Category Archives: Lifes a Dance

Lifes a Dance

Tennessee Travellin’

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Jack and I headed south to Texas over the weekend to visit with the Texas Ten Horns. It was a great weekend and a good opportunity to get a decent practice in for the upcoming SE Regional.

After having both barrels of my shotgun going off at once on the odd occasion (and I was starting to get good at ignoring it and keep going) it decided to totally give up the ghost with a piece inside that connects the butt stock to the rest of the mechanism, cracking and breaking. Oops!

 

Thankfully Roy's Creek Dan was able to work his magic and fix it for me and we should be back in business.

We got the gear packed up, Jack organised some Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale to be delivered to the match, car projects are in and we are ready to head out for Memphis/Lakeland, Tennessee.

It is an overcast day but a good day for travelling. Across Oklahoma, into Arkansas and eventually into Tennessee.

 

Car project achievement today – hand stitch two edges to corset. Put lacing in – check! Make hat base of buckram and wire – check! Raffia needs to be damp so it can be shaped before I can proceed with that.

 

We've checked in to the hotel and are ready to head to O'Charley's and meet up with some other cowboy's and cowgirl's.

Tomorrow is match check in, clinics, side matches, warm up etc. It should be good! We are ready for the SE Regional hosted by the Memphis Gunslingers!

Have a great time, wherever you may be shooting or relaxing this weekend!

Kat xo

P.s. It's a day or so late!!

 

Above and Beyond

Posted on by kathousekelli70

I hope that when I recreate a costume that I have done the original justice and the 'Eva' gown is one of these that I truly hope I have.

Finishing the last on the panels today for the skirt. It has been full on chain stitch embroidery, appliqués, sequins and a little bit of bling to get it looking a little like the Hell On Wheels version.

It's actually a shame now to have to gather these panels to the skirt, but it has to be done.

 

Want to know how much embroidery has gone into this skirt?

This even stunned me yesterday – 296m/321.9yds of embroidery floss!

 

You heard me right and I haven't even started on the bodice yet which thankfully won't be as much work BUT is going to be stunning and I can't wait to see it finished, proper accoutrements gathered and worn by the lovely Belle Vaquera at a costume contest!

Love, love, love it!

Kat xo

 

Practice Day

Posted on by kathousekelli70

A handful of cowboy's headed out for practice yesterday.

We ran about 8 stages, practicing different starts, single taps, multi taps and the like.

Jack had some good runs and his shotgun didn't play up! Unlike my both barrels at once 'surprise!' a couple of times.

 

This weekend we will head to Texas Ten Horns for a match before heading East to Memohis for the SE Regional next week.

See you down the trail.

Kat xo

 

Into The Woods

Posted on by kathousekelli70

…lf you go down in the woods today, you better go in disguise……

Well this wasn't no nursery rhyme and you might say we were in disguise….if you call a weekend away in 'normal' clothes, disguise! Haa haa!

What a great weekend of down time spent with our very good friends Texas Mac and Texas Flower at their little ranch and I do say little with tongue in cheek.

It might be a cosy little old farm house but their surrounding 'woods' as Flower calls it, is not so little at all!

We arrived Thursday to a warm afternoon. Still in shorts and tshirts we were able to enjoy Margarita's on the deck before enjoying steaks from the grill – a revamped, repurposed old wood stove!

 

Friday morning it had turned chilly, so suitably dressed, the four of us ventured (on the ATV) out after a hearty breakfast into the woods, checking Mac's hog traps, learning of the history of the property, checking out the cows and looking for deer.

 

Now Tinder or e-Harmony has nothing on Scrapings! The dating service for deer. (I learnt this on our little exploration) Bucks will rub glands under their eyes against an over hanging branch along a path, scrape the ground clear and urinate in the middle of the spot. Doe's will come through and if so inclined, will follow the trail to the Buck. We saw many scrapings along the way through all Mac's trails.

 

After visits to old house sites, Mac's storage, to me was just a divine old run down house with spectacular timbers, (Thought of Bertie Winchester and her woodworking but that's another story to follow) we then headed down to the pond and back around to the house for late lunch.

 

The afternoon followed with chatting about costuming and the men folk doing a bit of shooting in the back yard. Flower and I eventually ventured out to see what they were up to and tested out the new .22 rifle and had a go at shooting outlaw!

 

Soon it was time for Margarita's although we didn't spend too much time outside this evening.

Baseball and more costuming chats ensued after dinner.

Saturday, after breakfast we took a trip into Coldspring. It's Trades Day which is a weekend of markets with anything from handcrafted items, homegrown cosmetic creams, quilts, jewellery, horseshoe items, you name it. We walked the stores around the square of which almost all of them are still the original buildings and marked historical.

 

We lunched at 'The Mason Jar' and headed to the historic jail and hanging tree. Being Halloween, the jail was not open to the public unfortunately, and I hear it still has the original trap door and hanging rope in there but it is set up as a haunted house for people to visit of an evening.

 

A quick stop at the store and we headed to a friend of Mac and Flower's who has an awesome collection of Roy Rogers, John Wayne and other western memorabilia. Thank you to Wayne and his daughter Gail for allowing us to come visit his own little 'museum' and showing us his wife, Barbara's antiques and her special pieces in their home. Wayne was such a fan of Roy Rogers that he had actually got to meet him as well and we were able to pour through his photo albums and marvel at all the pieces he had collected over time. Really appreciated that visit!

So a much cooler evening made it necessary for the chimenea to be lit if we were going to enjoy the fresh woods air and margaritas outside. It was now down around 50F.

 

We ate dinner inside but later went back out to enjoy our first S'mores experience!! You heard it right, we had not had S'mores before and I for one was not leaving no matter how cold it was, or how full I was from dinner, without experiencing one. Funny thing! Jack hadn't even roasted a marshmallow on an open fire!?! So firsts all round!

 

What a great weekend with the Butler's in their little slice of country heaven. It was great to be able to spend more than a few hours with you both.

Kelli xo

 

Special Treasures

Posted on by kathousekelli70

I would safely say I have truly been blessed with meeting so many wonderful people, crossing paths along the way throughout my life during Cowboy Action shooting.

Not only for the commraderie, healthy competition and learning but also being able to assist in passing on my knowledge and skills along the way.

I have been extremely grateful in the past that some have found me worthy of little treasured presents.

This weekend I was given some plaid fabric by Annie Hicock that would make a great 1890's walking dress….so the thinking cap has gone on for that, time for a new dress in my future – in amongst everything else at some point!

 

Idaho Sue from Texas also brought me some fabric she was clearing out of her stash and in amongst it I think is the blue I'm looking for for my next formal gown! Holy cow! Excited much!

 

The jewel in the crown however, was when she came to me at the banquet last night with 3 little 'gems' that just blew me away for the much appreciated gift. She had seen 3 ivory handled button hooks at an antique store and thought I might like them. I don't know how many times I said thank you but it doesn't seem enough.

 

They are in the cabinet with my Fred Harvey 'gems'!

 

Thank you ladies, you made my weekend! Hugs!

Kat xo

 

Red Dirt Rampage Part 2

Posted on by kathousekelli70

This morning gave way to another glorious day in Oklahoma and a sensational start to the final 5 stages of the 2017 SASS SW Regional Championship.

We started early in the Saloon (stage 5), headed off to Church (stage 1), hit the Stagecoach running out of town (stage 2), jumped off at the Adobe Wall (stage 3) and finally arrived to the end of the match at the Train Depot (stage 4).

 

We had a great Posse headed by Wild Horse John, along with Capt Jim Midnight, Shootin Fox, Creek, Mesquite Ranger, Max Montana, Cooncan, Bertie Winchester, Rio Concho Kid, Alamo Andy, Wildcat Cliff, Texas Mean Gene, Sixkiller – US Marshal, Wes Beckett U.S. Marshal, Jackaroo and Kathouse Kelli.

 

All done and dusted a clean match for me along with a few others from our posse. Jack had continuing shotgun issues but hung in there.

 

We visited with friends and picked up supplies, heading out to get ready for the banquet and awards.

This year's banquet was held at the University of Central Oklahoma and was an excellent venue. Awards were done, prizes were given – I've never seen Grady County Kid leap so high or so fast when he won the Dillon 650. Sweetest young man you could meet.

I finished 1st in Lady Wrangler with Tejas Red 2nd, Calamity Di-Bar 3rd (not in the photo) and Cheeka Bow Wow 4th.

 

Congratulations to Jack's fellow Silver Senior's, Aberdeen 1st, Lefty Wheeler 2nd, Creek 3rd and my sincerest apologies for not remembering the other 2.

It was an extremely close 1.17sec's but congratulations to Missouri Mae for the overall ladies and to Creek County Kid for the overall men's and 1st overall!

 

Another great match, again, if you have been thinking of shooting this match?well, get here next April when the Regional will be combined with Land Run and the banquet back at the National Cowboy Museum and Hall Of Fame.

For now though, it's the end Red Dirt Rampage, see you down the trail!

Kat xo

 

Red Dirt Rampage Part 1

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Yesterday was Wild Bunch, warm up stages, side matches, RO courses (range officer courses), cowboy clays and some long range. The weather is divine and people were turning up in droves!

There were two time slots for warm up in the morning and afternoon. Wild Bunch was 4 stages and Jack and I had a great time doing those.

 

Side matches were running most of the day with speed pistol, rifle, shotgun (side by side and '97), gunfighter and duelist, .22rifle and pistol, derringer and pocket pistol.

Catch ups ensued with friends from near and far!

Today we were on the late wave starting at 12.30. Five stages completed (10, 6, 7, 8, 9). Great stages on the Corral, Mercantile, Mine, Livery and lastly the Fort. Smooth and consistent – clean!

 

Jack is clean also but has pulled a muscle or something in his elbow or forearm. Playing havoc with picking up shotgun and chucking shells. Don't let him fool for you, he has still had some good times. 😉

 

Then after that was done they had a 'sign me up' shootout where anyone can go in. Think they ended up with around 18 men's and 6 women. Kit Carson won it for the men's and I won the ladies. Congratulations to all who entered and to my friend Cooncan who ran very close to me on the final shoot! You'll have to go to the FB page to see how close!

 

Tomorrow it starts again! We are on the early wave! See you on the range!

Kat xo

 

Range Is Set!

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Well folks, the range is set for Red Dirt Rampage, the SW Regional championship hosted by the Territorial Marshal's.

Looks fantastic! The weather is perfect! Just sensational for the next few days!

Stage 1 – The Church

 

Stage 2 – The Stagecoach – look how good my painted sky matches the real sky today!! To say I'm pleased with my painting is an understatement, I love this piece!

 

Stage 3 – The Adobe Wall

 

Stage 4 – The Depot – with our resident conductor aka looks like Gunkiller! But it's not!

 

Stage 5 – The Saloon had to take pics from outside saloon was locked up so you'll have to wait for new pics!

 

Stage 6 – The Mercantile

 

Stage 7 – The Mine – only got to shoot 6 of the 8 shotgun.

 

Stage 8 – The Livery

 

Stage 9 – Fort Courage

 

Stage 10 – OK Corral

 

Some of them have the odd extra target getting ready for side matches and Wild Bunch tomorrow.

Yee haw! Bring it! Hope you are here to have fun, if you still have never shot Land Run or Red Dirt Rampage, next year it will combined and be held end of April!! You've got to come try it!

See you on range!

Kat xo

 

Week Review

Posted on by kathousekelli70

This week has flown by with an assortment of various activities.

Moving on with Belle's, Eva outfit, I worked out chain stitch embroidery using the machine and now I'm happy with where this outfit is heading! A little time consuming but it's giving the effect I want and finally got thread colours to match (not the ones in the first photo, that's a practice piece!)

 

A few more pattern matched corsets are under way, a black and white spot (although I was disappointed with the size of the spot when it came, could have been bigger)

 

We had Wednesday practice day which went well…….all except Jack's shotgun again!

Thursday was a full day at the range helping set up for Red Dirt. The stagecoach looks spectacular in its 'natural environment' so I myself am very pleased with the result. Stages look great and despite the rain early in the week, the weather is pure sunshine both for the pre-shooters and for the main match week. You're all going to love it if you're shooting it!

It's Sunday morning and you can tell Fall is creeping in. The sun is lower in the sky and the crisp morning air gives way to small patches of fog lifting from ponds and rivers as we drive NW to Sand Springs.

We shot 6 stages with 14 other cowboy's and cowgirl's – last chance for practice before the upcoming Regional.

Car projects keep me awake on the trip back with more embroidery prep. Pity I forgot the damn pins otherwise the trim would be pinned on top of a corset as well!!

Hope you've had a fun, relaxing and/or accomplished weekend!

Kat xo

 

Hellfire 2017

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Louisiana's usual subtropical climate had carried later into the year what with the influence of Harvey, Irma and the rest of the hurricane weather occurring in the Gulf. The humidity was extremely high with temps in the 90's for this year's Hellfire match.

The Jackson Hole Regulators are located just outside of Quitman, LA.

These group of cowboy's have a sensational range setup with a full 10 bays, facades, fans and boardwalks on all except one. There is a covered pavilion to accomodate 150 odd cowboy's and cowgirl's for meals and awards which we were all quite thankful for in the brief storm shower on Saturday evening.

 

The air conditioned office was welcoming! It also held the poker game night on Saturday won by Lodan B Fast!

Oh! And on the corner as you entered the range each state that was represented, a flag was in place AND included the Australian flag! Thanks guys!

 

Friday was side match day including speed events and 3 stage's of Wild Bunch.

Wild Bunch went pretty well, remembering all the things I had focused on for the last day of EOT – yes, have not shot it since then! So I was pleased with the outcome!

This year there were 143 shooters, of which 19 had a clean match! Congratulations to you and all who placed in their categories.

Jack and I were on a great posse with Two Gun Johnnie as our Posse Leader. We had a great time with Dodge City Dixie, Reno Mustang, Gentilly Gent, Mountain Laurel, Stump Jumper, Duke City Deadeye, Dixie Deadeye, Mt Zion Gypsy, Mt Zion Yellowboy, Texas Mac, Texas Flower, Sidewinder Sid, Texas Jack Star and Tennessee Star.

The match had a great mix of sequences, targets were various shapes, we had knockdowns for pistol and rifle, some were close, some were far and made for a controlled style of match. It was really, really good!

 

As we rounded out the weekend with 5 stages each day, Jack and I had a miss a piece, with Jack's shotgun giving him fits! So was not his best by far. 😦 Poor man.

Congratulations to my fellow Lady Wrangler's, 2nd place Cheeka Bow Wow and 3rd place Complicated Lady.

 

Trophies this year were a shooting bag of varying size with Hellfire printed on the side. Mine has already been put to good use for travelling sewing equipment, laptop etc! Thanks to Smokey Shane for the side match and Wild Bunch trophies, laser cut steel. He also made a fire pit that was raffled off along with a number of guns, congratulations to all the raffle winners!

 

I had a great finish to a great weekend and was pleased to receive a gorgeous buckle for overall ladies.

Hellfire 2017 overall men's – Slick McClade & overall ladies – Kathouse Kelli.

 

Thank you again to Jackson Hole Regulators for a great match, great food, fantastic hospitality, oh and a particularly good style of Gumbo on Friday night!

Kat xo