it is tradition for the extended family to gather Christmas eve for home made noodle soup --home made noodles...with butterballs. i think the butterballs are actually some bread crumb combo with lots and lots of butter. I have to limit my intake.

my sis and i usually head over to her youngest son's place for opening presents on Christmas morning with the kids. her granddaughter took time out to give the newest kitty in the house a pet. and i love the picture of dad reading his son's homemade Christmas card that went with the homemade tree ornaments.

as i looked out the back window i saw the poor little mini car left over from paintball games.

sister game (friendly) wars

my sis got 143 the other day on the wordsense daily game... it took me a few days to catch her and then on christmas day i got 152. so the glove has been put down. go for it sis.

about winter

It's winter in South Dakota
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At twenty-five below
Oh, how I love South Dakota
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut
Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave South Dakota
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground.

(given to me by Belle Fourche librarian--she found it on the internet. I don't know the author)

painting at last

i have know since march that i was to paint a picture for my daughter and son-in-law. but, of course, i waited till the last minute. i am progressing though. the paper on top is folded up so you can't see the bottom half of the photo. i think my daughter took it when they were out hiking; but i don't know where they were. you can see that it is not a photo copy. the proportions don't match. and the colors and details are not an exact copy, yet i am sure that you can tell what it is. i need to finish the upper right hand corner next. the paper is different colors because of the folds.

making things

every once in a while my sis and i carry through on our threat....(we could make that). since her daughter-in-law mowed grass for us this summer, we made her a purse. sis did most of the work. i applied the beads. the top part has dragonflies, which robin really likes. (just as i was typing this, she and her family came over and we gave her the purse and she did like it...a lot).

i also bought some christmas greenery...fake.. and candles and made a centerpiece for our table except that i can't put it on the table. dennis the cat thinks it is for his pleasure ....to pull apart. it is coal in your stocking, mr kitty kat!!!!

december fog ....and cold

last weekend was a wonderful autumn day. today winter is slamming down even though winter does not start till the 21st. it is the beginning of a freeze. down to -13* at night. so we are turning up the heat to 68* upstairs and 65* downstairs. it is usually set at 60*. if the electricity should go off. we will be warmer for a few minutes longer. i have my super down sleeping bag i can crawl into. it is for sure a 3 dog night. three cats just wont cut it. sorry cc, dennis, & sam.

taking care of chickens in winter

sis took out the large horse water tank for the winter. the chickens and ducks have two rubber tubs ....small... for the winter which are filled with fresh water every day. you can see why they have to be refilled every day....besides knocking out the frozen water and putting liquid water for them to drink....before the ducks completely muddy it all up.

what were they thinking?

would you buy a small child a t shirt like this? only in the west

little kid fun

more bonfire

the bonfire in the meadow

you need to view from the bottom up!

a small parade of lights

west river life

tonight was parade night in belle. (i will have pictures later as i have to recharge my camera battery. it died right at the end of the parade.) people line their cars on main street for the four blocks of the parade and store owners invited their family and friends to the stores for the viewing. even though the parade does not take very long, it seems to be a big even in this small town.

sis and i were invited to a family party in a barber shop on main street. there must have been 15 to 18 in the shop with everyone bringing food. so first it was chips and cider, then the parade, and finally chili and silly stories. as many times as this family gets together one would think they would run out of things to talk about; but every time there are new stories. i think my sis has not heard all of them yet either and it is her family.

so tonight it was about the very large women with public relations problems that rode a very small motorcycle that had side extensions somewhere on the bike to keep her cheeks from being burnt by the exhaust. i hope she never comes into the shop for a hair cut...no one will be able to keep a straight face.

then there was the story about my sis slugging another woman. it happened when her kids were young and another mother pushed my sis's kids out of line and put her own in line. i never expected that of my sis. but on the other hand i would not tangle with her. after all she was a principal......on a reservation.

the funniest story was about her son waxing the floor of the rec center. he had one of those electric buffers with the big round brush that goes around and can get out of control if you don't watch what you are doing. he got tired of walking it around after two circuits and went home and got a pair of roller blades and his radio and went back to work. so there he was being pulled around the gym floor on his roller blades listening to his radio as he buffed the floor.

tomorrow the family and friends are getting together at two at the big burn pile out by the chicken house. hmmmmmm. i wonder what new stories i will hear.

ps. the natives of this state divide it into two sections: east of the missouri is east river and west of the missouri is west river.

christmas rush

from thanksgiving to christmas it is an avalanche of rushing time. sis had all her shopping done before thanksgiving. i still have to paint a picture and buy something for my son. but there are all those other 'serious' things that seem to have to be done before christmas day. my sis has to bake batches of cookies (i gave it up after the kids left), make lefsa, and more cookies. then there are the open houses, the parades, and christmas programs in which grandchildren are the 'stars.'
thankfully i had my hair cut and colored before thanksgiving.

we put up our christmas tree at the beginning of the month because sis's grandson (kindergarden) wanted to help put it up. he is a good helper. he always helps us clean the chicken house and really helps. but we still have to do some outside decorating.

my sis's birthday is also in the time frame between thanksgiving and christmas. i lost her present someplace in my room, but found it the day after her birthday. on her birthday, one of her son's family gave her some joke gifts. a little teasing. i was warned ahead of time so i wouldn't be shocked to see the two pillows i just gave to robin and james coming back to my sis. sis didn't remember that i had bought them, so she thought they were really hers. she also got a lot of stuff (as a joke) that she is not supposed to eat...candy, soda, etc. her real present from them was a purse she had wanted from the shop next door to her son's workplace. she also got a book and a scented candle; all things she is glad to have and use and not dust.

at this age, i truly understand my grandmother's wish not to receive any gifts that have to be dusted. both my sis and i have collected things and decor items through the years that are now more of a burden than a pleasure. you 'can't' throw them away because they were a gift, or because you yourself paid good money for the item, or the most burdensome of all, because it is an inherited item (supposedly treasured by ancestors).