1. The fires in the Coeur d'Alene River's North Fork basin grew substantially because of windy conditions on Monday. Today, the U.S. Forest Service placed several places, including north Kellogg, where Christy and I live, in the Level I, or Get Ready, evacuation zone. My response to this is, first of all, to take it seriously -- I've begun gathering things I will pack up the Sube with, should we be put on Level II. Second of all, I'm staying calm, sorting things out, staying informed, and keeping in mind that many places have stayed on Level I status for weeks at a time. So, that seems to me the balance to strike. Don't be in denial and proclaim it's all bullshit. But, don't act like the world is coming to an end either. I can only do what lies before me and right now what lies before is organizing some things to take out of the house, if need be, and keeping an eye on future Forest Service or Sheriff Office announcements.
2. We had family dinner tonight at Christy's house with Christy, Carol, Paul, Molly, and me in attendance. We agreed that if fire danger reaches Level III here in north Kellogg and we have to evacuate, since Carol and Paul live south of I-90 and south of the CdA River (and are not in the green zone), we would do all we can to make it work to all stay at their house.
Having settled that, we got down to the business of enjoying dinner. We started with chips and salsa and I introduced the family, thanks to Terry Turner, to a gin drink that is the predecessor of the martini: it's called a Martinez. The recipe I used called for equal parts of gin and vermouth (some asked for sweet, others dry), a small amount of maraschino liqueur (I subbed Amaretto -- later, I thought Cointreau would have been good), and a couple dashes of bitters -- I used orange. I garnished the drink with a slender orange slice since I have yet to master the orange twist the recipe called for.
I stirred the drinks in my cocktail shaker, strained them into small glasses, and everyone enjoyed them and, I think, we reached a consensus that the Martinez should be more than a one-time cocktail within our family.
Next we plunged into the main course, a salmon and bacon Cobb salad. Christy piled a platter high with salad greens, hard boiled eggs, cherry tomatoes, and other ingredients and set out bowls filled with black olive slices, bacon bits, chopped up salmon, and pickled cauliflower. We each assembled and dressed our own salad. I loved this main dish - it was crispy and fresh and I loved the variety of ingredients. Carol brought a bowl of fresh cut fruit (I loved it) and Christy set out a few bottles of wine for us to enjoy. I drank a glass or two of peach ginger white wine and not only loved its taste, but I thought its lightness paired perfectly with the salad and fruit.
Carol loves the green creamy minty Grasshopper, so Christy made us each one as a dessert drink. Carol also brought over a plate of delicious Payday bars left over from her 40th year high school reunion over the weekend.
We had vigorous, wise cracking, sometimes solemn conversation. I pleased myself, if not the rest of the family, by getting the date and time right this week and by not falling asleep at our family dinner's appointed time -- no small accomplishment!
3. My cell phone played the Galaxy ring tone soon after I arrived home from dinner and Debbie was on the horn. I'd say, as of tonight, things are so up in the air as to when Debbie might return to Idaho that we are setting aside, for now, any talk about travel. We had a very good talk about this, about uncertainty, and about our acceptance of our situation. I hate to, in fact, I refuse to, think about what our lives would be like if we resisted the reality of our married life right now. Maybe at no time in my life have the words, "That's bullshit", uttered when a person isn't getting their way, rung more hollow to me. Life isn't stable. We kid ourselves when we grasp for stability and some kind of normalcy. I'm not saying I like it, but I can't live well day to day if I'm in constant rebellion against the way things are always changing, in small or larger ways, or stewing over things beyond my power to shape to my desires. To maintain equilibrium, I've got to do my best to accept and move forward with the flux in life. It's easier said than done. This acceptance includes grief. I just try to keep the madness at bay that I've experienced at other times of instability in my life.
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