Month: December 2009
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How I Survive December
I used to feel like the time between Thanksgiving and December 25th was a month-long winter storm. I anticipated the Christmas season with dread.  The last few years I’ve adopted strategies to lessen my worry, stress, and pressures associated with the season. Now I give up, cheat, and put off. This lazy attitude makes me…
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Storm Mountain Christmas
  Merry Christmas! For the past five years my siblings, their kids and spouses, our mom and my family, have celebrated Christmas at Storm Mountain Center. Storm Mountain is a Methodist church camp for youth and reunions in the summer, but hosts retreats, meetings and gatherings of all sorts in the wintertime. SMC is situated…
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One Big Free Bird
For many years Pringle’s had a chicken that’s somewhat of a free bird in the area. It loves a good time and is especially drawn to crowds.  Back in the nineties, a nine foot chicken was given to the Pringle Volunteer Fire Department. For a long time it hung out in the back of…
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Waiting For A Downpour
I’m one of those people who look for the bad in a situation. Problems are commonplace on a ranch and I thrive on the drama that our ranch’s problems produce.  The basis of my column is about marriage, parenting, ranching, and rural life in western South Dakota but it’s describing the troubles we face that…
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The Kirk Family Christmas Tree
Living in the Black Hills has drawbacks because it’s a vacation destination but one of perks I love the most about living here is being able to go into the woods and pick out our own Christmas tree. The Forest Service sells Christmas tree permits that are a third of the cost of buying one,…
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Lessons from Going to the NFR
A trip to Las Vegas in 1998 for the National Finals Rodeo was an educational experience for my husband and me. May our lessons help other couples in planning their trip to the NFR.  Lesson #1 Get pre-conditioned to sleep deprivation, overstimulation, and being inseparable. My spouse and I weren’t used to total togetherness, going…
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Recognizing Kids’ Handiwork
One of the things I love about 4-H is the theory. Kids get to make their own choices and decisions and do all the problem solving while creating and learning something from start to finish. I enjoy helping my kids brainstorm ideas, suggest materials needed and assist with problem solving suggestions to ease their frustration…
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A Dame Funny Game
 “What’s a Dame to do?†is my new favorite board game for girlfriends. Players take turns drawing a dame’s dilemma card. Everyone else draws a reaction card and lays it down for all to see. The girlfriend with the dilemma chooses one of the reactions and everyone else guesses which one she picked. Irrelevant…