And don’t I know it. I know that everything changes, the question is will I run out of time on Earth or out of chips to maximize the big hand before the changes start sliding into effect? The latter part of the question has been on my mind at least a million times when I buckled down for the long haul in a poker game where chips were literally raining onto the green felt. Backtrack to the end of yesterday’s drama and ‘perils of little Linda’ for the first part of the question.

I woke up early, not sleeping well at all, started gathering myself to get ready to check my account on line. Hell yes the COBRA check hit and B-O-U-N-C-E-D! I called my credit union, they informed me with a draft that size and the amount I was in the minus column with my own account, that they couldn’t honor the draft. Kee-rist! They honored a $3,000 charge that wasn’t mine. I think I’m missing something here. I have argued with them, more than once, that between my checking and savings account, I didn’t have enough to cover the $3,000 charge so how could it be approved anyway? They have a ready, non-explanatory speech each time I bring up the subject.

I called Wasau and found out that I had up until two months to make this payment for this month. Great! But if they don’t have the payment for this month, I’m not insured, and everything I have done now would have to be paid by me and reimbursed later…I think that’s the clearest view of it I can get. Maybe I need to clean my eyes and blow the dust out of my head but none of that will work for me. Off I went, back into artsy/craftsy Sandpoint, to the P.O. so I could buy a money order and ‘over night’ mail my insurance payment to COBRAfor August.

I didn’t get the whole picture in this picture, the ‘O’ is missing in the top text – Overland Mail Route.But this is hanging in the Sandpoint P.O. Like a damn stagecoach and all the bumps, dust, bugs, and terrors along the trail were a great option over traveling by water. Ugh to all of it! But what a sweet reminder of days gone by. Give me the steed.

After I finished coffing up most of the rest of my cash for the money order and over night delivery, I headed for Pine Crest Memorial. There’s some wrinkle in my head about a lot of things to do with Sandpoint, the cemetary is one of them. I have a husband, my mom,a younger brother, and a brother-in-law all buried there. I’m not a grave visitor (not that I have any problem with people that visit graves), it’s just not in my list of things to do…ever. But for some reason, I felt compelled to drive up there and just walk along some of the headstones. I didn’t find any of the headstones that identified people I had spent part of my life with, but then I really wasn’t looking. And I really didn’t know exactly where any of them were bured. Hey…it’s been a lot of years.

It’s so peaceful and quiet, up away from everything, and walking along some of the headstones, left me feeling at peace with myself and the world. There’s no stress there. Stress is for the living. I wondered if I would feel an emotional surge if I found a marker that belonged to one of mine, would I break down? I don’t know. I went back to town and stopped at the funeral home to find directions to the graves I would seek if I went back. I found the man that had buried a lot of my family, Dale Coffelt, was still the director and we visited for a bit before I headed out. It was very comfortable, talking to him, and continuing on with life.Nice!

I then went off in search of Mary Hoyle, an ex sister-in-law, sister of my deceased husband. She has an unlisted phone, I semi remembered where she lived and drove around the area until I saw a street sign that toggled more brain cells and I found the house. She’s the aunt of my middle son, Josh. We had a short, but nice visit and promised to have lunch with another sister, Marge,before I leave town.

While I was visiting with Mary, I got a call from Wayne. Damn it! I love that guy. He called to tell me if I needed him to deposit money anywhere, or send me some, to just tell him when and where. *huge hugs* I really am OK on the money front, but it’s just so sweet to have someone think of enough of me to pick up the phone and let me know that ‘the cavalry’ is there, ready to help me out if I need it.

It was time to head for the coach, the two sisters would be arriving with in a few hours. I got a huge kick out of the side of this book store, two photos to show it off, and it gives one an idea of the artsy/craftsy stuff in Sandpoint, although there’s a lot more to the city than this:

Vickie called me when she hit the campground. I was up and running, loading up a few things to take to the lake, and help her and Monte set up camp. It seemed strange to see my campsite sitting empty this year (until late in the evening when someone pulled in and set up). Brother Ken showed with the gigantic load of firewood that he always brings for the family campsites, and we started unloading, along with ‘loading’ a few glasses of wine, We had gigantic rib steaks ready for the BBQ, salad, snacks, and just all around great company…what better way to toss away a few days of stress?

And I got a call from my credit union, they had credited my account- returning my originalfunds- pending the investigation, after receiving my faxed info. Nice! I can’t access the funds because my card is cancelled, but I’ll live with that. At least I don’t feel like I am destitute. Overall, things feel much better.

I saw a sign in a mail depot type of store where I went to have my signature notarized. At the time, not too much was very funny, but the sign left me laughing. The top part of the sign was rolled and with the light coming off of it, I couldn’t read the city in Alaska it referred to, but the message was: A drinking village with a fishing problem.

Ken…I didn’t buy the rabbit’s foot, but thanks for the thought.