power shopping

OK, no pictures today as I am posting on my new IMAC and we are still trying to figure everything out.  I had some pics on my old computer, but not everything has been transferred.  My very good friend, Barb and I embarked on our annual power shopping trip Black Friday.  For over 30 years, since Erica was a baby, we have done our holiday shopping together.  Crowds? Not a problem. Lines? Not a problem. When you live in the outback, any chance to mingle with civilization  is an adventure.  What has changed is that now, thanks to all of the technology that we attach to our bodies, we are but a finger's touch from anyone.  We get calls from family and friends asking to pick up "this or that" if we can find it.  They know we love the challenge. We got great bargains, had great food and spent time with dear friends and family members who so graciously put us up.  Thank you Ruth and Pat.  We did have a tire repair (a large screw had the nerve to embed itself in my tire) which caused a little delay on our trip back on Monday, but the shop was close to shopping and food, and the tire repair guys were feeling generous I guess.  We weren't charged for the repair.  All of the red and green decorations and the music have put me in the spirit of the season so with the turkey bones in the freezer it is time to start the Christmas cookies.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

It feels like Christmas at my house this week as I begin to think about thawing the ol'bird and planning the rest of the feast. The reason for this is that I got a new recliner for my livingroom and we got a beautiful leaded glass oak piece of furniture on which to place our large flat screen. In addition to that, we have ordered a new computer--a Mac with the new Leopard operating system. Brown should bring it this week and in the mean time, the Mr. is remodeling an area in our kitchen that was designed to be a wet-bar. In the early 80's I am sure it was quite stylish, but when he completes it, the Mac will have a new home.

The gourds above are from a couple of different artists, but my friends and I are painting the one with the little penquins this week...so it does feel like Christmas is just around the corner!!

Such spectacular sunsets as the one below fill our Wyoming skies frequently and no matter how often we see them, they never cease to thrill us. We have a few more snaps that we viewed from our back deck tonite and will post them later as well as the renovation in the kitchen area.





"Teach us delight in simple things."-
Rudyard Kipling

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!

I have been so busy!!! I have pictures to download and a list a mile long. Time is just whizzing by me. With Thanksgiving just around the corner and friends and relatives coming to help eat the gobbler, I haven't decided how yet to fix the ol' bird. I watched Martha making a brine this week and think I will do that. I did make a cranberry bar recipe (and I can't even remember where I got the recipe), which is absolutely to die for I think. Cream 1 cup butter with 2 cups of sugar, add 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp almond extract and 4 eggs. Mix well and to that add 2 cups flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder. Ad 1 cup of chopped fresh or frozen cranberries and bake in an oiled or greased 9x12 pan at 350 for 25-30 min. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool. Yummy!

The Mr. played in a pool tournament in Cheyenne this weekend and didn't make it very far into the competition, but had a good time. I shopped and met my sister and her daughter and granddaughter and ate way too much. Food has become foremost in my mind with the holidays upon me. My favorite time of the year so we will eat and eat and eat some more and gobble, gobble, gobble up all of the leftovers.

Food

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I am drooling over all of the recipes I am finding in the multitude of magazines which inhabit every corner of my home. I just have such a difficult time pitching them and have some favorites which will go with me to my grave. (or where ever I go when that time comes) I always cook for that holiday and we have dear friends, and this year, family to join us. Yeah!! When I was at Erica's, she made a wonderful squash soup that was "to die for". And this was on her old one burner stove. Check her site as she has posted the picture of her wonderful new cooktop. We also went to brunch with Karan who is a blogger, and found Erica's site before she moved to Olympia. Thank you Karan for befriended my daughter!! And we(E & J & I) went to a Mexican restaurant the last night I was there. There were other meals out at great dives so FOOD is always high on my priority list also.

On a really sad note--our aspen alley is dying. To quote an article in our local paper last week.... "Aspen Alley is one of the places being affected by a phenomenon which scientists believe is caused when drought weakens elderly trees, making them susceptible to several diseases, aspen bark beetles and wood borers." Most of these trees are elderly, more than 100 years old. We have some talented photographers and realizing that never again in our lifetime, will anyone get another fall picture of this area, (at least as spectacular as the past ones), the Mr. and I decided that we needed one. I was able to get a beautifully framed photo this weekend and it hangs in a place of honor in our living room wall next to the fireplace.

We are headed to Cheyenne for a weekend of frivolity. Well, serious stuff for the Mr. He is playing in a pool tournament, but I am off for flea markets, shopping, and food, food, food.

Wind versus rain

Although it didn't actually rain the day we went to Seattle, it did rain just 2 days the entire time I was in Olympia. The picture below is one that Erica took when she and I went to Seattle to the big Market there. Now, those of us who live in the west, especially here in the wide open spaces of the prairie lands and sage brush valleys, are so accustomed to stepping outside to take a deep breath before running to the car or truck. This is to escape the gusty wind...it will take your breath away!! No tree in it's right mind grows straight in Wyoming...they all lean away from the wind. That should tell us something!! But in Washington, I noticed that everyone carries and umbrella. I don't even own an umbrella. In fact, I've seen pictures of what the wind does to an umbrella....ugly! Pike Place Market in Seattle ...WOW. It was amazing. For a hick from the sticks it was a feast for the eyes, not to mention the palette. Food everywhere and fresh fish!!! And speaking of the palette, Erica and I had brunch at La Pichet which is a very authentic French cafe. (The menu was in French with English translations.) However, the French don't typically have buttermilk biscuits and gravy and chicken fried steak for brunch I realized. Most of the limited items included a pate' of some sort with bread..you know-- liver and such. But you could have french toast or yogurt so that worked for me. Lucious!! Coffee choices were abundant also and in the city of Starbuck's that works too.
We also went to Tacoma to the glass gallery/museum and had brunch with one of Erica's friends. Will post more about that later.

"EVERY CHILD IS AN ARTIST. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.--Pablo Picasso

Home again, Home again

The little guy above is the next project for my painting buddies!! Isn't he cute? He is done on a 12 inch rusty ceiling tin. One of the girls found a source for these and with the snow season upon us, he is perfect! This is a pattern from the December 2001 issue of Painting magazine by Susan Pisoni.

I am home again, home again!!!

Bloom where you are planted!! How many times have we heard that one. Some of us put down solid roots where "we are planted" and happily wave in the breezes not ever venturing away from that safe garden spot. It is where our grandparents and their parents before them planted their offspring. It is where our parent plants carefully placed us to grow and cared for our tender systems until we could withstand even the most forceful of gusts and storms. Well, quite often, something comes along to JERK our root system out of that familiar environment. That happened to me, which brings me to believe that we must learn to grow and bloom where we are TRANSPLANTED, not PLANTED!!! And like my ventures in gardening, not all root systems are happy where they are re-planted. Sometimes they flourish and sometimes they die, yes they die. But where some families continue to multiply in the same garden like weeds, my family and that of the Mr. scattered seeds all over the country. We have strong winds here in the west. One advantage is that in order to get a "family fix", we get to travel great distances to get that "fix". I have just come back from Olympia WA for a kid fix and it was wonderful! Of course it wasn't enough time to do everything we wanted and we had to cram so much into so little time. The weather was great and although trying to get out of here is not an easy thing because it is over 100 miles to the airport and a layover in SLC it was worth it. I love Olympia and I think I could be transplanted there and my root system would survive and I would bloom. I will post more about the trip later.
Thank you Erica and Jeffery for a wonderful visit!