Monday

Nap time. The little front yard looks like a war zone. There never was much in the way of grass under the pine trees, but the pups have done a job on it. Barrie will fill in the holes and reseed it when the pups go to the dog lot.

There is a big dumpster parked down at B&B. I assume they are going to be doing some major cleanup. I have looked at the junk down there for 40 years. Wonder if I will miss it?

New idea - although this one goes to the trash, I'm going to try again. It's supposed to be a pair of chaps hanging on a nail. I used hot press (smooth) water color paper, and painted a sepia background wet on wet. Then I started the drawing with pencil, and touches of white charcoal for highlights. This one is ruined, but I learned what I need to do with it.

I sent an order off to Dick Blick for a block of water color paper, and of course bought a few more "needful things".

I loved this house!

No pictures to post today, so I browsed back through some old scanned photographs and found these.

Tracy on the front porch of the cabin we lived in at Ragged Mountain, Colorado. The house used to be a barn, and that is the original barn door. There was a nice beaver pond in the front yard, with fish in it.
The front of the cabin with the chimney. Bats got in around that chimney and were living inside the walls. They were no problem except when it rained. Then they came in the house instead of outside. We had no electricity, chased bats with a broom holding a Coleman lantern! I shot a porcupine out the upstairs window once. The first and only thing I've ever shot.

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I can't remember what I was looking for on the Internet last night, but I somehow ended up reading about The Naked Cowboy. His name is Burck, and the guy actually has a college degree. I found he was running for mayor of New York City last year, but dropped out of the race. Burck formally announced that he is running for President of the United States in the 2012 U.S. election as a candidate representing the U.S. Tea Party movement.

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"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."

I was reading from the book "Familiar Quotations" on my Kimble last night and come across the above. Do you know where it's from?

Friday

This painting is in the Silent Auction at Rendezvous Pointe, and I got a phone call about it this morning. The magazine about Sublette County Real Estate wants to use it for the cover of their new issue. How about that? This painting came so close to being put on the shower floor when I finished it. I left it stored with other stuff on a rack in my studio. I guess the paint fairies came along and worked on it while I wasn't looking.

Don't know what to name it. I think it's called "Colored Sky Quakies" on the auction sheet. Not a very good name, but I was in a hurry. Maybe "Winter Quakies"?

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Want to try out my new drawing pencils today. I have a photo I want to use - a black and white picture I took a long time ago. Used it once for a pencil drawing of the jeans and boots, then made my ex hold one of my beer cans so I could use his hand and the can in the drawing. I think I'll try the same boots and jeans, and make Barrie hold a rope in her hand for a model.

Thursday

Those of you who have travelled South Pass will recognize this stretch of road. A few miles out of Farson, the highway stretches straight as a string untill it disappears in the distance. I had an interesting experience on this stretch of road once.

I had bought a new tape in Riverton, a mix of country western. I was playing it on my way home. I could see something in the road off in the distance, didn't look like road kill. When I got to it, I saw a pillow, laying on the center line of the highway.

Hmmmm, - the song playing on the tape at the time was Hank Locklin, singing "Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On".

I kid you not!! I thought it was kind of spooky.

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I got my new drawing pencils. Haven't tried them out yet - they are "Tombow" brand. The pencils I have been using have grit in them. The Tombow brand was recomended by someone in the drawing forum on Wet Canvas.

When Bill and Alice were here, Bill was drinking a wine, and I asked Kasey if she would get Grandma a beer. The next morning, I came downstairs, still in my pajamas, and Kasey said "Grandma, can I get you beer?"

Wednesday

I was expecting my brother, Bill Marlatt, and sister-in-law, Alice about 11:00 this morning. They drove in yesterday afternoon. Mixup! She said she left a message on my answering machine, but we checked, and there was no message. A no fault situation.

I had nothing ready to fix for supper - chicken breasts still in the freezer. So Bill and I sat down and had a beer and a glass of wine, Alice played with Kasey, and Barrie went in the kitchen. She soon served us bacon, eggs, and blueberry pancakes. I had ice cream, and we had a great meal. Thanks, Barrie!


We had lunch at Rendezvouse Pointe, after looking at our little art show. Barrie was able to join us.

Kasey wanted to monopolize Bill and Alice last night. There was a time she wouldn't have anything to do with Uncle Bill. He played Frisbee with her in the living room.

And Alice played a hand game with her.

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Got rid of a little art work. Alice found a colored pencil chicken I had done, and Bill took a watercolor of an old house and mailboxes. The mailboxes were from a photo Judi took in New Mexico - bent and rusted, and lots of character. I made up an old abandoned house for the background.

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Wanted to take Bill and Alice to Pinedale's world-famous shopping establishment, the Food Basket. But they aren't open on Wednesdays.

Tuesday

This looks almost finished to me. I guess the guy needs some ground to stand on, and the spurs need work - but it's pretty much done. I have some ideas for more pencil drawings along this line- hats, spurs, etc.

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The birds are really gathering today. The blackbirds are getting ready to go south, I think. It's obvious blackbirds migrate in a noisy flock. But I wonder about robins? How do they migrate. I've never seen them gather in a group. Do they just wander south on their own?

Karma has had a rough day - I think she's missed her nap. She is so fascinated by the birds. Every time I look outside, Karma is watching birds. And Kat has a fly in the window. Keeps her busy.

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I went to Ridley's yesterday and actually enjoyed it! It was not crowded, because everyone was already where they were going for Labor Day. It was a great day for people watching. One guy was loudly visiting with an employee in the produce department about airline reservations and travel. He was checking prices on the Internet and told his friend all about how to pick up the tickets, what arrangements to make etc. What made it interesting is, the guy looked like he had just crawled out from under a boxcar on the railroad tracks. He didn't look like a world traveler. Maybe he was Howard Hughes?

At the checkout, there was a guy in front of me who could have been my twin, old, short, fat, white hair. He was wearing shorts and sandals, and black socks that came half way to his knees. But his tee shirt was what caught my eye - it said "Wild and Reckless Montana". It made me laugh.

The grungy world traveler and the wild and reckless little old man made my day. But to top it off, a guy got in line behind me and started talking to me. I'm sure I looked blank, and he said "You don't remember me, do you. I used to be your neighbor, Mike."

Me: "Oh sure, Mike. How have you been?" There have been numerous guys move in and out of that house through the years. I have no memory of ever seeing this one before.

Monday

Barrie brought her water tank in from the dog lot yesterday, She filled it with water, and is haulling it back out there today

I photographed Lenore's watercolor painting for her last week. It is in the silent auction, but she doesn't really want to sell it very badly. She is pretty proud of it and I don't blame her.

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I stepped on a dead mouse when I got up this morning. Nice, huh! The weather is turning cool, and the mice are looking for warm places. Good cat! Although I wish she wouldn't leave them in the middle of the floor.

Saturday

Another thing from the memory box. This tiny locket was mine when I was a little girl

It opens and there are pictures of my big brothers inside.

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I am so close to finishing the pencil drawing of cowboy boots. Maybe I will get it done today. I am drawing just the jeans and boots. Kasey asked me last night, "Grandma, where's his head?" She is getting to be quite the art critic.

I'm washing two more windows today. They look pretty good once the sun gets high enough that the streaks don't show. These are upstairs windows. When I had this part of the house remodeled, I got the kind of windows that the panes tip in so I can wash the outside of them.

I had the downstairs bedroom windows and back door replaced last year. Sure makes a difference - the wind dowsn't blow through there any more. I would like to have the living room windows, but after having to have threes cut down, and getting hearing aids, they will have to wait.

Friday - New Clothes

Kasey keeps outgrowing her clothes! Barrie asked her friend who has a little girl a year older than KC if she had cleaned out her closets lately. This is what Kristi came up with! Wow. I think there are clothes from two little girls, actually. This is the ultimate shopping trip! Maybe Kasey is looking for something that won't show so much skin when she bends over.

Get right in the box with the clothes. Works fine.

Kasey really likes this coat. There must have been a dozen pair of shoes.

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Crackle.com has a few new movies on. "Easy Rider", "Rudy", "Ghost Busters 2", "Jerry McGuire", to name a few.

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I'm getting a little window washing done upstairs. Have two done (streaked when the sun shines on them), and four left to do.

Thursay

I started photographing the things my mother had in the memory box. Here are a few more.

My baby shoes. Babies don't even wear shoes any more, do they? I think both Tracy and Barrie wore shoes early.

A little tin cup, about 2 inches tall, with "Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son" on it. My Mom's wedding rings. The wedding band is almost worn through, it is so thin. She didn't get the diamond until I was about five years old, I think. I was old enough I remember my Dad buying it and telling me to keep it a secret. It was a Christmas gift, I think. Of course I told my Mom I knew what she was getting, and it was something to put on her finger. But I DIDN'T tell what it was. Yeah, like I'm sure she thought she was getting a thimble.

Charms from my Mom's "Grandma" bracelet - Tracy, Barrie, and Louie, their dog.

This is what started it all. This darned locket has been "misplaced" so often through the years. My mom's middle name was Rae, and her uncle Ray bought this for her when she was a little girl. I had it, then Mom wanted it back for her Grandma bracelet. I couldn't find it. I finally found it, then Mom misplaced it. I though I had it, but looked around her for a couple of weeks before I thought of the memory box. Duh! Where else would you keep something like this?

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Acccording to the forecast, the wind will come up again this afternoon. Don't know if we will go to the lake or not. I bought some pork and beans and hot dogs for my favorite "beanie weinie" dish. It's kind of hard to make plans with Barrie because she is up and off to work before I am even out of bed in the morning.