Thanksgiving at our house

I'm not going to get real wordy with this post...the pictures tell the story just fine.  We had a wonderful time at our house.  We were so glad for all the family who came to make the day special.  We enjoyed the feast on the day....and I didn't have to cook for two weeks.  Just opened the refrig and decided which leftovers to heat up next!  I finally got everything down to one refrigerator, and then still later, could finally see the light at the back!!  I didn't provide it all, by a long shot.  Everyone contributed a lot, and I guess I should have sent more left overs home with everyone ;-)

Amy's Caramel apple pie, just before baking

Amy is at work on a lattice top for cherry pie and pecans are roasted and ready to go yet another pie.  Yes, Amy is the pie baker extraordinaire!

I bought some sand and molds at the craft store for the kids to play with while at our house.  It was a popular pastime and highly recommended for kids! It's not even messy when played with in a large tray.

Karla made this turkey.  The fresh fruit was delish!

Abby and Sarah were first to dig into the 'turkey'

Fred and Dicie

Ash and Annie

Henry....that's a pretty big plate full for a little guy!

Dave and Karla

Dale and Bonnie

Betty and Dennis

Kieth and Cyndee

Brian and Becky

My special siblings

Acting Dorky :-)

Roger and Eva and I

Latte  maker extraordinaire!

A pumpkin Spice Latte made just for me....way better than Starbucks!

Stay tuned....Christmas festivities will be posted soon!

Linda

Falling headlong into winter

  Ok, confessions first.  I lifted several of these photos off of facebook. I can't be everywhere with my camera, but some of these I just had to save for myself and share them here.  I will give credits where I can.

DIL Amy shared this one.  I thought Ollie and Henry's costume were super cute and creative!

Not sure who snapped this picture, but it was shared on the School's page, and I think it is so cute of Sarah holding the large pumpkin she was given.  She didn't want to carve it, saving it instead for pumpkin pie!

Another snap nabbed from facebook  :-) I love this of Abby taking a shot during her basket ball game.

Here's another one of Abby and her friends after playing in a b-ball tournament. Can you believe how tall she is getting?  It still startles me sometimes when I stand next to her and realize she is only an inch or two shorter than I am!

Ok, finally a picture that I took....with my phone camera.  I took advantage of some of the nice fall days we were blessed with and walked on the rivers edge trail in Fort Benton a few times.  It was a pleasure each time!

I also had the enjoyment of capturing this view along the trail.

I captured this breathtaking view right off of facebook ;-)  This was taken by the talented photographer, Erin Braaten of the old bridge on the river at Fort Benton.  I've been seeing and enjoying a lot of her fabulous pictures.

11/14: Had to add this picture taken by Joellyn one morning this week of the old bridge.  We had a huge turn around in the weather.  We plummeted from being in the 60's a week ago, to a high that was below zero for a few days.  We are not exactly getting broke into winter gently!

I ran outside in my jammies and robe one morning to take this picture one morning with the panorama feature on my phone camera.  I panned from the east to the west....the colors were gorgeous all over the sky that morning.

Joellyn snapped this picture of the guys playing in the mud ...er, working the concrete.  It was nice to get a few outdoor projects underway during the wonderful Indian Summer Days.  But alas, those days were numbered!

This is the forecast we were seeing...and indeed it seemed to be right on target.  Sunday afternoon we drove to Great Falls for the gospel mtg. and before meeting was over, the cold and wet snow was coming down and sticking on the roads and everything else.  The next morning we awoke to a white winter wonderland.  Our roads have been icy ever since, and will probably stay that way until next week, but we are glad the crops have that insulating layer of snow on top since the last two nights the temperatures have dropped well below zero.

The view out my window Monday morning

I've been trying to come up with some menu ideas to be ready for family coming for Thanksgiving weekend.  There are no shortage of recipes on the internet...so I thought this little ditty was especially appropriate to share with y'all.  

I do hope you all  have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!  Maybe with family coming, I'll have incentive to dust off my big camera  and have a few  more of my pictures to share.

Till then,

Linda

A few more birthdays and fall pictures

Just before Dale left to labor on another shore, we celebrated his birthday.  He was sharing the lime light with some nephews who also had September birthdays.  The cream puffs that Joanne made, took the place of birthday cake.  Very good! The kids had a fun game of checkers going...with a little help from Miss Tavyn :-)  The view out Don and Joanne's window is so pretty...and no doubt was more spectacular as the fall colors deepened.

Next, birthday up was Miss Sarah's and a couple weeks later, Abby's.  We celebrated both quite casually with a family meal and cake at our house.  Sarah wanted a date night with just her parents and a little shopping time, which she got one evening. I think both had a sleep over for friends as well.  It's kind of fun to celebrate over several days time and get the most out of the special day!

I've been waiting for most of the leaves to fall, before I begin to tackle the big leaf clean up job. There are still quite a few to come down, but they have thinned out quite a bit in a week. The one on the right was taken about a week ago, and the one on the left, I just snapped of the same tree in our yard today. We haven't had any really cold snaps and the leaves have been hanging on longer than usual.  Last year, they fell all at once when it turned really cold.  I've been loving this fall!  The days have continued to be so nice.  Right now it is 80 degrees out!  Perfect for the cement job that is going on at Tom and Jo's right now.  We are trying not to think about the invite we had to turn down to go down to Holter Lake for camping and fishing with some family and friends.  We just have too many outdoor projects to work on while this nice weather lasts!

Mean while, Brandon enjoyed a little romp in the leaves this morning.  I do hope I can get them picked up before they get wet and heavy or some wind scatters them far and wide.  Blowing them away would be OK if it would blow them neatly and clear away out of my yard.  Nice, thought, but wishing has never taken care of them yet!

Well, wishing isn't getting my chores for the day done either, so I must leave you with this,
Till next time,
Linda

Fall, It's been lovely!

I love fall....for a lot of reasons. The colors, mellow Indian summer days and a slower pace from our hectic summer schedule, to name a few.

This rancher is prepared for a long winter.  He'll be able to feed his cattle on many a cold morning from this long string of bales.

I love our drive into Fort Benton, as it includes this trip through the Teton River Valley, and it is in full fall color right now.

We got to go to Mandan convention again this year.  Brad's birthday falls during these days, and we gathered one evening in our motor home to celebrate and enjoy Brad's favorite cake, Pumpkin Nut Roll.  Ollie thought his Dad still needed a "real birthday cake" :-)

A little goofing off time....good for everyone ;-)

Here's the dear lady who puts up with these goof balls on a regular basis

Henry is pretty cute too....and oh so sweet natured!

Amy's folks, Bruce and Rhonda

We didn't quite have seats enough for everyone, so these three had to enjoy their dessert while standing.

Brother Dale was able to stop in and get a mtg. and night here on his way to Minneapolis to attend Paul Trevithick's memorial service there.  Right after that service, the casket was loaded into their suburban and he and Marie transported  the body back to Montana in the back of their suburban.  We attended the beautiful funeral in Helena yesterday.  Our thoughts and prayers have gone out for this family continually these last two weeks.  Here is a link to the obituary.

Till next time,
Linda

After Harvest

 Refurbishing another unit in the four-plex

(unfortunately, I do not have any before pictures)

Well....some of this wasn't exactly after harvest.  More like, along with harvest.  Craziness, I know, believe me. Our good combining crew made it possible for Roger and I to be absent at times during the last couple weeks of harvest.The last tenant moved out the end of May. He was a nice fellow and trustworthy, but definitely not a good housekeeper! We were busy with haying and going to convention about then and didn't feel a huge push to work on the space.  Sometime in that time frame, we did some of the demolition....tearing out old dirty carpet, worn out kitchen cabinetry, and an unsightly fireplace.  We're lucky the last tenant didn't burn the place down with his wood burning.  It had a stove insert, but we discovered the glass front was gone and burn marks on the carpet.  Everything in this unit was dirty and needed cleaned and painted.  We probably still wouldn't have it completed, except a newly hired teacher heard we had an apartment open and he called and wanted to rent it.  He said there really wasn't anything else available.  He sounded like a nice young man and the kind of tenant we would like to have, so we pushed to get it ready for him to move in.  The carpet installer was still finishing up his job when he arrived in town with his Dad and a trailer load of his belongings.  We had warned him that it wasn't all completed, but we had a spot for him to put his stuff and he had a finished bedroom and bathroom to use.  It took us another week to finish the kitchen and some other details....working around him and sometimes with him helping. 

The kitchen with it's new white cabinets and new counter tops looks so nice now. The refrigerator and stove were still in working condition, (just needing a good cleaning) but we put in a new dishwasher.  The refrigerator used to be located just to the left of the sink.  It jutted out enough to make opening the back door a problem.  We relocated the refrigerator to a spot that used to be a closet/pantry.  The new vinyl floor is also a big improvement over the carpet that was in there. A 30 inch sink cabinet fit the space better that a 36 inch, but excluded using a double sink, but I was really happy with this one that I ordered on line from Home Depot.

The top left picture shows the wall where the fireplace was located.  It's removal really made the living room seem more spacious. Of course it made necessary some new drywall work.  In the bottom right picture you can faintly see where the ceiling with its popcorn ceiling was patched.  The popcorn had been painted previously, so we sure didn't want to try to remove it.  The draperies that were covering the sliding glass door were probably 40 years old and very dirty and tattered, so a simple rod and grommet topped panels from Target were a nice improvement.  We removed part of the wall between the kitchen and the living room (top right) and that further opened up the space.  Of course, all walls in the whole apartment had to be painted.  The unsightly wall AC unit still remains, but it was a life saver during this project!

I didn't know so many hours could go into cleaning up a bathroom, or I would have pushed for gutting it and totally redoing it.  It had carpet on the floor and rubber baseboard around the perimeter. (including  on the tub and sink vanity base).  I literally had nasty blisters in the palm of my hand from scraping away the glued down carpet padding. After a week of healing, I went back at it....this time with padded gloves and got it ready for the new vinyl flooring and MDF baseboard.  Another day was spent removing mouldy caulking in the tub and shower walls and scrubbing away dirty soap scum.  With fresh caulk and the scrubbing done it finally looked sanitary and usable. We are thankful to have this project behind us!

Rain!!

We finished cutting our spring wheat in the nick of time....just before a large wet cold front moved into the state.  We rejoiced to get three inches of much needed moisture! We can't remember when we've had such good conditions for winter wheat seeding.  We just recently had another week of wet and cool weather, but are now enjoying some good weather for getting the seeding completed.  Many farmers who did not have their harvest done before the rain, were not quite so happy about the rain.  Grain left standing was sprouting in the heads and the value of their crops went down significantly. We certainly feel for them.  We often wish the rains could be spread out in a timely manner.  A little more rain earlier in our growing season could have improved our spring crop yields.  But....we take what we get and look to next year.  Here is an article to read for another farm wife's perspective in case you think I am just whining.

Dessert enjoyed at our end of harvest celebration dinner.  

Roger's brother Dale was here to enjoy it with us, making dinner all that much more special.  The raspberries are compliments of my brother Dale and wife, Marie.  Rich chocolate and raspberries on cheescake...so good!

A day on the lake

On labor day, we took the boat to Holter Lake and enjoyed an afternoon on the water.  Abby and Sarah had just returned from a week long trip with their Papa and Nana Clark to visit family in Hawaii.  Tom and Jo had to pick them up in Bozeman, so they were able to meet us  at the lake on their way back home. It was a bit breezy and cool, but Abby couldn't wait to ride the tube anyway!  She was the only one to brave the water and she looked like she enjoyed every minute of it.

We had packed a lunch and enjoyed it while floating on the boat. Every time I  wish that we had an open bow boat, I am made to realize how much the kids appreciate the cuddy cabin, as evidenced by this little sleeping beauty.  Sarah was glad to be back and enjoy some down time and cuddling with her Mom.  The busy school year was about to begin for these girls. (a week later than all their class mates)

This is my favorite picture from the day!

We always enjoy a trip through the beautiful Gates of the Mountains

The Pelican decided to race us ;-)

Another fun day, a week later

Roger, Joellyn and I travelled to Kalispell to spend the weekend with sister Bonnie and Brenda and Jesse and family.  We sure missed Dale, as we was a busy man working at getting some haying done in Sheridan country.  Joellyn had a couple business appointments, but we spent most of the time having a grand time.  Our first stop on Saturday was at the Vintage Whites Market.  When we saw the lines just to get in, we weren't sure we wanted to go that bad, but happily, the line moved right along and the weather and the time just watching all the other people was quite pleasant.  It was fun to see all the wares for sale, but for some reason, I didn't see anything I just 'had to have' so I left empty handed.  We then had a quick lunch at Subway and grabbed a latte and got down to the real business of the day :-)

 Home Show!

The Kalispell Builders Assoc. Parade of Homes was on and showcased 10 gorgeous homes.  Two of them were built by our friends who own Old Montana Building Co.  We have been to the Bozeman Parade of Homes a good number of times, but this was the first time to go in Kalispell,, and it did not disappoint!  The best part was sharing it with my sister and our daughters!  It was OK having my hubby along too :-)  We smiled at the warning sign to keep the kiddos under control.   The owners of this home will have a fabulous view of the ski runs at Big Mtn. and if that weren't enough, they also have a view of Whitefish Lake.  We were asked to vote for our favorite house.  I was hard pressed to pick just one.  There were features I loved in all of them.

A couple of features I admired:  furniture and bath vanities and floors made from reclaimed or rough cut wood.  I love the look and texture.  I loved the bunk rooms too.  Wouldn't they be great for Grandkid sleep overs?  Back at home, I looked for and found a bundle of pictures from some of the remodels and changes to our own home.  I am inspired anew to put it all in a scrapbook (because the photos are mostly printed already) or scan them and make a photo book.  Our home has evolved quite a bit over the years and it is truly Home Sweet Home, and has surely been influenced a bit by our visits to Home Shows....though it is quite modest in comparison to many.  I also found that I am most inspired by wonderful remodels, more than I am by beautiful new builds....but then, that is just me :-)

Well, off to work tomorrow, so must sign off....
Linda