bodner044

Tongue and groove and half of window in upstairs bedroom OK, I got it.  You want an update on the log house!  Well, here it is! The last post on this topic was June 13 (second day of the re-set), so you are wholly within your rights to be expecting some sort of status report.  To re-fresh my own memory, I have been looking back through my snaps, and it is amazing how much has changed .... (As an aside, I am sure you don't want the equivalent of the vacation slide show - 300 pictures later and everyone is snoozing on the sectional?  So I will try to summarize the key points!) View you will see when standing at the kitchen sink! Dormer in the upstairs bedroom - I love how the  logs come together with the ceiling After the re-set (logs placed on the foundation), we were in the UK for 2+ weeks.  When we returned and visited the house on June 30, 1) the window openings had been cut to their correct shape, 2) the stained pine tongue and groove boards for the ceil...

Wednesday, May 10 – Apgar Lookout – 9 miles out and back It's hard to believe we have been in Montana for 2 months - ONLY 2 months?!  We have packed in so much already, my senses tell me it's longer. I have learned a great deal about the flora and fauna of the Flathead Valley, such that my notes from our early hikes seem almost childish.  But guess what?  You are the beneficiary of my augmented knowledge - I am going to take editorial licence and ensure that my identifications are correct, even if they don't reflect the notes I took that day. OK with you? Behold the Glacier Lily (which I originally identified as a trout lily).  I still remember the flash of gold next to the trail and my sense of excitement.  I asked Number One Son (#1S) to hold its head up so that I could get a good shot of the stamens.  As I learned later, this lily is one of the first wildflowers to bloom in the spring.  It is especially known for i...

As I have expanded my contacts within the blogging community, I have been impressed with how many of my favorite bloggers crochet.  So, while I am not in that sisterhood myself, I wanted to share the creations of my mother, who invests many of her waking hours plying her crochet hook to the benefit of others. Mom takes great joy in crafting gifts for her great grandchildren, who currently number 16 (with 2 more on the way)!  She started with baby blankets, hats and booties. (On our weekly Skype call today, we got to talking about the gender of the greats because the two on the way are both boys.  That means boys 11, girls 7 - come on, girls!!!) More recently she has been on a kick with animals.  My Mom lives independently at the St. Leonard's senior living community, and one of her favorite activities is contributing crochet projects for Creative Corner.   In addition to a year-round shop, Creative Corn...

As long as I can remember, there has been the hat.  The hat that came with us on every vacation.    The hat that always has a whiff of insect repellent, sun cream and fish bait.  The hat that occasionally gets lovingly repaired.  Actually, I guess it would be more accurate to say that I remember the hat came after the kids.  Why?  Because my first real memory of the hat is Spousal Unit clapping it onto his head on the first day of a family trip, and declaring to me and the kids "Now we're on vacation."  And that catchphrase became the hallmark of every vacation since then. Yorkshire Dales with my sister, my brother-in-law and Man With Hat So, does the catchphrase still have meaning now that we are on a 'permanent vacation'?  As I have pondered this, I have cast my mind back to those family trips and how I felt when Spousal Unit would utter his proclamation.  A warm glow would come over all of us in anticipation o...

Garden retreats are a balm for my soul, and one of my favorites has been lovingly created over several years by my dear in-laws.  As in many UK communities, Mom and Dad have access to allotments, which are garden plots that can be rented from the town council.  Unique in their case is the fact that their allotments are directly across the street from their front door.  The wonderful result is a view of their garden and the farm fields beyond.    Mom and Dad were both raised in this mining village; their current home was built to provide housing for the miners and their families.   In the early days, they had one allotment and Dad's sole focus in the garden was supplementing the family table.  Spousal Unit describes a garden 'green with vegetables', replete with potatoes, huge onions, spring cabbage, Brussel sprouts, turnips, carrots, and mounds of beet root. (Of course, no English garden would be complete without stra...