Gathering Graces 3/14/2017

*I was back to myself today, and went for a walk with Nikki at KHS in the early morning hours, and felt great the rest of the day!

*It was a busy day of talking to seniors, and making sure I knew their plans and what they are doing, and still needing to do, and it was a very productive day.  I feel I have a better grasp of the KHS Class of 2017 and their plans for the future after graduation.

*Cosette came to KHS with me today and was in class to talk to senior about college.  Then she went to Pinehurst Elementary with me to help with the Drama Program.  It was fun having her there as my helper, and the kids loved Miss Coco.  She helped me talk to the students about creating characters through talking, walking and movement.

*I had a little breather after returning home from Drama.  Molly and Coco headed over to Mom’s for dinner, with Aunt Christy preparing the meal.  I ate a leftover pork chop and rice, and then it was time to drive up to KHS for our monthly Sixth Street Melodrama board meeting.  Usually we meet at the theater, but with Paul teaching Driver’s Ed today, it worked better to have the meeting at KHS up in Paul’s classroom.  I love our board members, and we had a great meeting, and should have our 2017-2018 season ready to announce soon!!

Gathering Graces 3/13/2017

*Even though I stayed in bed most of the day Sunday, and slept good on Sunday night, I was still wiped out Monday morning.  So I took my first sick day of the year and stayed home.

*By around 10 or 11, I was starting to feel better, and actually had a rather productive day getting caught up on some things I had been putting off.  I had a stack of yellow sticky “to-do” notes that I made my way through and got all the business on the notes taken care of, which felt really good.

*Mom had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon, so I went over and got her into the car (in the pouring rain), and we made it up to the clinic.  This was a follow up appointment with her Primary Care Physician after she had seen her Cardiologist.  Overall the appointment went well, and Mom is doing pretty good.

*Before I went and picked up Mom for her appointment, I had put some potatoes, celery, carrots and onions in the bottom of my stoneware bundt pan, and then put a roasting chicken over the middle portion of the bundt pan, and put it in the oven to roast.  I seasoned the chicken with lemons, lemon zest, lemon juice and herbs.  When it was done, I headed over to Mom’s to share the chicken and vegetables with her for dinner.  It was very delicious.  Paul arrive a while later after he was done with Driver’s Education.

Gathering Graces 3/12/2017

The Turkey Gang of Riverside Avenue

*After I left Mom’s house this morning, I saw one of the turkey gangs on Riverside Avenue.  They crack me up!!

*My Sunday was a total day of rest.  I was down for the count today.  I spent most of the day in bed resting.  I was wiped out.  I haven’t felt like this for a long time.

*Thank goodness Christy was fixing family dinner tonight, or I may have never left the bed!!  Paul, Molly, Coco and I drove over to Christy’s house for a delicious dinner of Vegetable Lasagna.  At least I got up out of bed for a little bit of the day.  But I am thankful I can listen to my body, and know when it needs rest so I don’t get really sick later on.

*Molly and Coco went to run some errands after dinner, and called to see if we wanted them to stop at McDonalds and get us Shamrock Shakes.  Of course we said YES!!  I have been wanting one since I saw they were serving them again.  Now I have had my Shamrock Shake for the season, and don’t need another one until next year!!



Gathering Graces 3/11/2017

*The day began in Wallace this morning at 7 a.m. for a read through of the latest installment of the film Nancy Ellen Hanks is directing called Across Bank Street: Portal to the Clockworld.  We filmed Part 1 last summer, and will be filming Part 2 this spring and summer.  I portray Pemphredo, and Paul is Mr. Peach and Captain Hook.  We will be starting filming soon. This will be my fourth film and Paul’s fifth film with Nancy.

*After the early morning read-through, I came home and went back to bed and took a nap.  That felt good, and continued being a very relaxing day.

*I had some back and forth messaging with my friend April M Lee about an exciting project she is launching, and it was fun to join in her excitement for an adventure with her I get to be a part of this summer.  To find out more about it, check out The Arrival.

*I had given Mom the choice of chicken or pork chops for dinner tonight, and she chose pork chops.  I found a recipe where you made a rub out of salt, pepper and brown sugar, and rubbed it on the pork chops, and baked them in the oven for about an hour.  They were very delicious!!  It was fun having Cosette and Molly join us for dinner at Mom’s house tonight.

*After dinner we headed up to Wallace to the Sixth Street Theater to watch the play Escanaba in da Moonlight.  What a fun night of  “hunting camp humor” done very well by this cast  of Casey Duncan, Drago Duncan, Ken Bartle, Chuck Tatman, Roger Bushong and Eva Corona.  The almost packed theater was laughing throughout the whole production.  The four of us really enjoyed the show.  There is a Sunday matinee this weekend, and three more shows next weekend, if you want to see it.  You can go here to purchase your tickets online.

*When we came home, we popped in the DVD of Across Bank Street: Portal to the Clockworld so Cosette and Molly could watch it.  It was fun watching it with Coco, who is studying Broadcast and Digital Media in college, and knows more now about the filming and editing side of films, and I enjoyed hearing her comments as we watched the film.

*As we all headed off to bed, we reminded one another that we needed to SPRING FORWARD tonight, and receive one less hour of sleep.  (I swear it usually takes me a week to recover from this adjustment to my schedule).

Gathering Graces 3/10/2017

*I know spring is coming because I received my order form to sell geraniums as a fund-raiser for Chapter M P.E.O that I am a member of here in Kellogg.  I had kind of forgotten I had the order form, but was reminded today, so I started notifying the people who had purchased them last year, and also sent some other emails and messages out to see if people wanted to buy some.  They really are good quality flowers.  We sell hanging baskets in red or pink for $20 each, and 4 inch pots for $2.75 each, also in pink or red.  The proceeds from the sale goes toward scholarships for KHS female graduates.  Part of the purpose of P.E.O. is to support the education of women.  I always know summer is coming when those geraniums are delivered in May.  Here are some photos of what the geraniums looked like last year on delivery day.

Red Geraniums

Pink Geraniums

*Another sign of spring today was the crocuses coming up in my front flower bed.  I always love it when the first flowers of spring start to bloom. 

*Today I enjoyed lunch and the book discussion with my book group today.  We usually meet every month, but we had to cancel last month, so it was fun to finally get together again.  We had a bit of an Irish-themed lunch, so I made Colcannon, which is Irish Mashed Potatoes with kale and green onions in them, and lots of butter.  The ladies always love it when I bring some kind of potato dish, so it was a big hit!!  If you are curious about my Colcannon recipe, you can find it here.  Maybe you can make it for St. Patrick’s Day on Friday!!

*I have had a butternut squash sitting on the counter for weeks that I have meant to use, as well as a sweet potato.  I have this really good Roasted Butternut Squash Soup recipe that I finally made for dinner tonight to take over to Mom’s house.  It is a really good combination of squash, sweet potato, carrots, celery, onions and garlic roasted with olive oil, and sprinkled with salt, pepper, herbs and cayenne pepper.  Then I took some chicken broth I had made a few weeks ago, and pureed the vegetables with the broth, and it was yummy!!

*My Moscow girls arrived tonight for their spring break, along with Molly’s bunny Dumblebunz.  It is nice having two of my girls home for a week!  (We’ll have Zoe home at the end of the month!!)

Gathering Graces 3/9/2017

*I got a text from Molly this morning, and the Moscow Schools had a snow day.  I am beginning to feel like my friend Donna Pelham Stone, who recently quoted on a Facebook post from the book The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, “ I'm beginning to feel like I'm in Narnia where it's always winter but never Christmas.”

*I returned back to Pinehurst Elementary for more Drama Program.  Today our focus was on Stage Directions, and learning where the areas of the stage are, and what they are called.  I am having so much fun working with these students.  What a wonderful opportunity for the children in our school district to have PASS, (Pinehurst After School Solutions).

*The television show This is Us is an obvious favorite of many of my friends.  I sat down with Paul tonight and rewatched the first episode again.  He liked it, as I thought he would.  I think the highlight of this episode was the performance by Gerald McRaney as the obstetrician who delivers the babies.  He was perfect for that role.

*It was nice to get back up to the high school this morning for my morning walk with Nikki Ross.  We had taken a few days off because I was out of town.  We are both hoping the weather will be good enough to start walking outside again.

*I really enjoy that Paul and I work in the same building.  Some days he just pops in at break, or at lunch, or during his prep hour to talk about something or just to wave and say hello.  We are very blessed to be able to work together.

Gathering Graces 3/8/2017

*Yes, the snow continues to fall.

*It was nice being back at KHS today after being gone for two days to my meetings. I got caught up on things, and got some other things done!!

*On Wednesdays we have an early release day so the teachers and staff and collaborate in different ways.  Today we had a full staff meeting, and I love hearing other teachers share about the things they are doing to become better teachers, to help their fellow teachers, and to ultimately help their students, because that is what it is all about!!  As our principal shared at one point, “we do these things (helping the students) because it is the right thing to do!!”

*In my P.E.O. Chapter, I am an officer, and I have a state report that needed to be mailed in.  So I met with a couple of the other officers after school so we made sure all our information was correct, and got the report in the mail, two days ahead of schedule.  Woo Hoo!!

*I got home later than expected so I was unable to prepare what I had wanted for dinner.  So I decided it was a nice night for Mom and I to enjoy some Chinese food from Wah Hing.  So I picked up the phone and ordered an order of Chicken Chow Mein and Hong Kong Lo Mein and some Egg Drop Soup.  It hit the spot, and Paul was glad to see it when he got home from Driver’s Ed as well.

*I have been hearing so much about how good the show  This Is Us is that I watched the first episode tonight.  After watching it, I plan on watching it again with Paul, and have this a show we watch together.

Gathering Graces 3/7/2017

*Guess what the weather was like today?  You guessed it.....SNOW!!

*I drove to Coeur d’Alene again today to finish up my Gear Up meetings.  Had a couple of good days of meetings, and lots of things up in the air for the future with Gear Up.

*Had my second day of the Drama program today.  It was fun seeing some of the kids again, and meeting new ones.  Today we talked about how having a good voice can help create a good character, and we did some Tongue Twisters!!

*After Drama I went to Our Savior Lutheran Church and hung out in the parking lot listening to the Cantata soundtrack as I waited for people to arrive for practice, then attended practice.  I listened to the soundtrack going to and from Coeur d’Alene these last two days, and love the words and music.  Very inspiring.

*After practice I drove home in the “blizzard” and continue to watch the snow fall.

Gathering Graces 3/6/2017

*Hey, guess what??  More snow today.  I had to head to Coeur d’Alene at about 7 a.m. this morning.  It wasn’t too bad driving over.  However there was a semi-truck that wrecked on the east bound lane.  But I just take it nice and slow, and get there when I get there.

* I was on the campus of North Idaho College today for my spring Gear Up meetings.  All the Gear Up coordinators from across the state are gathered together to learn new things, and look to the future of Gear Up.  It was a good day, even though it did involve A LOT of sitting. 

*Before I left Coeur d’Alene, I received a text message from my sister Christy letting me know it was blizzard-like conditions in Kellogg, and t0 call her when I arrived home.  As I was leaving Coeur d’Alene, it was blizzard conditions.  Ugh!!  But as I headed east, and got past the lake, the sky opened up, and the snow stopped falling, and the roads weren’t too bad until I reached Pinehurst, then it was snowy and slushy all the way home.

*When Paul got home he headed out to the front to shovel.  I went outside, and I can’t believe how much snow we still have in our front yard.  Well over three feet!!  I did see the date right on my calendar.  It is March 6th....correct!!

*I prepared for the next gathering of the Drama program at the after school program.  I am so excited to see the students again!!

*The snow kept falling off and on this evening, and the forecast calls for more snow tomorrow.  In fact there is a WINTER STORM WARNING beginning at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning until 10 a.m. Wednesday.  I just hope the roads aren’t too bad driving to and from Coeur d’Alene tomorrow. 

Gathering Graces 3/5/2017

*More snow covered Kellogg as I ventured out this morning to visit Mom.  It did make things look beautiful!

*Spent the afternoon cleaning house before the family came over for dinner.  I always love taking the time to clean.  It feels and looks so much better.

*For tonight’s family dinner, I got the Bone In Ribeye Steaks from Mom’s freezer and looked up how to prepare them.  I tried something new, and it did not disappoint.  Thank goodness.  I wasn’t sure how this was going to taste, but it was DELICIOUS.  I made Pan Seared Steak.  I borrowed Mom’s cast iron skillet, and used our cast iron dutch oven.  You heat up butter and olive oil on high on the stove.  You season the steaks with lots of salt and pepper.  Then you sear each side for two minutes.  The recipe said to add fresh rosemary on the steak, but I used dried.  Then you put the cast iron skillet (or dutch oven) into the oven at 415 degrees for 6 minutes.  Then take them out.  Put the steaks on a plate, and pour the juice from the pan onto the steak.  Add a slab of bleu cheese and garlic butter on top, and let it melt and rest for about five minutes.  This was a very flavorful and tender steak.  If you want to check out the recipe it is here.  I would highly recommend preparing the Rib Eye steaks this way.

*It was such a joy having Mom, Christy and Everett over for dinner tonight.  Besides the steak, we had roasted potatoes, steamed asparagus, green salad and bread.  Such a lovely meal to share with my lovely family.

Gathering Graces 3/4/2017

*Today I spent the day at Coeur d’Alene Charter School judging the district speech competition.  Paul is the Speech Coach at Kellogg High School, and he had ten students participating in the competition.  I got to judge Improvisation, Oratorical Analysis, Original Oratory and Panel Discussion.  I love listening to high school students speak on topics they are passionate about.  It was a good day.

*While at the competition, I was able to see and visit with Phletha Donean Wynn, Kenzie Sherman Lewis and Andrea Peirano.  Phletha did a summer melodrama with us, Kenzie is from Kellogg, and used to teach at KHS, and now is the Speech Coach at Post Falls High School, and Andrea is the mother of the one of Paul’s speech students.  I also had a nice time visiting with another judge who is from Coeur d’Alene, but attends the University of Idaho and is a Natural Resources major.  He will be graduating this spring and he works for the Bureau of Land Management fighting fires, and plans to continue doing that once he graduates. 

*Out of the ten competitors, Paul will be taking four of them to the State Speech Competition in Jerome in April.   Savannah Hartenfels will participate in Serious Intrepretation, Jesse Campbell and Sarah Beltz in Retold Story, and Numa Poche is an alternate in Humorous Interpretation.  I am so proud of these students, and all the others who participated, including Drake Duce, Stephanie J. Ivie, Jacob Camacho, Nikki Miller, Bruce Allred and Jordan Grubb.

*I had been wanting to try the Smoked Butterscotch Latte at Starbucks for a while, so I went through the Starbucks Drive-Thru by Costco to order one.  There was a vehicle in front of me with one woman in the car who took quite a while to place her order.  I placed my order, then pulled up behind her, and she must have been ordering for a large group because it took a while for her to get her order.  When I pulled up to the window, the barista gave me my drink and said it was free because of the long wait.  Woo-Hoo!!  I did enjoy the Smoked Butterscotch flavor, but I think next time I would put the flavoring in a different type of drink to taste more of the flavor.  I’ll be in Coeur d’Alene on Monday, so I may try the flavor in something else.

*Papa Murphy’s had a Family Size Herb Chicken Mediterranean Thin Crust pizza on special for $10, so I thought that would be the perfect thing to pick up for Paul and I to have for dinner once we both returned home.  I was right.  It was delicious!!  This pizza is topped with Olive Oil & Garlic, Herb Chicken, Spinach, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Feta, and Zesty Herbs.

*  My drive home over the Fourth of July pass was so nice with the roads dry and bare, and no snow or ice to worry about.  I love driving this stretch of road when the road conditions are good.  I was a little concerned when I was leaving Coeur d’Alene, and the sign was flashing that Lookout Pass was experience Winter Weather Conditions, and chains were required.  But no snow for me on the way home.  When I arrived in Kellogg, I could tell it had snowed throughout the day, and the new snow had remained on the trees about half way up the mountains.  But no new snow on the ground when I got home.

Gathering Graces 3/3/2017

 

*I had some copying done uptown at Progressive Printing today, and had a fun conversation with Brian, the office manager, talking about his upcoming trip to the Oregon coast and I told him some of my favorite spots we have been to on the coast, since he has never been there before.

*I had taken some chicken breasts out of the freezer for tonight’s dinner at Mom’s house, and decided to put them in the crockpot with a little Pampered Chef Chipotle Rub and some Pace Medium Salsa, and cooked them all afternoon.  I shredded the chicken (which turned out delicious), and made chicken tacos.  I was very impressed with the flavor of the chicken.

*Paul was unable to have dinner with Mom and I because he went up to opening night at the Sixth Street Theater in Wallace for Escanaba in da Moonlight.  He said it went really well.  I can’t wait to see it!  Good job Casey Duncan, Drago Duncan, Roger Bushong, Ken Bartle, Chuck Tatman and Eva Corona!!!  If you want to buy some tickets to see the show, you can go to the theater’s website here.

*I listened to the Wildcat Boys Basketball team play the Snake River Panthers tonight, and unfortunately they lost.  But they have a chance to come back and win tomorrow for a third place trophy.  GO WILDCATS!!

Gathering Graces 3/2/2017

*Happy Birthday, Dr. Suess!! 

*Today was a celebration of Dr. Suess, and for me it was celebrated by reading the Dr. Suess book Oh The Places You’ll Go to Paul’s 5th hour Technical Drama class.  I covered his class for him so he could do a special Dr. Suess day project.  These students also let me experiment with them on some drama activities I would be doing with the students at Pinehurst Elementary later in the day.

*While I covered his class, Paul went down to my friend Tammi J Flores’s preschool class at Kellogg Middle School and wore his Cat in the Hat hat, and read to the preschool students, and some sixth grade students in Angie Colburn’s class.  Here are some photos from the afternoon reading time.  (Thank you Carolyn Wozny for the photos.)  When we were talking about his time with the preschool students, Paul said, “I realized at one point that the preschool student really thought I was The Cat in the Hat.”  He has gone and read to the preschool students for many years, and always enjoys it.

*I grabbed the red and white striped hat at the end of my school day and headed to Pinehurst Elementary to begin my new Drama Program with the students in the after school program.  Celebrating Dr. Suess was in high gear at this school, too, as students got to have a Pajama Day today as part of the celebration.  As I was preparing for this program, I was a bit apprehensive because I had not worked with elementary-aged students for a long time (probably since Coco was in grade school!!).  But I absolutely loved it.  They shared with me their names and some of their favorite things, we learned about Isolations, and I taught them a new game, “Zip, Zap, Zop”.  All in all, there was probably around 45 kindergarten through fifth graders there today.  I can’t wait for next Tuesday!!

*WILDCATS WIN!!!  The Boys Basketball team defeated the top ranked Shelley Russets in the first game of the Idaho State Boys Basketball Tournament!! What an exciting game to listen to!!  They play Snake River tonight at 7 pm PST.  Good luck boys!!

Gathering Graces 3/1/2017

*The snow kept falling today, but it didn’t really stick.  When I was at Mom’s house in the morning, both our her front window and her bedroom window, there were funky icicles that were bending in toward her windows.  The photo above is from her bedroom window.  Here is from her living room window.

Funky icicles

*Early this morning the Kellogg High School boys basketball team loaded on a bus to head to Meridian to play in the State Basketball Tournament. We are very proud of these boys!!  The KHS Pep Band left after school, and many other parents and students are driving or flying down as well.  We pray safe travels and that the boys do their best!!  GO WILDCATS!!!

*Today is Ash Wednesday. and at our P.E.O. meeting tonight, Rebecca Jenicek shared a program about what Ash Wednesday is all about, and the significance of the number “40” in the scriptures.  As I head into the Lenten season, I truly want it to be a time of reflection, and a time that draws me closer to the Lord.

Gathering Graces 2/28/2017

 

*The day started out like most other days during the week.  Around 5:50 a.m. Nikki picked me up and we drove to Kellogg High School to walk for about 35 minutes or so.  It had snowed all night, but when we arrived at KHS the parking lot was all plowed, and the clouds were clearing off.  Around 6:20 a.m., Mike, one of the maintenance guys said he just got the phone call, and school had been canceled because of the snow.  So I headed home for a snow day. 

*Today was Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Tuesday.  This is the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent.  Some countries celebrate this day by consuming pancakes.  The expression “Shrove Tuesday” comes from the word shrive, meaning “absolve”.  Shrove Tuesday is observed by many Christians who “make a special point of self-examination, of considering what wrongs they need to repent, and what amendments of life or areas of spiritual growth they especially need to ask God’s help in dealing with”.  When I realized it was Pancake Tuesday, I told Paul I was going to make pancakes for dinner.  Then my friend Beverley posted about making pancakes as well, and shared a recipe for British pancakes that are more like crepes, where you put butter, brown sugar and lemon juice in them.  So that is what we did, and enjoyed this pancake feast for dinner.  Thanks Beverley for sharing!!

*We have had a Wii system for many years.  The purpose of this system in our house is to allow us to stream Netflix onto our television.  But occasionally we will use it to play games.  Our system broke last year, so I purchased a used one from one of my former Gear Up students, and found out it was the cord that wasn’t working.  We also purchased some new games when we got the system.  So I put the Wii Play disc in today, and Paul and I enjoyed some friendly Wii competition including table tennis, billiards, target shooting and laser hockey.

*After a two week break because of other commitments, Paul and I made it to Easter Cantata practice tonight.  It was really great singing once again, and being a part of a large community choir singing praises to God.  I look forward to the weeks ahead when I can attend practice more faithfully.