100 Years and Amazing!

This is my Great Aunt Ione. She turned 100 years old in April. "What was the most amazing thing that happened in your lifetime?" I ask her. "Electricity," she replies, without hesitation.

Uncle John (age 86), Aunt Betty (age 90) and Aunt Ione (age 100) and myself as driver all packed up and headed to the Kinzer Farm on Monday. The day went perfectly with a stop at the LaSalle Nursing Home to visit brother Key (age 96).

After our lunch together, we left Key to his afternoon nap and headed to the Kinzer Farm. It was a lovely day for a drive through the country side.

With the old farm house in the back, father Ken (he'd rather I not mention his age, but he did turn 70 this year!), Uncle John, Aunt Betty and Aunt Ione.

A short but wonderful visit with friend Diana Carlson and Mom joining us for dinner on Tuesday made for the close of a great visit back to Illinois during such a beautiful time of the year.

Next on the calendar of events - graduation from Casper College Fire Science program. Mom and friend Evie will be driving out to join the graduation festivities! Can't wait!

Spring - Kind Of!

A lovely Friday off work! We walked the 3/4 mile down to the Hoback River to get a line wet yesterday afternoon! What a beautiful place. The dogs joined us and waited patiently. Just as we were about to declare the stream fish-less, Michael got one on the line! A cute trout got a sore lip and released back into the chilly water.

This morning's frosty 14 degree temperature has prompted indoor chores; cleaning, check book reconciliation, fish tank cleaning, ect. We wait for the temperature outside to increase. The garden is still frozen rock solid. This time of the year is a stand-still for so many projects. Waiting for the garden to thaw. Waiting for the temps to get decent to go horse back riding. Waiting for the lake to thaw to go fishing. One's life is in a state of anticipation, trying to best fill the time with what activities can be enjoyed!

I leave you with one more picture of the Hoback River area.

Hill Climb and More Winter

Sort of like a NASCAR race on snow, last weekend's World Championship Snowmobile Hillclimb rocked the face of Snow King Mountain as snowmobiles made their way up the steep face of the rutted course.

Michael and I visited both days, equiped with fold up chairs and binoculars on Sunday. The crowd was huge! Folks in Skidoo, Artic Cat, and Polaris jackets walked about with their darkest sunglasses and "team" ballcaps. Most carried a beer; it's a big party! Of course, Jackson liberals rant about stupidity and drunkedness in the editorial pages of the paper this week (okay, there is some of that), but the event brings in a whole lot of needed money to Jackson's ailing economy. That's really not such a bad thing.

We made a run to the Walton Ranch after the King of the Hill earned his sought-after title and visited the horses and the mule. The furry critters are starting to shed their winter hair; a fact they certainly have come to regret this week as we have had quite a bit of snow and 15 degree morning temperatures. Brrr. The ski hill over the Pass got 22 inches of snow in the last 24 hours. We just got the best snow storm of the season in the last two days.

Michael finished the snowmobile work season on Wednesday, washed and dried his gear and put it away yesterday. The snowmobile company had a fun end of the season party yesterday afternoon and just like that, it's over. He is looking ahead at the weather to find a window of opportunity to begin the roofing project on our little cabin.