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UPCOMING EVENTS THE COLD MILLIONS
UNRAVELING ANXIETY • GAME ON THE POWER OF NO • STREET MEDICINE
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FROM THE EDITOR SPOKANE • EASTERN WASHINGTON • NORTH IDAHO also at inlander.com/health&home
Stay Connected Email Health & Home Editor Anne McGregor at annem@inlander.com. The conversation continues on the Inlander Facebook page, and stay in touch with us at Inlander.com/Health&Home.
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Sharpen Those Coping Skills BY ANNE McGREGOR
W
ithout elaborating, I think it’s safe to say many of us are experiencing increased apprehension these days. For her story “Unraveling Anxiety” (page 10), LeAnn Bjerken looks at why we experience anxiousness — that uncomfortable combination of dread and fear that can derail our best efforts to move forward. And she talks to experts about some simple strategies for managing these unruly thoughts, including an intriguing DIY technique called tapping. And while I won’t argue that it’s always (or perhaps ever) a calming experience, inviting kids to cook with us is actually a really good thing, especially since many are attending online school this fall. E.J. Iannelli talks with French chef Laurent Zirotti (now of Post Falls) about his childhood growing up in the kitchen. Zirotti reveals that meal preparation is actually a process that can encompass all sorts of “teachable moments” including experimenting, persevering and working as a team — all things it can be tough to accomplish online. To get you started, Zirotti shares a recipe for Salade Nicoise. (“Dining, Family Style,” page 46). And for more kitchen inspiration, don’t miss Carrie Scozzaro’s interview with plant-based food expert Josh Lorenzen of RÜT restaurant in Spokane (“The Root of Creativity,” page 40). His parsnip fries are a revelation.
EVENTS EDITOR Chey Scott CONTRIBUTORS Stacey Aggarwal, LeAnn Bjerken, Wilson Criscione, Jonathan Hill, E.J. Iannelli, Clarin Joy, Young Kwak, Robert Maurer, Dan Nailen, Carrie Scozzaro, Matt Thompson, Samantha Wohlfeil DESIGN & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Wayne Hunt ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Kristi Gotzian MARKETING DIRECTOR Kristina Smith ADVERTISING SALES Autumn Adrian Potts, Mary Bookey, Jeanne Inman, Rich McMahon, Claire Price, Carolyn Padgham-Walker, Wanda Tashoff, Emily Walden SALES COORDINATION Jess Kennedy, Charlotte Lepp DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Jessie Hynes, Derrick King, Tom Stover
To your health!
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Frank DeCaro
CONTRIBUTORS
BUSINESS MANAGER Dee Ann Cook CREDIT MANAGER Kristin Wagner PUBLISHER Ted S. McGregor Jr. GENERAL MANAGER Jeremy McGregor
CHEY SCOTT is the Inlander’s food and listings editor and a regular contributor to Health & Home. While stuck at home during COVID-19, Chey has been playing lots of games, including her favorite, Magic: The Gathering, as well as painting the kitchen, gardening and snuggling her cat, Dellie. In this issue, she reviews five of her favorite game night go-to’s. Chey’s been on staff at the Inlander since 2012.
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SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL is a staff writer for the Inlander, covering the environment, rural communities and cultural issues since 2017. For this issue she visited realtor and conservationist Suzy Dix’s south Spokane farm for a chat on the porch (page 54). Though Sam’s currently a city-dweller, she sometimes daydreams about owning a farm with chickens, goats, and even, like Suzy, a miniature donkey.
Health & Home is published every other month and is available free at more than 500 locations across the Inland Northwest. One copy free per reader. Subscriptions are available at $3.00 per issue: call x210. Reaching Us: Editorial: x261; Circulation: x226; Advertising: x215. COPYRIGHT All contents copyrighted © Inland Publications, Inc. 2019. Health & Home is locally owned and has been published since 2004.
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EVENTS
Reforest Spokane Day S
ign up to help beautify the region during the Lands Council’s annual Reforest Spokane Day, held this year in partnership with Avista. Tree-planting efforts are being focused around the Marshall Creek area east of Cheney, with trees planted by small groups to keep everyone safely distanced. Those who sign up online to participate are likely to finish out the day tired, sore and probably a little dirty, but satisfied knowing they’ve helped support local ecosystems, healthy air and streams, and greenhouse gas mitigation. Sat, Oct. 10 from 9 am-2 pm. Free. Sign up online at landscouncil.org. (CHEY SCOTT)
STORM WARNING
Although most events that would normally happen in person have moved to online platforms this fall, access has also opened up in unprecedented ways. Take Humanities Washington’s fall Speaker Bureau lineup, for example, usually hosted at venues across the state. Now, the complete slate of presentations is open to anyone, no matter your zip code. Among fall’s program highlights is a historic look back at some of Washington state’s most destructive weather events — from wind to snow to floods — hosted by Seattle-based historian and radio broadcaster Feliks Banel. Guests who tune in will be encouraged to share their own memories of being snowed in, without power or otherwise impacted by big weather events to illustrate one of Banel’s presentation themes — how extreme weather creates shared humanity. Online on Sat, Oct. 10 at 10:30 am and Sat, Oct. 17 at 1 pm. Free. Details at humanities.org. (CS)
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CONVERSATIONS ON NATURE
Get inspired for next year’s gardening and growing season with an upcoming virtual fundraiser hosted by the Spokane Master Gardener Foundation, featuring Jennifer Jewell, a writer, creator and host of the podcast/radio program Cultivating Place. The online event — which partially replaces three of the Master Gardeners’ annual fundraisers canceled in 2020 — also includes a paddle raise preceding Jewell’s keynote based on her new book The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants. Copies of the book ($20.50) with personalized bookplates signed by Jewell are also available to purchase on the foundation’s website, with proceeds supporting its efforts. Thu, Oct. 15 from 7-8:30 pm. $25. Online; details at mgfsc.org. (CS)
ACROSS THE MILES
Artistic Director Zuill Bailey launched Northwest BachFest’s Across the Miles program over the summer, delivering stirring performances to remote classical fans. Now there’s a new season ready, starting with “The Intimate World of Cole Porter” on Oct. 23-26 and featuring Rob Kapilow of What Makes It Great? fame exploring the legacy of Porter’s music. Future shows include celebrations of Beethoven and Chopin with pianist Richard Dowling (Nov. 20-23), and more with guest artists from across the country. Tickets are $20 per show or $100 for the six-show series, with each gig available for four days on a private YouTube channel, and all delivered in hi-def video and hi-fidelity sound. Included with each ticket is access to Bailey’s Happy Hour chats with the performers, so you can pour a glass and enjoy some class acts from your own couch. Visit nwbachfest.com for complete schedule and tickets. (DAN NAILEN)
Jess Walter.
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
BOOK REVIEW
The Cold Millions Jess Walter’s new novel brings Spokane’s rambunctious early 1900s to vivid life
F
ans of Jess Walter’s best-selling Beautiful Ruins and his genre-hopping catalog will find a lot to love in his new novel The Cold Millions. In fact, residents of the Inland Northwest will likely have a strong affinity for the largely Spokane-set action in the trip through our region’s turbulent history in the early 1900s. The Cold Millions takes place mostly over the course of just a few weeks as the scrappy itinerant workers of a nascent labor movement and the region’s wealthy corporate overlords (and their supporting police department) clashed — on the streets, in the newspapers, even in Walter’s characters’ bedrooms. It’s a blend of fact and fiction, and a ripping read full of dirty cops and hitmen, sexy stage actresses and shady club owners, heroic idealists and disturbing double-crossers — all of them trying to make a go of it in Spokane when it was a boomtown in transition. Montana brothers Gig and Rye Dolan show up in Spokane looking for work, only to be swept up in a series of labor protests, and a police investigation into an officer murdered while looking into burglaries in the posh Cannon Hill neighborhood. While Gig is stuck in jail as one of the protests’ alleged instigators, Rye finds
himself released and suddenly caught up trailing famed 19-year-old activist and pioneering feminist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, barnstorming the region from Missoula to Seattle to raise money for the labor cause. All the while Rye is trying to figure out how to get Gig out of jail, a pursuit that leads him to interact with mining magnates, hired thugs and an exotic dancer, Ursula the Great, best known for using a live cougar in her act. If you’re familiar with Walter’s work, you know you’re going to get beautifully written prose with more than a dash of laugh-out-loud humor, and that’s certainly the case with The Cold Millions. What you’ll also get, though, is a glimpse into Spokane history that you probably were never taught in school if you grew up in the area, and perhaps never heard about at all if you didn’t. It’s not pure history, of course, but Walter’s research into that era of Spokane history brings The Cold Millions to vivid life, making it a page-turner you never want to end. — DAN NAILEN The Cold Millions is available starting Oct. 27; preorder from Auntie’s Bookstore (auntiesbooks.com). OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2020
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Unraveling Anxiety doesn’t have to be the new normal. Read on for surprisingly easy ways to find a little bit of calm. BY LEANN BJERKEN
A
lmost everyone carries with them a certain level of anxiety, whether it’s concern for health, stress relating to a job, or worry over personal safety. And that was before 2020. It’s an understatement to say that anxiety levels have been increasing due to the pandemic and the many social and political conflicts that have arisen over the past few months. While it may seem overwhelming, the good news is that we’re not alone, and there are things we can do to help ourselves and others work to overcome those feelings of anxiousness. Anne Browning is a professor and assistant dean of well being for the University of Washington’s School of Medicine. She is also one of the founders of the university’s Resilience Lab, which aims to support instructors in creating learning environments that promote student mental health and well being. “The idea of resilience is our ability to recover quickly from difficulties we’re facing,” Browning says. “At the Resilience Lab we work to give students the tools to navigate challenges and move ahead despite fears or the occasional failure.” This past May, Browning gave a webinar that talked about using resilience techniques to cope with and navigate changes brought about by the coronavirus, a topic she’s still actively discussing today.
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TRY THIS
When you’re feeling overwhelmed by feelings of anxiousness...
1 2
Stop. Pause. Breathe. Focus on taking deep, calming breaths.
Ask yourself whether you’re hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. Each of these can cause stress and worsen anxiety.
A good first step to counter anxiety, says UW Medicine’s Anne Browning, is to acknowledge there are things outside your control.
“UNRAVELING ANXIETY,” CONTINUED... “It was, and unfortunately still is, a good time to talk about it,” she says. “A lot of the anxiety in the air right now is that anticipatory fear, the not-knowing of what’s next, and coping with uncertainty is something we all need to be able to do.” While most people view anxiety as a bad thing, Browning says it’s important to understand that it’s also a useful emotion. “Anxiety is that voice in the back of your head that keeps you vigilant, aware of your surroundings and able to make decisions to mitigate your risk in any given situation,” she says. “During the pandemic that voice might remind us to use sanitizer, stop touching our face mask, stay 6 feet apart, etc.” However, a key part of managing anxiety she says, is recognizing when that healthy vigilance tips toward overestimating the risks in our environment. “With healthy anxiety, we’re able to feel that fear and do what we can to mitigate potential risks,” she says. “But people with overwhelming anxiety will overestimate the risk while underestimating what they can do to mitigate it.” “For instance, with the pandemic we’ve learned that with tools like masks, good hygiene, and distancing we can move about pretty safely,” she says. “However, for those with overwhelming anxiety those safety tools aren’t enough, and so they stay home.” Because anxiety is so overwhelming, Browning says it’s important to keep engaging with those who are struggling. “We can help anxious friends by getting
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3 them to recognize when those overwhelming feelings start, and encouraging them to reevaluate what the risks are and what they can realistically do to mitigate those risks,” she says. If you find it a struggle to quiet anxious thoughts, Browning suggests starting small, by taking a moment to yourself to acknowledge that there are things outside your control. “You have to make peace with that idea,” she says. “Once you’ve acknowledged that, the next step is to let yourself grieve the loss of plans, things you’d hoped to do, etc. Then lastly, allow yourself to let go of the worry over those things.” For specific situations or scenarios that trigger anxiety, Browning says it can help to focus on your own risk tolerance and what you can do to reduce your anxiety. “If for example you’re struggling with crowded spaces, look at visiting earlier or later, maintaining social distancing, or leaving when it’s too much,” she says. “Remember that we can only control ourselves, so try not to be frustrated or angry if others appear to have a higher risk tolerance than you.” While social distancing can make it difficult to stay in touch, Browning also encourages maintaining relationships and connections. “Seek out tools for staying in touch, or meeting up while maintaining distance,” she says. “Try not to allow yourself to ruminate on negative thoughts, instead focus on what you’re grateful for, or bright spots on the horizon, because recognizing those things gives you time to recover and experience resilience.”
Use your senses to anchor or bring yourself back into the present moment. For example, ask yourself to find five objects around you that are red.
4
Cool off. Try holding a cool pack to your eyes, or submerging your face in cold water. This triggers your diving reflex, which alters body chemistry, dropping your heart rate and helping you relax.
5
Slowly tense and then relax your muscles, starting with your neck and shoulders. This will help lower your tension levels.
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Try a basic tapping sequence such as tapping four fingers alongside the karate chop side of your opposite hand. — LEANN BJERKEN
Tap Into Strength
Spokane-based alternative and holistic therapist Mary Willard shares Browning’s view of anxiety being linked to lack of control and uncertainty for the future. “That’s why you’ll find a lot of anxiety-reducing techniques are about bringing the individuals back to the current moment,” she says. “It’s about refocusing, and reminding yourself that you’re OK right now.” Willard holds an undergraduate degree in counseling and human resources, as well as certifications in emotional freedom techniques (also known as EFT or “tapping”), clinical and medical hypnotherapy. She is also a Simply Being meditation coach, a licensed massage therapist and a reiki
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master. “Much of what I do is helping individuals to create internal structures, tools that help them to deal with life circumstances,” she says. Some tips experts often recommend for those struggling with moments of overwhelming anxiety include: taking calming breaths, slowly tensing and relaxing various muscle groups, “anchoring” yourself by focusing on sights or sounds in your immediate surroundings, and cooling off by submerging your face in cold water or holding a cold pack over your eyes. These techniques are suggested because they’re known to reduce your heart rate and relax your body, bringing feelings of anxiousness back down to manageable levels. Willard says an EFT or tapping, while a slightly lesser-known technique, is also highly effective in relieving anxiety and depression. “Most of my clients after their first session describe feelings of hope, or a burden being lifted,” she says. “It’s amazing how quickly it’s able to shift your emotional learning and bring you comfort and support.” Willard says “tapping” is rooted in the same techniques as acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medicine in which thin needles are inserted into the body at specific points with the intention of balancing physical and emotional energy pathways. “Tapping is like acupuncture but rather than needles, you use your fingertips,” she says. “When we tap we focus on the pain or emotional issue that’s front and center for you, and as you go along the blocked energy at the cause of that issue is released, bringing your body back into balance.” She says tapping relieves anxiety by interrupting and eventually erasing the conditioned response we have to fears, allowing us to disengage with the triggers that usually lead to becoming upset. “Studies have shown tapping is effective because it works with the amygdala, the part of the brain that governs our fight or flight response,” she says. “When our fear response is triggered, we’re setting up to deal with that threat and our cortisol (stress hormone) levels rise. That’s OK initially, but when it’s constant it wears on the body. Tapping has been shown to drop cortisol levels, and bring down anxiousness.” While it might seem complicated, Willard says you don’t need a professional to try tapping for yourself. “There are many resources online ...continued on next page
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“UNRAVELING ANXIETY,” CONTINUED...
Spending time with a four-legged friend can help ease anxiety
EASE UP
Activities that can help lessen anxiousness y Listening to calming music y Taking time out to be thankful and focusing on what’s good in your life y Immersing yourself in nature - visit a park, take a walk, lie in the grass or sit under a tree y Doing something artistic or creative y Visiting an animal, walking a dog, playing with a kitten y Calling a friend to share stories or laughter y Getting your thoughts out in a journal y Completing an act of kindness for someone —LEANN BJERKEN
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such as emofree.com, a book called The Tapping Solution, and countless videos and CDs that will walk you through the basics,” she says. “It’s a pretty forgiving process, in that even if you’re not doing it perfectly, it will still help.” If you’re planning to try tapping yourself at home, Willard suggests being vigilant in tapping several times a day, even when you’re not anxious, so that when those anxious feelings come you’re already calmer and centered. “Keep in mind you may have to tap on an issue several times before it’s resolved, as some issues are more complex,” she says. “If you’re feeling overwhelmed definitely consider consulting with a professional.”
Handle with Care
If you’re looking for techniques other than “tapping” that might help reduce anxiety, Willard suggests tactile artistic hobbies such as finger painting or chalk drawing. “It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, just as long as it’s something you can feel,” she says. “That sense of touch brings us into the present moment, helps us recognize what we need to hold onto and what we should let go of because we can’t control it.” Willard also suggests getting out into nature, whether it’s sitting under a tree in your backyard or walking one of the local trails. ”You don’t have to do much, simply observe things like light in the leaves, scents in the air, birdsong, all of these help decrease stress hormone production and lower heart rate,” she says. “Animals can also be pleasant and calming companions, so consider walking a dog, or visiting a shelter.” Looking ahead, both Willard and Browning say it will be important for
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all of us to find ways to combat the fatigue that can set in from battling uncertainty on a daily basis. “Going forward we need to find ways of refocusing on things we can control, and fostering attitudes of positivity,” Willard says. She says taking time each day to express gratitude — aloud — for good things in your life, and calling friends more often to check in, are a good start. “When we recognize and express gratitude for the good things in our life we shift our focus from the negative,” she says. “Similarly, catching up with friends allows you to feel less isolated, and allows you to empathize and support one another.” Browning agrees, saying she would encourage people to check in on friends, family, and neighbors, and help them find local support if they’re struggling. “At the same time, we need to be treating ourselves with compassion and kindness too. Remember this is a moment of global change that will impact all of us, so the focus needs to be on our collective well-being.”
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Work as a team to gather treasures and escape the Forbidden Island
Game On Consider these five fun and personally tested titles for your family’s next board game night BY CHEY SCOTT
T
urn off and stash away all the screens in the house — it’s game night. Board games have been having a major heyday since we all started spending more time than ever at home, and can be a great way to reconnect during a night in with family or a small group of friends in your quarantine “bubble.” The following suggestions are all titles I own and have played many times over; they’re not all new releases, but rather my current top five picks for multiplayer games. If you’re looking for other suggestions, stop by one of the region’s many local game stores — Uncle’s Games, the Comic Book Shop, Merlyn’s, the Gamer’s Haven and more — and chat with a friendly associate for some other recs. Another helpful and searchable go-to resource for game synopsis and reviews is the superb website and YouTube channel Shut Up & Sit Down, at shutupandsitdown.com.
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Forbidden Island
2-4 players, ages 10+, $20 An award-winning cooperative game, Forbidden Island can stand in as an alternative “light” co-op challenge to Pandemic Legacy, since the theme isn’t as gravely serious, rules aren’t as complex and play-throughs go much quicker, about 30 minutes per round. You and your team of fellow explorers have arrived at the titular island, tasked with retrieving four lost treasures from across a map of mysterious ruins that will soon disappear as waters around the island rise. You’ll need to strategize and plan ahead during each turn cycle to ensure the team is still able to traverse the island ruins before they’ve flooded and your shot at claiming the prized relics is gone forever. Each of six total playable characters (pilot, diver, engineer, etc.) have special abilities to aid the team along the way, making this game’s outcome best when everyone puts their heads together. If you enjoy this one, other titles in the series are Forbidden Desert and Forbidden Sky.
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Pandemic Legacy (Season 1)
2-4 players, ages 13+, $80 OK, so a game about a global pandemic may not sound like a mentally soothing escape right now, but trust me on this one, because it’s one of the best and most memorable board games I’ve ever played. First off, it’s cooperative, meaning you’re teaming up to stop the spread of and find a cure for a deadly disease as it mutates, and as new outbreaks across the globe threaten the collapse of human civilization altogether. Based around the mechanics of the existing board game Pandemic, the twist here is the “legacy” element. As you work through the game’s 12-month campaign (each play session is designated as a calendar month), you’ll open little sealed boxes of brand new game pieces, add stickers that alter your rulebook, edit character cards and make other permanent changes that uniquely change your copy of the game as you progress. While that means you can’t really replay once you’ve finished the campaign, Pandemic Legacy has expanded to three total “seasons” that offer a fresh new twist on this original bestseller; the newest is Season 0, set to come out later this year.
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“GAME ON,” CONTINUED...
Cat Lady
2-4 players, Ages 14+, $25 This darling independent title is a mustplay if you’ve either loved or never played other pointbased drafting games like Sushi Go! (which I also know and enjoy). In Cat Lady, you’re the definition of a lonely but well-intentioned cat hoarder, amassing a house full of loveable felines with adorable names like LeVar Purrton, Pablo Picatso and Sir Cuddleface. The catch, though, is that you also have to manage your food supply to make sure no kitty goes hungry. You’ll also want to make sure they have plenty of toys to stay entertained, and silly costumes for the lulz, lest you get to the end of the game and find your clowder of cats hungry, bored and plain, resulting in a point loss penalty. While the box markets this game as for ages 14 and up, I think savvy 9 or 10-year-olds can surely pick up on the basic strategy and mechanics of this quick pickup-and-play.
Marvel Champions: The Card Game
1-4 players, ages 14+, $60 If you’re noticing a trend here, yes, cooperative style games are my absolute favorite because of the absence of cutthroat competition between players, an element that can spell disaster for family game night, especially if you live in a household of salty losers. (Slowly raises hand.) Marvel Champions came out in late 2019 from wellknown publisher Fantasy Flight Games, a favorite in our household for its cooperative, multiphase turn-based games. The base game comes with five familiar, playable heroes — Spiderman, Black Panther, She-Hulk, Iron Man and Captain Marvel — who team up in battle against Marvel supervillains like Rhino, Ultron and Klaw. While there’s definitely a learning curve to any Fantasy Flight Game (so many turn phases!), the rules book is straightforward yet thorough, and there are always decent how-toplay videos on YouTube (Pro-tip: Fantasy Flight has these videos on its own channel). New hero characters and challenge expansions are also being added to the game on the regular.
The Power of No Why you need friends who don’t always agree
I
f you ask people who their friends are, they will hopefully list people who are kind, caring, there when needed and supportive of their choices in life. But while these qualities in a friend are essential, they are not enough. There is one more type of support from friends, colleagues, and mentors that is absolutely essential: criticism. That sounds surprising. No one likes rejection. This is certainly not what I am talking about. What I mean is someone Robert Maurer who in a neutral or kind voice shares with us their concerns about how we are behaving, about the choices we are making, about how we are treating ourselves and others. That criticism
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can come in three forms — the three Rs. The first R is for REFUSAL. One of the main reasons you are successful later in life is that your parents were willing to support you by refusing some of your ill-conceived preferences for things like bedtime, homework versus play time or food choices. We continue to need people in our lives who are willing to rein us in, or at least make us pause to rethink. For example, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, describes his process for creating new products as inviting his staff to tell him, “This will never work.” The second R is REFRAME. This is where the person you are seeking support from takes your behavior and reframes it for you. For example, when you cry in front of a friend, and start to immediately wipe away the tears and apologize, the good friend does not reject the crying but does reject the apology with a comment such as “I am
Spot It!
2-8 players, ages 7+, $20 Packaged in a small and portable, round metal tin, Spot It! is the kind of fast-paced game my siblings and I would have loved when we were little, having been known to entertain ourselves for hours playing lively, cutthroat rounds of “Slapjack.” Spot It! is also utterly simple to both learn and play, making it enjoyable no matter one’s age, and especially once the group gets really fired up. (It’s a great party game, too, that gets a little more challenging after a few drinks.) The gist? Flipping over round cards with eight symbols per card — simple icons like cat, apple, snowflake, heart — and being the first player to shout out which single symbol overlaps between two cards. On the game’s 55 total cards, there are more than 50 unique symbols. While the premise is stupidly basic, there are five “mini games” variations to choose from. The player who collects or discards (depending on the mini game rules) the most cards by being the first to call out the matching symbol wins. Keep a copy of Spot It! on hand for holidays, family get togethers, camping trips and more.
glad you trust me enough to let me see you this way. It only makes me care for you more.” The third R is REFERRAL. If you bring a problem to a friend or colleague who feels the problem isn’t something they can advise you on, they will gently guide you to the person or resource they feel is more appropriate. In doing this, they are wisely steering you to someone or someplace where you might receive better help. So ask yourself: Do you seek critical feedback from the people who know you? Do you respond graciously and gratefully to the people who are giving you suggestions? It takes courage, good self-esteem and a powerful commitment on your part to your growth and success to seek out criticism and be open to advice. Having a friend who can deliver one of more of these Rs is a rare and precious find. — ROBERT MAURER Robert Maurer is a Spokane psychologist and the author of One Small Step Can Change Your Life.
For For people people facing facing an an unexpected unexpected expense, expense, a a little little bit bit of of help help makes makes a a big big difference. difference.
Catholic Charities Catholic Charities
Emergency Assistance Emergency Assistance helps people through helps people through hardships and helps hardships and helps them live with dignity. them live with dignity. We provide one-time We provide one-time payments for necessities payments for necessities and anyone within our and anyone within our 13-county service area 13-county service area can receive emergency can receive emergency assistance once assistance once each year. each year.
GIVE GIVE 5 5 to to HELP HELP 5 5
A $5 donation can... A $5 donation can... 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5.
Assist a family struggling to keep the lights on. Assist a family struggling to keep the lights on. Help someone with gas to stay safe and warm in Help stay safe and warm in their someone car while with they gas lookto for housing. their car while they look for housing. Move a mother and child fleeing domestic abuse Move mother and child fleeing domestic abuse into a anew home through help with deposits. into a new home through help with deposits. Help a senior recover from an illness by helping Help a senior recovermedication. from an illness by helping pay for non-narcotic pay for non-narcotic medication. Provide a multitude of services meeting clients Provide a multitude of services meeting clients where they are, providing low-barrier service. where they are, providing low-barrier service.
Please consider making a donation to our Please consider making a donation to our Emergency Assistance program at Emergency Assistance program at www.cceasternwa.org/donate www.cceasternwa.org/donate OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2020
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Dr. Luis Manriquez takes blood pressure in Coeur d’Alene Park as part of a new Spokane collaboration working to offer health care to people experiencing homelessness. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
Street Medicine Local organizations and WSU med students rallied a street team when the pandemic hit BY WILSON CRISCIONE
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he team arrives with stethoscopes draped around their necks, shouldering a backpack of medical supplies. It doesn’t take long for somebody at the park to notice them. Within minutes, a man walks across the grass and shares that he’s had bouts of dizziness and often feels lightheaded. Luis Manriquez, a doctor and an assistant clinical professor at the Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, unzips the backpack so he can take the man’s temperature and measure his blood pressure. He asks routine medical questions, the kind you’d get asked during any medical check-up. Only this is far from a clinical room. It’s the middle of Coeur d’Alene Park in Browne’s Addition, some 20 feet from the street. “The whole concept of street medicine is basically to be able to provide the care people need at the time you see them,” Manriquez says. This street medicine team is a new collaboration among a handful of organizations including WSU’s College of Medicine, Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners (SNAP), Jewels Helping Hands, CHAS Health, the Spokane Regional Health District, the Spokane Alliance and others. Since the spring, they’ve sent outreach teams to the streets, screening individuals experiencing homelessness for COVID-19 and providing basic medical care. Arielle Anderson, homeless services coordinator for SNAP, says the idea has been talked about for a while but didn’t come to fruition until this year. “It wasn’t until COVID hit that the opportunity manifested very organically and quickly,” Anderson says.
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While the team has diagnosed some COVID-19 cases among the homeless population, it’s helped more often in other ways. They catch health issues before they turn more serious, which prevents hospitalizations and visits to the emergency room during the pandemic. And if people are distrustful of the health care system, the street medicine team can often meet their needs. “It’s helping people not just take care of emergencies, but keeping them from falling through the cracks,” Manriquez says.
I
n December, before COVID-19 hit the area, several groups, including WSU and the health district, began to discuss forming a street medicine team. At the time, it looked like it might take a while to actually put it together, says TJ Byrne, a physician’s assistant who conducted a similar program in North Idaho. The pandemic greatly accelerated the timeline. Byrne, who has volunteered to help start Spokane’s street medicine initiative, says he and several organizations quickly cobbled together teams with clinicians and outreach workers to go out and screen people for COVID-19 in the spring. “We soon realized the need is massive, COVID or no COVID, just with the high numbers of unsheltered homeless in Spokane County,” Byrne says. “There’s just a need in every city, and it’s very apparent in Spokane.” The teams consist of a clinician, a student from the WSU College of Medicine, a homeless outreach representative from a local organization like SNAP or Jewels Helping Hands, and often a representative from the health district. The homeless outreach
representative acts like a bridge, Anderson says, introducing individuals to the medical team and sometimes providing water, food or other basic necessities. They can also try to connect people to housing or other services. Teams go out several times per week, and they have the ability to test for COVID-19 on the spot, then have the tests processed at Providence within a day or two, Manriquez says. If it’s positive, they can coordinate with the health district for contact tracing. More commonly, the team encounters individuals with other medical issues. Byrne says he sees a lot of skin problems — sunburns, frostbite, lacerations, infections and traumatic injuries. The medical personnel can handle wound care to prevent further infection, call in prescriptions and, ideally, act as a mobile urgent care clinic. In the past, Anderson says homeless outreach coordinators with SNAP might have just called 911 for people with immediate needs. “This has brought to the people on the streets the ability to have a medical provider determining right then and there if emergency services would be needed or warranted,” she says. Manriquez says he hopes that Spokane street medicine — an informal name for now — can build into something more stable moving forward. Right now it’s set up as an initiative of WSU’s clinical practice program, a nonprofit separate from the medical school that provides an opportunity for medical students to learn how to care for vulnerable populations in the future. His goal would be to turn it into an interprofessional program that could serve as a resource for any individual who is homeless and doesn’t want to go to the hospital, or has a non-emergent health issue. He says they’re in the process of raising money through grant funding. It’s one positive that may come from this pandemic, Anderson says. “If there’s ever going to be a silver lining in all this, this is one of those times, where we just all came together,” Anderson says. “It was very serendipitous.”
SUPERFOOD
Just Beet It B
eets – those bright red root veggies you always walk by in the produce aisle because you’re not quite sure what to do with them – are a superfood that deserve your attention. They’re packed with nutrients and powerful antioxidants that have been shown to improve digestion, support heart and brain health, and lower inflammation.
Attributes
Many of us have eaten beets and are familiar with their sweet, earthy, ruby-red flesh. However, you may not have realized that with each bite, you were getting essential nutrients like folate, manganese and potassium. You can find them in cans, but to really get the most out of it, head to the produce aisle or the farmers market, roll up your sleeves and get your hands, well, pink. This versatile veggie can be roasted, sautéed, puréed into sauces or even eaten raw. As a bonus, if you buy beets with their greens attached, you can wash the greens and eat them as well.
Superpowers
Beets are not only nutrient-dense, but also have lots of fiber to help digestion. The red pigmentation in beets is from a compound called betalain, a red, nitrogen-rich phyto-compound that may protect the liver, fight inflammation and have antioxidant activity. Studies have found that beets can lower blood pressure with their high nitrogen content, though this is a temporary effect that will reverse six hours after you’ve eaten them. Beetroot juice has also been shown to enhance athletic performance and increase blood flow to the brain.
How to Use Them
With their rather unique flavor profile, beets can be either a hit or a miss for many. But these juicy, ruby-red veggies can be prepared to suit any palate. After peeling, beets can be chopped into half-inch cubes, tossed with olive oil and rosemary, and baked for 20 to 30 minutes for a great side dish or warm salad topper. They can also be cubed and added to a high-powered blender with some apples, oranges and walnuts to make a healthy, earthy, deep-pink smoothie. Beetroot juice can be used as a nutrient-packed natural food coloring to make pink pancakes, cakes, cookies and even frosting. — STACEY AGGARWAL With a PhD in pharmacology, Stacey Aggarwal writes about biology, health and nutrition while running a lavender farm in North Idaho.
Weaknesses
As a root vegetable, beets are grown in the ground and will require washing to remove dirt, fertilizers and pesticides before you can consume them. It’s best to remove the skin entirely before eating. Also, because of the high nitrogen content, people with low blood pressure or poor blood pressure regulation should be cautious when eating any amount of beets.
OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2020
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Businesses are working hard to serve customers and stay safe: Support them and you support our region’s recovery.
TROVATO INTERIORS
The Personal Touch In these days of social distancing and self-quarantining, online commerce has often been hailed as a saving grace for housebound shoppers and brick-and-mortar businesses alike. Many restaurants, for instance, have found a lifeline in online ordering via websites or mobile apps for both delivery and takeout. If they didn’t have that capability before mid-March, they almost certainly do now. Other businesses have found it more difficult to translate their offerings to the internet. One such group is home-furnishings retailers, who sell items that are designed to complement a particular space in a very particular way. While they
embrace social media to generate buzz about new trends and inventory, they also know that in-person shopping is useful to get an accurate feel for color, size, pattern, durability and a host of other variables. And then there are boutique home-furnishings retailers like Trovato Interiors. They pride themselves on creating an inviting, luxurious atmosphere through face-to-face interaction — even if those faces currently happen to be masked and 6 feet apart. “COVID is definitely going to send business long-term online in a big way. There’s no question about it. There does remain, however, a
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client — mine — who is shopping for an experience,” says Trovato owner Susan Usai. She says replicating the full experience of her elegant, European-inspired Spokane Valley showroom and her personalized service would be pretty much impossible through today’s internet. “I have chandeliers and velvet sofas and beautiful paintings on the wall. There’s beautiful music playing, there are lovely candles lit. The people who come in here feel more like friends and sisters who are visiting. So I have opted to not go online. I’m going to dig my heels in and be the place you come for the shopping experience. Because that is also not going away.” Another important aspect of her high-end experience is quality control. Usai points out that she’s the one receiving the custom requests, processing the orders, accepting the shipments and arranging for installation. Channeling all those responsibilities through one individual or a small, dedicated staff enables them to keep a close eye on every step of the process to ensure customer satisfaction. “My business benefits from hands-on. Clean hands-on,” she laughs, referring to her coronavirus sanitization precautions. Usai welcomes the variety of options. She says that the challenges posed by COVID-19 have prompted owners, including herself, to reassess the priorities and identities of their business. In some cases, that will mean evolving toward new platforms. And in others, it will mean becoming more of what they have always been. “I suspect that everyone will come out [of the pandemic] in a better place that is maybe more aligned with what they want to do,” she says. “How could that not be seen as an improvement in the long run?” ◆ Trovato Interiors is open Tuesdays-Fridays, 11 am-6 pm, and Saturdays, 11 am-4 pm, at 9919 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley, 217-6646, trovatointeriors.com.
HOME DECOR & FURNITURE RAIL CREEK FURNITURE CO. SPOKANE [EAST] Look to family-owned Rail Creek Furniture Co. for truly unique, one-of-a-kind pieces, with an emphasis on rustic and industrial-inspired furnishings. If you find a better price online for an item you’re looking for, they’ll beat it. 1801 E. Sprague Ave. • railcreekfurniture.com • 795-4536
SAVVY HOME SPOKANE [DOWNTOWN] This home decor and lifestyle boutique packs a lot of style in this small store. Shop in-store, browse online or you can set up a private Facetime session or even schedule small after-hours groups (as COVID-19 restrictions permit). 1407 W. First Ave. • savvyhomespokane.com • 598-8581
THE TIN ROOF
LUCKY VINTAGE AND PRETTY THINGS 1900 HOUSE AND HOME SPOKANE [DOWNTOWN] This Francophile’s dream is tucked away in a warehouse district in downtown Spokane. You’ll find furnishings, table runners, barware, candles and other accents inspired by the rustic, French countryside. 114 W. Pacific Ave. • 1900houseandhome.com • 363-1900
ENNIS FINE FURNITURE SPOKANE [NORTH] Ennis has been furnishing some of Spokane’s finest homes for more than 50 years. Staff designers will help you select fabrics, finishes and furnishings, no matter how big or small your decorating needs are. 8313 N. Division St. • ennisfurniture.com • 783-7471
THE FIG TREE HOME DECOR SPOKANE [DOWNTOWN] Is your mantle looking ho-hum? Are you so over the accessories on your entry table? Maybe you’re shopping for a hostess gift. The Fig Tree can set you up with the accessories you need, along with offering a smattering of stylish furniture pieces. 2 W. Third Ave.• facebook.com/ figtreehome • 315-9376
LUCKY VINTAGE AND PRETTY THINGS SPOKANE [WEST] This charming and cheerful shop in Vinegar Flats showcases the work of a wide variety of vendors, selling everything from extraordinary natural wreaths, to pottery, candles, original art, and much more. 1406 S. Inland Empire Way • facebook.com/luckyvintagespokane • 321-7230
MADISON HOME SPOKANE [NORTH] Madison Home sells high quality, heirloom furniture in a variety of styles, most of which are American-made. With a higher price tag comes an even higher level of customer service. Also check out their sister store, Madison Country, on North Madelia. 2826 N. Ruby St. • madisonhomenw.com • 325-1815
SPOKANE [EAST] Work with one of their designers (a complimentary service), and the options are endless. Most of the sofas, chairs and tables you see at the store can be custom ordered in a variety of finishes and fabrics. Also check out Reskued, their discount outlet just a block away. 1727 E. Sprague Ave. • tinrooffurniture.com • 535-1111
WALKER'S FURNITURE AND MATTRESS TWO SPOKANE LOCATIONS Walker’s started as a small family-owned Spokane furniture store in the ’80s and has expanded to 15 locations. Part of their success can be attributed to a commitment to affordable everyday prices — and they’ll price match if you find one lower. 15 E. Boone Ave., Spokane • 14214 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley • walkersfurniture.com • 326-1600 (Boone) and 928-2485 (E. Sprague)
Read about more local businesses and how you can be a part of Back To Business at
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ABOUT Back to business · These pages are part of a local marketing effort in support of the hospitality sector brought to you by leading institutions and businesses to help promote the Spokane County economy, supported in part by Cares Act funding. With the goal of balancing commerce and public safety, you can follow along here in Health & Home, in the Inlander, and via the links below, as local restaurants, shops and more share their stories and invite your support.
more to come · Through the end of the year, watch the Inlander, along with Health & Home, for special Back To Business guides, along with special editorial sections, sharing more recovery stories and community business features.
Safe business practice resources KindnessNotCovid.org • Financial resources for businesses InlandBizStrong.org
OCTOBER - NOVEMBER APRIL - MAY 2020 2018 23 11
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A Little House on the Prairie Health& Home
A tiny home and portable studio nourish the expansive spirit of artist Vanessa Swenson STORY BY CARRIE SCOZZARO PHOTOS BY CLARIN JOY PHOTOGRAPHY
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he artist’s studio is a special place. For many creatives, it’s usually distinct from the main living quarters. It typically has a few walls and even a door to provide physical separation from the rest of the world. Not so for artist Vanessa Swenson, whose portable and integrated approach to artmaking is a reflection of her adventurous and nature-inspired upbringing. Growing up, Swenson’s family moved a lot and she had the freedom to roam and explore, she says. A Washington-native whose parents are both teachers, she grew up with abundant access to both the outdoors and art supplies. She left Spokane to attend art school in Montana, returning to Spokane in 2014. “I didn’t necessarily plan to stay in Spokane when moving back, but the city was so different and had a contagious energy that I never knew while growing up here,” says Swenson, who did graphic design during Spokane firm Treatment’s early years and got involved with like-minded creatives at Fellow Coworking. Recently she’s been working very, very large, including a mural commission at Eden Salon on Monroe. Yet if Swenson’s view of the world is expansive, her home is definitely not. For the past year or so, Swenson, her husband and their dog have lived in a “tiny” home in rural North Spokane. It not only offered flexibility and simplicity, but the tiny home felt like the right adventure for the time, she says. “Our house really has everything you need — and more — just in a condensed format,” says Swenson, listing features: electricity, basic plumbing, gas-powered stove and water heater, a full bathroom with a composting toilet, and what to them feels like a spacious kitchen. For their golden retriever’s comfort, they opted for stairs instead of a ladder, and added a dog-friendly sleeping space. Over the summer they focused on enhancing outdoor living spaces, adding a patio, garden boxes and a shed, and finishing the chicken coop. A larger garden a short walk from their home included assorted flowers Swenson grew to enjoy both as fresh-cut bouquets and for artistic inspiration. “Plants are just pure magic to me,” says Swenson, whose nature-themed artwork has been exhibited at Terrain — her prints are available on her own website but also through Terrain’s From Here shop in RiverPark Square — and in various Spokane Arts ...continued on next page
“We designed and built the tiny house ourselves over the course of one year,” Vanessa Swenson says. “The trailer was custom and specific for tiny houses from a company called Iron Eagle Trailers in Portland.” OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2020
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Though stairs require more space than a ladder, they allow the couple’s dog access to tiny home’s the upper level.
“A LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE,” CONTINUED...
We made a rule that nothing could come inside unless it has a specific place and function.
events. Plants do so much for us, says Swenson. “They sustain our ecosystems, feed us and simultaneously inspire us with endless beauty,” she says, noting how their fine detail and patterns often inform her sketches, while their color makes her reach for paint and other media. “Nature knows inherently what goes well together so I try to look closely, listen, and take note.” As broad as her interest in nature is, Swenson has had to make modifications when it comes to translating that into her artwork. “I have created a box of all my most used art supplies that is able to travel with me between both indoor and outdoor spaces,” says Swenson, who says she has come to embrace artmaking that relies less on supplies and more on the creative process. Living in a tiny house has meant reevaluating priorities for personal stuff, too, says Swenson. “We made a rule that nothing could come inside unless it has a ...continued on page 28
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With home more important than ever, visit The Tin Roof and work with our talented designers and stylists to help you create a custom look that’s all your own. FURNISHINGS + LIGHTING & RUGS + ART & DECOR + DESIGN SERVICE
509-535-1111 • 1727 E Sprague Ave, Spokane • Monday - Saturday 10 - 5 • TinRoofFurniture.com Follow our story & connect with us
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Our house really has everything you need — and more — just in a condensed format
“A LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE,” CONTINUED... specific place and function,” says Swenson, but they still wanted the space to reflect their personalities. So, the framed hydrological map illustrating America’s special waterways is a reminder of her husband’s work in Alaska on engineering and river study projects, while the Mexican Otomi textile reflects travels in Todos Santos, Mexico. The framed copy of their wedding invitation that she designed is one of the few artworks by Swenson in their home. Although living in the tiny house has required some adjustments, it’s been more than
Swenson, her husband Michael, and their Golden Retriever Ossa have lived in their tiny house for more than a year.
Living Well in the Health
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In times of great need, YOU can do the greatest good.
What can you give this week? Find an organization that speaks to your heart and get involved! • Virtual and In-Person Volunteer Opportunities • Donations needed by local organizations • Upcoming Events & Benefits worth it, says Swenson, ticking off a list of her favorite things about the place. “The sunsets. The morning light through the windows. The room to roam.” For Swenson and her husband, having a daily reminder that more stuff often means more stress and that less stuff helps them focus on what really matters is essential. “It’s certainly not the most convenient lifestyle and involves a lot of different challenges along the way,” she notes. “But, this place still just captures me in total awe and feels very true to who we are, which makes it 100 percent worth it.”
Pick up the Inlander every week for new volunteer opportunities!
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Be brave! If you love navy blue don’t be afraid to show it off in your space. Designer Emily Mejia recommends using pops of color to reflect your personality, while letting “the core of the space be the surrounding that makes you feel most at ease.” KAYLEEN MICHELLE PHOTOS
Avoiding clutter around artwork gives it “room to breathe.”
Custom Design Going from bland to uniquely beautiful is a process. Our experts give you the tools to experiment. BY CARRIE SCOZZARO
W
hen it comes to decorating your personal space, there really aren’t any rules. Home furnishings, flooring, window treatments and all the colors, patterns and textures of your home combine to create your unique design aesthetic. But if you’re calling your design approach “minimalist” when what you really mean is you’re having difficulty deciding what to put on the walls, our experts have a few simple guidelines to keep in mind.
You Be You
“Figure out what makes you feel good,” says Emily Mejia, the founder of Spokane-based Emily Anne Interior Design. You might love a color, such as red, yet if you feel more relaxed sitting by a river in the woods, look for ways to bring that feeling into your space with similar colors. “You can still add your personality through pops of color in artwork, pillows, throws and objects, but let the core of the space be the surrounding that makes you feel most at ease,” adds Mejia, who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design from the Design Institute of San Diego and worked throughout the West before ultimately settling in Spokane.
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Build In Some Breathing Room
“As important as it is to add your personal touches to the interior of your home, there is a time when it becomes too much,” says Mejia. “When you overwhelm the space with too much stuff, you lose sight of the things that you really love and want to showcase.” Instead, emphasize your favorite pieces with sufficient wall space around them, she says. Coeur d’Alene’s Art Spirit Gallery curator, Abel Siemens, agrees. “Seeing something is a passive act, and in order to encourage your audience to become active, you need to give them an anchor to get their sights on,” she says. “Giving your artwork space to breathe and room to demand attention gives the audience a chance to relax their vision and engage receptively with any kind of artwork.” ...continued on page 32
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(left) Choosing a dominant element and arranging assorted art around it can unify even a widely varied collection into a unique design statement. (right) Designer Emily Mejia says experimenting with “patterns, colors, textures and shapes,” is the best way to add a “lived in” look to your space. KAYLEEN MICHELLE PHOTOS
“SHOWING OFF,” CONTINUED...
Find Your Center
Another approach is to group things together so they “read” as one thing from further away, yet are actually a collection of things. The challenge in this approach is in making sure the items look cohesive. “We can think about artwork in a home functioning in the same way the solar system [loosely] does, i.e., there is the center ‘sun’ that radiates more artwork,” says Siemens. That might mean a large central item, with smaller pieces “radiating” out from around what is a kind of focal point in a grouping of items.
HANG UPS Getting art up on a wall can be tricky; here are some expert tips
H
aving the proper tools when hanging art can make all the difference, says Blair Williams, of the Art Spirit Gallery. For more than 20 years running, the Art Spirit has taken down and put up a completely new exhibition for every monthly art show. That’s a lot of art! First, you’ll need the proper support for the wall, whether that’s masonry, drywall or some other surface, says Williams. A measuring tape similar to what contractors use extends 20 to 30 feet or more, so you can reach the ceiling as needed. Use a pencil or painter’s tape to mark the space. Your phone can help you calculate measurements, but also work as a level if you’re using a leveling app. And a final tip: Slide a fork, tines down, over the hook on the wall when hanging especially large or heavy items with a picture wire on the back. The fork will “catch” the wire, letting you level the piece safely. Remove the fork and you’re done! — CARRIE SCOZZARO
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Mix and Match
“Nothing,” says Mejia, “makes a space feel more lived in than mixing in different patterns, colors, textures and shapes.” But how to go from a mishmash of items to a unified-looking collection? Mejia suggests picturing a home you’ve visited where the décor includes a range of items from a variety of sources — thrift store finds, travel mementos — that nonetheless convey comfort and coziness. As you approach your own collection, says Mejia, start by picking up some items that really speak to you. “If one is a cheetah print pillow and the other is a floral art print, try them out together,” she says. “Live with it for a few days/weeks and then begin to build on that.” And, of course, remember that curating home décor that reflects your personality is going to take time and will most likely evolve as you and your design confidence does. “I think knowing if something will fit all comes down to balance,” says Mejia. “It’s not necessarily an easy thing to learn, but over time, with practice, it becomes easier.”
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Show and Tell Designer Kimberlee Melcher’s favorite space is her newly renovated custom kitchen
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STORY BY CARRIE SCOZZARO | PHOTOS BY YOUNG KWAK
imberlee Melcher had her dream studio in Spokane not once, but twice, early in her interior design career with her contractor-husband Kevin Melcher under the moniker Downtown Kitchen & Design, and then again in 2014. “We opened our first design showroom in 2001 renovating an old historic building, creating display kitchen vignettes with working appliances and using the space for trade events and hosting client parties,” says Melcher. But things change, and within a few years of rebranding under Kimberlee Kristine, Melcher closed the downtown studio and decided to fashion the company’s new design studio closer
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to home. Her home. The couple renovated their Millwood-area residence into a space to entertain clients, as well as to highlight cabinetry, surface, flooring, countertops and lighting for which they are dealers. The newly completed kitchen is now her favorite space, combining function and form, says Melcher, and does double duty as a showcase for her husband’s master craftsmanship, especially notable in the stacked crown molding. Open concept galley kitchens featuring large islands for family life and entertaining are enjoying enduring popularity
with clients, says Melcher. Her own welcoming island cabinetry is finished in a distressed soft French blue, while the custom inset cabinetry in the rest of the kitchen is robed in a delicate white. An integrated armoire refrigerator is flanked by tall pantry cabinets, while an elegant wood hood tops the gas range. The farmhouse sink is crafted from firecay, which is scratch-resistant and less prone to harboring bacteria. The floors are French oak, with an oil finish and radiant floor heating underneath. Although the color scheme is mostly neutral,
a carefully curated mix of textures, patterns and finishes adds a subtle energy. The glass tile behind the stove, for example, is an intriguing visual combination of mother-of-pearl and marble. The light fixtures (sourced from Spokane’s Revival Lighting) and cabinet hardware mix various metals to add a subtle visual zing. Melcher credits her “eclectic elegant” design style to her own family history. “My family heritage is boutique clothing shops,” she explains. “My grandmother had exquisite taste and I attribute my
love of elegance and fine things to her.” At Kimberlee Kristine, the design focus is on kitchens and baths, says Melcher, although they also do full-house renovations and additions, with projects ranging from historic to contemporary structures. “I aim to mix old, new, and favorite things into our clients’ projects,” says Melcher. “I love the details that take a project over the top — tile design, cabinet finish, lighting, and cabinet hardware — making sure all the elements work together.”
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Lasting Impressions Celebrated textile designer Anna Benham develops new tile line
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ompared to her exuberantly colored textiles, Anna Benham’s new tile designs are more about line and pattern, subtle yet timeless, like the locations throughout Uzbekistan, Jerusalem and other regions which inspired them. “My aim as an artist is to try and create something that has a longevity, that has a subtle stunningness,” says Benham, who is originally from Bath, England, and now makes her home near Moscow, Idaho. “My style is very English, because I am English, but I love history.” Benham’s early influences include her father, a craftsman and maker of Windsor chairs, and a neighboring family who made pottery in the midcentury modern style. Stronger still was the influence of Bath itself, whose history is a panoply of cultures and styles, from initial occupation by the Romans in the first century AD to the city’s revival during the 18th century as a resort town in the Georgian architectural style. Despite being surrounded by the arts and attending Glasgow School of Art, Benham didn’t initially see herself as an artist. She had early success, however, with her paintings which were soon translated into a range of fashion and home décor items, launching a lengthy and celebrated career. Then a few years ago, Benham connected with Quarry Tile, a Spokane Valley tile manufacturer, and spent the next few years learning a new design process. Working with a Northwest-inspired color palette — grays, blues, earth tones — Benham creates a single, square design. The company then uses digital technology to translate the design into glaze that’s applied to mostly local clay tiles. Once fired, the tiles are waterproof like any commercial tile, yet slight variations in the glaze application lend the tiles a hand-painted look. — CARRIE SCOZZARO Visit annabenham.com/collections/tiles for more information.
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Shop Local, At Home Pacific Design Studio offers homewares at online shop Organic wool pillows, a green stoneware teapot (center) and handpainted, striated vases (top) are some of the finds at Pacific Design Company’s online shop. KAYLEEN MICHELLE PHOTOS
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Rooftop Living
Bella Terra townhomes offer multiple Rooftop Terrace and Penthouse options, including total rooftop living in the Oasis model, which is unlike anything else available in Spokane. The views feature our spectacular 60,000 sf Central Garden as well as the uplifting feeling of full sky views day and night.
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ittle Pacific Design Studio isn’t so “little” anymore. Under the new moniker of Pacific Design Company, the Spokane interior design firm owned by Shaleesa Mize now offers an online market of home décor items reflecting what she terms a “modern organic aesthetic” “Whether I’m curating products for the shop or creating designs for homes, I like to bring a mix of modern style with earthy materials,” says Mize, who sources wool or cotton textiles (versus synthetics) and ceramic and recycled glass (not plastic), she says. “You will also find plenty of other natural materials like leather, marble, brass and copper, reclaimed wood, etc.,” Mize says. The bone and olive wood spoons are functional works of art and, along with tea and bath towels, are among the most popular items. Mize deliberately seeks out not only high-quality natural materials, but also fair trade and unusual items. Recent additions to her offering include fair trade baskets from Africa, products made from hand-woven textiles dyed with botanicals, and the Massa pillow crafted from cactus silk. — CARRIE SCOZZARO Visit the Pacific Design Company store at shop.pacificdesignco.com.
The Oasis’ rooftop level includes a spacious bedroom suite, private terrace off the bedroom, entertainment room, and a second garden-side terrace for a private getaway or spectacular entertaining. Bella Terra’s deep connection to gardens, water, and sky means living immersed in beauty & nature’s healing energy. Our secluded setting and gated community provide security and privacy. The design and workmanship are unsurpassed. • Customized finishes & floorplans, 1,538 to 3,858 SF • Ground floor living and elevator options
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The Root of Creativity Chef Josh Lorenzen of RÃœT elevates a humble root vegetable to rockstar status BY CARRIE SCOZZARO
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
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t’s fitting that, for this issue of Health & Home, RÜT restaurant chef Josh Lorenzen chose a root vegetable: the parsnip. A relative of the carrot, yet paler, sweeter and nuttier, the parsnip often gets overlooked or underutilized in the kitchen, says Lorenzen, who partnered with owner Justin Oliveri to open RÜT on Spokane’s South Hill in the spring of 2019. “People always made parsnip puree and it reminded me of baby food,” says Lorenzen, who wants to elevate parsnips to the same level of fine dining gravitas with which he approaches all the plantbased ingredients on the restaurant’s menu. RÜT is a vegan gastropub and a rising star — as a newcomer, the restaurant garnered top honors in the vegetarian dining category in the Inlander’s 2020 Best of Readers Poll: “Even meat eaters found plenty to love on a menu that explodes with flavors from Asia, Mexico, even Germany. Their bratwurst bowl is amazing,” wrote Inlander arts editor Dan Nailen in the issue. “Cauliflower is turned into buffalo wings and a spicy kung pao bowl, and their crispy Brussels sprouts are some of the best around.” RÜT also took second place for best new restaurant amongst several meat-forward and barbecue joints. All of that just serves as evidence that plantbased eating is increasingly mainstream. Home cooks are working toward “meatless Mondays” and plant-based options now appear on menus in restaurants ranging from fast food joints to upscale eateries. In fact, according to a 2020 survey by the Good Food Institute, more than half of all fast-food chains now offer a plant-based option. It’s progress, but Lorenzen still feels “gourmet style” plant-based foods are sadly lacking at the grocery store level. “The focus is on meat and cheese substitutes, which is great,” he says, “but many of the meals seem bland, underseasoned, just not creative to the level I want to bring.” In addition to exploring how he might get more involved in the packaged meal industry, Lorenzen has continued working in music — previously he was a member of the Portland-based band Acoustic Minds. Now he’s enjoying the therapeutic benefits of helping others realize their creative musical dreams. “I can still get the fun of being creative and collaborative with other people and not have it be my only job,” says Lorenzen, who admits he’s not very comfortable being in the spotlight anyway. Kind of like the parsnip: a humble vegetable. But in the hands of creatives like Lorenzen, a potential rockstar. RÜT recipes on next page...
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TRY IT YOURSELF
PARSNIP AND CARROT SOUP RÜT chef Josh Lorenzen pairs nutty, slightly sweet parsnips with their carrot cousins for this big batch of make-ahead vegan, gluten-free soup that freezes well. Add the “crème fraiche” and fried sage just before serving. • 3 yellow onions, diced medium • 1/3 cup minced garlic • 1/3 cup minced ginger • ¼ cup olive oil • 8 cups parsnips, peeled and chopped in ½ inch rounds • 5 cups carrots, peeled and chopped in ½ inch rounds • 8 cups vegetable stock • 5 cups water • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar • 1 ½ tablespoons salt • ½ cup maple syrup • 1 tablespoon turmeric • 2 cups whole fat canned coconut milk 1. In a large stock pot, cook onions, garlic, and ginger in ¼ cup olive oil on medium heat until onions are translucent. 2. Add the remaining ingredients except the coconut milk to the pot. 3. Bring to a simmer and cook on low to medium heat for 30 to 45 minutes until the vegetables are soft but not mushy. Stir frequently to ensure soup doesn’t burn along the bottom. 4. Remove from heat and add coconut milk. 5. Let cool slightly and puree using either an immersion blender or a standalone blender (working in batches) until it’s silky smooth. 6. Makes approximately five quarts. Serve half and freeze half. FRIED SAGE • 10-15 whole fresh sage leaves, washed and patted dry • Olive oil 1. Heat olive oil in a pan until 330-350 degrees is reached. 2. Place sage leaves in oil and cook until most of the moisture is gone (or until it stops bubbling). 3. Remove from heat to a plate with paper towels to absorb the oil. 4. Serve immediately. VEGAN SPICED CREME FRAICHE • 1 pound firm or extra firm tofu • ¾ cup fresh lemon juice • ⅓ cup warm water • 2 tablespoons agave • 1 ½ teaspoons salt • 1 teaspoon cinnamon • 1 teaspoon cardamom • 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1. Blend all ingredients in a high powered blender on max speed until smooth. Keep cool until ready to serve over individual bowls of soup.
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
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SPECIAL INGREDIENT
Parsnips
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arsnips are high in fiber and provide more than 20 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamins C and K, as well as folate. Like many vegetables, they’re also high in antioxidants, especially ascorbic acid. But how do they taste? Sweet, earthy and a little nutty, according to celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who incorporates them into fall and winter holidays menus. Try them roasted, boiled and mashed, fried, steamed, cooked down into soups and stews, and even eaten raw. Stored in the refrigerator unwashed, parsnips will keep just under two weeks and because they’re a hardy root vegetable, they freeze and reheat well. Although they’re typically enjoyed in the fall, if left in the ground to overwinter, spring parsnips are delightfully sweet and a welcome first veg of the new year. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
PARSNIP FRIES WITH ROSEMARY Kids — and adults — will love RÜT chef Josh Lorenzen’s healthy alternative to potato fries. You can also make this recipe with carrots. • 2 ½ pounds parsnips, peeled, cut into about 3 x ½ inch strips • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary, plus 5 sprigs • 3 tablespoons olive oil • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 2. Mix parsnips, chopped rosemary, and oil on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Spread out in a single layer. 3. Roast for 10 minutes. Turn parsnips and roast until parsnips are tender and browned in spots, 10 to 15 minutes longer. 4. Season to taste with salt and pepper as desired. — RECIPES SHARED BY RÜT'S JOSH LORENZEN.
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Though Townshend Cellar’s Green Bluff tasting room is currently closed, creative curbside pick up options are available. TOWNSHEND CELLARS PHOTOS
Wine on the Bluff Townshend Cellars offers approachable blends with an eye toward an eco-friendly future BY LEANN BJERKEN
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estled in the foothills of Mt. Spokane, among the picturesque orchards and pumpkin farms on Green Bluff, is Townshend Cellars. From its humble beginnings in 1998 in Don Townshend’s garage, the winery’s tasting room is now located in a modern farmhouse-style building, while operations are overseen by Don’s sons Brendon and Michael. Though neither brother has a formal education in winemaking, Michael says they couldn’t help learning a lot about the industry as kids. “On-the-job training in wine making, it was a big part of how we grew up, so we knew a lot already,” he says.
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“But we’ve officially been sole owners of the business for three years now.” Most of the winery’s eight employees work with Brendon as part of the winemaking crew at the company’s main production facility at 1222 N. Regal Street near Spokane Community College. Meanwhile, Michael and his wife, Vanessa, operate the winery’s tasting room and secondary production facility at Green Bluff, as well as a Christmas tree farm on the same property. With the tasting room closed due to COVID-19, the winery is offering curbside pickup as well as some new options. These include glass wine “growlers” dubbed
“Wowlers” that can be purchased and refilled, as well as wine in kegs, which can be set up similarly to beer on draft. “The tasting room was previously open three days a week for folks to taste and buy wine, or participate in wine club activities,” Michael says. “Being closed is hard, but we’re trying some fun new things while we wait to see how things improve and what’s next with phased re-openings.” He notes the winery is also using this time to explore ways to reduce its environmental impact. “The wine industry has a lot of issues with waste, specifically that which is cre-
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ated by bottling, packaging and shipping,” he says. “But we’d like to do our part to be better stewards, raise awareness and work towards sustainable solutions.” They’re exploring alternative packaging such as using cans, boxes or light weight glass bottles, or even reusing bottles, as well as looking at creative ways for shipping wine. Townshend Cellars specializes in red wines, and the most popular are the T3 bordeaux blend, the Vortex red blend, and the simply titled Red Table Wine. They also produce several white wines, as well as sparkling wines. The winery’s grapes come from various vineyards in the Columbia Valley, and it also occasionally purchases excess juice or wine for use in blended products from other wineries.
Goes Well With…
When it comes to food pairing suggestions, both Michael and Brendon Townshend try not to impose strict guidelines. “I’ve heard our T3 pairs well with steak and potatoes, while the cabernet franc goes well with grilled meats,” says Michael. “But I don’t believe you have to stick to set pairings, and I personally enjoy sipping our sparkling wines while eating potato chips.” Brendon Townshend agrees, adding that pairings are closely tied to individual tastes. “Whether or not the wine matches the dish is really up to the person cooking, as they know what flavors they’re seeking,” he says. — LEANN BJERKEN
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“Because we make so many non-vintage blends, we’re able to find a home for excess wine that other makers have on hand but can’t use,” Michael says. “Overall, we try to maintain a good balance of grape and bulk wine purchases, to ensure our product stays consistent.” In partnering with other wineries, he says Townshend Cellars is able to maintain a higher volume of production, and sell its wine at an affordable price. “We’re not the fanciest wine, so you’re more likely to find us in a grocery store than a restaurant,” he says. “But we’re ok with that, because our goal has always been to make great quality wine at a great value, and that’s what we hope to continue with.” OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2020
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JONANTHAN HILL ILLUSTRATION
Dining, Family Style Adapting to COVID-19 restrictions, households are rediscovering the joys of cooking at home BY E.J. IANNELLI
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arlier this year, as shelter-in-place orders went into effect to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, families naturally found themselves spending far more time under the same roof. Of all the rooms in the house, the kitchen ended up being one of the most popular — a likely side effect of the temporary closure of eateries of every kind. Photos of proudly self-prepared meals and amateur culinary forays began popping up on social media accompanied by hashtags like #quarantinebaking and #covidcooking. Households that had fallen into the habit of dining out, drive-through, delivery or microwave meals have instead rediscovered the joys of cooking. “It’s a very good thing to go back to the essentials of life, and cooking is, I believe,
one of them,” says Laurent Zirotti, owner of the Post Falls fine-dining restaurant Fleur de Sel and a 2017 James Beard Foundation Award semifinalist. “I come from a family where we went out to eat once a year.” Always “the helper with a spoon,” Zirotti developed his own lifelong love of cooking in that environment, and he welcomes a potential cultural shift away from the hasty gobbling of processed foods toward more relaxed mealtimes that are centered around home-cooked dishes. For those who like the sound of that, too, but aren’t award-winning chefs, his advice is twofold: “start simple” with straightforward dishes — a simple roast chicken, for instance, or even a salad, like the Nicoise Salad recipe he shares with Health & Home — while embracing a spirit of trial and error. “When I teach classes, I always tell them that the recipe is like a trail in the
forest. You follow it, but if you feel like you want to smell that flower off the trail, you can do it,” he says. And if that detour doesn’t turn out quite right, it’s not the end of the world. “Don’t be discouraged. Failure is a good thing, in a way, for you to be persevering and to try again. You need to understand that we as professionals fail every day. We do!” By way of example, Zirotti points to two recent experiences with macarons. Baking perfect batches of those quintessential French confections eluded Zirotti himself as well as his friend despite their recognized skills in the kitchen. But failures like those, taken in stride, can form the basis for a stronger bond among families who cook together. “If you don’t have the experience, you are the same level as your children. There is no hierarchy anymore. You don’t know, they don’t know, everybody’s equal. So you try it together, and it gives some ties to a family, ties that I think are very special,” he says.
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ncorporating family members during all stages of meal planning and prep can go a long way toward creating that level playing field and fostering those ties, according to Lori van Anrooy, Food Sense/ ...continued on next page
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“DINING FAMILY STYLE,” CONTINUED... SNAP-Ed program manager at the WSU Spokane County Extension. “We always recommend getting the whole family involved. Maybe going around and letting every child pick a meal, and then having that child — or multiple children — involved in preparing that meal. When they’re involved in the preparation, they really have more buy-in. Even if it’s something that that might not enjoy. If they’re part of the prepping, they’re more apt to try it.” When they’re properly supervised, even very young children can share in the process. That could be something indirect like assembling packaged ingredients or setting the table, but there’s no reason to exclude them from the more hands-on activities. “We have kindergartners cut things with plastic knives or table knives in our classes. Even preschoolers can stir things, help mix things together and pour ingredients into bowls,” she says. To help things go smoothly, van Anrooy, like Zirotti, suggests starting with “simple, easy recipes” with limited ingredients. The Enchilada Casserole recipe she shares with Health & Home is made with off-the-shelf tortillas combines with cans of black beans, corn and enchilada sauce. It’s an easy dish that’s proved popular in her classes. She also says it’s important to allow for more time than the recipe might call for, especially when including several young children. The extra time and “planning, planning, planning” that go into joint meal preparation have big potential payoffs. In addition to eating healthier, fresher and more budget-friendly meals, it can increase a household’s appreciation for food as well as each other. “If you make it fun and enjoy doing it, it’s not going to be a chore,” she says. “Sitting down at the dinner table and talking about your day is a great time to find out what’s going on in everyone’s life, especially as kids get older.” “We go a hundred miles an hour and we don’t take the time to sit down,” adds Zirotti. “By doing this, people will put more love into the food they are going to cook. More than just a better education about the food and the ingredients and the craftsmanship, the main thing is that they’re going to share some moments that are special. And that is priceless.”
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FLEUR DE SEL
Salade Niçoise (nee-soah-zeh) This simple and refreshing salad from Nice, France can be an appetizer or a main course. The traditional recipe calls for albacore tuna canned in olive oil, but in this modern version we will use fresh ahi tuna. Serves four as a main course. • 4 tuna steaks 6-oz. each, total of 1-1/2 lbs.* • 1/2-lb. of French green beans, ends trimmed • 4 small red bliss potatoes • 1 dozen grape tomatoes • 1 red bell pepper • 4-oz. baby mixed greens • 1/2-cup of pitted Pichouline olives or Kalamata olives • 2 organic or farm fresh eggs • 4 anchovy fillets • 1 lemon • 1/2-cup extra virgin olive oil • Salt and pepper to taste • Fleur de sel for finishing *You may also substitute good quality canned tuna and proceed to step 2. MISE EN PLACE (This is a fancy term for getting your ingredients prepped.) 1. Sear in a slightly oiled sautée pan or gas grill the tuna steaks very rare on high heat for 1 minute on each side. Refrigerate after cooking. When cold, cut in 1/4 inch strips. 2. Blanch green beans in boiling water for 5 minutes, strain and cool in iced water. Strain and refrigerate.
3. Boil potatoes until fork-tender. Refrigerate. When cool, cut in 1/4 inch thick slices. 4. Rinse and cut in half grape tomatoes. 5. Rinse and seed bell pepper and cut into 1/4-inch strips. 6. Rinse mixed greens. 7. Cut the olives in half. 8. Boil eggs (10 minutes in boiling water). Refrigerate. When cold, peel and cut in half. 9. Rinse anchovy fillets. MAKING THE VINAIGRETTE Squeeze the juice of the lemon in a squeeze bottle or plastic sealed container. Add olive oil and salt and pepper. Shake well. Taste for seasoning. BUILDING THE SALAD 1. Mix prepared ingredients in a salad bowl: green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, olives, bell peppers, season with dressing and toss well. 2. Divide ingredients among 4 plates. 3. Add some of the tuna to each plate. 4. Add half of a hardboiled egg and a rolled anchovy filet to each plate. 5. Drizzle dressing over the salad. Finish with a sprinkle of fleur de sel (table salt will also work). Bon appetit! — Recipe shared by Chef Laurent Zirotti
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Enchilada Casserole Even very young kids can help with mixing
the filling and placing the tortillas to create this hearty family meal that comes together in less than an hour. • 1 28-ounce can green enchilada sauce • 2 cups cooked or canned beans, drained • 3 cups cooked brown rice • 1 15-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained or 1 ½ cups frozen corn • 12 corn tortillas • 3 cups grated cheese 1. Wash cooking surfaces, get ingredients and tools, and wash hands. 2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 3. In a large bowl, mix sauce, beans, rice and corn. 4. Place half of mixture on bottom of 9x13 pan. 5. Place corn tortillas on top of the mixture. 6. Place remaining mixture on top of tortillas. 7. Top with cheese. 8. Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes, remove cover and bake for 20 minutes. — Recipe shared by Lori van Anrooy of the WSU-Spokane County Extension. Find more family-friendly recipes like this on Facebook @WSU Food Sense Spokane County Extension
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Baby skin can pretty quickly go through changes that may be unsettling to new parents.
The Scoop on Skin How to care for delightful, but delicate, baby skin BY MATT THOMPSON
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mooth as a baby’s bum” refers to that delightfully soft and blemish-free skin that babies enjoy. Until they don’t. Newborns arrive having spent nine months in an amniotic waterworld. While there, an amazing waterproofing called vernix caseosa develops, starting about 20 weeks along. This cheesy layer of whitish goop is actually a collection of shed skin cells and sebaceous oils secreted from the baby’s developing sebaceous ducts. As the due date approaches, the coating thins out — that’s why babies born earlier tend to be cheesier. It has actually become common not to be in a rush to wash away that protective coating right after birth, with
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some caregivers waiting up to 24 hours for that first bath. Once introduced to our dry, cruel world, however, baby skin can pretty quickly go through changes that may be unsettling to new parents. Quite often, the hands and feet initially develop dryness. One approach is to allow them to adjust to the drier conditions outside the womb. But if the dryness is intolerable, or certainly if it seems uncomfortable in any way, applying moisturizer is fine, just look for a neutral but greasy product: Consider Aquaphor, Vaseline, Cerave, vegetable shortening or even coconut oil. Creams and lotions have more water in them, tend to absorb too
quickly and they often sting. When choosing moisturizer, it’s always best to avoid products with added fragrance. A somewhat unsettling development new parents may encounter is cradle cap — thickened, crusty plaques that can coat the baby’s scalp. Watchful waiting is one approach to deal with cradle cap. Another option is to grease up the plaque with some olive oil and give it a good scrub with a soft brush. But to really get at the underlying cause of the plaque, a dandruff shampoo can be applied every other day, left on the scalp two to three minutes, and then rinsed away. Just be careful not to get any shampoo into the baby’s eyes, because it will sting.
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When it comes to bathtime, there are a number of baby-friendly body washes and shampoos out there. Aveeno, the Honest Company, Johnson and Johnson and many others have products that are designed to gently keep your baby clean. But while freshly bathed baby skin is a parenting delight, it is not OK to bathe the baby every day. Bathing every other day will be easier on that sensitive skin, while still maintaining hygiene. In the interim, you can spot-clean the pits, bits and folds when slobber, spit-up and sweat find their way to those nooks and crannies. Keeping the skin dry in the folds is half the battle, while the other half is making sure to moisturize and waterproof dry, vulnerable areas.
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peaking of vulnerable areas, life in a diaper can be very aggravating to the skin, although not nearly as much as it used to be back when cotton cloth diapers were the norm. Disposable diapers and some of the modern fabric diapers do a much better job keeping the ones and twos away from the skin. At times, a diaper ointment may still be helpful, should their bums get rashy or red. Diaper ointments containing zinc tend to protect the skin best, although some are better at staying on the skin, not just ending up in the diaper. I prefer a product called Calmoseptine, but there are numerous other options out there that should also work pretty well. If sores develop, or a diaper rash just does not want to clear up, a visit to the primary care office would be best, as there may be some yeast on the scene or another reason the rash won’t go away. Fingernails are actually extensions of skin and can use a little care, too. If a little one is scratching up their skin with those sharp little blades, the nails can be carefully filed to smooth them out. Or, the nails can be trimmed. But rather than scary little clippers that can cut a little too close, I would suggest using little safety scissors with a snubbed tip — like the ones their dad may use for his nose hair (but not the actual pair he uses). Skin rashes are seen quite often with babies. But with so many different causes, it’s best to check with the baby’s care provider if a rash develops. In fact, don’t hesitate to reach out for help with skin care or any other concerns — getting support in taking care of a new baby will help you relax and enjoy this magical time. Matt Thompson is a pediatrician at Spokane’s Kids Clinic.
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Pandemic Pets Adopting a puppy in the time of Covid — the good, the bad and the ugly BY DAN NAILEN
I Daisy.
DAN NAILEN PHOTO
t was Mother’s Day and we were having a socially distanced backyard gathering when my partner Heather’s adult son mentioned he knew someone who knew someone who was giving away Labradoodle puppies. Five days later, we joined the many suddenly homebound in rashly deciding to bring a four-legged fur ball into our fold. We didn’t discuss it much beyond agreeing that my partner Heather would never have to get up in the middle of the night to deal with the dog, and her teenage daughter would take care of it when I was working. After buying a few supplies, we made our only excursion across the stateline since
the ’rona arrived, spending roughly 10 minutes in a Post Falls house to pick up what turned out to be a Labradoodle mixed with a Pyrenees mountain dog. We named her Daisy and she was just shy of six weeks old and weighed six pounds when we picked her up. That’s younger than a vet will recommend adopting a puppy, but we didn’t want to miss out. We’ll probably regret such a dainty name when she tops out in the 80- to 100-pound range. I’ve already been calling Daisy things like “Land Shark” and “Baby Shark” based on her razor-sharp puppy teeth and predilection for directing them at any exposed skin at least a couple times a day. My hands were pretty dry and tough from all the hand washing brought on by the virus. Now they’re scabbed up and in daily need of both hydrogen peroxide and soothing lotion. Pet ownership so far has been an exhausting, exhilarating, painful, expensive, pee-filled blur. The pandemic puppy experience has been mostly positive, but not without its trials. Here are a few lessons we’ve learned that you should bear in mind if you’re considering getting a new dog at your house.
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DO YOUR HOMEWORK Daisy not being exactly the breed we expected was not a problem for us, but we did some crash-course Googling and YouTubing to learn the various characteristics of her genetic components. You’ll want to do the same no matter what dog you’re considering, just to make sure you’re getting a puppy conducive to your living environment, your family situation, even your work schedule. Puppies all sleep a lot, but they aren’t puppies forever and you need to be ready for the decade ahead.
THROW AWAY YOUR SCHEDULE
Puppies are incredibly time-consuming, even with all the sleeping they do. When they’re awake, they need constant attention, both with positive play and training, and just keeping them from getting into trouble with their curiosity. If you have a routine you’re comfortable with, it might not be easy to suddenly lose the ability to, say, sit quietly with a newspaper or a book when your puppy has other ideas.
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We have three people on hand to walk the dog, pick up after the dog, play with the dog, and train the dog, and I think all three of us probably get worn out by it all on a daily basis. I can’t imagine doing the puppy thing alone. We also signed up for a puppy-training class, and it’s definitely been helpful to have professionals help us out. We found a couple of other folks in our lives with new puppies and schedule weekly puppy play dates so the dogs can wear each other out and learn some social skills with other dogs during these locked-down days. Even though we’re locked down, your puppy needs to learn from other dogs and other humans, too.
EMBRACE THE CHAOS
The puppy stage is just that, one stage in a hopefully long life. So while it’s tiring always, and trying at times, it’s good to remember that your pup is hopefully going to grow into a great companion. And if you have more time at home due to the pandemic, take advantage of the extra time with your pup and enjoy the snuggles, games of tug-o-war and walks around the neighborhood. You should also consider every ripped T-shirt or pair of shorts an opportunity to up your wardrobe game. As soon as we adopted Daisy, our focus on the scary disease running rampant across the globe greatly diminished, thanks to our focus on this new cute creature hanging around the house. That’s not necessarily the best reason to adopt a dog, but it’s definitely a bonus.
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Giving Back “I am a farmer and conservationist,” says Spokane’s Suzy Dix, “and I do real estate to afford the other two.” BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL
W
ithin minutes of meeting Suzy Dix on her farm south of Spokane, three things are immediately evident: she loves animals (and has a lot of them), she loves being outside, and if there’s a minute to fill, she’s doing something. Shortly after posing for photographs with three of her 25 horses, which she breeds mainly to serve as her trusty companions for playing polo, Dix heads onto her porch, which overlooks a lush green lawn. Horse pastures and wheat fields sit beyond a weeping willow in the yard, and an albino miniature donkey named Puff the Magic Dragon can be seen nibbling near one of the fence lines. One of her two dogs, Goose, quickly jumps up and insists on looking Dix right
in the eyes, one paw on either shoulder of her perfectly white blouse. It’s OK, Dix says, she’s already on outfit change number four for the day, which isn’t unusual as she switches hats from feeding horses to showing real estate properties to clients, to welcoming a reporter onto the porch for an afternoon chat. A moment later, she excuses herself to take a quick call — she and her fiancé (land use attorney Allen “AT” Miller) need to check how many wedding invitations they can send for their small ceremony in September. She quickly calls her assistant to make sure they’re on the same page. “Gov. Inslee saved me from needing a reception!” Dix says with a laugh shortly after, noting that it would have likely been quite the event if not for pandemic regula-
tions. That’s because Dix is a Spokane fixture, well known for her success in the real estate industry, but also for her true passions: conservation and polo. Though she grew up riding horses competitively, Dix didn’t pick up polo until the age of 49. Since 2004, she has helped put on the Annual Cobra Polo Classic charity event that helps raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities. Indeed, Dix brushes off the importance of her real estate work in favor of highlighting her love of the outdoors, of riding and caring for horses, and of caring for the land. “When people ask me what I do I say, ‘I am a farmer and a conservationist, and I do real estate to afford the other two.’
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That’s gonna be on my tombstone,” she says. Dix grew up in Spokane and moved onto what’s now the family farm off South Farm Road 40 years ago, where she and her first husband raised their kids. At the time, the family had a doublewide on the property, but they later built a house. She notes the irony that even as she’s made a living selling real estate, she’s never bought a house for herself. With several siblings and nephews living with their families on other properties along the same stretch of road, her farm is open for all manner of family events. Thanksgiving Day, for example, is a marathon of activity, with a family football game and then everyone rounding up horses for a midday ride.
land. Either have it thinned, or use different grants, which I use on my own farm for thinning.” Dix says she was one of three women of three ages interviewed for the video, and she asked where she fit into the mix with a pretty good idea she was the oldest. “They’re like, ‘Well one’s 18, one’s like 40…’ so I’m like, ‘So I’m the old broad!’” Dix laughs. “It’s great to be useful. That was something my parents really instilled in us growing up, is that we are very blessed and we should use that to give back.” Indeed, on top of playing polo for different causes, donating her real estate commissions on her Dishman Hills Conservancy work back into the cause, and supporting candidates who want to
“I don’t even like to go to the lake for two days, it’s too boring for me.” “We’re drinking whiskey as we ride out the door. It’s a great tradition,” Dix says. “We’re not inside people, we’re outdoor people.” Dix has done significant work to preserve those outdoors she loves so dearly, working on the board of the Dishman Hills Conservancy, where her real estate ties come in handy. “I have been fortunate to have a lot of contact with a lot of the land that comes up around Dishman Hills,” Dix says. People will call her to sell their property, and she’s been able to help hundreds of acres of that land be acquired for the conservancy instead of being sold off for development. “We need trees for cleaning the air, we need trees for habitat. We need land, open space, to keep the air clean,” Dix says. “We’ve got to do something to combat climate change.” Dix has also worked with the Nature Conservancy, a global environmental nonprofit that does conservation work backed by science, she says. In a video filmed for the nonprofit, Dix says she was interviewed about climate change and its impacts in the Inland Northwest. She discussed the devastating impacts of wildfires and smoke in particular. “August has been a month that you plan to go away,” Dix says. “With a lot of my clients who buy land, one of the first things I do is get them to take care of their
do something about climate change, Dix has also traveled the world on medical missions. This February, she and Miller went to India as two of only a handful of non-medical volunteers helping surgeons coordinate care for children with cleft palettes, burns, and other serious injuries. “I would rather do that for two weeks than ever go to Hawaii or Mexico and lie on a beach,” Dix says. “I don’t even like to go to the lake for two days, it’s too boring for me.” As someone who never stops moving, it’s probably no surprise she loves hiking. Just two days after this porch chat, she and Miller are set to go to Glacier National Park for a quick fall adventure. It was on a hike there last fall that Miller proposed. After getting married in late September, their fall agenda includes a trip back East to see the fall leaves change colors, with plenty of bicycling and hiking while they’re there. Even as she continues to get attention for her horses and real estate work, Dix says more than anything, she hopes her legacy is that she gave back and helped others. “My mother had several sayings we all thought were quite fun. One was, ‘Remember who you are and what you represent,’” Dix says. “I don’t want to be remembered as a polo player or a realtor, I want to be remembered as somebody who gave back.”
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