The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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One day, I’ll get it all together… I say this every year about the time I get ready to file my taxes. And each year, I do have it a little more together than the previous year, but in my mind, still not together enough. I guess what I mean by “getting it all together” is being organized. In terms of taxes, it means all of my receipts in one spot, all of my expenses, all of my income and special documents needed for this purpose, and maybe a spreadsheet that had all of that in...
The Lincoln Community Garden is sponsoring a seed exchange and educational programming event at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 27 at Valler's Heritage House. The event is free and open to everyone in the community. Jean Pocha, from Ovando will be leading the seed exchange and discussing the basics of saving seeds. Jean has been gardening in the Blackfoot Valley for many years and is eager to share her knowledge with other gardeners in the area. Please bring seeds you have to trade...
People have often said that there are always two sides to a story. In actuality, there really are at least three sides to every story, especially in stories containing two people and some sort of disagreement. In my opinion, there is the side from one person’s perspective, the side from the other person’s perspective, and somewhere in the middle lies the closest version to the actual truth. Sometimes it helps to have this perspective, especially when you’re the one with a side...
At any given time, there could be anywhere from three to twenty books that I’m reading. While most people keep their books neatly stacked on their nightstand, mine are, more often than not, scattered on my bed. Most of mine are usually in the realm of self-help or self-improvement. (Let’s face it, we all could use a little self-help and improvement, whether we know and recognize it, or not). I like to have at least one fictional book or novel to help me leave reality for a whi...
I'm not going to lie, last week was a rough one. Two friends came to the end of their lives, another received some discouraging news regarding an ongoing medical issue and yet another was hospitalized. It reminded me how finite life really is. As I've heard other people say, "This is no dress rehearsal. You've only got one life to live, so live it." It struck me like a slap across the face, but there have been little signs of this for the last few months. In December, as I...
When it comes to life, I’m one of those live it to the limit kind of folks. I have things I want to do, places I want to go, dreams and aspirations to attain, and the type of person I want to be and become. I can’t get there by sitting on the sidelines – and I can’t get there by running myself ragged either. Making the most of life and living it to what you consider the fullest is so different for everyone. While I say I like to live it to the limit, I’m not talking about dra...
This past week, as if we need to be reminded, brought about three feet of snow and sub-zero temperatures we haven’t seen in a really long time (probably last year, but it still feels like a really long time). What it also brought were lots of really cool random acts of kindness throughout our little town, and a reminder for me that Lincoln really is the “Last Best Place.” Lincoln truly is a very special place, both in my heart and my daily life. The town and the people in it...
Welcome to the second week in February. Yes, most of you know what that means… Valentine’s Day is approaching. The day of love. Some people believe it’s just another “Hallmark Holiday” brought about to sell cards, flowers, chocolates, dinners for two and on and on, while others truly get into the spirit and show those in their lives how much they are loved and important they are. Personally, I don’t need a holiday to show anyone I love them. I like to think that I, and we a...
This week I thought I would write about control, and if you know me, this is kind of a funny topic. For those who don't know me, the reason this is especially humorous is that it's being written by a known, in-denial, reforming, control freak. It just so happens that over the last week, there have been a lot of discussions by various people in my life about the area of control (control of events, people, things, etc.) and it prompted something within me to take on the topic....
This week, I’ll be turning 51. At one point in my life, age was something for me that was difficult to talk about. Now, it’s more of a number that doesn’t have a ton of value in the way I think about it. Twenty years ago, this was not the case. I remember the number, age 30, causing me an incredible amount of anxiety and, believe it or not, a terrible amount of grief. I cried almost the entire year before my 30th birthday. Turns out I was following in my mother’s footste...
I’ve been spending time the last couple of weeks helping my step-mom pack up her house in preparation for her move to North Carolina. She and my dad had their house in Lincoln built about 13 years ago. There are a lot of memories in that house alone: Christmases and other holidays, family gatherings, spending time with my dad during his chemo treatments, and while we lived with them when we moved back to Lincoln in 2018. I’m sad that it sold, for sentimental reasons, but hap...
Welcome to the second official week of January, where it feels like the world has gone completely mad. We've seen and heard horrible things in this past week, which to me feels like more of a science-fiction novel than reality. If you're anything like me, the events and actions of what's going on in the world right now have you feeling things on an entirely different level than you may have before. My feelings range from sadness, to fear, despair, anger and everything in...
Welcome to 2021! It’s a brand new year. One filled with promise of new things, new endeavors, and new and different beliefs. Rather than address a couple of recent letters that were published in the BVD separately, I thought I would take this opportunity to address them both simultaneously within this week’s column and hopefully give myself and others a chance to grow and see things from other points of view. Just before Christmas, there was a let-ter from Pastor Don Nie...
Remember last January, when I really began writing this column on a regular basis? Yes, January, at this point feels like yesterday, and five years ago, all at the same time. When I began writing it, my idea was to give people ideas of other perspectives besides their own and inspire people to think a little differently. Turns out, it’s also helped me to see other perspectives than my own too, which I consider a deeply valued and treasured gift. In January, we thought this c...
There has been a lot of talk in my world of Facebook, blogs, and books I’ve been gravitating to lately about “self-care.” It seems like such an easy thing, like something we should all just automatically know how to do, right? Well, I’m not exactly sure it’s as easy as it sounds. We get so buried down with the weight of work, responsibilities to our families, friends, sometimes even strangers, there’s little time, or even energy, to practice any type of self-care. By definiti...
It’s been a year, hasn’t it? It’s been good. It’s been bad. It’s been difficult. It most definitely has NOT been easy. It’s brought sickness, loneliness, anger and depression, in ways we’ve not ever experienced before. But, it’s brought hope, too, in its own way. Hope for things to be different. It’s brought awareness. Awareness in a way that we can’t deny, about the way we’ve lived, as people, as a community, as families and as individuals. There are those who have made it th...
The Fat Hippie, a medical cannabis dispensary, became Lincoln's newest business along Main Street Nov. 5, and celebrated their grand opening November 20. Terry Lucke, owner of the establishment, had wanted to put a store in Lincoln for a couple of years, and the timing just worked out. The actual endeavor began about seven months ago when the space in the building became available. Originally slated to open in a different suite in the building at 425 Montana Highway 200, the l...
Lincoln resident Chad Sutej was recognized as the Blackfoot Valley Optimist Club’s Optimist of the Year for 2019-2020. “There was really no question in my mind as to who should have received this award. Chad is always willing to help out,” Optimist President Shayne Lindsey said. “He goes above and beyond, and has been involved and instrumental in everything we do from the very beginning. He embodies everything that the Optimist Club stands for and has helped raise a lot of money to give back to the youth in our local communi...
The term, "blessings in disguise" is use to describe good things that happen in our lives that, at first, may not seem like a blessing at all. Losing, or even leaving a job may seem like the worst thing ever. I know; I've been there. But losing "that" job may have opened a door that normally would have remained closed, or offered you a different path leading you to something better or more fulfilling. That's what happened to me. I had a job I liked very much at the University...
Welcome to December! While I always view November as a month devoted to gratitude and Thanksgiving, December is the month I remember all of the blessings in my life as I prepare again for a new coming year. A lot of people think gratitude and blessings are one in the same. It can feel this way, and that's not a bad thing – it's good to have both in our lives, but by definition this is how they differ: according to the Meriam Webster dictionary, gratitude is the quality or feel...
In light of the recent uptick of COVID-19 cases in Lincoln and the new mandates, along with the recent article in the newspaper, Tiana and I have decided to cancel the Christmas Stroll, which was scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 5. While it was our goal to help bring businesses, artists, and the town of Lincoln together during the holidays, our community and the safety of those who live and work here are a larger priority. With the recent closure of the school and the number of...
In December, I'll be moving into the theme of blessings, but for my last column in November, I want to continue my thoughts on gratitude. Something that seemed so random ran into me like a freight train this weekend. I've heard the words "be present" and "live in the moment" before, but never, in all of my life, have those words smacked me right across the face as they did on Saturday. I'm sure you've seen or heard those words, hundreds of times, right? So have I, and until...
Tiana Valler and I had been talking of doing a Christmas Stroll beginning last June. We were hopeful we could host an event that would bring businesses, artists, crafters, independent sales associates, eateries and bar establishments together, while promoting Lincoln and bringing people to town to shop, dine, stay, visit and get into the holiday spirit. We had planned to work in conjunction with the Annual Craft Bazaar and Santa’s Workshop for the kids, both of which have b...
I’ve been writing about gratitude for the past couple of weeks. We’ve also experienced a lot of loss in Lincoln over the last several months. Like many others, these losses have left me feeling incredibly sad. Rather than focus on the sadness, and probably because I’ve been hyper-focused on being grateful, I thought I would offer my own tribute to some of those we’ve lost who have impacted me along the way, and to remind myself and others not to focus on the loss, but rather t...
Last week, my column focused a lot on gratitude, which I'm going to continue with through the month of November. It just seems like the right month to do it. I'm wondering if anyone accepted my invitation to write ten things you were grateful for over the last week or start writing in a gratitude journal? Of those who did, is anyone planning to continue for the month, and maybe even beyond that? Did you notice anything different in the way you felt, or how things around you...
