Yesterday....

was so beautiful- just the perfect day (almost) in Wyoming. We packed a picnic lunch, picked up the boys from preschool/daycare and headed for the mountains. Over night the trees have been washed in their golden fall color and the river is a dashing, glorious thing. Eventually, after watching a hawk swoop down on its prey, we found our spot- a little creek winding its way through tiny bluffs covered in grass, soft dirt and a skiff of snow. We sat in the sun and ate while the boys hung over the edge of a culvert and yelled down the long metal tube. I remember playing in the culvert at my Uncle Dave's when I was a kid- there is something so attractive in that giant tunnel under a road that seems to draw kids like a magnet and makes mothers shudder in horror.

We had the dogs with us and they were running around like crazy, sniffing and rolling in all sorts of gross things. Ron took the boys for a walk and I sat in the sun, taking it all in. i heard the dogs barking at one end of an old log out in the bushes and smiled, thinking they had found a rabbit or ground squirrel. My dogs aren't particularly adept at hunting- while they are barking at one end, usually the quarry vacates the area through the other end and they never notice.

Well, they quit their barking and dashed back to me, shaking their heads and pawing at their noses. When I saw Royal's face my heart sunk. They had found a porcupine in that old log and had been given a taste of why even a gnarly old griz leaves a porcupine alone. I called Royal to me and started pulling quills. Thankfully, there weren't that many, although they were embedded pretty deep all around his sensitive nose and lips. The quills look smooth, but must have microscopic barbs, because they don't want to pull out, and sort of come out with a rrrrrrrrip! Oh poor dogs! Royal, although sensitive and needy to the bone, is a tough little guy because he stood absolutely still while I turned his nose to a fountain of blood.

Tack fared a little worse because the barbs were through his lips and into his gums. We ended up having to go to a friend's house to get a pair of pliers to get them all out. Tack was not as stoic about it all as Royal, which made it difficult to make sure we didn't leave any tips below the surface. I think we got them all, and we ended up staying to visit with the friend which was fun.
So that was yesterday!

I'd miss him dearly....

SO here's a crazy story:

The night before I left to visit Indiana for awhile, I thought Tack had been killed.

By owls.

They're really big around here, ok?

I had let both dogs out to go to the bathroom before bed. It was a pitch black night where even the stars seemed tucked away in their beds. After a little while I whistled and Royal appeared out of the darkness, running like his tail was on fire. Tack did not appear, and right about when I started to get irritated I heard them.
The owls.
It sounded like their was 2 or 3 of them up in the tree tops behind our house and they were excited about something. The "whoo whoos" were coming fast and furious. Now, the great horned owls that we have are big, from 2 to 3 foot tall and a wing span that makes you think a jet is coming in for a landing. They also have claws that would scare a grizzly- sharp and long. If you really think about it, its a wonder there isn't a horror movie out about owls cause they really are freaky silent death machines.
So instantly fearing the worst, I ran out back. It was BLACK! I hit the edge of our yard and heard a suffocated scream from what I was thinking was our fat little darling of a dog. I hollered for Ron to get a flashlight and ran (winceing and hopping from our poky 'grass') into our neighbors yard. I half expected to come apon a huddle of happy owls, hunched over a dying grey body, which kind of freaked me out anyways, but all I heard was the soft rustle of air over wings.

Ron came running with the flashlight but the owls had silently flew to some other, less busied spot. No Tack. No fur, no limbs, no feathers. We scanned the trees, hoping we wouldn't spot his little body cached in the giant pines out back, but found nothing.
I was sure they had killed Tack and then carried him to some quiet spot to devour. It was a horribly sad night. All I could think about was Tack's sweet brown eyes and how sudden and painful his death must have been. I tell you I was a weeping sodden mess. I slept.
The next morning, who appears on the porch, fresh and bouncing from a fun night out on the town? Yep. The dog I had cried over.

Little bugger.

My Christmas Books...

I know its a little early, but I've added to my Christmas Book list and I thought you guys would like to see what the Kingstons are reading this December:


Jolly Old Santa Claus is one of my all time faves. The beautiful paintings depict Santa getting ready for the big night and all the shenanigans of his elves. Some elves are hardworking, some are tricksters, some are lazy, and some, like old Grandpa elf, are starting to slow down. I love all the characters, the incredibly detailed pictures, and the glowing illustrations. This book introduced the idea of a picture telling an intricate, interesting story to me and was a part of my "art history".Next up is The Night Before Christmas by Tasha Tudor. This poem just never gets old. There are a ton of versions, and a lot of them with fantastic pictures (even a pirate version that I think I am going to buy next year!) but this is the tried and true version I read my boys because it was read to me. Tasha introduced the vignette to me, and the borders of her pictures are just as good as the pictures themselves!

The Legend of the Poinsetta is a new one we are trying this year, illustrated by one of my all time faves, Tomie dePaola. Tomie's use of simple shapes and rich saturated color really awakened a love of color that helps my own artwork come alive.
The Cobweb Christmas is another new one and one I can't wait to get in the mail- I remember checking this out of the library over and over again. I just love the story and the illustrations are so great. This book made me want to have a built in bed more than anything. And when she walks in and sees what the spiders have done to her tree- magical.

I am going to try and get one or two new books a year and have them set out during the season. It's really a fun way to make the holiday special.

The Calendar System...

This is the system I want to try and utilise to keep track of these "paper" years. The boys bring home so much stuff from preschool and toddler time. Most of it isn't saveable, but some of it is really cute. What we've been doing is just tape it to the wall so we can look at it and talk about it. The boys loved that, but the wall was getting really cluttery and we were having to throw away cute stuff to make room for more cute stuff. SO! enter the calendar system!

Each boy has a calendar. I took six sheets of large sketch book paper, stacked them on top of each other and stiched a seam through the middle. Wah lah! Calendar! Then I printed out a blank calendar sheet for each month. I hung it on the wall with big bulldo clips from WMart. Instead of a picture, I am taping the cute stuff that I want to save. The limited space really helps me edit, although you can see there is some big stuff that is still taped under the calendars!

I like the blank calendar space to write in different things that the boys are learning, or saying, or events. I don't use it as a planning calendar, just momentos.

Ex: Chubzie is saying "gel" (hard g) for "girl". I think its cute, so I jotted it down. I also wrote in when BabE got his shots and how he responded. I also copied in LB's Preschool calendar, so I can look back and see what he was working on. My big end goal is to make it through elementary and then bind the calendars into a big book for each boy.

Its fun and makes me feel safe that we will remember these little things when our giants are in highschool.

Apple Butter Days....

Well, the day didn't start out with Granny out back scrubbing out the big copper kettle- we are modern day canning over here at Casa McNasty. I bought two bags of apples from WalMart- one Fuji, one Granny Smith. Then I got out my handy dandy peeler/slicer/corer thing. I LOVE this little piece of twenty dollar equipment. The boys wanted to try, so I thought I'd give them a go. I fully expected them to get bored after a few apples, but LB did both bags! Chubzie cranked a few apples and then got interested in eating the looooong peely strips.

I finally got to try the crockpot apple butter recipe a friend gave me last year- it worked SO well, compared to last year's endless cooking on the stovetop only to have it stay runny experience.

Here's the super simple recipe:

Fill your crockpot full of peeled, sliced and cored apples. (two grocery store bags yielded almost enough. My crockpot was 3/4 full.)
4 c. sugar (this was WAY too much for my taste. I used 2 cups and was happy with the sweetness.)
4 T cinnamon
2 T ground cloves

Cook on high for 1 hour, then turn on low and cook all night. Transfer apples to a blender and blend until smooth. Ladle into prepared jars and process in a hot water bath for 20 mins.
Done!
For me, this made 8 1/2 pint jars. My apple mixture in the crockpot had a LOT of water. Next time I am going to use a slotted spoon to transfer the apples and just a little juice so that my apple butter isn't so runny. The flavor is really great though!

I'd like to can some applesauce and apple pie filling at some point this season. Really wish I could find an orchard around here. I think Meeteetse is just slightly too cold and too high for apples.

Victorian bedroom

Victorian bedroom by wyofaith on polyvore.com

So word on the street is that there are plans for the Meeteetse Merc to be turned into a six bedroom bed and breakfast. We happen to know the guy planning it and I begged Ron to mention to him that I'd love to do some design for it. Ron told me he already has a renovator (different than a designer! I still have a chance!) and that the guy wants to do late 1800's Victorian. NOT my favorite era due to its fussy, dark, oppresively knick knacky in nature asthetics, but I thought I'd try some mood boards for how to achieve a Victorian look without wanting to hang yourself from the drapes.

Now, obviously the settee would be better in a linen or brownie grey velvet, but what do you think? I was thinking a heavy cream, taupe, or natural linen color for the walls. The bed also came premade in colors I can't change, so I explored some blue in the pallette. I'm still not a fan of Victorian- those fringed lamps? Yech. But! I think it would be possible to make some really beautiful rooms in a neutral palette using drop dead gorgeous antiques for a Victorian feel.

We'll see. Maybe I'll be the next Design Star of Meeteetse!
And I am really LOVING polyvore.com, even more than pinterest! I love how I have a free hand to create instead of just stockpiling photos. Try it!

I created this mood board to help me focus on a goal for my living room

My livingroom by wyofaith on polyvore.com