USMB Coffee Shop IV

[saveliberty]

Just returned from having maintenance done on the wife's Prius, check radiator fluid, change oil, etc. Have one headlight out and bought bulbs at Wally World a while back so asked them to change them out for me........
Wrong bulbs, it seems her Prius has HID instead of the standard Halogen bulbs, one Toyota replacement bulb is over $100.......
Just ordered two OEM (Phillips) bulbs from Amazon for a hundred bucks shipped.

I know they need to make a profit and all that, but it is really annoying to me that they make things so much more difficult than they have to be.

Initially I thought it might have been a HID kit that was installed by the first owner (bought it a year old) but the mechanic looked at it and exclaimed that the headlamps were stock. #*^^%$!!^&Y&!!+$@ !!!!

I have witnessed some with $800 price tags on other makes.

 

[saveliberty]

Really busy this week digging through old written deals that fell through. My current boss and friend is handing over the store to the new buyer/operations manager Monday. He wants me to sell as many as I can before then. The extra money may come in handy if I get a pink slip Monday.

 

[Nosmo King]

It was the kind of day that defines August in these parts. Hot, muggy (or 'close' as Mom says) with rain in the morning to reenfoce the humidity and overcast skies acting like a blanket keeping the heat close to the ground. I walked in the park this evening and heard the cicadids announcing the fact that high summer is here. Announcing Back to School sales are here. Like little insect sirens telling the voracious birds where to find a meal. Announcing the fact that it's mid August in the upper Ohio River valley and there's nothing you can do about it but run the air conditioner and pray for the best.

My electric meter is spinning faster than the ceiling fans. I expect another three digit bill this month. But, looking ahead on the calendar, I know that respite will come in six weeks. Mid September brings the best weather, clear skies and moderate temperatures. Nice enough for us to just get used to it before the first killing frost later that month.

The seasons, as it turns out, are more and more important to me as I gracefully age. I tried the southwest coast of Florida for four years back in the mid 80s. But the endless summer of the place was tedious. The only way I knew it was about to be Christmas was seeing the red and green flood lights lighting up the palm trees. I went Christmas shopping on a motorcycle. There's just something fundamentally wrong with that.

One could easily tell who were transplants from up north and who were the Florida people. We transplants had killer stereo systems and extensive album collections. We had fantastic libraries containing the great novels, science fiction and philosophy. We had the best TVs and were early adopters of VCRs and films on tape. The Florida boy's toys were bass boats, convertibles and jet skies. To each his own, I suppose.

 

[Foxfyre]

What a real treat to have Mr. H. Big Black Dog and SFC Ollie all drop in this evening. Hope that becomes a regular thing. We were watching the Olympics this evening and now it's again the witching hour and I'm headed for bed.

Oh and don't forget that The Perseid Meteor Shower - the meteors will peak August 11-13, 2016

Good night Darlinks. I hope all sleep well. And we continue to pray and/or send good vibes and/or keep vigil for:

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
Becki and Becki’s hubby,
Mrs. O and SFCOllie,
GW's daughter, her friend Sachendra, and Sachendra's husband Bob and son Gary.
Noomi!!!
Nosmo's mom,
Ernie's stop smoking project,
Sherry’s Mom,
Sixfoot's bad back,
Rod, GW's partner,
IamwhatIseem's bad hip,
The Ringels in difficult transition,
Kat, Mr. Kat and Kat's mom,
Boedicca's Dad,
Gracie and Mr. Gracie in their transition and Gracie's eye surgery,
Saveliberty in job transition, and
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,

And the light is left on for Alan, Noomi, Freedombecki, Oddball, Spoonman, 007, and all the others who we miss and hope to return.

Sunset over Rockford, Illinois:

 

[Kat]

What a real treat to have Mr. H. Big Black Dog and SFC Ollie all drop in this evening. Hope that becomes a regular thing. We were watching the Olympics this evening and now it's again the witching hour and I'm headed for bed.

Oh and don't forget that The Perseid Meteor Shower - the meteors will peak August 11-13, 2016

Good night Darlinks. I hope all sleep well. And we continue to pray and/or send good vibes and/or keep vigil for:

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
Becki and Becki’s hubby,
Mrs. O and SFCOllie,
GW's daughter, her friend Sachendra, and Sachendra's husband Bob and son Gary.
Noomi!!!
Nosmo's mom,
Ernie's stop smoking project,
Sherry’s Mom,
Sixfoot's bad back,
Rod, GW's partner,
IamwhatIseem's bad hip,
The Ringels in difficult transition,
Kat, Mr. Kat and Kat's mom,
Boedicca's Dad,
Gracie and Mr. Gracie in their transition and Gracie's eye surgery,
Saveliberty in job transition, and
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,

And the light is left on for Alan, Noomi, Freedombecki, Oddball, Spoonman, 007, and all the others who we miss and hope to return.

Sunset over Rockford, Illinois:

Great pic!

 

[Foxfyre]

It was the kind of day that defines August in these parts. Hot, muggy (or 'close' as Mom says) with rain in the morning to reenfoce the humidity and overcast skies acting like a blanket keeping the heat close to the ground. I walked in the park this evening and heard the cicadids announcing the fact that high summer is here. Announcing Back to School sales are here. Like little insect sirens telling the voracious birds where to find a meal. Announcing the fact that it's mid August in the upper Ohio River valley and there's nothing you can do about it but run the air conditioner and pray for the best.

My electric meter is spinning faster than the ceiling fans. I expect another three digit bill this month. But, looking ahead on the calendar, I know that respite will come in six weeks. Mid September brings the best weather, clear skies and moderate temperatures. Nice enough for us to just get used to it before the first killing frost later that month.

The seasons, as it turns out, are more and more important to me as I gracefully age. I tried the southwest coast of Florida for four years back in the mid 80s. But the endless summer of the place was tedious. The only way I knew it was about to be Christmas was seeing the red and green flood lights lighting up the palm trees. I went Christmas shopping on a motorcycle. There's just something fundamentally wrong with that.

One could easily tell who were transplants from up north and who were the Florida people. We transplants had killer stereo systems and extensive album collections. We had fantastic libraries containing the great novels, science fiction and philosophy. We had the best TVs and were early adopters of VCRs and films on tape. The Florida boy's toys were bass boats, convertibles and jet skies. To each his own, I suppose.

You get your killing frost in September? October is the bright blue month me me--the one that our fall colors are at peak, the days are cearl and pleasant, nights are crisp and you need a blanket. We usually don't get our first killing frost until mid to late October, but we have had the balloon fiesta snowed out in early October. Once we have that first killing frost it usually settles into a few weeks of true Indian summer

 

[ChrisL]

Happy Thursday!

 

[Big Black Dog]

I made my way into Mitchell, SD with no problem and got the 5th wheel set up in quick order. It was about mid-afternoon on Sunday. Nice campground. Not many campers. A bit warm but in a nice way. Then I saw it. It was the ugliest cat I think I have ever seen. No one color described it. It's like somebody took this poor cat and dipped it into about 20 different paint buckets. Somewhere along the line it had lost a good part of it's right ear. Most likely in a cat fight. But the cat was very friendly and promptly made itself right at home outside of our rig. Everytime I went outside for anything, there the cat was looking for a handout. It kept getting in the way whenever you tried to walk and demanded attention. There wasn't anything this cat failed to eat as I tossed it a morsel now and then. I had just settled down at the picnic table and was reading when Mrs. BBD announced that she would like to go into town and find a drug store. I put my book away and we drove into greater Mitchell. This was not my first visit to Mitchell. Several years ago we stopped here to visit Mitchell's claim to fame, the World-famous Mitchell Corn Palace. Signs along the highway stated they had changed the design of the place and it promised to be spectacular. After we had made a brief stop at the CVS Drug Store we drove a short way and checked out the new design. Impressive. It lived up to it's promise and was a sign to behold. If you've never been to Mitchell and looked the Corn Palace over it's something you should put on your bucket list. It's the corniest building you will ever see. We spend a nice relaxing afternoon and evening in Mitchell and the next morning we found ourselves on I-90 again headed down the road to Belvedere, SD to meet up with our long-time friend, Beverly, at the church there. Monday was "quilting day" and Jeannine was going to meet up with Beverly and spend the day quilting. Jeannine quilts every Tuesday at a church in Mount Morris where we live. The ladies around Belvedere do the same thing on Mondays. It was hard for me to grasp the concept that Mrs. BBD would want to spend a day of our vacation quilting but I guess it's because I simply don't understand the need for certain women to stick a needle into fabric and pull some thread through it with the hopes of creating something pretty. We pulled into the church parking lot and Beverly and Jeannine danced around like they haven't seen each other in 50 years. Fact is we just saw her a few years ago. They went inside the church to quilt and I took the opportunity to take a nap inside the 5th wheel. I woke up a couple hours later and began to read my book. Soon they came out of the church and we were once again on the road headed to Kadoka - just down the road and to Jim and Beverly's 2000 acre cattle ranch. They have a beautiful place right in the middle of the Badlands well off the main road. Fact of the matter is, their lane is 3 1/2 miles long! It's a nice drive though and as we drove towards their house we saw several deer and a host of rabbits. We arrived in short order and Jim was about as happy to see me as Beverly was to see Mrs. BBD. It's always a good thing to see old friends. We talked like a pair of magpies catching up on everything. For supper we cooked some burgers on the grill and talked late into the night. All too soon our visit with Jim and Beverly was over and we found ourselves back on I-90 headed towards Montana.

We soon found ourselves approaching Wall, SD. A stop in Wall, SD is almost mandatory if you're ever in the area. It is where you will find the greatest tourist trap in the world, Wall Drug. We have been to Wall Drug many times in the past but no trip through SD is complete unless you stop there. Anything a tourist could possibly spend money on can be found at Wall Drug. The only thing that is free is the ice water. Well, that's not quite true either. If you are a veteran, Wall Drug will proudly give you a free donut and a free cup of coffee. The donuts at Wall Drug are legendary. I've never had a better donut than the ones they serve up. Maybe because a donut is free for a veteran is the reason it tastes so good but that can't be true. Even the ones we buy and pay for are really really good. When we go to Wall Drug I like to get my free coffee and donut and then go sit outside on one of the many benches and watch all the tourist come and go. You see some pretty amazing things sitting outside on those benches. While I sit and watch, Mrs . BBD shops inside and always ends up buying something. I always like stopping there.

We left Wall and headed west again on I-90 with the truck pointed towards Montana. We timed our trip well because we passed through Sturgis several weeks before their famous bike rally. Soon we were in WY and while driving through that state we saw quite a few antelope. Then I saw the sign... Montana! I was excited because I've never been to Montana before. Our first stop in Montana was going to be the Custer Battlefield. We found a very nice campground just outside of Garyowen called the 7th Ranch and we plopped down for a visit. Tomorrow we would visit the Custer Battlefield. I will tell you all about our stay in Garyowen at the 7th Ranch Campground tomorrow. Right now I need a cup of coffee and some fresh air.

 

[Dajjal]

Just returned from having maintenance done on the wife's Prius, check radiator fluid, change oil, etc. Have one headlight out and bought bulbs at Wally World a while back so asked them to change them out for me........
Wrong bulbs, it seems her Prius has HID instead of the standard Halogen bulbs, one Toyota replacement bulb is over $100.......
Just ordered two OEM (Phillips) bulbs from Amazon for a hundred bucks shipped.

I know they need to make a profit and all that, but it is really annoying to me that they make things so much more difficult than they have to be.

Initially I thought it might have been a HID kit that was installed by the first owner (bought it a year old) but the mechanic looked at it and exclaimed that the headlamps were stock. #*^^%$!!^&Y&!!+$@ !!!!

I have witnessed some with $800 price tags on other makes.

I used to have a Honda 650cc motorcycle which used expensive halogen bulbs, but they were very fragile and they kept breaking from vibration on the road. So I fitted a car headlamp to the bike and had no more trouble.

 

[Gracie]

Yes, Save. The surgery worked. I think. Took the damn patch thingy off this morning cuz they never said whether to leave it on or not. Called his office this morning and they said no..I'm supposed to only wear it at night. I said well, nobody told us that and the damn thing has been on since the surgery yesterday. They said "take it off". So I did. I have shitloads of floaties. Storms of them. Looks like strings of black smoke. BUNCHES. I have to keep blinking just to see. But yes..I CAN see. Soon as I blink the storm away until they float back where it is blocking my view. I wonder how long that lasts? I will ask him when I go see him today at 2pm for post surgery.

 

[Foxfyre]

Yes, Save. The surgery worked. I think. Took the damn patch thingy off this morning cuz they never said whether to leave it on or not. Called his office this morning and they said no..I'm supposed to only wear it at night. I said well, nobody told us that and the damn thing has been on since the surgery yesterday. They said "take it off". So I did. I have shitloads of floaties. Storms of them. Looks like strings of black smoke. BUNCHES. I have to keep blinking just to see. But yes..I CAN see. Soon as I blink the storm away until they float back where it is blocking my view. I wonder how long that lasts? I will ask him when I go see him today at 2pm for post surgery.

Good plan. I didn't have any floaties or anything issues of any kind following surgery on both eyes--just crystal clear and better vision than I ever had in my entire life even as a kid.

 

[Gracie]

I have oodles of them. It's like walking thru a curtain of black smoke that swirls around you. I googled and it said they would eventually "settle". I hope so.

 

[Nosmo King]

It was the kind of day that defines August in these parts. Hot, muggy (or 'close' as Mom says) with rain in the morning to reenfoce the humidity and overcast skies acting like a blanket keeping the heat close to the ground. I walked in the park this evening and heard the cicadids announcing the fact that high summer is here. Announcing Back to School sales are here. Like little insect sirens telling the voracious birds where to find a meal. Announcing the fact that it's mid August in the upper Ohio River valley and there's nothing you can do about it but run the air conditioner and pray for the best.

My electric meter is spinning faster than the ceiling fans. I expect another three digit bill this month. But, looking ahead on the calendar, I know that respite will come in six weeks. Mid September brings the best weather, clear skies and moderate temperatures. Nice enough for us to just get used to it before the first killing frost later that month.

The seasons, as it turns out, are more and more important to me as I gracefully age. I tried the southwest coast of Florida for four years back in the mid 80s. But the endless summer of the place was tedious. The only way I knew it was about to be Christmas was seeing the red and green flood lights lighting up the palm trees. I went Christmas shopping on a motorcycle. There's just something fundamentally wrong with that.

One could easily tell who were transplants from up north and who were the Florida people. We transplants had killer stereo systems and extensive album collections. We had fantastic libraries containing the great novels, science fiction and philosophy. We had the best TVs and were early adopters of VCRs and films on tape. The Florida boy's toys were bass boats, convertibles and jet skies. To each his own, I suppose.

You get your killing frost in September? October is the bright blue month me me--the one that our fall colors are at peak, the days are cearl and pleasant, nights are crisp and you need a blanket. We usually don't get our first killing frost until mid to late October, but we have had the balloon fiesta snowed out in early October. Once we have that first killing frost it usually settles into a few weeks of true Indian summer

Pop's birthday was September 21. The first day of Autumn. It has been known to snow that day. Our first killing frost usually happens about then.

 

[Montrovant]

I still haven't gotten my non-filer's letter from the IRS, but it looks like I will be able to get it through another means. I called the closest IRS office to me today, had to call to schedule an appointment to talk to an actual person, but they gave me a phone number I can use to get a fax of the letter. I'll call tomorrow, ask if I can get an email (since that's easier and why the hell does anyone fax anymore anyway?), but if not, my employer said I can have them fax it to her at her work.

The school is fine with getting a fax or email, so hopefully my financial aid will be ready to go next week.

Now if I could actually get a hold of my advisor and make sure about registering my classes......

 

[Big Black Dog]

I have never been to Montana before now and finding myself there sort of amazed me. All of my life I have heard stories of Custer's Last Stand and suddenly I found myself less than three miles from the place. I found it a bit hard to get to sleep just thinking of what I might find there in the morning when we payed the Custer Battlefield a visit. First, though, I must say a few words about the campground we were staying in. The 7th Ranch Campground is actually a working cattle ranch that happens to have a very nice campground built upon it. It was one of the nicest campgrounds I have stayed in. Very clean, well-maintained and plenty of hot water in the shower room. It is within sight of I-90 but no highway noise. The staff there very friendly and when you check in they give you a free ice cream bar. Nice place. Can't say enough good things about it. Anyway, the next morning I woke up just a little after 0600 and went outside to take in the early morning quiet time. Nice breeze and a coolness filled the air. I watched who I later found out to be the owner of the ranch ride his horse out to check on his cattle. There was a rabbit hopping around also enjoying the morning. Before long Mrs. BBD woke up and began to stir around and fix breakfast. We ate, did the morning chores for the 5th wheel and then headed out for the Custer Battlefield just a very few miles up the road.

When we arrived at the Custer Battlefield the person at the gate where you paid to get in asked for $30.00. I asked him if there was a special price for veterans because months before we went through the process of having the word "veteran" place on our driver's licenses. It was supposed to get us into places like this for free I was told at the time we obtained it. Not the case. The ticket guy did say that both Mrs. BBD and I appeared to be over the age of 65 so he said we should buy a National Parks Pass for only $10.00 and it would never expire and we would be able to get into all the National Parks for free by just showing it. The deal was struck and we drove into the parking lot at the Custer Battlefield. The first thing we did was to take a tour of the entire battlefield via a bus and the whole event was explained to us as we looked out upon the battlefield. Here and there were small white tombstones where a fallen soldier was found. There was also some scattered red colored tombstones where an Indian was killed. The tour was very nice and everything was explained very well. I found it odd that it was not the same story I had heard from my father years ago when I was a young boy. Obviously, my father had his facts wrong. After the tour we went inside the museum and looked at all of the artifacts on display there. Very impressive. Then we gathered outside to listen to a Park Ranger give a 45 minute talk about the battle. The fellow who gave the talk was probably one of the best story tellers I have ever heard. This guy was fantastic and you never lost interest in what he spoke about as he told the story about how the battle began and progressed until it ended at the Last Stand Hill. I left in a state of awe. Seriously, if you have never been to the Custer Battlefield, it is something you must do at least once in your lifetime. You won't be sorry you went.

After we left the Custer Battlefield we stopped at a little trading post by the roadside. They too were geared up for tourist but their line of trinkets seemed to be a bit better than the average junk sold at tourist traps. They also had a restaurant so we decided to have a bit of lunch. This is where I came into contact with something called Indian Fry Bread. It was served with honey that you could put on it. It was fantastic. Yummy for the tummy. After we ate we looked around in the gift shop and then went back to the campground to rest up and decide what tomorrow would bring.

The next day we went to the other Custer Museum located in Garyowen. I was more of a tourist trap but it did have a small, but nice museum, attached to it. We looked it all over and then drove up to the county museum in Hardin, MT just up the road. Nice place. Lots of good stuff to see. We spent the rest of the afternoon there then went back to the campground.

After we got back to the campground we decided that we would stay over another night and go to the WYO rodeo in Sheridan, WY the following night. Sheridan was 60 miles away so we got an early start so we could attend the Pow Wow being held there in Sheridan beginning at noon. We got there in plenty of time and found a nice place to sit and watch. It began with an Indian dance and it was quite impressive to see. The grand entrance was spectacular and the dancing indians were very interesting to watch. They all looked especially nice in their finest dress. We watched them dance for several hours. One dance, called the "Chicken Dance" was how a prairie chicken looked as it did it's mating dance. I chucked because it reminded me of how I danced around when I found out I had made Chief back in my old Navy days. There was also a small boy who did what was called the "Grass Dance" and everybody cheered him on because he was so cute. After the Pow Wow ended we went next door into a restaurant once owned in part by Buffalo Bill. Food was great and the beer was good and cold.

By now it was getting close to time to head down to the Sheridan Fairgrounds for the rodeo. We found it with no problem and I will tell you about the rodeo tomorrow.

 

[Nosmo King]

I have never been to Montana before now and finding myself there sort of amazed me. All of my life I have heard stories of Custer's Last Stand and suddenly I found myself less than three miles from the place. I found it a bit hard to get to sleep just thinking of what I might find there in the morning when we payed the Custer Battlefield a visit. First, though, I must say a few words about the campground we were staying in. The 7th Ranch Campground is actually a working cattle ranch that happens to have a very nice campground built upon it. It was one of the nicest campgrounds I have stayed in. Very clean, well-maintained and plenty of hot water in the shower room. It is within sight of I-90 but no highway noise. The staff there very friendly and when you check in they give you a free ice cream bar. Nice place. Can't say enough good things about it. Anyway, the next morning I woke up just a little after 0600 and went outside to take in the early morning quiet time. Nice breeze and a coolness filled the air. I watched who I later found out to be the owner of the ranch ride his horse out to check on his cattle. There was a rabbit hopping around also enjoying the morning. Before long Mrs. BBD woke up and began to stir around and fix breakfast. We ate, did the morning chores for the 5th wheel and then headed out for the Custer Battlefield just a very few miles up the road.

When we arrived at the Custer Battlefield the person at the gate where you paid to get in asked for $30.00. I asked him if there was a special price for veterans because months before we went through the process of having the word "veteran" place on our driver's licenses. It was supposed to get us into places like this for free I was told at the time we obtained it. Not the case. The ticket guy did say that both Mrs. BBD and I appeared to be over the age of 65 so he said we should buy a National Parks Pass for only $10.00 and it would never expire and we would be able to get into all the National Parks for free by just showing it. The deal was struck and we drove into the parking lot at the Custer Battlefield. The first thing we did was to take a tour of the entire battlefield via a bus and the whole event was explained to us as we looked out upon the battlefield. Here and there were small white tombstones where a fallen soldier was found. There was also some scattered red colored tombstones where an Indian was killed. The tour was very nice and everything was explained very well. I found it odd that it was not the same story I had heard from my father years ago when I was a young boy. Obviously, my father had his facts wrong. After the tour we went inside the museum and looked at all of the artifacts on display there. Very impressive. Then we gathered outside to listen to a Park Ranger give a 45 minute talk about the battle. The fellow who gave the talk was probably one of the best story tellers I have ever heard. This guy was fantastic and you never lost interest in what he spoke about as he told the story about how the battle began and progressed until it ended at the Last Stand Hill. I left in a state of awe. Seriously, if you have never been to the Custer Battlefield, it is something you must do at least once in your lifetime. You won't be sorry you went.

After we left the Custer Battlefield we stopped at a little trading post by the roadside. They too were geared up for tourist but their line of trinkets seemed to be a bit better than the average junk sold at tourist traps. They also had a restaurant so we decided to have a bit of lunch. This is where I came into contact with something called Indian Fry Bread. It was served with honey that you could put on it. It was fantastic. Yummy for the tummy. After we ate we looked around in the gift shop and then went back to the campground to rest up and decide what tomorrow would bring.

The next day we went to the other Custer Museum located in Garyowen. I was more of a tourist trap but it did have a small, but nice museum, attached to it. We looked it all over and then drove up to the county museum in Hardin, MT just up the road. Nice place. Lots of good stuff to see. We spent the rest of the afternoon there then went back to the campground.

After we got back to the campground we decided that we would stay over another night and go to the WYO rodeo in Sheridan, WY the following night. Sheridan was 60 miles away so we got an early start so we could attend the Pow Wow being held there in Sheridan beginning at noon. We got there in plenty of time and found a nice place to sit and watch. It began with an Indian dance and it was quite impressive to see. The grand entrance was spectacular and the dancing indians were very interesting to watch. They all looked especially nice in their finest dress. We watched them dance for several hours. One dance, called the "Chicken Dance" was how a prairie chicken looked as it did it's mating dance. I chucked because it reminded me of how I danced around when I found out I had made Chief back in my old Navy days. There was also a small boy who did what was called the "Grass Dance" and everybody cheered him on because he was so cute. After the Pow Wow ended we went next door into a restaurant once owned in part by Buffalo Bill. Food was great and the beer was good and cold.

By now it was getting close to time to head down to the Sheridan Fairgrounds for the rodeo. We found it with no problem and I will tell you about the rodeo tomorrow.

Sound like you're having the time of your life, BBD! Big Sky Country suits you well.

 

[Montrovant]

"Turns out raspberries make grape beards"

 

[gallantwarrior]

Greetings, Everwon!
It's been a while, hasn't it. Too many pages to read to catch up, sorry.
We've started our rainy season here. I am accustomed to slogging through ankle-deep mud to feed, water, and milk the goats. They still object to the mud. Goats do not like the wet, that's certain.
I've been working at both places, Birchwood and Willow, getting lots done. In Willow, I've been clearing "slash" (branches and leaves, etc. left over from felling trees) and cutting/splitting firewood. My plan to build the barn and move up to Willow this summer were put on hold after the partner shattered his ankle, but I still need to keep cleaning and clearing. That fire here last year, and the many devastating fires in the Lower 48 make it clear that one should take every precaution possible to "fireproof" one's homestead. I've also decided to terrace the slope on the south side of the house for my garden.
Since my last visit here, the Solstice has come...and gone. The nights grow darker, longer. The turning of the year progresses apace.
Hopefully all are doing well.

So happy you checked back in GW. When you are gone so long I worry about you even though I know how busy you are and how your schedule doesn't always allow for recreational computer time. And almost nobody reads every page when they check in here. But looks like your plans are progressing though it seems to me that commuting to Anchorage from Willow during the summer months is more practical than during the winter. But you live there and know what you can cope with. Anyhow happy you are well.

Thanks for the kind words, Foxy! No matter how much I want to make more time for friends, local and distant, things just pile up. I'm waiting for a batch of curds to set up so I can finish the yogurt I'm making. If I don't get on the milk while it's relatively fresh, I just end up throwing away a ruined batch of cheese, or whatever. One of my milk customers came by this afternoon and promised he'd bring some more containers to be filled. Even though he's an MIT-trained chemist, me makes his living making homemade, Alaskan wild berry jams and jellies. So right now is prime berry-picking time for him. Then he'll be prepping for the upcoming crafts fairs.
For all intent and purpose, it appears that my Doxie is prepping to go to the Rainbow Bridge. She's not eating, although she is

 

[gallantwarrior]

I'm so tired. And so depressed. When I go out to my now ugly back yard, it is covered in tarps with stuff I wanted and don't want. The birds are not happy. No food, so I give them crumbs of bread. Hummer feeders are going dry. I will fill them up before we go and leave them but the owner of the house won't fee them so maybe I should take them so the birds know the well has dried up here.

Whatever the case...today is not good. Very whiney. Very down. Very.....meh.

I've missed a lot, it would appear. Sorry about your trials, Gracie. My offer still holds. I've been putting up loads of firewood... I could teach you to make cheese

 

[gallantwarrior]

She sent me pics of the house. Or some of it. This is where we will be living.

I know that rug and some of those pillows ^. She got them from me, lol.

This is where I will be 95% of the time ^

This too ^

She said this is my section all for myself if I want it. I WANT IT. ^

That all doesn't look too bad, Gracie, 'specially if you have some small space to call your own.