Out and About; TBT

 

Now, here is a true Sandpoint icon. I'm thinking, these days, that it's about the most beautiful structure in Sandpoint. 

In addition, I think the building probably could easily cinch the title for most stories to be told about life inside its walls. 

Some of those. involving the formative years, I've told in my first book Pocket Girdles. In fact, the title story occurred in the main building and the annex. 

Our community is so fortunate that the Brad Scott family traveled through town several years ago, by chance, saw what I commonly refer to as the old junior high and decided to give it some new life. 

Oh, what a beautiful job they did! You can read the rest of the story and see some wonderful photos by clicking the link below. 

https://sandpointeventscenter.com/history/

I went to what is now known as the Sandpoint Events Center yesterday at the recommendation of  Theresa Stevens, owner of Snowbird Frames in Sandpoint's Pioneer Square.

https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2023/aug/15/snowbird-frames-opens-sandpoint/

Theresa was guiding me through the best way to frame a newspaper article and suggested having the original copied so it would not fade. 

She sent me to 7B Copies Plus, LLC, which is located in our old junior high. 

Turns out it's located in principal Charlie Stidwell's office.  As I visited with the owner Aimee, I wondered if the ghost of Charlie might be lurking about. 

Twas fun spending a little time in the building and reviewing some memories of junior high. 

I enjoyed a double bonus yesterday after walking through the door at Snowbird Frames yesterday.  Theresa's sister Jane happened to be there.  

Could be more than 40 years since I've seen her. We had a great visit catching up on her life and her intentions to move back to Sandpoint. Then, Theresa helped me pick out materials for the framing job. 

I haven't exactly stuck to my Wednesday night horseback riding regimen this summer cuz most of the time it's been too hot. 

Yesterday, however, with its cooler temperatures, inspired me to saddle up Lily, ask for Bill's help in keeping track of our every move and climb aboard. 

This time Lily and I headed for the woods.  The pesky, nasty bugs are gone so it was an opportunity to enjoy the trails through the woods and, later, the hay field. 

Lily seemed to enjoy herself as much as I did.  Later, though, the constant whinnying of CB from the barnyard inspired her to start whinnying back and slip off focus. 

She didn't behave too badly, but the change in attitude was noticeable.  Lily's pretty transparent about expressing her feelings. 

By that time, however, I was feeling gleeful, especially knowing that Bill was walking along with us, opening gates and keeping an eye out. 

It was a lovely evening ride, and I feel grateful that I can have such experiences from time to time. 

Throwback Thursday from my photo collection.  Enjoy.  

Twenty-four years coming up soon for the Young Loves

A Mundane Day; YAY!

 

Every once in a while a switch to the mundane can make our day

Yesterday turned out to be such a day. 

I enjoyed my vacuuming and loved picking yesterday's bounty of green beans and preparing them for the freezer. 

It was actually fun trimming grass with the weed eater, and, except for a little dust in my eyes, 'twas even pleasant mowing a portion of the lawn. 

And, I allowed bringing horses back from pasture to involved a leisurely stroll down the lane. 

Happily, the stars lined up for a few hours of relaxed toiling. 

One of the reasons the projects offered an extra touch of enjoyment was the cooler weather. 

Today, being cool has intensified; in fact, it felt downright cold this morning when I went out to do my chores.

So we're getting another break from the heat before it turns hot again.

Another reason I enjoyed my day of outdoor projects was that, for once, I was not in a frenzied hurry to get things done. 

After a trip to town for an appointment in the morning,  the rest of the day was mine to do with as I wished.  

Bill decided to go fishing in the Upper Pack River, so that meant not having to fix dinner, adding even more down time to the day. 

For several days, I'd been looking at that tall grass growing around the travel trailer and thinking it needed to be trimmed, but on all those other days, I was in too much of a hurry.

So, in last evening's coolness, out came the weed eater, and I took my time snipping away at grass and trying to do a neat job. Lack of urgency made the task especially fun. 

It's often really hard to strike a balance with our time because so much of it gets filled up with other urgent "to do's." 

So, when we're able to tackle a project simply for the joy of making a positive difference, it's all the more satisfying and fun. 

That's how my day of mundane chores went yesterday, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. 

Let's see what happens today. 

Happy Wednesday.  

It's a New Day

 

How often do we rejoice that it's a new day filled with the hope that it would turn out much better than yesterday. 

Maybe we should rejoice pretty much every day. 

After all, we have a fresh opportunity to wipe away the troubles and move on from whatever rattled our cages the day before. 

There's no guarantee that a new day will heal all wounds or that it will even erase the bad moments of the previous day, but it offers a new sense of hope as long as we walk the straight and narrow and do our best to avoid the onslaught of things that can go wrong. 

And, thus, today is a new day where, so far here at the Lovestead, all has unfolded without incident. 

I always wonder how long that will last. 

On another topic, I noticed that the intensity of the wild fire in Lightning Creek seems diminished this morning.  

No dramatic plume of smoke; just a lot of brown smoke hanging in the air around the mountains to our east. 

I read that the fire was estimated to have burned more than 2,000 acres yesterday. 

Again, let's hope the firefighters can get it under control. 

The garden bounty is not that much, but every little bit counts, they say. 

What's missing from the photo are a few baggies of green beans which went into the freezer. 

More beans to pick today, and I'm loving it. 

Now, for the bad garden news.  

A couple of rows of beautiful green bean plants west of the barn have no beans.  Like those in the main garden, these beans formed never ending vines which wrapped themselves around the main plants. 

I have read that bush beans can turn into pole beans with too much water and too much nitrogen. 

Interestingly, however, the main garden's beans and their long vines have produced; those next to the barn did not. Both sets of beans have received exactly the same care. 

Also, I've seen only one ear of corn so far, forming on my stalks which I planted in a circle so they could all cozy up to each other.  The stalks are beautiful and their tassels are showing.  

The horses can eat stalks, but we would like some corn to eat. 

Some day I'll figure out how to grow corn stalks that produce. 

Meanwhile, Bill is happy.  His fish smoking project is complete. 

from Bill in a text to the rest of the Love bunch:  

Five Kokanee, one rainbow trout and one lake trout in the smoker.  Swimming in Lake Pend Oreille on Saturday; ready to eat on Monday.  

Yum, Yum!  

Saturday was certainly a good day but perhaps the fish didn’t think so.

Bill is proud of his smoking job. 

Now, he gets to eat every last bite. 

Yesterday, while mowing this patch of lawn south of our house near the road, I mowed over some fresh bear scat. 

At least, Bill and I are pretty sure it's bear scat, as it was adorned with a whole bunch of cherry pits.

So, it's possible that we have a big furry visitor hanging around in the neighborhood.  

Little signs of fall are falling into the lawn---lots of dried up leaves.

This morning's adventures outside into brisk air gave another hint that fall is not the far off.

And, suddenly, I'm starting to hear and see the word "football" a lot. 

Today, the high is predicted to be 79, so this new day ought to be very pleasant. 

Happy Tuesday.