All hail broke loose . . .

We had quite a hail storm here this afternoon. First there was terrific wind - started blowing shingles from the roof and then the hail hit and it was big stuff. Those in the picture were outside for a bit while it rained before we got out to do any collecting. They were just like ice golf balls. There are branches and leaves everywhere.

And speaking of branches - the tree guys were here today trimming three large elm trees that are in the backyard. I have hated those trees for the past several years. But, Bob wanted to see if they might look better if they were trimmed - not an easy job. The main "tree trimmer" is a French arborist. Not only is he handsome, with a magnificent accent, gorgeous smile, beautiful eyes - not that I noticed all of that - BUT - he is an artist as a tree trimmer. Those elm trees are now beautiful big parasols over the back yard. They had a big truck that they could use for two of the trees - for the third three, the arborist had to climb and hang with safety ropes and trim. It was quite a day.

Just as they finished, the storm hit so we got to visit a bit while they "waited it out". Both cars were outside and are damaged. Gus has damage to the roof, the skylights and covers on the satellite and air conditioners. Our son, Stan, had his little trailer parked out here and it was also damaged. The roof of the house will probably have to be replaced. It was quite a storm, but we are fine. It is just stuff.

Finally . . .

We have had two absolutely beautiful days so I think it is really summer. The flowers in the back yard are beginning to fill the planters and everything is so green. It is actually supposed to be close to 90 tomorrow and the next day. It has been a wonderful day.

Tomorrow is a big birthday celebration for my older son and it will be the first time this year we will be able to eat on the deck. I love it!

Unbelievable . . .

This afternoon I kept hearing this sound in the kitchen - like someone was in there. I would go in and even Kassie was barking and barking. Then we looked up and sitting in the skylight was this young eagle. The boards on the side of the skylight are about 6 inches wide so you can see the size of the visitor. He was not afraid and watched me with great interest while he pecked gently at the glass that separated us. He must have stayed about 10 minutes on the glass. He then stepped off the glass onto the shingles so I went outside where I could see from the lawn. He looked at me and then took off flying toward the west. It was an amazing experience. One that left me with goosebumps and awe. I think I need to listen to the message.

Little more rain . . .

Fun . . .
We went for a little ride after our evening downpour. It is not as bad as it seems though - we have had a beautiful couple days. This picture was taken just up the road from where we live. There are mountains all around, but the ones in the far distance are the furthest away - probably 60+ miles or so. The storm was still right over us, but "off to the west" you could see it had cleared.

Family . . .
This little dark picture was taken last Saturday when both boys were here visiting. This little red car has been part of our decor for almost 4 years now. Rather than "sharing", they both got into it together and laughed and laughed. They are really starting to enjoy each other. The big brother and little brother connection is going to be very strong.

Update . . .

Family and Food . . .
Bob went back to his doctor today and they are convinced he is still suffering from a virus compounded by the strep he had a couple weeks ago. His doctor was so thrilled about his change in eating that he wants to stay with it. The doctor said it would be so healthy for him.

So, we have decided to keep trying with some modification. He is going to work more toward being a flexitarian (some occasional meat choices) for now and I am moving toward the lacto-ovo vegetarian as I never have the craving for animal protein, but miss a little cheese and an egg now and then. We may later move on toward the vegan life style later, but we are both so thrilled with our progress so far. We will stay with it with the modifications.

Fiber . . .
I watched the show on PBS tonight about the harp competition . . . great watch. I came away with the words from one of the harp teachers - paraphrasing here: As an artist you have to be in touch with your feelings and emotions and then have the courage to share them openly through your art. Ah - to be congruent and courageous.

Fun and Friends. . .
I went to lunch with a good friend today. We hit a local Mexican restaurant that has a great taco bar at lunch. I enjoyed making my own "vegetarian" tacos and could have a bit of cheese. But then, we sat and drank margaritas - long and good. Our lunch lasted three hours on the patio in the sun under the delicious aroma of the nearby lilac trees. It was a very nice lunch.

Well . . .

Family and Food . . .
We tried - but the vegan experience has come to an earlier than planned end. Bob has been sick every since we started and he kept thinking his system would adjust, but it hasn't. Whatever, we are going back to a more modified version starting tomorrow. We will still focus on lots of good vegetables and fruit, some whole grains, not so many beans or soy, add in a little dairy and some animal protein and see if he can get to feeling better.

Nothing else happening here worth the words tonight.

A wonderful Sunday . . .

Family . . .
It is Father's Day. I keep thinking how fortunate I am to have had my Dad for over 90 years. He passed last December shortly before his 91st birthday. I think of him sometime during each and every day. . . usually some of his wit and wisdom. "You may not be as smart as the next guy so you better plan on getting up early to get a head start." I would love to get up really early every morning as I know he always did until the last few years of his life. "Don't make decisions for the heart based on finances." I think of that a lot. Happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you so much.

Fiber . . .
I finally finished this little panel quilt for Walker. I loved the panel and he needed a "drag quilt". He loves the feeling of the really soft plush stuffed animals so I used Minkee on the back of this and just wrapped it around for the binding. It is light, soft and I hope he uses it a lot. He tried it out yesterday and loved it so I think it is a hit.

I had fun doing some really fund whimsical quilting to make the characters pop! I love the bright colors and I like the way it came out. It is much cuter with Walker laying on it smiling. I wish I had gotten a picture of that yesterday.

They were both here with us all day yesterday and it was a fun day, but I am so thankful that they could go home about 6:30 in the evening. We had a good friend once who said, "God sure knows what he is doing when he gives them to the young." Yesterday was one of those days. I was exhausted when they left. They were both full of vinegar all day.










Food . . .
I am doing fine with the vegan living. We went to a "cousins supper" Friday evening and I did not have any problems. I took a salad - 7 bean with some cut up fresh veggies included - and they had some great whole wheat bread so I did just fine in passing up the ribs. I have more energy and feel really good so far. I am anxious to see how it works with Bob's artery blockage when we go back to the doctor in August.

Friends and Fun . . .
My good friend and neighbor, Betty, came by this morning for a long cup of coffee and a good visit. We have been friends since we were in college here at MSU. Our fun today was getting our "house duties" done. We started them in March at Bob's suggestion based on his memories from his fraternity days. Things are written out on a rotation basis, some every week, some every other week and some every third week and even some every 3 months. The house stays clean and neat and it is easy to do the work a little at a time. We each have three duties to do a week and we usually do them spread throughout the week, but this week, it just didn't work that way so we did them all today.

Friday morning . . .

Saying "hello" . . .
We have sunshine today after several gray days with rain and cool temps. It feels more like early April than the middle of June. But, the good news - everything is green, green, green so I will enjoy that and remember it come August.

Family, food and fun . . .
So, how is this vegan thing going? Well, it has been 3 full days and I am feeling good. The main thing I have noticed is an uptake in energy and the ability to really focus on a project. I have had a tough time finishing things in the past couple years so that is a welcome change. The food prep is not bad. I tried a lasagna recipe last night from a vegan cookbook. It tasted really good, but didn't look as good as the picture. LOL. I can make some changes and it will be even better. I have fixed some bean salad to take to a "cousins" gathering tonight so that may be my supper. They are having ribs and I am thinking I would like to not eat any, but I will see.

Fiber . . .
I am finishing the little quilt for Walker and getting ready to load a couple baby quilts for charity that I have to do. Maybe some pics of that later. I am also going to get caught up on the "Breakfast Club" stuff. I missed last month and will miss this month as well, but I picked up my pattern and project so will work on them with the evening sewing. Here is a picture of the projects ready to quilt from February, March and April. I decided to just do placemats or table runners rather than quilts as I don't really care so much for the patterns, but enjoy the gatherings. There are 4 of each placemat and I thought they would be fun for eating on the deck this summer - if we ever have some summer.

Interesting day . . .

Friends - Food - Fun
The description of my blog referenced "fiber, family, friends, fun". Tonight I added "food" as we are going to start on a bit different journey for a few weeks. We have been reading, "The China Study" and have decided to try to include more vegan eating in our lives. We also had some fun with friends tonight. Another couple who are really good friends are fighting some serious health issues and they are also just getting started with the vegan eating so we all went out for a vegan meal. Hmmmm - not the best and I am sure I can do better here at home as I got a good cookbook. But we then went to our wonderful Rosauers Market and tried some almond and rice ice cream. That was pretty good. It will be an interesting learning experience and I believe it will be very helpful for Bob with his arthritis and the blocked arteries.

Another great weekend . . .

We decided to head to Fairmont Hot Springs Friday afternoon - snow or no snow! It is about 100 miles west of us and the snow was gone by mid-morning. Our son and his family were going to take their little trailer over and we could all swim, golf, rest or whatever for two days. It was a great time.

The first picture shows Weston taking a break in the drivers seat of Gus, the motorhome. He loves to "pretend drive" everything and he thinks Gus is amazing. I did some driving on our way there and drove into the campground where he was waiting and watching. He was very impressed that his Grandma could drive Gus. We stayed in a close campground with nice facilities and a playground. The pools at the resort are wonderful - inside pools of all water temps and outside pools, hot tubs and huge slides.

The second picture is of Walker sitting on the floor before we all left today. He is so full of vinegar that you can't help but just laugh at his antics. He wants to do everything his big brother does and he wants to be able to do it now!

The last picture is of Gus and the kids little trailer in the campground. Once we we got there on Friday, the weather cleared and it was a great weekend. We ate all of our meals in Gus so that was the first time I got to do some real cooking . . . like eggs, waffles, sausage for breakfast . . . and it all worked out fine. We also took Kassie and she loved hanging out right near Walker all the time where the food "drops" were better than average for sure.

So, in the past week, we have done the "dry camping" lesson on our own and the "camping with the kids" lesson and both were perfect. We are planning to be home this week. There has been so much rain that the lawn looks like it needs to be bailed. Lots of work to get done here to get caught up.

It was a very memorable weekend with kids, grand kids, and our dogs - lots of laughter - some great activities and good food. It doesn't get any better than that!!!

June in Montana . . .

This is what greeted me this morning! Snow. I can't believe it! It is the 11th of June.

And to make matters even worse, Bob said he remembered another cold year - decades ago - when there was snow on the 18th of August. That is only 2 months away so we could have a really, really short summer.

Home from our "dry camping" . . .

As you know, we are learning all about this RV experience. Neither Bob nor I have ever done much "camping". Sunday we headed out for our first "dry camping" experience - not hookups. We went to a wonderful campground at Canyon Ferry Lake. We had most of the campground to ourselves and we think we earned an A+ at least. There is so much to learn - like when to run the generator to charge the house batteries to have some lights and all about how much hot water there really is in a 10 gallon tank. So far, we are enjoying the learning process, but it sure would have been easier to start all of this a few years ago. The picture is from our trip to Canyon Ferry last summer - my camera wanted to stay home this trip as it didn't make the trip. I will do better next time.

When I got home, this book by Jinny Beyer that I had ordered was here. It is wonderful - just what I was looking for - I wish it had arrived before we left.

We are heading out again on Friday providing we are both recovered as we came home with sore throats. This trip we will have grand kids, hot springs and hookups. I promise to take my camera!

Life . . .

I love fabric - all kinds - with texture and color - some stubborn - some malleable. Life is like that I think this morning.

One of my "heroes" passed yesterday. John Wooden. I love his wisdom and I love that he could put his thoughts to words that I could understand. They give me strength. "Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights. " John Wooden.

This week has brought me to my knees with some emotional baggage from years long past that has been dropped again at my door. I can say no more, but I am humbled at how the fabric of life keeps changing and those who share their wisdom can give us some extra strength when it is so needed. Thank you, John Wooden. Rest in peace!