Keeping you updated on happenings in Bigfork, Montana and at Bigfork Mountain Lake Lodge. The Lodge features thirty spacious fireplace suites with views of Flathead Lake, conveniently located five miles South of Bigfork, Montana in Woods Bay.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Valentine's Memories
For you see, each day I love you more today,
more than yesterday, and less than tomorrow.
- Rosemonde Gerard
"My boyfriend got down on one knee and proposed to me at Mountain Lake Lodge…it was so romantic and sweet…..I said YES!!!"
"My wife gives me the most fantastic Valentine’s day cards every year…..sometimes she makes them out of fancy paper and ribbons, or uses one of our favorite photographs (we take A LOT of photos), another year she bought a Hallmark card that had a gold heart ornament on the front – it is still sitting on my desk and it was six years ago."
"Ah, that's the trick--making something cheap that doesn't look like it. I've done a sonnet on parchment sealed with a ribbon and wax--that went over quite well.""The ultimate memory was getting married on Valentine’s Day!!"
"I prefer to do something that shows that I put time and energy into it--cut a bouquet for flowers myself, or make chocolate roses. "
"Every year on our Anniversary and on Valentine’s day by husband has the florist fill a very special vase with a bouquet of flowers….it’s the same vase he gave me flowers in the very first time!"
I get out of the car after work and my husband says “I’m hungry get me something to eat”. We walk in the door and there is a stuffed lion with a box of chocolates sitting on top of the TV. He plops down in his favorite chair and says “get me a glass of water” – so I went to the sink…. He says “no I want cold water out of the fridge”….I’m getting a little miffed!!! So, I go to the frig and open the door and there is a bouquet of beautiful red roses in the refrigerator for me. Next my husband says “get me some socks”…..I’m so pissed by this time……. but I go all the way downstairs to get him some socks… and in with his socks is a box with ruby ring in it for me (ruby is my birthstone).
Another, Valentine’s Day when I was pregnant….my husband says "I’m going home from work early" – I say OKAY – when I get home the furniture has been re-arranged and a new vanity in place – with two dozen red roses on top of it and a ring box with an emerald ring in it (emerald signifying the birth month of our unborn child).
These two Valentine’s are the most memorable because he took a lot of time to PLAN out two great Valentine’s Day Surprises for me.
We would love to hear about your favorite Valentine’s Day…
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
My Special Valentine
“Love is like the wind,
you can’t see it but you can feel it.”
Each of us have numerous Valentine’s in our lives......maybe it’s your husband, children, grandchildren, wife, significant other, a very good friend, or maybe even the elderly neighbor lady that has just lost her husband.
There are so many ways to express the love you have for the Valentine’s in your life.
When asking friends what Valentine’s Day they remember the most the responses are as varied and unique as each of them are….
One of my friends collects heart rocks…..her husband made a cool coffee table with the heart rocks inlaid into the top with glass over it. Kudo’s!!!
Another friend says he cooks a very delicious lobster dinner (his specialty) at home for he and his wife for Valentine’s Day, complete with Champagne.
Date night where we cook a yummy chocolate (of course) dessert together (sometimes the dessert doesn’t turn out how we planned) but the memory we created is a priceless tradition for our Valentine’s Day.
In the past, it's been poetry, chocolates, breakfast in bed, once I got her flowers delivered at work.
As a grandma it is always a fun bonding time to make heart sugar cookies with my grandchildren. We might end up with frosting on our faces, hands and aprons….but the smiles and the giggles are worth all of it for having time together. And the cookies are so delicious….YUM!!!
Heart Necklace keepsakes…..they are all unique I love shopping for a new one for my wife’s heart necklace collection.
Early in the morning I write a love note on the mirror to my valentine so she is surprised when she gets up in the morning. At night I put red rose petals in the shape of a heart on the bed.
One year I carved a pair of entwined wooden hearts.
We would love to hear about your favorite Valentine’s Day…
Sunday, February 7, 2010
A Valentine's Lesson
The tradition of exchanging gifts and valentines on February 14th really began in the 19th Century but the holiday has been closely associated with the ideals of romantic love since the High Middle Ages when the influences of Geoffrey Chaucer and courtly love flourished...
You could celebrate it on May 2nd. That's when the actual Valentine's day is supposed to be--depending of course on your definition of "supposed to". Apparently Valentine's Day is celebrated as a festival of romantic love at least in part due to a poem by Chaucer, stating:
"For this was on seynt Volantynys day. Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make." By "chese his make", he apparently means, "choose his mate", and it seems unlikely he was referring to the Valentine's Day in February. I guess there used to be several Valentine's days, though, and the one he was probably talking about was actually May 2nd.
Victorian valentines….Lacy Valentines of the Victorian era reached their peak in the years 1840-1860. Handcrafted motifs Cupids, birds, flowers, hearts, and darts enhanced with chiffon, silk, satin, tule, or lace on delicate lace paper.
Some valentines were decorated in watercolor or delicate pen and ink. Often handwriting was a thing of beauty as fine penmanship was considered an art form.
Puzzle Purse valentines were a folded puzzle. Scattered among their many folds were verses that had to be read in a certain order.
Another token of love in the 19th century was a paper hand, the symbol of courtship. Sometimes gloves were a way to propose…it she accepted the girl wore the gloves to church the following Easter.
Green leaves stood for hope in love. British girls used to place bay leaves sprinkled with rose water on their pillows on St. Valentine’s Day Eve. Hopeful to see in their dreams the faces of their future husbands.
In the Orient, Theorem or Poonah valentines had designs that were painted through a stencil cut in oil paper coated with gum Arabic to keep the paint form running,
The Love Knot reads “The knot of love which has no end to let you know my love is true and that to none alive but vow. So be my wife and live with me as long as life shall granted be and I shall ever faithful prove of thee alone my only love sweetest of creatures to thee I send.”
These love knots are not just meant for expressing love, but they are also used as means of proposing for marriage. In the ancient times, the trend was that the guy used to deliver the Celtic love knot at his lovers doorstep and then wait for her response. If the girl accepted the love knot, it would mean the girl is ready for marriage and if on the contrary she didn't pick up the love knot that means the guy has unfortunately been rejected.
During the Civil War there were special valentines for soldiers and their sweethearts. Some showed couples parting ways. Others had a tent with flaps that opened to reveal a soldier. This was called a window valentine. Another Civil War novelty was the valentine that included a lock of hair.
About 1880, valentines lost their delicacy.
Fringe and tassels replaced the fine lace paper valentines. Many valentines were smothered in feather, fake flowers, jewels, beads, seeds, and berries. Many of them in such poor taste that people lost interest in the,. And by the end of World War I, Victorian or English valentines become relics of a bygone age.
“Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end.”
– Author Unknown
Friday, February 5, 2010
Chocolate Delight
"Love - a wildly misunderstood although highly desirable malfunction of the heart which weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, blood pressure to rise and the lips to pucker."
- Author Unknown
With Valentine's Day just around the corner - we thought we would share our recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cake with all of you... Hope you enjoy it as much as we do at the Mountain Lake Lodge!
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Grease one 10-inch cake pan. Set pan aside.You will also need boiling water and a pan larger than the 10-inch cake pan for baking the Flourless Chocolate Cake.
In a small saucepan over medium heat combine:
1/2 cup water, 1/4 tablespoon salt, and 3/4 cup sugar. Stir until completely dissolved. Set aside.
In a double boiler melt 18 - 1 oz squares of bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into a mixing bowl.
Cut 1 cup unsalted butter into small pieces. Beat butter into the melted chocolate with a hand mixer one piece of butter at a time.
Next, beat the hot-sugar-water into the chocolate mixture.
Then (one egg at a time) beat 6 eggs into the chocolate mixture.
Pour the batter into the prepared 10-inch pan.
For baking, put this 10-inch cake pan into the larger pan. Fill the larger pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
Bake cake in the water bath at 300°F for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet when finished.
Chill cake overnight in the cake pan.
To unmold, dip bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate.
"For those of us who can't tolerate wheat or gluten... it is oh! so!! divine!!!"
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The King is Coming!
"Gravitation is not responsible
for people falling in love."
~ Albert Einstein
Direct from Nashville
ELVIS!
Coming February 14th, 2010
to
Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts!
A special Valentine's Day concert starring
international award-winning Elvis tribute artist Ryan Pelton
and his five-piece band The Difference!
The only tribute artist to be booked to play at Graceland,
Ryan and his band will take you on a musical journey
unlike any other.
More than just great music, expect teddy bears, silk scarves and flower leis to fly during this high energy, interactive performance!
Tickets just $29, available online at
Monday, February 1, 2010
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