Saturday Slight

 

I went to town for a hair appointment. 

The hair appointment is next Friday.

Sally and I always figure out before I leave when the next appointment will be. 

These days they're about six weeks apart, so I keep the date general, i.e., somewhere off in the future.

So, this week I figured the future had come and drove to town, eventually getting a gut feeling that maybe this was not the day.

This week Sally got her dream car, a new hot pink jeep.  Her daughter graduated from high school, and yesterday her daughter turned 18. 

So, I started wondering if maybe this wasn't the right day.  

Sure enough, Sally was headed out of town to attend another family member's graduation. 

All gussied up for town (clean jeans), I headed toward home figuring that $5 gas had gone to waste.

But, no, there was the newly renovated Connie's sign to see and to photograph.

Civic-minded restaurant owners had done the right thing by taking the old sign, dressing it up with some paint, etc., and thrilling the locals who hate seeing signs (both literal and figurative) of town history disappear. 

Hats off to the folks who made sure that one of Sandpoint's longtime restaurants has kept its original charm, only with a dress-up.

After taking a few photos of the sign, I drove around the block onto Fifth Avenue. 

Two cars ahead of me, I saw the dog head sticking out the window, enjoying the ride. 

By golly, I know who that is, I mused to myself, and I've never even met that dog before---just have seen him (Smudge) on Facebook. 

Eventually, traffic opened up, and I was able to pull up alongside Karren Williams and say hi. 

We were at a stoplight, so we enjoyed a quick conversation.  

Yes, she is very happy to have moved back home from several years spent in Boston. 

And, she plans to stay.  

I'll bet she has even seen the Connie's sign restoration and maybe even marked it on her list of reasons to love her hometown. 

And, her big dog hanging out the window watching the world go by certainly sets Karren apart from all the other anonymous traffic passing through town. 

And, so, the $5 gas didn't all go to waste. 

Next week I'll use some more of that high-priced gas to head back downtown to the hairdressers, and this time get a zap, a cut and a style. 

And, if I see that dog hanging out a car window, I'll know who it is. 

In other news, it's not really news.  We have rain today. I told Bill yesterday that the pasture alongside the lane has never had a chance to dry out.  New lakes have formed from the rain fall of the past two days.

The lawn west of the barn was far too wet to think of mowing. 

Horses are covered with mud when they come out of the barnyard, and the towels for dogs are keeping the washer and dryer in business.  

There's no doubt about it, we have received ample training for our trip to Ireland, where sunny days are often unexpected gifts. 

And, so the drips go on.  

It's Saturday (what days aren't Saturdays for us old folks?).  Bill is headed to the wildlife discovery center to help teach people how to fly fish. 

I don't think he minds that chore one bit. 

And, I'll be just putzing along doing whatever can be done when it's wet outside. 

Happy Saturday. 

Congratulations to all new graduates.