Saturday Slight

It's a busy Saturday no matter how I look at it, and it's a special Saturday. My brother's in-laws have all gathered in Sandpoint to celebrate a milestone in their family, a matriarchal birthday. Helen Thompson, a native of Burnstad, North Dakota, and longtime Sandpoint resident, is 90 years old today, and they're throwing her a party.

From 2-4 p.m. Helen's friends and family will gather at The Bridge for Assisted Living and commemorate 90 years of a life well-lived. So, I'll start the Saturday Slight by wishing Helen a great big happy birthday from the Love family.

On to the other Slight details:

• We're hoping to squeeze in a few minutes of the party in the midst of selling our wares at the Bonner Mall Christmas Craft Sale. We had a great time yesterday, selling a few things but doing a lot of visiting. Some of the talk was of the lament variety---lamenting that it's so hard to pin down half a dozen locals at any venue any more, except for the funerals and family gatherings. But we did see locals. We had a nice visit with Lois Hall, who hates living in town since the many years of running a dairy with her husband. Lois keeps active and keeps close track of her friends, including the mother of my first-grade classmate David Harney. Speaking of the Hall place on Hwy 200, Bill and Delores Adams stopped by. They'd been to Staples making up big pictures of Bill and his buddy, Davis. Davis is a mini but not masculine-impaired Scotch Highlander bull. After all, Davis is a father; he belongs to Sherri Remmers who now owns the old Hall dairy farm. Bill and Davis have formed a partnership---you stand still while I put on the saddle, and then I'll climb aboard. Now, it's important to know that Davis holds the saddle on his back while Bill climbs aboard and goes for a bull ride. I wouldn't want anyone with perverted minds to get any ideas. After seeing the pictures, including the one of "Bad Hair Bull," Mother told Bill he needs to make a calendar of Bill and Davis pictures. Who'dda thunk that a basketball coach would devote his sunset years to bull riding? Well, when you know Bill Adams, nothing is surprising. My blogging friend Cis finally got to meet Mother after reading about her so many times on Slightdetour. She also met another of my favorite friends and former students, Melissa Irish. For a while there, we almost conjured up a local quorum. Well, actually later, when Melissa's Stutzke clan gathered in one spot, it was feeling a bit like Old Home Week. Actually we saw lots of familiar faces yesterday and had some wonderful visits. So, we're hoping to do more today, plus sell a few things.
• I received two really good pieces of news yesterday. Casey's third eyelid did have cancerous, but Dr. Cherise got it all. She told me that the tissue around the tumor was all clean so there's a good prognosis for "Baby Horse," as Bill loves to call him. And, Bill may have to drop that title because come Tuesday or Wednesday, Casey will not longer be the baby of the equine family here. Miss Lily Filly of Lawton, Oklahoma, stepped onto the ramp and walked into an 11-horse trailer pulled by a semi yesterday morning, and she's on her way to the north country. I've actually got some goosebumps and some watery eyes as I type this, especially after hearing a spontaneous review from Cindy Thoreson who picked her up at Royce Crosby's barn early yesterday morning. "You've got quite a filly," she told me, "good head, stands up tall-----I thought she was turning three and just about fell on the ground when I saw her papers and learned she won't be two until April." Cindy was very complimentary before I even got a word in edgewise. She said when her husband Gary and she stopped at a coffee shop just outside Lawton, they heard 20 minutes worth of talk from the waitress about what fine horses Royce raises and sells. Bill will be finishing the final details on getting the stall ready this weekend, and I'll be talking to Rambo and Casey about the gentlemanly behavior expectations when this young lady arrives. I was especially thrilled yesterday when I looked in the newest issue of the Appaloosa Journal and saw that she stands eighth in the nation among Foundation Appaloosa Halter mares. Definitely lots of excitement ahead at the Lovestead barnyard.
• I'm reminding anyone locally who's doing Christmas shopping to stop by Pend Oreille Winery this coming Tuesday from 4-7 p.m. to spend some money during the Sip and Shop program at the store which is loaded with nice gifts and award-winning wines. A percentage of all sales during that time frame goes to the Bonner County Museum. And, of course, don't forget the author signing-open house next Friday, Dec. 15 from 3-7 p.m. We even may have some fun surprises for book shoppers, which will be announced next week.
• We enjoyed seeing Bev and Ron, our next door neighbors, at the mall yesterday. Seems young Mr. Pointer, the whitetail buck who's found our feed box, has found other culinary deposits next door. No wonder he looks so well-fed. He's fortunate to have them, and we feel fortunate and thrilled to have met them and to get to enjoy them from now until-----.
  

I guess that's all in the Saturday Slight; seems like a lot more is going on, but my brain's too overworked to think of it this morning. Have a great day.

GO ZAGS against Washington !!! 8 p.m, PST, KHQ-TV.