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Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024

8:52am EST

Members: 752

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Total Online: 2,533

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 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.

July 28, 2024 at 11:27am

#1074499

The heat is gone - for now

The heat that pressed us down for about a week dissipated for the weekend. Today it's cloudy and cooler. Nice.

Everyone is wondering how we make it without air-conditioning. Quite simple, actually. You just do it. Close up the house during the day, keep the curtains and windows and doors shut. Because you opened them at night, when the temps cool off. We use fans to circulate that cooler air.

Our first floor stays at least 15-20° cooler than outside if we do all this. The second floor? Not so much. But that's okay. Still hot? Take a cool bath, put a wet towel on your neck. Wear cool clothes. Drink lots of water, not alcohol, not caffeine.

We're in for another round of heat this coming week. No worries. It is summer, after all. We grew up without air-conditioning. Let me tell you, nothing like living in a humid NE Ohio in July and August in a heat wave. And of course, cars back then didn't have it either. So you didn't want to be in the middle of the back seat with your brother and sister on either side.

I found out that the newspaper publisher is giving ownership of the paper to another writer sometime the end of this year. I am meeting with her this coming week to discuss her plans going forward. Perhaps my role will be larger? We'll see. I've gotten quite a few compliments on my contribution to the paper. We put in each week a little column "Seen around Town" - kind of a play on 'scene' and 'round' as in 'Roundup'.

I write this little blurb throughout the week, then send it in sometime before noon on Sunday. Seems to be an easy gig so far.

Everyone enjoy these last few weeks of summer. We'll be getting cooler before we know it here in Montana. Our summer is at best 8-10 weeks. But this year, well, who knows.

1 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

July 22, 2024 at 12:34pm

#1074274

Heat

Holy cow it's hot - we are in the midst of a heat wave. As a great portion of the US. But for Montana, this is unusual. Usually, it'll hot for a day or two or three. But for a week or two, pretty unusual.

We don't have A/C in our home. It gets pretty cool at night, so we open the house, let it cool off and close all the windows during the day. The next two days are to be 100° with a cool-down coming after that. Mercy. I have my office and pretty much all my business on the second floor. And it does get pretty hot up here.

In the green, which my husband is tending this year, the potatoes are growing fine, as are the tomatoes. But the spinach bolted - went to seed - as spinach likes to do when it gets hot. The kale will probably do the same soon. There are melons or squash coming on. He's not sure which. So, I try not to boss around the manager of the garden. It will succeed or fail, it's up to him. I cannot do much still with my hand.

There is a big controversy, as expected, with the increase on everyone's taxes for the dump site. A lot of misinformation, the rumors and lies. Curious how some tales get told. I wrote a little blurb for the paper. Since I sit on the governing board as secretary/treasurer and can submit to the paper, I have a pretty good idea of what actually is going on.

Speaking of the paper, I had to insert two corrections this week. I didn't give credit to the proper non-profit for the 'Shakespeare in the Park' presentation a few weeks ago. And I gave bad information about the summer free lunch program for children. Oops. But, I will admit my mistakes.

So it's summer, it is supposed to be hot. Soon it will be winter here. I will enjoy the sun and warm while I can.

6 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

July 12, 2024 at 5:16pm

#1073874

Rising temps

Well the heat is continuing its march across the country. Now here in Montana, at least in my little neck of the woods, it's in the 100's. But humidity is low. 10-20%. So tolerable. I hate a/c. We don't have it in our home. We use fans, keep the house closed up during the day, open it at night when the temps go down in the 70's.

But now I am battling an eye problem. Of course, I get one thing taken care of, another issue crops up. Dry eye, what a bug-a-boo. So, not to bore you with details. But, our eyes are self-regulating. A biofilm forms and is usually taken care of, unless you have dry eyes. Natural tears form, you don't have gritty feeling, scratchy eyes. Somehow I don't have enough tears or the tears evaporate or something else is going on. And now there is an infection because of all this foolishness. Great. It causes blurred vision, I can't read or use the computer well, or drive. I use eye drops all the time. And now an ointment medicine. I also have an itchy eye, I just want to take out my eyeball and scratch it. And you know that won't happen.

Okay - well onto more exciting news. The dump. Ha - we now need to inform taxpayers that we are adding $140 a year to the taxes of each taxpayer in the county. Hmm. This is for the waste cost for the county. I think I mentioned before the waste service company raised the rates to the county 61% this year. Yep. Out of the blue. Well, it turns out not really, but the anticipated raise was between 3-4%. Seems the commissioners had foreseen more than that. So they squirreled away a little extra $$ just in case. The notice will come out in a week or so. So now the people coming out to the dump will be even more joyous than before. Ha.

Life is fun and games. And price of everything just keeps rising - even for garbage.

Like • Comment • View 3 comments

July 7, 2024 at 10:32am

#1073636

RIDE into the sunset

The town had a spectacular fireworks show last night - it went on for at least half an hour. I watched from the sidewalk outside. No way I was walking over to the park in the dark, or driving with the crowd.

RIDE attracts thousands for the two concerts every year. We volunteer, usually one night, to sell entry wristbands. $50 for an adult. But it's good for two nights of concerts. I guess that's an okay price, I have never attended any kind of concert, ever.

So we are placed in a little trailer, given the cash box and a credit card reader. Hmm. Have to figure this thing out. Seems it's pretty easy. So I get the first sale done, no problem. Then the volunteer eventually comes in, "Oh, let me show you how to use this device." Duh. "Well, thanks, but I figured it out." So he stays and watches me do a few. Satisfied, he eventually leaves. Then I show the other two volunteers how to do it.

So, word to all you that supervise volunteers - show the people what to do and how to do things before the **** hits the fan and you have 20 or 30 people standing in front of you demanding whatever you're selling. I mean, I'm usually a quick learner, but some are not.

Fireworks are legal in town from June 24 to July 5, 9 am til 11 pm. I think I posted this before. And so of course some are still shooting off them last night after dark. Really? Come on people. Aggravating.

So the 'big dance' is over for the town. I pray everyone made a bit of money, had some fun. There were large groups at the museum each day, so that is good. There are always class high school reunions, so those are great for people to reconnect. Just good small town fun.

We've been enjoying some coolish weather, but that is about to change. Ugh. I like the thunderstorms that roll through, the rain is nice. One night the wind just was wicked, but love that cool air for sleeping. Since we don't have a/c, I'm not looking forward to a heatwave.

I posted in the Book Brothel group about a book I just read. "James" by Percival Everett. If you have a chance to get a copy, by all means do, It's the author's telling of the story of Huckleberry Finn and Jim, the slave. It is a powerful book, makes you think.

Like • Comment • View 1 comment

July 2, 2024 at 1:50pm

#1073467

RIDE

Roundup is gearing up for a big RIDE - Roundup Independence Day Extravaganza. So this party lasts from July 3 to July 7. This year there are 2 parades, 2 concerts, a kid's carnival for several days, 2 rodeo events, lots of other ancillary stuff. And fireworks. Always the blast of ordnances over and around my home.

It's been cool and a bit rainy. Nice for the end of June and beginning of July.

The neighbor to our North is in a bit of trouble, I found out. He erected a very nice fence. But didn't get a permit for it. Hmm. I remember asking him about this. "Did you get a permit?" He assured me he had. This was after a city council meeting where this issue was hotly debated by another citizen. So, he can be fined up to $100 a day, per the enforcer, if he doesn't comply. Uh oh. Add to this the fact they just had a new baby, are new owners of a restaurant and have 2 other small children, and seems like it's a real circus over there. But it's not my circus and not my monkeys.

I'm in trouble again with something I wrote about for the paper. Drama. This has to do with the summer food program for children. Seems I put out information about one entity that wants nothing to do with the other group that is actually doing the food program. And it cannot be changed at this late date. Soooo - I now have to retract what I wrote and apologize to that first group. Just another thing on my to-do list. Like the publisher told me a while back, there will always be someone that will be mad about something.

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