Mad Ouva

living life in the last best place

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Mini Bio

I’m 45. I live on the outskirts of a small Montana town — one that has three stop signs, two bars, a blacksmith, and no grocery store. Sharing the hovel I call home is my husband, Brian, our dogs, Wicket and Elstree, and our cats, Chirpa, Gimmick, Alice, and Pigeon.

What’s a Suzzerpuss?

I have no idea.

My grandfather (Pappy) called my sister and I Ralph, Clyde, or Charlie, depending on the day. My grandmother (Nanny) called us both Suzzerpuss.

When I told her that I’d picked Suzzerpuss for a webpage name, she asked me what a Suzzerpuss was. So, I guess no one knows.

  • Ramblings

    It’s Many Hundred Miles and It Won’t Be Long

    August 17, 2020 /

    There is nothing more important to me than being happy in life. That’s why Brian and I chose to be homeless, to move across the country with only a tent and our dogs, in search of the life we wanted. I will take risks to be happy. I know that money, security, and safety is important, but at the end of my life, whether it’s a year from now or fifty years from now, I don’t want my last thought to be, “I wish I’d…” I know it won’t be, “I’m glad at least I had some money.” When confronted with choices that risk happiness, I will go against the…

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    July 28, 2015

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    August 12, 2016

    We Took Small Bites at First but Then We Ate It All

    May 26, 2015
  • Creatures,  Hobbies,  Ramblings

    Not a Sound

    April 20, 2020 /

    Montana’s spring is basically winter-lite. It was still snowing went we went out yesterday, though luckily the storm dissipated before reaching our location. Thankfully, the weather app tells me it should be getting a little warmer now. That means we can finally start properly heading out to explore the world without big wool jackets and survival packs. As I just mentioned, yesterday we packed our bikes, the dogs, forty-seven bottles of water, a few Bobo’s Oat Bars, and headed to some mountains not far from where we live – which is what anyone through the entire western side of Montana can say about mountains, really. Levee, our cattledogshepherdmix, is overly-nourished.…

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    Place Your Bets on the Limits of a Beast’s Appetite

    February 21, 2020

    Like Flashy Sparkles in the Water

    May 27, 2012

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    June 5, 2012
  • Places,  Ramblings

    A Cold Wind’s Whispering Secrets in Your Ear

    November 13, 2014 /

    In every state I’ve lived in, someone has used the line “If you don’t like the weather here, give it ten minutes and it’ll change,” but never has that been more accurate than my time here in Montana. Last Saturday we had our windows open, enjoying the mid-sixty breezes that brought the smell of crunchy fallen leaves and wood smoke drifting through the house. By Sunday night we had the heater cranked up to counter the drop to single digits and snow was whipping furiously in every direction. In our tiny Connecticut cabin, we had a monstrous wood-stove we relied on for all our heat. There were a few baseboard…

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    These Are the Places I Will Always Go

    October 20, 2014

    Out There’s a Land That Time Don’t Command

    October 15, 2014

    Where My Heart Can Roam

    November 24, 2014
  • Creatures,  Places,  Ramblings

    Nothing Compares to Waking Up in the Sunshine

    October 10, 2014 /

    Since the last time I posted a photo here we: 1. May 2013: Left our old farmhouse in Iowa and moved to Connecticut where we lived in a tiny cabin. It was nestled in a valley along the Housatonic river, in the Berkshire mountains, in the “quiet corner” of the state. There was no cell service or internet and everything was at least 40 minutes away, but there were bears, coyotes, peace, and beauty. 2. June 2014: Bought a cap for our truck, put all our belongings into storage, and headed west — vagabonds with a dream of living in Montana. 3. Summer 2014: Spent three months (hot, hot, hot,…

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    March 11, 2015

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    July 4, 2019

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    January 29, 2020

Books I’m Reading/Using

Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies
by Frances Sizer, Ellie Whitney

Grit & Grace: Train the Mind, Train the Body, Own Your Life
by Tim McGraw

Healthy Smoothie Recipe Book
by Jennifer Koslo

(My favorite smoothie so far is the Herbed Pineapple Green Apple.)

The Herbal Apothecary: 100 Medicinal Herbs and How to Use Them
by J.J. Pursell

Products I’m Loving

Decaf House Blend
from Peet’s Coffee

Big Ass Brick of Soap – Fresh Cut Pine
from Duke Cannon Supply Co.

Soy Candle – Pumpkin Hollow Farm
from 1803 Candles

© 2026 Mad Ouva