December 2015

We Belong Together

A story about adoption and family

The ARTS in the Basin

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On my refrigerator I

didn't even know who LR Knost was. I only knew I ran across a quote by the person, printed it and taped it front and center on my refrigerator. A daily reminder to never forget what to remember. To never stop looking for the beauty in life. We are taught that if life is what we make it, than why not make it beautiful? Right?

Not so easy when we are barraged with daily routine that can leave us exhausted and challenged to see past the piles. It's easy to forget how beautiful life is when we overcomplicate complications and become too overwhelmed to learn, or grow, or change. We forget to remember we can't always have things our way. (Yes, I have learned I am flexible, until I am not.)

Our lives are a blend of beauty, awesomeness, amazement...AND... awfulness, mundane, routine and sheer badness and sadness. In reality our world is completely independent of total understanding and sometimes we are torn mid-air between what is real and what is dreamed; what is predetermined and what is choice.

It is far too easy to no longer see the beauty that becomes an unfailing antidote against boredom, sterile preoccupation with things artificial, disenchantment, or the alienation from the true source of strength.

Yet, it is our misfortune if we ever allow the true instinct for truth and what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, to ever

grow dim, or even regrettably... lost. There is beauty in even the hard times. We find ourselves stronger because we had to be, smarter because of mistakes, happier because of sadness known, and wiser because of the learning along the way.

So, for a moment, at least, I stand in front of my refrigerator and read the words of a person I never knew nor ever will, and I am encouraged. And as the smell of hot coffee announces a new day, I am calm, holding on and breathing in – another chance to see the breathtaking beauty of life all around me and I choose to be grateful.

Life is amazing. And then it's awful. And then it's amazing again. And in between the amazing and the awful its ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That's just living the heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it's breathtakingly beautiful.� ~LR Knost

- Melea Johnson

VENUE MAGAZINE Published by: Venue Media Group, Inc Publisher: Melea Johnson Layout & Design: Joe LaRosee Sales: Melea Johnson, Sue Tebow, Photographers Robin L. Green, Roseanna Sales, Rosalie Black, Sue Tebow Graphics: Joe LaRosee Contributing Writers: Shawn Erin, Lisa Boorman, Melea Johnson, Tim Adams

Venue Magazine, PO Box 820, Moses Lake, WA 98837 509 431-3573 Melea Johnson / 509 760-0503 Sue Tebow info@thevenuemag.com / thevenuemag.com /

Boorman family children Rosalie Black Photography

Give the gift of great hair Eden Salon is an ARROJO Ambassador Salon bringing the award-winning hairdressing brand dedicated to world-class hair. ARROJO is very focused on the culture of the brand and the performance of the product. All of the products are developed and tested on the ARROJO salon floor

by ARROJO master stylists. If it doesn’t match their standards, it doesn’t go on the shelf.

“Being an ambassador salon we earn education opportunities with ARROJO stylists so we can extend our knowledge and professionalism to our clients. We invite you to come experience the difference of ARROJO.” jeannie huck owner/stylist

eden salon, inc 106 W Third Avenue, Moses Lake 509 766-6900 / edensaloninc.com

Jeannie in New York working alongside internationally recognized master stylist, Nick Arrojo.

53 Basin St NW, Ephrata 509 754-9335

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And then ther

Rosalie Black Photography

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re were seven

a story of adoption

By Lisa Boorman

I

t is not unusual to get some odd looks when my family tromps into a place of business, such as a restaurant. It is not the fact that we don’t all look alike, but the stares are given because of how many of us there are, the age differences, and the fact that we can also be a pretty loud and crazy group.

My husband Rick and I have seven children, two daughters-in-law and three grandchildren. Our oldest child is 26 and our youngest just turned five.

We are blessed to have adopted our youngest three.

We always knew one day we would adopt and the final decision was made one Wednesday night when we heard a missionary speak on how many children in the world need homes. At that moment my husband and I looked at each other and knew the time was now. We, like so many others, wanted a baby and at the time the best way to make that happen was by adopting from China. We put in a lot of time and money and after four years of waiting we started to wonder if this was going to happen for us.

We ended up moving to Moses lake and one Sunday at church we saw a beautiful baby girl in front of us. After talking to the couple we found out they were foster parents and that this little baby was going to be adopted. We were

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shocked that you could adopt a baby from the foster system and we decided to look into it. We still had at least another year waiting for a child from China, there seemed to be a lot of people waiting for the same children coming out of China, and if our goal was to help a child by offering a home this, we thought, might be the way. So we stopped our paperwork, forfeited the nearly $10,000 we'd sent to China, and started the paperwork to become Foster To Adopt parents locally.

I remember the day we were licensed. We received a phone call that same day for a baby girl who was four months old. I remember meeting her for the first time and knew in my heart that I was to be her foster mom.

Ironically, she was the sister of the baby we met a year earlier in church - the baby that started us on this path. A year after we met Gianna we were able to adopt her.

We were planning on only adopting one child but that changed one morning when I woke up to another phone call. Rick was in Reno doing fire training for the week so he wasn’t home. The call was for a new foster daughter who was born the day before. I went to the hospital and met Andra and took her home that day. I decided that I would surprise Rick and, boy, was he surprised. A couple of days

later when he arrived home Cody, our teenage son, was holding the new baby. Rick thought it was one of those dolls they give high schoolers to learn about the responsibility of caring for infants. He wasn’t expecting her to move and cry.

When she did it was the best surprise ever.

Ben’s call came a year later. He was a month old and a sibling to Gianna. He was in the hospital in Spokane when we met him and he was on a feeding tube. He was failing to thrive and unwilling to eat from the bottle. We gowned up and entered the room. The nurse gave me a bottle and asked if I would like to try and feed him. So far, no one had been successful. He drank from the bottle like he was just waiting for me to show up and hold him.

When we brought Ben home at one month old, Andra was one and Gianna was two. Most of our friends were becoming empty nesters and we were starting to fill our nest again. We thought we were doing something to bless these children but it didn’t take long to figure out that they were blessing US. When we decided to do this we talked to our older children because we knew we needed their support for this to happen. They, along with our parents, have been so incredible. When they say it takes a village to raise a

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child we have the best village imaginable.

We decided after adopting the three that we needed to concentrate on raising them and let our foster license close. Our little girls are both six now, and Benjamin is five. We are usually the oldest parents at school functions. Our lives are sticky with peanut butter and jelly, filled with chaos and sometimes disorganization, but they are overflowing with joy, laughter, sweet hugs, and gentle snuggles during bedtime prayers. Others our ages might be traveling the world and spending time on golf courses whereas Rick and I are dropping quarters into glasses containing tiny lost teeth, helping our little ones learn to read and write, and watching endless Disney movies. We can't imagine life getting any better than this.

This is our story. Every foster-adopt story is different and every child is different. Now I help and encourage others to become foster parents. There is no guarantee of adopting the children in your care; in fact, the goal is to help the parents and the family reunite with their children. We have many foster parents who have developed great relationships with the bio parents or the relatives. They mentor them and work with them and when it is time for the children to return home it is a relationship that they keep. For one of our daughters we decided to have an open adoption agreement with the father. He was a good man who loved his daughter but knew the best choice in this case would for her to stay with us and for him to continue to be a part of her life. We also think it is important for her to stay in contact with her siblings who live in other homes so we do sibling visits.

Whether you have these children in your home for a week, a month, a year, or a lifetime my advice is to just love them as long as you can and make a difference in their lives that they will carry with them forever. I would like to say the system is perfect but it is not. But if we have the help of the community and others to step forward and make a difference it can get better. The children of our community need your help. Families in our community need your help.

There are a lot of things you can do even if you can't be a foster parent.

Rick and Lisa Boorman, along with her parents, are co-owners of Red Door and Red Door Cafe in downtown Moses Lake. Lisa also works for Fostering Washington as a recruiter and peer mentor. She helps facilitate orientation classes for new foster parents, works closely with state social workers and helps foster parents understand their rights and obligations and how to understand and maneuver through the system. She can be reached at lboorman1@gmail.com.

CAROL BRIDGES SEWING FOR CHILDREN

T

he owner of Second Stitch Sewing Studio, Carol Bridges devotes much of her spare time creating colorful “comfort bags.� The roomy bags, with sturdy rope drawstrings, are filled with a myriad of items, depending on the sex and age of the foster child receiving them.

Since many children are removed from homes without a chance of gathering belongings, the bags are a stopgap. For infants, they are filled with clothing, bottles, sippy cup, formula, diapers and wipes, baby food, pacifiers etc. Toddlers receive many of the same items.

Comfort bags for older children and teens contain personal products, underwear and socks, t-shirt, pajamas or t-shirt and sleep pants, and a small comfort item such as a book or journal. All bags contain a note of encouragement to foster parents and foster children.

Last year Aim Gymnastics did a drive for items to put in bags and other people also step up and donate.

Items can be dropped off at Red Door. If you wish to help make bags, contact Lisa Boorman at Red Door.

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Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation

What do they do, actually, to help our friends and family members who are fighting cancer?

We want to help you with the road ahead office hours are Monday-Thursday 10am-2pm please call our office today to see how we can help 509-764-4644 we are located at 1031 W. Broadway Ave, Moses Lake Gas Vouchers

If you or your loved one has been diagnosed with cancer there is a good chance that you will have to travel out of town for your treatments. One of our goals is to make it easier for cancer patients to get to treatment, thus providing some financial support through treatment.

Wigs & Head Coverings

Our office features a wide variety of donated wigs, hats, scarves, bandanas, and more for our current cancer patients. We have caring volunteers that are available to help you pick out that perfect wig or hat.

Educational Materials

Our office features many free pamphlets from numerous creditable cancer organizations including the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, Susan B. Komen and Breast Friends. We also have many books that are available for check out that cover a wide range of cancer topics as well as inspirational stories of courage and determination.

Dietary & Health There are many side effects that come as a result of cancer

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treatments. Loss of appetite, sore mouth or throat, dry mouth, dental and gum problems, changes in taste or smell, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and fatigue are some of the side effects that prevent you from getting the nutrition your body needs to stay healthy.

Free Bus for Cancer Patients

At times we know our patients will travel to Confluence Health in Wenatchee for radiation therapy 5 days a week for an average of 6 consecutive weeks. The Columbia Basin Cancer

Foundation supports the PEOPLE FOR PEOPLE Health Express Shuttle that takes patients from the Confluence Health in Moses Lake to their appointments in Wenatchee.

Monthly Support group

Support group is open to patients and caregivers. Every 3rd Monday of the Month 5:30pm Moses Lake Senior Center 608 E 3rd Ave. Moses Lake

Family photos

Shannon Michelle Photography donates her time to capture beautiful images for cancer patients and their families.

Outdoor Clean up Day

In the Spring and the Fall we have different groups that will volunteer their time to our cancer patients helping them with outdoor projects.

Lending Library

Along with our educational materials our office also features a wide variety of books just for fun.

Angel Kneedler, Executive Director

columbiabasincancerfoundation.org / facebook.com/cbcfoundation

a g rou p ex pe ri e n c e o f love & su p p o rt

A cancer diagnosis can be frightening and bring up many questions about your immediate and long-term future.

No one should face a cancer diagnosis alone. Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation offers a monthly support group.

Through sharing of experiences and encouragement from others, the support group gives those on this difficult journey the strength and resolve to continue on.

whereever you go, whatever you do, we will always be there supporting you.

CBCF Cancer Support Group meets every third Monday of the month September through May. (December’s meeting will be on the 14th) Meetings are held at the Moses

Lake Senior Center at 608 E 3rd Ave at 5:30pm

join us!

food • fun • painting • gifts

bring a dish to share!

DPArtz will be there with 20 spots available to paint • $10 per person painting is optional.

come for the fun! rsvp today at 764.4644

7TH ANNUAL

Country Sweethearts

BENEFIT DINNER, DANCE & AUCTION

PHOTO BY ROBIN L PHOTOGRAPHY

B R O U G H T TO Y O U B Y

February 6th, 2016 • Grant Co. Fairgrounds 5PM CHECK-IN & SOCIAL HOUR

Join us for an evening to honor those who fight and live with cancer everyday TURN YOUR DATE NIGHT INTO A NIGHT OF GIVING! FEATURING DINNER, DANCING, WINE, BEER, SILENT & LIVE AUCTIONS

T ickets: $65/person or $500/table of 8 PLEASE RSVP BY JANUARY 3OTH AS SPACE IS LIMITED

RANDY DICKINSON

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE CBCF OFFICE AT 1031 W BROADWAY (M-TH 10AM-2PM) OR ONLINE WWW.COLUMBIABASINCANCERFOUNDATION.ORG ON EVENTS PAGE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES OR TO DONATE TO THE SILENT OR LIVE AUCTIONS PLEASE CALL 764.4644 OR EMAIL INFO@COLUMBIABASINCANCERFOUNDATION.ORG

12543 Road H SW, Royal City 509-989-0428

Massage Therapy Mondays in Dec.

30 min - $30 Table/Full Body call for appt times

Respite Care • Adult Daycare • Family Education Support Group Services • Safe & Secure Community

allisonaguilar.handsontrade.com

Allison Aguilar, LMP 425-877-8765

facebook.com/allisonaguilarlmp Chair Massage Mon - Fri, 11am-1pm, Wed 10am - 6pm $1 per minute

830 NW SUNBURST CT. • MOSES LAKE • 764-1900

Located inside The Health Zone (across from the post office on 3rd in MosesLake)

PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP

Selling Your Home in the Winter l Make sure you have a tidy clear path to the front door. l Let in the light, open the blinds, turn on all lights! l Turn on the heat, turn on the fireplace. Make it cozy! l Toss afghans or throws on the arms of the sofas and chairs. l Play soft music, jazz or classical, commercial free. l Bake a dozen cookies right before your showing, and offer them to your prospective buyers. l Make your home visually pleasing, make it sparkle; clean it top to bottom! l Tasteful holiday decorations, place a beautiful holiday wreath on your front door! l Voila! Sold!

Thank you to all my wonderful clients for a fabulous 2015!

Merry Christmas & A Blessed New Year!

REALTOR 速 /BROKER

OPENING NEW DOORS SINCE 2004

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Open 7 days a week!

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Tire Rotation & Service with purchase of new tires

Your dream is out there. Go Get it.

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December Special Packages $700 15” Wheels and Tires $800 16” Wheels and Tires $900 17” Wheels and Tires

Chris Arnberg Agency 821 E Broadway Ave Ste 18 Moses Lake, WA 98837 Bus: (509) 764-5144 www.chrisarnberg.com

955 W. 3rd Ave. Moses Lake, WA 509-764-7777

Family owned and operated

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Rosalie Black Photography

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modern chic boutique miss m rock revival flying monkey free people jimmy crystal new york big buddha bags purses, hats, jewelry designer perfumes voluspa candles

OPEN NOW IN NEW LOCATION! Next door to Michael’s on the Lake

922 West Broadway, Moses Lake 509 770-7475 f

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By Shawn Erin

The goal of the LL is to show off the attractive options in Grant County’s down towns. We’re not trying to break the latest fashion trend, nor are we trying to break the bank. But do you know you can buy real leather boots (rather than a pair with a ‘man-made upper’) which with the right care can last a lifetime, or American-made clothing right here in your own downtown?

Already I’ve hit on some of my fashion focuses: quality of material and construction. However, I’m going to save that rant for a future LL, because we have so much to talk about for these outfits!

For our first photo, I asked my good friend Marilyn to model. As I browsed online for inspiration, I came across photo after photo of pale, thin women with bony cheeks and elbows and like no woman I actually know. I wanted to have a Continued on page 47

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Faux leather & fur jacket and red shirt - Goodwill Scarf and clock necklace – VandenBos Bead necklace - Moses Lake Museum Spoon bracelets and ring - Second Time Silver Red lipstick - Maggie’s Black jeans - Hotoveli Boots - TriState Outfitters Dress - Silver Sage Holiday swag - Edwards Nursery Pen and notebook - Sue’s Boutique Otter cellphone case - Inland Cellular Chapstick, sunblock stick and chocolate - Settler’s Market

Photographed by Picture Perfect by Roseanna Modeled by Marilyn Zepeda Styled by Shawn Erin

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facebook: Moses lake youth dynamics Todd Welch -Director

Youth Dynamics / 106 E Third Ave. Moses Lake, WA / 509-765-4184 e-mail: twelch@yd.org

Shop for unexpected Christmas gifts

We welcome you to visit.

Admission is free. moseslakemuseum.com

T

he Moses Lake Museum & Art Center began as a vision by founder Adam East, and was realized as a program of Moses Lake Parks & Recreation in 1958. Built using volunteer labor and cash contributions, the original museum displayed East’s Native American artifact collection in a single story concrete block building on the corner of E. Fifth and Balsam Street.

Fifty-three years later, with the help of a one million dollar grant from the state’s Heritage Capital Grant, the museum made its forever home within the Moses Lake Civic Center. The museum produces a wide range of cultural programs from gallery shows, guest lecturers and films to monthly art activities or special programs designed especially for the youngest visitors and families; all made possible by donations, membership dollars and grants from local and statewide supporters.

Monday - Saturday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm 401 S Balsam St, Moses Lake (509) 764-3830

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Steel determination

By Shawn Erin

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H

e can make a spoon, a weapon or an adornment for a kilt. He can make hinges, hooks and bottle openers. He can make rails, fences or table legs. He doesn’t claim he can make anything, because he believes then he will stop learning; and when you stop learning, you create limits.

Kyle Leslie, with his homemade forges, scrap metal and determination, is equipped to make pretty much anything you can imagine. Cut, heat, shape, decorate, cool and finish.

“I’m not really a backyard smith or hobby shop smith anymore. I’ve graduated from there. It’s what I do to take care of my family… We’re finally getting some recognition and decent size orders,” Leslie said.

By “finally” he means the four years he took to fabricate a forge, gather tools and metal, and teach himself to get his blacksmithed goods to market. Leslie read the Basic Blacksmithing: An introduction to toolmaking with locally available materials manual, and watched aboriginal smiths from Africa repurpose car parts. Like the aboriginals, Leslie started his craft using a train track as his anvil. He said it took about a year to make anything recognizable.

Kyle Leslie at work Learning new skills without a mentor is not new for Leslie, who also taught himself how to make traditional long and recurve bows and arrows by reading books and researching online. However, once Leslie had made a functional bow and arrow, he was over it. Not so with blacksmithing. “I eat, sleep and drink blacksmithing. It’s who I am… My wife will find me slumped over this anvil, that’s how I’m going to go,” he half-joked.

Leslie also re-handles, restores and offers sharpening services for axes and other implements.

It was Leslie’s wife, Dawn, who encouraged him to quit his day job and devote himself to his passion. According to the smith, his wife said, “You’ve been doing this for so long, you’ve gotten really good. Why don’t you try doing something with it?” She continues to work full time, as well.

Gobha Iron & Wood Works forges consignment items and special orders. During the summer of 2015 Leslie also attended community events, including the North 40 Farmstock and the Quincy Historical Harvest Festival to demonstrate his art on his homemade traditional-style coal forge.

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Buying or Selling...

...Choosing the right person to help with your transaction is the most important thing you can do.

Debby Smith 509-771-2425 debby@dunelakeproperties.com

1845 W. Broadway, Moses Lake 509-766-6700

Membership available to employees & immediate families of: PUD’s & Municipal Corps or Grant, Kittitas, Okanogan & Douglas Counties; employees of cities of Ephrata & Soap Lake, Columbia Basin Hospital and Ephrata School District.

Sheri Jacobsen 509-750-4796 sheri@dunelakeproperties.com

Noxious Weed Control Board of Grant County Presents

Call 509-754-5233 or stop by 217 Alder Street SW, Ephrata, WA for details.

NEW NEW

The Nineteenth Annual

Noxious Weed Conference

Virtual Branch & Bill Pay

Shared Branching

www.cuswirl.com

www.granco.org

Agri-Fix

Towing/Tractor repair

January 13, 2015 BBCC Wallenstein Theater

For information, call 509 237-4567 or 509 750-4022

Locally owned and operated since 1995.

Offering towing services and tractor repair at unbelievably low rates, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Farm Equipment • Hauling • Towing & Recovery • IH™ • Case™ John Deere™ • Ford™ • Massey™

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7TH ANNUAL COLUMBIA BASIN ALLIED ARTS SOIREÉ

IST:

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ton

Kim Matthews Whea

JAN. 29TH, 2016 DOORS OPE N AT 6:30PM

GRANT COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS 4-H BUILDING $50/PERSON | $400/TABLE | DINNER, DANCE, AUCTION provided by Moses Lake & RESERVE EARLY! For tickets call: 509-793-2059 Support Grant County Tourism Commissions

Columbia Basin Allied Arts

Infor mation: 509.793.2059 columbiabasinalliedar ts.or g

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Why are the ARTS important?

Our CBAA Board Members share their thoughts.

Photos by J Keele Photography

Board members: Eric Hurst, Doreen McGraw, Leslie Ramsden, Alissa Scriven, Carol Shoemake, Marilyn Pulis, Lynn Townsend, Ginny Hirai, Cassandra Jackson, Laura Mayer,

“All the arts for all the people�

columbiabasinalliedarts.org

C

olumbia Basin Allied Arts is one of the select few arts organizations to have received the coveted Washington Governor’s Arts Award for Artistic Excellence. Our professional standing in the national arts community has been validated by financial recognition from National Endowment for the Arts, Western States Arts Federation, Washington State Arts Commission, Western Alliance of Arts Administrators, Washington Commission for the Humanities, and Arts Network of Washington State.

“The unwavering commitment of the current Columbia Basin Allied Arts Board of Directors has kept this vital organization thriving for 37 years. Our current board members are comprised of a broad range of backgrounds and professions, ... all sharing a common love ot the Arts.”

~Ciara Shuttleworth, Executive Director.

Dan Beich, President “The Arts are a way that people can connect to each other. It transcends boundaries of age and culture. Art inspires us to be better. I like to see people participate in the Arts.

I believe there is an artist in each of us, and sometimes it takes monumental effort just to step out of our routines just to create. I hope we can increase the level of teaching/ sharing and learning of Arts in our community. I am excited to see the involvement of Columbia Basin youth in our many offerings. It is critical that we encourage the next generation of performers and concert goers so they can continue the Arts conversation.”

Leslie Ramsden “I serve on the CBAA board because I feel that I have an obligation to do everything I can to help bring the Arts to Moses Lake and Grant County. Exposure to art is vital to our community of people from the youngest to the oldest. Through the Arts we can learn about different cultures and different ways of thinking, or we can simply be entertained and inspired. A strong Arts community is vital to healthy community.

Columbia Basin Allied Arts has been serving the basin for 38 years and I am proud to serve as well.”

Ginny Hirai “Our mission is to provide “All the Arts for All the People” and I am proud of our organization to have done just that for the past three decades. I believe the Arts help to create better schools, better students and better communities. We have always strived to bring nationally and internationally acclaimed artists to our community for all to enjoy without having to travel out of town. I believe we have accomplished that.”

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Eric Hurst “I don’t think I can really pin down what the Arts mean to me. It changes from day to day, year to year. Maybe that’s what it should be, something that’s always changing.

CBAA, however, gave me the chance, as a youth, to see and experience performances that would not have come to Moses Lake otherwise. Moses Lake was a small town and this was big stuff to me. I can say it helped me look outside of Moses Lake and know that I like it here.”

Cassandra Spudic-Jackson “The Arts are important because it can transport us to different places and cultures. It is a universal language that can cut across all racial, social, educational, and economic barriers. Arts of all kids provide beauty in our world. Without beauty, there is no pleasure.”

Laura Mayer “The arts make us human. The ability to communicate through dance, music, drama, visual arts, etc. is what gives a richness to life. I appreciate the effort and skill involved in all things Art related, it elevates my spirit and makes me think. I am thankful for the opportunity of bringing the Arts to the Basin that CBAA presents and I am happy to give my time to help others experience the magic and wonder of expressing themselves through Art. What a wonderful world it would be if we could all discover ourselves through Art.”

Carol Shoemake “The Arts are creative expression whether it is through music, art, dance, sculpture. It touches the person on a sensory level when experienced in person: a live show, a visit to a gallery or museum. I am involved in Columbia Basin Allied Arts because I want to see that there are opportunities for the community to see live performances and see creative expression first hand. As a small organization we try to make sure there are a variety of shows to spotlight the different Arts: Concerts, Plays, Musicals, Dance, Puppetry and Acrobatics are some of the more recent performances.”

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Doreen McGraw “The Arts are culturally enriching. They stimulate creative expression, build selfesteem and improve academic achievement. Exposing the Arts to our children through music, literature, art, drama or dance is important in keeping the arts in any community.”

Alissa Scriven “The Arts are important to me because they provide community members with an opportunity to partake in a unique experience, an experience that offers the gift of cultural enrichment. It is a privilege to serve on the CBAA Board because this organization recognizes and honors the significance of continuing to keep the Arts thriving and vibrant in this community.”

Lynn Townsend “The arts are important to the health of the community as a whole, and to the mind and spirit of each individual. Serving on the board lets me be a part of bringing cultural events to our part of the world. What a joy it is especially to bring our Green Turtle Series for children and families. Introducing learning through art. Whether it be acting in a Missoula Children’s Theater production or having science and history revealed interactively to them, children are given opportunities that they might not otherwise have had.”

Marilyn Pulis “I am on the CBAA Board because I truly enjoy being a part of bringing wonderful entertainment to so many children and adults.”

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Opens at Masquers Dec 4

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Timeless beauty

Intricately knotted triangle links of rose gold carefully crafted and decorated with diamonds.

In viewing these beautiful knots, one cannot see a beginning or an end, and therefore are reminded of the timeless nature of our spirit.

Celtic knots inspired by the Book of Kells are handmade by Nicholas Paul

Serving the Basin for more than 60 years 509 765-6331 / 208 W 3rd Ave, Moses Lake / Fredericks-jewelry.com

Open EVERY DAY until Christmas Eve Day - 9:30am to 7:00pm

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Continued from page 31 “A lot of people think it’s a dying art, but it’s not as dead as people think it is. There are lots and lots of people trying metal art,” he said. “It is a whole lot of fun. People really dig getting to see something they thought no one did anymore.”

Business is picking up, he said, and demands for quantity and diversity is increasing. His saloon accessories, including bottle openers and corkscrews, are popular, along with key fobs and steak turners. One of his newest and biggest orders include table legs. He hopes bigger orders like that will keep coming, and looks forward to fabricating fences, gates and rails. His products have been sent all over the U.S. including Montana, Florida, and California.

Leslie has big plans for himself, including classes at a blacksmith school in Spokane to smooth out rough edges, and will eventually apply to ABANA, the ArtistBlacksmith's Association of North America to achieve official recognition as a blacksmith.

His passion is reflected in life, where functionality as a smith has been a decision maker for many things, including the house where he and his family, including Dawn and sons Jordan, 13, and Talon, 4, live and bought with an unfinished garage in the back, and how he wears his facial hair, which is long to save his face from flying metal sparks.

Leslie takes his inspiration from “old-timers” and fellow smiths online, he said, including Samuel Yellin and Uri Hofi. He is also inspired from the tools of smiths who

passed before him which he buys at estate sales or that friends buy him, and the proper anvil he has graduated to after years of work on a piece of train track, a historic piece made in 1902 recovered from Lind, Wash.

Leslie wants the big orders. He wants the challenge. “To struggle through a technique that's been kicking your ass… it’s awesome to accomplish.”

“I don’t want to get comfortable, I want to push my limits. I don’t want to think I can do anything, I want to be able to do anything,” he said, “My only limit is my willingness to try new things.”

“I’ve got to be more,” he said. “I imagine I'll be able to at least achieve something.”

“Does this do justice to the guys that came before me, or am I one of those guys who are doing something and not making anything of it?” he asks himself.

Through all the challenges of teaching himself and all the long late nights in his garage, Leslie finds joy in delivering his work. He said it’s the client’s joy that makes him happy.

Leslie’s Gobha Iron & Wood Works can be found at Made in Moses Lake, occasionally at Friday Wine Tasting Nights at Bargain Grocery Outlet, and various bazaars during the holiday season. Leslie also plans to start holding classes in his workshop next year. He can be reached for custom jobs, etc. on his Facebook page www.facebook.com/KiltedSmith, or by email at gobhairon@gmail.com.

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J Keele Photography

JKeele Photograhy

Available at the Fairgrounds office Nov. 3rd – Dec. 31st

Carnival Armbands

Fair Armbands make Great Stocking Stuffers!

Winter Pre Sale $17 / Spring Pre Sale $24

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Regular price $30

Happy Holidays!

Continued from page 22

woman that reflected a different kind of ideal: a colorful, full, fun, hard working, hard loving, good friend and mother. I have looked to Marilyn as a personal fashion icon since I first saw her in high school with blue hair and headto-toe black outfits (I was the antithesis in long sweater dusters, double hair buns and stacked flip flops... think Baby Spice).

I chose a variety of bright and muted, solid and print pieces gathered from high-end to totally accessible stores in Moses Lake and Ephrata. One of the most exciting parts of this outfit is the idea of bright, even neon!, paired with a muted counterpart. I’m thinking orange or teal paired with a vintage pearl-snap shirt. The red shirt on Marilyn is that bright piece, with the drab brown jacket to balance it, cropped to give shape and collared with fur to keep it fun.

The black Hudson jeans from Hotoveli Marilyn wore she LOVED! She said a pair of jeans hasn’t fit like that... maybe ever! The black boots on Marilyn remind me of my momma who wore combat boots for 28 years, and shined them regularly while we sat around the kitchen table. I’ve never used camouflage as a fashion statement, but those boots are so IT for me: the shine, the structure, how high they rise on the leg, everything. Both the items are over $100, however, I’ve had a pair of Hudson jeans for around six years (aren’t I glad flares are back in fashion!), and I’m guessing those boots would last 3x as long. Don’t be afraid to splurge on something that feels good, looks good, and goes well with so many other pieces.

Pairing a comfortable, long-lasting anchor, like awesome boots or a perfect fitting pair of pants, with something easy like a cotton tee, can always be dressed up with the right accessories. This is where I would also splurge a little, because like the boots, jewelry can last a long, long

time. The clock necklace from VandenBos in Ephrata is adorbs... I mean... adorable... I mean a must-have for New Years! Almost like a monocle throwback, with glass on the front and back and some chain tassel on the bottom in brushed brass. Yes. I also adore the beaded necklace from Deborah Chittendon, sold at the Moses Lake Museum: she uses beautiful stones, put together subtly and sophisticated.

Marilyn is also wearing three pieces, two bracelets and a ring, from Second Time Silver, all up cycled from old spoons. I have this thing with spoons.

I also put together a shot of purse must-haves. My faves from that shot are the sunscreen stick (just because it’s cold cloudy doesn’t mean the sun rays aren’t rough on your skin), and the bright-almost-neon orange Otter Case from Inland Cellular that will keep your phone safe and more fun to answer when all those weird aunts call during the holidays.

The notebook is also a must-have for me during the dark winter months. I use it as a place to write my thoughts, gratitude’s and ideas to help me stay organized and in a good frame of mind rather than S.A.D. FINALLY! THE NEW YEAR LOOK! Glitter. More sequence. More glamour. This dress I pulled out from mom’s dress up trunk, but I saw lots of bright and glittery dresses all over town and even in the second-hand shops.

Go with a simple cut and lots of sparkle. Remember you can’t dance in strapless. And remember it is FREEZING outside. So, bundle up in faux fur, grab an arm if you’re walking outside in stilettos, and don’t drive if you’ve been drinking (or in stilettos!).

So that’s a wrap! Let us know if y’all have any questions about the products we showcased here.

Write us at thevenuemag@gmail.com.

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509.765.8831

949 E Nelson Rd Moses Lake, WA 98837

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Red Door Cafe Booking a party, conference, group meeting, or anything else that needs a bit of privacy? Consider our spacious conference room that seats 40+. We have a projector for Power Point or presentations and an oversized screen.

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Hours: Monday - Saturday, 7:30am to 5pm, Closed Sunday 202 and 206 West 3rd Ave, Moses Lake, WA, 98837

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$1.00 Off

Any 20 oz or larger drink Expires 1/31/16

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Like us on

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year

from the team at Moses Lake Grocery Outlet Holiday Hours Christmas Eve: December 24, 2015 8am-6pm.

Christmas Day: December 24, 2015 Closed New Year’s Eve: December 31, 2015 8am - 9pm New Years Day: January 1, 2016 8am -7pm 1177 N Stratford Road / Moses Lake, WA 509-766-7650 / Like us on for Specials!

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930 N. Stratford Road | Moses Lake, WA | 509.766.9000 www.rocktopburgersandbrew.com |

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Now is the time to make your New Year’s Eve dinner reservations.

Call Michael’s on the Lake at 509.765.1611

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Wednesday is a great night for a bottle of wine.

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Monday – Saturday 7am-9pm • Sunday 8am-8pm 221 W. Broadway • Moses Lake • 509.765.4177 • www.michaelsmarketandbistro.com

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Holiday

Gift

Central

CHRISTMAS 58 | thevenuemag.com

1944

By Tim Adams

I

have an odd fragment of memory from when I was around nine years old, in the basement of our family home, squinting at the colored bulbs on the Christmas tree and thinking somehow of Christmas Eve 1944. I don’t believe in reincarnation, but the feeling came over me that I had been there. I don’t know how I even knew about the Battle of the Bulge at that age. Maybe that night is just imprinted somewhere deep down in all of our collective DNA.

Christmas 1944 was the most poignant Christmas ever.

All the dark energies of the world were gathered in the frozen Ardennes forest of Belgium and Luxembourg, in a violent vortex known as the Battle of the Bulge. A thick layer of snow covered the ground and the fir trees and the blackened bombed-out shells of buildings in the villages, empty now except for the dark shapes of GIs and Germans huddled immobile under ponchos in icy cellars.

Earlier the weather had been cloudy and blustery ahead of the front which had brought the snow and the cold. The cloudy weather had covered Hitler’s tanks as they had spilled unexpectedly out of the Schnee-Eifel mists in the early morning of December 16. Covered them from Allied air attack as the tanks rolled over the first overwhelmed American divisions. It was the last great German offensive,

which would reach its high water mark and finally founder against the embattled, ruined Belgian crossroads town of Bastogne.

By Christmas Eve the skies had cleared, the wind died to nothing and the temperatures plummeted to near zero. Stars glinted through the firs and above the snowy fields where infantrymen of two armies were dug into foxholes within cursing distance of each other.

There are stories of impromptu truces along the line that night, of German and American troops meeting under white flags to exchange oranges and nips of schnapps. Those stories are almost certainly apocryphal, wishful thinking by journalists snugged in their Paris hotel rooms. If there were truces, they were to allow nervous medics a few minutes to duck out into no man’s land and hurriedly recover their wounded and their stiffened dead.

GIs lucky enough to share a ruined shelter fashioned semblances of Christmas trees decorated with C ration tins, toilet paper, ammunition cartridges, bits of foil and colored cloth, grenades, a gas mask. A mile away German tank crews tuned their radios to the midnight pealing of bells from the cathedral at Cologne.

Artillery continued to crash at intervals, bursts of machine gun tracers streaming over the snow, rifle fire

thevenuemag.com | 59

seeking out anyone foolish enough to venture from his hole.

In the lulls both sides could sometimes hear the enemy singing. “Silent night, holy night...,” and “Stille nacht, heilige nacht… .”

Behind the American lines radios picked up Bing Crosby’s special armed forces recording of “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” The song is forever, inextricably, evocatively tied to those boys in their frozen foxholes strung out across the Ardennes.

Shortly before midnight an American rifle company dismounts stiffly from trucks in the tiny Belgian railroad village of Bourdon. A guide leads them up a dark forest road.

K Company is under orders to attack another town lying on the other side of the wooded ridge. Just after entering the forest the company comes upon a line of dark shapes, tanks, sitting silent in the road. A GI climbs the lead tank and pounds on the hatch.

Eventually it opens and a head pokes out.

“Was ist los?!” the tanker shouts. “Was ist los?!”

All hell ensues.

Forty years later several of the company’s surviving veterans return to Bourdon and locate the road leading up into the woods to where the tanks had been waiting that night. They are startled to see a roadsign bearing the name “Rue de Noel 1944.”

Last Christmas Eve my wife and I dropped in on some old friends. The four of us sat around their cheerful kitchen island and caught up. Our hosts brought out a couple large bottles of beer a neighbor had given them as a holiday gift.

“Let’s try that one,” I suggested, pointing to one interesting-looking bottle. We shared it four ways, toasting each other a merry Christmas. I examined the label as we sipped. It was a Tripel, made with Belgian hops and yeast from the village of Achouffe which, it turns out, is near the Luxembourg border a few miles east of Bourdon.

Then, with a jolt, I realized that it was seventy years ago, almost to the moment, that the men of King Company had stumbled upon those dark hulks in the woods, on the night of that most poignant of Christmases.

I blurted the story to my bemused companions – the front lines, the cold, the silent night, Bing Crosby, the tanks and the roadsign. We lifted glasses to the men in the frozen fields, and we tasted the Ardennes. Darkness fell outside and we watched it for a while in melancholy silence, in solemn reverie, in another time.

“I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.”

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Small Town Charm ...at its best

Visit us online at www.VisitRitzville.com for a complete list of our festivals and events!

Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce (509) 659-1936 • chamber@ritzville.com

509-681-2013

www.couleecity.com Painting by local Don Nutt

See our website for a complete calendar of local events & signup for our monthly enewsletter.

Become a fan of LakeTown Landing & MLBAcares.org on MOSES LAKE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

509.764.1745 • www.mlbacares.org

thevenuemag.com thevenuemag.com | 6163

306 Midway Hwy 155 • www.grandcouleedam.org

The city we’re all proud to call our home. home

Ephrata

Chamber of Commerce

1 Basin Street SWSW • PO 112 Basin Street - POBox Box275 275• -Ephrata, Ephrata,WA WA98823 98823

(509) (509) 754-4656 754-4656

info@ephratawachamber.com Info@ephratawachamber.com• -www.ephratawachamber.com www.ephratawachamber.com

Cara 509.989.2679

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Do your home loan locally with

Anne Fisher

Sales Manager / Senior Loan Officer

WA-MLO-292734

509-760-6238 afisher@guildmortgage.net

Anne Fisher is the Sales Manager and Senior Loan Officer for Guild Mortgage Company in Moses Lake. Anne started in the mortgage industry in 1999 working side by side with her father, Larry Shannon. Anne is a top performer for Guild Mortgage Company and her years of experience make her a true expert. She has helped over a thousand families obtain financing to buy or refinance their homes and many of those she has worked with for their next home as well as their first. Anne loves what she does and that is obvious when you visit with her about her experiences and her amazing staff that helps her to make dreams come true. She admits that lending is more challenging than in the past which can be trying on homebuyers and sellers but that is all the more reason to have a highly qualified and knowledgeable lender on your side. This is also why many of the area’s Real Estate Agent’s send their clients to Anne.

Anne and her husband Jared are proud parents of two. Scott, who is 18 and attending Big Bend Community College and Jamie Dawn, who is 6 years old and in first grade. When Anne is away from work she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. A lot of family time is spent in the outdoors, camping, hunting, fishing, boating, enjoying time at their cabin, exploring the mountains in their side by side, trapshooting, golfing and many other fun activities.

Anne serves as an Ambassador and is on the Board of Directors for the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce, this year as President Elect. She is proud of the community she lives and works in and feels fortunate to be part of it.

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