Life in the Inland NW

Now that we are back in Spokane, in our new house, life has settled down a bit and we are getting a good glimpse at what life will be like long term. School for me is over, residency is over, and fellowship is over. The first few years of practice will be busy, but I personally have tried to settle into life as I'm hoping it will be long term. This means getting a few more ski days each winter and spending more time outdoors and on my bike in the warm months. So far I've done pretty well. An "epic" winter (and I use the word "epic" very carefully, since it tends to be thrown around too much by some dudes) helped me get some great powder days in and really get my tele turn down--until I was sidelined for a while with a rib injury. There were a few solo ski days where conditions were so good I could hardly stand the wait in the chairlift, and a few rides down that were so exhilarating I could hardly keep the expletives in my head. I meant to write about some of these great days on my blog earlier but never got to it. Several days I had the clear impression that in order to move from here I'd have to be literally dragged by my ankles while clawing at the ponderosa bark and basalt.

Now that it is Spring, and one of the great things about living here is that there are actually four distinct seasons, I'm spending more time biking than I have in past years. And, like with skiing, I've had a few distinct moments while biking where I've had the overwhelming feeling that I'm in the right place and I'm not going to leave. That said, I've made a point of taking some occasional photos while riding to capture the great local scenery I get to see every ride. Another great thing about where we live is the open spaces. I can set off in any direction from my house and ride through wooded valleys or along rolling fields.

This is along Hangman Valley Road, with Latah creek along the right side, below the road. This is my regular daily ride route along the main road by our house. Up the road a few miles is a 2 mile hill where I measure my progress (how fast, how high a cadence, how high a gear I can ride up it). The road eventually hits a highway that is the entry point to an endless combination of quiet farm roads for nearly traffic free riding.

This is along Valley Chapel Road, a classic local ride off Palouse Highway. This photo is at the top of a challenging, sustained draw that exits from a nice wooded valley to the fields of the Palouse. I should have gotten some photos of the valley as well, since it is quite picturesque, but sometimes I don't want to stop riding just for photos.

This is further down Valley Chapel, an attempt to show tower mountain in the distance. Tower mountain is sort of the highest point along the south side of Spokane. The ride, as I like to do it, winds back around closer to this mountain. You'll just have to take my word for it that with the wide open sky and clouds, the scene was very striking in real life. Hard to capture on a cell phone camera.

This final photo was from my ride today, where I skirted the south hill neighborhood. A light rain kept the first half of the ride nice and cool. And as the rain moved on, the same rain graced me with a rainbow. Not a bad day.

So anyway, I just thought I'd share a few good moments that I think are the essence of a good life. I really don't have much to complain about.

Genius Lists

Throughout the day random thoughts come to me. Whether it is in the wee morning hours when I'm barely awake, or when I'm driving to work, barely awake, there are occasional ideas that zip through my head that I could swear were pure genius. This has been happening for years. Unfortunately, many of these ideas and thoughts are forgotten as quickly as they are realized. Until recently.

A few weeks ago while driving to work I had a really funny thought, or at least it left an impression on me that it was funny because I couldn't remember specifically what it was. I tried several times to remember what it was so that I could tell Veep, because I knew she would think it was funny too. So in my frustration to remember what my really funny thought was, I decided to write down a few passing ideas I have had lately. These took the form of two lists, which are in no way complete. They are, however, somewhat telling as to who I am or at least my sense of humor. So here they are. I hope you find them as amusing as I think I thought they were (I can't remember for sure how amusing I really thought they were but oh well).

Things I like

snow

cereal

bicycles

shelves

laptop computers

legos

college basketball

driving video games

skate videos

backpacks

pepperoni pizza

getting comments on my sad little blog

Things I don't like

rain

the expressions "you go girl", "da bomb", "my bad", and "don't go there"

billboards

flies

fannypacks

NBA players

SUVs with shiny chrome wheels that spin backward

tattoos

NPR pledge drives

people who make microwave popcorn at work (especially before lunch)

committee meetings

babies with faux-hawks

people who sign emails with "cheers"

Again, these are partial lists that I plan to add to as the seasonal winds of genius come and go. Stay tuned.

Since moving into our new house, I've spent some time going through boxes of stuff from childhood, college, and med school. It has been fun to look at things I'd forgotten about and be reminded of little gadgets and gizmos that I treasured as a kid. While I can remember many things that I no longer have, it was interesting to see things that somehow made it from Rosewood Court to Hangman lane (our new address--scary I know).

So, in the spirit of things that I treasure, and in the setting of a new house, I thought I'd share the parts of the house that so far speak the most to me. Indulge me if you will.

The first thing I want to mention is that I'm actually writing this post on my laptop while I lounge on my half of the bed with Sal sleeping soundly next to me. What's really cool is that I don't have all the photos that I'm posting on my computer's hard drive, but am accessing them through a wireless hard drive (Time Capsule for all you Mac faithful). So that's the first thing I'm really excited about--a wireless external hard drive that all the computers in the house can access (including the clunky PC in Schmoopie's room).

So, in short, this is the first part of the house that I like.

My half of the bed is near the door to the deck, as you can see. I've got plenty of room for stuff and can fit my nightstand next to the bed. This was not the case in our rental house where I was wedged into the corner of the room next to a louvered closet door with no room for a lamp or clock radio let alone a night stand.

The next thing that I'm enjoying is my own closet. Not much to say about this except that I can put whatever I want in it, including ski boots.

Another part of the house that I'm starting to enjoy is the basement. Though it is unfinished, it is heated and cooled so it is usable space, perfect for an exercise room. I just recently set up our old TV and got a cheap DVD player so that I can watch training videos (for biking) and Veep can watch whatever while we pedal.

Along those same lines, I have quickly come to appreciate the garage. This is something I knew I'd like, especially during this past winter. It is great having room for both of our cars plus plenty of room for camping stuff, skis, and bicycles. Oh yeah, and garden tools somewhere.

So there you have it, some of the treasured highlights of the new house. There are other things I appreciate about the place of course, but these are the things that probably make the most difference in my little world.

Elementary School Carnival Melodrama

If I keep waiting to post until I have photos or multimedia, it may be months. So pardon me for posting again without any photos etc., at least I'm posting.

Friday night was the annual school carnival. It seems that most parents dread the carnival with all the little homemade carnival games, cheap little prizes, and hordes of grade schoolers running wild. Usually I don't look forward to it either, but for some reason I really liked it this year. I think maybe it was because while Veep manned the "magic postcard" booth, I got to run around with Sal and help him play some games. And he was so excited to play them all. He won a two liter bottle of soda on his first try at the ring toss, did a good job digging through a metric yard of cooked spaghetti to find a little yellow happyface superball, and waited so patiently in line for twenty minutes to get his face painted with two big bumblebees (one on each cheek). Fortunately he didn't win a gold fish at the ping pong ball toss, taking home two small plastic fishes as a consolation prize instead (despite getting to stand closer to the table with the fish bowls because he was smaller than the other kids).

Unfortunately, however, both Schmoopie and Boofis, unbeknownst to their parents, kept playing the ping pong game until they each won a gold fish. They spent the night at their friends house where they transferred their fish to small bowls, after treating the water with some "de-chlorination" drops. Schmoopie's fish, now named Kettle, was a little larger and made the transition just fine, constantly swimming into the wall of the bowl and exploring her new surroundings. Boofis' fish, named Dizzy, made the transition as well, but without as much vitality and, alas, died this evening.

Now anyone who knows Boofis very well, knows that she is definitely our sensitive child. Every time Veep heads home from a Utah visit, the drive is peppered with episodes of sobbing and crying hiccups. So, when I broke the news to her about Dizzy's passing, I was prepared for at least a half hour of crying. It was sad. Dizzy was a cute little gold fish. But then that was his problem, he was probably a little too small. I think it was good for Boofis to gain an understanding of death in nature, as cliche as the situation was. But also cruel because she is the one child who has really wanted a pet.

I'm kind of happy she is sensitive. I think I was a sensitive child (others may not, but I kind of think I was) and am kind of sad to see kids lose their sensitivity. I guess it is kind of a yearning for the kids to stay young. Life will be difficult, confusing, and complex soon enough. Let her cry for a little fish she only knew for a matter of hours and retain her innocence. Anyway, that was one of the highlights of my day, holding my eight year old daughter while she mourned for her goldfish. It was a good day.

Snow Report

It's been dumping here.

Snow days

This past week we've gotten a lot of snow.  School was out all week and there are piles of snow in our yard higher than my waist (and my waist is pretty high).  We've had to dig out our cars and maintain little parking areas carved out of the snow banks in front of our house.  While there have been incessant updates on road conditions on the local new, I think it has been quite fun.  I have always liked snow, but over the past few years as I have started skiing again, I've developed a real obsession with it.  So last Saturday morning, when the snow started to dump, I was very excited.  I bounced around the house Saturday afternoon watching it start to pile up.  It kept snowing all afternoon and evening.  When I came home from work at 11:30 pm (I was working the evening shift all week) it was still coming down.  When I got up early Sunday morning it was still snowing hard.  I'd look out the window, then look at the all weather station doppler radar to see if it was going to stop soon.  But it didn't.  It just kept snowing.  By mid morning it was clear that there was a lot of snow on the ground.  Church was cancelled and it was officially time to go outside.  After doing a good 45 minutes of shoveling, the front walk and sidewalk were cleared.  We got the kids suited up and strapped the snow shoes on for a walk to the park.  Sal rode in the sled as we made our way through an ocean of deep snow.  A few stretches of sidewalk were clear from conscientious home owners, but the snow was quickly filling in again.  We swam around in the snow at the park, the kids rode down a few hills on the sled, and we headed home. 

Then came Monday.  The stars were aligned and karma was smiling down on me.  I had the day off.  There were over two feet of new snow at the local resort.  There was blue sky and sunshine.  It was a Monday and the local ski hill was empty.  I had just gotten my skis tuned and waxed.

So I got up early and drove up to Mt. Spokane to ski.  Do you remember that feeling you would get right after the final bell on the last day of school?  That electric feeling of liberation?  The smile you didn't realize was plastered to your face as you ran home to get started on your summer vacation, even though you had no idea what you were going to do with the rest of your day?  That was how I felt for a solid three hours as I made first tracks again and again and again.  It was one of those experiences where the essence of the moment was strong enough to soak in for hours.

Luckily I had my little cell phone camera with my.
Uncharacteristically I snapped a few pictures.  Here is my first ride
up.  What you probably can't appreciate is the untouched powder, smooth
and deep, on the hill below.

The next photo is at the top of a glade on my third or fourth run.
What the camera phone doesn't show are the tracks below that I made
before.

The third photo is from the bottom of my first run.  Again, I don't
think you can make out my tracks, but that is what I was trying to
capture.

And the last photo, well, probably doesn't need much explanation. 

So all in all it was a great morning,

Then tragedy.  Well, not really tragedy, but the day ended sooner
than I wanted when I missed a turn, went over head first, landed on my
upper back, and folded like a taco.  Somehow I hit my lower left rib
cage against my abdomen or spine or something, and either broke the
cartilaginous part of my ribs, or severely bruised them. 

 

Regardless, I
was in pain and couldn't ski anymore.  So, tail between my legs, I
limped home.  The good new is the x-rays didn't show any broken bones
and I healed quickly (so quick that 4 days later Veep and I got a
sitter and did some night skiing in about another new foot of snow).
And of course here's the proof.

 

In case you were wondering, the little bb marker on the second x-ray is where it hurt.

House Update

For those of you who find it irritating when people talk about the house they're building, you may not want to read this post.  However, I will make this update mostly photos so that it doesn't get obnoxious. 

They are doing the finishes now--floors, cabinets, trim.  This first photo was taken from the back of the great room looking at the "bridge" on the second floor.  Sal and I are present for scale (I didn't shower that day if you can't tell)

This is taken from the front entryway, looking up at the great room timbers and the "bridge" from the other side.

Here is a photo of the kitchen with the cabinets in place taken from the hallway from the garage, looking toward the great room.  The island is looking quite big.

Here is another look at the timbers in the great room.

This is the master bedroom.  The wood floors have been laid and sanded, but not stained or sealed (for some reason the picture uploaded sideways).  The deck has been put on, but no railing yet.

The laundry room.

Sal's room and bathroom tile.

Schmoopie's room.

The view from Boofis' bedroom.

Sal demonstrating the little pocket door between Schmoopie's and Boofis' closets.

The big garage and my office.

Looking down from the bridge to the entry and stairway.

Doors into the family room/TV room/library from the entry.

Second floor looking from the top of the stairs (the end where Sal's bedroom and my office are) towards the  "bridge" and the end where Schmoopie's and Boofis' bedrooms are.

Another shot of the kitchen, this time from the great room.

So there you have it.  We're supposed to move in March 1st and look to be well within the schedule for this to happen.  We're getting kind of tired and cramped in the house
we're living in now.  It is clear that the room the girls are sharing is just too small.  And Schmoopie is getting to the age where she really needs more privacy.   It will be nice to once again have a master bathroom, and though I didn't show them, Veep and I both have our own closets.  It is all very exciting and I must say we all feel very lucky to have the opportunity to live in such a nice house.