Blonde By Design

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Montana Road Trip - The Beginning...


I found the missing photo card. Yay!!

It was right where I thought it would be, but where it shouldn't have been... Under the drivers seat!

So, this is the famous Reindeer and Sleigh that my girly-girl SUV carried to Montana. I'd bought the Reindeer and Sleigh last fall for my Mom at an Estate Sale. Although at one point in time they were quite expensive - and I so love a bargain - I still have to strip off the old lights, repaint them, and weave new lights through the structure of their frame work. They're sturdy enough to stand up to the Montana winter and winds, so I thought my Mom should have them.

And of course, we're NOT going to mention the price of gas and how the extra air drag while hauling them to Montana possibly added to the gas mileage and expense during my road trip.


*quiet blonde look*

All in all, as you can imagine, it might have been less expensive to ship the critters to Montana rather than haul them up myself.

It's hard work, sometimes, doing those
*Good Daughter Deeds*.

Espeically if the daughter is having a blonde moment.

Really, I imagine I split about even if I would have shipped them rather than hauled them up to MT on my road trip. I haven't added up my gas bill for the way up yet.

I'm afraid to.


*winks*

But!

The looks on truck drivers and other motorists faces when I was passing them.... well, that was rather ... priceless.
I had to have looked like something out of the Beverly Hillbillys. The only thing missing were Ellie Mae's short shorts. lol (it was too cold!)

*grins*

As I mentioned in my earlier blog, Terry, my favorite Grizzly Adams looking friend (only a bit shorter), stopped by that morning to pick up Tuna as he was the designated Tuna Sitter. (Tuna is Kitty's TV - a beautiful blue and purple Betta Fish.)

Thank goodness Terry stopped by, because doing a reality check, I really don't know how I would have gotten the Reindeer and Sleigh tied as securely to the roof rack as Terry did. Not to mention that they're both heavy. They're not made of flimsy wire that twists and bends, but of a good solid grade metal that will hold up to the winter elements.

I was at least prepared with a good supply of bungee cords, rope, and I'd gone to Salvation Army and bought blankets to cover them so that I wouldn't risk either Reindeer or Sleigh scratching the roof of my girly-girl SUV.

Terry had started to wrap the first blanket around the Reindeer and tie it up with the cord rope that I'd bought, but it didn't take much of a glance to figure out that that wasn't the best plan.

Terry looked at me with that Universal Male look and said, "You have any duct tape?"

Not missing a beat I ran into the house and came back seconds later, proud grin on my face, producing the needed duct tape to secure the blankets firmly around the Reindeer and Sleigh.



Now, I will add, Terry's not nearly as good as taping as I am.


*grins and laughs*

He gave up too soon! lol

The sections of blanketed deer and sleigh HE taped started to come undone half way through the Nevada desert. Around Battle Mountain, Nevada I had to pull over and run into a parts store that was just off the main street (there's not much to Battle Mountain), bought a roll of duct tape with men in dirty John Deere hats staring at me inquisitively, (I didn't think to pack the tape I'd used at home) and I proceeded to tape up and secure the blanket around the legs of the Reindeer even tighter.


Yeppers, there I was, long, blonde braided hair, held down from the windy weather by a pristine white baseball cap, balancing on the foot boards of the girly-girl SUV, reaching, tugging and some serious taping the blankets to sleigh runners and feet of the reindeer with MORE duct tape. After all, one can NOT have their blankets flapping in the wind, you know? I mean, how cheesy would THAT look?

*grins*

The sight brought a gawk and gander ... or two.

So... I momentarily had a bondage moment. You going to make something of that?

*laughs*

I barely know what that means!


*grins*

But, I regress... While Terry was tying down down my Estate Sale bargain, doing everything he could to make it all secure and safe so it wouldn't take off in midflight while I was traveling down the road, Terry pulls out his pocket knife and cuts a hole into one of the blankets so he can reach the metal of the Sleigh and attach a bungee cord to it.

That's all well and fine, except for one little problem.

I hadn't gotten enough blankets at Salvation Army and the blanket he cut a hole in was one of MY blankets!

So, like, I tell him, "Hey! That's not a Salvation Army blanket!"

Terry looks at me out of the corner of his tired eyes, that have just worked a swing shift and want to go home and find his bed, and says, "Well, it should be!"


*laughs at Terry*

Well, on my behalf, I will say... are all of YOUR blankets perfect???

*grins*

And if they are, please keep in mind
(although many of you don't know this), that when a girl is having to start life over, you just can't replace or get everything you need all at once! (I spent 10 years house bound, about 5 years bed ridden - and no, I wasn't haven't some wild sexual experience. lol
I was very, very ill. This is the come back story of my life... )

(on a side note...when I told my 3rd oldest sister, who had come to see me while I was in Montana and who is just now becoming aware of the hardships I went through, what Terry said about my now damaged blanket, she immediately wanted to go blanket shopping. lol I suspect I'll be getting a blanket for Christmas from her.)
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3 Comments:

  • WOW! When you pack for a trip, you PACK for a trip! I'm very impressed! And now a litle worried about where we're going to put all your luggage when you come to visit..... LOL!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:27 AM  

  • No worries, honey... I'm not bringing the reindeer and sleigh. Betty gets those. lol Yours will just be a two bad trip. Well, unless I need to pack......

    By Blogger Sprite, at 10:44 AM  

  • two bag trip** (someone needs more sleep)

    By Blogger Sprite, at 10:46 AM  

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