Once again, here in Post Falls, Idaho, I would like to talk about all of the recreational opportunities that abound here.  Just a few facts, Post Falls is known as Idaho’s River City and is within one hour of every activity imaginable.  In the spring and summer, lakes and rivers provide fishing, boating, water-skiing, para-sailing, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, and scuba diving. While the many mountains and trails offer the outdoor enthusiast hiking, biking, backpacking, camping, rock climbing, bird watching, skateboarding, and horseback riding to name a few.  During the winter there is snowmobiling, snow skiing, tubing, ice fishing, cross-country skiing and snow shoeing. We even have numerous local opportunities for shopping, golfing, youth sports and Casinos.  Post Falls is truly a ye... 01/11/2012

I have been talking about Post Falls for quite a while, but decided today should be the day for actual facts about our town.  Post Falls is 2,150 feet above sea level and is located 5 miles from the Washington State line on Interstate 90, only 64 miles from the Montana border, and 120 miles South of the Canadian border.  The current population of Post Falls is a little over 27,000 residents with 138,000 residents in Kootenai County, and within a 35 mile radius of Post Falls there are over 650,000 people. Our average temperature in January is 34 degrees daytime and 25 degrees nighttime and we average about 49 inches of snow a year.  Our growing season is considered to be 150 days but we do have cool evenings so you need to take that into consideration when planning your garden. This is t... 01/10/2012

I am pretty sure that I do not take enough time to say thank you to all of the hardworking folks out there that there; that work really hard delivering mail and all of the packages that we expect to get in time for us to wrap and get placed under the Christmas tree.  Times have certainly changed as so much of our shopping is now done online.  Easier for us but harder on the folks doing all the delivering.  At least in our area here in North Idaho and out on the prairie in Post Falls, the weather has cooperated and we have had very little snow and not much ice either, so we can get around without much hassle.  I know everyone is looking for a white Christmas, but maybe we will get the white stuff after the holiday.  At least the ski slopes have had quite a bit of snow so the skiers are m... 12/21/2011

If you have been watching ABC Evening News, you have probably seen the news bits on “Made in America”. Well we have several companies here in Post Falls, Idaho that have some very famous products.  Buck Knives is one of those companies.  They have been in business since 1902.  The founder of the company started making knives when he was working for a blacksmith at the age of 13. They moved the whole company, 60 of their employees in 2005, to their current location in Commerce Park just south of I-90 by the Pleasentview exit. Buck Knives are sold world-wide by a number of retailers, the big one in our area is Cabela's located only a few miles from the Buck Knife factory in Post Falls.  You can also go to the Buck Knives factory, where they have a small company store. So if you are lookin... 12/15/2011

I've done a couple of posts on the Ednetics Holiday meeting. The employees at Ednetics got together to donate 21,650 cans of food to local food banks. Before the food was donated, the employees got together to build some amazing sculptures out of the cans! Below are the sculptures they came up with.   12/14/2011

Ednetics decided to do something a little different this holiday. Each year Ednetics, in Post Falls Idaho, has a Holiday meeting with a fun theme. This year instead of giving gifts to each other, the employees decided to do something a little bigger. They bought 21,650 cans of food from the local Post Falls Walmart and Super One. Then the employees split into teams of 4 or 5 to build sculptures out of their cans. Hence the "Canstruction" theme of the meeting. To make the meeting even more fun, the wining teams would also get $500 to apply to a charity of their choice. The winner was based on multiple criteria. How well the team worked together, creativity of the design, the structural integrity of the design, and how well the sculpture represented a holiday theme. The above picture is t... 12/13/2011

This years Holidays and Heroes in Post Falls Idaho, was a huge success! The firefighters and police officers were able to help over a hundred families. The Holidays and Heroes program helps needy kids in the Post Falls, Rathdrum, Spirit Lake, and Coeur d'Alene area. Each officer volunteers their time to take a child to local Walmarts to pick out gifts for their families. The children were very excited to be able to go through the store and add things to their carts. The officers help the children pick out presents for thier families and stay on budget, and while the children aren't looking the officers pick up presents for them too. "A lot of these kids, they don't think about themselves, but their families. I've not once, for six years, seen kids being selfish," said Sgt. Sam Abrahamso... 12/12/2011

Jobs are still to be had in Post Falls Idaho!  Ground Force Manufacturing located in Post Falls is looking for people to join their team; they have over 40 job openings in Post Falls and Plummer Idaho.  They are looking for welders, fabricators, painters and assembly-line people. They are building a new facility in Post Falls and with our great weather this fall have been moving along a lot faster than they thought, as you can see from the picture the big steel beams are up and it won’t be long until they complete the support infrastructure and then start to close in the building.  This building is where they will be building equipment for their new division, Under Ground Force, which focuses on mining equipment. 12/10/2011

Outstanding charity donation by Post Falls, Idaho company Ednetics: Every year Ednetics holds an annual Holiday meeting. Past years have featured Sci Fi, Olympics, and Hollywood themes. The Holiday meeting is a time for all of the employees from Ednetics three different branches can come together for team building exercises and lots of fun. This year, Ednetics has decided to do something a little different. Each team (3-5 employees per team) will get a pallet of canned food to build a holiday themed sculpture. The teams have two days to build their sculptures. Some ideas that teams have been discussing include: Christmas trees, fireplaces, snowmen, and candy canes. After the “Canstruction” competition, the company will donate 21,650 cans of food to local area food banks. Shawn Swanby, P... 12/08/2011

I want to tell you about what a great day I had today. I was out delivering calendars to friends and past clients.  It was so much fun reconnecting with people.  As Realtors sometimes we just get caught up in our work and literally do not take the time to stop and smell the coffee.  I am resolving right now to go out and spend more time with all my friends and past clients. The day was a great day being out in the neighborhoods driving, no ice or snow on the roads and the prediction is that this weather will hold for about another week here in North Idaho.  So here on the prairie in Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene, Hayden and Rathdrum you will be seeing a lot of me as I buzz around dropping off calendars. Thought for the day – “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced ... 12/01/2011

Friday evening, December 2nd at the Post Falls City Hall and the Post Falls Chamber, they are planning a couple of fun events. First of all they accepting donations of pajamas and socks in all sizes for the O.A.S.I.S. program that is run thru the Post Fall Police Dept.  The items are for abused women and children who often come in for help with no clothing or personal items.  They need all sizes from toddler to teens.  They will be collecting from 5pm to 7 pm on Friday December 2nd at the chamber. The Post Falls City Hall will be having their tree lighting and turning the lights on around City Hall.  There will be treats and the weather will be nice.  So plan to come on Friday evening, share in some fun with your neighbors, and give a pair of pajamas and some socks! 11/30/2011

Great news for the Post Falls, Idaho, community! The Post Falls Police Department and Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department just announced that they have installed a Reverse 911 Emergency Notification System. This system sends emergency information to a citizen’s landline, cell phone, or email. The system is handy for keeping up to date on school closures, dangerous road conditions, emergency incidents, and neighbor crime alerts. The service is free for citizens to use (check with your wireless provider about your texting plan). To sign up for this great new service, visit the Post Falls Police Department website, here. 11/28/2011

North Idaho is always amazing!  Here it is, the end of November, and we are having daytime temps in the mid 40s with sunshine.  I think the good Lord knew some of us didn’t finish putting up our outside lights for the holidays.  I think doing the lights by tomorrow might be wise if you want to get the job finished before we get snow.  At our home we have 6 really pretty trees all lit up, here on the prairie in Post Falls.  One by the driveway entrance, two in the lower yard area by the bird habitat, one by the garage, one by the front door, and one in the back by the shop.  I have been waiting for snow to take pictures so will have some in a few days hopefully.  They are predicting snow on Wednesday here on the prairie. 11/28/2011

A day for giving thanks.  It is my hope that everyone will take some time to remember the many blessings of the past year.  I have bird stuffed, and in the oven, and the side dishes are all in different stages of being prepared.  We have started the day here on the prairie with sunshine and temperatures in the low 30’s.  We have been told by those who are in the know by mid afternoon there will be a new storm front coming thru, bringing rain. We will not let the weather get in our way of having a glorious day with family and friends. We will be calling other family members that are unable to be here with us on the prairie in Post Falls, Idaho.  Have a wonderful day. 11/24/2011

Well, here we go down memory lane, as I start to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.  I have Thanksgiving dinner at our home on the prairie, here in Post Falls, Idaho.  One of the traditional dishes that I prepare is a molded Cranberry salad that has been made for holiday dinners in our family since sometime in the 1930s.  My grandmother started this tradition and so here we are 2011 and I just finished making this very tasty dish.  Here is the recipe if anyone is interested.             1 bag fresh cranberries cleaned & chopped             1 cup walnuts or pecans chopped             Two 3 oz boxes of red jello             2 cups boiling water             1 cup sugar             2 cups orange juice made from frozen concentrate (do not use fresh squeezed or your jello will not set ... 11/23/2011

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I was doing some cleaning in my kitchen before I started cooking.  Thanksgiving is always at our home here on the prairie in Post Falls, Idaho.  The task that I was doing was a simple one, just cleaning the kitchen sink and while I was doing the job, it occurred to me that I knew of a quick simple way of making my sink shiny and soft to the feel (this is not for stainless steel sinks). Many years ago a plumber was at my home doing repair and when the job was done I noticed how my sink looked brand new and I asked him how he had managed to do that.  He told me of a product called “Gel-Gloss”.  In my area it is available at Home Depot. I have shared this tip with many homeowners and especially with folks as we are getting their home ready to market.  J... 11/19/2011

Well it finally happened we had measurable snow fall on the prairie, here in Post Falls Idaho, last night.  Now it was only 2-3 inches of the pretty white stuff, but it was very pretty on the trees and shrubs.  The prediction was that we would get several more inches by early afternoon but that probably won’t happen as the temperature has warmed considerably. Everyone is excited that at least Lookout Ski area is opening today.  I believe that Lookout is the only local ski area to be opening this weekend.   We are expecting to have a great ski season this year with lots of snow in the mountains. Check out Lookout here. 11/18/2011

Well the count is in.  Post Falls Food Bank’s “Give Hunger the Bird” was a great success, last Friday night.  Between cash given and actual turkeys donated, the food bank has received the equivalent of 1426 turkeys (if turkeys go on sale that number can go much higher).  The other good news is that the auction items and raffles brought in $12,000 and that money will be used to buy all the other food that makes up a turkey dinner.  The food bank will be giving out all those turkeys as a complete turkey dinner.  What a huge job and thanks to all the volunteers that put in so many hours.  The Post Falls Food Bank wants to say a great big Thank You to all the many folks that contributed.  Wow what an amazing community we live in here in North Idaho. For more info on how you can help the foo... 11/17/2011

Snow did arrive here on the prairie, but with the wind and sunshine it quickly disappeared. I have a picture here of Rathdrum Mountain and as you can see there is bit of snow there.  This is my view everyday from the back patio.  Pretty nice don’t you think?  Anyway we are being told that there are 3 or4  storm systems backed up in the Pacific and we are going to have much more snow very soon.  So the snow pictures will be along soon.  Otherwise it is a slow day on the prairie. 11/13/2011

Well it was an amazing evening at StanCraft Boats on Friday.  The weather was blustery and raining but the folks in Post Falls were out to support the Post Falls Food Bank Turkey Drive.  There was plenty of food and desserts; there were many good discussions among friends.  The silent auction items were all getting a lot of bids.  I have no idea how many turkeys were collected but I will have that information most likely next week.  This was certainly a well planned event and not one to be missed.  Again Thanks to StanCraft boats for hosting this event. 11/12/2011