And so it goes!

Well the rest of December was incredible! So many fun things to do. My Em came over and we made jam. Me? Make jam? Yes, but it was the easy kind. A recipe I found over on Susan Branch's website. Cranberry Marmalade and it came out sooooo good. We had a great time filling jars while my girl was dressed as her version of Saint Nick. 

  

Next up was a fun thing that the city of Missoula comes together to support and everyone loves. Santa Flies! On the 17th, the 4 of us gathered on the roof of my daughter's work building and waited in the very freezing temperatures to watch Santa fly by in his sleigh with his 2 trusty reindeer. Actually it is a light installation dangling by a helicopter, but who cares. It is great! I love all the videos that come out and are posted on Facebook and all the kids in the area are yelling and waving their Hellos! Awesome. 

More lovely fun came about when we attended the Holiday Spectacular Ice Show in which my daughter skated. It was so much fun and she did so well. She is learning more and more each year. And we couldn't be prouder of her. 

 

With Christmas Eve, Em and I went to church for the first time in 2 years. Fully vacced and masked. And it was worth it to sing and feel the joy of everyone gathered. We picked up Jules on the way home and then spent a wonderful evening being together the 4 of us. We ate and played games, drank our special drinks (I even had 2 shots of Fireball Whiskey!) and enjoyed our company. Then we gathered again on Christmas Day to enjoy a turkey dinner and shared a couple of little presents. Simple, quiet, safe and so much fun. 

 

Em and I do a holiday show each year and this year we did something new. We went to Spokane, Wa. to see the Broadway production of Anastasia! I must admit, when we first decided to do this a year ago, I worried about driving in what would most likely be snowy conditions. It was a little dicey at times, but Em got us over the pass just fine and we had a marvelous time. We stayed at the beautiful Davenport Grand, did some shopping and saw the most wonderful show. We dressed up, and wore the matching bracelets I had made and we were having so much fun, people wanted to take our picture! I bought my girl a fancy tiara, we drank signature drinks, and oh the music! What incredible voices. I will remember that evening forever. And Washington state does it right, you had to be vaccinated and masked to attend. 

 

So there we are. I am now taking down the decor and looking forward to 2022. Because I always look forward. May everyone have a wonderful life! Always, Kit

December

Oh my, am I ever enjoying this holiday season. I spend a lot of time sitting in my spot gazing at my pretty tree, hoping for snow and just like that, here it comes fluttering down. I had a lot of fun creating my vignettes this year and visiting with my old treasures. Now I can do a little baking and I've been watching some movies. New to me, The Bishops Wife and The Shop Around the Corner.  Both were wonderful! We went to the Red Truck Vintage Market and I found a few more ornaments (like I really need any more...lol) and a little Santa. It was fun to be out and about and of course we wore our masks. Sadly a lot of people were not. 

 

Thanksgiving was lovely. I had my kids here and Steve, so I was quite content. All the food came out just great and we had our special drinks and fun games. As usual we did not want the night to end but Em and I had to get up early the next day. That's right, we had a date for Black Friday. We decided to meet at 6am and only visit 4 stores. It's not the buying that's important, it's the driving around in the dark, listening to Christmas songs and chatting. We had so much fun and I was able to spoil my kids. 

So now it is only a couple of weeks to Christmas. The cards have been mailed, the house is all decorated but of course I keep tweaking...lol I just love how everything looks so different in Christmas colors. Maybe we should hang lit garland all year long. I have come to a decision lately and I feel good about it. I am going to stop doing my blog. I won't delete it, but after this month, I will not add anything new. I find I get a lot of enjoyment out of Instagram and I have met so many great people all over the world. I love going in each day and sharing a pic of what I am up to. And checking in on what everyone is doing. There are so many great ideas and photos to enjoy. I started out in a forum over 20 years ago, graduated to a blog and now IG suits me better. You can check on me, if you want, on IG at amontanalife. It has been lovely getting to know you. Have a very Merry Christmas! Always, Kit

 

My Favorite Season.

Coming up on my favorite week. The week of Thanksgiving. The whole week speaks home to me. My cozy meter ramps up and I walk around with a silly smile on my face. Little lights, warm fires, lots of turkeys and autumn colors to add cheer around the house. 

 

Recap time. October kept us busy. We gathered yard art and carefully tucked it away in my garden shed. Covered the furniture and mulched leaves. We start early so we do not get caught by an early snowstorm. I love this time. I feel like a settler getting ready for the long winter.

We had a lovely celebration, just the three of us at our kids house, for my hubbys birthday. Em had decorated her backyard for fall. I made homemade chocolate cupcakes and we ordered pizza. We sat around the fire pit and chatted and laughed. So pleasant. And by the way, we still only gather with them due to covid. Still too big a risk, even being fully vaccinated and boostered to be around others. I know my kids are safe but I can't say that for others. 

 

This Halloween was lovely! Prior to the big day my youngest came over and we made spiderweb cookies. The first time in 26 years. We had a wonderful time and they sure were good. We set up our display and had Trick or Treaters. I had put in little bags, a Pez toy and candy in little bags. We only had 9 kids come, but it still made us very happy and the world more normal. Our kids showed up in costume and helped us take down everything outside. We don't want to lose something to the little tricksters. A perfect end to my favorite holiday. 

 

Onward to the weekend. Our big rivalry football game is this Saturday. But we will watch it from the comfort of our home. I have hot dogs, chips and peanuts at the ready. Go Griz! Always, Kit