Prudence pouts

The Holly Faire

Kamera kaputt

I suppose that's a gross exaggeration.  The camera isn't exactly broken, but there is a huge spot of dust on the sensor - right smack in the middle - that was making it tricky to take a decent photograph, and on top of that, now I've misplaced the battery charger.  sigh.  So that is my excuse for the recent lack of any posts whatsoever.   And the two month lack of photographs has now left quite a large gap in our recorded history, which is starting to make me anxious.  Anyway - I really don't have a solution - except to borrow my 15 year-old's little digital camera and start snapping again.  Starting today.

So, the update is - it's been a good past couple weeks.  A little chaotic, a lot of driving, but pretty nice.  Lots of sharing food with friends, playing soccer and late night board games with the kids, Kalispell's first roller derby!, and the girl band is back in action.  Today is going to be a full day of shopping for Halloween necessities - costume ingredients: spray in hair color for the punk vampire, more fur for the furry monster, fabric for the two-scoop ice cream cone - then sushi dinner with this boy I know - yum! 

And I found out today that I received booth space in Portland's GIVE handmade craft show - which I'm pretty excited about!  And the kids are even more thrilled - mini vacation in Portland!  So I've got to start sewing and printing like crazy for that. 

Actual photos to come soon!  xox  

 

Logging roads

The logging roads here are kind of like the power lines in Alaska - they just make for good hikes.  (The old, overgrown ones - not so much the new muddy torn up ones.)  It may not sound very appealing, but when you live somewhere with such dense woods everywhere, it really is great to have these old grassy roads to walk on - wide enough for a good seven kids to walk and run around - sunny and with great views.  This particular road (long since blocked off to all vehicles - logging or otherwise) goes about 3 1/2 miles up the mountain - but at about 1 mile in you reach the trailhead for Laughing Water Trail - which we have yet to hike, but is on the list.  Saturday we walked it with the kids, and Sunday Ron and I went back and rode the mountain bikes on it.  Both gorgeous sunny days.  The wild roses are in their brief full bloom right now and the whole walk/ride had the delicate scent of roses. 

 

Recycled fashion show

Turned out pretty awesome!  Definitely rocked Jerry's Saloon last night.  Lots of fun.  Lots of friends.  Lots of gorgeous women!  And I had a lot of fun making the recycled treats for our skit.  (My daughter made all the cute ice cream cones.)  Have spent the whole day recovering, lounging about reading Her Fearful Symmetry  by Audrey Niffenegger.  (I read The Time Traveler's Wife a couple years back, and unlike many people actually love this newest novel so much more!)  Drinking too much orange juice and enjoying a relatively clean and quiet home. 

Easter scramble

Here we are again. 

It'd been snowing fluffy flakes intermittently all week, so thank goodness the sun shone on the scramble.  And thank goodness I got the kids there in time.  That was close.  

Easter breakfast - homemade waffles with cherries, mandarin oranges and fresh whipped cream.  Followed by afternoon mimosas with mandarins.

Waiting.  And the official Easter Scramble starting bell.

 

xoxo

Trego Christmas bazaar

Friday Dec. 4th 10am - 8pm;  Saturday Dec. 5th 10am - 8pm;  Sunday Dec. 6th 11am - 4pm

Such a pretty bazaar every year - it's different from most bazaars.  It's in a little log cabin in Trego (the civic center), and it's set up like a shop - where all of the vendors' items are mixed up together.  You just walk around shopping, eating complimentary cookies and sipping hot complimentary beverages, enjoying the heat of the wood stove and the huge lighted Christmas tree in the center of the room.  By far one of the nicer bazaars I've ever attended or taken part in.  Photos below of a sample of what I'll be selling this year!

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday's hike

Here are some pictures from the hike that we did on Sunday, up to Wolverine Lake.  It was another sunny day, but breezy - which was perfect for hiking, and the trail was really beautiful.  All uphill, but with lots of little dips and rests that make an uphill hike still enjoyable.  It was so green and lush for the first 2/3 of the hike that it really reminded me of the Pacific Northwest.  There were huckleberries growing all along the trail, too, so I had to keep picking to feed the child on my back.  2 1/2 miles uphill with 40 lbs. of 3-yr-old is quite a work out! 

When we got to the top we took a break on the rocks and had a small gourmet feast.  I'd made fried egg and pickle sandwiches with buttermilk biscuits for us adults (they're good!  really!) - and jam and butter on the biscuits for the kids.  Then we ate fresh peaches with the most sublime fresh whipped cream.  Nothing like a perfect meal at the top.  The kids played pirates in the lake, and picked wild chives to chew on, and the dog went for a few swims before we headed back down, picking more huckleberries along the way - this time 40 lbs. lighter.  

 

 

  

Thursday night

Pouring rain today, and cold!  And I have a dentist appointment.  sigh. 

But!  We're going out tonight to The Northern, with friends, to hear Truckstop Honeymoon.  I love having an excuse to dress up - so tonight I'm wearing my newly thrifted bright yellow sun- dress  and my newly found (one was somehow lost in the disaster of our daughter's room) pair of knit black knee highs.  (The white sweater with fur trim was hopefully obviously thrifted as well.)   Can't wait to eat greasy bar food and have a couple Lemon Drops.  Healthy sounding, huh?

Spring in Montana

Northwest Montana - dusty spring.  (I'm not complaining!)

And it wouldn't be spring without Rendezvous!

36

Birthday began yesterday with a chai and morning gifts - a big hand-knit hat and a bottle of Cointreu to start - the rest of the day consisted primarily of baking an angel food cake from scratch (14 egg whites!  What to do with all the yolks?), making lemon ice cream the long way - ie mixing and freezing repeatedly (used up about half the yolks), and listening to my current favorite music, Nouvelle Vague, all day.  So - moody dance music, baking, and sunshine; another gloriously sunny February day.  Wore a new thrifted dress, my best find in years (View this photo) , rumply black Japanese thigh highs from Sock Dreams, and newly acquired pink carnation bobbies.  Drank Hornsbys all afternoon in the sunny kitchen, which ran into all evening, making tacos, too.  (A birthday tradition really - my mom always made tacos and angel food cake on my birthday.)

A bit of the sunny spread:
The fabric and pattern are from Selvedge - an amazingly cool fabric store my daughter and I just discovered in Missoula.  The acorn tea set, a sweet sweet gift from an online friend.  The cake and melty ice cream served on the pretty new Anthropologie dessert plates that I received for Christmas.  I love pink. 
  

   

And shared the day with a sweet little girl in NJ who received this in the mail:
   

                       Happy Birthday Hazel!