Idaho

Welcome to Nuestro Sueño, my Aunt Lori's ranch, deep in a canyon in Idaho. It is the heart and home of all the dreams she shared with my Uncle Jay, cowboy, cowboy poet, artist and rancher, who passed away long before his time, 14 years ago. My brave, tough and tiny little aunt has continued to run 100 head of cattle and 25 or so sheep almost every year since, all by her lonesome.

Lori's ranch is so far off the grid you simply won't believe it. There are 7 miles of winding dirt road, often on the edge of stomach dropping cliffs, before you even reach the hard-surface road. She has never had electricity and when she and Jay first moved in, they had a crank up telephone that only connected to the operator, a neighbor at the top of the canyon, in the afternoon...on good days. She now has a "real" phone and has solar panels to run what little electricity she uses, often just to listen to a book on tape or turn on a reading light.

The Scale of Things, originally uploaded by maryjanemidgemink.

Woolly Time

On our way to visit my aunt's ranch in Idaho, my mom and I stayed overnight in Pendleton Oregon, home of the Pendleton Round Up, a rodeo my uncle participated in when he was a young buck.



The next morning was spent touring the Pendleton Woolen Mill.







Jiggly pictures all, but it was a whirling jiggly place...loud too!

They have a fabulous Seconds Shop where you can get the famous wool blankets at an amazing discount. I couldn't believe my luck in finding a Three Corn Maidens saddle blanket.



Here's what they say about it:

The Three Corn Maidens design tells the story of the Pueblo people's belief that just as the sun gives life to the corn, the Corn Maidens bring the power of life to the people. The blanket was designed by Isleta Pueblo artist Mary Beth Jiron as a celebration of her acceptance into the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Jiron attributes the concept to visions she had and the desire to tell a story from her own culture in which corn is the staff of life and often the center of ceremony. Three Corn Maidens is the second design in the American Indian College Fund's series of student-designed blankets. The Three Corn Maidens design won first place in the student blanket contest.

Welcome to the Wild West

I'll be posting in fits and starts, due to many factors, stay tuned!

The Little House

The Little House, originally uploaded by maryjanemidgemink.

I'm home!