I do not exaggerate.

George arrived a week ago last Wednesday. I was in town having lunch with the Montana ladies, so Glen presided over a dinner of ribs. The thirty pounds of boneless ribs I bought in May have now all been eaten.

The next day the Keeping It Clean crew arrived from Coeur d’Alene to power wash 17 years of mold off our very high roof.

Here’s some of it.

I’m guessing this was about one fourth of it.

The guys were great. Patrick, our neighbor, had his roof done the same morning. I spent the afternoon at “band practice”, but came home in time to make dinner. Patrick walked down that evening and we all celebrated our beautiful new roofs with spaghetti and meatballs.

The next day another crew arrived, this time to install a new water purification system. What an amazing process! Then Banjo Man, with chairs, tables and tablecloths, headed up to the cabin to get it all set for Sunday.

Saturday we headed to town with Dancing Mandolin Player to have dinner and attend a fundraiser at the Panida theater. Viggo Mortensen was showing his new movie, THE DEAD DON’T HURT, and holding a Q&A afterwards. The Q&A was really interesting. The movie? A bit long. Was I tired? Yes. Not my favorite movie, but Viggo took a lot of chances and tried new things, so there is that.

Sunday was CABIN FEST 3. About 28 of us gathered at the cabin, ate some great food, played some music, sang some songs. A beautiful day in so many ways. I don’t have pictures (yet) but Retired Mountain Lady has great photos on her blog. Check it out:

https://retiredmtnlady.blogspot.com/2024/09/cabin-fest-2024-and-visitors.html

And what did we do Monday?

This dead tree came down. I returned from water aerobics to learn that George and Banjo Man had arranged for its removal with the guys working on a tree next door. We worried this poor tree would eventually crash onto the water line or the dock, so having it taken down was a Very Big Deal. I made myself a mug of coffee, sat on the top deck and watched the whole thing.

Better than television.

Tuesday we looked for arrowheads.

And enjoyed some dock time.

And went to town to go out to dinner with old friends.

Always a good time.

So we are set for 2025 and our return to the lake in about seven months. It’s hard to believe our time here is almost over. Another wonderful season of family, friends and fun is coming to a close.

I’m sad.