Summer Happenings!

Hi!  To a couple of my blog readers and Cari, I am finally posting after eight weeks.  Good grief, Charlie Brown!  Where has the summer gone???

 I am going to post some pictures of what has been happening.  I still have more "Nevada Cuties" to post and also when Kamy and Jentry were here.  I am continually writing blogs in my head, but don't get to the computer.  Excuses, excuses!  I am reading, cooking, sewing, or mowing, maybe in that order!!!   Oh, and I have started going to a Bible study in Jordan which is a good one!!  Throw the fair in the mix and our church in Jordan had the food "booth" (great big room is more like it) so I helped out a little.  Did a couple of turkeys and dressing and a couple of salads.  I didn't have the chore work of waiting on people or standing all day.  We got in on a little cleaning after the fair, but there were others that put in long days!  Cowboy took his turn at cooking breakfast on Saturday morning, but he had to leave and I think 200 came to eat after he left.  They were running to the store for more supplies.

 We have corral builders here.  Now we are down to one.  He is doing such a good job so you are going to see beginning pictures and they are about done now, but I won't post that picture in this blog.

It already looks like corrals and is Cowboy excited.  I know he can hardly wait to use them this fall.  A little gravel to the loading chute and it will be "all weather" ready!!!  

Phil does precise work.  Bill helped weld one day and Phil kept an "eagle" eye on Bill so things were level.

New kitten on premise...Cowboy just happened to catch it at the Sandquist Place.  When we took her to the vet for her first rabies shot we didn't know if it was a Miss Tiny or a Mr. Tiny--it was a Miss Tiny!

What is not to love with a face that cute?

She is growing...she would like to be an indoor cat, but remember, I am allergic to cats.  Tiggy hates her and
when invited in Tiggy will look around and then go right out the other door to make sure THAT KITTEN isn't inside!

Now on the the Cross Country Piece Makers quilt retreat in Red Lodge, Montana at the Medicine Flower Lodge August 20-22.  It took us five hours to get there with a stop for gas and then a stop for lunch.  I often wonder why we put ourselves through all the lugging of machines, ironing boards, sewing projects, cutting mats, pillows for sleeping, etc. when we could sew more projects at home.  Well, YOU know the answer!  It is the fellowship of being with other quilters and sharing what we have learned over the last year and catching up on the family news if we only see some of them once a year.  And of course I can replenish my supply of fat quarters with our bingo game.  We made bingo cards out of 2 1/2 inch squares and they turned out cute.  We gave them to Marge and she is going to put them together for a quilt for family services or wherever they deem necessary.  I got 20 blocks completed of a 36 block quilt top and a Christmas table runner that I am going to finish for cookie day.

One of the planners came up with the idea of flowers on a black background, so anything went.  I searched my magazines and came up with the one on the top right.  I found the cutest buttons to be the centers.  Then when I looked at the others...some people are so gifted.  The top middle flower is three dimensional...Well, they are all pretty...

This is a share-a-square block for one of the new members.  It was to be in purple and teals--a no brainer for me as I LOVE those colors and I just happened to have some in my stash!  Mine is the bottom right.  I love that pattern anyway.  I like stars.

This is our signature block.  Laura made the tepee for us.  They gave us the blue material and the feather material.  What you did with it was your own idea.  Some put different embellishments on theirs.  There were 22 of us attending.  Oh, we did make a quick trip on Friday to Washoe to the fabric store.  I think that may be the only business in the town.  It was fun to look around.

Me with Nancy G. and Marge G. at the cook shack.  The food was delicious!  We were served brunch on Sat. and Sun. at 10 a.m.  Supper was at 6 p.m. Fri. and Sat. nights.  Nine of us stayed in a house a distance from the sewing house.  The cook shack was between the two.  After we got there they told us to be CAREFUL walking as there were MOOSE and BEAR that had been seen!  Sure enough, Friday night a moose came nosing around our cabin.  Saturday night, Laura left the outside lights on and no CRITTERS!

Rene E. and Nancy.  Note the bear face in the post...

Laura F. and Leah B. seated on the porch of the house we slept in.

Laura and me standing by the fire pit...

Quilters one and all...

Last evening we went to the Jersey Lilly in the famous town of Ingomar, Montana.  We, who are from Eastern Montana think so anyway!  It was the largest sheep shearing plant in the world at one time.  The sheepherders would trail their sheep in from all around.  The railroad was there.  It was a thriving town way back when.  One would have to look up the history.  Grandma brought me up the history  to read, They Say It Happened That Way about Sumatra, Ingomar, and Vananda.  I was afraid I would get some of my facts wrong so didn't delve into anything.  When I was a young lady I thought it was a dried up town then, but the Jersey has always been there and Bill Seward ran it when I first crossed the threshhold...  The bull and heifer pens are still there and we were told last night that a rattle snake or bull snake had been sited under the boardwalks, so Cari and I stomped our way back and forth!  Ha!  No snakes on our treks!!!

The reason we were at Ingomar was because we wanted to take Phil down and show him a little country (Phil is from Elko, Nevada and yes, B.J. is the one that got him up here.  Call for the rest of the story...) and Cowboy and his cousin were hosting a rocky mountain oyster fry with all the calf fries from branding here and at Dave's.  Everything else was potluck.  I didn't taste the "oysters" but heard they were good.  Don't tell Cowboy but some said they tasted like chicken.  I tried them many years ago and I like chicken, but...
There were so many salad and desserts, it was amazing.  Some of the "locals" from Roundup and Ingomar played music after supper so there was some dancing.

Three Amigos...Bill, Calvin, Joe             

Cowboy photographs so well...

Cari captured us dancing.  We do enjoy dancing but don't seem to get anywhere to dance and there just haven't been that many at home.

 Still lots of blogs running around in my noggin' but this enough for now.