Meet Kit

This pure white kitten showed up in a tree by our deck yesterday. The dogs quickly let JEJ know there was a strange visitor on the property. Once he got the kitten down this cute little fur ball was loving and wanted to be petted and given attention.

We figured the kitten was about three or four months old, but couldn't really tell if it was a boy or girl. We named it Kit thinking that name could go either way. Kit sneezed and twitched his ears and had a big scratch on his nose. By his condition we thought he had been on his own for awhile. We decided unless somebody called and claimed this tame kitten we would take it to the vet to see how it was doing and keep it. Kit even liked the dogs! Last night after some food he was ready to play, send emails from my laptop keyboard and rip and tear through the house.
Today we found out Kit was a boy and had a fever and other kitten problems. The good news was he didn't have feline leukemia. After being prodded and washed and given a shot he came home worn out. He is now sleeping away in a cat carrier away from the other cats. I don't think Kit quite realizes that he found kitty paradise here. Okay... so we have six cats... what's another one? How do you turn away a kitten that looks like this?

Nice Matters Award

I was honored this week to be given this award twice. Thanks Ordinary Janet for thinking of me. Jackie (of the recently closed blog Jackie's Garden) also gave me this award. Nice does matter to me each and every day. Thanks to both of you for noticing that on my blog. It means a lot to me. Please feel free to recognize others with this award.

A Day Bringing Poetry Alive

Today our middle school had the pleasure of working with two performers from Poetry Alive for the day. Anita and Alan (above) began the day performing poetry, then taught the students to perform, interpret, and compose poetry. It was a high energy, creative day enjoyed by all. They started the day performing favorites like " Paul Revere's Ride" and "Fifteen" by William Stafford. Then some students helped perform " Casey at the Bat" with audience participation. My favorite performance poem they did in the morning was:

On Turning Ten
The whole idea of it makes me feel
like I'm coming down with something,
something worse than any stomach ache
or the headaches I get from reading in bad light--
a kind of measles of the spirit,
a mumps of the psyche,
a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul.

You tell me it is too early to be looking back,
but that is because you have forgotten
the perfect simplicity of being one
and the beautiful complexity introduced by two.
But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit.
At four I was an Arabian wizard.

I could make myself invisible
by drinking a glass of milk a certain way.
At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince.

But now I am mostly at the window
watching the late afternoon light.
Back then it never fell so solemnly
against the side of my tree house,
and my bicycle never leaned against the garage
as it does today,
all the dark blue speed drained out of it.

This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,
as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends,
time to turn the first big number.

It seems only yesterday I used to believe
there was nothing under my skin but light.
If you cut me I could shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life,
I skin my knees.
I bleed.

Billy Collins



Students worked on performance with "Poem" by Langston Hughes and then were given a variety of poems to interpret in groups at end the day. Students shared their own original poems with our performers at break time and were excited to learn they could be chosen to publish on the Poetry Alive website. Many of you remember my passion for poetry, especially during National Poetry Month when I shared a poem a day. You can well guess I was in seventh heaven today.

Anita and Alan travel all over the United States with Poetry Alive. They were in San Francisco last week, then our rural northeastern Washington this week. They next head to Michigan, Kentucky, and Wisconsin. They love their jobs. You can learn more about Poetry Alive here.

Sunday Scribblings: "Hi... My Name Is"

"Hi... my name is Inland Empire Girl and I have a passion for creating bouquets. "

At the beginning stages of gardening at my present home I decided I would plant a cutting garden. I wanted to have my own bouquets instead of ones from the grocery store. Starting the flowers from seed instead of buying them as bedding plants in the spring was less cost and I could plant a wide variety. Thus.... a new passion began.


Two raised beds in the garden have been designated just for cut flowers. I read a very informative book called The Flower Farmer by Lynn Bycznski which outlines types of flowers that work well in a cutting garden and how to create unique bouquets based on texture, color, and time of bloom. I have enjoying trying new varieties of marigolds, sunflowers, and zinnias. The second book that was an invaluable resource when it came to deciding on these choices was Reader's Digest's The Cutting Garden: Growing and Arranging Garden Flowers by Sarah Raven.

After creating a cutting garden I then began to study flower arranging. I realized with summer annuals it is easy to just grab a bunch and throw them in a canning jar with a little raffia around the rim, but I wanted to learn more about the design of flower arranging. After collecting used containers, jars, and vases I paid more attention to how arrangements were structured. Raven's book was again an excellent resource.

I have donated bouquets to gatherings for table decorations. They have also made great gifts as a thank you or a birthday. A bed and breakfast close by asks for arrangements in the summer. This hobby has been rewarding and educational, plus has given me another way to explore creating beauty. I am glad now I have a digital camera so I could make a collage of my favorite bouquets for this season.


Raymond Pert and The Deke gave me a third favorite book entitled The Complete Flower Arranger by Pamela Westland . Not only does this book illustrate how to create fresh flower arrangements, but shows dried designs, garlands, swags, wreaths, and pressed flowers. In the winter when seed catalogues arrive and we are all yearning for spring again I will post some flower suggestions for a cutting garden.

You can find other Sunday Scribblings with this title here.

Sibling Assignment #38: Road Trips Through North Idaho

Our sibling assignment this week was to take the song "Sleepless" our friend Tim O'Reilly had composed as a soundtrack and create a video of pictures we had taken or scanned. Then we were to post it on You Tube. I had never made a video or downloading anything on You Tube so this was quite the learning experience. You can view Raymond Pert's video here and Silver Valley Girl's here.
This was my composing process. I listened to the composition numerous times with my eyes closed to see what images came to me. I saw scenic pictures and people from my road trips this last year through northern Idaho. Tim grew up with us and shared many of the same images, so I also tried to imagine what he would see. Thanks so much Tim for the music. I love the song. Enjoy!

A Contrast of White and Blue: Road Trip Part 2: Jesuit Missions

When we took the recent road trip to the southern part of Ferry County we took time to appreciate the Catholic Missions located on the Colville Indian Reservation. The history behind the Catholic churches in the Inchelium area where I teach has been an important part of stories told by the elders when they remind us of the history of the area. The Jesuits ministered to Native Americans throughout the Pacific Northwest, beginning in the mid-1800s, and built many small churches for their congregations. In 1918 Jesuits built the first Catholic church in Inchelium and named it in honor of St. Celestine. The name may have had something to do with the Jesuit priest who built the church: Father Celestine Caldi. When the Columbia River was filled with the water from Coulee Dam to create Lake Roosevelt, the church from Old Inchelium was moved up the hill to its present location. The parish (pictured above) is called St. Michael's Mission. The first time I entered this parish much about it reminded me of the Cataldo Mission close to my hometown in Kellogg, Idaho. That day we also stopped at the other Catholic parish that used to serve the people in the south end of the reservation. It is called Rogers Bar Community Church (named for a gathering place/campground on a sand bar on Lake Roosevelt) and is located about twenty miles south of Inchelium on Silver Creek Road. It is used now twice a year for services and also for special events. I was awestruck by its beauty. The parish sits on a hill above Lake Roosevelt and is surrounded by trees and meadows. There is also a cemetery up the hill further. When you peak in the windows you can see Christ of the Columbia carved into the altar, but the statues and pews are covered with protective tarps. I loved the rich hue of the elderberries hanging from a branch at the entrance of the church. It is obvious parishioners take great pride in this building. It has been maintained beautifully. It was the location for our picnic lunch as we took a break during out road trip.Once again I gained new appreciation for the beauty of the buildings and scenery of the south end of the county in which I live. It was a glorious road trip.