Embracing change in new year
I’d like to preface the following with the fact that I still own a 1976 Dodge van purchased when I lived in Portland in 1977. In 1989 I bought a 1988 Chevy Cavalier Z24 convertible, driving it until I bought a 2006 Chrysler Sebring convertible in 2007.
Fast forward to January 2019 and I now own a 2016 Chevy Equinox. For the first time in 30 years there’s not a convertible in our fleet, which likely won’t really sink in until the warm weather arrives. For the first time in 30 years I won’t have an excuse for bad hair days or have an assortment of plastic hair clippies clamped on the visor.
Obviously I become attached to vehicles and equally have an aversion to car payments so this was a big leap. My husband, who’s a mechanic by profession, is thrilled that I now own a car that’s still on warranty so he can take a few years off as my go-to car maintenance guy. It may take a while to get used to driving a taller vehicle or even finding it in a parking lot despite the fact that my personalized MAIN ST plates transferred over. I can report that my affection for the heated seats are easing the discomfort of change. The good news is that if past history is a predictor of the future, I won’t need to shop for a new car until 2030.
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My personal Super Bowl highlight: Watching the game at an American Legion post where every single person in the room removed their hat and stood quietly while Gladys Knight did honor to our national anthem
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When life hands you arctic cold temps ... make colored ice balls! I haven’t made these for a year or two since you really need sustained below freezing temperatures for success and it looks like that’s what’s on tap for the next week.
I suggest wearing plastic gloves unless having a bit of food coloring staining your fingers is a fashion statement. Add 6-8 drops of food coloring to a small balloon before stretching over the kitchen sink faucet to fill about 3/4 full of water. Knot and shake a bit to distribute the coloring in the filled balloon. Take the filled balloons outside and set on the snow without the balloons touching each other. Ignore for at least 24 hours or more and then cut the knot and remove the balloon. I like to set them in the front porch planters. You’ll have beautiful little pops of color probably for the rest of the month!
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Things to Do Highlights:
Friday, Aspire Community Theater’s production of “Mama Mia” opens at the Kroc Center at 7:30 p.m. and runs through Feb. 17, www.aspirecda.com.
Pen the Ponies to benefit local 4-H horse programs at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds on Friday from 6-9 p.m. in the Jacklin Building. Info: 208-446-1680
On Saturday: Cub Scout Pack 3 Pancake Breakfast/Silent Auction, 9-11 a.m. at Lutheran Church of the Master to raise funds for summer camp. $5 tickets available at door. www.cdapack3.org
Post Falls High School Senior Class grad night party benefit dinner and auction at Nashville North on Saturday from 4-7 p.m. Tickets 208-262-6628
Also Saturday the Post Falls Community Volunteers’ annual Sweethearts Balls with Tuxedo Junction is 6:30 p.m. at the Greyhound Park and Event Center. Ticket info: (208) 502-0132.
Family Promise of North Idaho’s annual NW Salmon Fest on Saturday at the Cd’A Eagles, 5:30 - 9 p.m. Info: 208-777-4190, www.familypromiseni.org
On Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Cd’A Makers Market at The Coeur d’Alene Resort.
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Happy birthday today to Marie Widmyer, Quinn Widmyer, Samuel Nolting, Randy Oaks, Rich Morrow, Carole Fredekind, Cris Burnham, Rick Altman, Pat Clevenger, Stephen Scott, Jimmy McAndrew, Lisa Hunt, Duane Justus, Matt Ormeshed and Mike Grabenstein. Tomorrow Amanda Miller, Jim Thyssen, Lori Malin, Angel Duthie, Terry Ellis and Shawn Aldrich take another trip around the sun. On Friday Barb Bradley, Linda Davis, Natalie Forsyth, Pamela Thoms, Lynn Hayes, Henry Hildreth, Rocky Brockhoff and Larry O’Leary celebrate. Saturday birthdays belong to Linda Wilhelm, Marc Eberlein, Brandie Shofner, Buddy Le, Marian Crumb, Greg Smith and Alta Steele. On Sunday Kiki Miller, Julia Pierce, Melanie Lambrecht, Judy Riba Nelson and Tate Merry will do the birthday dance. Carole Tabakman, Trevor Smith, Eleanora Capaul, David Clark, James Shepperd, Jarryn Siebers, Jeff Carlson, Sharon Link, Gordon Leigh, Chad Salsbury and Heather Frayer share a Feb. 11 birthdate. Faith Valente, Bonnie Guindon, Kim Edmondson, Rochenda Crane, Elizabeth Glidden (40!) and Laura Wilson blow out the candles on their birthday cakes come Tuesday.
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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.