How many moose do YOU see?

We took this picture yesterday in our back yard....just kidding!! This picture was taken in Canada....and if you said you saw three moose you are right!! For more cool moose pictures go to our main site...under "True Wildlife Encounters"......scroll down to "Obsessed With Moose" and then click on the hoof print!

Ravalli County Fair.....

Well today was the opening day of the fair....and needless to say I HAD to go and see how my bread made out. Well at first I was having a hard time finding it and I had to ask a lady. I told her that I did not see my bread and if the bread that did not place, was not displayed? She told me that all the bread was out and then helped me find mine. My sourdough took second place and my rye bread took first AND class! I will be able to pick the ribbons up on Sunday...will post a pic then. John was disappointed that I would not have them for my last farmer's market! He thought it would be really nice if I could hang them up for display!

Fair Bread

Well...as far as my list goes for the weekend....not much got accomplished on it! We got a late start on painting the house b/c when we went over at 9am to start....it was wet! It dewed in MT! Which is a little out of the ordinary. So we did not start until 11 or 12. So needless to say we did not get as much accomplished as we had wanted especially since I only spent about 2 hours over there b/c I was busy baking bread for the fair (and a birthday cake). I had high hopes of entering a carrot cake and a cheesecake...but only got two loaves of bread entered. My sourdough (above right) and my german rye (below left). Since I had some dough leftover...not enough to make a loaf...I made cute little sandwich rolls for John's lunch (below right). So....next week will be my last farmer's market for this season. I think for being new to the valley AND new to the farmer's market in general...I would have to say I am pretty happy with the results. I have one lady who orders sourdough bread on a regular basis.....one week I guess she thought that she would just buy it as opposed preordering....well we were sold out! When I told her that next week would be my last market...she was a little disappointed to say the least, so she ordered 4 loaves! But we have Apple Fest on October 4th. The last market for the season is Sept 27...so Apple Fest is sorta an extension of the the market. They are accepting donations for their raffle.....the vendors who donate will be promoted....so I figure why not?? I have to make that up today so I can drop it off before I have to leave for training. Well that's about all for now....HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!

FRESH SNOW!!!

Yes....fresh snow(on top of the snow that was still there from last winter). After having close or over 100 degree weather on Sunday and Monday, there is fresh snow in the mountains! I don't really expect it to stay around long...but still, snow in August!!! I LOVE MONTANA!!!! Today the temperatures here in the valley struggled to make it into the 60s. It feels like fall. So far....we have had snow every month we have been here...except maybe May and July. Now granted it did not hang around long..but still snow none the less!

I've Been Tagged!

I've Been Tagged!
How it works:
1. Post the rules of the game at the beginning.
2. Each player answers questions about themselves
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and post their names, then goes to their blogs and leave them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read the players blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answers

Where were you 5 years ago? Living on the road, driving truck!

What are 5 things on your to do list for the weekend?
paint our landlord's house
make soap
clean
bake bread for the fair
clean again!
(fun list, huh?)

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
ice cream
homemade sourdough toast with raspberry jam
crackers and cheese
veggies and dip
any kind of cheesy dips with bread/crackers

What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?
share the wealth with family/friends
donate to some kind of animal shelter (spca, etc)
open a bakery and restaurant
buy lots of land
built a "green" house off the grid

What are five of your bad habits ?
I don't trust very many people
I waste too much time doing things other than what I am supposed to be doing
Wow...this one is hard.....
I prejudge people
I hold grudges/slow to forgive
I am anal about keeping my house clean ( although I have gotten better seeing as how busy I am)

What are five places you've lived?
Hampton, Virgina
near Pittsburgh, PA
Clarion, PA
Brockway, PA
Hamilton, MT
Stevensville, MT (oops that's 6)

What are 5 jobs you've had?
Juvenile Detention Officer
Truck Driver
Prudential Insurance Agent
Wal Mart
Supervisor at telemarketing firm

Five people I tag.
UM.....no one I know really blogs....BUT....
Cathy

Hotmail Issues....

For the past week or so we have been having problems with our hotmail accounts....we have not been able to log onto any of them....so we are not sure if we are going to continue to use those or just go with our wildblue account....should anyone need to email us....(since we can't email you.....we lost all of our addresses as well) please use djruhf@wildblue.net It would also be appreciated if you all could quickly email us so we can have your addresses....please.

Our weekend.....

Well, we are finally done preping (just a few minor repairs that need attended to) the "dollhouse" and can finally begin painting. So the goal is to be done BEFORE I leave for the academy in September. If not done, at least a majority of the painting done....we were supposed to also paint the house we are living in, but that looks like a job for next year. Our house won't be such a major undertaking....not much scraping....not much repair...pretty much wash and paint. Wesfinished early on Sunday so we went for another ride.....we did not go real far. The Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge is located right in Stevensville. I was really surprised at how pretty it was there. We were going to go for a hike.....we started out, but the mosquitos were too bad and we turned around. You can see pictures on the main site....click on "photos of our montana" and then click on "views of montana".....you will then see the album labeled Lee Metcalf. Some of the pictures came out really nice. Not much else going on here. We now have a BBQ grill thanks to Sue (our landlord)...she was in town for the last week...and tenants had moved out of her one house and left behind a gas grill and she gave it to us....YEAH!! John is very happy now...as he LOVES to BBQ! We just got it yesterday and we already have used it! Only 3 more markets to go, but I have to be ready....when I get home, the very next weekend is Apple Days...I guess it is supposed to be a pretty big event.

The Academy and Market Results.

I woke up (got to bed at 3:30 and woke at 5:30)this morning to a terrible thunderstorm! So I laid in bed wondering what exactly I was going to do with all that bread? So I called work to see what it was doing in Hamilton....so it was just raining lightly....ok...so there is hope! We slowly got up and got ready and packed and by the time we left at 7am, the sun was shining. The market was going good until the late morning storm came and scattered everyone...including all the vendors....so needless to say, I have bread left over...good for John, he'll have bread for lunch, and I'll make croutons with the rest. I tried two new breads today...plain cinnamon swirl (no nuts or raisins) and sauerkraut rye. I sold out of the swirl...the other, not so much (I don't plan on putting those in my crouton mix). Oh, well, you never know until you try. I am beginning to think I could make all cinnamon breads and people would be happy! I sell out of those all the time no matter how many I make...so I think it might be time to reevaluate my bread counts. But I guess it really does not make that much of a difference now, seeing as how I only have 3 markets left. The academy is back on for September in Miles City. I'm glad to go and get it over with. Plus not to mention, completion means a $1 raise!

September trip off?? Maybe?

I was supposed to go to the academy in Miles City, MT for three weeks in September. It is like 500+ miles away at the boys prision. I was really looking forward to going because this training is specifically for working with youth. But I went to work yesterday and someone got a wild hair up their butts and decided to change the schedule....instead of having the training in one three week time slot...they want to have it one week on/one week off. So since we don't have the extra money in our budget to spend on the extra expenses....we (meaning me and Gary) can't go to this training. So instead they want to send us to the adult academy in Helena in October. Gary isn't going to that one because of hunting season and I decided not to go b/c of my bday and our anniversary. But today I found out it might be back on for September...will find out definately by Friday. In the adult academy...instead of having to run through a room filled with pepper spray...I believe you actually take a full hit of it. They used to also tazer you at the adult academy, but I believe they did away with that part (I hope). So I guess the good part of this whole thing is that I will in turn have all of September to do the Farmer's Market. I had/have orders for bread to fill this week...today I had an order for 2 large loaves of sourdough and a bag of croutons and then on Friday I have an order for sourdough and cinnamon raisin swirl.

I WANT THAT MAILBOX!!

After spending most of the morning and early afternoon working over at the Sue's rental property (we are done scraping....YEAH!!), we decided to take the rest of the day off. We really didn't do anything very exciting. We just took Daisy swimming to the river and then took a ride around the area.....We did not see anything of much interest...just a bird....a quail or bobwhite and a mailbox! What's so special about this mailbox.....See pictures below...........................

In the first picture, you are looking to the north. The mountain range is the Bitterroot. In the second picture....I spotted him and made John back up the car to take his picture. He was so cute walking along the top railing of the fence. And then the last picture....cute mailbox, huh!?!

Where does the time go?? and wolves.

I can't believe it has been almost a week since I last posted. I guess that's what happens when you are busy. I had to fill a bread order (only 1 loaf) and a gift basket order this week. Every week since the start of the market (with the exception of the first week) I have had extra orders to fill throughout the week...whether it was bread or soaps...or both! I have been selling on average 8 loaves of sourdough each week....and I think I need to step up my cinnamon raisin swirl and cinnamon raisin walnut. I was sold out of both by 10 am...and the market only opened at 9! I had a another girl come and ask about soap and/or lotion bars for favors for her wedding. So I am thinking....another small intimate affair. Boy was I wrong!!! She was talking like for 400 people! So I can only make 4 batches of soap at a time.....each batch gives me 13 bars.....umm....that would take me like (realistically) about two weeks to fill her order! So I'm having mixed emotions about the possibility of this really happening. But I'm kinda leaning more towards hoping she'll pass on the idea. But I think that prospect of that is kinda slim because she is sorta trying to keep a theme going with her wedding. She is trying to get everything as local as possible, seeing as how her engagement ring is a Montana sapphire. Montana is know for their sapphires. Not too much else going on around here....in local news in the same article....a gray wolf was killed along I 90 and Sasquatch was also spotted along I 90. So I guess you'll never know what you'll find around the next corner.
Montana is planning on having their first wolf hunt this fall. The incident of livestock and pets being killed by wolves is becoming more and more prevalent. Just last week three llamas were killed just north of Stevi. Well, two were actually killed and one was so badly injured, it had to be put down. The week before that there was a report of a rancher killing a wolf because (supposedly) he had seen it harrassing his livestock. They are also for the first time planning on decreasing their elk harvest limits. Due to the increased number of wolves....their presence is dramatically impacting the herd numbers. So around here there are basically two groups of people wolf haters and those who want to save the wolves at all cost!