Roses bloomed despite my best efforts to ignore them.
A certain Zen balance has been restored in the backyard.
Wood blinds in the front office keep the morning sun from blinding us and heating up the house, which does, mercifully, face East. This was taken at twilight, or about 9:15 p.m., in other words.
No, the colors of the walls (below) have not been digitally enhanced. They really are about this bright. Though the red walls are more of a burgundy than bright red. Though they don't seem so startling in person as they do in these images. This window is one of only a few remaining original windows. There is another one just like this is the dining room. Most have been replaced with double-paned glass in the original wood frames. Luckily the old windows are stored in the back shed. I've seen many just like them in the local antique shops. Some with mirrors replacing the glass, some just with the original glass. More projects.
Here's my P.O. Box. I think of my Grandmother everytime I go to pick up my mail. It used to be part of her daily ritual, going to the Post Office in Prestonsburg. The key is old. It has a nice heft.
Friday night, Jackson and I went to Sandpoint's favorite steak restaurant (according to a readers' poll -- both of them -- in the Bonner County Daily Bee). Unfortunately my cheeseburger was not terrific, so this will be my last try. On a previous visit, my filet, which was ordered as Medium well, came so crisped I couldn't even choke it down and had to send it back. Something I rarely do. The baked potato was pretty good, though. Jackson liked the salad bar.
Afterwords, we took the "long" way home and walked three blocks down to this pier, which has steps leading into the lake.
Jackson first got in up to his knees, then his thighs, then just plunged in. We were joined later by some teenagers, then a dad and his son. So Jackson and Jake -- the son -- took turns showing off jumping off the end of the pier. Then we walked home. Such is life in the summer in a small town in northern Idaho.
Jackson much prefers the lake to the ocean. For one thing, he can open his eyes underwater. For another, he can swallow the water. Though, of course, I don't encourage this. Third, you don't have to deal with all that sand when you get out.
This is Jackson (right) and his friend Nick last week when I took a half-day off from work.
I dropped Jackson off at Nick's the next day. That's his new Torker scooter. Pretty sweet, huh?
Another thing Jackson likes here is school. He made the Honor Roll for the last quarter, getting all As and Bs.
Next year he'll be going to Washington Elementary, which is a 3 1/2 block walk or scooter ride from the house. There are two 6th grade classes and he already knows some of the kids. But for now, we still have another month of summer. This week he's back in day camp at Sandpoint West Athletic Club, then off to Salt Lake City to see his dad for a couple of weeks.
