Itttttt's Friday . . . .

It's Friday, some of our apples are ripening, a nice breeze is blowing and I don't know where this week has gone.  

I just know that a lot of people have come and gone.  Some are still gone and will come back and then be gone again.  Sounds crazy, but that's the prevalent trend for family during this week and next. 

Willie went to a teaching conference in Southern Idaho.  Debbie will join him later today in Boise to celebrate her 20th-year class reunion from Boise High School over the weekend.

Swiss Miss left Tuesday, and she's home safely in her temporary residence in Malaysia.  

A morning headline the day after she left caused a brief stir when we saw that a plane had exploded on a runway in Dubai, just about the time she was supposed to land there.  

Twas not her plane, thank goodness.  She landed with no problems in Dubai an hour later and caught another flight to Malaysia. 

On Wednesday my sister Barbara went to her annual yearbook conference at Gonzaga.  She'll be back today.

My brother Mike and his wife Mary drove over to Sandpoint earlier this week. 

Their grandkids and two daughters have been on a road trip for the four 14-year-olds to visit college campuses in Oregon and California.  Looks like they've had a great time. Hard to believe they've already reached the age of thinking about college. 

As if this week were not busy enough, next week could be even more confusing with family fishing trips, the Chicago trip and horse activities.  We almost had to set up a chart to keep track of who's home and who's not. 

With Willie gone this week, we've been inviting Debbie over for dinner.  Last night she took a photo of Bill and me watching the news and sent it to Willie who was sitting with Debbie's grandma in Boise watching the news.  Same page, different towns. 

Our dinner last night featured one of my favorites---fresh garden veggies with Wood's German sausages.  Virtually everything we ate, including a garden salad and garlic bread from Miller's Country Store, was created or raised on the Lovestead or locally. 

Great feeling of satisfaction to go along with the great taste. 

It's not news on this Friday to announce that we have deer in the neighborhood, but it's pretty neat to drive down the road and see all those impressive antlers on the bucks.  

One night while driving by at dusk, I saw six sets of antlers popping up in really tall grass at Eva Whitehead's place. Quite an interesting phenomenon when you can't really see the animals below the antlers. 

Yesterday's pair of bucks and their friend were just standing in a field as I drove by.  They were a bit camera shy, but I managed to catch a couple of shots. 

Also, on this Friday, the rich color of late summer is starting to appear around the place in the form of geraniums and marigolds.  I love seeing a new splash of brightness almost every day at the various flower shows around the place. 

Finally, on this first Friday of August, we can, at last, get lost in the Summer Olympics. I'm sure, after all the gloom and doom stories about Rio's challenges in hosting the games, everything will turn out just fine. 

Looking forward to tuning in for the Opening Ceremony tonight.  With that, I'll just send out wishes for a happy Friday and go figure out who's home today.