PHOTOS FROM YESTERDAY

Cloud Tatters

October Sky - Mare's Tails

Antelope Does

4 Photo Panorama - Click to see better

Herd of Antelope in Field

Interlopers and the Buck on Guard

Showing his arsenal

Sunday October 5 2008

Betty called to visit yesterday afternoon. She's eager to learn which house we're going to choose. Later she sent the photo of me that she took while she was here. The purpose was to get a picture of the new spiky "do" but in this one it's not too spiky. Anyway I don't take a very good picture any more, but this one wasn't too bad, so thought I'd stick it on the blog today.

For a while I sat and deleted more of those triplicate email messages - boring but easy. Probably got rid of about 5000 today. I think I'm almost done with that now.

This morning is brilliantly sunny with some clouds, although the weather report said that it would be stormy today. Maybe it will cloud up more later - and that only takes about ten minutes. My little Boulder weather sticker says there it is mostly cloudy. The ragged low clouds are beautiful pouring down through the passes and streaming across the foothills. There were still raindrops on the windows when I woke up, so hadn't been too long since the last showers. Not too cold.

Our local herd of antelope is just outside the studio window this morning and there are two small bucks hanging around on the outskirts, The buck keeps having to go out and make them keep their distance. There seems to be an established perimeter where they are allowed..... or not if they cross the line. The does mostly ignore the challenges going on around them, but try to escape themselves once in a while. The buck has to chase them down and bring them back. It's better entertainment than TV - our own wildlife documentary.

Steve who lives in Washington now, sent some fall pictures of Mt. Baker and are they every beautiful. Thanks, Steve. Maybe he won't mind if I share a few of them on the blog so you can enjoy them too.

It rained and showered on and off all day yesterday. Sometimes it poured for a while and we began to get some puddles before dark. Until then the ground just sucked it up. None this morning though - it's all soaked in. They got more rain further north of us which is usual. I wish it would pour down for days and fill our ground water back up, we've continued to have such a drought for years now, and I worry because the glaciers are also melting away - not getting the snow pack as it used to years ago.

Tomorrow I'll go to town to get my protime test (coumadin). We need a little groceries. It is Joe's birthday and maybe he will like to go to dinner or something to celebrate. We'll see. Joslyn had stopped by the day we last went to town and left Joe a birthday card. We were sorry to have missed seeing her. I'm getting anxious to see Debbie. She should be here on Tuesday.

Saturday October 4 2008

A few more photos of the

Old Buildings at the Lazy AZ at Sunset

Must have started raining in the early morning hours and is continuing to rain. I can hear it on my studio roof - LOVE that sound. There is that misty look I love in front of the hills that separates them into layer after layer going back into the greyness. I'm wearing my cozy sweats since it seems kind of chilly. Got up about 8 and had some cream of wheat for breakfast with my activia vanilla yogurt and a cup of tea with honey. Raven's curled up by my feet waiting to clean the bowl - she loves that and I suppose thinks it's her job. She HAS to thoroughly clean the little yogurt cup too. The dogs are denning up in the house where its warm and dry.

I've been watching the big bunch of video movies Nanny loaned to me - mayby am halfway through the all - and have been enjoying them. Just now it's Balto and Balto II. Looks like the next one in line is Antz!

We have a cow in our field that has crawled through the fence. If it doesn't go back to its "home" pasture Joe will probably need to open the gate so it can get to water in the creek. Not sure without getting very close to her who she belongs to. I think we should just open the gate and let the cattle come on in here to crop down all the grass that is left high. That way I wouldn't feel guilty about not weedeating it down, which isn't likely to happen now.

Also saw Smokey the cat way out in the middle of the field hunting mice. They usually don't get that far out in the open and stay more hidden, although Traveler does go up and down the road. He likes the big old woodpile out by the front gate and stays down there sometimes. Once in a while he takes some of the "kittens" with him.

So ..... not much exciting news so far today. I wanted to drive up to Big Sandy to see the fall colors once more, but not a good day for that - probably not tomorrow either. Maybe by the middle of next week it will be nice again and the roads dried out. Maybe this is a good painting day?? I'll let you know. Maybe its a good day to make a pot of chili and some cornbread.

It's the birthday of journalist Brendan Gill, born in Hartford, Connecticut (1914). He wrote for The New Yorker for more than 60 years, publishing fiction, essays, and criticism. He said, "Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious."

Friday October 3 2008

James and Joe at the Grace Lane House

This is the little frog fetish that Nanny gave me from

her collection. It seems quite unique to me. It is about

an inch and a half long. Remember Frog is one of

my spirit animals. All the photos from today would

be a whole lot like the recent ones, so thought it

was a good time for this picture.

Betty called yesterday and she made good time getting home, arriving there about noon. She said she left Nephi before daylight and everything went fine. Debbie also called and we talked for most of an hour. Lots to discuss about the changes. She said she and Beverly are really glad we're getting the house, that they won't worry about us as much.

Well, this was the day Joe and I went to see the chosen houses. We left about 8:30. It was pretty overcast especially the closer to town we got. We had enough time to walk the dogs prior to their waiting in the car for 3 hours. I drove by another house on the hill right above town, very close to the clinic and store. It isn't one we toured, because I didn't ask to see it, but it could be possible because it's very close. Just wanted Joe to see it. Our appointment was at 9:45. So got the dogs parked next to some trees in case the sun came out. James had seen us drive by so came out and brought his truck over to pick us up. We went to the six top houses. Joe's favorites are the same as mine. I was surprised at that. He was all done by the 5th one, but he needed to see what the comparisons were so we went to another closer to town on a very small lot. James also said our two favorites are the best choices for us. It rained for a while this morning while we were looking.

We’re supposed to decide the top two now, but I think they have been the same all along – South Fork Trail (I think is my favorite and JOE LIKED IT) and Arrowhead (Brand new 4 bedroom). Both are on two acres. They are totally different and have different needs to be done when we move in. I could sure see us in either one, but I really like the little log house. I feel good there.

Kathy met us at the Brew Pub again and we had a nice lunch and visit. It was after lunch we looked at the sixth house. Walked the dogs again and over to Joe's eye doctor appointment at 3 p.m. His eyes are about the same as they were last year, even though he says they are getting worse. I reminded him that the doctors have all said its not his eyes but what his stroke did to that part of his brain that processes the images. He is having a difficult time with his sight.

There was a fresh fruit and vegetable truck on the edge of town and I bought some nice produce. We all had ice cream again, filled up with gas and headed home. We stopped at Bonnie and Craig's on the way. Joe has asked him to make us a new big front gate (for the ranch) and he left the "plan" there with Bonnie.

Debbie will be here about Tuesday to help, then Curtis (Debbie’s husband) and Beverly will come to get us settled in. Not moving anything out of this house, just what we want to take for living – clothes etc. If the new house, we will need to go furniture shopping; if the small one it comes with quite nice furniture negotiable, even dishes, pans and linens.

It had cleared off in the afternoon but started to rain again while we were having dinner. We just had cereal and fruit - neither of us was very hungry. Tomorrow and Sunday are supposed to be stormy and get better again after that. October is often very nice weather.

Thursday October 2 2008

Rainbow Last Night After a Short Rainstorm

Joe's gone to town to see the hearing specialist. His hearing aids haven't been working so good lately. Perhaps he needs to go get the wax cleaned from his ears as well. I guess she can tell him, but I don't know whether she does that or not.

It's another good day. Clear last night with glittering stars. And blue skies this morning.

Last night I sat and got the houses sorted out in my mind to make sure I'm not overlooking something important in some of the others. I hope not. My favorite is still the first one we looked at, but we'll see what Joe thinks. We will go in tomorrow and meet James to look at the top choices.

Nothing on my radar this morning, so will keep this short for now. I will be waiting to hear when Betty gets safely home.

Wednesday October 1 2008

Stormy Sunset

Another month gone. What happened to summer? Here we are already getting closer and closer to winter. Big beautiful thunderclouds are building over the mountains. There have been rumors of snow coming on Sunday - the hunters will like that. But today is beautiful again. We had about 10 raindrops on the windows this afternoon. The dogs are tired out too, getting to go somewhere almost every day. Sprawled out in the yard sleeping in the sun.

Betty bustled around this morning, leaving her room all clean and made up, getting her belongings all gathered up and packed into the van. She left about 10 a.m. and had made a reservation for tonight at her favorite motel in Nephi, about halfway home to Mesquite. That way she only needs to drive about 5 hours a day. She'll get home about noon tomorrow and need to unload (remember all the old wood and stuff) and return the rental van. She was going to stop by Bonnie's on the way out to photograph her bay window. I suppose they will have lots to discuss about their mutual friend me.

Anyway Betty is thinking of having a bay window put in over her kitchen sink where she spends a lot of time watching the birds and wildlife at the feeders in her yard. Except that the window is too high on the wall to get a good view from the second level there where the kitchen is down to the yard below. (The lower level is a full basement but on a hill so..... I forget what you call that when the house is built in a hill and you come in at ground level on the different stories.) Betty is going to call me this afternoon when she gets to the motel.

It's going to be a quiet day for me here, as the last many days have been busy ones. Two days away in a row always have tired me out. I napped yesterday and today for many hours - I was just worn out. I might make some lists - what I want to take to the new house, other things to be done, things we need to buy - furniture or appliances etc. -and spend some time looking at the paperwork of the houses to choose which ones to show to Joe. I'll try to take a few more pictures to show you when we go do that.

But here are the internet links to look at the houses we considered, in case you are curious enough to take a look. They all look the same but each one should open onto a different page. We chose places close in town, with one story, mostly no stairs, clean not needing remodeling, newer, not too big, on and on.

Click to view listing(s) .. Click to view listing(s) .. Click to view listing(s) .. Click to view listing(s) .. Click to view listing(s)

Some favorites not in order:

2 South Fork Trail - 2 acres

86 Orcutt Dr. - 1.36 acres (has stairs and full basement; view )

17 Arrowhead - 2 acres

865 Grace Lane - new modular

60 Riverbend - new modular, very small lot.

I talked to Lois this morning because they used to live in one of the houses I'm most interested in. The only negative she mentioned was that the guy who built the garage put the roof on so the snow slides off into the the driveway ..... can you imagine?? Otherwise she loved the house. She had painted a sky mural on the high ceiling above the kitchen which is still there and it's charming. But each place has some negatives, we're just going to have to see what works best for us. For instance, the roads to the very nice one on Orcutt Hill may not be the best in winter - kind of far off the good county road - plowing may be an issue; stairs to the basement where the washer and dryer are - they have to be replumbed and moved upstairs. Most of the others need to be fenced and some have covenants that describe how you must landscape etc. Of course, there will be time for landscaping next summer. But because of the dogs, we need to fence immediately. Those are drawbacks to brand new places, where lived-in ones need other kinds of repair or cleaning. Each house is very much different from the others except for two similar modulars in the same new area.

A few things that came to my attention - perhaps hadn't considered before - is that Pinedale IS a very nice town overall. I've always liked it very much, but hadn't given that much thought. Some of the older sections can be a little dreary, but I'm more impressed overall than before. The other thing that really stands out is how much the town is growing, and that the new "subdivisions" or "developments" are quite nice - parks and green spaces and bike paths. If good views aren't right in your face, they aren't far away. Pluses and minuses to everything, so we're going to have to be flexible. I sure knew and have often mentioned how the whole area around town is developing rapidly, but the town is also.

I should be back to having some good days - I was sorry that my chemo recovery days were during the time that Betty was here. I wasn't the best of company much of the time. Now I hope to have the ambition to paint a little. Joe's having a little trouble with his hearing or the hearing aids. He will go see the audiology person soon to check it out. And has an eye checkup this week as well. He's watching all the financial and political news. That's about all I know today. So far.

At 5:30 p.m. during an edit of the blog,..... It's Raining!

Tuesday September 30 2008

PHOTOS OF A HOUSE HUNTING DAY

Absolutely beautiful morning. We left home by 8:30 and had time to walk the dogs near the bike path so they would be o.k.waiting in the car for several hours while we went house hunting and had lunch with James. We parked them in a shady spot near the real estate office and off we went to see five more houses.

Another picture of yellow trees - beautiful.

House hunting. This was a very nice place sitting up on Orcutt Hill with probably the best view of the mountains. It has a stone walk and stairs in several places that would take some redoing in order for them to be "elderly" safe. I liked several of the houses today. We've looked at 13 or 14 homes and probably everything available within our guidelines. There is quite a variety and they all have pros and cons, of course. Now it is time to sort through every thing we've seen and pick out the top half dozen or so and show them to Joe in a day or so. James has done a great job helping us look.

Kathy met us at the Brew Pub for a nice lunch and it sure was good to see her. Thank you for the meal and the nice day you guys.

After lunch we let the dogs out again, this time taking the nature trail through the park next to Pine Creek. They had to swim of course so after this we rode with stinky wet dogs.

"Walking the Dogs" - We sat and listened to the water run.

Downtown Pinedale Wyoming - couldn't have been a more perfect day. We've been seeing lots of geese in their formations, getting ready to fly south for the winter.

This is a part of the new veterans memorial in the park. It's the first time I've seen it close up. It's very nicely done. There are polished monuments with every Sublette County veteran's names on them.

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There is Joe's brother Jim's name - James M. Thomas - and shows how polished the rock is - the rock is actually black, but the reflection is something. We couldn't figure out what the stars, triangles, crosses, etc. mean.

This shows from a distance part of the monuments where the names are listed on the left. The uprights are some kind of polished black rock and the names are carved into them. I think there are three sets like the one above, but couldn't figure out exactly how the names were listed - it needs a code listed somewhere so you know what you're looking at.

We ran the car through the car wash and then we had ice cream cones, yes - the boys too. They shared a baby cone. Then we drove on home.

The ingredients for turkey vegetable soup for dinner. This made an easy meal, with some croissants and watermelon. Sparky was ever hopeful for scraps from the turkey.

Betty will be leaving in the morning. We will both miss her. She got her laundry done up and the car mostly packed.