Norma's Wanderings around a small section of Montana |
Two big items marked off my calendar yesterday, the WDC Masquerade party is over. Seems I came in second. Yippee! I solved the mystery with Nancy Drew. Now Nancy is headed back home. She may be back next year to help with another case. Yesterday was the last performance of the Illustrious Musselshell Players. We wrapped up our season and the play 'Every Little Crook and Nanny'. I played the part of Jocelyn Minnow, a retired nanny. It was a comedy, as usual. Let me tell you, this was a labor of love. We slogged through this play during the second act. I felt like we needed to refund some money to the attendees. But everyone had kind things to say, so I guess it went over well. Now back to life as usual. Pictures will be posted as soon as I get them off the camera. Yes, camera. I don't use a cell phone so they are safe on that camera chip. Later, now I have to see about lunch. Reality calls. |
I created my first little trinket. Thanks to Bubblegum Jones for the tutorial on how to do it. Of course it was easy. Why didn't I do one before?! It is definitely turning to fall here. There is snow in Yellowstone, my tomato vines got frozen one night, and it is cool during the day now. Tonight coming home from play practice there was a full glorious moon. The man that lives there was smiling and wishing me luck. Enjoy the trinket! Limited supplies so get her while you can. Nancy Drew won't be around for long. |
There is to be a big change today. It was 32° yesterday, it knocked back the tomato vines a bit. Now today the high is to be 90° with high winds. Good grief. It sure has been a strange weather year. No snow to speak of, no rain to speak of, but plenty of sun and wind. Today is a quiet rest day for me. I've been down several days with stomach problems. So I need the rest. I thank God for the Sabbath. |
We do Meals on Wheels on Wednesday. I know I've told that before. Well, today we're out and about, I tell hubby, turn here, at the motel. There's a man there we deliver to. He misses the turn. But then he takes a left turn at the intersection ahead, gets in the lane of the traffic going the wrong way for a few dozen yards then turns into the motel, right in front of a sheriff's vehicle sitting there. Duh. And the best part is the sheriff didn't see us, and the sheriff's vehicle had the coroner symbol. Hmm. So, we made an illegal turn into the motel. In front of the sheriff. Who was actually the coroner. At a motel. After we stopped laughing hysterically at the weirdness of that, we continue on. You cannot make up this stuff. Life just is so full of these moments. When we managed a motel in Gardiner, there was talk of a person that died in one of the rooms there some years before. So if a guest was late in checking out, that was always the fear. You didn't want to walk into a room to find a dead person. I had play practice tonight. Good grief. I wanted to smack someone. There is this one lady. I had to say some prayers for patience. She is not in the play, she is helping with the set, with the makeup, with prompting of lines. Well, let's just say she got on my last nerve tonight. My attitude is you should let someone try to figure out their line, not immediately tell them if they forget. And if someone does forget, they should say 'line?' so the prompter knows they need help. Well, let's just say practice was too chaotic and maddening. We still haven't had much rain to speak of. It rained a bit on the way back home tonight from Musselshell. A few drops. But as soon as I got to Roundup, it stopped. It truly is as if we live in a bubble or something. Strange. It can rain all around, but not here in town. Perhaps tomorrow. Everything is better in the morning, right? |
Today is the anniversary of 9/11/01. It's hard to believe it has been 20 years. Time sure does fly, it seems. So much has happened in the world, the country, and my own personal life. I still get teary-eyed watching those videos of the planes hitting the twin towers. Mercy sakes, what a horrible, dreadful day it was. I was blessed to not have any family affected by this tragedy. I watched a show today about an airport in Newfoundland that had to take all planes coming across the Atlantic. Gander, Newfoundland. Amazing story of the air traffic controllers and how they had to find places for all the planes that day that couldn't enter US air space. They landed 224 jets in 4 hours. Incredible. I never knew of this. Today was quiet here. Not much going on. Church was good, some people out sick. But nothing major. The Covid virus is bad in Billings, no so much here. We are pretty isolated and lucky for that fact. Now the hospital here will be getting some patients that Billings hospitals cannot house. Seems the two large hospitals there are full of patients. Our little one will now be getting some of the overflow. Mixed blessings for sure. My childhood friend is an airline attendant. She posted this image today. I find it interesting, so I thought I would share. I also wrote an essay for The Writer's Cramp about my life that day in 2001 when our country changed forever. |
It sure is a nice day today. I'm on my porch enjoying the moderate temperature and no wind. But fall is definitely in the air. NIghts are cooler, days are shorter. The sunlight is less intense. Hubby and I went on a drive on Labor Day. We'd done so little all summer, so I thought it fitting on the last official day to go somewhere. So we went to Pictograph Caves near Billings. It was a little disappointing. The pictographs are all but gone, for various reasons. Very little remains of the wonderful artwork by native people of ancient times. But the caves are amazing. Then we stopped at the Four Dances natural area. This area is the rimrock formation seen all around Billings. Sandstone cliffs that overlook the Yellowstone River and Billings beyond. It was once a sacred area for the native Crow people. I said at lunch, "I have to write about this." And so I did.
Last night my hubby is up all hours with a sinus problem. Ugh. I pray it is allergies, and that is what we are treating. I have a different problem today, the old irritable bowel is rearing its ugly head. And then on the way home from play practice last night the warning light for the tires comes on. Great. So, no Meals on Wheels today. And of course, now if you say you don't feel well, panic sets in. "Oh no. Is it?" And then you reassure the other person, "No, just an allergy attack." or "No, just an upset stomach." The birthday celebration week for WDC is over. I hope everyone got to participate in one of the fun activities or contests. I'm Nancy Drew in the Clue game going on still. Check it out, see if you can find the murderer.
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We are in the midst of a climate change here in Roundup. The temperatures are cooling off. The trees are starting to change color. There is a small amount of something falling from the sky. It is rumored to be rain. We've heard of rain before. It is that phenomenon that allows grass to grow, trees to live, wells to refill, rivers and streams to flow full. But never this entire summer have we seen this happen. So thanks be to God for His wonderful gift of seasons changing and rain. Autumn. It comes early here. Yesterday we ventured down to Billings. Billings is now the hot spot in our state for this virus problem. So there were people wearing masks again, but by far the majority are not. I did not, nor did my hubby. Things are not bad here in town. A few people sick, but no big epidemic. So we continue on with our life. A quiet afternoon is in store. We volunteer at the museum on Friday afternoons from May through September. It's a nice time to read, talk with visitors, or just sit and do nothing. And there is great value in doing nothing sometimes. We should all try it. Just sit and think. Let your mind wander. Daydream. Wonderful things sometimes come to those who dream. |
I sat on my porch tonight, cruising the internet. I kept hearing this sound, like someone grinding up tree parts down the street. Valid, since I saw someone cutting down a dead tree on my walk earlier. So I went out to the sidewalk to check this out. The sound was coming from the truck of the woman next door. It was idling, regular noise, loud noise, cycling back and forth. I looked inside and she is sitting in there. Now this has been making a noise for perhaps 15 minutes or so? It's a warm afternoon, perhaps she is cooling off, I think. My hubby comes back from his nightly walk. I tell him what I observe. "I think I'll wait a few more minutes, then I'm calling the sheriff." So I give it a half hour. I call the non-emergency sheriff number. Tell them this person is sitting in her truck, the truck is running, she seems to be sleeping or worse. No I haven't checked to see if she is breathing. Please come do a welfare check. So that was 45 minutes ago. Sometime ago the truck stopped running. I don't know if she turned it off or it just ran out of gas or gave up the ghost. The Sheriff just arrived. He pounded on the truck window, thank God she woke up. Not sure what the story is here. I know this person has had drug and alcohol problems in the past. But I have to tell you, my heart pounded for a few moments as he was yelling at her. I sure didn't want the ambulance to come and take her body away. Now will she be like the character in the book I just read? Sad something didn't turn out the way she planned? I'd do the same for anyone else. |
Not much new to report. Now as I type that, there is a sad tale. I knew this one lady when I went to Physical Therapy a few years ago here in town. She was the receptionist. Sweet lady - and since you don't know her, and neither she nor her family I would hazard to guess are on this site, I will let you know her name is Krissy. I just heard a few days ago that Krissy is now in the hospital, non-responsive. She is probably about 35-40. She was at a photo session with her daughter, for senior high school pictures. She collapsed, went to the hospital. She had seizures, then she had strokes after an aneurysm. Now she is non-responsive. Those are the facts I've been able to glean from at least three different people. How sad, for her daughter with her at the time, her other, younger daughter, her husband, the extended family that is now gathering. An aside, her husband fell off a roof a few years ago, he's in construction. His company did work for us. He said he will never be 100% healed after that fall. I can't imagine the agony he is now experiencing. One moment you're happy, enjoying your child, discussing life and the future, the next your family is deciding on a future possibly without you. First of all, this hits home for me. My second husband had an aneurysm and a subsequent stroke. He survived, but was in the hospital for some time and never was the same. It was a time of great emotional and physical stress for me. A time in my life I cannot look back on with any great comfort. If anything, this recent episode once again points out the importance of living each day as if it may be your last. Don't ever take for granted you will live for another day or hour or minute. Say 'I love you' more often. Call your family more often. Enjoy each day and find fun and enjoyment in whatever you do. And for us writers, don't procrastinate! Write every day. If you have an idea, get it out there. Don't let that idea die! |