A Wedding and Roadkill - What?

This past weekend I traveled to Montana for my nephew Chase's wedding.  They live in the far northeast part of the state, just a few miles south of the Canadian border.  To get anywhere in Montana your options for airports are pretty sparse. This time I flew into Bozeman as one of my brothers lives about an hour from there. I spent the night at his house and then he and I and his 2 daughters headed for the wedding the next day. Can you say long roadtrip? It takes about 7 hours if you can keep at 75, don't have construction delays or car problems. To make things interesting on these road trips when I was in college and when my kids were little, we used to play games - like "can you name the 2 house town we just went through?" or "what was the name of that bridge?"  I used to be an expert at that. This time I decided to write down all the roadkill we saw, as well as other interesting sights. So here it is (in order):
Deer
Raccoon
Jack rabbit
Antelope
Unknown - big mess!
Bunny
Deer
Gopher
Grouse
Pheasant
Porcupine
Snake
Gopher
Gopher
Gopher
Gopher
Gopher ...(there were a lot - I kind of lost track)
Skunk
Raccoon
Raccoon

Interesting sights:
Wild turkey
Chinese ring-necked pheasant
White buffalo
A Hutterite woman with a wagon and horse selling something beside the road
Sea gull
Llama
Man in a green top hat driving a pickup that must have been held together with baling wire and duct tape
Camel statue made out of car wheels
White donkey

I just had to sing along with my brother's old CD's from the 70's - old country and Neil Diamond for the most part. I'm sure he loved me serenading him to "He's Not Heavy, He's My Brother". Not sure what my nieces were laughing about in the back seat. Hey, it's a very long drive.  Here is a pic of those wonderful nieces Jodi and Katie.

And of course the wedding was wonderful We know how to throw a Redfield wedding! It was held in a hayfield on the homestead. As typical for NE MT, the wind was howling, but it was wonderful none-the-less.

 Before the wedding Hanna came to see Grandma - looking beautiful as a bride should.

 Glad to see she had on the right shoes (correction, boots) for a country wedding.

Here she is with Mom. She fits right in with our family and we're proud to call her a Redfield girl (and she cleans up well too!).

 Mom and the other grandparents. See what I mean about the wind?

 My sisters Lisa and Lynn. We're a fun bunch when we get together.

The groom who is a real life rodeo cowboy

Waiting for the bride

She arrived in a horse-drawn buggy driven by my brother Les, her new father-in-law.

Here we go! Say "I DO!"

Father of the groom - and assorted Redfields

This was cute.

These little girls were precious. The little one really liked the music.

The bride and groom

And what country wedding would be complete without the Best Mutt?

The couple with my brother and sister-in-law.

Me and Lynn

So, the bride was beautiful, the groom was handsome, and a good time was had by all. Just like a wedding should be. I sure miss all these people when I come back to AZ!

Mom and Lisa

Peach Cinnamon Rolls

FLOUR - May is peach season in this part of the US. A friend went to the peach orchard last weekend and brought me a "peck" of peaches. I grew up on a wheat farm and we never had anything less than as bushel to talk about so I didn't know how much a peck was. Now I know.

I promised her I would make some peach cinnamon rolls. I got the recipe from the newspaper about 10 years ago and never made them. I probably won't do it again either. I started working on this project at 11 and finished at 1 - and was busy the whole time. And dirtied every bowl and cookie pan in the house in the meantime.  They did turn out good tho. I will be sharing with my coworkers, my son and his family, and a friend's family.  And I have plenty left over to freeze for my breakfasts. If I do make them again, I will have to remember to cut the recipe in half. It said it made 24 but I ended up with 30 large rolls - YIKES! I was thinking 24 little ones. Live and learn... and share!

The final product

FLOWERS!

My yard is still going great guns. Probably because we've had lots of rain and cool weather which is very unusual for AZ.

This is the flower from a Grecian Pattern Plant. The stem is about 4 feet tall at this point. The leaves are bigger than a breadbox so it is quite interesting.

This hibiscus seems to like the weather too.

 These lilies are really producing flowers this year - more than ever before.

And the snail vine is always so pretty.

Sketchbook Update

I have continued to keep up my sketchbook with a new watercolor every week. Sometimes it's hard, emotionally and timewise to get it done but since it is my journal, I'm determined. I feel like I'm getting better with my art - what do you think?  Flowers are still my favorite, and I think I draw them better than anything else.  So here are a few drawings, and the photo I used as a model.

I'm Done...

I did not want to share this information with you all until things were final, and now they are, so here it is. Bill and I divorced after 13 1/2 years of marriage. The last 3 years have been so tumultuous, and I'm surprised that I survived without meds or being committed somewhere. I loved him with every part of my being when we got married, but the person he is now is not the man I married. I won't go into details but my close friends and family know what I've been through and have been super supportive.  There were no drugs, alcohol or infidelity but enough emotional abuse that all I can say is that I'm done....

Where I work we have daily prayers that are read over the PA system and in email, and several of them have resonated with me during this time. One talked about loving people as they are, the way God made them, without trying to make them into something that you want.  The other was this:

You never know what it takes someone to come to work. We may never know the inner struggles others are facing, but we can choose to love them anyway. We can choose to offer them grace and understanding. Be gentle. Express love. Practice patience. Your grace may be the only grace someone is experiencing in their life.

So, I'm on with my life as a single person.  Don't feel sorry for me, just be happy that I escaped before it was too late and I have some self esteem left. I have great friends and a job that I like and I'm good at, and family support beyond measure so I'll be okay. I can do this... after all, I am a Redfield girl!