Ten Things Saving My Life Right Now

Each year this week Anne Bogel on her blog Modern Mrs. Darcy invites readers to share ten things that have helped them make it through winter. She calls it " Ten Things Saving My Life Right Now." It is halfway through the winter season. The days are moving a bit slower and visions of spring days are dancing in our heads . She also invites her readers to share their lists which allows us to create a community to support each other through the rest of winter with an interesting variety of lists. 

Here is my list:

A crackling fire in my fireplace.: When it is icy, cold, or foggy outside there is nothing like a fire to warm the house and warm my heart.

Wordle: Having a puzzle to look forward to every day that challenges my mind is perfect.

Hot beverages: When the weather is below zero there is nothing better than hot coffee or hot chocolate. I have always loved coffee in the morning, but this winter hot chocolate has been another comfort beverage. I was gifted a variety of  hot chocolate mixes for Christmas so when I need a lift in the afternoon after shoveling snow in the backyard, hot chocolate with cinnamon toast hits the spot.

Homemade soup: Warm soup is such a comfort food in winter. I enjoy making a big pot of chili, vegetable soup, or chicken noodle soup and freezing leftovers for later meals.

Amaryllis:  There is no better way to brighten your house in winter than with amaryllis plants. I try to start them early enough in the fall so they are blooming in January. This year my blooms have been bigger, the colors have been more vivid, and each bulb has produced at least two complete flowers. They are beauty from a bulb.

Seed and plant catalogs:  When I go to check my mail and realize the temperature is frigid I just want to run back inside and wrap up in a blanket. Then I reach inside the mailbox and pull out seed catalogs. Ahhh.... a sign that spring is around the corner. Just the pictures on the covers are enough to cheer up my day.

Sunsets:  Winter sunsets are stunning. The varied colors are blended together into a sky of beauty. I follow sunsets with my camera when Riley and I take our afternoon runs. 

Connecting with friends and family: Phone calls, texts, messages, letters, cards, and in person visits make any winter day warmer. I love hearing from the special people in my life and there is nothing better than grabbing a cup of coffee and a lap blanket and having a long visit with a friend or family member.

Riley: My dog Riley makes every day of winter better. He entertains me with his morning routine waiting for the mail lady and the UPS driver. He clowns around with his toys and makes me laugh. He  gives me a reason to go out and get fresh air and exercise during our daily trip to a favorite outdoor spot. He also is a perfect snuggler when we come in and need to warm up.  

Surrounding myself with books, books, and more books: This winter I have spent more time reading books to broaden my knowledge of writing, creativity, and gardening. I have also enjoyed book club selections, books on my pile I have waited until winter to read, and cookbooks.

What things help you get through winter? 

I want to give a shout out to Anne Bogel, known on her website as Modern Mrs. Darcy. The link to the post I referred to in the opening is above. Here is the link to her blog: https://modernmrsdarcy.com 

Her website contains a list of the books she has written, information on her podcasts, and her blog. She shares book titles all the time, runs a book club, and posts informative and entertaining writing almost every day. Every year she does a summer reading list, and gives links to ebook deals!  Check her out.

And Here We Have Idaho

Last week my sister, brother, and me did our first sibling trip since we have all been married. We decided to explore a part of Idaho each of us had only driven through. What a scenic trip we had. 

We started the trip from Montana and Lolo Pass and then drove along the Lochsa River.

We stayed along the river for two nights enjoying the quiet beauty of central Idaho.

Next we explored the Selway River which joins the Lochsa to make the Clearwater.

Taking pictures is a big part of what we love to do when we get together. There was never a lack of photo opportunities.Here is my brother at the Old Lochsa Forest Service Station.

Here is my sister at the Selway River. It was a relaxing trip and it gave us time to laugh, talk, share concerns, figure out things that needed figuring out, time to eat good meals, have good drinks, and sit around and start the day on the deck of the cabin drinking coffee. Not bad at all.

Top Ten Things I Love About the Methow Valley

 1.  Eating lunch in the oldest "legal" saloon in Washington State (Three Finger Jack's).

2. Getting reacquainted with Molly's Soaps. When I lived in the Tri-Cities Molly always had a booth at the Allied Arts Fair. Molly led me back to her handmade soaps in Winthrop!

3.The Trail's End Bookstore in Winthrop. Read about it here.

4. The Cinnamon Twisp Bakery in Twisp.

5. Discovering the Back Country Coffee Roaster's Buck Mountain Blend. It "takes you out of the rut".

 6. The Methow, Twisp, and Chewack Rivers.

7. Early Winters Campground.

8. The new beverage holders at the Mazama Store.

 9.  The North Cascades and

10. Lost River Cabin, JEJ, and the dogs.

I think Shelby got a bit tired of sightseeing!

Best Ten Things About January

Sometimes January gets a bad rap. Often the weather is cloudy and gray. It is time to think about taxes. Travel is difficult on snowy roads most years. Today I am celebrating the things I love about this first month of the year as I wind down my Best posts for the month of January.

Best Ten Things About January

1. My birthday is in January. It always gives me something to look forward to after Christmas. This year I got a homemade yellow cake with chocolate frosting baked by my mom.
 2. League play begins for college basketball so the Zags play on television frequently.
3.  I don't have to spend time going shopping because the budget is a bit lean after December.
4.  It is a good time to hunker down in front of the fire and read.
5.  Coffee tastes better on a dark, cold morning before the sun rises.
6.  I always get the urge to declutter and this year I really did it!
7. The greenhouse is in full bloom.
8. Seed catalogs begin coming in the mail.
9. If I get cold there is enough cat hair on the furniture to keep me warm.
10. The Amazing Amaryllises of 2010 keep blooming and blooming!

Sibling Assignment #82: Mr. Coffee Disaster

I gave the sibling assignment this week.
Finish this sentence." I will never forget the time _______happened at 516 W. Cameron. Remember? It was a huge disaster."
516 W. Cameron is where our growing up took place. Many disasters have happened that involved overflowing toilets, basement floods, and a drawer falling out of the frig numerous times. Most disasters always seem to take place over holidays or when family members all came home for some event. You will find RP's own version of "The Cable Guy" here and Silver Valley Girl (after attaching most disasters growing up to me) reminded me of the almost second eruption of Mt. St. Helen's here.

I am an educated woman. I know how a coffee maker works. I do have a brain, even in the morning. Somehow when a task that involve an appliance, making a food item, and my mother's kitchen comes together a cosmic experience involving planets and stars aligning with the universe doom me and shout "disaster".

This particular day I was making coffee. I don't know how I managed to do it, but the filter didn't get positioned right or the swingy thing that holds the filter didn't get secured right, or who knows what else could have happened, but the coffee did not go from the filter basket into the pot. I got up to check to see if the coffee was done and was surprised to see that the pot was almost empty. My eye caught a brown liquid with coffee flecks traveling down the front of the cupboard. I was relieved to see that the coffee had only gone down and dripped into one drawer. I could handle cleaning that up. It doesn't take much to dry off baggies, clips for bags, coffee filters, and twenty-five wooden spoons. I could maybe even do it before Mom realized what had happened. Then my eye caught the area of the counter where the cups hang on a little mug tree. I saw more of the brown liquid there. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. I heard my Mom's voice from the living room.
" Is the coffee done?"
" Uhhh... there seems to be a bit of a problem...."
I didn't have to finish the sentence before my mom shot off the couch with the speed of lightening.
" The coffee didn't seem to go into the pot", I apologized.
My mom's intuition told her within seconds that coffee must be seeping into every crevice and appliance on the west side of the kitchen. She moved into action.

What we discovered was the brownish sort of coffee went behind the stove, seeped under the refrigerator and rested against the far wall of the kitchen. In examining the damage it seemed like I had made twenty cups of coffee. How could eight cups of coffee water make such a mess?

By the time we moved out the appliances, cleaned the floor, moved everything back, wiped the sweat off our faces, cleaned the counter, and washed the grounds out of the coffee maker and made another pot I was exhausted. Needless to say, when I return home now Mom makes the coffee ahead of time and keeps her eagle eye on me if I get near the coffee maker when the pot is almost empty. It is also a blessing Mom doesn't own a coffee grinder.

Sunday Scribblings: Coffee

Rewinding back to growing up vivid images come to mind when I think of coffee. Every morning when I came downstairs the familiar smell of brewing coffee filled the house. The clear Pyrex coffee pot on the stove was always full of enough coffee so Dad could have some with breakfast, Mom could have her morning coffee before school, and the thermos Dad took to the Zinc Plant could be filled. I remember removing Dad's thermos from his lunch bucket in the evening and washing it gingerly as not to break that magic glass inside that kept the liquid hot.When a can of MJB coffee emptied, I loved watching Mom use the little key to open the top of the new can. Even today with an electric can opener and a different brand of coffee I love that smell of the fresh coffee as the lid comes off the can. The only time coffee was made in the evening was when we had a special dinner and coffee was served with a dessert, sometimes during the holidays, or if Dad wanted some to go with brandy. It always seemed odd to me when people always had a pot of coffee going on the stove.
Grandma Woolum always said nobody made coffee like my mom. She loved to come to Kellogg and drink my mom's coffee. After each of us left and moved to other places we decided it was the good water in Kellogg that helped to make that good coffee. Grandma's house had that same smell in the morning when we stayed there and I think Dad always liked that comfort of coffee made at his mother's house.
We often stopped at Dick and Floyd's in uptown Kellogg. It had a counter out front with a soda fountain, magazines, candy, and doughnuts. There was a bar in the back. Oftentimes as I sat drinking my fountain root beer there would be the same people drinking the thick black coffee that had sat on a burner for most of the day. That coffee had a much different smell than what I experienced at home.

I don't remember exactly when I started drinking coffee. I probably made the mix of coffee, sugar cubes, and cream at church or at a wedding reception just because we loved sugar cubes and cups with saucers. I just remember always adding something to it in my youth.

Moving to college is when my serious coffee drinking started. Moscow, Idaho does not have good tasting water and the coffee we had at the house tasted horrible, but everyone drank it. We often went to a cafe that stayed open late to study and have "better coffee". Thus began my lifetime ritual of drinking coffee. I have carried coffee in a big Stanley thermos, a plastic to-go cup that came free at the service station, a cuter red cup that fits in the car holder, and a mug that stayed a bit stained all week in the teacher lounge. I was still living in Kennewick when the first drive-thru espresso stand opened. I drank these horribly sweet mochas back then and thought I was getting designer coffee. I survived moving to a rural area without espresso stands. When JEJ and I first met we would do Saturday drives around the area and stop for coffee at small town cafes, gas stations, and rest stops. I do like fresh ground beans at home, but now mix my own by taking a few types of coffee beans and mixing them in the bag at the store. Every time it tastes a bit different.

I still look forward to drinking coffee at my mom's house. Nothing fancy. She has moved to a coffeemaker you plug in, but she doesn't grind her own beans, buy Starbuck's House Blend, or use a French press. She opens the can of whatever brand she had a coupon for and it was a store special. I think last time I was home it was Yuban French Roast. I often take a cup for the road when we leave after a week-end visit.

For other Sunday Scribblings on coffee go here.

Post #700 : Bright Blooms, Bargain Books, and Blue Cookies at the Bakery

The flowers blooming in front of the courthouse.

My first blog post was entitled "Four Seasons in the Inland Empire" and I explained many of the joys of living in this part of the northwest. Today for #700 I experienced inland empire joy again in Colville, Washington. It is the largest of the towns in our area. It has many historic buildings and two of my favorites are the Stevens County Courthouse and the Colville Public Library. The courthouse from spring through fall has eye catching displays of blooming flowers. Today it was giant mum-like marigolds that were brightening up the whole area in front.
Across the street is the Colville Public Library. Today was my first time attending one of the book sales held the basement of the library. I learned that it is important to come early and bring your own canvas bags. There was a line weaving up the stairs when I arrived and it had been that way since they opened an hour before. Only so many people enter at a time because of the size of the room. It was worth the wait. The sale had an amazing selection and all paperbacks were 50 cents and hardbacks a dollar. I found books for JEJ, myself, my students, and some poetry books to add to my growing collection. The Friends of the Library have this sale about four times a year and take donations of books all year. It is a great way to recycle books and support the library.
I finally took time also to visit our newest bakery today. JEJ had to find some tool part at the hardware store and the bakery was across the street. That was an easy decision to make. Heather's Fairy Tale Bakery is also located in Colville and I walked in to an appetizing display of cakes, cookies, bars, European pastries, and breads. Locally roasted coffee and free wireless are also available. We will definitely return to this spot another day. They always have free samples of many of their wonderful pastries and bread. I just love the door they chose for the entrance. Silver Valley Girl... they did have baklava also! I came home with fresh baked oatmeal bread, almond biscotti, and a wonderful French plum tart slice.I look forward to having another pile of books to read. Mary Clearman Blew is an Inland Empire author and instructor at the University of Idaho and I have always wanted to read these two memoirs.

Visiting these places today made a Saturday errand trip to town even more enjoyable. If you are from the area or visiting soon, stop in at Heather's Fairy Tale Bakery. Just seeing the cookies for the two political parties frosted in red and blue with the names of the candidates piped in white frosting is worth the trip. The worker said the red Republican cookies are selling the most, but the woman in front of me decided it was only because people don't want cookies with blue frosting!! I settled for the yummy plum tart.

Orange TV, Huckleberries Online, Used Books in Coeur d' Alene, and Mamma Mia!

SR photo of DFO

When I started my blog I had already been reading Huckleberries Online for a few months. It is a blog through the Spokesman Review newspaper in Spokane/Coeur d'Alene. "Dave Oliveria is the ringleader of this online circus known as Huckleberries, which began on Feb. 16, 2004." HBO keeps inland empire readers updated on news, opinions, political views, and much more. Through HBO I have met many online friends through comments and links to their blogs. You can find this blog here. It is worth a visit!

A few weeks ago I put out a thread that I wanted recommendations for used book stores in CdA. Silver Valley Girl and I were doing a sister day and I wanted to look for used books. I got lots of great suggestions. I also read the blog Get Out North Idaho by Orange TV which also runs as a print column in the SR. He featured information about events, concerts, restaurants and other things happening in the inland empire. I respect Orange's recommendations for places to dine. So off we went on Sister Day with the list of ideas for used book stores and places to eat thanks to Orange TV. You can read Silver Valley Girl's post of the day here.

Orange TV had recommended Calypso's Coffee so we began our day there. I agreed with his review of the place. It was comfortable, a great place to hang out, and we were glad we also ordered the Mexican Mocha!

Perfect! Add a blueberry scone to the mix and it was well worth the trip! Stickman and Orange TV had both recommended the Humane Society Thrift Shop on 3rd for used books. I agreed with them on this place. I found copies of books I had been searching for and yes, they did have a good variety. I loved also that I was giving my money to a good cause. I had my dog Emily because of the Humane Society in Cd'A. Sweet Herb and Angela had suggested The Bookworm and we went there also. For trade paperbacks it was a good stop. Nothing really unique, but if you love best seller paperbacks for half the price, it is your store! Reader had recommended St. Vincent dePaul and he/she was right about their selections also. Silver Valley Girl and I had the most fun there because we found so many books we had read through the years that we could hold up titles and laugh about a memory attached to that book. We also each found a nice pile of books there. Thanks DFO... we also stopped at`The Boy's Ranch and Women's Center Thift Shops. Both were a bit picked over this time through, but the stores were interesting just for browsing. By the time we reached Browsers Uncommon Books recommended by Bjorn and Matt we were a bit on book overload. I love this store. I have visited it for the last fifteen years. One thing I love about it is that it really doesn't change much except the collection gets updated.It is still owned by the same guy, it is a bit crowded, books sit on the floor, but it adds to the charm. I hit gold here in seeking volumes for my recently started poetry collection. That made it worth the trip. Here is one stack of books I have added to my book collection. I have wanted to read Planet of the Blind by Stephen Kuusisto since I read an excerpt a few years ago. Raymond Pert found his blog and had also recommended this book. So many people have told me I need to read A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving so I bought it to add to my stack. Generally when you hear a book title come up over and over, it is worth finding the book and reading it. The poetry books I found that day included collections by Robert Frost, Emily Dickenson, Rita Dove, Ted Kooser, Sandra Cisneros, May Sarton, and others. For the stacks of books we bought that day each of us paid a fraction of the cost. I felt like St. Vinnies and The Humane Society stores had the best deals. I must say the readers in CdA have excellent taste in books and I was glad to see so many recycled to used book stores.Continuing with the food recommendation list, we ate lunch at The Sunshine Trader. Orange TV's restaurant review was posted right by the counter as we walked in. We agreed again with all that was written and would give this place a thumbs up!! Nourished by great sandwiches, huckleberry lemonade and iced spice tea we were ready to make a few other shopping stops before going to the matinee of Mamma Mia! This was one of those movies I had heard about, knew it was based on ABBA songs, and knew who was in it. I decided I really wanted to see it. I love ABBA songs and had no idea what an enjoyable two hours that musical would be. I kept wanting to grab a perfume bottle microphone and join in singing down the aisle!! We loved it so much we are going again with more family members this week! We rounded out a perfect day by going out on a limb and trying a restaurant just because we wanted to eat there. We continued our Greek theme at The White House in Post Falls. It was a fun-filled day that included all the things the two of us love- laughs, good coffee, books, bargains, singing, dancing, talking, excellent food, and kinship. Thanks again HBOers and Orange TV for the great recommendations. If you need used books... now you also have some ideas.

sr photo