Another Outdoorsy Mother's Day

On May 8, 2010, I published a blog post titled “10 Ideas for an Outdoorsy Mother’s Day”. The post got some feedback, but the Squidoo Lens I made on the topic has done pitifully – at least in the internet traffic department.

I was hoping to inspire moms to get active and do something besides going out to eat for Mother’s Day. Women are always complaining about the size of their hips and how guilty they feel for eating. I thought if they got moving they could relinquish their guilt, stay fit, and look and feel better.

After a delightfully slow-moving morning of snoozing in bed while my teen daughters prepared a brunch of scrambled eggs, lemony muffins, strawberries, and coffee, I stayed in my pajamas until 3:30 p.m. looking at slideshows of about 1600 digital photographs of the National Bison Range – that we had taken the day before on our annual trip to Moise.

Then, I took my own advice.

When that was over, I put on my bike pants and the family and I went out for a ride to the park.
Woodland Park was busy with families soaking up the sunshine.
We ran into the odiferous Bloombergs,

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Hope you had a great Mother's Day!

Till next time,

Marlene

Muzzleloading: A Dream

Powder, patch, and ball, or it won’t shoot at all. Follow this and you’ll be okay, unless a dream gets in your way.

I’ve been down more muddy Montana roads this spring than ever before and the narrow one-lane road to the muzzleloading range can be particularly scary because it is winding and steep. I am thankful for 4-wheel drive. However, I must admit it gets kind of fun when we get to flatter ground and drive through soggy ruts. Briefly we are propelled through the woods like an amusement ride - as in when you play like you are doing the driving on a mechanized kiddy car track, but the machine is in control - not you.

The mood was upbeat last Sunday as the sun was out for a change which made it warm and pleasant. The fire was going, but from the looks of things hardly anyone felt it necessary to stand up-close for warmth. continue reading 

Till next time,

Marlene

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Ten Things My Mother Taught Me

1.  Honesty is the best policy – Of course, it is. “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”

2.  The truth hurts –  Whether we are the giver or receiver of the truth, it can be unpleasant.

3.  It’s nice to be different – Following the crowd is ordinary, standing apart from the crowd is extraordinary.

4.  Bring your own candy to the theatre – This is a no-brainer. It’s a lot cheaper to buy it from the dime store <------ (stores used to have candy that actually costs only 10 cents) than to buy it from the overpriced candy counter at the show.

5.  Recycling – Not the modern type of recycling where people pay to have someone pick up their bottles and cans from a container they have set out on the curb, but the old fashioned kind where one reuses everyday household items.

6.  Give right where right is do – I’ve preached this one many times over the years in my own family. Teachers haven’t liked it so much, because sometimes they have been wrong and my kids have been right.

7.  Pay your own way – This one is simple. Nobody likes a mooch.

8.  Reciprocate – Return a good deed. If someone has you over for barbecue, have them over for crawfish.

9.  Life is full of disappointments – Life is a roller coaster of ups and downs. It’s best not to dwell on the downs, and get over them as best you can and move on.

10.  It takes all kinds to make a world – Mom always said it would be pretty darn boring if we were all alike. And yes, it would.

Happy Mother's Day!

Marlene

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"Pinch Me" Moments

A herd of elk look small in the shadow of the Swan Range.

On Facebook, the question of when was your “pinch me” moment was asked by my cousin. Immediately upon reading it, I typed in “living in Montana” and hit enter. There have been numerous “pinch me” moments in my life, and as such, I feel grateful to have had them.

Marriage at 17 with 3 children by the time I was 21 seems unreal at times, as does my husband buying our family a home with an in-ground swimming pool. The pool was totally unexpected, and for a brief time I felt as though we had sold out. I know it’s weird but I thought by moving into such a home and neighborhood we had become part of “the establishment“, which for a “boomer” like me, wasn’t something I cared to do. Giving birth to my two girls after 40 also qualifies as “pinch me” moments, and often I am astounded that David and I are almost done with raising a second family.

My list seems endless. Everything from awe-inspiring vacations to being a grandmom of 15 are on my list. But for the sake of brevity, I will stick to a “pinch me” moment in Montana as my life here has held much in the way of dream-like experiences.

Recently after leaving the abandoned property where David and I had taken pictures before returning to pick up the girls from Hunter Education, we stopped to look at the elk. It was the 2nd time we had seen this particular herd; the first time being off of Trapp Road. continue reading

Till next time,

Marlene