Slight Detour: Another Cold Call . . . . Toilet Stuff

Cold bench near Hope

Last night the call from the Lake Pend OR allee School District 84 came just as I was preparing a batch of apple jelly. Another day off from school because of even colder temperatures than the day before.

So, today is the second day for students and staff to stay home and keep cozy and out of the cold. Once again, I was relieved to know that I did not have to go to school.

I actually like this weather but have been careful not to stay out in it too long. With the bright sun shining yesterday, it was almost a pleasure loading up a bale at a time on the sled and pulling each load down the lane to the barn. Great exercise while enjoying the beauty and it's nice having extra bales of hay in the barn.

I also spent some time live streaming the big parade in Seattle where estimates say at least 700,000 turned out. And, for Seattle-ites, who spend a lot of time shaking off the gloomy weather, what a gorgeous day for their celebration. Nobody needed happy lamps in that city yesterday.

Annie, of course, was there with Precious. And, Precious did a masterful job of capturing Beast Mode as he passed through the parade and took in the scene with his camera. I heard of at least two Skittle pelts as Marshawn Lynch threw out his share of his favorite candy and received new supplies from crowd members throughout the parade route.

Truly a great day for Seattle and all the Seahawks fans.

After plucking the banjo a few times (would ya believe I can tune it by myself now--progress), I took off on my usual mid afternoon jaunt. This time it seemed wise to go where I could step outside the car and avoid the cold blasts of wind. So, I headed toward Hope.

The boat launch below the highway seemed like a good place to take a few photos. So, I pulled off there and, lo and behold, those mountains off to the west looked pretty glorious along with the frigid but beautiful waters of Lake Pend Or RAY.

Yes, I know how to spell our lake's name and pronounce it, and just like those few slow-to-learn sports commentators who still call our favorite basketball team Gon ZOG a, I wish people would learn how to pronounce the name of one of the most beautiful lakes in America.

Speaking of pronunciation, I'll bet we'll encounter a few words over the next couple of weeks that could provide us a challenge in spitting out----like names of athletes and venues at the Olympics in Russia.

We begin tonight, and I must say it's gonna be fun being on sports overload as we make our way through February. I don't know a whole lot about the Winter Olympics except that we do have a young man from Sandpoint competing in his third Games with his snowboard. That would be Nate Holland.

I also know that the big headliner for tonight's programming, Shaun White, pulled out of his event because he felt the course was too dangerous.

Oh yeah, I also now know more about the bathrooms in Sochi----definitely a headliner for me.

My daughter sent me a link today, explaining the toilet situations around the Olympics. After reading the piece, I told her that she had provided me two good reasons why attending this year's Winter Olympics was not on my bucket list.... that would be NO. 1 and NO. 2.

If you wish to read some bathroom humor (that's a disclaimer for all who wish to remain pure of mind), here's a link to the dirty little story you'll never see on NBC. Well, at least, Annie thinks we may not see it.

http://deadspin.com/a-users-guide-to-the-bizarre-toilets-of-sochi-1516518904?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Happy Thursday!