The Baking Has Begun

Cookie Day has been set for December 11, 2010.  Pray for good weather for all to travel.  I put the butter on the counter to soften and I did the treadmill this morning.  I like the treadmill as it is in front of a big window and I can listen to books on tape.  I listen to murder mysteries and it keeps me on my toes! Ha!  I have this monologue in my head just about every time I get on the treadmill.  "You only have to do 30 minutes."  After 30 minutes I say, "You can go a few more minutes."  Here lately I have been going 45-55 minutes.  I like how I feel when I am done and also the reason I walk more is the book is to a "good part."

I have the cutest cookie cutters and it seems like I don't use them near enough.  Naturally I have been trying different sugar cookie recipes since we started cookie day seven years ago, and this one is very soft.  I will do a different one next year.  We will have to drizzle these as the grandies will have them broken before they even start.  Of course, they could just eat them!

Even raw they look good enough to eat!

The finished product, ready to be put in the freezer awaiting decoration
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Now this is the way to do cookies.  I was to make a log approximately six inches long and make it square and then chill for at least one hour and cut with a sharp knife.  Now girls, don't make fun of my tape measure.  I wanted to get my cookies cut about 1/4 inch and wanted a guide.  A couple of our girls are "just do it," right Jen, Mary, and Meghan?  Remember I am the girl that follows a pattern  and a recipe, although I "tweeked" the sugar cookie recipe.  It needed some flavoring...but they do have real butter in them.  That is an inside joke for those of you not reading Cohagen Chronicles.  The Farmer's Wife was told by her Aunt, Rosie O'Grady, to always use real butter.  So there you have it!

These are called Glazed Chai Shortbread Cookies.  They are very spicy and I had one little to try.  Cowboy told me they were good.  I always like cookies.  They have to be pretty bad for me not to like them.

I have some sewing projects done, but I haven't taken any pictures of them.  I will get to it. 

Don't forget to make some Christmas cookies for those loved ones.

Thankfulness and Life

I have been wanting to post, but it seems like there is always something else that gets in the way.  I am now waiting for a call from a granddaughter who is driving from Vancouver, WA, back to Bozeman, MT to school at MSU-Bozeman.  I called at 7 p.m. and she was almost to Butte.  I keep praying for God to have his arms around her.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Miles City with Cowboy's son and his wife, Barry and Jolene.  It was nice to go somewhere, take a salad and cranberries, the camera, and just us.  I didn't even have to clean our house.

  Here is Miss Javon getting her "pony" put back in her hair by Grandma Loretta.  She doesn't sit still very long and such a live wire with lots of smiles!

Jentry was working at going on over.  She is very agile.  The girls wanted to strut their stuff and show off for the grandparents!

Cowboy and I are so thankful for God, each other, our health, our families, our way of life here in rural Montana.  We are thankful for our freedom by those young men and and women who putting their lives on the line for America.  Cowboy says he is thankful for a warm house, plenty to eat, pets, good horses to ride, good equipment.  Pickups that run without having to work on them every morning!  Also, the blessing of friends.

When I was growing up,we usually went to my Aunt & Uncle's ranch out of Broadus for Thanksgiving and they came to Miles City for Christmas.  I remember skating the 100 miles on very icy roads!  My cousin Rachel is now staying in Miles City with my Aunt Belva and they had Thanksgiving dinner too.  Since Barry and Jolene had asked us first, we went there.  But Cowboy and Jentry, our dog Amy, and I walked the two blocks to stop in to say hello to family we haven't seen for some time.  (Rachel and Ed's two sons).

Rick and Mark.  It is terrible to take pictures of people eating...but I did it anyway.

My sweet Aunt Belva and her grandson, Loren on the right.

I have nothing but admiration for Rachel as she has been staying with my aunt for a couple of years now.  We did a short bit of reminiscencing...

I took more pictures there, but I wanted to get pictures of Rachel's boys!  They are grown, but you know how we are, they will always be boys!

I am also posting some pictures of deer.  I took them from the sliding glass door upstairs from the dining room.  And you wonder why I am jumping up and down during the summer months when they are in here eating my flowers.  They weren't very afraid of me!  They eat any scrap that might have fallen off of the pickup that was meant for the cows!

I told Bill I love to look at them and they are beautiful, but they are so destructive.  Of course, I don't think I could shoot one, I just talk BIG when they eat my flowers...

Not just one buck, but three!!

I am sewing when I get a minute, but I haven't taken the pictures yet!

Cookie Day is coming.  I am reading posts of some who are dreading it.  Drat!

Sunrises and Cattle

My sunrise pictures are not as gorgeous as God makes them, but I keep trying to capture the beauty, especially with the clouds.  I took these with Bill's camera as mine was in the car on the "ready" for that special picture!  I found a couple of pictures that he took when they were gathering and thought that I would post them also. 

Do you think that the cows know that it is time, even though they bawl when the babies are gone?  Are we like that TOO!?!

Everyone at this house was in bed by 7:30 p.m. new time and even though I was up at 4:30 a.m. with everyone else, I DID NOT have to go out and work in the wind and the dust!  They were glad to get a reprieve at lunch time.  I left the soup out last night and forgot to put it in the refrigerator (beef soup) and Cowboy woke me at 1:45 a.m. to asked if I remembered.  I stumbled down the stairs, took the lid off, looked at it and put it in the refrigerator.  By then I was wide awake and told Cowboy I had better not serve that to the men.  I would not want to make anyone sick.  I think it was okay, but that was over six hours without refrigeration.  So we went to plan B for dinner/lunch and they got rib steaks, potatoes, tossed salad, garlic buns, cherry pie or lemon bars.  No one complained!

So here I am wide awake, but I will keep the blog short tonight and hit the hay myself.  We roll out early, doesn't matter whether it is Daylight Savings Time or Mountain Standard Time--it is "Rise and Shine" and I am taking a line from one of the members of our Sunday school class:  "Okay, Lord, I am making this choice today asking you to be in charge of me."  Sweet dreams!

A Day in the Life of...

It has been ages since I have posted anything!  I took my camera with me this morning and started taking pictures.  Cowboy was shipping a couple of loads of calves that they have been working to get gathered and weaned.  It was quilting day in Jordan which is pretty important!  Ha!  Also, our church in Jordan was having highway cleanup.  I was not able to help the last time, so decided that I could make it work this time!

Here are some pictures of the "crew" ready to go!

Young and old alike, or I should say--young and younger!  Note we had our fluorescent vests on and our rubber gloves.  They were waiting for the Head Crew Chief to get off of the phone and that picture of him was blurry!  Sorry!!  They were very fast on the two-mile cleanup!  We started at 10:30 a.m. and my partner and I stopped at 11:30 and I am sure the rest of them were done before noon.

Nadine on the left was chaperoning and working with the younger faster ones!  Mary was my partner and we were just steady!!

I grabbed some lunch and back to quilting I went.  I had two apron tops started when I left and I came back and worked on them and then started another two tops. You have heard the story, but I will tell it again.  The daughters got aprons last Cookie Day and the grand girls asked if I couldn't please make them aprons??  So, this cookie day I am hoping to have them done. 

Cowboy got to use the chute first!  They brought some steer calves here to be taken to pasture tomorrow.

More pictures of the corrals.  They are finally getting to use them!

more pictures...

Cowboy on Cash!  They are both very photogenic!  This is my picture of a working cowman!  Cowboy said, "An old working cowman!" 

Our weather has been so fantastic.  One day less of cold weather.  It was in the 70's today--November 6th!  Look at that blue sky, beautiful...one just cannot replicate God's handiwork...   And look closely, there is still some green grass, what a wonder.



And last but certainly not least are the heros for the day in the life of a computer "girl".  I got a new computer a couple of weeks ago and then the printer which was 8 years old decided to bite the dust, so I ordered a new one from HP online over the phone with a "person" in the Phillipines.  That wasn't so bad.  Then the machine came, I set it up and naturally it wouldn't work.  I got BACK on the phone to the Phillipines (80+ minutes worth) and I got someone who didn't know much more than I did and we tried several things.  He told me I should stay calm when I asked for his manager or at least an address for HP as I was going to send them a letter and the very least give lots of negative advertising.  I may still write the letter.  In the meantime, I am getting a new black ink cartridge, which he thought would fix my problem.  Enter K.J. and Sharon who know sooooo much more than I do about computers and printers!  Sharon ran the computer diagnostics while K.J. did the "hands on" with the printer.  He cleaned the ink cartridge holder.  That isn't the proper name, but that what it is!  Then he ran it through its paces!  The bottom line is that it works!!!!  Praise God!!  Thank you K.J. and Sharon.  Besides that we did some fast and furious visiting.  It was wonderful!  The up side of this is that I will have some extra ink coming!  Ha! 

It was a full day for everyone!  So now you see why I am not getting any blogging done.  It seems like it is first one thing and then another.

We are doing a Bible study on "Becoming a Woman of Excellence" and I slipped a little the other day with the Phillipino.  I will try harder next time...

Patriots and Flags

Flagpole erecting day--September 14, 2010!  He wanted it up by September 11th, but it just didn't get done.  Cowboy has wanted a flagpole for quite a few years.  He had the spot picked.  A little over a week ago he got the cement poured and mixed his cement in the wheel barrow.  It was work, and I didn't volunteer to help "stir".

Getting started...

Here we go...

Keep coming...

Cowboy is tightening the top, an eagle.  The eagle was BJ's idea and BJ also sent the flag.  As soon as it arrived my veteran and I had to fold it correctly, I was a brownie scout (many eons ago) after all.  On top of that I worked for the United States Postal Service and flag duty was one of my jobs.  I am sure you are so interested in that!  On to the story at hand...

Joe is in the bucket, Phil is going to guide the pole, Amy is supervising, and Bill is in the tractor...

Phil is saying to raise the pole a little higher.  They had to put the chain over to the left of the bucket instead of in the middle.

Let's try it one more time...

The bucket is as high as it will go and the "teeth" are opened to get more height.  I had a knot in my stomach and prayers on my lips as they were doing this.  Joe said, "the thing is, just don't look down."  It seems to me he is looking down.  Did I ever tell you I am afraid of heights?  Well I am telling you again!

It is in the hole, but not down completely, having a "conference".

Joe went back to the ground and then back up again to paint the "dings".  Cowboy mentioned how beautiful the sky was as we previewed the pictures.  You just can't beat a Montana "Big Sky"...

Hanging the flag...  I couldn't help but think of those jokes, "How many men does it take to hang a flag?"  I get to hear soooo many blond jokes!!

A few minor adjustments to the rope...

Bill hanging the flag...

Just one last loop.  It is catching the breeze...  Thanks to the idea from BJ and the kiddies chipping in to buy the eagle for Bill, maybe the flag too.  I could not raise anyone this morning to get the facts, so I will make them up as I go!

Cowboy wants to do some finish work around the base with rocks.  Looking at the picture I still get a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye.  We are a patriotic family, God has blessed our country and we are so thankful for our freedom.  The Lord knows everything that is happening and everything still belongs to Him.  It is on loan to us to take care of to the best of our ability.

I salute you, Old Glory! 

Little Cowgirls and Sewers Too!

What do I want to be when I grow up??  For a week this summer Kamryn and Jentry stayed with us.  They were with us in July.  The week just flew by.  When they got tired of our house, they went to Great Grandma's and played cards and visited, then back up the hill they would come!

This time because there was a roping dummy close to the garage with ropes hanging off of the horns...LET"S LEARN TO ROPE!

 Okay, PopPop!  Let's get going!

It is pretty hard with two girls, but he is trying to get the stance, the arm, the wrist, you know--ALL of it!

One more time, look this way...

Kamy is pretty serious about this.  They so want to please their grandpa!

See what I mean about SERIOUS?

It is in the wrist...Cowboy loved showing the girls.  Wish they were here more often!  They went and twirled their ropes every day.  The men would straighten the ropes out a couple of times a day.  You know how hard ropes are to get back to the way they coil right!

Jentry and Kamryn each made reversible tree skirts that can turn into capes if they so wish.  I had the Christmas material here waiting for them to come.  Jentry is seven and Kamryn is nine and a half so the sewing abilities were different.  Kamy has sewn with me before, so I knew what she could do.  Attention spans aren't as long, so Jentry and I worked in small stages.  This grandma doesn't want to burn anyone out on wanting to learn to sew!!  Isn't that a sweet smile?!

See that smile of accomplishment??  It was funky stockings and a fun polka dot for the other side.

Jentry got hers finished also and it was green with ribbons, bells, and holly berries and the other side was red with gold throughout.  She was relieved to have hers done too!

Ready for bed and a play time with Miss Tiny toe kitten PopPop brought home...

Looks like they got plenty of vitamin D from the sun.  They play well together and we did many things.  It is hard to take a picture when we were all working!  They did dishes.  They traded washing for dish drying.  I had to let them...

They helped me get meals on as we had two extra men to cook for, so there was always something to do.  They checked books out of the library. 

One of the things I feel bad about is that they didn't get to ride horseback this visit.  PopPop was too busy to get that done.  AND, this is the first summer we haven't put up the hammock.  It was too chilly to begin with and then, after B.J. and Marsha and the girls were gone, we were thinking about other things and the girls didn't even bug me about setting it up.

So, I have blinked and summer is gone.  Grandies are in school and fall is here and we are still catching up on "summer" work.  We have bales to stack, cows to move, oh, it goes on and on.  Did a little canning of pickled beets and freezing of peaches and peach pie filling!  The pies are devoured around here!  I haven't even sewn a stitch in almost two weeks, so maybe I can squeeze in a minute tomorrow!