Wednesday, June 26, 2024
I take a quick walk after breakfast. The Missouri thunder storm of the night has passed and the wind is whistling cool air past my face.
The hotel is as basic as a student dorm. The cleaners don't vacuum, clean the toilet, or make the bed. They leave fresh towels. Hmmm. We left a tip before we went to meetings today. No tip tomorrow.
It's warm outside; I used to think Springfield was humid. Now it's comfortable when I wear long sleeves. I pull on a jacket in rooms with air conditioning. I miss my porch at home (below).
And I look forward to our basement apartment in Seattle.
In the evening, we attend a NWMN meeting with many friends. This gal is cousin to a university classmate of 47 years ago.
Thursday
We walk in the morning, admiring the flowers.
There's a park nearby, nearly empty - except for a family walking their dogs.
We miss the finale of the conference: we're getting up at 2:30 a.m. to head for the airport in the morning.
Friday
We fly out of Springfield at 5:00 a.m., land in Dallas, and are on the last leg before we know it.
It's sweet to see the fields of Kalispell appear around noon.
The airport has a hairy greeter waiting as you walk into the terminal.
Mitch and Keelee have cleaned the cabin on their stay this week. We enjoy a Vietnamese lunch together before they head home.
They accompany us to Costco, where we stock up on basic foods for the week ahead. The fragrance of these roses stops me in my tracks in a grocer's parking lot.
The campground is gorgeous - quiet, beautifully maintained, and peaceful.
Coming into the cabin in like coming home. The wide-plank reclaimed barn boards, the furniture that used to belong to a friend's grandma, the giclée print of a famous Western painting, rehoused lamps and other giveaways. There's all here from when we set up 20+ years ago.
Keelee has left me a "knotty" beauty, tatting that warms my heart. I put it in the entry for our grandkids to discover. It's now part of cabin history.
Saturday
Walking. It's a gift in the forest roads. From 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 pm, we're cleaning and clearing out remnants of the past. We stop for a burger at MudMan in Columbia Falls.
I find a ledger my dad kept accounts in from his 1960s business partnership with a Winnipeg friend. Wow - when did I drag that here? It's great for grocery lists.
In the afternoon, there's a craft and food fair put on by campers. One of our friends is a well-known birder. Check out his title if you like birds.
I pull bugs and dead wasps from the window screens.
I like the "one-off" moments, reuniting with a friend not seen for 12 years and another close in heart for 30 years.
We attend the evening camp service, enjoying the presence of God with old friends and new.
Sunday
Our children begin to arrive. We made so many memories when this place became our summer home in 1994. They settle in and unpack.
Monday
The last carload arrives before noon. We're missing our youngest son but the rest of the family - kids and grandkids - are here.
There's beauty, wildflowers and planted flowerbed, everywhere on the walks. Kirsten and I stroll through the lanes. We walk miles every day. It's high elevation but flat.
The lupines attract bees so we stay away from them.
Tuesday
After breakfast, there’s a ladies coffee in the lodge. The stories of how God has been speaking to women at camp, plus the prayer of a dear friend, begin to restore my tired soul. Summer! is a good friend of Kirsten's from college days - she pops by to visit.
We get to pray for each other before she heads back to work in a nearby city.
The morning gathering is about the mystery if God's invitation: he is not just interested in one people group, but wants all to become his family - the people of God (Eph.3).
I watch the grandkids and their mom zipline before taking a nap - the mountain air knocks me out, especially since I usually sleep 10:30-4:00, the hours of darkness in this north Montana town. Kirsten, Melissa, and I stroll past the shore of the beautiful clear river. It's carrying spring run-off from the mountain slopes. In a month or two, it will be lower and calmer.
Our kids head out for supper while W and I walk with the grandkids. They pose for a pic in this cute golf cart, the preferred mode of transportation for old-timers.
The kids are fascinated by Forniers' squirrel feeder and watch the critters take peanuts from the ingenious holder.
Paul arrange pickup of the washer and dryer on our entry porch. We're donating them to the camp after picking up a new-to-us set.
The kids watch the forklift take away the used appliances.
Young Miss M takes her own photos of the process.
We enjoy baked potatoes and chicken with the grandkids while their parents take a siblings-night-out. After, W takes the youngsters to and area with wifi to do their Duolingo German lessons while I clean up. Timo has brought our Roomba from Seattle so there's no sweeping. The little robot picks up everything and docks itself to recharge.
I toss in a load of laundry while everyone is gone. That's cabin life at its finest. What a privilege to be here.
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O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 106:1Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17
Moravian Prayer: Creator God, the landscape and people around us are evidence of your power and majesty. When considering your all-encompassing love, we can’t help but enter this day praising your holy name. Enable each day’s thoughts and actions to be an expression of gratitude. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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