A tip of Santa's hat to the good people who live in the Highlands neighborhood in Post Falls. For several years they've held a golf cart parade for the holidays and in 2009 added a food drive to the activity. In the bitter cold last weekend the golf cart parade took place as planned, bringing in more than 1,000 pounds of food and $625 in cash donations. This group of neighbors also held a golf cart parade in June this year to help with the need at the Post Falls Food Bank.

In the past five years the Highlands neighborhood has gathered 10,528 pounds of food and $2,600 in cash for the local food bank. If we all do a little something for those in need, it makes such a difference.

Wednesday morningI drove to the boat launch at the west end of Fernan Lake to see how much ice had formed. There was ice several feet from shore. On Saturday morning the entire lake was frozen over and there were ice fishermen out trying their luck. That was fast!

On Friday from 6-8 p.m. at the downtown Coeur d'Alene Pita Pit is a fundraiser for Jenna Umthun Udzinski.

Jenna graduated from Post Falls High School in 1993 as Salutatorian and Scholar Athlete of the Year. She went on to Albertson College of Idaho and the Arizona School of Health Sciences. Jenna was a practicing Physician Assistant (PA) in a busy Internal Medicine practice before the birth of her second daughter in 2011. The pregnancy resulted in a diagnosis of Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction (SIJD) and Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) and the prospect of ongoing treatment and surgery. To learn more about Jenna's journey go to www.youcaring.com and search her name. Then come out on Friday night to help support the return to mobility and motherhood for Jenna.

Jame and Ryan Davis were putting in a shift as volunteer bell ringers for the Salvation Army on Saturday morning at Cabela's in Post Falls. There was just one hitch, no bell. It's hard to be a bell-less bell ringer but not to worry. The resourceful Mr. Davis located a bell app on his iPhone.

On Sunday morning our Yorkie, Annie, was barking like crazy in a pitch usually reserved for when a cat or squirrel has dared to come onto the porch. I didn't see any prints in the snow and then spotted a hawk on the sidewalk near the front steps. We have a bird feeder and a flock of about 30 resident sparrows right outside my office window. I now have one fewer beak to feed as the hawk made quick work of the one he had caught. Nothing left but a literal circle of feathers in the snow. All-time first to have a hawk in our yard right in town.

According to Herb at Wild Birds, who looked at a photo I took, it was likely a Sharp-shinned Hawk, the smallest of the hawk family in the U.S. They commonly prey on feeder birds. Jeanne Helstrom of Dalton Gardens tells me she had one at her house this week, too.

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. When winter hands you arctic temperatures, make colored ice balls. On a whim I made a few dozen by filling balloons with water and food coloring and setting them out on the patio for 24 hours. The balloons peel right off and each ice ball has wonderful ice designs inside. I placed them in my planters in the front yard for a spot of color in this winter landscape.

Traditions of Christmas opens Thursday night at the Kroc Center and promises to be a fabulous production. For tickets and information, call (208) 391-2867 or visit www.traditionsofchristmasnw.com.

Also opening tomorrow night is The Best Little Christmas Pageant Ever at the Jacklin Arts and Culture Center in Post Falls. 457-8950 or www.thejacklincenter.org.

Wreaths will be placed on veterans' graves as part of the Wreaths Across America program this Saturday at 9 a.m. at Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens on Government Way. The public is invited. I encourage everyone to take a moment and attend.

The "Toys for Tots" program in Kootenai County is managed by the Marine Corps League Pappy Boyington Detachment. New unwrapped toys can be donated at "Toys for Tots" barrels at any of the 200 locations in Kootenai County. The program participation is free for low-income families who reside in Kootenai County. The application center is located in Post Falls, 920 N. Highway 41, Suite No. 8 and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday until Dec. 17. Recipients will pick up toys at the Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Training Center Warehouse, 5721 E. Seltice Way in Post Falls.

Donated toys for older children tend to come up short compared to younger children, so the Marines are especially asking for donated toys for boys and girls 8-12 years of age.

Birthday wishes today to Christina Petit, Jennifer Keefe, Katrina Mayer, Kym Hamby, Shawn Gunn, Aleta English, Leigh Sales and Don White. Happy 12/12 birthdays to Alexis Davis, Sialas Tripp, Dr. Mary Sanderson, Amy Alderman, John Austin, Mary Finley, Teresa Capone, Mark Orlowski, Konrad Hochhalter, Monte Miller, Richard Stevenette, Colleen Williams, Lynn Knapp and Jessica White. Brian Golly, Kim Buer and Denise Higgs mark their lucky day on Friday the 13th. On Saturday my BFF Anna Pierce aka Patty Duke will put on her party hat, joined by Eve Knudtsen, Sybil McCormack, Sandy Clemons, Amber Briles, John Medlock, Vicki Peoples, Karen Kastning and James Forster. Kerri Wilfong, Brenda Young, Anne Marie Toothaker, Travis Gardner and Austin Wuest are Sunday celebrants and on Monday Mimi Eismann, Lori Dawson, Harmony Taylor, Dot Neirinckx and Tim Kastning will open their presents. Cheyenne Peugh and Holly Kincaid are Tuesday's birthday girls.

Post Script: If you want to feel rich, just count all of the gifts you have that money can't buy.

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2013 by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com.