Thursday, September 21, 2017

September Smorgasbord

Precipitation and cooler temperatures have returned to Montana, and somehow it fires my desire to blog.  It's like curling up in front of the fire with a good read, but in reverse - my keyboard is here, waiting for me to create a captivating post.  So, if it's chilly where you are, grab a blanket and settle in your comfy chair.  For those of you in warmer climes, go out on the porch with an iced beverage.  Are we ready?  Then let's begin:

Chair One Artists: Ruth Lane, Louise Barker, Paula Rindal 
& Sally Glutting
ONE: Would you like to own a chair from a ski lift?  Ten chairlifts from Whitefish Mountain Resort were recently donated to the Big Mountain Commercial Association. The chairs were given to local artists to decorate and the resulting works of art have been set up in front of ten local businesses around Whitefish to show off before they are auctioned this month. The proceeds will benefit the local snow bus that shuttles people from downtown to Whitefish Mountain Resort and the new Glacier Park Express that transports people in and out of the park.  Here are nine of the ten chairs with some detail for each.  Which one is your favorite?

Chair Two Artist: Lorinda Smith











Chair Three Artists: Deb Stika & Susan Miller





















Chair Four Artists: Students of Summit Prep School












Chair Five Artist: Dee Dee Cooper












Chair Six Artist: Shelby Powell
















Chair Seven Artist: Steven Miller


























Chair Eight Artists: Paula Greenstein &
Chris Marie Campbell











Chair Nine Artists: Michelle Saurey, Mark Baumbach
& Terence Gill











(Chair Ten was not available for a picture.)

TWO: Autumn gets me in a baking mood, but I've had in mind a Watermelon Cake I saw on Pinterest - never mind it is probably better suited to summer!  I felt like a kid again, painting by the numbers and trying to get the pink and green just the right shade.  Of course, it never looks as beautiful as the original ... which certainly did not keep me and Spousal Unit from eating it ALL!

THREE: Speaking of Spousal Unit, I can't tell you how grateful I am for his culinary skills.  He says "Would you like some breakfast?" and the next thing I know I have this marvelous meal catching my eye and dancing across my taste buds.

He'll take anything that's at hand, throw it in a pot and produce a gourmet dish - behold his latest creation - Meatballs with mushrooms, Napa cabbage and carrots.  Ummmmm ....
FOUR: If you been following my blog for a bit, you know that we are building a log home.  Many days, we are bopping around various stores to make selections for the house.  Most recently, we have invested untold hours choosing a railing system (you can be sure there will be a post on this in the future!!!)  Occasionally, all this decision-making causes our tummies to growl, and we simply MUST stop at an interesting-looking café along the way.
The Somers Bay Café is located in the old Somers State Building, built in 1905.  In its heyday, Somers was a major port, milltown and tie yard.  The café is a mini-museum of old Somers, displaying historical photos and artifacts on the walls - donated by local residents who lived those early days and frequent the café today.
FIVE: The sun is now down, and yet it seems appropriate to re-wind to the start of my post: puddles!
I am not a duck, but I might as well be with the delight I feel over these small collections of water outside our house.  This is the first real precipitation we have had for over three months.  Already the sky is clearing and the fires are getting under control.  I captured the following series Tuesday morning (without ANY coffee) because I was SO excited by the snow and the sky.  Another serving of blessings for the September Smorgasbord.


Linking to Willy Nilly Friday

Linking to Skywatch Friday

20 comments:

  1. Love your smorgasbord! And I think chair lift #8 is the one for me!

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  2. ...great repurposing of the chairlifts.

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  3. I would love to have Chair # 3
    Love the pretty Skywatch views, too!
    Have a great week-end!

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  4. What a great way to raise money! I love clever ideas like this. Happy Friday!

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  5. I love chair 5 best...but the other one with horses if fabulous too! What amazing artists...all of them. Enjoy your weekend and nice cool weather. (it was 90 here today! lol) Hugs, Diane

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  6. I would love to own a ski lift chair! Cool how these are all done up so uniquely.

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  7. Very interesting blogger friends you are having.
    And also beautiful chairs.

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  8. Hi! Sorry for the flood. I like your mosaic photos very much. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. What a fantastic way to recycle those seats. They're spectacular. And what talented artists who have made each one unique and inviting.

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  10. I love those the ski lift seats! How clever! If only i had room for one...lol You reacted like me about the rain. I was so thrilled and still am. We can breath again! Have a great weekend! Go Griz! Kit

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  11. Fun smorgasbord! The ski lift benches is a cute idea. Nice photos!

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  12. How cool to have your own ski lift chair!
    You are blessed to have a culinary expert! Having said that your watermelon cake looks amazing!

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  13. Those chairs are wonderful. Such creativity.

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  14. My first (but not last) visit to your blog. - Loved it. - I'd pick bench 9 as my favorite. - The Watermelon cake looked fun (I hate watermelon) but if the cake didn't taste like watermelon I'd be fine eating it. - How neat that your hubby cooks for you. Right now mine is fixing breakfast for dinner.
    Wow building your own log home, that has to be challenging and fun.

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  15. I like the idea of auctioning off these repurposed ski lift chairs. I like one and nine. It's so great to have a hubby who can cook. So happy that there has been some rain and snow in Montana that helps to stop the fires. Enjoy your puddles! :)

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  16. Hi Angie

    Thank you for your kind comment on my last blog post. I still can't believe my brother-in-law is gone. My sister is devastated but thankfully her daughter and son in law and grandson live close and are a big help. I love ski lift chair benches! I've seen a few in different place sher ein Colorado. I think I like the simplicity of #6 the best. I also love chairs made out of old skis. They are so expensive to buy, but one of these days I might cave and but one.

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  17. We were thrilled with the rain here as well ... clean air is wonderful and I will never complain about Oregon rain again (especially because we don't plan to be here during the Winter these days ;)) I got real tired of gray damp winters when we lived here in our past life.). I'd be happy to have any one of those benches and I expect you'll see most of them in front of businesses in your area .., a nice idea for the fund raiser.
    Enjoyed all your smorgasboaard and I'm glad the weather gave you the incentive to share with us!

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  18. A wonderful, chatty post full of interesting topics. It would be hard to choose a chair from those offered; I like the plain one best, I think.
    How fortunate to have a husband who cooks! Mine will do dishes and clean up, but he leaves the cooking to me, probably because I enjoy it and I enjoy my own cooking.
    Autumn is slowly arriving here; it's still not very cool, and we have had a little rain. The wildfires are still quite strong in the southeast corner of our province, which is the corner closest to you. I pray for much more rain to fall and quench those flames!

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  19. The ski lift chairs are great..all so unique! #3 is my favorite...all that food looks delicious! Thank you so much for linking with Willy Nilly and I hope to see you again!

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