And then, there is endurance. . .

I found a project that I started 2 years ago. I have lots of projects that "fall off the wagon" on my journey. Sometimes I find them, dust them off, and revisit them. This time I think I might just get this finished. I don't have it sewn together yet and I want to do some applique with the fish (there is more fabric) so they appear to be swimming across the log cabin blocks into the center. About half of the fabric is from old silk ties. I am in love with it again.
Endurance. . .

"I know quite certainly that I myself have not special talent; curiosity, obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my ideas." Albert Einstein

"Sure I am this day we are masters of our fate, that the task which has been set before us is not above our strength; that its pangs and toils are not beyond our endurance. As long as we have faith in our own cause and an unconquerable will to win, victory will not be denied us." Winston Churchill

Sometimes things in my life get to me. You know what I mean. The "things" are different for each of us - and across time are different as well. I thought letting go was the only answer and then I found a door this morning that said "endurance" and I walked through. I am not sure where I will go with this new thinking - maybe I have already been on this path.

I will stay on my journey and know it is right. I will appreciate the turmoil that sometimes makes it seem impossible and be thankful that I am able to walk this path. I have so much for which to be thankful.

Time flies . . .

Well - so much for my effort to post more often. My only excuse - we are just having too much fun this summer. I will post a few pictures and hope that will make it all better. The first picture is of Walker - he was 6 weeks old in this picture and he is just a doll. He eats and sleeps - mostly sleeps during the day I hear. The second one is of Weston who has been out visiting a few times in the past couple weeks. He and his dad came to the lake last week and weekend when we were there. This picture is from today while he was here. He is not in to "posing" as you can tell. What a fun kid. Our favorite latest saying from him came when he stretched out on his bed, put his hands behind his head and said, "I am going to just think about life."

Our Meagan and her new haircut are looking pretty grownup in the next picture. She likes it so much better according to her dad as she can brush it herself and there are no snarls. She and Roy are coming to Montana in August for 10 days and we are already planning a "summer birthday" celebration for all of our birthdays.

And the last picture is just a great picture we took while we were exploring last week and it is why we call Montana "The Big Sky Country". Click on it to get a better view if you have a minute - it was an amazing view of "big sky".

I will try to do better - I really will. But you know how I am - not very reliable when it comes to blogging. I doubt that will change. Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you soon.

Celebrate . . .

Hope you are all having a wonderful 4th of July.

God bless America, land that I love,
Stand beside her, and guide her,
Through the night, with the light from above,
From the mountains, to the prairies
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, my home sweet home,
God bless America! My Home Sweet Home! 

--Irving Berlin, God Bless America 

It has been a quiet day here - but watching some great programs on TV this evening - we have a 65" HD that rarely gets turned on unless it is basketball season or Weston is here to watch one of his movies. But tonight we enjoyed the show from Washington DC and now the show with the Boston Pops. It doesn't get any better than that.

We are continuing the celebration tomorrow with a barbeque with our neighbors - nothing big, but we will do baby back ribs and baked asparagus. Maybe I will even get some pictures posted.

Again - hug your family and friends and send love and prayers to all who are away.

Wonderful Weekend . . .

We got to our friends' RV on Canyon Ferry Lake late Friday night and we had a wonderful late, late steak dinner with margaritas. They have a new 5th wheel home and they are really enjoying it. Saturday, we had to juggle the airshow and a trip to a good friend's memorial service about an hour further away. It all got done and enjoyed in every way possible. The memorial service was outdoors in the most beautiful mountain setting.

We came back to the lake and stayed overnight in a little guest house built by Bob's sister and her husband at their cabin. The lake picture is taken of the lake from the porch of the guest house. The second picture is another one I took as we enjoyed an early morning boat ride around the lake Sunday. We also saw these two yearling buck deer with velvet on their antlers as we came out to get on the boat.

When we got back to Bozeman, we had our birthday celebration for Stan and the last picture is of Weston enjoying some late night breakfast cereal while he waited for his clothes to get dry in the dryer. He wanted to water the plants on the back deck and then watered himself mostly so he was soaked.

It was a "just the best weekend".

Off for the weekend . . .

We are off for a short weekend. Tonight we are heading up to Canyon Ferry to have dinner with friends in their 5th wheel at a campground there. We want to check out all of the pros and cons of a 5th wheel vs a motorhome. After dinner, we will go on to stay at Bob's sister's cabin a bit futher up on the lake.

Tomorrow morning we will all go into the Helena Air Show and watch some of it. Bob's nephew is a Navy pilot and has flown at F-18 Superhornet up from his assignement in San Diego. Next week after he gets back, he will be assigned to the USS Nemitz for a 6 month tour supporting the troups in Afganistan.

We will leave the airshop a bit early so we can travel up to Lincoln, MT. (yes, that is where they found the Unibomber, but most people there are very, very normal.) It is about an hour to where we are going to join the family of a long time friend of Bob's who passed away about a month ago. The family is gathering for a memorial celebration. We will come back and stay at the lake again after dinner with Bob's family there.

A very busy weekend and one that is complicated by a car that is not working. We have a loaner, but it is a newer one. The LilyB has been in the garage three times this week while they are trying to fix the same problem - hmmm - good thing it is all under warranty work.

I baked two kinds of pan cookies this morning. I loved DearGina's blog and a few days ago she wrote about some of the learnings from her mom. One of them that has stuck with me is - "Never go anywhere empty handed". I love her blog. So, I have two big plates of cookies each for friends and family. I will post recipes if I get any "raves".

Sunday is Stan's birthday so we will have a dinner out here to celebrate that. Busy weekend - one of those very special times with old friends and family to share love and good memories.

Gorgeous day . . .

After almost a month of cold, wet weather, today it was just gorgeous. There was rarely a cloud in the sky and the temp was about 74 and steady all day. It was one of those days that make you realize why Montana is "The Last Best Place". The pictures along the side are all explained in the next to last paragraph.

We had a busy day starting with a trip to the furniture store to order a daybed for Bob's new office. We also ordered the trundle that slides out and raises up as needed. This is the bedroom that Weston has claimed as "his room" and he now shares it with Grandpa so it is all good.

We then spent 2 hours at a local RV place to start our search for a used RV. We have done lots of reading and looking at pictures online of those on sale and we are pretty sure we want a good deal on a Class A or Class C rather than a 5th wheel or trailer. But who knows, we are just starting our search and hope to have a decision made in a month or so.

We did our Costco run and came home just in time for a quick supper and headed out again for a special celebration at our new Dinosaur Park. It was the "official" ribbon cutting ceremony and Stan, our son, said a few words of thanks as he has worked hard during the past couple years with the fund raising as have many others. The park was actually built over 5 days a couple weeks ago all by volunteers. It is part of a new 100 acre park that is just beginning. There is a outdoor amphitheater and several ponds already with trails. It is going to be wonderful and is within walking distance from Stan and Rainy's home. You can also see Weston on Grandpa's shoulders watching his Dad talk and then digging for dinosaur bones in one of the "sandpits" in the playground. Afterwards we all went to Cold Stone for ice cream. It is a good thing the rest of the meals today were light because the ice cream at Cold Stone is a whole day of WW points for sure. Weston road home with us and the watched us pull away from the curb.

As we got out of the car at home, the sun was going down and the backyard looked so serene in the beauty of the trees and grass with the sunset behind. It was a glorious day!

Just some stuff . . .

I participate with a group of art quilters here and we are having a meeting tomorrow night. We are trying to get more work done and shared at our meetings and less NQR visiting which has taken over in the past few meetings. So, we decided to set a challenge for each meeting for those who want to participate. The challenge for this month was to use red, white, and blue and no other restrictions, but the piece would meet the requirements of a quilt. Here is what I have done to this point. It is not trimmed as I am not sure what or how I want that. It will probably be close to 18' square. The wings are really white. The background is from short strip pieces of different reds cut with scissors and sewn together. I have really been into sewing strips together in random patterns and I can't seem to get enough red in my soul lately. I will load it and do a lot of quilting and some embellishing - but not until after tomorrow night so it will be a sharing "in progress" rather than completed.

Also - I love the "Grip-Lite" Clamps that I have - I use two sets so I have two clamps on each side. And then I broke one clamp. I didn't want to have to buy another whole set and I read on one of the lists that someone suggested the "OXO" clamps. I ordered two from Amazon for about 5 bucks and I am really impressed at how well they work in place of the other clamps. I sewed them to the elastic connected to the velcro strips. Works like a charm.

It has been very cool and rainy here for the past 3 days. Of course it makes everything green, but my flowers haven't grown a stitch since I planted them about three weeks ago. We don't have a very long growing season anyway so we really need some sunshine. Tomorrow it is supposed to dry out and warm up - it will be welcome.