Autumn Transition

It will be winter soon...but not before all the leaves fall down. We are experiencing the tail end of the autumn color. There's still some color out there, but every day it becomes less and less. The trees are  getting ready for the snowy time of year

A last gasp of orange

The understory around the aspens is littered with color

Aspens 

And the raking of leaves begins (or not)

... soon the trees will be bare -- waiting for the snows of winter.

Garage and a View

There's been progress on our winter home. 

Walls have been painted, and 

All the kitchen cabinets have been installed, as have electrical receptacles and can lighting

The patio has been paved...and look at the view from the Great Room

The garage door has been installed, sealing the house up at night. 

More to go...appliances, flooring, countertops, landscaping...the list goes on. 

We are loving the progress.

Jeans...Old Jeans

I've been collecting old jeans from friends and I've been making stuff from them. It's been great fun too. So far, I've made purses, placemats, aprons and pillows. Here's a preview

I'm getting ready for Christmas. 

Fall Color

We hear about how beautiful the fall color is in Vermont...well it's wonderful in western Wyoming too. Take a peek...

Look quickly...

As it goes away in a ...

...blink of an eye.

Roof and a Driveway

My friend sent me pictures of our new house. Progress has been made! 

The cement for the driveway and front walkway were poured. I wonder if the cement was poured for the back patio?

The tile, which has been sitting on the roof, has been installed. It's starting to look like a real home. We are scheduled to walk thru the completed house in early November and move in soon thereafter. I hope this set of dates comes to pass.

Fall in the Grand Tetons

We took a ride to Grand Teton National Park this afternoon. It was a glorious day with beautiful fall colors decorating the roadways, giant mountains, silver rivers...the skies however were a bit hazy. That did not spoil the beauty.

Our first stop was Schwabacher's Landing. An "out of the way" turn out that most people don't know about. At first the road is paved, then it's gravel mixed with "Teton taters" (to the folks not from around here, taters are river rocks the size of russet potatoes that have been rolled and spun in the waters of the Snake River so they are smooth to the touch.) Teton taters do not make good paving stones.

The black cottonwoods line the Snake River and the Tetons are in the background. What a place.

The next stop was off Antelope Flats to Mormon Row. Around the turn of the last century 27 Mormon families tried to homestead the land overlooked by the Tetons. They eked out a living for close to fifty years before they gave up. They were hard workers but the the poor soil and the extremely short growing season,won out in the end. However, if you drive to Mormon Row you can see their homes and barns. One of the most famous, is the Moulton Barn.

It's a beautiful time of the year to be in the Tetons. Winter is coming, so enjoy the autumn as long as you can. 

Cabinets

A bit more progress to report on the new house. Some (maybe all) cabinets have been installed. And, they seem to be the cabinets we wanted and they seem to be configured the way we wanted them.

Master Bath

Dishwasher side of the Kitchen Island

Galley view of the Kitchen Island

We still need countertops, paint, flooring, window coverings...and lots more.

All progress is delightfully accepted.

We Have Paint

Progress on the new house is happening. It has been painted. 

We chose a light yellow color as the house in the desert. We might be closing  in mid-October. Wish us "good luck."

Across the Street

As we were driving home the other day, we were awe struck by the sky. To the west,

...was a spectacular sunset with rays of golden light streaming from the clouds, 

...and to the east was a wonderful double rainbow. 

These two pictures were taken from the same location across the street from each other. Wherever we looked we saw the beauty of nature. It's a joy to live in this wonderful place.

 

A Bit More Progress

Having a house built during times of broken supply chains, labor shortages and rising inflation, is probably ludicrous, but that's what we are doing. The house which was supposed to be finished in July, might be finished in October, but even that is a guess. In the meantime, some progress is being made. Yesterday, I received pictures of some internal details. This is good news.

This will be the kitchen island--the plumbing has been installed

One of the doors

Closet in 2nd bedroom

Closet in master bedroom

And this is the master bath shower

All progress is deeply appreciated. It means the house will get finished, we do not know when.

Being Crafty

I love to crochet...but recently I've branched out to sewing, so now I have projects all over the house instead of just one place. So far the other DrC has not complained. My recent sewing projects revolve around "up-cycling" blue jeans. I've made a dozen aprons, some pillows, and now a couple of purses. The purses are kind of cute...

The lining is "out" ...and 

...here's the finished purse. 

But I'm still crocheting teddy bears. This little one I've named Olivia

Needless to say, I'm getting ready for Christmas.

Fall is on the way....

Our aspen forest is showing the first signs of autumn...a few of the trees have yellow leaves. In the fall, aspens turn yellow and orange. Because all the aspens in a forest are clones, they all turn yellow and orange at about the same time. That's a spectacular thing to see. When it happens, I'll post it here.

The largest organism on earth is an aspen forest in Utah called Pando. It consists of 40,000 trees, and scientists estimate it weights about 13 million pounds. While our forest is not as large as Pando, it's just as special. Please consider, it's one organism, that grew from one seed and continues to grow thru a system of interconnected roots and shoots. 

Meet Alicia and Josie (a whimsical post)

It's more or less summer, so that means I'm crocheting critters. When the weather turns cold, I'll be making blankets again. My latest creations are Alicia and Josie.

Alicia is a small teddy bear... only 7 inches tall, and very lady-like. She's quiet, and well behaved and ready for a little girl to adopt her....

...and then there's Josie. She tall, and bright and is wearing a Joseph's Coat of a million colors. She's a happy bear but a bit louder than Alicia and very friendly. If you listen very carefully, Josie will talk to you. Both of these little girl bears are looking for a home, so if you know of a home that is at least one teddy bear short, let me know. 

PS...Josie found a home at Carol's house.

More Progress

Our house is beginning to look like real house. A few trim pieces have been added to the front.

The Great Room...the pony wall will become a long bar in the kitchen 

The bay windows in the master bedroom.

The main bathroom

The open kitchen

The dining area of the great room looking out to the covered patio

The Master Bath...the doorway to the right goes to the toilet room, the doorway in front goes into the huge walk-in closet...the doorway to the left goes into a very large shower.

The Great Room, with the living area on the right and the dining area on the left. I have no idea what the orange markings on the floor mean. It looks like the drywall has been taped, mudded and textured; light cans are installed in the ceiling. Progress is good, and more is needed

 

Mountain Mahogany

On June 3, I made a prediction, based on an Old Wife's Tale. On that fateful day, I saw that the asters had bloomed. 

Folklore says that summer will end in 8 weeks after the asters bloom. That meant that August 28 was the date to remember. It would mean an early fall and possibly an early winter...and that means early rain and snow. While we do not want to wish our sweet summers away, the west is in dire need of water. The early end of summer is certainly bittersweet.

On the 28th I saw the first tinge of yellow in the aspens. Today I saw another sign of fall...a splash of red on the hillside that says the mountain mahogany has changed color. Once the red of the mountain mahogany shows up, fall is not far behind.

Soon the aspens will be dressed in layers of yellow and gold. The mountains will be streaked with autumn colors and then the high country will be ready for winter.

The Cost of Freedom

The debacle that was the pull out from Afghanistan, left us mourning for 13 brave heroes who lost their lives. One of those heroes was a local man. He left behind a loving wife and a baby due in two weeks. Baby McCollum will never meet his or her daddy. Baby McCollum will never get to hold his or her daddy's hand. Baby McCollum will never experience the miracle that was his brave father.  The cost of freedom is high.

Our little town has a memorial for Rylee McCollum

A young man who died to bring us peace. May his death not be in vain. 

Stucco

A bit more progress on the new house...it has been stuccoed and according to my friend with eyes on the ground, the drywall has been taped. Good news

It looks very messy right now, but this too will pass.