It’s the time of year when we start buttoning down for winter. Cleaning flower beds, blowing out the sprinkler system, removing anything from the RV that might freeze and winterizing the RV. Our weather has been spectacular–too warm and dry for this time of year but perfect Indian summer days.
Wednesday the Cowboy was still under the weather and we made an unexpected trip to Billings to see his family physician stopping in Big Timber for lunch with Jeane so I could deliver her quilt. She was thrilled with it as was I. We took the Emmi girl with us to Billings, not knowing how long we would be there I didn’t want to leave her alone for hours. We picked up our groceries at Walmart on the way into Billings, the Cowboy sat in the truck with Emmi while I did a bit of Costco shopping and we headed to the doctor’s office. New prescriptions and thus it was back to Costco where I was finally able to get my new glasses adjusted.
Costco sells eyeglasses for prices way below any private optician BUT it’s almost impossible to find the optical department not totally swamped with people. They have at least instituted one of those “take a number” things which has helped but when they are serving number 24 and you are number 34–not happening. We have so much to do when we are in Billings I seldom have time to wait an hour or more to have someone adjust my glasses. It was a pleasure to finally get to wear the new ones!
Something I forgot to say about Elk City, Idaho–it has a population of 116 and it most definitely is in the middle of nowhere! There is a school for kindergarten through eighth grade but Google tells me it’s currently closed, maybe that means there are no school aged children this year?? There is a health clinic in Elk City, ID. It’s nearest larger community 60 miles away is Grangeville, Idaho with a population of about 3000. At the other end of the Magruder Corridor is Darby, Montana, population 685. You would have to be a hardy soul to live in Elk City, Idaho! When we visited Elk City in 2016, the population was double what it is today and in 2012 the population was over 400.
These two photos are of our trip home from the Magruder after the rain.
We had an unexpected pleasure Thursday afternoon, The Cowboy’s daughter Shannen and granddaughter Kristen came for a visit from Billings. Kristen started working as a RN at Billings Clinic this summer and between that and barrel racing she is one busy young woman. We did nothing but sit and visit–very pleasant. Kristen is driving (or rather her Mom drove as Kristen had worked the night before and was needing a nap. :)) a brand new Subaru and is loving it. She’s only ever driven big trucks hauling horses in horse trailers around the country. She’s quite pleased with her new smaller rig!
AND–it’s raining as I typed this bit of blog early Friday morning and by Sunday evening when publishing this post we had almost 2 inches of rain in the gauge–so welcome!
I’ve jumped on the air fryer band wagon–a bit late–but Tony, our UPS driver brought a big box to our house on Thursday. I’ve used the air fryer to cook bacon, chicken parmesan, and meatballs. Easy, quick and everything we’ve sampled so far has been good!
Friday evening we traveled to Lonn’s for dinner with the family. Lonn cooked and oh my goodness was it delicious!! He roasted a beef tenderloin with a bread crumb crust that once served you could have cut with your fork. Shrimp marinated in a sweet sauce and grilled asparagus. We dined like kings! I provided the traditional chocolate cake. We celebrate a lot of birthdays in September in our family–little wild Millie turned five this week.
The Cowboy is feeling much better and has been out in the garage working on various projects–some for us, some for friends/neighbors. I’ve been quilting again–another one for Jeane–a vintage Dresden plate top.
A few photos from the walk Emmi and I took Sunday morning after the rain had slacked a bit–
As you can see, the mountains have snow instead of just rain.
Those of you who are Facebook friends have read this story but it’s funny enough to share again–Wednesday when we went to Billings we took the truck with the new flatbed, two coolers tucked up against the cab between the two toolboxes. I was driving when we exited Costco onto the cross street where a work truck had the far right lane blocked. A man was in a bucket lift changing a bulb in a street lamp. As I accelerated we heard an awful noise–my first thought was the man in the bucket lift was in trouble–but no, the Cowboy said, “our cooler!!!” I quickly pulled into the blocked lane, activated the flashers and backed up. The Cowboy jumped out as did I and we began gathering our groceries off the asphalt. We lost 9 eggs from a package of 24 and a container of yogurt exploded. The rest of the stuff in the cooler survived the fall–hamburger meat, grapes, etc. Those coolers rode all the way to Billings, we had been to other places, accelerated many times and the coolers stayed put. Why the one cooler decided to jump ship is anyone’s guess but the Cowboy has plans for keeping those coolers on the truck!
Life is good.
Restoration Cowboy Style 
Glad you wanted some rain, glad you got some! I guess there’s a first for everything, and you’ve had your first grocery escapee! The scenery is just beautiful up there, you’ll miss it when you come back to Arizona! Love the quilt….
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It’s funny how we are so ready to come back to MT in the spring, and so ready to head south in the fall–keeps thing interesting I guess.
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I love the bunny quilt, so cute and your photos are stunning as usual!! Your country looks green! Hope Muke is improving!
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Thanks Geri! Our country isn’t green, I just happened to show a lot of irrigated fields in those photos! 🙂 This is the first rain we’ve had since July.
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Wow, that was scary to have your cooler take flight…and it’s amazing that most of the food inside survived unscathed! I hate when things fall off the truck, LOL. (We once had a bike come loose from the rack on top of our truck and come crashing down on the passenger side, still holding on by one strap. That was terrifying!)
That bunny quilt is adorable, and your quilting work is beautiful. So glad Mike is feeling better. When do you head south?
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It was scary–where it happened is a busy three lane street, we are just lucky those two trucks had that lane blocked or we would have been dodging traffic to retrieve our eggs! I’m having my knee replaced so we won’t be heading south until later this year.
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I made it to Elk City for the first time this summer. I came in from Grangeville, which is a beautiful small town. The friends I was with have been across the Magruder Corridor. My time for crossing have pasted I think but you never know. Vern in Boise
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How cool is that!! You can traverse the Magruder in a passenger vehicle–high clearance would be good but it’s doable. And yes Grangeville is a beautiful small town.
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The west will take any rain it can get anywhere. Seeing snow on the mountain makes me realize summer is really over. That quilt is adorable!! Some lucky person will enjoy it. Sounds like a wonderful meal at Lonn’s. I keep thinking about the air fryer, but I’m not sure I would use it enough. I am a griller and grill almost every night. Sure glad to hear Michael is feeling better. Love, love the cooler story:)
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I too am a griller but I think I will get use from this air fryer too. Yes, the west will take our moisture any way we can get it. It rained a lot during last night so our gauge is fuller!
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I am really looking forward to seeing the Dresden plate quilt. I have an unfinished top from 70 years ago that I’m thinking of finishing.
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Don’t know how old this top is but it is old–I can tell by the fabrics and texture of those fabrics.
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Good morning Janna! What a beautiful backyard you have in Montana…gorgeous photos! The quilt is quite a piece of art and I so admire anyone with the talent and patience to finish a project like that. I can’t imagine picking up groceries in the middle of a busy street…good save guys! And what a story to tell around the campfire! Glad Mike is feeling better. Air fryers are definitely “the thing” these days. We don’t have one, but I see lots of recipes for things to cook using one. I noticed your weights on the counter…you go girl! And I love the metal art you have on the window sill. Have a great week!
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That comment was from Gay…
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Somehow I suspected this comment was from you Gay! I’m glad I waited to buy an air fryer–they are much less expensive these days! We do live in a beautiful area of Montana. I hate exercise but I’m trying to get in shape for that knee replacement! The metal art was done for us by a friend so, so many years ago and it’s always sat in that same spot.
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Not sure i’d have the space for an air fryer. Our son has one in his kitchen and he complains about how much storage space it takes up. Thatwas his way of saying that dont use it much. Ha!
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The air fryer is big and does take up a lot of room. I might find myself using it more in summer when I don’t want to heat up the kitchen.
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Your bunny quilt is absolutely spectacular, Janna. Whew. I have seen a few coolers along the highways, now I know the answer. I have managed to avoid the air fryer trend, even though I know many friends who love them. I just don’t want to take up the counter space. Actually cogitating over a Keurig…just maybe….since our Cuisinart coffee pot is perfectly fine, but having a quick cup of coffee perfectly fresh is pretty cool too. Glad you got some rain and hope that the weather holds for your departure.
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I did not make the bunny quilt, my friend Jeane did, I only quilted it. Her handwork is amazing! The air fryer does take up a lot of room. I like Keurigs but Mike does not and they don’t last long especially if you have hard water as we do.
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Hmmm….well I would bet mo won’t like it either, but maybe I will. And since our water is RO pure maybe it will last longer. LOL And if I need an air fryer very very badly, I can drive a mile and borrow Maryruths!
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Your Arizona place has been getting plenty of rain as well if the dark clouds “over there” are any indication! It’s skirting us most often, but we’ve had some good drenchings as well 🙂 Love you misty pics – looks magical.
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