The cinnamon rolls that ate Absarokee

It has been awhile since I posted anything. There have been some family things going on and I just haven't had the time. I have been at my dad's since Saturday and came back to Forsyth to catch up on some work that I couldn't handle from 160 miles away. While I was with my dad I did quite a lot of cooking. Some things turned out better than others. This is one of the things that didn't.

I guess the recommended "rise" time isn't just a suggestion after all. Anyway, these are cinnamon rolls and apparently they were edible--at least no one had to call 911 (this time). I sent this picture to my office and they got a good chuckle out of it. I told them I was going to open up a cinnamon roll stand outside of my dad's house in Absarokee. They told me not to quit my day job.

My brother's dog and I have had quite a few adventures lately. Here she is after a walk at Butcher Creek. You can't tell from the picture, but she's very wet; but only from the back down. She's a wader, not a swimmer.

Quite a view, eh? This was taken on Butcher Creek. I'm not sure what the shrubbery is, but it might be a noxious weed of some sort. I need to take my weed i.d. book with me next time I go out there.

This is a picture of our "mama" cat. She is the only one of our six that go outside. She was outside partying all night and came in to catch up on her rest. As you can tell, she wasn't too thrilled when I woke her up to take this picture.

Back to the mountains for me!

It's been awhile since I posted, but it's not for lack of things to talk about. I have been busier than a one-legged gal in a butt kicking contest. Anyway, I am at my dad's house for awhile, so hopefully, I will get a chance to blog a bit.


Last weekend I was also in Absarokee. My brother and I got quite a lot accomplished, if I do say so myself. We cleaned up the mess from the basement flood (a yearly event lately), finally got the pump for the well running (which will hopefully help to alleviate the aforementioned flood), did a bunch of cooking and visited up a storm. All in all it was a very good weekend! As you can see (above), there is plenty of pressure from the pump; we were running two sprinklers at the time.


My mom sure would be happy to see the yard greening up. Before she got sick it was a real showplace. The bench in the picture above was mom's. It hasn't been used for a long time, as you can tell by the foliage.


Shasta (the disasta) had a great time too. She looks a bit demonic in this picture; she was waiting for her man (my brother) to come back into the yard.

On the road again--or should I say still

Well I spend the last couple of days in Lewistown, Mt at the Yogo Inn. I think I would have slept better in the rescue mission, if they had one. I think I am becoming a mattress snob, because I can't sleep well on anything that has coils sticking through it, LOL! Anyway, the motel did not live up to our expectations in any way other than the staff and they were awesome! I'd rather sleep in my car though, than sleep on one of their beds again.
I guess I should just stay home--NOT!

Blah-gging

I have felt rather blah about blogging lately. I think it is because we are doing a revamp on the work website and I have spent a whole lot of time staring at a computer screen lately. I have also been on the road again, so blog-time has been pretty scarce.

My recent work adventures took me to beautiful Livingston, MT for a workshop. I had a very good time at the training but stayed in the motel from h*ll! The bed was hard as a rock, the wireless internet didn't work and the television only had 12 channels and most of them resembled Lifetime Network--ack! On a positive note, the lady at the front desk was very nice. All in all though, I am VERY sure I will never be staying at the "Worst Western" in Livingston again.After the training I spent some time with my family in Absarokee. As always it was a blast. I didn't take many pictures with my digital camera; I was too busy playing with my new cell phone. It is pretty nifty; now all I have to do is figure out how to put pictures from it onto my blog (I am obviously Norwegian--I don't read directions unless I HAVE to). Anyway, it has a 1.3 mega pixel camera, with video and an MP3 Player! What I really like about it is that when my son calls, his picture pops up. Life IS good.

Flickr

KarbonKountyMoos has turned me on to Flickr and I have to admit it, I'm an addict. She says there isn't a 12 step program for it, so I'm doomed. I have spent countless hours uploading my pictures and haven't made much time for blogging. Add that to working about 60 hours a week, and it doesn't leave much time for anything, but life is good!

I took this picture of the weird weather today:

Below is a picture of the Yellowstone River. It is pretty high right now. The ripply part is the irrigation diversion dam. You can usually walk on it. I don't think I'd try it now.

I also took this picture of a squirrel at the park. It didn't seem at all concerned that the Yellowstone was flooding.

Design on a dime

I just returned from helping my son move into his new apartment. He had been sharing an apartment with a very nice couple, but it was time to get his own space. He spent many days looking at apartments near the area where he works and for a variety of reasons, chose the Sandalwood Apartments in Broomfield, CO. The price was right, the neighborhood was nice, and the manager was a sweetheart. All together a win-win! I posted the picture above because that is where I ended up when I tried to follow map quest to my son's new address. I found myself at the Jefferson County (aka Jeff-co) Airport, which has been renamed the Mom-co Airport (LOL).

The building is older, but very well maintained. The people in the building seem really nice and very friendly, which is always a good thing. The laundry room is nice and clean and the dryers run forever on a dollar which will be very good on laundry day!

The kitchen is small but cute and has all new appliances including a disposal. We got some real bargains on small applicances at Target and the thrift shops in the area. We stocked his huge pantry with items from Costco and Kings Super. He will have enough food to last him for quite awhile and all at his fingertips! It's good to be the mom!

We found this cool dining room table in Boulder, added a set of placemats from Ross and a candelabra we picked up at an arc store and voila', he's ready to invite his friends over for a meal.

We purchased the blue couch in Boulder for a very fair price, but he still needed more seating for his weekly card game. We looked all over for something to fill the space and hadn't found anything by the time we took the U-Haul back. We figured it would have to wait for another time. Then I happened to be hauling garbage out and noticed a nice, extremely clean loveseat by the dumpster. Of course my son was thrilled, so we lugged it up the steps and it fit like a glove. I guess one person's trash truly is another person's treasure! Thank you, whoever left it there for us!

We got the bedroom mostly put together and Nels took a break. The closet doors are mirrored, so it really makes the room look big! He sure looks happy doesn't he?

We found this shelving unit and one just like it at a church rummage sale. We also bought 2 lamps and a plant there. Total bill=$26.00! The people that sold it were so nice! They offered to haul it over to the apartment for us! Even though Broomfield is in the big city, it really has a small town feel to it. We bought the grill at Costco. It's an electric George Foreman grill, and it works great!


A man and his castle! I took this picture the morning I left to come back home. Sure is good to see my son relaxing in his new space.

This is for you son!

My son recently commented that I need to post to my blog more often, so here's two in one day, just for you Nels!

Shasta, ever vigilant, waiting for the guests to arrive for dinner.

Uncle John and my dad dishing up. I couldn't make it home for Easter to cook for them, so we had a late celebration.

Neighbor and dear friend Lois joined us for dinner and we had a very nice visit afterward.

It's tough being a hostess! Even dogs need a little relaxation after putting on a big feast.

State bowling ordeal, er I mean tournament

Well, here I am in beautiful Great Falls, MT. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this trip, but it has been fun so far. Here are some of the pictures I took yesterday.

This building is in Ingomar, Montana. I think it has seen better days. Still kind of cool though, in my opinion.

The Jersey Lilly, also in Ingomar. Quite a rustic place! There is no indoor plumbing, but the outhouses are pretty nice!

Stopped alongside the road and took this picture. We were somewhere near Lewistown.

I was walking in Glacier, Mt and saw this. Of course I had to take a picture. Small town America, you've got to love it.

Right on the money!

YOU GO GIRL

Too pooped to think, but I can cut and paste!

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have high extroversion.You are outgoing and engaging, with both strangers and friends.You truly enjoy being with people and bring energy into any situation.Enthusiastic and fun, you're the first to say "let's go!" Conscientiousness: You have high conscientiousness.Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life.Most things in your life are organized and planned well.But you borderline on being a total perfectionist. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness.You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly.Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone.You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism.You are very emotionally stable and mentally together.Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly.Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high.In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas.You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits.A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

What a glorious day!

This is the view from the motel parking lot this morning. There's snow in them 'thar mountains! Today was a fantastic day! We took a drive up I-70, all the way up to Silverthorne.

This is my son in the parking lot of the hotel. He is growing his hair out for "locks of love" again. The back of my beautimous car is in the background.

This is one of the "too many to count" beautiful mountain peaks we encountered on our adventure today.

We took the walking path along the Blue River in Silverthorne. It was a gorgeous day, as you can see. You can see the "con" trail drifting to the left of the mountain.

Another picture of Nels, my son. He is such a joy to spend time with. Thanks for the fabulous time buddy!!!

The view from our room

Very pretty view, don't you think? For the last couple days of this journey, we are staying at the Springhill Suites in Westminster, CO. The top picture was taken out our motel window; I was pleased with how it turned out. The bottom picture is from the parking lot of the hotel. Well that's all for now, we are going to go out and adventure!

Just say No! to Coal Bed Methane development, until they can do it right!

As most of my readers (my immediate family) know, I am very involved in the conservation effort in Montana. For the last 3 days I have been at the Coal Bed Methane Produced Waters Workshop in Fort Collins, CO. I learned a lot during this training session and one thing seems very clear to me: Montana is doing the right thing by making developers take it slow as opposed to letting them run the show like Wyoming does. Even though most of this workshop was slanted in such a way as to put CBM in a good light, the truth still came out and for that I am very thankful! 'Nuff said!

Todays featured picture was taken out the front door of my son's workplace in Boulder. My son calls these the "boat houses". I promise to take lots more pictures in the next couple of days and post them ASAP!

Life is indeed grand!

Today is take your mom to work day! One of my meetings got postponed until early tomorrow morning , so my son's boss graciously allowed me to come to work with him. He also hooked me up to their internet server so I am able to do some work from Boulder and of course, update my blog! See, I keep telling you, LIFE IS GOOD!
The top picture is my son hard(ly) at work and the bottom picture is Willow, our momma/gramma cat looking out the bedroom window in Forsyth the day before I left on my trip.

And I didn't even get lost!

I am so proud of myself, I found the Marriot in Fort Collins on the first try! My son met me here; we had a nice dinner and now we're watching Extreme Make-over Home Edition, one of my favorite shows! Life is very good! The picture, by the way, is of Shasta-the-Disasta. She had a tumor removed from her leg and wore a cone for awhile. She was using it as a shelf for her doggy bone in this picture. We were out throwing the ball for her and she used it like a catchers mitt! She's a smart girl. her wound is all healed now and she is no longer a cone head.

Spring has sprung, the grass is griz, I wonder where the flowers is?

For a day or so there, it was looking like we might need to gas up the jet boat just to get out of the driveway! All together, I think we got almost 2 inches of rain in two days, which is a real godsend since it has been a dry winter for the most part. My brother and dad, unfortunately, haven't gotten this moisture for some reason. They tease me about being a flatlander, but who's smiling now mountain boys? lol!
Anyway, so much excitement here, I am in the final packing frenzy before I head to Colorado. I suppose I will forget something, I always do, but who cares? They have EVERYTHING in Colorado, so I can just buy it!
The picture, by the way, is of an Allis Chalmers tractor my dad owns. It runs like a top and has new tires. He is willing to part with it, so if you know of anyone who is interesting in aquiring one, email my brother at kelleys@vcn.com.

Can you say Whewwww?

Well it's official, I'm one tired dudette! I worked 10 hours today, and still had time to get my hair cut! I am soooo close to being ready to go to Colorado! My "to do" list is getting smaller and smaller! Today I put the finishing touches on the conservation district newsletter; though I brought it home to check for errors tonight and found a couple I will have to fix tomorrow. After that I will burn a copy off on cd and send it off to the printer! I am really excited because we've gone with a whole new look and format and I can't wait to see it in print (crossing fingers). Thank god my brother edits the articles for me; he actually makes me sound smart!

In other news, I am still VERY excited about the trip to Colorado! S.O. will be one happy camper when he sees the car drive off into the sunset, my exhuberance (is that a word) is making him crazy! Oh well, he will have 9 days to get over it. I am also still loving my XM radio! I grin from ear to ear every time I set foot in the car. No more C & W or Oldie Moldie music for me! Today I was jammin' to Dire Straits and Joan Jett, life IS good!

Anyway, enough blathering! Today's photo is of my dad's Chesapeake, Lucky. I never met a nicer dog. She gave us 16 years of joy, may she rest in peace.

XM Radio, the only way to go!

I LOVE XM Radio, it is amazing! When you live in a rural area, you are at the mercy of your local radio stations. In my neck of the woods you have two choices; country and western music or oldie moldie soft rock on an AM station. If you know me at all, you know my dilema. I am not a soft rock person, nor am I a C & W fan. More often than not I had a CD in or the radio off all together. Not now!! Not at all!!! Now I can cruise through town with the windows down and the radio ON! Life is SUHWEEEEEEEET!

In other breaking news, only 105.45 hours left until I leave on my trip! Look out Colorado (and Colorado drivers) here I come!

The picture, by the way, was taken last spring above Absarokee. Can you say God's country?

I am SOOOO very excited!

YAY! My XM Satellite radio came today! Life is suhweet! This makes me even more excited about going to Colorado (if that is possible). I think S.O. will be glad to see me go; I'm even more "up" than usual in the days before I go on a road trip. I guess I should try to mellow out around him so I don't annoy him as much....but NAH! I am HAPPY and I shall let the entire world know it.
Speaking of happy, here are a couple of pictures of Shasta (the disasta) on a trip we took last June. She had sooo much fun playing in the water on Butcher Creek. When we got in the truck to continue our adventure, she chose that moment to ""SHAKE"" and water went everywhere!

And one more thing, if any of you out there are as dense as I am about how computers actually work; here is a website that will make it all crystal clear .

Buck Creek

Probably my favorite place to go walking is near my family home in Absarokee. Nearly every time I go up to visit; my dad, brother and Shasta hop in the car and drive to Buck Creek. My brother grabs his binoculars, I get the camera and off we go. We usually walk for a couple of miles and then turn around and come back to the car. You can see from Shasta's reaction that she likes walks too!