Wyoming Breezes

The Western Region Oddball Knitters have been busy. Below are the blankets that have been finished since January on which I had the honor to knit a section. Be Mine started January 2014 Snowflake started December 2013 White Christmas started November 2013 Amber Waves of Grain started December 2013 Watch Me Grow started September 2013 Whale Watch started September 2013   Wild Turkey started October 2013 Gemstones started May 2013 Rhapsody in Blue started September 2013 Water Lily started September 2013 Peter Pan started September 2013 Anchors Aweigh started August 2013 Sand Box started March 2013 Peppermint started August 2013 Melon-calling Baby started September 2013 Halloween started August 2013

Baby hats knit with scrap sock yarn size 2 needles I am gradually nearing the bottom of the scrap sock yarn bin. I have one more hat to knit from the balls that are too small to knit a pair of socks. Soon I will be donating a bag of 20 baby hats knit with scrap sock yarn to a local organization. Thank you, Kathy for gifting me a bag of beautiful, sock yarn scraps a couple of years ago. Some of Kathy's scraps were used for these and other hats as well as socks.

Dancing Ribbons Western Region Oddball Baby Blanket started March 2014 Dancing Ribbons was introduced to the Oddball group last week by the coordinator. It will be knit in garter stitch, and each four-inch section will have four stripes of color. I thought it would be a great way to utilize small balls of yarn that seem to accumulate in every knitter's basket. I am taking a break from the group for the summer, so I will be watching the Oddball forum on Ravelry to check the progress of the last four blankets I started. Update : August 1, 2014

Shrine Southern Japan Spring 1980

Lander Mills Lander, WY April 2014 Other images of this old elevator can be seen here .

approx. 1939 or 1940 I am not sure, but I think this man is my maternal grandfather. I love the scene behind him -- the house, the sheets hanging on the line, the old car, and the Wyoming landscape, an area filled with promise.

women's size 10 knit with 56 stitches on size 2 needles I loved knitting this pair of socks from odds and ends - four different sock yarns. Each stripe is 10 rounds. Photo shows one sock inside out and the tails that needed secured. While there were a lot of loose ends, I didn't mind because I like the socks.

While in college and for the first year I taught, I drove my brother's 1965 Ford Galaxy 500 , but the Thanksgiving of my second year of teaching, I purchased my very first car, a two-door, Dodge Dart Swinger. 1974 Dodge Dart Swinger The Swinger had a white vinyl roof that was difficult to clean. Even though the car had a low clearance, I drove it on the back roads around Wheatland and all over the Laramie Peak area. My mother insisted a CB radio be installed in the car so I could ask for help, if necessary. My brother, John installed an eight-track stereo system in the car for me, too. When I went to Japan, I left the car at the farm and my brother used it from 1979 to 1981. Honda Civic (year unknown) Misawa AFB, Misawa, Japan 1979 The Honda was a used car, but I can't remember the model year. Read about the Honda Civic here .  1981 Toyota Tercel When I returned from Japan, I drove the Dodge Dart until the transmission went out. The Tercel, which had front-whee...

Japanese cemetery Autumn 1979 A previous post shows this sculpture from a distance.

Freda and Terry S. approx. 1980 Freda was a Red Angus and Holstein cross and was the first born on the farm. She was named after Fred, a redheaded young man, who worked for my mother and brother. Freda became one of my mother's favorite bucket babies, and she continued to seek attention as she grew. My nephew Terry (shown in the photo) is a dare devil and will try practically anything. Since Freda was so docile, he thought he could sit on her back, and he did many times. The day I was there to take photos, he had just finished his irrigating duties, which is why he is still wearing his irrigation boots. Terry and Freda

April 2014 Last week, I was stuck by the simple beauty of the morning sun casting a shadow on the wall near my grandmother's china cabinet. The cabinet is probably close to 100 years old: I inherited it from my mother, who inherited from her mother. I remember when Uncle Otto (my mother's brother) delivered the cabinet to the farm on a bitter cold day in December. Wrapped in old quilts and blankets, the cabinet had traveled in the back of his pick-up from South Dakota. Mom was afraid the glass would crack when the cabinet was brought into the house. I, too, worried about the glass when I moved the cabinet to my home 20 years ago. The glass in the door has dimples and waves in it, and the side pieces are curved. The glass and finish are original. This is the oldest piece of furniture that I own.

Ferne Watson, me, Rosie Baker approx. 1994 Ferne and Rosie fed over two hundred individuals a delicious, homemade hot lunch for over 30 years. I doubt that one student ever said they disliked anything these ladies created.  I remember thick and creamy potato soup with oven-baked cheese sandwiches, shepherd pie, macaroni and cheese, cabbage rolls, chocolate pudding (not from a box), cakes, pies, cookies, and their famous cinnamon rolls. They baked bread or rolls every day. These women were Masters in the kitchen! They used federal commodities (cheese, canned fruits and meats, flour, etc.) to create their meals, but none of their entrees were pre-made and heated: their meals were prepared from scratch, and the results was heavenly. Students and staff often went back for seconds. Ferne and Rosie cared about the students they fed and would often check on someone who hadn't eaten lunch or who was experiencing some problems in their life. Ferne loved kids, and she and her husban...

Childhood home Wild Licorice Road approx. 1960 Throughout my life I have lived in multiple houses, a dorm, apartments, a trailer house, and a BOQ. Each was unique and most were comfortable, but all were home for at least a year. Spanish Walk Apartments Wheatland, WY approx. 1976 I lived and worked in Wheatland for six years, and while there lived in a motel room (for a month until my apartment was vacant), a basement apartment in an elderly lady's house (for one year), an apartment (for a year), a house with a friend (for six months), and a trailer house (for three years). The Spanish Walk apartment was a great place to live - one block from the school. The living room had a Murphy bed in the wall that could be used for guests. This apartment was memorable because of the steam radiators that sometimes went ballistic and poured massive amounts of steam into the apartment, resulting in the exterior doors swelling. I had to climb through the bedroom window once in order...