End of Era

I quit my job at Safeway after 27 years. Below are flowers that Kevin Hallenius (Colville) sent to me (via Kevin Whittle at the Argonne store). What an emotional time.... hard to leave the people that are like family to me. I will miss my friends and co-workers! For my sanity I had to quit. My new supervisor made the last month unbearable and it felt like there was a target on my back.

I got a lot of sweet phone calls and emails and personal visits when I announced that I was leaving. Below is one I got from my retired store manager.

Hi Sam,  In the movie Mary Poppins the children asked how long she will stay with them and she agrees to stay "Until the wind changes." The wind is now changing and you are preparing to leave. Thank you for your help, understanding, guidance, friendship, listening to us and giving us a spoonful of sugar just when we needed it! Mary Poppins would be so proud of you!! You've been such a good Nanny to all of us, we're so sad to see you leave..but we've become better children/people/managers because of your tutelage. I have just one concern, what will Bert..er, Brian..do? Again, thank you for all your patience with me over the years, knowing you're not at the district office makes me a little sad! Your work is done here. 

A quote from Bert in Mary Poppins: "Winds in the east, mist coming in./ Like somethin' is brewin' and bout to begin. / Can't put me finger on what lies in store, / But I fear what's to happen all happened before."

For all of us the wind will eventually change, our work will be done and we move on. It should not be sad, we just open our umbrella, catch the wind and move on to other places to begin another chapter! Here's to happiness on wherever the wind sets you down. Always, Rick.

Wicked

Since we enjoyed ourselves so much the last time we saw Wicked, we had to buy tickets when we heard they were coming back to Spokane. I contacted the box office on 12/2/2013 and was able to purchase seats in row A - yes, row A!  Our seats were 27/28 which were as close to the center as was available. I loved sitting in the first row behind the orchestra pit since there was no one's head in our way - plus we could see them sweat!! Definitely worth the splurge!

We went early so we had time for dinner at The Onion. Audrey enjoyed her buffalo burger and I enjoyed a chicken salad sandwich. We walked over to the INB Performing Arts Center, (I will always call this the Opera House....), and checked out the souvenirs before heading to our front row seats....sorry, could not resist saying that again!!

Audrey said these performers were the best she has seen, second only to the original production cast. Kara Lindsay played Glinda and Laurel Harris was Elphaba. It was just as magical as the first time we went. We are fans of the "Popular" song and of course "Defying Gravity". Great cast - great performance!!

Mother's Day 2014

After such a fun day yesterday, I was not needing anymore pampering. But Audrey and John took care of me anyway!  Crepes, cantaloupe and green smoothies for breakfast and then chicken, crab salad and jello for lunch. Audrey bought me two culinary mysteries (Beef Stolen-Off and Murder for the Halibut), Sidney got me "Ever After" on blu-ray and John got me the "Modern Family" series on blu-ray. What a lovely day. I love my family!!

Church Christmas Breakfast

Saturday, 12/14 - While we were gone, our ward had a family Christmas Breakfast with the theme "Polar Express". Audrey was asked to assist with the lighting and sound system during the program. They served breakfast and hot chocolate with peppermint candy canes. We heard it was a wonderful event and extremely well attended. Audrey is pictured below as a train conductor - she is wearing Great-Grandpa Gramlow's wedding suit and Grandpa Gramlow's pocket watch.

Ornament Shopping

Grandma, Michelle, Cheyenne, Mariska, Tyler, Audrey and I went on our annual ornament shopping today at Old World Christmas factory outlet store. It was very busy!! After choosing our ornaments we probably stood in line for 30 minutes, though we did have a fascinating conversation with a couple in line with us. Where we spent $24 for our ornaments, this couple had well over $200 (or more) in ornaments. This is an outlet store where all the ornaments are $4 a piece... Audrey picked out a dinosaur, a cougar and a mountain goat. I got a camper, a carousel, a bunny, a snowflake and a reindeer. Afterwards we went to Denny's and had lunch (or in Audrey's case - breakfast).

Fall Activities !

Went to Super Saturday this morning. Each year my sister and I compare notes on what our particular ward is doing and if either of us interested in the other ones projects, we make sure to get them a kit. I was not interested in any of the projects my ward was doing, but Kathy was interested in the JOY blocks. Unfortunately the picture on the sign up sheet and what was presented that day was quite different. The tops of the blocks were 4x6 blocks and looked far too heavy for the spindles they were to be on. So I only painted the spindles and took the blocks home for John. He cut them down to about a 3x4 block and routered a nice edge to them. Definitely looked more in proportion to the spindles. I sent them to Kathy and this is the final project. She ended up putting not only the JOY on the front, but BOO on the back so she could have them on display during Halloween and Christmas.

Since I only had the black spindle portion to paint, I ended up sitting and chatting with Kathy Thompson for the rest of the morning until lunch was served. They had a Pasta e Fagioli soup, green salad, bread and then 4 different spreads to top the bread with. Below are the various spreads.

Spice Apple Cheese Spread
2 cups cream cheese
1 & 1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 c. finely chopped apple
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
2 TB milk
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Ham Cream Cheese
2 c. cream cheese
1 c. sour cream
1/4 tsp garlic powder
5 oz deli ham, chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Spicy Jalapeno and Olive Spread
1 block cream Cheese
Jalapeno, seeds removed and finely chopped
Green olives, chopped
1 TB lemon juice

Walnut Raisin
1 block Cream Cheese
Chopped walnuts
Golden raisins
Honey to taste

After a relaxing morning, John and I met up with Marcie and headed to the Incredible Corn Maze at Hauser, Idaho. None of us had every done one before. When we arrived they gave us a map. You could enter in the green, black or blue area depending on if you wanted short, medium or long maze. The older kids went off to explore by themselves while we took the easy route. I was not very good at this! But we did enjoy time with Marcie and her kids! Thanks for a fun fall quarterly activity!!

Greenbluff

We went to Greenbluff today to get our annual apple cider fix. We wanted to try something different than we normally do, so hung out at the open market adjacent to the store we buy our cider at. It was fun! There was a booth where a couple were selling different flavors of scones and was willing to sample A LOT of samples to us. But of course, that made us feel like supporting them more. So we filled up on scones (my favorite was a chocolate coconut one they called Almond Joy). Loved their business name, "Scone Ranger". They have a store front on 2nd Avenue the rest of the year - we will have to visit them again. And then, instead of getting the pumpkin donuts we do ever year, this year we tried an assortment of Aebleskivers from another booth. They are a Danish pancake cooked in a cast iron pan (so they look like donut holes) and served with syrup, jam or powdered sugar. The booth owner was awesome also, giving us both types of berry jams to try and splitting our order between traditional and pumpkin. We had a fun time today...but had to go home to get something less sweet in our tummy!

The Fair

Some years we don't even attend the Spokane Fair and Expo, but this year we went 3 times!

Friday 9/6 - The Young Men went to the fair as an activity. Tonight all kids 17 and younger got in free, so it was a great night to attend. Normally opening night is busiest, but it was really cold so the crowds ended up being the smallest of the entire 10 day run. John and I met up with the Whalen's as they have a booth at the fair and we used that as a meeting spot for the youth. The youth paired off together with instructions to check in and meet back at a certain times. We ended up spending the evening with a new family in our ward, the Dubois - Stephanie, John and girls. It was so much fun to see the fair through the eyes of their youngest. She was more than excited to see the little pigs and wanted to take one home to her house!

Monday 9/9 - John, Audrey and I went to the fair today after work. We found the pictures that John's mom had on display as well as a welded art project his brother Ralph entered. We split a caramel apple, an oriental noodle bowl and a gyro. We find if we each order something it is too much to finish.

Saturday 9/14 - Audrey and I met up with Mickey Vermillion and went to the fair with her. We had a great time! Mickey and I split the Italian Sausage that is served with sauteed onions, peppers & basil in a hoagie bun while Audrey had a turkey leg. She had been on a hunt since Monday, so I was happy she was successful in finding one. Later we all split the Hawaiian chicken and pineapple coleslaw. We bought some Kettle Corn to take home to John and picked up a few items (wax for the car and a whisk) that we only find at the fair each year.

Brianna's Visit & Cameron Too - Part 3

August 4 - Sunday  - Brianna and Audrey stayed home from church to spend more time together. They watched Back to the Future 2 and 3. Then (as previously planned) Donna dropped Cameron off in the afternoon. Girls made homemade mac & cheese with hot dogs for dinner, so when John and I got back from church and choir practice (around 5:30pm) we were able to eat and then meet up with Donna at Manito Park. Met at duck pond, then walked to Japanese Gardens and the the Rose Garden and finally the Duncan Garden. Met a cat at the Rose Garden and a dog at Duncan Garden. Enjoyed spending time with Cameron and Donna!!

Brianna's Visit - Part 2

August 2 - Friday - John and I took Friday off and we all drove to Leavenworth. It was still rainy so we did not stop to do the metal horses like originally planned. Got to Cashmere and went to the Aplet's & Cotlet's factory. Saw a fun place to eat nearby, so stopped for a late lunch. It was called the 59er Diner and we felt like were were in the 50's. Besides the fun Formica tables and juke box, they had various games at the table. John was very good at getting the rings together and apart, even while he was busy eating. The girls saved room for dessert - homemade milk shakes. By the way, the food was good but we thought it just a little odd that John's sandwich came with grated cheese instead of sliced...see photo!

After our meal we went to a huge antique mall that was adjacent to the restaurant. Had a good time meandering around but really could not buy much since our car was full of our suitcases and us. Maybe another time. We drove to Leavenworth and checked into our hotel (Bavarian Lodge). Walked to the various shops, many that we had seen before. Thought this sign was a riot.

Then we went to a shop we had not gone to before located in the basement of one of the buildings. The Cheesemonger Shop. He offered samples and samples and samples of various cheeses and meats. So yummy! So we bought two types of cheese and two meats... Applewood Smoked Cheddar and a Dutch Gouda plus a beef sausage and a salami. We originally had planned to sit down for a full German meal, but were not hungry (yet) for dinner after eating all those samples. We did buy some cinnamon sugar almonds at another shop, stopped to listen to a German band playing in the square and headed back to our hotel.

We decided to walk to Safeway to add beverages and crackers to our cheese/salami  from the Cheesemonger Shop and make a dinner out of it. We also picked up some strudel for dessert. Went back to the hotel, ate our meal and watched Back to the Future.

August 3 - Saturday - The next morning we enjoyed a full hot breakfast at the hotel. Checked out of the hotel, stopped to fuel at Safeway and picked up beverages for the road. Stopped at a small farm/shop on the drive home (got caramel corn), then saw a bigger farm/shop about 1/2 mile down the road. It was called Smallwood's Harvest. Stayed there for awhile and played (swings, tetherball, milk bottle toss), shopped (fun store, lots of samples - fruit, dips, salsa), said hi to the animals (bunny, chicken, kitty) and then headed back to Spokane.

Got into town in time to rest, shower and get ready to attend Cheyenne's baptism. Cameron was now in town and came with Grandma Gramlow (as he had been playing earlier at the house with Cheyenne). Dakota baptized and John confirmed. Afterwards we all went to Otis Grill for dinner where we treated Cameron, Cheyenne and Brianna (in addition to the 3 of us). Afterwards everyone came to our house to eat Brianna's cupcakes and to meet back up with Donna.

4th of July

Went to mom's for her annual 4th of July party. She has done an open invitation every year, but we never know who is going to show up or how many to plan for. Sometimes there are a ton of people but today it ended up only being our family, mom, Shaune's family and the Cliffords. It was a nice group - but we've decided mom will make specific invitations from now on so we know how many to expect, can make some type of food assignments and can adjust the plans if the weather changes. We made a macaroni casserole, corn salad, jello and a cake. Have to experiment with the patriotic dishes! We did not take many pictures, which was weird. So here you go...

Father's Day

John opened his presents and got Burn Notice season 6, set of Blu-Ray Star Trek movies (both the first ones and the ones with Picard), a set of Star Trek glasses, a Star Trek t-shirt and 2 Star Trek Mr Potato Heads (Captain Kirk and Klingon Kor).

For dinner we tried barbecue chicken and a potato dish. I promise we did not make him do all the work!!

Big River

We purchased tickets for two of the four shows for this season of Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre. Tonight was the first show we picked - Big River. John and I headed out to Coeur d'Alene for dinner, trying Cafe Rio for the first time. John tried the pork burrito and I had the chicken salad with the creamy tomatillo dressing. We had heard about Cafe Rio forever and were finally glad to try it for ourselves.  After dinner we headed to the theatre. The shows are performed in the North Idaho College auditorium. Synopsis of Big River: "Though trying to stay "respectable", Huckleberry Finn runs into trouble when his father, Pap, returns to town. Huck is forced to fake his own death to escape and joins up with another on the run - Jim, a slave in search for freedom. As they head down the river, they get sucked into scams involving two "aristocrats", one of which lands Jim in chains once again and Huck and Tom Sawyer join together to free him."  The performers were awesome and brought the story to life. Fun date night!!

Time Out with Marcie

Went to Time Out for Women with Marcie and Lindsey plus their friends from Bonners Ferry (Tommi, Carolyn, Katie). Before we went to the Friday evening program, we stopped and had dinner at Panda Express at the Northtown Mall. Then headed to the INB center for the event. The 2013 Theme: Higher. Think Higher about your purpose, Believe Higher as you face the challenges that will require all your faith and heart, and Live Higher as you choose between good, better, and best in this busy world.. "So are my ways higher than your ways.." Isaiah 55:9 - - an invitation to move beyond what we have known and to find a higher way of living.

Friday's Program: Thinking Higher

• Heidi Swinton - Look up. Your future is as bright as your faith. Look beyond circumstances to the promises we have with Jesus Christ. You cannot be looking down and be of good cheer.
• Michael McLean - Only problem with life is there is no background music. Sang a few songs including "I Am One of the Ninety and Nine" and "Your'e Not Alone". 
• Dean Hughes - Can we find a way to say yes? Seeing the bigger picture. About ourselves, about the people we visit teach. What God would want us to see.
• Michael McLean's Threads starring McKenzie Turley. Nice. Would see the full program if comes to town.

Saturday: Believe Higher

• Mary Ellen Edmunds - don't plant carrot seeds and hope for melons. The more we think on purpose, the more enlightened we become.
• Mercy River - Sang a few songs including "I Was Born to Fly", "Hello Sunshine", "Just Like a Father" and "Beautiful Life". They sang and spoke in between the different speakers today. 
• Videos - They shared clips from Studio C, Mormon Channel and a preview of Ephraim's Rescue.
• Sandra Turley - Sang a few songs including "Spark of Creation" and "For Good" both from Broadway musicals. Shared a touching story about her personal issues with miscarriages and finally adopting a baby, but then having the birth mother take the baby back after 38 days. The Atonement - also there to take away the pain.
• John Hilton III - You're the first to listen to my whole story. Tap into the vision of what God already has in store for you. The mundane can be miraculous (and told of leaving a pamphlet on a door led to his eternal companion).
• Jennifer Brinkerhoff Platt - Our lives are a parable. A parable is a method to teach us. Shared story about joining the race, even if not able to complete the goal. The Lord loves me and wants me back. Satan hates me and wants to isolate me. Do my daily routines reflect what I claim to value? A talk a day keeps Satan away (reading conference talks).
• Mariama Kallon - I had heard her speak before, but she is so inspiring. Her story shows great courage. I deserve to be loved.

For lunch we walked downtown and finally ended up at Red Robin (the other restaurants closer to the venue had long wait times). Had a fun time getting to know Marcie's friends better. Besides enjoying the wonderful talks and presentations, it was fun to see people that I had not in awhile such as Dawn Bade, Tami Perin, Carol Janiga, Jennifer Leeds and Ariel (just moved back from Hawaii).

Stake Easter Program

I was asked to co-accompany the Spokane Valley Stake choir for an Easter presentation. I played the piano and Jackie Halversen was on the organ while Becki Stevens was our director. We had practices on February 24th, March 10th and March 17th. Our performance was on Sunday evening, March 24th. Between the Stake choir songs, each ward choir presented. Below was the order of the program (the portions that I participated). I really enjoyed the version of God So Loved the World. It was not the one I was familiar with, but it is probably my favorite version now.

• Stake Choir - Come to Me - Music by Michael Kissinger and arrangement by Maria Manzo
• Dr. Jared Evans solo - In My Father's House Are Many Mansions - Music by James MacDermid
• West Valley Ward Choir - He is Risen from the Dead - Music by Sally DeFord
• Stake Choir - This is the Christ - Music by Michael F. Moody, Words by James E. Faust, Jan Pinborough and arranged by Barlow Bradford
• Stake Choir - God So Loved the World - Music by Carl J. Nygard, Jr

War Horse

I originally purchased the Best of Broadway tickets for Audrey and I to attend, however, she had so much homework to finish and just not enough time in the day to do it. So John and I went instead. We first had dinner at Casa de Oro and then headed downtown. It was a wonderful performance! Definitely was not the normal fun/musical performances we've gone to before. This was a deeply moving and creative show. When the performance concluded, the theater was virtually silent before the clapping started. A little about the production: "War Horse originally opened in 2007 at the National Theatre of Great Britain. The collaboration with South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company produced a performance that immediately began selling out and soon the performance moved to London's West End. In 2011, Ware Horse opened at the Lincoln Center and won 5 Tony Awards. The tour launched in June 2012 in Los Angeles, and Spokane is only the 19th city in the United States to experience this stunning production"

It's a Wonderful Life

Kathy and her family flew to Spokane for the holidays and arrived yesterday. I had previously asked her to do a girls-night-out with me and go the the play "It's a Wonderful Life". I bought her ticket as my present to her for her birthday - her birthday is the 13th of December and mine is the 8th. It is fun to have our birthdays so close together.

We started our evening with dinner at Europa, an Italian restaurant located in the historic Atrium building. It happened to be conveniently located right next to the Interplayer's theater, so we were able to walk to the performance after enjoying dinner.

The performance was described as "Chances are you're familiar with the heartwarming story of Frank Capra's classic holiday film, It's a Wonderful Life. And if you're a fan of the film, you won't want to miss Interplayers' old-school rendition of the story, performed in the style of a live radio play, as many radio broadcast performances were done back before television became a common convenience. The twist with this show is that each actor in the five-member cast will perform multiple roles to portray all the film's characters, while also contributing live sound effects. Just like the good old days."  

We had a great time! It was fun to see the five actors play the different parts and the different sound effects.

Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner

John's mom had a great idea to get the family together before Thanksgiving, but not conflict with any in-law plans. She had her Thanksgiving dinner on November 15th at the Golden Corral buffet restaurant. Here are a few crazy pictures. Not everyone that lived in Spokane made it, though Susan who lives out of town was able to get away and make the trip. Susan, Celia, Angela/Steve, Audrey/John/Sam, Lisa/Trinity, Marcie, Joan, Ralph/Joann, Nancy/Verne were all able to be there. I think this was a great idea and a way to allow everyone to relax (no meal prep) and just spend time visiting.

Greenbluff with Marcie

We started calling our events with Marcie our Quarterly activities. We did a summer activity together and decided we needed a fall one as well. We met Marcie and her family and went to Greenbluff. This year we went to a different farm than we normally do called Hidden Acres and had a great time. We rode a wagon around the farm, petted the farm animals, checked out the little store and had a caramel apple. They even had places to take photos near the hay maze. And because it was a rainy day, they had an outdoor fire going. Here are some fun pictures!

Women's Conference

Safeway has an Eastern Washington Women's Networking group and they sponsored a conference for any female employee to attend. They brought in a motivational speaker who spoke on stress and how to stop trying to do it all. They had a presentation on the educational reimbursement program and two employees who are currently utilizing the program gave their experiences. They provided a light lunch and we were able to spend time visiting. After lunch we heard from our human resource representatives on gender communication. And finally we heard from a financial planner who answered questions ranging from saving for retirement to how much insurance to carry. It was a great event and I was glad to be able to help (a little) on the preparations.

Below is a picture of my friend from Yakima (on the left) who got to attend. Dee has the same job I have but for the Yakima District Manager. Below that is a picture of me with my two district managers. Sorry for the bad quality of pictures - Audrey had to take them off a video as the person who took the pictures and created the video deleted the pictures by accident. So this is better than nothing...