My sisters should have a happier than usual year because it's the "Year of the Horse."

For them, every year is the "Year of the Horse."

But this year's designation from the Chinese calendar makes it much more official to have horses on our minds.

Year of the Horse

Written by Ruby Zhao

The Horse ranks the seventh among the animals of the Chinese zodiac. Years of the Horse include 2026, 2014, 2002, 1990, 1978, 1966, 1954, 1942...

2026 is the year of the Fire Horse.

It is viewed as a year of optimism and opportunity, with strong public and investor confidence pointing towards economic growth, particularly driven by AI advancement.

In Chinese culture, the Horse is known for its energetic and dynamic nature. It symbolizes vitality, speed, and perseverance.

People born in the Year of the Horse are believed to possess similar traits, such as being hardworking, warm-hearted, and independent.

The Horse is also associated with success and good fortune. There is a phrase "马到成功" in Chinese. It represents achieving success swiftly and smoothly, just like when a victorious horse arrives at the battlefield.

It implies that success can be achieved rapidly and effortlessly.

Some people may wear clothing or accessories depicting horses or incorporate horse imagery in their homes for positive energy and fortune.

So, if you are looking for gifts or things to do during the next 365 days, consider something dealing with horses.

New Year's Day High School Basketball

The SHS Bulldogs men's basketball team will be coming out of the gates on the very first day of 2026 as they compete in a tournament, starting this afternoon in Wenatchee.

Tip-off for today's game with Sequim High School from Northwestern Washington hopefully will be streamed beginning at 3:30. Not sure on that yet, but if I do learn some information on specifics, I'll post it on Facebook later today.

GOOD LUCK, BULLDOGS!!

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

----from Bonner County Daily Bee, Alex Peters Photography

Sandpoint High junior guard Knox Williams (3) celebrates after draining back-to-back three-pointers to give the Bulldogs the lead with five seconds remaining in a game they would go on to win in overtime against West Valley earlier this season.

Also pictured are Logan Iverson (4), Logan Roos (22) and Derrick Chamberlain (11), who will all be big contributors in the Bulldogs' upcoming basketball tournament in Central Washington. Sandpoint, 5-3 on the season, will look to carry the momentum from their pre-Christmas Break victories into the GESA Winter Shootout, set to be held Jan. 1 through 3 at both Eastmont and Wenatchee High Schools.

The Bulldogs will face Sequim (3-3), 2A state tournament qualifiers and 19-5 a season ago, on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.; Cheney (4-3), which boasts a win over a strong Pullman squad on the season, on Friday at 3:30 p.m.; and will round out the tournament with host Wenatchee (1-4) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2025/dec/31/bulldogs-ready-for-trio-of-washington-schools/

This is an AI generated image. I asked for an image with a rural theme, suggesting hope.

This morning's New York Times newsletter featured a column about hope in this new year, so I have included a segment below.

To cultivate hope, people need three things, Zaki said:

They first need to be able to envision a better future, either personally or collectively.

Second, they need the willpower or motivation to move toward that future.

And third, they must be able to chart “a path from where they are to where they want to be,” he added.

This day last year was looking pretty dismal for me personally.

I was discouraged because of my ongoing gut problems.

Over decades, I have gone through several stages with this often uncomfortable and embarrassing health problem.

Most of my later career in teaching was challenging because of chronic Irritable Bowl Syndrome (IBS). At least, that's the closest anyone could come to a diagnosis. Over the years, some people even referred to it as "Marianne's Disease."

Basically, it's a "know the location of every bathroom" type of disease, and it's not fun.

Still, a healthy sense of humor can be extremely therapeutic.

The problem began back in my 30s at a time when I was a mother with two young children and taking on too many work-related assignments.

It continued clear through retirement and somewhat subsided after a few years.

When the problem seemed to be going away, I concluded that it must have been caused by the stress of teaching.

So, up until late 2023, life was once again putzing along just fine, and my need to find bathrooms became less of an urgency every day.

Then, along came c.diff.

At first, I thought the uptick of multiple bathroom trips a day had to be stress. We were going on a trip which would involve three different countries, and I had taken on the responsibility for most of the trip planning. Annie helped out with Spain and Portugal, but I did the rest.

I just figured that, as an oldster, my ability to handle stress was diminishing, hence, the gut attacks.

Later, however, I learned that the problem was not in my mind but that it was, indeed, an infection that needed pharmaceutical attention---expensive meds at that.

So, I endured the c.diff cycle and then learned that the gut takes a long time to recover from c.diff.

So, with help from a friend, I started in on probiotics and drinks like kambucha.

When we were once again planning a trip to Ireland in the spring, I decided to seek more medical guidance on my problem.

After several experimental (starvation) diets and continued weight loss, a cat scan, other tests and eventually a colonoscopy, the problem was now identified as collagenous colitis.

I've been prescribed steroids to combat the inflamed intestine twice, and I have continued to read, commiserate with others and to experiment with eating or not ever since.

It's been a learning curve, to say the least, but one year later, I do feel more hopeful because I have learned ways to live with and maintain the problem.

I'm actually kinda happy to have lost all that weight because, except for the gut, I feel better and look better than I have in years. Plus, I'm much more active.

I'll keep working at conquering this daily challenge because now I do have hope and a lot more helpful knowledge. As the item above suggests, we have to do some work if we are going to have hope.

One more thing, along this journey there have been guardian angels, including my two medical providers Paige Russell and Dr. Hanna Robbins.

Another guardian angel named Marsha came back in my life before Christmas. In an email exchange dealing with a medical procedure she was about to have, I mentioned that I certainly understood the problems that come along with age because I'd been dealing with colitis.

Marsha, whom I knew as a teenager, immediately wrote back and told me she had ordered two books from Amazon.com to be sent my way.

They have arrived, and I have begun the job of nurturing my present sense of hope by trying the recipes and learning more about colon-related diseases from a respected entity.

I've tried two of the recipes and, so far, the dishes seem to agree with my system.

Do I like removing the seeds and skins from tomatoes and the seeds from cucumbers?

Nope!

But if I can get back to enjoying salads and quality veggies and fruits, I'm in.

And, I have more hope than even a month ago.

Stay tuned.

Happy New Year to all.

Cultivate some hope. It might just work!