Thursday, October 31, 2013

Halloween


Halloween 2013 in the Moses house was a much cuter affair than other years - no corpses, ghosts, or specters of death. Whitney was a mouse, probably in honor of her role as one of the Three Blind Mice in CYT's upcoming production of Shrek the Musical


McKennna's Borrower costume won the "Most Creative" 
award at the neighborhood trunk or treat.  


...and I was the Wizard. 


...or should I say the Junior Wizard?

Monday, October 28, 2013

Restoration


My life has required a lot of "doing" over the last few weeks; sometimes "being" is elusive. This afternoon, I took several hours for some much needed mental health time and personal restoration in nature - no papers, no speeches, no obligations. It was an opportunity to just be.  


Stalks of yellow tansy turned brown. 



Green maple leaves turned yellow. 


Snow berries...


The Little Spokane River 
cut a new channel on the left. 


The old channel was reduced to a trickle. 


Haven't done the pose in a while. 


A decaying branch was bleached white in the sun. 

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Clouds on the River


My friend and I drove home from Wellpinit this afternoon, and just as the sky grew dark, we saw the clouds beginning to rise from the river. It was an amazing sight, even if the photograph does not fully capture the beauty of that moment. 

Homemade Pie


This is the beginning of the food season - Halloween candy, Thanksgiving turkey, and Christmas dinner; it's a wonderful time of year, but it's also difficult for my diet. 

But yes, once a year, I love to pick sugar pumpkins from Greenbluff and make my own pies from scratch. I found a great recipe online that makes a wonderful dessert. Well, the recipe is 21 pages long when printed, mostly because it addresses every possible contingency and variation, but if you can skip to essential details, it really does make a great pie.  

I used three small pumpkins, and I got enough goop to make two pies, with enough left over to make a delicious pumpkin curry soup. 

The crust was another issue. It is still hard to get a perfect crust; however, this time it turned out better than before. The last time I attempted a pie crust, the thing was like a lead Frisbee. At least this time the crust would break with a fork. 


One of the sugar pumpkins
immediately before its demise. 


I used an ice cream scoop to extract the seeds. 


I then steamed the pumpkins. 


...my collection of pie spices and flavors. 

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Underpass


For the last year, I have worked at the Hillyard Adult Education Center, perhaps a mile away from my father's childhood home. In fact, less than two blocks from my office, the street still passes under a train bridge that my father would have seen every day as he walked to school. Likewise, I drive under that bridge daily as I go to work, and of course, I think about my dad. 

Ever since I transferred to the Hillyard Center, I have thought about retracing my father's footsteps under that bridge, but it seems like I'm always rushing from one place to the next. It seems like I never have the time to stop. However, the Department of Transportation is planning to move the tracks for the new freeway, so the appearance of the site will no doubt change. I decided to go now. As I left my office last Thursday, I walked the block and a half to see my father's old walking trail.   


When I arrived, I saw that one of the old sidewalks was partially reclaimed by nature. A young maple tree had pushed through a crack in the cement, and was now dropping orange and yellow leaves.  


At the end of the sidewalk, I was able to get a good view of the road from above. 


My great aunt once told a funny story about my father and my uncle Pat.

They were cousins, but they were only a year apart. In many ways, they acted more like brothers than cousins. One day, they walked home from school, and when they got to the underpass in this photograph, a car drove by with a group of five or six teenage girls. My father flashed his goofy, toothy grin and waved enthusiastically. My great aunt said he was always a little crazy that way. He was certainly uninhibited. 

My Uncle Pat had a different sense of propriety. Embarrassed by my father, he ditched his younger cousin, ran all the way home, and complained to my Yaya Messie, "Why does Ed always have to act that way? He's so embarrassing!

When my father got home, he responded, "What are you cryin' about? It's just a little entertainment."  

When I heard this story, I really laughed - in part because I could practically hear my father saying those words - it seemed typical of his personality - but also in part because it was difficult to imagine my uncle acting like a little boy instead of the community leader he is today. 


The bridge was built in 1941, about seven years before my father was born. 


The surrounding culture has changed since my father was a child. His neighborhood was always considered the "other side of the tracks," quite literally in fact, but now the area is covered with graffiti and gang-related tagging. 


This is just a simple underpass, but it's imbued with memories. I'm almost sad to see it change. 


A gas truck enters the underpass and is partially hidden by a young tree. 


The old sidewalks diverge, one going under the bridge, and the other leading to the concrete foundations of buildings that no longer stand. 


The Hillyard community has done some amazing work revitalizing the area. This tree was planted along Market Street as part of that effort. 


My father's old neighborhood is still visible beyond this old tree. 


A couple walks past a large billboard near the underpass. 

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Nate


My friend Nate has been in town for the last few weeks, visiting from Indianapolis. In the short time he's been in the area, we made a trip to Helena, Montana for a cultural event, and to Sandpoint, Idaho for an Art of Mentoring gathering. My life has been extraordinarily busy, but visiting Nate has restored my sanity.  


During the drive to Sandpoint, Nate made this sketch. It was funny that he tried to compliment me by saying that I was not "weird and crackheadish." It's nice to have great friends. 


Last year, he and Ellie visited and inspired me to paint a tarot card. Nate's current visit inspired me to paint another. 

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Family Pictures at Greenbluff


Greenbluff in the fall is one of my favorite places in the world, especially on a sunny day like today. The beautiful apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and corn mazes are all amazing to see this time of year. And for the first time in several years, we took a family portrait. 


Whitney...


The couple...


Dakota...



Whitney again...


Dakota inside a log cabin.


Pictures of McKenna are exceptionally rare, 
so this picture made the day even better. 


The autumn sun made all this beauty possible. 

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Dakota's Solo



Dakota sang a solo in a place called "The Cellar" in Coeur d'Alene. His solo was part of a collection of performances from the cast of Les Miserables. As always, he did an amazing job, and he even got a standing ovation at the end.  

Sorry for the poor video quality. The lighting was terrible in that place. 

nspoqišcn snm'eʔm'ey'eʔtn


ye sčluxʷ u čn xʷuy č' sč'ecuweʔ u čxʷuymn łuʔ nspoqinišcn snm'eʔm'ey'eʔtn. felicia łuʔ suxʷm'eʔm'ey'eʔm. unexʷ xest łu sckʷuls. qe memscut u qe axilm łuʔ nk'ʷuʔcin, kʷen't taqstam u qe č'łʕawʕawm. qecyaʕ' u qe xʷaʔxʷʔey, unexʷ kʷtunt u čn xstmelsm! lemlmtš felicia. 


hes č'łʕawʕawi t nk'ʷuʔcin.


hac itši...?


i qim u qmqemt. 

Fall Colors


Fall colors at Spokane Falls Community College. 








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