I think I'm turning into one of those people who wants others to be unhappy, or at least not as happy as themselves. I have no soul.

One of my co-workers, who is in her early to mid 20s, single with a steady boyfriend, recently put in an offer on a house. The offer was accepted and they are just now going through the process of inspection and all that comes with buying a property. I am green with envy and found myself hoping (in a very small way) that the owners would turn down the offer, and then that the house wouldn't pass inspection and it would be too expensive a project for her to pursue. I am a terrible person. In the end, it looks like it's all working out for her. Yay her!

Jon has been trying to get me to commit for the last several years to buying a house here in North Idaho, but I have been very resistant. We are somewhat transient as Jon finishes his Master's program and I honestly don't know if I want to stick around. For that matter, it may not even be a question of wanting to stay as much as it is going where the jobs are. I do not want to be left with a house I can't sell and have to rent and maintain from a distance. I know Jon sees the logic in this and I, in my infinite wisdom, am always right. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to be settled.

I am so ready for Jon's program to be finished and for us to hopefully find a permanent position somewhere. I had thought I would be terribly picky about where we ended up, but I am to the point where I just want to be stationary again. Of course it wouldn't hurt to be stationary in a place with little to no snow, good schools, nearby shopping and great job opportunities for me.

Our lives will eventually get back to normal, but it has not been easy these past few years. Don't get the wrong impression--I would do it all over again if need be. I just really hope that is not necessary.

Junk in the Country is not only fun to say, but it's an apt name for this annual sale. Each year, Robin Lowe, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, has a sale at her home. Robin uses recycled and upcycled items, as well as plenty of ingenuity, to make beautiful home decor. For all you tree huggers, (I use this phrase kindly.) this is a very "green" event. There are no stickers that say Made in China and no worries of child or otherwise unfair labor practices. Okay, Robin might debate the latter, but it would be her own doing. :) The items, hand painted, handmade and wonderful, are on display in a beautiful barn next to her house.

Robin is a woman like no other. She is resourceful, kind, brilliant and artistic. Once you meet her, you want to be her friend for life. I've bought a few things here and there from Robin over the years, and I have been fortunate enough to be the recipient of some beautiful gifts as well. She always has something to brighten my life and my home.

A beautiful chest of drawers available at Junk in the Country

Even if you think you have no need for what Robin is selling, just the drive to her home is worth the trip. She lives out on Kidd Island Road (signs will point the way from there), just a few minutes' drive into the country outside Coeur d'Alene's downtown. The sale is August 4, 2012 from 8 am to 3 pm- the same weekend as Coeur d'Alene's Art on the Green. If you're out that way, or even if you're not, put this on your calendar.

You can see more of Robin's items on her Facebook page here.

Warning – this post is fraught with run-on sentences and overt sentimentality. If you have an aversion to either of those things, you may want to find a blog to read where the writer is not suffering from a minor emotional breakdown.

I often complain about living in North Idaho. The winters are too long, the fall is too long, the spring is too short and the summer is often non-existent. I complain about the location (too far from my family), the strange people with strange ideas (I don’t believe you should have a shotgun with you when you go to the grocery store unless the butcher hasn’t gotten around to putting down your dinner yet), the ridiculous weather changes (yesterday it snowed, was sunny and rained all in the same 2-hour period and the wind almost blew our roof off last night), and the belief that a community is diverse because there is one kid in your child’s elementary class whose mother is half-Chinese (no explanation needed on this one).

Now that we are facing the very real prospect of leaving the Pacific Northwest, I see things I love about it all around me. Where else would a teenager, with no political interests, look forward to meeting an actual presidential hopeful (even if that hopeful is only Ron Paul)? In what other region do you find a hipster drinking coffee in a swanky café one minute and then turned out in camouflage to kill turkeys or deer or some other innocent creature the next? Where else would the following product sell big? (With the exception of Portland, OR, I am sure Moscow, ID has more than its fair share. I might have been tempted if I rode a bike, but alas, I do not.)

http://www.designsponge.com/2012/02/wearable-planters-for-your-bike.html

Everywhere I look these days I see things I am convinced I won’t find anywhere else (I’m sure this is not entirely true, but it feels that way sometimes). The Bagel Shop that claims to have invented the steaming process of heating their very delicious sandwiches, the sound of University of Idaho’s carillon chiming on the hour or playing different tunes for the seasons, the abundance of dogs walking with their owners or sitting at outdoor tables sharing scraps of their masters’ lunches, the feeling of safety when I send my kids to trick-or-treat on their own after dark, with little concern for their safety in our friendly community, the Moscow Co-op’s delicious vegan cupcakes and how I see someone I know everywhere I go. These are just a few of the things I will miss if we leave.

It's snowing. I know that doesn't sound very shocking considering I live in North Idaho, but it has been a nice, mild season until yesterday. Winter came and knocked on the door, eschewing the overnight bag for at least twenty large suitcases, maybe even a steamer trunk or two. All the surrounding school districts, except my childrens', had 2-hour delays that turned into closures. Now my kids are at school, my husband and I are at work and I'm a tiny bit worried about how long it will take to get home. The news says to expect 8-16" of snow in the next 36 hours. Sounds to me like there should be a snow day in there somewhere.

In the middle of all this white I found amusement in this photo taken on the WSU campus. Thank goodness for eccentrics:

I uploaded photos from my camera this weekend and found all our pictures from Christmas and basically the last four months or so. I don't know how I have neglected it this long, but I thought I would share some snow photos.

Keep in mind, snow is not a thing of the past here in North Idaho. This last week, just when we though spring had finally started to bring us rain and some sun, it snowed on Friday. I'm crossing my fingers right now that it doesn't happen again until next winter. (It's kind of hard to type with your fingers crossed. They are beginning to cramp, so maybe I should just knock on wood.)

Jon got a little crazy with our snow blower this year and took all the snow in the backyard and blew it into a pile so the kids could sled. Later on, he actually made a maze with the additional snow so you had to weave around our yard to get out the back gate.

Kyle was buried alive at one point:

And of course, you can't go anywhere in the cold without your winter-weather wear. Moira can tell you that:

I know you're thinking she must be cold in shorts, but alas, she has her socks to keep her warm:

It is March 1st, yet North Idaho looks more like December. After a week or so of early spring rain and the on and off light of sun, we now have more snow. It has been snowing for the last week or so and last night we saw at least a foot. Here are some pictures from our front yard.

I am a born Californian, and I am proud of it. This makes it hard to live in North Idaho (or anywhere in the state, for that matter). Idahoans don't look too kindly at us Californians — insisting we have stolen their jobs, ruined their economy and otherwise taken over their great state. You hear things like this all the time — mostly from people who have never had a job, don't know what the word economy actually means or have never been outside their own state. Okay, maybe that is a little harsh, but I get a little defensive about my home state, even if dear Arnold is running it into the ground.


I will always be a Californian, but I think, after about 10 years in the state, I am entitled to also being an Idahoan. After all, I did marry someone who has spent his whole life here. So, shouldn't it be like U.S. citizenship? Maybe I need to get a green card of sorts.


This brings me to the actual topic of today's blog post — the Idaho Passport Policy. There isn't one, but there should be. I often feel I need a passport to come to the northern part of the state. The culture here is so different from anywhere I have ever lived.


Exhibit 1:

Isn't this the greatest thing you have ever seen? No need to go into a Walmart, wait 20 minutes at the gun counter to get the attention of the man with the mullet (who has ignored you because you're a woman and a woman doesn't belong in the gun section, but at home baking cookies for her hunter-gatherer) to get you some worms out of the little cooler next to the ammunition. Now, with just a little cash you can purchase your bait from a soda and snack machine outside the gas station. This is by far the best invention ever.


I have decided to continue to document other evidence of why people need a passport to visit this amazing and beautiful state. Further exhibits of this evidence will follow in the days to come.

Anyone who knows me knows I love purses. While I have tried to scale down my inventory lately, I was very tempted to buy the purse I found yesterday at Spence Hardware and Supply. I know, right? Who would have thought you could buy a purse like this in the same place you can purchase barbed wire and chicken feed?

I got to thinking about the implications of this bag in North Idaho, where I often spy women wearing their camo jackets as everyday wear. Would you be carrying this purse and then go, 'Wait, where is my purse?' because it blends into your outerwear? The only thing that you would see is the amazing bejeweled cross. Speaking of the cross, was Jesus a hunter, or was he just into fish?