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First and most important, I should be paying a lot more attention to my relationship with God. I am working on that but it’s so hard. It would be easier if I had a good church I belonged to. I am not criticizing any church, but I am not comfortable in many new churches. I tried one with a friend but I didn’t find peace there. The music was like going to a concert. I prefer the old hymns, pianos and organ music. And many churches are going that way with the modern Christian music. I simply don’t find peace or Christ in that music. I am glad that so many are going to these newer churches but it’s not for me.
The second area I need to be paying more attention to is my health. This includes eating better and exercising more. I love sweets and don’t care much for vegetables. I do eat a healthy amount of fruit. Being a single person, it’s hard to cook proper meals for just one person. I should also be spending more time either going to the gym or walking. Alternatively, I could follow a good exercise program at home.
Another area that needs attention in my life would be my family and friends. Lately I seem to be spending the majority of my time sitting at my computer. But writing is also a part of my life. To become a decent writer requires writing every day. It takes dedication to research and work on my writing projects.
If only I were a more organized person. I would have the ability to manage to pay more attention to my faith, health and writing.
Daily writing prompt
What details of your life could you pay more attention to?
Tomorrow morning my first priority will be to get up and use the bathroom. Same priority as every other morning. Sarcasm! Really isn’t that everyone’s first priority every day?
I have no plans or priorities for the day. It will be another ordinary day. I can do whatever I want the rest of the day. I will let it up to God how the rest of my day goes.
I will probably do the usual boring things I usually do. Cleaning my house, reading, writing and researching for my next writing project. My life is boring but I am alive and enjoying the boredom. I don’t need or want drama or excitement in my life.
Hard work does not make me feel fulfilled. It makes me feel tired and grumpy. It makes me hurt and that doesn’t feel good at all.
But the rewards that come with working hard make me feel happy and satisfied. The last fifteen years I have spent working long hours, but not working real hard. I enjoy the house that I was able to buy. I enjoyed the vacations I was able to afford. I enjoyed the projects and improvements to my house that I had money for.
So I guess that hard work made me feel happy. Now I am ready to enjoy sleeping late and working on crafts and hobbies. I will continue to work hard at writing. Writing does make me feel fulfilled.
Daily writing prompt
In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?
Since I turned sixteen and got a drivers license, a car and a job, I have valued my independence. I started working as a waitress when I was sixteen while still in high school. I made a lot of new friends where I was working. We shared a lot of fun, even when we weren’t working. Great times.
A car very similar to my first car 1959 Ford Fairlane
At twenty I got married. Big, big mistake. I thought you got married, stayed at home and raised kids the same way my mother had done. I was so wrong. Times had changed and it took two incomes. So the stay at home mother wasn’t possible. Both my husband and I were miserable. He was a heavy drinker which caused a lot of problems. We both had gotten married for the wrong reasons. Eventually we went our separate ways.
Michael Dolan emilydickinson@gmail. A 1961 chevy Impala Like one I learned to drive
Now I learned what real independence was and how much I valued my independence. I was able to stand on my own two feet. I managed to go to work, find babysitters and rented an apartment on my own. It was tough but I proved to myself I was capable of doing it.
Since I moved on my own, I have raised the three children. Gone back to school and bought a house on my own. I now live almost alone. I try not to depend on other people anymore than I have to. But there’s occasionally times I have to depend on some one else to do repairs, moving or lifting.
Thus I think independence is the trait I value most about myself. I love being independent and worry about losing my independence. I know the time will come when I am older and will have to ask others for help. I am dreading the day when I can’t drive or take care of myself any longer.
Annie and Josie Bassett were the daughters of Herbert and Elizabeth Basset. Herbert was an educated man who had been a teacher and then later served in the Union Army. During the gold rush years, his brother Samuel headed west. Herbert decided to move his family west because of his health. The family ended up settling in Brown’s Hole, Colorado. Brown’s Hole also had close borders to Utah and Wyoming. His wife, Elizabeth, renamed it “Brown’s Park” because of its natural beauty. The family settled down there and built a small cabin, started ranching, and their family grew to four children.
The Basset Family
Herbert tended to be quieter and calmer than his beautiful, wild wife. The Bassett family was very social and welcomed everyone into their home. Strangers, church-going neighbors, travelers, and many times even outlaws hiding from the law. Butch Cassidy was one of those famous outlaws. He was romantically involved with both Anne and Josie Bassett at different times. Members of the Butch Cassidy gang, the Wild Bunch, were welcome visitors.
Elizabeth Bassett, Anne, and Josie’s, mother was a beautiful woman. She could ride rope, shoot, and rustle cattle as well as the men who were devoted to the family. These men would do anything Elizabeth or her daughters asked them to do. Even if it meant breaking the law. Her two daughters took after her. After Elizabeth’s death when she was only 37, the sisters took over running the ranch. By this time, there was a feud starting between the small ranches and the big cattle barons. This feud was particularly between the Bassets and the Two Bars Ranch.
Butch Cassidy and The Wild Bunch
Anne Basset
Anne was involved with several of the outlaws that hung out at the ranch. But then she did become engaged to Matt Rash. Before they were married, though, the owner of the Two Bar Ranch brought in a hired gun. Tom Horn was hired to hunt down cattle rustlers, and Matt Rash was shot and died. After this, things escalated between the two families. Anne would drive many of the Two Bar Ranch cattle over a cliff in revenge. At one point, she stood trial for cattle rustling but was acquitted. Both Anne and her sister were admired and respected. The cowhands they worked with had a great respect for these two women. They admired them for their ability to run a ranch and work right along with the cowboys. Queen Anne, as she was often referred to was well-liked. On the other side the cattle rancher was so disliked that Queen Anne was given a parade in honor of her acquittal.
Josie Bassett’s cabin in Cub Creek
Josie Basset
While Anne was the more daredevil of the two girls, Josie was more domesticated. However, she could hold her own on the ranch, riding, roping, shooting, and rustling cattle. Josie was married five times. She divorced four of those husbands, and the fifth was rumored that he died of poisoning. Josie was charged with his murder but was acquitted. The fifth husband actually died from alcoholism. In her later years, she was asked if she poisoned her fifth husband. Her answer was a smile, and she just said that some husbands are harder to get rid of. Josie also stood trial for cattle rustling, but she also was acquitted. In her later years, close to forty years old she built a cabin in Cub Creek. During the years Prohibition Laws were in effect, Josie made her own whiskey, wine and brandy. Here at her cabin she lived off the land for the next fifty years. Josie died in May 1964. She had lived long enough to see automobiles, electricity, television and phones and two world wars.
Anne and Josie Bassett were an interesting pair of sisters. They grew up running wild and were friends with known outlaws. They were women who were before their time, women who took control of their own destinies. They were liked and respected for their independent natures. They did what women weren’t supposed to do. They became women legends of the old west.
I bought a Pampered Chef ice cream maker a few years ago.
I usually get it out every fall to make peach ice cream. I am still experimenting with different types of ice cream recipes. I made black cherry last year. This year I wanted to make peanut butter ice cream. There’s a little market nearby that sells hand dipped ice creams. Peanut butter with its big chunks of peanut butter became one of my favorites.
So today I got everything ready. Ice cream freezer tub frozen in the freezer overnight. Simple recipe:
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla flavoring
3/4 cup of peanut butter melted in microwave
Mix the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla and put in refrigerator for twenty minutes. Then put the beaters in the frozen ice cream tub. Pour the cream mixture down the spout of the ice cream tub.
What could go wrong? Everything went wrong.
First I left the cream mixture in the freezer too long. Thought I could hurry the process along but I forgot and left the mixture in the freezer too long. I put it directly in the ice cream tub instead of using the spout. Big mistake. The mixture started freezing as soon as it went in the tub. Then I couldn’t get the mixer blades in the already getting hard ice cream. That required getting the ice cream out of the tub so I could get the mixer blades in the tub. The only problem was the tub was so frozen the ice cream wouldn’t let loose. And the tub was slowly getting warmer.
Finally got all the mixture out of the tub with some big hard clumps of already hardened ice cream. Now I tried to pour it back in the tub. I thought a funnel might help. It didn’t. In fact, the funnel got backed up with the hard clumps, fell over and the mixture went all over the floor. I had just scrubbed that floor.
In the meantime, spoons and bowls are leaking mixture everywhere. What a mess.
I got the ice cream started and added the peanut butter. Ice cream finished. Now it’s like milkshake quality. I don’t think you add the melted peanut butter till the ice cream is almost finished. But I don’t know because I was experimenting.
I put the ice cream in containers to put in the freezer. Wouldn’t you know that one of those containers would tip over and spill in the freezer.
Done for the day except for cleaning up the mess in the kitchen and scrubbing the floor again. And enjoying the ice cream later.
The story of Ella Watson is a two-sided story. Ella Watson was a woman who owned a small ranch in Wyoming. She became known as a cattle rustler, outlaw know as Cattle Kate. There is the story the newspaper printed. This account was printed immediately after Ella and her boyfriend or partner were lynched. But then there is the story that was told after more facts were discovered. Ella Watson has been portrayed as an evil villain, but that is probably not the real story.
Ella married her first husband when she was only eighteen years old. She left him when he proved to be an abusive husband. She moved to Rawlings, Wyoming, where she first worked in a hotel. She also did something that was unheard of in Wyoming in those early days. Wyoming was not yet a state but a territory. Ella, a woman, filed a homestead claim for one hundred and sixty acres of good grazing land. After filing for the land she started raising cattle. The men in the territory did not take a woman rancher well.
Ella also met Averell Verill, who was many things in the small town near the Sweetwater River. He was the postmaster and land surveyor, ran a small general store, and was the justice of the peace. Ella helped him in his store, and he probably helped her with her homesteading claim. Averell also purchased land or filed a homestead claim. Between the two of them, they had a rather nice but small ranch.
Lawless Wyoming
This was a time when there was almost no law in Wyoming. Cattle barons owned large ranches, and the cattle business was booming. The cattle were allowed to roam and sometimes wandered from the herds. Sometimes, unbranded calves and cattle were hard to prove just who owned the cattle. At first, this wasn’t a big problem because the cattle barons were still making high profits. However, there were several seasons when drought hit the area and the market for beef bottomed out. The grazing land became overused from so many herds of cattle, and water became an issue.
Jim Averill Ella’s Partner
Ella and Averell owned property with a fairly good water supply. However, they had fenced-off sections of their property. From Western stories and movies, we have heard about cattle ranchers and deadly fighting over water rights. I would guess that this is what started the dispute between Ella Watson and the rich cattle barons.
On July 20, 1988, a group of landowners, who were probably drunk, went to Ella’s cabin and forced her into a buggy. After they had Ella, they went after Averell. Ella and Averell were then hung from a cottonwood tree. It was then that the stories began. Stories that Ella had been rustling cattle and that Averell had been running a house of prostitution in town. There really was no evidence of any of these claims. But this is what the newspapers printed, and these stories spread across the United States. These stories made Ella out to be a villain and female outlaw of the West. The men who did the lynching were never tried or brought to justice.
I would continue doing what I do now even if money wasn’t a concern. I work as a private caregiver for the elderly. I love what I do. Most older people are so very grateful for whatever help they receive. They have some great stories to tell also. Times were different for them. Some of them lived through wars and the depression. One of my ladies would tell me stories about traveling on the railroad to go shopping or the movies. She also had some war time and love stories she shared with me. Care giving is more than a job. It’s a wonderful experience filled with joy and love.
My second choice would be to make a home for foster children. The stories you hear about foster children neglect and abuse are horrifying. We have all heard some of the terrible stories of children who were raised by bad and abusive foster parents. I have a friend and a sister-in-law who were foster children. Actually, both of them were better off in a foster home. A woman I know has been taking in foster children for years now. She has done such a marvelous job and made a difference in a lot of children’s lives. Some of her foster children are now grown up and in college. She and her husband adopted several of the children they took in.
My third choice would be to do the other job I am now doing. I would be a fully retired, do nothing but what I want to do. I would spend my days writing. When I wasn’t writing I would be napping, watching movies, cooking good food, reading good books. I would generally do just whatever I wanted. The totally ideal job. I would be the best boss I ever had.
Daily writing prompt
List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter.
I really don’t know exactly what my cultural heritage is. I have never done any DNA testing. The only thing I do know is that some members of my family traced our roots back to Ireland. And for some reason, I feel like I should have some Scottish ancestors. I don’t know why but Scotland fascinates me. I don’t know but I think there might be some German ancestors in the past. My mother’s cooking was a lot like the Pennsylvania Dutch is why I am saying that.
I am extremely interested in someday visiting both Ireland and Scotland. I would be interested in everything from their music, dances, festivals, holidays and foods. i would love to experience all of those. Both Ireland and Scotland have beautiful country sides with amazing scenery. Castles and history are also part of their past. I would love exploring some of those castles.
Since I don’t really know much about my cultural heritage, I am going to say I am a proud American. I am proud of the traditions that millions of other people from different nations brought to our country. Americans have a rich history of combined cultural heritages. In America, we can experience Chinese, Mexican, African, Amish and so many other wonderful foods and cultures. We can visit Indian Reservations and learn about their culture, foods and traditions.
I am a proud American. Proud to be living in the land of freedom.
Daily writing prompt
What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in?
I am not important enough to be linked with any brands. I am not sure exactly what a person must do to become connected to a particular brand. I have never really been a follower of any type of brand. Can anyone explain to me what an associate of a specific brand does? What does someone have to do to be an associate?
I do know this. If I were to become an associate of any brand, they would have to share my values and morals. There’s many brands out there that I wouldn’t care to be connected with.
Brands I Do Like And Buy
I buy Levi jeans primarily because they are the only jeans that fit. Well, they fit the best at any rate. However, I would not want to be associated with their brand. I really would not want to be an associate for Levis because they don’t represent my values.
Alfred Dunner
Alfred Dunner is a brand of women’s clothing. Alfred Dunner makes stylish clothing mainly for older women. I like this brand of clothing because they are stylish and classy. They also usually fit well. This is a brand I would like to be associated with. Although, I would have to so more research on the company itself.
Fur Babies Leo and Lucy
Cat Products
I love cats. They can be so funny. They also make the most wonderful companions most of the time. I have four cats. Three are great loving cats but the fourth doesn’t get along well with other animals.
I would make a great associate for brands of cat food, litter and other cat products. I use enough of those cat products myself.
I would only choose brands that I would be comfortable with associating with. Mostly I would choose cat products, faith type products, certain clothing brands, and possibility health related products.
History Lovers Corner 