Baby it's cold outside.

It looks like it's going to stay that way for another week.  On the positive side, the daily sunshine is very nice.  It's easy to walk out there.  My snow boots are still in the closet.  

Brr, but it's still cold out there.  Plus, at three days in to our 47th president's term, it's really mean out there.  Cold and mean.   Have mercy.

“The world is held together … really it is, held together! … by the love and passion of very few people.” — Author James Baldwin.

Here's one of them.

As my friend Marianne  wrote on her blog yesterday, Bishop Budde spoke truth to power.

This has always been one of my favorite Beatle songs.  It was sung at President Carter's funeral.  The difference between President Carter and the current president couldn't be more stark.  

I'm certain that I'm also "a dreamer" and that I'm not the only one.  

"Happy Unbirthday" to our oldest son, JP!  He celebrated all day yesterday and it looks like he had great birthday.  He's been a Pittsburgh Steelers fan since he was a little boy (also a Seahawks fan) and grew up loving the Star Wars movies.  May the force be with you! 

I am posting some old photos from 2017. The moose photo is from one of Jon's game cameras. 

Did you know that there's a gigantic faucet, somewhere in Canada, that can be turned on and off to take water to California? 

Google it.

Life is amazing isn't it?

I will try to make a difference

  I have been very concerned about the not only the examples many of our current leaders are setting for our children, but our lack of concern for our planet and their future.  Many of our leaders have lost their moral compass and the desire for wealth and greed have taken over their lives.  We must do better.  Our children deserve better!

In memory of two men who served their country with honor, integrity, compassion, truth, selflessness, and kindness. They were courageous and trustworthy.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"We must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future".

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

      "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil

triumphant."

"This Land Is Your Land"!

James Earl Carter, Jr.

“What are the things that you can't see that are important? I would say justice, truth, humility, service, compassion, love. They're the guiding lights of a life.”

"We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.”

“Tremendous progress can be made if we persevere through difficult challenges.”

“The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens.”

"I have one life and one chance to make it count for something… My
faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as longas I can, with whatever I have, to try to make a difference.”

July 4, 2011

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice"

Four years ago today

 This photo was taken on January 12, 2021.  The covid vaccine had recently been made available, but only to those who were most vulnerable, including our category, seniors.  Even at that, it was very difficult to find anywhere to sign up to receive the vaccination.

Our friend, Susan Howard, found a location at Panhandle Health in Coeur d'Alene and there were open time slots to sign up for online.  It was a bit of a lengthy process to get an appointment, but we did. Once we had the appointments we were still not positive that the whole thing was going to work since we were Bonner County residents, but throughout the signup process, they didn't seem to care as long as we were over the age of 65.  

When I signed us up online I saw that there were lots of time slots open so I called everyone I knew who was over 65 and told them how to sign up.  Susan, of course, had done the same as well.  There had to have been at least 20 of us from Hope who managed to get on the list. 

Neil and Ann waiting in line.

We drove to Coeur d'Alene that morning hoping that we would get our first vaccination.  We were greeted at the front door by two members of the Idaho National Guard.  They simply wanted to see our ID and were very friendly and polite.  After that we proceeded to the check-in and in about 5 minutes we were getting our first shot.  Let's just say that we were very happy to get poked.

During that past year Jon had gone through his treatment for bladder cancer which meant that not only were we probably more exposed to getting covid, but also that his immune system was compromised, making him more vulnerable to the disease.  Now, of course, we have had multiple covid vaccinations and I will say, "knock on wood", neither of us has had covid.  I am not sure how we have escaped it, but so far we have.  

Jon and I have always believed in vaccines.  In our childhood years we both not only remember what polio was like, we both had close family members who had polio.  There were also many other diseases that vaccines eliminated.  If you are our age, you probably remember your smallpox vaccination "scar".  Mine was there for many years.  I also remember contracting measles when I was about ten years old and having to stay in a dark bedroom for at least two weeks.

We do consider these vaccines to be "a miracle", but what that really means is that many people have done a lot of research and work to develop them.  They don't just "happen". 

 January 12, 2021 was a happy day for us and we are still thankful for all of those people who helped develop the vaccine.   This includes all of those volunteers who helped with the administration of the vaccines for many months!   

No one, it seems, wants to remember what it was really like, but it seems foolish to forget.  

Moving ahead four years later, we are relaxing on a Sunday morning, drinking our coffee and looking at the bit of snow we have during what has turned out to be a very mild January.   We will be watching some football and going for walks in-between the games. 

Jon has burned two brush piles, which is a good number for mid-January.  There's not a lot of snow in our forecast, but it is going to get a bit on the cold side.  Miss Lady loves the walks as she gets to play fetch with the ball.  She has a never ending supply of energy. 

January 18, 2021 we had no snow!

Maggie hoping that we're going for a walk down the driveway. 

Edmond, Oklahoma has snow!  Niece Jenny and her son, Chase, built a snowman.

Last night and early this morning we have had elk crossing our field and Lady lets us know that they are there.  They are pretty big as far as she is concerned and she doesn't get too close to them, but she's always protecting the farm.   The mild weather has been good to the elk and to us.  We don't mind just looking at the snow shovel that's on the porch.  

 

Happy Sunday! 

Our first real snowfall - winter 2024-25.

 We took down our Christmas tree yesterday and now it's at the bottom of the stairs covered with snow.  We have about 4 inches of very heavy wet stuff.  There will be some shoveling/scraping to do today.  It's so wet that I don't think it's going to shovel very easily.  That's a sad end to our lovely tree. 

The very first thing that happens here every morning is Lady goes outside for a few minutes to do her duty and check things out on the farm.  This morning I opened the door for her and she took one look at all of the snow and said, "I'm not going out there, are you?"  She turned around and went back to the bedroom door and back into her crate.  

We lost another large branch of our birch tree that Joe Heisel worked on last summer.  There can't be much left up there.  The tree is going to have to be cut down. It will be sad to lose one of our shade trees next spring.

It is still snowing here this morning but it may change to rain soon.  The trees are loaded so we need it to thaw before we get any wind.

Today we will be watching more football and shoveling as needed.  We have someone new to plow our driveway this year, Raymond Lee,  and he has already contacted me this morning to find out if we need to be plowed out tomorrow.  I would say there's a good chance of that.  More snow in the forecast for tonight. 

Kalispell Burkhart's snow. 

Missoula Burkhart's snow.  Go Ben!

Lolo Burkhart's and Helena Burkhart's have not reported in at this time.  

Lolo Burkhart's built a snow fort, complete with a mural.

Helena Burkhart's had to go to Walmart to purchase a space heater since their heat in the living room quit working.   The landlord is supposed to fix the problem on Monday.

Happy Saturday, January 4, 2025.  

Who needs shoes? Or boots?

 Our snow so far this year.   I don't mind not having to shovel snow, but it is strange.  It was very nice for everyone who had to travel, with no worries about icy or snowy roads.  

I should take down our tree today, but I'm not in the mood.  One has to have the right mind set to tackle a big project. 

Christmas ornaments - both new and old.  The mitten ornament was made by cousin Kay for Collin's first Christmas, 26 years ago.

One of our new ones from my friend, Jeanne Dreisbach. 

A new banana ornament.

This one came from David on his travels to Spain.

An old one made by Linda Finklenberg.  Has to be at least 45 years old.  

Everyone had their own bell to ring in 2025.

Lady is allowed to sit on the furniture if she sits on the pink blanket.  She knows which blanket it is and she takes advantage of the situation every chance she gets.

We are trying to play Family Feud here!  This game edition was from the seventies which made some of the answers to questions seem odd. It was still lots of fun.  I think we must have played at least 6 different games, this time.

Jon with his white elephant gift.  The candy cane flavor is "peeps".  He loves peeps.

Abby was the rookie white elephant player this year.  You should never choose the box that has a ripe banana taped to the top with masking tape. 

Doesn't everyone need a banana phone?  In this case there were two banana phones and all things bananas.  Lots of banana candies. 

 

JP with his weird flavors haul!  Dill pickle chips and other assorted treats with a tablet to eat that made sweet things taste sour and vice versa - for about 20 minutes.  Strange.

Dylan wishing that he got the bear.  Unfortunately, he got the dolls.

Jon and I both received a Town and Country Lounge jacket.  Why you ask?  

 On our first date in Missoula, we met for dinner and played pinochle with my cousin and her husband.  We argued over how to play the game since Nebraskans did not play the "racehorse" version of the game.  We stopped playing around midnight and Jon and I went to the Town and Country Lounge to have a drink and visit some more.  We closed it down at 2:00 a.m. We knew then that we were a match!  That would have been in October of 1971.   So many years ago.  I'm surprised the lounge is still there.

I look worried in this photo.  Someone is probably about to take one of my gifts away.   No one can be trusted in the white elephant exchange.

I love this turkey!  It makes people happy.

Rylee was the doll giver.  She found them at a thrift store in Kalispell.

My white elephant was this game.  We had a different version many years ago.  It's a fun game to play and little Jason was on a lucky streak and won the first game.

Jon and I rang in 2025 with our friend and neighbor, Neil.  We watched some football and shared a meal.  We didn't make it to midnight and we were all satisfied with just making it until 9:00 p.m.

Happy New Year!

 

The year was 2000.  (Since it was supposed to be the end of the world, at midnight I danced on the deck in my bare feet, in the snow)