Family photo shoot

I was really happy with our family photo shoot, accomplished when we were all together at Thanksgiving time.  Roger agreed to pull his old pick up out of the shop for a backdrop and Tom brought some hay for us to sit on.  I'm posting for two reasons....one: I need a quick and easy post to put up.  Times are busy, and I might not get another chance till after Christmas, and two: I wanted to ask if any of you have gotten any photos done up as canvas prints?  If so, where have you had them done, and were you pleased with how they turned out and would you recommend the same?  Translation:  I want quality without a big price tag.

I might be asking for trouble here, but what caption would you add to these two just for fun photos??

I love something Eva has been saying lately...and I've heard it several times.  It goes like this:  "Guess what?"  you answer "what?"  She says in a very excited tone "Ollie is coming!!"

Happy Holidays to you all!  I hope you all get to enjoy wonderful family time and make many wonderful memories...and please do share them with the rest of us!

Linda

Pearl Harbor Day

I just needed to post this today while it is fresh on my mind....again.  Yesterday was the 71st anniversary of when Pearl Harbor was bombed.  

My nephew who is serving in the Navy, shared this photo of soldiers standing in honor and remembrance of those who died 71 years ago when Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese

I had the privilege of going to Pearl Harbor earlier this year.  It was an eye opener to me.  Of course I had read about it during History classes as a teen, but didn't give it much more than  a  few passing thoughts.   I was not even born yet when our country was involved in WWII. But after my visit to this sight earlier this year, I began to understand the magnitude of what happened that day, and began to appreciate the sacrifice that our soldiers made.  Many, too many it would seem, made the ultimate sacrifice, that of  giving their life in the war.

I also read this book recently.  I would recommend it to everyone to read.   A little warning:  some of it is pretty graphic and horrific.  But it is a true and well researched story of  the experiences of one person who served in WWII and survived experiences that I would have previously thought were impossible to survive and endure.  I have also read accounts from other surviving veterans in our newspaper.  These survivors are now in their 90's.  I am quite sure that they are not too worried about getting the latest gizmo for Christmas, or worrying about filling their closet with the latest fashions.  I certainly hope that they are not worrying about whether or not they can afford to eat and keep warm, or receive needed health care.  One thing that needs to be addressed, I truly believe, is that Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is a serious condition and our soldiers deserve treatment of that, just as surely as if they had lost a limb or other bodily injuries. 

Today, my to-do list is long.  I really don't have time to sit at the computer.  No one reads blogs or face book on Saturday, right? ....when every one's to-do list is long, especially at this time of year, with Christmas around the corner, shopping to do, cards to get sent out, a house to clean, baking to get done......  But sometimes it is good to pause a bit, and reflect and remember, so that all our busy-ness doesn't start to overwhelm us and  that we think about all the good things that we get to enjoy in this country.  The freedom we enjoy to live and work in a peaceful nation.  The natural blessings of health, plenty to eat, and (especially this time of year) a warm home.  And, not the least of our blessings, many friends and family members, whom I love and enjoy very much.   As I hurry through the last few busy days of this year, I also want to take more seriously and remember the One who suffered more than we can imagine and gave the ultimate sacrifice and died for all of our sakes, to set us free from sin and be conscious daily that it is His Life within us that gives our days meaning  because we have hope for things beyond this life.

OK, I'm getting off  my soap box and getting back to my to-do list.....till next time,

Linda

Food and Family

We had a fabulous feast on Thanksgiving Day with all of our family at home to enjoy it with.  Tom and Joellyn hosted the dinner this year.  The turkey was done to perfection. We cooked fresh cranberry sauce and had a fresh green salad of arugula and orange slices.  The yams were a recipe from, where else, Pinterest.  The last  picture is of  three of the four pans of pizza that we enjoyed on Friday evening.  Joellyn followed a Pioneer Women recipe and each had  different toppings.  My favorite, hands down, was Thai Pie.  One thing we noticed this weekend, was that several dishes seemed better the second time around.  The sweet potatoes was one, and the other was the green bean casserole (also a Pioneer Women recipe)  Why??  Two reasons, I think.  One, extra baking time helped to enhance the flavor, and two, the second time around we weren't stuffed to our gills with 15 other things confusing our taste buds. That's my theory and I'm sticking with it :-)

Amy, our pie  baker extraordinaire, in the kitchen, one of her favorite places to be.  She made an apple pie and a pumpkin cheesecake torte.  Before she came, she emailed asking us all what our choice was between lemon and pecan pie.  Just two of us responded and we both voted for lemon.  Roger was disappointed that pecan lost out, but then  he didn't bother to put his vote in either.  Well as luck would have it, when Amy was baking pies, she had enough crust left over to make a single pie crust and I had pecans and most the other ingredients for pecan pie.  So we ended up with four different kinds of pie.  Just told you that so you wouldn't go feeling sorry for any of us :-) 

Amy has another talent.  It is knitting.  She knit caps for each of the girls, which they are modeling here.

Everyone enjoyed spending time cuddling Brandon, our newest addition to the family.  He is such a sweet little guy. He was so popular that I hardly got my fair share of holding time.  See....there aren't any pictures of me with him, now, are there??  So if you want to feel sorry for someone.....

Ollie and Eva had lots of fun playing together.  We all thought their Converse  shoes were the cutest.  Two is such an awesome age.  They are both smart little whipper snappers.  Their expanding vocabulary is so fun to hear, and  they are both recognizing colors and letters amazingly well.

Saturday morning, it was quite fun to listen to everyone playing Draw Something.  It is a very fun game (a little bit like Pictionary) that you can play on electronic devices with touch screens.  Since we downloaded the game onto my iPad so it could be used by players, I've gotten sucked into playing too. (I do think I need a stylus to aid my drawing attempts)  The fun thing about it, is that we can still play when we are apart.

Oh yeah, the other thing we did is took some family pictures.   Turned out well, don't you think??

Well, I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving, too.  It will be fun to check our all your pictures when you get them posted.
Oh, a little unfinished business from my last post:  My sister Betty  correctly guessed which card I had made.  I will get it to you one of these days :-)

Till next time,

Linda

It's so Pinteresting....

I love Pinterest for a place to pin ideas for cards that I would like to make.  I made one of the above...can you tell which one?  First one to comment with a correct guess, and I'll send it to you :-)  While you are at it, won't you please tell us if you use Pinterest and what has inspired you there.

These pins are dangerous, let me tell ya!  Yummy looking recipes that are quick and easy to do.  Pictures that are guaranteed to make your mouth water and run to the kitchen immediately and start baking and cooking.  I have made all of the above.  Only one of them could be considered healthy.  Jo found the armadillo  potatoes first and made them.  They are a yummy part of any 'meat and potatoes' meal.

Till next time,
Linda

Did we need another job?

The short answer, is No, probably not.  The long answer is, we hope it won't be a full time job and that it will be a good investment.  We just signed on the dotted line yesterday, so the four-plex shown, is now in our name and our responsibility.  It has three units that are finished and inhabited by good tenants, who will stay on, hopefully.  It was built in 1978, so certainly isn't all new....but seems to have been kept up fairly well.  The inspection revealed several things that need to be taken care of, but it also allowed us to negotiate another $10,000 off the purchase.  The previous owners just couldn't handle it anymore.  Our once capable veterinarian is now in a nursing home, and his wife is tired and wanted to get this off her hands, so she didn't have to think too long on our offer.

You can see a couple things that need taken care of in this picture. We will remove the dilapidated ramp and steps and put in a new set of safer steps.  The other thing that will be a bigger project, is the drainage problem in the corner.  It will require so digging away and building up again, so run off drains away from the foundation.  While we are at, we will likely add an egress window to the bedroom in that corner.

This picture is taken in the fourth, unfinished unit.  Work was begun.  The previous owners idea was to turn it into a studio apartment: the room you see is right off the entrance and would have to serve as bedroom and living room, if following that plan. Joellyn came along on one inspection tour to see what her Dad and Mom are getting themselves into.  We might consult her on a few design things....she has good ideas and design sense and we respect her opinion.  I respect yours too, so if anyone wants to comment or come up with suggestions, we are all ears.  Of course the idea is to keep costs low and yet make it a place that someone will love to move into.

Here is a view of the tiny kitchen are and the door into the garage.  Here is our biggest dilemma.  Should we annex the garage and make it into bedrooms, thus making this a two bedroom unit rather than a studio apartment?  I really think so.  It will make it more attractive for a couple, maybe who even have a kid or two, or a single  who just plain wants more room.  Of course it would bring in more rental income, but will cost more to complete.  The garage is all under the same roof...so its not adding square footage, so the city zoning guy, said it is no problem....just have to have egress window on the back bedroom.  At the front we would be replacing wall with garage door and adding a window there.  The one drawback, is that the lady who has been renting and living here for 15 years or so, has had use of the garage for her car and storing extra stuff.  We have already told her what our plans may be, so she has time to absorb this information and think about getting rid of some stuff.  The worst for her, is probably losing her indoor parking privileges.  We told her, we would give her first chance to move into the all new apartment, but she is pretty well situated and comfortable where she is at, and likely won't take us up on that.....on the other hand, her oven door won't close properly and her kitchen carpet needs ripped out and replaced....hmmmm,  "all new might be kind of nice......."  (purely speculation on my part)

Whatta ya think??  That you are wondering about the gray matter inside our noggin, or that it looks like a good opportunity and has exciting possibilities?  I'll keep you posted once in awhile on what we decide and on our progress.  Ummm, don't hold your breath between posts, however :-)

Until next time,
Linda

Maxi-miz'n

It started with this white tiered skirt made of a gauzy white cotton that I've had for some time.  I decided I would like it better if it was Maxi-mized.  My serger was my friend and helped with the job, that and a few yards of lace and a few hours of cut and stitch and I had me a new skirt. I wore it quite a bit through the summer. Later on, I saw really similar skirts marked down way low  and could have bought one for about the price of the lace...but, oh well, I kept this skirt from languish'n in the back 'o my closet.

This skirt was my next project.  Maybe some lace would help it as well??  The only down fall is that now I have to iron the lace before I can wear this skirt after it is laundered, but I have still enjoyed wear'n it a lot more after insert'n lace between two tiers and to the hem.  I like its south-west  cotton print and I wear it with a orange T and always feel quite cheerful when I'm a wear'n it.

Next, I came across this really cute skirt at Western Ranch Supply, of all the places to get outfitted.  Actually, that is a favorite place of a lot of cow-girls in these here parts, to get all their bling-y wear. I bought, it think'n about Abby's birthday com'n up (which is now past of course)  It was just a bit  too maxi, so I had to take a tuck in one of it's tiers.  Knowing how that girl keeps a grow'n, I sewed the tuck with a looonnnggg stitch, so it will come out real easy like to add those inches back on when need be.  Then I heard little miss Sarah was gett'n pink cowgirl boots for her birthday, and this Grandma decided another long white skirt was in order, so I whipped out the trusty sew'n machine and stitched up another white, gauzy, ruffly creation.

With the girls sport'n new cowgirl boots, I thought another skirt to kick up their heels in might be nice.  So I asked for some of their worn out jeans and sewed up a few ruffles.  I cut off the worn out legs and sewed on the ruffles, and those hole-y jeans are liv'n a renewed life now!  Noth'n like hav'n cute girls to sew for.  I haven't done this  much sew'n in years!  I'm a  think'n my daughter hopes I'll keep my sew'n machine warmed up and do some sew'n for her soon, too.  No, I don't think she'll be a wear'n it, just a sitt'n on it.....might even let you sit a spell on it too!

Till next time,

Linda

Good thing I've got my little camera with me....

Today really is Abby's birthday.

This picture was taken last Wednesday evening after bible study.  We had cupcakes a little early, knowing that she would be away on her birthday, and we didn't want to miss letting her know we are wishing her a very Happy 10th birthday.  I also didn't want to miss getting a picture, so I pulled out my trusty little Sony, that fits in my purse.  Too many times lately, I've been lazy or forgetful (which is worse??) about having my good camera along to get the best shots. But mostly, I've just been glad to get the picture.  I don't think I'm alone in this.  I've seen a lot of Instagram shots and iPhone shots, etc. shared on facebook and blogs.  

This photo was taken with my little camera and edited a bit on PicMonkey (love that sight!!)  I was on my way home from work, and I am so glad I didn't miss pulling over to the side of the road and pulling out my trusty little camera and getting the shot.  True, it could have been a more amazing shot if I'd had my Canon, possibly.  On a totally different vein of thought, I really need to learn how to fully utilize my Canon.  I love a good picture.  To take it even further, I want to hunker down a get a few years worth of photo's into some photo albums.....digital photo books, to be more exact.  I've seen a several 50% off offers come and go and Shutterfly lately, and I want to be ready to take advantage of that one of these times.

Here's another group of pictures taken from the roadside with my little Sony. Corn harvest is going on just outside of Fort Benton.  It is a novelty for this area.  Not a lot of corn is grown nearby, but this little piece is irrigated and it has grown a good stand of corn a few years in a row.  Another thing interesting about it, is that the farmer is one of Brad's class mates.  Hurrah for young farmers!

Little camera vs. Big camera

What is your fave photo taker lately??  Are you really getting into the photography thing, or just doing the point and click thing and happy that you got a shot recorded?  A lot of folk are using their smart phones, and that is truly handy as you usually always have that with you.  Unfortunately, I am behind the times there.  My phone is just a dumb phone.  It will take a grainy picture, but I don't even know how to get it on to my computer from the phone, so that doesn't work for me.  I can do Instagram with my iPad, which is fun, but it is a little too lunky to carry around, and is only capable of posting when WiFi is available, so I haven't used it so much.  Roger has a smart phone, and he has gotten some nice pictures to share with it, but right now, I don't feel it is justified to have another expensive option on our already more than expensive cell phone bill.  So, I'm staying with what I have for now, and pretty happy with all the options and fun that I can have this way.

Till next time, 

Linda

Busy Saturday in October

How can you possibly cram any more in a day?  We were invited to come to the airport and welcome Sierra home when she arrived in Great Falls, home from Rochester after a very grueling and intensive cancer treatment.  We were asked to wear pink and don a hat.  Sierra was quite overcome with emotion when she saw all the people waiting to greet her.  We certainly wish her well in her get-well journey!  Next, we attended a baby shower for my niece Kristi.  It was held at the beautiful Paris Gibson Square in down town Great Falls.  Coincidentally, the hallways there were decorated in pink, and no, that wasn't the appropriate color for this baby shower, because Kristi is expecting a little boy.  While we ladies were occupied, Brad and Tom got in some golfing.  Later all the family met up at Macaroni Grill for a birthday dinner.  They were serenaded by the waitress, singing Happy Birthday in Italian.  She had a beautiful voice!  The Bobcat fans were quite happy that the football game was televised in the restaurant and they could keep track of progress. The Cats pulled off another win.

Till next time,

Linda

Sarah is Seven!

1. A pose and a smile while we sing happy birthday  2. Making a wish  3. blowing them all out  4. Did I get my wish??

1. a cool green cat from Aunt Ruth  2. Reading all the words on the card  3. Carefully undoing the wrap 4. Thanks for the soft pet blanket!

1. Boxes are the most fun of all!  2 & 3. Sister love

Till next time,

Linda

Stark Reunion

Stark Family:  The photo on the left was taken at a reunion many years ago.  I put it in to show the only part of the family with the Stark name.  Paul and a son who died as an infant were the only sons born to Celia and William Stark. There were seven daughters, one of whom died at the age of 2.  Paul and Mae Stark had one son, Bob.  Bob and Diane had one son, Dale, and three daughters. So, many of the descendants have a different last name and those with the Stark name are quite out numbered.  Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of Dale and Marlys and Tammy Stark at this recent gathering, so these photos are low resolution photos lifted from facebook.

Old photo of some of the Stark Family taken at Manhattan conv. many years ago

These were some of our dear and oldest relatives at the gathering:  My dear Uncle Clarence, Montie (shortened from Montana Magee) Brazill , and Bob Brazill.  My Mother-in-law (Florence) once told me once about meeting Montana Magee in California many years ago.  She was amazed when I told her that she was my Dad's cousin.  Apparently two Magee girls married into the Brazill family.  Bob's wife Margaret, is deceased.

I was really glad for a the Stark Family cook book that was put together a few years ago as it is was an easy place to look up information about the Stark Family.  So if you are wondering who is related to who and how, this will answer a few of your questions.  Mom made sure that each of her children had a copy of it by purchasing enough of them to give to us all.  Our Stephens family was well represented at this reunion, as cousin Brenda and sister Dicie hosted the gathering this year.  Dicie even made Meatballs Baked in Barbecue Sauce for the reunion....a recipe that Mom had submitted for the cookbook. I am feeling guilty again for not submitting any recipes to the book, as I now have fresh appreciation that I have a copy of it, not only for the recipes, but for the link to my family history on my Dad's side.

Till next time,

Linda

Summer Photo Dump

I've been enjoying The Friday photo dump from Alison, and just thought maybe I'd put together a summer photo dump of shots I like, but just didn't make a blog post:  1. rock garden I loved with wild flowers  2. Front porch that I would love to relax on (both from Parade of Homes, Bozeman) 3. Brad, Amy and Ollie  4. Dean and Mary Holskey's 50th Anniv. celebration. 5.  some of my petunias  6. flock of birds visiting my front yard  7. Start of a chair recovery project  8. more birds and roses in my front yard  9. sunset....often I would drive home after harvest dinner and marvel at the beautiful skies  10.  harvest moon   11 and 12.  more evening skies  13.  Eva, little shopper extraordinaire  14.  old wheel in my rock garden   15.  Anniv. flowers from my sisiter  16.  puffy clouds  (unfortunately, very few of the clouds recently have brought precipitation, which we are all hoping for now)

A time to play

Till next time,

Linda