Yesterday it was clear and 65

Today it's snowing.



Yesterday I had to bribe my kids to go outside (we went to the park).



Today they were so excited to go outside that they barely ate breakfast.


Nothing like a little snow to change things up around here.


But next week, it could be sunny and 75.


We'll see.

They are named after flowers

And apparently they are drawn to flowers.



These are my mom's petunias. And they are HUGE! The girls just had to pick them and put them in their hair.

Obviously Violet doesn't have that much hair, but she got in on the action just the same.



Good times at grandma's house.

Oh the things we find in old houses

I love this house. It's not every day that you get to live in a house that has so much character. My great grandma used to see old houses and say something like, "If those walls could talk . . . the things it has seen."

When I was growing up I'm sure I left all sorts of stuff in that house that people will see and wonder about. I remember finding a knot hole in my closet and the knot had been pushed in. It was just the right size to stick a quarter in. I had a crazy idea that I would fill that with quarters and someday be rich with my wall full of money. But after about $2 in quarters I realized that really I was just sticking my money down a black hole. Someday someone is going to find a little pile of quarters from the 1980s in that wall and probably have a good little giggle.

This house has more obvious signs of the previous family. For example, inside a door in the mud room, a recipe for mole bait.



On the door to the basement (that Ila told me she always meant to finish), a growth chart with lines, names and dates.



That always made me smile. But yesterday we happened to look on the other side of the door jam and found this.



It's another growth chart. I think this one is for the children and the one on the door is the grandchildren. The shortest one says, "Mick '48"

But as we got towards the top, it wasn't a growth chart at all. It was a different sort of record.

Dec 1948 38" snow on level

Nov 4 1952 Mick hair cut

Dec 21 58 Hardly any snow. Has been very dry till now. Lawn fair amount or 2' in fields.

April 30 1970 still 28" of snow on the level

May 10 1970 Bare spots appearing. Probably 90% still snow covered.

Dec 11 1971 40" snow

April 26 1975 33" snow

May 1 1975 30" snow

Dec 31 76 About 2" snow

Jan 1 77 snowed

I think it's safe to say that we will be seeing some snow this winter. Not that we haven't been told that. But this just seemed to cement it that much more. Winters here are much different than they are even 40 miles south of here. And they are much different than what I've ever experienced. I don't know if I've ever experienced 40" of snow. That's a LOT of snow!!

But the truth is, I'm excited to experience it. People probably think I'm nuts, but that's okay. I probably am on some level. After all, I stand in the road and take pictures of combines as they drive by. And we wave wildly. It's great fun.

We met Ila. :)

Ila and her husband built this house. They raised their family in this house. Five years ago Ila moved to a smaller house in town. And there have been at least three tenants here since we moved in.

I kept hearing that this was Ila's house. Yesterday I got a phone call inviting us to come down and meet her. He knows I've been wanting to.

She's such a sweet lady. And I think she was happy to see that a family lives here. The bachelor worried her.

She asked about her flowers. I said we moved in as they were on their way out, but I knew the peonies were still growing. And I told her I had plans for the flowers. And the raspberries. And the lilacs.

Ila, thank you. Thank you for having such a happy and loving home for so long that it is seeping out of the walls. We love your house. And we plan to love it for many years. It's a happy home.

It made her smile

Last night I made a pocket Goose. It was a sort of celebration. I have found my sewing machine and most of the sewing room is set up. Celebration was definitely in order.

When it was done I brought it down and put it on the chair. Calla saw it and smiled. Then she asked me why I used those "silly aminals." Yes, she said "aminals")I told her it was because it was a 'Silly' Goose.



Then I walked into the next room and I hear, "Mom! I like the pockets!"



I like the pockets, too, Calla.

I don't care how cute you think you are

You aren't cute from the hours of 1am to 4am.



You just aren't.

Those are some BIG horses!

This past weekend we went to Deer Lodge, Montana to visit my parents and go to the Draft Horse Expo. I have a thing for horses. If I didn't have kids, I think I could totally be into horses. I grew up on a horse and I miss it. But babies and horses just don't go together very well. And there will always be horses. I won't always have babies. So that's how it is right now. And I'm okay with that.

Anyway, these draft horses are amazing. And the work that goes into them is amazing. Just look at these two. Aren't they beautiful?



Oh, wait. Those are draft MULES. Sorry.

How about these?



Oh, those are burros. But aren't they cute??

Alright, check these out. I think I got it right this time.



In the barn we even got to pet them. For as huge as they are (I think one of their feet is bigger than Violet), they are sure gentle. All that handling.



They truly are gentle giants.



Gorgeous gentle giants.



What a hobby.



I love this picture. Calla is just grinning at that horse.



Violet got in on the action, too.



She was so intrigued by them. She wanted to touch them, but when they nosed her hand, she would chicken out and pull away.

On our way to the barn to see the horses we ran across a chuck wagon. And these three folks were busy cooking dinner for 350 people. When asked what they were making (BBQ Beef) the one guy just said, "Dead cow."



Of course he said it with a twinkle in his eye. But it still struck me as funny. Probably because that's what we call it at our house, too.

But check out his apron. It's "Cook Chaps." Says it right on them. Cool. And they were cooking in all cast iron. Double cool. AND we bought a cook book from them that was put together in collaboration with a 5th grade teacher in a town neighboring ours--in fact, we're part of that school district.

Triple cool!

But as good as that looked, Violet preferred the shave ice we got the other two girls.



She opened that wide for every bite. Love that baby.

Love her.