Happy Lovestead!

It was a lovely but warm day in 2006 as compared to this morning's cool temp and overcast sky. 

Next door---over off from Great Northern Road---Quest Aircraft Co. was having an open house, and their new plane known as the Kodiak was doing take-off and landings.

Quest, now Daher,  had purchased the 10-acre farm where we Love's lived for 30 years and where the kids, Willie and Annie, had grown up.  

The motor home and horse trailer were filled with boxes.  Rambo and Casey, the horses, had already made the 9-mile move to Selle.  

Our dogs, Annie and Kiwi,  would be going with us as would Festus, Fuzzy Wuzzy and Licker, the cats. 

We were told by the former owners that we could begin moving into the new place early afternoon. 

The Stewarts were still taking care of final items, including loading goats and a donkey into a stock trailer, which they would pull to their new home in South Dakota. 

So, we worked on whatever projects we could during the morning hours.  We also took in some of the activities over at Quest.  

The day's plan, at least in my mind, took an abrupt change when Willie suddenly walked in the door. 

Our niece Laura had secretly driven to Spokane Airport to pick up our son who had flown up from Boise to help us move.

In addition, Laura and her family had come up from Plummer to stay with us for a few days and help us move to a lovely 20-acre farm in the beautiful rural community of Selle, northeast of Sandpoint.  

The time finally came, we made the move and the new place we had purchased soon took on the name Lovestead.  

We also established a Lodgepole Society inspired by the unique huge two-trunked Lodgepole pine in the far west pasture. 

Visitors would come, walk to the pasture, admire the beautiful Lodgepole and sign the Lodgepole log which made them official members of our society.  

"Home" for us had changed from 2800 Great Northern Road to 214 South Center Valley Road, in the heart of the Selle Valley.

The bliss and peace associated with that move to a new neighborhood in farm country with the Selkirk Mountains on one side, the Cabinets on the other has held strong for 20 years. 

On this Lovestead 20th anniversary day, I still say that we pinch ourselves every time we think about "getting to live out here." 

Sadly, all the animals we brought with us have passed on, and several years ago the giant Lodgepole crashed to the ground. 

 Happily, however, the Colorado blue spruce marking Willie and Debbie's wedding 25 years ago, the rosebush given to me by my sisters and many many iris----all of which made the move----have survived and either multiplied or grown. 

Plus, the antique manure spreader in the north lawn still serves as a flower home, even though the bottom is starting to cave. 

Some of our neighbors have changed, and we are no longer the newbies in the neighborhood.

  Stan and Geneva Meserve from next door have passed on, but their daughter Becky and her hubby Shawn are happily living the farm life at the Meserve Preserve with their orange Kubota tractor and other equipment.  Stan and Geneva would be proud of what they've done to improve the farm. 

The Fourth of July action next door, which has included some clay-pigeon shooting, impressive fireworks and big extended family picnics, has continued.

We have done a lot in the past 20 years to put our personal touch on what was already a beautiful farm.  There's always work to do, but we have no problem with that. 

We are blessed that we "get to live" in our little piece of Heaven. 

So, it's Onward Lovestead for as long as we can still breathe. 

Willie's observation of 20 years ago when we sold our farm to Quest and bought the Lovestead still resonates. 

"Mom, you won the lottery with this, he said.  

We sure did!

💙💜💛💚

In other news, it's July 1, 2026. 

The times, they are a-changin'. 

Paid parking begins in the downtown Sandpoint area today. 

"I wonder what the original members of the Lions Club would say if I told them after living 84 years in Sandpoint I couldn’t drive to the beach and walk around it without paying."

--Mike Winslow, longtime Sandpoint barber

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From Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm

Sandpoint's downtown, City Beach, parks and waterfront are among the community's greatest assets. They are enjoyed not only by our residents, but by thousands of visitors from throughout the region each year. We welcome those visitors. They support our local businesses and contribute to our community.

At the same time, visitors’ use of these public facilities often means locals’ ability to enjoy the amenities they serve is diminished. Anyone who has tried to park at City Beach on a weekend in July knows that oftentimes well over half the vehicles occupying that lot are from out of state. 

Additionally, these facilities require ongoing investment. Parking lots, sidewalks, lighting, landscaping, snow removal, pavement maintenance, enforcement and technology all carry significant annual costs. 

Historically, those costs have been borne almost entirely by city taxpayers, even though many of the people using these facilities live outside the city limits.

This program creates a fairer balance by asking those who regularly use these public amenities to contribute modestly toward their upkeep, while keeping annual permits for city residents at just $20 per year (enough to administer the local-vehicle registration system required to know who pays to park and who parks for free). 

It helps ensure that the responsibility for maintaining these valued community assets is shared more equitably rather than falling almost exclusively on Sandpoint property taxpayers, while improving availability and access to parking where people need it, when they needed, with locals given priority over visitors.

                                       ----Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm

Also, a big change for the ZAGS!

A reunion at the food bank.

Our daughter-in-law Debbie heard the exclamation first from me and then almost the exact wording from Adrian. 

"It's been about 30 years!" 

Yep, Adrian, a former English honors student of mine, graduated from Sandpoint High School in 1990.  

I saw him for the first time since his graduation yesterday at the food bank where his mom Vicki is a regular volunteer. 

We tried to cram 30 years' worth of mutual life happenings into a ten-minute visit.  Twasn't possible, but those few minutes sure were fun.   

Today I can say report that Lily has lived the longest of any of our beloveds here at the Lovestead.  

She came in late 2006 from Oklahoma.  I bought her from a man named Royce Crosby, whom I'd interviewed for an Appaloosa Journal feature.

Now, at 21, I think she has weathered very well during all her years here.    

Lily probably would agree. 

This song offers a few variations from the life I've loved living here in Selle, but its message still comes close to my sentiments. 

Enjoy.