I don't think it stopped all day long and even through most of the night.
Yesterday ranked as downright ugly weatherwise.
Snow, rain and slop.
Twas definitely a stay-inside day, and that was good because I watched basketball games off and on for 12 hours yesterday.
And, my bracket survived.
Am still sitting up there toward the top of 159 brackets in one of my pools.
Only four sit above me as the first weekend of March Madness ended.
This is a neat pool because half of the entry fees will go to Bonner County Homeless Transitions.
So, we all win by contributing to a community need.
The rain and snow have finally stopped this morning, and it was feeling balmy out there.
In two days we're supposed to enjoy a summerlike 65 degrees.
That will be good for the grass seed I've planted in two different spots.
We're definitely headed toward the good times and much more vibrant color outside.
For now, we'll keep slogging through the leftover slop. Maybe it will be mostly gone by evening.
Another great set of offerings at Pine Street Woods with its Folk School classes this spring.
What class would you pick?
When I see the course on making pine-needle baskets, I'm taken back to about 1957 when, as a 10-year-old, I started my 4-H career, taking arts and crafts and cooking, as well as my Hereford cow Dorothy.
At the time Lucille Hudon and Winifred Nikkola were the leaders. One of the ladies started us young' uns out on basket weaving.
I'm not sure if we used pine needles, but I wove a basket that sat on a small piece of plywood (around 3 inches square).
The basket worked its way upward, and, as usual, my finished product wasn't very attractive. It leaned off to one side like the Tower of Pisa.
But the basket remained with me, stored in various places throughout my adult life.
In fact, I think it may even be hidden away somewhere in this house in Selle.
Not the best basket in the world by any means but definitely meaningful in that I started and completed a project, which was pretty important for a 10-year-old.
That year I also learned how to make weanie boats and snickerdoodles for my Cooking I project.
My only problem in first-year 4-H, however, was neglecting to fill out my record book to be submitted and signed by my leader for entering my projects in the fair.
Since the record book was pretty much empty, except for maybe my name on the front, Mrs. Hudon would not sign it.
My mother was mad at me and at Mrs. Hudon, and I felt like a total loser.
That feeling lasted until the next year when I took two years' worth of 4-H projects in one. I completed every project and finished my record book.
It was a painful and long-lasting lesson, to say the least, but probably one of the best in my lifetime.
Mrs. Hudon switched from being the ogre in my life to having actually set a good example as a responsible mentor.
From that point forward, I finished things, maybe badly, but I finished.
A little dose of well-intentioned emotional pain rather than pampering kids every step of the way can sometimes turn into a good thing.
In my case, it instilled in me an almost rigid sense of self-discipline that said, "Marianne, you never want to feel like that again."
And, so folks, look at what the course title "pine-needle baskets" triggered in my memory---an inferior basket but a life lesson.
from the Idaho Statesman.
Parents and children used chalk yesterday to spread the message that "Everyone is welcome here" at the West Ada School Districts offices yesterday.
Let's hope the message continues to resonate far beyond Boise.
