Back in Montana

I'm back out west after a great visit to Virginia for the holidays! The flights were delayed a bit and I didn't get back home until 3 this morning, but as long as you arrive safely can you really complain that much? There is a little snow here in town (very little) but it is still warmer in Montana than it was in Virginia when I left...so there! As promised there are some holiday pictures to be located here, some Virginia landscape pictures here and some pictures of my alma mater, Virginia Tech located here. All in all it was a great visit back east, but I know I was glad to see my dogs and sleep in my own bed; however short a time it was, last night. To tell the truth, I was glad to see this little town in the middle of nowhere Montana. It's good to be home!

Entertaining Again...and enjoying it!

Here is the deal; I have to redecorate the outside of the house. Mother nature did a number on my outdoor decorations this week and now they are in the front yard rather than on the house...and of course now it is cold (currently 14 outside) so climbing up on the ladder again will not be the easy task it was the first time. I hope to have that done tomorrow morning prior to watching the ACC Championship Game and rooting for the Hokies to get revenge on the Eagles of BC!

Tonight I am going to a friends house for a surprise birthday party! That ought to be fun...and tasty; I heard that there is going to be Aces chicken there (only the best fried chicken north of the Mason Dixon Line!) We're supposed to park up by the car wash and walk down to their house (next block east), I may just walk from the office; it's not like this is a huge town so it's not too far.

I am hosting a Christmas party at my house on the 14th; having some friends over and having a good time...we'll see how it goes in the small house! I'll probably have to put the dogs outside; I'm sure that Maggie will love that! I don't know what to make for the party...any suggestions? I may do a brioche as a dessert and maybe a batch of lil' smokies...everyone likes lil' smokies right?

Speaking of pork products, I just put in for a hog from one of my ranchers. I am hoping to go out and help process the meat when they butcher...you just can't beat buying right off the farm; well, maybe growing it yourself (not an option for me since I live in town). That will mean that I have pheasant, pork, and deer to choose from...not to bad. I am also hoping to get some shell beans from this rancher; pintos to be exact. I do hope that they have some left. Maybe next year I can buy a little bit of malting barley from them and try my hand at home brewing. I've tried wine making and would like to try beer...we'll see.

I went over to the primary school today for Native American week. The Native American Club at the high school came over and did some native dances for the kids. Pictures can be found here.

Last Week, Weekend, and Upcoming

Wow, last week we had an amazing wind storm across Montana! The wind was blowing so many tumbleweeds that it actually stopped train! The train ran over the tumbleweed and got stuck on them and then the tumbleweeds actually buried the train...it was pretty neat. I was driving over to Billings during this and the interstate was black with tumbleweed; fortunately, I did not get stuck on them!

I did hit a deer on the interstate last week...just caught a rear hoof so there isn't any damage to the truck, but it was close. It's amazing when these bucks get something on their minds how they lose track of everything else. Anyway, I am kind of glad that it was a deer and not a 'lope or an elk...certainly not an elk.

I went pheasant hunting again this weekend and I brought home another bird. I am probably going to hunting again of Friday...really looking forward to it. I am also looking for a dog, probably a German Shorthair, but there are some Weims for sale here in Hardin right now...so we'll see.

I got the outside Christmas decorations up this past weekend as well. We are having unseasonably warm weather in Montana right now, so I figured I'd get it done before the cold sat in later this week...the high on Wednesday is 29. I will probably work on the inside decorations this week. There are a few folks that want to have another party at my place so I want to get things decorated before that. I guess that I will be buying most of my decorations new this year...I used to have some really nice things, but the whore that I was married to thought that those things would be better suited to her and she kept them in the divorce...not that I had much say in the matter. I am planning to go get a tree on Wednesday or Thursday...I have to get a "permanent" tree due to travel times this holiday season and since there aren't any trees in Eastern Montana.

Plans for this Weekend and Beyond

I bought airline tickets for a trip back east for Christmas yesterday; they are terribly expensive. The airlines surely know that they have you around the holidays. I guess it is still cheaper than driving, but it is a huge chunk of money to lay out for travel.

Now, for the weekend plans. I think that tonight I may go to the Roadrunners 4-H club party. That should be fun. Tomorrow I am planning on going pheasant hunting in the morning before I have to go to my part time job serving beer and porn to the citizens of Big Horn County. I am looking forward to the hunting, maybe I can work off enough agression killing birds that I can put up with some of the idiots that come in looking for beer and/or porn. Sunday, I don't have any firm plans, but I may go fishing or maybe go over to Billings for a while...who knows!

UNO and 4-H...what could be better?

Well, this weekend was fun. Saturday we had a few friends over for a small function. We had WAAAAAAYYYYYY too much food; but it was all tasty! I made a crock full of chili, which turned out very nice. I tend to make things hotter than most folks like, but this was not too bad; especially since a couple of guys thought that they would test their masculinity and eat the super chilis that I use to spice up the pot before the peppers could really make the chili too warm. After that we ended up getting a rowdy game of UNO going; anyone who doesn't think that UNO can be a contact sport should come to my place and play!

Sunday was our 4-H achievement day; where we recognize the kids' accomplishments during the 4-H year. We had a decent turnout, but it was the first day of general deer and elk season in Montana so our turnout was affected by this all important holiday. I gave out the overall achievment in agriculture award this year to a girl who is not a ranch kid. I chose her because her knowledge base jumped exponentially during this year after taking on new projects (she did swine and lamb for the first time). It is very encouraging to me to see 4-Hers take an interest in ag who aren't exposed to it as a way of life. I also got to recognize my teen club during the program. What a great group of kids this is to work with! I have seen growth in these kids that has completely blown me away. I don't want to brag, but I think some of the best leaders will come out of this group. They are amazing! Now, my only concern with this group is where are all of the boys? My "typical" teen leader is a thirteen year old girl...you'd think that would be a selling point to the boys! Oh well, I recruited a couple of boys yesterday to join so we'll see what happens.

Finding a Niche

I am hosting my first party in Hardin this weekend. I don't know how many folks I have showing up, but it should be interesting in the little house. I think the plan is to do some cooking, so I guess I should go to the IGA this evening and buy something tasty! It is fun making a niche and finding friends in this community. It is rather easy to meet people, partly due to my job, and partly because this is a fairly open community; albeit with some social issues (but what location doesn't have its social issues?).