The party

The table looked pretty, and the guests were delightful! I made the tea and the coffee too strong, no one tried the pate', the brown bread got small attention, the pumpkin oatmeal cookies met with some approval, and the gingerbread was a rousing success. Note to self. No more pate' for tea parties.

We talked about our early driving experiences Everyone has a learning to drive story. Mom was teaching me to drive one summer when we were living in a double wide trailer up on the Spokane Indian reservation because dad was building a mill there. We had been to the store, and on the way home, when we got off the asphalt and on to the dirt road, I got behind the wheel. Pretty soon, Mom was saying, "Not so fast, Roxie. Not so fast!" "But mom, the people behind me don't like going this slow."
We were being followed, on the narrow twisty road to the mill, by a car full of drunken young men. There was no shoulder, and no good place to pull over. They soon began honking and tailgating, shouting, and making rude gestures. When I finally got to a wide spot in the road, and they passed us, I had decided that I didn't really need to learn to drive. It was three years before I tried again.

What's your early driving story?

I had fun setting the table. Mini pumpkins make for easy decorating. and the kitty creamer and sugar bowl make such a charming arrangement.





Everything is ALWAYS better with a kitty!


In addition to tea and coffee, we drank applejuice out of the good wineglasses. That went over very well!Note to self - it bears repeating. Maybe sparkling cider next time.

My mom's first hunting trip.

My parents were married in May. When September rolled around, Dad planned on going out deer hunting like he did every year - camping out with the guys for a week. Mom declared, "You're not leaving me alone for a week. I'll go with you."

Well, Dad's pals wern't so keen on having a woman in huntin' camp. It meant they couldn't scratch, spit or piss just anywhere or anytime they felt like it. And they'd have to watch their language. And act like grownups. A woman in huntin' camp was just WRONG!

Dad, though, had a plan. He brought Mom along, and told her they were going to put her out on a stand. She would sit and wait for them, and they would drive the deer up to her. When she shot a deer, she was supposed to fire two more shots to let them know, and they would go help her dress it out. Well, the other half of the plan, once they had Mom all set up on a log in the cold and the wind, was that everyone else would go hunt on the other side of the ridge and leave her sitting alone in the weather all day long. She'd get so sick of it that she'd never want to go hunting again.

So The first morning, just before sunrise, Dad got Mom all set up sitting on a log on the top of a ridge in her bright red coat and cap, with her Winchester in hand. Then Dad headed down the hill to go hunt with his buddies. Not five minutes later, though, he heard from behind him, BANG. BANG BANG!

He couldn't believe it. She got a deer! Well, he was pretty impressed by her hunting skills, so he turned around and began climbing back up the ridge to help her. When he got to her stand he found her with her gun in the belly of a cowboy that she had backed up against a tree. The cowboy was talking fast and holding his hands high, saying, "OK, lady. You shot it, it's your deer. Honest to god, I won't argue about it any more. It's your deer. You can have it. Can I just get the saddle off it first?"