Family

The dropping temperatures, different types of precipitation, shorter days, strong winds, frozen, sparkly ground and icicles are all part of the winter season. But what causes winter to happen? The answer is found in outer space.

While driving from Philadelphia to Spokane last summer with my sons Eddie and Milo, the subject of the great American divide was broached more than once. "How can people from the same country hate each other so much?" Milo asked after we left a restaurant in Wyoming. What prompted the question was a conversation we overheard.

With the coronavirus pandemic canceling most in-person events, the libraries are figuring out ways to share the joy of the arts with patrons. "Folks really enjoy the act of creation and sharing those creations," said Erin Haight, a technology programs specialist at the Lab at the North Spokane Library.

E is for edge. U is for uphill. Z is for zipper. These are just a few of the submissions we’ve received as part of the A to Z Scavenger Hunt sponsored by The Spokesman-Review and Dishman Hills Conservancy. To play along, go outside and find something that represents each letter of the alphabet.

If you’ve ever had a glass of ice water, you may have noticed droplets formed on the outside of the glass. The droplets actually came from water in the air. This water condensed from the air onto the surface of your cup, which means it turned from a gas to a liquid.

I have a difficult relationship with grocery stores. While I recognize what a blessing it is to just be able to walk into a store and get what I need for my family, I still loathe the process. The wandering, the calculating, the loading, unloading and reloading of the groceries; it’s all just a lot to handle.

The goal of Somebody Needs You is to match donors with the specific requests of needy Spokane residents. The list of requests is coordinated by the Volunteers of America in cooperation with recognized social service agencies in Spokane. If you have an item to donate, please contact the social service agency directly.

Setting new, personal goals might be the last thing a kid wants to think about when they’re diving into all the assignments they’ve been handed after returning to school from the holidays, but learning to set goals at a young age is a worthwhile effort.

It's a long way from Spokane to Dallas, Texas, but Lolita Sutton is hoping her only grandson will feel her love across the miles.Just in case he needs a reminder, Sutton stitched him a colorful "I Spy"-themed quilt. “I saw the I Spy pattern in a quilting magazine before Caleb was ever born,” she said.

The goal of Somebody Needs You is to match donors with the specific requests of needy Spokane residents. The list of requests is coordinated by the Volunteers of America in cooperation with recognized social service agencies in Spokane. If you have an item to donate, please contact the social service agency directly.

I love to write columns about the holidays. Celebrating the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving or other special days throughout the year, those things sing to my heart. Right in there is the New Year’s column, looking at resolutions that might move me and perhaps you, too, into the next year. It’s the time to think about what transpired during the past year.

Being the last holiday of this year in quarantine and more adult-oriented anyway, it can be tough to think of ways to celebrate this New Year’s Eve at home with the family. However, if you harness a bit of creativity and teamwork, New Year’s Eve can be transformed into a fun family send-off for 2020.

Baby, it's cold outside. So throw on some layers and get ready to explore. To encourage families to do just that, The Spokesman-Review and Dishman Hills Conservancy are hosting an A to Z Scavenger Hunt. "Going outside gives us exercise, enjoyment and connection to the real world," said Jeff Lambert, executive director of the Dishman Hills Conservancy.

I was so excited about the arrival of 2020 that I almost purchased a pair of those goofy New Year's Eve glasses with the upcoming digits that celebrants sport in Times Square when the ball drops during "Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve." I was looking forward to 2020 ever since my son Eddie, who graduated from high school in June, entered kindergarten.

Katy Dobson and her family have taken to calling her 2-week-old boy, Atlas, a "coronial." Atlas's time in his mother's womb coincided almost perfectly with the nine months that the U.S. has spent battling the coronavirus pandemic. He was born Dec. 8 in Pensacola, Fla., 38 weeks into his mother's pregnancy and almost 39 weeks after the surreal Wednesday in March.

It turns out seasons can be quite different depending on where you live. But no matter where you live, the reason for the seasons has to do with the way Earth rotates. To find out exactly why we have seasons, I talked to my friend Vivienne Baldassare, a physics and astronomy professor at Washington State University.

A mother’s prayer as her family prepares to perform “Silent Night” as the final number at their church Christmas service: Dear Lord, We thank thee this day for the opportunity to sing this beloved and sacred Christmas carol that has inspired mankind for generations. We bristle with gratitude for a husband who volunteered us to do so without checking with his wife first.

Late December is an inherently social season. Religious gatherings, caroling and family reunions are part of the holiday experience. However, the novel coronavirus has eliminated the familiar. Indoor interaction for those beyond members of the same domicile is verboten.

It’s the eve of Christmas Eve. A mustachioed man wearing a bright red suit and a Santa hat is leaving Macy’s at the NorthTown Mall in Spokane after some last-minute gift shopping. The pattern of his svelte outfit and matching tie – white and festive stripes of snowflakes, trees and Santa mushing his sleigh – wouldn’t look out of place beneath a Christmas tree.