Sock It to You!

I haven't been completely idle with my time!  I learned a new way to knit socks with a friend from Washington.  We went to Miles City to a former classmate of mine and she taught us the method of kitting "toe up" socks!  So much easier than 4-5 needles!!  I am here to tell you I don't feel all thumbs and I have been knitting a LONG time!

The "wee" pair was my first try.  They went to Gentry Dasinger, she was "wee" too having just been born shortly after I got that pair made.  The dark blue pair I made for Heston as we were in Miles City at the hospital with Granddad.  I showed them to him when I had about two inches knitted and he said, "You are going to have to make them a darned sight bigger than that!!"  We all laughed...

Of course the third pair I forgot to take a picture of them.  I had Marsha pick out the color which was pink and yellow variegated for me to make Kelli a pair.  I figured if they were too big for her, they would possibly fit Baylee.  I was in such a hurry to get them sent...no pic!  So actually there will be no picture of them as I kept calling down to Nevada and I was told, they haven't been tried on yet as they are setting on the bar.  The next time I called they were under something on the bar and hadn't been tried on.  This was all the beginning of November. 

 So in the mean time I started the variegated pink and purple pair for Jentry.  I got Jentry's done after Thanksgiving.  I was trying for Thanksgiving as they were come here that day.  We finally went to Miles City on Dec. 24 and tried them on Jentry.  Her foot had grown 1/2 inch and she couldn't get them on, but thankfully they fit Javon.  (I think they were a little big, but she will get a little use out of them).  To continue the Kelli story, I called in January and asked if they ever tried the socks on Kelli.  No, my son said, they are MIA.  He felt bad and said if they found them maybe Heston could wear them.  I said they were pink but HE probably wouldn't care since he is not even one yet.  Besides he needs to be told "tough boys wear pink!"

Then and there I decided that too much time is put in knitting socks for kids whose feet grow like weeds!  So from now on it will be adult socks.

Voila!  The variegated brown wool socks for the baby of the family at 5'11".  They fit and I don't think she will be growing anymore! She said they feel great!

So maybe you will be the next to be socked to!! 



Cinnamon Buns, the Best Yet!

I have discovered an even better recipe than the one I have been using for years and years!  Yes, can you believe that one can keep improving their cinnamon rolls?

If you haven't read or heard of Ree Drummond you are now in for a treat.  She has a blog The Pioneer Woman but I am receiving her emails and she periodically sends recipes throughout the week.  In December she had two recipes.  One of the recipes was for Sticky Pecan Mini-Buns (the picture on the left) and the other recipe was for Cinnamon Rolls (center).  The bread recipe is the same for both except she used half of the cinnamon roll recipe for the sticky buns.  I made mini buns which go in mini muffin tins until my rolls got too big, so I made buns to go in the regular muffin tins.  THEN, I still had dough left so thought I would try one pan of the cinnamon rolls.  They are frosted with a maple frosting that has brewed coffee in it. Yummy doesn't even begin to describe the frosted rolls!!!  Three of us ate the WHOLE pan with a very, very small piece left over.  You know it is not polite to eat it all, so none of us would eat that last little piece. Ree said she and a friend get together at Christmas time and make the frosted cinnamon rolls and wrap them with starched cloth and a fancy bow and deliver them to friends/family for Christmas.

The sticky mini buns would be perfect for  a coffee date with the "girls."  They would only be one good bite for the men.  I will make them all again sometime, but I need a really good reason such as lots of people are coming!!!!  They are hard on an expanding waistline but oh so delicious!!

I didn't know if I could post her recipe, so I will let you find it on her site.  I might add that the dough will be almost runny and I left it in the pan I mixed it in and then put in the 1/2 cup of flour after and hour and it was perfect to work.

Every once in awhile Cowboy or I will say, boy, wouldn't one of those buns taste good???

Sharpshooters in the Making!!

Cowboy thought it might be good for ALL of his favorite girls to learn how to shoot.  (Are you listening FAVORITES?)  Because of the murder in a small town in Eastern Montana people are becoming jumpy.  For those of you who don't know, a lady was running and was abducted.  They have two people in custody but have not found the body.  This is a small town that has been hit by the oil boom.  We wonder if anyone is "safe" any more.  Thus on to the subject of protection...

  We like our freedom and we want to protect the life as we have known it.  We are talking about locking doors and battening down the hatches when we leave the ranch.  We have been friendly and helpful to any and all that might need it.  It is not unheard of to stop and ask if someone needs help (when Bill is along of course!).  Gone are the days when I gave a hitch hiker a ride.  It gives me the shudders to think about that now!
 

We were wishing that The Farmer had been able to stay and target shoot with us.  Cowboy thought that The Farmer could have given us pointers!  I laughed when Cari took aim and her gun was waving just a little as she took aim.  Well, my dear friends, she had the last laugh as I was a wobbling mess and they both stood waaaaay behind me!  I aimed every time at that darned bull's eye and I would hit high or low and sometimes off the target altogether!  When I was in one of the four quadrants I cheered!  Cowboy did some shooting too.  Cari and I tried two different pistols.  Bill had brought a third but neither of us wanted to try it.  I understand it takes practice.  I have never liked guns but have lived with them my whole life.  I was brought up being taught that EVERY gun is loaded and dangerous.  Cowboy showed us how to check the gun EVERY time to see whether it is loaded, how to load it, how to unload it, and Cari got a lesson this morning in cleaning the gun. 

I know Rosie O'Grady drove with a gun in her car when she drove from Texas to Montana.  I never thought it would get to this, I am a Grandma!  After I get my concealed weapons permit, maybe I will change my name to Pistol Packin' Granny!  No, I don't think so, I don't like the ring to that!  I will be taking Hunter Safety with the young people this year. 

The trick I learned was you mark the person's shots ahead of you and then you can see where YOUR shots go or don't go as the case may be.  I shot left handed, I shot right handed, I shot with both hands on the gun, I shot with one hand on the gun and the other on my elbow, I tried aiming with the left eye (the stronger of the two) and I aimed with the right eye, I am right handed, so it was all interesting.  But I do sweep left handed... does that count?

I tried making the last two pictures larger!  Ugh!  Computers!  Anyway, here is a sharpshooter in the making.  Youth...she did much better than her mother.  I will learn how to do this in case I have to protect any of my loved ones, with God's help, I may not have to.

A word to the wise, be sure to call if you are coming to visit at night and I am alone...

Memory Walks

I was looking for a picture of a different hair-do that I used to wear and I found these two photos and they made me laugh out loud.  I hope you get a smile from them!

In the previous picture Tristin had been doing a somersault on the bed.  She was two when this was taken.  The look just makes me laugh!!!  Is it Mommy, Grammy, Auntie's look??  Goodness, it is hard to believe she will be 21 in January!  Yikes!!  Hummmm?!  That must make me about 49?



Tristin is 3 1/2 here with "Cookie" and one of her puppies.  Is it any wonder that this girl loves dogs!  I have loved dogs for a long, long time!  Red boots... we always like to get our little cowgirls RED boots.  Aren't they magic somehow? 

This was taken the summer of 2010.  I see a resemblance...  Hope she doesn't come after me, but after all it is my blog.  Ha! 

Nothing earth shattering on my mind, I just wanted to share these fun pictures and I put them on face book, but that entity drives me nuts because I don't what I am doing.  Do I know what I am doing here?  Well, that could be debatable too!

Pansies

I have always loved pansies since I have been a young girl.  I love their faces.  I usually try to grow some and this year I got the best pot and the best place to put it.  Pansies love cool weather and they do well early in the summer and into the fall.  This year I did not empty the pot until last week.  I couldn't bring myself to dump it.  The pansies went through several frosts too.  Anyway, I took a picture of my almost frozen pansies to say goodbye for the season!! 

I took the wire off of my pot so I could take a picture, otherwise the deer would have eaten them a long time ago!!!

I will be waiting for the garden catalogs to look at all the pictures and dream, but alas, I don't plant that much as it is frustrating to just feed the deer besides being expensive.  I am thinking I need to have a window garden, but I don't know how to start such a project.  We would love to eat the fresh herbs.  Although this year we ate the cilantro and it was delicious!!  That is one herb one either really likes or cannot stand.  We are in the "love it" catagory!

Until spring, my fellow gardeners!!!

Granddad

I lost the picture that I had posted of Dad/Granddad, so I will try again.  Computers can be so frustrating! It certainly can't be the operator!  Ha!  My computer gal couldn't give me a solid answer either and we decided  this was the quickest way to get the pictures back!!

This is a good picture and the name shows of his last truck.  That shirt he has on is one BJ gave him for a gift and he literally wore it out.  I brought it home and washed it and was going to make something for BJ's family, but it was so threadbare and holey that I didn't.  Granddad literally got the "goodie" out of that shirt!

The truck was bought by our son Barry, so we were pleased that we know where it went.  Grandad spent lots of money keeping his equipment in top shape engine wise.

We think he may have been the oldest trucker in Montana with a CDL at 85 years old. 



Veterans' Day, A Special Veteran

Friday was Veterans' Day and it was a beautiful day in Eastern Montana.  Cowboy wanted to fly the flag if the wind wasn't going to blow hard enough to tear it off of the pole.  So with the sun rising in the east, I just had to take a picture.

What it is about the American flag that puts a lump in my throat?  I am so thankful for all the men and women who gave their lives and who simply served their country so that we could have the freedoms that we know today.  There our young people still going to the armed forces to serve this country.  What a blessing they are to give so selflessly.  In my family alone we have a grandfather, a father, a husband uncles, great uncles, and a son-in-law.  The county we live in, Garfield County, has a high number of veterans and enlisted people per capita. 

Our Veterans' Day Dinner was last night in Jordan and the veterans were asked to stand and it was impressive.  Saying the pledge brings a lump in my throat...

This also a tribute to my Father who was a Veteran.  He passed away a month ago and his burial was touching for me.  The VFW Honor Guard from Miles City did the 21-gun salute and played taps.  The two service men that did the flag-folding ceremony were especially honoring to Dad.  I cried when they did that and handed the flag to Bonnie, my step-mom.  It makes me tear up now as Cowboy and I have always liked a veteran to be honored. 

When Dad was in the hospital during his last days we looked at pictures and talked about work that Dad had done over the years.  One could tell he was listening.  Bonnie had found two letters that were in Dad's "stuff."  One was from an Army buddy that wrote while he was serving in the service and Dad was home in Montana.  They other letter Dad had written to his granddad when Dad was in the service.  What Bill pointed out to me is that Dad typed his letter and there were no mistakes and his spelling was accurate.  Cowboy is not the best speller, but that isn't why I married him!  BJ read those letters out loud two different times and you could tell Dad enjoyed that.  What was almost Bill's undoing was when Granddad said, "Bill, read me War Bags out of the Western Ag Reporter.  Bill got through it, but I could tell he was trying to not get tears in his eyes. 

When Dad died there was a true character that will be no more.  We miss his phone calls in the mornings and his telling us about different people in general, "Oh, they don't know a thing!"  Bill is missing Dad's stories and I am kicking myself that I didn't sit down and just write some of them down rather than cook!