Wyoming Breezes

Party Girl Western Region Oddball Baby Blanket started March 2014 One of the four blankets I started and sent to the Oddball coordinator to release when she saw fit. Party Girl will be a garter stitch blanket. Update: July 27, 2014

Cherry Blossoms " Sakura " Misawa, AFB, Japan Spring 1980

Maria, Rosa, Oscar approximately 1919 or 1920 Edgemont, SD I love this image of my mother and her younger brother and sister: it makes me smile because they seem so carefree. I think the rabbits were raised for food as well as to sell.

Saturday snowflakes drifted to the ground, and I didn't feel like doing anything too taxing, so I worked on a puzzle my niece gave me. The 1,000 piece puzzle features the license plates for each state. Even though some of the plates are now different (Wyoming for one), I learned a bit as I assembled the puzzle. On this puzzle, the plates for two states (California and South Dakota) have a cursive font. Nebraska's plate featured Sandhill cranes in flight. I was pleased when Wyoming ditched the image of Devil's Tower (shown on this puzzle) and replaced it with the Grand Tetons. What do you like/dislike about your State's license plate(s)?

Be Mine Western Region Oddball Baby Blanket started January 2014 It has been ages since I worked on an Oddball blanket. The once prolific group has slowed down considerably since one member stalled several blankets for over six months. Since I have now finished the blankets for which I volunteered to knit, I am going to take a break from the group because I need to rekindle my passion for the project. Several weeks ago, I sent the group coordinator four blankets I started on donated needles as well as group needles from blankets I had finished. As the coordinator releases the blankets to the group, I will post photos. Update : April 20, 2014

Temple Singapore December 1979

Marilyn, Evelyn, Brenda, Aunt Marie, Mom Brenda's graduation Aurora, CO 1983 My niece, Brenda graduated from Gateway High School in 1983. Her graduation was memorable because of a near tragedy - she was very lucky; some of her classmates were not. Because Gateway did not have a football field, the commencement was held on an neighboring high school's (Hinkley High) football field. Over 600 graduates' chairs were arranged on the field, and the gathering crowd of family and friends waited in the bleachers for the appointed starting time. The day was cloudless, and the sun beat down mercilessly on the anxious crowd. No one knew why the ceremony was delayed for what seemed like hours. None of us knew what happened in the gymnasium during the long delay. None of us knew the terror that the graduates were experiencing as we grumbled about the scorching sun. Finally, a school official came out and asked specific parents to go into the building. The crowd was told ther...

Pickles December 7, 2013 source I'm sure that Earl was probably wearing something similar to the latest pair of socks to come off of my needles. Neither sock matches the other so that, indeed, means that they're a match. Right? 56 stitches on size 3 addi turbo needles K2, P2 ribbed cuff for seven inches women's size 10 Following Katherine's advice, I reinforced the toes on this pair with cotton, size 10 crochet thread. I am eager to see if the additional thread will keep my toes from weakening the knit toes too quickly. The socks have been washed and blocked for this photo: compare it to the in-progress photo in this earlier post . The kinks in the yarn were forced to relax by blocking.

Maria and Christian M. approximately 1989 By the time the great-grandchildren arrived the family highchair (featured in this post ) was out of the house and in storage somewhere. Mothers can be resourceful and make do with what is available. Note the tea towel securing Christian to the kitchen step stool. Luckily, he didn't squirm around too much. When Christian was little, his family lived near Laramie, WY on an isolated ranch. Since there is a bouquet of flowers on the ledge, they must have been visiting for a special occasion, a birthday or perhaps Mother's Day.

Baby Blues December 7, 2013 source When I saw this cartoon in December, I laughed out loud. All through my childhood, I knew if my Mother said, "We'll see" or "Maybe" she meant, "No" and that I had better stop asking. When my niece, Brenda was about five years old, it became obvious that my Mother's response was not unique and had been passed on to the next generation: I heard Brenda's tear-muffled reply to her Mom and Dad, "It's always maybe, maybe, maybe, but it's never, never, never!" Words of wisdom from the mouth of a child. Today, whenever I hear someone say, "Maybe" or "We'll see," I know that like my Mom, it most likely means "Never." Cousins 1973 Larry and Terry S. Brenda and Dwight M, Bruce and Becky M.  What phrase or words do you remember your parents saying, when they wanted to soften a "No."

Singapore Street December 1979 Note all the TV antennas. They were a common sight around the world in the 60s and 70s, and slowly disappeared in the 90s, replaced with the large satellite dish. When did you make the switch to satellite TV versus antenna?

from April 1949 Workbasket Has anyone ever heard of this product? It almost sounds too good to be true - no smell, quick and easy to use, and lasts for months. I got my first permanent in the 1970s and a handful since then. My hair takes the curl too well, and I end up looking like a poodle for about three weeks. I got my last permanent about two years ago. What kinds of experience have you had with permanents?

Several years ago, I purchased three yarn flats on clearance. This pair is being knit with the last flat. Other socks made from the flats can be seen here and here . Yarn: Happy Choices by Plymouth Yarn (discontinued yarn flat) Needles: addi turbo, size 3

Art near Pavillion, WY approx. 1939 or 1940 All of the recent Back in Time photos are from the rescued negatives that I wrote about here . This photo of my Dad was taken in front of my Uncle Ted's house. My Dad and Mom and two oldest brothers lived with my Uncle Ted until Dad was able to purchase his own farm in the Wind River Valley. I only remember seeing my Dad in a suit a few times, usually at weddings and funerals, but he wore a fedora often whenever he was away from the farm. After Mom died, my oldest sister had three teddy bears made from one of Mom's old dresses, and three more bears were dressed in a vest and a tie made from one of our father's neckties.

This capelet was started nearly two years ago and has been neglected. I hope to finish it this month: I have eight inches of the ten-row repeat knit, but the pattern calls for fourteen inches before knitting the collar section. I purchased the huge hank of yarn at the Reno show in 2012 because I thought it would complement almost anything that I wear. Yarn: Superwash wool purchased in the vendor's display at the Reno show in 2012. Pattern: Capelet #4 in Red Heart Pattern brochure Let's Wrap Needles: Knit Picks Options sizes 9 and 10.5

Singapore Market December 1979 This earlier Foreign Friday post featured the market from a different angle. Today's photo shows the baskets more clearly as well as what they held that day.

Bruce and Becky M. Fremont County Fairgrounds approx. 1969 or 1970 While it was fun to see the steam tractor on display, I think it would be exciting to see it working in a field, powering a threshing machine. The 1912 Case tractor was built a year before my mother was born, and fifty-one years before Bruce was born.

Jerry south side of house approximately 1940  The wooden highchair, shown in the photo, was well made and withstood the test of time. I am pretty sure that Jerry (my third brother) was the first one to use the chair, but it was later used for my two sisters and myself in the mid-1940s and early 1950s as well as at least four (possibly all six) grandchildren in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The wooden tray and foot rest did not make it into the 1960s, as I remember my nieces and nephews being secured in the chair by a tea towel around their tummy and then tied behind the chair's back. The face of the chair's back had a decal of an animal (I think it was a cat) with a large head. The photo clearly shows the exterior of house as it was well into the mid-60s - black tar paper secured with slats of wood. A porch was added to the house sometime after this photo was taken. I think the window on the right was transformed into a door and the porch added to the south and ea...

Scrap Yarn Baby Beanie knit on size 2 needles with 90 stitches It is difficult to stop knitting baby beanies from scrap sock yarn. When one comes off the needles, the next one is cast on. I'll continue knitting them until my scrap yarn is under control. Each hat takes approximately 17 grams of fingering weight yarn.

Vintage Lipton Tea advertisement I drink a LOT of tea: I prefer it to coffee when given a choice. Oddly, I am not a fan of iced tea - I drink it hot, even in the summer. In fact, I brew my tea in an automatic coffee maker. Lipton was the brand of tea that my mother always purchased; however, my favorite brands or Bigelow , Twinings , Murchies , as well as Harney and Sons . The tea flavors that I enjoy the most are Earl Grey, Lady Grey, English Breakfast, Oolong, Irish Breakfast. I rarely drink fruit flavored or herbal teas and almost never drink green tea because I drank more than my share of green tea in Japan. I do not add any sweetener to my tea and never add milk. What do you prefer to drink - coffee or tea?