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Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024

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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

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Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Kåre เลียม Enga

Nov 12, 2024 at 2:07am
In response to "Crazy Talk"

I'm too focused on my trip. Reservations and aisle seats on the plane. Buttttt... I did find my other pair of shoes.

1 Like

Cubby

Nov 11, 2024 at 10:51pm
In response to "Crazy Talk"

I've been trying to distract myself, too, by watching feel-good holiday movies on Netflix. It's all a bit scary!

2 Like

AnotherDreamer

Nov 10, 2024 at 2:46pm
In response to "So much Drama..."

I acknowledge the fact that you need to consider your health and sanity. Is there a backup plan for the people who you were servicing and who will no longer get service? Can some other local charity be notified and asked to step in temporarily? Will another organization replace the one that is left high and dry. I am just wondering about the clients. No judgement here.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Nov 10, 2024 at 2:14pm
In response to "So much Drama..."

Meals on Wheels is a great program. My neighbor is on it (they deliver up three flights of stairs). Yes, the food is fine... but she needs visitors... as do many on the program.

I only have 10 dazed days to avoid the drama at God's Waiting Room. I may do take out and greet friends as I come and go.

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.

November 11, 2024 at 10:19pm

#1079827

Crazy Talk

There is lots of uncertainty right now in the world. We discussed this after our lunch today. My hubby and I talked of theocracy, monarchy, autocrats, dictators, a Republic. Then we morphed into remembering what we knew of Lenin, Stalin, Mussolini, Chairman Mao, Czar Nicholas who was related to Kaiser Wilhelm, even Hitler. Somehow we talked about Rasputin. Remember him?

Strange talk. Guess I've been watching too much internet news.

All this took place over root beer floats. Such an innocent treat. Then we started to think, how secure is our food supply? We're not preppers in any real sense of the word. We don't have a year's supply of food in the basement. But we do know how to hunt. We do know how to garden. Just the other day we finally harvested this year's potato crop. There's about 25# now in the cold basement storage, along with 10 spaghetti squash.

So tonight I decided to distract myself from all this gloom and doom. So I'm watching some favorite old shows while I knit. Project Runway Allstars.

Now that is some drama. Sew a ball gown in 8 hours.

4 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

November 10, 2024 at 2:08pm

#1079769

So much Drama...

Silly me, I thought drama in my life was over. OctoPrep finished and it did well.

But no! Now it's the Roundup Christmas Stroll that is consuming energy. Gee whiz. You would think people would cooperate. Is it so hard to make sure things get done in a timely, orderly manner? Seems like it is.

There is a charge for vendors for this event. Crafters pay $25 per table to show their wares. The $25 is due now. I won't consider any vendor as paid until I get their payment and the payment is in the Chamber of Commerce bank account. I am the treasurer for the Chamber. The leader of the event is now holding on to some payments. Why? Who knows. So people are telling me, "I've paid - my mother gave the check to my aunt who gave the check to...." You get the problem.

This same thing happened last year. Another person led the event for a time, and held on to monies for a few weeks. Then she insisted that because she had the payments in hand on a certain date, those vendors got to be first in line. She got upset and quit the whole event when I told her, "No, that is unfair to others who followed the rules."

The current leader of the Stroll is notorious for not contacting people, not following up with people. So annoying. It's becoming a real 'cluster ****' So much so that I am now going to resign as treasurer for the Chamber after this is all over. I don't need the aggravation of this volunteer job.

When you have been taught that when you do a job, no matter how small, you do it to the best of your ability, but others you have to work with don't share that ethos, it is hard to proceed. It makes life so difficult.

Another change we did recently is resign from volunteering for the meals on wheels program. There is again, so much drama going on. The head of the program is not doing her job, and has had so many complaints about her performance. Not to mention a legal case against her now, plus a bad background check come back. And I do stress the 'bad'. Why she got hired I have not a clue. But perhaps it is because she is a good friend of the chairman of that board of directors. Again, drama I don't need in my life. So we discussed this for a few weeks and decided to quit this volunteer job. And we are not alone. Many others have also quit.

Ah life. Fun and games.

2 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

November 3, 2024 at 11:50am

#1079441

Update

It's over! OctoPrep is finished, and it went well, I think. My records show 31 writers finished within the time limit, plus 4 went over the time limit but finished the assignments. So 35 writers did all the work and are now on to NaNoWriMo and are busy with their novel writing projects, I pray.

There were some good ideas and I hope they develop into viable books.

Things here in Roundup are relatively quiet. Halloween is always a big deal, but not for me. I think it's a waste of time and money on my part, not to mention my faith doesn't think kindly of the witches and goblins, but that's my belief. Lots of folks don't worry about that, and that is their decision. The paper wanted me to cover the Halloween parade, the 'trunk and treat' thing, which is now some kind of big deal. When did that come to be so hot? Well, anyway, she was a little miffed when I said, no, I wouldn't do that. I didn't even hand out treats this year. I will do just about anything else, but not Halloween.

So now the emphasis shifts to the annual Christmas Stroll. The town gets vendors lined up for one night of shopping and events along Main Street. This year the organizer has grand plans. She wants shopping to start at noon and run til 9 PM. I argued the case that it's too long, and people sometimes have to drive at least an hour home. So, fine, we changed it to 8 PM stop. Then she wanted people to start organizing their booths at 8 AM. Well, another problem. The Catholic Church is a venue and they have a Mass that day plus confession and are busy til 11 AM. Another venue, the Baptist church, has an event each Saturday morning til at least 11 AM. So, that isn't available till after that time.

Her grand plans of a 'Hallmark holiday' night are slowly being crushed back to the way it has always been done. Tradition is something you don't want to mess with sometimes. Now I am, as treasurer, having to deal with people all wanting to be in one location. Not paying their booth fees. Not giving me their information. Not getting up-to-date information from the event leader.

Gracious sakes. It will all work out. Somehow it always does. But come January, I have already decided I will no longer be treasurer for the chamber. Enough is enough.

3 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

October 28, 2024 at 1:21pm

#1079064

Ducks in a row

It's the last week of the OctoPrep Challenge and things are heating up for the writers. So far, 15 have finished the challenge. A number have missed their deadline of 72 hours, but can still compete as runner-ups.

I remember when I did the challenge and the push to get all 'my ducks in a row' so to speak this last week. If I remember right, we were going on a trip that coincided with the last day of the challenge. So the pressure was on to get the assignments posted, and everything finished by the deadline.

Life here in Roundup is rolling along. There is planning for a Christmas Stroll. Somehow I got elected to be the organizer for the venues. Mercy. That wouldn't be so bad if only the person in charge of the entire event would communicate with me. So I try not to overthink the entire scenario. I do what I think is prudent, take money, assign people to spaces. Then let the chips fall where they may. Sink or swim, organizer.

A dear friend of mine fell the other night. Now when you fall, and you are older, the problem is not the falling, the problem is 'why did you fall?'. She ended up breaking her leg. So pain meds were administered in the hospital. Her leg is in a splint, waiting for swelling to subside before casting. Standard procedure. But yesterday she stopped breathing for a spell. So they administered Narcan. (Narcan is for opiod overdoses.) Now she may be transferred to a hospital in Billings to figure out why she had such a strong reaction to pain medication.

So I had to tell a few other friends of the incident. Then I get pushback about who to tell for church. Well, for church, I am no longer the email communicator. That has been given to another church member since I stepped down from that task. He is not proactive with this little task. He won't email if you ask him to. He won't answer emails. Whatever.

Like I said, getting my ducks in a row.
mama duck and ducklings

Like • Comment • View 1 comment

October 19, 2024 at 12:06pm

#1078582

Catching Up

It's been a busy time here in Montana.

I am head cheerleader for the OctoPrep challenge again this year. There are three others I shepherd as we cajole, encourage, exhort the preppers for NaNoWriMo. It is always fun to read ideas, read chapters of new works and just generally give kudos and other prizes to those who stick with the process.

Beyond that, I still volunteer in town. There is a great deal of drama with the senior meal program. The lady in charge is new on the job, less than a year. She has managed to alienate most all the volunteers. The program is in jeopardy of being shut down by the state, if they don't get their act together. Food quality is bad, the people we deliver meals to are upset. The sponsoring agency for the senior kitchen is upset as well as now the state governing body. My hubby and I have told the volunteer organization that we will deliver meals til the end of October. Then we'll reevaluate our volunteer jobs and perhaps not do this any longer. Sad.

I did go to Billings earlier this week for 2 days. I participated in a focus group, stayed there for 2 nights. The group paid anyone who participated both days, and was on time, $700. Yippee! Of course, from that I had to pay for 2 nights in a hotel so I didn't have to drive home in the dark.

It was nice both nights, so I walked around downtown Billings. I had a quick burger while sitting outside the restaurant on their patio. I met someone who knew people in Roundup. It is said that Montana is just one long Main Street with cross streets along the way. Somehow everywhere you go, someone knows another person you know.

You tend to forget, when living in a small town, just how busy and exciting a big city can be. Of course, by the standards of the rest of the country, Billings is not that big a place. Only about 120,000. But it is growing. I think it is still the largest city in Montana. There were people out and about in all the restaurants and bars. People walking everywhere. I found a few new places to go for lunch when we go shopping for the day there.

Halfway through the month and as I stated, the OctoPrep challenge is doing well. We have had a few drop off the ranks, but
I know sometimes life gets in the way. The ideas you start with are not gelling as you thought they would, so you get discouraged and drop out. Time just gets in the way for many when you have to perform according to a schedule.

Having done this OctoPrep before I realize how challenging this whole process is. But it really helps you focus on your story, on your craft.

Didn't join this year? Perhaps in 2025 you'll take the plunge.

1 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

October 4, 2024 at 1:58pm

#1077755

Chico

It's a few days into OctoPrep and all seems to be working well. People are writing, people are posting, the cheerleaders are awarding GPs for exceptional behavior.

And I am out of town for a much needed break. It's our anniversary. We are at Chico Hot Springs. This place is great. If you ever get a chance to stay here, by all means do so.

https://www.chicohotsprings.com

Chico has been the place to go since 1900. Natural hot springs feed 2 pools with wonderful hot water. The pools are not treated with chemicals, and are drained every night and refilled each morning. The small one is about 104° and the large one about 93°. Last night with the temperature in the high 40s, it was nice as can be.

There is a nice lodge, cabins, even Conestoga wagons you can rent. The dining room serves excellent meals, but there is also a casual grill and a saloon. And you're not all that far from Yellowstone. Perfect place in the heart of the Paradise Valley. As I sit here it is sunny, bright blue skies and a nice breeze. The temperature today is about 60°. A beautiful fall day is upon us.

So while hubby is out fishing in the nearby Yellowstone River, I am enjoying some down time. No TV, no phone, no barking dogs next door. Just nature. Lovely.

2 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

September 18, 2024 at 11:44am

#1076951

Equinox Storm

Oh my word - we are in the midst of a great rain storm. My friend in Gardiner named these 'Equinox storms'. Every fall and spring we get rain, usually around the time of the autumnal and vernal equinoxes.

Rain started at my place about 10 PM last night. It hasn't stopped, and so far we have about 2 inches of rain and climbing. And for this part of Montana that is a gift, let me tell you.

But this will be interesting this morning as we do Meals on Wheels every Wednesday. Soggy and slippery I am sure will be the norm around town.

There is a great deal of drama at the Senior Center and kitchen these days. They installed a new manager some months ago, and it isn't going well. Numbers are down, food is decreasing in quality and quantity, volunteers are quitting. I have no idea why they installed this person in the job. No one knows if she has food service experience, management experience. No one knows where she worked before. It's quite curious and sad. And now the state health department and the county commissioners are getting into the mix.

Next week is a meeting to voice concerns. I've written a letter, and may attend. We are seriously thinking of not volunteering for this any more. We do feel a certain responsibility. But to give out bad food, hear constant complaints, get criticized on the way we do this volunteer job by this manager, it all just defeats you some days.

But a fun thing I'm doing now is a play with the Musselshell players. This play is hilarious. Just a lot of fun. We laugh all the time during rehearsal, which is good. Of course, we have to learn lines and stage directions, but to act and just be someone else for a time is a great creative exercise. And to do it with people you enjoy being with. Wonderful...

2 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

September 13, 2024 at 12:02pm

#1076743

Annie Lamott

I came across an article on Annie Lamott in Facebook today. Then followed a link to this little piece:
https://www.salon.com/2006/05/22/lamott_fight_son

Many years ago I too had an incident with my son. It didn't end as well as hers did. Mine ended in violence and jail and a permanent scar between my son and I.

The teenage years are trying, but my incident happened when my son was out of high school, and trying to figure out himself. I guess. I still don't know what the heck he was thinking.

But life goes on. We somehow make it through the trials.

1 Like • Comment

September 12, 2024 at 10:43am

#1076659

School Drama

Yesterday everyone in town that has kids in school was all atwitter. Seems the school was in a lockdown situation for about 45 minutes. It was not a shooter situation, it was not dangerous. It was a few students making threatening remarks, per my source. Incident was resolved, life in school went on.

But oh no! You will not do this without parental involvement in every step of the way. The outrage, the online ranting and raving. How dare you do this without our permission!

This was the info given online initially that started the firestorm:
Dear Community Members, RHS was placed into a lockdown a few moments ago. The lockdown has been lifted. We will get a more information out quickly.

Then that statement was followed by this one:
Subject Line: Safety Notification - Lockdown Ended at Roundup High School Dear Parent or Guardian, Roundup High School was placed in Lockdown from 9:45 am to 10:01 am due to a possible threat. Students and staff were asked to remain in their locked classrooms to keep the hallways empty. Thank you for your patience while we worked with first responders to respond to the situation. The safety and security of your child is our top priority. What is a Lockdown? Lockdown is called when there is a threat or hazard inside the school building. The Lockdown Action demands locking interior doors, moving occupants out of the line of sight of corridor windows, turning off lights to make the room seem unoccupied, and having occupants maintain silence. If students are unable to get behind a locked door, they are trained to self-evacuate. If your child contacts you to inform you that they safely self-evacuated, please contact the district at 406-323-1507 to notify us your child is safe. Sincerely, Riley Mayo Principal

Now I understand the anxiety of a threat in school so soon after that incident in Georgia and other places. But our school is in rural Montana. It's a smallish high school, with a graduating class each year of twenty or so. Most everyone in school knows everyone else, and quite a few are related to each other in some way. But it only takes one remark by some student to another that sounds like perhaps possibly maybe they are plotting revenge or mayhem or madness to get everyone all worked up.

The administration and teachers and staff are well-trained for these situations. They care very much about each student. Some have their own children in the school system. So I am sure in this situation no one was in any real danger. Thank goodness.

I perceive the anxiety in our town reflects the anxiety of our world at large. Everyone is all worked up and anxious and nervous. It's almost like we all need to have a giant dose of 'calm-the-heck-down'. Relax, things are never really as bad as you think they are. What is the saying? And it's an old one - 'tempest in a teacup'.

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September 4, 2024 at 12:02pm

#1076241

Fun Fact

I just had this pop up on my Facebook feed. Too good not to share.

The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Well, because that's the way they built them in England, and English engineers designed the first US railroads. Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the wagon tramways, and that's the gauge they used. So, why did 'they' use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that same wheel spacing. Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break more often on some of the old, long distance roads in England . You see, that's the spacing of the wheel ruts. So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England ) for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since. And what about the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match or run the risk of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome , they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Bureaucracies live forever. So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process and wonder 'What horse's a*s came up with this?', you may be exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses. (Two horses' as*es.) Now, the twist to the story: When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah . The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds. So, a major Space Shuttle design feature, of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system, was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's a*s. And you thought being a horse's a*s wasn't important? Ancient horse's as*es control almost everything.
Read More: https://diaryamazing.com

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