Miscellaneous Monday

Happy Monday to you from hazy Colorado. There are currently four wildfires blazing~two near Craig and two others down south. We woke up this morning to a haze that covers the sky; thankfully, the air quality isn't too bad. I've been out walking already and although it was 68 degrees, it wasn't bad out. We are supposed to get up to 90 today with high winds, which will be tough on the firefighters. I was going through hubby's phone looking for a specific photo and came across these, so thought I'd share. Hubby and I near the Visitor Center at Mt. Rushmore.

Jim and Barbara, our traveling companions and best friends. They have both had to deal with serious health issues over the past four months and we are so glad that we will be able to continue to travel with them. When you are facing life/death situations, you appreciate every minute.

On Friday hubby played golf in a Breast Cancer Fund Raiser event with our financial advisor. They supplied the shirts-which was nice, because hubby didn't have a pink one. Hubby even borrowed my pink baseball hat to wear., he is on the left. It was held at a private golf course at a country club, so fun for the guys. So to all you gals who have battled breast cancer, there are still lots of folks supporting the cause.

I spent a great deal of time sewing this weekend and want to work on some today.  I'm already thinking Christmas presents.  I hope you had a great weekend and that your day goes well.
Joy to you!
Noreen

Happy Thursday to you.  I've been doing the Happy Dance since yesterday when my hubby got back from his annual golf trip.  He's been going to this tournament for many years and I'm used to it.  In fact, while he is away playing golf and hanging with his friends, this girl does some fun stuff for her-pampering you might say.  When he gets home I am always so happy!
I've also been getting ready for my mini-group quilt meeting that I'm hosting tomorrow.  In California, mini-groups were meet at 9:30 and the hostess has almost a breakfast for us.  I will be making an egg casserole, have fresh strawberries, blueberries, pineapple as well as a nice vanilla bread and yogurt with granola, plus coffee, tea, water or orange juice.  We also have show and tell and usually the hostess has a demonstration on some sort.  I will be handing out information on different types of batting, our Country Newsletter that has info on shops in the area as well.  While I was in South Dakota, I picked up Autumn fat quarters to give out; there is a challenge with them-you to have make something such as a runner or table topper using the fabric.  I will be sharing my practice muslim that I've been working on Cross Hatching on.  It should be a fun meeting!  It usually goes to 11:30-but sometimes till after 12;00.  It's a lot of work(which includes window cleaning for me), but it is such a great gathering.
I'm off to walk now; have a great day!
Noreen

Good Morning to you! Before I head out for my walk, I thought I'd share the last photos of our trip. Hope you enjoy.

Couldn't believe this Coyote crossed the road in front of us.  We also saw wild Donkey's and some wild Turkeys.

Since we have lived in Colorado, we always called this beauty an Antelope; we found out that it is a relative, but actually a Pronghorn.

Needle Highway was beautiful.

The Needle.

Lastly, this big fellow was not in South Dakota, but in our own backyard-Estes Park.

Have a great day and get out and enjoy it!
Hugs,
Noreen

Calling All Archeologists

Hello Friends, This post will be a bit heavy on the photo side, but I'm sure you'll like it! While in South Dakota, we went to the Mammoth Dig Site; what an incredible museum and active archeological dig site. All the ones in the photos, except the last one are real. We did learn that the archeologists often will cast bones to keep them from deteriorating. The last Mammoth was a replica of one of their first skeletons they uncovered. Seeing this reminded me of how much I love anthropology when I was in college.

There wasn't anyone digging~apparently they only dig mid-summer for a month or so.  It was still great to see this site.
I wouldn't have missed it for the world; if you ever get to South Dakota, make sure to visit here.
Have a fantastic Monday!
Noreen

Wildlife up close and personal

Happy Monday to you! One of the exciting parts of our trip to South Dakota was seeing Buffalo up close and personal. We are blessed to see Elk here and an occasional Moose, plus Bighorn Sheep and Mountain goats up in the Rockies, but unless we spot a Bison farm, we don't see them. After going to Mount Rushmore, we drove through Custer State Park and got a chance to see these guys. They were close enough to touch from our car and the calves were so precious-almost look more like cows than Buffalo.

We've been told that this is the largest or second largest herd in the country.
We also got to see Wild Burros and a Coyote that crossed directly in front of our car.
Such fun!
I hope you all had a great weekend and have a productive Monday.
Hugs,
Noreen

My Hero

Good Morning Friends~  You all know how I do not mind snakes; guess hubby is just like me.  At our daughters homes, they often get Bull Snakes and although they have killed them before, hubby and I feel it is better to relocate them.  Twice in the last month, he has rescued two and taken them to fields where they can live peacefully.  Although they look just like rattlers, they are actually predators of rattlers-which is fine in my book.  WE have taught all the kids to recognize the difference and to let their mom know if one is in the yard.  Our youngest daughter Kim, used to have their huge Newfie dog to alert them-but since Sampson has crossed the Rainbow Bridge last year, they only have Petrol to alert them.  Petrol did let them know they had this one in the yard yesterday.

Hubby caught it and took it to an open area to let it go.  Since they also eat rodents, I don't mind them in our area.  When we lived in Ca. we had rattlers on a regular basis and I didn't like them.
I hope you have a great weekend!
Noreen

Mount Rushmore

It's Thankful Thursday and I'm here to say I am so thankful for all the blessings in my life. This week, I'm looking back on what a fabulous trip we had with our dear friends. I am thankful that we live in a country that has so many beautiful states and places to see; also that we have the freedom to enjoy it and believe what we do without persecution. Today I'm sharing our photos from Mount Rushmore. I will say that after seeing Crazy Horse, Rushmore is so small. In fact, the four Presidents can easily fit behind Crazy Horse's face on what will be his hair.

Barbara and I are two peas in a pod!  We can finish each others sentences and know what the other is thinking  a good part of the time.  She is an incredible quilter and always inspires me and teaches me when we are together.  I'm also thankful that the four of us are going on a trip in October; something to look forward to.

Barbara and Jim left yesterday and our days have returned to our normal schedule.  No more games every night; it was fun though.  I think each of us had one good night where we won.
Today I'm walking, getting a hair cut, running errands and hope to be sewing before I go to a softball game that the family plays in.  Our nice weather has returned and I'm thankful to have windows open at night and the fan going.  Our grands were at the pool yesterday; I'm also thankful that we can all meet there for fun afternoons.
I'm so very thankful to the Lord for this life, for His love, mercy and grace. I'm so in love with my hubby and thankful for the man he is and the fact that he told me to get the new machine before I was seriously thinking about it.  He'll be going on a short trip for a golf tournament this Sunday and I'm always so excited when he's back home.  I'm thankful for our family and our friends as well as our pups.  We live in a beautiful state and I'm thankful that it is a slower pace than California.
Blessings to you today!
Noreen