Surprise Visitors!

 Now that I have left my quinquagenarian and entered my Sexagenarian decade I think it might be time to act my age instead of my I.Q. No more late nights for me, my new bedtime time is 8pm, meaning I will be up at 4am. Time for me to get an EZ lift chair where I will sit all day watch TV and blog about all my ailments. Oh wait, apparently you do not need to hit 60 to do that. I just happen to know someone who has been doing that for years and he is still a quinquagenarian! 

Screw it, I am going to act my I.Q., it is much more funner, yeah, funner is a word. For example, when used in a sentence it looks like this. "Lisa is a lot more funner than Dino cuz all he does is sit in his EZ chair all day and watch daytime soap operas". Stick with me, you will learn a lot of things. 

I had a great birthday though. Barb made me strawberry crepes, delicious! Then I went over to Kevin's to help him set some floor trusses for one of his neighbors that is starting to build a house. 

After that it was back home where Barb broke out the pasta attachment she got for Christmas. She had never made homemade pasta before, so it was quite the interesting process. The end result was the best pasta we have ever had. It may have been a first, but it certainly will not be the last!

This was followed up with a delicious supper of crab legs and steak. Umm, this turning 60 thing is not so bad after all!

For several months now Dan, Bonnie, Kevin, Cheryl, Barb and I have been planning a get together for New Year's Eve. We were each to bring 3 jars of Ole Smokey Moonshine for a taste testing. We added a few jars and bottles of stuff we had already as well. 

Oh, what a night it was! We each had a scorecard divided into two categories. Straight alcohol and creams. We had some pretty tasty moonshine and some pretty nasty stuff. The nastiest of all was the Ole Smokey Apple Pie. It was so strong and so sour that it let this expression on Kevin's face.

The winner for the night was not an Ole Smokey product at all, it was our very own Apple Pie Moonshine from the J-B Distilling Co! 

The moods got goofier throughout the evening, culminating with Barb laughing uncontrollably and arm-wrestling Kevin. She put up a good left-handed battle but did not win. 

The party ended abruptly when Barb said she was not feeling well and went to the bathroom for an important meeting. When the meeting was over, she quietly slipped into the bedroom. We cleaned up, hung out for a bit and everyone quietly slipped out of the house. The next day was very quiet, we were supposed to have a few people over for the Vikings/Packers game but when Barb had not emerged from the bedroom by noon, I canceled the festivities. Just as well, the Vikings did not show up to play. We spent a quiet day on the couch watching football and a few movies. 

Kevin and I did get out mountain lion hunting one morning after a fresh snowfall. It was a beautiful morning; we drove a lot of miles in some remote country but never cut a track. 

The next day we had a surprise visit from Farmer Bob and DeAnne! Well, Barb knew they were coming but I did not. They spent 3 days, 4 nights with us. Bob told me to do whatever I was going to do this week, so I did and put him to work!

We burned brush piles, we cut and split firewood    

We worked on putting some boards up on the outside of the workshop.... 

And then he....

Each day we did pretty much the same thing; burn brush piles, split wood, stack wood and nap. I did get out on a couple of adventures. Barb and DeAnne stayed inside and played accordions. DeAnne also worked on a couple of quilt tops. She brought her sewing machine and everything she needed to make the tops. 

Bob and I drove through Wind Cave NP and Custer SP one morning and saw some of the park creatures. We saw elk, bison, antelope, mule deer, whitetail deer, coyotes, prairie dogs, I think that was it. Oh, and a bunny!

The four of us went for a jeep ride on some forest service roads through some remote country. I think Bob and DeAnne were questioning the wisdom of our decision as we cut fresh tracks through the forest. We also stopped by the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs. We have lived here for 5 years and had yet to stop by this popular tourist attraction. We pass it almost every week and it is always crowded during the tourist season but on this day, we were the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th visitors for the day and had the place to ourselves! Barb and I always wanted to stop but it was not very high on our list and we had low expectations. It far, far, exceeded our expectations. 

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The story of how this site was found and how the mammoths' met their demise is tragic. It also makes you realize how short a lifetime is in the scheme of things and leaves you wonder how many other similar discoveries are buried just below the surface waiting to be found. Well worth the $12 entry fee (Senior, the first time I claimed to be over 60!). 

Short-nosed Bear stood about 8' at its shoulder

Overall, we had a great 3 days. Thanks, guys, for coming down and surprising me. Thank you also for the mugs and the vintage ammo boxes. They are a great addition to my collection! 

If all goes as planned, we will be spending the week packing the camper and getting ready for our next great adventure. The plan is to be on the road a week from today!