February with Malenda

Malenda's parents wanted her to delay daycare until she was 6 months old.  Mom Marci went back to work when she was 4 months old, so the two grandmothers volunteered to help out for the 2 month interim.  Janice took the month of January while I was in Montana, and I took the month of February.

What a sweet little Valentine buddy I had!  This little girl has clothes for every occasion and Valentine's Day is no exception!  Hearts everywhere!

At the end of the month, not only was Malenda 6  months old, but she became legally a member of our family!  Parents and both sets of grandparents could not wipe the smiles off our faces as the judge declared that she was officially our child and grandchild!  Malenda couldn't resist checking out everything on the judge's desk.  Wonder what this portends for her future?

Montana Winters

If it's January, it must be Montana.  As much as we love the summers in Big Sky - the winter has its own charm.  The social activity is almost frenetic.  The community of people who live there year round defy the weather with a constant stream of concerts, dinners, pot lucks and, of course, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, dog sledding - and on and on it goes.

We arrived in Big Sky on January 5 and met Connie and Dennis from Chattanooga and Kat and Jim from Oakland at the airport.  All of us headed up the mountain ready to hit the slopes.  Kat and Connie have made this trip almost every year since we have been in Big Sky and we have our favorite runs and lunch spots.  This year, we even shared our favorite ski instructor, Rich, for an afternoon of tuning up our technique.

Nancy and Jim, our neighbors, sponsored a concert evening in the village.  Duo Solo is the husband wife team of Michael Kirkendoll and Mary Fukushima.  Based currently in Stillwater, OK, they met while studying at Manhattan School of Music.  Nancy and Jim met Michael and Mary when Michael competed for the American Pianists Association Classical Fellowship Awards held annually in Indianapolis.  Mary is a flutist who produces sounds on a flute that I never knew existed!  She teaches at Pittsburg State University, just across the Oklahoma border in KS.  Together, these remarkably talented musicians are committed to performing the music of living composers, and they treated the audience to a delightful evening of contemporary music, both in solo and duo mode.

On the night after the concert, a group of friends gathered with Michael and Mary at the 320 Guest Ranch for dinner.  The 320 is famous for its pig roasts in the summer, and steaks in the winter.  Oh... and now famous for one of its signature drinks - the Buttery Cowboy.  Think hot chocolate, butterscotch schnapps and Bailey's - mmmmmmm.  Connie, Kat and I went straight for the liquor store to get the ingredients so that we could enjoy our own Buttery Cowboys at home. 

Every winter, I look forward to the Master the Mountain program at Big Sky.  This 6-week program is offered in January and pushes participants to ski parts of the mountain off the beaten track.  My skiing has improved so much through this program.  Roger Schwer, who has been at Big Sky as an instructor at least 40 years, organizes this program every year.  His wife, Margie, also an excellent instructor, has taken me to places to which I would have never ventured without her calm encouragement.  These two are an inspiration have done more than anyone I know to instill in me this life long love affair with skiing.  When I head down the slopes with beautiful skiers in my class, some of them 20 years my senior, who have an incredible zest for living, I am inspired beyond any fear I might have of the newest steep run.

In late January, Wayne and Mary Jane, both from Nashville, dropped in for a week-long visit.  Wayne is a medical school classmate of Butch's, and Mary Jane grew up in our hometown of Sparta.  We took a day and drove over to Gardiner and through the Roosevelt Arch to the northern entrance to Yellowstone.  This is the only road which is open into the park in the winter.  We drove over to Mammoth Hot Springs and spent some time hiking around the moon-like frozen fumaroles.  It's easy to imagine that you are on another planet amid these strange geologic features.  I really think these amazing hot springs are even more beautiful in the winter - strangely fascinating.

We drove on over to the northeastern end of the park and stopped in Cooke City (population 100) for a break.  This very snowy little outpost is the gateway to the Beartooth Highway in the summer, called one of the most beautiful drives in America by the late Charles Kurault.  However, this road is closed in the winter, and Cooke City is the end of the road.  So, we decided to grab a quick snack and warm cup of coffee.  The proprietor recommended their signature drink, ginger tea and it was a terrific recommendation.  We spent the rest of the week trying to reproduce this delicious hot drink - must be my year for discovering drinks.  This one is basically hot lemonade made with fresh lemons and steeped with grated fresh ginger.  If you try this at home, be sure that you use plenty of ginger - then, build a fire in the fireplace and enjoy the ginger tea slowly.  Mmmmm... makes me wish it was winter again (really??).

On our way out of the park, a curious coyote followed us for what seemed like miles.  I really think he was just looking for a free lunch.  We also spotted elk, bison and big horn sheep.  These animals survive very well inside Yellowstone and manage to find food growing around the natural hot springs and geysers, which keep the ground warm enough for vegetation even through the harshest winter. 

The bison find food by ramming their rather large head into the snow and shaking it back and forth to clear away the snow and uncover the vegetation that might be there.  When they raise their head, they look like they have been hit head-on with a massive snowball.  From November until late April, this is their life - and most of them survive!  This miracle of life and survival hits me every time I visit this wonderful place.

That's my Montana winter story this year...  next, back to TN and a warmup in Florida.  Stay tuned - I will get caught up on this blog!!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year??

Yes... I know.... it's April.  I'm a bit behind.  Here's the quick summary.  Over the next few days, I promise I'll get myself caught up to spring.

Christmas for our family this year was at Jimmy's house.  With the addition of Soeung, Miles and Camille this year, his house is much fuller!!  We arrived early on Christmas morning and looked in the windows to find the 3 kids already checking out the gifts under the tree.

We quickly joined in as the wrapping paper and ribbon began to fly around the room.  Star Wars and Wii games seemed to be the hits this year.

This was the year I finally finished Will's needlepoint stocking.  Having started this project shortly after Will was born, I had promised myself that I would complete it by the time he finished high school - I'm ahead of schedule!!  If I take this long on every stocking which needs to be completed for our newest family members, I will need to work at it a good bit faster than I did on this one.

Even the adults in our family get stockings.  In fact, this is usually much more anticipated than the wrapped gifts.  There's always a bit of a surprise in each stocking, and it has become quite the challenge to surprise each person with an unexpected treasure.  We really enjoyed seeing Miles, Camille and Soeung get into this family tradition.

Marci and Ryan arrived with our newest granddaughter - Malenda Sage.  At 4 months old, Malenda was quite delighted with all the activity.  Her cousins were absolutely taken with this new little baby.  Marci was able to find a quiet corner for Malenda, who still snoozes quite often.  But, when she was awake, she was all smiles.

Everyone contributed to the Christmas dinner.  Jimmy's sweet potatoes were a particular favorite this year.  And what would Christmas be without granddaddy's famous cheese grits casserole!  As usual, there was so much food that all of us had to eat that evening and the next day to finally finish it.  The cat, Butterscotch, seemed quite content with his catnip toy and didn't even seem to notice the feast on the table.

How many in our family now?  10??  Last year we had one grandchild - now we have 4!  What fun we had with these kids!  We were tired at the end of the day, and went home to sleep well - the best part about being grandparents!!

Thanksgiving with Family

What better way to spend Thanksgiving than with family!  We started the Thanksgiving weekend by traveling to Sparta to share Thanksgiving dinner with brother and sister-in-law, Jack and Pat.  What a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner Pat had prepared.  My favorites were the "little birds" - otherwise known as Cornish game hens, and the cooked apricots.  Pat says she is a rebel when it comes to including the cranberry sauce.  The apricots were indeed a refreshing new touch.  Best of all, everything was low fat, low carb and absolutely delicious!

Friday evening, we traveled down to Tullahoma for the 50th anniversary celebration of my 1st cousin, Ray and Ann, hosted by their son and daughter-in-law.  Now, it seems to me that these milestones are only for grandparents - I remember my own grandparents' golden wedding anniversary back in the 50s.  Can it be that my cousin is there already??   WOOPS!!  Guess I'm not that far behind - we celebrated our 42nd anniversary this year.  This comes in the category of "everybody else is getting old - not me"?!?  We had a really fun evening and Ray and Ann were surrounded by friends and family.  The meal was delicious, the conversation rich and warm.  We finished the evening with a champagne toast and wedding cake with the best frosting I have ever tasted.

Saturday was the day for Thanksgiving dinner with children and grandchildren.  Butch absolutely hit a home run with his 19-pound turkey a la Martha Stewart.  It was beautifully browned and REALLY moist.  Martha doesn't make it easy, but the result was fabulous.  Marci brought the broccoli casserole and the cheese grits (my mother's recipe), Jimmy prepared the sweet potatoes and Soeung made her favorite 7-layer salad.  I contributed the cranberry relish and we had chess pie and pecan pie, compliments of Simply Southern in Pelham, one of our favorite local restaurants.  Those of you who may remember my grandmother's reputation for chess pie will be surprised to hear me say that this one is as good as I remember hers to be.

This was Will's first time to meet his new cousin, Malenda.  He and Camille were quite excited to hold her and Malenda was a perfect champ - actually seemed to be quite fascinated with her new cousins.  We have gone from 1 grandchild to 4 grandchildren in less than one year.  The joy - and the decibel level - has multiplied many times over.

We had put up the Christmas tree and the lights.  The 3 grandchildren began digging out all the ornaments and garland.  Before we knew it, it was beautifully decorated, and Jimmy topped the tree with the angel. The kids rewarded themselves with orange juice- well deserved!!  I may never decorate the tree myself again.  Wonder if they will be around when it's time to undecorate the tree?

I love this holiday season - and I'm giving thanks every day for the wonderful family that we have around us.  Our house and our lives are indeed full - and now strangely quiet!!  We had a couple of inches of snow this weekend, and I'm sitting here in this quiet house feeling very warm as I look at this very special Christmas tree!!

We are looking forward to Malenda's first Christmas.  I just can't get enough of this beautiful little 3-month old child.  The joy and hope that she expresses every time we see her reflect the true message of this season.

"A baby is God's opinion that life should go on."  -Carl Sandburg.

I Love Being a Grandmother

One of the things I miss most about being away from Tennessee is my grandchildren.  Fortunately, Marci and Ryan and Jimmy and Soeung send pictures, but it's just not the same as being there to get a hug and seeing them in action.

Just before we came out to Montana, we went on our annual Mt. LeConte hike in the Smokies.  Will has been hiking Mt. Leconte since he was 2 years old, the first two years on his Dad's back, and then at the age of 4 he made the entire hike up on his own and every year since then.  This year, Soeung and her two children, Miles (8) and Camille (6) made the hike with us as well.  All 3 kids made it up the mountain and down without a problem.  Kudos to the parents, who worked in plenty of breaks along the way to make the hike more fun for them.  We stopped at the stream and at "squirrel rock" and fed the critters there who are always looking for an easy snack.  Soeung, who teaches environmental science, has a quick eye for flora and fauna and found little creatures that the rest of us would have just walked right past.

On our recent quick trip to Tennessee, we arrived on a day when Miles had a soccer game.  It was a beautiful, perfect fall day - no snow there!!!  Miles is 8 years old and actually scored a goal during the game.  I don't even know which team won, and I couldn't tell that the kids even cared.  They just loved playing the game and had a great time.

I asked Camille (age 6)  if she wanted to play soccer.  She informed me very quickly that she played the piano, so I guess that means "no"?

Will, on the other hand, seems to have some interest in the game.  Of course, Jimmy loves the game so much and he and Will carry a soccer ball with them at all times.  On this particular day, Wiill was practicing "head shots" with the ball.  It goes like this:  throw the ball in the air toward Will and he bounces it off his head.  And, let me tell you, he didn't miss many!

Camille had found a group of girls to play, and after Will got tired of the head shots, he wanted to walk around the track that surrounds the soccer fields.  I needed a good walk anyway, so off we went.  At age 6, I am pretty impressed with Will's conversational skills.  We stopped at the creek and threw sticks in the water to see how fast they moved, talked about messages in a bottle and following it all the way to the ocean and how long it would take to get there, about riding horses in Montana, and how many books he has read.  This is what I miss!!  I could have talked to him all day - I'm not sure Will felt the same way!  Hahaha.

A couple of days later, I was off to Nashville for a quick visit with Marci and Ryan and 6-week-old  Malenda.  I stayed in Nashville as a "Mom's helper" for 2 weeks after Malenda was born - my goodness, what a difference 4 weeks makes!  This little girl was smiling, hitting at her mobile toys and almost sleeping through the night.  She now weighs 12 pounds and still eats with such gusto.

Marci took advantage of the time I was there to go out to lunch with some friends and run a few errands.    Malenda and I had an hour-long stroll and she slept through about half of it ... again, the weather was just beautiful.  She takes very short naps during the day, which leaves lots of good play time.  We play silly sound games - sticking out our tongues, buzzing our lips,  making raspberry sounds, animal sounds, etc.  Too much fun!

Marci just sent some new pictures.  She is growing so fast.  Two more weeks and I'll be back in Tennessee and not just looking at pictures.

Now, I know it's my job...  but, I really do have the cutest, smartest, best grandchildren in the world!  I absolutely love this stage in my life and I love being a grandmother.

The Long Road to TN Bluegrass and Back to MT

We had a quick trip to Tennessee, and as you can tell by my previous post, we left Montana with snow on the ground and arrived to a beautiful Tennessee fall day.  Actually, it was  after midnight by the time we got to Nashville.

I had an unused leg on a round-trip flight, which I used on this trip and Jim got a roundtrip ticket on another airline.  We were to meet in Nashville within 1 hour of each other.  It's been said.... "the best laid plans...", and stormy weather across the midwest made for a rather eventful day!  My flight from Bozeman to Chicago was on again, off again, then on again because of ground delays in Chicago.  Then the flight to Nashville was delayed, delayed, delayed.  Meanwhile, Jim was in Minneapolis delayed, delayed, delayed.

I got to Nashville at 10 pm, tired and totally starved only to find all restaurants in the Nashville airport closed.  All I can say is thank God for Hooters!!  At midnight, I was wolfing down a burger and onion rings watching a hula contest between some beer-drinking guys and the Hooters waitresses.  Long way from Montana!!!

Jim's flight finally got in at 12:45 a.m. and we got to Monteagle at 3 a.m.  Whew!!  Our goal the next day was the  Three Sisters Festival in Chattanooga.  Sponsored by the Fletcher Bright Company, and true to champion fiddler Flethcer Bright's legacy, this is an all bluegrass event and we couldn't wait to take our grandson Will, who, at the age of 6, is already a huge bluegrass fan.  But, more about grandchildren later!

The first band we heard on Friday was Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper.  What a treat!!!  Michael Cleveland is 29 years old and is the current and 7-time winner of the IBMA Fiddler of the Year award.  Why had I not heard of this guy before?  He gets sounds out of a fiddle that others only dream of.  I happened to see him the next day, sitting with his dad on a park bench.  I asked him when he learned to play the fiddle - he started taking Suzuki violin when he was 4 years old, then began listening to bluegrass fiddlers who lived around him.  Did I mention that Michael is blind?  He is surrounded by an amazing band including the IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year and Bass Player of the Year  PLUS the band won the Bluegrass Band of the Year award.  Well deserved, I say, for this original and authentic group of musicians.

Infamous Stringdusters were next to take the stage, followed by the Grascals.  Stringdusters are relatively new on the scene and the Grascals band members are real bluegrass veterans, and both bands I would pay to see in a solo show - that's how good they are. Both bands play lots of original music, mixed with some country and bluegrass traditional favorites.  The newest Grascal is IBMA Banjo Picker of the Year Kristin Scott Benson, the only female member of the band in a predominately male industry.  She is so understated, smiles sparingly, but picks the strings off a banjo!!  Their award-winning original song, Me and John and Paul, brought me to tears.  Before they sang it, they asked all veterans in the audience to stand and be recognized.  Read the lyrics...  you'll understand the emotion I felt.

On Saturday, we picked up the grandchildren, Will and Miles and Camille (Soeung is their mother), and headed back down to Ross's Landing for day two of the Three Sisters Festival.  The kids were more interested in the playground and the "box hill" than they were in the bluegrass bands, but they were within hearing distance, so I'm sure they soaked in some of the music.

We got there just in time to hear John Reischman and the Jaybirds.  They are from Vancouver and we have heard them on several occasions here in Montana.  The first time I met them, the guitar player Jim Nunally told me that he and the banjo player had made a Flatt & Scruggs pilgrimage to Sparta, TN, my hometown!  I have been a fan ever since and try to go to their gigs whenever they are close by.  All of them can sing and write wonderful original songs, but the bass player Tricia Gagnon simply has one of the most soulful voices in bluegrass today!  At the end of their set, they invited Fletcher Bright up to the stage to fiddle a few songs with their fiddler Greg Spatz.  What a treat!

After a fabulous spaghetti dinner with Jimmy, Soeung (Soeung makes one of the best spaghetti sauces I have ever had anywhere!) and the kids, the festival was topped off by the Kruger Brothers and the Del McCoury Band. Jens and Uwe Kruger were born in Switzerland and for the last 10 years have been living in North Carolina.  I had never heard these guys before, and their style defies description - country, jazz, classical - it's all there.  I could have listened to them a lot longer than they played.  At the end of their set, they invited Michael Cleveland on stage to fiddle a few tunes with them. He stood between the banjo and the guitar and went back and forth "Deliverance" style for a good 10 minutes - simply amazing!!

Del McCoury and his band were the last to take the stage.  One of the most popular acts in bluegrass, this band never disappoints.  It had been a long day, however, and Will just couldn't stay awake any longer and Miles and Camille were struggling to keep it together.  So, we left about half way through their set.  It was a beautiful weekend with great bluegrass and family all around!