Outside Temp: 26 F (the snow is melting... but it's still here)
What I cooked today:
Papa Murphy's Take & Bake Pizza: After our useless drive into town, I was irritated enough to decide not to cook dinner tonight. I asked the kids if they wanted pizza, and (duh) they agreed. I have finally learned that if you bake the pizza on the tray they give you for about 10 minutes, then slide it off onto a pizza stone for the last 5-7 minutes, the crust gets cooked correctly and isn't mushy. Woo hoo! I learned something today!
Update:
The boys have been getting allergy shots every Tuesday and Thursday morning for the last few weeks. We usually leave the house around 6:45, to get to Great Falls by 7:30. Their shots are done in about 10-15 minutes, which gets us back on the road by 7:45-8:00am. A short 45 minute drive gets they to school just as their first period study hall is ending, which works because then they don't have to miss any (real) classes.
But, I didn't want to wake up this morning, so I figured that since Allen didn't have practice anymore, I could bring them in after school. So, school ended and we all hopped in the car. I dropped off Katie at the house (lucky!) and Allen and Connor came with me to town.
We got to the clinic around 4:30, and headed up to the reception desk. The person in front of me was taking forever, but I was being my normal patient self, just standing there with a smile, waiting my turn. Another receptionist asked what I was there for, and when I told her allergy shots, she indicated that I needed to wait. No problem. Just waiting.
Finally, about 10 minutes later, the receptionist finished up with the person in front of me. But, instead of asking me to come forward so she could help me, she started getting her things together to go home. I waited a few more minutes, then stepped forward to get her attention. "Did you need something?" she asked. I thought something catty like, "nope, I just thought I'd stand her for the last 15 minutes because I had nothing better to do.". Silly woman.
I told her that we were here for allergy shots. She got that pained look on her face, and informed me that that stopped the shots at 4pm. She did apologize, and even with back to see if the nurse was still around. She wasn't. So, our trip into town was a total waste. Oh well. To be completely fair, I should have called this morning, to confirm that we would be in this afternoon. My bad. But, we ended up with pizza out of the deal, so I guess it wasn't all bad.
I also got to end the evening with a meeting with our Community Center. There is a great group of people here, and I love how involved they all are! We have set up a time for our blood drive in December, which is such a great event. They intentionally scheduled it for 8-9 weeks after the Geyser blood drive, so that people (like me) can do both of them! I shouldn't have to go into town for blood donations, since they are cool enough to come to me!
The only bad part is that I missed our book club this evening. I didn't get a chance to read the book anyway, but I skipped last month's book club (I was afraid of the storm), and I miss getting together and chatting. Next month, come sleet or snow or hail, I will make it (darnnit).
Showing posts with label Raynesford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Raynesford. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
November 1, 2012
Outside Temp: 37 F (still nice... threats of rain, but nothing significant)
What I cooked today:
BBQ chicken (in the oven): I need to start making chicken more often, since I have about 15 lbs of chicken in my freezer, and only about 4 lbs of ground beef... I just take the chicken, sear it a little, then toss it into the oven coated in BBQ sauce. Super easy and everyone seems to love it (even when I don't defrost the chicken enough, and it ends up cooking in it's own fluid, making it very dry)
Update:
Very interesting day today!
First off, the Honor Roll for the first quarter was published in the local newspaper today... I just had to include it here (by the way, I NEVER got a 4.0 in my life!):
So, on to our interesting news.
On my way home from picking up Ryan this afternoon, at about 11:20(ish), I noticed a cop car (probably sheriff) heading east with lights flashing, at about 80MPH through Raynesford (the speed limit is 45 through town). I didn't think much of it, and went on my merry way.
At a little after 2pm, I headed back to school for my web design class. I noticed a sheriff on the side of the road about 1/2 way to the school. I slowed, to make sure there wasn't a problem, but then continued on my way. About 2 miles later, another sheriff car was on the side of the road. Hmm, this is getting interesting. I looked around the road, didn't see anything interesting, and continued on my way.
Another 2 miles later (about a mile from the school), I noticed another sheriff on the other side of the road. Okay, there is something weird going on, if only because I think there are only 3 deputies and 1 sheriff in Judith Basin County (that's probably wrong, but I think it's close).
I got to the school, and headed up to class, completely forgetting the sheriffs.
Around 3pm, I got a call from the front office, saying the superintendent needed to talk to me. Ugh, that's never good.
I headed down to the office, and found out what was going on.
There was a fugitive who was running from the cops through the county. There was a high speed chase, which included the fugitive throwing pipe bombs at the cop cars, as he drove down the highway. They caught him, in Belt, and he's currently under arrest.
However, the cops didn't know where all the 'pipe bombs' were, and they needed to go searching for them. As a result, the highway was shut down... from Stanford to Belt (which is about 40 miles). I was called into the office to let me know that the buses couldn't get my kids home, which wasn't a problem since I was there, and I could take them home myself.
Of course, then came the question of how I was going to get home. The highway was closed, until further notice. Hmmm, what other options are there?
So, I found the back road home. I headed north out of Geyser, west through the new Spion Kop wind farms, and then down into Raynesford.
The really fun part about this drive is that I got to drive by a lot of houses that I didn't know existed. I got to see where some of the Geyser residents lived, since I've never had the chance to just drive through the back roads of Geyser. And, I got to drive right by the new windmills (which are totally huge). It was actually a lot of fun.
Then came the last 2 miles. If I understand correctly, this is a section of road that was not used very often, and was right next to private property, and somehow it got determined that the county was not going to maintain it anymore. So, it's not graded. It's not plowed. It's not even mowed. It's just 2 little track marks up and down through a field, down a hill, over a creek (yes, there was a little water in it) and back out on the normal gravel road.
When I came to the entrance to this path (I can't honestly call it a road), there was a young kid (okay, he was probably 25) behind me. I figured he was doing the same thing I was doing, so I pulled over and asked him. He said he was following his GPS and thought he knew where he was going. After telling me that he was going to continue on the road, I let him know that I was pretty sure the entrance to the road was right here, so if he found that he ended up in someones front yard (which I knew he was going to do), when he turned around, to head this direction.
Amazingly, my little yellow car did great. It went right over all those rocks and mud and grass with no problem. There was a little hesitation as we went over the creek, since the ground was muddy, and the tires really wanted to slide. But, I just held my breath, pushed the gas, and prayed that I'd make it through.
I have never been so happy to see gravel road in my life. As we crested the last hill, and I could see the end to my adventure, I breathed a sigh of relief and headed back into civilization. Then I stopped my car, to wait for the kid to make sure he made it through.
Once I got home, I looked up online to find the details of the story. They kept the road closed until about 7-8pm, once it was totally dark. I'm sure they couldn't find anything in the dark anyway. I'm not sure if they will start again when the sun comes up, which would cause nothing but trouble tomorrow. I foresee a lot of people taking the day off, if the main highway is going to be closed.
The most important part is that Allen has a basketball game in Hobson tomorrow... which would require driving on the highway. I'm sure the ATF guys will understand and make an exception for the school bus of junior high basketball players, right?
Oh, and since my house is on the highway, I figured I would just check the backyard for pipe bombs, just in case. I'm pretty sure he couldn't throw over the creek anyway, but I'm happy to say that my backyard is pipe bomb free!
What I cooked today:
BBQ chicken (in the oven): I need to start making chicken more often, since I have about 15 lbs of chicken in my freezer, and only about 4 lbs of ground beef... I just take the chicken, sear it a little, then toss it into the oven coated in BBQ sauce. Super easy and everyone seems to love it (even when I don't defrost the chicken enough, and it ends up cooking in it's own fluid, making it very dry)
Update:
Very interesting day today!
First off, the Honor Roll for the first quarter was published in the local newspaper today... I just had to include it here (by the way, I NEVER got a 4.0 in my life!):
So, on to our interesting news.
On my way home from picking up Ryan this afternoon, at about 11:20(ish), I noticed a cop car (probably sheriff) heading east with lights flashing, at about 80MPH through Raynesford (the speed limit is 45 through town). I didn't think much of it, and went on my merry way.
At a little after 2pm, I headed back to school for my web design class. I noticed a sheriff on the side of the road about 1/2 way to the school. I slowed, to make sure there wasn't a problem, but then continued on my way. About 2 miles later, another sheriff car was on the side of the road. Hmm, this is getting interesting. I looked around the road, didn't see anything interesting, and continued on my way.
Another 2 miles later (about a mile from the school), I noticed another sheriff on the other side of the road. Okay, there is something weird going on, if only because I think there are only 3 deputies and 1 sheriff in Judith Basin County (that's probably wrong, but I think it's close).
I got to the school, and headed up to class, completely forgetting the sheriffs.
Around 3pm, I got a call from the front office, saying the superintendent needed to talk to me. Ugh, that's never good.
I headed down to the office, and found out what was going on.
There was a fugitive who was running from the cops through the county. There was a high speed chase, which included the fugitive throwing pipe bombs at the cop cars, as he drove down the highway. They caught him, in Belt, and he's currently under arrest.
However, the cops didn't know where all the 'pipe bombs' were, and they needed to go searching for them. As a result, the highway was shut down... from Stanford to Belt (which is about 40 miles). I was called into the office to let me know that the buses couldn't get my kids home, which wasn't a problem since I was there, and I could take them home myself.
Of course, then came the question of how I was going to get home. The highway was closed, until further notice. Hmmm, what other options are there?
So, I found the back road home. I headed north out of Geyser, west through the new Spion Kop wind farms, and then down into Raynesford.
The really fun part about this drive is that I got to drive by a lot of houses that I didn't know existed. I got to see where some of the Geyser residents lived, since I've never had the chance to just drive through the back roads of Geyser. And, I got to drive right by the new windmills (which are totally huge). It was actually a lot of fun.
Then came the last 2 miles. If I understand correctly, this is a section of road that was not used very often, and was right next to private property, and somehow it got determined that the county was not going to maintain it anymore. So, it's not graded. It's not plowed. It's not even mowed. It's just 2 little track marks up and down through a field, down a hill, over a creek (yes, there was a little water in it) and back out on the normal gravel road.
When I came to the entrance to this path (I can't honestly call it a road), there was a young kid (okay, he was probably 25) behind me. I figured he was doing the same thing I was doing, so I pulled over and asked him. He said he was following his GPS and thought he knew where he was going. After telling me that he was going to continue on the road, I let him know that I was pretty sure the entrance to the road was right here, so if he found that he ended up in someones front yard (which I knew he was going to do), when he turned around, to head this direction.
Amazingly, my little yellow car did great. It went right over all those rocks and mud and grass with no problem. There was a little hesitation as we went over the creek, since the ground was muddy, and the tires really wanted to slide. But, I just held my breath, pushed the gas, and prayed that I'd make it through.
I have never been so happy to see gravel road in my life. As we crested the last hill, and I could see the end to my adventure, I breathed a sigh of relief and headed back into civilization. Then I stopped my car, to wait for the kid to make sure he made it through.
Once I got home, I looked up online to find the details of the story. They kept the road closed until about 7-8pm, once it was totally dark. I'm sure they couldn't find anything in the dark anyway. I'm not sure if they will start again when the sun comes up, which would cause nothing but trouble tomorrow. I foresee a lot of people taking the day off, if the main highway is going to be closed.
The most important part is that Allen has a basketball game in Hobson tomorrow... which would require driving on the highway. I'm sure the ATF guys will understand and make an exception for the school bus of junior high basketball players, right?
Oh, and since my house is on the highway, I figured I would just check the backyard for pipe bombs, just in case. I'm pretty sure he couldn't throw over the creek anyway, but I'm happy to say that my backyard is pipe bomb free!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
September 27, 2012
Outside Temp: 50 F (another beautiful day in Fall... a little chilly in the AM, but nice most of the day. No complaints)
What I cooked today:
Italian Casserole (page 57) : I wanted to try something else from our new cookbook. This one uses ground beef and macaroni, which always go good together. The kids thought it was okay, but Patrick really liked it. I might have to try this one again!
Update:
We had breakfast up at the Grandparents, which was an excuse to use up some eggs. Grandma thought it was funny, since she called at about 9am, and we were actually up there by 9:15ish. We all laughed when we explained that when someone else is cooking a meal, we actually move our tails. Now she knows how to get my husband up there to work!
Patrick and the Grandparents went to the Adult Faith class at the church this evening, which left me at home with the kids (by choice... I probably could have made it to the class, but I hadn't done the reading and I wanted to get dinner on the table.)
Amazingly, Allen didn't have any homework, other than studying for a test tomorrow. I think this is the first night in weeks that he hasn't had any homework, so he relaxed and watched TV and played a video game... Up until the moment I asked him to do the dishes, which prompted a little complaints, but the dishes got done, so I don't mind a little complaining. He doesn't have a game until next Tuesday, so this will be our first 'free' weekend in weeks. I have a feeling that we will all be vegging around the house, doing absolutely nothing... Or not.
What I cooked today:
Italian Casserole (page 57) : I wanted to try something else from our new cookbook. This one uses ground beef and macaroni, which always go good together. The kids thought it was okay, but Patrick really liked it. I might have to try this one again!
Update:
We had breakfast up at the Grandparents, which was an excuse to use up some eggs. Grandma thought it was funny, since she called at about 9am, and we were actually up there by 9:15ish. We all laughed when we explained that when someone else is cooking a meal, we actually move our tails. Now she knows how to get my husband up there to work!
Patrick and the Grandparents went to the Adult Faith class at the church this evening, which left me at home with the kids (by choice... I probably could have made it to the class, but I hadn't done the reading and I wanted to get dinner on the table.)
Amazingly, Allen didn't have any homework, other than studying for a test tomorrow. I think this is the first night in weeks that he hasn't had any homework, so he relaxed and watched TV and played a video game... Up until the moment I asked him to do the dishes, which prompted a little complaints, but the dishes got done, so I don't mind a little complaining. He doesn't have a game until next Tuesday, so this will be our first 'free' weekend in weeks. I have a feeling that we will all be vegging around the house, doing absolutely nothing... Or not.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
September 23, 2012
Outside Temp: 46 F (it was overcast today, but no rain... we'd really, really like some rain.)
What I cooked today:
Leek and Potato Soup: Patrick has been practically begging for this soup for the last week or so. I finally gave in an made it. I had to admit, it was pretty filling (I'm one of those who believe soup is an appetizer, not a meal), and tasty. I had to borrow Grandma's immersion blender at the end, so I guess I'm adding this to my list of kitchen tools I need to get. Yummy!
Update:
I got some pictures from Grandma of yesterday's homecoming games.
Since we were at Homecoming all day yesterday, Patrick and I got up early and went to church in Belt. It's kind of nice to do this everyone once in a while, since it gives us an opportunity to see our family there. We left the kids at home (with Allen), which made church all that nicer.
Afterwards, we went into Great Falls with Connor. He needed some new jeans, since apparently, he grew between the start of school and now. I think that he just hated trying on jeans, and told me the one's we got fit, when they didn't. He has pants that fit now, so I guess that's all that matters!
After our trip into town, we headed over to the Ice Cream and Pie Social at the Community Center. This was the first thing we attended when we got into town last year, so it's kind of an anniversary thing for us! I love the fact that we knew almost everyone there, and we had a great time! We even picked up our St. Mary's Cookbook, with hundreds of local recipes! I can't wait to try some of them!
What I cooked today:
Leek and Potato Soup: Patrick has been practically begging for this soup for the last week or so. I finally gave in an made it. I had to admit, it was pretty filling (I'm one of those who believe soup is an appetizer, not a meal), and tasty. I had to borrow Grandma's immersion blender at the end, so I guess I'm adding this to my list of kitchen tools I need to get. Yummy!
Update:
I got some pictures from Grandma of yesterday's homecoming games.
Since we were at Homecoming all day yesterday, Patrick and I got up early and went to church in Belt. It's kind of nice to do this everyone once in a while, since it gives us an opportunity to see our family there. We left the kids at home (with Allen), which made church all that nicer.
Afterwards, we went into Great Falls with Connor. He needed some new jeans, since apparently, he grew between the start of school and now. I think that he just hated trying on jeans, and told me the one's we got fit, when they didn't. He has pants that fit now, so I guess that's all that matters!
After our trip into town, we headed over to the Ice Cream and Pie Social at the Community Center. This was the first thing we attended when we got into town last year, so it's kind of an anniversary thing for us! I love the fact that we knew almost everyone there, and we had a great time! We even picked up our St. Mary's Cookbook, with hundreds of local recipes! I can't wait to try some of them!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
June 12, 2012
Outside Temp: 59 F (Fluffy clouds and beautiful today... in the low 70's!)
What I cooked today:
Lasagna: To be perfectly honest, I didn't assemble the lasagna. Either I forgot to buy lasagna noodles, or Patrick ate them, but after I started the meat, I realized I didn't have noodles. But, Grandma had some at her place. So, I made the meat sauce and the cheese mixture and sent them up there for Grandma to assemble and bake. They said it was good, and only left me a bite or two. Oh well, my family got fed, and it wasn't burgers!
Update:
I had to pull over on the road to Geyser today, so take this picture. The picture doesn't do it justice. The cloud structure was huge and at the bottom was a beautiful rainbow. It was so bright! I really wish I could take pictures that could accurately convey how amazing it is up here.
What I cooked today:
Lasagna: To be perfectly honest, I didn't assemble the lasagna. Either I forgot to buy lasagna noodles, or Patrick ate them, but after I started the meat, I realized I didn't have noodles. But, Grandma had some at her place. So, I made the meat sauce and the cheese mixture and sent them up there for Grandma to assemble and bake. They said it was good, and only left me a bite or two. Oh well, my family got fed, and it wasn't burgers!
Update:
I had to pull over on the road to Geyser today, so take this picture. The picture doesn't do it justice. The cloud structure was huge and at the bottom was a beautiful rainbow. It was so bright! I really wish I could take pictures that could accurately convey how amazing it is up here.
This morning I woke up with the ambition to mow the lawn. We got the mower a few weeks ago, but I haven't used it yet. I haven't actually mowed a lawn since our first house, and even then, I only mowed once or twice. But, this is a riding mower, so it's a heck of a lot more useful than my old gas push mower. Of course, since I haven't ever used the mower, I didn't have a really good idea of how wide the cutting blade was, or the turn radius. Needless to say, there are more than a few places on the lawn that I missed or cut badly. But, for my first time, it wasn't a bad try. After all, now I can only get better!
After mowing the lawn, Patrick, Grandma and I went over to the Raynesford Community Center for the blood drive. I haven't donated blood in years. Fortunately, I have not problem donating blood. Patrick and I were competing with each other as we went along. My hemoglobin was better, but his blood pressure was better. But, I really got him on the time. I had my entire pint done in about 5 1/2 minutes, which is really fast. He took over 7 minutes... lazy veins. It was a great chance to chat with the neighbors, which is always great. And do a good deed, which is also good!
After that, I raced over to book club. We read a book this month on Guernsey (which is an island in the English Channel, between France and England) and the German occupation during WWII. It was a really great book, that described an event that most of us had never thought of. My memory of High School history's version of WWII was: Nazi's were bad. Japan was bad. We bombed them. Yea, we are good. We didn't really discuss the actual history and how people existed during this time. I love being able to discuss books with other women and get their opinions. And the food was awesome!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
January 13, 2012
Outside Temp: 22 F
What I cooked today:
BBQ Pork Ribs: I had some pork ribs from October in my freezer and they really, really needed to be gone. So, I defrosted them, tossed them in some BBQ sauce and threw them in the oven. 40 minutes later, dinner... So easy!
Update:
Patrick and I went for a drive today. We've been here for a few months now, and Patrick hasn't really had a chance to drive around the countryside. I took him up the hill behind the parent's house, and we got a great picture.
We ended up getting stuck in the snow, but since the Aveo is so light, it was pretty easy to push it out of the snow. We missed the turn we intended to make, and ended up on an un-maintained road. Who knew there was such a thing as an un-maintained road?
After our drive, Allen and I went into Stanford for the basketball games. It seems like the main source of entertainment for a Friday night... high school basketball. I think about half of the town was there!
What I cooked today:
BBQ Pork Ribs: I had some pork ribs from October in my freezer and they really, really needed to be gone. So, I defrosted them, tossed them in some BBQ sauce and threw them in the oven. 40 minutes later, dinner... So easy!
Update:
Patrick and I went for a drive today. We've been here for a few months now, and Patrick hasn't really had a chance to drive around the countryside. I took him up the hill behind the parent's house, and we got a great picture.
![]() |
| The weather was a little overcast, but pretty just the same. |
After our drive, Allen and I went into Stanford for the basketball games. It seems like the main source of entertainment for a Friday night... high school basketball. I think about half of the town was there!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
December 31, 2011
Outside Temp: 25 F (it's getting a little chilly... We've been so spoiled by the warm weather for the last few weeks, I forgot what colder weather felt like)
What I cooked today:
Nothing... It was one of those days where we weren't home enough to actually cook anything. I had Lucky Charms for breakfast. :)
Update:
We had planned to go into town to switch out Ryan's boots, have Allen's boots checked and do some shopping. But by the time we finished church and headed up to the parents house to chat for a few minutes, the pro shop was closed (they closed early today, around 2ish). Thank goodness I called before we left! I guess I'll do my weekly shopping tomorrow (which works because I can get the Sunday paper and the new week's coupons!)
Patrick and Grandpa were awesome enough to take our garbage to the dump today. We don't have garbage service (actually, I think we might, we just don't use it. We do the dump instead). It's been about 2-3 weeks since we last dumped the garbage, so I was getting really antsy to get it dumped. And Grandpa's dump pass expired today, so it was a good day to go! We 'store' the garbage in the garage, to keep the wild animals out (except the mice, which we catch with traps), and it's been cold enough that the smell is not a problem. It's really, really cheep to dump your own garbage, but a little bit of a pain. I figure in a few years, I can just send Allen... after all, what else is a teenager for?
I spent a little time chatting with one of the ladies from town about who owns what house around us. I think I'm going to try to go around town and take some pictures of the old houses around us. They just tore down two houses that have been here for decades. One was filled with asbestos, so it had to go. The second one, I'm not sure if it was just really old, but it was pretty narrow, about the size of a row house, maybe 15 feet across the property line. There are a few other houses that are empty. It's really kind of neat, although it seems that most of the old houses are empty and just torn down. There's not much left of the town now, probably less than 20 houses. This town used to be quite big, with a lot of businesses and people. Now, it's down to less than 20 people, and only a post office and a church and a auto shop.
Here is a picture I found of the town in 1918, over 80 years ago.
We ended up spending the day at the grandparents, watching movies, having dinner and playing yet another game of Clue. Patrick doesn't know how to let the kids win, so he wins more often than not.
Not bad for the last day of the year!
What I cooked today:
Nothing... It was one of those days where we weren't home enough to actually cook anything. I had Lucky Charms for breakfast. :)
Update:
We had planned to go into town to switch out Ryan's boots, have Allen's boots checked and do some shopping. But by the time we finished church and headed up to the parents house to chat for a few minutes, the pro shop was closed (they closed early today, around 2ish). Thank goodness I called before we left! I guess I'll do my weekly shopping tomorrow (which works because I can get the Sunday paper and the new week's coupons!)
Patrick and Grandpa were awesome enough to take our garbage to the dump today. We don't have garbage service (actually, I think we might, we just don't use it. We do the dump instead). It's been about 2-3 weeks since we last dumped the garbage, so I was getting really antsy to get it dumped. And Grandpa's dump pass expired today, so it was a good day to go! We 'store' the garbage in the garage, to keep the wild animals out (except the mice, which we catch with traps), and it's been cold enough that the smell is not a problem. It's really, really cheep to dump your own garbage, but a little bit of a pain. I figure in a few years, I can just send Allen... after all, what else is a teenager for?
I spent a little time chatting with one of the ladies from town about who owns what house around us. I think I'm going to try to go around town and take some pictures of the old houses around us. They just tore down two houses that have been here for decades. One was filled with asbestos, so it had to go. The second one, I'm not sure if it was just really old, but it was pretty narrow, about the size of a row house, maybe 15 feet across the property line. There are a few other houses that are empty. It's really kind of neat, although it seems that most of the old houses are empty and just torn down. There's not much left of the town now, probably less than 20 houses. This town used to be quite big, with a lot of businesses and people. Now, it's down to less than 20 people, and only a post office and a church and a auto shop.
Here is a picture I found of the town in 1918, over 80 years ago.
We ended up spending the day at the grandparents, watching movies, having dinner and playing yet another game of Clue. Patrick doesn't know how to let the kids win, so he wins more often than not.
Not bad for the last day of the year!
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