Scarf of wonder, scarf of might; scarf of royal beauty bright...

My friend Elise found a gorgeous, gorgeous piece of fabric that she decided would be a really cool "wild rag" or scarf for someone a little...unconventional.  I have no idea why I entered her mind, but when she showed me the fabric on FB, I was completely thrilled at the thought of it!  So, she sent the fabric to a lady who sews up wild rags and we waited.  
And waited.
And waited.
Bucking Horse Sale came and went...
Independence Day came and went...
Elise contacted the gal who was to be sewing the rag (which it is anything BUT) and got some action!

It finally came and like I told Elise, it's the Swiss Army knife of my wardrobe, now.
First of all, it truly is pretty...I'm not a pink sort of girl, but this scarf may change my mind about the color!  And the print...*happy sigh*...well, you can see for yourself:

I don't know if you can see, but it's hemmed in green...stunning!

But get THIS:

It's a really impressive scarf in other ways.

Or, as Maggie said, admiringly, when she took my pictures, "It can be ANYTHING! A dress, a shirt, a tablecloth, a scarf, a tent...!"

If I had to choose only three things to take to a deserted island, this scarf would be one of the three. Along with a Leatherman multi-tool.  I'm still thinking about the third thing.

Check it out!

(Please excuse the weird tan lines.)

 AND because it's 100% polyester, it doesn't wrinkle!

I could stuff it in my coat pocket, work cows, drive to Jordan and be ready for a dance in 10 minutes.

(No one would dance with me, because I'd smell like cows, but I'd be ready, doggone it!)

I'm still working out all the uses.

As I get pictures, I'll add them here.

If you have ideas (besides the table cloth one), comment and I'll try it!

Honestly, it's one of the coolest things I own.

Now I have to find a great piece of fabric to send one BACK to Elise!

Nothing so mundane as paisley, though...

Perhaps something in Hawkeye gold.

Thank you, Elise!

Crazy Mary

1. What is your favorite re-make song?  
I'm afraid to say this, but my FAVORITE remake (or as they call it in the music industry, "cover") is La Bamba!  Ritchie Valens did the first version, famously, but Los Lobos really MADE that song.  There are a lot of brilliant covers, probably better than this one, but I like this because it retained the authenticity and almost added to it.  That, and I love to sing it out loud when I'm cleaning, much to the dismay of my kids and the dogs who don't know that La Bamba means "The Band"...did you?

2. If you could teach your kids one lesson so they wouldn’t have to learn it the hard way, what would it be?
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS check to see that there's toilet paper in the chosen stall of the public bathroom you end up in.  Especially in a truck stop bathroom.  And that's all I'm going to say about that.

3. What is your favorite Elvis song?
This was tough.
I dearly love Elvis and it's often just a "mood" thing with me. 
Keeping that in mind, my favorite Elvis song is either "Suspicious Minds" or "Can't Help Falling In Love".  
I finally figured out that what I adore about Suspicious Minds is the backup singers....yes!....they save that song!  Elvis is Elvis is Elvis, but the background singers ROCK in Suspicious Minds.  And Can't Help Falling in Love is a wonderful, long dancing song whose lyrics talk about how love is unexplainable and undefinable.  That resonates with me, but the tune is a little...schmaltzy. 

4. What was the most memorable disciplining you ever received?
Seriously?!?!  You know my Dad reads this blog, don't you?  
Okay.  Here goes...
I was about 11 years old and my cousin from Milwaukee was visiting the ranch.  Dad told us not to mess around the old house (which is now Grandma's house) and I directly defied him, taking my cousin and our bikes in there, for heaven's sake!  It was the worst spanking I have ever gotten, the last spanking I got and firmly established the absolute respect and obedience that my parents deserved from me. Now that I have kids, it's even more appreciated, although I know my Dad felt bad about it at the time, thinking he'd gone overboard with the punishment.  He didn't, though, and I remember it very vividly.  
On a funny side note, one time my sister, brother and I were talking about our "raising" and Barry and I were discussing the spankings we'd recieved....there were a lot, because we were pretty hard headed, Jen listened to us for a couple minutes and protests, "I don't remember getting that many spankings!"  After a little discussion, we realized that she DIDN'T get that many spankings...not because she was a better kid (let's be clear on THAT point) but because she could be disciplined with a stern voice.  
"Jennifer, I'm so disappointed in you." would reduce her to tears and sincere remorse, while Barry and I were the ones getting spankings, stubbornly thinking "That doesn't hurt...that doesn't hurt".  I know you find this hard to believe, but it's true.   And now on to the last question, lest I reveal too much....


5. If you had to get a tattoo, what would it be and where would you put it?

Stumper.  I'm not really a tattoo sort of girl.  Not even rub-on tattoos!  But I've really thought about this, since 1 out of 3 people of my generation HAVE tattoos, you  know?  Here's what I finally came up with:  I'd get a compass rose (see the illustration) and I'd have it done on the ball of my foot.  Those who know me well and know that I can get lost in Walmart will find this funny (which it IS...shut up!) but also it's very symbolic because I'm always looking for my way, always wondering about the direction I'm heading.  And after consideration, I think the bottom of the foot is a very private place...isn't that odd?....but true.  It's pretty bad when all the OTHER places on a body are pretty ho-hum, including places that Victorians wouldn't have even referenced.  I think only those who know me very well would see the bottom of my foot and they would understand why I'd get a tattoo there. 

There you go, TOASTBA; and for what it's worth, I wasn't exactly lolligagging...I was making French toast and beef kabobs and doing dishes and sailing!  

Poppy's Place

It's time to report the sad news....
Buttercup, Johnny-Jump-Up and Thistle-bum have been sold.  They went to the sale barn in Miles City on Tuesday and it's very lonely here, now.  I don't hear, "Ma-a-a-a-h!" when I water the tomatoes and we don't have any bottles to make or crumbles to feed.

Except for Poppy.

Maggie took care of the littlest bum calf, Poppy, all summer long.  I told her that if she was faithful about it and took on that responsibility that she could have the calf and ultimately decide what to do with her in the fall.  She understood that she had the option of selling Poppy for horse-fund money, or keeping her to breed.   I'm so proud of that girl...she worked very hard and was dedicated to taking good care of her calf!  This weekend, she had to make the decision and it was the one she'd stuck to all summer: Poppy STAYS.

Maggie was worried about Poppy being lonesome and indeed she IS lonesome, but she's with another couple gimpy cows and their babies over at PopPop's house, in the lot.  It's a pretty good place, but not the IDEAL place for Maggie's calf.  After visiting and feeding her, yesterday, Maggie came home and designed THE IDEAL PLACE for her beloved calf.  Today, she's taking the plan to her PopPop in hopes of negotiating some sort of deal....

Behold....Poppy's Place!

(Her spelling leaves something to be desired, but her design is flawless in its detail!  I want to live at Poppy's place!  She gets a swimming pool, for heaven's sake!  And you'll note the shade from the tree...that was a nice touch.)

Beached, Part IV and FINAL BIGFORK POST!

Waiting for Cap'n I. to come pick us up for another boat ride, this time on Swan Lake, Saturday afternoon.

Just as beautiful, but smaller, more crowded (on the weekend), beachier, and HOT.

We got rocks in our sandwiches from building sand castles, but who cares?!

Scenes from the yard and other good times, Part III

"NO SWORDS IN THE BOAT!" Bigfork Trip Part II

Ivan bought a big honkin' motor boat.
This is Part II

I'm sure there's a proper name for the type of boat he bought, but I have no idea what that might be.  It's not a cabin cruiser, it's not a yacht, it's not a little aluminum fishing boat....it's a big honkin' motor boat.  And it has a horn so it's LITERALLY a big, honkin' motor boat!  Yes!  We tested the horn extensively, even in the driveway, where the kids poured into it and proclaimed it THE pirate ship.

I had made French toast and bacon for breakfast; Ivan and his family had brought the boat up from Missoula that morning, calling ahead to let us know that they'd be REALLY hungry when they got to Bigfork.  REALLY hungry.  French-toast-and-bacon hungry.  (You should see Ivan eat breakfast...it's delightful to cook for him because he really does justice to the cook's efforts.)  Anyway, while breakfast was getting on the table, Ivan noticed the pirates and stepped out the kitchen door to holler, "Hey! No swords in the boat!"
You'd think that would go without saying, wouldn't you?

Pirates are pretty dang useless when they are denied swords, so they gave it up for a little while to eat and make alternate plans.  (He didn't say, "No STICKS in the boat!", did he, now?)

After the kids abandoned the boat, the BIG buccaneers commandeered the tub and started taking inventory.

And then we all loaded up and went boating on Flathead Lake.

Launching...

C-c-c-c-o-l-d!

And speedy!

It's ridiculously picturesque, there...

Ivan found an island and some of the pirates went swimming.

Some of the more fierce pirates put a hurtin' on the cookies....

Jenny, enjoying the ride back...(with the boat's bow up)

Jenny, enjoying the ride back....(with the boat's bow DOWN)

Cap'n I. (as opposed to Cap'n Bligh)  Check out his groovy hair!
OH!!! Speaking of "groovy", the boat has...and we can scarcely believe how wonderful this is...an 8 track tape player!  Yes!  We're looking for lake music, now!
We will, of course, have to have some Beach Boys tunes.

Ridiculously picturesque.
And just when we thought it was too good to be true, the yellow sailed boat drifted into the picture.

What a great time!
But wait...
there's MORE.

Part III, on the way...

...and just like that, the whole family was there! Part I

The kids and I went to Bigfork for a visit with Grandma Celestia and Grandpa Jasper, last weekend.  We never go with any sort of schedule or plan except to visit lots, eat great food, sleep late and often, play with the kids next door.  This summer was a little different, though, because the boys bought boats.

I mean....the boys bought boats!!!
(Yes, very exciting and SHOULD have multiple exclamation points!)
They wanted to share the boats and this was the weekend to do it.  It reminded me a little of Thanksgiving, except with nice weather and a more laid-back menu.  Think beef shish kabobs instead of turkey and swimming suits instead of wool sweaters.

Now,
the boats are just as different as can be, just like the brothers.

Frank on the left, Ivan on the right

They were laughing because I sort of yelled at them and they think it's funny.

(It's NOT funny.)

First, Frank would look over his shoulder....

Then, Ivan would look over HIS shoulder....

I finally lost patience and told them that it would make a much better picture if they'd BOTH turn around at the same time!

Now then.
Frank bought a sail boat.
This is Part I.

She's a Thistle, a very fast little boat that's used for racing, mostly.  I was looking up the specs on the Thistle class boat and found this:

Thistle hulls are relatively light for their size; they have no decking or spray protection, which saves weight. The sail plan is large for a boat of this size, consisting of a marconi rigwith a main, jib, and symmetrical spinnaker. The sail plan is larger for the boat’s weight than in many other dinghies, which makes Thistles perform extremely well in light wind. Their hulls have wide, rounded bottoms, allowing the boats to plane in winds as low as 10 knots. It is not uncommon to see thistles efficiently making their way, while other dinghys of similar design are becalmed.

Thistles are generally raced with a three person crew: a skipper, a middle, and a forward person. The optimal total crew weight is generally 450 lb to 480 lb (US) depending on wind. The crew weight, however, is generally not the deciding factor in determining the outcome of the races. In fact, class rules do not limit crew weight. In all but the strongest winds, an experienced two person crew can manage the boat.

You'll note that they do well in extremely light wind and an experienced two person crew can manage the boat.

You can imagine, then, what she would do in a pretty good wind with a two person crew that was made up of an experienced sailor and a sea-dumb prairie girl who'd never been sailing in her life.
Very exciting!  And not necessarily in a good way...
But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Here she is!
Meet "Whisper Go!"...

Well, here she is on the trailer...it's not her best angle.
Did you notice her name?
I named her! My first colt was named Whisper Go and I've always wanted to use it again.  When Frank was trying to find a name, he was thinking something Scottish because of her heritage but names like Nairna and Adaire just didn't seem to work.  I sent him the name, it stuck, and it's perfect...with only a whisper of wind, she'll really go.

 Frank is raising the mast.
I wasn't helping; as you can tell, I was doing a photo documentary on the project.

It didn't really look all that stable to me...and it seemed to lean, which was alarming until we realized the boat was not level on the trailer.
I also was happy to see the cables staying in place.

Frank told me all the proper names for the cables, lines, and parts of the boat, but I'm afraid I was not very good at remembering.  Mostly because I was scared to death on the first outing...

I DID learn the terms "tack" and "jib".  I was bad with the tacking, but better at it when we were just using the jib.
(I know...it's like Norwegian or something, isn't it?)
I like the word "spinnaker" but if we had used it, I would've been using the word, "capsize" or more likely, "#$&^%".

 And here we are...sailing on the Flathead!  Oh, my goodness, it's a beautiful way to cross a lake!
We had good wind.  A little TOO good.
Whisper Go! sizzled across the water, taking the waves almost casually. I was scared to death.  Turns out, Frank was nervous, too, especially when we tried to "tack" and nearly tipped over. (Mostly because I was no help at all.)

Sails are just like wings...

It got rougher, after this.
Frank took Whisper Go! and her shaky crew to the dock, took off the boom and mainsail, then we went out again with just the jib sail.
Perfect.
I went from being terrified to being enchanted...

Sailing is very active; always moving, shifting, adjusting, watching.  On those waves, it felt very similar to riding a horse, which sounds strange, but it had that same sort of balance and rhythm going.  When I mentioned this to Frank, he said that he'd always felt the boat was almost alive.  I know I felt very alive while we were out on the water and love that little boat for behaving so that I could enjoy the ride on the last time out that morning.

In the article above, you'll see that the Thistles have no spray protection.

I can vouch for that.

I was sitting at the front and was soaked by the time we came in! 

We were home by lunch time, safe and sound, ready for

Part II

(Coming soon!)