CHIM-CHIMINEE, CHIM-CHIMINEE, CHIM-CHIM-CHEREE

"A sweep is as lucky as lucky can be."













"Or blow me a kiss -- and that's lucky, too."

JUST SOME PICTURES . . .

A cool but clear morning became a lovely afternoon with a high of 54 at 5:00. This daffodil is the first of the season in my yard though the neighbor's across the street with southern exposure bloomed last week.




We had time this morning to head out to Hellsgate State Park and pick up a geocache there. Then Mike gassed up the car while I bought some white baby yarn at Jo-Ann's. I finished the "vintage collection" afghan except for six hours of weaving yarn ends and now I'm experimenting with shawl patterns.


I thought this little corner of my rock garden was quite pretty -- purple crocus coming up in the agastache, I think it's called. I actually bought an agastache plant two years ago. It was somewhat expensive as I recall. And now it's coming up everywhere. That's the beauty of a weed garden! So, if you want some expensive weeds for your garden, be sure to check with me first. KW

TOWN TIME: COLD, COMPUTERS, AND COOKIES

Another time change – another adjustment. Today was crisply cold – still 34 when I took Nellie for her walk at 3:00. The paper says the overnight low might be 15 and that temps will warm to more nearly normal (highs in the 50s) later this week. I don't know if this cold snap will adversely affect fruit trees or not. Hopefully it's still too early to be a consideration and it won't last long.

Mike has never been exactly happy with the Dell computer we bought in 2005, so he has shopped and considered options and last Saturday he ordered a custom-built model from the local "computer guy." He'll pick it up this afternoon. It remains to be seen if this was really a good move. I so hope we like it. I don't use the "desk" computer much, but I need it for scanning and printing and I'm glad the new one is ready so quickly. The Dell will now replace the "slow-as-molasses" model on the farm.

Some weeks ago, two fifth-graders from Asotin Elementary School, one of them the next-door-neighbor, came to my house selling cookie dough – three dozen pre-shaped cookies, ready to bake, for ----- $15.00. I bought the oatmeal raisin variety. "Wow!" was Mike's response. "I agree with you," I explained. "But the neighbors helped our children when they had to sell stuff for the school, and we believe in helping the school and supporting the neighbors. So, I bought three dozen cookies for $15.00." Frankly, I would like to have ordered more, but that would have been six dozen cookies for $30.00. It just seems to get worse. I also briefly considered just making a donation to the school, but when I looked at the girls' shining faces – so happy that I might buy some cookies dough – I just couldn't say no. Anyway, the cookies were delivered this afternoon, so without further ado on this cold day, I'm baking them.

The thing is – I belong to an organization that asks each member to donate three dozen large home-baked cookies for a fundraising event, and those cookies are priced at $3.00 per baker's dozen. So, for three dozen, you would actually get 39 cookies for $9.00, and the cookies are already baked! Most people recognize that as a good deal – if they want cookies, that is. Last year we sold all the cookies and that was great. But I watched people think about spending that $3.00, and I wonder if our students are really successful with their sale in support of the school. And how much does the school realize from that $15.00? KW

MARCH – AND STILL WINTER

Last week we had some beautiful weather – almost warm. Mike and I talked about tilling the garden. I bought seeds. We'll try harder to have a vegetable garden this year. But this week we have a return of cold temps. The sun brought us into the low 40s today and lows overnight are expected in the 20s. Still, more crocus are blooming, the South Slope Nursery down the street from us is open, and don't forget to turn your clock back Sunday morning.

I was talking with a friend on the phone this morning. "Can you see the Lewiston Hill where you are?" she asked. "It's just beautiful with snow halfway down."No, I can't quite see the Lewiston Hill from my house, but I can see it when I take Nellie for her walk up South Slope. So, curious to see the beautiful site, after lunch I took Nellie and the camera and set out for higher ground. The photo to the left shows the Lewiston Hill dusted with snow.

This photo looks east over the Quail Ridge Golf Course to the Waha area. As you can see, it's not snowy in our immediate neighborhood.

And here's a picture of the Vintage Collection afghan in progress. Just two more rows to attach, the edging, and a lot of weaving loose ends. KW

A GRAY DAY IN PICTURES

Mike and I put Nellie in the Magnum this morning and headed out. Our first stop was the Ruth Modie Wildlife Park which the Modie Conservancy and the City of Lewiston have been in the process of developing for the last 20 years or so. Its location is a gully below Broadview Drive where we used to live. Mike placed a multi-cache there some years back which was in need of maintenance.
Those of you who have walked the trail through the park would notice a lot of change. The first photo shows the trail entrance at the top of 13 Street. The pyramidal structure is a small-scale copy of the original gateway markers such as those that are on 8^th Street near the former Christian Science Church. Here's a photo of one of the old markers and one of the new at the other end of the trail. Preserving these markers has been a goal of the Modie Conservancy and the copies have been placed along the path as a means of disseminating wildlife information. The path through the park includes benches, plantings, and now a dedicated parking lot and a rest station behind the Veterans' Home.


From the park we drove to the top of the Lewiston Hill and turned onto the Old Spiral Highway so that we could look for a geocache near the top. We found it handily even though we had come away with the wrong stack of "cheat sheets." Note that someone used this lovely spot to dump an old refrigerator and some trash. Yes, there were bottle caps; however, they had been carefully replaced on the bottles and I couldn't get them off. A bottle opener was standard in the glove compartment of my parents' car, but we don't carry one.





Luck was with us again at the next cache off Down River Road. "We" easily found that cache and Mike recorded it while I took pictures. Those of you who know Lewiston will see familiar landmarks in this photo. Sorry for the utility lines.

After lunch at Subway, we were unable to find a cache in the artistic fountain at the new Bank of Whitman building at Diagonal and Bridge Streets, so we went on to a site off Valley View above Vineland Cemetery. This picture of sailboats on the Snake was taken from that location. Look closely and you can see golfers at the Clarkston Country Club. While Mike found the cache I gathered a pocketful of bottle caps. Although this is an upscale residential area, it evidently appeals to teen-agers as a parking spot. Awful to see such trash anywhere but almost unthinkable right in the middle of such a nice area.
It's good to be home now. The temperature in the house is gradually rising while the outside temp begins to drop. We had hoped for a warmer day, but we had fun in spite of the chill in the air. KW

BACK TO BUSINESS

The shipping box from HP was delivered Wednesday. I immediately packed the laptop and Mike delivered it to FedEx for me yesterday (Thursday). Today I have confirmation that it was received at the HP work center. Projected return: January 26. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

Mike received a call from the manager of CashTyme yesterday evening. She wanted him to know the staff had been barraged with calls in anticipation of the opening of TaxTyme this morning. She said one woman planned to arrive at 7:00 a.m. and sit in the lot until they opened. So, Mike left the house at 7:00 and I haven't heard from him. Ken took Nellie hunting; she was so happy to see him!

And I -- I ran errands and went shopping in down town Clarkston. Lee Morris is closing after 90 years in business. It's amazing to me they held on this long. I never find anything there and today was no exception. I'm afraid when it comes to clothes, I'm among those expecting exceptional deals or I'm not interested. Boyer's Furniture is also closing. And those living out of the area may not know that Cliff Wasem and his wife were killed in a tragic car accident about two weeks ago. So the face of downtown Clarkston is undergoing some change.

Mike and I went to see Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino the other night. It was a good story and worth seeing -- at least once. I could re-write it more realistically and it would end much sooner. That's what I think! KW

HOME MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

We were watching one of those programs that provides tips on how to save money. "Learn to perform your own maintenance and repairs," said the presenter. That was not a new idea to us. In fact, I don't believe I've ever heard a savings tip that is news to us. But I don't believe I had ever heard that tip before. Most of the time we're encouraged to leave repairs to the professionals.

Mike has always serviced and maintained our vehicles, repaired and rebuilt lawn mowers, kept sprinkler systems operational, fixed leaky faucets, etc. In recent years he has learned to do even more. When the pump in the washing machine went out, he ordered the part and installed it. Last year he took Grandma Ina's treadle sewing machine apart, cleaned it, and put it back together. Putting it back together was the time-consuming part. The other day he fixed our garbage disposal and the "automatic" lid on our garbage can. And today he became a chimney sweep. The photo to the left shows him on an old stool, trying to free the broom that's stuck in the chimney. "*@#*!" he said; "that happened last year, too." Chimney sweeps probably don't use stools on the roof.

Intuitive Nellie wasn't sure what was happening, but she knew she didn't like it. She hid out in the corner of the kitchen while I mixed banana bread.

SPRING DISPLAYS

Here are some photos of our modular home after the spring cleaning I did last week. In the photo to the left you can see my shelf dolls. I’ve had them since early childhood, which means they show some light and dust damage. They probably have some value -- not as much as if they had been kept in pristine condition in their boxes. I displayed them with some teacups.

I guess the point of the photo on the right is that I really did put away the Christmas houses in favor of something more springlike.



And here's our table set for a spring tea.