Sunday, February 20, 2022

Mosaic Monday #167: Random Ruminations

"What's another word for 'mish-mash'"? I asked, peering over my glasses at Spousal Unit.  "Context?" he parried back.  "I am composing my blog about a mish-mash of events from January and February ..." I explained. "Gamoosh," he proposed.  Pausing, he added "Hodgepodge.  Random ruminations."  Eureka!  That's it! What word or phrase would you have suggested?

Since I started this post with a birthday photo, I might as well continue the theme!  I was feted with many texts, phone calls, cards, comments on my FaceBook timeline and more.  Each of us deserves a day when we are showered with love, and I certainly felt that on my birthday!

Spousal Unit took me out for dinner at a local steakhouse, which is also a treat for him since it is a night he doesn't have to cook!

A former HR colleague scheduled a Zoom call with several fellow members of the team, and for 30 minutes we caught up with each other, and had some good laughs reminiscing about our time working together.  We may be fatigued from Zoom and Skype and FaceTime, but these tools to stay connected are surely a silver lining from the pandemic.


I asked for a drone, and my wish was granted.  I have begun watching "how-to" videos, and soon I will be ready for my first flight.  We'll have to go somewhere that has some wide open spaces!!!  #1 Son surprised me with these new reels - perfect for my ski pass - and snazzy bright ski socks.  Too bad they get covered up by ski boots!


Thoughtful gifts require some creativity, and knowing what's important to someone.  My Dear Neighbor Friend surprised me with this gardening shovel - she knew I "needed" one after she helped me transplant some juniper last fall, and saw that I was trying to dig them up with a spade!!  And of course, her cinnamon rolls never come in wrong!!!


On January 23, I wrote about our trip to Idaho Falls to help #1 Son make the move to his new job.  Along the way, we stopped at the Dell Mercantile, and although it does not look like much on the outside, it contains an eclectic collection of gift items.  I could have taken a dozen pictures of amusing sayings printed on different objects.  


And I loved this mural/quote in the ladies' restroom - I had to work to get the whole mural in the shot.


Speaking of decorations, I switched over to a red/Valentine's theme when we disassembled the Christmas tree and packed away the holiday decorations.


I enjoyed drawing this birthday card for my oldest sister.


As I write this post, we are under a Winter Storm Watch - by Monday morning, we could have 3 - 5 inches of snow, with 6 - 12 at the higher elevations.  Of course, for us winter sports fans, this is welcome news.  More white stuff makes for better cross-country and downhill skiing!






One of the great privileges of serving as a Mountain Ambassador is participating in the Whitefish Winter Carnival parade, representing the Resort.  I have written about this before - 2/16/2020.  This year, the theme was 80's Re-wind, and the Resort float was designed around the Ghostbusters movie.  (On the mountain, we have snow ghosts, so it seemed fitting!)


I haven't shown you enough food in this post ... one night after "work", we had the mountain of nachos at the Craggy Range.



We have endeavored to add more fruits and vegetables to our diet via smoothies.  But sometimes your Spousal Unit spoils you with a huckleberry Danish!


This week, Head Chef made a salad that was out of this world.  Mixed greens, freshly cooked beets (still warm), tomatoes, grilled chicken (still warm), pecans toasted with Cajun spices, grilled red peppers and feta cheese.  So many flavors - very satisfying!


At the end of January, we tried Mercantile Steak in Kalispell, and we would highly recommend it.  It is pricey, but as a treat it is worth every penny, starting with the gigantic popovers sprinkled with Gruyere.  So tasty!


Two final, random ruminations.  Close to running out of milk one day, we stopped at the gas station for a half gallon, and I was thrilled to read that Horizon Organic has a goal to be the first national dairy brand to be carbon positive by 2025!  Buy Horizon Organic!  Meanwhile, Spousal Unit was refilling the washer fluid in his truck when he found this critter nest under the hood.  The question is: where did all this material come from?  I suspect we won't find out until we give the garage its spring cleaning!


***due to a trip to Idaho Falls/Utah next week, I will not be hosting Mosaic Monday on February 27.  Come back March 6!


Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

42 comments:

  1. Wishing you happiness
    To welcome each morning,
    Wishing you laughter
    To make your heart sing.
    Wishing you friendship
    Sharing and caring,
    And all of the joy
    The birthday can bring!

    Hope all of your dearest wishes come true because no one deserves it more than you do!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ...I have an Amish friend who sell his milk to Horizon. The Dairy business wants to appear "Carbon Positive," but their methane emissions are a disaster! Thanks for hosting and have a great trip.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your ruminations are always fun to read and see -- no matter what you call them -- but I do like the title you picked. Love that Birthday card for your sis -- hope that isn't an accurate portrait of their RV parking spot though )). Enjoy your trip -- nice visit with your son and a trip to scenic Utah is always worthwhile.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy Birthday, Angie, and best wishes for another wonderful year ahead filled with love, laughter and many good things. Enjoy your trip!

    ReplyDelete
  5. seems you had a great birthday. Have you tried to fly the drone yet??

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Angie, Happy Birthday! I haven't been by in awhile and sure have missed your great photos, especially all the delicious food you post. Enjoy your Sunday evening and have a fantastic trip!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Happy birthday! Those mountain views are a delight.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Such fun snow photos and fun mish-mash too. We can't wait to see some drone views. Happy Birthday from all of us!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy hodgepodge birthday! What a wonderful bunch of stuff going on. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Happy hodgepodge birthday! What a wonderful bunch of stuff going on. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wish you a happy birthday! Seems you had great time among good food and adventures.
    This Whitefish Winter Carnival parade sounds wonderful.
    Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy Birthday, Angie! I wish we were friends on Facebook as I would have wished you a happy day in real time! ( I searched but did not find your there) Your birthday gift are wonderful--I am looking forward to seeing your drone photos. I think that is a wasp nest. They often build those papery type of nests under house eaves or decks. Enjoy your trip to Idaho Springs/Utah!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Happy Birthday. We are both February born. I was the 11th

    Much💜love

    ReplyDelete
  14. Happy Birthday Angie! What a fun post, with all the yummy food, the scenes from your skiing and the parade. Safe travels, have a great trip!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Happy Birthday, Angie! In my University the Student Newspaper was called: "Farrago" = Hodgepodge = mishmash = miscellany = ragbag - gallimaufry!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Happy Birthday sweet friend! It looks like you had lots of fun and lots of yummy food to celebrate! Love the snowy photos too. We were just watching the weather and saw the latest storm (with my first name). Stay warm and safe this week! Hugs, N. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  17. Happy Birthday! Those nachos look tasty. I have a birthday soon too. Yikes.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh my, what a breathtaking post, dear Angie, thank you for sharing it!
    Wishing you a lovely new week
    XOXO Daniela at ~ My little old world ~

    ReplyDelete
  19. Forgive me, I forgot to wish you many happy returns of the year!
    XOXO Daniela at ~ My little old world ~

    ReplyDelete
  20. Fun, fun, fun! Loved the card you drew! My favorite was the "tea" mug!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hello, dear Angie!
    My blog friend Veronica calls a mishmash "gallimaufry", I like that because I didn't know the word before - but your spousal unit is also good in synonyms :-)) I like "Kuddelmuddel" in German ;-))
    Your post is a real challenge in view of the many food photos (fortunately I already had dinner) and snow photos (I feel a certain envy because there is a shortage of snow here...).
    Belated happy birthday (also to your sister) and warm greetings - and have a good time in Idaho Falls / Utah!
    Traude
    https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2022/02/italien-reisebericht-relax-tag.html

    ReplyDelete
  22. The pictures of the winter landscape are amazing. It must be wonderful to ski there.

    ReplyDelete
  23. It's lovely to see how well you were celebrated. Look at all that delicious food! Yum. Enjoy your time in Idaho Falls and Utah!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Glad you got a real celebration! Enjoy your trip.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I like the idea of random ruminations, very true to life. Happy Birthday!
    Amalia
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  26. The happiest of birthdays to you, Angie! I can just imagine the amazing drone photos of your beautiful world. I cannot wait to see photos from way up high. It must be wonderful being married to a 'chef'. That cajun inspired salad has me licking my 'chops' and then there is the Huckleberry Danish....just yum!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Belated, Happy Birthday, Angie. Your happiness made me happy, too, with not only incredible meals and a nice chef but also activities in such a beautiful snow-scape, heartfelt presents, and your kind heart that deserves all the nicest things. I look forward to bird's-eye-view photos by drone. Have fun on your trip.

    Yoko

    ReplyDelete
  28. Wow ... a drone! Happy belated birthday, Angie. I see your mish-mash or shall we say conglomerate of events unfolding had one unifying factor. They were all on the happy side of life’s scale.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Belated happy birthday to you Angie.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Happy belated birthday Angie, you received some wonderful presents and have had some wonderful meals! Great to see the snow photos. Enjoy your drone.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Belated Happy Birthday Wishes.

    So nice seeing all of your foodie photographs, yum :)

    Have a great trip to Idaho Falls.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  32. Welll happy belated birthday. I'm looking forward to some drone shots!!

    We got almost Montana weather down here. It has been below freezing for several days.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Belated Happy birthday to you, Angie. Hope you have a wonderful year as you go onward with lots of fun and laughter.

    ReplyDelete
  34. this was such a fun post, starting with that amazing picture of you, the birthday girl. happy birthday to you angie, you deserve all of this and more!! but could you please feature less food here, now i am starving...a good steak would be perfect right about now! lol

    i am trying to remember what else i wanted to say BUT all i can remember is the food. the snow images are really gorgeous...and i really adore the card you made for your sister. you are really gifted in making cards and they are so personal and special!!

    i have read that saying before, the one you saw in the ladies bathroom, it's a good one!! enjoy your trip!!

    ReplyDelete
  35. oooooh and those nachos, i'll have a plate of those!!!

    ReplyDelete
  36. I enjoyed the snow photos and fun mish-mash.

    All that food! Yummm!

    Happy Tuesday, Angie!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Zoom calls at work are enough for me. I still prefer seeing friends face to face when we can.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Belated Happy Birthday Angie. And go carefully with that drone. Son in Law treated himself to one a couple of years ago and tried it out too son, without properly reading the instructions or practicing in wide open spaces. You guessed, it sailed out over the house tops to be never seen again.

    ReplyDelete
  39. It looks like you received some wonderful birthday presents and all of that food looks so delicious! :)

    ReplyDelete