is there any more pie?

a longmire day

Posted on July 11, 2016 by is there any more pie?

I have a secret crush on Walt Longmire. He’s the sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. And he lives in Craig Johnson’s books.

longmire

I started watching the Longmire tv series (originally shown on A&E) last fall. After three seasons, the show became a Netflix production. Series 5 just finished filming and will be released on Netflix in September.

Eventually I convinced Banjo Man to watch the show and he was immediately hooked. In the meantime I read all of the Longmire books–in order, of course, because there’s a compelling story arc–and became a huge fan of Wyoming author Craig Johnson.

Craig Johson’s website:

http://www.craigallenjohnson.com/

Then, while researching touristy ideas for our road trip I came across an article about “Longmire Days” in Buffalo, Wyoming and learned that Buffalo was the inspiration for Walt’s fictional town of Durant.

Storefront in Buffalo.

There was a Busy Bee Café, just like in the books. And the Dash Inn hamburger joint, where Walt and Vic often stop when they’re in a hurry.

“We have to go to Buffalo,” I declared. And I told my brother, a road trip fan also, about our plans.

“I know Craig,” he said. “He lives about 20 miles from Buffalo. Would you like to meet him?”

Well, I would. If it’s not a bother. If he’s not on a deadline and strapped for time. If he doesn’t mind too much. If he’s around.

Once we crossed the Mississippi I got an email from Craig Johnson and we arranged to meet for drinks at the Occidental Hotel (a historic hotel where Banjo Man and I would take a break from our Hampton Inns and go for some authentic western flavor) at 5:30 on Wednesday.

How cool is that?!!?

Wyoming morning.

We arrived in Buffalo in time for lunch at the Busy Bee, which didn’t quite work out because they were a bit disorganized. We drank some iced tea, cancelled our lunch order and set out to find some Longmire souvenirs.

Buffalo is a small, friendly town. I saw some other folks taking pictures of the Busy Bee Café and knew they were also fans of the book and/or tv show. We found a Longmire shop and bought a book. Banjo Man regrets not buying a t-shirt, though I had done my best to convince him he needed one.

At 5:30 we met Craig and his wife Judy, went next door to the historic saloon and proceeded to talk for almost two hours. They were lovely folks, warm and funny and sociable. We talked about writing. They told stories of Longmire Days (the first time it was held the town ran out of food, money and bandwidth!) and the tv show and the people who inspired the characters in the novels. They urged us to return for Longmire Days (July 8-10) but we were headed west, where we would stay for a few months.

Judy and Craig.

Craig, Banjo Man and me.

Big thanks to my brother for setting this up! And our gratitude to Craig and Judy for making us feel welcome.

More scenes from the main street of Buffalo and the Occidental Hotel:

If you’d like to read about Longmire Days:

From the Casper Star Tribune:

http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/annual-longmire-days-celebration-in-buffalo-draws-large-crowds/article_2ef926ed-f5b1-51a9-9be6-a0eb3445e1bb.html

Posted in books & music, road trip, television, travel, writing | 5 Comments

new pot in town

Posted on July 10, 2016 by is there any more pie?

IMG_20160708_083120_kindlephoto-42096549 So someone finally invented a 9 X 13 slow cooker! Here’s the link on amazon, in case you want to read more about it:

You can buy additional inserts, too.

(I bought my new crock pot for less than Amazon’s $38, at Kohl’s, using some sale coupons and my “Ebates” account and Kohl’s cash.)

So…I was dying to use it. And here’s the recipe! I have made massive amounts of this for a dinner party for 8 people and there were tons of leftovers because I always cook too much (it’s hard to retreat from the days of having 8 of us around the dinner table every night).

I found the recipe here, at a blog called My Story in Recipes. It calls for slow roasting pork tenderloins (I had better luck with the large ones instead of the small ones, because you have to be careful about them drying out too quickly) and then topping with a glaze. Oh, the glaze!!! I have learned to make extra and serve it warm in a pitcher at the dinner table.

Here’s the link:

http://www.mystoryinrecipes.com/blog-posts/crock-pot-brown-sugar-balsamic-glazes-pork-tenderloin

There are great photos of pork on this blog post, plus lots of other tempting recipes on the blog.

The glaze: Mix 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 TBS cornstarch, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup water and 2 TBS soy sauce in a pan and stir over medium heat for about 4 minutes, until thickened.

(It just occurred to me that I may have shared this recipe with you in an earlier post, so skip that part and just scroll back up to the picture of the new crock pot!)

By the way, the sun is shining on this lovely Sunday morning! Banjo Man is outside moving rocks and I am still in my nightgown, here at the computer, downloading dobro lessons (“Lessons With Troy”) at a very slow speed. I might make brownies to freeze for the family reunion, or see if I can find room in the freezer for pans of chicken enchiladas, or go back down to the beach to pick up more Styrofoam trash (I am filling plastic garbage bags of this stuff that has washed up) or clean out the grill or…

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Posted in food, lake, shopping | Leave a comment

waiting for the sun

Posted on July 8, 2016 by is there any more pie?

It’s 5 AM and raining. Last summer, with the forest fires and dry timber all around us, rain would have been welcome. A relief. This morning’s drizzly gray summer rain is just the frosting on a cold and cloudy cake.

View from my bedroom door.

I know my gardening friends are happy. I think. Maybe they are ready for some heat, too.

I know my tomato plants are. Did I tell you that Banjo Man planted them for me? We have three large pots this year, filled with cherry tomatoes, basil and mint.

It’s about all I can handle, believe me.

Banjo Man has been landscaping. This is the “before” picture.

Banjo Man discovers overalls!!!!

Yesterday he took the morning off and went fishing. Of course he took care of business from his cell phone, out on the lake. And he was only away from his desk for three hours. But three hours is a lot, according to Banjo Man. He doesn’t like to be away from his computer and the stock market.

But Dancing Mandolin Player and her Boyfriend Bob have a new boat, so a fishing trip was too hard to resist.

It’s a good day to clean, I tell myself. It’s a good day to work on dobro chords and hopefully memorize a few more notes. Sing a few songs to myself. Catch up with blog posts (and I have a lot of them to write!), clean out dresser drawers, unpack the new crock pot (it’s gorgeous) and maybe even make a few chicken enchilada casseroles to put in the freezer.

There are quilt bindings to stitch, too, so on this rainy day I might just have to unpack the sewing machine and get busy.

Sitting in one of those bright new Adirondack chairs will have to wait.

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nebraska swimsuit

Posted on July 2, 2016 by is there any more pie?

You can take the boy out of the prairie, but…

Banjo Man joined me on the dock yesterday.

It was a gorgeous day, probably close to 90 degrees.

Beautiful.

I was on the dock reading. In the shade. I’m working my way through book one of the Shetland mystery series by Ann Cleeves. (Have you seen the tv shows on PBS?)

Of course Banjo Man always wants to know what I’m doing, so he left his landscaping project long enough to trot down the hill and check up on me. You know, because I can only be up to no good in my old lady bathing suit, my old lady hat and my old lady chaise lounge.

Yep. People drive by on their boats, see me and think, “Now there’s trouble.”

Yep.

So here he is, soaking up a few rays in his sexy new overalls (on sale at the North Forty store in town) before going back to his latest rock wall.

Looks like trouble to me.

Posted in family, lake | Leave a comment

july 1st

Posted on July 1, 2016 by is there any more pie?

Miss you guys.

Canasta scores, 2014.

Where does the time go?

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wired up

Posted on June 28, 2016 by is there any more pie?

IMG_20160628_071452

We have internet access again!!! Thanks to John, the tech man at our provider, and a new fancy-shmancy router from Staples, we are connected to the outside world once more.

Banjo Man, having spent many computer hours burning bandwidth on my IPhone’s hotspot, is delerious with joy.

And I have my phone back! So to everyone to whom I owe phone calls, stand by.

I’ve spent my no TV, no computer, no phone days cooking. The kitchen counter is lined with crock pots–a beautiful sight—as I get a head start on the meals for a family gathering in July. So much fun filling Dollar store disposable pans and stacking them in the freezer. And also in the freezer are the 40 pounds of boneless pork ribs (purchased for me by My French Friend Janou, who discovered them on sale at Super One and bought me 15 packages six days before we arrived!!!!), baked for hours and now waiting for homemade bbq sauce and a whole lot of hungry in-laws.

This morning I will see Dancing Mandolin Player! She bought cherry tomato plants and basil for me last month because the stores are out of them by the time we get here.

My friends take such good care of me. I am so lucky.

The sun is shining and it finally feels like summer. After a long, gray, grumpy winter in New England, I am luxuriating (is that a word?) in the warmth and brightness of a blue sky.

Banjo Man is experiencing a bit of shock and awe over my sudden cheerfulness.

I even offered him a sample of pork ribs

You have to share the joy.

Posted in family | 2 Comments

staring at the lake

Posted on June 26, 2016 by is there any more pie?

Yes, we made it. Six and a half days, three-thousand miles and almost perfect driving conditions.

It’s chilly here, but the forecasting for summer weather to return in a couple of days. Tomorrow we’ll haul chairs down to the dock and get ready for sunshine.

The internet is broken, so we wait for a new modem and a repairman to show up, hopefully early in the coming week. In the meantime we are using the Hotspot feature on my IPhone so Banjo Man can work on his laptop.

I think of it as a technological triumph.

Today we did laundry, bought a car load of groceries and started unpacking. It’s hard to believe that we are here again, healthy and happy and off the road.

I keep sitting down and falling asleep, though. Cooking and unpacking and setting up my office will have to wait another day or so.

I need to sit and stare at the lake a while longer.

Posted in lake, road trip | 4 Comments

day 6, getting closer with every mile

Posted on June 23, 2016 by is there any more pie?

Tonight we are in Missoula.

You’re probably wondering about these grizzlies, aren’t you. We stopped outside of Bozeman this afternoon to see a grizzly rescue facility, “Grizzly Encounter”.

Yesterday we spent a Longmire kind of day in Buffalo, Wyoming. Do you read the books? Watch the show? I have stories and pictures to share in a few days, when we are off the road and I have unpacked my keyboard.

Tonight there are mountains outside our hotel window.

That is a very, very wonderful thing.

Tomorrow morning? The lake!!!!!

Posted in road trip | 3 Comments

day four,sioux falls to rapid city

Posted on June 21, 2016 by is there any more pie?

I am waiting to see mountains.

After four days of farms, well, I have seen enough. Banjo Man and I have pointed out so many beautiful farms and barns and homesteads to each other. Hundreds and hundreds of miles of them.

But I want to see mountains.

We stopped at Wall Drug for lunch. And made new friends.