The Day After

 

AI image created by Laurie Tibbs

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I switched to instrumental country music this morning. 

Yesterday morning I carried my phone while walking through the darkness of the Lovestead.  

The iPhone in my jacket pocket was alive with beautiful sounds and lyrics from the album "Celtic Christmas Music 2025."  

That experience in the midst of outdoor solitude during the dawn definitely provided my personal Christmas reverence, respect and reflection of the "reason for the season." 

On this Friday afterward, it's time to switch gears and leave the lovely festivities of Christmas behind. 

And, lovely they were in so many ways, including the gifts, the music, the lights and, most importantly, the peeps who made the season special. 

One peep who made our day was a supremely creative and very thoughtful former student named Mark.  

His gift was a total surprise, and, as is customary with Mark, all aspects in the gift box touched us deeply.  

The picture above was included.   

We had never seen it before, so to spend a moment remembering our wedding day  and our "ungrey" hair so many years ago was nostalgic and delightful. 

Thank you, Mark💚💓. 

The charcuterie display of boards with engravings of our beloveds was created by my sister Laurie, who loves to use her computer skills for a variety of items like horse show awards and meaningful gifts for friends and family. 

She is also into AI and has spent hours blending and creating images of her beloveds and those of others.  

I will always treasure the sketch at the top that she put together of Lefty, Lily and CB. The images of each came from separate photos.  Laurie blended them into one. 

Below:  to Barbara and Laurie:  this morning I have sampled sausage cooked in the air fryer.  Wonderful, and thank you. 

This is always a season which I find hard to leave behind because of all the reminders of goodness and generosity, but the nice part is that it will be back again next year. 

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And, from Roxane, who cares for my horses over the winter, came a beautiful Lily-like ornament to add to the Christmas tree. 

Love it. 

Speaking of gifts, we seem to have the household gift that keeps on giving, and we would prefer to refuse this gift. 

On the good side, Adam (above), who has done computer-related and satellite work for us in the past, appeared at the door Wednesday morning. 

"I"m here to take the stuff," he said.  And, so Adam removed the utility dryer and all the plastic sheeting surrounding the area where sheet rock was damaged during the wind storm. 

"We're finally done," I thought.  No more repairs or replacement purchases for a while. 

Silly me! 

We now have water seeping from the base of the upstairs toilet, which means another plumber visit. 

It appears that it will never be over for us until it's completely over for us, so we'll just keep rolling and groaning with the punches.  

A day without repairs or new invoices would be really nice. In the meantime, the gift of home ownership keeps on taking. 

Happy Friday. 

Hope everyone had the best Christmas possible. 

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https://x.com/Milli0nairePath/status/2004197999585423700?s=20

Merry Christmas 2025

 

Truly, He taught us to love one another

His law is love

And, His Gospel is Peace

from "O Holy Night"

Solas Na Nollag

 

This Frosty is much more special than I realized.

He will continue to be very special over the years because he's a perfect symbol of the Christmas lesson. 

Monday night when we had our Love family Christmas and our daughter-in-law Debbie saw to it that I discovered Frosty on our deck, she shared some highlights. 

But yesterday in a Facebook comment she elaborated on the overall story.  

Here 'tis. 

from Debbie:  

A fun evening! 

You never want those moments to end.

The snowmen and turkeys were made by Cora and Henry, who worked so hard in their grandpa’s wood shop. 

They spent several days sitting at North 40 requesting donations and decided to give all the proceeds to the food bank. 

It reminded me so much of projects I did with my own grandpa. I loved seeing the kids spending that special time with their grandparents and giving back to such a good cause.

I also couldn’t wait to see Willie’s face when it was time to load them into the car they are HEAVY! 

We left one at the front entrance of the barn for Barbara and Laurie, and another is Boise bound in the backseat. 

I’m having way too much fun watching Willie shake his head

Merry Christmas!

Just when we thought this past month's money drain was going to end, water gushed from one of the faucets for hoses attached to the new washer. 

That happened when the installers were hooking it up.

I had just dropped off some cookies to my classmate and good friend Mike (pictured below with his daughter Tasha--a former student--and granddaughter and her friend). 

As I drove into our driveway, Bill was standing at the garage door with a glum look on his face. 

 I stepped out of the car and Bill said, "Joey's coming." 

At first I thought Joey was one of the installers, but, no, it was Joey, the plumber. 

"Why . . . what happened now?" I asked. 

Bill told me about the water exploding from the faucet.  I didn't ask how much had to be cleaned up. 

One more thing . . . I thought this fix-it siege was ending with the new washer. 

Joey and Jada, his apprentice, soon arrived.  After some mutual mental troubleshooting, they went to work replacing the faucets, which apparently have run their course, like the dryer, the washer, the chimney, the culverts, the outdoor hydrant . . . it's been a busy and expensive year. 

Joey also asked for applesauce.  Apparently, he cleaned off the jar I gave to his wife Sally a while back, and she discovered the empty jar. 

So, when finished, off they went with money, applesauce and cookies. 

Meanwhile, George, the inspector who was supposed to come and remove the utility dryer and the plastic sheeting from around the damaged ceiling did not show.  

Maybe today. 

We've had a lot of people in and out of our house lately, and, though we love them all, we're looking for some normalcy. 

All that said, it's been a fun few days because those workers are all great people and it is fun to see them.  It's also been fun doing the Christmas countdown. 

Much more fun than following the news, which is overflowing with un-Christmas like behavior.  

I'm so glad we live in our little piece of Heaven where we can switch off the ugliness and rejoice in the wonderful people surrounding us,  who do so much good onto others and also bring infinite tidings of great joy. 

 

It was so great to see Tasha and her daughter Maykenna yesterday.  

It's been several years since they left Sandpoint and moved to Boise where Maykenna is attending Boise State University after transferring from Montana State.  

Maykenna brought along her boyfriend Harrison for this week's visit which involved lunch in downtown Sandpoint with Grandpa Mike. 

I made my first beignets yesterday.  

My niece Laura attended a conference in New Orleans last week so she brought home one of the highlights of anyone's visit to the Big Easy. 

I was amazed how easy they are to make with the mix.  Just put in some water and deep fry. 

Within 30 seconds they're ready for powdered sugar and then to eat.  

We didn't have any of that chickory coffee to go with them, but Bill and I still enjoyed our samples. 

Keeping it brief today cuz I'm looking forward to a day where---if we're really lucky---nothing will need fixing, and we can enjoy a relaxing Christmas Eve. 

Wishing the same for all of you too. 

Merry Christmas Eve, and do enjoy the beautiful video below. 

The light is coming. 

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A little "Christmas light" from Ireland. 

Solas Na Nollag

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcm4ruL6nAq61Pc-YjGUcGA

Tuesday Odds, Ends and Family

 

We have had our Love family Christmas. 

Willie and Debbie will take off today for Boise where they will celebrate her family Christmas. 

They came last night for a meatloaf, chicken, bake potato dinner. 

We ate.  We sipped.  We talked, we laughed and we opened presents. 

One gift from Willie and Debbie to the Lovestead Love's did not need to be opened. 

It was out on the deck. 

When I went out to the deck to retrieve some Christmas cookies from a box, Debbie followed me outside and then asked, "Who's that?"

I turned, looked and said, "Nobody." 

Then, she looked that way again and asked more emphatically, "Who is that?"

This time when I turned around and focused on what was just five feet away from me, I immediately recognized Frosty.  

Debbie said after seeing them on display at North 40,  she figured that one of those snowmen needed to live at the Lovestead. 

So, we have a permanent, carefully crafted Frosty, the Snowman, and we can move him anywhere we wish, and he won't melt or fall apart. 

What a fun gift to enjoy for winters to come. 

We're not done, as we will celebrate Christmas again with my sisters.

This year's festivities are a little different from usual, but variety definitely is the spice of life, and it's all fun.   

The Yoke's grocery store large American flag looked striking yesterday with a snowy Greenhorn Mountain in the background. 

Schweitzer was pretty too. 

Bill's main Christmas present came early this year. 

Not knowing if and when it would snow, once Bill knew and highly approved of getting a woodsplitter, he brought it home. 

And, he has already tried it out.  Once they got it fired up, he and Annie split a few chunks of wood. 

I couldn't be more thrilled, knowing that the man who is so hard to shop for loves his new toy. 

He can continue his wood gathering each year and enjoy it more than ever. 

As you can see below, the weather has necessitated the use of both summer and winter tools. 

I put away the rake a while back but brought it back out this week to clean up storm residue. 

The timing was great because the snow waited until I had completed the job. 

Could be all those tools will get used off and on all winter. 

Debbie was happy to dish up last night. 

Below:  outdoor ornaments can create some interesting reflections. That blob in the middle is yours truly holding the camera, and you can see the house on the left and the woods behind.

 

Our new washer is coming in a few hours so we should be back in business. 

The dogs are doing fine.  The North Idaho Flood and Fire inspector is coming today to remove the dryer and all the plastic sheeting in this room where I'm typing.  

Happily, life should return to some sense of normal, if there is such a thing. 

This morning I'll leave you with some Christmas classics. 

Hope you enjoy. 

Happy Wednesday. 

Music, Friends, Spirits Oh My!

 

We have some snow this morning. 

On both of my trips outside, the snow couldn't decide if it wanted to be slush or if a frozen version would be better. 

The in-between state was just fine in my mind because I could walk through it with relative ease and avoid getting my pant legs wet. 

Bill figures that slush will win out as the day unfolds.

Seeing the snow made me happy that I had raked up the majority of residue covering the lawn area after last week's wind storm. 

Nothing like doing yard work in December.  Seems like I may have made the same remark last December when we had another open winter. 

Anyway, maybe we'll have a white Christmas; maybe a green.  Who knows at this point. 

One of the highlights of a busy day yesterday was spending some time with my former colleagues and longtime friends, Rick and Ann Gehring. 

Rick has been dealing with health problems related to a stroke for some time, so it was uplifting to see his wonderful smile and enjoy some friendly banter with him. 

He was wearing his Gonzaga t-shirt and was visibly thrilled to see the ZAGS poster.  

We had a wonderful visit. 

Also, yesterday, while checking in on the ZAGS-Ducks game, it was for Bill, Annie and me to spend a couple of hours at Pour Authority in downtown Sandpoint listening to some amazing, seasoned musicians yesterday. 

Along with the music came the friendly faces, many of whom I've known for decades. 

Our niece Laura even walked in and surprised us. 

And, to my sisters:  Connor says to say hello. He's the one in the sweater sitting with Annie in one of the photos below. 

His parents, Ed and Karen, are principal members of the music group who offer three hours of Celtic music at Pour Authority on Sunday afternoons once a month. 

Connor had both of my sisters for teachers.  He's now a professor at Alford College in Upstate New York, and he's come home to spend a few days with his parents.  

Mike, on the base fiddle, used to ride horses with me when we were teenagers. 

Below:   Karen and Ed Robinson.

One of the co-owners of Pour Authority, Erin Brannigan. 

Below:  dogs are allowed at the beer hall. 

This one seemed to enjoy the experience. 

Ed took a break from playing to do some visiting.  He served as Bill's boss at the Idaho Department of Lands.  

He's also a talented artist who can be found with his paints, brushes and easels in the great outdoors capturing nature and accompanied by his Border Collie. 

Niece Laura who was up for the day from Plummer and her cousin Annie. 

Dr. Talitha Neher

She's a veterinarian and a gifted writer. 

Back in the 1990s, she endorsed the back cover of my first book Pocket Girdles as seen below. 

Below:  Jill, Nancy and Tom, all fun folks. 

As always, it was a great experience enjoying the music and mingling with numerous friends at Pour Authority. 

Today we have an inspector coming to see how the wood framing above the hole in the ceiling is drying. 

And, we'll get together with Willie and Debbie for a family Christmas evening.  They'll be going south to Boise where they'll spend Christmas with Debbie's family. 

Lots of hustle and bustle in between all these happenings. 

Happy Monday.