Slow Down, You Move Too Fast

I'm not taking Simon and Garfunkle's advice to heart very well these days. I'm trying to slow down. I'm trying to "Feel Groovy". But I'm not quite there yet.

Okay, this life on overload needs to stop here soon. Spring break isn't getting here quite fast enough.

Today PKR hosted the District Speech competition at Kellogg High School. I judged throughout the day, and Z2 competed in the Salesmanship category. She sold RayBan sunglasses. She did pretty good for her first try at Speech competition. KHS had five students qualify to go to state, with many others qualifying as alternates. It was a good day.

I heard some outstanding speeches today. It is always so wonderful to see students really know their stuff, and showcase their talents and knowledge.

Kiki Aru is north of Spokane at a basketball tournament. They had three games today, and I guess they lost all three. But that's okay. It is good for them to get some good competition. That is what makes them better.

Unfortunately, one of their teammates had a tragedy happen which may have shook them up a bit today. Yesterday morning, Barney's, a grocery store in Pinehurst, was burglarized. The manager, who is the father of one of the Kiki Aru's teammates, was held up at gunpoint, tied up, and his jaw broken by the burglar. He is in the hospital in Coeur d'Alene. It is always a bit unsettling when our seemingly "idyllic" life here in the Silver Valley get rocked by something like this type of crime.

It reminds me of being in about 5th or 6th grade, and someone was shot on the road by what was then "Tony's" but now is "Dirty Ernie's". They did the painting of the outline of the body on the pavement, and it was there for quite a while. I remember it always seemed pretty creepy walking by that road, and seeing the outline. But it eventually faded away, as did my memory of the event. But this type of news reminded me of it once again, and the outline on the pavement.

I don't like it when life gets really busy. Wait, let me clarify that statement. I don't like it when my commitments get so many that it seems like life it closing in on me. That is kind of what life is like right now. But it is almost time for spring break, so I'll be getting some down time, I hope.

Happy Spring!!!

Down Time

It is time for some down time.

Yes, you probably thought my hibernation was a period of down time, but, unfortunately, I hibernate when my life is in full throttle, and I am full steam ahead.

That has been my life the past few weeks.

But things are slowing down, and life is getting back to normal.

Most of my energy this past few weeks has been put into organizing a Career Day at Kellogg Middle School. I'll post about it later, but I couldn't have asked for a better event, and I owe it all to the wonderful staff at KMS, the presenters, the parent volunteers and the students who all made it a great morning.

In the midst of that, I had some work related meetings in Coeur d'Alene last Thursday and Friday, plus Kiki Aru was creating a documentary on May Arkwright Hutton for History Day that she presented last Saturday morning (which she placed second and is going to State History Day in a few weeks), then off to Coeur d'Alene once again for the Lake City Shootout Basketball Tournament.

Yesterday, I did manage to go to The Centre of the Universe (Wallace) for lunch with a friend, and walk around town for a while. But by the end I was so tired, and in a somewhat zombie-like state that I came home and crawled into bed and napped for a few hours. It was just what I needed.

But I do have a little time this morning to breathe, enjoy looking at the sunshine outside, and do a little writing. The weekend ahead involves Book Group this afternoon, helping at the History day rummage sale this evening, and PKR is hosting the District Speech competition at Kellogg High School tomorrow and I will be judging in that all day. Z2 is competing in the salesmanship category, selling RayBan sunglasses.

And, in the midst of my hibernation, I also watched The Godfather. What an incredible movie. I think it is definately on my top ten best movies I have ever seen. We now have Godfather II and III ready to watch.

Another thing I have been pondering on this past week is the truly wonderful people I know and are a part of my life. I am so blessed. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is this:

Philippians 4:8 (The Message)

^8-9Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

So I am off for the day, hoping to be worked into His most excellent harmonies.

Have a wonderful day.

Spring Has Sprung

I crawled out from my cave today, just in time to find some signs of spring in my front flower bed.

Maybe it is time to wake up now, and mingle with the rest of the world.


I heard a heavenly chorus of angels singing that spring it here!!!

If it gets up to 50 degrees tomorrow, like they predict, I'll have some crocuses blooming.
Look to the left, a huge tarantula watches over the new spring sprouts. Who knew we had such big spiders in North Idaho?
Hostas will be growing before you know it!!!

Hope springs eternal. It is coming....can you feel it?

Spring is in the air!!!

To Spring


William Blake

O thou with dewy locks, who lookest down
Through the clear windows of the morning, turn
Thine angel eyes upon our western isle,
Which in full choir hails thy approach, O Spring!

The hills tell one another, and the listening
Valleys hear; all our longing eyes are turn’d
Up to thy bright pavilions: issue forth
And let thy holy feet visit our clime!

Come o’er the eastern hills, and let our winds
Kiss thy perfumèd garments; let us taste
Thy morn and evening breath; scatter thy pearls
Upon our lovesick land that mourns for thee.

O deck her forth with thy fair fingers; pour
Thy soft kisses on her bosom; and put
Thy golden crown upon her languish’d head,
Whose modest tresses are bound up for thee.

Just Hibernating....Be Back For Spring

March Movie Madness

I'm not sure watching two movies this weeks really constitutes "madness" but I'm going with it anyway.

I watched two really good movies this week, one a comedy that made me laugh all the way through it, and one an action adventure thriller, that was really pretty good.



The first movie was called Waiting for Guffman. This movie is a mockumentary written by and starring Christopher Guest, who plays Corky St. Clair, a local theater impresario. It is a look at the funny aspects of community theater. In honor of Blaine, Missouri's 150th anniversary, St. Clair stages a mediocre musical tribute to the town with hopes of taking the production to Broadway.

As a member of a local community theater, there were many things that rang true, which, of course made it all the more funny. It has an R rating due to some profanity, but probably by today's standards, would probably be PG-13. The character development was so good, as you could see different people from your own small town in these characters. As they performed this musical tribute to the town, it reminded me of living in Glendive, Montana, and being a part of a musical tribute during Glendive's Centennial celebration. It was probably just about as corny, but you do it because you love performing and you love celebrating the town.

This group has made other mockumentaries, including This is Spinal Tap, about a fictional rock band, Best in Show, about a dog show, (I saw this a few years ago, and it was funny, except I didn't like the fact that they dissed the keeshond), and A Might Wind, about folk music.

I also went to the theater last night with The Princess. We had plans of seeing Slumdog Millionaire, but the time changed at the theater from Thursday to Friday, so we were a little late to see it. So we decided to go see the movie Taken instead.



Taken stars Liam Neeson as a former CIA operative who goes on a rescue mission after his teenage daughter has been taken while on a trip to Paris.

I always enjoy a good action movie, and this was very good. But I find it interesting who the bad guys are these day. When I was growing up, during the Cold War, the "bad guys" always seemed to have an eastern Eurpoean look, and sounded like Russian spies. Now, these bad guys, even though they are also eastern European, have a more Mediterranean, olive skinned, dark hair look. The look of our enemy has changed somewhat.

The movie is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.

And, at the end of the movie, The Princess and I knew we had seen the daughter in something else, but we just couldn't figure it out. Well, like all industrious teens with a laptop and Internet connection, she consulted IMDB (for those of you unfamiliar with this website, it is Internet Movie Data Base, a website that gives you about everything you would want to know about information about movies and television shows) and found out Maggie Grace was the actress who played Shannon in the first couple seasons of Lost. Except back then she was blonde. And Grace does an incredible and believable job portraying this 17-year-old, even though she herself is 25-years-old.

There were parts of the movie where Bryan, Liam Neeson's character, reminded me of Martin Riggs in the original Lethal Weapon movie.

So, if you like action adventure movies, I'd recommend this one for sure.

I hope to get some more movies watched that are on my shelf. Two others I received from Netflix are Snowcake, with one of my favorite actors Alan Rickman, what looks intriguing. And I have never seen any of The Godfather movies, so I have the first one here ready to watch.

I also recently purchased Australia, The Secret Life of Bees and Fireproof. Some of these may have to wait until the end of the month to watch over spring break, but I can wait.

Today I'm helping Kiki Aru finish her History Day project, a documentary on May Arkwright Hutton, and wait for PKR to return from his half-marathon he is running with his friend AB down in the Snake River Canyon south of Pullman.

It is a good day to be holed up inside so I don't have to look at that frozen white stuff fall from the sky ( that I refuse to call by its real name).

I'm ready for spring, and found this quote that expresses my thoughts on the weather. Normally I don't mind the flakey precipitation, but now I'm ready to say goodbye to the frozen white stuff, and hello to sunshine, spring and flowers.


A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.

--Carl Reiner

Spring Break

Raymond Pert gave us this sibling assignment:

Write about spring break...and perhaps share pictures.

As I look back over the years, spring break memories are about as clear as the slushy mess on my front walkway.

I do remember a couple of spring break trips in college, but, if I have pictures, they are hidden in a box in the deep, dark recesses of the basement.

One year, probably my sophomore year of college, PKR and our friend CB came up to Kellogg from Meridian, and I traveled back down the Meridian with them to spend part of my spring break.

What I remember from this week is the car trip back to Meridian was really fun. We stopped at each Historical Sign


along the way from Kellogg to Meridian along I 95, and learned quite a bit about Idaho history. I also remember the river being very high (I'm not sure which one), and it was really cool.


The next year, my junior year, PKR and I went to Seattle for a few days on a trip with kids from Campus Crusade for Christ. We did some outreach things, and enjoyed being in Seattle. I was quite amused being with PKR in Seattle.

He had never really been in a big city before, and it kind of freaked him out. I still remember a group of us were in downtown Seattle, and got a bit sidetracked down by the waterfront, and went down the wrong road, and came across some men sleeping in blankets in a doorway. Oops...wrong turn.

Those were both nice trips, mostly because they were shared with PKR.

How much do you hate someone not to prosthlysize?

I have found this great Canadian radio talk show called The Drew Marshall Show. It is described on the website as Canada's Most Listened To Spiritual Talkback Program.

On the website you can go through and listen to old interviews, and also see different questions posed by listeners, and see his answer to the questions. One question on the website is as follows:


We want to help weird people talk about Jesus without freaking out Joe Public! What advice would you give to a socially unaware person when it comes to talking about their faith?

Here is the answer:

On a video recently posted by entertainer/magician Penn from Penn & Teller, Penn shares about his experience with a fan who gave him a Bible and tried to share his faith with him. Penn, being a staunch atheist, was impressed with the way in which the man did this and that he would do it at all. As a matter of fact, Penn asked the question, "How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize and believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?" But what seemed to really win him over to this "witnessing" attempt was the manner in which the man did it - polite, intelligent, nice, authentic. Why do weird people seem to tell more people about Jesus than normal people? What do you think is the #1 reason why mature and well adjusted Christians don’t share with others about their faith? Watch Penn's Video below.

God's Favorite opens at Sixth Street Theater

Zack Whitfield, Whittney Hawk, Lija Pittman, Marti Lynn, Franklin Stout, Colton Peeler, Ken Bartle and Scott Lasley are rehearsing for the upcoming Sixth Street Theater production God’s Favorite. This Neil Simon comedy opens Friday, March 6, and runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through March 22. Tickets are on sale now by calling the theater at 752-8871.

Sixth Street Theater Rehearses for Upcoming Neil Simon Comedy

WALLACE—“God’s Favorite” is a modern day story about bad things happening to a good man.

In a funny kind of way.

Joe Benjamin, played by Sixth Street veteran Ken Bartle, is a befuddled businessman who has been very successful after staring out very poor. Soon he finds himself tested when he and his family lose everything.

His wife, Rose, portrayed by Lija Pittman, seems to be more devoted to her jewels than anything else, while the oldest son, David, played by Zack Whitfield, is devoted to parties and booze.

Rounding out the Benjamin family are Ben and Sarah who are a ditzy brother and sister who seem clueless about everything. These siblings are portrayed by Colton Peeler and Whittney Hawk.

Marti Lynn and Franklin Stout play Mady and Morris, the family’s colorful and opinionated maid and butler. Rounding out the cast is Sydney Lipton, played by Scott Lasley. Sydney is a messenger from God and Queens who come to inform, torment, and harass Joe as he and his family go through their trials.

“The tests of faith and the jokes fly fast and furious as Neil Simon spins a contemporary morality tale in his hilarious comedy,” said director Cherri Bartle. “The play is awesomely funny. It will make you laugh out loud.”

The play opens Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m., with theater goers invited to a special Opening Night party at 6 p.m. complete with refreshments.

Other evening performances will be on March 7, 13, 14, 20, and 21, with matinee performances at 2 p.m. on March 8, 14, 15 and 22.

For reservations call 752-8871, or 1-877-SIXTHST. Tickets are $12 for adults, and $10 for students and seniors. Tickets must be paid in advance or held with a credit card.

The Sixth Street Theater is located at 212 Sixth Street, in Wallace. For more information, visit the website at www.sixthstreetmelodrama.com.

Okay, so I've Never Read A Book By Charles Dickens...Ease Up, Okay!!!

I did a little book survey of a popular list of 100 book, which included some Charles Dicken's novels, and I realized I had never read anything by this author.

It rather took me by surprise.

I think my brother, Raymond Pert, almost had a heart attack when he found out.

So, this evening, I went downstairs to one of our bookshelves, and I had the choice of "Great Expectations", "Oliver Twist" or "A Tale of Two Cities". I chose the latter.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....

I just finished the teen vampire novel "Twilight", which was a pretty quick read, and now I am moving into something a little bit different.

I'll let you know what I think once I'm done.

Some people have told me reading Dickens will get me out of my Gray Funk.

We'll see.

But, I had read 34 of the 100 books listed. And some of them are on my bookshelf, I just haven't read them yet.

In case you are curious, here is the list of books, and the ones I have read have an X by them.


1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen X
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien X
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte X
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling X
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee X
6 The Bible - X
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte X
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwel X
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (On my shelf)
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott X
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (working on it)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien X
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger x
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger x
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot (On my shelf)
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell X
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck X
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll X
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame X
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis X
34 Emma - Jane Austen (on my shelf)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis X
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (On my shelf)
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne X
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell X
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown x
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (on my shelf)
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery X
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding X
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert x
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (On my shelf)
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon x This is such a great book!!!
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (reading right now)
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck X
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (On my shelf)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens (On my shelf)
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett X
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker X
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White X
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albon x
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle X
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery X
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (on my shelf)
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (on my shelf)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl X
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo x (One of the best books I've ever read!!)

Gray Funk

I've been in a gray funk lately.

Oh, I'm been functioning. But there is a big of gray fog right at the surface trying to take over and engulf me.

It really isn't a fog of depression...more just a funk.

Last week I slept alot. I wasn't motivated to do a whole lot.

Today I dozed on the couch a lot.

I have a whole list of things to do, but I can't seem to get motivated to do them.

I'd rather lay around, read, knit, watch tv, than do my taxes, organize a couple of things, do some other financial things...that really won't be too hard...but they just keep getting put off.

May spring and sunshine will take the gray funk away.

Memories, Light The Corners of My Mind

When you are on Facebook, there are these little notes you can get from people to learn more about each other, similar to "Memes" in the blogging world.

One that is circulating now is on about Memories. Here is the premise...

Leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot anything you remember. Don't send a message; leave a comment on here. Next repost this in your notes and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.

It has been interesting the memories people have shared. Some I don't remember doing. Others I kind of remember, while others are very vivid. Thankfully they have all been very positive memories. A lot of people remember my laugh.

Here are a few of the things people shared about their memories of me:

My favorite memory of you was when you stepped up and learned the part for Dracula in like, what, a couple of days. Those plays we all did together are great memories. Oh yes and the "kiss". Now there's one to remember.

One of my fondest memories was the one time we stayed up at your place. You made us feel so at home. I have said time and time again, it is one of my favorite trips and I would love to do it again.

I remember your terrific laugh! I'm laughing now just thinking about your terrific laugh :) Fantastic singing voice! Very fun room mate times in the in the Zoo with five other Delta "animals" :) So looking forward to seeing you this summer and making more fun memories...

I remember the moment that I realized you were my second grade teacher's daughter?!!! Not only was a lot to take in, but then that we might be related one day!! I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world. I loved Mrs. Woolum!!

You have to know what I'm going to say. Go ahead, guess. KHS cafeteria. Wizard of Oz. And Lucy--in the summertime in your summer palace, wearing your crown in swimming and everything. I could so go on.

I love all the recipes you would try. (nothing better than switching things up!). I think you were the first person i ever made bread with. And you would invite me and Drew over for dinner to taste all the wonderful food. Handwritten, handmade inspirations... Your book collection...wow. I have a memory of when Zoe was born... and you didn't have AC and it was like 110º and you were sitting on the couch with her little diapered body... and you were dripping with sweat.
You always did something extra special for us, dinner or making something fun... such a great Aunt. And how you always talked to us, and cared about what we thought about things...

I remember how welcome you made this hometown boy feel in his first few days as freshman at the University of Idaho and made sure to invite me to Campus Crusade for Christ which majorly impacted my first semester at college. Thank you so much!

I really appreciate your layed-back, easy-going style. I wish I could be like that. Also your laugh, you have a great laugh!

You know, sometimes you feel like such a dork, and that you really did some stupid things, but then you get some people leaving comments like this, and you realize, maybe you weren't so bad after all.

A lot of people in blogland have been talking about having the winter blahs. Well, I'll tell you, reading comments like these picked me right up.

Feel free to leave a memory in the comment section if you'd like. I'd love to hear what you have to share.

What Makes Me Cry?

I just filled out one of those "About Me" surveys on Facebook, and one of the questions asked was "When is the last time you cried?" Well, I did get a little teary-eyed and full of pride watching Kiki Aru and her basketball team play their hearts out on Saturday.

But there are certain things I can watch over and over again on TV, and they make me cry.

Like yesterday. I got home, and I wanted to veg out a bit before I headed back to KMS for a meeting and then the Tostado Feed. The last two final episodes of "Gilmore Girls" were in the DVD player, so I watched them.

The tears first started coming when Rory graduated from Yale. Then they came when Luke threw the surprise party for Rory and Loralie. Then they came when Luke and Loralie kissed. Z2 got home, and I'm a blubbering mess on the couch, all red-eyed and smiling, with her rolling her eyes at me, because she knows full well I've seen this a few times already. But, hey, when tears come, tears come.

It happened a month or two ago, while watching an old "West Wing" episode. The Bartlett administration was having a rocky go of it, and Jed Bartlett and Leo, his Chief of Staff, started going at it. Then Leo wrote "Let Bartlett Bartlett" on a pad of paper, and I started crying. Again, I have seen this episode numerous times, and I just came in on the last five minutes of the episode, and it still got me.

But I like having my emotions pulled by a good movie, or a good television show, or a good book. It means it has touched me in some way, and the characters have become real. And that is a good thing.

All in all, I think we like happy endings. We don't like getting invested in a character, and then have them killed off. We like things to turn out. PKR and I were having a conversation with some friends who had come to dinner on Sunday.. PKR shared about having his students write short stories, and if he left it to them with no boundaries, all the stories would be very bloody, and gory, and the bad person would kill of the good person in the end. He would have to explain to the students that a publisher would not want to publish that story, because no one would want to read it.

We still like happy endings. We still like things to turn out. We like our heroes to be heroes, and our villains to be villains. We talked about the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight", and how we didn't really like this Batman being more of an "anti-hero" than an honest to goodness hero. But The Joker was definitely the villain...and what an amazing performance by Heath Ledger. The movie was okay, but that performance was brilliant.

The nice thing is, if I ever need a good cry, and know what to pop into the DVD player...it works every time!!

If you feel like it, share with me the books, movies or television shows that make you cry...I could always add some to the shelf.

Way to Go Wildcats!!!

Kiki Aru's 7th grade girl's basketball team played in the Mullan Tournament on Saturday, and their team came away the champions of the tournament.

During their first game, they easily beat the Kootenai Warriors.

Then came Game Two. This game was really good, and really intense. The Wildcats played the Lakeside Lancers, and it was good for the girls to finally have a bit of competition. This Lakeside team plays a fast-break, up and down the court kind of game that took our girls a bit getting used to. The score was close the whole game, and they ended up tied at the end. After a three minute overtime, the Wildcats were victorious. I even got a little teary-eyed at times, as I watched these girls play their hearts out for a victory.

For the championship game, they played the Mullan Tigers, and easily beat this good little team.

It was a fun day of watching 7th grade girls and boys basketball. The 7th grade boys were second place winners the tournament, with their final game against the St. Maries Lumberjacks.


The Mullan School District does a great job with these basketball tournaments, and they run a very smooth and well organized event.

Great job, Wildcats!!!

Two Years and 580 posts later.............

I received an email from IEG this morning, and she commented on this being her two year blogging anniversary.

Then it donned on me that we started about the same time, so it must be my two year blog anniversary as well.

So, I'm a few days off (I actually began February 2, 2007) but close enough to still celebrate!!

It has been a wonderful experience these past two years, writing and sharing photographs, and other somewhat trivial parts of my life.

I've enjoyed the connections I have made with each of you.

Thanks for all your comments and encouragement throughout the years.

For some reason, Fred Flintstone came to mind as I was thinking about this anniversary.

Watch below to see what I mean.

Images of Twelve Angry Women and Twelve Angry Men

Somewhere In My Youth Or Childhood...I Must Have Done Something Good

Inland Empire Girl gave us a love-themed Sibling Assignment this week. Here is our assignment:

As Valentine's Day approaches, think of a specific film, book, poem, or work of art that helped you understand the emotion of love and explain why.

My answer is the film The Sound of Music.



There are so many facets of love shown in this movie. In the opening scene, you see Maria enjoying the beautiful Austrian alps, and the love of the countryside where she lives. Then she hurries back to the convent, and we see her love of God, and wanting to be of service to Him.

When she arrives at the Von Trapp home, it doesn't take her long to develop a loving relationship with each of the Von Trapp children. She is very perceptive, and watches and observes things about them so she can get to know them better.

But the best part is the developing love relationship between Maria and Captain Von Trapp. As you watch Maria blush at the end of their first dance, and she becomes confused over her feelings for the Captain. And she knows he is having a relationship with another woman, and he is her employer, and she feels she shouldn't be having these feelings.

But then they finally realize their love for one another in one of my favorite songs, Something Good.



[Maria:]
Perhaps I had a wicked childhood
Perhaps I had a miserable youth
But somewhere in my wicked, miserable past
There must have been a moment of truth

For here you are, standing there, loving me
Whether or not you should
So somewhere in my youth or childhood
I must have done something good

Nothing comes from nothing
Nothing ever could
So somewhere in my youth or childhood
I must have done something good

[Captain:]
For here you are, standing there, loving me
Whether or not you should

[Maria:]
So somewhere in my youth or childhood
I must have done something good

[Maria and the Captain:]
Nothing comes from nothing
Nothing ever could

[Maria:]
So somewhere in my youth
[Captain:]
Or childhood
[Maria:]
I must have done something . . .
[Maria and the Captain:]
Something good

Then, as adversity comes against the family, both are willing to make sacrifices for their family, which is the ultimate show of love. They leave their beloved home and country and make a new life, far away from the ideology and hate of the Nazi invasion.

We can learn a lot about love from the Von Trapp family, and I think that is one of the reasons this musical has been such a popular show over the years, because of the many themes of love it shows throughout the performance.

Looking for Information on Kellogg High School Class of 1981

Kellogg High School Class of 1981 at our 20 Year Reunion--Summer of 2001.

I know some of my classmates from the Class of 1981 occasionally check out my blog.

Also, I know others of you have contact information for my Class of '81 classmates.

If you do, could you send me their information?

I am helping gather email addresses and physical addresses for the Class of '81 for the All Class Reunion Committee. We are also getting the information as we begin planning our 30 year reunion for the summer of 2011.

If you have some information that could be of use, please email me. If you don't have my email address, you can click on View My Complete Profile in the right hand column, then on the next page, click on Email, and send me an email. It would be much appreciated.

To find out more about the All Class Reunion go here. If you aren't in my class, but graduated from Kellogg High School, there is contact information on this site to email one of the committee members with your contact information so you make sure you get any information that is sent. I know the plan is to send out the first information in March.

The All Class Reunion is scheduled for August 6, 7 and 8, 2010. We will have a Class of 1981 social planned on Friday night, August 6. Once we figure out where is will be held, we will get the word out.

I appreciate all your help!!! Thanks so much!!

And now for some local entertainment news.....

Tonight was opening night for the KHS Drama production of "Twelve Angry Men". I was so proud of these guys. They were so good. And you could tell they enjoyed it, and knew they did well. You could hear them, you could understand them, and they kept up the pace throughout the whole play.

It has been fun working with this group of young men, and their Drama Coach PKR is very proud as well.

Tomorrow, Z2 makes her KHS drama debut in "Twelve Angry Women".

Other exciting news on the theater front....

The Princess found out tonight that she was cast as Miss Spider in the Lake City Playhouse production of "James and the Giant Peach".

The play will be performed:
March 26, 27, 28, 29
April 2, 3, 4, 5

The Lake City Playhouse is a community theater in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. You can find out more about this theater here.

The Princess was so excited when she found out she got the part. She should have got the part. She is a really good actress...and I'm not just saying this because I'm her proud mother. She does a really good job. I can't wait to see her!!!

Forty miles from nowhere and way beyond normal!

Since I received the Canadian television show "Slings and Arrows" on DVD a couple of years ago for my birthday, and was so impressed with the show, I have tried to find other Canadian television shows to watch.

I had heard of a show called Corner Gas, and so I put it on my Netflix list. It had been at the top of my lists for months, because there was a very long wait for the show. I guess, because it is so popular.

Well, the first season finally arrived this week, and I understand why it was such a long wait. And it was well worth it. I am usually not a big sitcom fan, but this show is laugh out loud funny. The characters are real, and the humor is intelligent. How refreshing!!

According to Wikipedia, Corner Gas is a Canadian television sitcom created by Brent Butt, airing on CTV, in Canada, WGN America in the United States, and SBS in Australia. 1.5 million viewers tuned in to the initial premiere of Corner Gas on January 22, 2004. Deriving its name from the roadside gas station located in the fictional town of Dog River, the series revolves around life in a small-town in Saskatchewan. The series is scheduled to complete its run following broadcast of its sixth season in the spring of 2009 with a total of 107 episodes.^[1]

The cast of Corner Gas

Corner Gas is the only gas station for 60 kilometres (37 mi) in any direction (according to season one, episode one “Ruby Reborn” and season one, episode two "Tax Man"). Brent Leroy (Brent Butt) is the proprietor of the station and Wanda Dollard (Nancy Robertson) works at the station’s convenience store as a retail assistant. An adjoining coffee shop (The Ruby) is owned by Lacey Burrows (Gabrielle Miller), who inherited it from her Aunt Ruby.

The show became an instant hit and has never gone below the million-viewer mark.^[2] Corner Gas has been the recipient of six Gemini awards, and has been nominated almost 70 times for various awards.^[3]

To find out more about this television show, go to www.cornergas.com.

My New Special Treat

Medjool Dates

Kind of exotic sounding, isn't it?

And I love them.

When we had our African Christmas Eve dinner, the dessert needed chopped dates, so I bought some at Costco.

They stayed on the counter, and I would nibble on them each day, because I could eat them on my Daniel Fast.

Here is a little history of the date.

Dates have been a Staple food of the Middle East for thousands of years. They are believed to have originated around the Persian Gulf, and have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 4000 BCE. There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in eastern Arabia in 6000 BCE (Alvarez-Mon 2006).

In later times, Arabs spread dates around South East Asia, northern Africa, and Spain. Dates were introduced into Mexico and California by the Spaniards by 1765, around Mission San Ignacio.

If you are craving a healthy, sweet, exotic snack, I would suggest buying some fresh dates to snack on. Yum! Yum!