Sunday Stuff

Says it all . . . .from Debbie Love's Instagram

 sandpointbasketball The girls identified at the beginning of the year that they wanted the program to be known for its sportsmanship. At the end of the season they were rewarded for their sportsmanship at the state tournament. 🔴⚪️🏀💪

The SHS Bulldog girls basketball team brought home a beautiful plaque. 

Please don't get the idea from the photo above that there's been an earthquake at the Lovestead. 

I love the wide angle lens on my iPhone.  Sometimes it produces some rather extreme photos, but they are fun. 

In this winter that wants to stay around forever, changing the perspective on the same thing you've photographed for weeks adds at least a small taste of freshness to the scene.

Even the chickadee scenes seem a bit humdrum, but they're pretty birds, and when you look at the photo and see BUDS on the branches, that inspires hope. 

Along this same line of sameness, I'd like to announce that I removed the Christmas decorations from our tree yesterday. 

If you haven't been reading the blog, you may not know that our Christmas tree stood on the deck this year.  

I wired it to the barbecue grill and the beams, and, by golly, it has lived to mostly likely being the "last Christmas tree standing" in these parts. 

Snow sliding off the shop roof came tumbling over to the end of the deck where the tree stood.  So, it was kinda hard to get to it for undecorating. 

A lot of that snow is still there, as you can see by a photo below.  Enough has melted, however, that I could easily scooch around the tree and remove its decorations.

Lights on the tree will come next, and maybe one of these days I can access the area where the wreaths are hanging and take them down. 

I also feel quite proud of myself because the soft ground before the next batch of hard ground allowed me to pull up the paper boxes, which got plowed to the ground during one of the winter assaults. 

Happily, the ground had softened up enough that I could pull that metal post upright next to the mailbox. Then, I grabbed a shovel and threw gravel down the hole around the post and did some serious tamping. 

The scene looks much better than it has for several weeks, and I'm no longer embarrassed to walk out there, looking at the mess. 

Every little bit counts, said the old lady as she peed in the ocean.  

That was one of my dad's sayings, which always stuck with me and reminds me that the little accomplishments can often make a big difference in one's outlook, especially during endless winter.

We're kinda looking at the "little achievements" when it comes to Bridie.  Her saga, like the winter, seems never-ending.

On her first day of "Free Bridie," she caught her back paw on something, ripping some of the skin. 

So, I put ointment on it and wrapped it. For a couple of days, Bridie left the bandage alone.

Yesterday morning I saw that she had successfully removed it overnight in her crate. 

The wound didn't look too bad, so I told Bill it probably could use some air. 

Well, when Bill brought her back to the house, he listed off a series of "Bridie bads," including the fact that she ran to the other side of the field and would not come back. 

Somehow during all her bad behavior, she tweeked the wound again.  As Bill gave the Bad Bridie report, I looked down and saw blood on the floor. 

We called vet hospitals but found that they are closed. So, with Bill's help, I dressed the wound again, and we both knew that vigilance with Bridie was once again going to be a must. 

Our vigilance was successful, but the bandage had to be changed last night because of yesterday's rain. 

The wound looked better, and Bridie reverted back to life with the Elizabethan collar in her crate. 

This morning I heard Bill's newest, most used phrase downstairs.  

"No, Bridie!"

Well, she ripped that bandage off during the one moment that he wasn't looking.  We have learned of late just how sneaky Bridie is, and she practices her craft all hours of the day.  

So, we played doctor again, and I announced that the Elizabethan collar would not be confined to time in the crate.  Bridie has gotten through the irritating nuances of the collar. 

So, she looks once again like the shamed dog.

I'm sincerely hoping that the frigid cold forecast during the next three days will keep the outside surface dry, giving Bridie's latest medical condition time to heal. 

In the meantime, Bill and I practice our patience in the 24-hour Lovestead doggie daycare. 

Lucky we fell in deep love with Bridie. 

Great news.  Congrats, ZAGS.

Let's hope the best is yet to come. 

That's a LOT of geocaching. 

Annie and her geocaching friends are on the road in the desert in Southern California. 

They started geocaching at midnight.

At 2 a.m., Annie took time out to celebrate 15,000 geocache finds.

They're on a 24-hour caching outing, which involves recording as many caches as possible in 24 hours. It's a team effort, and I'm sure it gets a bit wacky at times. 

Annie has done at least one other 24-hour geocaching run in the Nevada desert. 

It will be fun to see the pics as they progress toward their final hour on the road.   

Hey, I know some of those peeps. 

Tell 'em hello, Annie, from Mom Love.