<a class="proll" href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/item_id/2198921-PORCH-PONDERINGS">PORCH PONDERINGS

about 14 hours ago
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

schunujo I don't worry about NaNo or OctoPrep. I think that event is far enough in the future. I am bummed that I cannot garden this year. I've been typing and writing all this time with just one hand and three fingers so...

I am excited to get the pain level lessened. Then I found out from my daughter the other day that she suffers from carpal tunnel as well, but as is typical for her, she won't get it treated. The problem with that syndrome is if it gets too severe, you could actually lose total function of your hand. Now that is the worst case scenario of course. I am scared enough by that prospect, I'll endure a few more months of recovery pain to heal the problem.

about 14 hours ago
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

When are you arriving back in Montana? And which airport? I'll be tied up for a few days after surgery. But I think once my husband goes back east to get our car, perhaps sometime in May we pray, I could make a road trip.

Schnujo is Late to Lannister

Apr 25, 2024 at 7:13pm
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

Wow! You have so much going on!

I'm really sorry all of this is happening at the same time.

But I am super glad the doctor thinks he can fix you, even if you won't be good as new. But new things are too expensive anyway.

I'm certainly glad you'll be in much less (hopefully no) pain in the (hopefully not too distant) future!

I've also had times when a specialist told me I should have seen him sooner. Well, maybe if I hadn't been required to get a referral...

The surgery timing sounds pretty good with a 6-month recovery time. You'll be pushing it for NaNo, but I think you can do it. After all, I need my best cheerleader out there!

In truth, you have a big impact on my success in NaNo, but I could probably do it without you if I had to. Most importantly, I want YOU to be okay -- happy, healthy, and pain-free! If that means you miss a year of NaNo, so be it. YOU are more important.

QPdoll

Apr 25, 2024 at 6:00am
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

and Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

I hope you both can find transportation on Monday! Good luck to you!

Norma, it's good you have your surgery scheduled. I think you'll feel so much better with pain relief. My husband had carpal tunnel surgery and he is happy that his fingers don't go numb anymore.

Safe travels to you both!

Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

Apr 25, 2024 at 2:42am
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

I don't have to explain my trip back to Montana as you get the picture.

I've been stressed for so long...

I can relax at the hostel and in Seoul airport.

Need to arrange a ride home though...

I assume you'll not be available.

Apr 25, 2024 at 2:05am
In response to "Drama"

Elycia Lee ☮

Try cutting back your plants. Then try dusting them gently. They breathe through the surface of the leaves.
I found this on Google about rubber plants:
Water when the soil is almost completely dry. ...
Spray with a mister every few days, they like to keep their leaves moist.
Place in a bright room, but keep away from super sunny windows to avoid sunburn Between 15°C to 25°C is their optimum temperature.

Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

Apr 20, 2024 at 11:50am
In response to "Drama"

I should be in Missoula May 1st. Chance of 20° or 70° ... sun, rain, snow, tornadoes, earthquake, Yellowstone blowing up?

Elycia Lee ☮

Apr 20, 2024 at 11:02am
In response to "Drama"

I never overwater them, but I think I'm underwatering them. The leaves are curling. When I put them out, their leaves burn. When I wipe them, lines appear on them... I really wanna start over, but I don't know how to... My rubber plants bottom stem leaves have dropped. Only the top is growing. For one of them, their baby leaf hasn't been growing for over 6 months now... Sounds like you've got quite the green finger there.

Apr 20, 2024 at 11:00am
In response to "Drama"

QPdoll

It was good to be out and work in the garden. We were both tired after, but that's okay. Digging in dirt always helps. There is always dirt in our lives. We have to dig up through it to get to the shining world on the other side.

Happy Birthday Tomahawk Style

March 11, 2022 at 1:22am

#1028719

Holodomor

I came across an interesting movie on Hulu tonight. In light of the war between the Ukraine and Russia, there is also a little-known historical incident that happened between the two countries.

'Holodomor' was instituted by Joseph Stalin against the Ukraine. The movie, 'Bitter Harvest' tells that story. Between 7 to 10 million people died because of Stalin's actions.

I'd never heard of this. But then again, few have since it just came to light in 1991. A really sad tale of genocide.

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March 7, 2022 at 9:53pm

#1028540

SO today is my birthday. Holy cow. How did I ever get this old???? Hubby asked the other night, "When you were 25, did you ever think you'd be this old?" (And I'm not actually saying how old I am. I think you can figure it out from my bio.) So the short answer was "no".

At the age of 25, I was too worried about getting my life back after a car accident. I was too worried about a toddler that was a devil child. I was too worried about a husband (my ex) who could never keep a job and we never had any money. So no, I didn't worry about getting older. I worried about that day, then that week.

We've had a few nice nights in Billings, currently the largest city in MT. I had to come Sunday to meet with the head of the Montana Renaissance Festival to get some ideas from him for our fledgling festival we're starting up. And somehow I'm the Queen in charge. Then today we did leisurely shopping. Shoe store, hardware store, drug store and the best of all, Barnes and Noble. I found five books I liked. Ended up with two.

Now tonight they are calling for a winter storm to blow in. Great, just in time for us to drive back home. But we did have a celebratory meal tonight. I had a gift certificate for a nice restaurant. So we made a reservation, went in and got the special of the night.

Ever had a tomahawk steak? Fingerling potatoes in duck confit? How about a 15 layer chocolate cake for two with ice cream? Oh mercy. Let's just say it was worth every penny for a birthday meal.

Now, we'll try to sleep after that fat bomb of a meal. And then wake up in the morning to a snow show. Or not. We'll see. Perhaps another night in Billings will happen.

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February 28, 2022 at 10:43am

#1027631

February 28!!

The last day of February, and now we get ready to head into the long month of March. I dread that month because of the gray days, the warm one day, cold the next, sunny skies one moment, blizzard the next.

But I do enjoy the spring flowers. When we moved into our home in the winter, we had no idea that so many daffodils were planted in the beds outside. What a fun thing to see them come up. The previous owner also planted some lilies that come back every year. Quite lovely.

But I guess I can look forward to two fun overnights. I have one free overnight stay in Billings in a week. That is courtesy of Southeast Montana Tourism. Then there is that free two-night stay in Big Sky a few weeks after that. And that is just because I filled out an online survey concerning tourism. Free anything is fun in my opinion.

Right now I'm trying to get the idea of a Renaissance Festival off the ground. Holy cow, what an ordeal this is turning into. The lady with the original idea keeps referring back to her time, twenty years ago, with her family in another faire in another state. She is creative, but doesn't want to do any of the actual hard work, the paperwork, the finances, the boots-on-the-ground. Then another woman she enlisted has definite, but flawed, ideas of what the faire should showcase. So this is sort of like juggling cats. I've been elected as chairperson, and now have to get all these people in line.

Happy last day of February folks!

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February 24, 2022 at 12:38am

#1027324

Call Me Crazy

Well, holy cannoli. Last night I agreed to be the treasurer of the local Chamber of Commerce. The previous person never showed for meetings, never had reports for meetings, and was just not interested in doing the job. Then when it was time for someone to take over during the election process, no one said a word. Except for me. Call me crazy.

Then today we had an informational meeting to start working on plans for a Renaissance Festival in town. Just a one day event this year. The person who first suggested this said "Oh wouldn't it be fun. Gather together down by the Riverwalk, just gather all the magic and have fun." Well, you know what? Fun just doesn't happen when it is a public event. Fun has to be organized. Fun has to be planned and then look like it is spontaneous. Egads. Then we got into all kind of discussions about witches, wiccan, black magic, earth mothers, and all sort of other minutiae that made me want to tear my hair out. And I now am the chairperson for this group of creative people. Call me crazy, again.

I now am going to step down from one of my volunteer positions on an advisory board. This non-profit organization is steadily going in a direction I don't like and can't stop. The person driving the organization is micro-managing everything. So, this is a good time to leave, after serving for over four years.

I talked all this over with friends when on break today at the elementary school cafeteria. They called me in to work last night. So I showed up at 6:30 AM for my shift, in -25°, to work til noon. I took the place of a lady who had to stay home to nurse two sick baby goats. I told my husband that only in Montana would you go to work for someone with sick kids, and those kids are not her own. But goats.

Welcome to my world! Fun and games in Roundup! The excitement never ends...

1 Like • Comment

February 8, 2022 at 8:41pm

#1026312

Big Sky

About a week ago I filled out a tourism survey that was sent to my email address. I thought nothing more of it. I get these now and again since I am a member of a tourism board for SE Montana.

Well today as we were sitting at lunch having a discussion on yarn, I know, how interesting is that, the phone rings. It is a person I know by name that says "Congratulations! You're the winner of the 'blankety blank' survey you filled out a few weeks ago. Your prize is 2 days and 2 nights at the Big Sky Resort in Big Sky, Montana."

Ha! Blew me away, let me tell you. This place, if you've never heard, is where the rich go to play. Currently under construction is another hotel/resort (Montage) where rooms will rent for $1700+ per night. As if I could ever afford to stay there. My preferred usual rate is $80 or less, maybe. And that is pretty non-existent these days.

Big Sky is near Bozeman. Or as locals are now calling it 'BozAngeles'. So many people are moving there from California in search of the Montana lifestyle that it has become quite unrecognizable to those who love the quiet life. Bozeman is a college town, a fly-in for Yellowstone, a great place to go skiing, and has a great history. We went there quite often when we lived in Gardiner to go shopping.

So now we have to decide when to go. Their winter season stops sometime in April. We'll go hobnob with the rich and famous. Try to behave. I'll report back on how the other 1% lives. Then I'll come back to my little humble abode and be glad.

https://bigskyresort.com

Info on the newest addition: https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montage-big-sky-hotel-opens-...

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January 31, 2022 at 11:39pm

#1025767

Wind Means Change

More wind here today. There is always a big wind, it seems, before a storm. Now they are calling for snow tomorrow. Well, it is February 1 tomorrow, so I guess that is okay.

One big thing that happened here recently - we got rid of our satellite TV. Now if I want to watch any TV or movies, I do it on my computer. And I figured out how to make our TV, it's a Samsung smart TV, behave like a large computer monitor. Now if that wasn't just the best accomplishment. Me versus machine for a few weeks trying to figure that out. I knew there had to be a way. Youtube to the rescue.

So, it all has to do with the HDMI, the cables, the ports, the switching over, the mirroring...and magic occurred one night. Now I can download movies or get Apple TV or Hulu or Discovery+ on the computer, hook it up to the TV and see everything on a large screen with real sound. Amazing. And I don't now have the DirecTV bill that was going to increase, again, to an unknown amount.

Funny how little things can make you so happy. Like saving $.

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January 29, 2022 at 1:30pm

#1025605

Busy Few Days

For those of you not in the loop, I've been having fun at The Writer's Cramp

FORUM

The Writer's Cramp - Poetry Week

(13+)
Write the best POEM in 24 hours or less and win 10K GPs!
#333655 by Sophy

and also at Andre's Banana Bar

BOOK

More Fun and Games with Andre

(13+)
The Banana Blog
#2249293 by QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

.

What fun to write to some pretty spectacular prompts! It's been a busy few days. But more is coming. Check out those activities and all the great writing.

Now, keep safe. Blizzard, wind, rain, and COVID. The hits just keep on coming.

from 2021 Illustrious Musselshell Players

1 Like • Comment

January 23, 2022 at 7:32pm

#1025252

Seems there are more shenanigans over at the Banana Bar. No telling what may happen. Hop on over to my other BLOG -

BOOK

(13+)
The Banana Blog
#2249293 by QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

- and check on my adventures with Andre.

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January 18, 2022 at 8:22pm

#1024993

Mid-Month Update

January is more than half gone. I'm still in that alternate reality known as Andre's Banana Blog. Fun and games are afoot.

Check out my entries at

BOOK

Visiting Andre in January

(13+)
The Banana Blog
#2249293 by QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

You never know what might happen.

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January 8, 2022 at 2:36pm

#1024366

Well hey there. I'm posting in January every day in Andre's Bar. We're having fun discussing life and trying to corral that monkey,

Join me here.

BOOK