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Tuesday, Jun. 18, 2024

9:45am EDT

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PORCH PONDERINGS

by QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

Rated: 13+ · Book · Biographical · #2198921

Norma's Wanderings around a small section of Montana

Well, hey there!
Welcome to Roundup, Montana! If it's a nice day, we'll sit a spell on my porch and talk awhile.

"All the resources we need are in the mind.” Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President of the United States of America.

I am the Captain of my ship.
God is my co-pilot.
Often I sail stormy seas,
Am flung onto rocky shores.

What's on your mind today?

Signature for use by anyone nominated for a Quill Award in 2020

Signature for nominees of the 2019 Quill Awards

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Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Kåre Enga in Montana

Jun 13, 2024 at 12:55am
In response to "Drama Fun"

I don't memorize lines...

.

Hope you body heals sOOn.

Kåre Enga in Montana

Jun 13, 2024 at 12:54am
In response to "Monopsony"

I'm glad I missed this opportunity. I don't like how juries are run. Served once.

Wordsmitty ✍️

Jun 12, 2024 at 6:44pm
In response to "Drama Fun"

Congrats. The next thing we know, some hometown reporter will do an aricle about you in the local paper. You're gonna be famous no matter what.

Writer_Mike

Jun 12, 2024 at 5:45pm
In response to "Drama Fun"

Deer suicide highway? Yeah, those are real; letting your friend drive is a good call. Best of luck with your lines, Norma!

Wordsmitty ✍️

Jun 12, 2024 at 12:59pm
In response to "Monopsony"

So this company is the single buyer of everyone's silence. Interesting.

Kåre Enga in Montana

Jun 4, 2024 at 1:15am
In response to "High and Low"

A very busy day. Good.

I would like to outlive myself... 10 years?

I try not to think about teeth.

Kåre Enga in Montana

May 26, 2024 at 10:53pm
In response to "Trip to Butte"

I don't have a car (but the bus does go there). We could've met. We only had an inch of snow here... but passes...

I've been to Butte twice. I have pictures.

If I'm forced to move, Butte or Dillon become possibilities.

Beacon's Light

May 26, 2024 at 10:40pm
In response to "Trip to Butte"

That's really interesting, I wouldn't mind knowing more about the mining town. There's a town called Calico and it's a gold mine but I don't know what the history is on it. I know there was a border collie that would carry mail for the miners and she would bring it back to the town.

I hope you and your husband got home safe.

Kåre Enga in Montana

May 18, 2024 at 5:33pm
In response to "Surgery is Done!"

Now you can write the horror poem/story/novella... "The Claw"

I mean... we won't know what's under that bandage until it's off... won't we?

Schnujo's in Chile

Apr 28, 2024 at 7:30am
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

I know carpal tunnel can be really bad. My friend's son has it really bad. At only 21, his hands were already numb because his dad wouldn't let him learn to drive so he couldn't go to the doctor and his dad wouldn't take him. He's finally moved out and learned to drive. His hands are better after he got a different job, but he's still got issues.

Have you tried learning to do speech-to-text? I hear it's quite a difficult transition for some folks, but once you get it, everything is a breeze after that. I keep meaning to take a series try at it. I did a few sentences one day, just to test it out, but didn't get too far. I need to really buckle down. It seems slower because the words don't appear on the screen as fast as when I type. But in the end, I can talk faster than I can type and I don't have to wait for it to catch up after ever sentence. lol I do need to figure out how much I can talk before it loses the thread, though.

But then, when writing fiction, I have to stop and think a lot, so it will probably be fine. lol I just need to do it enough that I feel comfortable not watching the screen anymore. I hear that's the real sticky point -- watching the words slowly appear as you are talking can be really distracting, so they recommend you don't do that. I will for a bit, just to get a feel for things and to satisfy my curiosity. But hopefully, if I take this seriously, I can let go of that need with practice and really get going.

Hmmm...I know I talk a lot. And I can talk while doing things I can't do when typing like getting dressed or making dinner or whatever. I wonder if I could actually finish a project through speech-to-text or if being bored sitting there typing isn't the real problem.

It's something to ponder and play with. Thank you! As usual, you've helped me with my writing YET AGAIN!

You're the best!

1 Like

June 12, 2024 at 5:39pm

#1072572

Drama Fun

So today I got a call from my buddy in Musselshell, a tiny burg about 20 miles from here. Home of the Musselshell Players, my favorite community theater group.

Can you be a part of us this fall, Norma?

What part do you have for me?

Well, you can be a hypochondriac or a taxidermist who killed her husband, stuffed him and keeps him in a closet.

Hmm, I chose the hypochondriac. I mean, let’s face it. I’ve done nothing but whine about my health for months now. I’m a member of the O.U.C.H. club. Our Unique Clumsiness Hurts.

So I have all the props - a sling, a back brace, a knee brace, and now a splint for my hand.

I also called a friend for a favor. I can hitch a ride with her, since she is also in the cast and lives local. I’ll pay her for gas to take me to and from. I’ll also be on deer and elk patrol. I don't really want to take our new ride down that deer suicide highway. And right now I cannot drive a stick, with the shifting and all.

I am immediately hopping from one play with 126 lines to another with 85 lines.

Piece of cake.

Should be fun. Can’t wait to see what happens.

1 Like • Comment • View 3 comments

June 12, 2024 at 9:49am

#1072553

Monopsony

Okay - yesterday was intense. I was part of a mock jury trial. So, I cannot talk or discuss what happened.

But - consider this word: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monopsony

And then think of the expense - 36 people were paid $300 plus breakfast and lunch in several meeting rooms in Billings. In the Doubletree Inn. Plus there were at least 10 people in attendance with the company. My word...

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June 10, 2024 at 9:23pm

#1072451

Hurrah!

Hallelujah! The long wait is over, at last! We now have that vehicle that started to be in our dreams in May of 2023. Over a year. Good grief the grief is over, the angst is ebbing.

Hubby drove it back from VA last week. Three days of non-stop driving. But he made it.

I had a play, community theater, so I didn't make the trip back to see the in-laws. But that's okay. No problem. With this hand, I would have a hard time on the plane and sitting in a car for 12 hours. Plus playing nice, nice to family.

The theater production went well. "Million Dollar Meatballs" was the show. Lots of silly fun. Not too many lines were missed. I actually wrote one on my arms. There is always one, that rotten one, that I cannot remember. The actors are an okay bunch. Not too much in common with them, but that's alright. We had pretty decent crowds. Hard to judge, since they haven't done this in 9 years. So next year we'll have a better idea of what to expect. Plus I didn't have to drive, I walked to the venue. Hurrah!

The car we have now is a 2013 Jeep - 4 door. Manual 6 speed transmission. The motor and transmission are completely rebuilt. The tires are new. The exhaust is new. The radiator is new. The front end has an animal catcher/winch installed, actually bolted to the frame, not the fender. We wanted a solid car, not the plastic, easily crumpled ones they build now. We will put up with lower gas mileage to get a safer vehicle. A Jeep saved my life once before in a crash. I like that it sits higher than a regular car. Easier to get in and out of.

So, now we can really get our life settled again. No more wondering and waiting when the blasted car will be finished.

Tomorrow I have an all-day focus group in Billings. They will pay $300 to people to sit in a hotel conference room and give your opinions. Hmm. I didn't have to think long about that offer. I'll have to let you know how this turns out. Perhaps get out the info so people can contact them. I mean, $300 is pretty good pay for a retired person for a day, and they buy breakfast and lunch.

1 Like • Comment

June 4, 2024 at 12:16am

#1072122

High and Low

A day of highs and lows. As I drove to Billings, a big UPS truck threw up a stone - hitting the windshield of the rental car. Drat! Now there’s a nice starburst in the glass. I fretted and fumed all the way to the orthodontist appointment. But as I pull in, no cars. Hmm. There are always at least 10 people waiting.

“Sorry, the doctor had an emergency. Everyone was called last Friday.” Not me. Seems this happened some months ago with a hair appointment.

“I never got the call. I came from Roundup. This is really inconvenient.” I live an hour away.

“We called or texted everyone.” Well, they didn’t, evidently. But I didn’t give up, I stood there. “I am out of the aligners.” So she scheduled me at the other office across town.

“You go to Airport Road then take ……. Well, I kind of knew where she said the office was, and knew I could probably find it. So thanks, and off I went.

Hallelujah, they knew I was coming. I had the dentist tell me my time in braces was done, and now I would just need to use a retainer at night. But first, multiple pictures of my mouth, my bite, my mouth in 3D, a scan of my mouth in 3D, and all this to get a custom retainer in about 2 weeks. Now for the first time, probably ever, I have straight teeth. Yippee! Invisalign - highly recommend.

On the way home I stopped at the car rental office. I asked about the rock in the windshield. Seems they have a little chart. If it measures within the circle, no problem, So pray it doesn’t get larger than their circle.

So the trip to Billings, highs and lows.

Then when I was home for a time, I get the message that a man that used to attend church had passed away. Richard had heart problems and had outlived every prediction by at least 10 years. Such a wonderful person. Such a low.

Play practice tonight was okay, I guess it was a high. We just ran lines since the auditorium is being used for voting tomorrow. I just wish cell phones were banned from practice. So distracting.

Then to top off the day we got a good old-fashioned thunder storm. No hail. No high winds. Just thunder and rain.

I misplaced a notebook, an important one that had all my newspaper story info. That’s a low. But tonight I found it. That’s a high. So I think I should pack it in for the day. End on a high note.

Highs and lows, good and bad.

1 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

May 27, 2024 at 8:16pm

#1071783

The Berkeley Pit

This is a shot of the Berkeley Pit in Butte. It's quite large, a small, deep pond. Constant supervision is needed to keep birds from landing on the water. So there is a small hut where a person sits and uses multiple means to haze ducks, geese and other birds from the site.

Like • Comment

May 26, 2024 at 10:26pm

#1071732

Trip to Butte

I finally got to take a trip this past week. I went to Butte - 4 1/2 hour drive one way from Roundup. Hubby and I spent two days and one night. I was invited to participate in a tourism event.

So, Butte. A town that knew great wealth from copper mining. It was a small mining town, until copper was discovered.

From their advertising:
Our nickname is “Butte America,” but we also go by, "The Richest Hill on Earth.” Immigrants from Ireland, China, Lebanon, Austria, Greece, Italy, Mexico, and numerous other countries came to Butte to work in the mines, they came to Butte, America. It is said as many as 25 nationalities settled in that town. it is a rough and tumble town, bars, restaurants plus many churches. Even brothels.

But now people go to see the old neighborhoods, the abandoned mines, and the former open pit copper mine, the Berkeley Pit. The Pit is the largest Superfund site in the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Pit

The Dumas Brothel (formerly the Dumas Hotel) was a famous bordello in Butte, Montana in the United States. Located in the heart of uptown Butte, the brothel has been proclaimed America's longest-running house of prostitution, finally closing its doors in 1982. I walked inside this place and promptly went back to the trolley. Not impressive at all.

We went on a little tour to learn all these facts. Butte - quite a town.

I wanted to stay another night, but a winter storm warning sent us on our way. That night it snowed about 8 inches on the pass we had to travel over to get back to Roundup. Yes, snow. This is Montana after all.

3 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

May 18, 2024 at 12:35pm

#1071322

Surgery is Done!

The surgery on my hand is done. I'm now in the post-op phase. I currently have this huge bandage covering the entire hand. My thumb is covered, while four fingers are free. So far, so good.

Pain has been virtually non-existent. So curious - the surgeon injected the site with "exparel". This drug acts Iike novacaine - but will last perhaps five days. It was developed to lessen a patient's need for opioid pain relievers.

He did carpal tunnel surgery plus took out a bone in my thumb joint, inserted a screw and two pins. So without pain relief that all could be quite painful, to say the least.

A problem I have now is itching, annoying as crap. And there is no way you can scratch under this huge bandage, nor should I.

I'll post after the bandage comes off, and I get a look at my reconstructed digit.

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May 9, 2024 at 12:28pm

#1070779

Rent a car

Finally someone got smart and rented us a car for a month. Hmm. No, not me. My husband finally did this.

"Do you need a car after your surgery? I may fly back to VA to get our car and then drive it back."

Let me tell you, I thought about for micro-second. "Yes, of course. I cannot drive the one we're borrowing. It's a manual transmission."

Why did there even need to be discussion on this, and why did it take a year to come to this conclusion?

The other night I got upset again. I have a seminar coming up. It's in Butte, MT. That's about 4 hours from here. I will be driving the rental car and staying overnight. It's all arranged. It's about a week after my surgery, so I think I'll be okay. But NO! Seems a friend of my husband told him I should not be doing that.

Now perhaps it's because I feel that I've been stuck in the house for a year. Not literally, we have gone to Billings for shopping. I did go to a SE Montana meeting in Billings. But that's it. No trips of any kind anywhere. No just going somewhere for the fun of it.

So my husband and I argued about semantics. "You were not stuck in the house. You went places."

"I feel like I've been stuck in my house. Don't discount my feelings."

"Your feelings are not valid."

Hmm. Still a little upset about someone discounting my feelings. I still feel like I've been trapped for a year. Car accident, hurt knee, knee surgery, and then a broken hand. And now surgery again. Mercy.

At the risk of whining more, I want to go far, far away. Perhaps to a desert island. Sun, sand, water. Or hike to a favorite spot near Yellowstone. Lots of trees, lake, wonderful mountains.

So instead I'll walk down to the Musselshell River, check it out. We've had rain for three days. Not as bad as the Bozeman area where people got stuck on the freeway, over a pass, for 2 days.

My life right now is pretty boring, and mercy sakes do I hate boring. So let me spice it up with that walk to the river, writing for the paper, ironing some antique aprons for the museum, making lunch, a meeting at 4 PM and then play practice at 6 PM.

That should keep me entertained for the day.

1 Like • Comment

April 25, 2024 at 2:01am

#1069628

Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!

Nothing but drama. I should be given an Oscar for the longest dramatic role in a tragedy. It continues my friends.

I saw a hand surgeon the other day. He agrees that I do need surgery. And he will also fix my poor arthritic thumb at the same time that he releases the pinched nerve in my wrist.

He mentioned that I should have been seeing a hand specialist since December for all this pain I've been having. {the actress tears up at this} He starts moving digits about. {actress again cries} Yowza. He sure knows where to poke to get a pain response. Yep, that's the place. Reminded me of that EMG test I had a few weeks ago.

So, May 15 I have surgery. I should expect to have a 6 month recuperation. My wrist will be better, my pain should be relieve. My thumb will be rebuilt, and probably never as good as before, but better than it is now. Probably will be a pin inserted, perhaps a metal rod.

But the kicker to all this great news, on the way home from this, the car we are using gets a new noise. And today as we do Meals on Wheels, the noise gets louder. So hubby takes it to the owner, who has a garage and fixes cars. Wheel bearing is going out. Great. I have appointments in Billings on Monday. Will the car be fixed by then??? Well, hmm. No way to know. So now I have to find a ride there. {cue actress for more drama}

Hubby now calls his son in VA who is supposed to be repairing and fixing up the car he bought for us in May 2023. Yep - May 2023. Last we heard, he worried about the compression in the engine. Turns out the valves were in backwards. Great. That was 2 weeks ago. Nothing has been done since. Now he has until Sunday to get it repaired or take it to a shop and have it done. And I stated that he should pay for that repair, not us.

So now I am really earning that Oscar folks. I am mad, I am upset. I am ready to well, never mind. The tension is thick, it's like fog in this house.

I have three options, the first one had something else to do Monday. I have two more options to pursue tomorrow for a ride to Billings Monday.

I think I just may stay awake tonight. All this drama is making me crazy, and now I cannot sleep. Unlike the spousal unit who is asleep at 8 PM. I wish I could forget everything that easily ...

1 Like • Comment • View 6 comments

April 20, 2024 at 10:37am

#1069252

Drama

Here it is, April 20 and outside it's 19°. Chilly start today. I am so ready for warm weather to come and stay awhile. Not just visit for a chat and leave.

I've been busy with the museum. It opens on May 1. A group of us have been rearranging, cleaning, and throwing away junk that's been hidden in closets for who know how many years. Egads. Yesterday I spent a few hours just on one closet. It showed evidence of mice, so I cleaned it out, took out about 6 boxes of nothing but drapes. Drapes. Heavens. We don't use drapes on the windows. Why were they stored for who knows how long? And I found an old framed certificate from the Slovenian society. And who knows how long that was in there.

Roundup and the surrounding area was once home to many ethnic groups when it had three active coal mines. Croatian, Slovak, Irish, Welsh, Italian, and other ethnic groups came here to work in the mines. Many stayed after the mines closed and you can see evidence in some names about town.

Today there is a big deal with our first visitor's kiosk in town. This project has been in the works for about three years. Or more. I forget the timeline now since it's been such an ordeal. Anyway, the other day when I was at the quarterly SE Montana Tourism meeting, I was to get the current SE Montana tour guide. A box for the kiosk and a box for the museum. So as we left, I told my husband to grab 2 boxes - they were in stacks by the door. Two different stacks. One has tour guides for SE Montana and one has guides for Yellowstone. Well, he got the Yellowstone guides by mistake. I didn't see the error til we got home. Bugger me.

Then the lady in charge of the kiosk contacts me, "Did you get those guides? Can I pick them up? We need them desperately." Well, now I have to tell her, No, I made a mistake. I can give you some of last year's. So she responds, "No! I'm too busy to pick them up. I need the current ones. I'll just contact SE MT." Okay. So I email my SE MT contacts, ask them to get on the job, Bring some up, mail some, whatever. Then the lady shows up on my porch yesterday afternoon. "Hi, my plans changed." What? She threw me under the bus, then comes all happy and sweet. Oh the drama. She takes last year's guides. Something is better than nothing. And people don't know the difference.

I won't be going to the grand unveiling. I have church. So more drama. The paper contacts me. "Can you go to the kiosk event?" I respond, No, but I have a friend that will go and get pictures for me. He's good with that answer. So I hurriedly contact my friend, "Can you still go and get some shots for me?" Oh sure, and will do. Whew. Again, drama.

Then I wanted to do an article for the paper on an Arbor Day gathering yesterday. The head of the tree board in town, yes - we have such a thing - don't bother. I have someone doing an article. Hmm. I had a good one all written. Drama.

A good way to relieve stress is by doing gardening. I enlisted hubby and we dug up our front flower garden area after all this drama. Flower seeds planted, old growth cut back, leaves raked. Take that you rotten plants. Take that you horrible weeds. Then we had root beer floats as a reward. Stress relieved.

But today is another day. My journey to relief from the hand problem continues. I see an orthopedic doctor on Tuesday.

2 Like • Comment • View 7 comments

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