Saturday Slight

This lady spent 54 days on lockdown in Rome, Italy during the early part of the Pandemic. 

When she flew home to Sandpoint earlier this summer to visit with family members, she self-isolated for 14 days. 

Tomorrow she is headed back to Rome.  It will be a long flight from Seattle to San Francisco, Munich and then Rome.  

She has no idea how many hoops she'll have to navigate before her life returns to somewhat normal once back in Rome.

In the meantime, she has taken every advantage of enjoying the great outdoor opportunities of her hometown:  huckleberrying, hiking, kayaking and, of course, spending time with friends and family. 

We were thrilled to have Cindy Wooden join us for Friday-night dinner in the front yard last night.  And, yes, I did catch her just about when she was going to dig in to a piece of homemade lemon pound cake with Lovestead berries and Cool Whip. 

My sisters, Bill and I had a great time listening to Cindy's stories about lockdown in Rome during the height of the Covid outbreak in Italy.   

Within the sadness of hundreds of Italians dying each day and the draconian but effective measures of keeping the population as safe as possible, Cindy wished she had a dog. 

People could go outside to take out their garbage, shop for groceries, go to the pharmacy (better have a prescription in hand or you were sent home) or to walk the dog. 

Often, one by one, several members of some families took advantage of walking the dog, eventually necessitating a reminder that your dogs don't need THAT much walking. 

As folks who've known each other through junior high, high school, church, 4-H, journalism, drill team, music lessions, etc. the comfort level for all of us with Cindy's visit was immeasurable. 

Safe travels, Cindy.  Looking forward to seeing your daily tweets about Pope Francis and other Vatican issues.

Speaking of successful journalists, I'm just gonna tease readers this morning about a new book availability.

Retired Seattle Times editorial page editor and Sandpoint resident Mindy Cameron has published her memoir. 

As noted, it is now available at Amazon.com. 

Since I'm down to the last 20 pages, I'll wait until tomorrow to comment on the book, which is a blend of "the facts, just the facts, ma'am," and some deep introspection and retrospection.

Tell ya more tomorrow since you can order it today and won't be able read it 'til it arrives at your home. 

As the week is ending, I am a bit retrospective about its events.

The past few days have brought on more concerns about coronavirus as the local positive count is now at 123.  

I've enjoyed continued fun with masked people I know and love and have spent time picking and grinning.   Then, there's the grand announcement, for Lefty, at least:  he was able to go to pasture with his friends this morning.

Only the tiniest of hints remain of his abscess ordeal, and I'm guessing that by tomorrow, Lefty will have forgotten to how to limp. 

Another ongoing and sometimes irritating scene has been unfolding this week:  turkeys!  They have decided this week NOT to social distance AWAY from our yard.  

Our yard has turned into the hub of their travel routines, and I'm seeing the feathers to prove it.  

Yesterday I had to show a juvenile the exit for the small dog kennel next to the house. And, as I type, I can hear them just below the open window talking back and forth. 

We will always miss our Kea but really miss her during turkey traveling time:  all we'd have to do is let her out, say "Send 'em, Kea," and within seconds, turkeys disappeared. 

Present dogs have no desire to chase turkeys, and the turkeys know it.  Sorta like the electric fence when the horses discover that it's not on.  Ya take advantage of the situation. 

And, so I'm thinking turkey tensions at the Lovestead may dominate a few posts over the next few weeks. 

This next news is not retrospective but prospective:  CB will start school in the next few days after making the short trailer ride over to Barbara and Laurie's.  

I doubt that the apple cart of herd-bound horses will bother either group, since Lefty and Lily will have each other and CB will be reuniting with some of the equine friends he met last year. 

So, it could be a relatively calm transition.

Anyway, it's been another interesting and fun week here at the Lovestead, and today's looking like a beauty for putzing around the place and maybe doing something recreational. 

The "young" man below and his history with our family goes back at least 70 years when we were all little munchkins in a neighborhood including Lake and Euclid streets. 

O'Donnells were among the families we knew before moving to the North Boyer farm.  Happily, and thanks to Facebook, we all still stay in touch. 

John, who graduated with my brother Mike and his wife Mary, lives in Bend, Ore., with his wife Karen, also a Sandpoint High graduate in 1964. 

We hometown people may have taken off on different routes for our respective life journeys, but, as you can see, there's a uniter-----it could be a Sandpoint Bulldog OR a Gonzaga Bulldog.

Doesn't matter.  It's a great mask, and, John, you wear it well. 

Happy Saturday to all.