Living on the Edge

I made the Pioneer Woman Chuckle!

Have you ever read the Pioneer Woman's blog?  It's funny, very funny. She has a name that photo contest from time to time.  I enter often, but never win.  Not sure why.  I think my captions must be THE most creative and THE best ones for her photos.....LOL!  Yeah, that's what the other 2,800 other people think as well!

But this week, although I didn't win the printer...I made the list of runner ups that "made her chuckle"!!  I'm now on cloud nine!  It was just what I needed on the FOURTH SNOW DAY THIS WEEK!

Speaking of snow days....does anyone have any extra snow plows sitting around their towns that they could send to Spokane County...now!....please?

I want these kids back in school.  I'm so ready to take my shovel to the roads myself! 

HELP!!!!!!

Inland Northwest is Ski Heaven!

With all the snow we've been receiving, the ski resorts are like heaven on earth!  Powder every day!  Can you believe that some of the resorts have already received over 250" of snow!? For those of you with a season pass somewhere--enjoy it!

If you don't have a season pass, this would be the perfect winter to hop around the five different ski resorts we have around here and give them a try.  Here's a recap of the five closest to those of us who live in Spokane or Coeur d'Alene:

Schweitzer Mountain Resort is in North Idaho.  It's 86 miles from Spokane.  To get there take I-90 to exit 12 near Coeur d'Alene.  Head North on Highway 95.  Drive to Sandpoint, ID.  The resort is 11 miles after Sandpoint.  Open 7 days a week.

Lookout Pass Ski Area is along I-90 at the Idaho/Montana stateline, Exit 0.  The exit is just east of Wallace, Idaho.  Lookout is 90 miles from Spokane and 56 miles from Coeur d'Alene. The ski area is open Thurs through Mondays each week through March.  They just began a FREE children's ski school on Saturdays.  Check their website for details.

Silver Mountain Resort is easy to access. It's in Kellogg, Idaho at Exit 49 on I-90.  Silver Mt. is 75 miles from Spokane and 45 miles from Coeur d'Alene.  The resort is open 7 days a week through April 6th.

Mt. Spokane Ski Area is located in Mt. Spokane State Park.  There are new runs, beautiful views and affordable lift tickets.  For those of you who live near Spokane, this ski area is in your backyard!  They are open 7 days a week through February if weather permits.  In March they return to their Wednesday-Sunday schedule.

49 North is open 7 days a week now through February.  It's located 10 miles East of Chewellah, WA.  From I-90, head north on Highway 395.  When you reach Chewellah, turn right at the stoplight at Main Street(it's the only one right now).  Continue on Flowery Trail Rd for 10 miles to the ski area.

Here's an overview of the prices of a Weekend/Holiday, All-Day lift ticket:

(prices vary midweek and half days.  Check each website for special prices)

Ski area         Adults           Youth             6 & under

Silver Mt          $46                $31                 FREE

Lookout           $30                $19                 FREE

Schweitzer       $55                $40                 FREE

49 North          $43                $35                  $5

Mt Spokane      $39                $31                 FREE

Two Different Ways to Enjoy the Sun!

Sunrise along the Little Spokane River in January.

The sun shining on the floor in the dining room!  FULL SUN!  I was ready to lay on the floor and soak it in myself.  I tried to get the dogs to do it...but they wouldn't!

Fettucine Carbonara with Spring Vegetables

1/4 pound sliced cooked lean ham (slices or cubes)

1 cup carrots

3 eggs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 pound fettuccine or egg noodles

1 package frozen peas

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, keeping the ham slices in a stack, cut the ham into 1/2 inch wide strips.  Cut the carrots into very thin (1/8 inch) rounds.
3. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, Parmesan and pepper together.
4. Add the fettuccine to the boiling water and cook until almost done, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook with the pasta for 2 minutes longer, or until the pasta is al dente and the broccoli is just softened.
5. Place a colander over a large heatproof serving bowl. Drain the pasta and vegetables into the colander, letting the boiling water heat the bowl.  Pour the water out of the bowl and add the drained hot pasta and vegetables.  Immediately pour the beaten egg mixture over the hot pasta and toss to cook the eggs and coat the pasta.
6. Add the ham and toss. Serve hot.

Substitutions:  I didn't have frozen peas and carrots, but I did have fresh broccoli and it turned out yummy with it instead.  I served it with applesauce on the side:

Why did I take a picture of the applesauce?  I didn't!  My dear husband did.  He and the girls are all teasing me because I take pictures of the food before we eat it.  Actually if I stop and think about it, I might just think it is weird too!  But then who likes a recipe without a photo of what it's going to look like!?

Win Silver Mountain Ski Lift Tickets!

If you are in the Eastern Washington or Northern Idaho area, plan on coming for a visit this winter, or know someone who lives here...You can win 4 adult lift tickets this month on:

And it's an amazing ski resort! 

 

Have you been there?  Kellogg, Idaho is gorgeous.  And it's right on Highway 90 so there are no windy, scary, narrow, mountain roads to drive.  It's very cool as well because you take a gondola over the town to get to the ski resort.  And if you decide to stay there, they have a cool indoor waterpark for the kids to play in during the evenings.  Perfect for warming up the ski-weary bones and muscles.

Click here to enter to win!

School Closures Spokane County

Here is a useful website for those of us living in Spokane County.  It is the ESD 101 page that lists all the updates for school district closures.  I truly don't believe there is one reliable source!  And some districts take their sweet time deciding to close school.  Mead didn't make the decision until about 4:45 this morning.  Who in the world is up at that time?!

http://www.esd101.net/infotech/services/psws/default.aspx

We are enjoying our snow day....dealing with all the snow around here.  It's incredible how much we've gotten and how they say we will get over another foot this week!  Where am I going to put it all.  I hear some guy in Canada sold his snow bank in his front yard on Ebay!  Hmm...maybe I should give that a try too!

Snow, Snow and Yes, More Snow

This is a 4 foot picket fence in the background! CC says:  Look mom, I can lay in the snow and I'm still warm!!

Global warming has struck again.  It started snowing on Saturday (yesterday) just before noon, and by 4:00 pm this afternoon (Sunday) we had close to 18" of snow!  I know because I kept shoveling it off the deck every few hours, 3-4 inches at a time!

The ongoing battle of trying to keep the shop gate clear!

Supposedly this area hasn't seen snow like this since 1993!  Of course the added insanity of it all...and also the added beauty of it, is that it is all sitting on top of another 12-16 inches of snow!  It's getting to the point that when I shovel the deck, the pile of snow I've thrown off the deck is almost to the level of the deck! We're running out of places to put the snow!

CC is being my snow model...look at the level of the snow compared to our porch.  It's three steps up to that porch! And look how far up the railing it is now!

Now, those of you that live in the Rocky Mountains, or the Great Lake states are sure to be saying...suck it up woman! That's not much snow!! I'm really not complaining.  I love snow!  I'm calculating just how long the snow will be able to stay!  I wish that when there's snow on the ground that work should come second!  Being outside and playing in it is what I love.  I love the silence that comes with a blanket of snow on everything.  I love it almost as much as the sounds of birds returning in the spring.

But this is A LOT of snow for this area. Spokane usually gets 2-3 inches in a storm!  So far this is our second big dumping storm this month...with additional storms in between delivering 4-6 inches per storm!  The county's plowing budget will be going through the roof this year!

Saturday in Pictures

This is what the 18 inches of snow made our place look like this weekend!

The backyard...the snow is just about up to the deck.

The front walkway...Where am I going to put more snow?  Can you see our candy canes just barely sticking out of the snow bank?

My vegetable garden is here somewhere!

View of the mountain from our house...so pretty!

I love the bright blue sky behind this snow covered tree.

This is the best my camera could do for a close-up.  Oh I miss my old SLR...and my macro lense.  The snow crystals were so cool!

And finally my artsy shot of our red maple.  I love the sun making it glow from behind and then the shadow on the snow!  Hey I'm easily entertained.

Full Moon Setting

The full moon was so spectacular this week.  I kept trying to get a good shot of it, but it's hard because of the lighting and the early morning hours.  The nights were cool, clear and crisp.  The temperature was below zero for about 4 mornings in a row--pretty crisp!   I think shaking from the cold probably made it harder to take the shots :-).

The other amazing thing was how large the moon looked.  It was as if it had moved closer to Earth--I believe it has something to do with global warming...I'll have to write to Gore about that one.

So here are the best of the shots I managed to catch....someday I'll have a fancy, shmancy digital SLR!  In the meantime, my Kodak EasyShare does a better than average job. What do you think?

Rules of Thumb

I found a fun website.  It's one every mom needs.  You are sure to find just the right "fact" to win any argument with your children!  It's called Rules of Thumb.  A Rule of Thumb, according to the website is "a homemade recipe for making a guess."  In junior high I had a teacher who called them guesstimates.

Here's some information that might come in handy someday:

• If you can't figure out what you want to eat, you're not hungry.
• The more children cry, the less they urinate.
• The circumference of an elephant's front foot is equal to the height of its shoulder from the ground.
• Never fill a child's glass more than half full.
• Zigzag to outrun a crocodile.
• Up to age 6, double the child's age to determine the size of the snowsuit to buy. (Someone has some honking big kids!!)

There are many different categories and if you have a good Rule to add...you can sign in and add your own!  You can even rate the rules.  It's a fun sight!