Wednesday June 13 2007

National Search and Rescue Commander Portrait

About 18 x24 Oil

On White Buckskin Laced to a Pine Limb Frame

by Lynn Thomas

The portrait is finished. Dan got here about 3 p.m. or so and picked it up. Their national convention is this weekend in American Falls Idaho. The painting will be presented to the commander. I worked on some of the details for another hour after Dan got here while he and Joe talked and drank coffee. I didn't go as far with the realistic details as I usually do, so the portrait is more painterly. I was pleased with that aspect of it. Above is a photo of the portrait. Dan stayed and visited until about 5:30. He brought some of the biggest, reddest rhubarb I've ever seen from their garden - Joe wants a rhubarb pie. We had a really nice spring day. Joe went to town this morning for his regular blood test and was back before lunch. Other than that only the basics got done. I will write more tomorrow.

Tuesday June 12 2007

Heirloom Columbine

Yep, I checked, it is Tuesday. Beautiful day, some wind, maybe we're finally really getting spring. Should have the mosquitoes in about a week. There's not much to write about today, but everything's going fine. I'm painting.

The purple columbine is an old fashioned perennial, what they call an heirloom plant. It was given to me by neighbors Ann and Jim Roberts who used to live down on the corner. Hers got bigger there than mine ever do. They moved to Encampment and said I could have any of the plants. This is the only one I took and I'm glad I got it because the next people who bought the house weren't there much to take care of the yard. One day their boys were shooting guns and shot the propane tank and the place caught on fire. It burned down the garage and the house also caught on fire and burned through the roof. The yard and garden pretty much burned up, even some aspen trees by the road. The fire department came and put it out while the walls were still standing. The house was rebuilt, and a new garage. The aspens came up again, but I never saw the columbines come back.

Friday June 11 2007

Flycatcher

Grackle and Western Kingbird

We've had a flock of Eastern Kingbirds here recently.

Welllll.....came back an hour later and......I think I'll just leave the title calling this Friday. That's the kind of day it's been.

I'm not even going to take time to look up and identify which flycatcher this is, but it was quite small, if you want to look it up. They all look the same to me, and I'd probably come up with something like Cuban flycatcher. Kingbirds are one of my favorites because they are rather scarce right here - as if they pass through now and then.

A beautiful sunny morning, turned cloudy, 70 degrees by afternoon but a cool wind. My bedding flowers are still in the car and doing wonderfully there, like they are in a greenhouse, just blooming away. Maybe I should take a picture of them in there.

Charm and I had a nice visit on the phone. We don't do that so often anymore now that we can email back and forth. But we should go back to calling more.

Whoopsie.....I managed to send out a personal email to my friend Jackie to the whole WAOW board group email this morning. Luckily it didn't say much that anyone couldn't know. The only good thing was that it went to the board and not the whole membership. It's an easy thing to do when you just click reply. Its time for the monthly board meeting again. This is our 6th, so halfway through our terms in office.

The painting has to be done by Wednesday afternoon, so hope I make it. Dan called this evening and I told him this will be my last year for doing the Search and Rescue commander portraits. No ambition for this deadline stuff any more. I guess I did them for 10 years. He said he wasn't going to be in charge of it for the S&R any more either.

SCAG our writer's group is having a writer's workshop on Tuesday night and I should go, but I probably won't drive in to Pinedale at night for it. That's bad of me, since I'm the president I should be there to support the group. We're supposed to make cookies for the refreshments. Not sure how I will manage to get cookies there either.

The Museum of the Mountain Man is going to take all the rest of our old things that Joe wants to get rid of, so will load the truck up and take them in there Friday. That will be a good day to shop for groceries. There are four medium boxes of books for them too. We also have an almost new cream separator from that era. When they moved here they had a cow while Joe's mother was alive, But she didn't live here long and they got rid of the cow. So the creamer has all the parts, even the book, in good shape. Its a tall heavy metal one that was bolted to the floor, with a hand crank. You can imagine that there would be a lot of small things kept around for so many years, but nothing of great value like heirloom antiques. The nephews and neices will get all the personal things of their grandparents later this summer.

We also have an electric motor wringer washer that was the washer here from the late 40's?, and it is what I used at this house for several years (10?) before I got an automatic washer and dryer about 1985. I'm sure they are more common than some things, but Millie said they would take it. It is in very good shape. I always used a wringer washer to do all the laundry at the lodge too, and for most of the time it was a gas engine one. Toward the end Joe strung an electric wire from the generator to the wash house and got me an electric motor one there too, which I think they still use. Talk about feeling pampered!

Joe's been reminding me every day to type up his doctor visit notes, so that's been finished now and printed out for him. We do that each time so later we know what was done and discussed.

Sunday June 10 2007

Smokey .....mmmmmmmmm.....Turkey

We had a very nice day until the wind came up. Joe mowed the back yard this morning. Then later was doing something in the garage - remember he moved the big livestock truck in there. Well he ran into the side mirror with his head and it knocked him to the ground. The cut isn't bad. We washed it up and put some Mercurochrome on it. I guess he had a pretty good pain for a while but that got better. I had just been walked out there earlier myself and saw the mirrors sticking out and thought that was an accident waiting to happen, but expected it would be to me. And by the way, he's about finished cleaning up the garage and it looks really nice. Some more stuff to get rid of and then it will be great. He did get all the stuff he had in the middle of the floor neatly stored.

Don't think I mentioned that I bought quite a few books from a sort of estate sale/yard sale. Most of them are art books. Judi helped me get them because she's helping the daughter sort things out in the house. So today I weeded out enough books to get the new ones on the shelf. The books I removed will go to the Museum of the Mountain Man next time I go to town. I checked on amazon.com and abesbooks.com on some of my favorites and as usual came to the conclusion that books would make a much better investment than stocks. Some of them are quite valuable so it's probably a good idea to take those to the museum instead of leave them here. I wouldn't want the house to burn down with them in it. Gradually, as I can part with them, all the books will go there.

I did watch the Ruffian (horse) movie on ABC last night, and, although it was quite good, thought it was way too graphic when she broke her leg. They sure didn't need to do that. For that reason I don't recommend it to anyone. I watched the real horse race in the '70s and can remember that awful experience. They run those horses way too young for them to be developed.

Saturday June 9 2007

This is a photo taken the morning it snowed,

it's a little hard to tell but I'm calling it a willet.

Not much of interest to report today. Last night the power was off from about 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Joe had already gone to bed. I don't know yet what caused it to bleep out. So got the candles out, and read in my book by battery reading light until I fell asleep. It had gone off momentarily earlier in the evening, but the weather was clearing up, so not likely a storm. When it stays off any length of time, I always get the feeling - what if we've been invaded? - what if it never comes on again? - is it the end of the world? - terrorists again? - What will we do if we don't have enough food to last until it comes back on?.....

Betty and I had our regular weekend phone visit this morning. Surely we got all the world's problems solved. But she's got pack rats nesting in her roof, and having a time getting rid of them. She trapped five young ones, and the cat got another one. She's had this problem off and on for years now. My sister in Green Valley AZ just wrote that they have a bunch of pack rats nesting in their yeard area too, and had to cut down a tree to get the nest out so more didn't come back.

We have a really lovely morning out and the grass is so revived with the moisture we had. The weather has been sunny and warmer. Event-wise it has been just about like yesterday. The studio looks better than it did yesterday.

I neglected to mention that Monday our Senator Craig Thomas died. He had leukemia and had given a valiant fight, even continuing to work during his illness and treatment. He was a good man for Wyoming, whichever party you belong to. We saw the flags flying at half mast when we went on our trip to Idaho.

The commission portrait is being worked on. I made chicken and dumplings for dinner. It's one of Joe's favorites. The movie about the horse Ruffian is on ABC tonight and I'm looking forward to watching that.

Friday June 8 2007

Mules Ears

It has stayed overcast but no rain today. Mundane stuff. Worked on emails. Cleaned house. Got sheets changed and laundry done, paid the bills online. I decided to wait until this bad spell of weather gets better to plant the flowers so they don't get all torn up and too much water on them (wind/rain). Must clean the studio, piles and stacks of stuff are everywhere. I had a rare nap, just kind of zonked out and it felt good. Have about a week to finish the portrait and should be able to get that accomplished by then.

After breakfast Joe got that wagon out of the garage and into the shed by hooking it to the tractor. Then he went to Pinedale for his eye doctor checkup and had lunch there. He had his truck full of stuff for the dump, but still didn't take the old studio window that's been sitting in the yard for about a year now. It will sit there longer until he goes the next time.

We're going to have to change our diet a little to a more heart healthy one. I've been trying that for a long time for low cholesterol with quite a bit of resistance, so I think Joe is ready to try to go without bad fats and salt, etc. He has done very well giving up desserts. He really skimps on the fruit, veggies and whole grain things filling up mainly on breads and wants everything fried, but we'll try it again. Dr. Blank especially said no salt. I introduced him to a couple of salt free seasonings and he willingly tried those tonight.

Thursday June 7 2007

Today we woke up to wind, between 4 and 6 inches of heavy wet snow and still coming down. It wasn't warm enough for it to stick for long, so no telling how much had fallen. Both the TV dish and my computer internet dish needed to be swept off before they would have any reception. Something must have zapped the receiver while we were gone so I had to unplug it which resets it. Until I figured that out, I downloaded my photo card and picked out a few pictures for the blog. When I downloaded my email I had 160 to go through. Arg! By this afternoon the snow has mostly melted off but the hills still have a good dusting. I bet a lot fell in the mountains. This is the best moisture we've had this spring and will be so good for the country. We need this. It's stayed overcast all day and started raining again this afternoon. It sure cleaned the car off.

Joe had a haircut appointment before noon, but decided it would be best not to drive into town through the storm so had me cancel it and got him another one in about a week. He's worked a little in the garage getting things put away and the snow machines moved. I hope I go out there and find a really neat place. When he came in he's taken his blood pressure with his new b.p. cuff about a dozen times so far. The Dr. said to take and record it a couple of times a day and call him with the results in a week. This will show him how to keep adjusting the medication to keep Joe's heart from being so irregular and hopefully help his dizziness. We're supposed to go back and see him again in six months.

Both of us and both of the dogs are having a pretty easy day. Tomorrow Joe has a followup visit with the eye doctor for his cataract surgery, so he will have to drive in for that one. And he will take all the stuff he cleaned out of the garage to the dump that he wants to get rid of.

Wednesday June 6, 2007

Idaho Falls

Sights Along the River Walk at The Falls of the Snake River

Photos from Tuesday Afternoon

I was disappointed that despite sleeping better lately, I didn't sleep well at the hotel and we had a very long day ahead of us until we got home. And as usual Joe was up at the crack of dawn wanting to go eat. Neither one of us had any interest in going to the hotel restaurant, even for coffee. Walked the dogs in the rain along the canal. After our showers, we drove across Broadway just by the bridge to Smitty's for breakfast, another good meal with great doggie leftovers.

We weren't far from a new Walmart so there was time to go there and check to see if they had the bedding flowers I wanted for my pots. Happily they had lots and I got those and some potting soil. I splurged on a pot of perennials - were they verbena? I'll check. They had the most exuberant old farmer guy as a greeter/cart person there - we got a kick out of him. He was drying off all the handles on the carts for everyone and had me drive to the door and loaded all the plants for me.

After the flowers were loaded into the back of the SUV we went back and checked out of the hotel, where I asked the clerk to let me talk to the manager. We had a "firm discussion", and they gave me the room for half price. I just cannot imagine them asking the price they did, which they admitted was the same rate for all the rooms old or new. And they also didn't have breakfast with it, which most places do any more. Their apologies meant nothing. I told them it was not a nice thing to do to anyone. We will never stay there again.

We decided just to go find the doctor's office. To get more familiar with the town, I wanted to try to go there on Sunnyside which was the closest main street to that area, but found it was blocked off for repairs and had turn around to go back to 17th St.

The Idaho Heart Institute is about a block from the hospital where I was a month ago, and was easy to find. We were just in time for me to walk the dogs in a large vacant lot behind the building (getting feet and pant legs soaked), then for Joe to fill out his paperwork, and be called in for his echo cardiogram. I went in too to take notes, which there wasn't much to take, but got to watch the test being done. It took about 40 minutes. Of course Jacob the technician wouldn't tell Joe a thing about how it turned out. It was one of the same tests I had when I went to the hospital last month.

There was plenty of time to go down to Garcia's a few blocks away, so we had a nice Mexican lunch. Then back to his appointment with heart specialist Dr. Blank at 1 p.m. The nurses got his "vitals". Then we had a long wait in the exam room before the doctor finally came in. Don't you wish they wouldn't do that! However the doctor spent most of an hour talking with Joe, and we had a very good discussion with him about Joe's heart and medication. I did get notes about that, in fact more info than I could get recorded I'm sure. Now I need to write that up on the computer. He told us to get an automatic blood pressure cuff and how to use it.

While we were so near the hospital I went in there to ask for copies of all the tests I had while I was there. Not sure how they do that, but it didn't even take five minutes to give me all my records, and they were free too. I went to accounting to see how much I owed them, and the balance is zero, so Medicare and my insurance have paid everything. That must be the only good thing about getting old. Still raining and windy we went to find a blood pressure cuff. The first pharmacy the doctor recommended that was close by had just sold their last one. So next place was Albertson's pharmacy where they did have one. They also had Joe's favorite cake doughnuts and milk for the journey home. We stopped for gas and filled up, leaving town about 4 p.m.

The temperature went up and down between about 46 at Idaho Falls and 36 by the time we got home. At about Palisades I told Joe it looked like smoke in one place in the forest and not mist on the hills, and yes, there was a quite large fire in one of the gorges. Not sure if someone's house was on fire, or they were deliberately burning something big. Don't think it would have been a forest fire with all that rain.

It rained steady until we got to Alpine Junction and the Hoback River. There it had rained earlier, and it seemed like we had driven out of the storm. But pretty soon started to sprinkle again and then was snowing before we got to The Rim, and had a good blizzard as we came over the top for a while. Cora and Pinedale were dry, and it was dry the rest of the way home. But we no sooner pulled into the yard and got our little bit of stuff unloaded than a regular blizzard began. We got the horse and cats fed It was about 8 p.m. so we made good time coming home. I crashed on the couch and Joe had cereal for dinner. We were all glad to be back snug in the house. I am so glad I didn't have to drive home yesterday in this kind of snow storm.

(See Tuesday just added below.)