Three Women...

Do you have anyone in your life that you look at, and have for years, and think, "This is the way the world should be."  I do.  I have 3 of them.

I've taken some time recently to look at my life.  I'm incredibly lucky - and grateful.  However, I have a rather "strong" shall we say, personality.  I tend to get into "bidness" that I shouldn't.  Actually, maybe that's wrong.  I should say I tend to react to some "bidness" improperly.  Rather than being encouraging I can be judgemental.  Not out of meanness, but rather out of "I've done that, don't be a dumbass and make the same mistakes I did."

So, let talk about these 3 women.  I will call them Pam, Abbie, and Kelli - a mother and her daughters, my sister-in-law and nieces.  I can honestly say I have never met anyone like them.  They are a joy to be around whether it's for an hour or a lifetime.  I can honestly say I have NEVER heard them say an unkind word about anyone.  I'm sure they have, but I've never heard it.  They allow everyone to have their own opinions and lifestyles,  their own politics and religion - their own distinct personalities.  They are in one word "accepting."

After reflecting on myself lately, I need to become more accepting.  Not that I think everyone should be "my way," I've never felt like that, but as I said, I tend to try to save everyone I know from making bad choices and I need to realize that I can give encouragement without giving advice.  It's something I'm going to have to concentrate on every, single day. 

I only have good people in my life.  I've weeded out those that I don't believe have good hearts.  I don't allow anyone in that isn't somehow special to me and I need to let them know that they are special to me instead of making them feel like I'm trying to change them.  I will be working on that.  As I do, I will think often of these 3 special women and ask myself, "how would they handle this situation."

I'm almost 56.  It's not too late, but it's certainly time...

This Is Next...

I'm going to try to do this real quick before the auction in April. If not, I guess I'll have to keep it!  We'll see...


 

 
I think she's adorable and I love her dress!

Cougar Kittens and Cross Stitch...

While cleaning out some drawers recently, I came across this picture taken in the 1980s when I was working at Fish and Game.  Someone had rescued 2 cougar kittens and they came to live with us for a few days before being taken to a rehab gal in Garden Valley.  They were so darned cute!

Remember this?

Here she is so far.  She'll look better once she's done and outlined in black.  I think she's turning out pretty ok.  That fire and pot have been a bitch!  Lots of color changes.  I purposly did it on orange so that it would look like a sunset.  I didn't want to have to cross stitch the entire background in blue.  But, I'm not so sure I like it.   I should have just bought blue material but I thought I'd like the orange.  Actually, it was supposed to be more of a yellow color.  Should I do the background in blue? 

Jacki thinks I should finish it and donate it to the silent auction for the hillbilly gatherin'.  I could never get enough for it to compensate for all the hours I've put into it and I'm actually not sure anyone else would really appreciate it.  I just happen to love old pin up girls.



On the Market...

We officially listed the house Friday.  We removed even more of our belongings, had all the carpets cleaned, refinished the hardwood floors, and had the counter tops in the kitchen and both upstairs bathrooms measured for granite.  Wow, it's been a busy few weeks.

So the house was listed Friday, we had an open house Saturday, and a realtor called to show the house on Sunday.  There are only 12 houses listed in Hidden Springs right now and I have a feeling we'll probably show the house at least 4 times a week with the inventory so low.  That makes it hard to "live" but it will hopefully be worth it.  It's priced right so - it's time!

I only wish it was spring.  The yard is so beautiful in the spring, summer, and fall...

In other news, my sisters are coming this week!  I can't wait to spend some girl time with some of my favorite people in the world. 

The Winter That Wasn't...

Every year we buy a season ski pass for Adam at Bogus Basin.  He and his friends love getting up on the mountain and enjoying some great skiing and I loved the fact that last year he was able to drive himself up the mountain.  No more bus rides!  Last year, Bogus was open on Thanksgiving Day.  This year however, is different.  I think they have 4 inches of snow at the base and I've never seen anything like it. 



Until now, the latest Bogus had ever opened was January 6th.  We're now a week past that and while they're saying that the mountains could get snow starting Wednesday, they say it won't be enough to open the resort.  Bogus is losing $100,000 a day in revenue.  Then, when you think about the ski shops, the restaurants and convenience stores on Bogus Basin road that also depend on skiers, plus all the employees at Bogus, it's just another horrible tragedy for our economy.  We certainly didn't need this.  Brundage Mountain opened 5 runs in December but haven't really gotten any new snow since.  I'm sure it's been hard on their economy too.

I wonder, will we skip our typical winter all together, or are we going to get dumped on in March and have snow on the ground in May?  I'm at the point now where I don't want snow.  I'm ready for spring!  And as far as skiing goes, I suppose the boys could drive over to the Bruneau Sand Dunes...



This is the oddest winter I've ever seen and I bet it's something we're never going to forget.

Hillbilly Website...

I never thought I'd see the day, but my sister Linda has made a website for the 2012 Hillbilly Gatherin'.  We are now officially "big time."  It's still a work in progress, but it's up and running and she did a mighty fine job!

I'm really excited to be helping out Wish Granters this year.  I remember so many times when I worked for Wishing Star, having people call me to ask if we did wishes for adults.  It was incredibly hard to turn them away.  Now with Wish Granters in existence, they have already done 30 wishes and have a lot more that they're working on.  If we raise our goal of $10,000 it will be the biggest fundraiser that they've done since their inception.  I'm determined!

So, check out the Third Annual Hillbilly Gatherin' website (can you believe how lucky we were that that domain name wasn't taken?!) and tell us what you think.  Any changes we should make or suggestions on anything we need to add?  We're still looking for a few sponsors ($250) to cover costs and lots more items for the silent auction.  If you're crafty and make something, or work for a company that might donate something, let me know as the more items we have, the more wishes we can all help make come true for adults with terminal illnesses.

Why I Love the Internet...

As I've mentioned before, several years ago, after much searching I found one of my best friends from third grade in Winnemucca via the internet.  Jaci and I talk often on Facebook and she, her husband and brother even came from Portland for our last Hillbilly Gatherin'.  I just love that I found my old friend.

A few weeks ago, a nice southern young man from Missouri sent me a message via Facebook.  He wanted to restore a truck to look like an Idaho Fish and Game truck in honor of dad and Conley.  We've talked via mail almost every day since and  I feel like he's an old friend.  He did however, call me ma'm.  I asked him not to do that, it made me feel old.  He told me that being a southern gentleman, that would be difficult, but so far, Kev has done pretty well with it.  He's a cop and was featured on COPS a few years ago.  I love COPS!

I discovered that we had some eerie similarities.  He's from Missouri, dad's family was from Missouri.  He has 2 sons - Jake and Adam.  The truck he's restoring is an old Dodge Ram Power Wagon - that was the first truck I drove as a teenager that dad had bought new.  Remember, I put 700 miles on it in one weekend when mom and dad had gone to Boise?  And, it's tan - ours was tan.  He and his wife and kids love the Denver Broncos, and they love the BSU Broncos.  But this was just too much - I just found out tonight that he eats the hot dogs off those rolley things in convenience stores.  Is that creepy or WHAT? 

He loves Rush Limbaugh and I love Rush Limbaugh~!  Just kidding, I hate Rush Limbaugh.



Kev, I'm so glad we've connected.  I love finding new friends and I think we'll be friends forever.

Then, I had a comment on my post about putting the house on the market from Victoria.  She and I are obviously kindred spirits as well.  She's hilarious and we've had some good conversations.  She's looking to buy a house in either Eagle or Hidden Springs and wanted some information about the area and our house.  I told her that she'll be my best friend if they buy our house and that she could come and ride horses when we get them. 

I just find it so fascinating that I've met two wonderful people in just a few short weeks.  How cool is that?  However, if I find out that Victoria has 2 sons, named Jake and Adam, I'm going to pack my bags, climb onto the roof, and sit there waiting for 12/21/12.  I wonder how many sweatshirts I should pack...

My First Elmer Story of 2012...

I stopped at the Stinker store yesterday to get gas after running my hiney all over town pricing appliances.  Sheesh, that sucked. 

As I was getting gas, I realized I hadn't eaten anything all day and I was hungry.  So I went inside thinking I'd get one of those delicious hot dogs that roll around on those rolley things for gob-only-knows-how-long before some stupid sucker like me buys it.

Then, I noticed the counter with chicken in it and it reminded me of something Elmer had said not too long ago.  We had stopped at the Stinker store and he mentioned that they sell "Chester's Chicken" and how good it is.  Then he said something that even I couldn't believe came out of his mouth.



"We'll have to come here for dinner some time."

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.

My dear, sweet husband, to whom I've been wed for 25 years, wants to take me to the friggin' Stinker store for Chester's Chicken for dinner some time.  They don't even have a table in the Stinker store.  I guess we'd sit in the truck by the gas pumps and dine.



I looked at their website and they call it "chicken on the fly."  I'm one lucky gal don't ya think? 

Time to List the House Again...

We've had 2 realtors over to give us their thoughts on the house.  The first was a new realtor who suggested we replace the kitchen appliances with stainless steel, replace the counter tops (kitchen, and both upstairs bathrooms) with either granite or something comparable, and refinish the hardwood floors.  We both liked him and he seemed like he would be anxious to sell our house.  However, he's never listed a home in Hidden Springs. 

The second was our last realtor.  I like him because he knows Hidden Springs.  He was one of the original realtors up here.  But, our house didn't sell last year.  He also knows our finances and suggested we didn't need to replace those items (although if he thought we could afford it, I'm sure he would think it would be a good idea).

They both told us that things with buyers have changed immensly.  Buyers don't want to negotiate any more in order to fix things the way they want them, like counter tops, appliances, etc.  If they don't like those things, they'll just go down the road and find something for the same price with the nicer appliances and counters.  So, it looks like if we want to sell, we're going to have to make some changes.

Tonight we'll have our third and final realtor here.  It will be interesting to see what she has to say.  We're determined to sell this year.  Both realtors said we need to get the house on the market by February.  There's only 18 houses on the market in Hidden Springs right now and that includes the short sales and foreclosures.  That's unheard of here.  When we had it on the market last summer, there were usually about 35 homes available.  I'd list it tomorrow if we were ready!

So, we begin our journey again.  Can't wait to build our new home, whatever it may be.

We Miss You Dad...

"If there is a future for wild things, then it is the burden of those who have reached farther than me, to save them for the rest of us. It will be done by those whose convictions were forged in campfires,


Bill"



You were a good Game Warden...