Beautiful and Bountiful

 

Last night's Bonner Community Food Bank annual fundraiser inspired countless smiles as friends and family members greeted each other and participated in a variety of venues, all designed to raise money for the food bank. 

Spirits were high as the event attracted more participants than last year and appeared to set a record for funds raised through the evening gala at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. 

For our family, the gala offered another reward, enjoying the family connections at two side by side tables and ALL feeling great pride for our family member Debbie Love (left)  who serves as executive director of Bonner Community Food Bank. 

To put it lightly, 'twas a festive and fun evening, thanks to careful planning, coordination and hard work of the food bank staff, board and volunteers. 

It would be safe to say that all of the above individuals function as one big happy family while putting amazing and endless energy into seeing that those in need have ample food and the ultimate of respect. 

It's easy to report that "a good time was had by all" at this event which epitomizes the generous caring and support of the Sandpoint area community. 

 

My niece Laura Laumatia, Coeur d'Alene Tribe environmental specialist from Plummer, won the raffle with raised $2,300.  

Laura donated her winnings to the fundraiser.  

Jeremy from Beet and Basil joined several other local restaurants in providing tasty morsels from their respective menus. 

Above:  two Susie's hosted the cupcake table and they work together as Food Bank volunteers.

Below: the Love family and friends table 

Lots of silent auction items. 

Judy and Barb were among the many volunteers who put their heart and soul AND time into last night's fundraiser.  

Below:  it was really neat to see Jacob and his dad at the event.  Jacob is recovering from injuries suffered in a traffic accident earlier this year.  

Happily, he's on the mend. 

Our daughter Annie and volunteer Shanta. 

Below:  a reunion of teacher and student.  

I had not seen Nicole from the SHS Class of 1988 for at least a couple of decades, so we enjoyed reconnecting.. 

Four Brown-Tibbs siblings:  Mike, Barbara, Laurie and Marianne. 

Below:  food bank volunteer Tom Collins. 

Little Sis and Big Sis:  Kirsten and Mary.  Mary Thompson Brown is my sister-in-law.  

Her marriage to Mike in 1967 started all this in-law/outlaw stuff between the Brown/Tibbs family and the Thompson family. 

Actually, it's been one big, happy family. 

Below:  Two members of the Sandpoint High Class of 1995:  Becca and Willie. 

Becca, who lives in Nicaragua visited Willie's Cedar Post class at the high school a few days ago. 

Mom and daughter:  Mary and Laura. 

Below: our beloveds: Annie, Debbie and Willie. 

Willie and Debbie with volunteers and board members. 

Below:  Little Sis and Big Brother:  Kirsten and Jim. 

Willie discussing basketball with his Uncle Mike. 

Saturday Slight

 

I think Bill liked what he saw while doing a walk-through on the new driveway yesterday.

*******

A week or so ago, Scott Wood and his crew from Wood's Crushing and Hauling kept the yellow ribbon in place after completing a major improvement project on our driveway. 

The project included digging out and hauling in materials to build up the driveway so it would be level with the road. 

A much-needed new culvert was installed and then came the final touch:  paving the driveway and the parking area at the house. 

In the future we are hoping to figure out how to put up a basketball hoop on the north side of the house, so young and old can shoot baskets. I think Willie will like that addition. 

I also think Bill would agree that this is one of most dramatic major improvements we have made at this place since we moved here 20 years ago. 

The paving project seemed like a nice and attractive bit of frosting on the cake during this 20th-year anniversary of our living on the Lovestead. 

Yesterday, when we arrived from Spokane with doggies and with Annie, the yellow ribbon came down and the blue Equinox laid down the first tire tracks for the new pavement. 

It's beautiful.  

We are in awe. 

 I can't think of a more thrilling way to come back home after a two-week absence. 

We have some refinement work to do with the adjoining lawn area because of the project, but that's just fine with us. 

It will be fun to touch up the lawn with soil and seed and then watch the grass grow. 

For now, we simply enjoying and admiring the project from all angles.  

Thanks so much Scott and crew:  job well done.

We appreciate your efforts.  

The other big news with our homecoming involves tonight's Bonner County Community Food Bank annual fundraiser at the fairgrounds. 

We saw Debbie for a few minutes at dinner last night. She's at the point right now that the work never ends, and, during dinner, she had to take a call about the event. 

Annie spent some time yesterday afternoon stuffing balloons for one of the features at tonight's gala.  

I have not seen the final product yet, but the photo above gives you a fairly good idea of the basket my sisters, Barbara and Laurie Tibbs, put together for tonight's silent auction. 

Laurie sent me the photo above while we were in Ireland.  Last night's update indicated that there is much more in the basket, featuring our family's talents, including our mother's artwork and those adorable "little boxes."  

So, if any readers are attending the fundraiser, be sure to look over the offerings and we don't mind one bit if you're generous with your bidding on that particular basket. 

Between the family and the outlaws (Thompson's) we'll be taking up two tables so we're looking forward to having some good family visits along with checking out the food, the silent auction, the special contests and the live auction. 

If it's anything like last year's inaugural event, it will be a great night of fun and a huge boost to the food bank and its service to the community. 

And, of course, we'll be cheering on Debbie and her team for all the hours of work they put in to this event, which, of course, succeeds because of community generosity. 

While Bill and I were waiting for Annie's flight to come into Spokane Airport yesterday morning, we spent time at the cell phone parking lot.  

And, by golly, upon looking closely, one can find some amazing beauty in the grassy areas around the site. 

Our front yard-maple was alive with brilliant colors yesterday. 

There's a healthy abundance of fall work to do around the entire place, and I'm excited about getting started.

It's good to be home.  

Happy Saturday. 

We are also celebrating Annie's birthday in several installments over the weekend and the next few days.  

Since she can't be home on her actual birthday, this weekend includes the cake, which is already missing a few pieces. 

Yoke's Bakery did a lovely job. 

Bye, Baggies!

 

As we stood for about ten minutes in the aisle next to our seats waiting to deplane in Spokane last night, I watched the lady in the window seat of my row pull out a plastic zip lock bag, grab some kind of pill and pop it into her mouth. 

I chuckled to myself, thinking that it's easy to recognize your own ilk while traveling as a golden girl:  the arthritic knuckles, the weathered skin, the weird shoes with two-inch soles and those aging fingers popping a pill from a zip lock bag.

Suspicious activity, probably to some, but totally familiar to those of us who are there, doing that.  

Although I usually don't pop my pills on the plane, I know the drill.  

Long before leaving on a trip, one of the first tasks  is to count out enough glaucosomine/chondroitin, Vitamin B complex, Calcium and Vitamin D supplements to last through every day of the upcoming trip. I often throw in a couple extra of each, just in case we get stuck in an airport and have to sit for extra days somewhere. 

That baggie project is one aspect of packing that I have down to a science.  

What clothes to take, what clothes not to take and all the other little items that keep us senior citizens going (for me the fiberglass shoe horn my friend Chris gave me a few years ago is tantamount, thanks to my fiberglass orthotic which requires my left foot to be wedged into a space that I swear every single day is not adequate for my foot and that draconian brace). 

It's all an ongoing, stressful aspect of pre-trip planning, but that planning is really nice the last day of the trip.  

There's a very satisfying adrenalin high to pulling out the bathroom items at trip's end, popping the last set of pills and throwing all baggies into the hotel wastebasket, hence lightening the load to a suitcase that no longer needs to have its load lightened cuz you're done with the trip and the constant fear that your bag is going to weigh in at "overweight." 

Of course, the hotel cleaning lady who finds all those leftover pills probably feels a sense of suspicion.  But my baggies are all labelled with those red and white mailing labels, so she knows not to call the police and report the ancient "drug addict" who stayed in Room 238.

Anyway, I've thrown my baggies away.  I don't care today what I put in my suitcase (which weighed only 44 pounds in Seattle last night).  I took a little extra time this morning enjoying "luxury" living at the airport Hilton, even lounging in the bathtub while cleansing with the Hilton body wash and then dabbing the body lotion on my pasty, dried-out legs, feet and hands. 

All the while, I knew it would be a long time before I once again step into any sense of luxury that goes along with our typical last night on the road. 

Three years ago, I decided the last night on the road after our Ireland trips no longer needed to require a fully exhausted Bill to drive us home to Sandpoint after a 30-hour, 6,000-mile, two-jet plane trip  for two more hours in the pre-midnight darkness fraught with deer waiting to meet their master.

And, so we stay at the Airport Hilton Garden.  

This morning we're living life at a leisurely pace because Annie won't be flying in to Spokane Airport (probably not loaded down with zip lock bags full of stuff) until 9:30 this morning. 

Bill wondered a few minutes ago if we were going to just grab breakfast or if we would go downstairs for a full "American sit-down breakfast, minus the beans, tomatoes, black and white pudding of a full "Irish sit-down breakfast."

Yes, by all means, I said to him, adding that we were going to enjoy every single moment of this last-day "luxury" existence before re-entering life as we usually know it. 

And, we are very excited about that re-entry which means picking up our daughter Annie, then tearfully and happily greeting our dogs at the Pet Lodge and finally driving to our home in beautiful Selle to see the new driveway.  

While we were gone, Scott Wood and his crew from Woods Crushing redid our driveway AND paved most of us.  Everyone in the neighborhood watched the process and saw the finished product.  

Some have even  sent photos because it seems they are just as proud and happy as we shall be once we turn the car in to the Lovestead entrance and resume life as we know it and love it. 

So, a big day ahead, to say the least, and it's already gotten off to a great start with the dispensing of those baggies and their remaining residue. 

Life is good, and arriving home will be Heavenly, even after an amazing flawless and meaningful trip to Ireland.  Hard to believe, but in my mind, there is actually one place that I consider better than Ireland, and that is HOME and all that encompasses it at the Lovestead. 

Finally, we are all really excited, as a family, to cheer on our beloved Debbie Love and her amazing Food Bank team as they pull off this year's second annual Bonner Community Food Bank fundraiser tomorrow night at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. 

Best of luck to Debbie and the team who have worked so hard because success means lots more ways to help those in need in our community. 

GO, Debbie!  We are, as always, proud of you!

Happy Friday.  

Ireland 2026; The Adventure Ends

 

Just an assortment of photos from our trip to Dublin yesterday and from the last few days. 

Above:  one of the two Cocker Spaniels we met while taking a walk at Malin Head on Tuesday. 

Our drive yesterday involved a couple of fun stops. 

One happened just a few miles down the road from Malin Head. 

Patrick Quigley had put his Border Collies to work, rounding up sheep for the fall transition---breeding season and vaccinations, etc. 

For Bill and me, the scene provided the ultimate with dogs expertly and skillfully performing their working dog duties.

No practice, no exhibition but outright work. 

Patrick seemed pleased that we had stopped to watch his dogs and he enjoyed sharing some highlights of his life and information about agriculture in his area. 

He told us that the north part of the Republic of Ireland actually enjoys calmer and milder weather than that in the south.  

We also spent about an hour walking around the beautiful Gortin Glen Forest Park near Omagh in Northern Ireland.

Both stops provided enjoyable breaks from several hours in the car. 

Now we face the marathon day ahead. It will be long and will definitely require survival mode with passports, luggage transfer, TSA checks and pat downs, long hours squashed in an airline seat.

Never a fun aspect of traveling but necessary if we want to get back to the place we love the most:  home. 

Again, thanks to all those in beautiful Ireland who welcomed us, served us and entertained us along the way. 

Also, special thanks to the neighbors at home and my sister Laurie who kept track of the place.  

We're excited to pick up Annie at the airport tomorrow morning and later, the doggies at the pet lodge and then see a major change that happened to our Lovestead while we were gone. 

Stay tuned. 

Happy Thursday.   

The bridge near Drogheda, home of Bill's Irish roots. 

The Peace Bridge in Derry, Northern Ireland. 

We met this lovely couple last night while having dinner at our hotel.  

They are from the Galway area, and they planned to fly out this morning for a week in Croatia.  

Liam and Celia, it was fun to meet you. Safe travels.

The Irish go all out for Halloween.