Uncategorized
Wanderer at rest: Pfamily Pfun
Published
12 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Jamie Balke, Explorebigsky.com Columnist
Last week I attended an extended family reunion in Illinois that my father hosted. The consonant-loaded, über-German name of the family begins with a Pf. This portion of my extended family is very kind, but I don’t know them very well. As a result, I felt a bit like an observer in the midst of a chaos ruled by decades-old relationships and arguments.
My brother and I traveled to the reunion together, which was held at a resort on Lake Michigan. This beautiful, gigantic lake is one thing I miss most about my home state, and almost immediately upon arriving at the hotel my brother and I bee lined toward the beach. We reverted to games we played as kids, trying to see who could swim the farthest underwater and generally making fools of ourselves.
That evening we ate a late dinner on the hotel’s second story porch and watched a nearly full, glowing tangerine moon rise over the lake.
The second day we convinced our parents to go for a dip. A few other family members followed along, including an adorable baby cousin who hadn’t ever been swimming before and seemed to hate it with a fiery passion. A “wacky” cousin of my father also made her way to the beach and very thoughtfully attempted to record the family swim session with her digital camera. Being preoccupied with filming, she couldn’t be bothered to attend to details such as her dress that had somehow blown up farther than I can relate in a family-friendly publication.
On the third day, I reluctantly participated in the traditional family horseshoe competition. The first round found me and a cousin pitted against my mom and brother. My mom alternated between aggressive and blatant cheating, and loudly declaring that the game was over before the agreed-upon point minimum was reached. I’m pretty sure my brother was trying to throw the game. My mom called the game long before the moderator agreed it was over, and clearly both teams should have been disqualified.
Inexplicably, my cousin and I were declared the winner of that rather interesting round, and were given a buy to the semi-finals. Advanced to a degree far beyond our skill level, we were promptly creamed by two of the older female cousins, both of whom had been enjoying undisclosed beverages in red plastic cups for the majority of the day. One of them accessorized with a cigarette casually dangling from the side of her mouth and sunglasses festooned with skulls. They pretty much used us to wipe the floor.
It was about that time that a childhood friend of my brother drove up to the resort, because apparently, he enjoys a good awkward situation. After he was wrangled into photography duties by a well-intentioned family member, we made a temporary escape to one of our favorite restaurants, Captain Mike’s.
One of the best things about this joint is the names on the menu. For example, being a vegetarian, I enjoyed the “green bastard” burger. Omnivores had a wide range of options including the “liquor and whores” or the “never trust a man with no shirt on” burger. The food is excellent, and the drink list will blow your mind.
Thus fortified, my mom drove us back to the reunion, where we dove head-on back into the pfamily pfun. My uncle had hired a great band, and in a strange twist, another family reunion that was going on at the hotel spilled out onto the patio and danced their way into ours. It felt sort of like a cheesy movie, in a good way.
In retrospect, I’m glad I had that opportunity to spend time with my family. I enjoyed swimming in the lake of my childhood, getting slaughtered in yard games by inebriated women at least twice my age, and watching the chaos unfold.
Jamie Balke moved to Bozeman in the fall of 2009. She can generally be found behind the cover of a book, meandering down a trail or desperately trying not to kill houseplants.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
Upcoming Events
april, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
more
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Everyone is invited to join us in celebrating 2 years of arts education in the BASE Art Studio with us! Take a tour
Event Details
Everyone is invited to join us in celebrating 2 years of arts education in the BASE Art Studio with us! Take a tour of the studio, meet our instructors, and meet other artists of all levels in our community. We’ll be getting creative and you’ll have the chance to make your very own artful button pin.
Stick around for our Volunteer Appreciation and Social beginning at 6:30 p.m.!
Time
(Thursday) 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Location
BASE
285 Simkins Dr