A White Christmas after all

Well, after days and days of no snow, in fact, no precipitation at all, we got about 3" of snow on Christmas Eve. How perfect was that? For you Whitworth students, I don't think Spokane got much, although the north end of Spokane does tend to get more than downtown and the Valley. We spent Christmas day at our oldest son's house in the Spokane Valley, which had no snow, but we had awakened to snow on Christmas morning. There was even more snow when we got home at about 6:30PM. It hasn't snowed since, and I don't think any more is predicted for several days, to the chagrin of the ski resorts. It was nice to have a White Christmas, though. It was as it should be.

I'm too busy for my blog, too busy for my blog...

Okay, you have to remember Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy in order to get the title. I can't help it, I love that song. But I have a good reason. My favorite uncle in the world, Nick, is the coolest person and so much fun to hang out with. When Jonathan was about 10 we went to Disneyland for his first time. During that trip, we met my uncle in Balboa, where we all stayed for a week. Nick has worked out for pretty much his whole life. Unfortunately, unlike my husband, he was not blessed with great genetics. He has a great physique, especially for a guy his age (he's in his 60's now), but he will never have the symmetry and muscle shape of a bodybuilder. Tom, on the other hand, has great genetics. He has huge biceps (19-20"), great round shoulders, great triceps that are very defined, great pectorals...he's just one of those people who make you sick because he looks so great and can eat just about anything. Anyway, Nick always teases Tom about how Tom will never be as big as him, never have as great a body as him, etc. During our visit in Balboa as we were all walking around in shorts and tank tops, Nick kept singing "I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shorts, too sexy for my clothes" and just cracking us up. It was just the way he'd launch into that song at a moment's notice and the huge smile on his face and his laugh. I suppose you had to be there, but it's a great memory of a great trip and a great uncle. I can never hear I'm Too Sexy without thinking of Nick. In fact, on my last cell phone I downloaded I'm Too Sexy as a ringtone for Nick. It was great.

Anyway, I've been way too busy to blog or work on my novel. Between setting up the 34 new Dell computers we just got in at work, Christmas shopping, wrapping, and decorating, and just plain LIFE, I have had zero time to blog. So... that's it. This is just an interim post to say

Merry Christmas to everyone! Happy New Year to you too!!!!

Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink

Well, this weekend could not have been more of a disaster if we'd planned it - but it does have a happy ending. Saturday morning I went to throw some trash in the garbage cans. This entails going through the laundry room to the garage. My cat had been acting strangely, "asking" me to go into the laundry room for some reason, which I suspected was her way of telling me her catbox needed cleaning. As I approached the door to the laundry room I saw water. Uh-oh! Even without my contacts in I could see water covering the floor. I hollered "Honey, we have a problem!" Tom came down the hall and instantly his face filled with dread. He got out the shop vac and started sucking up the water as I attempted to rescue the things that were on the floor, now soaking wet, like the box of laundry soap, the litter box, and some laundry waiting to be washed. I grabbed every available towel to help soak up water while Tom vacuumed. At that point we weren't sure if it was the water heater or the washer. It didn't look like nearly enough water to have come from the 40 gallon water heater. I crossed my fingers and hoped it was the washer. I wouldn't mind getting a new one. ;) That was not to be the case. During the water-sucking phase, as Tom cleaned up around the water heater, he saw water dribbling out of the overflow pan on the bottom of the water heater. Ugh. Once the water was cleaned up, we tried to relight the pilot. No gas seemed to be coming out, which was odd. Tom got down and looked inside where the pilot should have been. That was when he saw the pinhole in the tank with water spraying out of it. Great. Saturday morning... no one is open. I knew this was going to be expensive!

Our gas water heater is power vented. In most installations, the water heater is vented up through the ceiling/roof. If, for some reason, it cannot be vented straight up and needs any sort of turns in the vent pipe at all, one must install a power-vented unit. In our case, we have cathedral ceilings throughout the house. The water heater happens to sit in a spot where the ceiling is 15 feet above it. We didn't want an ugly pipe going all the way up to the ceiling so we cut a hole in the wall to the outside (it sits right next to an exterior wall) and installed a power vent model. Unfortunately, that makes replacing it an ordeal. First of all, we had to find another power vent water heater from someplace that was open on a Saturday. That immediately x's out the plumbing supply houses. Secondly, it had to fit some very specific dimensions. It couldn't be taller than the existing water heater or we'd be looking at cutting a new hole in the wall...not an option. It couldn't be more than 3" greater in diameter or it wouldn't fit into the spot of the existing one thanks to where the last plumber put the gas piping. I started making phone calls.

I got in touch with one plumbing outfit. They had no water heaters in stock but could do the work if we got a water heater - for a rather hefty price. I called every place in Sandpoint I could think of that might carry water heaters. Many did have water heaters, just not power vented ones. Sears was our best shot. They had one in stock, but we needed to measure it to see if it would fit. We trekked over there, got them to open up the box, and realized it was 2" too tall. We talked to the plumber again who said he might be able to get one of the plumbing supply houses to open up and check their stock. In the meantime, we have no water, can't take showers, and have our granddaughter's birthday party to go to. On top of that, Jonathan was coming home to study for finals and was hoping I'd help quiz him on some stuff. By 1PM we were no closer to having water, a water heater, or any resolution to the problem. I called Home Depot in Coeur d'Alene. They had one that sounded like it would work - and it was not that expensive - $389 (the Kenmore was $519). We were starved and frustrated. We decided that, in lieu of a shower, we could jump into the hot tub and at least get a little cleaner. We took about a half hour soak, made ourselves halfway presentable, and went to grab a burger. While we were eating, the plumber called. The plumbing supply house had one that would fit - it was actually about 9" shorter and we could do shorter - but it was $785!!! Yikes! We heard all about how much better quality it was, blah, blah, blah, and how Home Depot sells inferior quality, blah, blah, blah... We passed. We decided we had to do the birthday party at 5, then head to CdA to Home Depot to get the water heater.

While at the party, Jonathan arrived from Spokane. He decided to go home and begin studying after the party while we trekked to CdA. After an hour, we bade everyone goodbye and headed down the road. We got to Home Depot about 7:30. We still weren't positive this unit would be the right height, but we had no other options. When we got to Home Depot, we headed to the water heater section. We ran into Dwayne. The guy was amazing! He'd been a plumber for 28 years before going to work for Home Depot. He tore the box open so we could take measurements. Yes!! It would work! Then, he proceeded to explain to Tom and me how to go about putting together the piping for the pressure relief valve in a way that would not require soldering. He was soooooo helpful! If I could give this guy an award, I would! I will call Home Depot today to tell them exactly what I think of the guy. I hope when the new Home Depot in Sandpoint opens next month, we have a guy like Dwayne working there! So, we got the parts, the water heater, and the instruction for a "mere" $425 (much, much cheaper than the local plumbing supply house) and headed back home. Oh, and Dwayne set us straight about Home Depot's "inferior" quality products. He told us that their products are all made by Rheem or Reliance, the two biggest names in water heaters, and there is nothing inferior about them at all. Considering this water heater has a longer warranty (it's a GE made by Rheem) than the last one, which came from a plumbing supply house, I think I'm going to believe Dwayne. I think local merchants that are afraid of being put out of business by Home Depot have a habit of knocking the quality of their products, saying that's why they're so cheap. In reality, it's because Home Depot buys for 2,000 stores, not one or two. Three cheers for Home Depot!

We got home about 9:30PM. Jonathan helped Tom unload the water heater. Then the trick would be putting it in place. That required that it be lifted up over the gas piping - about 8" - and set down in place. Tom got on his knees and lifted straight up while Jonathan and I just guided it into place. Then Tom let it down. Wow, am I glad he's as strong as he is!!! No mortal could have done this. It was a real feat of strength! Phew! So, water heater is in place. Now we start assembling the blower unit on top, the venting, etc. We have glitches, but it finally gets put together. Ready to fill it up. Disaster. The water pipe that lets water into the tank has a leak - undoubtedly a result of all the bending and tweaking Tom had to put it through to make room for the blower unit. It's 20 years old, so it's not surprising that it developed a pinhole leak. By this time, it's late - midnight - and we're tired, frustrated, and ready for bed - and I haven't been able to help Jonathan at all yet. We get to bed about 1 AM. At 7:45 AM Sunday, in the middle of a very involved dream, Tom wakes me up. He has been up for who knows how long trying to get the old pipe off so he can put a new one on. It won't come off. The book we have on plumbing says that he needs a mapp torch. He only has propane. It specifically says that propane can't get hot enough to melt the non-lead solder. He figured if he heated it long enough, it would eventually work. After messing with it for another 15 minutes or so, I suggest we call a plumber. I figured we'd spend 3 or 4 hours on this project whereas a plumber could knock it out in no time. He acquiesced. I called the guy I'd spoken with Saturday. For $97.50 an hour with a one hour minimum, he could do the work. He arrived about 9:45. He had the pipe off in about 1 minute. The way the old pipe came off the wall, it was a really tight squeeze for the blower to fit. Turned out we needed a new valve anyway, so he just redid that whole connection so we had more room for the blower, a new valve, and new pipe to the tank. $129.50 for parts and labor. All that was left to do was connect the gas, which required I go to the Co-op and get the fitting. There were some snafus there too, but we finally got the right size fitting, hooked up the gas, turned the power on, and voila! - the heater fired up and started heating water. In no time at all, the water was heated and I could start laundry, showers, etc. By the time we finished, it was 1:30 PM. I finally was able to sit down with Jonathan and quiz him on stuff for his tests, help him ponder through various questions for which he had to develop essays, etc. It wasn't the weekend we'd hoped for, but it turned out okay. I know one thing for sure - when this water heater fails, we're getting a tankless one! Had we been able to find one that was power vented, we'd have installed one yesterday. They cost at least twice as much, but you never have this problem of waking up to a flood in your laundry room, you don't spend money heating a tank of water that's just sitting there most of the time (it heats water on demand instead, which is MUCH cheaper), and it woulk likely last the rest of our lives. This is the second water heater we've replaced in 20 years, which means their average life span has been 10 years. I suspect in the not too distant future, tank water heaters will be a thing of the past.

Now, off to work to begin the installation of 34 new Dell computers. This will be an intersting week. It's "peak" at FedEx, which means Tom is working a zillion hours a day and will work Saturday. On a bright note, Jonathan comes home for Christmas Break on Friday. It will be nice to have him home. He's looking forward to seeing his best friend who goes to Georgia Tech. The holiday season has begun!

The week in review

What a week this has been! I got an email from sister about the post about Mom. I guess I made her cry. That was not my intention. I just needed to put down my thoughts. I was happy to see that she reads my blog! Hi Richele! :)

My husband has been battling basal and squamous cell carcinomas for the past few years. He is plagued by them on his shoulders, upper chest, and face. He has had six Mohs surgeries - where they cut out the part of the tumor that they can see with the naked eye, freeze it, and send it to the lab. The lab immediately (while he's in the chair, locally anesthetized) looks at the tissue and tells the doctor to either cut more or that he's gotten it all - he has clean margins, in medical lingo. The process is lengthy. Never does the first cut get it all. When he had two tumors removed from his face, it took nearly all day. These surgeries take place in Spokane, so we have the trek to and fro with which to contend. After the facial carcinomas were removed, we returned to Spokane the following day to see the plastic surgeon who closed the wounds. Tom was administered a general anesthetic for that surgery. As a result, he was nauseous and vomited all the way home. Needless to say, these surgeries are something he dreads. He keeps the carcinomas in check by applying a topical chemotherapy product to his face at various intervals throughout the year. The goal is to catch the precancerous cells, actinic keratoses, before they morph into carcinomas. The week of Thanksgiving he saw the dermatologist's physician's assistant for his semi-annual checkup. He had one spot that bothered him. It had been frozen about 8 months earlier and had never seemed to heal properly. It looked like a weird kind of scar, dark pink and about the size of a BB. She decided to biopsy it. Last Friday the doctor called and left a message. Tom needed more surgery and he needed to talk to him about it. Tom was imagining the worst - more Mohs, more plastic surgery. He wasn't prepared for what was to come. He finally talked with the doctor on Tuesday. He has a form of melanoma. It's not malignant, thankfully, but it is locally invasive, agressive, and can metastasize. It's called atypical fibroxanthoma melanoma, or AFX melanoma. Just the word melanoma is enough to scare the hell out of you. I looked it up on the Internet and found out that he won't die from it, as long as he gets it removed. The doctor said he probably won't get more of them - but then again, he may. Tom is freaking out because he now has to go to an oncologist to have it removed. His doctor won't do these, even though he's one of the top Mohs surgeons in the country. Apparently, to make sure you get it all, you have to do the surgery in a hospital setting with different lab techniques. So, his consultation with the oncologist is the 30th. The surgery is scheduled for January 7. Hopefully, the excision will be small and his face will heal quickly and invisibly. You can't even see the scars from the previous Mohs surgeries. This tumor is just to the left of his left eye, between the eye and temple. It will be an interesting new year. We welcome all prayers!!!

Today is my granddaughter Olivia's birthday! She is six! She is having her birthday party tomorrow at Pizza Hut. She is so excited about it, but even more excited that her little friend, Lindsay, is spending TWO nights with her. I stopped by after work today to give her a birthday kiss and hug and she was all a-twitter. She, her friend and her little brother Tyler were running all over the house, screaming and being silly. It's so fun to watch the kids when they're so happy.

I got 34 new computers in at work today. My work is definitely cut out for me. I have to put those into place, rotate the computers they replace down to replace older more pathetic models, reinstall the applications, make sure everything is configured properly, and figure out where we're going to store the still-working computers that we will replace but not put into use at this time. We're going to store them so that, over the next two years, as the ones we're using now that are 5 years old die, I can pull one from storage and plop it into place. I am excited about having new computers for the patrons. Hopefully, I won't be called ten times a day to come down to help a patron with a computer problem. Then again, I probably WILL because they will be able to do more things, like save to a CD, and they won't know how so they'll need help. Oh well, job security!

Well, it's pouring rain, melting all the snow, it's getting late, Tom's on his way home, so I'm going to start dinner. Have a great weekend everyone!

A Day That Will Live in Infamy

29 years ago today my mother took her life. It would be so much easier if this day could just pass anonymously, but due to the Pearl Harbor Day hoopla, it never does. I woke up and didn't even notice the date on the calendar - until the newspaper arrived. There, proclaimed in headline font, was the reminder - Pearl Harbor Day. Ugh. I don't dwell on her death or its anniversary, but on this day there is a sort of air of melancholy that seems to settle on my world. It's as if I'm somehow a bit more aware of her absence today. I find myself missing her more than usual. I ponder the "what-ifs" just a bit more. I do miss her. She was an amazing woman, a wonderful mother, a terrific wife. Sadly, she suffered from manic-depression in an era before they knew about things like lithium. If she were alive now, she'd be easily treated, like Patty Duke has been. In the 70's the solution was to try to sedate these people with Valium. Nice try guys... doesn't work.

I knew my mom well enough to know that her suicide was not a commentary on her relationship with us kids. She had lived a life of pain and anguish, brightened by her four children and others she loved with all her heart. She was a brilliant woman, admired and respected by all who knew her. With the exception of her closest friends and family, no one knew the demon she battled. Her death came as a shock to so many, but not to her loved ones. She had attempted to end her life on several occasions. When she finally was truly ready, she did so in a way that left no doubt as to its success. As sad as her death was, as great a loss as it was to those who knew and loved her, I know God had a plan even in this. All four of her children have come to know the Lord since her death - likely as a result of it. Just as important, her dear brother, a man that had spent nearly half his life addicted to heroin and that she had helped begin a new life, free from drugs, also became a Christian. I'm convinced Mom is looking down on all of us and smiling. I only wish my husband and children could have known her. She would have loved them all so much and they her. So, on this 29th anniversary of her death, I wanted to say "Mom, I love you. I miss you every day. I can't wait to see you again!"

Walking in a winter wonderland

Yes, folks, another post about the weather. You see, it finally looks like winter outside. It is snowing as I type and it's been snowing pretty much all day. The trees now have that Currier & Ives look to them, as does most of landscape. Looking out my window here at work I feel like I'm in a snow globe someone has just shaken. It really is beautiful - until I have to drive home in it tonight. I would have to say this is the first real snowstorm of the winter. It likely won't amount to huge accumulations, but it is honest-to-goodness snowing outside and things are very wintry looking. Skiers rejoice! Winter has arrived.

Flaky weather prediction

They couldn't have gotten it much more wrong than they did last week. On Friday, the weather forecasters were predicting possibly the biggest winter storm to hit in a decade. Some people greeted this prediction with enthusiasm, especially Schweitzer Ski Resort, Silver Mountain, Mount Spokane, and 49 Degrees North. Les Schwab was packed with procrastinators - those who have yet to mount their winter wheels and tires. The grocery stores were inundated with people buying supplies to get them through a weekend potentially without power. Those of us who've lived here for any length of time are well aware of how power can be interrupted during a winter storm. Even the library was preparing. We printed emergency closure signs "just in case". If the storm got bad enough, or the power failed, we would close for the day. I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was looking forward to our first real snowstorm of the season. It's always magical when we get dumped on. The landscape changes so dramatically. On the other hand, I was dreading it. We were planning to do our Christmas shopping in Spokane on Saturday. A big storm would definitely put those plans on hold. Also, Jonathan has been sick all week and, as is typical with college kids, he wasn't taking very good care of himself. We were going to take him some medicine, feed him a decent meal, buy him some supplies for his room (water, Mountain Dew, and Cup of Noodles) and make sure he was doing okay. We might not be able to make the trek if the roads were treacherous.

By Friday, there was not storm, no snow, nothing. A collective sigh of relief could be heard throughout the region. At least if the storm hit on the weekend we could all just stay home and hibernate. The winter storm watch remained in effect for that night and Saturday though. We held our breath. Saturday morning dawned to a landscape identical to the day before's. No snow. I looked on weather.com for the forecast. The winter storm warning and snow advisory were still in effect, the timing of the storm was just delayed a few hours. We decided to go ahead and make the trip to Spokane. This will likely be Tom's last weekend for shopping. By next weekend he'll be so swamped he'll probably have to work on Saturday. FedEx truly is Santa's shipper of choice this time of year.

We made it to Spokane, did our shopping (got it all done), then went to pick Jonathan up from school. We took him out for a burger at Red Robin, then made a stop at Safeway for supplies. I had already bought him the essential cold and flu remedies in Sandpoint, which I brought with me, so he was ready to face finals week (December 14-18) - at least physically. Let' s hope he's prepared mentally as well. By this time it was about 4:30PM - time to head back - and still no snow. Not even a flake. Wow, I couldn't recall when the forecasters had missed it so badly before. We thought we might be surprised when we reached Sandpoint because often it won't snow in Spokane but will dump on Sandpoint. Not this time. The storm was nowhere to be seen. It was a little disappointing. What on earth could have gone wrong with the forecast models?

Sunday's paper had an article explaining what went wrong. The storm apparently split at some point out in the Pacific with the major storm part going north to Canada while the milder part was what eventually reached us Sunday afternoon. We got a mere 1/2 inch of snow. At the moment it's lightly snowing, but we're not expecting much accumulation. I'm sure all the ski areas and skiers/snowboarders are disappointed. Those of us who have to drive in it, though, are not at all unhappy.

Off to face the day...

Eclectic writings

I've started another blog to which I will post various writings. Some will be poetry, perhaps some pages from the novel I keep threatening to write. A link to it is in my "blogs of note" list for those interested. There is one entry thus far (aside from the original one stating the purpose of the blog). I will welcome criticism as you feel inclined to give it. Enjoy.

I should be working out....

....instead, here I am, at my computer, as if I don't spend enough time here during working hours. What is wrong with me? Don't answer that. I really do need to get back into the workout groove though. I have realized I am woefully out of shape. Simple things, like putting the cover back on the barbecue, result in a pulled (in this case, rhomboid) muscle. That's not a good sign. It was not all that long ago that I was confident my physical condition and strength could carry me through just about anything. Now I struggle to keep from pulling muscles. I'm too young for this feeling.

I decided yesterday to begin getting back into the groove by going for a walk with a coworker at lunch. Just as we were preparing to depart, my brother IM'd me. I had not talked with him at length in ages, so I delayed the departure. I had a great chat with Michael, but by the time we finished I had about 20 minutes for the walk. Actually, my coworker had only 20 minutes as she has a defined lunch hour whereas I have total flexibility when it comes to my hours. We decided to go anyway. It was about 32 degrees out, but it didn't seem that cold once we started walking. It felt great to get out into the fresh air in the middle of the day - something I seldom have the opportunity, or rather, take the time, to do. Unfortunately, my ears started to ache so bad from the cold I could hardly stand it. They hurt on the inside and the outside and continued to hurt for several minutes after we returned to the library. It was not fun - and I have a very high tolerance for pain so you know it had to be bad. I now have to go invest in some ear muffs so I can continue these lunchtime walks. I've never worn ear muffs before. I don't even know where to buy ear muffs. Another coworker told me they make new, sleek ones so you don't look like you have Hostess Snowballs attached to the sides of your head. I wonder where you get those (the sleek ones, not the Snowball ones.)

My boss told me his doctor told him that full spectrum lights (which we have at the library) don't do a darned thing to help your pineal gland and that, this time of year in this part of the world, most people's pineal glands are not even functional. The only way to make it work again is to spend 30 minutes a day outdoors, regardless of whether it's sunny or cloudy, between 9AM and 2PM. Being in an office with windows doesn't count, nor does being in a vehicle all day. You have to be outside. That was the impetus for the walk. A non-functioning pineal gland leads to overeating, oversleeping, depression, weight gain, and a raft of other seasonally affected maladies. No wonder I struggle with my weight and my motivation to workout every winter. And as I age, the ability to lose the weight I gain becomes more of a struggle. Ugh.

So why am I sitting at my computer? Time to go to the gym! Ciao!

Paradise Found

I really do live in a beautiful place. As much as I am not a fan of winter, I have to admit that there is not much more beautiful and peaceful looking as a landscape covered in freshly fallen snow, especially when the sun is shining on it. I took a few more shots of my house and the end of my street in the midday light (as opposed to the somewhat gloomy early morning light).






I live in a neighborhood with its own beach. The beach is a little over a block away. I drove to the beach and took these shots of the view from the street above our beach. They are panoramic beginning looking east toward Montana and ending looking west toward town (Sandpoint). Our beach is actually down below and to the left by about 300 feet of the house under construction in the first photo. We have a lot above the beach with a picnic table, fire pit, BBQ, and parking and then the beach with a dock and launch ramp for our boats. Here's a map of our neighborhood. The beach is at the end of the road on the left that goes down to the water. It's 0.3 miles from the house.



Now for some photos of the lake... of course, you can click on these for larger versions.









This truly is a beautiful place in which to live!