2knitwits

Stash stuff

2012-01-05T11:13:00.001-06:00

First, here are a couple of finished projects:

The Nostalgic Ear-Flap Hat from a Churchmouse Yarns and Teas newsletter (I added a brim).

and my first (and second) Monster (and baby) from Rebecca Danger's pattern.

This monster and her baby are in a box right now headed for Missoula, MT and a little girl's first birthday.

The other thing I'm doing is archiving my stash on Ravelry. I was inspired by a Knit 'N Needle shoppe thread of people taking pictures of their stash. I took one overall picture that looked like a bunch of plastic bags

and then I started taking pictures in earnest.

Sock yarn from Needlework Unlimited in Minneapolis;

Manos del Uruguay kettle-dyed wool from Knit 'N Needle in Whitefish;

Noro Kureyon from Knit 'N Needle, I think;


Even more of the silk/mohair than I thought I had;

Remember this Icelandic wool from Harris? I think it may have come from Ram Wools. And why won't it post right-side up? Dagnabbit, contrary Blogger!

Of course, all that is only a smidgeon of what I have. And then, since I know you'll be in ND, Nancy dear, why don't you take a picture of your stash for us to gloat over? Because I find that I can gloat over someone else's stash. I suppose you'll have a yarn stash and a fabric stash. Which is bigger?

Oh - and if someone thinks you're wasting your time, just think how handy it would be for insurance purposes - because it's amazing how many dollars we crafters have stashed in our stashes! It's like E and her stuffies. : )

Monarch and Zinnia puzzle

2012-01-03T22:06:00.000-06:00

Shhh, don't tell!

2011-12-12T12:07:00.001-06:00

Hi Drews and Others:

Some of you may have heard that I've been knitting fingerless mitts for both E & Deb. Oh, I'm sure Nancy has because of all the snivelling that I've done about it.

First there was the Jared Flood debacle - the whiz-kid knitting designer who can't write instructions worth a damn. That book is now wasted money. Maybe I can sell it on Ravelry.

Speaking of which, that's where I did find a lovely pattern, well written, and FREE. Nalu by Leila Raabe. I think you might have to be a Ravelry member to use that link. So I knit a really nice pair for Deb...

and sent them on. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of them after they were finished.

You'd think the second pair would be easier. Nothing could be simpler than to make them a bit smaller for E's hands, and just do what I did before, right? Nope. For some reason, I kept having to frog the second one, over and over, like SIX times. Finally, I worked through whatever mistake I was making, finished them both up, wove in all ends and TA-DAAAA...one is a half-inch shorter than the other.

E's mitts, washed (and Intrepid Elliot).

I think I forgot some rows. But there is no way I am going back in there. Blocking better take care of it. I feel like such an amateur knitter. Oh well.

E's mitts, blocked. Well enough.

You may also have heard that I was in Missoula and there I got sight of the rare Dawson bird, nesting with its young:

And that's all for now, except a preview of my next project:

Trivia question for Nancy: does any of that yarn look familiar?
Love & Hugs from Mary.

Double Knit mittens on One Needle, mostly

2011-12-09T13:57:00.000-06:00

Hi Mary, I have been looking over my posts and this is the most popular post I ever made. I removed the directions on the original post but have decided to put them back up. This is my adaption of the mittens described by Beverly Royce many years ago. I took a class at Minnesota Knitters' Days that was taught by Sidna Farley of Denver CO and we made gloves using this method. It is amazingly easy.

GAUGE Gauge 4 st/inch using size 5 needles over Stockinette. If your gauge is different multiply the size around your palm by your Sts. per inch to get the number you cast on. Always increase cast on to a number divisible by four.

(I rib with size 4 needles and cast on with size 6 needles)

Note: This is for a 7 inch palm. Change for larger or smaller palms by adding or subtracting 4 st at a time.

CAST ON CO 28 stitches: 14 st each onto two size 6 needles. Hold two needles together with purl side out. Pick stitches off onto one small (size 2 or 3 for ease) needle starting; first st. from front needle, second st from back needle, third st from front needle. Continue until all stitches are on one needle.

RIB Start rib onto size 4 needle. (Note, always slip Purlwise). First row, *S1, P1, S1, K1* across, end K1. Start next row *S1, P1, S1, K1* across, end K1. ** Make ribbing for at least 3 inches. Open and check occasionally to make sure you haven't knit the front to the back. **Two rows equal one round.

PALM Change to sz. 5 needles and start palm in Stockinette. In both first and second rows increase 2 st. Make both increases at first and last stitch of row. M1,*K1,S1*across,M1 (4 increases per 1 round). Stockinette is S1*K1, S1* across (pulling first slip st tight) ending K1. Knit for 2 to 2-1/4" (note, measure yourself! These measurements fit ME) End on a full round only.

LEFT MITTEN - THUMB Then inset Left thumb sts. Work next row to the last 6 (K1,S1) pairs. Knit these last st. with contrasting yarn then slip them back onto the left hand needle and continue in main color for 5-1/2" from cuff (or till last joint of longest finger) whichever is longer. Remember to end on a complete round.

RIGHT MITTEN - THUMB Then inset Right thumb sts. Work next row completely, turn and on first 6 (k1,s1) pairs knit onto contrasting yarn. Put st back onto left needle and continue in main color until 5-1/2 from cuff (or till last joint of longest finger) whichever is longer. Remember to end on a complete round. Pull single needle and put front and back stitches onto 4 needles keeping the side edges the same. (8 st on each needle)

DECREASING

Round 1: (On 4 needles) K1, (S1, K1, PSSO), K10, K2tog, K1. Starting with third needle K1, (S1, K1, PSSO), K10, K2tog, K1. Four decreases made. Round 2 &3: Knit plain. Round 4: Decrease: K1, (S1, K1, PSSO), K8, K2tog, K1. Starting with third needle K1, (S1, K1, PSSO), K8, K2tog, K1. Four decreases made. Round 5: Knit plain. *** Round 6: Decrease: K1, (S1, K1, PSSO), K6, K2tog, K1. Starting with third needle K1, (S1, K1, PSSO), K6, K2tog, K1. Four decreases made. Round 7: Knit plain Repeat decreasing on even rounds until 4 st left on each needle (16 Sts.). End with a plain round. Pull yarn through all 16 Sts and tighten. Pull through a second time and weave in end of yarn.

*** Try on while decreasing and add a second plain row between decreasing rounds if you need more length.

FINISHING THUMBS Pull contrasting thumb stitches and catch onto one small needle adding one st on odd side to match pairs. Using sz 5 needles start with s1 *k1, s1* around for 2-1/4". Pull needle and try on. Lengthen as needed. When it is the right length for your thumb pull yarn through all stitches and pull tight. Sew around twice and weave in the end. Repeat on other mitten. Sew up holes around thumb gusset as needed.

This version of Beverly Royces' double knitting mittens is © by Nancy Drew. One copy for your own use is permitted.

Hugs,

Nancy

Jeni's purple quilt

2011-11-30T13:50:00.000-06:00

It sure brightens up a cloudy day. Snow due tomorrow.

Hi again, This is Jeni's purple quilt. I finished it today and got some pictures before she packs it away for the trip to Canada.

Abbie testing Jeni's purple quilt with only about a foot of binding left.

Abbie was a big help with the quilt when she wasn't digging into it to nap...

Label

The whole quilt being held up by Jim and me. Photo by Jeni.

Here is a detail showing the blocks. Each block has a diagonal seam and when you place them together they make an alternate diamond shape which makes the simple quilt look more detailed. Notice the vines and leaves in the quilting. I loved the way Lois did it.

A detail of the lower left corner.

That's all for now.

Love,

Nancy

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-30T13:29:00.000-06:00

Dear Mary, We missed you and Brian and Chris and Deb at Thanksgiving. The two Mike's came up on Friday and we talked a little and played Hand and Foot. The Mike's watched. Then on Saturday they came over to make peanut brittle with cayenne pepper in it!

Thanksgiving 2011

Here is a mystery person posing with a 'stuffy' and some brittle.

I promised not to post this...heh.

Discussing how to best display the brittle.

The Mikes also brought two pies. The apple one is gone but we were too full to eat up the pecan that night. We had to save it until Saturday. So I got a picture of it.

YUM

I didn't get a picture of Jon's apple and cherry pie until 'someone' had taken a piece. It was yummy too! Please don't stop making them for us Jon.

Apple and Cherry pie with decoration.

Love,
Nancy

Farm Potpourri

2011-11-07T12:15:00.000-06:00

Hi there Mary and Jeni,
Odds and ends of pictures from the farm this fall

Deer through the screen porch (at the pond)

This deer and her friends are why the rocks were all tumbled into the pond instead of decorating the edge.

Jim sent me a picture of his harvest.

He sent me a picture of the bread he made also but the program he emailed it with made it teensy tiny. I decided it was too small to show here. (About an inch high)

A red bellied woodpecker in our crab apple tree, with an American Goldfinch.

Another view

And one more.

Red bellied Woodpeckers are rare in North Dakota, but they are being seen more often. Below are two photo's of my current quilting project. It looks longer and narrower in this photo because it was spread out on the floor at Faye's Henhouse. It is 90" x 106"which is about a medium sized queen. It is being quilted as I type. Lois K. at Faye's says she has it pinned on already. :-D

Jeni's quilt, the colors are not perfect, but close.

Detail of quilt. This is Quiltville's Strip Twist pattern.

Hugs,
Nancy

Grapes at the farm

2011-09-30T10:57:00.000-05:00

Dear Mary and Jeni,

South view

It was a really good year for grapes at the farm.

East view

These are my Kay Gray grapes. The vine is almost 20 years old.

Another east view.

This year they were just covered with grapes.

North view.

But I wasn't there long enough to make my world famous green grape and lemon jelly.

From the outside, looking North.

Just long enough to record them in photo's.

From the outside looking West

Jim says they were all gone in just a few days. I am sure the birds, raccoons and squirrels loved them.
Hugs.
Nancy

Fall leaves and Spring Bulbs

2011-09-26T22:24:00.000-05:00

Hi Mary and Jeni,

I took this picture of Monica's tree out my bedroom window. It is just beautiful this year.

Leaves on Monica's Maple Tree.

I ordered a few (only 300) crocus bulbs from Brent and Becky's Bulbs. Love that place! It is where I ordered my tulips at the farm. I missed the tulips this year because I was here with the parents.

crocus chrys. 'Advance"

crocus tomm. 'Ruby Giant"

Jon came over at my request on Sunday and we planted the 200 crocus tomm. 'Ruby Giant' and 100 crocus chrys. 'Advance'. About 200 went in the front lawn and 100 in the back. Hope the squirrels don't eat them all up.

Is it Spring yet?

Love,
Nancy

The River Rat TOGA in Lake City MN - 2011

2011-09-19T20:58:00.000-05:00

Hi Mary and Jeni, Here are some beautiful sewing machines from the TOGA. I am sure you are interested!

A beautiful Eldridge.

A 185 with a new walnut base from Cindy and a new handcrank.

The 2-1/2" strip exchange

Treadle Annie's applique quilt of a Jones handcrank.

Jones CS Handcrank with yellow rose decals.

John with his aluminium 101 open and showing oil wick system.

A beautiful German Handcrank, maker to be determined later.

My Singer 128, cleaned, oiled and making a good stitch now.

Lots of 'meching' going on here.

Early Saturday morning before the crowd. (Cindy in the Kitchen)

My what a pretty sewing machine you have my dear.

Words fail me. It was a lot of fun and many many things were learned. Toga's are too much fun to be legal.

Love,

Nancy

Getting Ready for the Toga block exchange

2011-09-14T20:28:00.000-05:00

Hi guys,

I have been working on some blocks for the TOGA block exchange. Since it is the 10th Anniversary of the River Rat Toga there are a lot of people coming. I had to make more than 20 blocks. I finished 26 and this shows 21 of them.

21 of the 26 leaves I made.

The following are close up photos of leaves made from the fabric I bought at the Linden Tree.

I added orange and a yellow/orange/green batik to this leaf.

I had a lot of fun finding 'fall' fabrics for my leaves. Batiks seem to be the best although there is one fabric that is plain quilters cotton. One of the places I found fabric was right around the corner from Mom and Dad's place. It is called the Linden Tree. Jeni and I went there first last spring. E hangs out there whenever she comes over. It has some really fine batiks. I love this pinky orange floral. I bought it and the unbleached muslin I used for the backing there. Oh and I also bought a few other fabrics. Heh. They seem to match my taste in fabric quite well.

I put more of the yellow/green/orange in this leaf.

Oh, and for those of you who have never been to a TOGA, it is a Treadle On Gathering and Academy for those of us who collect, and use, vintage sewing machines. My latest baby is a #30 Pfaff that I found just a few blocks up from the Linden Tree at an estate sale. The cutest cabinet and the top is a bookshelf! Never seen one like that before. Walnut that needs a little restoration but very nice. Here is a pic.

My 'new' Pfaff #30 by it's cabinet. The bottom drawer was being glued
when I took this pic. The top right is a bookshelf instead of a drawer!

Mostly the pinky orange floral in this one.

So, can you find those three leaves in the top photo?

Love you,
Nancy

More garden pictures

2011-09-12T16:14:00.000-05:00

Dear Mary and Jeni,

Deb sent us some pictures from her (and Chris's) garden. They were taken early in June so these are the before photo's. There is some amazing art on their fence.

Music and Dancing in the sun

Many different varieties of basil. Deb said the basil was great this year.

a cozy sitting area

Chris snuck in a picture of Deb.

The Daylillies bloom early in Chicago

I can't believe the peppers were ready so early.

Keeping an eye on the photographer.

That is all for now. Alice is trying to lay upon the keyboard, and mostly succeeding.

Love,

Nancy

Zinnia's on Parade

2011-08-29T16:05:00.000-05:00

Fencing the Zinnias

Dear Jeni and Mary and TurtlemanFred,

Today I did a little fencing on the front walk. The Zinnia's and Aster's were trying to take over so I bought some bamboo fencing from Sunnyside Gardens (using the Gift Certificate Card Jeni gave me) and tried to give them a little more structure.

Straighten up guys!

There now doesn't that look more orderly?

If you look at the lawn behind many of these Zinnia portraits you will see
signs of Autumn....sigh

After I staked their little hearts out I took a few portraits.

I think the yellow centers are wonderful.

A zinnia among the Garlic Chives.

The Garlic Chives came through like champions. Maybe it is OK for Jon to scalp them....NOT!

Zoweee

This final shot shows the shadows they make on the sidewalk.

Oh, that reminds me. I better go bring in the garbage containers. Sniff. This is sooo much more fun.

Love,

Nancy

Highlights from a short trip.

2011-08-14T11:58:00.000-05:00

Hi Nancy and Jeni,

I took two days off last week so Brian and I could take a shorttrip to see some of "Montana’s Natural Wonders" (cue "natural wonder" advertising music). I don’t think I can live long enough to see everything Montanahas hiding just around every turn in the road but I'll do my best.

We first stopped at the Natural Bridge Falls Picnic area we’d read about. We wanted to seethe natural limestone bridge spanning the Boulder River. However, we didn't read the fine print,and found that the Natural Bridge had (naturally) collapsed in 1988. The Boulder River is busy carving out a newbridge though, as it goes underground for awhile through the limestone and thenpops out again down the trail a ways.

Here it is, popping out of the limestone.

We meandered down the Main Boulder Road (MT secondary 298) for awhile, followingthe Boulder River. All I cansay is it’s too bad we don’t fish because it is chock-full of spots that lookwonderful to fish in and even have fish if you actually care aboutcatching some.


Plus we saw some other surprises like this fungus - also popping out - with a layer of forest floor debris on its cap.

But we were really headed for the Crazy Mountains to camp and hike a little. We put in to Halfmoon Campground and set up camp. One very short hike was to Big Timber Creek Falls.

If you really want to see some action on thesefalls, take a look at this video. (Youmight have to turn the sound down.)

I had fun cooking in an outdoor kitchen again and we even hadpancakes and bacon for breakfast.

Note to self: get a spatula with a shorter handle - 2 ft is too long

Ahhh, civilization (AKA Bozeman). Goodbye bug spray and sunscreen! Hello showers, cold drinks and Yarn Shops! Bookstores! Outdoor Gear! I have another Favorite Yarn Shop now: Stix.

Here's the entryway to Stix in the basement of a downtown building in Bozeman: 7 Tracy St.

And I finally found a flower book I liked so my flower pictures now will have names attached. I hope to name all the pictures I took upon the Rims last year as well (don't hold breath).

Cirsium arvense "Canada Thistle"

We came home on the 3^rd day. Elliot was glad to see us. We went out back to find him apiece of grass to play with and he instantly appeared to forget we were ever gone.

Day two of Fireworks Convention

2011-08-10T12:05:00.000-05:00

jiggly camera and the center white stripe is the moon.

Dear Mary and Jeni,

Day two of the fireworks. I was excited during the first part of the show. I love this result.

Moon and the beginning of a shell.

The moon and remainder of a shell. I missed it completely!

I love the ones that rain down on you. This one was huge.

Many of the raining type of shell exploding at once. Fantastic.

I have a hard time catching this type of display.

Love the smoke below.

Part of the grand finale of one of the shows.

Love,
Nancy

Pyrotechnics Guild International Convention 2011 - Night One

2011-08-08T01:08:00.000-05:00

Dear Mary and Jeni,

Some photo's from the Pyrotechnics Guild International Fireworks Convention in West Fargo North Dakota.

My favorite one. Caused by a camera jiggle.

4 at once and great colors too

A little more modern art

Blue is an uncommon color in fireworks.

Lovely huge gold Chrysanthemum fireworks.

More modern Art. Love the yellow and gold together.

This one I like for the smoke trails.

That is all for now. Well except if I can get this 3 minute video to load. Too bad their sound system kept cutting in and out during this segment.

Love,
Nancy

The 5-year-plan sweater

2011-08-01T21:13:00.000-05:00

Hello Nancy and Jeni. I'm happy to report a major (in my mind) achievement - I've finally knit an adult sweater - and it's for ME! I didn't mean it to be a 5-year-plan sweater - but this picture of it in process was taken in February of 2007 BGS (Before Grad School). I must have been knitting on it for awhile.

In progress at Copperwood Court - 2 houses and 4 years ago.

I think what inspired me to finish it was finishing another piece of knitting that had been languishing for several months - Nancy Woodruff's small shawl.

Finishing that inspired me to get out this huge project. Since it's all knit in one piece, you have to carry the whole thing around. It's all garter stitch from Sally Melville's The Knit Stitch. I've knit a few things from that book - scarves, and a poncho for Katie (I'll have to get a picture of that). Ok, I'll just post some pictures of it now, because Elliot is starting to pace back in forth right under my nose, giving me an unwanted mustache of loose cat hair. Mmmphht!


In progress in June - Elliot approves.


Bonus: you get to see the vertebra from the Bowhead Whale.

Bert enters the hall of fame

2011-07-24T11:38:00.000-05:00

Dear Mary and Jeni,

Today Bert Blyleven enters the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Bert playing one more joke

They are writing lots of stories about his joking around. I do have a first hand knowledge of that. Jim and I got to tour the Metrodome that last year it was the home of the Twins. And we met lots of the people and one of them was Bert. Jim insisted that I have my picture taken with Bert. He promised not to give me this salute. He lied.

I guess it was payback time for all the times I did that to my family and friends.

Congratulations Bert. It couldn't happen to a funnier fellow.

Fun at Faye's Quilt Shop

2011-07-18T18:24:00.000-05:00

Dear Jeni and Mary,

Funky Chicken Quilt, hanging in my stairway.

Wow, this was a two quilt week.
First I won an auction quilt made by Debbie L.M. for the Snowhook Kennels and hosted by the ChettheDog Plunderers. Lucky me! When it arrived there was some extra chicken fabric in it. Even luckier me. So I immediately started to use it up. That is very unusual for me, but I was going to spend the weekend 'locked in' at Faye's Henhouse Quilts anyway, so it happened.

Potholders, front, chickens and backs, red and black & white

After I made some potholders I decided I had enough chicken fabric left to make a pair of pillowcases. They are cut and ready to sew. Someday.

future pillowcases

Then I decided since I was already having fun I had better get working on two other projects I have been ignoring. One is to make a quilt with the fabric my sister Jeni bought. It is cowgirl fabric for her granddaughter, Ruby Jo. I had the fabric but was having trouble finding companion fabrics that would match.

future cowgirl quilt

Faye's came through again and I was able to match three of the colors quite well so that is ready for me to decide on the pattern.

lots of purple and blues.

Hmmmmm that might take a while, so I decided to buy fabric for the quilt I had promised Jeni herself. Purples and not dark. That was the request.

So I went crazy in the batik section. Too many purples would be boring, for me if not for Jeni, so I added some aqua and had lots of fun. 23 colors later this is what I came up with.

I decided on a very easy pattern called Strip Twist that is from the quiltville.com website. My friend Deb was making one in very similar colors so here is a picture of her quilt on the wall and my colors below it. Well, some of my colors.

Deb's Strip Twist quilt above a few of Jeni's colors.

(Remember there are 23 colors.)

Then I received my second quilt. Deb had made it for me out of scraps that I had 'gifted' her with. She also added some apron and cat fabric, cause she knows I love both of those items. She says it is my anniversary quilt for this event. It is just wonderful and she made me cry wonderful happy tears. This is my quilt...

Deb, Quilt, Me

We all had a wonderful time. As you can tell from the following picture. Just a little show and tell from the Twisted Sisters.

Keri, Karen and Deb, with quilt. Lori hid out and is not pictured.

Love,

Nancy

Billings garden

2011-06-22T12:07:00.000-05:00

Hello Sisters,

There is a garden here in Billings too. Inspired by Amy Grandpre of the Yellowstone County Extension who did a presentation at the Library last year, I built a small square foot garden (4 X 4). Hardly anything grew in the clayey soil even though I amended it with a lot of stuff (can't remember what but there were several heavy bags).

This year I amended with compost and peat moss. Anyone need some peat moss? I still have half the bag left.

And I got some good plants from the Big Sky Nursery in Laurel, recommended by a patron at the Library (the real reason Reference Librarians know stuff - people tell us). Here's what the square foot garden looks like today:

Square Foot garden - mostly peppers, tomatoes, herbs.

As usual, I had the beginning of a plan but when I went to Billings Hardware and found they were practically giving away herbs, all planning ceased. How can one resist lavender and cilantro and two pots of oregano? All right - that was an error. I had so many herb plants that I didn't notice two were the same. And then I must have planted some by the pine stump last year because I found some flourishing there while I was planting. That is typical. I have left a legacy of herbs in the yards of every house in which I have lived - and I've lived in a lot.

Look at these peppers!

I like this picture because it shows our patio and outdoor computer center.

I can keep an eye on Elliot and do my work at the same time. He wanders and I have to call him back occasionally. The bell on his collar is very handy for finding him.

Sometimes, even though I can hear the bell, he is still difficult to find.

2011 Raffle Quilt is quilted

2011-06-17T10:43:00.000-05:00

Hi there Jeni and Mary,

Raffle quilt detail. It's all florals.

The Sister's Choice Raffle Quilt for this year is assembled and waiting for the quilter to finish the binding. This is a preliminary photo of it hanging from Deb's garage door. She had to hang it sideways and it was windy (It's North Dakota for Pete's sake) so it has a little wiggle in it from the wind. I will get another picture when it is completed..

This is what happens when you hang a quilt on your garage door
when it is windy.

It is done in scrappy floral fabrics with brick red borders. Here is the entire quilt so you have an idea of the colors. Can you see where the detail is?

Requests for tickets ($1.00 for one and $5.00 for 5) will be taken by Nancy. Maybe this is YOUR year!

Hugs,

Nancy

More Gardening or Milkweed, Monarchs and Mom's Iris

2011-06-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

Hiding the stump in the backyard where Jon 'trimmed' the Buckthorn.

Dear Mary and Jeni, I went to Sunnyside Gardens and had a wonderful hour looking at all the plants and pots.

I went to Sunnyside and couldn't resist.

I was looking for Oxalis and found the burgundy one with the yellow flowers that I had at the farm last year. Then I found the yellow planter and then I found a whole bunch of other burgundy and yellow plants to go in it.

A purple birdbath and a yellow planter.

I have also been hunting up Monarch eggs on Jon's milkweed patch. So far I have found 7 eggs and 6 first instar caterpillars. They are being cared for by Jon at his apartment. I wonder how E is with that. Bugs are not her favorite things.

Jon's Milkweed

Here is a closeup of one of the tiny caterpillars and the white dot on the right side is an egg. At actual size the egg is the size of a dot from a sharp pencil.

Caterpillar and egg for Monarch Butterfly

Two caterpillars. The one hanging on the side of the container
is working at shedding his first skin. He is growing and it is
getting tight in there. They hang when they are doing that.

Now I am pleased to give you a few of Mom's Iris as a contrast to the bugs.

This on smells great! Sort of like grape jam.

This one has no scent at all.

Just a little scent for this one.

These belong to the people at 4429, but I love Siberian Iris so I adopted them.

This purple one with the white stripes is my favorite!

Love,
Nancy

Gardening

2011-06-01T17:23:00.000-05:00

The gigantic Spirea

It has been made clear to me that my brother and I have very different views of what looks good in a garden. I love the natural look. I don't want to see plants shaped into boring lumps. My brother Jon on the other hand does not like to see plants flopping all over. Recently he decided the garlic chives along my parents front walk were becoming a little to free with their leaves. He thought they needed some shaping and firming to keep them from touching the lovely natural design of the cement sidewalk. So he gave them a crew cut. There are 8 garlic chive plants along the sidewalk. View the results:

Garlic Chives with a haircut

I have to admit I was speechless. A crew cut for chives! He didn't even save any for cooking. (I am not sure he knows they are food.) He did explain to me that he would stop clipping them as soon as they started to send up flower stalks. Evidently he is OK with flowering plants getting in the way of wandering feet.

He has been trying to trim (his version) the beautiful Spirea which sits at the corner of the house for years. (See first picture) He had been told not to upon pain of death. Up until this year he kept away from it. Then, this year, Mother Nature conspired with him and sent many feet of snow. That snow had to go somewhere. We couldn't have it in the driveway or the sidewalk now could we? And there was the Spirea sitting there right in the way.

Lots of snow this year....Note the Spirea under the tallest pile.

When the snow was piled upon the Spirea it pushed all the stems out into the driveway. Now I admit we couldn't have those branches scratching up the side of the car. Of course not. Jon got to trim them down. What a good job he did too. See the little stems sticking out of the snow.

Spirea, trimmed for the driveway.

Now I have to say he doesn't always just hack off the plants. Sometimes he ties them up and then hacks them off.

Daylillies

Sometimes he merely ropes them up.

Solomon's Seal

I am not even going to go into the affair of the lilac bush. At least it is still alive. I still get upset about that and it was years ago. I need to let that go. It wasn't Jon's fault anyway. That was my father. He told the man who mows the lawn to 'trim' it. When Dad used to 'trim' them himself they never grew back. We lost a few ornamental shrubs that way.

Hopefully the Chives will be able to store enough energy from their decimated leaves to allow them to bloom this year. I have high hopes, because the plants usually respond to stress by working extra hard to reproduce. It isn't as if we were low on Garlic Chives. They have self seeded all over.

Love,
Nancy

Cody, Wyoming

2011-03-21T01:43:00.000-05:00

Cody, Wyoming is a short 2-hour drive from Billings. Thirty years ago (or maybe more heh heh), I was at the Buffalo Bill and White Plains Indians Museum there and thought it was awe-inspiring then. Today it is called the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and they have only made it better since the 70s. (Okay, I just busted myself. Thirty years ago was 1981.) Anyway, here are some pictures:

A real Buffalo Coat. I'll bet it weighed a ton.

There were many lovely sculptures, both inside and outside in the gardens. My apologies to the artists whose names I did not write down. Some, like the one above of the horse and rider, had quotes about what inspired the artists.

Crazy Horse is depicted in the garden.

The horse sculpture below was first made with wood and only then cast - in bronze? I'm not sure but it is cast.

Above is a replica of Frederic Remington's studio. They had quite a few original Remington paintings at the Museum. It was a thrill to see them. Also originals by Charlie Russell, N.C. Wyeth, Russell Chatham, and we learned about other artists like Joseph Henry Sharp,

and so many more. I've never been a big fan of "Western Art" but this was the cream of the crop and I've changed my mind.

There is also a huge gallery given over to firearms - I think it's the world's largest collection. It was mildly interesting to me. Below, Brian's looking at Theodore Roosevelt's rifle.

Here's the pistol and gunbelt "Hoss" wore on "Bonanza." They also had Lorne Greene's and Michael Landon's gunbelts and pistols. I thought of Dawn Brennan watching reruns of Bonanza...

...and I thought of Dawn again when I saw this vest which is entirely covered with small beads. The picture doesn't convey the craftmanship.

There were so many things like this to see - there are actually five different museums within this Historical Center. There's the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, the Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indians Museum and art, Firearms section, and a museum for Greater Yellowstone Natural History which we were too tired to explore. There is also the McCracken Research Library in the basement. Admission isn't cheap but it's worth it - and it's good for two days.

Snow at the farm

2011-03-20T14:23:00.000-05:00

Hi Mary and Jeni, I was at the farm this weekend and decided to continue the comparison series. This photo is from a few summers ago. Alice and I are enjoying the garden. Alice is thinking about getting away from me. Note the bird-house in the upper left corner of the garden.

Nancy and Alice in the garden.

This photo is from March 17th, 2011.
You can see the same bird-house in the upper left corner of the garden.
The snow is between 2 and 3 feet deep.

This picture is from the deck height. The one above was from our 2nd floor window.

I did a little shoveling in order to feed the birds.
I only went down to the last step.
I was too tired to shovel down to ground level.
The trash can is my winter feeder. It is full of 40 pounds of sunnies.

I was too tired to even think of shoveling out to the center of the garden
where I usually hang my bird-feeders.
This table was mostly blown clear of snow so I filled it with Sunnies, on the top,
and Thistle seed, on the bottom, and the birds were there immediately
Chickadees, Nuthatches, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Junco's and some American Goldfinch.
I also heard Great Horned Owls.

Love,
Nancy

Snow 2010-2011, a comparison.

2011-03-15T22:47:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Jon I have some pictures of 4425 comparing spring or summer and this winter.

And just so you know, it has started melting fairly seriously today.

The driveway this winter

The driveway in Spring

The Spirea in June

The Spirea this winter. Jon had to hack off the side because
it was scratching the cars.

Front view of the house in the summer

Front view from the street this winter.
The pile of snow comes into the street at least 5 feet on each side.
It is one parking lane and one driving lane only.

Love,

Nancy

Old pictures, inspired by Dave Elliot

2011-02-01T22:59:00.000-06:00

Hello again, Sisters.

Cousin Dave posted pictures of Grandpa Moses on Facebook, and I thought I'd share the picture I have. It hung on the wall in the Minneapolis house until I asked Mom if I could have it.


Grandpa in dugout

It is rather dark. I'm thinking of getting it cleaned - maybe that would help. I wonder if it was taken when he lived on the Menominee Indian Reservation? That would make it around 1910 when he was 22.

The other picture of Grandpa I have is one that I think everyone has seen, but maybe not:

Was this taken for the 50th wedding anniversary? I remember that, in the family room at Aunt Jo's. Grandma wore that silk dress, creamy and purple and blue with pleats.

Here are the pictures that Dave posted (I hope you don't mind that I lifted them, Dave - you are welcome to grab the ones I have here):

Dave says Grandpa would be 14 here.


And this one is 10 years later.

Let's end with pictures that came in a set - Mom says these are by a photographer that lived in the hotel in Alma with the family. He took the photographs in lieu of rent. Mom has a long frame with all four pictures in it. I scanned them back in 2006, I think, when I scanned every old picture in the house that I could find.

Gert


Mug AKA Mom

Bud

The Ruby Stretch.

2011-01-25T22:42:00.000-06:00

Hi Jeni and Nancy,

I'm now able to tell you about the latest thing in baby care, and that is swaddling. Wait. Maybe it is really a retro thing, because wasn't Moses swaddled? Which might be why Ben is so good at it (that's an "in" joke, the rest of you will just have to ignore it.)

Swaddling isn't something I did with my baby, but after seeing it done I wish I had known about it. Basically, it's wrapping your baby up tight like a burrito during the early weeks of life, simulating the womb and keeping your baby feeling safe and warm. You can read about the benefits here.

Ruby is a swaddled baby. She is very happy to be swaddled, and when she gets unswaddled (that is a funny word), she does something Ben and Amanda are calling the "Ruby Stretch." And now, for the very first time in your very own home, here is Ruby doing the "Ruby Stretch" with commentary by Amanda and Brian.

After this visit, I am done driving for the winter. I've driven to Missoula twice, and to Minneapolis in November, and I think my Winter Driving Luck is probably used up. So, no more visits from me unless you want to Skype or Google Video Chat. Come summer, I'll start traveling again. Of course, y'all are welcome to visit Billings!

The Big Scarf Photo shoot

2011-01-02T21:29:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time, I went hiking with three friends. We decided to take pictures of ourselves using our cameras' time elapse photo option. What happened was this: I got everyone set up, hit the button and ran to get into the picture. Nothing happened. Then Kim wanted to try. We both got set up, hit our buttons and ran to get into the picture. Nothing again. We finally realized DUH, we were hitting the POWER button each time instead of the shutter. Nancy said she'd help. What happened? We hit the buttons, ran into the picture and nothing again. We couldn't stop doing it!

Eventually we all pushed the right button at the right time.

Iceberg Lake, Glacier National Park, 2006

We were laughing because we couldn't believe how hard it was for us to take a simple picture.

Well I guess nothing has changed in my brain. On Christmas, I had a similar problem. It wasn't so much that I turned the camera off (although I did do that once - gosh I can't believe it!) It was that I had the camera on record instead of photograph. So this is what a family looks like while they're waiting for a picture to be taken:

The day after the blizzard

2010-12-17T19:57:00.000-06:00

Hi there Jeni and Mary, These pictures have been ready to post for about a week. I guess I have been lazy.

Jeni on the front steps. Note how high the snow drifted on the porch roof.

This is what the window looks like from the inside.

Alice prefers a room with a view

A view of the driveway from the street

The first cut through the driveway. That snow is high on the side of the neighbors house.

Jon starts to clear the center of the driveway. E and Jeni helped.

A view of Jon through the frosted screen of the porch window.

Neighbor kids having a great time in the snow. The one with the Santa hat has a
black scarf around his face. You can't even see his eyes.

Love,

Nancy

Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice.

2010-12-12T14:26:00.000-06:00

Howdy -

I'll leave it to you to read the rest of Robert Frost's poem. I'd like to talk some more about ice - in fact, water in all its forms. For instance, nice blizzard you're having in Minnesota. I just saw on the news that the Metrodome has been flattened.

And then there's the little dusting of snow Billings got this morning, just enough to hide where the really slick ice is. Here's an example of a Billings side street:

26th Street N.

Underneath the dusting is a crusty, slippery obstacle course. We've had some warmer weather, but it will take one massive chinook to take care of what we've pressed into ice by driving on it.

And then there's the ice that formed in a basement pipe in Whitefish, and thawing, floated up under our kitchen sink and got stuck in the water filter, bursting it.

Of course, we knew nothing of this. After being gone for two weeks, Brian arrived in Whitefish around 9 pm. He was tired from an 8-hour drive extended to 11 hours by bad weather, running out of gas, and a nasty case of the stomach flu. He was ready to just empty the car and fall into bed. Instead he was greeted at the back door by two inches of water in the kitchen, and it was still running out of the burst filter:

It looked like the water had been running for some time. Here's what our 80-yr.-old oak floor looks like now:

This is the dining room.

Detail of floor between office and dining room.

Brian says the linoleum in the kitchen is toast too. When he went down to the basement to turn off the water (because there was no shutoff under the kitchen sink), he said it was "raining" down there. Of course, that's where all his tools are.

"Luckily" the water did not get too high upstairs because it was running into this furnace intake vent and thus down into the basement:

The furnace is still working though we'll have to get it checked on. To top it off, the weather has been bad enough to keep the insurance adjuster from making his visit. He lives in Great Falls and that's about 3 hours away over Marias Pass. So we'll have to wait a few days more to see what he says.

Regarding Frost's poem about which would be worse, I definitely prefer this to a fire.

Saturday December 11, 2010 or 12-11-10

2010-12-11T14:08:00.000-06:00

Hi there Mary.

We are having a nice day here. I have beaten our sister Jeni at Hand and Foot one more time.

And then, it is snowing. Well really it is blizzarding, if that is a word.

Jeni spitting into the wind. Well OK. Shoveling during a blizzard. The snow on the porch roof is at least 15 inches high.
So far.

And then, Alice is depressed...

Alice has problems

She has problems...

That darn mousie has escaped

The mouse she released on her release site, our bed, has escaped...

I'll get it tomorrow night for sure. Now get me a treat.

We will look forward to that Alice. NOT. How about if you show it to Jeni tomorrow?

Love, Nancy

Winter pictures

2010-12-03T23:15:00.000-06:00

Hi Mary and Jeni,

I took some pictures on the way home last week and here are a few of them

November Sunset

Meeting another car

Getting close to home

Through the Woods

Junco tracks like lace in the snow

Hoar frost on the Amur Maple

A cold Purple Finch

That's all for now. How is the snow in your street doing? Still there? Frozen? Melted?

Love,

Nancy

Billings Diary; Day: whatever

2010-11-30T22:44:00.000-06:00

Before I tell you the shocking news about Billings' snow removal, here are a few more pictures from home:

Jeni's treats from left to right: cookies filled with dates; Victorian toffee, almond shortbread, ginger snaps.

Jon kept dropping off brussels sprouts for us to eat. Where did he get them?

Picture taking erupts in laughter.

Forcing our spouses to join us.

Oooo, netbooks! We all want to be connected.

Cousin Mike and Jeni messing around in the kitchen.

We arrived home Monday to find that snow had fallen in Billings on Sunday. Quite a bit of snow. In fact, this November Billings has recorded the second highest amount of snow in its history. Sorry I didn't take any pictures of the six to eight inches of snow which is nowhere near the record in any of the other places I've lived. You can look at the Billings Gazette's Winter Weather gallery here - they seem partial to dog pics.

The remarkable thing is this: snow fell before we left for Thanksgiving. They didn't plow any but arterial streets. Today (Tuesday) as our car floundered from rut to rut, getting pushed all over the street by the 21 inches of snow that has fallen in the second half of November, I wondered what the plowing schedule was. Reading the Gazette, I found out:

"If you're wondering whether the street you live on is going to be plowed, the answer is almost certainly no...for decades, the policy in Billings has been to clear the main streets, spread some sand and calcium chloride de-icer where needed and hope the city's frequent chinooks do the rest of the work." (Ed Kemmick)

Meanwhile a related article tells the citizens of Billings that they'd better have their sidewalks cleared or face consequences. So you can walk around the block but you can't walk across the street. Arrrgghhh! Can you believe it? I thought about it for awhile and it has made some fiscal sense. After all, it usually doesn't snow much here. A friend who lived in Billings for 12 years told me I'd be able to ride my bike all winter. However, I am imagining that this winter will be the Mother of All Snow Years. Where is that chinook?

One last picture: the Knitty Brambles beret is being blocked:

A visit with everyone

2010-11-29T20:44:00.000-06:00

What a visit! I can't wait to come back. Maybe Christy can come too, next time. But for now, it will have to be enough that all the siblings were together:

Jon, Mary, Nancy, Jeni, Chris

Even Cousin Mike made it. Most of our spouses came as well. Here we all are:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T23:16:00.000-06:00

The cooks wearing their aprons. In order, the Martini apron, the Hot Chili apron,
the Chocolate Cupcake apron, the Yellow Cupcake apron and the Apron apron.
Also two Stuffies, (stuffed animals) were present.

Thanksgiving was a good time. We had lots of help cooking and way more help eating. We had some Watermelon Pickles which I had never eaten before. They were very interesting. I would have them again.

Watermelon Pickles and some nice olives.

We got an assortment of olives from the Co-op. My favorite ones are the light green ones. YUM!

4 different Cranberry Relishes. The pink one is Susan Stamberg's with horseradish.

We had a difference of opinion on the Cranberry Relish and ended up with four different ones. I liked them all except for the one by Mama Stamberg. I don't mind hot but I don't like horseradish. Dad loves it.

Pear Cheese Cake with Ginger Snap crust was the favorite dessert!

Jeni had to hide it after she made it the night before. My brother Chris went looking but she hid it too well!

One person, un-named, had cheesecake, apple pie and pumpkin pie with a 'little' whipped cream.

A good time was had by all. Jon won the first game of Hand and Foot and Nancy won the second one.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

My FREE Sewing Machine

2010-11-15T16:29:00.000-06:00

Free Parlor Cabinet Sewing Machine from 1916

This is the Sewing Machine I bought from Peggy McBride at the River Rat Toga this September. When I started working on it I found the manual and also this 'raffle' ticket in the inner drawers of the machine. The ticket was the top part of an advertising flyer dated Saturday February 19th, 1916 from Weyrick & Evans of Traer, Iowa. It was number 1297.

Raffle ticket No. 1297

Guarantee for Free Sewing Machine Co.

The person holding the ticket didn't win the free Free Machine because on the inside back page of the manual was this notation.

Paid 37+ old machine (unless that is a 9)

Here is the manual. It was all crinkled up and torn. I ironed it flat and used some tape to reinforce it.

Free Sewing Machine Manual

Close up of machine head

It stitches very nicely

The front doors open up and become the support for the flip top cover. They also hold the attachments, an oil can and thread. The oil can that I 'liberated' from Mohn Electric more than 20 years ago fit perfectly in a little round divot on the right side inside door. I just knew I needed that tiny little oil can. I bet it came from my first husbands grandmother. She was a quilter too.

Right inside door drawers

The tiny oil can fit perfectly in the cut out circle

Left inside door showing attachment box

Attachment box with 5 more bobbins and attachments that look unused

I really like this machine. It is in my living room near the front door. I hope to do some sewing on it for the Christmas block exchange for the MN/WI Junkies Christmas Party.

Love,

Nancy

Visitors at the Farm

2010-11-15T12:35:00.000-06:00

Buster and Dylan

We had visitors on the farm a week ago. Jill and Cary came out to look at some land and with them came two of their three kids, Dylan and Megan.
Also came a new member of their household, Buster the dog. He is quite a wiggly little puppy. He is only 6 months old.

Buster - on the move

Megan was happiest in the kitchen with a

full box of crayons.

Megan and Crayons

Dylan went for a ride with Uncle Jim in the tractor. He drove it for a long time. Maybe next time they can go for a trip down the road.

Dylan and the John Deere

Love,

Nancy

The ChettheDog.com Quilt

2010-09-10T18:27:00.000-05:00

Doing the final binding with help from AbbietheKitty

Hi Mary and Jeni,

As you know I have been working on the quilt for ChettheDog.com. It kept me busy during my recuperation time. Otherwise I tended to brood about the transplant. I am almost done with it and thought I had better post about it before I send it off.

Blocks were made by Rio, the Evil Pug, Wookie's Mom (aka as Debbie LM), Kirby T. Penworthy, BStover, and me (aka Staff.)

Bloggers sent in their photo's and Debbie LM and I made picture blocks for them.

This is the top left quadrant. Rio, the Evil Pug, and below him is BlueCat and to her right is Wolfie WW.

Up in the left corner is Rio, the evil Pug. His friend made this block using fusible appliqué. According to Rio it was quite a learning experience for her. Rio is the one who started this whole idea. It is all his 'fault.'

This is the top right foursome. Isn't Siber-H (in the right corner) a doll?
Gus is the grey tabby and BooBear is the orange tabby

This is the banner in the center of the top. Wolfie WW, Rio and Gus and BooBear

In the row below the top three we have Sam the princess on the far right.

Sam needs lots of glitter and shine

Below Sam on the right side is Kirby T. Penworthy. This is a very good portrait of him although I think I got a little excited about those eyes.

Kirby T. Penworthy

Next to Sam on the right side of the quilt are these two foursome's.

Wookie and AbbietheKitty
Cosmo and Macy the MinPin

Rio's business card, Alice Johnson,
Buford and Molly, a Black Poodle

Next we have the bottom Row. First, in the Left corner we have the Blog Motto.

Our Motto

And just above it on the Left side is Dawson, from Canada.

Dawson, A Tigers fan...grrrrr

Next to Dawson and the Motto are these two foursome's.

FattyKitty, Mollypop
Grace's 12 puppies and all the other Newfoundlands and family.

This is the last block on the lower right.

Rio's BedBug advertisement, Jasper, a green eyed Poodle,
Maggie, AKA Magpie and BStover's embroidered "B".

Here is the finished quilt. I made it a big file so you can see all the details.

Love,
Nancy
I guess this is a PS. Here is the label from the back just as (almost) Debbie LM wrote it out.

This is really the end.

Nancy

2010-08-23T10:41:00.000-05:00

Hi Jeni & Nancy:

This is from the 1900 census and is available through Ancestry.com.

I also found Grandpa's Selective Service registration for WWI, which obviously he didn't have to go to - he was 30 years old and had 2 children. In the 1920 census, Mom is listed - at 0 years old. Ancestry.com is a fun resource and I definitely would like our library to get it.

If you open (click on) the picture and then hold down "Control" while hitting the "+" key, you can make it bigger until you can clearly see the Elliot household is the second one down. I guess I never realized / understood that Grampa lived with his Dad and Aunts but not his Mom. Do you know how she died?

Love, Mary

Billings Diary Day 120: Chief Plenty Coups State Park

2010-08-08T23:20:00.000-05:00

Hi Jeni, Nancy and everybody else.

Finally made it down to Pryor, Montana and Chief Plenty Coups State Park. I've been meaning to go and have done some reading, the foremost being Plenty-Coups: Chief of the Crows by Frank B. Linderman.

Picture lifted from this website: Newspaper Rock

To give you the context into which Plenty Coups belongs:

Plenty Coups grew up as a traditional Northern Plains nomadic Crow Indian (born around 1848). The Crows were constantly at war with the Blackfeet, the Souix, the Arapahoe and Cheyenne. Early on in his life he proved to be a great warrior and soon a Chief of the Mountain Crow tribe.

After the Civil War, when U.S. policy was to subdue Indians and take their land, he counseled collaboration with the white men instead of war. This is attributed by some to a vision he had as a young man interpreted to mean that white culture could not successfully be resisted. Another reason given is that the Crow tribe used the whites as allies against those who wanted Crow land. Apparently this worked, as the Crow reservation actually is on their traditional lands (of course whittled down to a portion of the original territory). So it was politics as usual.

The biographies don't go into how difficult this must have been to do - did he appear as a collaborator with those undermining the culture? The Crows still have original lands, and practice their cultural heritage (see Crow Fair). I wonder how he fares in the hearts and minds of the Crow tribe itself? Plenty Coups is such an interesting person in our history who has not been given much press, but he's as important as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.

The park is a quiet place. It's listed as a "Cultural" state park rather than a "Recreational" or a "Natural" one. And it's not near the Interstate either. No one passes it and pulls in on the spur of the moment.

After Chief Plenty Coups death in 1932 it was given as a "place of peace" to people of all tribes. This was his plan and he donated it in 1928, before his death. There is a small museum that tells history of Chief Plenty Coups and the Crow Tribe. The house Chief Plenty-Coups built when he stopped being nomadic is also there.

He always had a teepee set up they say - perhaps the house was used mostly for white visitors. He had a store where he sold things he grew and harvested on his farm, and since he couldn't read or write, developed a pictograph way of keeping his accounts.
His house was built to take advantage of a natural spring, which now has a cottonwood growing right on top of it.

The water is so clear you can't see it coming out from under the tree, but those shadows are on water. Here's another picture especially for Skeeter:


Water bugs at Plenty Coups' spring

Chief Plenty Coups is buried on the land with two of his wives and his adopted daughter. The Linderman book is hard to find, but it's worth finding and reading. Linderman let Plenty Coups tell his own life and didn't elaborate on what was said beyond clarifying statements of fact. There is another bio out there that is not nearly as good.

Now that I've written this, I want more information. I'll bet I can get it at Little Big Horn College Library.
Love you two, Mary

I Love My Garden, 2010 Edition

2010-08-01T23:43:00.000-05:00

Hi there Mary and Jeni,

Walkways? What walkways? Hint, see the hose?

OK, so now you know the truth. I love my garden. It has 6 sections that are delineated by brick walkways that are so overgrown in the summer that they might as well not be there. It has a center of star blocks that ends up the same way. Not that you can see them in this picture. However, below is a picture where they show up.

See, there are too walkways in the garden!

This photo is from Spring 2009 and taken early in the spring when I was watching my tulip corner bloom.
I am loving it so much right now because I am banned from it while adjusting to the transplant. "No Gardening" they said. Right after that they said "No Cats". Heh, AS IF!

Nancy in her tulip corner, 2009

So I am staying out of it for now. But I really want to go in there and take some close-up pictures of some of the flowers that are blooming right now. Tomorrow when I go to see the doctor I will ask about that. I would think I could just walk in it if I promise not to dig up any potatoes or anything.

Nancy and Alice Johnson in the Garden, 2009

Now if this video ever loads it will show a little one minute snippit staring a 13 striped ground squirrel and some ants and a butterfly puddle (not pool).

August 12, 2008

That's all for now,

Love,

Nancy

Transplant

2010-07-19T05:39:00.001-05:00

SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2010 11:17 PM, CDT

I got a preliminary call about 10 minutes ago. I am backup. There is another person who is tops on the list but if he/she can't go thru with it then they will call me.
I have talked to another person whose husband had a transplant and this happened to them and they had to go in and prep and wait all day and then it fell through. They ended up waiting another 6 months for a kidney. I will be called by midnight and told if they want me in to Fargo by 7 a.m.. I am not supposed to take my baby aspirin tonight. If I don't get called I will email again in the morning.
Jim has been told (by me) to take his little netbook along so he should be able to keep in touch with you if it actually goes through.
Excited, a little scared. Still don't believe it. Love, Nancy

More later! Here is my site. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nancydrew

Birds on the porch

2010-07-02T11:23:00.000-05:00

I have had two nests on the porch this year. The Barn Swallows that always nest over the library windows have been very noisy lately. Those baby's fledged yesterday and a good thing too as they could not all fit into the nest anymore. The above photo is what they looked like yesterday.

This photo was taken on June 26th, Just 5 days and they grow like weeds.

This year I have a little brown bird nesting in my Christmas wreath (that never gets taken down). See the little beak there in the dark spot? I had to stand on a chair and hold the camera above my head to get this close of a shot. The LBB parent has lots of streaking on the sides of her tummy and a spot in the center of her breast.
I am not sure if it is a Song Sparrow or not. That is my guess.

This photo was found on Google images it was posted originally by http://www.coffeecreekwc.org/ This photo of a Song Sparrow is just what the parent looked like although I never got a good image of it myself.

Combine those with the hummingbird feeder from Droll Yankee that hangs on my window and you have a birding porch.

The LBB fledged while I was visiting Mary in Billings so I didn't see it.
Love,
Nancy

Billings, Days four, three, two and one

2010-06-22T00:42:00.000-05:00

I have wanted to visit my sister Mary for a while now, but kept finding excuses to put it off. Then a friend wanted a "Pony Express" delivery for three sewing machines from Missoula to Wisconsin. So Christy, Mary's daughter, brought the machines to Billings and I came to Billings to visit Mary and pick up the sewing machines for delivery to the River Rat Toga in September.

Mary knows I collect old sewing machines and she wanted a machine to sew with. Since she hasn't moved much of her furniture to the little house in Billings I used that as an excuse. This little Singer Model 66, previously electric but now a hand crank in a cute little desk, was delivered to Mary.

Before delivery I cleaned and oiled and greased the machine. It is not perfectly clean because I am nervous about taking apart things like the Bobbin Winder, but much of it is shiny and good looking and all the insides are clean and in good order.

Mary took me to a beautiful quilt store in Billings called Fiberworks, her excuse being that she needed some fabric to play on her machine with. (I needed no excuse) Oh such fun fabrics. I managed to find a few things to bring home. Mary bought two fat 1/8ths and made this little bag in just a few minutes. She is all ready to put a ribbon through the top to close it with, once she finds a ribbon, and she still has another 1/8th to play with.

Monday evening we went to the opening game of the 2010 season of the Billings Mustangs. They have a new ballpark called Dehler Park which is very nice. They won 11 to 4 over the Great Falls team and we had lots of fun and two lemonades each. We didn't have any caramel apples. Such restraint!

This is the fancy new scoreboard showing a picture of the Western Heritage Center which is the original library here in Billings.

After breakfast at Stella's on Monday we went for a walk in a Riverside Park which is affiliated with the Audubon Society here in Billings. This park has a nice walk along a small river that flows into the Yellowstone River. This is the Yellowstone River at that point. Here is proof that we were there. Jim is standing quite close to the edge isn't he? The river was running quite fast, probably because of the rain and hail (and tornado) that we had yesterday.

After the storm on Sunday, the clouds cleared away and Mary took me up on the 'Rims' to get a look at the wild flowers and to see this view of mountains hovering over the city. Cool eh?

Here is the new moon over the city, and then a picture of Mary taking a picture of a Yucca plant. Evidently this was a highlight of the walk for her. She has wanted to see a blooming Yucca for some time. There were some blooms that had been hailed off the plants and we touched them. They are very strange and waxy feeling. You could say they feel Yucky.

This last picture was taken on the way into Billings on Saturday. These horses were up on the range overlooking the freeway. I was way far away and had to zoom this as far as I could so you could get a glimpse of the horses. They looked so neat and western up there.

This last morning our plans are to go to the Dude Rancher for Breakfast and then visit Mary at her Library before leaving for home.

It has been a very nice visit and next time I am staying longer.

Thanks Mary for a great time!

Billings Diary, Day 62

2010-06-08T23:02:00.000-05:00

Hi All,

I'm supposed to write my obituary for a memoir writing class, but I want to post more wildflower pictures.

The ol' bear and I visited the Little Big Horn Battlefield.

Although I've had many chances to do this before on trips from Montana to Minnesota or North Dakota, I've never stopped. We agreed that it was much more engaging than we thought it would be. The history is fascinating for one. First we attended a recitation of the battle which confused me as three different armies converged on the largest group of Indians ever gathered (the historians believe) and then Custer broke off from one army and ended up dividing his group into three and blah blah blah until I didn't know who was where and what was up. To make things worse, the "professor" (apparently he is a professor in his winter job) confused shouting with emotion and kept making me flinch when he would yell out a paragraph or two.

We then went on the two walks that meander to places where things happened in the battle, and stopped at every roadside point with a tablet until now I actually do have an idea of what happened.

This marker had braided grass left in front of it.

Of course, there are still things being argued about, which makes it even more interesting.

There were plenty of meadowlarks along the way. A meadowlark song makes anything the best, and along with that, the wildflowers were stunning. So stunning that I went right into the museum store and bought a book in which I could find only two of the specimens we saw. I think the book is more for the Dakotas and if so, you can have it when you come here.

So - on to the wildflowers (and the grasses - they were also fascinating): I am sure most of these are fairly common, and I am going to get a book out of the library (and buy one too) but I haven't yet so I don't know what they are. Sorry they are so big, but I wanted to keep the detail so I didn't resize or crop too much.

I know what these last two are: the top one is Yucca (I've posted some pictures of it before I knew it grew this impressive spike which I'm dying to see when it's in full bloom) and next is prickly pear with some buds on it - also can't wait to see in bloom.

Yucca - with flower stalk. Also know as soapweed because the roots were used for soap according to this book.

Prickly Pear with buds on it.

Did I say I've never lived anywhere before where cacti grew? I am fascinated by it.

I've posted this by uploading the pictures, and while waiting, ironing clothes for work. I have a penchant for linen, which is eternally wrinkly, but also have a penchant for ironing, thank goodness. This all goes quite well with my penchant for drying clothes on the line. If I didn't hang clothes out to dry, I would have missed the pair of goldfinches playing tag amongst the trees this afternoon. They were making clicking-type noises that I have heard before. Now I know that those are goldfinch noises and will look for them next time I hear it.

Adios, all.

Billings Diary Day 58: Two Moon Park

2010-06-03T20:25:00.000-05:00

Howdy Jeni, Nancy, et. al.,

Me and the Ol' Bear went on a walk in Two Moon Park. It's supposed to be for bicycles but we saw more walkers than bikers.

The impetus for this was that I've been living here for two months and I haven't seen the "storied" Yellowstone River. I've tried to find it a couple of times but only caught glimpses and kept getting lost (although I did find where the Subaru fix-it guy was so it wasn't a complete trail fail). When we saw the Yellowstone from Two Moon Park it was not what impressed me, although when I think of the Yellowstone River I think of history: Lewis and Clark, mountain men, and Yellowstone Park.

What impressed me about Two Moon Park was the birds. It might be nice to bike through, but you won't get as much chance to appreciate the birds that way. I wish I could take pictures as you do, Nancy, but birds in a park don't come to where you're waiting for them. I did get some of this killdeer:

She met us on the trail, chirping piteously, and zig-zagged up the path in front of us for quite a ways, even performing the "broken wing" trick, until finally we were clear of her nest and off she flew.

We saw white-tails in ones, twos, and threes - the park is a safe place for them.

And we even saw some monster fish, which when they got close enough we realized were giant carp. They were opening and closing their pink mouths as they swam along, like monster goldfish.

Despite it being a gloomy day, and raining on us a bit as well, we were happy with our outing. I might go there on my bike too, because the trails are easy enough for me. But walking lets you see so much more - I might keep the bike for commuting.

Love, Mary

Nesting time for Orioles.

2010-06-02T21:30:00.000-05:00

Hi there Mary and Jeni,

I have been putting out nesting materials for the Orioles that visit my garden.

It has been quite successful.

I use two types of string and some fur donated by Alice and Abbie who love to be brushed.

I twist open the ply's of the string and cut them into less than 6 inch lengths. I read that somewhere. More than 6 inches is a problem for the birds somehow.

Then I add some milkweed silk that I save every fall.

Then I wait for a mother Oriole to arrive.

She picks up a little, then forages and picks up more, then forages and picks up more!

Then when her beak is just as full as can be she flies off into the woods. It takes her about 15 minutes before she comes back and starts all over again.

As you can see, if they have a choice they choose the milkweed silk. However they will take the string if nothing else is offered. I can always tell when they want the nesting material because they keep trying to pick up the string Jim puts out to mark our garden rows.

Quite a mustache there Mrs. Oriole!

Love,

Nancy

Speaking of flowers

2010-05-27T12:18:00.000-05:00

Hi there Mary and Jeni,

It is the purple flower time in my garden... Here is an Allium.

Some purple Chives. The bees and butterflies love it so early in the season.

A Johnny Jump Up

The 'Clifford' Iris. Named because it is from the Clifford Post Office flower bed.

A 'real' Geranium, also know as Cranesbill from the shape of the seed pod.

And more Johnny Jump Up's..I love them!

Love,

Nancy

Flowers in pots, on trees, and growing wild.

2010-05-24T15:29:00.000-05:00

Howdy Nancy, Jeni and etc.,

I spoke with Mom & Dad last week and they thoroughly enjoyed having the kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids visit. They were also enjoying the peace and quiet afterwards. I'm sorry I missed that visit - hoping to be there over Thanksgiving.

I've been busy planting stuff, trying to figure out how to put in a raised bed on slanted ground (the ol' bear will be here next week and he'll do the figuring out I haven't done), and messing about in Billings.

I've planted some of my favorite flowers on the front deck - gerbera daisies;

they are watched over by the blooming horse chestnut.

These blooms are yellow - in Whitefish they were always white. I wonder why?

I've also found some places in town to take walks. Lake Elmo State Park is one (they have a Whale Watching Club policing the area),

and the Zimmerman Trail up on the "rims." The rims are the cliffs cut by the Yellowstone River in ages past, and they rim the north and northeast parts of town.

The meadowlarks were singing away at the top of the park, by the trailhead. As I went down and walked among the rocks, I heard and saw other birds, and saw lots of flowers. The only one I recognize is blue flax - but I've never seen it such a deep blue.

On the way out I saw this sign again -

I'd completely forgotten about watching for rattlesnakes while I wandered. I'm glad I was wearing boots!

And here are two pictures just for Jim: Dehler Park (where the Billings Mustangs play)

and the newspaper section of Parmly Billings Library,

including but not limited to the Star-Tribune, Wall Street Journal, the Denver Post, the Salt Lake City whatever-it-is, and assorted Montana dailies and weeklies. Oddly enough, there are no New York Times or San Francisco Chronicle. Is the library too conservative for those papers? Hmmm. But - you can bring a cup of coffee with you if it has a lid on it.

Four Generations

2010-05-12T11:07:00.000-05:00

Hi Mary,
We had a lovely Mother's Day this last weekend. Liz and Paul came with their two children and we took pictures on the porch. I think we had better take some of Grandpa with the kids too. We were sort of focused on Mothers this weekend though.

Liz and Dresdon

Bijou Margaret Darrow

Bijou, Paul and Liz

That's all for now.

Love,

Nancy

First Rummage Sale, Minneapolis

2010-04-19T16:36:00.000-05:00

Hi there Mary,

Jeni and I are jealous of your nice dishes. Are they Fiesta ware? We went to an Estate Sale and then to a Saver's store on Saturday. Jeni found items but I didn't. We chose the Estate Sale because the ad said "Singer Sew. Machs." However they were all gone when we got there about 11a.m. So my friend Annie and I went outside and waited for Jeni. She got this huge basket with a cover, a vintage cookbook, a tiny plate and a knife and a tiny slotted spoon. Oh yeah, and a yellow tupperware container with lid. She claims we rushed her. She may be right.

Since I didn't score at the cheap sale I will also give you a picture of the Great Blue Heron statue that I paid full price for at Sunnyside Gardens. I think it will go in the area around my pond very nicely.
Sunnyside is remodeling. They have changed the way they route cars through the lot. I think it will be a lot safer because the cars will no longer go across the area between the two sheds. That is now covered so it will be lightly shaded and the cars make a left upon entering and park along the chain link fence dividing the garden center from the parking lot for Needlework Unlimited. I suspect they had problems with people driving too close to pedestrians and so made this change. It looks good.
When we drove over there again today we noticed that the former Super Value is also under construction to change it into the Linden Hills Co-op. Hard Hat area only there and a fence around it. I am excited to see it finished.
Love,
Nancy and Jeni

First of the year (for me anyway): Rummage Sales

2010-04-18T19:48:00.000-05:00

Billings does have good rummage sales, as I was told. I kept my spending in check though and didn't come away with anything out of the ordinary. I did get a stand for my TV ($2) which was previously on a box... and a set (more or less) of dishes to fill my mostly empty cupboards (includes the plates on the rack by the sink). Since many of the cupboards are up high, I don't want to fill them anyway. It's too hard to get stuff out of them. I also got some clay pots - but at a gardening center: I'll show you what I'm going to do with those pots after I do it. And this last is especially to tease Jim, as I'm sure he doesn't have one of these: a minor league ball field. It is one half block from our place.

It's called Dehler Park, but it's known locally as Cobb Field which it was for many years until they tore it down and built the brand new park.

Last year was the first year that the Billings Mustangs played in it - and I heard that they "stunk up the field." Maybe they'll be better this year. Last week from my driveway I clearly heard the sound of an aluminum bat hitting a ball. It was a legion game or Babe Ruth league - which also uses the park as the Mustangs don't start until June 21. I wonder if I'll be able to smell the hot dogs and hear the 7th inning stretch? I'm ready - I packed my scorebook.

Yardwork

2010-04-10T19:06:00.000-05:00

The Backyard

Today Jon came over and did some cleaning up in the backyard. When he was done he was quite proud of his work.
Jim had been gone the entire time so once he came home I took him to the landing and showed him the view you see here and asked him my favorite question. "Do you see anything different in the backyard?"
This is a question I have asked him many times over the years. Only the last word of the question changes.
Jim looked at the yard carefully for a while and said. "The green table has been repaired" I told him "No". He thought about it for a little more time and said "You moved the birdhouse". Well, yes it had been moved, but that was not the change.
Do you see it?
Jim and I have been living here in the winters for 21 years now. Mom laughed and laughed when I told her the story. Then she asked, "Does Dad know Jon was here?" I had to tell her yes that he knew about the change.

Here is another picture from the south corner of the garage. We have seen two bunnies at once in our yard this spring. I seldom see even one, so this is a big bunny population year. Probably we will see bunny babies again this year.
Love,
Nancy

Art Deco Billings Montana

2010-04-05T21:25:00.000-05:00

Well, as you know, I moved to Billings this weekend - to an "apartment" in a house that was rented sight unseen. While there was reason to trust that it would be a Good Thing To Do, renting without seeing even a picture does have an element of risk.

Nancy W. and I pulled up after 8 pm Saturday night. The first thing we thought was what a nice residential street it was. Since we couldn't read the house numbers, we got out of our respective vehicles (mine was a Budget Rental, and Nancy drove my car over), and went up to see. We found the right house, got the key out of the mailbox and went inside.


Built-ins in the hall closet

detail of living room cubbies

In the Dining Nook

Finally after oohing and ahhing for fifteen minutes or so, I realized the truck was out in the street still running.

Today, Nancy left to drive the Budget truck back to Evergreen. The house is filled with boxes and plenty of stuff to do. I ran errands today and managed to be lost somewhere in Billings for about 45 minutes on various roads, streets, etc (but at least I haven't gone the wrong way in their one-way rabbit warren of streets - yet.) Tomorrow I will walk - to my drug test. Gee, I hope I pass *smirk*

Saturday Mini 'TOGA' or LOOKOUT she's got a rotary cutter!!!!

2010-04-03T21:42:00.000-05:00

Nancy Jim B. Treadle Annie
Hi Jeni and Mary,
I had a lovely Saturday today. Mom had her bath early (early for me) and then I went over to my friend Annie's house for a day of sewing and playing with old sewing machines. Our friend Jim came too. First, of course, we had to go to lunch so we went to The Convention Grill. Hey, it's close! What can I say? I had a California hamburger and a small vanilla malt.

Nancy Jim B. Treadle Annie
Then, fortified and happy we went to Annie's and cut out our fabrics. She carefully guided us through the 'card trick' block. It should be called card tricky cause it is a sneaky block. I think she looks rather proud of us in this photo. Then we sat around and talked until Jim, my Jim that is, called and wanted the van. He was being taken to the Timberwolves game by our friend Mary who had an extra ticket. He needed to be the driver. So they came and got the van and took these pictures for us.
Then we worked on a Model 15 Singer that a friend of mine wanted put in working condition. It just needed oiling and a little adjustment of the tension and stitch length. Sure works nice. As a result of talking about it I was offered a Model 15 for myself at a really good price, so I will be getting one soon I hope.

Rose's Model 15-91
Good times!
Love,
Nancy

Junice

2010-03-27T09:36:00.000-05:00

Junice Berg

Photo by Jon Drew

Junice Berg has died. We are going to her funeral today. She was a longtime worker at the Linden Hills Co-op and a friend of our family for many years. Junice and our parents would go to the Co-op every Wednesday morning for 'coffee' and shopping. Wednesday was Senior citizen's day.
A few years ago she had to move to a home for seniors as she was becoming very forgetful. My feeling is that Junice has been released. She wanted to go 'home' every time we visited her, and would cry when we left.
We miss you Junice, but we are glad you are in a better place.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

2010-03-25T21:42:00.000-05:00

Hi there Mary and Jeni,
All I can say is that thank goodness I have sister's who remember the family milestones as I am no good at it at all. Mary had to remind me of Dad's birthday earlier this month and today Jeni just called to say Happy Anniversary to Mom and Dad.
Dad's reply was "What day did you say it was?" and Mom said "What, is today the 25th?"
Evidently I come by my flaw genetically.
Anyway Happy 62nd Anniversary to Mom and Dad.
Here is a picture of them taken when they had only been married for 59 years. Dad is looking soulfully at Mom which is making her laugh.
Love,
Nancy

Travel in the Flood Zone

2010-03-20T18:57:00.000-05:00

Hi Mary and Jeni,
We made a quick trip up to North Dakota

to visit and renew and try to get healthy for the last part of the tax season. I also made my first youtube video. You can link to it here 2010 flood video We had a good time in North Dakota even though we took our colds up there and brought back our coughs. Those coughs are hard to get rid of. While there, we looked at the flooding and played at the quilt shop.

Last fall I left a quilt to be 'quilted' by Lois at Faye's Henhouse. It was done when we visited this week so I picked it up and put on the binding and brought it back here to Minneapolis to finish sewing the binding in place. I really like it, I used all floral prints. I also used wool batting and it is as light as a cloud.
Both Abbie and Alice approved of it. Alice when it was folded up for traveling and Abbie, here, while I was trying to sew on the binding.

Love,
Nancy

Look at that baby!

2010-03-09T11:44:00.000-06:00

Nineteen years old and getting ready to leave home for the first time to World War II:

Today he is 86. I wonder if he will deign to eat any sugary, high-fat cake today? Everyone else probably will, heh heh. Happy Birthday, Dad. We love you.

Chris Drew in Chicago

2010-03-04T22:47:00.000-06:00

Chris, Mom, Deb and Dad

Our brother Chris is fighting for Artist's rights in Chicago and has gotten into some interesting problems. Take a look at this video made about his fight and posted on the ArtsJournal e-zine. His video is on the top of the front page and to the right. Above shows Chris and his wife, Deb and our parents. The photo was taken in 2005.

http://www.artsjournal.com/

Exciting times in the Drew Family.
Chris might be the one to get a case in front of the Supreme Court. Not exactly what we thought of years ago when we were growing up. But we always knew that once 'Kit' made up his mind you got out of his way. Looks like he has made his mind up again.
Love,
Nancy

Have I shared my chicken recipe?

2010-03-01T19:07:00.000-06:00

I don't think I have. I am cooking it now while I muse on the staircase. I'm not sure I would like my books where my feet are always walking. I ~~have to~~ should sweep the floor a lot and I imagine all the dust and bits of stuff getting in between and on top of the books. I would not like that. I'm going to show the ol' bear and see what his thoughts are.

Meanwhile, I will tell about this chicken recipe that a friend of mine made up. She doesn't cook much and likes to keep it simple. She invented this when she was tired after work, but she had to cook (it must have been her turn).

This is what she did: she took a large frying pan with a tight cover. She put a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of water in it. She put two (or four- whatever) pieces of frozen chicken breast in it and sprinkled them with herbs de provence. She put the lid on and turned the heat on to medium low. After 12 to 15 minutes, she turned the chicken over and kept the lid on. After 12 minutes more she had yummy chicken. And that's what we are going to have tonight, although I add salt and pepper. When it's done, I'm going to saute mushrooms in the sauce that is left, and then heat up leftover rice in the same pan. With a salad, we will be all set.

And now, time for a Whitefish Weather Report: the other day we had snow, rain, sun, and then hail. Here is a picture of the hail:

Then we went back to sun, of which we have been getting a disproportionate amount. This is what our backyard looks like today - no snow, and lots of litter from the mountain ash. It was up to 46 degrees - and it's been doing that for the last couple of weeks, off and on.

The reason for all the litter is a bad storm and freeze in the fall before the leaves were ready to fall. After that, most of them stuck on the trees and didn't turn colors (except brown). Over the winter they've been gradually falling off. I'm sure it hurt any trees that had a weakness. We will see this summer. And my forecast for this summer is lots of smoke from forest fires unless we get a substantial amount of precipitation.

The ol' bear agrees with me about the staircase. He thinks his books would get all dirty (and they would, because I'm the one who sweeps around here, and I don't do it that much.) And by the way, did Abbie tell you that Fatty Kitty posted?

The ultimate staircase

2010-02-28T22:14:00.000-06:00

Hi there Mary and Jeni,

Looking up the staircase.

I can't believe I haven't posted for a month. I have to post something quick or February will be postless. I was just sent a portfolio of amazing staircases and this one jumped out at me.
This is a book addicts perfect staircase. I am so jealous of whoever has this staircase.

Looking down the staircase

I just love it. I would be afraid to go up and down it because I would be so distracted I would miss my footing.
Nancy

Winter 2010

2010-01-31T16:35:00.000-06:00

Jim has been moved to have something on the blog. He was made a co-poster when we started but didn't have anything he NEEDED to post about until now. This is the view from the front bedroom window. It is Abbott Avenue. It doesn't look to bad at first until you realize those are ruts down the center of the street. And you are looking at them from quite aways away. Up close they are darn near deep enough to trap small children. Or, according to Jim, "peel off a low hanging car muffler."

See what he means? Down at street level it is even scarier.

The story about the streets goes like this. The state of Minnesota is out of money. And, we have this really stupid Republican Governor (Pawlenty) who has said no new taxes (which is why we are out of money) so the state has cut much of the money it used to allot to the cities. Minneapolis thought it would save money before the Christmas storm by not plowing for some little 1-2 inch snowfalls.

Then, on Christmas eve/day, there was a bigger storm and they had to plow.

The snow was amazingly wet and heavy and they got through the highways and 'snow emergency routes' which took 2 days, but by the time they started on the side streets it got really cold. Way below zero. The wet snow froze into lovely ice and there it has stayed. The ruts dug into the soft wet snow are just getting a little more slippery as the sun smooths them a tiny bit in the daytime. What a mess!!! It is now February and you know that after being there 5 weeks that ice is not going away until the spring thaw.

Jim claims they are at their worst right in front of Mom and Dad's house.

Jim again...."So it's slow driving on Abbott Avenue this winter."

Wow, 16 words. Well he isn't wasting them is he? I however am positively squandering my words. All over the page. And saying nothing. Now that takes talent. I will let the pictures I took in Clifford speak for me. We went home for a few days and I took some pictures of the snow in the yard. Lots of snow. Jim says the snow in Clifford is a lot prettier than the 'snow' in Minneapolis. The gravel roads are way better than the Minneapolis streets also.

Some of those drifts are between 3 and 4 feet high. (I have no idea how I made this link)

I am not sure what happened to the pond. I was quite lazy after I took out the 'water feature' and left the pump going, but there was no sign of it. I had to peer out the window in the front room to see it as the screened in porch was full.

I don't know what the cats would have though but they did not want to come on such a short trip.

Some metal lawn chairs marooned in the back yard.

And the front steps with another chair. Really, the steps are there.

We, however, entered the house though the north door and our lovely new deck/porch. My it was nice! I have no idea why I didn't take a picture of it. Maybe because it was shoveled and didn't have that pristine snowy look about it. So, for a little contrast....

I don't know how people without seasons stand it!

Love, Nancy

Stories from The life of Jeffrey

2010-01-27T19:37:00.000-06:00

Stories from The life of Jeffrey

How we used to make popcorn.

2010-01-08T21:28:00.000-06:00

Dear Nancy, Jeni, etc,

Although this picture isn't related to the title, it is related to the last post:

That's Luigi in the mohair cat bed before I felted it. He liked it already. Now that cat bed lives at Molly's house behind Nancy's laptop. When Nancy works, Molly can hang out by her and look out the window at the same time.

Anyway, this post came about because Christy called. She is having a sleepover and wanted to know how we used to make popcorn "the old-fashioned way." Apparently she and her friends have popcorn kernels, but no way to put them in the microwave, and no "new-fangled" popcorn makers.

I know I made popcorn this way as late as when I was a teenager - but you might remember better than I (I'm being diplomatic here).

This is what I told her: we used to take a cast-iron pan and we had to use something for a lid (I really don't remember the lid, but we needed a lid.) I distinctly remember not being able to see the popcorn, so occasionally the lid would be lifted off to observe where the popcorn was in the process, and this would invariably result in popcorn flying up into the air and onto the floor, at which point we'd slam the lid back on.

But before we got to the lid-lifting-off stage, we poured oil in the pan - enough to cover the bottom. Then popcorn - enough to cover the bottom. I guessed about those; I need you to say what we really did. Then we put it over heat - about medium high - and shaked and shaked and shaked that pan, one hand on the handle, and the other holding the lid on. We shook it so the popcorn would not fry and burn in the oil. It made a great noise and commotion to shake that heavy cast-iron pan on the burner of the stove, which was probably part of the fun.

And then, after lifting the lid two or three times and causing showers of popcorn (which I recall casually eating off the floor), the popcorn would be done, and we'd pour it into a large brown paper grocery bag, and then pop at least one more batch.

When we had enough popcorn, we'd melt butter (probably in the hot pan) and then one person would pour it into the bag, which another person held and shook around so the butter could be distributed more or less evenly over the popcorn. Then we'd salt it the same way. Then we'd get bowls and eat it, probably watching Ed Sullivan or The Man From U.N.C.L.E. or something on our 16" TV screen.

Ok, that's what I remember. What do you remember?
Love, Mary