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Where My Skis Have Taken Me
From wooden skis and leather boots in 1962 to one of my best seasons ever in 2023, I’ve been fortunate to have many great memories on snow, with friends and family.

What’s In My Brain These Days
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Premature Zipper Failure
I’m sitting here in the late evening silence feeling somewhat guilty. I may have committed a grievous sin today. Sometime ago I wrote on my blog about wearing Levi’s jeans since early in the 1950s. I have been loyal to that brand without waver until today. They have supported me through thick and thin even in…
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What a Spoil Sport
Sometime in the 1990s when I was still a ski instructor at Mount Spokane, I was assigned what may have been my most fun class. Standing in front of me one Saturday morning were seven or eight very eager eight-, nine-, and ten-year-old boys and girls. As I normally did, I first took them up the…
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Thursdays with the Loon Lake Kids
Blogger’s note: This story was originally written in February, 2009. Three weeks ago, Maxine, the ski school director, called and asked if I could teach some first and second grade kids from Loon Lake School for two hours on each of the next three Thursdays. Since work was slow and skiing with kids is fun, I…
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Another Batch of Random Thoughts
“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” – Albert Einstein “Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day.” – Harry Truman Anything not nailed down is a cat toy. “Whoever called it necking was a poor judge of anatomy.” – Groucho Marx What’s round and bad-tempered? A vicious circle.…
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About Me
I’m Ken—a woodworker, skier, dad/grandpa, and small business owner of The Design Factory.
Raised in Portland, Oregon, I’ve spent the last 50 years living and working in Spokane Valley, Washington. Over the years I’ve collected many interesting experiences, memories, life observations, and more than a few piles of sawdust.