Search where?

This Portfolio (normajeantrent)

All of Writing.Com

◄ June ►
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30
Archive				RSS

Create New Item

Read & Review

Community

Browse By Type

Browse By Genre

Writing Resources

Friday, Nov. 8, 2024

1:02pm EST

Members: 935

Guests: 3,426

Total Online: 4,361

PORCH PONDERINGS

by QueenNormaJean maybesnow?!

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

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Kåre เลียม Enga

Nov 3, 2024 at 2:36pm
In response to "Update"

I don't celebrate Halloween. I don't do parties and the American version is silly imho. Samhain is different. I don't mind real witches and ghosts (hope to meet a ghost someday... but not too soon). If goblins existed I'd probably chat with them.

I did go to the Day of the Dead and the parade. Took photos and video. Honoring/remembering the dead is okay imho.

Odd how events "work" or don't. Call me crazy but... the churches have been there a looooong time. How could one NOT know. Same with you and Halloween... they don't know you by now?

I don't join groups because I can't deal with the drama.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Oct 28, 2024 at 1:33pm
In response to "Ducks in a row"

Yep. The only cure to falling is not falling in the first place.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Oct 19, 2024 at 4:14pm
In response to "Catching Up"

It helps to have the time and focus to do Octoprep or Nano. This year I have neither. No excuses and I shouldn't feel guilty. I did sign up for "13" but we'll see... so much depends...

...on the white rain on the black chickens...

We did have snow on the mountains. Today is gloomy.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Oct 4, 2024 at 4:16pm
In response to "Equinox Storm"

Our Senior Center goes through cycles of drama. Right now the kitchen is fine. Today's meal was good.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Oct 4, 2024 at 4:13pm
In response to "Chico"

We have various hot springs in our area but busses don't go there.

Will you have fish for dinner or is it catch and release?

I decided to not do Octo-Prep. I have an idea and I started a folder to keep my chapters. That seems to work best for me. I have a basic timeline and theme. I'll just start in one place and go from there (literally, like in my IRL travels) to the next stop and the next lesson my character (me) has to learn. Since the conflict is "discovery" instead of an action-driven arch... I should be fine as long as they logically flow from one to another.

I'll have to return to Thailand and spend time in each location.

QueenNormaJean maybesnow?!

Sep 12, 2024 at 11:20pm
In response to "School Drama"

Fear is contagious. Fear spreads just like wildfire, one spark from a fearful person and the whole town is crazed.

Drama is preferred these days. Who can get the most views on their page, who can garner the most interesting story to present to the world. Truth is irrelevant it seems. Just the drama is important.

You do assume correctly that the school handled it better, in my opinion. They threw the flame resistant blanket over the problem and extinguished the fire. For now. Until the next crisis. Which will be when all these crazed parents withdraw their students and claim they are now 'homeschooling' them. I see this happening - people threatened to do this.

And don't get me started on the whole homeschooling trend. Some parents do a good job. Great. But others don't and kids suffer. There is no real policing in Montana for homeschoolers. Sad but true.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Sep 12, 2024 at 6:10pm
In response to "School Drama"

Do people think that dog-eating black-skinned aliens are out to get them? As in crows versus Crows?

The real issue is fear boistered by fear-mongers.

Here... there have been 'threats' in God's Waiting Room. We can call 911 and ask for MST... someone trained in mental health. Instead of peaceful resolution though... we seem to prefer DRAMA. This free floating anxiety with no existential threat is widespread.

May I assume the school handled it better than the parents?

QueenNormaJean maybesnow?!

Sep 7, 2024 at 5:16pm
In response to "Fun Fact"

Who knew??? I love history.

AnotherDreamer

Sep 7, 2024 at 5:09pm
In response to "Fun Fact"

How funny. lol

1 Like

NaNotatoGo!

Sep 4, 2024 at 3:13pm
In response to "NaNoWriMo"

It certainly will.

June 21, 2024 at 11:31am

#1072979

Ekalaka

I finally got to go on a road trip. I went to a SE Montana tourism meeting Wednesday. But it was in Ekalaka, MT. Yes, that is the name. Far SE Montana. Almost to the ND/SD line. So I enlisted a friend to take me. We left Tuesday, stayed a night in Terry, MT. That little town is only 2 hours away. Ekalaka is 4 hours away. My meeting on Wednesday started at 10 AM. So you can see perhaps the wisdom in being closer a day before.

Terry and Ekalaka are both small, Terry perhaps a population of 800, Ekalaka a population of 500. But each have motels.

So I guess this BLOG entry will be a tourist blab. The Kempton Hotel in Terry, MT is the oldest continuing hotel in Montana. Pretty cool. Terry is also the home of the Evelyn Cameron Gallery, a wonderful woman who came to Montana from England, a photographer of early Montana prairie life. Excellent.

Then on to Ekalaka. It is named after a Native American woman, and Ekalaka has the first county museum in the state. Carter County Museum is one of two federal repositories for fossils in Montana. The other is the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. Excellent place to see actual fossil of dinosaurs. It's one of the stops on the Montana Dino Trail.

Last night in Ekalaka we stayed for a presentation by a native American, Shawn Backbone. He is a member of the Crow nation and talked at Medicine Rocks State Park. Medicine Rocks is a Dark Sky Sanctuary. So Shawn started his presentation at 9 PM. His nephew played the native flute as he spoke to a crowd of perhaps 30 - 35 people that had gathered. For an hour he spoke of the native's connection to the land, to the seasons, his view of life as a Crow tribal member. As he spoke, the flute played, the full moon appeared, then disappeared behind clouds. Suddenly flashes of lightning could be seen behind him, illuminating him for a second as the dark settled in. The clouds dissipated a bit, stars began to appear. All the time Shawn had cedar chips smoldering in a small iron pot, the smoke permeated the space. This was to signify his connection to the earth.

On the short drive back to our motel, you could see the lightning in the distance, a male mule deer pn the side of the road. We talked about how spiritual the whole event was. Medicine Rocks - a giant jumble of sandstone castles in the middle of the flat prairie. Etched names from hundreds of years still present. Shawn's talk. The flute's ethereal sound. Ah.....

Then we woke refreshed, had breakfast at the little cafe and on the road home we stopped in Miles City. Stopped at Vintage a Rustics, owned by a member of the SE Montana board. Did some shopping, my friend scoped out the place where she used to live. Then a few hours later we're back to reality.

I perhaps stated this before. I felt like I was under house arrest for a year. This trip was such a wonder. I came home with joy in my heart.

Here are some links of the places we visited:

https://kemptonhotel.co
https://cartercountymuseum.org/shop
https://fwp.mt.gov/stateparks/medicine-rocks
https://vintageandrustics.com

4 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

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...

Like • Comment • View 2 comments

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

© Copyright 2024 QueenNormaJean maybesnow?! (UN: normajeantrent at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
QueenNormaJean maybesnow?! has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/profile/blog/normajeantrent/month/6-1-2024