Grasshopper Viewpoints

Tampa Snapshots

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 16:39:00 +0000

Greetings from Tampa!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 01:01:00 +0000

We arrived in Tampa ahead of Isaac and then Isaac never showed up!

We are absolutely amazed at the security here in the Tampa area. Busloads of S.W.A.T. teams last night at the Welcome Event. Police and sheriff vehicles at highway intersections everywhere. Security on every bus. And even this bicycle squad down by the Forum yesterday! It will be interesting to see what the protester situation is tomorrow when we actually start the Convention.

The Montana delegation is so privileged to have Former Governor Tim and Betty Babcock in attendance with us. Turns out this is the 15th consecutive Convention they have attended. They are so very gracious and kind to everyone they meet. Very impressive.

Errol Galt was the first delegation member to wear the "penalty" hat. Not sure exactly what he did to deserve that, but we all got a laugh out of it!

Our fearless leader, Karen Pfaeler, is on top of all the Convention details and keeps us all on track - well, so far! She was clear about the fact that she is NOT our "mommy!" So don't miss the bus. . . .

This is our Beaverhead County delegation to the Convention: Jim Brown, Walt, me, Ron and Valerie Fick.

The Wyoming delegation invited the Montana delegation to join them on a river cruise luncheon, so we had the privilege of visiting with and hearing Senator Enzi speak to us. Great guy - we were very impressed.

And then the "penalty" hat reared its head once again. (I have a feeling it will not be the last time!) Our Montana GOP chairman, Will Deschamps, was the lucky winner of that honor on this go round. Who will be next?

Another evidence of the heavy security - we've seen many of these on the waterways. This one was patrolling the dock area where our cruise boat was docked (the water was too choppy for us to actually "cruise," but the food was good!).

Last evening was the Big Welcome Event for all the attendees. It was amazing how much food they served - tables everywhere. Certainly wasn't an issue of standing in line to eat.

This was for real, but purely for decoration!

There were two of these entertainers on stilts from Busch Gardens. The costumes were beautiful and fun to watch them interact with the guests.

This paella dish was about 3 feet in diameter - seriously! And it was good!

Some of the Tampa "buccaneers" welcoming committee!

Walt particularly enjoyed the "Bacardi" welcoming committee. . . . It was the 150th birthday celebration for Bacardi. I think.

This place was huge. Someone told us they had a baseball game in there the day before. I believe it. Picture does not do it justice.

Budweiser box hat? Yeah, really.

They were everywhere. . . .

This morning we went out early to walk along the beach before "Isaac" arrived. Couldn't see much evidence of a "hurricane" on its way. And of course, it turned out to be a total non-event except that it wasn't a very nice day - rain and wind on and off again. So much for that tan I was planning!

Clearwater Beach decorated and displayed probably a hundred or so of these dolphins in a traffic circle on the beach, but when we walked this morning they had come and laid them all on the ground to protect them from being blown over by the storm. This evening when we came back to the hotel they were all back "on their feet" (so to speak), so will get a picture of them tomorrow when we walk. They've done a really great job on them.

Tomorrow will be the first real day of the Convention so we're looking forward to getting down to the real business of being here. Our Montana candidate for the House, Steve Daines, will be speaking in the afternoon - we are definitely looking forward to hearing him and cheering him on!

First Rhubarb Harvest

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 03:17:00 +0000

After mowing part of the lawn, I decided it was time to make my first rhubarb harvest of the season. Always a fun day for me each year - love that rhubarb! So many delicious things to do with it.

This was only about half of what I finally ended up working with. There was way more ready to harvest than I realized. Still is!

Drin has never made rhubarb sauce (to serve on ice cream, toast, biscuits, scones, shortcake or pound cake) so I decided to make a batch of that to give to her, and had enough to bag for a pie. That, too, is always a nice gift - which I gave to Betty! I love sharing my rhubarb - it is superb.

This is the final rhubarb sauce which I have canned so it will last if I don't want to use it right away. My four cups of sliced rhubarb made three half pints of sauce. Pretty, huh!

Well, when that was all done and delivered and the rest of my Bountiful Basket veggies were done I decided that I just had to make up a batch of orange chocolate chip scones. Love those scones.

Here they are out of the oven, cooling so I can glaze them.

I put a yummy orange glaze on them - nice and thick!

And here they are - ready to give away as gifts. Yes, I had one when they came out of the oven - they are so delicious - but I have to give away the rest of them. If I had them in the house, I would probably have to eat them - all of them! The guys at coffee in the morning will certainly enjoy them - and save me all those yummy calories!

Pool Time

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 May 2012 02:04:00 +0000

Riding With Emily

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 May 2012 02:06:00 +0000

Bountiful!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:57:00 +0000

I love the new "bounty" in my life. I've joined "Bountiful Baskets" and am able to order a basket of fresh vegetables and fruits every week in Dillon. Not only can I pick up my basket, but I can order other items in bulk. I am lovin' it!

This is the truck that brings all this "bounty" to Dillon. It is huge! I don't know how many stops this truck makes before it gets to us, but it carries a whole lot fresh pproduce.

The volunteers are getting organized to start loading the baskets.

"Counting" is a big deal with Bountiful Baskets - making sure that everything is on site.

All the bulk items are separate from the baskets.

Busy volunteers.

My 20 pounds of lemons!

My first batch of Sliced lemons that I have dehydrated and is now ready to pulverize into powder - lemon powder which can be added as flavoring to cookies, frosting - whatever I'm cooking.

My 8 pounds of strawberries - well 7 pounds as I gave away one of them!

I don't have time to dehydrate all the 20 lbs of lemons, so I'm juicing about half of them and freezing the juice in ice cube trays that I will be able to use when I need fresh lemon juice. I'm so clever!

My strawberries are washed, hulled, sliced and ready to go into the freezer to be used for my summer baking - pies, shortcake, cream and sugar, smoothies. Yum!

This is my ice cube tray full of lemon juice ready to freeze.

And finally my fresh pineapple sliced and bagged to use for smoothies. Love those smoothies. I also did sliced apples for a pie, and mashed bananas ready to make some banana bread. Just can't bear to let any of this wonderful "bounty" go to waste. It is so delicious!

Outside My Window

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:36:00 +0000

"Outside My Window" looks like springtime in the Rockies! There are actually three moose in the above picture - you can just barely see some ears over the rocks. Mama moose and her twins were munching on some willows behind our waterfall!

It snowed really hard for awhile and we had more than an inch of new snow. But the sun came out in the afternoon and it was quite warm. Springtime. So typical for us here.

This robin sat outside the window peering in for such a long time. Wasn't the least bit disturbed by me moving around inside. I laughed at her.

So I decided to work on my bounty from my Bountiful Baskets pick-up this weekend. I had ordered an extra 25 pounds of tomatoes, and got some of those put up. They look beautiful sitting on my counter, and I know how good they are going to be in my soups and sauces. Today I finished up the tomatoes, made and canned applesauce, and baked 5 loaves of zucchini bread for the freezer. Have beautiful lemons that I will use to make lemon curd, which is one of my favorite things. Springtime snow in the Rockies is good for doing indoor work!

Photos of Phoebe in Phoenix

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:21:00 +0000

Walt and I headed to Phoenix for a long overdue visit to his 96-year-old mother. Where it was warm! So nice to have days in the 70's - delightful! A nice change from our winter here. And really great to spend some time with his mother.

I decided I wanted to take some pictures of Mom, so took my camera with me and, of course, we had to have her hair done before we got started.

Cutest picture of the day!

Probably my favorite picture.

Gramma and her kittie - goes everywhere with her.

Walt spent some time showing her some pictures of Ecuador he has on his laptop. She was very interested in them - of course, she has been an avid traveler all her life.

We had a great time with her and were pleased to see how well she is doing at this stage of her life. Go Phoebe!

Christmas With The Gang!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:00:00 +0000

We arrived in Kansas early enough to be able to go and watch Sophie play basketball, which was a first for us and we were so pleased to be there for that. She is a superb athlete.

And she's so tall and so pretty!

And then the next day we got to go watch Josh play basketball with his school's team. What a treat for us.

Caleb was quite entranced by the Christmas tree.

And of course, there was the traditional decorating of the gingerbread house. A fun project for all!

We did quite a lot of dog walking and occasionally one of the kids would go with us - Matthew was pretty good at giving Chico some exercise!

Allie went with us out to the arboretum so she could do a photo for us. She's a wonderful photographer and did a great job. Very casual, but that's what we wanted. And it was cold and none of us wanted to be out there very long!

And one night we all bundled up super warm and climbed in Zack's trailer and went through several neighborhoods enjoying the lights and decorations and singing Christmas carols. A good time was had by all!

It was so cute seeing Noah reading the Christmas story to Jacob.

And Noah helped out with Caleb checking out the tree and everything under it.

It was a beautiful tree, Jenny. You did a great job.

And here's Noah again snuggled up with Chico!

And then there's alway the cookie decorating. Emily really gets into this project! Very serious business.

Everybody loves it. Jacob looks pretty serious about it also.

And then there's Sophie and Jenny! They're really serious! And the job got done in record time - seeing as how we were on our way to church that was a good thing.

Beautiful.

Caleb was so cute during the family tradition of new jammies on Christmas Eve. He was giving his package lots of hugs!

And here's a shot of all the guys in their new jammies. Oh, that was fun! Caleb wanted nothing to do with that part of it!

He's not laughing in this picture! Well maybe, cause Josh was tickling him at this point.

Jenny and her little Caleb.

Jenny and her guys. This was a fun shot to get, too!

Looks like Santa has come and gone!

And this was the scene in the living room on Christmas afternoon! But then, life happens and the Gang was on their way to Atlanta and had to have the house undecorated and back to "normal" before they left so their realtor could show the house while they were gone.

It was a great Christmas. So loved spending time with the kids and celebrating Christmas with the Gang. Nothing better than family at Christmas.

Winter Has Arrived in the Grasshopper Valley

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:18:00 +0000

And I'm so glad Walt is home to do the driveway and the shoveling!

And the ski hill opens tomorrow! Happy New Year to all!

Solar Eclipse in the Grasshopper Valley

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 04:38:00 +0000

WOW. How amazing it was this morning to capture this total eclipse of the moon over Maverick Mountain Ski Hill. Not sure when we will have another one of these, and of course, this one was even more of an event because of the fact that out on the plains one was able to see the sun rising at the same time of the solar eclipse. Impossible! So thankful Walt saw it! I totally forgot about it. Love these images. Not great, but good enough!

Breakfast in Ecuador

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:20:00 +0000

Walt and I went out this morning and did our 3 1/2 mile walk and on our way back passed a little produce tienda (shop) just down the street that had a big bin of ripe mangoes. So we came back to the apartment and got some money and went back to buy breakfast! November is Mango Month in Ecuador - I remember from when we lived here. And I love the small Hawaiian papaya.

All of this for $2. Unbelievable and so delicious. Food of the gods! My diet till we go back home! Fresh fruit.

Children Are A Gift From God

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 03:39:00 +0000

I think I was a little surprised when Jenny and I saw this morning that the Duggars are expecting child #20 in the spring. I mean after all, they already have 19 children AND 2 grandchildren!!! Isn't it time for them to stop? I mean, really, she's at least 45 - isn't it time to call it quits?

Well, I've sort of been thinking about it all day and here's what I really think. Children are a gift from God. It truly is my belief as a Christian that there is not a child born that is an accident - every child is from God and meant to be. And as I really think about it, it is certainly interesting that for the most part the families that are choosing to have large families (instead of using birth control, they are allowing God to "control" how many children they have) - these families are Christian families, raising their children as strong believers to impact the culture they will live in. Many, if not most, of these families are also homeschooling their children in order to protect them from the perverse and destructive attitudes and beliefs being purveyed in the public school systems across this nation.

So I say, "God bless you Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and may God bless all those beautiful children He has given you and you are raising up to love and honor Him."

Shopping With Luna

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 15:25:00 +0000

We went to Nuremburg yesterday to go shopping. It's a great city for walking and shopping and people watching and eating and enjoying medieval architecture and . . . . (Especially when the sun is shining!)

Here we are - shopping with the Queen! And she's learning from a master. :-)

Shopping for buttons is always fun - even if she doesn't need any!

And these are particularly intriguing.

Look, Mama! There's a puppy in the store! And he likes me.

I see furs in my future. . . .

Time for a little break. (Mama's practicing her shopping!)

I think I like this shirt the best.

Guess I won't need one of these for a few years!

It's A Challenge! Hooray!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 01:46:00 +0000

My quiilt buddies came today and we showed our center blocks and then drew numbers to begin the "round robin" challenge exchange. Each one of us in the round robin exchange will *secretly* add a border to each block and then pass it on to the next person. We won't see our blocks until each of our buddies has added a border to it and then we'll get it back - as a total surprise. Should be fun! So here's our blocks:

This beautiful block was made by Ellen.

And this beauty was created by Drin.

This "welcome" pineapple was made by Joan.

And this is my contribution to the challenge. I made this block about 20 years ago (!) and have been saving it for something really special. This is it!

The interesting thing about our blocks is that they are all applique and they are all "on point." We plan to take about a month per rotation (skipping December, of course) so we'll be back with our finished blocks for show and tell in a few months! Stay tuned! Should be exciting.

More Color!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 03:09:00 +0000

I never tire of taking reflection pictures of this pond.

I discovered this wasp nest yesterday. It's right by the road and I've walked past it hundreds of times and never saw it. They're so fragile that I doubt it will last long, but for now it's beautiful.

Can't believe I've brought up wood to the porch - the aspen are still green! But I'm on my way to Germany to visit Katie and I may want a fire when I get home. There may even be snow! One never knows. . . .

Life Happening - The Colors, They Are A-Changin'

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:31:00 +0000

Every day there is more color! It's so beautiful.

Life Happening - In Our Back Yard!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 02:36:00 +0000

These certainly are not great pictures of moose, but it is so interesting and fun to have them in our yard and close enough to be able to hear the sounds they make. They have no fear of me nor my puppy and I can stand around on the deck photographing them and they totally ignore me. Just hoping so much those little twin moose will make it through the winter/wolf season. Our moose numbers have been decimated by the burgeoning wolf populations in our valley and neighboring valleys. Just sayin. . . .

The bull is on the left with the cow and her twins.

Mama Moose and her twin calves.

Pretty small rack on this bull. Must be fairly young.

The Twins.

This all four of the moose that have been hanging around the house a lot lately. I'm very careful when I'm out walking!

It's so fascinating to me how they get down on their knees to eat. They love the nice, lush green grass around our house.

Hi, Mama!

Life Happening in the Grasshopper Valley

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:02:00 +0000

Life Happening - Lunch with my Quilt Buddies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:52:00 +0000

One of my favorite days is a work day with my quilt buddies - Drin, Ellen and Joan. And of course, we like to have lunch together.

I always enjoy setting a table, and like to look for new ways to do that. So yesterday I headed for the dining room cupboards to find something different. And I did! Some years ago Walt's mother gave me a beautiful luncheon set that is onyx (black) and clear glass. It includes 4 black luncheon plates, onyx and glass glasses, glass cups and onyx saucers. It's beautiful.

So I started putting things together and this is what I came up with. I liked it! And we had a delightful lunch together. Another great day with my quilt buddies. Life Happening!

LIFE HAPPENING Sunday, 18 September 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:32:00 +0000

Just a hint, but it's coming. And it's beautiful here in the Grasshopper Valley.

The Rhubarb Patch

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:56:00 +0000

What a story. In the late 1800's when the gold rush began here in southwest Montana at Bannack on Grasshopper Creek, "gold diggers" spread out through this area looking to make their fortune. Several of them ended up here in our Grasshopper Valley. One of them staked a claim high up on the side of the valley, but was not particularly successful at his gold and silver mining. Not too sure exactly what inspired him, but he decided that perhaps he could make his fortune out of rhubarb - that is rhubarb wine to make and sell to other miners in the area. He planted a huge rhubarb patch that continues to flourish to this day. All the locals know where the "patch" is located and make regular forays up Wellman Creek draw to harvest beautiful, excellent rhubarb.

This is one part of the patch. I took this picture today and it is at the end of the season, so the stalks are beginning to lean over, but for the most part the rhubarb is still usable.

The patch at one time and for many years was maintained and watered by Roger Cox and his son, Stan, but for several years now they have not been able to continue to care for it. There's now a lot of weeds growing in the patch and I think it is getting smaller, but what is there - in spite of the weeds - is still wonderful.

Many years ago soon after we finished our house I started bringing down plants from the patch and planted them next to our house. I now have about 15 plants that are flourishing and I am able to havest stalks throughout the two months or so of the season without making the 9 mile trip up the mountain.

This is one of my recent harvests.

Ready to be chopped

and bagged to freeze or to share with neighbors for all kinds of rhubarb treats - not just pies.

Today we took Helen and David up to the patch as Helen does the baking for the Grasshopper Inn and loves to make rhubarb pies. They had heard frequently about the patch, but had no clue where it was.

She also dug a couple plants to take down to her house to start her own patch.

We stopped on our way down for a photo op - a spot overlooking the valley below. Beautiful.

The road up there is not the greatest, so we normally go up on our 4-wheelers, which in itself is a fun outing. Today was perfect for a ride and a harvest.

These Boots Are Made For Walkin'

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:10:00 +0000

And that's just what they'll do! For approximately 150 miles on two different walks in Ireland. We're getting ready. We're walking 6 to 8 miles every day in preparation for this adventure. We will walk The Suck Valley Way in central Ireland and also The Dingle Way on the coast for 11 days total of walking. Very different areas of Ireland and should be wonderful and beautiful. We're so excited. We fly on Thursday! Depending on internet service at the hotels and bed and breakfasts where we will stay, I will make every effort to post a few pictures every day. We will begin this adventure with 3 days in Dublin and will end with a couple days in Limerick. Can hardly wait!

I figured out how to wear (carry) both my camera in a secure manner and also my daypack. Certainly can't make a trip like this without my camera (obviously!), and it looks like we're going to need a rain jacket most days. Just hoping it doesn't get too wet. And of course, we have to carry water for the 15 (average) miles we will walk each day. Hope I'm ready for this!!!

Summertime and the Livin' Is Easy. . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:54:00 +0000

Especially in my summer house! My dream. Thank you, Walt. I love it.

Chico loves it, too!

He found his spot!

Gotta watch for the cat! Then it will be time to play!

Twin Moose Calves - WOW

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:39:00 +0000

You won't get to see this scene very often! We are moving into the days when we see more and more moose coming back into the area (those that haven't been killed by the burgeoning wolf population here in our valley. The moose population is way down here and in other areas as well. But that's another story. . . .)

I looked out my kitchen window about 7 a.m. this morning and I saw these two guys! So cool! My mother and her pals were still here, so they got to see them and take pictures also. Such a treat. Mama Moose was very nearby - mamas never let babies get very far away. Moose are so very curious - like deer - very curious.

These guys wandered around for awhile - they didn't seem to be the least bit concerned. (I was taking pictures out the window, so they weren't threatened nor frightened).

Yesterday we had the treat of hearing and seeing a pair of sandhill cranes! There are actually two in this picture - you can click on it to see it full size.

Their cry is very distinctive - never any doubt about what we're hearing. What a treat. Moose three days in a row. A cute, photogenic little dear and sandhill cranes. Lucky. Beautiful place to live!