Spring

We had our first taste of spring this week. It was short, but it still gave me something to look forward to. One afternoon I went down to the Clark Fork River with Max and Evan. Max is one of Erik and Kendra’s dogs and he has been a great dog-friend in Buck’s absence. His excitement could not be contained when Evan would break a branch off of driftwood to throw for him. He would start this anxious barking as he danced around on the sand, desperately needing the stick that was about to be broken off and thrown into the water for his retrieval. The river was still low, and as a result a wide bank was exposed that Max could run along, and made for perfect walks and explorations of the riverside. Unfortunately, the water level is already creeping up and eating away at the exposed sand destroying my precious haven. For me there is nothing more peaceful and rejuvenating than walking next to the water, so close I could enter if I wanted to. I am sure there will be new retreats found, but probably not as close to home as this one.

Clark Fork is mostly clear of snow, but in Montana, where the school is, there is still a good foot on the ground in places. Some days it seems like spring will never come, namely today. Just looking outside at the overcast skies and lighting a fire in the woodstove to keep warm reminds me that it is not yet here.

Rosco & Max

A lot of people have been asking me if I am getting a new dog. After the short stint with Chloe I was all set to get a purebred Wheaten Terrier puppy in the spring, regardless of the ridiculous amount of money it was going to cost me. Why a Wheaten Terrier? They have fluffy coats (which I love), but they do not shed. This was the same case with Buck. I did not realize it until I had him for awhile, but it was definitely a benefit. My Aunt and Uncle have also had a few Wheaten Terriers and I loved the temperament, particularly the never ending energy. This was something that would usually get to me about Buck, but the annoyance usually quickly passed and his spunk would rub off on me. Although I do remember the time I was down with the flu and he wanted to play so bad. I went out and got him a few new toys and it gave me the peace and quiet to take a nap. The other big reasons for going with a puppy was that I wanted to start from the beginning and not worry about whatever baggage the dog might be bringing into the relationship that I was unaware of and really did not know how to deal with.

With the new stress of my new position at work, I decided to go against getting a puppy at this moment. I just started to realize that I did not have the time or energy to spend entertaining and training a puppy as much as I wanted to. My solution became very clear to me soon after moving in with Erik and Kendra. Their two dogs Rosco and Max are always ready for a walk, or to force me to come out of a funk and just love them. Rosco is an 10 month old Doberman-golden retriever mix, or in other words a very large, dumb puppy who will do anything for a little attention, including shove Max out of the way. Max is an eight year old Whippet mix with a very calm temperament. His eyes are soulful and he looks wise beyond his years. The dogs were quick to accept me as part of the household. In the mornings, Rosco will sometimes bark at the bathroom door because he has not yet had a chance to say good morning, or received a scratch behind the ears from me. Max is much more patient and will lie down in my room, right by the door to get his morning butt scratch. In the evenings, Max tries to persuade me into letting him up on the bed. He will come into my room at night, turn his eyes up to me, lay his ears back and give little sad moans as if to say, “Can I please come up there, please?” Occasionally, I agree.

Until I am ready for a new puppy, Rosco and Max are more than willing to fill the hole that Buck left in my life.

My Moose

Meet my moose. It is just a baby, but it is mine. I was busy in the kitchen making a mushroom, artichoke, bacon frittata from Bon Appetit for Erik, Kendra and I when I got the call. Kendra was on the phone with a neighbor who mentioned the moose across the street. I left Kendra in charge of the frittata, grabbed my boots and camera and was out the door. “Watch out for the momma!” Erik called after me. I rushed down the stairs imaging a large moose charging my car. I drove down Main Street to Third Street and low and behold, there was my moose sitting in someone’s backyard munching away on some poor yard that had barely made it through the winter itself. It is important to note that yes, the moose was spotted on Main Street and Third Street. My point being that is was spotted in the center of town, and not on the outskirts of town. Quite the change from metro Detroit…

P.S. The frittata still turned out great.

Moose

Well, nature gave me a birthday present. Yesterday, Erik, Kendra, Rosco, & Max and I all went for a little ski after work. I saw my first moose. Do not get too excited. I do not have pictures, and it was all a little anti-climatic because the moose was on one side of Lighting Creek and we were on the other. Nevertheless, I have seen a moose. I am still waiting for an up close and personal sighting, but this should tide me over for now...

Big City Girl

Big city girl, but only for the weekend. I took all the extra time I have been working to do enrollments and took a mini vacation to go visit Maureen in San Diego. Bobby is away at camp Irwin for two weeks so it seems to be perfect timing. Although, I hope Bobby does not develop a complex seeing as I only visit Maureen when he is not around...it just gives us that much more time to "play sisters."

I moved to ClarkFork, Idaho about two weeks ago. The population there is about 530 people, so when I say I am a big city girl for the weekend, I really mean it. ClarkFork is significantly closer to the school, and I was already staying there 2-3 times a week with good friends of mine. We talked about me moving in, I put my place up for sublet, and before I knew it I needed to be moved out by the end of the month. So far things have been great, although I do not have Internet there yet, so it has been hard for me to keep this updated, or even keep in touch. I spent all yesterday morning just writing emails while Maureen was at work. My cell phone also does not have service in ClarkFork, but I usually forward it to the house line or check messages, so no need to worry about a new number.

Just a short check in. I have got to get all dolled up, and put on my "gems" (Maureen's word for jewelry) for our trip to La Jolla for table side guacamole. They bring out all the ingredients and make it right in front of you. This is my favorite thing to do when I visit her, well besides shop and enjoy the sun.

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.