WYOMING HOME

No poetry this time...too busy unpacking.
Views of our new abode in Wyoming starting from below (facade) which faces East, to the South side of the house, the West side, and a shot facing North.
Notice how Genevieve did not waste any time posing for the shots.
Inside photos to follow once we are fully unpacked and settled.

Addition to trip to Billings

I wanted to say that if anyone is wondering how I managed to take most of a full day off in the middle of a move, it was because of my dear hubby, Jorge and some very good friends all worked for me. I didn't think I could be there for Tom's arrival because it was the day we had a truck rented to move all the boxes (we only had the mover move our large furniture). But Ellen and Robert volunteered their trailer which meant we werent constricted to a time frame as a rental would constrict us. So while Jorge, Robert and Ellen hauled what was left at the VA quarters, I drove to Billings. And we knew we had back up with Travis C. offering his services too. Thanks everyone.

I drove to Billings to welcome home my 'adopted' Marine, LCpl. Tom Watson as he arrived from his second tour in Iraq. I have 'adopted' Tom through two tours and we have established a friendship. His family from Great Falls was unable to make the trip, so I figured that left me to be the embarrassing "Mom" and take what ever pictures I wanted. The top picture is of Tom and Sen. Max Baucus of MT. I did the Mom thing and went up to the Senator and as Tom watched on in horrer, said, "Senator Baucus, could you please turn around so I could take your picture with this young man."

This picture is of Tom, myself, and his three friends who drove in from Great Falls to pick him up. The young man in the black tee shirt told me he was the one to "take it in the gut" and be dd, when yes, I did ask them who was going to be the responsible driver.

SUNDAY DRIVE

Sunday drive, 50 miles from home.
The air is pure, the sights are wild.
Grayish clouds contrast with evergreens,
with the ground's achromatic veil.

The frosty breeze touches our face
as tiny flakes fall from the sky.
God is present in this temple,
in this awesome earth we own.

At 8400 ft high, creeks are starting to thaw

Sibley Lake is still frozen with plenty of snow on top of its surface

Stick pines and erosion, probable site of an avalanche who knows how long ago

"Hogback" ridges formed 75 million years ago
(red ridges) when all the water receded

The town of Dayton looking east from the Bighorns

A nice trip up the mountain

Yesterday, the weather was a 'balmy' day, somewhere in the 40's, but mostly sunny, and we needed a break from packing. We decided to go up and over to "Burgess Junction" to check out a restaurant and to just relax up in the mountains. There is still plenty of white stuff around at 8400 feet, although the roads were clear with only had a few flakes falling on us, making it a nice drive. Some of the roads are still closed for the winter with one sign pointing out it was at 110 inches in some areas. We will go there for lunch as soon as we are settled in the house, as it sits near water so there is said to be a nice spot for bird watching. On our drive, a pair of Golden Eagles entertained us for a few minutes, and we had a Red Tailed Hawk flying over us where we could clearly see it's colors. To see the restaurant and hotel, www.bearlodgeresort.com .

Kitchen Catastrophe or a Mama Moment

It seemed like an innocent thing to do, the prosciutto had cooked nice and crisp, and after I added a little olive oil, I thought some nice red wine would help release all those nice little brown things that stuck to the pan, but it turned into anything except innocent. First it started splattering, I quickly stepped back, then leaning forward to turn the heat down, the spatters went "pop, pop, pop" and were louder and spitting farther so I leaned back to avoid the venomous oil, and KABOOM! What ever liquid was left in the pan exploded all over the entire kitchen, and me. Now our house has ceilings over ten feet high, and the oil was up the wall, and on the ceiling, across the room, down the hall, and all over me. Jenny had a blast licking up the nice Cabernet infused with a prosciutto taste, and Jorge and I spent the next 45 minutes trying to get it all cleaned up.

Okay, so the grammar is bad, and was worse in my quilt blog. I was tired when I posted these pictures so I have made a few corrections. Thank you everyone for not pointing that out, especially those of you feel improper grammar and bad spelling are unacceptable.

I had a busy week end in NY and it is taking me sometime to recover from the business and the stress of all that had to be done for my Mom. Alice, Tim and Linda M. earn big kudos from me for all their hard work they do on a daily basis. Pat, Rob and their granddaughter were visiting in the beginning of my trip, so it was nice to see them, but there wasn't enough time to visit as we all stayed so busy. As for Grandma Alice, that is another story, e-mail me privately if you want to know about her health and belligerence. There were some pictures taken by others, I'll post them as I get them.

A little funny side story: My 3 y. o. grandniece, Emma (Linda M.'s daughter), remained a little shy around me, and when I asked if she would be my friend, she pulled away and said no. I let it go thinking she hadn't seen me in two years, and didn't really know me. My sister (her grandmother) Alice told me different, she said Emma always saw pictures of the family and knew who everyone was, that when Emma wanted something from me, she'd be my friend. That night the three grandnieces were running around, yelling, and decided to play in the basement with flashlights, but Emma, being the youngest at only three wasn't so sure of this idea. She comes upstairs after a few minutes of this game, pulls me by my hand and says: "I'll be your friend now, will you come sit downstairs so I don't have to be afraid of the dark?" I couldn't resist and gladly sat downstairs while the girls played and giggled with the enthusiasm only little children can display.
-Mama

More college quilt pictures

We actually had a little money left after Christina's college education, so I thought I would take some of that, and make her a quilt with all the tee shirts she 'earned' in various activities. It seemed in the process of combining these tee shirts that represented her activities, I would learn the quality of her education at this prestigious college, and I thought I could enlighten all of you of this very talented young lady. What I learned through this quilt: She could spell and read Greek and must have had the smartest friends because they all did too. She will do well in business learning about 'bid days' and kept organized with times of all the 'rush' events. How impressed I am that had to keep going through activities that lasted all night, when others couldn't! And had such nice friends that said, "Ma'am." Such good boys. Her talents are assounding, both Golf and Crew were some of the many talents of my daughter! I should share all this with the people at the bank where she works, they are missing out on her best talents.

The total sum of a college education.