Tourist Traps I Say NOT

On a recent visit to Little Bighorn Battlefield, we concluded our visit to the park by stopping at a "Trading Post" just outside the exit. I can remember when moving to Montana years ago it was always fun to stop by St. Ignatius, MT Trading Post when I happened to be headed to Missoula, MT for more adventures. These memories caused me to say to the kids, "let's stop here" for you to have a look see at what treasures might be inside.

My husband immediately piped in "tourist trap". I did somewhat agree with him as I remember family trips to the Smokey Mountains as a kid and my parents saying the same thing.

I found the scenery inside and out inviting at this "tourist trap" and my daughter did get to purchase a little tote bag with a zipper on it that she is using on a daily basis to hold her hand held game system. So my camera came out and I played tourist at this stop. Hope you like the views we saw that day. And me personally, I would recommend everyone stop in and take a look see if you are ever in the area.

Trying Something Crafty New

I am always trying to make a stop at Goodwill in Great Falls, MT when I go "to the big city" for errands, shopping, and supplies. I joke and tell my husband that I feel like Laura Ingalls Wilder (or at least what I think she would have felt like) when making these trips almost once a week. While at the thrift store, I usually get lost in the used book section and if you visited our home you would see the fruits of my many visits. I love the quilting, crafting, and embroidery books I find there. One recently combine applique quilting and embroidery. So I have been trying it out and also using fusible paper backed web for the first time. I think I may be hooked on this technique. Here are some photos of my first project from the book.

Here are some photos of the second wall hanging I just finished that needs to be quilted. I have three more projects in the works from this book and am somewhat surprised that I have actually used patterns and projects from the book as usually I just get ideas and then throw in my own variation - now writing that, come to think of it, the border on these are my own creation!

Chocolate Chips

Ever want to spice up some pancakes. My kids are now loving the surprise I did here recently in mine. So instead of plain or blueberry, they now ask for chocolate chip pancakes. I just use regular batter and then place the chips where I want them while cooking in the pan.

And always remember:

Feels Like a Snow Day

Yes, it is May 27, 2012 and after almost no winter, Spring sprung and here we are in Fort Benton, Montana having a snow day. Hopefully this will set those wonderful critters called mosquitoes back a bit. They have been eating on my family for a few weeks now.

Forgot how bright the snow can be. I am not fussing as I know this is short lived and there is green under it. I know locals flower gardens and vegetable gardens can't be thriving with this freezing temperature for the past couple of days.

So glad I have been slow in getting some flowers put in around a planter in the back yard. We got our commercial size flag pole set in concrete and some dirt spread around the planter circle, but only purchased the flowers yesterday. Now they are sitting in the house keeping warm with the family. Guess we will stay inside and enjoy the scenery inside and out.

From Here to the Moon

Okay call me obsessive about a few things. I simply love this song by Dolly Parton after renting and watching her in the movie "Joyful Noise". My family has been hearing me playing this link from Youtube at least 5 times today. Hope you enjoy the song. Simply click on these words: From Here to the Moon and Back.

The Ya Ya Sisters

Someone sent me this in an email and I had to first laugh and second share it with you. Be sure to read the diet at the end

AND REMEMBER: GOOD FRIENDS ARE LIKE STARS. YOU DON'T ALWAYS SEE THEM, BUT YOU ALWAYS KNOW THEY ARE THERE!!!!!!

Breakfast 1 grapefruit 1 slice whole wheat toast 1 cup skim milk Lunch 1 small portion lean, steamed chicken 1 cup spinach 1 cup herbal tea 1 Hershey's kiss Afternoon Tea The rest of the Hershey Kisses in the bag 1 tub of Hagen-Daaz ice cream with chocolate chips Dinner 4 glasses of wine (red or white) 2 loaves garlic bread 1 family size supreme pizza 3 Snickers Bars Late Night Snack 1 whole Sarah Lee cheesecake (eaten directly from the freezer) Remember: · Stressed spelled backward is desserts. · Handle every stressful situation like a dog. Tinkle on it and walk away.

Old Fashion Girl Reading

"I love old books. They tell you stories about their use. You can see where the fingerprints touched the pages as they held the book open. You can see how long they lingered on each page by the finger stains." Jack Bowman quote See how this book's first stamp is showing as November 1959. That was nine years before I was born. Now, on the back cover is a scanning stamp for readers of the present to use and check out. Wonder how many times a year this classic is picked up in this small town?

My kids and I visit the local small town library nearly every week. Last week my daughter, Savannah Rose, brought the book above to me and said, "Mom, you would love reading this book. It is old. It is by a wonderful author. I know you will love it." So on my 12 hour shift last night after everyone in personal care was sleeping, I opened and did not put it down except when completing my duties and morning preparations before leaving work. I tried to read it before going to sleep but my eyes would not let me. So after a sleep of 5 hours, I told the kids I was finishing it before feeding them. They kept asking are you at the end (page 328) yet? My son, Wynston, even took it upon himself to prepare lunch for us.

I did finish this wonderful book by such a well known author, Louisa May Alcott. Recently, I also discovered a DVD on Youtube and could not stop watching it till finished. Come to find out it was based on a book she wrote that was not published till 1997 but originally written in 1849 called The Inheritance. I love the movie and ended up finding it on Ebay and purchasing. It is now one of my favorites to sit and listen to while doing embroidery during my overnight work shifts. So, if you want a good read, check out Louisa May Alcott's works. Girls and women of all ages will enjoy them.

Indian Memorial at Little Bighorn Battlefield

A beautiful landscape of blue skies, fields of green and brown, and natural vegetation surround this monument. The following is from the National Parks website: "Lt. Col. George A. Custer and 262 soldiers, scouts, and civilians attached to the 7th U.S. Cavalry fought at least 1,500 Cheyenne, Sioux, and Arapaho warriors. Custer and all his men died. In 1881 the War Department erected a monument for the 7th Cavalry, attached civilian personnel, and Indian scouts killed in the battle. The U.S. Army also took custody of the site, controlling access and historical interpretation for decades. At least 100 American Indian men, women, and children died, too. They fought in defense of their families, land, and traditional way of life. The Indians’ courageous effort, however, was never formally recognized-until now. In 1991, the U.S. Congress changed the name of the battlefield and ordered construction of a privately funded memorial for the American Indians. "The public interest," according to Public Law 102-210, 'will best be served by establishing a memorial...to honor and recognize the Indians who fought to preserve their land and culture." On December 10, 1991, President George Bush signed legislation to change the battefield’s name from “Custer” to “Little Bighorn” BattlefieldNational Monument and to create the Indian Memorial. The law authorized a national design competition, construction of the memorial, and acceptance of donations. An advisory committee made up of members of the Indian tribes involved in the battle, historians, artists, and landscape architects has overseen the process. The committee adopted the theme “Peace Through Unity” in accordance with the advice of Elders Austin Two Moons (Northern Cheyenne) and Enos Poor bear, Sr. (Oglala Lakota). The theme would help “encourage peace among people of all races,” as required by the law. The Indian Memorial stands 75 yards northeast of the 7th Cavalry monument, a circular earthwork carved gently into the prairie. Visitors inside the memorial see a view of the Cavalry obelisk through a “spirit gate” window. The spirit gate welcomes the Cavalry dead symbolically into the memorial’s circle. For many tribes, a circle is sacred, and it remains open for ceremonial events. The surrounding walls carry the names of those who fell here as well as the words of some who fought in the battle." Here are some photographs of items on the wall. I couldn't help but snap one of everything on it but space does not permit me to enter it all here. If you have an interest in American history and its people, this is the place to visit. I noticed so many different dialects in the tourists. There was thankful enthusiastic talk on getting to see and experience park from one gentleman from a different country while we were in the museum and I marveled quietly at his happiness.

Little Bighorn Battlefield Trip

Wanting to do a little road trip with the family, we decided to visit what I had always called "Custer Battlefield". My aunt and uncle had taken me there as one of my stops at the age of 21 when driving cross country moving to Montana. That was over 20 years ago! It is now called Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and is a National Cemetery.

A beautiful resting place containing so much history.

We went into the museum and viewed many different relics from Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer

and Sitting Bull.

I found the words of the president at this time in history (Ulysses S. Grant) to be very interesting as pictured here:

Sitting Bull "had a premonition of defeating the cavalry, which motivated his Native American people to a major victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn against Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry on June 25, 1876."

Also honored which I had not seen during my first visit over 20 years ago was the following:

My next blog will have the Indian Memorial at Little Bighorn Battlefield which was newly established in the early 1990's.