Top 10 Things To Do In Boise

As promised to Kris aka @thewino on Twitter, I'm compiling my favorite things about Boise as a mini guide to her, should she be fortunate enough to visit my fair city.

1) The Greenbelt. Boise is a very fortunate city to have a beautiful parks system that runs on both sides (for the most part) of the Boise River. The Greenbelt is an amazing place to bike, walk, jog or lounge with a refreshing beverage. As long as the cops don't see you (if you're too close to the river, that is).











2)The Pen Not, not the one people are in NOW, the Old Pen. It's on Warm Springs Avenue. It sounds weird, but touring it is cool. It's got some really interesting architecture, and I always am amazed to be reminded that when it finally was "retired", I was, I think, 7 and my husband 10. It's not surprising that the reason we got a new prison is that the prisoners rioted at this one and burned a lot of it down. I can't blame them a bit. It's kind of out of the "Shawshank Redemption" except for there's no nice Morgan Freeman around.


3) The Boise Train Depot. The company I work for built this building many many years ago. (They also built the Hoover Dam). Looking at downtown Boise from the bell tower is amazing.




4) The Capitol Building. Our capitol is, I believe, one of the most beautiful in the 50 states. It's certainly a hell of a lot prettier than Nevada's, which is basically a rectangle of bricks with a teensy white dome on top. It's been recently remodeled and it's spectacular. Now if only there were more spectacular people in it.



5) The Idaho Shakespeare Festival, if visiting from June-September. Tom & Joe. The Fool Squad. They're amazing. That is all.

6) Table Rock. The brewpub or the hill, doesn't matter. The brewpub because that's where I met The Husband (and the beer is good, even if I'm no longer fond of their menu) and the hill because it's a great hike. One I obviously need to make more often, looking at myself in the mirror.

7) The MK Nature Center. Because you can see fish THIS BIG that you can't catch and they are laughing at you because of it. However, sometimes you get to see a mink catch one there and that is extremely satisfying for both mink and human. Sometimes you even see some of these guys.






8) The Crack. Get your minds out of the gutter. I'm referring to a piece of "art" that resides at the Grove Hotel. It's been the butt of jokes ever since it's unveiling, but we're all secretly fond of it. Here's how Boise Weekly describes it (much differently than Tom & Joe do, let me tell you):

BEST PUBLIC ART THAT GLOWS IN THE DARK Grove Street Illuminated & Boise Canal by Amy Westover-This is one of the better pieces of public art gracing our fair city. Created by one of Boise's own, it's just as intriguing during the day as it is at night. Westover masterfully combined style and substance to create an artwork that is aesthetically pleasing as well as historically illuminating. 9th and Front

9) The Museums (Art and Historical). They're right next to each other, (right by Table Rock brewpub, strangely enough) and I'm always happy to go see the two-headed calf, who's been there ever since I was a tot if not before and the art museum is fun - because believe it or not, we actually have art out here in the sticks!

10) Curtis Stigers. Well, you can't just go "see" Curtis. But he lives here. And I've seen him sing jazz and I've seen him eat croquetas at Bar Gernika. He's pretty cute eating croquetas. He's pretty cute any time, actually. My sons were appalled at my slack jawed gazing while sitting next to him. He was kind and ignored me. In addition to jazz, he also wrote the title song for the "Sons of Anarchy" series and had a huge pop hit back in the day. When he had long hair.

11) All things Basque. This would include Bar Gernika as referenced above (really a small restaurant, but there's definitely a bar there), Epi's Basque Restaurant (technically in Meridian, but that's worth a 15 minute drive, trust me, food is awesome and Chris, the owner, is the sweetest thing ever), the Basque Market and the Basque Museum.

Oops, that's 11 things. It's actually more like 20, since I kept throwing stuff in. Sorry, Kris, I've probably overwhelmed you. But I hope you get to come here and I hope you like it.

Epic Fail, and other updates

I have been a total sloth in my posting. I haven't "Talk Thursday"d, I haven't randomly rambled, I haven't done anything.

But, I have news to report. Today, my firstborn got an acceptance letter from the College of Idaho, the fine establishment I attended for only a semester, then was stupid enough to leave. And a scholarship. A good one. Not a great one, but one that levels the playing field with his other two options. Which means he really has OPTIONS. (Oh, and a much better one than I got when I went there.) Yeah!

And, I must admit, listening to him talk, I was suddenly sixteen again, looking at a letter and reading the words "The College of Idaho is pleased to inform you you've been accepted for admission as a freshment for the fall of 1983 semester". Or something along those lines. And knowing, suddenly, that you have a future. And options.

Folks, it's a great feeling. For both of us.

Now to see what he ends up getting from everyone. I may end up disappointed from my own selfish perspective. But I think he got some idea of what you can accomplish in life if you take college seriously. More seriously than I did, for sure.

Isn't it great, parents, when you get that just blissfully happy feeling for your children?

My Family is Vandal Nation

Except for Steve and I, the lepers, pretty much everyone in our family who went to college (I think), if they went past junior college, went to University of Idaho. This includes aunts, uncles and cousins. Oh, I guess Uncle Truman went to Boise Junior College as well (evil chuckle).

Today I got a call from Cousin Vern, who is the most Vandally Vandal of them all. I remember most of the night we stayed at his house in Moscow when he was at college and had his (usual) pre-football game party. I gave up and went to bed, but TH kept up with the (much) younger boys, because he is a Vandal too and he couldn't let those young whippersnappers pass him up.

I could watch Nevada vs. Idaho the next day without a pounding headache. Don't think that was true of the other male members of my family.

Anyhow, Cousin Vern is coming to town, in order to (and I paraphrase) "Drink beer and tailgate and sh--." It will be very good to see him.

Now, I must find the number of the bail bondsman.

That is all.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

I have been a bad, pathetic, blogger this summer. I don't have much to blame it on per se - Big Bit has been here (but he's 17 and doesn't always want ol' Mom around), Little Bit has been enjoying his first summer vacation ever (but he's 10 and pretty self sufficient, not to mention going to Just For Kids three days a week), Mom moved up which has been fun (but as Big Bit says, it seems like cousin Danny sees her way more than we do), I haven't golfed, I camped exactly once -last weekend - I went on vacation for one week - I went to Alive After 5 a lot - I rode bikes and walked some but that damned plantar fascitis has really cut into my resolution to get fit and healthy. I listened to a lot of jazz at Hotel 43. I saw Curtis Stigers sitting at a table right by me in Bar Gernika. Yes, he is that cute. If you don't know who he is, he's an Idaho treasure and you should check him out.

What else have I been doing? Maybe if I show enough, I will be off the hook for being a bad friend (in some ways) and family member (in other ways). Or maybe not.

We went to Kevin and Sam's wedding. Kevin is my cousin Danny's son. I don't know Danny or any of his family really well, but I love Danny to bits. He was out of touch with our family for many years due to his mom's divorce from my maternal uncle but resurfaced relatively recently and has established contact with us - my Mom and Aunt in particular. I wish we were closer. Kevin is a great guy and his wedding was really neat. Laid back and really of the essence of him from what I know.

Kevin's sister, Kelli, looks exactly like my cousin Connie who died when I was very small (3?). I remember her vividly because she was simply beautiful and always had these beautifully manicured hands (in my recollection). Plus she really seemed to like me, and for a teenager to really be delighted in me seemed unusual. The first time I saw Kelli was at HER wedding a few years ago and my heart literally caught in my throat. It still does when I see her because I've just never seen that kind of likeness. I always hoped Big Bit would look like his namesake, another cousin of mine, but except for a really pissy impish look he gets when he wants to be cute I haven't seen it.



Another wedding - (boy, with my father in law's escapades it's been a real summer of weddings - Little Bit kept saying "ANOTHER wedding?"). This one was really special though and to Little Bit as well as the rest of us. Our friend R's daughter got married. S was Little Bit's babysitter from when he was 8 weeks old until really just before we moved to Utah (so we could go out on date night) - she was I think almost 13 when she started. She watched Big Bit as well, though we usually spent all of our time with him when he was at our house. Little Bit loved her from day one. When he was two, he'd wander through the house saying shrieking her name at the top of his lungs, so excited was he that she was coming to play with him. She handled him like an expert. He has her senior picture on his bulletin board to this day.



In addition, I got to see my old boss from the Mothership (the Boise one, not SYBIL, for heaven's sake). I love Jenny, I didn't get any pictures of her, but her daughter, another graduate of the University of S babysitting service came to the wedding with her Mom and we got a picture for S to remember her former charges. I also got to have dinner with Jenny the following night and therefore got to enjoy her company and uplifting faith in me. I have the same faith in Jenny. We're neither of us perfect by any means, but we do have faith in each other's possibilities. That is a rare thing.




Little Bit took swimming lessons. He hadn't been to Wings for a few years, and we could never find a place in Utah for him to take lessons, so it was good for him to refresh his knowledge and learn to tread water. He did well and listened so good to the instructor! It's amazing what a few years and some meds have done for his attention span.



Big Bit got his senior photos taken...sigh. I can't post any of them due to copyright issues but you may get to see some of them in an announcement or here if I can get that part resolved. Ouch, said my wallet, but they turned out beautifully. In the meantime, here's "Diddy" in a self portrait. He looks stinkin' grown up and I feel stinkin' old. He got to go to Japan this summer which was a good thing for him. The good thing for me was when he sent an e-mail lamenting we couldn't talk on the phone (he didn't want to take a phone card because his friends weren't calling home) and he wanted to vent about something. And he missed me. It's nice to be needed, isn't it?





We went on vacation on the coast of Oregon with our friends the Hydes. We hadn't gotten to spend this much time with them in eons and it was fun - I think we all enjoyed it enough we'd do it again, eh?

The boys enjoyed the house.



Little Bit and his friend K Hyde had a lot of fun together. One of my favorite photos of them, I think then age 6 and 5 was at the Seattle Aquarium. This one's at the Newport Aquarium and it is very cute as well.



I think there's a picture of us all together - but it's not on my camera - please share Ms. Hyde?

On this trip I also met Cele! We met in the blogosphere a while back and I was excited to meet her, and as an added bonus we also met her husband, Ducky (he is just Ducky too). We all liked meeting Cele and Ducky, though as usual I was somewhat shy at first meeting. Big Bit mentioned just the other day how much he liked Cele. He, too, is somewhat shy at first meeting but we like the same kinds of people generally speaking. Other than the fact she likes the BSU football team for some reason, I thought she was simply awesome.

We went to Shakespeare with Steve, too, and I have a picture of the asshat we sat behind to prove it. (Actually, we went to Shakespeare five times, but once was with Steve, the only time we sat by an asshat...hm....). Since I think it's on my cell phone camera, and since you really don't want to see a picture of him anyway, trust me, with his beer bottles lying everywhere and taking up an acre of ground...but I may add it later. It's the great Idaho land grab, as Steve says. A Shakespearean tradition.

We went to Kaikoa's birthday party. He is Kelli's son, who just turned one, and he is a true Hawaiian (his dad is from Hawaii) - laid back, he all but exudes island charm. He's a cutie.

Now, Big Bit has jetted off to Nevada to start his senior year, we meet Little Bit's teacher tomorrow night and I have as yet not done so, so many things I wanted to do, including keeping in better touch. I'm about to embark on the attempted conquest of a variety of self-improvement projects, much as Little Bit embarks on a conquest of Fifth Grade as Big Bit gets ready to conquer the world. It's time to kick butt and take names, kids. Wish me luck.

Spring

Both because Cele said "show me your flowers" or something along those lines and because I'm going to start posting pics of the house as we get it closer to Housewarming, here's a picture of our backyard, well, part of it anyway.

The person who owned this house before us did a great job of landscaping and planting bulbs. I've never been patient enough to plant bulbs so this may be the last year the yard looks like this. But we'll see.

We're off to the Pinewood Derby tonight, Little Bit is fully prepared for his 2nd annual run for the money. Or the trophy. Whatever. As my sister Ms. Hyde says, "It's that time of year and we're all burned out on Scouts". I know I am, I will be glad when Little Bit shuts down for the Summer. This may cause a fainting spell, but other than the weird Mormon prayers, I kind of like how the Ward did it compared to how disorganized things are here. But no, we're not going to the local Ward Scout troop. I've heard enough Mormon prayers for a lifetime, thankyouverymuch.

Have a great weekend!

And Now For a More Serious Message

I'm feeling kind of melancholy. I think it was brought on by going to this college for a campus visit with Big Bit yesterday. He seemed to like it, and the fact we were there on a campus visit was probably enough to inspire melancholy.

I went to this fine institution my first semester of college, but I was socially inept at 16 (I know, I know, I was 16, what did I expect?) and when the first set of friends I made didn't work out, I didn't know how to go make new ones. They were a close knit bunch, it's a very small college and I hadn't met enough people in classes to make new friends easily, plus I lived off campus so I didn't know as many people as I might have otherwise. I left at semester and headed back to my hometown and to the junior college there, where I ended up meeting the EHFH and...there you go.

So it was weird to be strolling around that campus yesterday for the first time in, oh, about 25 years (have I mentioned lately that I'm old?) and remembering how excited I was to be there and how stupid I was to leave. How the last time I remember walking into that cafeteria was to tell a guy I'd gone to junior high with that his good friend (my cousin, who Big Bit is named for) had died the previous night. Some of the buildings looked much different. Unfortunately that one didn't look different enough. I could still see him sitting there and the look on his face when I told him the news as I surveyed that room.

Life goes how it goes, and as Frank Sinatra says "I did it My Way" so I don't have a lot to complain about - I was a smart kid who made some dumb choices along the way, no one made them for me. Sometimes I forget to give myself credit for overcoming those bad decisions to live in a house I like, in a town I love, with a husband and two sons who love me, even if I could be or have been a better wife and mother along the way.

Okay, enough heavy thoughts. I don't get like this often, thankfully. For you, dear readers, as well as myself.

Yeah!

Take that, Utah! One vehicle down, one to go...

A busy week at work and it should be a busy weekend at home but today I'm going skiing with friend Ra, then Little Bit has a party to attend. After that, I'll probably buckle down to some home related things and getting ready for the Easter Bunny to come tomorrow. I'm going to be really sad when the Easter Bunny doesn't come anymore. Hopefully he'll stick around for a while.

Big Bit comes tomorrow for his Spring Break. His prom is tonight (who in the hell schedules Prom the first day of Spring Break?). I bought him a boutonniere (probably spelled wrong) from the florist in Reno who did my wedding bouquet for the 2nd wedding. He said it turned out great. I guess it's hard to screw that up eh?

Ta ta for now - have a great weekend!

Dear States of Utah and Idaho

Dear Utah,

Please don't send me nasty letters because you can't figure out that my car is now insured in Idaho and therefore you believe I have no insurance. I have lived in more than one state and Big Brother didn't operate in any of them - until now. I signed my registration saying I'd provide insurance, and I do. I hope to get my license plates out of your state as soon as possible, believe me. I don't want people to think I actually live there. You suck.


Dear Idaho,

When you put information out on your DMV website, please make sure it's accurate! Don't tell me to simply bring the name and address of the bank I have my Ford financed through and I can license my vehicle - when, in fact, all you're going to do is HAND ME A DAMN FORM I HAVE TO SEND TO THE BANK SO THAT YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON THE TITLE before I can license my car. I love you, but your website sucks. Had I known this, I would have brought the OTHER car, the one I DO have a title to and gotten it taken care of while simply picking up the form for the Ford. Now, I had to come all the way home and need to go all the way back. And I'm really not in the mood for you to waste another hour of my day.

That is all.

I Found The Camera Cable

Well, TH found it. Or maybe he just knew where it was all along. Whatevs. So, I've got some pictures to share:

This is the view a few hundred yards from our house. I like very much.



The animal conspiracy lives. This guy comes and eyes me while I'm eating lunch.


"Who you looking at, you?"



Actually, he's irritated because I bought a squirrel proof bird feeder for these guys:



Pretty, aren't they?



Big Bit was here this weekend, rocking the Zac Efron look. I guess it looks okay, but he sure is a nice looking kid without having to take the time to straighten his hair. You can see that Little Bit was happy to see him.





Little Bit took his first communion this weekend. It's not a "big deal" like it is in the Catholic church, but he had been thinking about it for quite a while, he has enough questions to stump a theology professor. Which is good, I guess, because it meant he'd put a lot of thought into doing the whole communion thing before he actually did it. I certainly don't claim to have all the answers, I just share what I believe with him and it kind of will go from there where it will go. His dad isn't into organized religion, so he definitely has an example of the fact that you can have a good marriage, be tolerant of each other's beliefs and so on.





Finally (because it's lunchtime and I have to go back to work, here's what goes on most of every afternoon in our yard - Siamese Cat vs. Ninja Squirrel. Who will win?


We'll find out....

I Wanna Talk About Me(Me)

Okay, it's Friday, the funeral is over (Thank God, but it was very nice and just what a service should be), I now have Little Bit's cold (ARGH!!!) and it's time to lighten up a bit. Toby Keith, my favorite country singer, has a song called "I Wanna Talk About Me" about a guy who loves his woman but wishes she would hush up a while so he can get a word in edgewise.

Since TH doesn't blog, I'm going to talk about him - and me. I guess I'm not getting the point of Toby's song, but its TH's fault for not blogging himself. Oh, and I'm not tagging anyone to do this but there are several of you I'd love to do it (Cele, you just did one, so I know you probably aren't wanting to do another one yet). I stole this one from Dooce so I'm pretending Heather tagged me. As if.

Here goes:

What are your middle names?


My middle name is Renee. TH's middle name is Chris. Not Christopher, Chris. Little Bit's middle name was almost Chris until I came up with his middle name, Flynn, which is perfect for him (it means son of a Irishman). Big Bit and I outvoted TH on the middle name subject and Flynn he remains. Heh.

How long have you been together?

We met fifteen years ago this June. We'll have been married fifteen years this coming December. Lord, time does fly.


How long did you know each other before you started dating?

Let's see. I met him June 23. He called me in early July (he'd been out of town). One day I guess if you count face to face contact.



Who asked whom out?

Guys ask me out. That's how I roll, as they say. Not that I know how I roll anymore since it's been fifteen years since I've dated.


How old are each of you?

I'm 42, he's 45 (almost 46, it's only four months away).



Whose siblings do you see the most?

I have no siblings and TH's sister is apparently not speaking to us for the rest of her life. It's a long story. As far as "chosen" siblings, we keep in contact with a lot of my cousins, who I count as my siblings, and then of course there's my dear sister Ms. Hyde.



Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?

When we got married, I'd not been divorced all that long from the EHFH and we've been dealing with custody stuff with Big Bit pretty much our whole marriage. That's been hard for both of us, and I appreciate TH's support on the matter. Most men would have thrown their hands up and said "I'm done", I think.

Did you go to the same school?

No, I graduated from University of Nevada. TH went to University of Idaho, but graduated from University of Phoenix. I was, however, in the infamous Taco Bell arena at the same time he was for a Bryan Adams concert in 1985 the week before I married the EHFH. I always ask him why he didn't come and grab me right then. It would have saved a LOT of problems.

Are you from the same home town?

No, though we are both native Idahoans. TH grew up in Fruitland, which is in western Idaho (and had a pink bowling alley at Gayway Junction with the Two Guys TV truck in the parking lot (I am NOT kidding). I grew up in Jackpot, Nevada, then around Twin Falls, Idaho.

Who is smarter?

TH is smarter, I think. I couldn't begin to figure out what the damn computer is doing and why it's doing it, nor can I play an XBox 360 game because there are too many buttons.

Who is the most sensitive?

Are you talking to me? What's your problem? Never mind.


Where do you eat out most as a couple?

It's fun to be home because there are so many choices in easy reach (unlike hell, I mean Utah). We met at a brewpub called TableRock, so we eat there pretty often (I know, I met him in a bar, insert your joke here). The Cottonwood Grille is another favorite. And for chain dining we love our Old Chicago World Beer Tour.

Where is the farthest you have traveled together?

London, in December of last year.

Who has the craziest exes?

Well, while TH did have an ex-girlfriend call from JAIL once while we were dating, the EHFH takes the cake, hands down. As Big Bit says, "he's psycho, Mom".

Who has the worst temper?

You ARE TALKING TO ME, AREN'T YOU? GRRR.

Who does the cooking?

We both do, though TH probably does more these days. That's because a lot of the family favorites (jalapeno burgers, tacos) he does better than I do. But we both like to cook and try out new things frequently. With Little Bit being picky, that does not happen as much as it used to.

Who is the neat-freak?

I wish one of us were, let's just put it that way.

Who is more stubborn?

I am Southern Idaho stubborn, he is Western Idaho stubborn. And together we gave birth to a monster. (I stole that line from Heather but it's sooooo true, Little Bit is worse than either of us).

Who hogs the bed?

We're actually pretty good about not doing this, though he would probably say I do.

Who wakes up earlier?

I do. Although both of us would sleep until at least 8 a.m. if we had the opportunity.


Where was your first date?

We went to see the movie "Speed" with Keanu Reeves. It remains the only Keanu Reeves movie I have ever liked.

Who is more jealous?

I don't think either one of us is. I guess we are just cool that way.

How long did it take to get serious?

For someone who informed him that if I ever got married (and divorced again) I was taking the kids, cats, house, truck, underwear and money with me, I got serious way faster than I thought I would, or really wanted to. Him too I think. We met in June and got married in December, so you figure it out.

Who eats more?

Him. Definitely. I can't compete.

Who does the laundry?

I wash it and then I glare until he folds at least some of it. Why is it so hard to just put the damn clothes up? If you take the iniative to wash them, you shouldn't also have to fold them.

Who's better with the computer?

See who's smarter, above.

Who drives when you are together?

TH, most of the time. I can but I don't like to because on car trips I'd rather read a book, sleep and eat sunflower seeds. I know, it's extremely unfair. But that's the way it is.

Have a great weekend everyone! We're buying our ski passes for Bogus Basin tomorrow and I'm very excited. Another thing we haven't gotten to do for three years checked off the list. We're also continuing to unpack. YUCK.

Finally

Pictures to come, but the carpet's getting installed in the basement and the hardwood floors are re-done - we're moving in tomorrow.

We'll be surfacing in our new digs soon. Keep your fingers crossed we make it through without involving divorce lawyers. (Just kidding, but if you've moved with a partner...you know what I mean).

As a blogger I read says, Ciao.

Good Thoughts Needed

Good thoughts, hopes and prayers out to my Dad, who developed an infection they are trying to deal with through non-invasive methods - if it doesn't work, they'll want to do some surgery. Please send good vibes his way so that he can get this stuff dealt with once and for all and be able to eat a juicy steak and potato dinner.

Amen

I found this song in Utah while listening to the Satellite channels on DirecTV. I won't tell you the genre it is, though you might guess from my post title. It is a perfectly inspirational song on all levels, and , I believe, does not hint at its genre since TH actually likes it. I am NEVER going back to OK*. Nor should you, my friends.

*by OK, I mean for "settling" instead of seizing what life can offer you and you it. Seize the day!

Interesting

There was a story on the news the other night about this...I remember a story in Utah when we were there and people were all upset and I believe the billboards got pulled (I could be wrong on that).

The interesting thing on the news here is that no one cared...except for a grateful ex-Mo in our neck of the woods who had joined the organization. Well, when I say no one cared, I'm sure some of our local LDS won't be happy about it. But you don't see an organized scream fest. I am so glad to be home.

News from foundinidaho

We've got some news to share, we do!

First - Homeboy made the Pro Bowl! Way to go Jordan!

http://www.idahostatesman.com/104/story/606361.html

Second - Little Bit turned in his last assignment before Christmas Break - a diorama for Idaho History about Native Americans. There were of course several tribes to pick from but he picked my favorite (without me saying a word) the Nez Perce. Yes, he actually did a lot of work on this including mapping out the locations, helping glue and build as well as placing the horses and people. Granted, the people were from the dollar store so they were pretty stereotypical of the old Wild West movies, but hey, they said to only spend $5 on the supplies (Yeah, Right). Tomorrow night we go back to Winter Garden Aglow for his Pack meeting, although I am suffering from an ear and sinus infection (boo!) and it's supposed to snow tomorrow night, if we don't go we'll never hear the end of it. Hopefully my face won't be swollen up tomorrow night like I've been sucker punched.

Big Bit arrives Saturday and we will make a day trip to see my Dad, Pattie and my Grandmother. Little Bit turns 10 Sunday (OMG) so Grandma will be around for a small party. Next year - big party in the New House, which we signed papers on today. Back in debt we go! I promise a big housewarming party in the spring when we can enjoy the back yard.

Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season, particularly Mr. Thomas Wayne (newborn baby of Cousin N - now I'm down to TWO pregnant cousins) - I hear it snowed up your way dude, glad you got a first white Christmas as your cousin Rory did. Not that you care any more than he did but at least your Mom and Dad can get some cool pictures for the baby book.

We'll try and post some photos from London, we're taking the laptop but I'm not sure how that will all pan out. We bought tickets to Spamalot on Boxing Day yesterday. Can't wait to see the Killer Rabbit yet again.

Happy Holidays!

Wow. Just Wow.

The promised pictures from Winter Garden Aglow! I have got to figure out this camera - hell, we've only had it like three years and I have no idea how to take pictures with a manual setting. Only three weeks to London, better get the book out!




The pictures I can take don't do it justice. The lights were pretty and despite the cop out of the Botanical Society to some sort of pressure - NO MULLED WINE! - it was a lovely night and we will be excited to back in the summer and see the new Lewis and Clark area - full of indigineous plants the explorers found when they came to Idaho. We could see enough to be impressed.





Oh, and now to the reason I say...Wow. Just Wow. Today has been a day it has, in the clan of the foundindaho. We bought a house today. They took the offer, which was something of a surprise. We've had our eye on this house since before we moved and it's dropped mucho in price. We offered even less and they took it.


Oh, and TH got his job offer today! He starts January 5, and gets to work from home after training near Seattle for a few weeks. I am feeling blessed, and grateful, and now must go off and have a wonderful glass of Kenwood Jack London Syrah and say "Thanks Be to God". And thanks to all of you, and you know who you are, for putting up with the last three years with me and mine. They haven't been easy, always, but they suddenly have become very much worth it.

After all, fifth generation Idahoans (like the one shown below) must grow up at home. My great-great grandmother didn't cross the Snake in a covered wagon in danger so I could live in Utah, for heaven's sake.



Happy holidays, everyone.

Sometimes I Wonder

Story from the Eastern (i.e. Utahn) portion of the homestate. These kids heard this stuff at home. You know they did. And it is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable.


Stop it. Stop it now. This man is our President-Elect.

It's My Birthday!

I refuse to say how old I am, but suffice it to say that many years ago today a 4th generation Idahoan was born in "Twin" (that's for Shinshige) and it's quite nice to celebrate my day in Idaho again! Even if I have to work on my birthday for the first time in eons.

Thanks to Dad and Pattie for the gift card, Mom and the Aunt for watching Little Bit while TH was in Utah! Tonight - drinks and snacks at Murphy's with the gang and Big Bit arrives on the "big airplane" where he lives when he's not with us (that's what Little Bit used to think when he was a toddler. He'd see a Southwest jet, point at it and say "Bubba's up there").

Then on to Halloween! Seriously, can things get any better? Oh, yes, TH can get the job some guy at a software company contacted him about this week. It would be simply awesome, and at least it's lovely that someone contacted him when they heard he was coming back because they had a job in mind. A nice compliment.

Have a good day everyone!

I Went To Junior High With Lori Otter

Not that we were close, or if you asked her she'd know who I was lo these many years later, but I've never been particularly proud of the association until now.

The reason I'm proud is not that she gave money to a Dem, though that's a small part given she is the First Lady of a VERY red state, but I also think it's great that she and her husband obviously have a relationship capable of allowing independent thought. I actually agree with Gov. Otter on a few things. Not many, but a few. Now I can include being proud I "knew" Lori, an independent Idaho woman.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/548482.html#none

The Most Beautiful Sight I've Ever Seen

Since I'm on my old crappy laptop you'd have to click on the pic to blow it up, but there's the "Welcome to Idaho" sign!

First weeks' observations:

Things are weird in Idaho, too. I always knew that, but it's now reassuringly weird instead of control freakingly weird.

There is a melting pot of election signs in my neighborhood. Obama, Ron Paul and McCain. It feels good to be in a mixture instead of a one party ticket (and I would mean that even if it was my party).

Mom's pooch, Cocoa, is not well still and is headed to a specialist here in Boise tomorrow. Prayers for that neurotic, yet sweet Lab that is our Margarita's sister.

Got to see my Grandma today, yay! She is up at my aunt's and it was good to see her, though just briefly today. (P.S., my aunt is the best ever, she's going to watch Little Bit while TH finishes up his job. I owe her big time).

The trees are turning on the Greenbelt. Going up to the Donnalama's office tomorrow to get some pics - she looks towards Julia Davis Park and the Depot. I can't complain though, I turn around and look at the Foothills. But she's got the better view.

Oh and my DSL is finally working, as is the cable. We might actually live here in a few more days. Yay! Yay!

I know the honeymoon won't last forever and I'll have some 'splainin' to do on some subject but for now all is good!

Pics of Little Bit at Boo at the Zoo coming Sunday. It's fun and we haven't been in eons. Yay again!