Dining Out

Kim and I decided to eat out last night.  I love trying new places.  And there are plenty to try around here.  You just have to be willing to drive a bit.  It took us 46 minutes to reach this place.

We live in the orange circle.  We drove to the red marker.

The restaurant is called The Raven.  My daughter warned me it was kind of a "dive".  I didn't mind.  I'd been wanting to eat somewhere near there for quite a while.  The view of Woods Bay, where the restaurant is located (and is also the name of the town), is beautiful.  Just a partial view of huge Flathead Lake.

I started off the evening with a Huckleberry Fizz.  Delicious.

Then I switched to a Porch Pounder;  sour and slower to go down.  Which can be a good thing, right?

Kim went with the Peanut Butter Cup Porter.  Who would have thought peanut butter BEER would taste good???  It tasted GREAT.  Kim said it was probably the best beer he's ever drank.

There is plenty of outdoor seating for better weather.  Lots of people chose to sit outside last night, the temps were perfect;  in the 50's.

I didn't take pics of our food.  (I know, crazy, right?)  We started off with chips and salsa, then I ordered their fish tacos with a salad;  really good.  Kim had a burger and fries which he said was also very good.

There were some real characters present.  We met a woman who won on The Gong show years ago and who used to have a singing act in Las Vegas.  Then there was the couple with their young son who just moved here four days ago from Florida of all places. 

I had also chosen the Raven for the promise of live music that night.  Well, it was live.  And you could recognize most of the songs.

Kim and I had an enjoyable evening out.  It's always nice to shake up your senses by going someplace different.

Lovely sunset, too.

And I have already reneged on my decision to stop my knitting podcast.  I missed it already and decided to stop being such a whiny baby.  Who cares how many subscribers I have if I'm enjoying what I'm doing?

You can find the newest one here if you're interested.

https://youtu.be/3UqDqek_o4w

Sunday at McGregor Lake

It's Coming

Spring.  A few signs.

The snow is melting.  Really.

And daffodil sprouts have been spotted.

The chickens have been running around.  Here is our Lakenvelder;  Bonbon.

And one of my orchids bloomed recently, adding some color inside our house.  This is a rare occurrence for me;  having an orchid bloom again.  I'm surprised at how long lasting those blooms are!  There were three of them and they were greatly appreciated.

Sunday Snow

Snow. Seems appropriate. It’s pretty. And quiet. And I don’t mind it at all.

More snow is being predicted for the next week.

Stuff We've Been Doing

Good god.  Sometimes it's just hard, isn't it?  What the hell is going on with google and blogger?
I certainly can't figure it out.

Well, update;  I've quit my knitting podcast.  I've come to the realization that it just is so much work and there are so few people watching.  It's just not worth it to continue.  And I have to wonder why it wasn't more popular.  There I was, standing in front of what I considered beautiful scenery, talking about knitting, a little history, and life in general.  Still couldn't get more than 10 people or so to seem to care.  Maybe 100 people watched each episode.  Maybe.  I have to recognize that the one common denominator in my podcast was......well, me.  Maybe it's my voice.  Maybe it's my demeanor, but my podcast never took off after over two years.  So it's time to face facts and give it up.

What have we been up to?  Mostly watching the snow melt.  Looking forward to warmer days.  Kim has some tomatoes and pepper starts going.

We also attended a memorial for one of our local volunteer firefighters.  She didn't die in the line of duty on a fire, but helping push someone's truck out of the snow.  Not a great way to go in my opinion.  There were a LOT of firefighters from the surrounding area in attendance.  It was a good memorial.

You get the idea.


Then we attended something more fun.  Or maybe not fun, but interesting anyway.  The Lodge at McGregor Lake had their annual chili cook off again.  We'd not attended before but decided to check it out this year.

McGregor, as it is known to the locals, is one of those quintessential Montana bars and grills that you would love to visit while here.

Loaded with stuffed game on the walls of course.

It's a popular event.

Folks make their chili in crockpots then bring it in on contest day to be judged by the three judges.  Who take their time at it, about 45 minutes to be exact.  They announce winners in traditional and non-traditional categories and then by paying $3 you can eat all the chili you like.  Along with cornbread.
But don't expect to know what's IN the crockpots of chili.  You could be eating practically anything. 
When Kim went to get some (I didn't participate, I sincerely doubted they would offer a vegetarian version, and besides, how would I know?)  there were rumors that a certain crockpot contained cougar meat.  Not something I would appreciate.  So if you have allergies or serious food preferences, this is not the meal for you.  Your typical small town event.

The crockpots of chili were set on one of the pool tables.  They were labeled with a number, and then after the judging, the name of the maker.  That's it.  No "contains venison" or "contains shit you wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole".

February Podcast

January Knitting