Popcorn for Breakfast

day 63/365 - Popcorn, originally uploaded by DawnVGilmorePhotography.

My oldest charge (Grandma Dorothy, age 90) requested popcorn for breakfast this morning at 9 a.m. -- "since I have to watch what I eat, I was thinking popcorn for breakfast sounded good".

This was her second getting up this morning. The first was a messy experience best left unwritten at 7 a.m.

This one was cute and however pleasing I want to be to her, popcorn for breakfast will be left for another day. Instead she is munching on bacon, scrambled eggs, sliced tomato, and whole wheat toast with huckleberry jam.

A Long Stretch

stretch-walking, originally uploaded by hanabi..

Ever had one of those mornings when a good long slow speed stretch helps change your mood from blah to positive?

I just did!

Hope the rest of my day gets brighter or I will just have to
S T R E T C H a whole lot more.

Avery's Road Trip Photos

We (the kids and I) just got back from a road trip from Great Falls to Bozeman to Missoula to Kalispell to Helena to Bozeman and back to Great Falls -- a Saturday through Tuesday experience.

The digital camera was in between the front seat of the van the whole way with my passengers snapping photos.

Avery was thrilled to capture the train in motion and I did slow down to 50 mph to let him do so.



These are some of the ones Avery took on our way to Bozeman between Townsend and Three Forks.

Universal Laws

Universal Laws



Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.

Law of Gravity - Any tool, nut, bolt, screw, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of Probability -The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

Law of Random Numbers - If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal and someone always answers.

Law of the Alibi - If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law - If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will always move faster than the one you are in now (works every time).

Law of the Bath - When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

Law of Close Encounters -The probability of meeting someone you know increases dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

Law of the Result - When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will...

Law of Biomechanics - The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

Law of the Theater and Hockey Arena - At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle, always arrive last. They are the ones who will leave their seats several times to go for food, beer, or the toilet and who leave early before the end of the performance or the game is over. The folks in the aisle seats come early, never move once, have long gangly legs or big bellies, and stay to the bitter end of the performance. The aisle people also are very surly folk. (I always sit on the aisle)

The Coffee Law - As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Murphy's Law of Lockers - If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

Law of Physical Surfaces - The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor, are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet or rug.

Law of Logical Argument - Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

Brown's Law of Physical Appearance - If the clothes fit, they're ugly.

Oliver's Law of Public Speaking - A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Wilson's Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy - As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it..

Doctors' Law - If you don't feel well, make an appointment to go to the doctor, by the time you get there you'll feel better. But don't make an appointment, and you'll stay sick.

Roadtrip Montana

This past weekend my brother and I took a roadtrip from Great Falls, Montana to Kalispell, MT.

Distance between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Kalispell, Montana, United States, as the crow flies: 149 miles (239 km) (129 nautical miles)



The snow covered mountain peaks were spectacular and many pictures were taken in the van headed toward our destination. We drove through a little section of Glacier National Park along the way.




The question that just came to my mind is -- What is a glacier? Computer research yields these answers -a slowly moving mass of ice, a perennial mass of ice which moves over land. A glacier forms in locations where the mass accumulation of snow and ice exceeds, and a mass of ice formed through the accumulation of multiple years of snow input causing compaction and thus the expulsion of air from within the mass.




It was a quick trip and I was glad we had one good day of sunshine as the return trip home was like a fog hanging above our heads with scattered snow on the roads.





I couldn't help taking pictures of the storefronts, statues, scenery, and culture around us.





This is a picture of Big Mountain Ski area as headed into the town of Whitefish, MT.


On a bit of fun side -- We thought this advertisement might be something to check out on our next adventure to Kalispell.

Goodbye Mom

A young man shopping in a supermarket noticed a little old lady following him around. If he stopped, she stopped. Furthermore she kept staring at him..

She finally overtook him at the checkout, and she turned to him and said, "I hope I haven't made you feel ill at ease; it's just that you look so much like my late son."

He answered, "That's okay."

"I know it's silly, but if you'd call out 'Good bye, Mom' as I leave the store, it would make me feel so happy."

She then went through the checkout, and as she was on her way out of the store, the man called out, "Goodbye, Mom."

The little old lady waved and smiled back at him..

Pleased that he had brought a little sunshine into someone's day, he went to pay for his groceries.

"That comes to $121.85," said the clerk.

"How come so much? I only bought 5 items."

The clerk replied, "Yeah, but your Mother said
You'd be paying for her things, too."

Bet you thought this was going to be a tear jerker. Don't trust Little Old Ladies!!

Yes, I laughed too

Great Falls Tribune Photo Contest

I just had to share some pictures from our local newspaper photography contest.


Honorable mention landscape: Karen Fahey of Renton, Wash., for a shot of Flathead.


Third place landscape: Shot of the 10th Street Bridge in Great Falls by Tamarjo Schliep of Fort Benton.


Second place landscape: Randy Cowger of Columbia Falls. Picture is of St. Mary.


David Lewis of Havre captured first place overall in this year's Tribune photo contest with this shot of a train passing the grain elevators in Zurich, MT.

A Good Shot

Thought I would share this picture, Avery Zefram, age 10, took while we (Wynston, Avery, Uncle Robert and myself) were at the park playing with a new basketball on this chilly Easter Sunday.

It was a good shot for the person throwing the basketball as well as Avery snapping the photograph of the ball going through the net. We were playing a little H O R S E and P I G.


We have been having some wind here which keeps it from being nice to play or stay outside much. All of us do love seeing the sunshine more these days.

The guys have been fishing, but haven't brought home anything. They are talking and listening for leads as to where the fish are biting.



This is my "good shot" photo of our outing on Easter. The seagulls are aplenty at the duck pond. I love that I got this one as it was lifting up with the wings out.

Alice In Wonderland FRIDAY

Here is the Alice in Wonderland FRIDAY embroidery piece I finished recently. I am working on one for each day of the week to make a mini-quilt. In the center I want to put something that reads like this: "The Real Life of Alice" or "A Week in Wonderland".

Maybe you could help me come up with something for the center? If you think of something clever, let me know.

More Alice coming in the future.

Have You Ever . . .

Have you ever purchased something (a gift) for someone and then not sent it to them for some reason or another?

Well, I have a couple that are hanging around. I don't feel bad for not sending them. As a matter of fact, they remind me of those I love and usually brighten my day. I know I may or may not ever give them as gifts to these people. I also know you may be thinking "she is the strangest person", but that is how my life goes.

Judith Christmas Dresden

I am working on finishing quilt blocks out of Dresden Christmas rings that my friend Judith sent me over 6 months ago. I had purchased some machine embroidered holiday motif girls that are beautiful as centers for the finished blocks.

Amish on the Farm

Here is my work progress:



"...We farm the way we do because we believe in nurturing and supporting all our community - that includes people as well as land and wildlife" (Kline 1990). The farming practices used by today's Amish farm families have developed over 300 years and sustained the Amish as one of the most persistent and successful subcultures in North America (Stinner et al. 1989; 1992).









Holsteins are the dominant dairy animal, although a few Amish farmers prefer smaller breeds such as Jerseys (Guernseys are preferred but existing gene lines do not meet with Amish farmer approval). Horses and cows all have names such as Tom, Barney, Maggie, Tony, and Linda and this helps both to identify and create a close bond with individual animals.

The Amish still tend, as a rule, to pay attention to the signs of nature as a planting guide in the spring rather than following solely the date on the calendar. For example, clover is best sown when the ground reaches a "honeycombed" state brought about by the freezing and thawing of the soil.

Easter Chickadee

I spotted a felt cutout while in Michael's the other day and thought how it could work as a pattern for an applique' quilt piece. (I purchased a bunny face cutout also -- a project for another day).



It was one of those "picture it in my mind" of the exact fabric scrap I have to use with my new chickadee pattern purchase moments.

I don't think the end result turned out badly, but I do think my chickadee is on the very plump side.

Now to visualize the border or embroidered detail to go on this mini-quilt piece. I know it will come along.

Savannah wants this one too!