Slight Detour: Thursday This and That

Grace, triplets mom Laura, Jacob, Justine, Jade and her mom Laura.

The triplets plus one will now go out into the world, following their dreams and making a difference.

Twas a festive evening at Kootenai County Fairgrounds last night as four members of the "family," representing two cultures celebrated their high school graduation.

Jade is a member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, while Jacob, Justine and Grace celebrated aspects of their Samoan culture.

From their mom Laura, an explanation of their accessories:

" . . . the candy leis (“ula” in Samoan) are just a big celebratory thing. They also had ula made of orchids, kukui nut, and Ti leaf (a medicinal plant) that I got them from Hawaii.

The headdress are called tuiga. The ones the kids received have tapa cloth (traditional), shells, and money on them. Tuiga are ceremonial headdress worn by daughters and sons of chiefs for dances and other ceremonies.

https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/topic/10595

Both the ula and tuiga have become a big part of Samoan graduation celebration. "

Congratulations, Jacob, Justine, Grace and Jade. We'll continue the fun when we see you next week.

And, we are always proud of each of you.

In other news, it was a pleasant day here at the Lovestead, which it always is when the sun is shining and the lawn is newly mowed.

That not only gives me a sense of relaxing satisfaction but also time to do some other projects.

So, the day turned out to be a blend of chores, horse bathing and even visiting with Fred, who came to see how the blueberry patch which he pruned last fall was coming along.

Fred seemed quite please with the bushes as he inspected each and noted new starts which will bring more berries next year.

For a moment, we simply stood in the yard, marveling at the perfect day with blue skies and a gentle breeze.

"Could the sky get any bluer?" Fred asked.

For some reason, Fred likes the color blue.

No, Fred didnt' look like this when he came to visit yesterday.

I snapped this photo of him while participating as a judge for the Fourth of July Parade a few years ago.

The Omodt family does a great and creative job of promoting their blueberry farm.

Speaking of color, I saw a lot of spots yesterday while giving my Lily a bath.

My sisters talked me in to entering her in a class included in their Emerald Empire Virtual Horse Show.

If you're on Facebook and you have a horse, you might want to check it out and maybe even enter a class or two.

Just search for the link. I tried posting it, but for some reason it doesn't fit my blog format.

Anyway, Lily will be entered in the halter class for Non-Arabian breeds.

She loved her bath, and I actually enjoyed myself because, for once, thanks for her calm behavior, I avoided a bath of my own.

My sisters came over last night and took some pictures of her with her pretty show halter. They will be used by the horse show judge for determining placings.

I'm not sure who's more colorful---Lily or Sunny, but they're both pretty.

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A few Throwback Thursdays . . . .

Angela Hoffman Turnbaugh posted this golden oldie on Facebook the other day. It's from way back when at a local horse show.

I immediately recognized my sister and Angela but was also pleasantly surprised when Angela said I'd taken the photo and it had appeared on the front page of the Daily Bee.

Had to have been back in the 1980s.

The next four photos were among a group I'd selected for entry into the county fair a few years ago.

Just fun photos.

And since those triplets are celebrating their high school graduation, I thought they might enjoy seeing photos of their great-great grandmothers, Lily Halter and Mary Ellen Brown.

We never forget our roots.