Springy Day; Neighborhood Miracle

 

Another round of snow is quickly melting, and this time, it feels like spring may be on the way and that it will stay. 

I loved yesterday because warmer temperatures, and ever-expanding stretches of green grass emerging as snow melted inspired me to spend most of the day outside.

The first job:  remove all the squishy doggie deposits that had been accumulating with the most recent snow. 

Then, I spent a couple of hours cleaning and pruning a flower bed next to the driveway.  

I have circled that bed so many times on the lawnmower, always wishing that the rosebush stems would quit poking me.  Yesterday's pruning should take care of that. 

Plus, the bed looks much neater after the removal dead grass and limbs. 

Looks like another good day of yard work ahead AND some time spent at Roxane's where Laurie will be riding CB. 

SOME SPECIAL NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

Our neighborhood, specifically a family over on Forest Siding Road,  has an amazing story to share. 

Today Brett Peterson will be discharged from an Arizona hospital, much sooner than expected after undergoing a double lung transplant. 

"... his doctor said he is ready to be discharged tomorrow. We honestly didn't think it was going to be this soon, but he's had a significant recovery," Brett's daughter Stephanie told me yesterday.  "He'll have many appointments the next couple months but the best healing is at home with family. We are so very grateful for his team."

I have known and admired this family ever since we moved out here to Selle 20 years ago. Their oldest daughter Stephanie was a student in my last-ever English class back in 2001-2002. 

There's a memorial at the north end of our road honoring Stephanie's sister Holly who died in a car accident when she was in her early teens.  A barn at the Bonner County fairgrounds is named after Holly. 

Last year I featured Katie Peterson Hansen in a blog post.  She and her husband own a classy traveling bar, which they use to provide beverages at weddings and other events.  

Brett's wife Sally retired a while back after a career with the Bonner County Sheriff's Office. 

Both Brett and Sally (Mitchell) are beloved Sandpoint natives, so this good news touches the hearts of a wide array of local residents. 

Yesterday Stephanie directed me to the story she and her sister Katie put together after their father's surgery.  

As you'll see, while reading the story, along with such medical "miracles," there are financial burdens.

So, I encourage you to read the story and maybe even consider a donation to the GoFundMe account. 

I can assure you that this wonderful family is so deserving. 

Thank you.   

Stephanie's comment with the photo above with Katie, Sally and Brett: No oxygen needed; it just melts me!

Below:  Stephanie with her dad. The family story below. 

The Miracle 

We are beyond grateful to share that our dad, Brett, received his lifesaving lung transplant on February 15th and is currently in the ICU doing well. 

This second chance at life would not have been possible without his incredible medical team, the selfless organ donor, and the love, prayers, and support that have carried our family through. 

For the first time in years, there is real hope! 

The Journey That Brought Us Here 

Brett’s fight began in November 2021, when he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and quickly became critically ill.

He was admitted to Kootenai Health, where his breathing continued to worsen. He was moved into the ICU, and as his lungs deteriorated, he was placed on a ventilator.

What followed was a battle for his life. 

Through determination and strength, he survived — but the road back was long. 

He spent nine months in a rehabilitation center, fighting to regain enough strength to come home in late July of 2022. 

Since that day, he has been on oxygen 24/7. Despite everything, he pushed through, his pulmonary fibrosis continued to progress, slowly taking more and more from him. 

The moment that changed everything 

In the spring of 2025, his pulmonologist gave us devastating news — Our dad, Brett, likely had only one to two years to live. 

But he also gave us something else: Hope! 

He told our dad that he was too young to give up and urged him to pursue a lung transplant.

So in January 2026, our dad and mom, Sally, made the move to Phoenix, AZ, where they were blessed to be accepted by an incredible transplant team at

St. Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center. 

After completing extensive testing, he was officially accepted and placed on the transplant list on February 4th. 

Just 11 days later, on February 15th, we received the call. 

The gift of life. A miracle we will never, ever take for granted.

Who Our dad Brett is 

He is a dedicated husband to his lovely wife, Sally, who has been his rock and supported him since day one. 

 He is a hero to us—Stephanie and Katie—and a proud papa to his three grandkids: Lexi, Erik, and Bryant. 

He is also a great friend to many, always ready to lend a hand without being asked. He is the strong, steady person we all count on, and we feel lucky to have him in our lives!

He means everything to us — and to so many of you. 

Why We Are Asking for Help Now

While the transplant is behind us, the journey to healing is just beginning. 

The Coming Months Will Require (6 to 12-plus months):

*Remaining in Phoenix near the transplant center

*Frequent follow-up appointments and constant monitoring

*Temporary housing

*Travel and fuel

*Lifesaving medications

*Full-time caregiving and extended time away from home for our family so we can stay by his side

These are the unexpected burdens that come after the miracle. 

We are raising funds to support him during this critical recovery period so he can focus fully on healing without the added weight of financial stress. 

Any contribution is a personal gift that will go directly toward his recovery and the essential living expenses that come with this season. 

From our family — THANK YOU! 

We have already witnessed a miracle. 

Thank you for loving our dad, Brett. 

Thank you for standing with our family! 

Thank you for helping him take these next steps toward strength, healing, and a full life with his new lungs.

When he is strong again, our hope is to pay this kindness forward to another transplant family walking this same road. 

With love and endless gratitude,

Stephanie & Katie

 

https://gofund.me/50f523fb7

🫁💓💙💚🫁

Bill spent a few minutes working as Terry's assistant yesterday. 

It was time to add sheet rock to repair the hole in our upstairs ceiling. The damage resulted from a violent wind storm in December.   

Yesterday, Terry needed another set of hands to hold the sheet rock in place while he secured it in place.

So, the two worked well as a team. 

Later, Terry moved on to the next stage of taping seams and mudding the sheet rock.

Today he'll come back to sand and do the final surface prep to match the rest of the ceiling. 

I can't remember the term for that process, but I can tell you I've learned some contracting terminology through this repair session. 

Soon, the ceiling should look like nothing happened. 

We have enjoyed having Terry hanging out at our house this week.   

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

No doubt there will be a tinge of revenge when Gonzaga's Bulldogs host the Portland Pilots in the Kennel tonight. 

The Pilots handed the ZAGS one of their only two losses for this season.

So, I feel confident that the ZAGS are thinking, "Not in our house!"  especially on Senior Night. 

Just two regular season games remain before next week's West Coast Tournament in Las Vegas, and it will be nice for the ZAGS to boost their win record to 28. 

Tip-off tonight is at 6 p.m. PST. 

The game will be telecast on KHQ, Channel 6 or you can stream it on ESPN+. 

Speaking of tournaments, Willie's Bulldogs took a tough loss in Lewiston last night BUT this tournament action is double elimination. 

So, Sandpoint tips off against Moscow tomorrow (Thursday) night at Les Rogers Gym.

The winner of this game moves on to Grangeville Saturday to compete against a Southern Idaho team as a second opportunity to go to State. 

It's a long process when you lose on tournament game, but with double elimination, the opportunity for a trip to State still exists. 

So, I'll post more specifics about the  Sandpoint Bulldogs game tomorrow.  Meanwhile, we're pulling for the ZAGS tonight. 

Happy Wednesday. 

 

On a Wet Day

 

When it's pouring rain and ugly pretty much everywhere, I like to drive the old road to Hope. 

Even if the lake isn't too picturesque on a rainy, gloomy day, that road still offers some color and enough charm to keep me and my camera happy. 

I love the waterfall at the west side beginning of the road.  It's always a little different depending on the season and the water flow but it's always breath-taking, dramatic and easy to photograph. 

Bill went to the woods yesterday afternoon, while I loaded up the dogs and headed off on my trip toward Hope. 

We had spent the morning tending to our individual projects while our friend and my former colleague Terry Iverson worked here in the computer room beginning his repair job of the hole in the ceiling caused by a wind storm in December. 

Terry worked away stabilizing the area and stuffing insulation.  Today he'll begin working with sheet rock to cover it up. 

It will be nice to have that damage from the wind storm fixed, and when weather permits, another contractor will patch the roof. 

Anyway, back to Hope.  

Soon after I pulled on to the road, I saw someone walking a dog.  Seeing me, she turned off the road to the Chinese cemetery where she waited for me to pass by. 

Well, I didn't.  

I could see her and her pup in the trees, so I stopped and wondered if she might be someone I knew. 

That was not the case, but I now know Amber AND Skookum, a beautiful red and white Border Collie. 

What better meeting:  a friendly and fun lady with a Border Collie on a rainy day just off an enchanting rainy-day road. 

It created an immediate cure for the gloom. 

We had a great time getting acquainted.  Happily, that road doesn't get a lot of traffic except for the residents so we could enjoy our visit.

 

Turns out Amber is connected with the family who owned the Red Fir Resort, so even though she moved here a few years back, she has local roots. 

The best part of the whole conversation came when Amber told me she is the mechanic at the Clark Fork Chevron Station.  

We old timers immediately think of Bob Hayes who owned the place for years and was always the friendly face of the business. 

Amber said the folks there are very patient as she hones her mechanic work but she's very proud that she is really good at changing oil. 

What a nice encounter on a rainy day! Meeting Amber and Skookum is why I love to go on these spontaneous jaunts. 

Plus, I even captured a few fun photos along with a few around the Lovestead and  to and from Hope. 

I cannot believe this morning's upbeat feeling of spring.  I hear geese honking as Bridie and I took our second walk in almost normal daylight. 

Plus, birds were singing sweet, happy songs in the trees and in the woods.  

As we walked through the woods, Bridie suddenly took on her Border Collie pose, looking off toward the right. 

I turned that direction and soon saw that two deer had caught her attention.  One was peeking around a tree while the other stood like a statue.  

It was a little dark in the woods, so the deer were very curious about us.  One even took a few careful steps my direction.  

Soon I saw one white tail rise and then the second.  Off they bounded through the woods. 

Later, when I went out to get the paper, my neighbor Gary Finney stopped in his white pickup.  He was on his way to morning coffee in town but took time to see how I was doing. 

Gary indicated that, like me,  he was feeling some endorphins of spring.  

I think we may have turned a corner, and with the fact that our highs will be in the mid 40s through the rest of the week, we may even say good bye to this last batch of snow. 

Amber Gray and Skookum

Terry Iverson, builder extraordinaire. 

It's a big day for the Sandpoint Bulldogs men's basketball team.  

District playoffs continue, and tonight they'll be playing one of the toughest teams in the state of Idaho.  

Lewiston (19-3), which leads the league, is ranked No. 1 in the 5A classification and No. 9 overall in the State.  

If the Bulldogs can pull off a win, they'll automatically go to State.  A loss means more games this week. 

As Willie told me last week, in the two previous matchups with the Lewiston, one 8-minute quarter made the difference, so the goal is to play 32 minutes of good basketball. 

Maybe the third time will be the charm for Sandpoint.  We hope so. 

Here's a recap of Sandpoint's win over Lakeland this past Friday and some discussion about tonight's game, which tips off at 6 p.m.

GOOD LUCK, BULLDOGS!  

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

Sunday Album

 

I counted 12 deer on our drive to Noxon Dam yesterday. 

After all, it was an early spring Sunday drive to Montana.  

Counting deer was always our assignment to keep us occupied when, as kids, we sat in the back seat of the Ford Ranch wagon, with me on the hump in between my two older brothers. 

Mother and Harold occupied the front seat with a box of bacon thins sitting between them. 

Occasionally, along the way down Montana back roads which sometimes seemed like they went to nowhere, Mother would hand us each a single bacon thin.

I also remember that it seemed like it must have been against the law to stop anywhere for us to go to the bathroom.  So, as the trip went on, my bladder would add a new dimension to the suffering of sitting on the hump.

Yesterday's Sunday drive resembled those of yesteryear, only the characters, the hand-outs and the dynamics were different.  

Only two four-legged, black, white and brown occupants with tails took up the back seat with no draconian hump to endure.  

I think Bridie and Foster view their back seat assignments as Heaven cuz they get to go for a ride with Mom and Dad. 

No Bacon Thin handouts, though. 

Instead,  Mom offered some Beneful baked doggie treats.   

In the front, the treat of choice for Mom and Dad came from a baggie of peanut butter mini pretzels.

I could not help but take a page from the past and start the deer count, once we passed the Montana border. 

Our trip yesterday did not last as long as some of those original Sunday drives, so the deer count was low in comparison to the overall enjoyment. 

After all, the sun was shining when we pulled into the picnic ground, complete with restrooms, next to Noxon Dam, and the ground was generally bare and dry. 

Plus, there was a facility for bladder relief. 

We enjoyed our time there, and then I suggested that we take the dogs back to Noxon and walk around town. 

Usually we just drive through this little community, so I never really noticed before that there really isn't a central downtown area.  

So, we spent some time at another little park along the river and walked across the highway to get a good look at the Noxon Methodist Church. 

By that time, the afternoon was winding down, so we headed home, quite pleased with our resurrection of our family tradition of the Sunday Drive.

It was good to take advantage of the sunshine because rain has returned and snow is sliding off from roofs and MUD has returned on this Monday morning. 

Even though the weather is not that great, I am have enjoyed listening to the inaugural David Begnaud podcast, "The Person Who Believed in Me."

David, who hails from Louisiana, chose Oprah as his first guest because the watching her show inspired his amazing career with CBS News as a storyteller.  

This podcast offers an inspiring way to start off on a rainy Monday, and it's a great listen. 

Give it a try. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-person-who-believed-in-me/id1877266132

Happy Monday. Enjoy the photos.