WHEW! We Almost Missed It!

We always get snow in September. Always! But it was a really close call this year as today is the last day of September. So this is what I got up to this morning. Not much, but it is certainly is snow and it snowed off and on all day.

So this is the first thing I did when I got out of bed. Got a nice warm fire started. Beautiful, right?!

I love to sit on the hearth and soak up the warmth and look out these beautiful windows. And this is my view--all winter! Gorgeous!

This now is our Summer House dressed for winter--at least for today. We still have many beautiful autumn days left--this is very temporary.

The water fall is also dressed for winter, although still falling. I will have to pull the plug soon.

Now this is what I put up with for weeks at the end of summer--deer in my garden eating everything is sight.

I got a shot of these this morning--then proceeded to fill their butts full of birdshot. It doesn't do a lot of good, but I feel better. Besides, it's good target practice--and I rarely miss.

As I drove past Wheat Montana yesterday I stopped and stocked up on my favorite cereal in the whole world--yes, you read it right--it's 50 pounds!!! of yummy 7-Grain Cereal. If you've never tried it, you wouldn't believe how good it is. And I saved more than half by buying in bulk--and yes, I will go through it this winter. Now I'm really ready.

More beautiful flowers. Really beautiful.

A Teaser. . . .!!!

Katie and Bas took a daytrip to Ludwigsburg last weekend to visit the place where we lived when we were in Germany 1984 - 1986. She did a delightful post about it and mentioned that we did our 1984 Family Christmas picture in the very place she also took a picture at the Schloss where we frequently walked on a Sunday afternoon--in front of this iron railing. Of course, I couldn't let that pass, so got out the photo albums and found some really fun, old pictures--including this one. I will scan and post others later--this is a "tease" for now! Enjoy! And stay tuned. . . .

How Beautiful Is This!!!

I love this image! What a lucky shot! (Remember you can click on images to enlarge them.)

Be sure to check out the new posts below--I've been busy posting this evening!

Winter Preps--September Snow!!

Kirk and Steve have been working on getting our summer house finished up for winter. This week they took out all the screens and put a finish coat on the outside and inside wood to protect it.
I am so enjoying the peace and quiet of this delightful little getaway place in our backyard.
Miller is here getting ready to put a new top layer on our driveway--another winter prep.
He brought in 4 loads of road mix! That's a lot of dirt and rocks.
It looks like we're going to get our annual-first-snowfall-in-September tomorrow so it's a good thing we're as far along with winter preps as we are. I got home from Bozeman this afternoon about 5:00 and first order of business was to get my first load of firewood of the season up on the dining room porch. I will lay a fire in the fireplace tonight before I go to bed, so I will be ready to get it "fired" up in the morning when I get up. Yea! First snow of the season! We'll see how bad it is.
This is our filled-up wood shed. Thanks Ty and David. We're ready for winter. Bring it on!!

Daisy, Daisy. . . .Bye, Bye Daisy

This is Dolly and Daisy--they've become best friends lately. That wasn't always true!
This is Daisy's new owner, Joe. Dolly knows something is up.
After his nasty accident with Daisy, Walt decided that it probably would not be healthy for him to ride her again. She needs someone who knows how to deal with 3-yr-old colts and won't get so badly broken when she acts like a colt!
She's beautiful, though, and we've loved her and she's been a lot of fun for us all.
Talk about spoiled rotten and full of personality! That's our Daisy.
We hope that she will have a happy home with Joe and his daughter, Abby.
She's a beauty. Our Daisy.
This is Drin and Ruffy being walked by Toy! He's a well-trained little dog!
I love this picture of Foxy.
Abby like playing with Jim--she was climbing up his legs.
What a cutie is Abby.

If It's September, It Must Be Time To Start A Christmas Quilt Project

I looked behind my sewing machine as I was working on this project and saw this really cool design happening as I stitched the spokes of my fan and they moved to the back. Liking it. Looks like a caracol (that's Spanish for--something! Can't think of the word in English!)
Smarty Pants Drin is hard at work. She's being really smug 'cause she's way ahead of the rest of us. As usual!!!
Joan is getting some helpful hints from Ellen about marking and cutting out her fan spokes.
Jeannie is trying hard to catch up with Drin! She almost made it.
This gives you the idea of what the fan/dresden plate will look like in the finished product--this is my project. Love that luscious red! Gorgeous.
Jeannie's block is looking pretty good--I like the pop of green in this one.
This is Joan's block--she decided to use the green for the center of hers.
Drin's block, of course, is totally different than the rest of ours as she decided to use a print fabric for her background. Will be fun to see how this one works up.
And Ellen is going to have a real stunner for her project. The gold really pops in this layout. We will get together again on 8 October to finish assembling these blocks into the final product and then do all the applique. Stay tuned for "the rest of the story."
Joan has invaded Drin's space with her block--she got in big trouble with the "tape nazi". . . .

FINALLY! It's Arrived!

When I visited Katie in Germany a year ago she had a brand-new Miele canister vacuum cleaner. I had lots of opportunities to use it while I was there and decided it was a really great vacuum. So a few weeks ago Walt's catalog of "gifts" he can order using his AmEx points came and there was a Miele vacuum in it! I was really excited as we are in need of a new vacuum so he agreed to order it for me. And today it finally arrived!
So now I will finally be able to do a decent cleaning job on all the beautiful wood floors we have. I'm so excited. I can hardly wait to clean house tomorrow! Thanks, Katie, for introducing me to this great vacuum cleaner. I love it!

One of My Favorite Places in the Whole World

This is the Front Street Market in Butte, Montana. That's right--Butte, Montana. No matter where I travel I'm always on the lookout for "deli" shops--you know, those little shops that sell things to eat, like hot sauces, preserves, seasonings--that kind of stuff. And then I load up on too much and have to figure out how to get it in my suitcase. And of course, it's usually something in a glass jar.
So, I know my little markets. And I have never, ever anywhere come across a shop like this one in Butte. I'm still amazed every time I walk inside--and always find something new that I haven't seen before.
This place is packed with everything you can imagine with aisles wide enough for one very thin person! This section has a lot of Aisian items. There is stuff everywhere.
This section is one of my favorites. They carry seasonings galore--and I've bought a good number of them. Jams, preserves, chutneys. Teas from all over the world.
Have no clue what this pink pig is all about, but there it is! Perhaps you noticed the little pigs painted on the outside wall of the building? No clue! I'll have to ask next time I'm there.
It even has a deli where they serve lunch-type foods. I hear it's pretty good. They prepare the foods they serve on-site. They have a small kitchen for food prep.
Notice the airplanes hanging from the ceiling. Everywhere one looks there is something surprising and unexpected. The've obviously been in business for a very long time.
Pasta? You want pasta? You might have trouble choosing!
And wine. WOW! This is a very small portion of the wines they have to offer. They also have a wine club for $19.95 for two selected wines every month. Now that's a deal!
And this is the olive section. Truly amazing. I always look forward to any reason to go to Butte!