Like a Thing that Taunts You

After nearly a week of constant snow here, we got a break. It was beautiful today... brightest sunshine, not a cloud in the sky, some wind, gorgeous.

Every time I looked out the giant front windows I swore under my breath. Because today, being outside could kill you. Windchill estimates ranged from 9-11 minutes outdoors until frost bite. School was cancelled for today and tomorrow. The dogs have resorted to peeing on the driveway. My friends are texting me with their emergency-wine-stock lists.

However, we used to live in Montana. We have a wardrobe for this weather. We learned a few lessons from the locals. And we survived an insane night with no power and no insulation (except dogs).

Stephan reminded me last night (as I was reviewing our own stocks of beans, rice, wheat flower, and tuna) that we've done a LOT more with a LOT less. So here's to being thankful for our wonderful, solid, house, our 2-year-old furnace, and the Home Depot 1/4 mile away if we need anything.

In Plevna, which is in Montana, where there are no phones and nothing grows

Here is the outhouse. I'm in a rush today to get out to Miles City to get a router so I can get internet in the house. Whew! Well, my cell phone doesn't work at all in the house, and Stephan's is pretty good, but he left it at the hospital last night. I promise to upload the new cow photos tomorrow. Tonight and tomorrow look like more painting, more moving furniture, and more cleaning!

As I saw on another website as an expression of happiness: woot.

Busy Weekend

Sorry that I left you hanging! We were so busy it was hard to fit in updates.

Friday: Off to the hospital to watch the fax machine and wait for the last piece of paper to send off his application for the NELRP scholarship. Bringing the final package with all the documentation and the Montana license number to the post office I was giddy. All that work and worry, and all of the sudden it was out of my hands. What a miracle. We later made a list of miracles that happened to help us along the way here. It's a very long list. Travis and Stephanie won the "Best Friends of the Week" award when we received Lou-2-Go Chicago Pizza in the mail! I was so excited I wanted to thaw them right away, but we decided to be patient and wait for them to defrost in the fridge... Off to the house to continue the plaster wall repair. It was a long day, with cabinet varnishing thrown in for good measure. Dinner at the Plevna Bar, and more work!

Saturday:Started at Cindy and Larry's farm where I fed a bottle to a newborn calf. I held a 3-month old baby boy for a while, while Stephan learned how to break a horse from Larry. I'm sure we'll be back there soon to learn more about life on the farm. Look for photos soon. More home repair, and our first dinner in our home, the wonderful pizza from the Harrisons!! We left that night to spend one more night at the Prince's.

Sunday:Packed up the rest of our stuff out of the Baker garage, painted the bedroom, and put together our IKEA bed. It was much easier this the second time. We slept there last night, and Stephan got up to work at 4:30 this morning. I'm putting together some promotional materials today, and finishing up some trim painting this afternoon. We don't have internet access at the Plevna house yet, so please be patient with updates for the next few days.

Since prayers and good thoughts worked so well for us the last few weeks, we'd like to ask people to turn their thoughts to our friends and family members who are having a hard time right now.

Bob-bob

I'll get to the calf in a minute. This morning, after a short nap, Stephan called the Illinois Department of Big Jerks Who Could Really Care Less About Your Question (and that's putting it nicely) and found out that the person who told me that his license would be processed in 2-4 days was fired. She was fired because she was wrong. There is no way, no amount of money, or urgency, that will get the Illinois Board to process a license faster than 4-6 weeks.

Then, we tried just applying for licensing in Montana (Montana, where you can be a licensed "Wrestler"). They need Stephan's test score sent over... from the Illinois Board, which apparently 'owns' the score once the testing center gives it to them. The testing center claims to not even have the score anymore. And quess what? The Illinois Department of Kiss My Butt will, under no circumstances, release that information to anyone. Ever.

Then, just for fun, I went with Laurie to see the house we're "moving into" tomorrow. Turns out that the previous tenant physically tore the washing machine from the wall and water supply, thus breaking the water line in a way that required the water supply to the house to be turned off. And then the pipe leaked. There's not much damage, but there is no water. Laurie's husband can fix it tonight if (seriously, I'm not making this up) the two cows he's watching give birth their calves by then.

Stephan promises that I will look back at today and laugh at everything that's happening. Once we figure out how to pay back his student loans without the scholarship, once we start moving into the house we've bought, once I've set up my corporation and get back to work, I will think that the birth of a calf being responsible for the water condition of our house is hysterical.

I'm not there yet. Not even close. After I dropped Stephan off at work (an hour early because they were short-staffed all day due to the snow storm) I sat on the couch. Elysium crawled up to me, wearing nothing but a diaper, and sat in my lap. She pulled a blanket over the two of us, and we watched Sponge Bob together. For 30 minutes there was nothing more important in the world than whether or not Patrick Star was going to get a driver's license and win a boat-mobile.

Trivia: What is the only North American gem to be included in the Crown Jewels of England?

Baker: Day 10

As if Baker wasn't small enough... turns out one of the nicest houses we've seen is located in Plevna, population: 131. The house is SO cute! Perfect size, perfect condition (with room for customization), big plot of land, one car garage, dog-run, and of course a chicken coop! We're going to the bank today to check on financing. Wish us luck!

I promise to post actual photos I've taken once I find the camera cable- but that still might be a while since everything is so packed into the garage. I did manage to find my basket of lotions and hair ointments, so at least I'm on my way back to shiny hair. Stephan is thrilled.

12 Miles West of 40 Miles South of Nowhere

Today we took a short tour of Plevna, Montana. There is a small house for sale there for $15,000. The town is smaller than I would have ever imagined. In 2003, the population was 131. Apparently there's a high school there, but I didn't see one.

We did see the Sand Stone Fishing...um... thing. Which was beautiful, with views of some smaller mountains in the distance, and little picnic areas set next to the lake. It was a beautiful drive, which helped me remember why I wanted to live here. I'll have to bring my camera next time we venture out of the city. It IS big sky country for real. It felt like we were up right next to the clouds. Amazing and beautiful.