Hot Weather in Idaho

Hello everyone..!!!

This update is coming from a very hot St. Maries, Idaho. The temperature over the weekend has been up as high as 107 F...For all of you metric folks, that is almost 42 celsius....Fortunately, it's a very dry heat, so it's really not that uncomfortable. We have tried to spend as much time in cool spots as possible. Yesterday, we took a trip to Spokane and Coeur D'Alene, and by the time we got home, it was starting to cool off a bit. Today has just been plain hot. We went to the river this morning so Roxy could swim and stay cool. She is getting very good at jumping off the dock into the river to fetch a stick. The river here is very busy with boats. Everybody seems to have a boat. Many of the boats appear to be worth considerably more than the house that they belong to...but that is a whole other topic...

We are so excited to move to the new house in about a week and a half. The rental house is really starting to wear on us, and the time can't pass fast enough. Most of all, we want our stuff...We are both very tired of sleeping on a mattress on the floor, sitting in folding camp chairs, and really not having much in our kitchen...but what we really, really want is our washer and dryer. Going to the laundromat isn't too much fun, and our new washer and dryer work so much better and get our clothes much much cleaner.

Last Tuesday, we had a fantastic social evening with our weightlifting group. We all got together over at the boat park on the river and had a potluck dinner. We had smoked turkey and ham, and lots of salads, side dishes, and desserts. We also had two boats that were taken out for people to waterski and tubing. Hannalize did very well at both. She skiied all the way from the park back into town, which was about 2 miles or so. Roxy really enjoyed that evening as well, as she played with all of the children the whole night. We're really enjoying all of the friends that we are making here.

Things have been fairly quiet in the fire department this week. We had one gas leak and one chimney fire to respond to, but both were easily handled. Hannalize is getting fitted for her turnouts, so she will also be able to respond to calls now.

Last weekend, we were very busy. Saturday was the car show downtown, and there were about 100-120 old cars on display. The "Art in the Park" festival was also going on. We volunteered to work at the Booster Club food booth on Saturday afternoon, selling hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ sandwiches, chinese food, etc. to help raise money for the high school weight room. That was a lot of fun. On Sunday, we went back to the festival to enjoy the bands that were playing. We took Roxy along and she also enjoyed seeing all of the other dogs and people.

Until next time,

Joel & Hannalize

4th of July Weekend Update

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since we posted, but this post has some exciting news in it. It is the 4th of July weekend, and the weather has been beautiful. Today was quite warm, and tomorrow is forecast to be 95 degrees (35 celsius).

As you know, we have been searching for a house to buy. The St. Maries real estate market is not the best one to be a buyer in. There are quite a few houses for sale, but most of them are either very dumpy or very overpriced or very overpriced dumps. We did finally find a house, and there is quite a funny story to it. My parents were up visiting for a week, and my mom was out on her morning walk. As many of you know, she can talk to anyone, and she started talking to some guy who was outside washing his 5th wheel trailer. She mentioned that we were looking for a house. The next morning, Hannalize saw a guy drive by, then back up, and walk up to the door. He asked "Do you have a mother or mother-in-law from Eugene, Oregon?" She says yes, wondering what was going on. It turned out that the guy was the one my mom had talked to, and his son and daughter-in-law had made an offer that had been accepted on a piece of property outside of town and would be wanting to sell their house. We went over and saw their house, and decided that we liked it. We made an offer and negotiated a price and it will be closing on August 1st.

The house was built in 1922 and has been well-maintained and updated. It has 4 bedrooms (one as an office), 2 bathrooms, and is 2152 square feet. It has a brand new metal roof on the house and the shop. The kitchen was new last year. It has gorgeous hardwood floors on the first floor. The lot is quite large, about 14,000 square feet and has a pull-through driveway, RV parking, and a large yard with a new fence. Oh yes, almost forgot, there is a large hot tub built into the deck.

Yesterday, we went over to the State Park at Coeur D'Alene Lake and went for a nice 3 mile hike along a very neat trail up along some cliffs. After we hiked, we went down to the shore so Roxy could cool off. She loves the water and started splashing around. After gaining a bit of confidence, she swam for the first time. She would swim out to go get the stick that was thrown out. She was absolutely having the time of her life.

Tomorrow, we're going to head back to the lake and hike on a different trail and let Roxy go swimming again. We'll also barbecue some steaks and celebrate independence day by watching all of the illegal fireworks that get shot off over the indian reservation.

On June 17th, Roxy turned 1 year old. We bought her a nice party hat, which she wore for a little while, then promptly ate. It's hard to believe that the time has flown like this....

OK, I'll let Hannalize add her part now....

Hi Almal!

Die grootste nuus is definitief dat ons 'n huis gekry het! Dit was omtrent 'n gedoente... Hierdie huis was definitief die beste van al die huise wat ons gesien het, en glo my, ons het baie gesien. Ons sien uit daarna om in te trek. Die lewe hier in die woonstel is maar saai en met die dat daar nie 'n heining om die erf is nie kan arme Roxy ook nie eintlik buite speel nie. As sy uitgaan moet sy aan 'n tou wees...

Verder gaan dit goed hier. Die somer het uiteindlik opgedaag en ons geniet die warmer weer. Ons het vannaand in die bosse gaan hardloop net buite die dorp. Was op 'n pad waar hulle op die oomblik die bome saag en Roxy kon los rondhardloop. Ons het selfs twee "whitetail deer" gesien. Roxy het hulle nie gesien nie, maar wel geruik en was vreeslik opgewonde.

Ek gaan Woensdag tot Vrydag weer kantoor toe in Portland. Sal sommer vir Joel se pa in die hospitaal ook gaan kuier, hy kry Woensdag 'n operasie om sy pasaangeer te vervang met 'n nuwe een.

Ek gaan eers groet. Groete hier uit 'n lekker warm en sonnige St Maries.

Groete
Joel en Hannalize

Move completed....somewhat....

Hello everyone,

It's Sunday evening here in St. Maries, and it's been a full week and weekend....We were back in Sherwood (Oregon) from last Saturday until Wednesday (Thursday for Hannalize), so we could supervise the packing and moving process.

Potlatch organized the movers to come and get our stuff. We had to have it empty by tuesday since the house transferred to the new owners on wednesday. A crew came on Monday to box and pack everything. It's amazing to watch them work. They did a good job, and we had 92 boxes. This doesn't include lots of furniture or miscellaneous items. The total count was 321 items...wow..who would have known we had that much stuff. On Tuesday, the moving van showed up and they loaded everything into it, including the old jeep, which they just drove right up in there.

We stayed at a motel on tuesday night, and went back over on wednesday morning to do a bit of cleaning and load up a few things that we needed to bring ourselves. I then headed back to St. Maries while Hannalize stayed in Portland for one more day of meetings.

Our stuff is in storage in Spokane for the meantime while we keep looking for a house...speaking of looking for a house, this is really turning into quite a process. We have looked at quite a few and haven't found anything that we want to buy. We went to one house on Friday afternoon, and there were dirty pots with dried macaroni and cheese on the stove and the tub was so black that you could see the toe prints in it....We'll most likely not buy that house...

We're not too sure what we are going to do at this point...there are a few possibilities, but really nothing that we are 100% sure is worth the money right now. Our little rental house isn't anything special (in fact, it pretty much sucks), but it's a roof over our head and it is cheap...

OK, let me clarify a bit...a lot of elbow grease went into cleaning the place on saturday (mostly Hannalize's), and it is much more liveable....

Saturday morning, we went to one of our district's other fire stations for a dedication ceremony for the people that donated the land to the district for it's construction. Hannalize and I ran the bbq since we didn't know too many people there....but it was a lot of fun and we enjoyed it.

Today, we headed out into the woods so Hannalize could see some of the tree farm that I work on...We also took Roxy who really enjoyed running around in the woods and splashing in the creek. We also saw an elk and a moose. It was a lot of fun. After we got home, we ate some fantastic bbq'd steaks....

OK, it's Hannalize's turn to write a bit....

Hallo almal!

Hier gaan dit goed met ons en ons is terug in Idaho na 'n vol en wilde week in Oregon. Ek was die week op kantoor terwyl Joel die trekkery behartig het. So hier en daar het Joel bietjie beheer verloor oor dinge en is daar goed gepak wat ons dan weer later moes opspoor... Alles deel van die pret!!! Eintlik het alles baie goed gegaan en kan ons nie kla nie.

Die naweek was baie pret en het ons vandag bietjie op Joel se eenhied rondgeloop. Roxy het dit baie geniet en was buite haar self toe ons haar by die water bring...

Ons het weer 'n paar foto's aan. Een van die foto's is die uitsig uit ons huurhuis uit... Tot 'n volgende keer, baie groete uit Idaho.

Joel an Hannalize

A Rainy Memorial Day Weekend

Hello everybody,

It's Memorial Day weekend here in Idaho, and it hasn't stopped raining. We thought we moved from Oregon to get away from the rain, but I think Hannalize brought it with her when she moved up. For those of you not from America, Memorial Day (which is Monday, May 29th) is a holiday to commemorate those who have died in defense of our country and our values in the armed forces. There are memorial services, parades, and barbecues all over the country. It's also the traditional start of the summer camping season.

The poor people who chose to go camping this weekend probably have gotten a bit wet. The temperatures haven't been too warm either, about 50 F (10 C). We chose to stick around and explore the area a bit. We drove into Coeur D'Alene yesterday and did some shopping. Coeur D'Alene is about an hour away and has lots of good stores. We went to a very good farm and ranch store (similar to Coastal), Costco, a great sporting goods store (every bit as good as Sportsman's Warehouse), and also bought a mattress. We needed a new mattress since our large air mattress decided to go flat, and we've been sleeping on a single size air mattress...nice and cozy....

Tomorrow, we're just going to be around St. Maries. We've looked at a couple more houses, but we're still not sure what we are going to do about buying a house. There just doesn't seem to be a whole lot of houses worth buying. Either they need too much work or alterations to be what we want or are priced too high. We know we'll find something though....

Hallo almal!

Jip, ons het net 'n rustige naweek by die huis. Het vandag een huis gaan kyk, maar ons weet nog nie wat ons gaan doen nie... Ons kon nog nie die huis kry wat ons wil he nie, al die huise wat ons sien het een of ander iets wat werk nodig het... Ons mis alreeds ons huis in Sherwood! Volgende naweek gaan ons terug Oregon toe om te trek. Hulle pad ons goed die Maandag en laai die trok die Dinsdag. Ons meubels gaan eers in stoor in totdat ons weet waarheen ons wil trek.

So 2/3 weke terug het Joel een dag 'n R1 muntstuk as kleingeld gekry by een van die supermarkte hier op die dorp! Wat is die kans so iets gebeur! Ek kon nie glo dit gebeur nie, maar dis dieselfde grootte as 'n 5c stuk hier by ons en hulle het dit aangesien daarvoor!!! Die randstuk le nou op my lessenaar en ek moet onthou om dit SA toe te vat wanneer ons soontoe gaan vir Kersfees.

Ons het ongelukkig hierdie week nie nuwe foto's nie. Dit was te vaal en nat om 'n mooi foto te neem. Met Roxy gaan dit baie goed. Sy geniet dit dat ek nou die hele dag by die huis is en le die hele dag by my en slaap en wil dan nog steeds in die aande ge"entertain" word, 'n regte enkelkind! Roxy het nou tennisballe ontdek en ons moet net die heeltyd die bal vir haar gooi. Sy het die gewoonte om dit dan onder die kaste in te laat gaan en dan moet ons in elk geval opstaan en dit eers uithaal, want sy laat ons nie vergeet daarvan nie.

Ons gaan eers groet hier uit 'n nat en koue St Maries. Mooi bly!

Joel en Hannalize

Our first post

Hello everyone.

This is our first attempt at putting together a blog. We figure this is the easiest way to keep everyone updated on our move to St. Maries, Idaho. St. Maries is a town of approx. 2700 people located in Idaho's panhandle. It is about an hour from Couer d'Alene and 1 hour 15 minutes from Spokane, WA. The town has an economy largely based on the timber industry, with two sawmills and a plywood mill and numerous logging and forestry companies.

Joel has been here for about 6 weeks and Hannalize arrived here yesterday, May 20th. Joel has a job as "Harvest Operations Supervisor" for Potlatch Forest Products Corp., and Hannalize will keep her job as "Senior Forecast Analyst" for Gerber Legendary Blades. Fortunately, Hannalize will be able to work from the house. In fact, we spent quite a while yesterday and today getting her office set up. The high speed internet is hooked up and appears to be working. Finally, Hannalize will have an office with a window....

Our new house (just a rental) is located at the corner of 13th street and College avenue, about a block off the main highway. Keep in mind that the "main highway" here doesn't have too much traffic. Mostly log trucks coming to the mill and lumber and plywood being shipped out. Right now, the highway traffic is a bit higher than normal since the railroad bridge collapsed about a month ago. Back to the house...it's a two bedroom, one bathroom house that has a floorplan very similar to our flat that we had in Stellenbosch. The house also has a basement that has a bit of a water problem, so we are avoiding storing too much stuff in the basement.

Roxy is tolerating her new house. I think she feels the same way as Joel and Hannalize....this house is definitely not our dream house (or anywhere near it)...We do miss our house from Sherwood, but we both recognize that it is only temporary. In fact, it is so temporary that we are sleeping on an air mattress (that doesn't hold much air) and our living room furniture consists of three folding camp chairs.

OK, now Hannalize is going to type her impression of things so far....

Hallo almal!

Joel het so 'n kliniese stuk geskryf dat ek maar sal vertel hoe dit regtig hier is!!! Het gisteraand hier aangekom na 'n lang ry en moes sommer al op die eerste aand in my nuwe huis by my eie huis inbreek nadat Joel ons uitgesluit het! Gelukkig is dit so veilig hier dat dit nie te moeilik was nie... Moet erken, is op 31 nie meer heeltamal so "flexible" soos op 18 nie en die grond lyk baie hoer as ek kop eerste deur 'n klein venster moet gaan...

Het vanoggend bietjie hard wakker geword. Ons opblaasmatras het ons erens deur die nag in die steek gelaat, met die gevolg elke keer as die hond oor die matras loop dan styg of val my kop van die bietjie lug wat nog wel oorgebly het... Was bly toe dit uiteindelik opstaantyd was. Moet nog 'n plan maak vir vannaand se slaap...

Ons heg vir julle twee foto's aan om te sien hoe ons nuwe huis lyk en my kantoor met 'n uitsig...

Groete

Joel en Hannalize