Thursday, July 9

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The view from Barrie's dog lot is so beautiful.

I decided to not take my big telephone lens with me. Driving around the lake, there was a bald eagle sitting on a rock up on the hill. Sure wish now that I had taken that lens! Somehow, going to a lake with a small child and four dogs didn't seem like the right situation to be lugging all that camera gear along.

Kasey had a great time playing in one of the big dog kennels in the back of the pickup.

This horse was grazing in the pond beside the dog lot. I thought it made an interesting picture.

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Barrie was up at 4:30 or 5:00 this morning to go run her dogs. Me, I stayed in bed until 8:30 and got up just in time to tell Kasey goodbye when she went off to "school". What a stage that girl is going through !!!!! She has her little routine in her little world, and is not happy when it changes. She always sits down on the floor and takes her shoes off when she gets to Julie's, then goes in the toy room play. This morning the kids were going outside when they got there, and they told her to leave her shoes on and get her hat. Barrie said she burst into tears!! Boy, is she ever two!!

Wednesday, Art Day

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Kelley gave Barrie a portable DVD player. Here is Kasey watching a favorite, a documentary about polar bears, while her mom swims dogs in Soda Lake.

This is Bailey, swimming with Barrie.

This is Bailey, voicing a protest that he has to stay in the pickup.

This woman was down the shore a ways sunbathing on the beach. I wonder if the noise of four excited sled dogs irritated her? She got in her kayak and headed across the lake.

Barrie swam for a while, then we took the dogs to the dog lot, and went back to town just in time for her to grab Kasey's suit and the towels and take Kasey to her swimming lesson.

The bugs were not bad at the lake, but there were a few horse flies. I got out and walked around at the dog lot and didn't see mosquitoes. Who can figure? The wind wasn't even blowing, but the mosquitoes must have all been hanging around the horses,.

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Today was painting day at the senior center - a fun day, as always. I got a little greeting card scene painted. I got a new block of water color paper today, Winsor Newton brand. I've never used this brand of paper before, so don't know how it will be.

I stayed for lunch today with Mary Lou.

Tuesday

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The cat actually wanted to stay outside today. Kasey and I were working in the yard, and Kat explored. This really shows what a steep slope my yard is.

Kasey getting settled in her lawn chair with an old tin coffee cup I keep outside on the picnic table.

Kasey with a branch I pruned off the chokecherry bushes.

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Imagine my surprise this morning when I brought up Judi's blog and saw a picture of my house in the jungle! There is a pile of dead branches by the front gate to be hauled off. Barrie has hauled off 3 pickup loads so far this summer. We are getting rid of some live bushes and trees, or at least trimming them back. And of course there are always dead willows that get unsightly.

Kasey "played hooky" today. She and I stayed home this morning while Barrie went out to take care of the sled dogs. Barrie says the mosquitoes are so bad out there that we probably wouldn't even want to get out of the truck. She brought four sled dogs into town, and when Kasey wakes up from her nap, we are going to take them to Soda Lake for a swim. She said the mosquitoes weren't bad at the lake yesterday.

Monday

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I took this photo of the clouds last night. I love these big puffy cloud formations, and wish I could paint them!

A big hug


Some play



Teasing the cat, or being teased by the cat



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I made a salad last night with canned salmon and macaroni. It was OK, but kind of tastless. It needed something for flavor. Guess I will throw that recipe away.

Lynn mentioned that she is looking for good crock pot recipes. I am always trying to find something good to fix in the crock pot also. I'm not fond of crock pot cooking, but it just seems so easy and convenient that I keep looking for something that tastes good. I agree that potatoes don't do well. We really like both pasta and rice, and neither of them do well in a crock pot. One Thanksgiving I found a recipe for making the dressing in a crock pot, and it turned out gummy and gross. Another time I put the mashed potatoes in it to keep warm, and that worked fine.

I am going to try to finish a painting of a rusty old wheelbarrow this afternoon.

Sunday

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Why do baby Bluebirds always look so mad?

Someone posted photos of baby Bluebirds on Pinedaleonline the other day, and I was admiring the pictures. This morning I noticed that the babies in the birdhouse on the side of the porch are out. There are two of them. Mom and Dad came in to feed them several times while I was watching, and I was able to get a few pictures. When Jarvi and Shorty were let out into the back yard, both babies were frightened and flew into the quakie trees. Mom and Dad got all excited, and I thought they were going to attack the dogs.

Barrie has mowed the lawn and used the weedeater this morning. It makes me feel so lazy, but I DID fix french toast and eggs for breakfast.

It's a beautiful day, sunny and just a slight breeze. The forecast is for rain this afternoon, which would be nice.

July 4th

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Well, another Fourth of July is over, more or less. As usual, the Fire Department did a wonderful job, with a spectacular display and lots of noise. The neighbors are having a party, but I don't even hear them with the window closed.

Barrie and I decided not to go out to watch the display. Well, I cheated, I have a good view from my upstairs bathroom window. As soon as the first "boom" came, Jarvi crashed through the gate in the back hall and wanted in Barrie's lap. Barrie put both Jarvi and Shorty in the bathroom downstairs. At the first "boom", Kat leaped out of the chair she was sleeping in and was under the bed. I haven't seen her since.

Julie E. told me once that there were always many "missing dog" reports to her after the fireworks. I feel so sorry for the dogs. One year I was in the Middle School parking lot with Paul and Tracy watching the display, and there were several deer in the field right in front of us. They were oblivious to the fireworks.

Several years ago, when the Fire Department was still shooting off the fireworks up by the "Star", they got some defective fireworks. I think they had to put out thirteen fires that year. Barrie and I were sitting outside, and a "hot" piece came down in our back yard and started a fire. Barrie grabbed our hose and was putting it out when we saw a fire truck up on the hill above us. She yelled up to them that she had it. I felt relieved when they moved the fireworks further west.

Shopping with Kasey

Barrie was up at 5:00 to run her dogs, and said she sure wished she could have a nap. I was going to Ridleys and decided I would take Kasey shopping with me. She was really confused when she came to kiss me good bye, and I told her I was going and Mom was going to stay home. She didn't have a meltdown until we got on the front porch and Mom stayed in the house. I have never heard her screech like that! Barrie came to the pickup with her and put her in her seat, but she wanted no part of it. So Barrie got in (barefooted) and rode to Ridleys with us. But Kasey had another meltdown when I got her out of the truck and started in with her, without Mom. So poor Barrie went in Ridleys Hardware barefooted. Kasey made it through that. I returned the sprayer, then we went to AtoZ to buy a sprayer and new loppers.

Barrie got out first and went in without us (barefooted, still). Kasey was pretty calm, but not entirely happy. She would stay with me when we went in, but kept her eye on Mom. We drove home, Barrie got out, told Kasey "bye" and went in the house. Kasey was a little worried, kept asking "where's Momma?", but came in the grocery store with me, and we ended up having fun shopping. Guess we need to do that a little more often. She sure didn't like to have her little routine upset.

I didn't mind shopping in Ridley's today. It was crowded, and the isles were full of cardboard boxes and stuff they hadn't put on the shelves. But I actually saw some people I knew today! Judi and Rollie were shopping, and they bought a clump of celery and shared it with me. Thanks!

The fingers on the left hand look a little mangled. I haven't sprayed the drawing with fixative yet. I'll see if I can improve those fingers.

Frustrating Day

A frustrating day, and I feel like I wasted a lot of time. First, we had no telephone this morning, and no internet either. No matter what number we dialed, we got the CenturyTell message that we had reached their Western Union Pay service. I used my call phone to call them, and found that they had disconnected me because of non-payment. Good Grief! I told them my account was set up for automatic payment with my credit card and that it was not possible. Then she told me I should check with my credit card company - I told her I KNEW my account with them was paid up.

She did some more checking and found the problem. Last month, someone paid a $157 bill and it was mistakedly credited to my account. Because I then had a credit balance, the automatic charge to my credit card was not made. Then they discovered their mistake and fixed it. So I was left with an overdue balance on my bill. Therefore, they decided to disconnect me. They got the phone back on immediately, but it took until 6:00 tonight to get the Internet back.

So the rest of the day was spent on some more useless tasks. My pump weed sprayer had quit working. It is really old - I went to Ridley's yesterday and spent about $23 on a new one. You guessed it - it won't work. I will take it back and get my money back and go elsewhere to buy one. Also, my little digital timer died. (also very old). Ridley's had one for $18. I ordered one on Amazon.com for $7. Probably doesn't have all the features that the one at Ridley's had, but I just want a simple one that I can set the time and it will ring, buzz or beep at me. Also got free shipping from Amazon because I ordered a few new books.

Barrie said the plug for the freezer in the basement had come loose and that it was starting to defrost. So she defrosted the freezer today. Boy, does it look nice. She also cut down a dead willow down by the gate, got some water on the lawn, and mowed part of it.

I did some more raking in the little front yard, cat poop, pine needles and pine cones, and had two bags that must weight 100 lbs apiece for the dumpster.

My stepdaughter, Leslie sent me this photo today. I thought I would pass it on.

Wednesday

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I am sending this watercolor to an Artist Forum on the Internet. The challenge is to use only two colors, blue and orange. This is a very small piece, only 4" x 6", and was lots of fun to do. After doing this little one, I decided I would do a larger one in art group today, using just the two colors. It is a dismal failure. I will give it a shower, then paint something else on the back.



Grinder and Dell are still in town, living in kennels in the horse trailer. I think they are liking it. Barrie walks them twice a day. Today she took them out to the dog lot when she fed, but brought them back to the horse trailer. They are still on antibiotics for their battle wounds.

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"Whiskey Art" was the popular activity in art group today. Judi and Vicky both worked on one. I took mine in and put it up on the wall. I have tried it several times, but only had good results once. They don't look like much until you add the pen and ink. Judi went to the liquor store and bought a tiny bottle of vodka and one of rum.

Kasey started swimming lessons last night. I didn't go watch, and wish I had. Barrie said she loved the water, which we knew she would. I will go and take my camera.

Tuesday

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Kasey in her floppy hat, which she wears to protect her from the sun. Too bad it can't protect her from mosquitoes

Looking over the edge of Mary Lou's deck at the boulders and dirt. Mary Lou gave her a big spoon and an empty planter, and she didn't look this clean very long. She is wearing her "girly" shoes.

A couple of photos of Mary Lou's house. I wish I had taken a picture of the exterior. It has log siding, and a nice attached garage. These photos show the living room and kitchen. There are two bedrooms and a bath. It is such a nice bright and comfortable place.

I don't know if I said, but I first met Mary Lou after my divorce and was going to college in Riverton. Mary Lou babysat Tracy for me some then. She had five children, one girl and four boys. Tracy referred to the boys as "those dumb boys". After I completed my degree in Education and was teaching in Pinedale, Mary Lou's husband took a coaching job here, so I immediatly pounced on her to be Tracy's baby sitter. That was Tracy's kindergarten year. She was in the afternoon class. Tracy remembers playing "The Horrible Pink Curtain" with Mary Lou. I remember they went to Jackson. The car broke down on the way home, and a Highway Patrolman delivered Tracy to kindergarten. What fun memories!

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It was supposed to get hot today, but it wasn't too bad. The wind came up and it clouded up this afternoon, but I didn't see any rain. I wouldn't mind another nice afternoon rain shower.