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Holiday Arts and Crafts at UM
This is a fun event & just in time for Christmas gifts! The Holiday Arts & Crafts sale begins December 1, 2011 and runs for three days. Good stuff, check it out!!! http://life.umt.edu/uc/ucsi/art_fairs/#page=page-1
Judy Wahlberg, University Area Blogger
Griz-cat game at our house
Next weekend is the ’Brawl of the Wild’, the 111th meeting of the UM Grizzlies and the MSU bobkitties. It is always a fun rivalry at our house because I am in a ‘mixed’ marriage. In Montana that means your spouse graduated from the state’s other educational institution. I graduated from the University of Montana and my husband, graduated (well…almost, but in case he ever reads this blog-I won’t go down that path) from MSU. Each year we make it interesting by making a friendly wager- the loser has to do some horrible domestic chore around the house, something we couldn’t even get our minions (aka children) to do. 
For many, many years…as long as I remember anyway, the GRIZ always WON! It was just a given fact that the GRIZ would stomp on the Cats, and my dear husband would always play along and accept defeat gracefully. The GRIZ have a much better stadium, and much better players, and the GRIZ fans….oh yeah- so much better!
Things were going smoothly until last year… the unthinkable happened- the GRIZ lost. WHAT!? Each year the smack talk starts in early November and by game time, everyone is really stirred up; even my nephews from Belgrade have gotten into the action with taunting calls and messages. This year I have let their psycho-babble get into my head and I am not so sure of a GRIZ victory. The GRIZ have barely squeaked out a victory in several games and the Cats are looking pretty strong. This is a big game and it will decide who gets the Big Sky Conference’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.
Who will win? One thing is for sure…I am going to be more careful about the friendly wager around our house!
School of the Future Design Competition
The Missoula Organization of REALTORS® is working with Flagship after-school programs on an exciting new project called School of the Future Design Competition. Currently, two middle schools are participating with teams, Meadowhill and CS Porter. The students are designing a school based on future ideals of technology integration, community, and sustainability. The teams have met with several local businesses to learn more about what it takes to design a school…from purchasing property, to working with architects and engineers. They also discovered how much power their design concepts would require and learned more about how to reduce their power needs through clean energy technologies and sustainable living practices. The teams are working on building small scale models with 100% recycled materials this month. 
For more information about School of the Future Design Competition, please call MOR at 728-0560.
Where the Sidewalk Ends
There is a little poem by Shel Silverstein called “Where the Sidewalk Ends”. My grandmother read it to me often when I was young and it goes like this…
“There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
I am delighted to see the sidewalk project on Lower Miller Creek Road finally get completed. The sidewalk and road improvements link Linda Vista with the roundabout that was completed last year and create a safe place to walk and bike to and from our neighborhood. I think the part I like best about the sidewalk is that I feel like I got a great deal because I didn’t have to pay for it with an additional tax. I did get my property tax statement this week and I am sure that hidden among the line items is a tax that funded the sidewalks…but I still really like the Miller Creek sidewalk project.
BUT, what if I had to pay 100% of the cost to build a sidewalk in front of my house…would I still love it? Concrete is cheap but sidewalks are very expensive!
There is a debate going on with City Council and the Pedestrian Connection Committee on a proposed sidewalk project for 23rd Street. Everyone agrees that it would be wonderful to have sidewalks going up 23rd Street in the South Hills- BUT who should pay? Is it the City? Is it the homeowner that owns the property where the sidewalk could be located? Should there be a Special Improvement District (SID) formed to finance the project and how many homeowners should be included in the SID area to make the project more affordable? If the City goes through all the trouble of upgrading the sidewalks, should they also upgrade the paving and drainage?
These are all part of the discussion going on with the City Council and your opinion matters. What do you think?
Day of the Dead…Best Parade of the Year
Get your white and black face paint and your fanciest duds on…the Day of the Dead parade is tonight, November 2 and you don’t want to miss it! It is hands down the best parade of the year with huge steamroller prints, giant puppets, dancers, drummers, jugglers, and costumes that will take your breath away. From everyday plain old dead people to out of this world animorph spirit guides, corpse brides, and sometimes even a dead Elvis or two, you will be delighted and amazed. Festivities begin with the construction of the giant mandala at Caras Park during the afternoon (you’re welcome to come and help create it) and continue with belly dancing and drumming at the north end of Higgins at 6 pm as the paraders get organized. The parade itself begins at 7 and proceeds from Circle Square to Caras Park for more dancing, juggling, drumming, and admiring of each others’ costumes. See you there! I’ll be the sugar skull throwing candy!
Giant skeleton puppet is an annual favorite in the DOD parade
LOCAL Fruit and Vegies are still available
One of the 2011 School Tours of the Orchards and Gardens
Yes I know the weather forecast is telling us to prepare for winter but there are still a few remnants of Autumn around us. Our neighborhood supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables still has some goodies for sale. Yesterday I found apples, pumpkins, squash and some of the sweetest carrots I have ever tasted at Benson’s Farms (7th street just east of Reserve).
All gardens must take a rest. I will miss my frequent Spring, Summer and Fall stops at the farm. But I know that the gardeners will be planning for 2012 planting and provide us with plenty of FRESH LOCAL PRODUCE.
THANK YOU BENSON’S FARMS!
Benson's Farms
University neighborhood fun
Car incognito
The guys up the street on Connell Avenue had a great time last night covering up someone’s car with just a few of the MANY leaves that have fallen in the past couple of days. Judy Wahlberg, University Area Neighborhood Volunteer Advocate
Splash-O-Ween Halloween Party
SPLASH-O-WEEN
HALLOWEEN PARTY
Currents Aquatic Center 6:00 PM Tonight Oct 28th
Description:
At Currents Aquatic Center, enjoy games, music, costumes, healthy snacks and of course the pools. $1 of each entry will go directly into the Share the Fun Fund, a program that provides access to recreation and aquatic programs for low-income families. Admission from 6-8pm is $3 per person.
Age Group: All Ages
Venue: Currents Aquatic Center
Address: 600 Cregg Ln
Phone: 552-6682
To the Rescue
Whenever I see a group of people gathered around all looking at the SAME thing, or in the same direction it attracts my attention. Just imagine what it feels like to have a group of GHOSTS gathered around with their mouths agape, heads tilted back and eyes aimed at ONE single thing. And that thing is a swing hung up in the tree. All the ghosts have 
their hands clasped in a ring ready to rescue whoever or whatever might be about to come tumbling down.
This isn’t just a spooky story. I saw this with my own eyes right in OUR Neighborhood. Do you know where this is?
Lynn Rittenhouse has been creating this scene for the last 16 years. When I stopped to see the sight Lynn came out of her house and visited with me. She originally saw this in a magazine and hence began the tradition. Her kids are grown and gone but she is asked each year if she found a place to set it up again. She always finds someplace that needs the little ghosts to bring some smiles and wonderment from those passing by. For a number of years she set the scene up at Hunter’s Glen Assisted Living Home. This year she set it up in front of a neighbors house where a little boy lives.
Thanks Lynn for sharing the fun of the season with the neighbors. We hope you keep up your tradition and we can find your gathering of Do-Gooder Ghosts other places for years to come.
So what's on YOUR Front Porch?
GRIZ Homecoming Festivities
“Hundreds of extra bodies will swarm into Missoula the first weekend in October as out-of-town Griz fans and University of Montana alumni gather for the annual glut of Homecoming Festivities. Hotels are booked up. The Homecoming parade is locked in. Tickets for the football game are going for as much as $61 on eBay. Griz Nation, in other words, is primed for a ….(big) party….” – quote from the local Missoula Independent newspaper.
Yup, our town’s population is about to expand. It is a great time for merchants and it’s a great time to visit with friends coming in from out of town. If you like people watching, then I would guess you can go to Southgate Mall or any of the trails around town, and most definitely all the wonderful restaurants throughout town and you will get to mingle with a lot of people.
Tailgates typically begin at 11:00 am on Saturday all around the perimeter of the stadium and the game itself begins at 1:05.
If you are someone who doesn’t go to the game but instead stays home and either watches it on the TV or maybe chooses to partake in some other activity, are you aware of the game and all the festivities happening? Do the Homecoming festivities affect your weekend? Do you hear the cannon BOOM whenever the GRIZ make a touchdown in the Franklin to the Fort neighborhood?