Holiday at Home, Montana-style

Beautiful windows greet you on a holiday walk through downtown Hamilton, Mt. Above is Tamiko's, a furniture and accessories store at 213 W. Main Street. We're doing most of our holiday shopping in these small, special shops on or near a half-dozen blocks of Main. A Wal-Mart threat just outside of town looms once again; last time the big-box bully tried to move into this area, it was years ago and local citizens successfully fought the invasion. We're joining them again this year by, among other efforts, spending as much as we can afford in the town's locally owned stores.

Late at night, downtown Hamilton is beautiful and empty. But not so during the day, when shoppers bustle in and out of Robbins on Main (beautiful cookware, gifts and cards), Sam's Spade (garden tools, art and other innovative items), Chapter One Book Store (indie books) and Fords Department Store (Filson brand and other fine clothes for outdoorsy folks). We shop at Valley Furniture (handsome Montana-made beeswax candles and other tasteful "smalls"), Taste of Paris (olive-oil soaps from France), Bella's Boutique (Ugg-brand slippers, trendy scarves and knit cowls). Even Bitterroot Drug (Montana's oldest continuously operated drug store) has a lot to offer.

Acquired Taste, a vintage furniture and gift store operated by friend Karol Klakken, keeps a bicycle as its symbol, and Karol decorates the bike differently each season.

(1) I can't get enough of the recycled-cork gingerbread house built by my hair stylist, Jan Erickson. It's displayed at her salon in Hamilton, called The Ritz, 424 South 2nd Street.

(2) We donated some of the wine corks, and Jan used them as logs or sliced them and made moss-covered shingles.

(3) A look inside the cork house shows just how much energy and thought Jan puts into her projects. Kids, I'm guessing, must not touch.

Two screen shots from Facebook tell more of the local holiday story. Our vintage VW Westfalia's restorer, Scott Quinnett, has installed a holiday display, above, of one of his Dragonfly rental vans at the Missoula airport. "I've only been down there (airport) for about 20 mins total since it's been up," Scott writes in an email. "Lots of people with smiles, curiosity, and lots of questions when I am available. It's a pretty potent display for Montana travelers. "

And even though the valley where we live is only getting rain last night and today, the tops of mountains out our back door or 40 minutes south at ski areas (see screen shot of Chief Joseph Ski Trails, above) are beautifully powdered with many feet of snow.

Home again, we sit by the fire...

...and light candles on this, the sixth night of Hanukkah. Happy holidays, everyone.