Olaf and Asa came, they saw and conquered the hearts of humans and animals during their visit to Sandpoint.
It wasn't as if they came to conquer anything. The primary purpose of their visit was to help Asa celebrate her 50th birthday (earlier this year) by taking a trip down Memory Lane.
Asa, a native of Sweden, attended Sandpoint High School during the 1983-84 school year.
During that time I got to know her as both a phenomenal English student and as a horse lover. That's where my family came into the picture.
Several times Asa rode Omar, one of the Tibbs' Arabians. That was when Tibbs Arabians was located on North Boyer near the airport.
Asa remembers time spent at the farm and at the nearby fairgrounds arena, riding with Barbara, Laurie and our "stern" mother.
Before coming to the Lovestead yesterday to fulfill one of her birthday wishes of riding a horse for the first time in ten years, Asa and her hubby Olaf visited the old high school, now known as the Sandpoint Middle School.
Staff members took them on a complete tour of the building where Asa played flute in the band and made friendships which she still maintains after 31 years.
Asa, now a neuroscientist, teaches about the brain at a university in Denmark, while Olaf works as a grand administrator supporting scientific research. He's a geologist, by training, and he has enjoyed putting his knowledge to work during this trip to the United States.
Olaf and Asa are also devoted animal lovers. Can you tell by the photos? I think you'll find it obvious.
Yesterday, I actually met my match for snapping dozens of photos with Olaf. His camera was busy throughout the visit, and I'll gladly credit him with the wonderful photos of Lily, Lefty and their riders yesterday.
Asa and I happily fulfilled part of the mission for her to ride a horse, and I must say that she and Lily got along famously. We rode the fields and then talked nonstop as the horses plodded up and down the road.
By the time we returned, Bill had met Olaf who was playing with Kiwi and Foster in the yard.
While we visited inside the house, it was as if the Loves had orchestrated the perfect storm of animal sightings for Olaf and his camera.
While a huge herd of turkeys nervously trotted through the south lawn to the woods, a deer barely missed the herd as it raced north through the east lawn.
Later, we all walked the woods, and, of course, that trip involved an induction into the Lodgepole Society.
Bill is quite pleased that Olaf, who is a Danish citizen, added a significant increase to the Danish membership of Lodgepole Society. Now, there are two.
Later, Asa reconnected with Barbara and Laurie and met Willie and Debbie at the Tibbs Arabians.
Animal loving and fun with black and white dogs aka the grandpuppies continued. As people visited, pretty but impatient horses made their hunger intentions known by nibbling on the board fence.
We topped off the evening with a lively dinner at Sweet Lou's, where discussion included Asa's rather chilling experience in New York on 9-11 and a few tales about Albert Einstein's brain.
We also mentioned Danish bacon a time or two. Seems there are more pigs in Denmark than people.
Before the day ended, Asa and Olaf received a pretty thorough indoctrination into why they need to take up geocaching. That could be sealed if they meet Annie at Groundspeak during their stay in Seattle.
Yes, this fun and fascinating couple definitely conquered all our hearts, and we hope that 31 years does not pass by before we meet again.
Safe travels to Olaf and Asa and Happy Saturday to all.
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