Loring News for Wednesday, March 15, 2023

March 8: I am home! Eleven days in Florida were packed with activities and adventures. My host, Fran Compton, spoiled me rotten! I loved it! First of all, I flew into Fort Myers, stayed overnight, and met Sophia Stiles for breakfast. What a wonderful visit!

From there Fran drove to Lake Placid where she lives but first, we stopped at a fresh fruit stand! I couldn’t believe all the delicious fruit and vegetables were displayed! So many kinds!

We picked some oranges, bananas, star fruit, brussel sprouts, avocado, and tomatoes!

Congratulations to the North Country Lady Mavericks and the Mustangs and M-ettes on their basketball divisional championships! The games I listened to and watched were very close! On to state!

While I was in Florida, my dog, Buster, visited the Lumsdens! Some cold weather and more snow but he was comfortable in their heated garage! I enjoyed Sunday lunch with Pete and Carol.

Thank you to Cindy Clark for writing up the news while I was gone!

On March 8 I will host Loring Bible Study, at 7:00.

Fran and I drove to Miami to visit the Frost Science Museum. On the way, I noticed lots of sugar cane, banana trees, and palm trees. I saw an alligator laying on the side of the ditch in an area called Gator Ally. In Miami the traffic was so crazy, Fran called it the parking lot! Six lanes of traffic in each direction in front of the museum! We went by the cruise ships waiting to debark.

Cary Woodruff met us in the parking garage and gave us a thorough tour of the five-level museum. He is doing well and the museum is beautiful!

I’m sure you are tired of hearing me talk about my vacation! Kinda reminds me of forcing the company to watch a slideshow of summer vacation. I will save some to share with you next time!

For all my friends who’ve vacationed in Hawaii...What’s a quiet Hawaiian laugh? Aloha!

March 15: What a weekend for basketball in Phillips County! Both the Malta Mustangs and M-ettes were in Great Falls along with many fans, where the Mustangs took second and the M-ettes took fourth!

The North Country Lady Mavericks were in Billings where they won the State Championship! I watched on NFHS and cheered from my living room! Quite a few parents and grandparents from Loring made the trek!

Mother Nature made a winter visit again and with her wind rearranged the snowbanks again. I haven’t tried to get out since Friday because I don’t want to be stuck. I’m thankful for my son and Kenny Clark for helping me out most of the winter. I have mountains of snow piled up around my yard. The storm started Friday and the visibility was 0 for about 36 hours! You may say I’m exaggerating but it seemed like a whiteout for a day and a half!

Carol and Pete Lumsden were lucky to have seven grand kids with them for part of the weekend.

I got news on Monday that my cousin, Tim Cowan, of Turner passed away. He wanted 5 feet of snow and I think he got his wish. There will be moisture for the spring at least! Hopefully the drought might be over.

I saw some waxwings this week in my Russian olive trees. I’m not sure if they were bohemian or cedar. It’s so fun to see these distinctive birds come through in the wintery weather. And I’ve heard that the gophers are out playing on the snowbanks. Spring is coming!

When I was in Florida, I saw field after field of orange trees with ripe oranges hanging on them and sometimes on the ground. I also saw sugar cane fields, a banana farm, and cattle ranches.

Many miles of palm trees, live oak, and some pine trees graced the rest of the landscape!

What did one cell say to the other when she stepped on his toes? “Mitosis”. Hahaha