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.

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

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

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

 

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.

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

 



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.

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

 

 



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.

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

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

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

 

 

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.