The Shed Notebook: Ten Lessons Learned From The Remodel

We started a remodel project on our house on April 25th. As of yesterday, it is winding down and we are working to put the house back together. I had never been through a remodel before, but I did learn some important lessons through the process.
1. You can survive without a shower every day. You can even survive without a shower every three days.
2. Having a toilet in your house is overrated. We managed one whole night sneaking outside and "watering"  the lawn.
3. A human CAN sleep through hammering, drilling and pounding. I have mastered it very well in the six weeks.
4. The dogs did survive not being with us every waking moment of the day. They started enjoying the backyard together.  They also enjoyed playing tug a war with two bench cushions. The cushions didn't survive.
5. It is possible to enjoy healthy dinners without a stove/oven. It helps to have restaurants close by in a pinch though.
6. Our cats can also sleep through hammering, drilling, and pounding. Our cats could sleep through an earthquake.
7. When purchasing a vanity for the bathroom, don't rely on looks only. Our very beautiful vanity only gave us about an inch to squeeze by to the toilet. It had to go back. Darn, I loved that vanity.
8. Having a mirror is overrated also. We both survived with only one hand mirror during the remodel. I didn't scare anyone when I went to the store so I guess I looked somewhat presentable.
9. You have a perfect excuse to not clean house during a remodel. Why dust when more dust will fly?
10. The whole process is so worth it. We could live with the inconvience.
Photos soon!

I'm Enough

"After all those years as a woman hearing 'not thin enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not this enough, not that enough,' almost overnight I woke up one morning and thought, 'I'm enough."
                                                                                                   Anna Quindlen

I have stumbled across this quote numerous times in my travels. I have also read many essays by Anna Quindlen and when she puts words to paper, it makes sense. I have worked hard for four months to reach a goal of wellness. Because of constant pain from arthritis, I knew I needed knee replacement surgery. I have a wise surgeon that could have just operated on my knee and set me up failure. He didn't . He gave me a list of goals I needed to accomplish. I needed to lose weight, do physical therapy, and wear knee braces.
I have reach my goal weight, but I have accomplished enough for the surgery. When I heard him say, "You are motivated and have a positive attitude" I knew then that I'm enough! 

Daily Peace: The Most Beautiful People

" The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Above are a few of those beautiful people in my life.
From top left clockwise: Grandma Woolum with sister Carol, Uncle Bob West and Mom, Dad, Uncle Bob, Aunt Lila, Grandma West, Mom

Sibling Assignment #191:Swan Song and 52 Cups of Poetry

I gave the following assignment for this month:

"Write a tribute to a friend that is no longer with us."
You will find brother Bill's here and sister Carol's here.

I chose to write about a student rather than a friend. After the first year of teaching at Inchelium,
I was working with students in summer school when we got the news that one of our students had
been shot in a freak accident while the family was camping south of town. The student had just finished
third grade that spring. Her family and the reservation community was never the same.
I can remember attending her funeral and walking outside to see her laying in an open casket i
n the most beautiful dress. She looked like a precious doll. That haunted me long after the service.
When I worked with a poet as the writing project a few years later, she worked with me to get my
thoughts to paper. This poem also helps me reach my goal of writing 52 poems in 2018.

Swan Song
in memory of S.A. Swan
A Sacred Place On Lake Roosevelt
(1983-1995)

Don’t apologize for the day you allowed your sister to

mark in that brand new book,
Remember, I wanted you to take it home

and practice reading it to her.

Don’t apologize for the day your mother arrived

to visit your teachers at school.
You were good to steady her when

she stumbled and used angy words.

Don’t apologize for the day you forgot the words

from a story you composed in class.
Remember, we wrote them, whispered them,

wrestled with them to help you feel the sound.

Don’t apologize for the day after recess when

I had to send someone for you.
Because your other teacher kept you in your seat,

redoing that ditto ‘till you got it right.

Don’t apologize for the day you never appeared,

missing Indian tacos for lunch.

Remember, it was the day your mother returned

to the rez once again.

Don’t apologize for the day at summer school when

the children heard of your death
We tried to read, we tried to write,

but ended up seeing you.

Don’t apologize for leaving before I could say

how much I loved your spirit.
Remember S.A., you were a fragile duckling,

beginning to become a swan.

Sibling Assignment #189: Lights, Instruments Tuned, "Brigadoon"

Carol assigned this sibling assignment for us this month:

“Share a memory from one of your times performing on stage at Kellogg High School.”
You will find brother Bill's here and sister Carol's here.

I learned when I was a sophomore in high school that I really enjoyed performing on the stage.
Because it was forty-seven years ago that I first appeared on the stage at Kellogg High School,
my memories are a bit sketchy. I played the oldest daughter in the play “The Remarkable Mr.
Pennypacker” as a debut on the KHS stage. I continued playing different roles through high
school in a variety of plays. I loved being in plays. I don’t even remember now if I got that nervous
being on the stage.

When I was a junior it was announced we were going to do a musical.
A musical at Kellogg High School? Wow! It was exciting thinking about combining the choirs,
band, and actors all in one big production. The musical chosen was “Brigadoon”.
This was not one of the productions I was familiar with from our album collection at home, but once
I heard the music I really loved. It didn’t have an acting part. What I remember is standing behind
the curtain singing the song”Brigadoon” in the choir, but later I think I was down in the
“orchestra” band pit. Even though I didn't have a big starring role, I loved being part of the ensemble.

We did the production at the Kellogg Junior High gym/stage and I think by the time we were
ready to practice with everyone together, we all did it on a Sunday. There were also
headaches with conflicts with sports, speech competitions, and who knows what else,
but we prevailed! I think there was some big issue with my brother having to be gone,
but he will have to share that.

Brigadoon was a musical that took place in a magical place called Brigadoon in Scotland.

The music, the bagpipes, the costumes, and the scenery all seemed perfect to me.
I don’t even remember how the musical was received and if we had “sell out crowds”.

We did it! Kellogg High School performed their first musical.
There were more to follow after the success of “Brigadoon”.  
Again, I loved the join effect of so many students and staff.
It seemed like half the students were performing in some way, but it was probably maybe a fourth.
Enjoy the overture below.

Sibling Assignment #190: Kellogg vs. Wallace

Bill gave the following assignment this month:

"The other night at the Inland Lounge, I got into a conversation with a couple of Wallace High
School grads about the Wallace/Kellogg rivalry. How did you experience this rivalry back in
high school? The people I talked to Friday night thought the rivalry had weakened over the years.
Had it started to weaken when we were in high school in the 1970s and 1980s? Or did you
experience things that were evidence of the rivalry being very much alive when we were in
high school? "

You can find brother Bill's here and Carol's here.

Kellogg and Wallace are neighboring towns in Shoshone County in Idaho. When we were growing up, there was a big rivalry between the two towns. I have no idea how it originated, but in junior high I remember our cheerleaders always performing a favorite cheer, "Beat Wallace" and getting the stands riled up.

The rivalry seemed to revolve more around boys sports that were played in school. Girls didn't particpate in school sports except track, but I don't remember a big track rivalry with Wallace. The high school boys played American Legion baseball together in the summer and didn't seem to have any rumbles in the alley after the game.

I know lots of girls from Wallace early in elementary school from Campfire Girls and Camp Neewahlu and Camp Awahkeeah. No rivalaries with us. Our friendships continued with Girl's State and Rainbow Girls. When we traveled to a basketball game in Wallace I remember sitting on our side of the gym watching girls I had known a long time performing as cheerleaders or sitting in the cheering section. It seemed like we didn't really talk to each at these events. Did we really have to uphold that rivalry? Did we think we would be traitors?

The rivalry I remember more vividly from high school was when Kellogg girls dated Wallace boys. I had crazy crushes on lots of boys from Wallace, but I never acted on it. I had friends that "crossed that rivalry line" and dated them. I remember talking to my Wallace girl friends outside of school and how that idea of crossing over and dating from the other school caused quite a bit of drama. Rumors circulated that there might be a girl fight or they were threatened. I don't think any of that every happened. 

As soon as I left high school and many of us were together at University of Idaho or hung out in the Silver Valley bars when we turned 19, the rivalry seemed to have disappeared .