bodner044

I am not sure if I have so many photos of food because I am blogging (and I want to have pictures to post), because we eat out frequently, or because Spousal Unit is such a good cook and I love to document his masterpieces.   In any event, I think it is time to get some of these wonderful pictures into the public domain.   I am salivating even as I think about it! Since we moved to Montana, we have been searching out new restaurants.  We especially enjoy venues that have outside dining.  One such find is the 406 Bar and Grill in Kalispell.  In addition to the fine patio, they have an eclectic food and martini menu.  What's not to like? The next few pictures are from the kitchen of Spousal Unit.  Since retirement, I will offer recipe ideas from Pinterest, and he will execute the ones he likes.  Case in point: (left) Egg and Cheese Hash Brown Waffles and (below) Zuppa Toscana.  Of course, everything tastes better when eaten outsi...

Miss Maggie Since arriving at our new home in Whitefish, we have had a child gate installed on the stairs to keep the cats from going into the carpeted areas of the house.   (For those of you who have been reading this blog since its inception, you will know that we have two cats – Maggie, a 16-year old veteran who lords it over Josie, 2 years her junior.   Maggie persists with her dominance despite her advanced age and an obvious hitch in one of her hips.)   The gate is partly for our benefit (avoids the necessity to clean cat puke and other secretions from the carpet) and partly for Maggie’s benefit – we don’t think it’s good for her hips to use the stairs, and she is already at a low weight.   Miss Josie Despite the gate, we have discovered Josie upstairs numerous times.   It was a question for the ages.   Was she jumping the gate?   Squeezing through it?   Bumping the gate until the spring released?   While puzzling over this, it occurred...

The log structure is done and the dream another step closer to reality! Yesterday's work started at 7.15 am, with the placement of platforms and scaffolding to enable working on the logs on the upper part of the house.  Very quickly, the remaining log truck from Friday was emptied; the window frames for the great room and the dormer for the upstairs bedroom were in place. Rocky and Neal install great room window frames Dormer While more scaffolding was assembled for the next step, Spousal Unit and I took a walk down to the lake.  He snuck a picture of me!!!  We love the open aspect of this part of our lot, and have many plans for a fire pit near this spot. Looking from lake back toward the house By then, the next (and last) truck had arrived. As you can see in the picture below, one log had to be cut with six notches to fit over the beams that form the ceiling of the master bedroom.  As with every other  log, all of these cuts were done by hand! Peak above kitch...

Have you ever been emotionally drained and yet totally happy?   That is what Spousal Unit and I are experiencing today. Truck loaded with logs The re-set started at 7.15 am, and we both shed tears and hugged each other closely as the first log went into place. Pete, Scott, Neal, Odin and Rocky (crane operator) move the threshold log into place The original forecast described heavy cloud cover and the occasional shower; we were blessed with partly cloudy skies and cool temperatures.   Here is a picture of what morning will be like from our back deck. The process included adding insulation to the grooves of the exterior logs, maneuvering the logs into place and securing them with (seriously large) bolts and bars. Ben and Chris adding insulation Bolts and bars Pete and Scott hammer bars into logs The first course of logs (read: first layer) took some time to put in place.   The team ensured that all the measurements were precise since that would dictate the fit of the ...