Springing

So glad to be back blogging. I have been gone for awhile as I just haven't been able to get pictures to download to the blog,  like talking with your hands, I can't write without a picture. Spring is springing nicely in my neck of the woods, my pepper plants are looking good, much better than in this photo as it was taken two weeks ago. Everything in my little greenhouse was looking pretty darn nice UNTIL 35 mph winds smashed into the sides of the greenhouse. Everything was dumped and I mean DUMPED upside down on the ground. I salvaged a lot of stuff but my seed packets that were taped to the sides, the ones showing what was planted in the pots, were knocked off. Hope I can recognize the plant by  it's leaves :0) I can figure out the veggies, the marigolds, the petunias but the larkspur; lavender and those types of plants I might have trouble with.

So part of my garden got a good plowing and then Jeff ran the spring tooth over it. I just wanted to get my home grown fertilizer (horse poo) tilled into the ground before I till and plant. I need to get photos of the tree belt that we spent all day Sat. getting trimmed up. I can't wait to get my little building moved down, painted and grass planted.

Been a busy month for April and May is on our heels. At Fort Rob we have the History Conference; school visits; Mother's Day Buffet; Free Park Day, Training  and then opening day coming up, should keep me busy. I plan on visiting baby Lu next week. Can't wait to see him as it has been over a month and little guys like him don't stay little very long.

So till next time.........keep on springing Spring!

Precious Little One!

Caught this little one looking up at her grandma and just had to share.

My wish list.

Wouldn't the new iMac be just wonderful to have? I probably will just get the old one fixed but a gal can dream!

And this....................

And this....................

And I'm not really greedy, this would be big enough for me.

And a nice little Paint to go trail riding with or teach the grannies how to ride.

And some chickens, just a few so I could have fresh eggs and Jeff could build them a cute little Victorian chicken house (wouldn't that be cute?)
So for today - wishful thinking!!

I got it!

Last October my good friend Becky was selling her antique shop/restaurant and she gave me this faux mantel that she had in her shop. She saw me one day in the store and said, "I will just drop it by your house". Two days later my friend Becky passed away before she had a chance to bring me the mantel.

Now there wasn't anything special about this mantel, I had just liked it and thought I could put it in my Cottage Garden Studio but still nothing special...until Becky was gone, and then like all things, it was just one of the ways I could hold onto her.

The mantel went into her estate and my good friends were going to bid on it when it came up for sale at the estate auction. But that didn't happen! The mantel sold during the few moments that my friend had chosen to take some stuff to her car. The lady who bought it got it and an old wash stand for $14.00. My friend. being the good friend that she is, followed the lady around until the lady consented to selling it to me.

That was last Oct. This March I got my mantel. It cost a lot more than $14.00 dollars to get it from this lady but that was ok, it was a just a little part of Becky that gave me a connection to her, I would have paid much,much more just to have it.

So...............here it is. I can't wait to do something with it. Right now, well it just sits in a corner of the living room but soon it will have a place of honor.

Dreamin'

I couldn't sleep last night, my mind kept wondering over to my little greenhouse and visions of summer danced in my head. All of my little seedlings are up and despite the cold outside they are all snug in their warm little home growing and changing. I just can't wait for some beautiful weather and the soil to warm enough to get my finger dirty. Here's a little walk in last year's garden.

In just one month............

Wow what a difference one month can make in a person's life. Not only does it seem like time can fly - it also seems like my life is totally differnet than it was a month ago, I am different than a month ago.

So much as happened in the past 30 days - I will tell all the happy parts first.

I believe I left you all off when we celebrated a birthday for my youngest YaYa sister. It was a special night as we were all able to come together at my kitchen table and laugh until tears ran down our eyes.

That weekend my oldest grandson and his 8th grade basketball team won first place at the Rapid City tournament. I didn't get to see that tournament as I told a good friend that I would take her daughter's first birthday pictures. However I was able to spend the next two weekends watching Taylor play in tournaments. It was just a big week for him as he tested out and was chosen for the scholastic team, passed his test to get his learner's driving permit, and now has a girlfriend.

Taylor played some awesome ball and it was fun to be back on the bleachers again watching basketball.

Our little one year old, Little Miss Addy was no bigger than a minute when she was born a little before her due date last year but she sure has grown fast and is just the sweetest little thing.

Damion, Daunee' and Lucas came for a visit the first weekend in March and attended Taylor's games. It was great to see Lucas and all the new things he has learned to do since we last got to see him.

In between games we played on the playground with Emma, her daddy Greg, Uncle Damion and Aunt Daunee'.

My little Emma Jean, always a ball of fire enjoyed her time with her dad and playing with her cousins. She and Lucas had a grand ole time playing on the slides at Bayard.

Then on Sunday I was given just the best gift. Everyone except for Taylor were able to come over to the house. The kids, sneaky little things that they are, got yummy broasted chicken from Staabs and had a birthday party for me, complete with a cake (thank you Spencer and Traci) that looked like it was ready to start the whole house on fire once they got the candles lit.
And look at what I got for a birthday present - Thank you my kiddos, it is JUST what I wanted. I also got a turntable and boxes of coffee.

I have been on a coffee high ever since. This thing is just fantastic - I can pick and choose each cup of coffee, of course knowing me I will always go for just plain ole coffe, my fav.

On Ash Wed, which was actually my birthday, I attended church with one of my good friends. We had decided that we really needed to get back to church and become 'right' with God. I love Ash Wed. and love having Ashes marked on my forehead.

This is my church St. John The Baptist Catholic Church! Not only did I make it to Ash Wed. service but again Sat. night and also made a visit to our priest. Comforting to be back in my church with my church family all around.
I also spent the weekend riding my ole horse Nugget, working on the yard and garden, planting seeds, and well - staying at home. It felt great to just be at home and catching up on home life.


All the while that these wonderful things were going on in my life, my heart was breaking. Breaking for my good friend, her daughter and all of their families.

This part of my post is dedicated to Teresa, who lost her battle with cancer on Friday, March 11, 2011.

Teresa was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer about 15 months ago. She went through 12 months of intense radiation and chemotherapy in hopes to stop her cancer. However, just shortly after months of thearpy, she started feeling a lot of pain. On February 18 Teresa was given the bad news that she only had days to live. A true fighter, Teresa hung on for a few weeks as she had many things she wanted to accomplish. Wife, mother of two, daugher and sister, Teresa wasn't afraid of death nor was she afraid what would happen to her after death as she has the strongest faith in God. Teresa was afraid for her family and she wanted to get some things accomplished so that they, her family, would be able to celebrate her life and live their own lives as if each day was the best day ever.

With amazing strength and clarity, she set about making the next few weeks 'matter'. She lived a lifetime in a few short weeks, spending that time getting her family ready for the years to come and life without her.

With her mom and husband by her side she went to our Heavenly Father this past Friday. May she rest in peace.

Oh Those Faces That I Love!

It's been kind of a crazy last two weeks. Besides working a good 40 hours a week I also traveled through most of Wyoming and half way through Nebraska (twice). I spent several days making Valentine's with the grannies, then drove to Sheridan to see my kiddos in Wyoming. When I got home I was lucky enough to host a birthday party for the youngest of my YaYa sisters Diane. (She turned the BIG 50). I also was invited to the 1st. birthday of our adorable little Addy, who spent many months in the hospital at birth but is now just a ball of fire. I then traveled half way across NE to pickup my youngest grannie and two days later took her back. But look at these wonderful faces I saw during my journey.

Diane celebrated her birthday for the 3rd or 4th time at my house. Look at this delicious but HEALTHY cake! YUM!

As with all of our get together's with my YaYa's the time is spent laughing, laughing, laughing - along with a tear or two. We were missing one sister, who left this world less than six months ago. We miss you so much BECKY!!

Twila is our hugger so if you sit next to her.....consider yourself hugged. Renee is our entertainer, she has some of the funniest stories to tell, and being a natural story teller - she always has us in stitches.

One of the things we do best is talk about our grandchildren. Amazingly Twila and Connie could both do imitations to the T of their grannies. Grandma Titty - yes, that is what her grannies call her - shows us the face young miss Avery makes when things don't go her way.

YaYa Jacque - a five time cancer survivor, is just an inspiration to us all. Her words of wisdom are always comforting, she has this innocence about her that is just refreshing.

OOPS here is Diane again - well when it's your birthday you should get a couple photos in.

Then there is Connie! She is a heart attack survivor. Always a health nut, it was a BIG shock to us when not only did she have a heart attack but had to be zapped back to life. Because of this scare we all did a pinky swear to get healthy. And no, she really isn't holding her heart - she is imitating her precious little grandson Parker who stopped to sing one of our nation's proudest songs when visiting the 'Faces' in South Dakota.

Which led Connie to imitate her other little grandson Carson, whose casual attitude may find himself looking under the pew at church instead of sitting in the pew!

But this face is a replica of the granddaughters - you know chit chatting like only little girls can do.

Speaking of chatty little girls - my youngest grannie Emma Jean can talk your leg off. I'm not sure she always knows what she is talking about but talk is what she does best. We made some Valentine's on one of her visits.

My trip to Sheridan gave me the chance to play with and photograph my youngest grannie Lucas. This little guy has to be the happiest little thing ever. Taking pictures of him is a little bit of a challenge as he doesn't sit still very long. We had to get very inventive to find something to stop him long enough for a couple of shots.

Then there was the First Birthday party of Addison. She is just a little minute of a thing. Having weighed just mere ounces when born you would never know that she was a little premie from the way she gets around and how smart the little monkey is. We had a lot of fun watching her dig into her cake and open presents.

My little Cash always has a 'cheese' for me when I have the camera. He had just polished off some yummy 'pink' birthday cake and was playing with one of his favorite things in this world - balloons.



So that has been my last two weeks. There were many, many more faces that I was fortunate enough to have spent time with over the last two weeks, just didn't get any photos of them. These people are all so much a part of my life. I am so fortunate to have them.

Getting busy at the Fort

Spring is in the air, or close to it. When we move cattle to the protection of the Ranch I know that calving season and spring is just around the corner. Can't wait to see those little baby longhorns.

Photo shootin' - raw or not to raw???

Had a great weekend with Damion and his little family. Did a small photo shoot. I am still confused about shooting in RAW and editing it? Can you tell which is which? What should I be doing that I am not?????? I think I am confused

Looking out my backporch!

I don't really care for those freezin' mornings that old man winter brings but God sure knows how to paint a sunrise and sunset during our season of cold, short days.