Post Falls couple has sweet home for Christmas
Home for Christmas took on a literal meaning Saturday, when Austin and Amanda Williamson received the keys to their new house in Post Falls.
The couple, family members and many volunteers put in countless hours since breaking ground on the 39th Habitat for Humanity home in North Idaho last May. If you’ve never attended a dedication ceremony for a Habitat house, put it on your list of feel-good things to do in the new year. Better yet, volunteer to work on one of the next houses!
n Best line from the dedication ceremony: Pastor Gail Gutterud of Peace Lutheran Church said she was going to chastise the person whose phone went off during the invocation until she realized it was her phone that was ringing!
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The day before Thanksgiving I tripped and fell — or as I prefer to describe it, I simply did a gravity check. The result of my fall was a damaged ligament on my left middle finger. So after an X-ray, the doctor said a dislocation or even a break heals faster than a ligament. I’ve been diligent in keeping the finger immobilized (I know you’re getting a pretty accurate visual.) I’m grateful it was my left hand and not my right hand and that it was a hand and not my head that broke my fall.
So when I finally got around to getting a flu shot last week the nurse asked which arm I preferred she use, and I said the left arm since I was already gimpy with that hand.
Oh my. I’ve never had an arm so sore for so long after a flu shot.
I’m going to be extra careful to try to make it to the end of the year without any further visits to the doctor.
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Seven years ago, on Dec. 17, 2008, we received nearly 2 feet of new snow in a 24-hour period here in North Idaho. I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, but that was about a foot and a half too much.
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Not much chance of anything but sunshine on Christmas for our daughter, Sarah, who lives in Marina del Rey. But she texted me a photo this week of a street sign in Venice that made her homesick ... Coeur d’Alene Street. Now I’m curious to find the story behind that street name.
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I found Santa in a most unexpected place: Watson Bay Resort on Rose Lake. We were celebrating John Austin’s 60th on Saturday and one of the guests looked remarkably like good old St. Nick -- if Santa wore a red flannel shirt and bib overalls -- with a wonderful white beard and a twinkle in his eye. His name is Rusty Roselund, a Silver Valley native, and he really does look just like Santa. Ho! Ho! Ho!
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I’m admitting publicly for the first time that I have never watched a Star Wars movie. Not in a theater, not on video or DVD. Judging from the hype and insanity of the premier of the latest in the franchise, I may be in the minority. Or not.
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Happy birthday today to Marci Clark, Mimi Eismann, Lori Dawson, Harmony Taylor, Dot Neirinckx and Tim Kastning. On Thursday, Leanne Thomas, Holly Kincaid, Lori Stanea, Dick Halliday (70!) and Cheyenne Peugh take another trip around the sun.
Opening birthday gifts on Friday are Brenda Young, Randy Shaver, Tami Banker, Catherine Witham, Laura Harvey (50!), Kris Wold, Krista Vandermark (30!), Mike McDowell and our grandson Jared Gonzalez, who’s turning 19.
On Saturday, Terry Cooper, Carol Prosser, Rene Darby (60!), Ray Potter, Judy Cronin and Rick Monroe will party. Will Kennedy, Jim Sharp, Jayson Frank, Dean Swanson, Holly Miller, Lisa Turpin and Rick Blaski celebrate Dec. 20 birthdays on Sunday.
Monday revelers are Chris Costa, Jeremiah Hazard, Angela Wilson, Brad Miles, Lily Ann Carpenter, Debbie Tull, Jann Chatters and Muni Kumar. Tuesday, raise a glass for Kelly Hughes, Brad Penske, Michelle Neal and Rita Sims Snyder.
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“When it seems that we have lost our way... we find ourselves again on Christmas Day. If you just believe.”
Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.