Farewell!

This will be my last blog post...Lord willing....






















...for a few days.  :)





It is uncertain whether 1 or 2 of my friends is riding along with me to the Bison, SD area tomorrow to go and visit one of the best friends I've ever had---Dorena W!   We'll be spending a few days there and then plan to return home on Tuesday.   Prayers for safe travels would be appreciated.

It's been fun planning and packing and communicating---trying to work out the details of this vacation.  Today, after getting home from work, I pressed and packed my clothes and some music books too.  Tomorrow, I want to wash my car again (it got very dirty from driving on gravel roads after it rained a few days back!); bake some pies for my family; put together a boxful of garden goodies for Dorena; pack my computer and toothbrush; and help with as much housecleaning as possible before heading out.  I've already packed my camera, so I hope to have lots of pictures to share when we return to ND!  

God be with you 'til we meet again.~ 

Little girls and music...

The girls and I were twirling around in the kitchen this afternoon while listening to music, me with my baby (Tracy Jo) and Johanna with her baby (a doll that she calls her baby).  :) 

When I got home tonight, after doing chores and eating supper, I was practicing my violin and Andrew came in with his banjo, so we've been attempting to play songs together.  Some of it sounded ok even.  ;)

The current book I'm reading...

...is about potty-training.  :)  Johanna has days where she wants to go potty on the big-girl-potty often and then other days where she doesn't want anything to do with it.  Today was a good day.  It's a learning experience for us all though!

My dad hauled sunflowers today.  Mom and Jacob worked on his school lessons.  Andrew drove to Minot and bought a vehicle lift to put in the shop so they can actually work underneath vehicles comfortably. 

AND, it was cold and wet out today.  The gravel roads were quite muddy, but I only slipped a little bit once with my car.  There's a possibility of waking to a blanket of white over everything?

Counting my blessings.....

When I was done watching my little sweethearts today, I went over and visited my friends, Lauretta and Sarena and their brother.  We played music for a while (I really like when Lauretta plays the piano and then Sarena plays along with me with her violin so I can hear the way that it's really supposed to sound!) :)  Then we talked; ate pie/cake; did some Bible Trivia; looked at old pictures; listened to a violin CD; and played ping-pong. 

When I think back to last year at this time, working at the nursing home and wondering how long I'd be doing the same routine of life over and over (not that it was all boring, but a lot of it was the same thing over and over----and dealing with losing so many people who I cared for was so hard too), it seems too good to be true to be living the life I'm living now.  :)  I praise God for His blessings and answers to prayer!!!  Zach and Paula are SO good to me and are more like family than my bosses.   AND, to have little girls to watch and teach is so fun as I only helped raise boys before (AKA: my brothers).  AND, to have Lauretta and Sarena so close by---friends that share a lot of the same interests and backgrounds---is such a dream come true!  AND, I'm learning to play violin---finally.   AND, I don't have to deal with tons of paperwork for my cattle loan through FSA anymore as I transferred my loan to the local bank and they only ask for a sensible amount of paperwork.  ;)  AND, I'm going down to SD this weekend to see my forever friend, Dorena, whom I didn't see at all last year.   AND, we have a volleyball net and ping-pong table this year for extra exercise and fun!  AND, I have my own cute little car now.  :)   All of this is so different from last year at this time.  A very good different! 

Velvety Carrot Soup---with lumps.

After peeling and slicing several carrots this afternoon, I was trying to decide what to make with them and then remembered a recipe I'd seen in the Penzey's Spices catalog for carrot soup.  After the carrots and onions were cooked in the chicken broth and spices, you were supposed to grind it all up in a blender to make a velvety smooth soup.  However, our menfolk aren't all that fond of soup and prefer stew, so I left the chunks of carrots as they were and they said that the soup actually tasted better than it looked, which I think is progress? 

Let's see.....   What did we do today. 

Andrew's account is easy as he spent the whole day in Stan's combine again.

My dad checked cows this morning; changed the oil in my car; he and Jacob pushed Jacob's vehicle back in the shop (we'd pushed it out yesterday so we could set up the ping-pong table); he went over to Stans' farm and loaded up a load of sunflowers to take to Enderlin in the morning early; then he worked on setting up and starting his new used air-compressor which is very loud!

My mom, Jacob and I separated the several gallons of milk Andrew's been saving up for us the last few days and got 7 quarts of cream.  :)    My mom asked Jacob to whip up one of the quarts into whipped cream so we could make ice cream, but it had been so long since he'd done this that he actually started making it into butter after he added the honey and vanilla to it, SO, I finished whipping it into butter and now we have some sweet butter to use in things we don't mind being sweet!   I also added a pint of cream to the carrot soup.  Yummy!  We never did get our ice cream made though.

What else did we do?  Hmmmm....   Well, my mom did a session for a friend; worked on changing her Summer/Winter clothes around; I changed all of my dad's shirts around (from Summer to Winter); I baked a chocolate zucchini cake; we made hot chocolate for supper; Jacob and I played volleyball for a while after doing the evening chores together (I did all of the milking---the cow and goats, while he did everything else); I started our new batch of water kefir; we watched "What the Deaf Man Heard" this evening; I vacuumed out and washed (inside and out) my car; practiced my violin for a while and packed a bit for my vacation trip this weekend; Mom did a bunch of dishes; Jacob worked on his vehicle; Oh, and we tidied up the house a bit before my former-coworker, April came out for a little visit and to pick up the recommendation I'd written for her so she can go to school in Rome next year. 

Andrew just got home from combining about half an hour ago and is eating his supper.  Long days, but good days!

And now--------------it's family prayer time, so goodbye for now.

We just got home...

...after watching a play that was done by the Bismarck college.  We all enjoyed it, though it had a sad ending.  :(

Afterwards, Dad bought us Flurries at McDonalds.  We tried going to DQ instead, but they were already closed for the night.  The ice cream was super yummy!

This afternoon, my dad, brothers and I played ping-pong for about 3 hours in the shop.  I think we're improving?  It was lots of fun anyways...

Clothes switching...

The boys got down our Winter clothes from the attic this afternoon, so the rest of the afternoon was spent in taking clothes off of hangers and getting them out of drawers, only to refill the drawers and hangers with warmer clothing.  'Tis the season for doing such things, I guess.  I had Andrew put a couple of boxes of things in my hopechest corner of the attic, but he said I can't put anything more there as there is absolutely no more room.  :)   "One of these days, the floor of the attic is just going to cave in", so he says.    I guess it's time to marry and have a home of my own?----OR, just quit storing things for later use....  Hmmmmm.

We cleaned the house; the boys helped me make supper this time (scalloped potatoes and sausage, sweet potato casserole, and brownies for dessert); my dad hauled grain all day long (he got up very early and left so that he could get 6 loads hauled between Hazelton and Sterling); Mom and Jacob went to Napoleon to deliver one of Dr. Mercola's "Sunsplash" machines to a lady there who wanted to buy one of the two that my mom owned (Jacob went along to install it for this lady); Andrew helped me get directions on Google Maps and I printed off a map for the trip that some girl-friends and I plan to take next weekend (I like to plan ahead and enjoy the anticipation of a great time all the longer!);  my mom did a major cleaning/reorganizing of the living room bookcases so as to fit in the new books she bought at a recent auction sale and to get rid of the ones we most likely will never read; oh, and the boys rounded up/roped Andrea's calf (who is 2+ months old now) and put her in with Sallys' calf, as Andreas's calf stole all of Sally's milk this morning and Andrew barely had enough to feed Sallys' calf! (The guys loaded up our blind cow, Andrea and hauled her to the butcher shop yesterday morning, which is why the calf was hungry and took advantage of the situation). 

It was a busy day and we're ready for a day of rest!

For those of you interested in what water kefir is and how it's made, here are a couple of links to websites I found that are helpful....  HERE and HERE.

Just a bit on the breezy side...

...that it was.  Actually, quite windy, to be exact.

I spent a good portion of the day over caring for Johanna and Tracy Jo.  They're so fun...

My family loaded up 2 cows and my dad hauled them to the butcher shop in Linton this morning, then my mom and Jacob headed for Bismarck.  They came back with some funny stories to tell and also with a couple of neat things they found at a Thrift Store---Jacob's bargain being a bagful of ping-pong supplies that he bought for not quite $4 which, had the paddles and nets and balls been new, would have cost in the $80 range.  :)

Andrew and my dad then worked in the shop on projects.  They're trying to make room in the back of the shop to set up the large air-compressor that my dad bought at the consignment sale a few weeks back. 

This evening, we took some time to play a few rounds of "Funglish".  Fun?  Yes!

It was a cold, blustery day.

The kind of day that makes you almost fall asleep while rocking little girls to sleep.  ;) 

I just got home a bit ago and my dad just got home now from Bismarck after running errands and then helping his folks with picking out a TV and getting it hooked up for them (as their old one broke beyond repair). 

Andrew and Jacob spent the day in the shop.  My mom went through the house looking for things to donate as she came home with several things from the auction sale on Sunday and now needs room for them!

I might be sleeping on the couch tonight as the wind is blowing through my windows tonight and it's rather chilly in here.   Where did our Summer go to?

Pickled beets...

It seems like people either hate them, or love them.   Our family all loves them and so, one of the things I did when I got home from babysitting was to peel/cut up the large kettle of beets we'd cooked and to make a large potful of pickled beets.  I also ground up some apples into sauce using our Vita-Mix and got the apple juice and sauce in jars--ready to be canned.  My mom started some milk cooking on the stove and while she was out doing chores this evening, I made it into Queso Blanco (sp?) cheese----AKA: Vinegar cheese.  I also strained the finished batch of water kefir and started a new batch.  My mom baked bread.  Jacob shelled off all of the dried sweet corn we'd saved and I made some of it into Johnny Cake (a sweet cornbread).  My mom also made us some steak for supper and I put a buttercup squash in the oven also for the same purpose, so our kitchen was filled with tempting odors by the time Dad and Andrew got home.  :)

I pulled 2 girls...

...in their little red wagon down the gravel road a piece.   They played with their bubble wands all the while, or else laughed at the dogs running beside and in front of us.  The girls were happy today, the weather was gorgeous, and life is good. 

My mom and Jacob dug up the rest of the potatoes and carrots and hauled them into the house, so the garden is officially closed for the year.  :) 

Andrew got home around 10:00 tonight after combining sunflowers all day for Stan.  My dad is now hauling sunflowers for Stan as well.  In fact, he just took off from home a little while ago to drive over to Enderlin and will spend the night there in his truck as he hopes to get through the line quickly in the morning and get another load over there before they switch to only taking a different kind of sunflowers for the rest of the week.  If you read this in the next 2 hours, you can join us in praying for safe travels for him.   It's been a long day already.   We sent along a yummy breakfast----homemade granola with homemade yogurt and strawberries from Azure, so that should be a nice thing to wake up to.~

Potatoes, carrots and beets...

We dug, pulled, twisted and tugged these vegetables out of the garden soil this morning and afternoon.  Jacob helped me a lot this afternoon actually, as my mom and Andrew went to the auction sale of a couple we know.  My dad went to the sale this evening to help afterwards, as Andrew called and said this couple had asked for help and said the sale would be going late tonight and then there was cleanup to do, so the 3 of them are working on that. 

Meanwhile,  Jacob got Sally in from the pasture for me then I milked Sally and he did the other chores, including bottle-feeding Sally's calf once I had enough milk squeezed out to fill the bottle.  Sally's giving approx. 3 gallons per milking now.  :)    Then, we played ping-pong for about an hour until we were hot and tired and now, we're on our computers....

The sun was shining...

...and it was just a beautiful day for playing volleyball outside.   We also played ping-pong some and saw some improvement compared to how we played yesterday.  :)   Later on this evening, some friends came over and played games with us.  It was just a nice day.

Ping, ping, ping, pong.

Jacob and I had some fun this morning practicing our ping-pong skills, which are pretty close to 0 (speaking for myself anyway).  Our Delzer grandparents had a table downstairs, but it sat on top of the pool table and we usually thought of pool as a more fun game to play, so the ping pong table disappeared and I've maybe played 5 games before this morning?  Maybe.  We practiced hitting it back and forth NICELY---you know, actually trying to get it to the other person instead of away from them, and we made it up to passing it over the net 39 times before goofing.  :)  Then, my dad came home and took the 2 of us on and won right away!

This afternoon, I went over to the Mochs and helped "Grandma" Dianne with the little girls, watching the 3 of them while she cleaned out her vehicle a bit and also took a needed nap.  Then, we picked out some nice clothes for the little girls and dressed them up and did their hair cute so they'd be all ready to go to a surprise birthday party that "Grandma" Dianne was taking them to in Steele this evening. 

When I got home, Mom and I cleaned the house and did some cooking and then Andrew and I did the evening chores.  The goats are producing better than they have been, possibly due to being fed some alfalfa hay now that the pasture is pretty much all eaten up.  (I milked off half a gallon from the 2 goats.)  Andrew's cow, Sally is feeling back to her old self and is giving almost 3 gallons of milk per milking, so the kitties are HAPPY!   He's going to start saving some milk for us pretty soon too so we can separate it and make our own ice cream.  Yummmmmmmy!

Andrew went to Mobridge this morning and bought 2 more 4-wheelers to repair.  I suppose we won't have room in the shop for the ping-pong table for much longer......

3 little girls...

Today I watched/cared for 3 little girls---"my" 2 little girls + their 1 little cousin = 3 busy girls and 1 busy babysitter (especially since they are all under 2 years old).  :)    It went well, although Johanna wasn't too fond of the idea of sharing some of her toys with her cousin.  Sharing is a good lesson to learn early in life, and I'm sure she will learn it. 

Once their grandparents arrived to take charge, I headed over for a nice chat with Lauretta and one of her sisters.  We played piano/violins for a while too, then just talked and relaxed.  It was really nice.

When I got home, I finally heard about my parents' anniversary....  They went out to supper at AppleBees, as they'd never gone there before and wanted to see what it was like, then they did a little shopping and later, (at 9:30PM) went to the theater to watch a movie that they really knew very little about.  It was called "Hope Springs" and was about a couple who had been married for 31 years and were having marriage troubles and, long story short, they went through some counseling and then renewed their marriage vows on their 32nd anniversary.    What a neat movie for my parents to see on their 32nd anniversary!!!!  They said they were the only ones in the theater room too, so it was a really neat experience for them.


Today, my brothers went to Bismarck for several reasons and came home with a vehicle that Jacob bought and is going to fix up to sell (does this sound familiar to anybody else other than me?), and a PING-PONG table!  Andrew said they also went to Scheels and bought some new paddles, as the ones that came with the used fold-up table were not in good condition.  They set it up in the shop and were playing already, so I hear.  :)

My dad worked at home on his semi and things, and my mom was busy in the house, I believe, and maybe did some health sessions for people?

It's hard to keep track of what everyone does nowadays...

Happy anniversary...

...to my parents!  They're still in Bismarck, as they went out for supper and then went to see a movie.  :)  I'm sure they're having a nice time.

I don't know what the boys kept themselves busy with today (outside of going to Jamestown to buy another 4-wheeler to work on), but I was over caring for Johanna and Tracy Jo from about 11:00AM to a little after 8:30PM.  They're so much fun.  Their mama left for a meeting in Nebraska shortly after I got there and their dad was over in the Fargo area buying something for the farm, so that's why it was a later day.

I thought I'd give a little update on Sally, Andrew's milk cow:  She wasn't standing by the next morning after we gave her that calcium, so Andrew had the vet come out and he gave her a cal/phos mix via IV and after a few hours, she got up and is doing better now.  It must have been milk fever she was dealing with.  Andrew pulled her calf off of her right away and has been feeding him goats' milk until Sally is well enough to be milked...  She was in pretty sorry shape there for a while.  We're all so glad she's on the mend!

Skip this post...

....if you are not fond of seeing people with rifles in their hands...

Well, ok, I guess there are a few pictures that might interest you even if that is the case.

This is part of the Fall display that my mom and I made last week:

 These next few pictures were taken last Friday.  Here my dad is lifting Andrew up in the 9030 loader bucket so he can put up the light my dad bought for our volleyball "Court".  Now we can really play in the dark!

 The light even has a cage around it, just in case...

 Meanwhile, our friend, Virginia came and helped us cook and bake all afternoon.  We had so much fun and made some hot salsa (adding too many peppers due to visiting)... ;)

 The fellas also built an outhouse.  It was fairly cold outside, so they built it in the shop (and started the woodstove burning), then hauled it out to the range with the tractor...

 Here my dad is snipping the see-through plastic for the roof...

 Instructor-in-training, Mike, and his wife, Deb (Apple Core lady---meaning she helps with whatever needs doing) from MN arrived at our farm around 5:00 that evening.  They were planning to sleep out in a tent, but it was so cold that we finally convinced them to stay in the house.  I think they were very glad too, especially when we woke to snow on the ground again!

Shoot Boss, Alex, (who drives 11 hours from Iowa to get here) arrived a little after midnight and slept in his favorite spot---his car.  He stayed down at the range this time so the dogs wouldn't bark so much when he got here, but they still barked.  :)

We were so glad that our friend, Virginia (the lady who helped us in the kitchen on Friday) was able to join us for the shoot too (that's her in the black stocking cap)...

My brother, Andrew--an instructor-in-training with the Appleseed program...

Jeff and his son, Erin came on Saturday...

We ate our meals and listened to part of the history lesson in the wood-burner-stove heated shop.  Here, Andrew was mixing up cups of hot chocolate for everybody who wanted some...

Everyone brought food to share and there was plenty to go around.  The big kettle of potato soup was all gone by the end of Saturdays noon meal.

Back out to the range...  

The guy in the green cap here is our shoot boss, Alex.  The other man in an orange hat and green coat is the other instructor-in-training, Mike.

We had 16 shooters on the line on Saturday...

Our shooters:  Kyle H. from the Williston area, Jerome B. (my dad's cousin and a good friend to our family) from near Jamestown, Mr. K and his 2 daughters, Rennah and Reanna from the Dickenson area, Jacob (my brother), Dawn (my mom), Virginia M. from Hazelton, Andrew W. (a friend of Lauretta and Sarena's) from Aberdeen, Thaddaeus L., myself, Lauretta L., Erin M. and Jeff M. from the Hazelton area.  Also, not pictured on the line currently: Forrest S. from Bismarck,  "J"---our youngest shooter and my neighbor on the shooting line most of the time, and Sarena L. who took turns with her brother, Thaddaeus shooting, as they both had made Rifleman at our last shoot and were just shooting to see if they could get better scores (and I'm pretty sure they did too)...

Shooting in the prone position...

The weather was tollerably warm on Saturday...

Alex and Andrew helping Lauretta with something or other on her rifle...?  (and yes, that's me, adjusting my dad's cap).

Seeing how we did...

The K. family and Jerome...

Loading our mags on the go...

Andrew W. (in the grey shirt, sitting up) shot most of the time with his loud gun (an AR), although he let others try it out too...

We still have room for about this many more shooters again on our range.  That would be quite a line-up though, wouldn't it?  Hopefully, as word spreads, future Appleseeds will be that large!

Little-miss-riding-hood there is my mom...

Having the first part of the history lesson in the wind-break of the bales... 

Alex, shedding a layer so as to be able to demonstrate the proper sitting position for shooting...

This is probably the funniest looking picture of the whole weekend!  Alex is getting us ready to put our elbows in the right place---in front of our knees, to have the proper position...

Like this...

My dad's hip/back was hurting him too much this time for him to shoot, so he watched and visited with other spectators...  
Many thanks to Sarena who took most of the 500 pictures we have of the weekend!  Also, thank you to Josephine and members of my own family who also took a few photos here and there.

Virginia (she's a Sharpshooter!)...

Thaddaeus, already a Rifleman (from our previous shoot)...

Lauretta in the camo skirt she made herself.  She made Rifleman score on Sunday!  She and I were shooting side by side and both made "Rifleman" during the same round of shooting AQTs.  :)

Andrew W. also made "Rifleman" status on Sunday---while shooting a '22 though!

IIT Mike, helping out on the line...

Rennah K. did very well, as did her sister...  Their dad has eye troubles, so was having a hard time even seeing the targets, but he came more for the time he could spend with his girls, so was happy.

Jeff (putting in ear-plugs?) and his grown son...   

Waiting for the line to be cleared...

"Make sure your rifle is safe!"

"How did we do?"  Hmmmm

The parking lot...

Kyle H. and Jerome B.---neighbors on the firing line...  You get to know your neighbor pretty well after shooting next to them for a couple of days.

Alex, running the timer...  YES, the AQT (Army Qualification Test) is timed!

That evening, we played volleyball for a while until it got too cold, then we visited and played some music in the house, then visited in the shop pretty late.

These pictures are from Sunday now.  That morning was SOOO cold and miserable when you had to take your gloves off to shoot.  But, everyone stuck with it and just added more coats/blankets as needed, and that's actually when Lauretta and I scored our first Rifleman scores!  We shot more Rifleman scores later in the day too... 

Deb, Mike's wife, staying warm under my horse blanket and watching with Millie...

Kyle H...

IIT Mike spent a lot of time helping Forrest, as he was pretty new to shooting and, by the end of the 2nd day, he was shooting pretty well...

Mr. Smiley (AKA: Andrew)...

"Shooters, you may proceed down range to retrieve your targets..."

Brrrr...

Returning for the next course of fire...

Me and my pink shooting glasses---and several layers of shirts/sweater/jacket/hat and coat...  No wonder I look so well padded. 

I think this was when Alex was scoring Lauretta and my (and others) qualifying AQT!  I really didn't think I'd made it, so was surprised to see "219" written there when Alex handed it to me!

After eating lunch in the shop again, the sun came out and we were able to take off some coats and actually enjoy the day!  Here is our youngest shooter, shooting the biggest gun.  :)

Andrew W....  He enjoyed his time and may come again sometime, bringing some friends along from SD.

Me, shooting standing--which I still need to practice a good deal!  While shooting the AQT standing position course of fire, you have 2 minutes to get your 10 shots into the largest target--hoping to get 5 points per shot, or at least 4 or 3!

Lauretta and I, in our least favorite position--sitting!  I think we have both improved since the last shoot though.

Waiting for the "Fire" command...  Once it's given, you have to drop into sitting position, load, take your safety off, get your natural point of aim, breath in and out and fire 5 rounds at the left target, shift your natural point of aim, changing your mag after 1 or 2 shots, and shoot your last 5 rounds of ammo. into that target---and do all of that in 55 seconds.  We didn't always get all of our bullets off before "Cease fire, cease fire, cease fire. Unload and clear." was called and we HAD to stop.

Bang, bang, bang...  Everyone must wear ear and eye protection, for obvious reasons!

Lauretta, loading her mag...

Andrew's inspecting my target closely!

Someone dropped something?

Awwww---sunshine!

Mom and the Andrews...

Getting our slings on...

In this course of fire, you wait until the "Fire" command is given, then...

...you drop into prone position, get your NPOA, be sure to have your elbow placed right, your hands in the right positions, breathing correctly, etc....

...then you fire, 3 at the first target, change your NPOA, 3 at the next target, change, 4 at the last target.  These targets are smaller than the sitting ones...and you have 65 seconds to get these shots off, oh, and you have to do one mag change also!

And, meanwhile, Alex is watching how you're doing while standing behind the line....

During the last course of fire, which is my personal favorite :), you get to start in prone position and shoot 2 times at the first target, 2 at the next, then 3 and 3.  There are no mag changes and you have 5 minutes to shoot your 10 shots off.  The catch is that the targets are very, very small, but it's fun!  Plus, whatever points you make during this stage, you get to double the number to add to your score to see if you made Rifleman!

This was taken during a "Rapid fire AQT", in which you do all 4 stages (standing, sitting, prone and prone again), a total of 40 shots, in 4 minutes time.  In between positions, you have to drop your empty mag and put your safety on before moving. 

As a side note, it's snowing right now as I write this.  I guess it could have been worse weather during our shoot!

Some new friends from over by Hazelton dropped in towards the end of the day on Sunday to see if the Appleseed program would be something they'd be interested in attending next year, which, it is.  :)

Jacob and Kyle H. got quite close to making Rifleman.   Jacob had rifle/scope issues AGAIN.  Poor guy!

Sarena, getting ready to shoot Andrew W.'s gun some more...

Virginia and Lauretta, apparently enjoying their time...

Awwww....  Even more sunshine!

Now it's Sarena's turn to spy on our targets...  ;)

Lady takes off for the farmyard every time we start shooting, but Millie just makes herself comfortable!

"Instructor"...

Posting new targets...

Comparing scores...

Our very recent friend, Deb let my mom use her elbow pads...  I was bundled up so much that my elbows weren't even the least bit sore after this shoot.  :)

Jacob can still smile, so that's a good sign.   I know he'll make Rifleman soon!

My mom and Virginia were shooting pals...

Another rapid-fire AQT...  See Alex holding the timer?

We're shooting from approx. 25 yards distance...

The targets...  Alex said he'd build a range like this if he only had enough room in his backyard.  :)

Aren't the clouds beautiful in this picture?

Waiting....for something...

Oh, and here is the outhouse...  It still needs to be painted and the door needs a spring on it, but it was useable...

Alex is a very devoted person!!  He was our shoot boss 3 years ago at our first Appleseed and is still going strong, traveling all over several states on the weekends to help teach people how to shoot well.  I believe he only gets paid for his gas and maybe some for meals.  He teaches because he enjoys it? and believes in the quality program that Project Appleseed really is!    We're all blessed to have him...  He says he'll come back again next year, so maybe some of you can meet him then!

In "Prep" stage...

Guess who again?

Alex looks the most relaxed in this picture!

Another standing shot...

I sat out on 2 rapid firing rounds, as the last time I did it at our August shoot, I wasn't very accurate.  I decided to try it again this time finally and was surprised to make 217 on it!  We didn't have enough mags to go around, so Andrew, Lauretta and Sarena are sitting behind those of us shooting so as to refill our mags for us after we'd shot one empty so we could get done in the 4 minutes we had. 

...they're reaching for our empty mags...

...and now Sarena's spying on us to see how we're doing.  :)

Andrew W., Virginia, Mom and Jacob doing the rapid fire up on their side of the range...

Resting...

"How did you do?"

Sarena made "Rifleman" several times on Sunday!  She already had her badge though...

...as did this fella...

Load your mags with 2 and 8....

Sarena's shooting glasses...  :)

Now Lauretta looks cold...

Thaddaeus shot Lauretta's rifle for a while when she was tired...

Sittin' shootin'....

You wouldn't think that shooting would be tiring, but......it can be.

Mike, picking up a target?

Andrew, showing some young friends how the AQTs are scored...

The 3 Musketeers?  Well, not quite...

It looks like he had an attentive audience!

A colorful photo....

The North siders...

The South siders...

...and the ladies in the middle.  We're actually missing some people in these 3 photos though...

My mom looks a bit tired.

I'm not quite sure why some are standing and others are lying down, but I'm sure there's a reason.

Jacob Austin...

Sarena...

Millie, holding an AQT target...

Getting close to the end...

Posting one more AQT...

We used push-pins to hold the targets up and would occasionally need to get a new one when someone's aim was off and they blew the top of the pin off!

Virginia and Jacob loading up another rounds worth of bullets...

Lauretta at our home---on the range...

"Can you add up my score, Andrew?"

Time for the last piece of history...

Mike and Deb...

...and Andrew W....

AND, finally, one last target to shoot at, "The red coat"...  You can shoot this one in your favorite position, which is why some are standing and some are prone...

"How did we do, Sarena?"

Hurry up, Andrew...

"Did you get all of yours?"

Then, Alex gave out 3 Rifleman badges.  :)

I picked a purple one...

Alex and Andrew W...

Alex and I...

And Alex and Lauretta...

She picked a tan badge, obviously...

Putting the rifles away...  Alex and Mike loaned several shooters their rifles or slings or mags, so they had to be sure to get their supplies back.

Visiting with Deb a bit before they head for home...

They were really a nice couple and we enjoyed having them here!  She cleaned up the kitchen for us Saturday night even, and had fun milking for the first time Sunday morning when she went out with Mom to care for the goats and turkeys....

Most everyone helped in picking up the brass...

...and blankets...

...and tarps...

...and more brass....

Alex headed for home that night yet.  He said he had the next day off of work, so at least he could get some sleep after another 11 hour drive all the way back to Iowa.

Jacob really liked Andrew...

I folded up the pile of blankets that Millie was lying on and, when I finally pulled the 2nd to last blanket out from underneath her, she decided to move. 

Saying goodbye to Alex...

Then, whomever didn't need to head for home came up to the yard for a fun time of volleyball and later, food!   Josephine had made some very yummy lasagna and burritoes to share, plus we had lots of leftovers from previous meals. 

After supper, we had fun making music together in the shop; singing a hymn acapella; visiting; playing pool; arm wrestling; and then went out and played more volleyball until around 10:30 when it started to sprinkle and everyone decided to call it a day, so to speak. 

Here is a picture of my rifle-case...

 

 

AND so, anyone who is still reading this far, that is all of the pictures that I think I'll share, as the rest are very much like the ones I've already shared and I don't really think you'd like to look through another 400 pictures now, would you?  :)

 

It was a great weekend!  Now we have Winter ahead of us, and then we can think about dates for future Appleseeds on our farm.

 

On a totally different note:

Tomorrow is my parent's 32nd wedding anniversary.  If you'd like, you can visit my mom's blog (A Ray Of Hope) and leave them a note there.