The Immortal Augustus Gladstone

Watched this last night. The Immortal Augustus Gladstone is a movie that is set in Portland but most of the scenes were shot here in Spokane. Prominently featured is Donut Parade and the Otis Hotel. Great Downtown shots of Spokane too. It's a nice story made by local Robyn Miller of Myst and Riven fame. We really enjoyed it. So, if you need a fix of some Spokane cinema, download the movie here.

On another note, if you are a Bruce Dern fan, don't miss Nebraska. It was like I was on a 70s family vacation to visit relatives there all over again!

Between these two films, I am feeling pretty inspired for a Monday morning.

Christmas time

At Rosauers saw these nifty liquor lock stocking stuffers:


My father-in-law Jim passed on. About the best father-in-law you could ask for. He was a friendly, smart, well-read, great guy. His work ethic and acts of kindness were legend in Elk. He took a fall two years ago and never completely recovered. We all miss him.


My boys - home for the holidays.


One last union fling! We organized a Santa meals on wheels delivery day.


Baby Jack enjoying an empty pint glass on Christmas Eve. All of our family has big hands. Now you know why.


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Last school hat

I finally got around to making Kirk's hat. For some reason I thought EWU's colors were red and black. Can you figure out when I finally looked it up and discovered that they are really red and white? I graduated from Eastern, as well, and I didn't remember.

So now it looks like some kind of Rastafarian Santa cap. Well, I guess that will work for a couple of weeks. It's my first conical hat that I've made. I think I might go back to fezs for a while. Or maybe just stop.

I have taken a little break in crocheting because I am resurrecting a project that I completed and then lost back in 1997 or 1998. I think it should be ready in a couple of days. It is an endeavor of the writing variety and I have been working hard at it for the last month or so.

I have a backlog of crap that I halfway launched and never followed through on. Now that my days as part of our union's leadership are waning, I am moving ahead full steam on finishing these projects and making a list of new ones to start.

Meanwhile, back on Arrakis...

Running and cycling have been a little weird the last few days. The cold weather has made for some interesting wardrobe choices. I have been leaning a little more to the warm side of things. Sometimes, it makes for a bit of a spectacle which if you know me, is something that I never avoid.

Maria Bamford, the other night was fantastic! Her opening act, Amy Miller, was really good too. I have always been more of a sketch comedy fan, but the last few years I have been enjoying standup more. Watching somebody up on stage, doing her or his thing well, is inspiring and energizing. The Monster Hitman energy shot beforehand probably helped too.

For one of our races, Sarah and I received in the goody bag each a small bottle of this energy beverage/syrup. These have sat in the cupboard for years. I've used both within the last month. What does this mean? It means I stay awake not just for events like comedy shows, but when we get back at midnight, I am really in for some intense TV watching and popcorn throwdowns, plus my stomach hurts. I am going to buy a case of this stuff at the dollar store while it's still legal.

The Checkerboard

Kind of a review. 

A couple weekends ago, Sarah and I were really dressed up warm for the NCAA cross country championships. When we got home, it seemed like a real waste to have spent all that time putting on all that clothing just to shed it. So, I suggested we go down to the Checkerboard Tavern/Bar. I think I had only been there on calls of the emergency nature. As usual, our mode of travel was by walking. It's not a route we take to often, the whole Ben Burr trail and the cage over the freeway. It was a nice change of pace.

I really liked The Checkerboard (with the oldest liquor license in the state). They had Budge Brothers beer. There was just one young lady working there. She cooked the food and poured the drinks and did a great job. Thanks for the great service and awesome time. We'll be back. 

I like East Sprague Ave. I think Station 7, just a block off from its epicenter, would be a great place to be stationed. Maybe someday. You can drive up and down this section of Sprague and never really "get it" until you walk the sidewalks.  I wouldn't be surprised if Sprague winds up getting upscaled like Perry and Garland one of these days.

For the way home, we took the bus and ran into Jesse and Sebastian, our neighbors, coming home from Downtown.

Maria Bamford coming to Spokane on December 7th!

Sarah saw on the Knitting Factory's marquee that Maria Bamford is coming. Yay! She is one of our favorites. You should go to this. Really. We had no idea she was coming to Spokane and would have really been bummed if we missed out.

Was really happy to see her on the NetFlix season of Arrested Development. She played DeBrie.