Everyone is talking 'bout the weather

Too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry. Those words aren't a paraphrasing of the Goldilocks porridge tale, they're one of our favorite pastimes here in North Idaho. We're fortunate to have four very distinct seasons, unlike my husband's homeland of North Dakota where it's either really cold or really hot, and weather can routinely be a matter of life or death.

Here we have mostly weather of convenience or inconvenience depending upon your work schedule and outdoor recreation preferences. If you don't know what fresh and pow refer to, odds are you're not a skier or snowmobiler.

As we slide, or slip, into spring, there's much complaining about the weather being too cold, too snowy, too slushy and too wet. And we haven't even arrived at the snow-melt flood warnings. It's no secret that I love summer and sun and anything that takes place in and on and around the wonderful North Idaho waterways.

But I also love snow. I love it in November, December and even January. By February I like it OK, but by March I'm so over it. My husband observes that my love of snow is directly related to the fact that he's the one doing the shoveling and snow-blowing. Got me there.

I lived in Portland for a decade, so I'm kind of over the rain, too, but accept the necessity of spring rains to keep Smokey the Bear happy and the campfires burning in the summer months.

By the time the warm weather fades in September, autumn becomes my favorite season, and outside of New England, I doubt there's a more beautiful place to enjoy the changing colors of the foliage than right here.

So the moral of the story is that we're fortunate to have those four seasons (none of which include earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados or mudslides) since it's a safe bet that most people will embrace at least three of the four.

Did I mention that the rain makes my hair frizz and I've never mastered the art of the umbrella?

Make plans for dinner tonight at Post Falls High School for the Empty Bowls fundraiser for the Post Falls Food Bank. Starting at 5:30 p.m. you can purchase a beautiful soup bowl, hand-crafted by student artists, to fill with your favorite soup. It's Culture and Arts night so there will be multi-cultural fare and more!

Also available: A Saturday trifecta of fun, with 'Wine, Stein & Dine' to benefit the Post Falls Education Foundation at the Greyhound Park and Event Center, the 'Lakeland High School Annual Dinner & Auction' 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the LHS Commons and the world-famous Ruth Pratt at the 'Love Your Library Concert' 7 p.m. at the Coeur d'Alene Library.

Good luck and safe travels to the Lake City and Post Falls boys basketball teams, who are heading down south to play in the Idaho 5A State Tournament. The Coeur d'Alene girls basketball team brought that state championship trophy back up north last month so let's shoot for some co-ed bragging rights!

Happy birthday today to Natalie Eckstein, Becky Funk, Jim Riley, Amy Tolzmann, Paula Ryan, Nicole Barnhart, Kelly Lattin, Hallie Gennett, Allison Mehan, Carly Hall and Matt Matthews and tomorrow to Gladys Schneidmiller (96!), Billie Dust, Rich Winter and Adam Johnson.

Friday is a special day for my sister Janna Scharf, Heidi Rogers, Todd Gilkey, Wayne Larson and Julie Sandstrom. Saturday birthdays will be celebrated by Cyndie Hammond, Lisa Ferguson, Robert Page, Linda Koehler, Joni Morrow, Chelsea MacEntee, Kylie MacEntee, Veronicka Peacock and Catherine Brown.

On Sunday, March 9, Karen Roetter, Bob Frazey, Keith Van Slate, Debbie Myles, Megan Round and Giuliana Roge will blow out the birthday candles.

Nancy Frazey and Jon Dingman start the week out with birthdays on Monday and Ed Robar, Heather Callahan, Mindy Newby, Sue Walker, Jim Faucher, Rachel Burkhardt and Bill Paradee, Jr. have their cake and eat it, too on Tuesday!

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2013 by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com.