HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

This was the scene out the patio door several days ago and now we again have bare grass all around us. The sun has been shinning on us every day and the stars are shining their brightest each night. What a beautiful world!.

Christmas seemed to fly by this year..my hand surgery kind of made all of that seem like a foggy dream. They removed the surgery cast on the 27th and I am thrilled with the progress this time around. I have an incredible amount of use in my hand and fingers and even the thumb that was operated on. I have a feeling I will be fully recovered before it's time to plant in the garden this spring. Hurray!!!

This is a view out the patio door of the mountains to the south. That seems to be as far as most of the snow gets each time the weather man calls for a snow storm. But I know our turn is coming but I need to go into Missoula just one more time for a check up on my hand on the 5th and JW has his machine shop up and running so we are ready to spend the winter near home.

JW and I want to wish all of our friends, relatives, and fellow blogger readers all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Please stay safe and we hope to see all of you in the coming new year.

HOME ON THE RANGE!

We ventured into Darby after breakfast this morning and passed this scene on the way. No, the Buffalo really don't roam on the range here, they are in their own large pasture. But they really didn't look very happy for us to be interrupting their breakfast.

We are experiencing some strong wind and snow this morning. Sometimes the wind blows so hard it appears that the snow isn't even touching the ground. So I am not sure if we are getting a measurable amount or not!

The pain in my hand from my joint surgery is beginning to lessen a bit. I gave up the pain pills yesterday and have switched to good old aspirin and my stomach seems to appreciate that. I go to Missoula to a specialist there on Wednesday to have the soft surgery cast replaced with a hard cast that I will wear for another month. So, things are progressing well there. JW is being wonderful about the housework that he has to do for us, the dishes being the most frequent.

We are both looking forward to the holiday where we will spend the evening with JW's daughter and family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and all your wishes come true and your New Year is filled with love and Peace.

IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!

The above picture was taken from our front porch yesterday. Winter in Montana...who would have guessed!!!

Yes, it is almost time for the holidays and I do not feel well enough to challenge the crowds this year. My arm and hand are reminding me that they didn't like the surgery we just went through. Of course typing with one hand is kind of a slow process!! But it feels good to be up and around again.

This is a picture of a beautiful "MAP DRAWER" that JW just gave me for Christmas. Of course I am using it for storage for my craft projects. The story goes that it was built in China out of old barn wood. Each handle is secured with 2 Chinese coins. Of course I love it and it makes it so easy to find all the tools I need when I am crafting. HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

We are back home!!

Yes,we arrived back home about 5:00 yesterday afternoon. What a trip! They were experiencing high winds in the state of Washington Thursday evening and because of that we had very strong headwind the entire trip on Friday. The ski resort just above Wenatchee clocked the wind at 136 miles per hour coming over the ridge during night.

My hand surgery went very well. The surgery was Monday morning so we stayed overnight in Wenatchee just to make sure everything was okay. The trip home was much easier than I had imagined. Of course JW is a very good driver. And the snow wasn't a issue at all. We had bare roads all the way to Wenatchee and again on our way back to Montana. WONDERFUL!!! Not bad for traveling almost 950 miles during the month of December!

So, I am thankful to be back in our cozy little home in Montana.

Our next adventure

Well. this is one adventure that I am not real excited about. I am scheduled for surgery on my right hand on Monday, Dec. 18th. And I have a pre-op appointment with the specialist on Friday, Dec 15th. So we will be leaving Montana for Wenatchee, Washington Friday morning very early. We still have no snow here but we have been experiencing the winds that are blowing thru the Pacific Norhtwest. The two passes we must cross are on Interstate 90 so we are assuming they are well maintained even thought they have been getting snow. Of course I am very nervous about the whole trip but time is running out on my health insurance and I know JW is a very cautious driver. We are taking the 4 wheel drive pickup, chains and lot's of warm clothing and blankets. Of course we never travel without some goodies to munch on!! So we will return as soon as the doctor releases me after surgery. It is considered a day surgery so we should be home by Tuesday. I will post when I can get to the computer.

Here's a fun site I found while surfing around the internet:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 11 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

I know it said there is only 11 with my name and I know one of them is a male that lives not to far away in our old state of Washington. Strange. It said there are 16,692 people with JW"s name! Have fun with this site!!

Another sunny day

This was a scene I found on our day trip yesterday. This is the East Fork of the Bitteroot River that actually flows north up the Valley. This is caused because we are a higher elevation than Missoula which is north of us. Several large pine trees had fallen across the river and the snow and ice caused a ice jam around and under the trees. It appears that it is so thick that you could walk across the fallen trees and the ice. Of course, we just stood on the riverbank and looked!

I realized this morning that time is running short for us this holiday season. I haven't put up the Christmas tree yet nor have I done any shopping! I am also scheduled to have surgery on my right hand next Monday morning in Wenatchee, Washington! This is the same surgery that I had on my left thumb one year ago. The doctor replaced material in my left thumb joint which had worn away and was causing the two bones to grind together. He will place a pin thru my thumb to hold everything in place so I will be in a cast up to my elbow for at least 30 days. I was so pleased with the doctor that I wish not to take a chance on a new doctor to operate on my right hand as I am right handed. So I will need to be there by the weekend. Busy, busy!!! And I hope for good road conditions as we travel over two mountain passes on our way into Washington State. Our last great adventure of 2006. Some Christmas present:( But I am looking forward to being pain free in the year 2007!!

WE ARE FINALLY BACK ON LINE

Gosh, it has been such a long time since I have been able to log on my blog. On the 30th of November our dear old computer finally died!! Rest in peace old friend...you are taking a lot of information and pictures with you...those I will miss. But for now...farewell!

Perry and Sherri have loaned us an extra computer so we are back on line. HURRAY!!! And THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Our weather has been spectacular here in Darby...sunshine everyday...temps in the 40's and 50's.....beautiful star filled skies at night...that last full moon was so bright through the skylight in the master bath that I had to shut the door so we could sleep! Just up the road in Missoula they have been getting snow and fog. Strange.

We went for a drive down the Bitteroot Valley today. I was amazed that we are only 23 miles from the Idaho border! We drove just a small distance into Idaho before turning around and returning back home. The pass we were on did have some snow but the roadway was clear. I took pictures of some interesting sites but I have not loaded my picture wizard into this computer yet. I will try to get that accomplished tomorrow. So, it's good to be back on line and I will post pics soon. Happy Holiday Shopping everyone!!