Hawk Creek Guitar Duo

Yesterday afternoon, the Post and Office in Harrington hosted two wonderful musicians from our area.  They are known as the Hawk Creek Guitar Duo and they were just fabulous.  A small crowd gathered to listen and appreciate.  Donations were taken to benefit the Harrington Food Bank.

The setting, the sun shining through the west windows, the enthusiastic crowd, the socializing after the performance, were all examples of small town hospitality.  Don't miss a chance to experience these engaging events happening in Harrington. For more information on Harrington Happenings, go to the Chamber of Commerce website.    www.harringtonbiz.com

The duo!  These two fellows are passionate about music and passionate about community.

Locals gathered to listen and then visit after the performance.

Turner is helping his parents serve drinks and snacks to concert goers.  His sister was on the couch doing homework!

Exchanging business cards is a great way to stay in contact.

More visiting and getting to know your neighbor.

The Hawk Creek Duo has a few loyal fans that joined us in Harrington to listen yesterday afternoon.  We were so happy to welcome one and all to our town.

Puttin' on the Ritz

We went to the movies last night!  I was in Ritzville yesterday morning for a meeting and noticed that Mary Poppins Returns was playing at the newly restored Ritz theater.  This is a movie that we wanted to see and we haven't been to the theater in ages.  When I was young our family often went to the Ritz to see movies.  One of the most exciting mail days was the arrival of the new theater bill for the Ritz.  We carefully planned what movies we were going to go see. 

Then in high school Reynald and I would often take in movies at the Ritz.  It was a rare occasion to head in to Spokane for a movie.  So going on a date last night to the Ritz brought back lots of wonderful memories, particularly since it has been so lovingly restored.  Tickets were $9 each and a large popcorn was $4!!!  We are going back next weekend to see On the Basis of Sex.  Why have waited so long to take advantage of this gem in our own backyard?

The restroom signs are still the same.

And the ladies lounge!  

Large popcorn bag!  All the radiators are still in place throughout the theater.

The inside of the entrance doors.  

Original sconce lighting along both sides.  The seats were removed, recovered and replaced.  The fabric behind the sconce lighting was also replace with a historically accurate fabric.

We never sat in the loge seating as kids, so why start now?

Exit signs still the same!

The new owners installed a stage in front of the screen to make the theater a bit more versatile.  They re-spaced the seating to allow for more leg room.  Even so, the theater still seats over 250.

We got a tour of the projection room.  This is the view from that room.

This is the fellow that now owns the Ritz.  They have purchased a state of the art projection system to accommodate digital films.  

Also state of the art sound system with surround sound etc.  Important for farmers with hearing loss, such as Reynald!

The view from the stage.  A fun performance venue.  Hmmmm......

The Snowy Sunny Day

The sun was shining yesterday and it kept it up all day long!  Baxter and I went for a walk to take advantage of the brightness.  It is still quite chilly, but the sun tricks you in to thinking it's warmer than it is, and there wasn't any wind so that helps.  The cold blue sky, white sparkling snow and the late afternoon shadows made for beautiful scenery. 

Farm Sausage

This past weekend a group of good friends gathered to make sausage in our shop.  We have been doing this each winter for a few years, a tradition started by friends and relatives in our neighborhood decades ago.  As sausage makers go, we are somewhat new to this tradition, so we appreciate the wisdom and experience of the "olders" in our group and happily welcomed a couple "youngers" to share the wealth.

Sausage central

The recipe

The cutting crew.

The grinder!

More cutting, with Chemyn's dog Tucker supervising, or sleeping!

Stephen caught right on to how this whole process works. 

Alicia is a veteran by now.

Rebecca was a fast cutter, which made me a little nervous, since she is a pianist with valuable fingers.  Though this might explain her dexterity!

David, the voice of experience.

Mixing the ground meat with spices.

Alicia and Rebecca talking about knitting while they were waiting for more packages to tie.

Chemyn was nominated to mark the packages because she has the nicest handwriting!

A magnificent dinner, prepared by Del, Eva and Louise, was waiting for us when our work was done.

Chemyn made this cake for our dessert.  A six layer Amaretto cream cake with Mascarpone frosting.  WOW!

The view from the shop.   I never get tired of seeing this.