Author: montanaclarks

A photo I forgot to insert last week–the Cowboy and Emmi in the Tucson airport after we came through security.                                                                                                                                                                                                                Our weather has been wild this week–temps in the low 20’s at times, snow, rain, sleet, wind that will blow your sunglasses right off the car dash and out into the parking lot (it happened!) and one warm day with glorious sunshine but still windy. We have welcomed an inch of rain this week. The grass is greening but with temps in the low 20’s the leaves are waiting a bit.

We have a very amorous grouse hanging out with us. He has a couple lady friends but spends a lot of time all fluffed up, waiting, hooting his displeasure that the ladies are not more accommodating! And he spends a lot of time avoiding Emmi.

Our wheels have been turning this week. In an effort to cut back on our Billings trips I scheduled several appointments for Monday and Tuesday. We had intended to take the little camper and stay in Billings Monday night but the weather didn’t cooperate. Monday I saw the orthopedic surgeon for my cranky hip and visited the dentist for a cleaning. And added a trip to Billings–a MRI on the cranky hip next week.

On Tuesday we drove back to Billings–the Cowboy saw his dermatologist early Tuesday and she gave him great news after all those MOHS procedures last summer!!! A clean bill of health!–she froze lots of those keratosis things and told him to come back in six months! Very exciting!

The next visit for the Cowboy was not so exciting and in fact it was down right aggravating for both of us. His urologist is retiring and without notifying us the office changed providers. They also sent us a text message to change the appointment time. We declined to see the locum provider and spent some time chatting with the manager for the urology clinic at SCL in Billings. The Cowboy now has an appointment with another urologist in the same clinic. Added another trip to Billings but at least it’s on the same day as my MRI!!

The last appointment on Tuesday was for a much needed haircut for me. We broke the bank at Costco and Walmart stocking the pantry. With grocery prices showing no sign of dropping we purchased a freezer at Costco and it’s now well stocked.

Thank goodness we could stay home on Wednesday and Thursday–not so fast! I had been complaining that the dryer was taking way too long to dry clothes. My handy man discovered why and had to make a quick trip to town for a new dryer hose. Unfortunately that wasn’t the issue, it seems the washing machine is not spinning as it should and the clothes are too wet when they hit the dryer. Our washer and dryer are just over 20 years old and it makes me sad that my outstanding, huge washer has issues that wouldn’t be cost effective to repair.

Friday the wheels were rolling again–this time for Emmi girl. Liver enzymes checked and are much better than when checked in February!! She received her rattlesnake vaccine and another vaccine today.

Life is good! Friday while in town we met friends Jill and Terry at the pizza place and enjoyed a good lunch and a bunch of fabulous gabbing! On Saturday evening the kids came for dinner–and once again we ate too much! Carne asada tacos, queso dip, a salad and one of those divine strawberry cakes. I only made a one layer cake this time so we didn’t have an entire two layer cake to devour! Millie is a bit of a picky eater and will NOT eat fruit of any kind. So we just said, “it’s a cake!” I warned all the adults, “it’s a cake!” Millie devoured her slice! Success in pulling the wool over a child’s eyes! 😍

Heavy frost Sunday morning–are you seeing why I don’t buy flowers this time of year? Too much trouble to take them in and out of the house!

A tree had fallen over one of our walking paths and the Cowboy dealt with it on Sunday. I baked bread, fed us lunch–a garlic shrimp stir fry that we both like very much. After that late lunch we took a drive up the Boulder–not very many people out and about the middle of May.

Happy Birthday little brother–hope you had a great day!

Last Tuesday Louanne drove us to Tucson and we checked into yet another crummy hotel. Wednesday morning we were out the door very early and by about 1pm we were in Montana. Emmi was a trooper, sleeping most of the way. Warm, sunny Montana. Lonn was kind enough to retrieve us from the airport, we had a great lunch and purchased a few groceries then headed for home.

No surprises at the house, all is well. Grass is starting to turn green, no leaves on the trees and lots of weeds popping their ugly heads out of the ground.

Thursday the Cowboy drove to Lonn’s and retrieved the cargo trailer we sent home with him when he visited us in Arizona. I stayed home and tried to bring some order to the house plus I made lunch. We are back in the land of doughy tortillas–about the only thing available in Montana is Mission brand tortillas and neither of us will eat them. So–I made tortillas and they are delicious. We had bean burritos for lunch.

We did have a visitor–judging by the size of his feet he/she was a big visitor! The Cowboy thinks it was a black bear but isn’t totally certain. The game camera went up today–maybe we will catch the bear strolling by again??

Friday we had a treat–an invitation to dinner at Lonn’s. I contributed the cake, the kiddos provided the rest of the delicious meal–

Our little ones are growing–Brooks celebrated his sixth birthday in April and received a great birthday present which he LOVES!

The Cowboy has been doing some leather work, tooling himself a belt as he left in Arizona the one he usually wears everyday.🙃We’ve been walking Emmi, I’ve been feeding us and puttering with a bit of spring cleaning. I was disappointed to not find someone who could spring clean for me this year–everyone is just too busy and booked solid.

The past two days have been chilly with rain/snow. No complaining in this household–we will take very last bit of moisture mother nature sees fit to send our way.

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

 

 

It’s easier with no RV to load but the loose ends still need tying. And that’s what we’ve been doing.

I love the birds but geez they are such nasty critters! We have these “bump outs” on the outside of all the house windows. The bump outs are pieces of foam covered with wire and stucco is applied in a contrasting color to the rest of the house. Under the porch roofs, the birds like to sit on those bump outs and you can guess what they do. I purchased these owls to hang in the windows under the porches–we will see if that deters the little poopers!! And Wednesday with bucket, brush, water hose and ladder I managed to rid the bump outs of all the “drips” and “piles” if you know what I mean! UGH!

Tuesday morning early before the wind started I sprayed weeds for a while, fed us and drove to Tucson to pick up Louanne at the airport. The traffic was horrendous due I’m sure to the later hour. Louanne had a good time visiting family and friends and is also glad to be back in Arizona.

Speaking of wind–it’s been horrendous all over Arizona. The dust has been so bad we’ve left all our doors and windows closed. At times the mountains disappear behind a cloud of dust.

In the past the Cowboy dabbled in stained glass art. In the weekly free newspaper he noticed an ad for a person’s entire stained glass collection–tools, books, glass saws, and lots of glass. The best part–the collection was located right here in our neighborhood. The Cowboy struck a deal and brought home all of it storing it away for next season’s fun.

The suitcases are out of storage and little piles of stuff to pack are appearing everywhere. I cleaned my closet on Thursday and took two bags of good used clothing/shoes to a friend, Karen, who will take it to the local food bank on Monday for distribution.

Saturday evening we were treated to dinner at Dan and Louanne’s. Oh my!!! The two of them outdid themselves and we waddled home. Rolled flank steak stuffed with all kinds of goodies, butter potatoes (you can figure those out by the name!) and a delicious salad. Louanne had made orange rolls–not exactly a dinner roll but leftovers came home with us for breakfast–those things are so dang good!!! I contributed a lemon meringue pie and my meringue kept its shape–finally!!!

AND–drum roll please–I have finally mastered the art of making a pie crust at my advanced age!! In the past I would attempt a pie crust from time to time and give up going back to purchasing my crusts from the frozen section of the grocery store. Then I met Louanne in March of 2018 and that woman can make a pie crust.

Pie crusts are not healthy eating. But we only eat pie occasionally–right?? So using lard and Crisco in a pie crust is not going to kill us! And Louanne’s time honored pie crust recipe using lard and Crisco works producing a delicious, flaky pie crust, every single time! Right before Thanksgiving one year Louanne gave me pie crust making lessons. I tried a crust a couple weeks ago and had a really hard time rolling out the dough. Louanne reminded me about the “sleeve.” It’s a cheese cloth sleeve that slides over your rolling pin and the dough doesn’t stick. She also taught me another trick. Getting the crust into the pie plate was always challenging until Louanne showed me how to roll the pie crust around the rolling pin then roll it off right into the pie plate–works like a charm every time!!

Lucy and Milton invited us for Sunday lunch. We again ate so well and I contributed Pie #2 to the lunch. Dan, Louanne and Linda were there also. We are saying our “see you in the fall” goodbyes. Milton is our caretaker and does such a good job making sure things stay as they should at our Arizona home.

This week our friends Angie and Ralph came over from Tombstone bearing steaks–do you see a pattern here–all we do is eat!! But they are eating healthy so we had steaks and a big salad. No appetizers, no sides and no dessert.

It’s another miserably windy day in Arizona and it’s hot–time to head north we are thinking!

 

 

 

 

The Cowboy needed a new place to sit now that the recliner couch we both found to be so uncomfortable has found a new home. Monday we made a quick trip to Sierra Vista and found a recliner he loves–he’s a happy Cowboy!

Tuesday we received our second booster and had no/nada ill effects from the injection. We enjoyed lunch at a local Mexican restaurant and came home.

Several nights ago the Cowboy and Emmi went out the front door and surprised a deer. Wednesday night I took Emmi for her last outs. As we stepped onto the porch a critter ran across in front of Emmi and she gave chase–a kangaroo rat AND a mouse!! Around the corner onto the grass where I always shine the flashlight up the power poles–an owl was watching us. As Emmi was doing her thing the coyotes started singing and howling all around us. We went back inside and I told the Cowboy–“it was a dang menagerie out there tonight!

Thursday morning I was out of the house early to retrieve Louanne and take her to the airport–she is taking a little getaway trip. I returned an ugly tablecloth and stopped for a few groceries before heading home. Traffic was light but Costco was a zoo as usual!

Friday I invited Dan and our Montana friend Larry to join us for dinner. Brisket was on the menu and danged if I didn’t have another cooking failure!  Brisket was in the guest house oven in time for us to eat at about 5:30pm. Went to check the brisket at 4:30–the oven temp had only reached 270!!! We didn’t eat until 6pm but we had some great conversation!

Friday the wind started blowing just after sunrise and I don’t think we’ve ever had wind this bad. It was horrible! Huge dust clouds everywhere. Poor little Emmi needed an anchor and so did I–it was that bad! The Chiricahua Monument clocked a wind speed of 60mph Friday! A brush fire started south of us a few days ago, burning about 200 acres before our amazing local firefighters extinguished the fire caused by a person towing a trailer with dragging safety chains. There is the 20,000+ acre fire near Flagstaff, AZ probably human caused as there has been no weather events to cause fires. There was a multiple structure fire in Bisbee Friday–we haven’t read any more about this fire. It is so incredibly dry in Arizona.

This afternoon we journeyed into town to have dinner at Linda’s house–Janice was co-host/helper. We always enjoy meals at Linda’s house–she sets a beautiful table, the food is good and the company outstanding. We love our friends in this neighborhood!

It was a beautiful evening and we had such a good time.

Here’s our little cheerleader in the making–

 

 

 

 

Remember this bird photo–I should have know better! We have an abundance of cactus wren, I wasn’t paying attention and labeled this bird as a cactus wren. Gay, Mike and Jodee set me straight–thanks so much guys for helping! Our bird lady, fellow blogger Judy who is no longer with us would have been appalled!

Last Sunday we had the dinner party for six other people–and we had such a good time but before that dinner party started I had a bad day! Pie crust failure, made another curst and pie overflowed in oven making smoke alarm scream, dinner rolls didn’t rise (milk too hot I think) and I had to make another batch of rolls, wind was blowing so hard the grill would not stay at temperature to cook the prime rib. I put the prime rib in a disposable pan and in the guest house oven, guest house filled with smoke–disposable pan had a hole and all the juice was dripping into the bottom of the oven–now I had two ovens to clean!!

What a day–I was exhausted–but we had such a great evening with good friends!

Monday the Cowboy helped Clint and Larry. Clint had purchased a hot tub from Costco and it was delivered. The problem–the hot tub was sitting outside their walled back yard where the pool is located. There is no gate into the pool area large enough for a backhoe–SO the Cowboy lifted the hot tub OVER the wall. And once the hot tub cleared the wall the Cowboy couldn’t see it and was directed by Larry. Christi was in the house–she couldn’t watch!! And I’m glad I wasn’t there to watch!!

Tuesday bright and early Louanne and I were on our way to Tucson for a couple days of shopping and dining. We stayed in an AirBnB that was quite nice–an older home that had been remodeled. I was taking a tour, pulled back the shower curtain in Louanne’s bathroom and screamed–there was one gigantic cockroach in her tub!! She dispatched him with her flip flop!!! Cockroaches in a desert climate seems unusual–I had my share of those creepy things when living in humid Houston.

One of the best meals on this trip–Breakfast at the Cup Cafe in the historic Hotel Congress which opened in 1919 in downtown Tucson. We also enjoyed breakfast at the Blue Willow.

We shopped Tuesday until we could shop/walk no longer and headed to the AirBnB. Our lunch which we shared at the Yard House was really good. We had some good meals and one awful meal. The awful meal was really awful and when the waitress asked if we needed boxes and we both said “no,” she encouraged us to tell her what was wrong. She deducted 50% from the cost of the meals–that helped!!

Thursday saw us heading home after three days of shopping–tired but happy! The guys were glad to see us as was Emmi.

Dan and Louanne hosted an Easter gathering Sunday afternoon–such a wonderful afternoon spent with special friends. Great food and awesome conversation.

Such a great gathering of good friends–life is good!

Our great grands had to hunt Easter eggs in the Montana snow! Laci and Lora flew in from Nebraska for the long weekend.

And Christy gave us this Easter card–I loved it! It’s a reproduction of a German Easter card printed in 1910.

And lastly, this was my contribution to the party food today–a fresh strawberry cake that was absolutely one of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten! I could have scooped up the icing with a spoon and eaten just that!

 

 

This week has passed slowly. We had a great day in Tucson on Monday with good news from the Cowboy’s physician, a good lunch and very little shopping as we will head north in the next few weeks.

 

Tuesday morning the Cowboy was under the weather and remained that way for most of the week. We are thinking he might have had food poisoning. He is so strong and has still managed to finish tasks–a bit of drywall touch up, changed the oil in the truck, etc.

I’ve puttered–painting some of the drywall touch up, walking Emmi, painting doors–I have three exterior doors left to do. I am determined to find the time and finish these doors!

Friday and Saturday we helped with the Spring Fling at our local library. We helped erect awning tents, moved tables and chairs and also helped vendors erect their tent awnings. I baked cookies for the bake sale. Louanne manned the bake sale table and sold out!! There were bunches of cookies and baked goods–all gone! We had to be at the library by 7am Saturday–we were exhausted the rest of the day–getting up early is most definitely not on our like list!  We both find it hard to sleep knowing we have to rise early.

Saturday night my nephew Trent asked Addisan to marry him and she said yes. I love the smile this young woman puts on Trent’s face! Very exciting news in our family! Not sure who took this photo and the one below–my sister in law Vicky or niece Hannah.

My Mom with her great granddaughter Magnolia–I love this photo.

Sunday was a windy, hot day!! In the evening we all gathered around our table for another lovely meal–prime rib and all the fixings. Mo, Dan and Louanne, Larry, Janice and Linda joined us for good food and good times.

We purchased a whole prime rib for Christmas and froze half of it. It’s time to cook and eat everything in the refrigerator–so a party was in order!

It’s hard to take a photo of a black dog–you can never see their eyes–but we still think Emmi is cute! Life is good!

 

 

A Scaled Quail–we call them cotton tops.

This morning I sat down to write this blog and had writer’s block! It’s been a slow week in this household and not much to write about.

I did make this amazing chicken dish suggested by our friend Bonnie. The Cowboy thought it was good and that’s saying something for chicken! And I baked bread–

The Cowboy has been working on this and that–a little drywall work that was missed, more fencing work and catching critters. I have been painting doors–two completely finished and rehung, one partially painted and three exterior doors to go. Have I said before–painting doors is a pain! Our Montana house has all wood doors that we stained but all wood pre-hung doors were impossible to find in Arizona or if we did find them the cost was outrageous. So we went with masonite paneled doors that have to be painted. The exterior doors are metal and those doors are even harder to paint as they show every single brush stroke. I keep telling myself–almost finished, almost finished!

We received a surprise in the mail from our dear friend Sarah–a just because present–the best kind!

And surprise–we’ve been eating again! Dan is most definitely on the mend! He and Louanne hosted dinner Friday evening and we dined like kings! Milton (our caretaker and Dan and Louanne’s neighbor/friend) and Lucy joined us. Dan cooked a pot roast with potatoes and carrots in a marvelous sauce. Louanne made her famous rolls and TWO pumpkin pies (my favorite!). I provided the Cesar salad and another jello type salad that is a favorite of Dan’s. We all waddled home!

The weather has warmed–it’s April in Arizona and the temps are rising. We’ve had lots of wind too. Tuesday it rained a bit once again–still not enough to bring out the poppies.  The trees are leafing and our one lone apple tree has tiny leaves.

The library in this small community is supported by a Friends of the Library group. Louanne is a member of the board of this group. The library is having a “Spring Fling”–bake sale, vendors, etc. The board is short members and needed some help–the Cowboy and I are going to help with setup next weekend.

Life is good!

Monday we spent a long, long day in Tucson–the Cowboy had a doctor’s appointment at 2:45pm–ugh! It was a quick visit then we were off to pickup groceries and navigate rush hour traffic in Tucson. When we exit I-10 twenty miles from home we both always breathe a sigh of relief and I usually say, “finally, off the race track.”

It rained Sunday evening and Monday morning–not enough to make the poppies bloom I’m afraid.

Sometime in 2003 or 2004 we met Ralph and Angie. You might remember the blog I wrote  about a friend in the hospital with covid in early 2021. His significant other Angie would travel to Tucson every day and sit in a lawn chair outside his hospital window. Ralph recovered. He and Angie workkamp at a shooting range/horse camping/little bit of everything outfit near Tombstone. On the way back from Sierra Vista Wednesday we stopped to visit them–it’s been a while since we’ve seen them and we enjoyed a wonderful visit!!

The Cowboy has been fencing–as in finding the corner stakes for our lots, planting a corner post or two, fighting the tall weeds. That man has to have a project–it keeps him healthy!

Friday afternoon we hosted a happy hour–some attendees have adult beverages, some don’t–we still call it happy hour. Clint and Kristi have been coming to this area for years from Washington. Friends Liz and Larry also from Washington came to visit–and bought a house. These folks joined us along with Dan and Louanne. I made Pioneer Woman’s Jalapeno Popper Dip  and it was so, so good!! Guacamole (my own version for which there is no recipe) along with a meat and cheese tray made for a “no one has to have dinner” happy hour.

Sunday we socialized again–Clint and Kristi’s new to them house has a pool–some of the guests were brave and ventured into the pool–we thought we would wait until the water warms a bit or Clint’s new heating system is fully installed! 🙂 We had a good time visiting with friends and neighbors.

I have a delicious cookie recipe for gingersnaps that uses Crisco. I seldom use Crisco and didn’t have enough for the cookies so I used all butter–big mistake!! The cookies were wafer thin and spread all over the cookie sheet–lesson learned. I switched directions and made snickerdoodles instead to take to Clint and Kristi’s.

And that’s it for another week in the Arizona desert–life is good!

Don’t get excited Sue–the above photo was taken on this day in March, 2019. Since that time our corner of Arizona has been in a severe drought. We had poppies in 2020 but we went north to Montana early that year to escape Arizona’s rising covid numbers. No poppies in 2021 and it’s not looking good for poppies this year as we’ve had less than an inch of rain all winter.

March and April are our warmest months in this winter paradise and we enjoy them to the fullest. Days spent sitting outside in the sun, long walks–soaking up that sun before heading back to mud season in Montana.

We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Dan and Louanne’s Monday night with us providing the food–they provided the grill and the excellent company! Every time I cook an outstanding meal like that I say, “why do we go out to eat??”  Eating out has become so expensive and many times the food is just not that good. Marinated flank steak, Pioneer Woman smashed potatoes and a salad with that amazing homemade Cesar dressing!

I saw an article in a local Montana news source describing a new restaurant in White Sulphur Springs which is about 100 miles from our home. Visiting the Jawbone’s website I opened the limited menu–$41 for a filet mignon steak. I haven’t purchased filet mignon steaks in a long time but I’m fairly certain $41 would purchase at least two if not more!!

When the Cowboy and I were dating he took me to a local Montana restaurant in our hometown and it quickly became our go to spot. The food was great, the wine portions were healthy and the atmosphere was so fun. That restaurant has priced itself out of our market as has the Rib and Chop in Livingston which we always enjoy. The food I cook is better and less expensive, the wine portions at any restaurant are ridiculously small for the amount charged (not that we are drinking wine any more) and it’s just OK that we don’t go out to eat.

We dine out when traveling to Billings or Tucson but it’s in restaurants that are either fast food or semi fast food. But even in the semi fast food places lunch will cost $50 and that’s without alcohol of any kind. Have you noticed the upcharge for drinks of any kind–iced tea, sodas, etc.?? I can’t drink water in a restaurant–it tastes like chlorine–so I usually order a diet Coke–$3!!

Tuesday evening our friends from Coos Bay, Oregon arrived with their RV. They have been in Mexico for a few months and are now heading north. We enjoyed a great visit with them and some more of those home cooked fabulous meals. They brought us shrimp–the best shrimp we’ve ever had! Ainslie cooked the shrimp and potatoes Wednesday night and we dined like kings!

Louanne and Dan’s son Hadley is visiting from Oregon and we dined like kings at their house–are you seeing a pattern around here??–eating is our pastime and my jeans are shrinking. Fried chicken–I haven’t had fried chicken in so long I can’t remember the last time I ate this southern favorite. Mashed potatoes, gravy–oh my!!! It was a very enjoyable evening!

I’ve been doing a little touch up painting and also have several doors to paint–not my favorite thing to do but it must be done. I’ve also been doing a bunch of knitting–had to order more yarn for the next sweater I am going to knit. The first yarn was too small and I couldn’t make gauge–important if you want the sweater to fit! Swatch knitting to check gauge is not my favorite thing to do but it also must be done if you want your garment to fit. While waiting for the sweater yarn I started a shawl from a kit I purchased in Arkansas on one of my trips. I’m really liking that project!

Emmi thinks she is neglected when we have visitors–she’s not! She will sit in front of her toy box and just stare at it–

Our metal owl who hangs from the porch roof to discourage birds from sitting on our porch and doing their nasty business everywhere–it seems to be working!

Sunday afternoon Louanne, Janice and Linda came out and we whiled away the afternoon playing Rummikub. And that’s it for our week in the Arizona desert.

 

Mom and I stuck close to home the first part of the week, knitting and talking. Various family members come and go during the day and I would walk across the road to visit with my sister and brother in law. I cooked salmon for all of us on Monday evening.

The entire family lives within a mile radius of each other–my Mom, my two siblings and their children. We can almost yell at each other from the respective houses! Visiting is easy–no long distances to travel.

Thursday morning my brother Ross deposited me at the airport in Little Rock and my long day of travel began. I always am most concerned about departure and arrival times for flights I book, seldom paying attention to the layover times. That’s going to change! I had a 3.5 hour layover in Denver and Southwest was running late giving me a 4.5 hour layover–UGH!!! The Denver airport was an absolute zoo–super crowded, noisy, chaotic!

The Cowboy and Emmi were so glad to see me as I was them! Friday I had a bad case of jet lag managing to unpack the suitcases and do some laundry but that was about it.

The Cowboy has been on a mission to eliminate the critters who keep digging under our trees. The trees are watered, the ground is soft and the critters dig. So far it’s critters 0 and the Cowboy 4!!

Dan and Louanne have been having a rough go of it lately and needed the Cowboy’s expertise–plumber and mechanic skills. As a thank you they presented him with the absolute best thank you present–

Sunday afternoon we needed a few groceries and made a run to Wilcox taking advantage of that gift card and the local Dairy Queen. That’s a great thank you present!

On Friday afternoon in Arkansas they had snow–about three inches. My niece Niki took this beautiful photo with her iPhone–it’s a winner!

It’s a sunny but super windy day in Arizona. I would guess judging from the long range forecast that winter is over–lot’s of sunny, warm, dry days ahead.

Life is good.