My Own Private Idaho

Another trip to Moscow, another great weekend. After going to the city courthouse to get my Idaho driver's license Friday morning (yes, I am now officially a resident of Idaho!), I jumped in the car with my cousin Liz who I had picked up from the train station and headed down to Moscow. Liz is Nancy's daughter and she has been in Africa the last several months so she was antsy to get home. I had not seen her since my Grandma Maryanne's funeral almost four years ago, so it was a great chance to catch up with her.

Upon arrival, we did the short hike up to the house and I repeatedly fell off the path into snow up to my knees. As we came up to the house Nancy was outside mauling wood. I could barely believe it. Think you could give that a try, Dad? Hugs were given all around and then a snack of homemade granola and homemade applesauce was eaten as the sun shone in through the windows and the wood stove burned away. This was the prelude to a wonderful weekend. I slipped away upstairs and did something I almost never do; I took a nap. It was so wonderful being covered in a blanket of sunlight. After my nap, I curled up in a little corner of sunlight and got lost in my book as Nancy served me homemade tea from herbs picked from the yard last year. For dinner, Nancy made homemade spaghetti with morel mushrooms and venison with a side of homemade pesto which we lovingly spread over garlic bread that oozed butter and huge chunks of garlic. For dessert we had dried pears and plums. I topped it off with a glass or two of her homemade porter. Are you seeing a trend here?

In the morning, after sleeping in until the sun would no longer let me linger, I curled up with a cup of tea. Nancy made homemade waffles in her cast iron waffle maker and served them with homemade apricot-huckleberry jam, peach preserves, and apple sauce. It was hard to stop eating! My morning consisted of getting lost in my book, once again, and sipping a bottomless cup of tea. As Liz was heading to town, I decided to take a trip down the hill with her to move a little. Liz suggested we take the sleds. The house is on the top of a hill, with a winding road that leads up to it. In the center of that road there is a path in the snow beaten down from walking, and sledding. As hesitant as I was to ride a sled down a path in the center of winding road, I was not going to be shown up by Nancy. It was a ridiculous amount of fun. It was the type of fun where you just start laughing and cannot stop, and you are not even sure what you are laughing at. At one point the road turned left, and I continued straight off the road into the snow, but I could not have cared less.

After heading back up the hill I decided to go on a moose hunt. There is a moose that hangs around Nancy's place, and I had a feeling it wanted to be my moose. I gave Gus a pep talk and told him to guide me to the moose. I strapped on my snowshoes and we were off. Gus knew exactly what he was doing. He led me to moose poop, moose pee, moose hair, moose tracks, and even places where it was evident the moose had bedded down. At one point, I even heard a moose call. After leading me to a woodpecker, I knew the moose was next. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Gus took me up hills, and down hills, up the gully, and down the gully, under trees, and over trees, but there was no moose to be seen.


I spent the rest of my afternoon curled up next to the wood stove with Pooch (the cat) snuggled in my lap, my book in my hands, tea right beside me, and fresh baked bread to nibble on. Nancy was busy all afternoon baking homemade bread, peach-apple pie, and dying her hand spun wool. The sun started to heat up the front room and it felt as if I was sun bathing. I had to slide my sleeves up my arms and roll up my pants legs. I could close my eyes and imagine I was on a beach listening to Bob Dylan play on NPR. Ahhh, my own private Idaho.

After my fill of bread, pie, tea, and more spaghetti I knew it was time to start my trip home. Even though it was just over 24 hours, it felt as if I was there for days. The world melts away up there. I always get asked for pictures, and every time I am there I just cannot bear to do it. When I am up at the Someday House I look around me and there is nothing I could take a picture of that could convey the feeling of being there. That feeling is so amazing, I never want to try and confine it to a picture. It just is. I hope my words give you an idea.

Getting out of my Comfort Zone

What an awesome day! I went skiing with the kids at Schweitzer today and it was amazing. There was a clear, bluebird sky and it was in the 40's all day. Unbelievable. I spent the good part of the day with one of the girls that is a beginner skier. Chuck and Dennison kept asking if I wanted to go up the mountain, but I was just happy as can be working on my turns and practicing the technique I had learned during the lesson. The kids started to say that I needed to go up. I mentioned that I have a lot of anxiety around skiing, and they let it go. I started to think about that one. I work at an emotional growth boarding school. We push the kids to get out of their comfort zone. If I had been a student and said that they would have confronted me and practically insisted that we go up the mountain. I did a few new runs down on Midway and at the last meet-up decided to go for it. I went up to the top of the mountain with Dennison and some of the kids. It was so great. We skied across the ridge and then down the back of the mountain on some long, mellow runs. I loved it. I was so happy that I got out of my comfort zone, because my non-comfort zone was soooo much fun, and not all that uncomfortable. For me, skiing is not about can and cannot, it is more about what my mind will let me do when I let go of fear. After my ski I went on a walk over to the longbridge and it there was a gorgeous sunset reflecting on the mountains. The moon was rising, and I remembered why I love living here. I was in such a good mood from skiing I practically ran to the water today. I was so giddy to get there. It reminded me of Buck. He was definitely walking with me today because he was usually the one to run to the water, I guess I will have to take over for now.

Dogs & Moose

Last Sunday there was a close call. Brian and I were driving down the River Road very slow due to the slushy conditions. (Can you believe I was driving slow??) Ahead I spotted two large, yellow eyes moving in the road. "I think this is it!" I yelled to Brian. Brian, unaware of my non-moose sighting was a little confused as to what I was referring to. As we neared closer and I began to see the animal's large brown body I could feel my heart quicken. I was going to see my first moose. I was sorely disappointed when I realized this moose had no antlers and was a simple brown cow wandering aimlessly down the road. *sigh* Perhaps another day. I have put all my friends on moose alert. They are aware that if they see a moose they are to call me immediately and I will come to view the moose.

About four weeks ago I got a dog. About three weeks ago I returned said dog. Apparently, I was not yet ready to open my heart to a new dog. Or, the case may have been that I was not willing to open my heart to anyone. It was very bad timing and I picked the dog up two days after a very trying, and emotionally exhausting workshop at work. I do not think I would have bonded with any dog considering the state that I was in. She was a two year old Airedale Terrier - Golden Retriever mix. She also had a bit of baggage. She was extremely aggressive to Erik and Kendra's dogs, and considering the amount of time I spend at their place, I knew she had to go. This was in addition to jumping up on my desk and dining room table while I was gone at work and decapitating two of my favorite plants. Buck chewed on some things, but he did not kill anything! I also felt I was able to remedy Buck's chewing by showering him with bones and other chew able toys. How do you keep a dog from misbehaving when you are not home when she is a perfect angel when you are around? I think there was major separation anxiety. It all worked out for the best and she has been adopted into a new home. "Erin gets a new puppy 2008" will be postponed until spring...or summer considering the ridiculously wet spring we are going to have when the icebergs of Idaho melt.

another ski trip with the kids tomorrow....

State of Emergency

In case you have not heard, all the counties of northern Idaho (including mine, Bonner county) and eastern Washington have been declared to be in a state of emergency due to excessive snowfall. I think it is awesome. Well, the snow that is, not that we are in a state of emergency. I can only imagine what my life would be like if I were 50 years older, or lived up a mountain road that has not been plowed in days. For me, driving to work makes me kind of giddy. All I see is white and the snow is piled so high on either side of the road that it feels like I am driving through some sort of ice luge. It feels as if I am entering some crazy netherworld of snow. And then I get to campus. It is unbelievable. Snow burms along the paths are up to 15 feet high! In class on Thursday, I blazed through my lesson on active listening and then told the kids to suit up because we were going out to play. I cannot even begin to explain what it was like playing in snow like this. Just the mere act of jumping off the path into the snow was exhilarating. We raced up the snow burms, and then slid down them. We had a snowball fight, and did somersaults off railings into the snow. The only thing that was a little scary was when I would get to a point where it would be really hard to move because a limb or two was stuck so deep in the snow. It really made me think about what it would be like to get caught in an avalanche. After a long week, playing in the snow with my three kids was a great way to end it. We all needed it.

Pictures to follow soon...