Hot Rods Of This And That On HRCG!

28 Feb 2014 25 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Holton Secret Lab, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Photography, Portland Roadster Show, Wild Bill Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hot Rods of this and that on HRCG is another segment of photos taken the last few years and it may explain the Hot Rod Cowgirl name of my blog.

SONY DSC

If you are a serious car guy you will love this post…you can double-click on my photos and they will enlarge:)

-9361

In this post I want to share some of the restored vehicles that my hubby has created for our customers.

_MG_1246

I hope you enjoy seeing a few of these incredible restorations, custom builds and amazing rides.

100_0768_002

Hang on and here we go…Zoom Zoom!

IMG_1651

We attend many car shows during the year to display our workmanship and to showcase the vehicles. This is our display at the Portland Roadster Show…we often showcase some of the recent customer vehicles to show the quality of the restorations we do…and people love to walk through our 30′ car trailer as we have photos displayed inside of various cars we have restored and built. We run videos of the vehicles through out the restoration…some restorations have 1000 hours in them from start to finish.

IMG_0026

Portland was the beginning of many large car shows to follow…

_MG_5465

As well as summer shows that are held in smaller towns with a sense of community and country fun…often the shows attract well over 350 cars with the show held in the downtown area which is nice, we women can shop!

Roadster Show 3-1-06 028

The photo above is one of my favorites. It was taken at the Portland Roadster Show the year we took 10 of our customer vehicles that WB restored…every car you see was restored and rebuilt to perfection. We brought home 12 trophies that year!

IMG_1686

The first year we attended the Portland Roadster Show, we took three of our restorations to display etc. I had been diagnosed with bc a few weeks before the show…WB said no we can not go…I told WB nope we are going to the show! This is the part of the business that is my part, I had approached the Roadster Show about coming…and it was an honor to be chosen to display our work and we were going!

IMG_0020

Only the vehicles which show complete perfection are selected to attend…so in a way you have already won to a degree if you are chosen to display your cars. We had six customer restorations displayed at the 2010 Roadster Show…we won six classes and brought home six trophies!

IMG_1657

 WB is giving me “The Look” as  he does not like me taking pictures of him….ha! The cars right behind him were our display that first year…1931 Blue Ford Tudor…1948 Red Chev. Pick Up…1946 Ford Tudor with the flames. Guess what? All three vehicles won Best Of Class in their respective classes and that is out of 550 cars, it was the 50th Portland Roadster Show! We were so pumped!!!

IMG_1706

I love this 1946 Ford Tudor, it’s a go fast and has all the comforts of today’s car, plus WB’s flames…and Wild Bill is famous for his signature flames!

IMG_0001

 Mr. Blue has won six times at the Roadster Show with us over the years…this 1931 Ford Tudor is incredibly cool!

IMG_0006

Another one of my favorites and I would LOVE to drive it:)

_MG_1234

TV interview day in the Secret Lab with Wild Bill! I love this…my entire married life to WB I have waited for this to happen! I love seeing WB get credit for the work he has done over many years….and I love seeing him talk…hee-hee…he is not a talker and was a nervous wreck!

_MG_1142

My hubby is MacGyver to the car world as he has the vision to see a rusted pile of junk restored into a regal vehicle.

IMG_0737

The first night of set up at a smaller show of 200 cars….we took the Ford Tudor to display and also some of our flame plates. Wild Bill does a lot of flame plates for the customers in their choice of colors so they can see the color and decide if it is the right one for their car.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I am planning to do a post on one vehicle with before photos and during photos…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

This GTO had major rust and the quarter panels had to be changed as well as the floor of the entire vehicle.

IMG_0109

And after photos so you can see the process…as it is amazing!

SONY DSC

Hang on as we are going to switch gears grabbing more horsepower!

SONY DSC

Whew this tire cleaning is hard work and I need a break…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Ahhhh…just what I needed:)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Have a great weekend! HRCG over and out for now…but never for long!

Misty Memories Of Mom

25 Feb 2014 24 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Lifestyles, My Mom, Photography Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Misty memories of my Mom came to me this late afternoon.

DSC05880

I had been in the office all day and as I walked into the kitchen, the view outside my window was full of magic time and late afternoon fog drifting, eddying around the sagebrush across the road towards the creek…and it hit me…all of a sudden I was a young girl getting home from school on the school bus…climbing down the stairs of the bus, I turned and said “Have a good evening Red”…yes my bus driver had red hair and he was called Red by all the locals.

DSC02356

As I looked towards the house, I could see a golden glow of warmth emanating from within. I knew Mom was cooking something special for dinner and she probably had something good for an after school treat!

CCI00003-2

Mom loved to cook and always had snacks, and good stuff…I hurried up the steps as Mom opened the front door saying “Oh Honey, let me help you with that school bag”…she often had a dress on with her apron and a welcoming hug and smile.

CCF05032011_00001

I could smell something sweet and divine…homemade chocolate cake for dinner desert and warm chocolate chip cookies for my snack…all made with Mom’s love:)  She usually had our beef in the oven…my favorite was her roast beef with potatoes, gravy and fruit salad! Mom was a loving wife and always a very classy lady. This photo was taken in town at my Grandma’s house on Easter…we had to do photo ops and I wanted to go hunt Easter eggs with my cousins by the dang dozen! I was being a stinker too…and I remember a swift swat on the patoot!

CCI00006

Mom’s life was Dad and me…along with a few cattle dogs, lots of cows and several horses…she taught me so much about marriage by example and living life in a small community. In this photo we had been busy with the photographer all day taking photos of us as my Dad was President of the Pendleton Round Up…he was very deserving and truly the “Cowboy’s President” and we were excited for him and his recognition…but we were all tired!

IMG_6486

Once I had explained all the details of my day at school including the bus trip home, I settled in front of the TV and ate my cookies while watching Flicka or Fury or Sky King…now it is my camera that settles me…I love grabbing shots to share:)

Me and Red 1958

And all was well in a simple country girl’s life growing up:)

SONY DSC

Have a Wonderfully Wild Weird Wednesday! HRCG Over And Out But…I’m On A Roll With My Camera…I Might Catch Ya! Click Click Click!

Photos Of This And That On HRCG!

23 Feb 2014 16 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Lifestyles, Photography, Wild Bill Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Photos of this and that on HRCG is me sorting through over 3000 photos.

What

Minnie Mouse telling me….”Ahhhh Mom, don’t worry I am with you…I will be your nurse and your heart…I will make you smile as you recover from BC.” And she did:)

HSL PHOTO SHOOT 4-7-10 077

Remember you can click on all my pictures and they will enlarge:)

Curt-Annie-Ry 011

Annie’s time…hooking on with son Curt!

SONY DSC

Pat and Jack…

SONY DSC

Dasher and Kiah!

SONY DSC

My sweet Melody:)

SONY DSC

Solitude…

SONY DSC

Incredibly quiet and beautiful!

SONY DSC

Wishing you a fun-filled week wherever you may be!

DSC03686

Stay tuned as I did not make a dent in the 3000 photos:)

The Sounds Of Country Silence

20 Feb 2014 29 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Photography, Wild Bill, Writing Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The sounds of country silence are…profoundly silent…incredibly quiet…and filled with a very still solitude.

DSC01510

Living in country silence is my daily world. Sometimes it is more than hard to take as I love being around people while going, doing, and seeing life but my life has always been country quiet.

DSC04553

Silence so still that some nights you can hear a train 10 miles away…silence so still you can hear your neighbor’s telephone ring on a summer night and they live a mile away over a hill!

SONY DSC

You learn to value the tick-tock of the clock for company and if you listen closer you can hear the hands move a bit with each tick…and if Minnie is close to me and she always is, I can hear her snore ever so softly or her stretching from her nap making a squeaky sound…I often listen to the refrigerator running and the ice maker filling…I recognize my neighbors pick ups as they drive by and always know the cattle trucks hauling cattle out of Juniper to the mountains…I know who it is before I see them.

SONY DSC

These are only a few of the sounds of my days…the old house creaking last night and today in the windstorm…the owls at night…hawks overhead…coyotes howling…the sounds and presence of our outside dogs…and the same with Ellie who is my inside dog…the sounds of nothing…the sounds of silence…the sounds of my life.

DSC06067

My day begins with Minnie Mouse waking me with her wake up call “Yeowly Meow and Good Morning:)” Then WB gets up, I try to snuggle back down but one of the dogs outside barks and I wonder if it is a neighbor? I can hear the horses and the sound of their hooves running back and forth, waiting for their breakfast and I’m up.

SONY DSC

Making my way to the kitchen, I can smell the coffee brewing…WB is already out the door headed to feed horses and check water…then off to the shop…now it’s me and Minnie and Ellie. I get out my cup while looking out the same kitchen window I have looked out of forever, as I listen to the morning sounds…the tick-tock of the wall clock, the howling winds outside and the coffee pot hissing a bit.

SONY DSC

Today the wind is blowing out of a different direction as it howls and moans against the house, giving me different house creaks and groans to listen to. I love the sound of rain on the roof which is soothing to my soul…when it rains at night, it lulls me to sleep with rain drops falling ever so softly on our lives here, bathing the house and watering the crops, it’s always a beautiful sound to my ears.

DSC06075

Some days I talk to myself just to hear a voice…and I write, talking the words on to a sheet of paper or to my blog which helps me feel connected to the world.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

It is the quiet life I know and love…and I will never take for granted. I know how blessed I am to experience life as I know it!

DSC04148

The song, Sounds Of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel, was going through my head as I was writing….go to iTunes if you don’t have it as it was a great song.

“Hello darkness my old friend…I’ve come to talk with you again,

Because a vision softly creeping…Left its seeds while I was sleeping,

And the vision that was planted in my brain,

Still remains…Within the sound of silence.”

DSC02676

Wishing you a Fabulous Fantastic Fun Friday and a wonderful weekend wherever you may be!  Spring is coming…my camera is ready and waiting to go:) HRCG over and out for now but not for long!

Happy Valentines Day My Wild Bill!

16 Feb 2014 10 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Anniversary, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Marriage, Photography, Wild Bill Tags: , , , , ,

 I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day…this is late but heart felt:)

Bend, Oregon Car Show

February 14th is an anniversary for us as Wild Bill and I met 38 years ago on Valentines Day.

DSC03652

It seemed by chance, but God had it planned…we knew we had found our soul mate, our life partner and best friend…it was one of those times in life that clicked, you knew and your heart knew.

05052011_00033

We were married eight months later! And 38 years later we are still making beautiful music together and one in heart…except when we dance as Wild Bill can not count time! He can count the time and beat of horsepower but not music! I am a natural in counting double time or time and a half or just time in the beat of life that you can hear in the beat of music! I love it!

DSC03842

This is Wild Bill’s dance beat and I love this beat with him too…this is “Jagged” WB custom built this 1928 Dodge Coupe and installed a V-12 Jag motor in it…they said there was no way that he could use an American carburetor on the V-12…he said oh yeah? The rest of the story is yes…he did it!

DSC05294

Music has always been part of my life, listening to the verse, the bass, the lead, the chords, and the rhythm, songs that tell the story often tie into my life or what I am writing about or the photo that I am taking. Funny how both the beat of life and the beat of music actually fit together…throw in a few chosen words and you have a fit and hopefully a hit!

DSC05695

I have shared many of our songs with you…this song is written by Buddy and Julie Miller and truly wonderful. I wish I could include the simple beat of the song as they sing it…it makes you want to dance with your significant other, while the music speaks straight to your heart. If you want to hear this song, go to iTunes. Put a search in for Buddy and Julie Miller…and their songs…look for”Holding Up the Sky”…and enjoy!

Holding Up the Sky

By Buddy Miller & Julie Miller

DSC03931

When the night has stayed too long…And tears won’t keep

When the sun beats down too strong

Our love runs deep

100_0003

And our love will hold up the sky

when the rain comes down too hard

CCI00015
It’s a cord that will not untie

It’s a promise the angels guard

05292010_00002
It will always be your name

written on my heart

OregonTrip_117

You are inside my heart

scan0013

Baby our love was meant to be

it’s from Gods hands

Jeeping Evening

Even when dreams turn to memories

Our love will dance

I hope you all have a wonderful new week ahead…until next time, HRCG is over and out!

The First Breathe Of Spring

13 Feb 2014 32 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Landscapes, Photography, Weather, Wild Bill Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The first breath of Spring is elusive here in Juniper and yet, can it be?

DSC06196

 Is it Spring? I felt her brush my cheek tonight as I stood outside taking pictures without a coat or shoes…I saw magic time colors…grabbed my camera and out the door I went…lucky we have a nice patio that accommodates feet with or without socks!

DSC06133

When we went to bed Saturday night, the snow was beginning to drift and blow…

DSC06143

And when we woke up Sunday morning,

DSC06123

We had drifts blocking various roads and doors…and fun photography shots!

DSC06100

However, some of us were getting a bit perturbed…ok darn right cranky!

DSC06099

Bitchy, Grumpy and Sweet Melody…aw my Mel, you are so sweet!

DSC06178

By the time we went to bed Sunday night…the great thaw had begun!

DSC03422

Spring is coming…hang on…tell Groundhog Phil he needs a new gig!

DSC06074

Over and out from HRCG and Minnie, the cat who knows where it’s at!

An Ethereal Mist Of Snow Falls Gently

10 Feb 2014 10 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Landscapes, Photography, Winter Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

An ethereal mist of snow falls gently to the ground with a muffled hush…

DSC06029

As the landscape becomes a unity of white.

DSC06118

That brings me delight!

DSC06130

As I tuck myself in…and God Night:)

God Of Wonder…God Of Light…God’s World Is My Delight!

06 Feb 2014 14 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Photography, Storms, Weather, Winter Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

God of wonder…God of light…God’s world is my delight.

SONY DSC

I love capturing weather shots…and the last few years we have had interesting weird weather to photograph!

SONY DSC

Last night as I looked up to the heavens, I saw a million stars above my head with no end in sight…it takes my breath away, no matter how many times I have looked up. I wish I could have captured what I saw with my camera…instead I captured this moon shot a few months ago and I thought you would enjoy it. I love the power lines as they frame the moon…giving Mr. Harvest Moon an interesting look.

SONY DSC

We have a few more inches of snow today and now we are under a Winter Storm Alert for more snow with below zero temperatures. It is seriously cold out…it is 17 degrees this afternoon with a minus 2 due to windchill.

DSC02099

Mr. Buck says “Where are my Apple Asses…and I need more hay too”…hang on Buckaroo…here it comes…just for you!

DSC01977

Winter is finally making her appearance and she’s on a roll…hang on!!!!!

Spaghetti Sauce And Life!

03 Feb 2014 10 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Heritage, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Life, Photography Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Spaghetti sauce and life!

-9254

What a weird combination for a blog entry…but it is so me!

SONY DSC

I was adding a dab of this and a dab of that as I made our families secret spaghetti sauce…and I had one of those flash bulb epiphanies about life.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

How we choose to live our individual life with a few dabs of this and a few dabs of that, makes us unique individuals…that is how my spaghetti sauce is made…full of dabs of this and dabs of that!

SONY DSC

How we live our life…and we do what works best. And in my case…horses…cats…dogs…cooking…our business….my photography and writing etc. as it will work with our love and our forever commitment.

CCI00000 Marcy and Lil Toot

I learned to cook from my Mom who was a ranchers wife and always lived out in the middle of nowhere…and me too…I have never had the experience of living in a city…my grocery store has always been 20 miles away and a few times 40 to a 100 miles away…all of them one way…so you make do and you add a bit of this and a bit of that…and pray hard that it turns out ok:)

SONY DSC

Isn’t that life? We do life and we fail and we try harder and we stumble, we get back up and shake off the dust…and focus and on we go.

DSC05818

Is there a set pattern we can give to others? I hope so as I have been very open with my “not perfect life”

DSC04589

Each of us has been designed and made by God and here is another epiphany…God does not make mistakes.

DSC05682

If we live our life differently, in our own unique way, like my spaghetti sauce, we will learn what works and what doesn’t.

DSCN0978

My life is in the country making do with what I have on hand as town is too far away…and my spaghetti sauce turns out perfecta!

DSC04553

May you be blessed this new week in February…as a month from now we will be closer to Spring:)

_MG_6985

Yee-Haw, Spring is coming! Over and Out from HRCG