Saying goodbye to the good folks of Harlowton

 June 20, 2021

Today will be our last day to gather with our new friends in the Harlowton branch, as we leave on Friday. We will stop home and swap out some tools and things and then head for Pawhuska on Monday. We have grown to love it here so goodbyes swill be bittersweet.  

<------We are sad that we will miss the rodeo here, and especially the TESTICAL FESTIVAL!!  This is typically held in June (there are many of these across the US).  First time I have heard of such a thing!

This week was another especially hard work week as we were trying to get everything done before we leave.  We left for Billings (for supplies) in the 5-o'clock hour one day, then returned and went to work. 

Projects include light fixtures (where only bulbs hung), shiplap in a bathroom, tile in two kitchens and one bathroom, painting, fixing broken vinyl flooring, and porch railing, and installing baseboards. 

Wes's brother Dave and his wife Vickie stopped by late afternoon on their way to a reunion, so we were able to spend some time with them.  They stayed in town, but then returned the next morning in their work clothes and helped us with painting, tiling, etc.  They were invited to attend the branding with us afterwards, and then they hit the road.

We stopped by the  the Wind Generator location at Judith Gap and took a picture next to one of the massive propellers.

Elder Himle stands at the end of the wind generator tip.

And of course we had to take the drive to Moore for delicious ice cream!!

Dave and Vickie at the branding

So innocent (as a calf and two year old check each other out).

I won't be lying if I say I hope Oklahoma has some beautiful sunsets waiting for me.  I'll miss the calls of the sand hill cranes,  Goodbye Harlowton... Hello Pawhuska

Cows, eggs, temples and ....

Cows and bird eggs

The yearlings are curious (and very chicken).  They gather to watch us like we are aliens and then when we turn towards them, they stamped away like terrified chickens.  It is so entertaining.

See the dust?  We caused a stampede.

Bird eggs.  Isn't this an amazing shot?  I credit the BBQ grill (where they built the nest), not my photography skills! So much for burgers on the grill!

Preparation Day

Saturday we left at 6:00am for Billings.  It was our P-day and we stopped by the temple there around 7:30am. The temple is nestled below the rimrock bluffs up above.  The morning was beautiful and it was around 51 degrees.  Much warmer than when we left Harlowton (37 degrees)!!

Plumbing progress and new requests

Elder Himle is working on the last bathroom unit. So this week they ought to about finish up the last bathroom.  The ranch manager asked Elder Himle and I to fix up the Bunk House during the time we have left.  It is in sad need of some paint and TLC.  We embraced the opportunity and went to work. 

Garage Sale Blessings

We wanted to arrive in Billings early so we could go to some garage sales and purchase some much needed items for the bunkhouse.  I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to lead us to the things we needed and was amazed and humbled at how my specific requests were granted.  The bunk house had old mis-matched silverware and I really wanted a matching set.  I found a sturdy set in good shape for $2.  I wanted newer bed pillows and found 5 and most were brand new (one lady donated several new ones to our cause). We also found some mattress covers that were in fantastic shape for pennies.  I needed several shower caddies and was blessed to find two  brand new ones!  I also needed a water pitcher and a colander  Found a brand new pitcher and a colander in great shape.  Everything I requested we located (and for a great price).  I was so grateful.

We went to Habitat for Humanity Restore once again and found tile for just 20 cents apiece which will be used for a backsplash in the bunkhouse kitchen. We also got some other great deals.

Later that morning  the Gabel's taught us how to play Pickle-ball (or should I say tried to teach us) and then treated us to lunch at a Japanese restaurant.

Fashion among the "Little's"

I love seeing the little girls show up at church in their poke-dot or red cowboy boots.

And then there are also the car seat covers; definitely Cowboy style.  The little girl beneath the cover was visiting  the ranch with her parents from the Nebraska ranch (near Alliance).

Another Branding or two or three

The ranch had another branding this past week (which we did not attend).  They said it was freezing with strong wind. Instead, we stayed behind and worked.  There are two more brandings this coming week so I need to check with the ranch manager's wife to see if they need us (the missionaries) to prepare food for it.  

Tuesday we are expecting high temperatures of 99 degrees-- Yikes.

It is hard to believe that we have been gone for a month now!  It is good to be busy and engaged in the Lord's service.  We are working hard and enjoying our mission.  We will be leaving on the 28th for Oklahoma and will stop home briefly on our way.

 

100 year old houses

 Where we live

When we first arrived here, we shared an old farmhouse which was over 100 years old (we had to wait 2 weeks for our place to become available).  The other missionary couple were wonderful and bent over backward to make it work for all of us (short showers, not lingering in the shared bathroom, etc.). The part we loved most about this place was all the wild life.  

Pheasant 

It was far from the highway, farm dogs, etc. The house is also two stories and very spacious. It took me back in time.  The floors squeaked just like I remembered at my grandparents  as a young girl, the kitchen knobs looked familiar, and it even smelled like my grandparents house.  Was it the lath and plaster I was smelling?  This was also the house my 10th cousin's husband built for her.  The yard was fenced and there was an old clothes line in the yard.  Lilac bushes has been planted along the perimeter and I swore for just a second I could hear the sound of children laughing as they played, as the breeze carried with it the fresh scent of newly laundered linens and lilacs.

Fireplaces.  There were two fireplaces in this home and I imagine that a hundred years ago  was their primary heat source when winter came and the winds  began to gust and blow against the house.

Main fireplace in the living room.  I kinda wanted to build a fire during that first snowstorm, but was told that the manager on this part of the ranch had begged us not to.  He feared it might catch the place on fire. So I warmed up my rice-bag and pretended I was sitting before a blazing fire. :

The next house we moved into, several weeks later, is 12 miles east of Harlowton on the main part of the ranch.  In addition to the Bunk House where we are living, there are two employees and their families who live here, plus two other houses where three brothers with permits from Mexico live for 6 months of the year.  They are friendly, but speak little English.  Their days are also very long. 

The bunkhouse is where hunters come and stay in the fall and hunt for antelope, white tail deer, etc. 

The Work

The projects continue to progress along.  The people in all three of the main houses have been dealing with leaks.  Elder Himle has resolved all of those issues, installed two water softeners, plumbed a new bathroom (in a basement without plumbing), and is now working on another farm house that is also around 120 years old.  Fixing things in this house have been challenging.  I have worked alongside him running for tools, carrying away the old, etc. He has witnessed some things he has never seen before, but we petition the Lord for blessings and help every day and he comes through for us.

Framing, electrical, sheet rocking, mudding, painting, tiling, grouting (the red is water proofing, but I think the people thought we were doing it in bright red and sweetly told us it looked nice!). 

The shower, workers and happy family!

This is our current project.  Ever wonder what Lathe and Plaster means?  This is it!

Here is a before and after shot.  Picture yourself sitting on this toilet.  Now, you come to the end of this moment and you need toilet paper.  You are reaching back, trying to reach... but your arm doesn't go that direction.  What to do!?  Call for your companion?  Stretch further?  It is really the predicament or should I say crappy situation.  Elder Himle invested in a free standing TP holder and donated it to the cause.  

This is the shiplap he installed to cover and dress up an unattractive wall.  Elder Himle wanted to build a wall to hide the pipe, but they want to keep the 36 inch shower (many of the hunters are big), and we didn't have the real estate.  The bottom of the shower had not been leveled, so water always stood in the bottom. The water is very hard so it had a thick layers of hard water deposit.  Wes got his level out and we figured out how to level it, then we put some elbow grease to it (along with some CLR cleaner) and cleaned up  nicel