Surprise!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we had a surprise 70th birthday party for Mom at the Airport Inn.  She nearly wrecked the whole thing by getting a horrendous cold.  When the kids and I got to her house around 11:30 a.m., she met us at the door in her bathrobe, sounding like death, and croaked, "I'm not getting dressed today...I'm so sick..."

Oh, dear.
That would present a problem, since the party was at 2 and we'd had a lot of RSVPs that said they were coming; some from quite a ways!  I found my sister doing her hair in the bathroom and we whispered frantically, trying to come up with SOMETHING...anything.  We couldn't bring the party to her.  We couldn't take her to the Airport Inn in her bathrobe, for heaven's sake!  We couldn't tell her to shape up and shower up.  Finally we strolled out to the living room and Jen said she'd heard from our sister-in-law, Jolene, and that she wanted us to meet her for a late lunch at the Inn.  *holding breath*

Mom decided she could make the effort to go to lunch, since all her kids were going to be in one place at the same time.  (THAT should have given the whole gig up, right there.) So while Jen and I went to "look for yarn at Walmart" (pick up the cake, get balloons, set up the back room at the Inn), she took a shower and got presentable.

Jen was scared to go back to the house to get Mom too early or she might insist that we just head up to the restaurant (with not all the guests there) and I was getting sweaty palms because we were still driving around town burning time.  You'd have thought we were planning the Inaugural Ball or something!  The timing was crucial and we were on two different clocks....sort of.

The kids were all in on the secret but no one spilled the beans.  She didn't see all the familiar cars in the parking lot because she had grand kids swirling all around her, opening the door, chattering, leading her.  When we turned the corner to go to the backroom, I could see she was trying to figure out if we were crashing a party or if she'd forgotten someone's birthday.  Through the door she went and all the guests, grandkids, and kids shouted "SURPRISE!"  It took her a minute to realize it was HER birthday party, since her real birthday is December 5th, but then her mouth dropped open and the fun began.

Here are some pictures of friends and family that came:

My brother Barry visiting with Uncle Marvin, Uncle Dick, Aunt Arlene and Aunt Betty. (The sweetie pie in the foreground is my niece, Javon. She looks a lot like Maggie in some of these pictures!)

Mom, her brother Marvin and sister Arlene

Two of Mom's (and our whole family's) best friends!

Aunt Teddly is the red head and Aunt Nancy is the blonde...neither are "real" aunts, but I find that's a just a genealogy thing.  They're Aunts-in-heart.   

Mom's friend Kathleen...I'd just taken a HORRIBLE picture of them and they were laughing about it!

Mom and all her kids and grandkids!

This was toward the end of the party and a lot of pop...Javon was frazzled and had just tripped and fallen.

Grandbabies!

The oldest grandbaby is getting married in February, the youngest is three, they're ALL gorgeous.

 Turns out, baby J. had a plastic fork in her mouth when she fell!  We didn't see any blood, but it was scary.

My beautiful baby sis!

This is momentous....

We siblings are all standing together, smiling and getting along.

Think I'll get it framed, actually.

My great aunt Daisy and Grandma Dutton with Mom.

I've never known life without these dear women; they've loved us a long, long time!

Thanksgiving: the drama

I just know Sara Hagedorn Calvert is waiting for me to tell about the drama...
She's like that.  And that's why we're friends.

Nothing burned down and no one broke a bone (or a window)!
The big plan was that we'd go to Billings and stay in a motel with a pool so that Grandma Celestia could take the kids swimming.  It was a good plan!  And we DID get a motel with a pool.
The pool happened to be an outdoor pool, however, which was NOT mentioned on their website, and the doors to the rooms were nearly impossible to make the keys work because of new weather stripping.  And they had an issue with Jasper's dog, Liza.  So Celestia and Jasper stayed in Ivan's guest room, but we stayed in the motel.

What to do about the swimming?!?!

Fortunately, Frank and Sam had a room at a motel with an indoor pool and they very graciously requested a late check-out so we could sneak over and swim.  Huzzah! Disaster averted!
While we were getting towels from housekeeping (don't tell), the young man who was pushing the cart gave us Andes mints (don't tell)  and a while later, brought us a whole HANDFUL of Andes mints (seriously...don't tell).  That was such a funny little bright spot in the day!

What else...?
Oh!  We had a wine label contest to see who could bring the bottle with the funniest or most amazing label!  It was all about the art; we didn't give a sniggle for what TYPE of wine was in the bottle.  We weren't looking for specific wine makers or anything, no special grapes or regions.

Here is the trophy (Which was won, incidentally, by Sam who brought SIX bottles of wine!!! The odds were definitely in her favor...):

There was even a recipe on the bottom!

The trophy is to travel, from winner's house to winner's house every year.

Competition is sure to be fierce NEXT year.

That's it.

That's as dramatic as it got!

All's well that ends with pie...

Now, where WERE we?

You're going to get some amazingly random posts, all in a big bunch, because I've got SO MUCH to try to catch up on!  I discovered that this is my journal, my scrapbook, my letter and the place I come when I try to remember what happened two years ago.  (You get to read my "diary"! V-e-r-y boring...but still...)

Let's do Thanksgiving, since it's fresh in my mind and I still have leftover pie in the fridge that I can return to, should the posting tax me too much.

For the last ten years, I think, we've had Thanksgiving with the Jaspers.  I can't remember exactly how we got started with this tradition, but I DO know that every year there's an element of drama and a calamity of some kind.  One year, I had "turkey poisoning" which ended up being a surprise pregnancy...Angus.  Another year, we had to have the whole dinner in about 45 minutes (including pie and coffee) because of a blizzard.  Last year we had too many people in too small a space for too many days and there were sick kids.  We've started looking forward to Thanksgiving with a sort of happy dread...what will it be THIS year?

Ivan and Jenny hosted, this year, in Billings.  They have the basement of my dreams.  Imagine a big room filled with vintage/retro arcade games that really work, air hockey table, shooting arcade and a fully functional old jukebox with Elvis, the Eagles and so forth.  Every 40 year old's dream! The kids liked it, too...

This is a 4 player pinball machine!  I loved it and hated it....pinball is a WRETCHED game for anyone with control issues, that's all I've got to say.

Grandma Celestia, taking out a couple fish.

Grandpa Jasper, trying to beat Grandma's score...

(I don't know if he did, or not, but it was a good challenge!)

David and Maggie, playing the first of 297 air hockey games in two days.

There were also "Projects".

I sat down in the living room after having put the turkey in and said, "I feel like I should be doing something!"

Ivan gestured to the two plants in the window and said, "You could repot the plants..."

So I did. 

When the Farmer got to Billings, he was in possession of a plasma cutter and THIS was the delight of all the men.  They had to cut something. They HAD to cut two chunks of metal off the old truck Ivan is restoring.  

Happy smile...metal will be cut!

Another happy smile....playing in the shop is the bomb!

Someday, the whole truck will be this great yellow color. I can hardly wait to see it!

And we commence with the cutting.

The project draws a crowd of curious bystanders. Or supervisors. 

Ivan, prepping for his turn with the plasma cutter.

Sparks fly!!

We DID eat.

In fact, I think we ate every 15 minutes for two days.

I'm not kidding!

Every time someone strolled through the house, we tried to feed them something..."Did you get some sausage?  Here.  You should try the sausage."  and 15 minutes later, "Are you ready for pie?  Apple cobbler? Another glass of wine?".  

It was indecent, really.

Negotiating about the turkey....we chose not to go with the plasma cutter for this job.

Sam, bringer of wine, hugger of family...I love her!

Ivan's face in this picture cracks me up! He was REALLY serious about that turkey, now. 

Do you see the little red apron?  It was Celestia's grandmother's apron!  She gave each of us girls an apron that had been her Bestemore's. (Pronounced "best-eh-ma")  What an amazing gift.

I wish I had taken a picture of the table...it was beautiful, with china and crystal and little turkey place cards! This is a smaller version, with cute people sucking down sparkling apple cider.

The kids played outside, a LOT.

And we went shooting.

It has become sort of our tradition on the morning after Thanksgiving to take all the guns we can gather and waste a bunch of ammunition shooting AT (not necessarily hitting) clay pigeons.

Wayland's turn...

Jenny's turn....

Ivan, loading the pistol....

My turn....

Ivan's turn...

Watching to see where the pigeon we launched actually ended up!  It was a surprise every time, with me launching them.  

To be continued....

First Snow

...but first, it rained, so everything looks as though it's glass; sharp and sparkly.

(I just liked the lines in this picture. I get all distracted by lines; they're mesmerizing to me, in a way.)

Black Friday

I know.

I'm a little early on this topic.

And WEEKS LATE on others!

But the topic came up at book club last night and I was thinking about it while running this morning, so I thought I'd just sit down and deal with it on the Chronicles over a cup of coffee and...half a pomegranate. Doesn't bode well, does it?

As you know, I'm not really a shopper at all.  Somewhere, I missed the girl gene that my sister (and the vast majority of all womankind) got.  It's the gene responsible for causing a female to excitedly go forth into the marketplace and seek the elusive perfect "thing" at 20% off.  It's the gene that brings women together in a time of bonding and chatting, roaming and sorting through bins and racks of "things" while discussing the mystery of the "why?" chromosomal creatures called "men" whom they likely left at home watching football or in the river fishing.  It's a drive, deeply ingrained somehow, that keeps the girls going from store to store even though they're tired and hungry.

Near as I can tell, it's Hunting Like Chicks. 

Note the similarities of hunting and shopping:

• You never really know if you're going to bag something great but there's always the hope.
• It requires a certain amount of patience and good timing. (Think two-fer-one sales...what luck!)
• The experience is usually well-planned prior to heading out...locations discussed and agreed upon (or not), supplies gathered, appropriate attire readied.
• It's usually an all day thing, even if there's a vow to be done by lunchtime. 
• As mentioned before, one expects to get tired and hungry.  This is just part of the "fun", right?
• If something exceptional is bagged, there's congratulation and celebration within the group, but there's also a small (teensy, really) amount of envy over the trophy.  Somehow, the pretty darn good buck/shoes that were scored earlier in the day are less...adequate.  
• Take granola bars and water.
• Wear comfortable footwear and dress in layers.
• Never be the first one to admit hunger or fatigue to the whole party.  This is perceived as weakness and will be fodder for taunting, later.  

See?  

I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Black Friday is the holy day of Shopping. 

It's like opening day of deer season in Michigan, I think.

Last night, I listened (with no small amount of awe and wonder) to my friends talk happily of past Black Fridays spent bonding with their female family and friends, and their plans for upcoming ones.  I really kind of wish I could be more like that; more accepting of the shopping experience, more interested in this process that brings women together in common celebration, more like the "cool girls".  I'd like to be able to share cool shopping stories of amazing deals with my Mom or sister (who, by the way, is a professional level shopper).  I'd sort of like the thrill of finding the perfect "thing"....at least it seems to be thrilling, from what I can tell.  But to be painfully honest, I'd rather be in a room of hungry three year olds, scratching their nails on chalkboards than to be shopping on Black Friday.  Or Tuesday, on any given week. 

Happy hunting, all!

 

Fall work

Think we'll gather a little pasture, today...

Do you see 94 head of two year old heifers in this picture?

Yeah, neither did I...but we found them!

And they trailed very nicely for us.

This is a tiny little bunch that I followed to throw in with the big bunch.

I finally figured out that the trick to moving young cows is to make them think it's their idea...if they think they're running the show, they'll go right along.  However, if they think you want them to go somewhere...like through a gate...they will find every way possible to thwart the process.  

I like the trail!

Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of sagebrush....lots. 

See the little dot on the horizon?  That's a guy on a wheeler, looking for 94 head of heifers.  Do you see them anywhere in this picture?  Yeah...

And here's the boss, counting heifers.  We found 93-95 head, depending on his count...close enough!

And I love red...coat, wheeler, paddle...the only brightness around.

Photo Challenge Day 2: At work

He always works with his tongue stuck out a little, just like his Grandma Banana and PopPop Vern...

SIGNS

By Wallace McRae

It's not the crying Vs of geese

A-flying overhead.

Nor the inconspicuous buckbrush 

Suddenly, strident red.

It's not the horses hairing-up,

The creek a-turning brown.

Or the ash tree getting gussied up

In her saffron dressing gown.

It's not the blue-tinged frosty morn, 

The coyote getting bolder, 

The faint ache in my steel-pinned leg

Reminding me I'm older.

It's not the spring-green grasses, 

Now a tannish monochrome.

I know that fall's upon us-

Our cats are coming home.