"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away. " George EliotThere are four of us that are dear friends. We are connected by teaching, learning, and my school. These three women have been an intrical part of making my school a better place. They care about our students. One works with me every day and the other two have been consultants that have been a support at our school. All of them are dear friends. JB is going through cancer treatment right now.
We traveled through the snow to her place tonight. We brought food, flowers, and encouragement. She is losing her hair, but not her strength or sense of humor. We reminenced, laughed, ate, and enjoyed that comfort of our friendship. We shared new learnings with JB from the conference we attended today. She asked questions and offered advice. It was a special evening gathering around the table with three other dear friends.
Those of us in the teaching field have certain cycles that are rituals throughout the school year. 
Around this time for many of us it is the changing of semesters. For me that means a weekend of reading essays, figuring grades, and scoring exams. My weekend photos have a narrow focus. Brewing a favorite blend of coffee and listening to some of my favorite music made the time pass in a pleasant way. I feel good. It is Sunday afternoon and I am all done with time to spare.
I did take a break yesterday and took Lily on a tour of the greenhouse. She was excited to explore around the pots. I was excited to check my plants that are wintering over.
I have posted about The Garden Valley Church before. Our church is old fashioned in itself. It sits on a hill on Lake Ellen Road where it has been since 1912. It is about a mile and a half from our house. Electricity and heat have been added to the church building. 
We function without running water or indoor bathrooms. There is a 
We also had an old fashioned Box Social after the Sunday service last week. The women made the lunches to feed two and the men donated to the building fund. Even though many couldn't attend church last Sunday due to the snow and bad roads we still had a grand time.
A variety of lunches arrived and people enjoyed good food and conversation. My mom shared with me that she had gone to Box Socials at the Grange when she was growing up. I think this was my first Box Social!
We had a delicious lunch that included meatballs, baked beans, fruit salad, and a yummy apple date cake.
For other photo hunters using Old Fashioned go 
This icicle reminds me of a backbone.
The gazebo is cold and foreboding. 
A few days ago I caught the early sunset.
A greenhouse window in the kitchen shows off the beauty of the houseplants as the sunshine streams through the colored vases and the 
The snow has piled up to about fifteen inches again in northeastern Washington . Part of the weekend was spent watching our kitten Kit navigate deep drifts, walk on the deck railing heaped with snow, and birdwatching Kit style!
This is the table that was on my header recently.
Does Kit think the birds will join him in the feeder?
He pauses for another photo pose.
It's harder to stay on the railing when the snow is deeper.
The roof callapsed from heavy snow on January 11th at Silver King School in Kellogg, Idaho. This was the place my mother taught school for many years, I attended first grade, we spend hours outside of school with Mom as she worked in her classroom. After high school I continued to revisit this school on the summer crew that helped paint and clean schools, substitute teaching , and practiced basketball for a town league team.
Another image that has remained with me was the fire escape upstairs in the lunch room. We climbed upstairs and ate lunch in this attic type room. As an impressionable first grader I saw the fire escape that hung on the side of the building each day as Mom parked our car in the back of the building. I don’t know if I just feared going down that fire escape during a drill or if we really did it. I just know those black ironworks stairs and my fear of heights still remain in my memory over forty years later.
Entering an older school building as an adult we often remember the smells of wax , wood varnish, wet boots, borax hand powder, and hot lunch and it takes us back to where we started school. Silver King School had these smells. The older building I work in now has the same smells. The green chalkboard is gone, diminishing the chalk smell. We use more environmentally safe cleaners and don’t get that strong hit of disinfectant. Remembering Silver King School my mind recalls the mix of shiny floors, heat registers, cloak rooms, polished desks, and chalkboards. I remember big windows that brought sunlight in after the smelter smoke lifted. Bulletin boards reminded us of spring flowers, Thanksgiving pilgrims, and Washington’s cherry tree. Cooks dished up Witches Brew, homemade rolls, and sloppy joes. The lyrics of “Here Comes Santa Claus” brought Santa in after the Christmas program with brown bags of goodies for all. 
Long ago Mrs. Germo put away the empty pencil box she filled with hard candy that we could earn as a treat. Dick, Jane, Sally, Spot, and Puff were all put away in boxes. The old typewriter we used to compose writing has long since been packed away. I don’t even know what was still left in the building. Last spring we drove by Silver King School and were dismayed to see the windows boarded up and things in disarray. The sight was even harder on my mom. Looking at the pictures of the collapse of the roof brought deep sadness. The bricks, iron works, glass and wood that formed the foundation of this beautiful building for many years are crumbling . The words we write will keep the heart and soul of this building alive for those of us that keep on remembering. 
This was a photo taken of Silver Valley Girl and Mom at Christmas the year she was born. I love the way Mom's joy and love for SVG radiates in her face. 
Mom is enjoying turkey with Raymond Pert at his first Thanksgiving and this
was taken as she departed from my house after a wonderful Thanksgiving week-end this year. She is a vibrant woman that continues in her seventies to do the things she loves: gardening, crosswords, traveling, spending time with family, cooking and baking. Her reassuring voice has always been at the other end of the phone or next to me as I have made my challenging journey through life. 
Remember... I was the person that couldn't get a Christmas Cactus to bloom at any time of the year. Then last fall we got our first one to bloom around Thanksgiving. 
Now JEJ brought this one in from the greenhouse. The blossoms resemble a tropical plant. We could call this the Winter Cactus, Birthday Cactus, or Soon to be My Mom's Birthday Cactus.
JEJ said the only thing he has done differently this year is to give these blooming plants more fertilizer. I guess the combination of cool temperatures, light, and plant food as produced these revived Christmas cactus'.
There is only about five of these lovely blossoms on the plant so far. Wait until it is in full bloom. Stay tuned. If you want read some past posts about Christmas cactus go 
