Welcome to one of the most action-packed weekends of the year here in Sandpoint. Probably the only other that could trump this one is next weekend. When the Festival at Sandpoint, the Long Bridge Swim and the Pend Oreille Arts Council annual Arts and Crafts Show all happen at the same time, it's safe to say that Sandpoint turns into one big traffic snarl.
A Facebook friend who lives in Nevada wrote in from her car while sitting on the Long Bridge yesterday. She said she was stuck in traffic but excited to be back in Sandpoint. Her plans---once she got off the bridge---were to meet her family and go to the Festival last night.
Next weekend includes more big-name Festival concerts and the annual Celebrate Life walk/run, honoring cancer survivors and those who have passed on because of the disease. The weather seems to be cooperating for all these happenings with sunny skies and temps in the comfortable 80s.
It's also still haying season around here, and Willie just left after a quick visit to pick up some gloves. He's headed over to Colburn to join the Tibbs hay crew. If all goes according to plan, they'll stack 32 tons of hay inside the barn within the next four hours.
My sisters have learned that haying goes a lot faster when they hire a big crew. So, they've talked to Bouse family members ( a bunch of hard-working nice young men who have helped us for several years) and their friends. The crew may number up to ten workers, but hay goes in fast when you have that kind of production line.
And, Willie's joining the crew this year, partially for old-times sake, working for his aunts, and partially for money and the lunch that follows.
Willie had a great day yesterday in Moscow. He has contracted to write a few features about the Idaho Vandal football program for his former sports staff at the Idaho Press Tribune. So, he spent yesterday at Vandal practice. He had the opportunity to interview Coach Akey and some of the players, both very enjoyable experiences.
Then, he headed off to Starbucks to write and file the story. He was impressed with the coach and especially impressed with the accessibility he was given to practice and the players. His story will probably appear in the Tribune tomorrow.
Annie arrived back in Seattle yesterday after a long stint in Washington, D.C. She sounded happy to be heading home but not happy with odorous passenger sitting next to her on the five-hour flight.
I told her to put perfume under her nose. I had a similar situation EVERY DAY in a college history class; the perfume application just below the nostrils worked.
Lots of relatives will be in and out over the next several days. Maureen and Laura, my nieces, and their Aunt Kirsten are probably in the water as I write. They're all here for the annual Long Bridge Swim. Maureen will be staying for the week.
Also, my brother Jim is coming from Oregon either today or tonight. He'll be here for Mother's birthday this next week. She'll be turning 89 on Aug. 12, and Willie and Debbie will be celebrating nine years of marriage on Aug. 11. That day I'm also joining Jane Fritz and my friend Kathy Berkley's book club for a boat cruise.
Jane and I are supposed to talk our experiences writing for the lake book Legendary Lake Pend Oreille, and we're supposed to drink a little wine. I think riding on a boat and wine sipping make a great venue for discussing this particular book. It's available, by the way, at http://www.keokeebooks.com. After seven years in the making, the book turned into a Lake Pend Oreille bible, of sorts.
Also, next week my dear friend Chris Moon and I are getting together. We're planning to take one of our time-honored day trips, which allow us to yak for at least eight hours straight. These trips are in keeping with what we did every day during our summers with the U.S. Forest Service back in the early 1970s, driving and surveying traffic patterns on mountain roads throughout the area.
Even after eight hours of work, in those days, we seldom got everything discussed. And, since we haven't done this for several years (last trip took us to Trout Creek, over the mountain to Troy and up the Yaak River valley to the Dirty Shame Saloon and home), we probably will just scratch the surface on catching up. We're tentatively planning a trip around the lake on the route we took twice weekly for one of our summers.
I'm looking forward to our visit this coming Tuesday. And, looking at the week ahead, I think I'd better get the day planner out and make sure everything is noted so as not to forget anything. Bill and I are going to try to squeeze a Festival concert in too.
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