september with sarge

Posted on September 13, 2015 by is there any more pie?

Last week Sarge arrived.  Uncle GL and Banjo Man were very excited, because having Sarge around means getting stuff done.

See how happy they are?

See how happy they are?

There were lots of hugs.

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(I took these pictures on my new I-phone.  I can’t believe how much fun it is, at least I get back to Rhode Island and the Dead Cell Zone).

There was work.

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Getting ready to go up the mountain.

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Banjo Man makes sure the sandwiches are stored safely in the back of the car.

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Is it possible to have any more fun than this????

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Up at four, in the woods all day, a big meal and then…a nap.

I’m happy to have  Sarge around, too.  He is eating all of the food in the freezer and I need to empty the freezer as soon as possible.  The days here at the lake are winding down and there is a lot to do before heading back east.

I was up at four-thirty this morning, making lists in my head and needing to write it all down so I wouldn’t forget.

Coffee tastes really, really good at four-thirty in the morning.

And now I have a list for Sarge…if I can get him off the mountain for a couple of hours.

Posted in family, lake | 2 Comments

big sigh of relief

Posted on September 9, 2015 by is there any more pie?

IMG_0029It has rained here.

At last.

This picture was taken the fourth day of rainy, cool weather.  I was leaving my French  Friend Janou’s house and heading home.  I had brought her a 25 pound bag of sugar and she had given me a jar of her freshly-made plum jelly.

And then she beat me at Canasta before returning to her next batch of jelly.

She’s multi-talented.

So after trying not to hit seven deer roaming around her driveway, I saw this.

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So grateful.

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where did the summer go?

Posted on September 3, 2015 by is there any more pie?

Random pictures…

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smarter maybe

Posted on August 31, 2015 by is there any more pie?

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Saturday I dropped my “basic” cell phone on the tile floor.  The back flew in one direction, the sim card in another.  I put it back together again and…nothing happened.

It had died.

On one hand I didn’t care.  I never liked it–well, except for the sliding keyboard that let me text—but I had so much trouble turning it off.  I used to resort to slapping it, something that amused Banjo Man and my children.  I would see them exchanging looks and rolling their eyes.  I didn’t care, because I only used it when traveling, because back in Rhode Island we live in a Dead Cell Phone Zone, where nothing gets through.  I forget I even own the darn thing.

A broken cell phone would not have been stressful except that I was to pick up Banjo Man at the airport 100 miles away later in the afternoon.  We were going to take advantage of the Cell Phone Lot for the first time.  We  had a plan:  I would wait for Banjo Man’s call and then drive right up in front of the airport and whisk him into the car.

We were both looking forward to this because I always get lost trying to park at this particular airport.  I won’t tell you how many times I have tried to navigate the parking situation–it is too embarrassing–but I liked the idea of not having to park.  Just in case, though, I had a sandwich bag filled with quarters for the outdoor meters.

But a couple of hours before I was supposed to start my trek west, I had no cell phone.  Which meant I had to stop in town at the local Verizon store and get one (or have to get to the airport early enough to park… and repark…and repark).  My Samsung was officially declared dead by the sweet young girl behind the counter, and then she told me that I could have a free I-phone (last year’s model, I’m sure) if I extended my contract for the rest of my life (or until I was hauled off to a nursing home).

No problem, I said, totally giving up on years of resolve to avoid the smart phone trend.  The I-phone was “free” and the basic phones started at $169 (refurbished).

I was hooked.

So now I can take pictures and put them on Facebook.

(Don’t hold your breath).

I can do Face Time, once I figure out what that is.

I can check the weather.

And my email.

And I can terrorize my grown children by sending selfies!!!

 

 

 

 

Posted in a more pie opinion, family, just for fun, lake, shopping | Leave a comment

threads and stuff

Posted on August 30, 2015 by is there any more pie?

Last  week I was driving to my physical therapy appointment (the frozen shoulder is thawing!  Hurray!) and I missed the turn into the parking lot.  I had to drive another half mile until I found a place to turn around.

I was daydreaming.

About thread.

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The possibilities are endless.   The world of thread has changed since the old days of Coats & Clark.  It is a huge business now, due to quilters being slightly obsessive about colors and content.  There are silk threads, metallic threads, silk, cotton, polyester, along with variegated threads, too.  There are super fine bobbin threads (my favorites), along with invisible threads and disappearing threads.

So on Wednesday, when I should have been thinking about driving to my physical therapist’s office, I was instead thinking about thread colors and thread weights and bobbin threads for the latest quilt project.

I just finished a complicated quilt top.  It’s big and modern and so unlike what I usually sew.  Thread colors matter.  Stitching mistakes will be glaringly obvious.

I actually created this top with solids, not the wild floral prints that always call out to me.

Back home in Rhode Island I have more thread than I ever want anyone to see.  One Christmas Banjo Man lost his mind in the local quilt shop and bought a jaw-dropping number of spools of variegated threads for me.

I always liked those quilt-store Christmas gifts, but as of two weeks ago the women who owned that shop retired.  There are no more local quilt stores now and I have no idea how far I will have to drive for supplies and thread and fabric.  Where will Banjo Man shop now???

Anyway…

On the way to the airport to pick up Banjo Man, I stopped at the Gorgeous Huge Quilt Shop sixty five miles from here and shopped for thread.

Heaven, I tell you.  

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Threads at Bear Paw Quilts.

So today, while it is raining (RAINING!!!!!!) I am going to play with thread.  Samples have to be made, tensions adjusted, bobbins filled and threads tested.

So much fun!

Banjo Man and I are happy to be together again.

Posted in a more pie opinion, family, just for fun, lake, quilting, shopping | 3 Comments

both sides now

Posted on August 24, 2015 by is there any more pie?
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Friday evening sky.

“I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now…”

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Friday morning sky. This is the smoke from the Washington fires.

And then the winds blew the smoke out of here, a lovely break that lasted about 18 hours before returning.

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It was so good to see the sky and the mountains again.

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do you hear what i hear?

Posted on August 21, 2015 by is there any more pie?

I hear thunder.  Big, booming, cracking, stormy thunder.

Do you have any idea what a great sound that is?

It means we might get rain!!!!

We need rain so badly.  The smoke from the fires east of here and north of here is thick and miserable.  We’ve grown used to tasting smoke, which is strange.  Friends in Montana are dealing with evacuations on the Bull River Road.  Others are storing valuables in safety deposit boxes or packing treasured possessions in boxes, close to doors and easy to grab on the way out.

But I hear thunder.  And when I was outside a moment ago I even felt a drop of rain.

We don’t want a “dry” storm.  We don’t want dry lightning.  We want pouring, thick, heavy, soaking, beating-on-the-roof rain.

Especially in Montana.

I’ll keep you posted.

Posted in family | 4 Comments

red sky in the morning

Posted on August 18, 2015 by is there any more pie?

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Remember that old adage, “Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning, red sky at night, sailor’s delight”?

It’s a similar story here, far away from the sea.

This photo was taken early one morning a few days ago.  That eerie red glow means a forest fire to the north.

It is not what anyone wants to see at dawn.

It’s a tough summer for forest fires.  There has been no rain for months, and the next forecast for rain is September 22nd.  There are restrictions for those who work in the woods now, and more will be coming, I’m sure.  It has not been a summer for campfires or roasting marshmallows, obviously.

Smoke from Washington fires (100+ miles away) is thick in the air, obliterating the views of distant mountains.  There are small fires north of here, west of here, east of here and far south of here.

Everyone is a little on edge.

About forty years ago, during a dangerously dry summer like this one, Banjo Man saw someone toss a lit cigarette out of a car window in our little neighborhood.  He chased them down, made the driver pull over and proceeded to educate the tourists inside the car about fire danger.

He was very, very stern and very, very upset.

I doubt they were ever so careless again.

So all of us in north Idaho are holding our breath, waiting it out, hoping for rain that is weeks away, watching for smoke plumes, cursing the thankfully infrequent flashes of dry lightning.

I’ll keep you posted.

 

Posted in lake | 3 Comments

options

Posted on August 17, 2015 by is there any more pie?

Son #1 called yesterday and told me that my grandson, while having a tiff with his mother, declared he was leaving and “going to Idaho”.

My daughter-in-law replied, “Fine with me.  Good luck getting there!”

I didn’t blame him for wanting to return.  After all, it’s paradise for young and old and in between.

Water blasters!

Water blasters!

Helping to make brownies.

Helping to make brownies.

Shucking corn with Grandpa.

Shucking corn with Grandpa.

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Finding strawberries in Dancing Mandolin Player’s garden.

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Looking for fish.

Looking for fish.

Discovering huckleberry ice cream.

Discovering huckleberry ice cream.

And then there was his social life….

He was invited to the neighbor’s beach party and ate his first Twinkie.

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Party, party, party…

He met two new best friends, both in town visiting their grandparents.  2015-08-03 002

I can't believe she brought me a huckleberry cinnamon roll!!!!

I can’t believe she brought me a huckleberry cinnamon roll!!!!

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Our Dads acted like this, too!

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Let’s chase each other around the woods for a few hours and then go build a fort.

But the highlight, according to my grandson, was this:

Sitting in for two songs with the Cougar Creek band.

Sitting in for two songs with the Cougar Creek band.

Who can blame the little guy for wanting to skip school and return to “Grandma’s lake”?

I miss him.

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Posted in family, grandmother stuff, lake | 2 Comments

porch chatter

Posted on August 16, 2015 by is there any more pie?
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This says it all.

Last Thursday it was time for the annual gathering of the Montana ladies & friends. We had a lot to talk about: summer company, grandchildren, children, food, families, travel plans, etc.

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Chilled wine and frozen champagne grapes in 2013.

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Here we are looking spiffy in 2012.

We skipped the Housedress Dress Code and the dock (it was close to 100 degrees, according to Accuweather) and set up lunch on the porch. Under the fan. With wine, vodka, tequila, iced tea and lots of food.

I even made the OMG peach cake.
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 We sat around the table for almost six hours.

Obviously there was a lot to catch up on!!!

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