Goodbye Summer....

What a fantastic summer.  Roger was here for 2 months.  We got to use the new boat. We had lots of friends and family visit.  The weather was hot and sunny.  Magnifico!

Once again, I spent Mondays washing dishes at the Soup Kitchen and got to know more of the volunteers from various service groups and organizations who sponsor each week's lunch.  In such a small town, I've seen there is definitely a core group of dedicated and enthusiastic residents that work hard for their community. 

Bill helps out by bringing all the dirty dishes to me -- and manages to crack jokes each time he enters the kitchen!

Jeannie and Gary gave me a Happy Agers t-shirt as a thank you.

The good folks of Priest River at the Soup Kitchen

The Smithsonian Institute has a traveling exhibit with Priest River as a participant.  The theme is The Way We Worked and details the changes in the American workplace since the mid-19th century.  Priest River's contribution was showing how the lumber industry played a pivotal role in the area's growth and they did it with wonderful photographs and film footage from the 1940s.  The day I went, an elderly retired lumberjack was there and it was neat to see him react to seeing former coworkers.  It was an excellent exhibit in the historic Beardmore Building.

We missed not having Colin, Karen and Cooper here for their summer visit, so I decided to fly to Kansas for a quick trip.  I had a wonderful time and loved seeing Cooper as a well adjusted, happy teenager. 

We went to a fabulous restaurant and had the "Chocolate Bag" for dessert.  Aptly named, it is a chocolate formed bag filled with a delicious mixture of cream and fruit.  Heaven.

The pastor at their church mentioned seeing a beautiful field of sunflowers, so after church we went to check it out.  I had never seen sunflowers as far as the eye could see and with such huge blossoms.

The blooms were facing downwards because the morning had been cool and rainy.  Cooper's face was about the same size as the flowers!

Colin grabbed a stalk and made a run for it.  Run...Forrest...run!

Colin looks like the cat that swallowed the canary.

Mutual friends, Andrew and Cindy McKuen came for dinner with their girls. Their girls are barely in school but are excellent readers and both have a wonderful sense of humour.

I flew back to Idaho in order to winterize the trailer and get ready for my return to Canada before I head to Ethiopia.   Roger and Doreen Timm from Cheney, Washington have been partners on our property since we bought it 10 years ago, but this year they asked to be bought out so they could find something more permanent for their retirement years.   So, it is just the Moe and Kinley families and we're happy with the arrangement.

I've never been here so late in September, and everything looks beautiful

Our view of the property and the river has really changed with the Timm's trailer gone. 

The floating dock was swung out for the winter

The apples and plums are providing the deer with lots to eat.

So...summer is coming to an end and it's time to leave my favorite place in the world.  I'm heading to Vancouver to visit Brad and Anette, and then on to Calgary before I leave for Ethiopia.  Roger is trying to temper my "Tigger-ish" optimism by saying..."Aim low.  Go lower. Avoid disappointment."

I came across this quote, and it may become my mantra:
Life is a song - sing it. 
Life is a game - play it.  
Life is a challenge - meet it. 
Life is a dream - realize it. 

Life is love - enjoy it.