Family Mellmann

Since winter seems to be a no-show this year and Easter is right around the corner, I decided it was time for a "refresh"... what the interior decorating crowd calls a seasonal or periodic change to ones decor.   I framed a map that Joerg and I found two summers ago at a local market.  It's a map of Yellowstone that was created by German scientists so while the location names are in English, the map text is in German. While Jörg was out of town, I was finally able to use the printer to print photos and prints which I could frame for our shelves. And, after two years hidden away in a storage box, the komodo dragon we brought back from Indonesia is finally back on display.  And a few spring flowers for the island. I'm still working on the kitchen shelves, but I made a start. This vase is carved out of waste wood from a Russian Olive tree.  Russian Olive grows wild and aggressively around here.   

Montana has been quite gracious to us as we weather our first winter in our new home.  But if you like cold and snow (and a fully stocked pantry and freezer) then what some might see as graciousness actually feels more like disappointment. We have had very little snow this year and the temperatures have been quite mild.   Although we have had some crazy strong winds (highest reports were gusts of 70-80 miles per hour), winter has been MIA (missing in action) this year. On the bright side, when I picked Joerg up from the Bozeman airport, we stopped in Livingston for lunch which was served in the open air; both garage doors were wide open and we enjoyed our sandwiches (almost) outdoors.    

Okay, everyone sing with me now... Ohhhhhhhhhh-klahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain. And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet When the wind comes right behind the rain.  Well, we don't have rain and the "wheat" is actually just prairie grass but we sure did have wind. Winter is a particularly windy time here in central Montana.  If you don't tie it down or strap it to something, it is likely to blow away.  "It" being anything lighter than an automobile.  In December, the wind was so strong that it took out a very tall, very thick tree in front of the county courthouse.  On more than one occasion we had to claim our patio furniture from the fence line by the neighbor or some other area of our property.  We finally figured out how to stack the outdoor furniture in such a way that it won't blow off the patio anymore. Anyway, it was quite a dust-up yesterday so I thought I would try to get a little video.  I had my eyes closed (to...

Another reason for our Christmas in Arizona road trip was to deliver some things to Patrick that he wanted from our house (things we don't need anymore).  Our kitchen table was one of those things.  This table was purchased in the early 1990s to go in a small house where I would do a lot of entertaining.  It was perfect; it would shrink down to a small table for two but could expand (three leaves) to seat 6-8 people.  This is exactly the kind of table that Patrick needs over these next years as he lives in apartments and may be called upon to move more than once.  At the same time, we were ready for a larger table (and more comfortable chairs) to fit in our new dining space.   Farewell to the old table. And our first dinner on the new table. By now we are pretty much moved into the house, unpacked, organized, and even a bit decorated.  But there are still projects to be done.  Jörg installed floating shelves in our three "niche" spaces; one by the...