Sunday Miscellany

 

How does your garden grow?

My metal garden seems to do just fine wherever I plant it. 

 I do a lot of transplanting during different seasons in an effort to create some new looks around the place. 

This assortment should give us some great color as we walk past the greenhouse for the remainder of the winter. 

My sisters gave me this wind spinner for Valentine's Day. 

More fun and colorful funkiness to enjoy.  

From Ed Robinson:  A bunch of us will be playing Irish music and beyond tomorrow, Sunday February 15, at Idaho Pour Authority from 3-6 pm. 

 If you want a little Celtic shot in the arm come on down and listen in. 

 Thanks to the good folks at IPA for hosting us once a month for the last two years. You guys are the best!

🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻

These are always fun gatherings. Great music and equally enjoyable visiting. 

 I don't know if we'll make it today, but we'll give it a try. 

Bill gave me this lovely azalea for Valentine's Day.  

So far, I've been able to keep the one he gave me last year alive.  

I have high hopes for this one to make it too. 

I think Schweitzer received some new snow over the past day or so.  

Should be a great Presidents' Day weekend on the slopes. 

I've heard that more white stuff may be coming this week, and I removed my hot pink Yak Trax this morning. 

Hope I don't have to put them back on this season. 

  

Senior Night for the Sandpoint High Bulldog men's basketball team. 

It all turned out great with the team earning an impressive victory over Post Falls. 

When the game ended, we spotted players on the SHS women's team.  

They had just returned from Grangeville where they defeated Skyview and earned a berth at this next week's Idaho State Tournament.  

Congratulations, Bulldogs!!

I'd call him "Dedicated Dalton." 

Dalton does a lot of neat techno stuff which adds colorful flavor to the games.

  Last night he was catching some images of the fans for display on the big screen. 

Dalton just won a statewide award at a conference in Boise for his work as an educator.  

He's now the reigning IETA Educator of the Year. 

Very deserving. 

Coach Love and his red-hot Bulldogs.  

Two nights of games; two substantial victories!

When it's Senior Night, it's fun having family and friends come to celebrate your achievements. 

Kingston's cheering section was pretty impressive, as was Kingston who downed basket after basket in last night's Bulldog victory over Moscow. 

This young man is very talented as a musician.  

He strutted some of his stuff while rapping around the Les Rogers Gym last night. 

Dad had some extra-special help last night as he swept the gym floor during halftime.

Below:  In between all the other sports activities, there's the Winter Olympics, and since we now live in an AI world, anything goes, especially Border Collies on a sled!

Happy Sunday. 

I am literally going to go see a man about a horse. 

Stay tuned!

 

Saturday Slightly LOVEly

 

Happy Valentine's Day to all. 

May your day be filled with LOVE, whether it be people, pets, sweets or things you love. 

Enjoy the spirit of this day. 

Just keep a little LOVE in the air as you go about  your day. 

After all, LOVE is a many splendored thing. 

LOVE makes the world go round. 

And, all any of us need is LOVE. 

Today's photos illustrate how I loved spending my day yesterday.

Enjoy and Happy Saturday. 

Coach Will LOVE's  Bulldogs play again tonight at Les Rogers Gym.  Senior players will be honored at 6:40, and Sandpoint tips off against Moscow at 7 p.m. 

Meanwhile, the girls play a Southern Idaho team in Grangeville this afternoon.  You can probably find the time and team on Facebook. 

At 7:30 p.m. Santa Clara hosts Gonzaga.  The game will be telecast on ESPN. 

GO, BULLDOGS, all!  

Horse LOVERS, Elle and Helen. 

I LOVED seeing our neighbors from up the road at the game:  Amber, Greg, kids and Amber's mom on the left. 

Joey and Sally were feeling the spirit of LOVE at last night's game. PDA inserted into the group photo of our gang of friends and family. 

Friday Blend

 

Yesterday we drove to Clark Fork and a bit beyond to see our friend Myra. 

Myra taught business classes at Sandpoint High School, and over the years, we as a family enjoyed some wonderful times with other friends at the Lewis home---first the Diamond T Ranch and later, across the road from their original home. 

Myra turned 90 this past Saturday, and, because of a cold, I had to miss her party. 

So, I called her that day and told her we would extend her birthday and come to see her when the cold was gone.

It was great to spend some time with her and do a little catching up.  We were all amazed at how fast time has gone and how all those "kids" we once knew are well into their lives, some even retiring. 

Time does fly. 

After our visit, Bill and I stopped at Fish and Game public property across the road from Myra's home. The dogs were happy to get out to walk and sniff. 

Most of my photos today were taken during our walk.

  

When I read the post below a couple of days ago by our family friend Andrew, I asked if I could share his thoughts because they illustrate a neat bond between an engineer and his inanimate product.

  In Andrew's case, the product is a Boeing Dreamliner. 

Learn more about the plane and why it's being retired at the following link. 

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/last-boeing-787-8-test-airplane-makes-final-flight-completing-a-nearly-16-year-mission-to-define-the-787-dreamliner/

by Andrew Rerecich

I’m not one to share much on the Socials, but it’s been an emotional day. I had to say goodbye to an inanimate object that’s been a big part of my life for over 18 years.

I was a Lead Flight Test Operations engineer on the #4 787-8 test airplane since July 2008 and today she was flown to Arizona to be dismantled after nearly 16 years of flight tests. 

 I signed the first Flight Release on 2/24/10 and signed her last one this morning.

Testing took us all over, to places like Puerto Rico, La Paz, Toluca, Kona, Winnipeg, Colorado Springs, Yuma, and of course Victorville. 

 I’ve been on board for testing where our g-load swung between -0.8 and 2.8 within a few seconds while watching that wingtip bend up and down over 30ft from the stress. 

 I created a self portrait flight plan that took 18 hours and one minute to fly. I was the Test Director on board for her last test flight last week. I chose her registration number: N7874

I’ll miss the little ice pellets that would come out of the vent overhead and perfectly bounce off the sidewall blanket to hit you in the head at the Weights rack.

 I’ll miss the flights that would end with no flight squawks even with ancient systems onboard. 

 Most of all, I’ll miss hearing that signature Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine start rumble that were so deep and loud that everyone in the offices could hear, and would shake your clothes if you were standing in the stall… as I was this morning.

Goodbye ZA004, “Sheila”, “Princess Dye”, or as Alicia [Andrew's wife] calls her, “The Mistress.”

Andrew sent me the two photos above, which he has taken while on testing missions. 

Below: Andrew with his plane a few years ago after he flew from Seattle to Sandpoint.  

Andrew loves aviation and fishing.  

Every year over the Fourth of July week, he, his wife Alicia and their daughter Emma come to Sandpoint and stay with the Young Love's.  

During that time, Andrew and Willie go on several fly fishing excursions around the area. 

🐟✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈🐠

. 

It's a busy week for Bulldogs. 

I see that the girls team won their game last night against Moscow. 

That means they'll go to Grangeville tomorrow and play a team from Southern Idaho.

The winner of that game will go to State. 

Meanwhile, coming off a tough loss to Lake City, the Bulldog boys will take on Lakeland tonight at Les Rogers Gym. 

Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

Tomorrow evening, at Senior Night they'll host Moscow, also at 7 p.m.  

With both games being league matchups, a couple of Bulldog wins would be really nice.

So, we're sending good vibes to the boys' team and encouraging folks to come to the games and cheer them on. 

GO, BULLDOGS!!!

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

I saw this message from the Pope today and thought it was timely and definitely worth sharing. 

Pope Leo XIV in a very practical Lenten Message to all Christians says: “I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor. 

Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgment, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves. 

Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities. 

In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.” 

Seems sensible enough.  Maybe a little Lenten behavior as suggested above could tone down the ugliness we see and hear pretty much every day.

It seems to me that six weeks of people trying extra hard to be nice could go along way---maybe even form a good habit.