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Friday, Nov. 8, 2024

10:44am EST

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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

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.

August 31, 2024 at 7:22pm

#1075976

Perfect Last of Summer Day

So I'm sitting upstairs by my desk on a coolish last of summer day. The sun is bright, the sky is blue, the wind is a mild breeze. Just a perfect day.

I have a busy night ahead. I have to create two invoices, for each of my little jobs. One for the local paper and one for the refuse committee that I serve. So that should take me about an hour. Then I have to submit my stories for the local paper for next week. But just as I typed this, I now remember the deadline was late Thursday because of the holiday. Well, rats.

I did have to print a retraction of a story from last week. That did make the deadline. I printed something about our water rates rising and how we now should be more mindful of our water usage. Which when you think about this, water usage should always be on your mind. But no...the city called the paper and wanted a retraction of what I wrote. They were mainly upset about the recommendation of conservation. Hmm. Weird, but okay. So I dutifully called and talked to the lady who wrote the VERY confusing letter about the water rates. This letter has everyone in town all worked up. She explained to me about the difference in the charges. And then I had to digest this, think about it, then write a correction. And then I marched down to the city offices to show her what I wrote.

"Is this alright?" She approved, as did the city works director, who heard our conversation and inserted himself into it.

So here's the retraction:

Water rates - a correction from Tanya at the city office.

Seems our water bill is based on two factors, our base rate and our usage rate. The base rate is increasing. The usage rate is not increasing.

Huh. Why didn't that go into her first letter? Writing. Making things clear for others to understand. Seems pretty basic to me.
Base rate depends on the size of your water meter. Usage rate is based on how much water goes through that meter.
Her letter to all those in the city went into EDUs and meter sizes and how much you may pay versus how much you do pay, versus how much you will pay in the future...yada yada yada. A full page full of figures and charts and gobbledegook no one understands. And she admitted as much.

Just thinking about that makes my head hurt.

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August 25, 2024 at 9:13pm

#1075715

Earth & Wind & Fire

Last night I was sitting, reading, when all of a sudden a huge noise made me jump up and look outside. It sounded as if the top of our roof came off. The wind! Mercy sakes. And then some thunder and lightning, but almost no rain.

We are deep into fire season. Dry as a bone. We've let our yard pretty much go brown. Our water rates are rising, and we don't want to suck down all our cash watering our lawn. Let others do it, we don't. It'll come back in the fall and spring. We do water some trees, flowers, and our garden. That's all.

A large fire that started in Wyoming is now into Montana. The Remington fire has burnt about 350,000 acres so far, across those states. This link talks about this fire and others. https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/08/24/more-than-350-00-acres-burned-in-norther...

Now ranchers are worried about no winter feed for their cattle, since fire is burning across grasslands. Wildlife is impacted as well.

I read that some places in Montana are under a Stage 2 evacuation order. So, get ready, get packed. Stage 3 is get out now.

It has been so dry here, little rain storms that barely drop water, wind (such as we had last night) and very low humidity are all leading to wildfires breaking out all over. Every time I hear the fire siren go off on town, I say a prayer for those affected. Be it a car accident or a fire.

We are supposed to have some rain all day tomorrow. Yeah, right. Promises, promises.

1 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

August 21, 2024 at 11:46am

#1075548

Such Drama

I got an amazing notification that this BLOG was nominated for the 2024 Quills award in the Blogging category. Well, thank you for the nomination!

I do try to update my faithful few who read of my goings on in Roundup, MT as often as I can. Life is busy. But for me, that is good. I hate to be bored. I don't like to just sit around with nothing to do. I guess that goes back to my first real job all those many moons ago.

I worked in a diner in town, across from the county courthouse. Slow times, few and far between, were when you picked up a rag and wiped something down. Because, "If you have time to stand around you have time to clean." per the owner. So you find something to do or get relegated to doing something not too pleasant.

Big drama here right now is the increase in a few utility rates. The dump fees increased, and that unleashed a firestorm. But the rates hadn't been raised on over 10 years, so it was time. Now the water and sewer rates are being raised. So every household in Roundup got a very cryptic letter from the city about meter size and water flow and EDUs and your rate change.

Mercy me. So, I actually had to research what EDU means. Seems it means:
What is an Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU)?
An Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU) is the typical volume and strength of the wastewater generated by a single family home. One EDU = 188 gallons of wastewater per day or 68,620 gallons per year with a strength factor of 1.0. This formula is for FY 2021/22 sewer service charges.

HUH??? Now the letter addresses the EDU issue in water usage, not sewer. The person in the city office who wrote the letter is getting numerous complaints and comments by phone and on the internet. So it stands to reason, if you know what the terms mean it makes sense, but if your audience doesn't, be ready for some pushback. She acknowledges that perhaps she didn't do a good job of explaining the issue.

Writing is important people. Not just fiction, but as this goes to show, explaining everyday problems and situations to others.

The new water rates are to help fund a new source coming into town. Our current source of water is bad, as are most water wells in the area. Our city water is heavy in minerals, manganese and iron mostly. It smells bad, looks bad, wears out appliances and fixtures in your home in a few years. We have a filter system in our house and drink reverse osmosis water.

The good part of all this, the upside, no more bottled water for everyone in town. Hurrah! I hate plastic, I use a metal water bottle and refill it at home. We don't buy all that plastic. So people should rejoice they don't have to do that any more.

On a lighter note, the weather is changing. The sun has turned to a different path. Temperatures are a little more moderate. The garden is full of spaghetti squash, all volunteer plants. How did that happen??? Well, I threw out a rotten one early in the spring. Voilá! 20 squash now ripening. Grasshoppers are eating everything. Kids are back in school today.

Fall is almost here.

1 Like • Comment • View 3 comments

August 8, 2024 at 6:43pm

#1074949

Cooler Temps!

I finally got to go hiking the other day. About 2-3 miles over a calm trail near the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness - not too far from the Beartooh Highway near Red Lodge. We turned away from a stream crossing, not wanting wet feet, me, and running across wet rocks with a bum knee and bum hand, me. But that's okay. I did it. And it was good. Hot day, soaking wet with sweat, but that's okay.

Today we are at least 40° cooler than that heat wave of days past. Amazing weather flip with a storm the other day.

I saw the doctor about my hand today. Things still are improving, but the surgery was intense and it will take a year or more for it to be totally considered healed. Yep, a year. Bummer. I have no strength in my left hand. None at all, but I can finally grip things a bit. Cut my fingernails. Small victories.

OctoPrep is looking for another cheerleader - are you game? Let me know!

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August 2, 2024 at 12:31pm

#1074683

The Heat is on

Another round of hot weather hit us. Yesterday the thermometer hit 100°. Today it's supposed to go just a bit higher. I walked around town, and it was every bit that extreme. I was one big bundle of sweat when I got home. One of those 'change all the clothes and wash yourself off' kind of sweating. Then lay down for a time. Drink lots of water. Eat some light food for lunch.

But it's all good at night when the temperature goes into the 60's. Tonight we may not be so lucky.

I'm in another play. This one's a real hilarious take on a boarding house, and all the characters in it. Seems they are looking for supposed buried gold in the basement. I play a hypochondriac. I think I have one ailment after another. Cold, pneumonia, toe fungus, among others. Should be funny, I know we laugh a lot during rehearsals. I'm riding with another lady from Roundup, so the drive through the deer suicide highway is not stressful for me. I give her a donation each trip for gas. Also for taking the stress off me and my driving my new-to-us car down the short trip and hitting a deer.

I am going to a church board meeting Sunday and telling the group I am stepping down from another position at church. I already am giving up printing the weekly bulletins for the worship service. I was doing it until they found someone else, as a favor. Well, that's been going on for a year. Time's up. Now I will also not be doing the communication for the church. So many reasons. One of which is no one tells me, the communications person, what is going on. So I'm eliminating this stressor as well. Sorry, but you know, not sorry.

The past two years have so challenging for me. I have two part-time jobs now. I need to channel my energies to what I love. And the creative juices, if you will, to what I am good at. Writing.

1 Like • Comment

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