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The big reveal of the dining room...

I have scavenged a wedding cake chandelier for the ceiling, but it needs to be rewired. Maybe when Carter drops by he'll bring a friend who will know how to do this. Here's hoping...

Notice the new arrangement of the fruit pictures. It is a rectangular arrangement in keeping with the craftsman style of the house. Dave says if he hears the words 'Craftsman Style' one more time he will block HGTV. I think it is in my package with ESPN so I am safe.

(See Dixie hoping that soon I will stop taking pictures and take her for a walk. She is the eternal optimist.)

Yellowstone

Okay, here are a few of my clearer pictures from the day...

Big Foot and the Missus Out For a Stroll

From the wilds of Wyoming...
...I know this is a little blurry, but I think that just adds to the authenticity. This may be the first sighting of a pair of Big Feet. Remember--you saw it here first.

Retirement Plans

Last weekend was the Pork and Putt. It is a church event where you eat pork and then you play putt-putt golf. The catch here is that there is not a miniature golf course with in a Wal-Mart's distance from here. But no problem for resourceful people in Dodge City. They just build their own. Yes, each family builds a miniature golf hole and sets it up in the church side yard. This is a lot of pressure on the new family. But I think we rose to the occasion.

We built Gobbler's Knob as a tribute to our Pennsylvania roots. Complete with an amazing likeness of Punxy Phil. (You may be interested to know that the large cardboard tube was on the truck because PD knew about the Pork and Putt months ago and thought the tube would come in handy. As would a certain certain piece of outdoor furniture which was not on the truck, but forget I even mentioned that.) You had to putt up the ramp, into the hole, then the ball rolled down through the tube and into the cup on the bottom green. Par 2.

I decided that we will build a new hole each year and after just 18 years we will have our own course which we can set up in the yard around the house. Then Alex kindly calculated my age in 18 years. So clearly this will be how I will spend my retirement years. Sitting in the rocker on my front porch handing out score sheets and little pencils to tourists. The prize for getting a hole in one will be a homebaked cookie. Alex suggested we invite Aunt Nancy to do the baking. Dave suggested we invite Aunt Sara to clean up after us. We will name it after my other sister. 4DS Minnie-Golf. Owned and operated by three little old ladies and their much younger little sister. So I only have to put in 18 years at Dodge City Federal and I'm good to go.

Also, the difference between lab work and bank work: In the lab all of the crap is carefully labelled and sealed in little cups. You decide if you want to open the cups and deal with it before or after lunch. At the bank you never know when crap will just come flying at you and you just have to deal with it when it happens.

Good News

Today it is 84 degrees and sunny.

One Way of Looking At It

The new grass is starting to grow. In a hair plug sort of way. Just a few tufts here and there. At first I was greatly encouraged to see single sprouts of green and then a definate green haze over the whole yard. But the more it grows the more uneven and scattered and weird it looks. Six by six foot sections with three blades of grass. Go figure. It is one of those things that is greatly influenced by my mood. When I am feeling good about everything the grass is growing and everything is green. When I am less than happy, the yard is a blotchy mess of straggly grass that requires great amounts of watering. Oh and more bad news. Today it was 84 degrees and sunny. The grass will probably grow like crazy and need mowed before it snows. And guess whose lawnmower wasn't on the truck??!!

What Not To Wear

Alex's crocs with crop pants.

(And my ankles are one of my best features. That's why I cropped the rest of me out of this picture. And really--its all about the shoes today.)

Have You Seen My Shoes?

A Pictorial Essay

The shoes I wore yesterday beside the bed.

My running shoes in the downstairs bathroom. My slides at the bottom of the stairs.

Three pairs of shoes in the living/dining room. All mine.

A pair just outside the front door.

The closet organizer designed especially for shoes in my walk-in closet.

Mangled--From the Trip West Archives

This is the picture of Dave's bike after it was dragged along the interstate. Thanks to Alex for having the presence of mind to snap this picture. Dave and I were busy trying not to snap at each other. Or just snap--period.

Going Green

A busy weekend pretending I was on HGTV. Two projects that are not quite ready for the big reveal, but here are the teasers.

First, the dining room wall. Just opening the paint can and seeing the color was a big surprise. (Somehow it always looks different from the paint chip.) But I did not let it deter me. I used blue tape just like on TV. I cut in around the edges and rolled the middle. I worked pretty much alone except for my imaginary friend Carter Osterwise who told me what a great job I was doing and wondered if I would like him to build me a little bench under the window. (I guess he will come by and do that project another day.)

The second project was an episode of curb appeal. See all my friends who came to help. And wait--is that Alex shoveling manure? Either I am very loved or Lori's sweet rolls are very yummy. Spread manure and planted grass seed on about half the yard. Got a permit so I can water it. The second half will wait for Spring. Found a little lilac bush when Dixie and I were out for a run on Saturday morning. (Good thing I don't run so fast or I wouldn't be able to find these treasures along the way.) Always makes me feel good to plant things. It is such a hopeful thing to do. Although it would be easier if I had use of my alternate hands--remember--the bucket and the shovel?

Stay tuned for the Big Reveal.

Not On The Truck

Don't worry, I am not going to start whining now about the picnic table, or the grill, or my downstairs vacuum cleaner. What I am missing is my jean jacket. I really have no right to whine about this since I almost stole the jacket in the first place. I justified it by saying that the owner of the jacket moved and left it behind. In an odd twist of fate it seems I have left the jacket behind. Unwittingly. So if you have seen my jacket, if I left it with you or at your house or hanging on a clothesrack somewhere or in your car, I just want to say that it was quite by accident. I did not gift my jacket to you. I would appreciate it if you would return it. To me. (The original owner clearly has no rights remaining where this jacket is concerned. Sorry, Ab.)

Horse Hockey

Last week I bought two little trees for the front yard. But before I could plant them, I needed to enrich my soil. So I inquired about some manure. Today a very nice lady delivered two bags of horse manure to my front door.
Yesterday Dave tilled up about half the yard. The very nice lady took one look at our soil and offered to deliver a pick up truck full of manure on Saturday. I must be destined to work with poop.
Yesterday I started my job at the IBHF. Good news--we send out all stool cultures and O&P's.
Tomorrow I start my job at the bank. Hopefully, I won't have to deal with any of that there.

Moose and Squirrel

I survived the camping trip.

We were in The Big Horn National Forest. Between Tie Flume and Dead Swede campgrounds. It was beautiful. Some things we did: (a colon for you, Ami!)

1. Rode quads. Alex rode first. Before I had a chance to ask any questions. When he returned (in one piece) he says to me,"Mom, if you knew what we were doing, you would have never let me go."

So the next time I went too. Part of the the warning label says do not operate without proper instruction or training. I'm pretty sure I had neither. What I did have was a good time. On the way back to camp Dave and I switched places and I rode on the back of Alex's quad. I'm pretty sure that's how the Swede died.

Alex: We need to get one of these.

Me: How much do you think one of these costs?

Alex: I don't know, but I'm sure it's worth every penny.

2. Slept in our tent. We bought a queen sized air mattress. It almost filled out little tent, so we had to almost slide in on our bellies. Alex and Dixie slept pretty well. Dave and I, not so much. My toes got cold and I was claustrophobic from sleeping so close to the top of the tent.

3. Played games--all sorts. We played a dice game called Greed and and card game called Avarice. (No really it was called something about up and down a railroad track.) And Dave played several matches of Bocci Ball. It becomes a whole new game played by a group of men in a forest. One of the guys called it "Jungle Bocci".

4. Ate all of our meals cooked over an open fire. Used the mountain pie maker. Made smores and banana boats. Had bacon and dippy eggs this morning. Can you say "Cabelo's"?

5. Saw wildlife. Because it is an open range area, there were cows wandering in and out of the area where we were camping. Squirrels which drove Dixie crazy. Grey Jays, (They look and act like bluejays, but they aren't blue) which the locals called camp robbers. And one large bull moose. Just walking through the woods. Way cool.

6. Went fishing. Dave did this with a few guys away from the campsite. I was not invited to go. Still no fishing for me. I did take along a book from the library called Reel Women, about women who fly fished. I read chapters one and two.

Last night it started to rain, and thunder and lightning, and this afternoon on our way down the mountain we drove through snow. Who would have guessed. Now I am doing laundry. Not a bad way to spend a long weekend.

Tomorrow's News

Since I will be deep in the woods, high on a mountain (Sorry, I can't give you any more details. I am concerned about being hatcheted to death in my sleeping bag and dragged off while PD and Goober snore away) I will give you another post today. It is rightly titled:

I Have Three Jobs

The first one is Pastor's Wife. My duties are to keep PD happy. It is a full time job that doesn't pay that well, but the benefits are not bad.

The second job is a very part time teller at the bank in downtown Dodge City. Let's call it Dodge City Federal. I do not start it until next Thursday. I don't know much about it except that I will meet a lot of people and as I've already told you, "Activists are people who know people". Already I know the bank president, and the head teller. I hope I get an employee discount.

The third job is less-than-part-time Med Tech at the hospital just south of Dodge City. I haven't started that job either. I train a few days in September and I work two days the end of October. The hospital has six beds. The personnel offfice is a desk in the supply closet. The lab is one room-I will work alone in it. Let's call it Itty Bitty Healthcare Facility-IBHF. I hope I make enough to support my fly-fishing.

For having three jobs, I don't really have much to do today.

Too Much Information? or Why Do All My Titles End With Question Marks?

My counselor told me that I don't have to tell everyone everything. (Maybe I shouldn't tell you that. Maybe you will be freaked out that I ever needed therapy. Or maybe you can just relax because you don't have to figure out a way to suggest I see a therapist. Been there. Done that.) So I'm thinking that maybe my blog is full of too many details. And that someone will happen across it and start reading and be unable to stop and will want my life. So they will stalk me, and get plastic surgery to look like me, and will kidnap me, and move in here. So to protect myself and so we don't all end up being an episode of Law and Order, I've been thinking about using code names. Like I refer to my husband as PD. And I never really name the town I live in. I call it Little Town, or Ghost Town, or Dodge City. And I never use my kids real names. I call them Princess, or Goober. And I refer to others by acronyms SWDGM--she who doesn't get me, or fairy tale characters like Cinderella.
So if you want to suggest your own code names now would be the time. I will consider your suggestions, but just know in advance that I already have some names that I use in my head to refer to you. In fact, now that I think about it, it may be safer for me just to use your real names.
I am going camping this weekend. With several families from the church. They will be sizing me up and studying how I react to adverse conditions. I will making up names for them in my head. I'll let you know how it goes.

I Have A Zucchini or Are You Out of Your Mind?

I have a zucchini that I'm going to cook for supper.
One late summer day, back in my childbearing years, (okay, back in my first childbearing years) ((when 135 pounds was my delivery weight and 125 was my panic weight not my fantasy weight)), I told my husband I had considered buying a bikini. He thought I had said I almost bought a zucchini and responded by asking, "Are you out of your mind?" Because we had an overabundance of free for the asking zucchini available. (A few tempers were very nearly lost over that one.)
I should have bought the bikini. I should have worn it the rest of that summer and most of the next one. I should have played in the sandbox with the girls, and flown kites, and mowed the grass in it. (Really, girls, go put your suits on right now and wear them all day.) I regret that I missed my chance on that one. It would still be a good story.
Remember the pastor's wife who used to live here?
You mean the one with the really nice garden?
Oh, yeah, they'd still be talking.

Cowboy Up?

Cowboy #3--This guy is at a restaurant/casino between here and Billings. He is holding a gun. I think the one near the rodeo in Cody is actually holding a branding iron. Yeehaw!
Obviously I will be planning my next vacation to see more of these giant 'muffler men'. Maybe a Tour de Muffler Man?

Wonders Never Cease

Alex rode his bike to and from school yesterday. Without incident.

Walk-ins Welcome

I just finished reading "The Zookeeper's Wife." (Time to read--the luxury of not having a 'real' life.) It is set in Poland during World War II. Some intriquing quotes about those who risked their lives and the lives of their families to rescue and hide others.

Rescuers tended to be decisive, fast-thinking, risk-taking, independent, adventurous, open-hearted, rebellious, and unusually flexible--able to switch plans, abandon habits, or change ingrained routines at a moments notice. They tended to be nonconformists, and though many rescuers held solemn principles worth dying for, they did not regard themselves as heroic. "We did it because it was the right thing to do."

It makes me question whether I would be one of those people. I would hope so. Certainly I want to believe I would. It haunts me to think that I might be more apt to hide in my own closet than hide someone else there. Not that I would wish you ill, or rat you out. I just might not invite you in.

"(They) were not just idealists but activists, and activists are, by nature, people who know people."

So I'm seeing myself more as an idealist and less of an activist. But I find myself in a new place. With a huge walk-in closet that I didn't think I really needed. And a part time job at the bank(!?) that I have no qualifications for. So clearly God has something in mind for me. Let's hope I'm adventurous enough to grab hold of it.

(I was kind of hoping that this was the point in my life where I just fly-fished and took it easy.)

Wyoming Fly-fishing Trivia

Had some people over for banana splits last night. Found out this little bit of trivia. (I am having a hard time knowing when people are telling me the truth or just messing with me. I googled this to verify.)
In 1878, Thomas Edison was camping in Wyoming when someone accidently knocked a bamboo fishing pole into a campfire. He noticed its resistance to burning. When he went back to his lab in New Jersey, he proceeded to produce millions and millions of light bulbs with bamboo filaments, until he got the bright idea that tungsten worked even better.
Who knew?
Once someone I know accidently knocked a fishing pole over the side of a boat in Pennsylvania. I don't think we discovered anything except how kind and forgiving the owner of the pole was.