Letting Go of the Bay Leaf: Birthday cards

Showing posts with label Birthday cards. Show all posts

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!

Mosaic Monday

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.

Sunday, October 3, 2021

Mosaic Monday #150: Farewell, September!

And here we are; only three months of 2021 remain! I was "playing" in my garden today, and I noticed the grasshoppers were moving slowly this morning. The frosty overnight temperatures make them sluggish, and soon enough will bring on their demise. Later in the day, I observed a massive ant hill while watering some aspens - the ants were almost frantic in their activity. It brings to mind the fable of the Grasshopper and the Ant. I have written about this before (September 1, 2017). Do you feel an affinity for one or the other?

I suspect this Garter Snake, sunning itself on the gravel of the driveway on September 2, has since begun brumation (the reptile equivalent of hibernation). These snakes will migrate long distances to brumate in large communal sites called hibernacula.

That same day, I approached the garage for my gardening gloves, and was greeted by this Red Squirrel on the step. It held something in its paws, and appeared to be turning it over and eating it. See the video below.

As it ran off, it left the "foodstuff" on the step - it was a rock! One source on the Web claims this is how they sharpen their teeth!

Early in the month, I was also fascinated to witness this caterpillar crossing the driveway. It was leathery in appearance. Can anyone identify it?

After a fairly successful summer of protecting the garden from nibblers, suddenly two Cottontails began wreaking havoc in September. Also, two young Whitetail Deer, without a mom to accompany them, seem to believe my Strawberry plants, Columbines and Sand Cherries are their personal buffet! The motion-activated sprinklers don't seem to pick up their slow-moving, small forms. Good thing it is the end of the season and I am not quite as manic about protecting everything!

But I can still be seen dashing out of the house, whooping and hollering to chase them away!

Over the space of four weeks, most of the bushes put on their colored coats. Below, the Golden Currant is in the transition.

Rocky Mountain Bee Plant has been part of my garden since I discovered it growing naturally on our leach field the very first summer (see 9/13/2020 post). In the picture below, a third of these plants were sown by me; the rest were the result of natural propagation from a specimen that grew here last summer!

Frosty mornings and cool evenings put me in the mood for soup.

Thanks to Jan at Low Carb Diabetic for this root vegetable soup recipe. It was hearty and flavorful!

While snakes and many other creatures become less active with the advent of Autumn, bears eat and drink nearly nonstop. They need to put on weight to prepare for winter and hibernation. This process is called hyperphagia. In our neighborhood, a small Black Bear has been seen quite frequently.

One evening, we were getting ready to have dinner on the deck, and I looked over the railing, only to see the little Black Bear gazing up at me. He was no more than 25 feet from me! He turned and ambled into the woods while I scrambled inside to get Spousal Unit and #1 Son. By the time they came out, the bear was weaving in and out of the trees beyond the firepit. Check out this video!!!

Did you know a group of turkeys is called a rafter? On the way home from town the other day, I came upon at least 20 turkeys. If I stayed a little longer, would all of them ended up perched on the fence?

I had the opportunity this month to make two hand-drawn birthday cards, one for a former work colleague in Arizona, and the other for one of my sisters. I get a little thrill and considerable satisfaction from finding and executing these fun greeting cards!

I will eat anything with capers, so this recipe for Lemon Caper Pork Medallions caught my eye. The boys in the house declared it a keeper. And it was a straightforward and quick recipe, even for me!

It has been a good month, but I am still in a little bit of shock that October has arrived. I am little sad to look out the window and realize that many of the aspens are already devoid of leaves. Wouldn't it be nice sometimes if we could simply re-wind the clock?