Body Art or a Plea to my Mother

A Mary B quote " I gave birth to a perfect, healthy, flawless baby. You better be meeting God the same way." Or something along those lines. So I am using this as a chance for her to understand.

Mom...... I got a tattoo.

Before you sharpen the butcher knife for my left arm, hear me out.
For 40 years I have worn some pretty deep scars on my left arm. So for the next 40 I decided to wear some pretty flowers that no one questions. It was a daily occurrence that someone asked me " what happened to your arm?" Most of the times it was a child. I admire their courage to ask and got a kick out of their expression when I would say " when you get Chicken Pox and your Mom says don't pick that...... Don't pick it. " That is really how I got the scars. A deep hole from a chicken pox!!
I never told my parents that every year, when the new school year started, I would get the call to meet with the school councilor to ' just chat '. " Sooooooo how is life at home? Did your parents do that to you? Is it a cigarette burn?" And later as a 'rebellious' teen " did you do that to your arm? Do you cut?" The look of bewilderment on their faces when I say " uh it's a chicken pox scar" is priceless.
It could be worse. I always told my mom I was gonna get a tattoo of a horse walking away, with his tail raised, and the deep round scar placed just below his tail!!!
Now that I am a mother, and a grandmother I have decided I should heed my own advice.
Stand up for what you believe. You are beautiful on the inside first and on the outside second. And my favorite advice.... Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, smallness or insecurities, remember things could be worse....You could be them.

The tattoo has symbolism for me. The large flower represents Jim, the smaller two, my sons Devin and Cody and the smallest flower is my grandson Jamisen.

I worried about what my mom would say or think only because I love and respect her. I worry about doing anything to let her down. I don't think there is enough space on the Internet for me to write all the little things I have done that might have let her down. So I guess I add to the list and keep on living day by day.

Mom......I got a tattoo. I am OK with it. And I think God will think I am OK, too.

And they ARE addicting. I've even been thinking where would I get the next one. I've got some pretty nasty stretch marks from having babies, so I was thinking a road map of Tennessee across my belly would cover that. Breathe Mom.... Breathe!!!! I am just kidding about that one!

Ageing Gracefully?......

Being 'middle aged' has never worried me.
If I was really worried about it, I would have eaten healthier, exercised, and used that Oil of Old Lady  Oil of Olay.
 I am content with where I am in my life. 
 That is, until I have to renew my drivers licence. 
 What is it about this photo that freaks me out? 
  I can remember as a teenager, getting my license, and taking hours to get ready for the photo.  Slathering on the concealer and foundation so that big ol' zit wouldn't show.  Now some 25+ years later, I found myself doing the same thing! Only thing different is: I had to cover the zit on my forehead AND remember to pluck that stray chin hair.
 Seems like the older I get, the more things change back to what they were!! 
Hair color, bangs, weight, smile, no smile......We will see again in another six years, when I have to do this again! 
Ageing gracefully???? BITE ME!!

Legacy....Diamond Distributing

leg·a·cy

n. pl. leg·a·cies

1. Money or property bequeathed to another by will.

2. Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past

 

For as long as I have known Jim, THIS photo has hung on the wall at Diamond Distributing. 

I am sure it was placed there by Carol Larsen Senior (That is Jim's mom). So today when I was at the shop, I told Jim my idea. He said "Just a minute" and ran upstairs.  Down he comes with the actual coat Bill is wearing in this photo!! I couldn't resist so here is going to be the new addition to the wall by Carol Larsen Junior.

Oh but of course I don't stop there...... I have to add a third picture, don't you think??

Cody insisted I have to wait 40 years, like the first one, but Momma's whining got the best of him.

 

 

 

NOW if I can just get my grandson to stand on that step.......... He is almost 17 months old.

I know he can do it!!         to be continued..........

 

MMMM EggNog French Toast Sticks

I am making up a batch of French Toast Stix, for the freezer. I pack 4 sticks (the perfect grandson sized portion) into a Ziploc baggie. I also put in the single wrapped, cooked sausage link. Works great for breakfasts when you don't really want to cook. Zap in microwave for 30 seconds and you are good to go. I just can't see paying Jimmy Dean for the same thing that I can do!

Penny pinching tip :)

Where will your path lead?

Spending the last four days, with my grandson, has been awe inspiring. I love to cuddle into the lazy boy chair, book and blanket in hand, and rock him until he drifts off for a nap. As I gaze at his velvety soft cheeks and perfect little lips that curl into a smile as he dreams, I wonder....
where will your path in life lead you?
  Will you be a doctor, lawyer, farmer or a state senator? How big can you dream? When is it in our lives that we come to the point where our dreams crash into realization and we settle for what will be..will be? Growing up we all hear that question....what do you want to be when you grow up? I wonder how many of us answered with what we want in our hearts or with what we think that person wants to hear.  I remember being asked that question and my answer was "I want to be a farmer". I remember the look on that teachers face when she laughed and said "Girls can't be farmers".
 Is it then when we start to question ourselves?

I certainly never heard I couldn't do something from my grandparents, or my parents! Growing up at my house there was never any gender discrimination. The girls were expected to drive trucks and tractors and service equipment just the same as any farm hand. My mom definitely lead by example. She became a union journeyman carpenter and worked at Hanford Nuclear Reservation right along side my dad.   So where in life do the alternate paths come along?
 I hope I will be there for you, to help guide and be your Granny LaLa whenever you need me.
  As I look at your sweet cherub face, I hope you only dream big. Live big. Love big.
  Oh, my beautiful Grandson.....I hope your life's path leads you only to happiness.

Pantry Room

My life is becoming a reality TV series. First I thought it was 'Extreme Couponing' but it is looking more like 'Hoarders'! I had made the statement that I should become Mormon and just call it 'food storage'. My friend, Raylene, then pointed out...Sister Wives!!  I'm unsure of what series I will end up on. Lets all just hope for the show 'Lottery Changed My Life' and we will call it all good!!

  I have finished my pantry; aka Devin's old bedroom. I think for a pantry it is a little small.
Never mind the fact that my son is almost 7 foot tall and the room is only 8x8. Poor kid. But I love it!!

Now before you all go freaking out on me......just keep in mind that I bet I have spent LESS that $300 on all this. Not counting the actual shelves, that is a different story!  A lot of it is stuff I have canned myself. The empty shelf is just waiting for corn I plan on canning this summer. If I could ever get my mom here to show me how to use that scary pressure cooker!  My only worry now is it is almost FULL! Where am I going to put the bargains I get later?? Hmmmm Cody's room is 12x14.

I guess I had better wait until he moves out, huh? Just kidding. I think this will do for awhile. :)

  So there you go. Written proof I AM crazy. I can just hear you all...."We knew it all along!"

But at least you know who to call when you run out of body wash!! I have 18. :)

I have found her!!!!

Power of the universe is an amazing thing!!
If you put the thoughts out there, and have patience, it will come to you.
  I have been searching for a little vintage trailer to remodel.
 Maybe I could join http://www.sistersonthefly.com/ ?  I have asked friends to keep an eye out for me and they have been great with little leads and hints here and there but nothing quite worked out. Until the other day!
  I was talking to Jim's cousin, Richard Lockhart, and he said "Why don't you get Jim's Grandpa Gerald's trailer? It is parked in town. We towed it in 30 years ago so it didn't get bulldozed into the canyon."
Ahhh Ahhh Ohhhh Ahhhh!   Insert angels singing down from heaven here.

Turns out that Grandpa Gerald had this trailer that he used as a man cave, guest house, storage and what not. I came across a picture of our ranch that was taken in the 50's or early 60's and what do I see right there in front of the house?????

My vintage trailer! The one I have been dreaming about! The one I have decorated in my head, four different ways!  I went to town and looked at her today. I saw past the dirt, dead bugs, and bee's nests. Past the two cracked windows and tattered curtains. Past the funky smell of musty and who knows what from decades ago. What I saw was a shiny, sparkling trailer with freshly varnished woodwork and crisp, ironed, linen curtains. A cowboy quilt adorns the bed, and a blue mason jar of fresh flowers is on the table.

On the front is painted her name....... "Molly" Drusilla........with her picture there too! 

Do you see it, too????? Can you spare some elbow grease? Mine is low.    :)

Thank you so much, Lockhart Kids, for babysitting my trailer for 30 years. 

 She was just waiting to come home!

Drusilla "Molly" Sever Larsen Roth

I thought I should do this post so you would understand my posts that are to follow.  First you need to know an incredible woman.  Drusilla was my husband's grandma. She had led an interesting life. 

When she was younger, she worked for Walt Disney! She worked on the movie, Snow White.

 Oh, if only she had saved some of those artist cells!! They would be worth a fortune today.

To make extra money, she moonlighted as a fashion designer's artist, in Hollywood.

 She also liked to design her own. Here are a couple that she designed, drew, and painted.

Her gold wedding band is what graces my left ring finger and the mate to it, is on Jim's finger.

 Gerald Roth was Drusilla's soul mate. The kind of love that fairy tales are about.  They were married later in life and had not enough years together.  He used to call her "Molly".  That is what most people knew her as. She was known for her incredible artistic talent.

  My granny, Eileen Getz, lived 'over the hill' from Molly. They were friends and neighbors for many years. When Jim & I got married in 1995, my granny gave me a special gift. It was the hand painted bowl that was very special to her and always was placed on the upper shelf. Turns out, it was made by Molly and given to granny as a gift.  When I showed it to Molly she was floored and said " It has come home".

 Jim and I live at the ranch where Molly grew up.

I could go on and on about Grandma Molly and the impact she had on my life and I know many were touched by her 'tell it like it is' attitude and zest for life. She was the true definition of one tough cookie, with a man by her side that would lasso the moon for her, if she asked him to.
 I would like to think Jim and I are kinda like that too.     :)

Bug's 6 1/2 month pics

What kind of Granny would I be if I didn't share the cutest grandson pictures with you!?

Gratitude

Have you ever felt so much love in your heart that it overflowed and caused tears of joy?
I have been feeling that way today. I'm not sure if it is because my grandson got to spend the night and we had hours of snuggle time, or if it is just that I am so happy that Gram doesn't have any major heart issues. 
  I am so blessed that I have a home that keeps me warm in the winter, and cool in the summer.
 Better Homes & Gardens is not going to use my home for a photo shoot any time soon and to me, that doesn't really matter.  The best thing is that my house is my home. I am happy to just be here.
Oh, new carpet wouldn't be a bad thing but if I have my family, I can live with the moss green shag!
  In the last couple of weeks, I have caught glimpses of the men that my boys are becoming. I am so proud that they strive to put others first. If this is the only lesson they ever learn from me, I have done my job.
  I am the luckiest woman in the world, because I am married to my best friend.  Jim would move heaven and earth if I asked him to.  I have figured out to be wealthy has nothing to do with money!
As my grandpa would say
" We are so poor we don't have a pot to piss in or the window to throw it out of!"
  My cupboards are full and I couldn't ask for anything more.
So on this snowy, blustery day I hope that your heart is warmed by loving thoughts of family and friends that would be there on your doorstep with one phone call from you.  Keep in mind the people that you might have been taking for granted. Cherish the things that matter. The most important life lesson was taught to me by a friend that is no longer here on earth.

The most important things in life are not 'things'!

Last Chance Prom

Here is the next little project I am helping put together.
 I think it will be sooooo FUN!!!!
The proceeds go to the scholarship fund so come on out
and support a great cause.
*******Heck, come on out just to laugh at old farts
                       in prom dresses and tuxedos!

Life is a Highway

 Life's like a road you travel on
When there's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend, Sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind.

There's a world outside every darkened door

Where blues won't haunt you anymore

Where the brave are free and lovers soar

Come ride with me to the distant shore.

                                  We wont hesitate   Break down the garden gate    There's not much left today

Life is a Highway

I want to ride it all night long

If you're going my way

I want to drive it all night long

There's no load I can't hold

Road so rough this I know

I'll be there when the light comes in

Tell'em we're survivors

~~~   Tom Cochrane

Cattle Sale

Cody was up and out the door by 7:00am with a load of cattle, headed to the sales yard.
 Jim & I had a few steers and heifers to sell but the main reason to go was to sell Cody's steer.  He had picked out a steer, last fall, for the Palouse Empire Fair. He had fed it, halter broke it, and been his buddy since last November.  Last month, when fair time came, Cody decided that the steer was not quite finished yet. He weighed enough to make the cut but he didn't have quite enough fat to make a good steak! So instead of just taking him to the fair and selling an inferior product into our food system, my boy did the right thing and held him back to finish out. Cody missed out on showing and competing but like he said, "This is what producing cattle has taught me. Your name is only as good as the finished product."

Cody sat at that sale and patiently waited for his steer to come through the sales ring. And he waited, and waited...........and waited. He waited for 7  1/2 hours and still no steer. He could see the steer in the pen, RIGHT NEXT TO THE SALE RING GATE but still it didn't come through! Finally, Harold Johnson (thank you, thank you!) hollered at the chute guys

 " Hey! Get that boys steer in here! He has been waiting 8 hours!!"

The steer came into the ring as calm as could be. Remember this steer was halter broke and loved people! He didn't come in all wild eyed and try to eat the ring men, or scale over the ring like most do. He sauntered in and stood there. When the ring man paddled him to get him to move around he just looked at him.
I think the steer finally saw Cody and just stood there and looked at him with bewilderment.

All the cattle buyers took this as a sign that the steer might be injured or sick. He just stood there and looked at Cody. The bidding started and the final price was .51 cents a pound. Thank you Grandma Elaine for hollering "Owner NO-SALE! We are taking him home!!"  At that price Cody realized he couldn't have even paid for the grain he had fed him!   So we loaded him up and headed home. After we feed him for a few weeks,

to get back the weight he lost while standing in a pen for 9 hours,

we will have a beef available if anyone needs one for their freezer!

Cody asked me, " If you can't even break even, why would anyone raise cattle?!

Son, that is the eternal question that ALL cattlemen ask themselves!!






Driving home tonight, I was trying to think of what 'life lesson' this might of taught Cody.

The only thing I can figure was ---

                1- Don't show up too early

                2- Don't sell too late

                3- Every once in awhile, even if you did the right thing,......

                                LIFE MIGHT JUST SCREW YA IN THE POOT!

Grandma Dorothy

My grandma Dorothy is the most beautiful woman in the world. I am not just saying that just because I kinda look like her! Her beauty is inside and out.  Her life ambition is to make the world a better place for everyone no matter their background, race, income or social standing.

She had a tough life starting out. As one of the only German families to settle in Steptoe, they were very discriminated against. She soon found out it was the wrong thing to tell her mother that the other kids called her 'the dirty dutchman' because that just caused her mother to use more soap and scrub her harder on bath night! Her mother, Emily, didn't understand that dirty dutch man didn't have anything to do with soil and she would exclaim to Gram "but WHY- we are not Dutch!"

One of her great honors, that she talks about, was being crowned The May Queen. She finally felt that she was starting to be accepted.  Gram was very skilled in sports. I might have got her looks but I sure didn't pick up her athletic ability.

She was kind of a hellion.

 THAT I might have got from her!

Gram's teenage years were ones of turmoil. At 17, one of her teachers noticed she was putting on weight.  The teacher brought Gram home to have a talk with her parents. After a heated discussion it was discovered that Gram was 8 1/2 months pregnant! She had no idea because female matters and sex were never discussed in the home.  When she began menstruating at 16 she was convinced she was dying and confided in a teacher that she didn't need to finish her school work because she soon would be dead.

Imagine the teachers surprise when she had to give THAT lesson!

Grams father refused to allow her to stay so it was off to 'the unwed mother's home' in Spokane.

 It was here that she finished school and received her diploma.

It was also where she learned she truly loved 'the icky neighbor boy'.

My grandpa, Cloy Harvey, grew up near Gram.

  His grandmother, Maggie Jackson, was the midwife that delivered Gram!

But growing up, he was just the icky neighbor boy.

In one of Grams autograph books, Cloy wrote the poem

"Roses are red, Violets are blue, Piggies stink and so do......".

I know he was 10 years old at the time, but that's just mean!! 

  When Gram was at the unwed mothers home, It was Cloy who came to visit and check on her.

 It was Cloy that never shunned her.

 It was Cloy that offered to marry her, even though the child was not his.

Gram grew to love him so much that she told him that she could not

start out a life together with him having to bear her burdens.

 So on December 7th 1941 (Yes, the day of Pearl Harbor) Gram gave birth to a little girl that she called Linda Louise. She was born 11 days after everyone (and Gram) realized she was pregnant!
She had decided to give the baby up for adoption knowing she would never

 be able to protect her from small town slings and arrows.

She raised her for six weeks and with heartfelt sorrow, handed her over to a childless family.

 One baby picture, that Gram has clung to for many years, is that of Linda Louise.

Skip ahead many years, after she married Cloy, after she gave birth to my dad-

 Richard and the girls, Marie and Susie.

Skip ahead to one day, five years or so ago, and the phone rings and the voice on the other end says

 "Are you Dorothy Suess? I think you might be my mother."

Grams heart swelled with joy. Linda had found her!!

Linda was now almost 60 and her adopted parents had passed away

and she had learned the truth about her birth.

 So with open arms we have welcomed Linda into the family.

 It makes me so happy that Linda is able to know the most beautiful woman in the world, like I do.

I love you Gram and hope I can be half the wife, sister, mother and grandma that you are.

Almota River Ranch: Keno 'Reeds Parr Scamp'

www.hoopercrossingranch.com

Keno 'Reeds Parr Scamp'

My buddy was born two days after my birthday on June 4th 2003. He is from the Charley Reed herd from Rosalia. Keith Danielson is the one that introduced us and many others have helped me get to know him.

The first time I picked him up, we headed straight for a Cowboy Up competition! We did obstacles that would make your knees shake! I knew he was looking out for me when we were doing a straight up hill climb and he stopped half way up to stomp on and kill a snake!

We jumped creeks, drug a calf dummy, hobbled, roped, backed down banks through barrels, went through an under the road 40 foot long culvert, and anything else that was asked of us. Well there was that one thing he refused and that was load into a trailer but it wasn't ours and it was full of cow poop so I couldn't blame him!

When I told Keith how great we did, he was kind of surprised. He said " I don't think I have showed him half of that stuff."  I just assumed he had.

Trial by fire and we kicked butt!!

  When it came time to do the Grand Entry at the Palouse Empire Fair and Rodeo, I didn't think he was quite ready so I borrowed horses a couple of years. The night before the rodeo, it didn't work out with the horse I borrowed and I was told "Go get that dun horse and use him for the rodeo tomorrow!"  So with no practice, Keno did the Grand Entry of the Rodeo!

Trial by fire, we kicked butt!

Now... we have had our moments!! When he decided to be a bucking bronc at our posse trail ride! After the 4th or 5th jump and we were headed for the rocks, I decided to bail! When I landed I refused to open my eyes because I hate the sight of blood.  When Kim made it to my side I said

 " Where am I bleeding from? Is it bad?" She was laughing so hard and said

 "You Dork!  That's not blood, it's water!You landed on your water bottle!"

On another posse ride ( I am beginning to see a pattern here!) We were kinda truckin along and tried to pass along a bank that was not as firm as it looked! He slipped and landed right on my leg! The best part was there was a photo of it for all to see, right when it happened !  Then there was the after!

 God I love facebook!!

The latest whoopsy doodle was the funniest one!

I was at a Scott Seeklander Reining clinic with my friends Judy and Amber.  They let me hang out and play in the arena when they are getting their lessons. Judy and I were standing there,on our horses, watching Amber. All was silent, and Keno dropped his head down and was sound asleep!  He did a kind of cough sputter but did it so hard he FARTED really loud! Farted so loud that he took off bucking like one of Sonny Reilly's bucking broncs!!! Scared the bejesus out of me. I would like to say what a horse person I have become and rode that buck till the end...but you should know me better than that!! I dove like Gregg Louganis in the Olympics! I don't know what was funnier--That he actually scared himself with a fart or the looks on every ones faces!! I think everyone came away with tear streaks on our dirty faces!

Trial by fart, he kicked MY butt!

Now Id like to tell you he is a perfect horse and I am a perfect rider.  I didn't think you would buy that!! But we are doing our best. Riding makes me happy and I think that is the most important fact that I seem to have strayed away from lately. It's not the competitions, or the latest tack or new fangled training tool. It comes to one thing.   You+ Horse= Happy :)