Epiphany 2026

 

It's fun to visit the shores of Lake Pend Oreille when the lake level is down.  

Lots of stuff normally hidden under the water adds a winter dimension to any visit. 

Plus, usually nobody's there, so it's even more fun to have these beautiful areas to ourselves. 

Yesterday the dogs and I drove the Sunnyside Loop Road, which is bumpy on one end and now paved on the other. 

I stopped at the Hawkins Point boat launch and walked around for a few minutes. 

It was a quiet day with little activity other than some birds swooping in and out overhead. 

The driftwood along the shore was pretty and, at times, artistic. 

The drive was a nice mid-afternoon getaway, especially knowing we're supposed to have winter storm weather for the next two or three days. 

So far, the snow has been pretty intermittent with some occasional wind. 

We'll see what happens as the day unfolds. 

From what I've seen on my Sunnyside Loop drive-through's, this couple gets their clothes changed every season. 

Can't wait to see the spring ensemble. 

Exciting news for our Sandpoint High School

I saw Dave DeMers at North 40 the other day.  He's a former English student, an outstanding student athlete and a coach who made such a positive impression, they named the SHS track facility after him. 

Now a retired educator, Dave serves on the Lake Pend Oreille School District 84 Board of Trustees. 

Like a kid who had just stuffed his pockets in a candy store, Dave's giddy excitement about what's happening in the local school district felt very contagious. 

He had just toured the new career technical education center at the south end of Sandpoint High School.  The structure is a work in progress, set to be operational next school year. 

You can read all about it in the story below.  

Dave's comments about what he's observed with the district since serving on the board included a story about visiting the schools and keeping general tally on how many employees are homegrown products.  

He said he'd counted 65 and knew there were many more of these people who received their education here and who care very much about what happens in the future. 

In addition to what you read in the story below, I have also heard about a well-funded culinary arts program headed by a family member from the former Sandpoint favorite, Ivanos Restaurant, is set to begin at the high school mid-year next year. 

As an alum and a former SHS teacher like Dave, I'm excited about the future opportunities our local public education students will have. 

https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2026/jan/06/inside-lposds-new-career-technical-education-center/

Our longtime family friend Lynn sent us this hand-crafted Christmas card, and I thought it was worth sharing. 

It's spendy.

  

It's gluten and dairy free. 

It's in the organic section at Yoke's. 

And, it is Heavenly. 

It tastes like a good chocolate mousse. 

Maybe I think it tastes so good because I have had very few chocolate fixes over the past year. 

When I saw that the package advertised both labels for sensitive stomachs along with both caramel and chocolate chips for yearning stomachs, I bought. 

So far, I've enjoyed two of the three drumsticks and have had no bad reactions. 

The main reaction is that this item would be appreciated by all chocolate, caramel ice cream lovers whether they had gut problems or not----it's THAT good. 

As far at it being spendy, that's okay.  We all have to live a little once in a while. 

May your day be accented with an amazing and hopeful awakening. 

Happy Epiphany. 

Stay safe from the storms. 

Calm before and amidst the Storms

 

They say we are going to have a winter storm overnight. 

Predictions call for five inches in the valley and eight inches above 3,000 feet.  The folks at Schweitzer will be happy, even though the numbers will be down since vacation has ended. 

So glad the rain stopped mid-afternoon yesterday to see the standing water and lakes diminish, along with much of the ice. 

I'm still wearing my trax cuz the latter is not all gone nor is the water.  Still, it's manageable, and if the warm temps will last through today, maybe those conditions will become memories before the next weather event. 

If that happens, and if it just snows and then turns cold, we should be in good shape for actually enjoying some winter. 

I think it's important to maintain both of the above in this world of uncertainty. 

I can remember working under a leader of questionable integrity and motives several years ago.  

The stability and normalcy my colleagues and I had all known for years suddenly turned upside down. 

Expectations changed from reasonable to bordering insane day to day.  A certain amount of divisiveness and turmoil, both inner and outer, reigned supreme in this microcosm day after day, week after week. 

Comfort zones: there were none.

At a low point during that school year, when I was at my wits' end and expressed to Bill that I did not think I could stand any more of the chaos, the questionable leadership and ineptitude, Bill calmly said, "Marianne, the time will come when he will be gone and you will still be there doing what you know how to do best." 

Bill was right.  The so-called leader eventually destroyed himself and left town.  

Those wise words have been etched in my brain ever since.

I hold great hope that Bill's words will ring true once again before I leave this earth. 

In the meantime, I cling to some other words which were formulated in my brain over several years of teaching and dealing with the politics than often distracted us or even upset our respective apple carts. 

When it gets unbearable, simply go into your classroom, shut the door and do what you know best: teach the children. 

I don't teach the children anymore and I don't have a classroom where I can shut the door on the outside world, but I do know for sure that we remain somewhat stable when we do what we know how to do and control what we have the power to control.

We can make a daily effort of doing whatever we do best.  

I also remember the oft-used cliche:  you can't take care of others if you don't take care of yourself. 

So true. 

So, in the midst of this world of daily chaos and distraction, uncertainty and raging skepticism, I know how to take care of my animals and our home, and I'm pretty good at making the most of every day with positive actions. 

I also know that there are many, many wonderful, inspiring and solid souls in our respective worlds still constantly toiling for the benefit of humanity. 

Let us work even harder to follow their examples.  

In doing so, let us be our best selves so as not to give up on our values and succumb to the insanity. 

Let us be reminded by these exemplary people in our respective circles of what is most important in our job description as inhabitants of this earth. 

And, please let us us cling to the importance of keeping informed with the best informed, the most professional and the most credible aka real sources we can find. 

That's all we can do, and if we hold tightly the principles that have driven us this far in life, maybe just maybe we'll be equipped to weather the storms and still be around when the world turns back to a relative state of sanity. 

That's all, 'cept for some health tips below. 

Happy Monday.  

from the New York Times Newsletter

In this year’s Well Challenge, I’m going to show you that there are real, practical steps you can take to protect your brain health, and help you get those habits started.

These aren’t gimmicky health hacks — in fact, some of the behaviors probably aren’t that surprising. But the science behind how they affect brain health is fascinating.

Move those muscles. The brain shrinks with age, typically starting in a person’s 30s, and exercise is one of the few ways to counteract that loss. Getting your heart rate up can cause a cascade of molecular changes in your brain, which help to build new connections between neurons and repair damaged cells. Grill some salmon. Eating fatty fishes can help brain cells communicate more efficiently.  That’s because the omega-3 acids they contain help to insulate the nerve fibers carrying information from one brain cell to another. Get more sleep. The brain has a self-cleaning mechanism, called the glymphatic system, that helps clear out the protein amyloid, which is a major contributor to Alzheimer’s disease. But that system only cranks into high gear during sleep.

January Ugh!

 

These are called IceTrax.

Annie gave them to me for Christmas. 

After taking the dogs from the house via the front door instead of the usual garage exit for their morning doggie duty, I decided to give the trax a try. 

One look out the garage exit this morning, revealing steady rain falling on ice, I had decided it was prudent to take another route. 

So, instead of the lane and the fields, we went to the south woods.  Even with water dripping from the trees, it was a good choice because I could walk through the carpet of snow without falling down. 

On the second trip outside, I decided it was time to try the IceTrax. 

Then, came the danger.  

How many out there have come close to injuring themselves while trying to fight the war with preventive packaging. 

The object is that nobody steals and nobody can inject poisoning, so package the Hell out of all those products. 

No way will our fingers allow us any more to open a potato chip bag, let alone packaging for batteries or electronics or IceTrax. 

A knife or scissors is often required, and therein lies the danger.  How we direct that knife or those scissors could be a life or death process. 

And, yes, I have stabbed myself while opening some packaging. 

The IceTrax package had a zip tie holding the trax to a piece of card board along with a baggie for the trax. 

It took wearing my glasses and some very careful moves, but no blood was spewed in the opening process. 

Next:  will my fingers be strong enough to attach these things to my boots?

By golly, Annie bought me some flexible and pretty in pink trax.  I attached each to the boots on the first try. 

Finally, will I still go slipping and sliding in these trax with all that water on ice?

No. 

Their grip was perfect AND, by this time out the door, the rain had stopped. 

Long story short, I enjoyed a relatively safe stretch of walking down the lane, through the fields and on the road.  Through all those steps, the trax stayed on. 

Happily, I have sustained no injuries removing the packaging or walking in water on ice. 

All that said, even in the darkness, it's pretty ugly out there, and we all know that ugliness and January often go hand in hand. 

My main message this morning for locals is be careful out there and wear your trax if you have conditions similar to ours. 

Twas quite an impressive "wolf moon" last night. 

We heard no wolves howling but really liked the moon.

 

January Ugh in North Idaho includes fog, dirty and mushy snow on top of water, slippery ice and generally gloomy conditions. 

January is a long month, so there is often a lot of Ugh!

My friend Steve says his pants go with anything in his wardrobe. 

I said that you sure do notice them. 

On the sports front, the Sandpoint Bulldogs defeated Wenatchee High School yesterday. They came home from the GESA tournament with two wins, one loss, making their record 7-4. 

YAY!

After that, the Seahawks won their division in a tight game with San Francisco. 

YAY!

The ZAGS men who almost put their fans in ER rooms Friday night will play again tonight. 

YAY, I think. 

This time they host the Loyola Marymount Lions in the Kennel. 

Game time:  6 p.m. PST on 

Fox 28 or ESPN+.

Let's keep it exciting, ZAGS, but keep the mortality of your fans in mind and don't overdo it. 

I've never seen birds sitting at the bar, but I think this is a cute feeder. 

The one enjoyable aspect of January Ugh weather is that the birds entertain us by spending a lot of time at the feeders. 

Below:  my friend Chris gave me this beautiful dish towel last night.  She purchased it in New Hampshire where her son lives. 

It's too pretty to use, I think, but Chris says the embroidery holds up well. 

Saturday Slight

 

Twas definitely an OMG college basketball game last night when No. 7 Gonzaga (14-1) almost lost to a scrappy and skilled Seattle University Redhawks team. 

But they did not. 

And, for that reason, they are now 15-1, and we are all still alive and well. 

I like to think that various levels of divine intervention into some players' heads along with some frantic ZAG Nation energy helped the ZAGS pull off a win and stopped thousands of potential cardiac arrests across Fanville.

I commented to Bill just before overtime, "I wonder where Rick Anthony is right now and what he's doing."

I never did hear anything about my friend, classmate and avid ZAGS fan Rick, who often leaves the room, but many others suggested "near death" experiences IF they were still watching the game. 

In one household, the TV went off but one spouse still clung to his phone to see if the ZAGS could pull off a victory in one of the nail biters of the century---for ZAGS fans, that is. 

They did, and that is good.  We can all breathe again. 

The Bulldogs from Sandpoint took a loss against the Cheney Blackhawks in the 3-day Wenatchee GESA Shootout Tournament. 

Today, the Bulldogs play their final game against Wenatchee High School at 2:30 p.m. PST.   

You can watch the livestream of this game by clicking the following link. 

https://fan.hudl.com/usa/wa/wenatchee/organization/8856/wenatchee-high-school/schedule?date=2025-12-28T08%3A00%3A00.000Z&range=Week&s=U2NoZWR1bGVFbnRyeVB1YmxpY1N1bW1hcnk2OTUyY2I2ZjA0NDQ5NGMyMTZmNGNlNjI%3D

GO, BULLDOGS!!!!

It was a fun time yesterday afternoon sitting aboard the Kubota tractor and plowing some walking trails around our hay field. 

After years of our being severely limited with winter walking areas, it finally dawned on me last winter that we could use the tractor and plow and expand our walking area during the winter.  

With no horses out there grazing and with the gates wide open, a trail system has provided a nice winter frontier for walking. 

This morning there were some areas where I did not take the entire trail because of lowlands and snow melting into water.   Still, I had lots of choices, and it felt good. 

After some rather cold weather, it feels as if we may lose a good portion of the 4-5 inches of snow that covered the ground yesterday. 

I just ask that we don't have nasty patches of ice when the temperatures turn cold again. 

In other news, I see we have attacked Venezuela overnight.  

Is Greenland next?  

Or, Canada?

Will all that oil seized help reduce the skyrocketing price of hamburger?  

I guess we'll see. 

That's all. 

Happy Saturday.