Emptyknitster

As the grandkiddos grow up it seems my visits are beginning to shrink! They have had a very busy summer.  Unbelievably Chloe went to visit her Grannie and Grandfather across the pond - ALL BY HERSELF! She did fine but it's hard for this Grandma to realize she is old enough to travel so far alone. Both grandkiddos also spent time back East with the English side of the family and then it was on to Northern California for just their immediate family to enjoy sometime together! I convinced myself that when they came for their visit with me they needed a bit of a rest! So off we went to the Public Library and checked out books, had The Chick come with her new kitten Zoey, and mostly just hung around the house. .Zoey loved her deck experience and The Chick added a deck to her "must have" list for a future home. We went paddle boarding a couple of days at "Lake" Elmo.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out it really wasn't a bad place to paddle.  Gra...

Recently I took a quick trip to the Stillwater. We were intending to play a little Bunco and just hang and relax with the gals. In the end hanging out and relaxing won - no Bunco was played! Artis, yours truly and Jinx   The Bunco Gals with Murphy - the three legged dog.   Switch-er-roo...Artis, Courtney and Jinx  We had a wonderful time at one of my favorite places in Montana.

Jo is on vacation and left me with the key to the cherry orchard. I've only been slowed down by the mail. Unfortunately, there is an ingredient in the pie filling recipe which is worth its weight in gold in our town - Clear Gel. Both Jo and I checked and no one in town has this valuable ingredient. They could order it - but so can we and while waiting for this item to arrive I made some outstanding Amaretto Cherry Jam. Amaretto Cherry Jam 1 quart pitted cherries 1/4 cup Amaretto 1 t almond extract 2T bottled lemon juice 1 box pectin Several drops red food coloring Bring to a rolling boil and add: 4 1/3 cups sugar Stirring, bring to a full boil and cook for 2 minutes more. Pour into sterilized jars and place in a water bath for 15 minutes I had 12 pints of jam, and a gallon of pitted cherries marinating in Everclear in the refrigerator for ice cream sauce when the Clear Gel arrived. I went right to work and now have added 14 quarts of pie filling to the list. It wou...

Last Saturday I drove south to Cowley, Wyoming for "a family wedding -  well almost." The Wyoming Cowgurl and I have been friends for 38 years. Thru thick and thin we've stuck together and now we just introduce each other as "This is my sister - well almost." It was a perfect day for a Wyoming backyard wedding, not to hot, not to cold, but just right. The ceremony began at 7pm and as sunset approached the twinkle lights began to sparkle everywhere in the yard, beautiful.  Beautiful bride, beautiful MOB, beautiful Kynlee!

Sharon, a teacher friend of mine, and I have done some really cool things over the years. We've been to Washington DC for the Mickelson Academy, Fort Peck to dinosaur dig with U of M grad students, and last weekend we went kayaking on the Big Horn Canyon Reservoir. Montana Fish and Game was offering free day trips so Sharon, always up for an adventure, signed us up. I've been kayaking before with Hubby in Hawaii but it wasn't until this trip I realized I've been working much to hard at paddling. I think I'd been trying to over achieve with Hubby on board and didn't want him to think I was whimping out, so I really "put my back into it."  On this trip I realized kayaking means skimming the surface of the water not digging into it! It took us a while to coordinate but in the end Sharon and I were a pretty good team.

Unfortunately, there are no passenger trains traveling through Billings and in reality the cost of a train ticket today is more than a plane ticket. So it is just simpler to take the faster, less expensive form of transportation. Hubby and I haven't ridden on a train for years. We once took a train trip to Seattle where he visited a high school buddy attending college there and I visited a friend from elementary days. Last month, the BNSF Railroad invited First Responders aboard for a quick train trip. Hubby knows my fondness for trains and quickly RSVP'd and signed us up for the trip.      Yesterday, we climbed aboard the train and soon got our seat in the coveted vista dome, Bay View.   We went over the Yellowstone River on the trestle bridge,   across the green prairie,   and stopped at Pompey's Piller.   We then made the return trip. All and all a great afternoon's adventure!