Gathering Graces 11/18/2017

*What an emotional day today.  I felt like Cosette was back in high school during her senior year, and all the things she participated in were coming to an end.  Now it is her senior year of college at the University of Idaho.  Today we went to Moscow to see Cosette perform in her final marching band performance on the field in the Kibbie Dome.  She was also one of the graduating seniors in Marching Band recognized at half-time. Yes, I was teary.  Yes, I was proud.  Yes, I was just dropping her off in the Tower yesterday to move her into her dorm room in French Hall, and now she is about to finish her first semester of her senior year.  *Cue the music.....Sunrise...sunset...sunrise....sunset.....*.

*It was also wonderful to have the whole family together at the Kibbie Dome.  Zoe drove up from Caldwell this morning, and, as a mother, I really cherish these times now when the whole family is together.  And we will be for a week, which will be so wonderful.

*I headed for Moscow this morning about 9:30 a.m.  I picked up one of the KHS teachers, Kelton Enich, because she was nice enough to take over Paul’s duties at Post Falls High School for the District Drama competition so he could join me and go to Cosette’s final performance.  On the way home from Moscow, we found out three of his drama students made it to State Drama competition.  Congrats to Savannah, Harley and Daighla!!

*As I was on the road to Moscow, Debbie and Bill transitioned over to our house with a few of their things, and their Corgis Maggie and Charlie.  They are having their kitchen and living room area remodeled, and their hardwood floors are being varnished the next three day, so they are staying with us until Tuesday. Debbie had a little too much excitement when she first arrived, when Archie escaped out the front door and she had to chase him down.  He finally went into the Yoke’s grocery store, which is about two blocks from our home, and someone caught him, and she was able to get a leash on him.  Archie is a fast runner, but fortunately loves people, so someone was finally able to grab him in the store. 

*When we all arrived back in Kellogg after the game, we heard of Archie’s escapes from Bill and Debbie, we focused on Paul, the birthday boy, for a while, and had dinner, and he opened up a present from Cosette, Zoe, Molly and Travis.  To give you a little background, we do have a portion of our backyard that has been designated The Harry Potter Garden.  The kids felt like their dad needed to plan another garden in their backyard, so they gave him a couple of items for him to start planning The Narnia Garden, complete with a lamppost that is solar powered, and the face of Aslan.

Paul with the beginnings of his Narnia Garden.

*So, just in case you were wondering, as we all went to bed tonight, the Roberts Inn was filled with the following....Two parents, three children, one son-in-law, a brother and sister-in law, one Pomeranian, one Catahoula, two Corgis, three cats, two bunnies.....17 living and breathing mammals in all!!  And it is all good!

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Gathering Graces 11/17/2017

*I have been going, going, going so much lately that, when I have a chance to just sit and do nothing, it is hard.  I am in need of some serious reprogramming.  I need to relearn to do that again.  Soon....soon.

*French dip sandwiches on Ciabatta rolls, warm German potato salad, butternut squash soup with crusty bread topped with cheese, apples with caramel dip, Maple Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash, Sweet bread topped with honey butter, and Raspberry Oatmeal Bars.  This was the spread I enjoyed this afternoon at my book group, which met at the end of French Gulch at French Gulch Farm and Garden.  Our book this month was The Dinner by Herman Koch.   The only thing I knew about the book was two teenage boys committed some horrific crime, and I was not in the state of mind this week to read a story with that kind of theme.  But I did enjoy those ladies who did read the book discuss it, and it sounded like it was a very well written book.  Book group was a highlight of a rather difficult week.

*Despite our cast, once again, coughing and sneezing through our performance, we had a great audience (we ended up having 49 people at the show, which is pretty great since we had no tickets sold for this performance last Sunday).  And the Sunday show is sold out.  No show on Saturday, because of conflicts with cast members.  I am looking forward to having Molly, Travis, Zoe and Cosette in the audience on Sunday, and then home for the week of Thanksgiving.

*Later in the afternoon, Christy dropped by to meet Archie.  She is going to come over on Saturday while we are gone and get Archie out to run around the backyard for a little bit.

*After Christy left, I started hearing the Hallelujah Chorus!!  Why?  Because Paul got the new hot water heater installed, and we now have hot water in the kitchen and laundry room.  Hallelujah...hallelujah....hallelujah! Hallelujah.......Hallelujah!

*Health-wise, I am actually feeling better.  Paul is much worse off than me at this point.  His colds always tends to settle in his sinuses.  Tomorrow is his birthday, and I feel bad that he has to deal with being this sick on his birthday.

*Tomorrow our family will be together as we gather in the Kibbie Dome to watch Cosette perform in the Vandal Marching Band and be recognized at half-time as one of the senior members of the Vandal Marching Band. 

Gathering Graces 11/16/2017

*I worked from home today.  I brought home lots of paper work that needed to be done on the computer.  This way I could save my voice and not have to talk all day, except occasionally to one of the pets.  I got a lot accomplished!!

*One of my guilty pleasures/comfort food is a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit from McDonalds.  So this morning I had one for breakfast and it tasted so good, along with some orange juice and a hashbrown.

*Around the first of October, we discovered one of our hot water heaters in the basement was slowly leaking.  Paul figured it was getting rusted out on the bottom.  We were monitoring the situation, and all was well, until last weekend.  The pilot light went out in the hot water heater.  Now, this isn’t quite as bad as it could be, because we have two hot water heaters.  The one for our bathroom was fine, so taking showers was no problem.  But the one for the kitchen and laundry room has not worked all week.  So the dishes just keep piling up in the kitchen.  Paul went to our local hardware/furniture store down the street, The Furniture Exchange, and bought a new hot water heater on Wednesday.  Today they delivered it to our door, complete with a cart to move it.  Paul moved it down into the basement, undid the old hot water heater, and started the process of hooking this one up.  He made some progress, and hopes to get the right tools to finish the job on Friday.  Because we are going to have four extra people in the house come Saturday night, it will be nice to have our hot water heater working by then!!

*Zoe called this afternoon because she was bored on her drive home from work.  It was nice visiting with her.  She has had a rough couple of days with a certain student at her school.  She will be driving up to Moscow on Saturday to join us for the football game, then will be home the following week for Thanksgiving, along with Molly, Travis and Cosette.

*Tonight Paul and I headed to the theater to have a meeting with the cast of the upcoming show Christmas at Sixth Street.  It should be a fun show.  I have some new students from Wallace Junior/Senior High school who are going to be in the show, and I am excited about that.  And some new adults involved as well.  Rehearsals begin the Monday after Thanksgiving.

*The cold/cough/sore throat still lingered for both Paul and I today.  Paul gets more of a sinus problem with colds than I ever do, and his has now moved into his sinuses.  One good thing for both of us, though, is we have both been able to get a good night’s sleep.

Gathering Graces 11/15/2017

*Helping seniors with their next step in the process of attending college was on my agenda today.  It was great, as always, but my throat did not like it that I had to talk all day.  Yes, the cough and cold of Fall 2017 continues........

*I have one parent who has three seniors living in her home.  She came in to get help with the FAFSA, and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be.  We got one of the student’s application’s completed, and she will work on the other two at home.

*Seniors are also starting to work on their Senior Project research papers, and one student stayed after school and had me read over her paper.  I found it very interesting and informative. 

*Upon my return home, Sadie and Archie and I headed to the backyard for some ball retrieving (well, for Archie anyway.  I am not sure Sadie still understands why Archie doesn’t just chase the ball, but he actually brings it back to have it thrown again.)

*Tonight Keri Alexander was the host of our P.E.O. meeting at her beautiful home in Big Creek.  I picked up Betty and Christy and headed down the road.  Betty and I laughed and shared with Christy the last time we drove to a P.E.O. meeting at Keri’s house and, on the way home, I was pulled over by a cop.  The reason...I kept driving over the yellow line.  The cause....telling Betty a story and talking with my hands. 

*Paul’s cold is about two days behind mine, so he was feeling pretty awful today.  I hope we both can sing for the final two performances this weekend.  Plus we head to Moscow on Saturday for the final Vandal football game and it is also Senior Day, where Cosette will be recognized as a senior member of the Vandal Marching Band. (And Saturday is Paul’s birthday, and it is no fun being sick on your birthday!!)

Gathering Graces 11/14/2017

*I needed a good laugh tonight.  Something light and easy to watch on TV to lighten my mood.  I found the perfect show....The Golden Girls.  I laughed throughout the evening watching six or seven episodes. 

*Two senior girls were hanging out in my office at the end of the day, and they made my day saying they thought I was in my thirties.  They couldn’t believe I was actually 54!!

*At the end of the school day, I came home, and was ready to be in for the night.  I have things going on the next few evenings, so it was nice to enjoy a quiet night at home.  I started a fire, and enjoyed a cozy night at home.  Paul has a meeting tonight, so it was just me, Archie, Sadie, Toby, Benjamin and Clark hanging out together.

*Paul and I enjoyed hearing about how each of the kid’s days went tonight.  There was some lively conversation going on.  I think we are all ready for a break and to be together next week. Some relaxing down time sounds really good to me.

Gathering Graces 11/13/2017

*I stayed home from work today to try and get over my cold.

*Maybe it was my cold.  Maybe it was the rainy weather.  But I felt kind of down today. 

*Garth Brooks may be to blame, too.  Well, not him personally.  But for years I have wanted to see him in concert.  Then I saw the announcement that he was coming to Spokane for a concert.  But the tickets were being sold the day of Mom’s service, and I thought the performances were only over the weekend, and I had my own shows.  When I found out later they extended into the following week, I was pretty bummed.  And to see all the photos and comments on Facebook of how wonderful the concert was did not help my mood.

*It was a productive day, though.  I made a list in the morning, and all the things on the list were accomplished, so I guess that was something.

*Today was a wallowing day.  Today was a “I feel like a failure” day. 

*This is suppose to be about gathering the graces in my life.  I did have those, too.  One was sharing with Paul over dinner and tears a very big disappointment, and feeling better after I talked with him.  Paul’s dermatologist appointment went well, and his skin looks good.  And Paul stopped at Costco and got some yummy food.  I also met with some people who are going to help me with the Christmas show at the theater.  So not all was lost today.  There were a few rays of sunshine in my otherwise gloomy day.

Gathering Graces 11/12/2017

*My cold was still hanging on when I woke up, so I stayed home from church to rest my voice. 

*I am enjoying getting to know Archie and learning how smart he is. Our dogs would always chase after an object if you threw it, but would not bring it back.   Archie chases the object, and brings it back...again and again and again.

*The hardiness of this rose in my backyard is amazing.  The photo above was taken this morning.  When I had posted an earlier photo of this about a week ago, a friend said it was mom sending me a reminder of her love.  I can go along with that assessment.

*It was a full house for our show this afternoon.  And they all sang along to the songs, and you could tell they really enjoyed the show.  Can anyone out there who reads this do me a favor?  If you think you want to come to the show, or you came and you liked it and think others might like it too, tell them to buy tickets for the Friday show.  We have not sold one ticket for Friday night’s performance.  Sunday’s ticket sales are good, but not one ticket has been sold for Friday.  So pass the word and encourage your friends and family (or yourself if you haven’t seen the show!!) to come and see Goin’ for the Gold, Settlin’ for the Silver.*

*We gathered around the table at Bill and Debbie’s house for a wonderful French-inspired chicken dish, chopped salad, rice and polenta, as we enjoyed one another’s company this week for family dinner.  We also spent some of our time planning our Thanksgiving meal.  It will be a wonderful time of coming together at our home as eleven of us gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing this Thanksgiving.

Gathering Graces 11/11/2017

*I woke up still stuffy, with a sore throat and coughing.  I laid around a lot.  It was a pretty relaxing day.

*Later in the morning, my friend Tina dropped off our new house guest.  Tina has relocated to Seattle and needs someone to care for her dog.  So we said he could live with us for a while.  So in addition to Sadie the Pomeranian, the three cats Toby, Benjamin and Clark, we now have Archie the Catahoula Leopard Dog.

Meet Archie...the Catahoula Leopard Dog

*When Archie arrived he expended a lot of energy in the backyard.  Paul took him on some runs.  He treed poor Clark up in a tree.  He didn’t really mess much with Toby and Benjamin inside.  Sadie established early on that she was the Alpha dog.  It will be interesting watching how things shake out.  Having Archie around will add a whole new dimension to our household.  I think Paul is going to enjoy a dog he can run with!!

*I finished watching the semi-finals and final of The Big Family Cooking Showdown.  I was pleased with the final winner. 

*Napping was part of my afternoon agenda a couple different times today.  This cold is really knocking me down a bit.  It helped, because by the time I got to the theater, I felt much better.

*We had a great crowd tonight, and again it was fun to have some friendly faces in the crowd.  Thanks for coming Dawn Arnhold McLees, Holly Fink, Amy Holland-Arnhold (again!!), Class of ‘81 classmate Jeff Meyer, and everyone else who made the evening fun.  I am so glad people are enjoying the show!!

*We arrived home and Archie survived our absence. 

*Clark is a bit traumatized by the new addition, so there is going to be a little more work needed in building this relationship than in the other three pets.  But Clark just needs to show Archie who is boss, and all will be fine.  He just needs to have a little conversation with Archie like this....

Clark needs to have this conversation with Archie.

Gathering Graces 11/10/2017

*Nikki and I walked every morning this week!!  Woo Hoo!  It seems like for one reason or another we miss at least one day...but not this week.

*Christy and Debbie picked me up around 8:30 a.m. and we all drove to Coeur d’Alene for a morning of breakfast, shopping and running errands.  We ate breakfast at Michael D’s, ran some errands, and ended up at Shopko where I did a little shopping.  It was a fun morning with both of them.

*I woke up a little more congested than I had been all week.  So when I got home I rested to get ready for tonight’s show.

*The cast had all been hit with colds with a vengeance.  We were all coughing and sucking on cough drops and drinking lots of water and hot tea throughout tonight’s performance.

*I enjoyed having Connie and her mom in the audience tonight, and well as Christina and some of her family.  Chris also attended with her husband and mom.  And Joni was glad to see Larry Legger make an appearance during tonight’s performance.  It is always nice to have friendly faces in the audience.

*On the way home, Paul and I stopped at Yokes to get some dinner.  We made a great choice.  We often don’t gravitate to the frozen food section, but we did tonight, and purchased some pot-stickersthe and vegetable fried rice that we prepared for dinner.  It was perfect!! 

*We finished the evening eating and watching the first show of the semi-finals of The Big Family Cooking Showdown.  My big question after watching this show is, “Why didn’t we, as Americans, adopt the French word aubergine to name the purple oblong vegetable, instead of what we call it, eggplant?”  I think I may just start calling them aubergines in my kitchen.  It sounds so much classier.

*And as a bonus, I found they have the recipes online that these families prepared during this season of competition.  If you want to check out the recipes you can go here.

Gathering Graces 11/9/2017

*Today I felt like a ping pong. Or maybe more like the original Atari video game Pong.  I couldn’t focus.  I would start on one project, then see another piece of paper and do that.  Then see something on my computer screen and do that. Then back to the original project.  Let’s just say I wasn’t very focused throughout the day.  But I did manage to get everything done I needed to do, despite the bouncing around all day. (If you are too young to have experienced the awesomeness of Atari Pong,, watch this video here.)

*What a joy having parents and students sit in our school’s library and help them through the sometimes daunting process of creating FSA IDs and applying for the FAFSA.  There were some little glitches along the way, which is why it is nice to have someone to help.  Between our counselor Dan, Warren with Upward Bound and myself, we were able to help those who showed up last night.  Then Warren gave a presentation on Scholarships that was very informative as well.  I just really love helping seniors and their parents through this whole senior year process.

*Paul made a fire last night after we both got home, and it was so nice and cozy sitting by the fire talking and relaxing after a wonderful but busy week. 

Gatheing Graces 11/8/2017

*Today KHS students gathered in the gym to hear C.D. Breshears from GEAR UP Idaho talk to the students about following their dreams.  It was a great way to help celebrate College Access/College Application and College GEAR UP week.  It was a great message for the students to hear.

*Our final senior applied for college today, so now all of our seniors have applied.  Woo Hoo!!

*There is a lot going on this week that has left me mentally, emotionally and physically drained.  It was nice to relax on the couch, and Paul was wonderful and made a delicious dinner. 

*I got a nice surprise from my Secret Pal at work today.  I received a beautiful blown glass pumpkin decoration, a fall-themed candle, and some Lindor Truffles and Dove Chocolates.  The kind gesture made my day!!

*Looking at the picture I posted above of the KHS Class of 2018, I think about all the potential in each one of them.  I hope they find a passion and follow their dreams.  As a 54 year old woman, I am still trying to figure out my next dream.  What is my next passion?  And how can I go about following it?  You are never too old to dream.  It reminds me of the verse in the Bible, in Joel 2:28... "Then it will come about at a later time that I will pour out my Spirit on every person. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your elderly people will dream dreams, and your young people will see visions.” I want to dream Godly dreams, and follow that Godly path toward those dreams.  Ready....Set....Go!!!!

Gathering Graces 11/7/2017

*Eight more down....only one more to go!!  Then all the KHS seniors will have applied to at least one college.  Yay!!!  And then the real work begins, of helping them decide, am I going to college, and if so, will it be academic or professional technical?  Will I go into the military?  Will I go to a trade school?  Will I work right out of college?  Will I take a year off, save up money, then start college in a year?  These are all paths that our seniors are considering, and are all very good options.  The things that excites me is they are at least thinking of a plan beyond high school.  When I first started with Gear Up, a lot of students had not even started formulating a plan by fall of their senior year.  Now, I hope students come into their senior year knowing the options they have, and then choosing based on what is best for them at the time.  And I enjoy being a part of that process.

*Sara, the enrollment specialist from North Idaho College, came to help us yesterday with helping the seniors apply, and Dan our counselor and I had some great discussions with her regarding some new things NIC is doing for students.  It was exciting to hear!!

*The poinsettia orders were also due today at KHS, so I had order forms and money flying at me all day long!!

*At the end of the day, one of the seniors and their mom came to get some help filling out the FAFSA.  I think I helped them out, and hopefully they were able to get it submitted.  I’ll ask the students tomorrow.

*After leaving the school, I went up to Wells Fargo and Cyndy helped me, the last of the three siblings get some paperwork notarized so I could be one of three beneficiaries on Mom’s IRA.  It was nice getting that task completed.

*I went and did my civic duty and voted!!  Our school district had their levy vote, and the Kellogg Mayor and City Councilmen all ran unopposed.  I had a nice visit with Ann Hill who was working the elections, and with Cecilia Ruff, who was there to vote.

*Zoe called later in the evening to share with Paul and I some things going on in her life, and to tell us of her travel plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It was nice to talk to her.

Gathering Graces 11/6/2017

*Today I was focused on helping KHS seniors apply to college.  We had about 79 seniors apply to at least one college today.  The state of Idaho has really made it an easy process this year to apply to one of the Idaho public institutions.  There is one website to apply to each Idaho public institution, and no application fees for any of the colleges.  It was fun working with the students.  The rest of the class that was absent today I hope to get through the process tomorrow.  Between our counselor Dan, Warren with Upward Bound, Jennifer our librarian and Rose and Carrie from the NIC Silver Valley Center, we helped these students with this process throughout the morning.

*After going, going, going all day without a stop for even lunch, it was nice to finally get home and relax.  I had made meatloaf a few weeks ago, and had put some in the freezer downstairs, and it had been thawing in the refrigerator, so I took it out, wrapped it in foil and warmed it up in the oven while the potatoes were roasting.  I cut up another cucumber I had purchased a few days ago, and Paul and I had a nice meal. 

*As the temperatures started to drop last evening, I built a fire in the fireplace, and it felt so good.  I have found a new British cooking show, The Big Family Cooking Showdown, on Netflix.  Three members of a family take on three members of a competing family, with three competitions.  It is a fun show to watch.

Gathering Graces 11/5/2017

*We are living in a Winter Wonderland in the Silver Valley today.  I started off the day going to church, and had a nice chuckle at the beginning of the service.  Last week, Amy Holland-Arnhold showed up to church with her shoes not matching.  Both were black flats, just two different ones.  This morning Pastor David showed up with two mismatched tennis shoes to help Amy not feel so bad.  It was hilarious!!

*Then we were off to Wallace for our Sunday afternoon show of Goin’ for the Gold, Settlin’ for the Silver.  Bill, Debbie, Christy and Everett all came to see the show today, as well as Joy Persoon.  It was nice to see their friendly faces out in the crowd.  We so appreciate everyone who comes and sees our shows at the theater, and supports what we are doing to support the arts in the Silver Valley.

*After the show we came home and relaxed a bit. I started working on the Christmas at Sixth Street show that is in December.  Then we headed over to Christy and Everett’s house for family dinner.  She had a delicious pear and apple sangria for us to enjoy before dinner, then we had the perfect fall meal, pot roast, vegetables and apple salad and corn bread.  Yum! Yum!  It was topped off with some bar cookies for dessert.  I enjoyed the conversation in the room all night long, and, because we have been so busy with rehearsals and being out of town, we haven’t seen much of the family the past two weeks, so it was so nice to be surrounded by love this evening.

Gathering Graces 11/4/2017

*Today was a pretty relaxing day.  So relaxing, in fact, that I spent the better part of it in my pajamas. 

*I streamed the Kellogg Wildcats vs. Gooding Senators football game and cast it onto our television, and it was such a great game.  Even though the team lost 21-20, they played their heart out, and I am so very proud of these boys. 

*I had a couple of plants that needed planted outside in the ground, so Paul and I headed outside later in the afternoon.  It wasn’t snowing too bad, so we planted some lavender in the backyard and a hydrangea bush in the front yard.

*I was determined to have food on the table before we left for the theater tonight.  And I succeeded.  In the morning I went down to the freezer to see what I could find.  There was a gallon bag of frozen tomatoes in there, and a small frozen bag of hamburger meat.  So I thought to myself....taco soup in the crock pot!!  I had never made taco soup in the crockpot, but I thought I would try.  I looked on Pinterest for taco soup crock pot recipes, modified it a bit with the ingredients I  had, and by 5 p.m. we were enjoying delicious bowls of taco soup, topped with plain Greek yogurt, cheddar cheese and tortilla chips.

*Another enjoyable night at the theater.  Wallace had quite a bit more snow than Kellogg.  There was probably about three inches by the time we left the theater last night, and Kellogg maybe got an inch.