Saturday Slight

I have really enjoyed this past week, and it looks like the enjoyment will continue. Tonight we're going to a celebration dinner at Western Pleasure Guest Ranch. The Jim Wood family has completed the second phase of having portions of their land accepted into a USDA Forest Legacy program, so they're celebrating.

Basically, that means that the plots identified and accepted into the program will be protected from development for perpetuity. The family can use the land for just as long, but it will remain unscathed by outside commercial interests. As the legacy program states, the Wood family's forest land will be protected from conversion to non-forest use.

The process of being accepted into the Federally funded program involves a detailed management plan and guidance from individuals in several different entities. So, when all comes to fruition, there's reason for celebration. Bill has been involved in both phases of the Wood family's application for the forest legacy status.

It should be a fun evening, as every visit to Western Pleasure tends to be.

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The week was filled with a bit of fun and a bit of the new. If I were to spotlight people of the week, I'd have to focus on Molly. She's Cheryl Klein's daughter who can now look back on her surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from her leg. Yesterday she posted several times on Facebook and wrote through the excruciating pain that she was relieved to be past the surgery and hopefully on the mend.

Molly has amassed a great following of Facebook friends who have been pulling for her complete recovery for the past several months. She has kept us all informed on virtually every aspect of her experience with the disease, including her emotions. Most of all, her positive approach to what could be a very depressing situation has been nothing less than impressive.

I'd also spotlight Marc, the reporter from Germany, who plans to come back to Sandpoint. He seemed to enjoy his brief stay here in the area and found enough material for further research to plan a trip back this way. We, of the journalism ilk, love meeting people like Marc, who serve as our professional heroes because they're out there, living the adventure, traveling the world in search of all the pieces to the story.

I'm starting to see photos taken by Annie's new camera, which she received Thursday. She has some posted at her Flickr site: (http://www.flickr.com/photos/nnlove) The clarity of the images will allow her to enlarge photos and eventually start selling them. So, if you're ever interested in an Annie Love original, bookmark her site.

Tomorrow Debbie will pick up her new touring bike. She ordered it, and it's now all ready for her in Spokane. She and her friend Paige from Boise are still focused on participating in the Seattle to Portland ride this July, and they're still maintaining their very informative biking blog at (www.thestpexperiment.blogspot.com)

Debbie's looking forward to training on the bike in the Bottle Bay area, which has ample hills and challenges to prepare her for the big event this summer.

And, speaking of biking, I've done some of my own this week. And, it has felt good enough that I've decided it's time to get the bike rack out and attach it to the back of the car. Haven't used the rack in quite some time, and the bolt that held it on the hitch had disappeared.

After what seemed like a simple fix and purchasing a much more convenient pin to hold on the hitch, I discovered that the hole didn't fit the pin. So, Bill has a project ahead to drill the hole a little bigger. Then, I'll be good to go wherever I want.

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This doesn't happen very often, but for some reason my writing juices are feeling mighty flat this morning. Maybe it's a lame latte, or maybe it's knowing there's a lot on the agenda today and sitting here at the computer is not getting it done.

So, I'll listen to my gut and draw this to a close before it goes from flat to downright subpar.

As for Helen and Susie who commented on yesterday's Super Bowl blog, I appreciate your thoughts but----you need to get a grip on reality and start seeing golden halos, not silver horse shoes.

Go SAINTS, even if it is a week off. And, by all means, GO ZAGS tonight! Let's shoot for 18-3.