Slight Detour: Saturday Slight

I love it when "the kids" are all together: Willie, Debbie and Annie.

Oh, what fun we had . . .

. . . and we didn't even ride in a one-horse open sleigh.

Debbie came over with the dogs and had breakfast and coffee.

Soon thereafter, Bill left for a meeting. After that, Annie left to pick up Bill from his meeting.

They drove to Spokane while Debbie and I visited and contacted my sisters with the family Christmas plan.

Then, we drove over to Roxane's, admired her indoor arena where a brand new substantial extension to its original length has been added.

Kerry was way up in the air in a bucket, working on the lighting. Roxane was feeding horses their noon meal.

We spent some time loving on Lefty, CB and Lily.

While leaving, we met some more new faces among the many horse lovers who come and go at Roxane's stable.

Debbie went her way. I went on mine, driving back home for a while and then into town to pick up some Vietnamese goodies Tuyen had left for us at Vanderford's.

Later, Willie and Debbie came with a huge gift basket I had won in the Sandpoint High Toys for Tots raffle.

Oh my, such fun stuff from Litehouse, Inc to add to future meals.

Soon we learned that Bill and Annie would be arriving in Sandpoint. We agreed to meet for dinner at the new restaurant in town called Savory's.

Yes, we had fun, and yes, it was good, as you can see from the photos.

Upon arriving home, I finished the final stages of the treat Tuyen had given us. It's the same dish that Tuyen prepared for the Farmin-Stidwell staff this week as a token of appreciation.

Tuyen's explanation of the dish:

It's called:" Xôi Nếp Than" (charcoal sticky rice). It was my childhood favorite food but they don't make it like mine anymore .

We eat it anytime we want but they just sell it for breakfast and as a night time snack. So no, not a main dish.

We gave the treat to Farmin-Stidwell teachers, and some of them said that it brought back memories of when they traveling to Thailand. We have some similar foods here and there.

In Thailand, they add mango fruit but not beans like mine .

The treat, with notable coconut and peanut flavor, received the Love household stamp of approval. Thank you so much, Tuyen.

🍈🍋🍐🍑🍡🍲

Below: poutine, one of the offerings on the Savory's menu. Their pizzas are good too.

Yesterday definitely was an "oh what fun" kind of day.

We'll try to keep the trend going today, and soon we'll be off to a good start when our niece/Annie's cousin Laura arrives at the Lovestead.

😏😍😎😁😂

I really liked the feature below which appeared in this morning's New York Times newsletters.

Simply stated, lists like these are always fun.

As in this morning's case, such contributions from others offer neat ideas of positive, low key things we can do ourselves to spice up our own lives.

What was some of the best stuff you did this year?

The best stuff you did

The best 24-hour layover, Erika Del Villar, from Seattle, reported, is in Seoul, where she availed herself of the free layover tours from Incheon International Airport.

Pay your friends to mend your clothes, recommends Sam Schultz, from Boston. (Presumably these friends are handy with a needle and thread.)

Described by one reader as “the best transformative experience” and another as “the best midlife crisis”: walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Carol Brand, from Boulder, Colo., was advised in preparation for the journey, “If you pack it, you have to carry it,” wisdom she’s extended to her life, as a lesson in nonattachment.

The best thing Kathy Gray, in Cosby, Tenn., gave and received this year came from bringing meals to her local firehouse. “They were so grateful and welcoming, and always thrilled to see my car pull up,” she wrote.

The best thing Amy Hopper Swan, from Little Rock, Ark., did to improve her marriage was buy her husband his own separate laundry hamper. And, after a trip to Germany, Michelle Wagner, of Jamestown, R.I., decided to adopt a new bedding schema: she bought individual twin blankets and duvets for herself and her husband. “Life changing,” she reports.

Your best in culture

While most submissions were delightfully idiosyncratic, there were some common themes. Readers were mad for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour (the live show, the film, the fandom experience), as well as Beyoncé’s Renaissance and Depeche Mode’s “Memento Mori.” You loved the TV shows “Slow Horses,” “Lessons in Chemistry,” “The Bear,” “Ted Lasso,” “Gilmore Girls” and “Reservation Dogs.” The film that received the most love was “Past Lives.” You loved reading “The Covenant of Water” by Abraham Verghese, and listening to the Meryl Streep audiobook of Ann Patchett’s “Tom Lake.”

Best depiction of mental health in art: The album “Stick Season,” by Noah Kahan — Hannah Levinger, Strafford, Vt.

Best book: “‘Hello Beautiful,’ by Ann Napolitano, for articulating grief in a way I needed to heal after losing my dad and uncle to Covid in 2020.” — Lisa Miller, West Hempstead, N.Y.

Best movie I’ve been meaning to watch for years that I finally watched: Wong Kar-wai’s “In the Mood for Love.” “It was as emotionally stirring and aesthetically stunning as I hoped it would be.” — Jennifer Suzukawa-Tseng, New York, N.Y.

Best book title: “Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come,” by Jessica Pan — Lynn Walker, Los Gatos, Calif.

Best late-night reading: "Diana Nyad's Swimming Brought Her Gloy, Fame, and An Adversary Dedicated to Exposing Her Lies" by Dave McKenna, in Defector. “I stayed up well past my bedtime hanging on the details of this story of someone who I now recognize as a uniquely American figure.” — Sean Nielsen, Tampa, Fla.

Best rediscovered 1970s musical: “I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road” — Marilyn Flores, San Francisco

Your best changes to routines

Anna Sibul in Bend, Ore.,’s favorite new habit is taking three deep breaths and then spending one silent minute appreciating her surroundings.

Jennifer Sutherland, in Southlake, Tex., started smearing sunscreen on the back of her hands each morning after applying it to her face. “Wish I’d thought of that 30 years ago!” she writes.

Each week this year, Rebecca Jamieson of Madison, Wis., wrote something that happened that she was grateful for on a slip of paper and put it into a jar.

Lisa Ortega-Pol of San Juan, P.R., swapped the brisk walks she was always finding excuses not to take for 30-minute dance parties at home. “By changing it to dance, I can do it anywhere in or around the house and bust my favorite ’80s moves,” she reports.