Christmas In Montana

Where to start? Christmas this year was a very good one. We enjoyed our visit to the ranch so much that we stayed an extra day. Christmas was one to remember with everything from the traditional goings on, a surprise visit, and a couple of tragedies, as well as a the icing on the cake, a Montana snow storm. There is lots to tell and so I'll stretch it out into a couple of posts, so I don't keep you here all day.
First....
For those who were distressed at my ornamentless tree, here is a fresh new look for my plastic everygreen. About a week before Christmas, the first of a few Christmas cards came in the mail. I sat them under my tree. Then one day I was cleaning the floors, and needed somewhere safe to put them, so I stuck them in the branches. It looked so nice, I left them there, and added the ones soon to come to my collection. So my tree was decorated with the season's greetings of friends and family.

After a few days at home relaxing, we left early Christmas Eve morning for the ranch. The sky was clear, the sun was bright, and it was only sixteen degrees below zero! (remind me to share later why this comment is dear to me...has to do with my favorite author) We were probably about 50 miles from home, out on the interstate, in a sparcely settled area of eastern Montana, when our pickup began to gel up, which basically means our fuel was freezing. We went slower and slower and slower, keeping our fingers crossed and praying we'd get to Forsyth, which is about 40 miles west of Miles City. Finally, we pulled over the last hill and coasted into Forsyth at a whopping 25 mph. After topping off with #1 fuel (a winter grade of diesel) and finding an auto parts store where Malcolm bought a fuel filter and wrench so he could change it, he did just that, and we were on our way again.
Christmas Eve was a special time of sharing and visiting. We had such a good time. Things were a little more hectic than planned because we found out that our friends, Boyd and Michelle with their three boys, were accepting the invite to drive up from Nebraska and join us Christmas day, but they more the merrier, and it turned out so true.
We had an untraditional Christmas Feast of Prime Rib. Peggy did an excellent job on it, with Chef Malcolm assisting, and Chef Sarah watching and trying to learn how. (I'll need a refresher course.)The meal and the company were especially nice for our special day.
What's this? A little Christmas Elf peeking around the tree? Oh no...it's just Paris. She was obsessed with the popcorn and cranberries Peggy had strung and hung on her tree. I was continually catching her snooping around in the packages trying to find a nice foot hold to climb on.
And finally....drum roll.....a shot of me. I don't think I have yet to post a shot of myself on here! Usually I'm the one behind the lens, but this special morning, I cornered Malcolm and had him take a picture of my and my girls, something I've been watning to do for some time.
OK....the note on my favorite author....
In The Long Winter (or is it Little Town on the Prairie?) Laura Wilder and her friends are going sleighing and they are happy and gay to be out doors and together again. It was such a beautiful day with no storms, and it was only twenty below zero. That comment in her book always facinated me. Twenty below....how cold that must feel! And let me tell you...it DOES feel quite cold, especially with a brisk wind to back it up. SO, leaving Christmas Eve morning and it was only sixteen below zero, I was reminded of that quote from her books, and it humored me. I can identify with her now, when before it was totally foreign to me.
More to come...