What Has Me Smiling

Right now I'm am quite pleased by many little things:

1. The fact that it has been snowing quite consistently for DAYS. I can't tell you the last time it snowed for DAYS. Maybe when I was a kid? I am loving it and recently heard that this La Nina year may meld into next year and then we'll have a double La Nina winter. Holy cow! That'd be awesome! :) If you haven't guessed yet, I LOVE snow.

2. My newest package that I received in the mail from one of my favorite bloggers. She just started her own line of organic products like lip balms and body scrubs. I'll blog about it soon so check back!

3. When I looked out of the shower curtain this morning I found my cat on the bath mat near the tub. What was she doing? Bathing of course. Apparently we're on the same morning schedule. I bet she wonders why I require so much water when I bathe though!

4. Grocery shopping! I really, really love my big shopping day when I restock the whole house. Paper towels, soap, scrubbies for dishes, new toothbrush, more food, tissue boxes, etc. I love when all the shelves are full again and whenever I need something it's there.

5. Best friend baby updates! My bestie is prego and it has been very exciting! I think it's just plain fascinating too. Every week she sends me a link to a site that says what's happening in her belly that week. Things like when baby's joints start working, his or her eyes can detect light, how much he or she weighs. I love knowing what's going on! I also love her personal updates on what foods she suddenly can't stand and all the changes she's noticed in her body. Cool!

6. Really good cereal. I don't like many breakfast foods, and sometimes pass up this meal simply because there's nothing good to eat. I really get excited about a new box of yummy, yummy cereal though. I look forward to it when I wake up! :)

7. My highway drives. Work has me on the road, as always, but lately it's been extra beautiful. The houses this week meant winding up skinny roads between boulders as big as houses. The cold weather has produced beautiful frost on all the heaps of snow which have sparkled like gems in the sunlight. Wind has been light so there are still caps of white on every fence post, pine bough and hay bail. The diamond-like days have melted into warm, pink sunsets and then the stars come out. And not just any stars! Bright, white ones in the darkest sky I've ever seen. I went out into the boonies this week, further than I've ever gone before and after getting out of the car was actually startled by how brilliant the sky was. I was so far from city lights and noise. It was amazing!

Winter Through My Sister's Eyes

My sister, and roommate, is a lover of Winter. Just like me! She is a snowboarder (I am a skier) but she one-upped me this year by becoming part of Ski Patrol at one of our local mountains. (Well, Snowboard Patrol I suppose...) She gets to snowboard at least 2 days a week all season long. And she gets PAID for it!! So not fair. :) She likes to take her camera along when she's out there and has captured some really beautiful winter scenes so far this year. Below are three of my favorites I wanted to share with you folks. Aren't they great? Winter can be so beautiful! I hope you all are enjoying the rest of your weekend. We've had big, puffy flakes of snow falling since I woke up this morning which has been lovely. Though it means I'll have to shovel twice today!!

They call these snow rainbows "Sun Dogs"

A Year in Pictures (And My 2011 Word)

It's been a hell of a year, a hell of a ride and a year that I am happily packing back into its box. It's time to open 2011 and my hands are shaking at the excitement that is to be discovered there.

To the successes, challenges, lessons, losses and experiences gained; to the joy and the thrill of what this year was, I raise my glass. To the year ahead and all the potential it holds, I raise it again. Here's to the closing of this most interesting chapter. And here's to the first, crisp page of the next. Have your ink wells ready, folks, it's time to pen 2011...

In review, I went back through a few of the photos I've used in this blog over the last year, my first year in blogland. Below are collages of a few of my favorite moments of 2010:

Clock-wise from top left:
Fall colors along my beloved Clark Fork River.
Mom and I all dolled up in Disneyland celebrating my 25th Birthday.
Laguna Beach, California; my taste of the Pacific Ocean this year.
My front yard glider with my favorite alpine mountaineering reading material.

Clock-wise from top left:
Finding the therapeutic qualities of painting pottery! Done with my best friend this summer.
Skiing in an epic snow season!
Commemorating my late friend with my yearly hike around Missoula.
One of the lovely weddings attended this summer.

Have fun celebrating New Year's Eve! I am making a
few resolutions and wishes this year, but I also have
chosen a word to inspire me for 2011: Transform
There are going to be a lot of changes in my world this year!

A Gift from Australia!

I must tell you all about my special package from Australia! I recently participated in a giveaway at Shabby Vintage Junk, one of my favorite blogs written by the sweetest lady! Well, I won! She had eight winners, and I was one of the lucky few. She did not reveal to us what our special item would be, so it was even more of a surprise. My package arrived the day before Christmas Eve! Perfect! I was at first confused when I picked up the cardboard box off my step, then saw where it had come from and started to bounce! I opened the box to find a Christmas paper wrapped box and a card. (I just loved the type of ribbon she used too. It's the kind with the little rib texture on it that I remember curling as a kid. Not that shiny stuff! Small pleasures...he he he)



I opened up the card and placed the gift under the tree. I was going to wait till Christmas! The card was an adorable Santa with a wonderful sentiment inside. One of my fave parts? The back of it which reads "Made in Australia." Probably not a big deal for her, but it was a fun little reminder to me that my gift was extra special and from the other side of the globe.



I placed it proudly on my little mantle beside my other cards I received this year.



Upon Christmas, I got to open that shiny silver package. Inside, was a red, vintage tool box. It was an old metal, socket-set box, now quite distressed and quite charming!



I loved it! It's bright red color worked great with my holiday decor at the time, and now that most of the Christmas has been packed away, the little red box remains in one of my vignettes.


I just loved the worn description on the inside! What a cool item! I am mighty pleased and smiley!

Thank you so much Tamarah for your generous giveaway! I am so excited to get something all the way from Australia! :)

And to all you other bloggers, head on over to Tamarah's blog. She has a delightful site and is the queen of vintage!

Tabletop Tuesday!

I am joining A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday! The idea this week was to show off something from Christmas, be it a table scape or a gift or anything festive! I chose a few pictures from my decorated house. I had a wonderful holiday and I hope you all did too!

My favorite gift this year? Cowboy boots! A Montana
Girl just has to have a pair of cowboy boots! :)

The Merriest of Holidays!

I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful holiday. It has been an exciting two days here--and we're not done yet! :) Yesterday while my sister was away skiing I worked on some surprises. The first one being some new outdoor decorations. A friend of mine had a Christmas tree but she was leaving for Indiana for the holiday. She took the ornaments off and asked if I wanted it. I said "sure!" I set it up outside on my garden bench. (It's a short little tree.) How do I keep it up right? Zip ties! I don't have zip ties...or wire. So what do I use? Curling ribbon of course! LOL. With the tree upright I put ornaments on and strung lights. Underneath I put offerings for our squirrel and bird friends: old oranges and bread. They'll be pleased! My sister was too! She loves giving the fruit to the animals so I thought she'd get a kick out of our "offering" tree. Next up meant heading to my Mom's house to finish making beignets. My sister fell in love with these pastries when she was in New Orleans so to surprise her my Mom and I made some. After the dough is prepared and has risen, you deep fat fry them to perfection. Topped with powdered sugar, they're amazing! We ate quite a few while we were at it! My sister was quite pleased this morning when I presented the fluffy little treats. Wahoo! We went to my Aunt's house last night for snacks and conversation, like we do every year since I can remember. It just isn't Christmas without that visit! We all slept well afterward and awoke this morning to presents and orange rolls, good coffee and cheer. Tonight we'll go back to the parent's house for a turkey dinner, tasty cocktails, pie and board games. I love it! What a pleasant two days with my most beloved people. I hope you are having a fantastic time with your favorite people! Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you sleep soundly tonight, pleasantly exhausted from the joy of it all.

This was another silly surprise for my sister. This "shelf" was put up around Halloween on my bathroom wall. I left it after the holiday ended, but it was looking a bit out of place. So, what do I do? Take it down? Nah! I just added holly. :) Perfect!

What I'm Celebrating

I rolled home on Tuesday, from a long day on the highway, under the biggest, most yellow moon I had ever seen. I had to concentrate extra hard on the road so I didn't distract myself into a deer at it's sheer beauty. 'Twas the Solstice, and I couldn't imagine a better way to ring it in. Hours and hours earlier you would have found me chilly, in pajamas watching the eclipse of that very big yellow moon the morning before. My sister and I watched fondly as it slowly felt our shadow and then turned red. An article somewhere said that it's red because "the moon is seeing every sunrise and sunset on the Earth all at once." I liked that image. When I tucked myself in that night I was thankful I stayed up to see it. I think it was thankful I stayed up too. Its own little show for us Earthly viewers.



I have been thankful for a lot lately. I have been enjoying this special season for a lot of reasons too. Some folks struggle this time of year with how others celebrate the holidays. Some seem to struggle when they can't celebrate it exactly as they want. All I've got to say is that Christmas is what you make it. With decor, or none, with joy or none. It's up to you how you want it to pan out. There's folks out there with a lot less than me, that are just as happy and there are folks out there with a lot more than me who are very much not. My family has always felt the warmth and joy of this season. My parents were clever and savvy when they were newly married, making their own ornaments and cards. When us kids came along we were crafty and creative. The holidays were fun and exciting, and most of all full of surprises. Our family always finds cute ways to surprise one another. (My favorite this year? My mother sneaking into my house to leave the most hilarious topper on our tree.) That's what this season is about for me, what Christmas really means. It means family, and fun, and trees and lights, giving and caring, and finding the magic. It's making everyone around me smile, whether it's wishing someone on the street Merry Christmas, or bringing donuts to folks in the hospital. On the other end of things, to me, it's also about a very brave young woman who gave birth to an amazing boy who grew up always putting Good first. And that's worth celebrating. Even if you're not religious, that story and that idea alone is worth a nod and a raise of a glass. There needs to be more people on this earth that put that kind of goodness first.



I hope you are all enjoying your own reasons for the season. They are all correct and right and worthy. And most wonderfully: different for each person. :) Merry Christmas Eve Eve, folks! :)