Time Out

• I may be off-line for a few days since a virus has infected our computer & I had a dickens of a time even getting to create this post.
  
  Esther is home & has brought her friend, Claire, with her. Esther had spent the last month at Claire's home, helping to run a bed & breakfast. Yesterday, the forested area near Evaro was evacuated due to the wild fire all along the ridge in back of Claire's home. Highway 93N towards Kalispel was also closed...leaving Claire stranded. She will be staying with us for now.
  
  The poor air quality has given me a continual sinus headache. A couple of my friends with lung problems have completely left Montana for the West Coast to escape the heat & thick smoke.
  
  In the midst of these circumstances, we find God to be our strength & song!! Hoping that He is that for you too in whatever circumstances you are facing.

Photo opportunities lost

It's a soupy brown-grey morning due to the smoke of our nearby forest fires. Louis has been experiencing chest pain after mowing the lawn & other yard work. I can both smell & taste the smoke while working in the garden or watering. In these present circumstances, I have missed two great photo ops. because my camera was not ready to capture the scene.

For a couple of weeks we have noticed a large amount of fall apples when we first let the dogs out in the morning. (Yes, it is now two goldens. Genny is back here with Ari, since our friend, Jan Hall is in a rehab. unit near the hospital for the present. We are grooming Genny & generally caring for her until we know what Jan will have to do long-term.) Some of the apples had been partially bitten - not pecked...clearing the chickens. One evening at dusk, I chanced upon the culprit. A medium-sized doe was standing on her back legs & gingerly picking apples off our trees in her fully stretched-out form. Mind you, these are still green apples that the wasps are not interested in yet. I quietly called Louis to also watch what had been happening before we scared her away.

Where was my camera?

Last week-end my extended family celebrated my parents' 60th wedding anniversary. On Saturday we all drove up the Bitterroot Valley past Sula to eat at the Broad Ax Lodge. A couple of Highway 93 curves before the Sula store, a small flock of wild mountain goats sauntered across the highway in front of us. The rams led the way, followed by the ewes, some with young kids. Now, where was my camera? I had even forgotten to bring it for this important family occasion. The next day we hosted a community potluck at my folk's church after the worship service to honor my parents' special day. I had still forgotten to pick up that camera in my rush to gather all the food & decoration items.

Rest Stops Enroute to Chicago

We ignored Wall Drug on this trip, choosing instead to stop at the pretty rest area in Chamberlain, South Dakota, overlooking the Missouri River. A Lewis & Clark Exhibition is on permanent display there, since it is built on the site of Camp Pleasant -also called Plum Camp for the large, sweet wild plums growing in the area.

The lower floor has numerous displays that explain Lewis & Clark's Encampment & the Indians they met here over 200 years ago. The upper floor is built like the top of their keel boat.
A portion of the boat deck sticks out like a balcony from which to view the picnic areas & the Missouri River.

Lewis & Clark transferred to a smaller boat after this camp & sent several men back with the keel boat. It was loaded with specimens of new plant & animal life for President Jefferson. Live prairie dogs & magpies were sent along with the mounted animals seen in this display. We lingered over the exhibit since the building was air-conditioned against the over 100 degree temperature outside. Both rest stops for our nights on the road are shown in the last picture. Our Yukon XL was surprisingly comfortable as Louis & I took turns driving & sleeping through parts of Montana & Wyoming the first night. Albert Lea, Minnesota was our rest stop for the second night...close to the junction of I-90 with I-35 running to Minneapolis in the north & to Des Moines, Iowa in the south.

Rest Stops enroute to Chicago #2

Before this trip, I had never seen recycling trash cans at rest areas. They're at all the rest areas in Wisconsin & Illinois. The flower beds at those same rest areas are beautiful. Note the huge red & pink Hibiscus blooms & hanging flower pots at one area, as well as the ubiquitous recycling bins behind me.

At LaCrosse, Wisconsin, we left I-90 to drive Hwy. 35 S along the Mississippi River. Some of this upper Mississippi is wide... some is channeled into much narrower stretches with locks & dams. Iowa is on the farther shore.

More of those recycling receptacles - in Illinois this time - along with the meticulous flower beds.

The final rest stop for five days in Lincolnshire, Illinois (a new, elite northern suburb of Chicago) was the Marriott Resort at which the UMJC Conference was held. Our second floor room was just above that wooden lattice arbor seat. It overlooked the main entry to the Marriott with its small waterfall & goldfish.

Rest Stops - Return Trip

Our first rest stop on our return trip was between Chicago & Rockford, Illinois in a small burg called Marengo. Louis has two co-workers at DirecTV from the Chicago area that swore Joe's Place in Marengo was a mandatory rest stop for lunch...It supposedly has the best Chicago Hot Dogs served on poppy seed buns. We waited until 2:00 p.m. for lunch at this renowned place & found the Vienna Beef hot dog overpriced, somewhat tasteless & redeemed only by the good bun & condiments. The home fries that were served with the hot dogs were spectacular! Louis says they're the best fries he's ever tasted. As we drove near the outskirts of Marengo, we saw a "Chicken Broast" sign posted near a large field with maybe fifty cars parked around a picnic area. "Roast" we know, but "Broast"? This community has an annual outing when the corn is being harvested. They roast/barbecue (therefore "broast") chickens & grill ears of corn for the entire community while enjoying a sort of 4th of July picnic day except at the end of July.

We loved these painted rest area bathroom doors at Hansel Lake, Wisconsin. This type of duck was swimming in several of the small lakes of the region.

At Bismarck, North Dakota, we stopped to find my Grandma Evelyn's gravesite. This cool waterfall & pool was near the main gate of the cemetery & was so welcome in the 103 degree heat.

Wheat Montana, outside of Three Forks, Montana, was our last rest stop of the trip. As my parents know the original owners of Wheat Montana, we stop here almost every time we head East towards Bozeman or Billings. Wheat Montana started out as a small bakery next door to the Christian Supply Center that my Dad managed in Bozeman, MT. When we would visit Dad at that store, the smell of the baking bread was so tantalizing! One day as we left the store, we noticed a dog taking a leak on the rack of newly baked loaves that had been set out to cool just outside the bakery. With this image implanted in our minds, the smell of bread was no longer as enticing for us during later visits. Nevertheless, we have remained loyal friends & customers as the business expanded & added more locations - even Missoula now. We just inspect our purchases rather carefully!

Louis's favorite sites on our Chicago Trip

What tourist site comes to your mind when I say we visited one for several hours in Mitchell, South Dakota? Maybe the Corn Palace? Let me give you a hint. There's another one similar to it, but uniquely different in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin...the oldest town on the Upper Mississippi River. Historical monuments? Nope! Louis made sure that we spent plenty of time perusing both Cabela's stores on our trip to Chicago. He has ordered hunting gear, fishing tackle & other assorted sporting goods from the Cabela's catalog for years. His burning desire was to see first-hand those hunting tents you can shoot through, to examine in-person the lightest fishing poles that could be folded up & easily carried in a backpack & whatever other marvels he could find in this male paradise. The stores were loaded with animal mounts placed in tableaus. As Louis shopped & dreamed, I walked around the stores ignoring the merchandise & enjoying all the work of the artists & taxidermists.

We ate a scrumptious lunch at the cafe that you can glimpse behind the Grizzly Bear.

Smoked elk sandwiches, turtle cheesecake & 1919 Root Beer - how delicious!

Fowl displays were under the numerous counters at all of the checkstands.

The largest tableaus were at the opposite end of the store from the front door, & drew your attention immediately upon entering. These were composed of mini-scenes when you got close enough to see the smaller animals - often the prey of the larger ones.

In the middle of the store was a giant aquarium boasting a variety of live fish & turtles. I had as much fun watching this Amish family enjoy the aquarium as I did seeing the fish. It took several minutes for me to catch the whole family unawares.

Home on the Range has changed into productive farmland.

We arrived home safely after our 3700 mile round-trip to
Chicago through hundreds of miles of tassled corn fields
alternating with fields of soybeans. The hay along I-90 &
I-94 had been mowed & rolled in the median & along the
shoulders.


Great farm settings caught our eye every few miles.
They all had silos for the corn. Some like the two
here in upper Minnesota boasted their own lakes.
We crossed the Mississippi River in Minneapolis on
the I-94 bridge within sight of the I-35W bridge that
collapsed only two evenings after we drove within a
mile or two of it.

A couple of the lakes along I-94 were a

sanctuary for pelicans, herons & a variety of ducks.

More about this trip will be blogged soon.

Continuing to Fight the Wildlife & Chicago-bound for the annual UMJC Convention.

Deer & black/brown butterflies have now entered the competition for our flowers & raspberries. Below is how some of our flower barrels look. Above is what they look like after I chased away a young doe. The multiple days of high heat have dried out the pastures & fields around here, so the deer are venturing close to our electic fencing to snatch lucious morsels. The butterflies appear to be in competition with the grasshoppers on who can eat the most raspberries. They are flying & jumping all around me as I pick. One rather large grasshopper sat on a ripe raspberry & looked straight at me, refusing to jump & give up his lunch. I believe a few ants have also entered the competition. The squirrels kept up their chatter as I picked, but they prefer to steal & store our strawberries.

A wasp stung me while I was near our back porch. Baking soda paste took care of the sting, but I hunted down those buggers. They don't know any better than to lead you right to their nest. These wasps built hives in our bird feeder... so I taped up the holes. On our return from the Chicago trip, I'll untape them & return them to their original use.

This week has flown as I have caught up on all the cleaning, laundry, garden weeding, daily intensive watering to hold the lawn & garden in this long stretch of 90-107 degree heat & also to prepare for our 10-12 day drive to Chicago starting tomorrow after services at Beth Tephila. We will be attending the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations Annual Conference. Louis & Ron Smith brought home the kaput Grand Am. (That's another story.) I took our Yukon to Hamilton for a tune-up & brakes job that took two days. We picked two cherry trees & shared the bounty with my parents, two friends with birthdays this week & of course the ever-present bees, wasps & birds. After blogging I will be freezing the remainder of the cherries, which are sitting on a tarp downstairs where it is cool. I planned to freeze the cherries yesterday, but ended up defrosting our upright freezer instead. After moving its contents to our chest freezer, it took much of the day to defrost the heavy build-up of frost so there would be room for the pickings of cherries & raspberries. I found several food items buried in the frost that I had forgotten were in the freezer!! Louis took two homemade tamales to work today as a result.

One of the grossest things that can happen to you.

Do you remember the tiny shoes photos from Japan? My niece & nephew flew to China from Japan for their vacation. Here is one of my niece's experiences in her own words:

Have you ever found yourself wondering what is one of the grossest things that can happen to you? I now have an answer to that thought. On the night train from Beijing to Shanghai- my old bladder wasn't as big and strong as I thought. Around 5 am I was forced to use the dirty, smelly, stinky, rotten, horrible, foul train bathroom. The toilet was of the squat variety. I did the duty ok- but the problem arose when I went to exit. The toilet was made of a shiny chrome looking material. Since no one ever really aims for the actual toilet itself- the area was covered in a kind of gelatinous urine coating. The combination of chrome and jello pee- made the floor area feel like an ice skating rink. When I tried to stand up I slipped- and of all the places to land- my poor, poor foot went down into the nasty, nasty, hole of the squat toilet. So......May you all be thankful for clean western style toilets today!

Hair Mayo for Head Lice or as an Oil Treatment

Of the things I learned at 7th Grade Camp, the most unique was that when
one of the camper's hair was being French-braided & lice nits were found, we
discovered:
. 7th graders can respond positively when supported correctly.
. mayonnaise used as a thick hair cream or shampoo that stays on 10-12
hours suffocates the lice & actually does a better job than medicated shampoos
like "Rid" according to the MD consulted. It also costs pennies versus big bucks
when you have 18 campers to shampoo.
. 18 sets of bedding can be washed in very hot water & dried on the hottest
setting of a dryer all in one day - if you keep working on it & have three washers
& two dryers to work with.




Getting a couple of cans of hair paint & having the Director announce a "crazy
hair day" for the entire camp, along with contests, made the delousing fun & uniting!





Even the cooks at camp mayo-treated their hair & got to be part of the panel
who judged the campers' hairdo styles. Banana splits, exemption from dish-
washing detail and other similar rewards were given to the finalists.

Best of all, the mayo acted like an "oil treatment" & our hair was extra soft &
shiny when we finally got to rinse out the mayo!

Off to Camp Utmost for 7th grade camp

I'll see you again in a week. This week is committed to serving the 7th graders as their nurse. For once, I'll be working with many others from Lolo Community Church rather than those from Lone Rock. Have a great summer week!

Happy Fourth of July!

America, America, God has shed His grace on thee.

Oh, that you would respond to such wondrous grace by returning to Him.

Heat & Changes

Dear friends living in Israel are now communicating that they expect & are preparing for war in July - possibly against as many as five enemies at once. (Ezekiel 38?) Ari, Karlovy & Moriah pictured here were a couple of those friends. They were visiting family in the US the last couple of weeks, so we were able to share dinner & an evening of fellowship with them before they returned to Israel this past Friday. Ari is one of Israel's 25 snipers. He spoke as though he did not know if he will survive this month. We shared God's plan for Israel from the Word.

Because of struggles in several arenas, Esther is moving back home in the next couple of days. How long she will stay is yet to be determined. It is fitting that she is returning during the hottest days in our summer so far.

Louis was just informed at DirecTV that his work days & hours may yet change again. He is always working just outside his comfort zone at work, but doing well none-the-less.



One of my nephews just had his pregnant wife leave him. He is devastated... having done everything he could think of & following all the counseling advise he & his wife received over the last several months to prevent this. HaSatan is moving about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour... individual Christian families or Israel.

Fruit & Opposition

Do you remember those flowering fruit trees several entries ago? They are all loaded with fruit now, as are the strawberry plants. When we start picking our berries & see the apples, pears, cherries & apricots beginning to ripen..... the grasshoppers, bees, wasps, birds & squirrels are all starting to show up for the feast. They didn't do any of the work of planting, pruning, watering, or fertilizing. Yet, they always appear without fail to profit from the results. We placed netting over the strawberries & will do the same for the cherry trees tonight. We searched out the wasp nests & sprayed them. Our chickens roam about our garden & lawn freely (free range) & grasshoppers are a real treat to them. We've placed out "big stinky pots" out along the fence to catch the flies & other insects attracted to rotting meat. All this in an effort to retain some of the harvest for ourselves.

The children who attended our recent VBS & had seed sown in their lives are considered ripe bait by our enemy. Without a doubt he is already snatching what seed he can from their minds. We are trying to follow up with not only those who made decisions, but with all the "unchurched" as well as "churched" attendees. We are visiting & writing follow-up letters, inviting them to our AWANA program, Sunday School, church camps & so forth. We are also praying for the Holy Spirit to continue working in their lives.