AT LAST! End of January!

January is an unhappy month.  It's never festive enough after the Christmas Season, it's never EVER WARM enough.  And in Wyoming it's never Un-Windy enough.  You've never experienced wind until it's 10 below zero and you have a nice stiff breeze of 20 miles per hour.  Takes the skin right off your face, I tell yah!

 

And this year, January has not been SNOWY enough.  We've had virtually no snow except for this light dusting earlier in the month.  It has us all wondering if we aren't about to go back into drought.  I sure hope not.  Ten years of it was enough.

Cmon' February - warmer and maybe just maybe some moisture?

Hey I'm easily impressed!

I have quickly found out that one of the things you give up with 'rural' life is convenience.  Nothing, and I do mean nothing, seems 'convenient' unless maybe it's the views and your horse.  You get used to it and actually expect the worse.

It all takes TIME - time to get the propane, time to run to town to get gasoline or groceries (and in our case water too as our well water is not potable). No home delivery of new appliances, waiting forever for a repairman when one does break down and paying the MILEAGE charges!!!  And of course, since we are so far from town no off the air television either.  And NO local stations available via satellite; just the Denver networks which are about as local as say....Washington D.C.

Being the middle of winter, it's our television watching time.  Not much else to do but feed critters.  And really most of the cable channels (with the exception of maybe Rural RFDTV) caters to our tastes - old-fashioned.  So recently we dropped our movie channels as we are just not into the druggy, coppy, shoot-em up dysfunctional people movies and joined Netflix.  The ad said one day delivery!

Well of course, unless you live in RURAL Wyoming.  So I figured maybe four days to get a shipment.  Pleasant surprise, the first movies were here today!! TWO DAYS.   I'm impressed.

I was also impressed with the selection.  Lots of documentaries which we like, PBS stuff,etc.  One of the first ones we rented was the HBO Documentary "Slave Narratives" which was a wonderful piece of preservation of American history.  The WPA Writer's Project during the Great Depression went out and took the life histories of former slaves from before the civil war.  Some were very elderly at this point.  I highly recommend the DVD to anyone with an interest in history.

So no moving to town for us and more 'convenience'.  Besides how could I give up views like this?

 

My husband bringing our mares in.

AND THIS?

Wyoming Thunderstorm past neighbor's gate

Yeah I'm stayin'

Making Memories

It's been bitter bitter cold with wind chills of minus 20 below...or greater!!! So I've had time to sew on projects and thought I would share what I made this last summer for my granddaughter.

Since I had two sons, and no daughters, I realized the wedding dress my mother and I had made for me, was not ever going to be used again.  So taking a DEEP breath, I cut it up and made a Christening gown for my granddaughter's christening in June.

It turned out wonderful and I put in a label stating that it was made specifically for her, the date of the Christening, and that it came from the wedding dress her grandmother and great grandmother had made.  I have scraps left (I cannot believe a baby's dress took THAT much material!!) to use for a second grandchild but I hope it's a boy because there's only Romper material left!!!

 

I hope someday my granddaughter will christen my great grandchildren in her christening gown -- and MY wedding dress.  As they said in "Dances With Wolves"  --- GOOD TRADE.

Pantyhose and Other Atrocities

Have you ever wondered what ran through the brain of the person who invented pantyhose?  Well I sure have.  I hate pantyhose.  NEVER wear them if I can get out of it.  Like maybe once in a Blue Moon and since we just had one of those we all know how often that is, eh???  For one thing, getting the bloomin' things on are like wrestling with an alligator and once they are on, I feel like Men In Tights or Robin Hood or something -- maybe a sausage with a string tied in the middle.

The recent cold snap over Christmas reminded me of an incident many years ago.  We lived in Washakie County near Ten Sleep, Wyoming, and my husband had to go to Oklahoma for training for his job leaving me and my six year old son at home to feed about five head of horses.  While he was gone, the mercury dropped out of sight -- 24 below zero and stayed there the whole time Hubby was gone!  One day just as I was tugging on a set of Carhart coveralls to go and feed the horses, the phone rang.



(This was the era when they could still telemarket the world, and junk mail filled up your mailbox every day with book offers and pantyhose by the gross offers)  Upon answering it, I find out it's a telemarketer with a decided New York accent and boy, she has absolutely the greatest deal ever for me on panty hose and she is absolutely SURE I will take advantage of the offer.   I don't wear pantyhose, I told her.  She was nothing short of dumbfounded.

Every women I know wears them every day! she exclaimed.  Well I don't I said.  Never? She asked.  Well maybe if I'm going to a wedding or a funeral but probably not then if I can wear my pantsuit, I said.  Oh, she said, surely you can't pass this up and if you only try them, you will wear them every single day!

Look, Lady, I said.  It's 24 degrees below zero, I'm in the middle of my living room dressed like the Michelin man to go outside and feed our horses and maybe try to start a truck that hasn't turned over in five days, and to top it off the snow is butt deep on a tall Indian and I'm two miles from town.  Now just WHERE do you think I'm going to wear them TODAY?

She starting laughing and said I see your point and hung up.  I went out and froze my XXXX off feeding the bloomin' horses while I had the kid plunked in front of the television.  That was approximately 29 years ago and I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've had a pair of (*#$&! pantyhose on since then.

Happy 2010 to y'all!  May pantyhose never crawl into yer underwear drawer!  Or up your butt either!And may you only have to wear the darn things Once In A Blue Moon!!!