Happy Valentine's Day!

This is my FAVORITE of all holidays! And it has been since I was just little. There are pictures of me holding a Valentine from my Dad that is nearly bigger than me, when I was not yet 1, and he's faithfully given me a box of candy every year of my life. Yesterday, I went to the mailbox and there it was! He was my first Valentine, and probably will always be my favorite. And Dad always signed his cards to me with x's and o's....I look for them!

When I was in the one-room country school, it was a big deal to make Valentine boxes! I remember working so hard on those, and it was so fun to see what everyone came up with. There was great worry over what Valentines to give whom, because I wanted the boys to know I liked them, but in a general "you're pretty cool, for a boy" sort of way. It was very complicated.

I love the paper heart-shaped doilies, the construction paper hearts, the chocolate, the girly aspect of it...everything! Last year I tried to make red pancakes for my family. They were met with great suspicion and I probably won't do that again this year. I think we'll do something with the strawberries.

Oh! And I gave the bookclub girls a little package, on Thursday, sort of as a joke....inside there was a pendant I made, a bodice-buster swoony romance novel, heart shaped glitter and a homemade card. Happenstance would have it that I was able to tailor each book for each person; Scottish lords for my Caledonian friends, artist stuff for my artist friend, Southern Scarlett-type for the Gone-With-The -Wind buff. I'd grabbed a handful of them at the secondhand store without looking, and it was a funny coincidence! Anyway, no one was that impressed with the handmade card or pendants I'd labored over, but they LOVED the books! How funny! We were reading parts out loud and laughing when the hostess's Dad called. She was trying to shush us, but we were having too much fun. Dear me. I wonder what he thought of her bookclub!

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's day, full of xoxxoxoxoxoxox's!

Maggie moves out...

Well, she didn't run away again, but she DID move out last night! The good thing about my girl is that she's able to learn and adapt. She decided not to run away, because it was getting dark, but the loft in the playground looked like a great place to live where no one would be on her case all the time. So she packed her backpack up, AGAIN, and her new horse sleeping bag, announced her impending departure and strolled out of the house.

It didn't get quite the response she was looking for. Keep in mind that it was about 15 degrees out, and I was already pretty peeved with the child. I told her to watch out for wild animals and wished her well.

Here are the pictures of her hideout. She's TOTALLY mad that I was amused! And get this: she managed to tough it out for about 20 minutes. She's TOUGHER than her mama, I can tell you that. After a decent time for us to miss her, she came and requested help packing up, and apologized for her snottiness. And saw the chips and sandwiches on the table, and suddenly remembered that even though she'd seceded from the union, she'd not packed hardtack.

All is well, now, but I had to tell on her. And for heaven's sake don't give her a lantern for her birthday, or she'll be gone....

Travel MUGS

It just occured to me that all the official members of CUPS had a week off! The Perpetual Hostess, Anne, stayed home and slept in. (RIGHT! She has a 10 month old baby...do YOU think she slept in?) Refreshment Provider, Traci, came to the meeting, but because the GrandCup wanted to make a special dessert, she was off the hook, so to speak. And the Activity Director/Secretary is submitting her report, but we didn't have any activities!

It had been a sick week for the members of CUPS, so it was a real treat to just show up and have a GrandCup fuss over us! And fuss she did. You see the picture of the chocolate cheesecake? (That would be the cheesecake BEFORE we tore into it...) We had REAL whipped cream, for the cheesecake and the coffee. GrandCup is trying to reach goal in WW, so she didn't partake, but we ate her portions, too.

We sat and visited and looked at all the quilt-y projects she has going. The time went really fast, and we had to pack up early to make it to the preschool Valentine party in town. We were there long enough to exchange germs from each sick household and get our chocolate and cream fix. Oh, and the missing CUP called and expressed regret at not being there, but we didn't take her any cheesecake. This is a tough club. Be there or be square.

Next week, we will be meeting at the regular place, regular time....and I'm going to work on a doozy of an activity!

In explanation...

As some of you have already noticed, I am a Facebook drop-out. That's right. It doesn't mean I don't want to be "friends" with you, really, it doesn't! But here's the reason I got out:

I couldn't take the stress. I couldn't decide who should be my friend and who shouldn't, first of all. Just because we graduated from the same high school or live in the same state or met once at Miles City Bucking Horse Sale in the 90's seemed really great reasons to share details of our everyday lives.

And that stressed me out, too. I get kind of attached to friends. I care what happens to them and pray for them and worry about their dogs....I can't seem to have casual friends; they are all terribly significant to me! Well, I discovered on Facebook, people post little things that caused me to worry all day and check back 6 or 7 times. Would Kristi get Reece to take a nap, thus avoiding the 7 p.m. meltdown? Would Vic release a black-footed ferret in Jane's wheat field? (I still don't get that particular function of Facebook.) Would Andrea go get groceries or just stay home? The suspense sucked me in. And yes, I realize that may mean my life is a bit...slow paced, shall we say.

My best friend from high school totally scared me when I was looking at her recent pictures and a little window popped up AND SHE TALKED TO ME! I had no idea what to do or how to answer her. I was also feeling a little guilty looking at her pictures, even though they are public. I finally found the chat button, after nearly locking up my computer, and told her what a lovely family she had. But the whole experience took 3 years off me, and besides that, she shared that she was able to pull the 4 gray hairs in her head that she found that week. Now I'm stressed because (and this is probably too much information) I have that many gray hairs, weekly, mind you, on my chin. This I was not going to share with her, and I probably shouldn't share with you. But I'm on a roll. If I catch you looking at my chin, in certain light, I will start crying, right there in Walmart, in the hair care products and lipstick aisle.

Have you ever put on a dress and felt sort of funny, sort of not-quite-yourself, but you talked yourself into wearing it because it was pretty and everyone you asked said you looked great? At the end of the evening, you were exhausted from trying to adapt yourself to the dress, even though there was nothing inherently wrong with it. Facebook was a gown that fit all wrong, for me. So here I am, back at Cohagen Chronicles, in my gypsy skirt, relieved that the blue satin is off, and hoping everyone else at the ball is having a good time.

Now, if you want to tell me details of your life, please leave a comment. I dearly love to hear from you! And I will be keeping track of you and praying for you and laughing with you, but PLEASE don't ask me to put that dress on again. It clashes with the gray.

Projects with Pluhars

It seems like we've had some big projects in our household in the last couple of days. First,and most impressively, I got our deepfreeze defrosted and cleaned! In some people's houses, this would not be such a huge deal; my mother-in-law's, for example. Frost doesn't dare accumulate in her freezer...it's not allowed. So I'm including the before and after of our deepfreeze so you can appreciate what I'm talking about.

Maggie has been doing dishes everyday to earn her china tea set back. She had a wad of toys on the floor in her room and despite constant scolding, declined to pick them up. The final straw was when she told her mother, "It's okay, I'll get more." So my darling daughter is earning some of her favorite toys back with slave labor. She's on day four and I believe she has the idea. She feels like Cinderella

Today we worked on Valentines. I tried something new, with vintage images in frames, and it was fun! They are by no means professional, but I don't think my sweet friends and family will mind. Maggie came out while I was working on them and wanted to do valentines of her own, so we got her stuff out, too. By the time Angus joined us, we were elbow deep in hearts. He did some train valentines and growled off to the living room to break a gingerbread muffin in little teeny crumbs. So here are the fruits of our labor! PopPop wants to know when Valentine cookies are forthcoming. Maybe we will have to make a "trial" batch, to see if they will turn out.

Comment on my silliness

I think I may have fixed the comment form.

I'm going to go back to pen, paper and envelopes. Or send my articles to the Jordan Tribune. Don't you think EVERYONE in Garfield County wants to know about me cleaning my freezer and the angst over the purse?

I'm guessing everyone in Garfield County already does know....

I'b geddig a code..

So not only did I blow my blog to bits, I came down with the cold that Traci has been fighting for about 5 days. Talk about crummy luck! I'm sitting here, sipping on a vat of Market Spice Tea, trying to breathe, and hoping I finally repaired this silly page. That'll teach me to get all confident and artsy! I'm almost to the point of having someone create a template for me that would incorporate books, coffee, old maps, retro pictures, garden-y things, French stuff....maybe an antique-retro Parisian cafe' theme. With cows. I'm guessing that's why I haven't found anything that really suits my style! How does one incorporate ranch-y things with French things?

Moving on...I'm going to lay my soul bare...do you think you can take it? I've found myself, during the winter, becoming increasingly dissatisfied with my abode and the size of it. I feel like the kids and I are constantly all over each other and that it causes us to start chewing on one another, like too many lab rats in too small a cage! So each time I go to town, I get a "Dream Kitchens and Baths" magazine or "Floorplans for Fabulous Homes" and drooling my way through them. And instead of helping, it's making me more covetous of big houses! One recent day, after thumbing once again through the kitchens of my dreams and imagining what grand food I could prepare with 6 burners and a double oven, AND the manditory prep sink, I picked up an old Reader's Digest to throw away.

Now, I don't know about you, but if it's print, I read it. Even old stuff. Even shampoo, syrup and ammonia bottles. Where two or three letters are gathered, it's an opportunity to read. So instead of throwing the dang magazine away, like I had intended, I thumbed through it and accidentally(by God's hand) read an article about some women in an African village that had to gather fuel for their cooking fires everyday, and in doing so, were raped and beaten and their children harmed. A woman in the U.S. found out about them, somehow, and developed a simple solar powered cookstove for them to use. She found a company to design and manufacture them, and sponsors to pay for the stoves to get to the villages that needed them. The village women's lives were transformed, because they only went to get firewood about once a week, and had been able to cooperate with each other to protect one another. So much good!

I guess you know that I had a change of heart about my warm, safe little kitchen on the prairie, and a huge kick in the butt to start thinking of AND doing for others. I'm not sure what I can do; I'm still praying about that. I can tell you this: those magazines were donated to the library, and I'm treating my four burner propane stove a little more tenderly.

All the lessons I've learned this week include:

1. Don't fix a blog that isn't broke.

2. Faux giraffe purses really are worth $49.95, and oddly, go with everything.

3. Defrosting a deepfreeze will take all the backbone you have.

4. Good friends share everything; germs, danish, laughter, tears, and seeds.

5. If you ask a two year old what he's doing, and he responds with "Nofing, mama...", it's going to be somefing and you will need some of that deepfreeze backbone.

6. Little houses just mean you get to see more of the people you love. A LOT more.

7. There IS a world beyond the porch, and I need to invest more in it.

That's about all the philosophy I have for today. The tea is gone, and I hear somefing going on in the boy's bedroom.

I may have broken it beyond my abilities...

I really should call someone, right before I do something really stupid, and have them talk me down. Really.

I was all inspired by the new purse and decided my blog needed a facelift. Well, here's the thing: those with no surgical training, shouldn't go near a face, if you know what I mean. You'll notice my blog has a decidedly different look....but I broke it! I don't know how to get my list of friends to show up on the side, again. (I can see HALF of the title, hanging there, taunting me.) I don't know if I can add widgets....maybe part of this template is protecting morons like me from adding widgets, gadgets and midgets. At least something is protected from me!

Does anyone know how to edit HTML? Would you coach me? Can this blog be saved? Are there 12 Step programs for people who blog too much? "Hello, I'm Mary, and I'm a blogaholic. I just deleted crucial html and wacked the widgets...I'm having withdrawels. Somebody intervene, please!"

CUPS of sanity

Look what came in the mail from the Grand-cup in Idaho! (I think she loves us. I know she loves us, because there was chocolate in the package.)

The two youngest attendees, Cupcakes, in their weekly snuggle.

Just so you get the idea of how completely huge Madame Serengeti is, and what different personalities Traci and Mary are....this is a major photo, since Traci had sincere reservations about coming that close to a handbag this wild.

This week, CUPS nearly didn't get thrown together. Traci had been in Billings the day before, Anne had been buried in pork paperwork and potential problems, and Mary had worn herself to a frizzle worrying about whether her bag would make it to the house. (You see what drama we have, what issues we face every week. Don't whine to us about your stacks of bills, health problems or bad manicure; we have REAL concerns. Will Traci make it to Costco? Will Anne know what form the producer needs for slaughter? Will the faux giraffe be a gaffe? Nailbiters, I tell you.)

And when we did finally meet, it was more like a meeting of MUGS (Mothers Under General Stress). We intended to make more valentines with the fun supplies, and not eat so much. We actually ate most of the danish Traci brought from Costco (she DID make it) and talked and drank coffee with whipping cream that we didn't actually take the time to whip. But it was good and relaxing, and so sweet to be with loving friends that accept each other and laugh at foibles in each other's lives.

Next week CUPS goes on the road, for a visit to a Grand-cup who promises to make us a scrumptious dessert and show us a good time. (This dessert had better not be made with Splenda or skim milk, I tell you. Wednesdays are for the good stuff!)

So, would that make us travel MUGS?

The moment you've all been waiting for!

It's HERE!!!

I'm pleased to announce the arrival of Madame Serengeti, the wildly (roll your eyes) controversial purse! Okay, the word "purse" doesn't begin to describe this bag. When I told you it was a BIG HONKING PURSE, that was an accurate accounting. If I decide to suddenly hop a plane to Paris, this is the only luggage I'll need. I can carry a romantic dinner for 4, with dessert and beverages. If we want to get into a theme park without counting my two year old son, we'll sock him in Madame Serengeti and no one will be the wiser. I've been afforded tremendous opportunity with this valise!

I'll take a picture tomorrow, at CUPS, so you get the full effect; although I'm not sure any camera can truly capture the spirit of Madame Serengeti.....

(My wardrobe is looking a bit drab, now. Do you suppose they make Nutra-Lix sweatshirts that go with faux giraffe?)

Bobby Burns Night 2009

Bagpipes thrill me. They are wild instruments that defy description, and inspire strong memories and feelings in those who have the privilege of hearing them. It is my personal opinion that in order to truly appreciate them, you should hear them outside with hills all around to echo back the song and the wind to carry it for miles. When I hear them inside, they seem trapped....still beautiful, but constrained.

Once a year, we have the privilege of hearing the best bagpipes and drums in the country play in celebration of Robert Burn's birthday. For three hours, the gym of the community college in Miles City, filled with around 800 people, rocks with traditional Scottish music and dance. This is a 101 year old celebration and if you ever get the chance to attend, don't miss it!

This is a picture of our friend Scott Glasscock, playing for some of the dancers. He's the head piper and deservedly so. We didn't know for the longest time that in the Caledonian world, he has acheived sort of rock star status and is asked to sign autographs and have photos taken with starry eyed fans! And this year, I noticed a difference in the stockings that the pipers wear. I asked Traci, his wife, about this and she said puffy socks are all in fashion right now. Who knew?!! So if you encounter a bagpiper, wandering around with flat socks, you might want to let him know that all the cool Caledonians are wearing puffy socks. It's all the rage.

My husband is Czech/Bohemian and can't keep a beat to save his life, and I'm Irish Norwegian, so we are sort of Scot wannabes, I guess. Scott and Traci graciously allow us to sit at their table anyway and never say a word about our lack of clan tartans. This year I tried to take pictures but was completely stymied by the poor light and constant motion! The result was that all the pictures have complete movement and soft edges, and oddly captures the feel of the evening. I was hoping for crisp, professional images and instead got really dreamy, active ones that make you feel like you forgot your glasses!

There's really no way of blogging this to do it justice, so I'm going to add a couple more pictures and call it good. Hope you enjoy them, and if you're ever in the Miles City area the end of January next year, hunt us up and we'll try to get you in to Burns. And if you buy Scott a Guinness, maybe he'll sign your puffy socks.

For Your Information:

Because I know you are all just so interested in my life, and are hanging on waiting for more tidbits....things like: What was that growing in the back of the fridge? or Which laundry detergent works best in your water, Tide or the store brand? and Did she order that purse? Is she going to indeed wear it with her red heels?

The wait is over, my friends!

The purse will be here February 3rd!!! (Pause for applause) And you're going to love this; it's a BIG HONKING PURSE. In fact, it was billed as a shopping bag. I won't give you the dimensions, but rest assured, it will stand out in a crowd. (Unless, say, I'm in a herd of faux giraffe with red collars... But what are the odds of that?)

Thank you for all your comments! I've never had more fun with a post. And I had no idea there were so many opinions about fashion or the lack thereof, among my readers. I had a couple of emails, instead of comments, too. My aunt from Texas said those bags are all the rage down there, it just hasn't migrated North apparently. (No matter what I type, the animal stuff just keeps coming...I'm SO sorry! I can't stop!) And one of the other emails suggested we use it for a prop in one of the Cohagen Plays.

The bag has taken on a life of it's own, and when it gets here, will probably be named. Send me your ideas! Now, I'm off to investigate what is growing in the back of the refrigerator. Another day, another mystery....

C.U.P.S.

The second regular meeting of C.U.P.S. (that's Coffee Under Pretense of School) was called to order at approximately 8:47 a.m. by Perpetual Hostess Anne Miller in her kitchen. Members responded to roll call with "How My Husband Proposed To Me" and the super-secret club handshake.

After all 3 members were accounted for, our Refreshments Director, Traci Glasscock provided the ladies with the most scrumptious peach scones, covered in freshly whipped cream, and French Roast coffee. (Also accompanied with the freshly whipped cream. Calories are not allowed in the meeting place, and are checked at the door. All decadence, with regards to food, are permissable.) The club unanimously voted this week's refreshments as worthy candidates for the bake off contest Traci may enter. Suggestions were made for possible variations, all graciously accepted and noted by the Refreshments Director.

Our Arts and Crafts Co-ordinator Mary Pluhar, presented us with a plethora of ideas and supplies for Valentine cards. The club set about creating frothy and fabulous greeting cards for friends and family, while listening to a riveting narrative about the days of courting. (Member who shared these details will remain anonymous, according to Bylaw I Section I that states all members will be protected by the strictest of confidences observed by all.)

There being no further official business, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:42 a.m., with the next regular meeting scheduled for Wednesday, February 4; same location and time.

Respectfully submitted by Arts and Crafts Co-ordinator and Secretary, Mary Pluhar

*Unofficially, we had a blast! You can see more photos on Farmchicks Frantics blog. Traci's scones are the bomb!!! Seriously. I'm really pushing for Frozen Dog Bakery and Catering. And yes, there is really a bake-off contest that she's going to enter. She's trying out all her stuff on us. Pretty soon C.U.P.S. will have to be DD, if you know what I mean. We may check the calories in at the door, but they hitch a ride on the way out and follow us home.

Fashion (non)Sense

What do you think of this purse? Really. I can take the truth. I can't tell if it's the coolest thing I've ever seen or just so tacky I can't take my eyes off it. There's a fine line there.

It would be perfect with my red pumps, but do you think Miles City is ready for a handbag like this? Would you be seen shopping with me if I was carrying a handbag such as this? Hypothetically speaking, of course.

Maybe it's a January thing, or a Monday thing, or a I'm-so-tired-of-everything-in-my-closet thing; I really like it! But if I'm about to commit fashion suicide, stop me now! (Unless that's your evil plan. This should weed out the real friends from the token ones, huh?!!!)

Not what I had in mind...

Have you had the chance to visit the Pollywog blog in my list of blogs I'm following? It's stunningly beautiful, with photography that makes your heart sing and narratives that inspire. I have been looking at her images and decided, the other day, that I was going to go out and find beauty in the world around me.

Let's just say my surroundings lack the same romance. In my yard, I found evidence of dogs, a couple of unloved, forgotten toys that didn't get taken in for the winter, a couple of frazzled cats and a really dirty car. I've included the pictures of the car and the cats. They were the least offensive of the images.

Indoors, the surroundings had a different flavor. I found the usual half-dressed kids, a preschool paper plate frog, smiling cocoa mugs and a serious bullet loading project going on at the table. Not nearly what I had in mind.

Inspirational photography is bleak in Eastern Montana in January. And it's tough to wax poetic about the nature around me, when it consists of dust bunnies and dirty snow! But this is our life, right now.

Preschool...at least we get out of the house!

Actually, Mavis and Sue (aka Mary and Traci) were going to leave the kids at preschool, but realized they had left their REAL phone numbers on the contact sheets, so they had to go pick them up. Oh well, we did sorta miss the little boogers.

We took Ben and Maggie to preschool in town today and had three hours to kill. That's right; three hours away from our chores, laundry, dishes, dustbunnies! We hardly knew what to do with ourselves! But then, inspiration hit: we'll call ANNE! She's a stay-at-home, work-at-home mom (sitting duck) and we can share our magazines and contraband doughnuts with her. Besides that, she makes great coffee. And has a kid-proof house for the two year old that came along. Perfect.

Anne actually answered the phone, (I used Traci's and she's unfamiliar with that number...totally messed her up.) and put on a brave face and a pot of her famous coffee. She gave us some big line about how she was looking for company, but I'm sort of suspecting she really had no place to run, since Gwennie had been up crying from 4:30-7:30 a.m. She's far too polite to tell us that she's polishing the silver today and can't possibly recieve guests.

And it was a delightful three hours. Her wall o'windows faces South, and the house was warm and bright, AND she had put chocolate chip loaded chocolate muffins in the oven. Gwennie was sleeping peacefully and there were garden catalogs on the counter. We had coffee with real live heavy cream, doughnuts and the muffins, and soaked up sun and friendship. I tell you, it was good medicine!

Time passes quickly when one is pigging out and before we knew it, we had to leave. Anne enquired as to whether this would be a weekly event, (enabling her to make hair and doctor appointments every Wednesday, thus avoiding Perpetual Hostess Syndrome) and we told her the truth...yes.

When we got back to preschool, Ben and Maggie appeared to have had a good time and brought their little paper plate frogs out with big stories to go along with them. The teacher asked whether they were coming back, after I handed her the checks. Upon reflection, I wonder if she was asking that because, like Anne, she may change preschool days to avoid us. She DID say the kids in the room were unusually wound up and loud this time. I'm going to pretend it was the barometric pressure and assume we are still on for next week.

It WAS such a fun morning, and now the kids are napping their little hearts out, despite initial protests. I hope every Wednesday goes this way...it will be like having bookclub once a week. That is, if we figure out what day they move preschool to, and if Anne is screening her calls.

Thank God: For Dirty Dishes, Smelly Clothes and Unmade Beds.

My dishwasher is broken. It's been broken for two weeks now, and after the repairman examined it and declared it fried, we were informed it would be another two weeks to get parts and fix it. I really don't mind washing dishes; it's a contemplative time for me and my brain drifts away "to the Vesuvian Bay" with my hands in the soapy water!

I ran across this poem, author anonymous, that I hung near the sink to keep my attitude where it needs to be and I wanted to share it. I have a couple of friends with toddlers and preschoolers, and we are constantly fighting the mess in our houses. So, Traci and Beth, this is for you, too!

Thank You, God

Thank you, God, for all I have to do today.

Thanks, God, for this sink of dirty dishes,

It shows we have plenty to eat.

Thanks, God, for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry;

It shows we have plenty of clothes to wear.

Thanks, God, for those unmade beds in there.

They were warm and so comfortable last night

And I know there are many who have no beds.

Thanks, God, for this bathroom; complete with all the

Splattered mirror, soggy, grimy towels and dirty commode.

They are so convenient.

Thanks, God, for this finger-smudged refrigerator

That needs defrosting.

It is full of cold drinks and enough leftovers

For two or three meals.

Thanks, God, for this oven

That absolutely must be cleaned today.

It has baked so many things over the years.

The whole family is grateful for that grass that needs mowing,

The lawn that needs raking; we all enjoy the yard.

Thanks, God, even for that slamming screen door.

My kids are healthy and able to run and play.

Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me

Says you have richly blessed my family.

I shall do them all cheerfully

And I shall do them all gratefully.

Amen

5 Words

What are your five favorite words?

My kids and I watch Word Girl in the afternoons, when they get up from their naps. At the very end of the show, they ask two kids what their favorite word is. Today, while I was holding the gate as an integral part of the Heifer Sorting Project, I thought that I should pick my 5 favorite words. Then I wondered what my friends would choose. (I had some time. The word "integral" may have overstated my importance in the operation.) So here are mine, in no particular order of importance:

1. Grace- As long as I live, I will never be able to wrap my brain around this, but am infinitely grateful for it, and want to learn to better extend it to others.

2. Whimsy- Just saying the word makes me smile!

3. Mama- At one time, I didn't think this word would ever be assigned to me...it's sweet to hear, and sweet to say.

4. Welcome- A warm, loving word that beckons dear ones and strangers, alike, to share hospitality.

5. Hope- I'm an optimist, a hopeless optimist, and this word embodies that.

What are your five words? If you need to go sort some cows before responding, I understand!

It's A Date!

Once in a while, I just have to laugh about living in Garfield County. It's a life like no other, I can tell you that. (Some who are reading this are currently living here, or have lived here, and they are nodding at the screen, saying "Amen, sister! Preach on...") For many of us, it's 25+ miles and half an hour to the local grocery store, when the roads are good; we can't see our neighbor's house unless we get in the pickup and drive to a big butte, but we certainly know they are there, especially in fire season; we get our mail twice a week, again, when the roads are passable.

SO, when I read the rare women's magazine, in the doctor's office and encounter the articles that encourage couples to have a date night once a week, with no children, to strengthen thier relationship, I laugh out loud! (Drawing stares from the other waiting patients....they all of a sudden get VERY interested in that Outdoor Life magazine.) Where, in the wide, wide world of sports should we go, and what magic hat shall we pull the babysitter from?

Yesterday we bangs vaccinated the yearling heifers all morning and trailed them back to their pasture. I got home about 11:00 and started a very nutritious, artsy lunch for the family. (Chicken nuggets in the oven, big green salad, milk. Gourmet magazine hasn't seemed to help this kitchen, but it looks good on the coffee table.) Wayland walks through the door at ten minutes to noon and on his way to wash his hands, tosses over his shoulder that Vern said we could go to the Winter Grazing Series in Jordan, if we wanted, and they would watch the kids. It started at noon. We both smelled like cows and I'll spare you the description of my hair.

I'LL TAKE IT! So we showered up, stuffed the babies' faces with chicken nuggets and cucumbers, threw them into the car, threw them out at Grandma's and drove to Jordan for our date.

The Winter Grazing Series is comprised of 4 or 5 speakers from MSU and Ft. Keogh Experiment Station, and you spend the afternoon learning things about cow's nutritional needs and how it affects their breed back and subsequent progeny. We learned about range management after a fire, distillery by-products and their benefits and drawback as feed suppliments, how much colostrum a calf needs in the first 12 hours of life. Very romantic.

When the lectures were done, we stayed and visited with another couple that attended, about thier operation. Group date! To wrap up the evening, we went to the grocery store and saw all sorts of friends and neighbors that came to town for the ball game that night AND bought cookies and a newspaper for the grandparents. Honestly, it was the nicest afternoon we've had in a long time!

I'd really like to write to Women's Day or Today's Christian Woman about our date, but they'd never believe me. They'd never believe this was the last outing we've had without the kids since the first part of December when we went Christmas shopping in Miles City, and picked up parts, too. But there are a few women who are reading this who will shut down the computer, walk over to their husbands, punch them in the arm and say, "You didn't take ME to the Winter Grazing Series!!!" Maybe next year.

Warts and all...

I'd like to say this is my last bookclub plug/post, but you know I can't promise that! Once a month, after each bookclub gathering, I just feel inclined to sing the praises of this group of women. So if any of you reading this post are an Underground Bookclubber, you can come to my blog after we meet and read glowing accounts of yourself and compadres and know you are completely loved and admired by the Farmer's Wife!

We had a new member join us this month. Now, that's saying something because we don't add new people very often. I think two years ago was the last time.

ANYWAY, we carried on like we normally do, even though Thelma and Anne weren't there and that left a hole in the group. There's always 3 or 4 conversations going, at any given time, and some are about deep, thoughtful things (death, isolation, independence), some are about shallow, frivolous things (new red purse, kittens for give-away, toddler letter exchange) and some are about the meaning of life (why do men DO that?). Usually we pull it all together at meal time and do the literary thing and discuss the book. And for the most part, it's uncensored, meaning if you didn't like the book, you can say so, or if you completely embraced the book, we'll want to know why. It's a totally safe place and I'm sure if you looked in on the scene from outside the window, it would be a beautiful picture of friendship.

I called the new member, the next day, to see what she thought. (If you love a group, you want to hear good things about it!) She said she had a good time, but was worried that everyone seemed to be too hard on the author and thought the woman who chose the book would have her feelings hurt. Wow! The thought had never crossed my mind! In fact, I told her that we'd had a couple of books in the last 10 years (one of mine, included) that a lot of people didn't like, but that it sure opened up discussion! I'm not sure she is going to join us for good and maybe she's worried that the book she chooses will be a bad choice. (Here's the funny thing: sometimes we like a stinker of a book, because we can worry it like a dog with a slipper, thus avoiding that same action with our husbands and family!)

Here's our menu from UBC this month, and our book selection:

A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains, by Isabella L. Bird

We ate toasted garlic bread with choice of nutty/pinapple/cream cheese spread or sort of tomato salsa, fruit salad, loaded pizzas, choice of New York or Chocolate Truffle cheesecake, Moscato or Gerwitztrameiner wine, peach or pomegranate italian soda, and coffee.

You see why I will move heaven and earth to get to bookclub! Doesn't that bring you near tears? Traci made the cheesecake and I'm pushing for her to start Frozen Dog Cheesecake Factory, because she lives on Frozen Dog Creek. I know, I know; tacky name. But Traci's Tarts and Sundries doesn't have quite the same stick-in-your-head ring, now, does it?