This Weekend I ......

It's nice to take a few moments to recall exactly what I did this past weekend. Thanks to my blogging friend, Karen, for hosting this meme....

1.. Scraped ice from curb side while watching my grandson's delight in running through snow-melt puddles on the sidewalk.

2. Got reacquained with Bianca and Bernard in Disney's DVD of The Rescuers.

3. Was glad that my grandson became acquainted with other pint-size people in our church nursery...as I was enjoying my time in our worship service ;)

4. Enjoyed shopping for cards, books, DVDs and flowers for friends and family.

5. Finally cooked on my new stove --- eggs and an omelette for meals other than breakfast.

6. Received a lovely card of comfort -- and gift -- from a classmate and thoughtful friend.

7. Enjoyed another computer-free weekend.

8. Explained the what, why and how of my beautiful, 4-blossom amaryllis plant to my grandson.

9. PBS - Downton Abbey.

10. Shared an Elisabeth Elliot quote in church during our time of praise and prayer -- as a testimony of God's love during our times of grief and suffering.


My grandson Trask with cousin, Joe at Christmas.

Life as we know it

Life as we now know it changed dramatically early in December 2010. My dear son, Kirk, was killed in a car accident as he was traveling from work to his home -- across the "Rims". This photo was taken at a friend's wedding in August, 2010. Kirk is joined here by his cousin, Bekah.

The outpouring of generosity and comfort to our family has been amazing....and my daughter and I have been able to lift our heads and enjoy peace, even while we grieve this heavy loss for our family.

Here is Kirk's obituary, which appeared in our local newspaper. It really states best who he was, and those people important in his life, as well as his pursuits and passions.

Summer Container Gardening

While the ongoing "Boulevard Transformation Monster Project" is being worked on....I just have to have some beauty and inspiration to help me on with said project. I have two half barrel planters for the back yard. The first is on the south side of the garage, where, next planting season I hope to have a raised bed...since it gets the best full day sunlight.


The second oak barrel is on the west side of the garage, and is part of a 2-3 foot strip border of some flowers (but mostly weeds)! I have reclaimed about half of the area with rock and bark for the time being.


In the front yard, I filled the "tomato" container with a variety of lovelies -- this has been the lushest container, settled in a partially shaded area of the maple tree.

Other containers in the front yard are similar in mix of flowers (petunia, dusty miller, purple and peach verbena, white geranium...


...and, finally, my strawberry planter filled with moss roses and a green plant on top that replaced a short-lived gerbera daisy.

Along the east side of my property is a chain link fence, that I plan to beautify over time ;) This calla lily is being temporarily housed near the fence due to its all-day sunny situation.

My talented and handsome nephew

Better late than never....here is my nephew, Luke, entertaining the family this past Christmas (trouble posting video here ;)

A summer visit

We were blessed to have a visit from my nephew and his family from Colorado this summer. His son is such a cutie! He's playing with toys that were around circa early 1970s














....as is his older sister - enjoying a fudgsickle ;)















Mom, Dad and a Great Aunt and Uncle enjoy the backyard gathering.
















...and a blue-bonneted Montana cousin to the Colorado cuties with another Great Aunt...

Spring Gardening

Here are some photos of my spring container gardening -- lettuce, spinach and cilantro.



Our Montana spring was cold and wet. I relied on starting seeds indoors..when the indoor temps were barely warm enough to germinate. The other first seedlings in the peat pots are broccoli, daisies, and basil. I found out later, as I didn't mark them well as they germinated ;0



I caught the lilacs that grow near my back door....the heighth of my blue spruce tree on the east side of the house...and early leaves on the maple tree to the south in the front yard -- The Honda FIT at the curb was my Cash for Clunkers score from July 2009 -- LOVE it!

Newly inspired...

Well, it took a few blog posts like Karen's to get me back to writing.

So, what has kept me away for so long...you may ask? One of the main draws has been Facebook...it's easy "like" button or quick comment -- who has time to think a matter through, and then construct a note or story?

Lest you think FB is an addiction....I have also been spending this fall enjoying daily, outdoor exercise -- and am enjoying the health and fitness aspects that walking, raking leaves or biking brings.

I've also been doing many landlady duties/calls regarding repairs and improvements...meeting new neighbors....serving friends who are moving in or moving out of new homes...fun Saturday coffee time with family...

This past summer brough several weddings and vacation travel -- a new car that I am thoroughly enjoying via the Cash for Clunkers program ---

and updates/connections from friends, family and coworkers who have travelled to or lived in Uganda, Tanzania, Malaysia, Phillipines, Bangladesh for a season or time...

This is what we do....

I couldn't pass on this great news article that features the ministry I work with. I love the clear way that it is written, and the information it provides will hopefully prompt many more people in conflict to take this avenue....


(hat tip: our ministry president ;)

Let's Hear It For C-Span

Last evening, I began watching the lead-in for the President's address to Congress -- on CBS. Yes, that would be lovely Katie Couric in the news chair.

Less than an hour before her coverage of the President's speech, on the CBS Nighly News, Katie's questions for David Axelrod and House Minority Leader John Boehner began grating on my nerves, but I wanted to hear each of their responses to her (poor) questions. The bad taste in my mouth was beginning to form...

I am still searching for her actual comments during the lead-in to the speech, but suffice it to say she made one-too-many nasty/caustic comments, and I chose to bail from the CBS coverage...so I had no idea that Katie continued with her weird comments and behavior after I changed channels.

"In the CBS introductory coverage of President Obama's first address to Congress, Katie Couric poked fun at Vice President and white male Joe Biden. "Nice to see a little diversity, with an African-American President, a female Speaker of the House, and there's the white guy," she said." (HT: Huffington Post)

Maybe this can be chalked up to my after-work mood, or the fact that I'd love to watch ABC coverage, only that station is fuzzy and hard on the eyes.

But, once more, I tuned into the wonderful C-Span network, where I could take in all the wonderful sights and sounds, minus the annoying commentators -- and actually use my own mind to determine what was happening in the Capitol that evening. I'll admit that immediately after the speech, I opted to watch my newest Netflix pick over Governor Jindal's response to the speech.

I'm sure CBS will not miss this one Montanan's absence during the evening news (oh, if only I could count on many more Harry Smith or Russ Mitchell nights); and I will miss Steve Hartman's Assignment America stories, but I'm definitely not watching Ms. Couric in the future.

BTW, Katie was not the only commentator to make a spectacle of themself - Chris Matthews also scored high in that category ;)

Book Meme

So, dear Anne, of Palm Tree Pundit fame....voracious reader that she is, challenged her blogging friends to complete the books they've read, and would like to read.

Apparently, my best reading was done throughout my school days, according to this list...although if films or plays were included, my bold list would be much longer ;)

There are several of my unread books that I may get to one of these days...but who wants that stress -- what with the six or so I'm travelling through now

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read (films don't count).
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Tag somebody if you like (Rebel that I am, I'm not going to do that. If you play along, leave a comment so I can check out your list.)

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (I just have no interest in these.)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 1984 - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (Will read this soon in Omnibus III)
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet – Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

...There are also more than a few here that are unknown to me...so I may have to google them -- then check out my local library (or a close friend's :) as I have at least a year's moratorium on any new books.