Tuesday April 21 2009

This is the Wyoming Range which is to our West.

You can get this view from up the street.

Pine Creek runs just over the sagebrush hill.

.

Here is Raven on our walk yesterday.

I mainly wanted to show you how things

are getting green here now!!

Trees and willows are still totally bare.

This was an interesting day. Warmer, but still breezy. Finished up the housecleaning and laundry which carried over from yesterday, so that is done and hope it will last for a while.

Yesterday afternoon Dave the house builder called and said he was ahead on his schedule and could be here today to start working on our punch list. I told him we would be here and to come on ahead. He has another house in Daniel, the same as ours, and was there doing their list. No, I don't know what all that one involved, but they finished it all up yesterday. He said it was a long and hard working day for them.

So he and three helpers arrived about 1 p.m. here and got right to work - one is a friend, one a nephew and one his son-in-law. So far most of the things are already corrected. They will be back tomorrow to finish the rest. We had about 30 things on our list, nothing hugely major, many just annoyances that a person could live with. They fixed plumbing in the crawl space where the condensate from the furnace in the attic had been piped down and should have been connected into the sewer system pipe, but was left to drain onto the crawl space floor - that is fixed now. They put in a new kitchen sink, which was scratched in installation - the son-in-law said he did it when he put it in. They fixed the torn screens in a jiffy. Tightened up that humongous chandelier over the dining room table and assured me it wasn't going to come crashing down. They got Joe's jacuzzi tub going - wiring had come loose, and he thought probably it wasn't hooked up right at the factory. One of them fixed that ugly hole where the TV wiring comes in in my bedroom putting on a receptacle. They got paint which Pinedale Lumber was able to match to the walls to touch up three walls that had places that didn't match the original wall color. He put some on the wall to cover one of the spots and it looks better, will see when it dries if it matches. If it is still noticeable they will paint the whole walls.

Tomorrow the biggest thing is they will work on that septic tank outlet that I put the photo of on the other day and get a drain for the water, and put some gravel in there and fill it so the ground is level. They will paint the walls, fix holes in the drywall and paint those repairs, fix some cracked cement in the garage, glue and nail some rug molding down, look at all the electrical outlets, fix a can light that doesn't work - there's more I can't think of offhand. Surely they will be here most of the day to get the rest of it done. In the meantime we got a little acquainted. They are are all very nice. Joe was able to personally ask him all the questions that he has had and got the answers.

Dave and his family lived here in a trailer while he built the house. His daughter was pregnant and started getting sick. She and the son-in-law flew home and turned out that she had a brain tumor. It wasn't malignant, but very dangerous for both of them, the drs. didn't expect the baby would live. Sounded like such a scary story, but she and the baby are fine now. The baby's first birthday is tomorrow. So many people having such terrible difficulties.

So that was our day. We went to the Chinese restaurant for dinner. I'm kind of wired tonight. Joe fell asleep in the chair, well that's nothing new though. At least he can sleep good. I sure keep noticing that I feel a lot better when things are going on and people are around.

Betty called and a friend of hers is a missionary in Africa. Her father passed away and they lived in Cedar City which isn't far from Mesquite, so Betty is going up there tomorrow to go to the funeral and take some pictures for her friend, who can't come from Africa now. The rest of the story is that our other high school friend Nancy who is from Coos Bay OR is down visiting her sister in Caliente, also near Mesquite, and she and her sister will drive over to Cedar City to have lunch with Betty. I will be envious not to be there with them, but Betty will fill me in.

Monday April 20 2009

Switchbacks on the Road to Red Lodge

coming down off the Beartooth Plateau

Beartooths - see the little bitty people


Beartooth Lake - stuck two photos together in a panorama
I wanted to do a painting of this.
Click on these to see them all better.

Lazy morning. Sunny and warmer, but windy again. Tried to call Lois but she was out. Tried to call Nancy Jellico and didn't connect with her either. Hope she's doing o.k. Joe went to coffee. Raven wouldn't go with him today. She does that every once in a while. Sparky wouldn't miss it I had my small breakfast, yogurt and a leftover biscuit with tea.

Joe's getting prepared to go out and use the new pooper scooper in the yard. It sure needs it after all winter of not being able to get out there. Even the dogs don't seem to want to go out there now. The funniest thing though. You saw the picture of Joe's overshoes with the mud and hay on them laying on the steps of the deck. They scared the dogs nearly to death wondering what in the world they were - they'd never been there before. I stood at the door watching them and just laughing at them crouching and eyeing them, and trying to get the smell of them. Funny boys. I'm going to take them for another walk, just so they don't have to go in the back yard too much and get their feet muddy.

Last night for a while I was going through old photos trying to find a certain one. Never did. But looked at the pictures I took last time we went over the Beartooth Highway, and picked out a few for today. Don't have much new lately, so thought these might be interesting. It's a beautiful place.

If anything interesting happens I might be back later.

Sunday April 19 2009

Here's the septic cleanout (top) just after the large snowdrift which covered the back yard all winter has mostly melted away. You bet - this is on the list of things that need to be fixed by the builder. It had no cover so Curtis put the piece of plywood over it when we moved in. Joe put his overboots on and went out this afternoon and dug the approximately foot deep ditch that you see from the cleanout toward the fence. It did tire him out. The puddle covered most of that part of the yard before he dug the ditch. See where it is wet near the bottom of the photo, there was water up there and back toward the deck steps. It has been standing water on both ends of the yard as the drift melted and I've particularly wondered whether the uneveness which is allowing the water to lay there is going to affect the house, as whether it will settle with that kind of wetness. And whether the septic "elements" are weathering this o.k. or not.

Yesterday Joe went to the ranch early in the morning. He said everything is fine there. In the afternoon Bonnie and Craig came over and brought me a very nice gift from Nancy, a small DVD player. Craig hooked it up for me. We tried to get it to go on the big screen TV in the living room, but for reasons too long to write, it wouldn't work. So we put it on the small TV in my bedroom and it hooked right up. He showed me how to drive the three remotes it takes and now I can watch DVD movies! They stayed for dinner and we had tamales and tacos. It was really enjoyable having them with us. We called Nancy so I could thank her, and had a nice visit with her. They might be back here sometime in May, depending on the weather and we have a date to get together. Thank you for your kindness, Nancy.

I went to church this morning and was a tad late again. Woke up in good time but seemed not to be able to stay awake, fell back asleep until I just had time to get ready and be there. This was the best session, or my favorite anyway, since I started going. Well, how many have I been to now? Four or five? I came home from there and Joe had already eaten a bowl of cereal for lunch. So I fixed a ham sandwich. That and a cup of yogurt was all I had all day until dinner. Boy my stomach was growling in Sunday School.

I checked email and got very sleepy again so went and took a nap, then watched a very interesting program on the education channel about a murder trial in Idaho where Clarence Darrow? was the defending lawyer - the lawyer who later defended the teacher in "The Monkey Trial". It was about the miners union around the turn of the century and a lot of the history of the event, violence, murder and terrorism, and people involved. Many great old photos. Fascinating. The trial lasted two and a half months, and mostly farmers were the jury. They acquitted the defendant because Darrow cast doubt on the main witness and that was all it took; they couldn't convict him. The whole country was spellbound by the newspaper accounts the entire time and I could see why.

Took the dogs for a walk and although it was nearly 55 degrees, I still needed the down coat on and the hood on my head because the wind was blowing pretty hard. It actually whistled around my hood, in fact. But "The Boys" sure enjoyed the outing, so it was worth it. Raven is being so good about not going around the neighbor's houses when I call her. Back she comes happy and smiling. She may partly be trying it so she will be told she's such a good girl when she turns around and comes away from the yards. Soon after I got in, Betty called and we talked as usual for over an hour. Then dinner time. I noticed the taco leftovers weren't near as enjoyable as they were last night with Bonnie and Craig. And guess what..... Here it is 8:30 p.m. two days later and I haven't called Lois back yet. Or is it three days now?

Saturday April 18 2009

Red Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight

Sunset Last Night
.

Betty's Springtime Yard.

This is Part of Betty's Yard in Mesquite.

We are in the decision process of trying to decide what to do with our muddy and barren yard and not have to water or mow grass in summer when we want to be at the ranch. Gravel and rocks are sounding pretty good. Maybe a few shrubs or perennials. We HAVE to improve the mud situation so we and the dogs can walk out there.

Talked to Beverly for a while last night. We're both looking forward to when she comes up. Also Lois called me yesterday - speak of the angel - and said they had gotten home the day before. I have to call her back today because when she called I was just leaving for the store. Went to quickly print out a copy of the punch list, and wouldn't you guess when I'm in a hurry to get to the courthouse before it closed, the printer ran out of ink. Changed the cartridges and got my copy. Then jumped into the car and got the property taxes paid. And lucky that I went down there instead of mailing it because the clerk put the payment on the ranch instead of Arrowhead Ave. and then we would have been delinquent here - although I'm sure they check the legal location - right?

Got another fax of the punch list off to the builder at Office Outlet. While I was in there, although my brain was saying don't spend the money now, I bought two books ..... Ann Noble's "Pinedale" (historic photos of town), and Helena Linn's "Winter in the Bunkhouse". Helena took some of her inspiration from the locales around our place on Muddy and the history there. We took a few exploring trips when she was in the thinking stages of the book. Anyway she gave me a nice signed copy and some time back I gave it away and said I'd buy another one, so finally have it now. Also got the groceries, home and put them away. Made us baked chicken fingers for dinner, recipe was edible but not too good. I won't try that again. Should have friend them.

My morning started off irritatingly. For breakfast I decided to make cream of wheat in the microwave and while it was cooking - couldn't stand to just stand there - thought I'd organize the spice containers in the cabinet right next to the microwave. Involved in that and the cereal boiled all over creation and my 3 minute meal made such a mess it took about 15 minutes to clean up. By then breakfast and tea were cold and I started over. Hope the whole day doesn't go like that.

Its very sunny, blue skies, almost 50 degrees when I woke up!! and the wind is howling. If this keeps up as it's supposed to for the rest of the week, that drift might be gone in a week or so and the back yard dry enough I can give the new pooper scooper a trial run. Wheeeee! Have been seeing the deer around us often, as many as a dozen at a time crossing the lot in back. And watched cranes flying overhead this morning.

So one of the first things is to call Lois back. I don't know what else the day might bring. Maybe straighten up "my studio" instead of leaving it be a dumping ground. And put on some new nail polish.

Cousins Iris and Peggy called from GA, remember this is the time they invited me to come there, and they were on their way to Blue Ridge for a couple of days. Said they were having a good time and staying super busy. So hope they have a wonderful visit there with all the Thomas relatives.

This morning I got curious about Bluetooth and what it is, what it does, since this laptop has it and don't have a clue what to do with it. Thought I'd google it and this came up in Wiki. Much info went on for many pages. Anyway I know a little more than I did. Thought this part about King Harald and the logo was probably the most interesting: The word Bluetooth is an anglicized version of Old Norse Blátönn or Danish Blåtand, the name of the tenth-century king Harald I of Denmark and Norway, who united dissonant Scandinavian tribes into a single kingdom. The implication is that Bluetooth does the same with communications protocols, uniting them into one universal standard.[1][2][3].Origin of the Bluetooth logo: The Bluetooth logo design merges the Germanic runes analogous to the modern Latin letters H and B: (for Harald Bluetooth) (Hagall) and (Berkanan) merged together, forming a bird rune. Etc. Etc. Etc. Went on longer than eventually I cared to read.

Friday April 17 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR LOIS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Lois and Bud have been snowbirding around the southwest this winter and haven't seen her for months now. They should be home soon. Lois has been an inspiration to me. She is always cheerful and smiling. She is a precious friend.
.

Earlier I wrote we were off to Cody, but ..... guess what..... I called Ruth last night and said I wouldn't go. Sigh. By the time I organized and cleaned to get stuff ready to leave and have Joe be o.k. while I was gone, I was really tired. And hadn't packed yet. Although that's probably not the best condition in which to make a decision I was so tired and not feeling the greatest I decided not to do it. That's how I get to feeling in the afternoon, pain and no ambition (the pain pills help that so it shouldn't be an excuse). Actually it's probably more the arthritis they tell me I have than the cancer symptoms. I didn't want to experience the convention that way. It is, or can be if you let it, very intense, lots of activities packed into a couple of days plus the driving. So I thought it wasn't the best idea for me to go and have others feeling they needed to do for me. Which they would. I don't feel a bit bad about not going except for an inkling of missing the Vic Payne sculpture workshop. I seem to be enjoying just being at home where it's calm and serene and relaxing. So ..... everyone is gone but me.

Saw some sunshine early this morning but it's back very cloudy now, just about freezing. This weekend is supposed to turn really nice. We've still got snow on the ground but it will melt now.

Joe went to his weekly breakfast out. I didn't grocery shop yesterday so probably will go do that in a little while. Did get things caught up yesterday including cleaning out the fridge. That feels nice. I did up the laundry, and even though I tried to be careful not to do this AGAIN washed something with kleenex in the pocket and bits were all over everything. Mopped up the dogs muddy footprints so floor is clean at the moment. The pooper scooper that Debbie ordered for us from PetSmart came yesterday. We will be able to put it to good use when that drift in the back goes away.

The builder called yesterday and said he would have his crew here to fix everything on on list next Thursday. Hopefully it won't be too much of an invasion but that everything will be done properly. He's going to call back and verify it on Wednesday. We got the bill for the new house property taxes so I want to go down to the county treasurer's office and pay that.

Beverly called the other day and she's going to come up about the middle of May. We can take a little driving trip then and she can take care of me. She's been wanting to see Devil's Tower and I've only been there once. Maybe we'll also go to Mt. Rushmore and see more of Eastern Wyoming.

When events do not turn out as I planned, I don't let myself become bogged down in disappointment or allow my enthusiasm to wane. I turn my perspective around so that I see things in a new way and celebrate the good that is always there for me. At each crossroad, I know the path I take leads to blessings ahead. Turning around to face my good, I realize that what might have at first discouraged me will prove to be the dawning of a greater, more fulfilling experience. ~ Unity Daily Word ~ (Thank you Jackie)

Thursday April 16 2007

Ruth with Grandson Patrick.

We're going to Cody together.

We used to do a lot of this, so it's going to be

a lot of fun to be with Ruth for the weekend.

Jody is going along with us too.

Bonnie, I got the suitcase out, and started organizing a few clothes to decide what to take this weekend. I'm thinking about taking the pastels, BUT NO MORE THAN THAT. Except maybe the little Cottman watercolor set and a pad of paper. I keep looking around the walls to see which paintings I could take that haven't been shown yet even though I told myself I wasn't going to take any. We all used to load our whole studio into the back of the car, but we were a lot younger and stronger then.

The Street

How Much Snow Was There?

Up to Her Eyeballs

You WANT Us To Come in..... RIGHT??

Opened the blind today and there was a bunch new snow out there. The storm was just finishing up and there's a few patches of blue sky, but the other direction very gray and dark. It's melting fast today. So far not windy. Need to check the weather report again so we know about getting out on the road tomorrow.

Am doing another load of laundry. Later I'll go to the store and fax James' version of the house punch list to the builder. Joe's taken the dogs and gone to coffee. That's about all there is to report for now.

Today I reminded Joe about measuring the deck so Curtis could get the railing materials. Joe said he didn't want the deck railing on yet, because "some day" he might want to put a roof over the deck and then would have to tear the railing down. So ..... Guess that's one thing not to worry about. Surprised me! I guess it's o.k. the way it is. I suppose we won't go out there much anyway. Maybe just sit in a lawn chair every once in a while. I'm actually surprised how interested he does seem in fixing things up around the place and wanting to work on projects. That's good I guess.

Wednesday April 15 2009

..

..

happy tax day

green for the color of money!

and hoping to get some of it back.

.

Sunlit Sorrels

24 x 36 Oil Painting

by Lynn Thomas

Some of our horses napping in the field.

.

I made a carrot pineapple cake today.

Another slow and quiet day. I opted out of going to the Wednesday painting group, mostly because I wasn't even ready to leave until after 10 and what's the point of going then when its half over. Called Debbie, she was getting ready to go to lunch with a friend, so just talked for a minute. So have kept myself busy around the house. Joe wanted to go down to the brew pub for lunch. Guess he was hungry. He had fish and chips, and I had really good chicken noodle soup.

When we got home I got in the mood to cook and baked some chocolate chip cookies. Also needed to do something with the leftover ham. So made a new recipe for potatoes, ham and cheese baked with bread crumbs on top. It was a nice change from my usual scalloped potatoes and ham. And also fixed the breaded eggplant that I make once in a while. Then also made a carrot pineapple cake from a recipe I got off the internet and used more of that fresh pineapple. I changed a few things to make it a little healthier - half whole wheat and only half the amount of oil by adding applesauce for the remainder and left out 1/3 the sugar. Joe liked it. It turned out pretty good, although a slight bit dry. At least it wasn't heavy and oily. Kept telling myself it would be a good time to invite someone over to eat with us, but I don't like to wait til just a few hours before dinner to ask anyone, so in the end waited so long that it really was too late and didn't.

Ruth called me and we got a plan for this weekend - going over to Cody for the Wyoming Artists Assn. Convention. Will see how I'm feeling by then. Jody is coming up tomorrow and going with us too. She invited us to stay with her at her friend’s house there. I think I’ll be comfortable in the friends home – better than a motel. I’m going very light with suitcase and supplies if any. Won’t do the quick draw, because I don’t think I can work fast enough with anything but oils and I just don’t want to carry that much heavy stuff. I’m not even sure if I’ll take paintings to enter in the shows. I plan to take the sculpture class from Vic Payne since he’s so well known, and all the supplies are furnished. I like to do sculpture. We’re going to leave from here on Friday morning if South Pass is o.k. and later if its not. We can look at the South Pass web cams on the internet. Sounds like the weekend should be good. Kay and maybe Wanda are going in Kay’s car and staying in Powell (nearby town) with Kay's dtr. Charm is going to their relative’s wedding down in Colorado. I’m kind of looking forward to it, but told Ruth I might back out if I’m not doing good that day. The weekend has a good weather forecast. We'll be back Sunday. So I may miss some blogs.

This morning I was surprised to pull up the window shade and see it dry and sunny after that ominous forecast for a storm. Nothing has happened during the day either except awful wind and clouding up about noon. It was terrible in Salt Lake pouring rain there.

I heard this on a news show on TV - maybe you did too - that one of the popular new styles is faux ho. I think it's disgusting and if anything goes broke I hope that's one enterprise that does. Are we supposed to rush out and buy this stuff? And what about the young kids thinking this is an o.k. thing.

It's the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, born in Vinci, Italy (1452), the man who painted "The Last Supper" and the "Mona Lisa." He was a painter, sculptor, scientist, inventor, and philosopher. He studied anatomy on decaying corpses so he would be able to accurately paint and sculpt human bodies. He did studies on plants, animals, architecture, geometry, bridges, canals, floating devices, bicycles, flying machines, weapons, and more. He sketched ideas for hundreds of inventions, including an underwater breathing device and shoes that would make it possible to walk on water