Wild South Welcome Home

We returned from the Wild West last night..What a trip!...I'm truly amazed by the west and the way the western spirit  grabs your heart  as you return over and over and each time, revisiting, the stronghold is a little more fierce. I'll have days and days of blog pictures as I tried to really capture places and things that got my attention...We visited antique stores, museums, western leather, belt, boot and jewelry stores in Montana and Wyoming. Cody was definitely beautiful and adventuresome with the rodeo and the Buffalo Bill Museum Center was crazy entertaining and I'm not a big museum fan. (five under one roof). I eturned with lots of ideas in my head and hopefully will be able to pull of them off....More to come later

Go West, Young Woman

Today we are travelling to Cody, WY to see a part of the west that will be new for us. Yesterday was an afternoon of white water rafting down the Gallatin River and then to the Oasis Steak House for a true angus beef steak dinner with all the trimmings. Here are a few pictures that I managed to capture during our busy day.... 

Oasis in MAnhatten, Montana

Us after our whitewater trip down the Gallatin - a two hour joy ride! 

Sign outside Rocky Mountain HAt Company where Billy became a Proud Owner! 

Our Pathfinder to help us find our way!

  

Sign in the Hat Company...His clients are Robert Redford and Jewel; two that he mentioned.

Courthey in the wildflowers in the National Forest behind Fred's house.

GA CoUrt YarD HOuNds Raid The WeSt..

Ahhh, the air is thin and clean or so it seems...the mountains surrounded us and gobbled our souls as we landed on Sat. and immediately began our 10 day trip out west. With John Mayer singing in the background Wonderland,   I am happy to share our trip..We brought daughter Courtney on her maiden vogage and she feels the spirit of the west, no doubt she would;  a true cowgirl at heart..Her home away from home as she lies in the hammack trying to figure out her next move....A Big Wide World and we are blessed!

Happy to be waitin' on our luggage in Bozeman, MT!

"The Garage" we ate at in Bozeman downtown when we got there.. (in an old car garage) 

Menu covers are license plates...

      

Planters on the streets are gorgeous...low humidity and 70 ish degrees.

Always checking out the window merchandising....

More Visuals for inspiration...

Courtney becoming "unsheltered"...trying Chai Latte for the first time.  Yum Yum!  

It's wildflower season in MT...Beauty at it's best!

This is where they filmed "THe Horse Whisperer" Barn Dance scene..at the Springhill Pavilion. It's rented out for weddings and celebrations. They were having one that afternoon when we rode by. Our friend, Fred only

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lives only a couple of miles from here.

A Little Junk in My Trunk....

Juniper in Albany, GA at Livi's Before getting strarted....

Yesterday, I took off to do one of my most favorite things in the world ...Set Up! I travelled over to the bus station (http://www.thebusstationgallery.blogspot.com/) in Colquitt, GA and loaded up my little old faithful companion, Juniper and headed to Albany, GA to our Livi's Spot in Livi's Market Place to add, take away from, create and rearrange. That's what I like to do..Sprucing up as some would say...So five hours later, the work was complete for a week or so while I leave my south Georgia roots and "go west, young woman!" So have a look at the photos and then jump over the the bus station page (see above) and have a look...Keep on Junkin.....

All kinds of stuff goes into one small area of sqare footage...Not one inch not filled with somethin'.

Handcrafted jewelry and monogrammed metal platters....

These cute little metal can flowers are made by a lady in Abbeville, AL. I've almost sold all of these and then the rooster is made out of some sort of Husks and wood by-products...Pressed Tin picture frames...

My random wood and decoupaged signs...

Turquoise and Cross Place Setting for 8 with Hand painted Charger Platter...Old Crock I found in an antique junk store in Cuthbert, GA with dried brush from the "outback" (behind our house).

Prayers and Blessings I write for different occassions, events or special people.

They love them some owls in Albany, GA

More owls....WHOOOOO! WHOOOO!

Monogrammed Turquoise Platter, Old Seltzer Bottle, Cross made from square nails and bowl and mug.

We love Shonya and those gals at Livi's...Y'all come back ya hear?

www,thebusstationgallery.blogspot.com

http://www.liviandcompany.wordpress.com/

http://www.lorisholiday.com/

Bloom Where You Are Planted ~ Mary Engelbreit

Yesterday, June 21st was the first official day of summer....I awakened at my normal time of around  6:30

and put on the flavor of the week...Starbucks French Roast. This was on sale at Publix about 10 days ago and I should have bought 2 bags because I really love, love, love! Anyway, went outside and sat in the rocking chair and I waited for the sun to surface...I began the watering ritual as really summer temps have been here in south GA for about 3 or 4 good weeks. I read this yesterday in "Simple Abundance" and wanted to pass along since I guess I would fall into the class of "middle age".

"Gardening is one of the rewards of middle age, when one is ready for an impersonal passion, a passion that demands patience, acute awareness of a world outside oneself, and the power to keep on growing through all the times of drought, through the cold snows, towards those moments of pure joy when all failures are forgotten and the plum tree flowers". ~ May Sarton

While in my garden this morning, this is what I found...

                                             

Sunny, our cat and a friend that he is showing to me.

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Blooms and more Blooms

Last but not least...my sweet Bronnie Petunia.

Lori's Holiday News: Blessings in Disguise.

Lori's Holiday News: Blessings in Disguise.

The Day After...

Picture that Daddy watched me paint as I stayed with him during his illnes in August '08. Named it Henry's Chevy.

Today is the day after Father's Day... I lost my father Feb. 14th 2009 after a six month bout with cancer...see blog above...Anyway, it was an okay day as Billy received phone calls  and texts from the kids.I was reading a book entitled "Broken Open" by Elizabeth Lesser. Really a good book but a little heavy for me at times but like the stories..Anyway, I was reading about her recollections on Death and her father passing and so that led me to thinking about Daddy and then that led to sadness and then that led to a few tears that probably needed to be shed. I went through Father's Day last year and don't remember the sadness but know he was in my thoughts so this year I took a little more time and "sat with the grief" as Lesser says is good to do. I don't like to do that as is my nature to travel  at a high rate of speed. This season is really giving me some things to think about along with her book...I'm smelling the roses and having a lot of faith as the world faces some serious challenges. Whatever the case may be, I am grateful for the Daddy that we had. All the crazy antics and funny ways he entertained himself and others will not be forgotten. Henry lives on in our hearts Forever and that makes me feel adoration and gratitude. We are always remembering something about him that makes us smile. Our family is settling into Life without him... but never forgetting Him.