooster crow in the morning. 

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I am busily planning my supper.  I have some left over cole slaw, two hot dogs, part of a head of cabbage, and a little baked beans and a little kielbasa casserole (with cabbage).  I think that is the makings of a fine meal, don't you?  And I have a fresh loaf of  cottage cheese and chives bread.

 

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I know I have a sick sense of humor, but this is one of the funniest ads I've seen in a long time.



Thursday

I turned on the fan and left the door to the hallway open today.  I think it's going to be really hot.  The weather forecast says it will get up to 84°.  I don't plan on doing much today!

I seem to have misplaced my mechanical pencils in the move, so I ordered a new one.  It came yesterday.  Nothing like a new toy to get you started on something.  I worked on the pencil drawing of the Tetons for a couple hours this morning.  I also did some more sorting through art supplies and paper. 

My apartment was cleaned this morning, and bedding washed.  How nice to be so spoiled!  They don't clean the darned litter box though.

When I hurt my foot, Barrie not only cleaned for me,  cooked for me, did my laundry, and even cleaned the litter box.  Can't hire help like that!

 

Wednesday

There were only four of us at art group today.  Conley painted on the new easel he made, using a piece of white board and  tripod I gave him. I should have taken a picture of it.  He saw the idea in a magazine and built one.

I went to Ridley's after art and got a few things. 

The UPS guy came again today.  He is so nice.  He took the big box the cat tree came in to the dumpster for me.

 

The cat likes her new tree.  She was happily sitting in the bed gazing out the window, when the wind blew the curtain over her like a butterfly net.  So she went under the bed.  Early this morning, I saw that she was sleeping in the bed part.  I know she will enjoy sharpening her claws on the pole (sisal).  My furniture will appreciate that.

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Barrie got Kasey a larger bike, with no training wheels.  They rode their bikes here to see me, and Barrie says she can't keep up with her. 

 

 

I have no idea if this is true or not - if we credit Shakespeare with all these sayings.  Someone who is really curious and has a lot of time should research it.

 





Monday

Yay!  Kasey is home!  I haven't seen her yet, but talked to her on the phone last night.  She has another loose tooth.

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The nurse who I watched fireworks with knocked on my door Saturday night.  She wondered if I wanted to go outside and sit for a while.  The sprinklers were running on the bench close to my door, so we went out front.

 

 

Betty Jo had just been here to tell me they were singing country gospel music in the Heritage Room.  I made the excuse that I was already in my pajamas.  Well, Nicky and I, both in our pajamas, and both with a beer in our hands, walked right by the Heritage Room and sat outside.  Nicky smoked and I smelled it.  Maybe no one in the Heritage Room noticed us.

 

Last night I heard loud voices in the hallway.  I was taking my laundry down the hall.  Two nurses were with a man with a walker, and he was MAD!  I don't know why he was so angry, but he was yelling and cursing at them.  They reminded me of two border collies, carefully trying to herd him, without touching him,  back down the hall to the nursing wing. I guess they got him there, because it got quiet. 

 

 

 

I like to use "Blue Tac" as an eraser when I am doing a pencil drawing.  The trouble is, the cat is crazy over it, and is always taking it.  I can't smell anything, but the cat knows when I have some out.  I put a piece high on the refrigerator, and she smelled it and knew it was there.  (I drew a red circle around it.)  I would like to know how it ended up on the bedroom floor yesterday morning!

 





Saturday

My friend Judi stopped by this morning.  She brought me a pocket knife from the food basket.  I seem to have lost mine, and I'm sure it will show up now.  The only thing I use it for is scratching lines in wet watercolor. 

Someone knocked on my door this morning to tell me they were putting chairs out on the street for residents to watch the Rendezvous parade.  It was only about 56 °, and the wind was blowing.  Yes, I've turned into a wimp.  Besides, I've already seen the parade plenty of times over the years.

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I got stupid and ordered Kat a new tree - much smaller and shorter than the one she had at the house.  When did I turn into a little old lady with a cat?

 



Friday

Rendezvous has officially started, and I'm afraid they're going to have to carry  on without me this year.  Traders' Row has been moved down by the courthouse on Main Street this year, so it won't be set up in front of Sublette Center.

I've attended many Rendezvous celebrations in the past years, and somehow, they aren't as much fun as they used to be!

 

My Interior Decorator from down South came to visit yesterday, and before she left, she decided I had to move the artificial plant from the top of the refrigerator to the top of the kitchen cupboards. She put it up there for me. I think it looks great there!  Now I have to get Barrie to bring the large decorative bowls I have at the house and put them up there too.

 

Had a great visit.  Funny that we lived so close to each other in Pinedale for years, and never took the time to visit much.  We sure didn't run out of things to talk about.  Good luck, Pete and Sally, in your endeavors in AZ.

 

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Things don't always go as planned.  Barrie will not be going to Montana.  And the company she worked for has been sold.  She and Kasey will be staying at the house for now.  She will put the utilities in her name, and continue to work on things to get the house ready for market one of these days.  Just not as soon as our original plans.

Thursday

They are mowing the lawn outside my windows.  I love the smell of freshly mown grass.

Too much going on yesterday, and I didn't post to my blog.

I started with art group at Rendezvous Pointe.  I even took blueberry muffins I made with my own little hands!  The new cutting head for the circular mat cutter finally came in, and Conley spent a long frustrating (for him) time cutting an oval mat.  He did a great job, but it did take him quite a while.

After I came home, I cleaned out the bag I have been packing around for several years with watercolor supplies in it.  Gross!  I have no idea what was in the bottom of it.

Barrie brought more things from the house, and picked me up to go the courthouse to get her clear title on her pickup.  When she bought it, my name was on the title along with hers. 

After we got her new title, she suggested we go to the Cowboy.  What fun!  I haven't set foot in a bar for longer than I like to admit.  The place was almost empty, enjoyed visiting with Lila and a few other people, had a couple of beers, and we had a great time.

Tuesday

Now playing on my iPod, Tom T. Hall, "Faster Horses"

I got three packages in the mail today, and UPS brought me one.  I need to space them out better.

 

I used these small shelves in the cupboards at the house, and loved them.  I only bought one for the apartment, but I think one is enough.  It helps organize the cabinet, and makes things easier to reach.

 



I have been missing my shaker.  I had one at the house for flour, and it is handy to sprinkle flour on the board when I am making bread or biscuits.  I keep my flour in a large metal container under the sink, and have to take the garbage can out to get to it.  The one I used at the house is pretty cruddy, so I splurged for a new one.

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I talked to Barrie this morning.  She has been taking loads to the dump.  I don't even want to know what.  But it sounds like she is making lots of progress on the house.  I haven't been up there for more than a week. 

 

Kasey is to be home Sunday.  Geez, she has been gone a long time.  I think she's homesick.

  

Mad Bluebird

This is the picture I got hung yesterday above the table in the kitchen/dining room.  Tracy got me this framed print of "The Mad Bluebird" several years ago.  It's 16" x 20". 

I Googled this photo and read the story about how the photographer caught this image.  He said it was just a lucky break.  He had his camera set up on a tripod in his back yard, aimed at the fencepost, and just waited.  When this bird flew in, he shook his feathers, looked directly at the camera, and this is the result

The photo is famous, and because of it, the photographer was able to quit his job as an electrician, and become a full time nature photographer.  In addition to the framed print, you can buy coffee coasters, coffee mugs, suncatchers, mouse pads, and other gifts with this image. 

I'm glad I have him hanging on my wall.  I don't know about you, but it makes me smile every time I look at it.

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Sunday

I am washing Kleenex today.  I had hoped to just wash clothes, but the Kleenex snuck in when I wasn't looking.

I think it's interesting that "Kleenex" is a proper noun and is capitalized in my spell checker.  As far as I know, no other facial tissue has that distinction.

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My poor pickup has spent its entire life being pampered and parked in a garage.  Now it's living "on the street" so to speak.  I just ordered a windshield shade for it.

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We had quite a rain storm yesterday with plenty of thunder and lightening.  One bolt of lightening looked like it hit the ground between here and Ridley's, and the crack of thunder was deafening.  It looks like we might get more rain this afternoon.  We can always use the rain, but I am just hoping we don't have any fires from the lightening.

 

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I hung my "Mad Bluebird" picture above the table yesterday.  I like it there.  I still have four things to hang up. 

 



July 6

Don't know where the day has gone.  It's already 5:00. 

We had a beautiful rain yesterday afternoon, then it quit for the fireworks, then rained quite a bit more during the night. 

I stepped out the door last night expecting to find quite a few people there to watch the fireworks.  The only person there was a nice young woman - a nurse from Star Valley who stays in an apartment here when she's on duty.  We enjoyed the fireworks together, and she let me smell her cigarette smoke.  Although I quit smoking years ago and have never had to urge to smoke since, I still like the smell of it when someone else is smoking.  Especially if it's outdoors. 

The fireworks were spectacular, as usual.  Thanks, Fire Department.  It was fun to hear people cheering and horns honking all over town.

July 4th

Slow, lazy day so far.  Hope we get some rain this afternoon.  We got just enough yesterday to make it smell good outside.

 

These are the muffins I made with the gluten free flour.  They were edible, but just barely,  We ate them when Bill, Alice, and Barrie were here for supper.  The next morning, I tossed them in the garbage when I was making breakfast.  Alice said she wanted them for breakfast, so we took two of them out of the garbage (we hadn't put anything else on top of them), brushed a few coffee grounds off, and Alice ate them with her sausage and eggs.  I suppose she will tell everyone my cooking hasn't improved one bit, and that I made her eat out of the garbage!

Did I say she took the gluten free flour home with her?  I'm through with gluten free baking.

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I'll watch the fireworks tonight, but I don't plan on working hard to take pictures.  I took this one a couple of years ago.  I set one of my big DSL cameras on a tripod and set it to the setting where I depress the button on the remote cable, and the shutter will stay open as long as I want.  What a lot of work, but I did get some nice fireworks photos.

 

Kat will be hiding under the bed during the fireworks, and may not come out for hours.  I always feel sorry for the dogs in town while the fireworks are going off.  Julie E. told me once she always put in a lot of hours after The Fourth helping people find their pets.





Wednesday

Just got back from art group at Rendezvous Pointe.  A lot of people stayed for lunch, as they were grilling steak outdoors and corn on the cob.  Smelled good, but I have too many leftovers at home.

These three pencil drawings are hanging in the hallway at Sublette Center.  I think they are my favorite works of art in the building.  They are about 9" x 12".  I don't know if they are originals or not.  They could be copies and have been reduced, because the pencil work is extremely fine and the artists name is too small to read.  Nevertheless, they are beautiful.

I started a new watercolor this morning of an old barn. I'm going to take my time with the barn, and pay attention to details.  Still have high hopes for the painting!

Tuesday

Bill and Alice got here yesterday.  We had a wonderful visit.  We went to the house, and Barrie and Bill loaded the antique sewing machine in their van, my fancy Singer sewing/embroidery machine, the old hand pump from the farm where Bill and I grew up, plus several other things they saw.  The van was pretty full by the time we got it all in.  There was just enough room for Alice!!

Barrie came to the apartment for supper.  I had pork loin, and peas and potatoes.  Not bad.  We all enjoyed sitting around talking after supper.

 

Alice complained that she didn't see any wildlife between here and Idaho Falls.  As if on command, this nice little buck showed up outside my window.  He didn't stay long, just stopped in to say hello.

 

When the couch is made out into a bed, it pretty well takes up the whole living room.  Bill and Alice said it was very comfortable.  It appears you are looking through a doorway into another room, but that is just Alice and me, reflected on the window glass.

After breakfast, Alice and I went downtown and stopped in one shop.  We drove around a bit, saw all the new construction, and drove out to the elementary school. 

Then we went to the Food Basket, where Alice got two pairs of jeans.  Judi had gone to Rendezvous Pointe, probably for lunch.  The Food Basket was full of screaming, running kids, all of whom were knocking things off the shelves, playing with things, throwing them at each other, and being totally obnoxious.  The two women who seemed to in charge of them, were on their cell phones, not talking English.  Didn't take me long to want to be out of there.