Spokane, WA

A couple weeks ago, I got the urge to play some really nice guitars. I also wanted to check into a trade-in value for my Guild electric acoustic that just doesn’t have the same ring it used to. So I headed over to Replay Music at 1927 W Northwest Boulevard. I’ve been there a few times, and the owner Len Volpe has always greeted me with a smile and great service. He’s given me a great deal on a hard case before, and thrown in some picks for free. He’s a knowledgeable professional about all kinds of music, but on that day, I found out he’s a great guitarist as well. Read the rest of Picking the Day Away at Replay Music in Spokane »

Tonight we had some friends offer to watch our son if we wanted to go out to dinner. Not having very much and trying to save our money for an upcoming weekend getaway we decided to head to Five Mile Pizza for a beer and pizza date night. Five Mile Pizza is located at 6409 N. Maple Street across from the Five Mile Shopping Center. Their phone number is 328-4764 Read the rest of Date Night at Five Mile Pizza-Spokane »

The day had been full of basketball on the hot pavement. Hoopfest was in full swing, which always seems to mean friends visiting from out of town, tempers flaring on the court, and general lethargy when we aren’t playing. We weren’t going to do much with our evening, aside from a rented DVD, air conditioning, Gatorade, and lots of couch time. Before a barbecue dinner, however, we wanted to stretch our legs, and we found ourselves on the South Hill. A walk along “the bluff” on High Drive overlooking Latah Valley in the receding daylight seemed like the perfect before-dinner activity. Read the rest of A Walk Along the Bluff on Spokane’s South Hill »

Last Saturday morning while I was busy sleeping in, my cell phone buzzed its way off of my bedside table onto the floor. Luckily, there was a pile of laundry there to cushion the landing, which I had obviously left there just for that purpose. It was my writer friend Luke, a classmate of mine from Wyoming, calling to see if I would like to play disc golf. Though I live close to Downriver Disc Golf Course, most of my friends from school live in Browne’s Addition, so Highbridge Park is decidedly closer for them. Read the rest of Disc Golf at Spokane’s Highbridge Park »

I love to scrapbook. And while my husband would call my hobby an obsession, I would call it a healthy distraction. Most of the time I scrapbook during nap time and after my son goes to bed. However, last week I was visiting A Stamp For All at 2929 N. Monroe and saw that they were hosting a scrapbooking crop on Friday night. I have never been to a crop, but for $15 I was excited to attend my first crop. Read the rest of Croping (Scrapbooking) at A Stamp For All-Spokane »

It was a weekday evening and my husband and I wanted to go get some dinner that wasn’t the same old fast food joint. A friend at work had told me about this sushi restaurant she had gotten a to-go order from a few days before. She raved about the food so we decided to try it out. The restaurant is on the South Hill (57th & Regal) and it is called Okane on the Hill.

Since it is summer time, it was really nice out and every time we go to the South Hill, we like to take our dog for a walk in Manito Park, so we decided to get our sushi to go and eat it at the park. I went into the restaurant to order our sushi while my husband stayed outside with our dog. Now when I say I ordered our sushi, I actually ordered the two items on the menu that didn’t contain any raw fish, since my husband and I are not fond of it. Some may accuse us of not getting the full sushi experience, but we were fine with that. For others out there who are also leery of ordering raw fish, the California Roll and the Tempura Shrimp Roll were both very good. I felt a little awkward going into a sushi restaurant and telling the waitress that I didn’t want anything raw, but if you’re in the same boat, you can now go in and know what to order. Read the rest of Okane- Sushi to go on Spokane’s South Hill »

I am a huge fan of garage and yard sales and one of the things we did this Spring on April 26th and 27th was attend the Camelot Community Garage sale held once a year. The first day I forgot my camera but my daughter — who was expecting her sixth baby and over due — and I went back the next day and hit some of the sales we had missed on the first day. The first day cars were lined up along highway 2 and people were pulling wagons, pushing strollers and walking from one sale to the next. Read the rest of Camelot Community Yard Sale »

Yesterday my husband had a softball tournament at Holmberg and wanted my son and I to go. We had not seen dad play too many times this season because most of the games were in the evening right before bed and it is hard to entertain a 22 month old at a softball game. However, Holmberg Park located at 9615 N. Wall Street just a few blocks north of Wall and Country Holmes, has so much to do I decided to venture to the game. Read the rest of Family Day at Holmberg Park-Spokane »

Last weekend, my friend Colin was in town for a wedding. I rarely get to see him, since he “lives” in Seattle, but really makes a frequent habit of working in Ireland for a year, for example, or doing a twenty-seven month Peace Corps stint in Mongolia. I knew my globe-trotting do-gooder friend enjoys catching up in active ways, rather than sitting in a coffee shop. So, I knew just what to do: play Frisbee golf (“frolf”) at Downriver Disc Golf Course—the weather was gorgeous, we’re both athletically competitive, and the best part: it’s free.

I met Colin and we proceeded up Northwest Boulevard, turned south on H St, made a right on Columbia Circle, and another right at Downriver Golf Course. Downriver Drive runs downhill just north of the golf course, and we followed this road down to the disc golf course, which is at the bottom of the hill on the river side of the road. Read the rest of Frolf Along the Spokane River-Downriver Disc Golf »

At One o Clock p.m June 14th, My husband and I left the Liberty Lake annual yard sales to attend Donna’s School of Dance Recital held annually at the Spokane Opera House in Down town Spokane on Riverfront. This really fun family event is free to the public and has a lot to see. We were invited by our son Ray to attend the recital because two of our grandchildren were in the recital and what we learned when the show began so was our son.

It is a really fun event. The dancers range from age 2 up to adult. There is tap dancing, ballet, break dancing, moon walks, can can’s and a lot more. The costumes are cute on the little ones and dazzling on the older dancers. Both girls and boys and men and women participate in putting on this annual fun show for the public. Read the rest of Donna’s School of Dance Recital; Spokane Oprea house. »