Tuesday

I tried up upload this yesterday, several times.  It finally uploaded last night.  Blogger doesn't seem to like videos.

I don't know how long she would have kept singing this if I hadn't cut her off and told her that was plenty!  When I tried to get her to sing "Red Solo Cup", she told me she didn't know the words.  But she can sure sing along with it when she hears it on the radio.

I'm reading a new book on my Kindle, "LOST" by Rob Guthrie.  I already read his first book, "Black Beast", and enjoyed it.  Rob is from Pinedale.  I never taught him, but I taught his younger sister.  His mom, Donna, worked with me as a teachers' aide.

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  If I lived in Italy, I think I would stay home on New Years Eve.  Those Italians really go all out to celebrate!  "Two men were killed and 561 other people were wounded as Italians celebrated the New Year with massive displays of illegal and homemade fireworks. "

Monday

Kasey and her new puppy, which she named "Jingle".  It has a jingle bell around its neck, but it doesn't have the little ball in it that makes it jingle.  ???

Using the new app on the iPad, Disney's "It's a Small World".  I love the smiling Winnie Pooh on her pajamas.

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Read an article on my Yahoo News Page this morning:

The top ten Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of 2011 are:

•Convict sues couple he kidnapped for not helping him evade police

•Man illegally brings gun into bar, gets injured in a fight, then sues bar for not searching him for a weapon

•Young adults sue mother for sending cards without gifts and playing favorites

•Woman disagrees with store over 80-cent refund, sues for $5 million

•Mom files suit against exclusive preschool over child's college prospects

•Man suing for age discrimination says judge in his case is too old

•Obese man sues burger joint over tight squeeze in booths

•Woman sues over movie trailer; says not enough driving in "Drive"

•Passenger's lawsuit says cruise ship went too fast and swayed from side to side

•Mother sues Chuck E. Cheese – says games encourage gambling in children

New Years Day

Happy New Year! (But it doesn't feel new to me.) I missed midnight, so wasn't even aware when of the time you're supposed to jump around and yell. 

I watched a movie last night - a terrible  movie.  It was about a man and woman who meet at a wedding.  Turns out (I finally figured out) they used to be married to each other.  She was very British and hard to understand.  And the entire movie was filmed with a split screen.  Sometimes they just showed different views of the same scene, but sometimes one side showed flashbacks  of their lives when they were young.  (At  one time, the film showed them  making love in her hotel room, while the other side showed them making love 15 years before.)

The  movie ends with her getting in a cab to the airport, and he is standing on the sidewalk watching her leave.  Then the next scene shows him in the cab with her, talking about how hard it is to be happy.  I have no idea how the movie actually ended.

After that terrible movie, I watched Babe.  THAT'S a movie  I can understand. 

Shouting!

Saturday

As we don't have any snow to speak of, I thought I'd go through my pictures and post a couple of January photos from years past. 

This deer was standing in the deep snow along the road out by the Air Force station on the Boulder Road.  I took the picture years ago with my Minolta SLR camera on slide film, with an 800 mm mirror lens.

These two plastic "garden"  rabbits sat on top of a stump in my back yard.  We moved them to the front yard when Jarvi and Shorty moved into the back yard.

Oh how I miss the snow! 

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I don't know why I'm even bothering, but I am going through files on the old HP laptop and removing everything I think it can live without.  Maybe that will help get it back in running condition.  I can't believe all the crap that gets put on the hard drive of a computer by other programs.  It actually booted up on the first try this morning, then spent a long time making updates to itself and configuring.  Who knows what it's doing?

Friday

Have spent the entire morning fussing around with computer.  My new laptop came with McAfee anti virus program installed, and the trial period is running out.  I have a license for Norton that is good for three computers, so had to do some reading and researching.  It was already installed on 3 computers, but I remeoved it from the old HP laptop.  Dowloaded Norton to this computer, entered the key, and I guess I now have Norton activated.

I got Barrie a new 4GB memory card for her camera.  Her camera won't accept it, says it is locked.  I tried it in my compact camera, and it says it is the wrong card.

My Canon Rebel also uses an SD card, and it worked perfectly in that camera.  What the heck?  In the past, my SD cards work in both the Rebel and the compact camera. 

Ahhhh! Don't you just love technology?

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Barrie's Christmas was jinxed.  The card for her camera won't work, and the book I ordered her didn't come.  When I tried calling about it before Christmas, they were closed for the holidays, so I sent an e-mail.  Got a reply a couple days ago.  They said it shipped separately, and it was on its way.  Date of shipment was 11/29.  Wait a minute!  That was a month ago!  How did they ship it anyway?  By mule train.

So another e-mail this morning questioning them.  Merry, merry Christmas, Barrie!

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I ordered a bunch of picture mats for our artist group a couple days ago.  Maybe I got a little carried away, but we never seem to have the right mat for our work.  And our group has plenty of money, so we can afford it.  They will weigh a ton, and Barrie has promised that she will deliver them to the art room at Rendezvous Pointe when they come in.

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Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

When blondes have more fun, do they know it?

 



Thursday

 Got a Christmas card from my friend and former teaching partner, Heidi.  She and Bob live in Washington state, and have two boys.  Don't these guys make you smile just looking at them?   They look like "keepers" to me.

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As always, the NWS predicted something that didn't happen.  We got a little skiff of snow last night, but not the winter storm they predicted.  Sunny this morning, and the wind is blowing.

I have pounded the heck out of a beef roast this morning with my handy dandy little meat tenderizer with 42 little knife blades.  I rubbed it all over with a rub I found in the cupboard for roasts and steaks.  I am tired of trying to make decent food in my crock pot or pressure cooker.  This roast is going to be cooked the old fashioned way, in the oven with carrots, potatoes and onions around it.  Stay tuned to see if the dogs got it, or if we liked it.

My watercolor antelope is almost finished.  I am going to start practicing painting sagebrush on scrap paper today.  Maybe I can actually learn to paint a reasonable facsimile of sagebrush.

Wednesday

I had a real shock when I walked into the art room at Rendezvous Pointe this morning.  Kasey was sitting at a table, and Lenore was combing her hair.  Then I realized it was Tegan, Lenore's granddaughter.  They are both four years old and look so much alike it's scary.  Lenore was hoping I would have Kasey with me and they could play. 

Kasey was all gussied up last night with blue fingernails, her fancy shirt, and her jewelry and wrist watch.

My stove has quit, kaput, the pilot light is even off. I  left a message on Gene Paul's answering machine, but I think they may be out of town for Christmas.  I brought an electric heater up here, and it's not too bad.  The new slipper sox Paul and Tracy got me for Christmas have come in handy!  I dread seeing my electric bill next month.

Someone's fourth birthday?  Whose?

Monday

Kasey loves her "Little Pet Shop" animals Paul and Tracy got her.  They are really cute.

I got her a "magic tree house" for her animals.  Sorry, Barrie.  I had no idea it would be so big and so complicated and it even takes batteries.  

And she took all the animals for a ride in the pink pet shop car.

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From Christmas past.  We had come back to Wyoming from Colorado for Christmas this year.  I think Tracy must have been two.  We put her to bed, and got her up later to tell her that Santa had come.  She loved the doll and buggy.  She started down my mom's hallway (hardwood floor).  She was wearing footed pajamas with no skid proof soles, and when she hit the slick floor, her feet went out from under her and she ended up on her back with the doll and buggy on top  of her.

Barrie got this big "pillow" leopard for Christmas one year.  I thought she would really like it, but I found in on my bed every night after she went to bed.  Finally got her to admit that she didn't like it, and that it scared her.  She wouldn't sleep with it in the room.

Saturday - Staying Warm

Gene Paul came yesterday and worked on my upstairs stove.  I had taken the glass and grid off and sprayed it with canned air.  Boy, did the dust fly out!  But then I couldn't get the pilot lit. 

I wonder if the fact that I was his first grade (and second grade) teacher had anything to do with the fast service I got?  Because he came within a couple hours after I called.

He is ordering a new part for the furnace in the basement, and will clean the gas log fireplace in the living room.  He said my switch on this stove might be faulty and he will bring a new one when he comes back.

I hope he didn't charge me by the hour.  He looked through my art work, we talked, and he even played with the cat.

Still have to get Kasey's presents wrapped.  Barrie's gift won't be here in time for Christmas.  When I called to ask about it, the message said they were closed for the holidays.  So she will get a picture of her present. 

Got a note from a woman who bought one of my pencil drawings.  She wants to buy the watercolor of the trout I have hanging in the art room at Rendezvous Pointe.  Nice.

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If you have a cat AND an iPad (which I do), you should read this article about how to teach your cat to play games on your iPad. 

http://www.wikihow.com/Bring-Out-Your-Cat%27s-Inner-Gamer-on-the-iPad

I think I'll pass.

There really is a link there, just above "I  think I'll pass."  Blogger won't let me change the color to something you can read.  Just click around and you might hit it.



Thursday

Started the day with breakfast at the Wrangler with Barrie and Kasey.

Kasey picked up a copy of the Sublette County Magazine from the rack in front of the Wrangler, and she and Barrie looked at the article and pictures on dogsledding Barrie has in it.

Kasey ordered French Toast and bacon.  Barrie and I had eggs, sausage and a bicuit.  Wonderful breakfast!  I always love breakfast at the Wrangler from way back when - when Ramseys started it on the other side of town.  It was next to the trailer house I lived in when I first moved to town.  They used to keep a key to my door in their cash register, because I was always locking myself out.

Kerback's trailer court is no longer there, and the Wrangler loaded up the cafe (which was a trailer house with wood siding) on a trailer and moved it across town. 

Sugar Shack is in that location now.  The Sugar Shack used to be right in front of my house.  It was called "King Cone" then, and advertised "Road Kill Burgers".  If they made a mistake on an order, Tom would step out his back door and yell to Barrrie to come down and get it.  Had some good free meals from that place!

Barrie and Kasey have gone mushing.  Kasey is planning on going out by herself with one dog.