Since Liane Bennett's dog Vegas died in May after a yearlong struggle with cancer, she always keeps him close to her heart.

KENNEWICK -- Larry Seifert isn't quite done with his autobiography but he already has a title picked out.

RICHLAND -- The eyes on the 15 young faces were fixed forward.

RICHLAND -- Families grabbing a slice at a Richland pizzeria on the second Saturday of each month may find themselves in the midst of a lively sea chantey.

KENNEWICK -- Learning how to allemande, do-si-do and promenade may sound like a challenge -- especially after realizing those are just three of the 68 moves in a style of square dancing called mainstream.

KENNEWICK -- The old maple tree growing outside Kennewick First Presbyterian Church had to be cut down to make way for an expansion but the stately tree found new life inside the church, thanks to Richland's Gary Miller.

KENNEWICK -- There's an engaging sass in Kimberly Camp that shows in her art, whether it's a painting of a woman with a pensive look or a dramatically-themed handcrafted doll.

HANFORD -- Sixty-five years ago the Hanford nuclear reservation was booming. About 50,000 workers were racing to build the reactors, processing plants and support buildings needed to produce plutonium for the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, and then the Cold War nuclear weapons build up.

RICHLAND -- Everyone has a passion.

RICHLAND -- Jennifer Allstead walked across the classroom with a baggie full of water, salt and flour in her hands.

PASCO -- Resembling a scene out of a small town in Mexico, hundreds of spectators sit comfortably in the grass enjoying their raspados, roasted corn or tacos as the Canarios take on Morelia.

KENNEWICK -- The future of unlimited hydroplane racing could hardly have been bleaker 43 years ago when the first race was held in the Tri-Cities.

KENNEWICK -- Jay Rumsey knows ferocious weather.

Sitting casually around a table in the Richland Community Center on a recent morning, a fit-looking group of seven cyclists with the Tri-City Bicycle Club discussed the morning's ride route.

When Laurie Ellis walked into the backyard of a Benton City home, she was quickly greeted by four old friends who excitedly jumped, barked and wagged their tails.

KENNEWICK -- Ken Leaf figures he'd be poorer by more than $228 a day -- or about $41,813 for six months -- if he'd agreed to send the maximum to every charity that sent him a donation plea last winter.

They say you are what you eat and the shoes tell the man.

RICHLAND -- For bride Wendy Petersen, selecting a matron of honor was easy. All she needed was to look across the dining table at her grandmother.

KENNEWICK -- At the height of World War II, Helga Walker was a typical 9-year-old German girl who loved dolls.

PASCO -- Isaac Wilson stood at the front of the stage and delivered his next line in a booming voice that would make a Broadway actor proud.

BICKLETON -- Finding the "Bluebird Capital of the World" is not easy.

BENTON CITY -- Gurgling sounds are music to Sara Whitby's ears.

Hundreds of people across the Mid-Columbia every week are following the leader -- and that leader is usually wearing neon-colored pants.

KENNEWICK -- Wine glasses in Jamie Adams' paintings look almost real enough to drink from, and the grapes juicy enough to eat.

PASCO -- Most people remember Bill Preston as the man with the vision to create Washington state's first destination winery.

PASCO -- A sweet sound filled a community room in a west Pasco neighborhood as about a dozen musicians gathered for an unusual jam session.

Lee Daniel has spent a lifetime climbing and hiking mountains, and the retired research chemist's love for the outdoors remains undimmed by age.

PASCO -- When the five Harris siblings get together to reminisce, the story of their family's history is also Pasco's history.

Ever wished cats were more like dogs?

KENNEWICK -- Zooming around a frozen indoor pond wearing shoes balanced on blades seems like it would only appeal to the young, the reckless, the brave-hearted.

RICHLAND -- Here's a secret. For a few hours every Saturday night, I shed my mild-mannered, professional exterior and zip off across the galaxy on a rip-roaring adventure with a rag-tag band of spacefarers.

KENNEWICK -- Liliana Blanco wore a red and white shirt.

POMEROY -- The scene could be from a Currier & Ives winter wonderland print -- a pair of gentle giants effortlessly leading a sleigh across a field of newly fallen snow, their massive feet kicking up tuffs of white powder.

RICHLAND -- The door to a Richland building with a sign that reads "square dance" often gets jammed shut.

WALLA WALLA -- Walk into the Hot Poop record store on Walla Walla's Main Street, and you can't help but briefly stand still in shock.

RICHLAND -- Who needs Santa's elves when you've got Rose Crowell's workshop. The Richland woman's 14 grandchildren don't bother with wish lists because each year they know their Christmas presents from "Nana" will be handpicked and stitched with love.

KENNEWICK -- Rabbits and guinea pigs are hard not to like.

PASCO -- Charles F. Grigg's fascination with weapons has only increased with age.

BENTON CITY -- The ammo was live, and so was the Old West as fall arrived on Rattlesnake Mountain.

PASCO -- If John Perry has entered the same Halloween costume contest as you, you might as well pull your mask down over your face and go home.

They play and sing old-time acoustic music, some of it from the late 1800s.

When Nick Wallin learned in June he'd been named the new conductor of the Mid-Columbia Symphony, the first thing he did was call his parents in Michigan.

RICHLAND -- Jim Kaye can't recall how old he was when he bought his first model airplane.

WEST RICHLAND -- Ciara Potter never was a big fan of water skiing as a youngster, often bribing her dad to buy her Slurpees or other goodies just so she'd go with him.

RICHLAND -- Jim Castleberry is and always has been all about the green and gold. He's Mr. Bomber to all old-school Bombers, eager to chat about anything to do with Richland High School basketball.

KENNEWICK -- Phoenix High looks more like an office than a school, with individual work stations and a computer for every student, plenty of plastic file cabinets and even a water cooler.

Sheilah Archibald's home is filled with the finest china, hand-painted with Currier & Ives scenes, portraits or breath-taking landscapes.

At 64, Dean Hinkson passes time by tinkering with it. The retired electrician who moved to the Tri-Cities nine years ago is a master watchmaker and a master clockmaker.

Think of a home and you probably picture the standard four walls.

Dave Milton's daily lunchtime routine often includes the Columbia River, some paddles and -- if he's lucky -- a heron or some pelicans.