Friday, December 19, 2025

It's Friday!

 



The snow came.  

Then, the snow went with the rain. 

Twas really sloppy snow, but it was white and plentiful enough to create some neat but very temporary images. 

This morning the lawn is once again green.

Also, this morning a "man-lift" is coming to the Lovestead so that a worker can get up on the roof and  remove the errant limb that pierced a hole in the roof and our ceiling.

The hole in the ceiling is a little bigger today because the Northwest Flood and Fire staff member opened up so he could see what was behind the opening.  

He found plastic, which was a good discovery because it kept last night's downpour from ultimately landing on our floor.  I put a garbage can under the hole, but, fortunately, it was not needed. 

I have a feeling there's a pool of water in that plastic though. 

Anyway, today the roof will be patched, and, later, repairs will be done. 

After lots more rain and some more wind blasts, it's a quiet morning here. 

On my first walk with the dogs, the sky was filled with stars, always a welcome sight after so many water-filled clouds. 




Bill and I ended our day by attending an enjoyable home high school basketball game. 

The Bulldogs hosted Priest River and earned a significant victory.  

It's been a good week for the team, especially after their thrilling overtime win Tuesday night over a previously undefeated West Valley team from Spokane. 

Bill just read me a segment from this morning's Spokesman sports page that West Valley, now 5-1, soundly defeated their opponent last night. 

We not only enjoyed the game, but we enjoyed the good company.  

My hairdresser Sally who yesterday afternoon highlighted my hair and her husband Joey, (our plumber) came to watch, and there was the usual enjoyable banter with Terry Iverson and his family. 

Fun night. 

The Bulldogs, now 5-3,  will get a rest before traveling to Wenatchee, Wash., to compete in another tournament in early January. 









The bird feeder station outside our living room window was a popular place yesterday, and it seemed that all species were willing to share with each other. 

I love watching the action of chickadees, juncos, finches, doves, squirrels, etc., especially throughout the winter. 



Now that the snow has disappeared, I can do some more clean-up from the wind storm. 

The yard is covered with bark, limbs, twigs, cones, and even a few ornaments which blew off from my swags. 



I almost forgot about this ornament but ran across it yesterday and immediately added it to the tree. 

The ornament came from the Kylemore Abbey gift shop in Connemara, Ireland. 

I purchased it on our most recent trip in October. 

It seemed perfect with the adorable little Irish robin and, of course, an "L" for "Love." 




The Ponderay Pet Lodge staff created the ornaments for Foster and Bridie while they stayed there in October, and, later, the red bow made a perfect backdrop. 

It's fun going to the kitchen sink these days with array of  Santas and Border Collies and dough people. 

Lots to do today, so will sign off. 

Happy Friday. 

Enjoy the bagpipes in the You Tube piece below. 













Thursday, December 18, 2025

Christmas Prep; TBT

 




It was good that the ZAGS game last night turned out to be an easy win. 

The lack of nail biting gave me time to turn up the TV volume in the living room and dive into my cookie plate project in the kitchen. 

Just about the time of the final buzzer, I wrapped up the last cookie plate. 

So, two birds with one stone:  both with nice endings. 

It was also a good ending to a day that started out with a bang  . . .  and a crash . . . and lots of other noises. 

When the noise ended, we knew that we had a problem. 

As noted in yesterday's post, it's not a big problem, but, big or small, a hole in the roof opened by a tree branch and distinct hole in the ceiling  need fixing. 

Happily, I've heard from our insurance adjuster Scott, who was pretty busy after yesterday's wind storm.   He told us to call North Idaho Flood and Fire to fix the hole in the roof and probably later the full repair. 

We left the mess intact until we heard from Scott last night, so this morning's outdoor walking slots have been filled with a lot of bending over and picking up branches that either fell to the ground or pierced the ground like spears. 

I'll also sweep up the sheet rock residue on the floor just three or four feet away from the computer where I'm typing. 

We always think of what coulda been in times like these and count our blessings.

So, we're moving on toward Christmas.  I have a hair appointment today, and tomorrow I'll do the last of the house preparation for Annie's arrival on Saturday. 

Still doing some shopping and writing Christmas cards but am getting there. 

It would be okay to have a break in the wind and rain storms, and I'd probably even welcome a little white stuff on the ground for the holidays. 

We'll see. 

In the meantime, happy Thursday.  

Enjoy the TBT's and do scroll "Auld Lang Syne" as you view the photos.

It feels like that kind of day. 

💚💛💜💙 












Last game before the holidays!  

At 7 p.m. PST tonight, the Sandpoint Bulldogs Boys Basketball team will tip off against the  Priest River Spartans at Les Rogers Gym. 

If you can't make it to the game, you can stream it at the following link:  




We love Malzards and its owner Fred in Stoneyford, Ireland.  It's an Irish pub of the year, and it's a fun place to sit back, have a Guinness and celebrate being in Ireland. 

The image above is their Christmas card for 2025. 


******

Thursday Throwbacks:  from my photo library.  Fun memories, all. 









































I always love this photo of our North Boyer farm long ago on a winter day.