MONUMENT — Our greeters at the table were Bob Cockrell and Sue Cavender. They checked in all the guests, collected, and counted up the money. Jan Ensign filled out the paperwork. Bob led us in the flag salute and made the announcements. Yours truly prayed the blessing over the meal. Bob Cox was the winner of the free meal ticket.

Our cooks, Terry Cade and Christy Howell made us some very delicious steak tips with mushrooms, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, along with a dinner roll. In celebration of all the April birthdays, we sang the Happy Birthday Song and our cooks made chocolate cake for our dessert. The food was delicious so of course I had to go back for seconds. We thank our cooks for our wonderful meal and appreciate them ever so much!

The Monument School greenhouse is now open. Come get your vegetable plants and flowers for your garden! Please give the school a call to make arrangements or just show up during their open hours for shopping.

Well, I have five bottle baby goats. I was able to sell one because the person wanted to get a baby goat for his wife. They will raise him in their house like a little pet. Yes, you can actually train the goats to go to the bathroom outside. I have done this many times before. I feed them and then I immediately take them outside and they go potty. I think boys are harder to train than girls though.

So my five bottle babies’ names are Lucky, Jade, Ruby, Silver, and Emerald (Emi for short). Lucy to me looks like a little puppy dog. He has blue eyes and is black with white spots on his face. Jade looks like her mama Shay. I found her and one of her brothers barely alive. Shay of course had them in the early cold morning. Jade’s other brother, Lobe, is with Shay. Ruby and her brother became bottle babies because Yuki, their mama, had four! Yes, four babies. I did help a little bit.

This year, Bonnie, who always had quadruplets with no issues, had an issue. It was quite serious. I saw her from a distance and thought she looked like she would have a baby soon. I did not know she had been in labor for a day already. I brought her down to the goat shed and waited for six hours but finally had to go inside because it was getting quite cold. She had not had a baby the next morning either. She had the baby stuck with its head tucked under again. We asked one of our new neighbors, Dallas, and he came over to help. With Dallas, my hubby, and myself, we managed to finally get the baby out and it was dead. Bonnie apparently only had the one, which was quite unusual. Hopefully Bonnie will have a full recovery.

Izzy had two babies also but favored the boy over the female, so I ended up with Emi. She is super cute and very tiny. I think she is seven to eight inches long and maybe six to seven inches high. She knows her name and follows me when I take her outside. I think she will be a keeper! LOL

Psalms 27:5-6 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy. I will sing yea, I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.

PRAIRIE CITY — Well, the old Hall was jumpin’ today! We were the dinner stop for the Grant County Museum tour bus. Thanks so much for stopping by! It was a joy to see old friends who were on the tour. Since they had just come from the DeWitt Museum, Tom asked them questions about the Sumpter Valley Railroad, to wit: when did it begin (1910) and when did it stop (1934). Then he asked when Prairie City was chartered (Feb. 1891). So now you know, too.

Colin led the flag salute and Ginger asked the blessing after sharing the announcements. The $10in trade donated by Huffman’s Market for the April birthday drawing went to Pat Binyon. Our volunteers included Sharon, Mary, Tom, Teresa, Pam and anyone else we could round up today!

The delicious meal prepared by our great cooks included oven BBQ chicken, baked potato, southwest baked corn, fruit salad, cottage cheese with pears, applesauce, strawberries & cream, tapioca pudding, birthday cake donated by Driskill Memorial Chapel, and cookies. If you didn’t eat your fill, it wasn’t our fault! For your drinking pleasure (ahem), we had water, coffee, milk and mango/tangerine juice. Take it from me, that juice is goooood!

And please, please, please, observe the rules for our convenient Prairie City Burn Pile. No cardboard or household garbage. If you bring stuff in a plastic bag, take the bag with you after emptying it. Put the grass clippings in their special section so they can make compost of themselves…..

Have you toured the museums of Grant County? I have been to all of them and since I like history, I have a great time. Remember the famous saying: Those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it? I am appalled at the ignorance of some of the younger generations about the history of our United States. (That’s why I can win a game of Historical Trivia.’) But I have had to stop buying crossword puzzle books. All the clues have to do with modern communication, TV shows, texting language that I have no clue about. So I just do like Groucho Marx and go read a book. (I wonder how many know who he is?)

I have a few tulips and narcissus in bloom. The little violets, and pansies are showing their colors and I better get some support for the sweet peas! They are about one foot long and lying on the ground, not good! And it is amazing where a seed will take root. Had to transplant a Sweet William from the ‘lawn’ to a new flower bed area. It came up fairly easy. But there is a hollyhock that has the same problem, and those have loooong roots. So, I am watering it to help with the transplanting process. That may prove interesting…..

Song of Songs 2:11, 12 See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.