mind-muffins

What I'm reading - 2012

2012-01-13T21:40:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some eclectic reading of late - all different genres, all different formats. Here are the books I have been perusing of late:

Right now I am at different points in EACH of the following--

All the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen (hardcover - copyright 1955)

The Great Disruption: Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring on the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New Word by Paul Gilding (Hardcover - copyright 2011)

I Don't Have to Make Everything All Better: Six Practical Principles That Empower Others to Solve Their Own Problems While Enriching Your Relationship by Gary & Joy Lundberg (softcover - copyright 1995)

Extraordinary, Ordinary People by Condoleezza Rice (Kindle - copyright 2010)

The Crystal Bridge by Charles M. Pulsipher (Kindle - copyright 2011)

Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt edited by his son, Parley P. Pratt (Kindle - copyright 1938)

Unleash the Power Within by Anthony Robbins (Audio - copyright 2005)

One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity by Debbie Macomber (Audio - copyright 2009)

It's sort of interesting simultaneously reading/listening to all these different things. I have Tony Robbins in my car to listen to on my way to and from work. I have the Macomber book in the CD player in my kitchen and listen to that when I'm doing domestic stuff.

The Great Disruption is in the bathroom (by the way - did you know there has been very detailed research about who does or does not read in the john?).

I usually read the Women of the Bible book for a bit in the morning when it's quiet and I have yet to enter the fray of whatever the day will have in store.

I read Crystal Bridge at night before turning out the lights.

The Lundberg book on Not having to make everything better is something I'm reading as one of several sources for a class I'm going to be teaching on Marriage and Family Relations so I tend to read it in my office when I'm in school mode.

Both the Parley Pratt autobiography and the memoir by Condaleezza Rice are ones I pick up now and again to read a little bit of whenever to mood strikes me. I seldom read either one for very long - but I've enjoyed sampling them both.

I'm getting increasingly intrigued by the sci-fi/fantasy book, Crystal Bridge

Each one of these books has their place for me.

What are you reading these days?

Let's Write - Mastermind Group

2012-01-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

Today I attended my first "Mastermind group". Mastermind Groups can bring together people with any shared interest to support / challenge / provide feedback and expertise for one another. This particular group focuses on writing - the invitation was for "those who love to write, want to write or want to hang with people with the passion for writing." I like and respect the person who invited me and I had a flexible calendar this morning, so I decided to go. It was actually pretty interesting. There was a guest speaker from Borderline Publishing coming to share information with the group. From that I learned about some tips and tools I was previously unfamiliar with. Beyond that, I got to meet some interesting people and sparked some good reflection for me about my own process of writing and what it means to me.

I do not write fiction. Never have. But I do love to write. Publishing has not been my primary priority. I've dabbled in it a bit. I've had three articles published. First came The Tapestry Called Family in Ensign Magazine back in June of 1990. Next I had a piece called "Giving Sorrow Voice" published in Thantology, a journal about the academic study of death and dying. (I was teaching a course on Death and Dying at a community college in Michigan at the time.) Most recently (June 2011) I had article appear Slate, a publication of the Idaho School Boards Association. (My name appears as second author on that one since the politics of universities put bosses names first - but I know who wrote what.) That one summarizes a literature review on the link between mental illness and suicide.

Between those few rare appearances in print, I've written a lot of other work for other purposes. In a single day this past week I wrote a section of a grant application, a heart felt email, a lecture for my sociology class, and an outline for a Sunday School lesson. Each one called on different elements of my mind and spirit, tapping in to my intellect and creativity in a way that just talking about things never does. It's interesting that writing is given less legitimacy by most if it is not for pay and especially if it's not for a wide audience.

Yet those who write with passion (whether or not it involves any great skill) know something about the magic of the process and how it satisfies a part of us like nothing else ever can or will.

I have a work obligation on the day this Mastermind group will be meeting in February, so I'll miss that meeting. But I do plan to go back when I can. It felt good to be around the energy of men and women who put deliberate effort in to finding their voice, weaving their truths, even when it is clothed in the guise of created characters and plot lines. I also appreciated being in a group of folks who are stretching themselves to intentionally develop their talents, holding each other accountable to keep at it rather than falling into the pit of silently hoping for someday.

Writing matters. I don't have to have the ability or the dedication of a Pulitzer prize winner to acknowledge that. I don't know where this new association will take me, but it's a door I'm glad to have found and made the effort to walk through.

All packed up

2012-01-02T23:30:00.000-08:00

Today we took down all the Christmas lights, undecorated the tree and packed away all the STUFF. I now have a mighty mountain of brightly colored plastic tubs waiting to be carted up to the attic where they will hide until next year.

I'll sorta miss the sparkle and pretties, but I'm ready to get my house organized again.

I'm especially excited that I can actually see my office floor again. For the past two months it has been covered with boxes and piles of old photographs while I have been caught up in the great scanning project. Phase I of that is wrapped up and done now. I delivered CD's with over 400 photos of various family members to my mother's cousin's for the holidays AND gave them a whole suitcase full of original photographs. Next I need to finish up scanning the pics of my sibs so I can return the ones that are on loan and get the flash drives distributed to my immediate family.

As I have time in the next couple weeks my plan is to go through every closet and drawer in the house to get things ship-shape all tidy and organized. I got one bathroom done today - tomorrow after work I'll do the other and tackle the laundry room and linen closet. Then once the whole house is done comes the BIG job - the garage. Oh my. During the holidays when we had all the boxes down it got more than a little out of hand. But I'm ready to wrestle it back into submission. It feel good to get things back in order.

Happy 2012

2012-01-01T23:38:00.000-08:00

I've been reflecting a lot on what it means to me to be starting a brand new year.
In some ways I think of it as utterly arbitrary - one minute it was 2011 and then the ball drops and we call it 2012, a silly human convention for cutting up the flow of time into component chunks to suit us.

Still, it's how we do things - so for what it's worth, I've been thinking about how I will approach this new year. I'm not making any long list of resolutions. Truth be told, most of those I've made in years past were forfeit by Valentine's day, if not sooner. However, while I am not setting specific goals, I AM striving to begin this new year with a bit more mindfulness.I am going to focus on EVERY day asking myself 2 questions -1) what can I do today to bring more health, joy, faith and abundance to myself and others? 2) What can I STOP doing today in order to bring more health, joy, faith and abundance to myself and others? I want to be as mindful as I can on a daily basis with out shoulding on myself.

I loved 2011. I'll admit to being a bit apprehensive of the year to come. But come what may - triumphs or challenges, I will do my best to approach it with gratitude.

My best December EVER

2011-12-30T23:09:00.000-08:00

I have not posted over the past month because I have been so busy LIVING my life rather than writing about it. I had a phenomenal Christmas season, and have savored this December through and through. For me, that is nothing short of amazing.

Traditionally I have gone into a funk in December. Some years it has been a "partly cloudy" sort of angst. Other years it has been dancing with the devil of pretty significant depression. Suffice it to say that December has been my most bleak month of the year for the past 20 years or so. Part of that has been because I have long associated the Christmas season with death and funerals. Part of has been missing my kids who live half a country away, which somehow has felt more poignant during the holidays. Part has to do with other things...

But NONE of it got me down this year.

I can honestly say that 2011 has been a pretty spectacular year for me, a season in my life when I've felt more contentment and bliss than ever before. Then, as icing on the cake, December has been my best month of this very good year.

Here are a few of the highlights:

I started a new job in October. The first several weeks were filled with the expected anxiety of learning curve. But by December I began to find my stride and found I REALLY like my new position. I have been astonished at what a good fit it is for me. FINALLY I have a job that seems just the right amount of responsibility and challenge that keeps me on my toes without overwhelming me. I get to work with some very cool people and I while I still have a long way to go to achieve mastery in my new role, I am genuinely enjoying the process.

My beloved turned 66 on Dec 1. We celebrated on Sanibel Island in Florida. We had an amazing time connecting with each other in a beautiful place. Being married for 30 years to this guy has been quite a privilege. The week of our anniversary and his birthday was a romantic whirlwind that left me giddy.

My spirituality has been in a very sweet space for the past while. I've long had a strong faith system and have been active in the practices of my church. Still, sometimes I have felt less closeness with my creator. Over the past year as I've dug deeper into gratitude and truly savored my blessings (which have been many) I've been able to notice tender mercies all around me on a more steady basis.

Throughout the month of December we did a variety of festive things...Dec 9 - Live Nativity with my brother and sister-in-law, Dec 10 - A Christmas Carol at Nampa Civic Music Theatre with some dear friends, Dec 18 - Boise LDS Institute choir Christmas program - BEAUTIFUL! There was a church breakfast we took neighbors to and a work party that was more fun than I had expected. We went caroling with a group from our congregation, mailed out (and received) lots of cards and made Christmas cookies for neighbors and friends.

But best of all, we went to Arizona for Christmas. We had the most amazing time there, I am still grinning so much my face hurts. We had wonderful visits with family. There were several very special things we got to do. It was just the right mix of quiet down time and revelry. It really was a magical way to close out the year.

Tomorrow night we will go to some friends to ring in 2012. We'll nosh on some yummies, play some games, and enjoy being silly with people we like.

When 2010 ended I was more than ready to kick the year to the curb. It had done me few favors. But I'll be a bit sad to see this one go. Indeed 2011 has been a delightful year for me. I hope I will always savor the memory of it. I've had multiple peak periods of bliss. I've had so much to be grateful for.

30 Years

2011-11-28T06:49:00.000-08:00

Thirty years ago today I married my best friend. I am stunned at how blessed we have been in this relationship. I feel so honored to have had the opportunity to share these three decades with this man. He makes me laugh. He has incredible integrity. He has a phenomenal work ethic and did an amazing job of supporting two families for many years. Now that he is retired he continues to be a phenomenal father and husband. He is a huge support to me in more ways than I can count. Yes, I love him deeply. Beyond that, I genuinely LIKE this guy. We are not just hanging out together. We are truly a team and both of us are better people because of the union we share. My life has been surrounded by so much trust, kindness and possibility because of him. In good times and dark times, we both lift each other up. Happy anniversary my beloved. May we have many, many more years to come.

Book Review - Assassination of Governor Boggs

2011-11-24T08:49:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading "The Assassination of Governor Boggs" by Rod Miller. I was asked to review this by my publicist friend, Tristi Pinkston who will link to this post over on her virtual book tour page. I took a peek at what some of the other reviewers there had to say about the book and was interested to see an interview with the author among them.

This book presents an interesting blend of genres, offering up historical fiction from a mystery/detective approach with some of the style of a western gunslinger tale thrown in for good measure.

The book is a fascinating read. It serves up a fictional character, one Calvin Pogue who works for the renowned Pinkerton detective agency from Chicago who has been assigned to investigate a cold case: the very real failed assassination attempt of Lilburn Boggs, who served as the the sixth Governor of Missouri from 1836 to 1840.

In real life, the culprit who shot Governor Boggs in Independence, MO in May of 1942 was never apprehended, although there was rampant speculation that the crime may have been committed by one Orrin Porter Rockwell, a faithful defender of Mormon leaders Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and a major character throughout this book.

Governor Boggs was involved in many different issues and events of his day, but is perhaps best remembered as the one who issued the "Mormon Extermination Order"

From Wikipedia: Missouri Executive Order 44, also known as the "Mormon Extermination Order"[1] (alt. exterminating order)[2] in Latter Day Saint history, was an executive order issued on October 27, 1838 by the governor of Missouri, Lilburn Boggs. The directive was issued in the aftermath of the Battle of Crooked River, a clash between Mormons and a unit of the Missouri State Guard in northern Ray County, Missouri, during the so-called "Mormon War" of 1838. Insisting that the Mormons had committed "open and avowed defiance of the laws", and had "made war upon the people of this State," Boggs precipitously directed that "the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace—their outrages are beyond all description."

To this day there are many LDS people who hear the name Lilburn Boggs and think of him as a monster who was the cause of the suffering and death by starvation of many who had to flee their homes following the order. So it is no small wonder that at the time he was shot the bad feelings between Boggs and the Mormon people would lead to speculation about motive for the crime.

In this book the investigation into the shooting of Boggs that very nearly did take his life occurs 20 years after the fact. Upon the death of Governor Boggs, his family hires the Pinkerton Detective Agency to determine once and for all who shot Lilburn all those years ago. They are aware that the statute of limitations on attempted murder had long since passed so it is not a matter of bringing the assailant to justice. They do, however, have a deep desire to put the matter to rest once and for all by knowing who was responsible.

Pogue travels by stagecoach and train to various locations (Independence, MO, Navoo, IL and Salt Lake City, UT and the California gold lands) to interview every person he can find who might be able to shed some light on those long past events. Some of the characters we meet through these interviews are

Sam Brannon

Jacob Wright Harlan

Emma Smith

One of the primary voices in each chapter in that of Porter Rockwell himself, the man who many believed was the shooter.

There is much about this book I liked very much. It's a strong narrative that held my interest. I especially felt a connection with the detective, Calvin Pogue, and loved the detail of his ever vigilant lookout for all manner of toy horses in every town he visited that he would mail with loving letters to his young daughter back in Chicago.

I had read in some of the other reviews for the story that there would be a dramatic "suprise ending", but I NEVER saw coming what actually unfolded.

What made me squirm a bit as I was reading was the whole issue of "historical fiction". Unlike some of that genre, this book has absolutely no footnotes or end pages that detail sources for the historical part to allow the reader to sort it out cleanly from the fiction part. So there were several points where I was left simply wondering "Did that really happen??" That was uncomfortably unsettling for me.

I LOVE reading fiction. I also enjoy reading history. Generally speaking, however, I like to know which is which.

Still, even with that caveat, I can heartily recommend this book. It's a worthy read. Now I'll be off to do a bit more research of my own to see what I can learn about some of these characters.

You can purchase this book at Deseret Book or on Amazon.com

Scanning Madness

2011-11-23T23:10:00.000-08:00

About a month ago or there abouts I received eight boxes that were delivered to my doorstep by fed ex. Every one of the boxes pictured here were crammed full with photographs, documents, letters and personal papers going back three generations in my family. These boxes held the collection of genealogy, photo albums and various STUFF that had belong to my mother, her mother, and her mother before her. My aunt and uncle had gathered it all up from my grandmother's house in Cottonwood, AZ after her death in 1988. They sorted through it some, but it has mostly sat in boxes for over 20 years. Finally they decided something should be done with the collection, so they sent it all to me.

Oh my.

There are some absolute TREASURES in these boxes. There are photographs I had never seen or knew even existed. However, those treasures are mixed in with a whole lot of...um, junk. At least it is junk to me. My mother had the best of intentions, but she didn't have much sense of order. And, it would appear, she came by that habit honestly. Her mother's records are no more organized than my mom's.

So I've been spending LOTS of time going through these boxes piece by piece by piece, trying to sort out what is there - separating the wheat from the chaff. I've thrown away a lot of stuff. (Multiple copies of many photographs, EVERY card my mother got at her wedding, 15 copies of the newspaper that had her engagement photo in it, along with lots of old correspondence with strangers trying to track down various genealogy leads. (Thank you God for making research a whole lot easier these days since the invention of the internet.)

For the first couple weeks after the boxes came the contents took over every horizontal surface of my house as I painstakingly separated things out into specific piles: grandma photos here, Mom's sibs over there, my sibs in this pile, various cousins over there.

Sadly, there were quite a few of the really old pictures I have no idea whatsoever who they are of - including five tintypes that I suspect belonged to my great grandmother.

However, for pictures that I DO recognize I am absolutely determined to get them all cataloged so that when I go pinchers up no one will find stacks and stacks of boxes of disorganized clutter peppered with family treasures. That's one family tradition I'd just as soon not take on.

So I've been scanning all photos and posting quite a few of them onto the family blog that I started a while back. Then I mailed out several boxes to give pictures back to the various family groups they came from. Little by little I am whittling away at my piles.

I've reclaimed my living room and there are no more pictures on the dining room table. My office however, is still more than a catastrophe. There is simply no way I know to get through this project without making one heck of a mess.

I'll be glad when I get it done and can get my work space back in order. But right now I am incredibly thankful for the treasures of family images and records that have been gifted to me. It has been a fascinating process to go through it all.

I just wish I could find my desk.

Fringe Benefits

2011-11-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

My beloved and I have been looking at various options for purchasing private health insurance. As it turns out, the group policy available to ME at my new job is ok (not great by any means) and offered at a tolerable cost. However, it becomes exorbitant if I want to have my husband covered too. My employer subsidizes the cost for employee group coverage, but not for their family members. So we've been reading the fine print for various medicare supplement programs and prescription only policies to see what we can afford.

We got incredibly spoiled by the insurance that we had in Oregon. We paid NOTHING (one of the wonderful benefits of having my husband work for the state-they picked up the full tab!) and we received very generous coverage for medical, dental and vision. They even covered my husband's adult son with a disability who lived in a different state. Sadly,those days are long gone.

Now we will be balancing high premiums, higher deductibles, higher co-pays and reduced coverage which means basically we'll be crossing our fingers and hoping we don't get sick. It makes me far more sympathetic toward the MANY people in this country who have no insurance at all. Getting decent medical coverage is a major motivating factor why many people continue working beyond retirement age. Unfortunately, more and more employers are cutting corners on what sorts of coverage they can offer in these days when it seems everyone is being asked to do more with less.

I DID, however, find out about a different kind of fringe benefit at my new job that had never been explained to me when I was hired. There is a sweet little lady who makes homemade tamales that comes by every so often to sell her wares to the employees. I picked up a dozen (6 pork and 6 beef) from her today and just finished having them for supper. Delicious!

Would I trade that opportunity for better insurance if I could? Most certainly! But here's the thing. I can't. So I might as well make my peace with higher cost/lower coverage insurance because that is the shape of my new reality. In SO many ways this job is a million times better than my former position - so what's the point in complaining about the areas where it does not measure up?

I had a really good day at work today. I'm finally getting past the absolute deer-in-the-headlight stupor of my first weeks of being in a foreign environment. I AM getting the hang of it. I continue to be extremely impressed by the team I am surrounded by. Obviously I still have much to learn, but it feels like this job will be an excellent match.

I'm going to eat my tamales and be grateful.

Learning Curve

2011-11-04T08:04:00.000-07:00

No, I did not fall of the face of the earth. I've been completely immersed in getting acquainted with my new job.

I started a new position on Oct 24. It's in a completely different field than I have worked in previously and there is MUCH to learn.

I am the Director of a program that interfaces with a lot of high profile medical people. So I am surrounded by very bright, very capable individuals who expect me to LEAD in some substantial ways. In time I think it will be an excellent match. For right now, however, I'm dancing as fast as I can just to figure out what all the alphabet soup acronyms mean. Then of course there are the inevitable policies and procedures of my particular agency, not to mention the practical things like learning how to use the new high tech phone system and how to load and adjust the fancy shmancy copy machine. Having EVERYTHING be new and unfamiliar requires my brain to be on overdrive every minute of the day to figure out my next move, so by the time I get home I am exhausted.

Most of it is going well. However, there is just so much I don't know that at times it can be a bit overwhelming. On the second day I got completely lost in the building I now work in, leading to some snickers when the person waiting for me in a certain conference room could hear me wandering from corridor to corridor unable to locate the place where I was supposed to be. Yeah, I'm definitely the new kid on the block with a bit of a deer in the headlights look about me.

I am quite jazzed about this new opportunity. For TODAY, however, I'm scrambling just to figure out what I am supposed to be doing. I'm one of those folks who REALLY likes mastery. Nothing is more reinforcing to me that feeling confident and knowing I am good at what I do. Right now I'm getting calls and emails from folks across the country asking me about this program or that project and all I can say is "I'll check on that and get back with you" because I haven't got a clue.

Although it's awkward and uncomfortable at the moment, I'm learning a ton of stuff every single day. I like that.

So I'm trying really hard to be patient with myself. By this time next year I should have a whole network of people I know well who I have not even met yet. I will be able to explain the difference between a CAH, a RHC and a FQHC with the best of them. I honestly believe that through my efforts I will be able to contribute to the face of healthcare in Idaho in some positive ways. For TODAY however, I'm just taking a deep breath and remembering the words of the little engine that could...

"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."

The rest will come, in time.

SPLAT!

2011-10-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

Oh the joy of celebrating life with pie(s) in the face. In this case, there were two: one was chocolate, the other banana cream.

These were home-made, and from what little actually made it into my mouth, absolutely delicious.

As some of my long time friends know, for many years I carried out the tradition of getting a pie in the face each year on my birthday. I THOUGHT I was all done with this silly bit of nonsense once I turned 50. Last week I celebrated my 54th birthday, so it has been a while since the last time I did this. However, this was my BEST birthday in many years. Between landing my new job and making some excellent connections with people I care about, it just felt like everything in my life is swimming with blessings right now. I was so grateful and giddy with how things unfolded, what can I say...it just made me want to do another pie. Only this time I did it with a twist.

Last week we had mid-term exams in my Introductory Sociology class. I told my students that anyone who earned a perfect score on the test would get to hit me in the face with a pie. How's that for incentive for students to study?? There were two students who made it, so they each got their own pie. At the end of class tonight the whole group went with me outside to the college lawn and there we did the official SPLAT. It was great. Sticky, for sure, but great.

Life is sweet - and if you don't believe me - honestly, there's nothing to kick start your sense of humor like a nice gooey pie in the face.

Stronger at the Broken Places

2011-10-07T05:54:00.000-07:00

I originally wrote this post back in 2007 over on my other blog, Life By Design. I'm repeating it here now for the benefit of a particular friend who is going through a hard time.

I once had a wise teacher who told me about making balsa wood airplanes as a child.

While flying them out in a field on a windy day, one of his favorite planes crashed and broke. He was sad to see the crumpled, shattered body lying in a heap. It appeared to be utterly ruined.

However, after the initial disappointment, he picked up the pieces and carefully, painstakingly, glued them back together. Then he left it for a while to sit and dry. Finally, when he was confident it was ready, he took it back out to fly again.

Amazingly, that repaired plane became one of his best flyers. Although scarred and perhaps less beautiful that the unbroken planes, that one was so sturdy that even when it took an occasional tumble, it didn't break again. It had become stronger at the broken places because of the glue.

Our lives are often like that. We have heartaches and disappointments. We have circumstances that make us feel as if we have crashed into the ground. But if we can pick ourselves up and glue those crumpled pieces of our heart back together, we too can become stronger at the broken places, with new found resilience to face the storms the world may bring.

During a particularly difficult time in my life, I received the card you see pictured here. As it says: "Sometimes when you least expect it, life gives you a big ol' sock in the nose." Then, on the inside it reads:"Not to worry. With time the pain will pass, and from it you will have gained experience, which gives you information, which gives you objectivity,which gives you wisdom, which gives you truth, which gives you freedom from having to get a sock in the nose again." Every now and then, when I am facing struggles in navigating the current of my world, it helps to pull out the card and to remember the story of that broken airplane.

Happy Happy Birthday to ME!

2011-10-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

I just had the BEST BIRTHDAY I've had in years. From start to finish it was just an amazing day.

1. I got the job that I had been hoping for. More money than I had expected AND the possibility of tuition reimbursement for a grad program I've been looking at. YIPPEE!

2. I had some amazing connections with family and friends.

I went out to dinner at a la-dee-dah fancy restaurant with my husband, my brother and my sister-in-law. (Although I've been told they have the best steaks in town not one of us ordered a steak. But the duck, the halibut and Ahi Tuna were stunning!)

I also had some great phone calls/emails/cards that brightened my day. In particular I had a great talk with my cousin in Renton, WA and my brilliant-and-delightfully-kooky inventor kid brother in California.

3. I was still on a spiritual high from the recent worldwide conference of my church.

Put that all together and life is just bowling me over with blessing right now.

There is a small town in Gooding County called Bliss, Idaho. But I'd say I've found my bliss right where I am.

October Yard Photos

2011-10-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love best about my yard in the fall is the grapes that grow all over the back porch. They are very yummy and they smell absolutely divine.

Although our veggie garden is still going strong, most of the flowers in the front yard (except for our faithful roses) have slowed down or stopped.

There are a few exceptions: Aster, Dahlias, & Marigolds are still looking nice.

In the back yard I've got mostly yellows now, with Fireworks goldenrod, sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)and ligularia blooming:

I've got a couple spots that are still showing other colors (last remaining pinks of my hollyhock, some purple butterfly bush and phlox) Soon though I'll begin to get the deep reds from my burning bush, Virginia creeper and the Japanese maple tree.

I definitely want to plant a few new things next year that will give me more variety this time of year. Perhaps I'll put in some mums? But for now, it's all I can do to keep up with squash, tomatoes and cucumbers that are still producing with profusion.

I've heard it's supposed to turn off cold by the end of next week... before you know it will get a freeze and then it will be time to put the garden to bed. I'm ready.

How Much is Enough?

2011-10-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

Once again I am waiting on pins and needles to see if I get picked for a job I have applied for. My interview went very well and I've heard back from three of my references that they have been called, so I know I am in the "finalist" stage, but the deal is not set yet.

I REALLY want this job for a number of reason. I think it would be a good match for my current skill sets, but would also give me room to grow both personally and professionally. Also, while my current position has been great on a lot of levels, the grant funding is ticking away with a definite end point. I am like yogurt with an expiration date. That job will definitely evaporate in the spring. So sometime between now and then it is critical that I find a new position.

The last time I was unemployed I had my husband's salary and benefits to fall back on. Now that he is retired, that is no longer the case. So the fact that I've got a firm lead sooner rather than later is a very good thing.

There's just one bit of a wrinkle in the soup. The job I'm up for is only funded for 20 hrs per week. That means I will take a BIG hit financially to jump ship at this point. It does have full benefits, a true rarity for a part time job. Also it IS very much a professional leadership position with a high level of responsibility. It's simply part of a contract with a skinny budget, so a half time director is all they can afford.

I do not know yet how much the salary will be, but I suspect it may be less than half of what I am currently earning. Add that to the fact that my present position pays substantially less than the last two jobs I had prior to this and clearly it translates to me moving in the wrong direction in terms of income. But I know I am not alone in that. Welcome to the Great Recession where pay cuts and underemployment are rampant all across the land.

Still, other than the money, in ever other respect this job sounds like something I could really sink my teeth into. It is for a non-profit that has an excellent reputation. They've recently won a national awards for flexibility in the workplace. People I've talked to about the place say it is a phenomenal outfit to work for. I had previously met the exec director who I would report to and I believe he would be a great boss. Most of all, this feels like a job where I could make a positive difference, and that is something that really matters to me.

So I've been giving a lot of thought to what my line in the sand is in terms of dollars. How much do I have to earn in order to take this job IF it is offered?

We live in a country that assigns merit and worth to people based on titles and dollars and how many shiny things we own. I am quite capable of seeing the silliness in that sort of thinking. I absolutely recognize that there are far more important quality of life aspects to a job than how big the paycheck is or whether I get a nice office. Still, I do have certain household expenses which must be covered. It really wouldn't matter how much I liked my job if I had to worry all the time about not being able to pay my bills. So, I'm going over the family budget and trying to determine, at what point do the scales tip between taking a job I think I could love which pays poorly vs. keeping a better paying job that I know is time limited while I look for something else?

As I look at the job market in town for what other sorts of things I might be able to pursue if I let this one pass by me, I'm being careful not to let myself get all tangled up in the bird-in-the-hand vs. bird-in-the-bush delusions. (Since right now I'm comparing the bird NOT in my hand to a bush I've yet to identify, it's even more complicated.) I'm not the least bit afraid of working hard. I just want to work in a place that has a culture of professionalism where people have integrity and treat each other like grown ups. Is that so much to ask?

It will be interesting to see how this whole job thing plays out... hopefully I will hear relatively soon. This limbo land of not knowing is wearing kinda thin.

Seasons...

2011-09-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

The calendar tells me it is now Autumn. You couldn't prove it by what I've seen. Sure, the days are getting noticeably shorter. But it has still been in the 80's and 90's during the day and my cucumber and squash plants in my garden are showing absolutely no sign of slowing down.

Changings in season can sort of creep up on you like that. There I was, going full tilt boogie in my summer and all of a sudden (or so it seemed) there it was fall.

But if I had really been paying attention I would have noticed some subtle things...

Like how the nights really have been getting cooler
or how that one tree on my nightly walk with the dog is actually starting to drop some leaves.

We still have a ways to go before it will FEEL like autumn. But pumpkins are fat in the field and apples are getting ripe.

In a way I'm sad to say goodbye to summer. I have had the absolute best summer of my entire life this year. For a lot of reasons, I have savored this past season. I've taken some great trips, made some new friends, and very gladly given up my status as "new kid" in Boise. Now that I've lived here a full year, I'm finding my niche and feeling more and more like this is HOME. I belong.

But that's no reason to grieve the passing of summer. If I really do believe this was my best summer, why can't I follow it up with my best ever fall? I love autumn. I'm hoping to get to do some trips to where I'll get the full spectrum of colors and maybe - just MAYBE I'll be making some changes in the near future that will give me more freedom in that regard.

So goodbye summer. Thank you for some fabulous memories.
Hello autumn. Let's dance.

What a Pain in the Neck!

2011-09-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I've been writing less these days is that school has started, so much of my computer time is spent writing class lectures or grading student papers.

The other issue has been some struggles I've been having with my neck and back. That image you see with this is not just some random picture off the internet. It's my actual X-ray.

I've been to three chiropractors, a physical therapist and an acupuncture doctor. I'm still having a fair amount of pain. Apparently I have a bit of arthritis in my neck. Beyond that I have too many years of bad posture and mega hours sitting in front of my computer working against me. Put that all together and I've got one big pain in the neck (and back). Sigh.

So I've adjusted my work stations at both my home office and at my full time job...raised the monitors to my computers several inches higher and changed the way I will sit. I'm doing some specific exercises that help increase my flexibility and strengthen my back muscles. Also I'm trying diligently to get more regular sleep.

Hopefully in the coming weeks I will be able to get a handle on the problem. But even though I do expect to see improvement, the reality is that as I age I can probably expect more aches and pains. How I choose to cope with that will be up to me.

I'm trying to be mindful about focusing more on what's RIGHT than what's uncomfortable. I truly do have a whole lot of blessing going on all around me. Still, it's just hard to be positive when you are hurting.

This is definitely giving me more compassion for those who must deal with ongoing chronic pain and/or disability. I think of my sweet husband's grandmother whose whole adult life was spent twisted and crippled with agonizing rheumatoid arthritis. All the family who knew her say she was never one to complain. Her children sometimes heard her crying in her bedroom when she was really suffering. But she never got cranky with them, no matter how badly she felt.

I want to always remember her example. I may not feel great in body right now. But I can choose to focus on all that gives me joy instead of on what hurts.

Let the Whining Begin....

2011-09-04T19:32:00.000-07:00

We've only been back to school for TWO WEEKS and I've already received my first whiny email from a student saying my class is too hard. I am not sympathetic.

I work hard to make sure my class is very engaging and that I continually tie it to real word examples to show its relevance. But I make no excuses, it IS hard. When my husband looks over the syllabus he smiles and say, "Babe, I love you but I'd drop your class."

So should about a third of those who sign up. Term after term students fail my classes NOT because they don't comprehend or can't do the work. They simply take on more than they can realistically accomplish (full time work, family responsibilities and full load of classes with no established study skills) and then blame me when I will not adjust deadlines when they find they have to work extra hours right before a major assignment is due.

I'm very clear in the beginning what my class involves and give them a detailed schedule of what is due when. I also make a big point of letting them know that anything turned in late will count half off and they only have a 4 day window for that beyond which I will not accept it at all. Do they not believe me?

I fully expect students to be feeling overwhelmed by week 7, but I've got 12 students out of 31 who are already falling behind in week 3. In talking to other faculty on campus, many of them are experiencing the same thing. A large proportion of our students sign up who just never follow through with the work. I find that a very troubling trend.

In an article on student entitlement Maryellen Weimer, PhD defines the issue as "a self-centered disposition characterized by a general disregard for traditional faculty relationship boundaries and authority” (p. 198), or it can be described more functionally: “a sense that they [students] deserve what they want because they want it and want it now.” (p. 197) "

Sadly I see increasing amounts of this, not just in my classrooms, but in society in general.

So many are concerned with their RIGHTS and what is owed to them without giving the same attention to their responsibilities. I see this as a dangerous trend that is gutting the vitality of our nation. There are so many examples....

For now I just take a deep breath and recommit to how I will communicate with my students. I will be firm but fair. I will be respectful of them and as supportive as possible. I'll work hard to keep my courses interesting and show how they are relevant to real live. But I will not budge when it comes to deadlines and rigor. Too many classes are watered down - especially when finances force schools to keep increasing class sizes. I well understand why many faculty cut back on writing assignments because they simply don't have the time or energy to grade all the work.
I'm not there yet. I'm keeping my bar high. It's exhausting at times. But I teach because it means something to me. I'll sleep when I'm dead.

The class is a pretty even split between males and females, young students just out of high school and older folks coming back after having lived some life.

Me thinks this is going to be a LOOOOONG semester. Oy veh.

Franken-butt Anniversary

2011-08-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

One year ago today my beloved went under the knife to have hip replacement surgery. The months leading up to and immediately following the operation were a struggle. My strong, capable husband endured tremendous pain for months and became in most respects an invalid. When our granddaughters came to visit last August they pushed him around in a wheel chair every where we went.

Gratefully, he has had a full recovery and is now able to do very nearly everything he ever could. He has one dilly of a scar on his butt (which I do have photos of but will NOT be posting) and at times still gets a little pain.

But considering the extent of the surgery, we are both pretty amazed at how well he has bounced back. The human body's abilty to heal from all sorts of mishap and trauma is nothing short of amazing.

As we think about where we were and what we were doing one year ago today we both recognize we have very much to be grateful for.

Hopefully we'll have another 10-20 years of active, productive life before we have to worry about "invalid" status again. Or not. What I do know after than dress rehearsal into the world of pain and limitation is that every healthy day we get is a precious gift to be savored and appreciated.

Understanding Society

2011-08-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

As I have been researching various topics for the Intro Sociology course I teach at CWI I came across an intriguing collection of resources at the website Understanding Society by Daniel Little at University of Michigan. This is a very robust website with all sorts of tools (blogs, podcasts, YouTube interviews, Twitter feeds, etc)for examining society and how social scientists approach their world.

After spending more time than I care to admit noodling around on the various pages I was reminded all over again what drew me to the science of sociology in the first place. I am utterly fascinated by examining the twin forces of society: what creates stability and what creates social change.

As I went through my first day of classes on Monday I found myself flowing in the zone of guiding intro students to the idea that SOCIAL FORCES have more to do with the choices we make than individual preference. That of course does not mean we are robots being manipulated by our society. Yet the whole idea that individuals are not uniquely in charge of their own destiny is sometime quite difficult for American students to fathom. I love the challenge of helping them both comprehend and confront that.

It does no good to be overwhelmed or angry at the idea that social institutions and the power elite with their own agendas are limiting my options. Instead, I encourage students to PUSH those limits, which can only be done by first understanding them.

I'm excited for the new semester. The first four weeks are generally euphoric for me as I begin each term full of hope and excitement. Of course, by week 7 I will be overwhelmed with grading and discouraged by lackluster students who don't even bother to show up regularly. Still, every term I find my core group of people who get excited about what they are learning. We enter that magical, sacred dance of teaching and learning, where we take turns showing each other new ideas, different perspectives and ways of defining our world - savoring the process of making meaning and finding new knowledge. Honestly, this is what I was born to do, and it is such an absolute privilege I am still astonished there are schools that actually pay me to "perform" tasks that are so hardwired to my DNA that it's like telling a fish to swim.

I've taught adjunct courses in Michigan, Washington, Oregon and now Idaho. I love this more than anything else I've ever done. Would I do it full time if I had the chance? Absolutely - even though the very idea of that gives me some trepidation.

Would doing it day in and day out with a 5 or 6 course load burn me out on the one thing that absolutely fuels my passion? I don't have the answer to that. But since right now it's not an option, I don't have to worry about that. For now I will continue to teach in tandem with my full time job, putting my heart and soul into my classes. Down the road, if a full time position ever does open, that is a risk I would most definitely take.

Do you love your work??

2011-08-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

In cleaning out my office recently I found some notes on a conference I attended about work satisfaction and burn-out.

In those notes were a list of factors which are markers of level of employee engagement. How many of the following can you say are true?

1. I know what is expected of me at work.

2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my job right.

3. I have the opportunity to do my best and focus on my strengths every day at my job.

4. In the past 7 days I have received recognition.

5. My supervisor or someone at work cares about me as a person.

6. There is someone at my work that encourages my development.

7. At work my opinions and ideas seem to count.

8. Mission or purpose of my company makes me feel like my job is important.

9. My fellow employees are committed to quality work.

10. I have a good friend at work.

11. In the last six months someone has talked to me about my progress.

12. In the last year at work I have had an opportunity to grow and learn.

I can currently claim 4 out of the 12.

There is one of them that I'm not so sure I agree with. As I have gotten older I have shifted in my expectations about friendships at work. In the past I have developed very close friendships with my peers at work. Some of the dearest friends of my 20's and 30's were people that I worked with. Now, however, I am not close to anyone at my job. Part of the reason is I don't really have peers at my current position. There is no one else working at my same level on the same project. But another reason is that I've become more compartmentalized. I have friendships in my real life outside of work. I also have good relationships with my colleagues, but it's not personal. I don't tell them much about me.

I genuinely like my current job and believe I'm quite good at it. However, I also know that I'm like yogurt with an expiration date. When the grant runs out, my job will be over and I will then go do something else. That may be part of the reason I have not allowed myself to get too attached here.

Yet I think it's more than just that. I think my beliefs and expectations about work have substantially shifted over the years. I am glad I've had this job and in most ways believe it to be a good match for me. But it's my JOB, not my identity. It provides a way to pay for the rest of my life. I hope I make some bit of positive difference through what I do. In the end though, I won't miss it all that much when I move on to something else.

How do you feel about your job? If you could do something else, what would it be?

Daddy or the Daughter? Reading the Burkes back to back

2011-08-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

For several years now I have been an avid reader and audio book listener of the works of James Lee Burke. The man's word pictures steal away my breath. His complex, very human characters always intrigue me. The man simply writes some of the most STUNNING sentences I've ever encountered after over 40 years of reading hundreds and hundreds of books.

Then recently I got my first taste of his daughter Alafair's work. While both write murder mysteries they are completely different in style. I must say I got far more caught up in the suspense of Alafair's writing. But after finishing her book 212 I returned to one of JLB's earlier works,Sunset Limited. It did not have me on the edge of my seat waiting to learn what was going to happen next the way Alafair's book did. Instead it had me absolutely mesmerized with what was happening NOW due to the amazing language.

I think I like her plots better. I definitely like his sentences better.

Setting is another big difference between the two. Alafair's series takes place in New York City. Dave Robicheaux is a Cajun cop in New Iberia, Louisiana.

I love the sense of place in those bayou books.

Granted, the elder Burke has written other books in other settings, but the ones that completely capture my heart are the misadventures of Nam vet and drunk-in-recovery Robicheaux and his hilarious sidekick in the pork pie hat, Clete Pursel. I've read so many of these I feel like these two guys are old friends.

I'm sure I will read more of Alafair's work. I very much enjoyed 212 (both the area code for NYC and the building number for the murder that occurs in the opening scene of the novel). But when it gets right down to it, my all time favorite writer is still the grand master, James Lee Burke. The voice he brings to his novels is so rich and complex, filled with undercurrents of visceral themes and failed humanity.

Alafair's writing is taunt, driven, full of surprises.

Comparing the two is like asking me if I like chocolate or peanuts better. They are entirely different. But the combination of reading them both back to back is absolutely delicious. Pass the Reeses peanut butter cups please, and hand me another novel.

BODIES EXHIBIT

2011-08-14T23:27:00.000-07:00

On our recent get away weekend we had an opportunity to see the Bodies Exhibit in Idaho Falls. For those who may not be familiar with it, it is an educational exhibit of actual human bodies and body parts that have been preserved in some very ingenious ways. One cadaver was sliced into sections about two inches thick from head to toe and then had each slice encased in plastic. They are arranged on a table with a couple inches between each slice so you can look very closely and every single segment of the body.

I especially liked the room that focused on the circulatory system. A special kind of plastic polymer was injected into the veins of a cadaver until every blood vessel from major veins and arteries all the way to the tiniest of capillaries was filled with the stuff. It hardens there and then a special chemical wash is used to eat away everything EXCEPT the polymer. So what you have left is a standing form of a human body that is ONLY the blood vessels. Completely fascinating.

I looked at kidneys and livers and lungs and hearts and brains.

I looked at skeletons, at intestines, at whole bodies standing erect (but cut cleanly in half vertically so you could see how certain inner parts fit.

I looked at human embryos in vials with each display one week older so you could get a glimpse of how the fetus develops.

These were not pictures or models or representations. These were actual human bodies that had been preserved in such a way that you could see how the various systems fit together, what each organ looked like, how big it was, where it was, and in a few cases (like the lungs) what they looked like when healthy and what they looked like when diseased. (I haven't smoked in 30 years, but if I did I would DEFINITELY be quitting after seeing THAT particular part of the display.)

When I first heard about this show many years ago in a conversation at my oldest brother's wedding reception I initially recoiled. I thought it was a ghoulish idea to even consider creating such a spectacle and I thought it was pretty twisted that people would pay money to go look at this stuff.

But since that time I have talked to several folks who had seen the show when it came to various parts of the country - Phoenix, Seattle, LA. EVERY single person I knew who had actually seen it raved about the experience and said it simply was something that should not be missed.

So I reconsidered my views. Then when I learned that the show was in Idaho Falls and we were going to be driving right past there on our way to the Bluegrass Festival in Alta, Wyoming, I decided it was worth a side trip.

I'm really glad we went.

I do understand why some people say "Ewww! Gross" and others genuinely find it to be depraved rather than a worthwhile educational presentation. But I've got to say, it gave me a renewed respect for this amazing machine that is the human body and perhaps even a bit more commitment to taking better care of my own.

So now I'm thinking about other things I might initially find repulsive or disgusting, scary or boring, or simply not worth my time and wondering if I might want to re-examine my pre-judgements. There are SOME things I really do not need to see to know I do not want those images in my brain. But I'm learning that there are time when it really does make sense to reconsider my point of view.

Interesting Faces

2011-08-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

I wish I'd had the nerve to take more face picture at the music festival in Alta, Wyoming I just attended. We had a fabulous time there and will long remember it.
I suppose it is the sociologist in me, but I enjoyed people watching as much a I did listening to the music.

The crowd was an eclectic group of all ages from the very old to the very young.

I got a kick out of the young man who had been to the face painting tent.

and this little girl who was grooving to the tunes with her family

Out of the several bands we heard the only one I was familiar with was Tim O'Brien:

I particularly like Joy Kills Sorrow and Donna the Buffalo.

It's late now and I'm tired, so uploading more photos from the concert will have to wait for another day. However, it will be the pictures that I DIDN'T take that I will remember most of all....the amazing sunset, and many of the interesting faces that I saw in the crowd.

LILIES

2011-08-13T22:52:00.000-07:00

Some random shots of lilies from my garden...

FISH PUZZLE

2011-08-13T22:40:00.000-07:00

Some people like Sudoku. Some people do crossword puzzles. As for me and my beloved, we are jigsaw puzzle people.

However, my sister-in-law recently gave us a puzzle that didn't have any box to it. All the pieces were there .... all 1000 of them. She knew it was a picture of fish. But that's all she could tell us. YIKES. How are you supposed to do a jigsaw puzzle without the picture?? Gluttons for punishment that we are, we fussed with it for a while until we finally got the darn thing put together. So I took this picture to refer back to if we ever decide to do it again.

This served as one more reminder to me that whether it's Tony Robins saying to "Know Your Outcome" or Steven Covey saying "Start with the end in mind", it just makes sense, whether in LIFE or in puzzle land, to have clear concepts of what you want to achieve so you can move forward in a purposeful way rather than just taking random actions and hoping for the best.

With that in mind I'm revisiting my bucket list, my vision board, and considering again some of the goals I've plunked away at over the years. What do I want to accomplish before the year ends? Where do I hope to be in five years, or ten?

I really do believe in building a life by design rather than default.

So it's back to the drawing board for me to clarify what things matter most in my world so I can make sure those are the rocks that get put in my bucket first. The sand will take care of itself.

Latter Rain - BOOK REVIEW

2011-08-12T07:13:00.000-07:00

I was asked by my publicist pal, Tristi Pinkston, to read and review the book “The Latter Rain” by James M. Conis. I received a free copy of the book to review, as is the usual custom in the publishing world, but had no obligation to say nice things.

I am going to say them any way. I was very impressed by this book.

The Latter Rain is a complex book that on the surface appears deceptively easy. Although tackling a serious subject (a detailed analysis of the writings of the prophet Isaiah), because Conis’s writing style is very open and engaging, on first impression is seems like it will be a fairly simple read. There is nothing stuffy or ostentatious about how he presents his material. Throughout each chapter Conis outlines various concepts with a basic formula:
1. Make a point 2. Give a biblical scripture which embodies that point. 3. Explain the symbolism of that scripture in clear, every day language. 4. Restate and reinforce the point.

Conis does this so often and so well that at times it truly does seem that the ideas being presented are very simple, even obvious ones. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Reading Isaiah is anything but simple or obvious to most.

For most of my life I have been completely baffled by Isaiah’s writing. I mean seriously, the dude had some horrendous issues with lack of framing. Everything gets topsy turvey because aside from all his metaphor and symbolism, he doesn’t put things into context very well and he had no idea how to build a clean segue. He’d be talking about the problems of his own time among the people of Jerusalem, then all of a sudden he’s off having visions about the end of the world with no transition in between! It’s pretty hard to keep straight without a secret decoder ring.

What Conis attempts to do in this book is to present the secret decoder ring.

While the initial focus begins with Isaiah’s writings, Conis also addresses Ezekiel, Daniel and others, both in the old and new testaments. This book seems to be a painstaking effort to use ONLY biblical references to explain the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Whether explaining how “rain” is used as a symbol in Deuteronomy or laying out the ways in which the Passover Feat foreshadowed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Conis uses language that is clear and appealing. Although it is evident throughout that Conis made a thorough and scrupulous study of the Bible in preparing this book, this is no dry, academic treatise. It is very clear that Conis has a strong testimony of God and a true love of the scriptures.

On page 204 he writes:
“What is required to find the Lord? We must seek him with all our hearts and with all our soul. Some are lost and do not even realize it. Others know they are lost and desire relief from their plight, but never appeal to the Lord directly. They seek comfort among the man-made solutions of the earth. But these false organizations have not the power to save, nor satisfy. Only those who seek the Lord directly and call upon him in prayer will ultimately find him and his kingdom. He will guide them out from among the heathen through the promptings of the spirit as if they were led by the hand.”

I was particularly impressed by the section toward the end where Conis explains the Book of Revelations. I must say, while Isaiah usually just confuses me, reading Revelations gives me the heebie jeebies and makes my head hurt! However, using the same technique as with the rest of the book, Conis alternates between the original bible reference from the Book of Revelations and his explanation of the figurative language. (I admit at this section I started skipping past all the bible stuff and only reading Conis’s own writing….) There were several key insights in that section that I found interesting, such as the stuff about the seven candlesticks, the seven seals, and the seven heads of the beast. He makes a case in very convincing manner for what each of these represent. There were a few spots where I became genuinely excited to FINALLY understand something that had previously been clear as mud.

If I have any misgivings about this book at all, it is for what it does NOT say. Nowhere in the book does the author ever say anything directly about the LDS faith. He never mentions the name Joseph Smith. He never talks about the Book of Mormon. I went through the whole thing carefully looking for even a veiled reference to the church. It’s not there. But for anyone who is familiar with the faith at all, there is no doubt whatsoever that establishing the true authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the central purpose of the book.

He talks about thinks like the authority of the priesthood, the apostasy, a restoring of what was lost, the "stick of Judah" and "the stick of Joseph" as two different companion works of scripture, temples, missionaries, God having a physical body. Yeah, it is very abundantly clear that the concepts Consis explains so meticulously with the prophecies and teachings from the bible are those which are the core doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. But he does it in a painstakingly neutral way, NOT taking a voice of proselytizing, but rather pointing out what it is the Bible has alluded to all along, and leaving it up to the reader to decide what they think about it.

So I cannot help but wonder, does it make the book stronger or weaker that he makes all these references to core LDS doctrine without ever naming the church? Will it make the book of greater interest to the non-LDS audience? Will it make it any less appealing to the usual LDS book buying crowd? I honestly don’t know. I suspect part of the appeal of the book to me was how much it reinforced what I already believe to be true. I’m eager to share this book with a couple of my non-LDS friends and get their take on it.

As for me, my impression is that James Conis is an incredibly intelligent, articulate bible scholar who has made a tremendous contribution to scriptural based literature. He definitely answered some questions that I had, and did it in a way that was inviting and clear. It’s not a lightweight book. But for anyone who is even moderately interested in biblical analysis, regardless of what their views about the LDS faith are, I think it will be a very worthwhile read. For those who may be on a journey of faith looking to find personal answers, this is definitely a book I can recommend.

You can see what others have to say about this book at the virtual book tour HERE. (Books reviewed are over on the left - just scroll down to find this one. It's the 6th one down.)I'm the second reviewer so far, there will be several others in the coming weeks.

The book may be purchased HERE

SPECIAL OFFER FOR READERS OF THIS BLOG: when you check out, type in the coupon code Tour to receive 20% off.

Here is some brief bio information about the author:
Mr. Conis’ interest in the scriptures began when he took a course on the New Testament at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The main lecturer for the course was an orthodox Jewish professor, while the recitation sections for the class were taught by lay ministers from Christian faiths. The resulting dynamic of this course created deep philosophical questions concerning the doctrines and truths found in the Bible and those espoused by modern-day religion. This led to a life-long quest on the part of Mr. Conis to understand the true meaning intended by the ancient prophets.

God Bless Gardeners!!!

2011-08-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

Today was turning out to be one doozie of a terrible, awful, no good day. I won't bother you with all the sorted details. I'll just hit the highlights. One thing after the other went wrong. From the sting of some unexpected criticism, some poor communication at work, to a fiasco with hair color (again!) and a stupid mistake on my part that was just too embarrassing for words, I was feeling pretty miserable. I realized that in the grand scheme of things none of this was any serious trauma. But the combination of it all, compounded by the fact that I had very little sleep the night before, left my emotions all clumped and cluttered.

As I drove toward my street feeling somewhat sorry for myself I noticed a yard sale sign (Boise has more yard sales in the summer than any place I've ever seen!) so I thought I'd stop by. I picked up a few things - a teapot, a table cloth, a dress I hope will fit my sister-in-law, a woven basket and a cool incense burner all for just five bucks. What a deal! But way better than my yard sale finds was the terrific conversation I had with the gardener who lived there. They had BEAUTIFUL hollyhocks growing out front, which of course I admired. The gentleman then gave me a tour of his back yard garden which was an amazing hodge podge of flowers and raspberry bushes. He had about eight different colors of hollyhocks and was generous enough to share a jar of seeds. How kind!

Now I have something to put where my noxious weed used to be. I'm hoping a variety of colors will come up.

I was most of the way home before I realized I had never even asked the man's name. But even though we were complete strangers, that brief time visiting among his flower beds and berry patches did so much to rejuvenate my spirit. Sharing a love of growing things was exactly the salve that my poor little battered spirit needed.
Thank you so much, Mr. Gardener. You were a much needed bright spot in my day.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2011-08-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted any pictures of my garden for a while. It's doing really well. Of course, when we went away to Michigan the spinach and cilantro both bolted. But the squash and the cucumbers are producing like gang busters, we've had lots of lettuce for salads and tomatoes are putting on lots of fat fruit just waiting to grow ripe. I love having lots of fresh produce, both to eat and to share with neighbors and friends. My mouth is just watering for that first BLT.

HAIRSPRAY

2011-07-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

This afternoon some friends of ours are joining us to go see the musical Hairspray at the Nampa Civic Center. We have season tickets to the Music Theatre of Idaho and have really enjoyed going to watch the various productions there. So far this season we've seen:

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
The Secret Garden
South Pacific

The first one we saw there was last fall when we went to see Jekyll and Hyde since someone we knew was in it. We were really impressed by the quality of the production so we decided to go ahead and get season tickets this year.

We still have three more to go after this one:

The Music Man
Wizard of Oz
A Christmas Carol

We always go to the Saturday matinee shows so we aren't out late. Once we even did a little geochaching in Nampa before the show. It's a fun date to go see these plays and and we've been consistently impressed with the talent of the performers. There are some great voices in our local area!

Usually Larry and I have just gone one our own. Today will be twice and fun because we are going with our dear friends Larry and Judy Todd. One of our best blessings living here is that THEY live close by too. We knew each other for many years in Oregon and used to get together about once a month for card nights at each other's homes. Then they up and left us, moving to Nampa. Now we are here in Boise so our monthly card nights have resumed! It's so great having some tried and true friends with many years of shared history even though we've only lived here a year.

As much as we enjoy playing "Hand and Foot" - sort of like Canasta, we decided to do some other stuff together. So we are planning a trip to go tubing the Boise river and today we'll see this play. Of course, as much as I'm sure we'll enjoy this afternoon's show, it just won't be the same without John Travolta as Edna Turnbald.

Micro Credit - Touching the world

2011-07-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

I have been reviewing my Kiva portfolio to see the status of the various loans I've made. If you are not familiar with Kiva you really should check it out.

Back in 2006 I chose to put $75 into micro-credit loans in various places around the word. Since that time whenever the loans are paid back to me I reloan it to someone new. From that SAME $75 dollars I have now put $600 in assistance out to people in the following places:

Dec 2006 - Perris W. from Ongata Rongai, Kenya Supplies for embroidery business

Dec 2006 – Mamadow D. group in Nder, Senegal – to buy an irrigation pump to improve farming

Dec 2006 – Oliver N. from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – to buy supplies for Batik business

July 2007 - Sambath H from Ta Khmao district, Cambodia – to repair motor bike & buy groceries for sale

Dec 2007 – Makhmadsaid H. from J.Rasulov, Tajikistan – to buy livestock

Dec 2007 - Fuzuli G. from Beylagan, Azerbaijan –to buy sheep

Jan 2008 – Fauu M from Manono, Samoa – for iron roofing for home repair & fertilizer for farm

Jun 2008 – Victoria A. from Pucarani, Bolivia for purchasing milk cows

Jun 2008 – Shamin Noor M. from Arifwala, Pakistan, to buy masonry tools & expand fruit stand

Mar 2009 – Wofunaria from Zana, Uganda to buy food for chickens to raise eggs for sale

Mar 2009 - Dounyu Grou from Wome, Togo to enlarge cabbage production

April 2009 – Rihana Grom from Kot Radha Kishan, Pakistan – Rickshaw / buffalo for milk/ other

May 2009 – Barrio Lido Group from Bolivia – carpentry & brick laying tools

Oct 2009 – Nurbubu S. Group from Balykchi, Kyrgyzstan to buy winter fodder for cattle

Sep 2009 – Hoang Tia Group from Dong Anh- Ha Noi, Viet Nam to expand recycling business / etc

Jan 2010 – Yeradon Group from Segou, Mali to busy food supplies for business

Mar 2010 – Thiem Thi from Dong Anh- Ha Noi, Viet Nam to buy piglets and improve piggery

Apr 2010 – Qoyllority group from Muñapata, Peru to buy sheep

Jun 2010 – Nueval Semilla group from La Paz / El Alto, Bolivia to buy supplies for sewing business

Aug 2010 – Turdubiubiu group from Karabalta, Kyrgyzstan to buy cattle and chickens

Nov 2010 – Musruf C. from Sabirabad, Azerbaijan to buy sheep

Nov 2010- Mnatsakan G. from Sevan, Armenia to buy calves and fodder

May 2022 – Pao K. from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to buy cows and oxen

June 2011 – Nakisunka group from Mukono, Uganda to buy piglets

I'd say that's one investment that I'm VERY satisfied with the return I've gotten.
The stock market may have taken a major hit on our 401K's, but I still feel good knowing that from a small sacrifice on my part I have had an opportunity to make a bit of a difference in the lives of people around the world.

On my lender page I have this quote from Edward Everett Hale: “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”

I'm truly grateful that in this small way I can make a difference all across the world.

WORLD MUSIC

2011-07-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

Right now I am listening to the CD "Emotion" by Papa Wemba. What are you listening to these days??

To Blurb or not to Blurb, that is the Question

2011-07-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

I've been toying with the idea of printing out a book from this blog that would capture my first year in Idaho. I've been looking at some layouts over at Blurb and tinkering with what I would include and what I would leave out.

I'm ambivalent. Part of me says the last thing I need is another THING. When we left Oregon we deliberately opted to downsize, getting rid of 30 years of accumulated STUFF to take up a more simplified life. However, this feels different. I think I would like having an actual book with words and pictures that I could look at and share.

I expect if I do go ahead with it I'll clean up and edit some of the posts a bit. I tend to write a lot of free flowing babble on these pages, and don't always even take the time to spellcheck. (HORRORS - don't tell my students!)

Since I long ago lapsed out of the habit at keeping a personal journal and I never have gotten around to any sort of formal personal history, this is probably as close as I will ever come to recording my days.

Who knows? Maybe one day my grandkids will get a kick out of it.

Puzzle Pics

2011-07-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

I can't remember if I posted these here before or not...I know I shared them on Facebook, but they MAY also have been in a previous post. No matter. When I got into my folder of puzzle pictures to grab the one that represents "Dandy Lions / Dandeilions" I was reminded of the others so I will share here.

Can you tell what word these photos represent? I will put answers in comments. Don't peek until you try to figure them out!

What makes a plant (Ob)noxious?

2011-07-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

I've often heard it said that the definition of a weed is any plant growing out of place, or where it is not welcome. In that sense a dandeilion is NOT a weed if you want it for the edible parts or the pretty flowers. Clearly, people think different things when they think of Dandeilions / "Dandy Lions"

So you could say it's all a matter of perspective. A rose would be a weed if you don't happen to like roses.

However, SOME plants it seems have been deemed to be too nasty to tolerate, no matter how pretty they are or how much some individual might appreciate them...such as my now long gone "policeman's helmet". So I got to wondering, what makes a plant deemed to be dangerous enough to the local environment that it is no longer a matter of private opinion, but gets legislated as "Noxious" with state regulations demanding it be eradicated?

This is what the Idaho's Noxious Weed Pagee says:

What is a noxious weed?

Noxious weeds are plant species that have been designated "noxious" by law. The word "noxious" simply means deleterious, and all listed weeds are deleterious by definition. There are hundreds of weed species in Idaho; in 1977, 35 were designated noxious by Idaho law. [As of 2009, there are 57 noxious weed species.] The Idaho Department of Agriculture uses the following criteria for designation of a noxious weed:

It must be present in but not native to Idaho;
It must be potentially more harmful than beneficial to Idaho;
Eradication must be economically physically feasible;
The potential adverse impact of the weed must exceed the cost of control.

So there you have it. I admit, I was tempted to keep my plant and just not say anything when I discovered its bad rep. After all, it was pretty well controlled in its own little corner of my private back yard. After all, it didn't seem obnoxious to me. (I really do like the term "obnoxious weeds" better no matter what the official law calls them.)

But as corny as it may sound, for me it was a matter of integrity. I do not want to be a person who is sneaky about breaking laws. Even though I saw very little risk, eliminating the plant seemed like the right thing to do.

I will admit I HAVE done some things against the rules. I have fed ducks in a pond clearly marked DO NOT FEED THE DUCKS. I have driven faster than the posted speeding limit. I have unbuckled my seat belt before the plan had fully arrived at the gate. (oh horrors!) But for the most part, I really do try to be an honest, law abiding citizen. In most matters, I don't think it is right for me to pick and choose which rules are comfortable or convenient to follow and to ignore those that I don't happen to like. I think there is a time and place for civil disobedience, but that's for a different post.

For now I just knew I would not appreciate my sweet plant knowing it was kept surreptitiously. So out it went. Still, I will I'll miss it some. Cest la vie.

FOUND IT - but not good news

2011-07-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has read this blog much knows that I've been on a quest to identify all the many plants in my yard ever since moving to Boise. I've been blessed with a place that is just full of all sorts of lovely specimen plants that were brought in by a previous owner. I also have been given starts of many new things from various garden pals I've come to know here. It has become something of an obsession for me.

I've got MOST of the things growing in my yard figured out now and have assembled quite an impressive list.
Here are the plants in my FRONT YARD
and here are the plants in my BACK YARD

Cool, eh?

There was one in particular, however, that has really had me stumped.

It grew in abundance along the fence on the west side of my back yard. It had TALL hollow stalks (many over 6 ft), very shallow roots, and white flowers on top. The plant looked like this:

I have gone through MANY different garden books looking for this. I took plant samples to knowledgeable people at a couple different nurseries. I had both serious private gardeners and professional landscapers come to my house to look at them. NO ONE seemed able to identify what the heck this thing was.

I FINALLY found out the name of my mystery plant. It's called "Policeman's Helmet" also known as Himalayan Balsam.

Great! Right? Well...er, not so much.

Guess where I finally found it?

In my book of Idaho Noxious Weeds.

Yeah, unfortunately, even though this has been sold as an ornamental in some places, here is is considered nasty.

So out it had to come:

I made sure my neighbor who had some growing on her side of the fence pulled hers all up too.

I was pretty bummed about it at first, but I finally decided I didn't really mind. Now I simply have more room for collecting different colors of hollyhocks

Overcoming Adversity

2011-07-24T23:33:00.000-07:00

As we were leaving the area where we were camped this morning I happened to spot this tree next to the road. Clearly, this poor tree has experienced some significant adversity at some point in the past. Whether the trauma was a one time major storm that about knocked it flat, or a series of problems that caused it to tip over I can't really say. But what impressed me about the tree was its determination to grow upright, despite its troubled past.

I feel like I am a lot like this tree. My early days were stormy ones. The specifics are not important. Suffice it to say that both from the choices I made and the choices others made I got pretty well knocked flat in more ways than one. Every kid has their heart aches. Some come dressed up as serious problems, some not so much. Mine were a mixed bag that knocked me for a loop. As a consequence my teen aged years were a firestorm of self-loathing and rebellion. That led to some turbulent twists and tumult during my twenties, with a few sweet islands of light that began to wake me up to the possibility of a better way, but having no skills or frame of reference to really build on. My thirties were a tense and turbulent time as I tried to make my peace with old nightmares and sort out what mattered. Only in my forties did I begin to get comfortable in my own skin. Even then, there were more than a few hiccoughs along the way.

But now I'm in my fifties and I can honestly say I have never felt more at peace. That doesn't mean my life is entirely without problems. But how I approach my problems when they come now is radically shifted from the old days of drama and angst. These days when difficulties arise I face it with a completely different sort of awareness that EVERYTHING - both the bad and the good, the comfortable and the excruciating, will work together somehow in a way that will ultimately teach me and bless my life if I can be open to that.

Example - recently I've been having some pain in my back and neck. It has been hurting a lot, so I went to a chiropractor to get my spine adjusted. While I was there I mentioned to the receptionist that my husband and I were planning on going to the Ketchum / Galena area for the weekend. She then told me about Red Fish Lake which she claimed was the most beautiful place she had ever seen in her whole life.
I looked at a map and saw it wasn't that far out of the way from where we were going to be anyway, so we decided we would go check it out.

Had my back not been messed up we would have missed this amazing, soul shaking part of this weekend journey. Seriously, it was that special. It is an absolutely amazing place and I feel much richer for having experienced it. Am I GLAD my back was hurt? NO. Will I go running to embrace other painful things because they might bring me similar blessings? Absolutely not. Face it, pain sucks. I don't want to hurt - physically or emotionally. But what I DO know for sure is that whether I run from it or embrace it, from time to time painful things WILL happen in my life. And one of the ways I get through those dark days, whether they be a kink in my vertebrae, the death of someone I hold dear, financial reverses or the dog barfing on a new rug....from big challenges to small ones I honestly believe that EVERY experience in this life has the capacity to teach and bless me if I let it.

There was a time not so many years ago when I struggled mightily with some issues that I thought were bigger than my capacity to endure. I honestly believed at one point that I would carry the grief, sadness and heartache of it to my grave.

But I was wrong.

I mended. Today I am happy. Today I truly do know peace. Granted, I may be a bit crooked in spots, sort of like this tree. But I'm standing tall. And I can honestly say that I would not know the level of joy and delight and sheer gratitude that I have now if I had not walked through the dark.

I am so relieved to have come to a spot in my life where I don't have to take everything so stinking seriously. I have perspective. I have an ability to let go of things that I can't control. I have an ability to truly cherish simple pleasures like the flowers in my garden or a sunset or the sound of a child's laugh.
And I'm choosing to focus on that. I'm choosing to stand up straight in my present instead of continuing to worry over getting knocked flat in the past. If this tree can do it, why not me?

I am a walking blood meal

2011-07-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

As much as I loved our recent trip to the mountains, there was one down side to our holiday. The mosquitoes. I do not understand why they love me so much. Larry and I could be hiking on the SAME trail and he would not get one single bite. I, on the other hand, am covered it itchy welts. I think I will go take a general body dip in calamine lotion now.

Photo from How Stuff Works (linked above)

Pointy Mountains

2011-07-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

I took this photo this morning at Little Redfish Lake in the Sawtooth mountains.
Seriously,the picture does not do it justice. It was so breathtakingly beautiful it made me weep with joy. This is hands down one of the most magnificent places I've ever been. Spent a very relaxed, peaceful time exploring / hiking and then a leisurely drive home through gorgeous canyons.

I'd pinch myself, but if I AM dreaming, I don't want to wake up.

Galena Yurt Camping

2011-07-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

My beloved and I are spending a relaxing weekend in the mountains. Larry is taking a fly-fishing class and I'm enjoying some geocaching, hiking, reading and just getting away. We are in the Sawtooth Mountains and enjoying every minute of it.

We are camping in a Yurt about 20 miles north of Ketchum. Yurts are really quite cozy - even comes with a skylight!

The place has all the rustic appeal of wilderness camping with a bit more convenience...no tent to set up or equipment to haul. Just bring food, sleeping bag and a change of clothes and you are good to go.

It's actually pretty nice to be sleeping on a cushioned platform rather than the rocky ground. This is what I call baby bear camping. Not too hard. Not too soft. JUST RIGHT.

The propane camp stove works great - we brought fresh squash from our garden and some kielbasa sausage....YUM!

Of course, camping means high class facilities.

Regardless of what Freud may have theorized,this is the ONLY time I get penis envy.

To make reservations to stay in a Yurt, contact the nice people at Galena Lodge:
http://www.galenalodge.com/

Shoshone Falls

2011-07-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

Thursday after I got off work my beloved and I went to the Twin Falls temple. The Boise temple is now closed for major renovations and will remain so for about a year. So until it reopens, we'll be making regular trips to Twin Falls, about a two hour drive. Quite different from our regular Sabbath worship in our local chapel, temple attendance is something that is deeply important to me.

After our time at the temple we took a drive over to Shoshone Falls. Always a nice view, they are looking particularly spectacular right now because we have has so much rain and snow this spring, so the water is running very high.

I'm looking forward to several trips there in the coming months. We are planning to do some day hikes and picnics in the park and Larry wants to try fishing on the lake up above the falls.

Idaho has so much to offer. This really is a pretty corner of the world.

Book Review - Safe Money Millionaire

2011-07-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

The book "Safe Money Millionaire" is a short (120 pages) little "How To" book written in a conversational tone for the average person. In it BYU trained Brett Kitchen and Ethan Kap from Utah debunk widely accepted financial wisdom. They lay out a step-by-step method for individuals to protect their assets and make gains WITHOUT risking savings in the volatile unpredictability of the stock market.

Through stories and examples Kitchen and Kap propose a few very basic ideas.
1) wanting to get rich is a worthy goal.
2) much of the popular financial advice for how to do that is flawed.
3) there is a better way.
4) follow us.

One of the basic premises of this book is that investing money in a 401K retirement plan is a bad idea. Kitchen and Kap definitely have an uphill battle to get every day Americans to believe that 401K's are unwise. Even after the horrendous financial meltdown of 2008, MANY people are still very much committed to the idea that 401K's are one of the best ways to plan for retirement. But like salmon swimming upstream, tearing down that ides is exactly what they set out to do, going against the current council of many popular money folks with a lot more name recognition.

That being said - just because a person gets famous in financial advice circles does NOT mean the advice they give is sound. There are plenty of Dave Ramsey Bashers or people who hate Suze Orman out there. I LOVE the quote from Bertrand Russell that Kitchen and Kap included on page 25: "Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken."

Understanding the problems with 401K's was pretty easy for me. Where I balked was at the alternative they offered: Cash value insurance plans. I'll admit right up front, I have a VERY STRONG personal bias against most forms of insurance. Getting past that bias was all but insurmountable for me.

Ideas are tenacious little buggers. Once a person has latched on to some idea, opinion or value they tend to burrow deep into our psyche, with roots deeper than a mallow weed. In a world full of ever shifting, complex information, most of us are more likely to notice the things that CONFIRM what we already believe rather than giving our attention over to the things that contradict. We are constantly on the lookout for the bits and pieces that tell us what we already know to be true IS true, so we can continue to hold on tight to our ideas, feeling confident we are right. We are human deleting machines... we go around daily ignoring or refuting the data from our lives that suggests we might just be going down a wrong path (no matter how valid that information may be).

So no matter how clearly the book explained the merit of having a 101 Plan, it just didn't appeal to me. While I do begrudgingly fork out money each month to insure my life, my home and my car, I resent what I see as a "fear tax". I believe ALL insurance companies operate on focusing people's fear and worry.

Personally, I'd rather have a chunk of cash in a safe, interest bearing fund and rely on THAT to help me get through the difficulty I would face in the unforeseen event of my pipes bursting or my car crashing or my house burning down. I long for the day when I can be 100% self insured. I'm not there yet. But I really do want to be able to forget about any insurance policy at all (other than medical care) at some point in the future.

So wrapping my mind around the notion that using cash value life insurance as an alternative investment was a leap that I had more than a little difficulty wrestling with. Also, wanting to know a little bit about the backgrounds of the authors I did some digging. I found Brett Kitchen's FaceBook page and see there that he is in insurance sales. Oh really? Having an insurance salesman tell me that buying a cash value life insurance policy is a wonderful idea just feels a bit like having a fox guard my hen house. He may have some very valid points to make, but my skeptic brain wonders how much of the advice here will benefit ME and how much will benefit HIM if I should take it.

However, I kept reading.

Even if I disregard that part of the book all together, there were several other little gems along the way.

I was impressed by the part that explained that getting a fat income tax refund is NOT in your best interest. (I've never understood why people feel so good about letting Uncle Sam use their money all year long for free.) I totally agree with the concept of structuring deductions so the amount you pay IN to the IRS comes as close as possible to amount you will be billed. If I want to have a cushion "just to be sure" I will put that amount into a separate bank account THAT PAYS INTEREST TO ME and then have it available to pay any remaining tax bill that may come due.

There were also a few other things that were worth the read.

When I was done with the book I cruised over to take the online quiz at the authors' website to find out my TRUE FINANCIAL AGE. (This is supposed to assess how many more years I will have to work before I can securely retire.) I must admit, I plugged in all the required numbers with a bit of trepidation. I was pleasantly surprised, however, when it said I could retire at 64. REALLY? Huh, I figured I'd be working AT LEAST another 15 years which would put me closer to 70. But no matter.... truth is I will work for the insurance benefits whether I need the actual pay check or not.

Bottom line for me, this book is worth picking up. It is a quick, easy read that has some useful information. Even if you don't agree with or follow all of their advice (like me), I think it is a good stepping stone in becoming more educating about financial matters and goes a long way to demystify the investment world.

To see what other reviewers had to say about this book, check out Tristi Pinkston's Virtual Book Tours HERE and scroll down till you see this book over on the right hand side among others that have been reviewed.

To buy this book you can go to Amazon.com or check out your local bookstore.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book so I would review it. I had no obligation to say favorable things and have no other incentives for this posting.

Why I Love Boise

2011-07-14T06:12:00.000-07:00

I spent some time walking around Downtown Boise last evening. The more time I spend here, the more I absolutely love this town.

More than a few people have asked me why I chose to move here. There were a lot of reasons. Here are my top 10 reasons for loving living where I do now, in no particular order:

1. Climate
Boise gets four distinct seasons, each with their own loveliness and annoyances. I like that. Also while it does get up to 100 degrees or a bit higher in the summer, there is very little humidity. (Having spent a week in Michigan recently I was reminded what a blessing that is!) Also while it we get some snow and freezing temperatures in the winter, it's not ever really freeze-your-boogers cold (again, thinking back to the 10 years I spent living near Kalamazoo).

2. Safety
First, relating to the climate - this is not a place that is at high risk for dangerous weather events. While NO PLACE on earth can guarantee that bad stuff won't happen, Boise is not known for earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, mudslides, major flooding or any other natural disaster that can be catastrophic.

Beyond the safety of the skies and waters, the crime rate in Boise is relatively low. It means a lot to me to be able to go walking alone along the city streets and encounter strangers who smile at me, knowing that as long as I use reasonably good judgment I am going to be safe.

3. Size
Boise is my Baby-Bear Town. It's not too big. It's not too little. It's JUST RIGHT.
As the county seat of Ada County, it is the most populated city in the state, with a little over 205 thousand people in the city itself and more like 616,500 in the general metropolitan area (according to Wikipedia which I would NEVER accept as a source in my academic classes, but for this silly little blog is plenty good enough...)

I'm done with living in "quaint" podunk towns of 1,000 people where you have to travel to get to any sort of meaningful resources. But by the same token I have no desire to live in a huge city like Phoenix or Seattle. Portland is nice, and would probably be a close second choice for me if I didn't live here, but with 2,260,000 people in the greater metropolitan area there it's just to big for me.

Boise still has a feel of connection among the people who live here that sometimes gets lost in urban areas. People are friendly. The place is big enough that you don't have everyone trying to know your business but small enough that folks genuinely seem to care about their community and be willing to work together to keep it nice.

4. Resources & Services
Related to size, in a city of this size we have lots of good infrastructure and resources - health care, education, retail, restaurants, etc. We have a great parks system, a decent zoo, and lots of things to do from free concerts in the park to farmers market. You name it, just about anything a person might want access too can be found right here. Also I appreciate being in a place that has decent services like curb side recycling, community composting and the like. I do wish there was better public transportation, but overall I'm pretty happy with what is available to me here.

5. Navigation
Boise is VERY easy to get around in. Whether I want to stay on back roads or jump on the connector and take the freeway, getting from point A to point B is pretty comfortable without any ugly bumper to bumper angst. (Of course Eagle Road is the exception - that's something to be avoided as much as possible! But other than that, most travel is lickety split.)

6. TREES!
Boise is known as the "City of Trees". With good reason. For a community carved out of the desert of the Intermountain West, we have a phenomenal number of truly beautiful trees.
Add to that the Boise River that runs through town and the well maintained greenbelt for hiking, biking, etc it's just a downright PRETTY place to live.

7. Mountains & Wild Places
While I love living in a town with stores, schools, hospitals and good services, I also like it very much that within 20-30 minutes I can be up in the mountains or out on some trail where I can connect with nature. Larry has been finding several different places for fishing and we go out on hikes reasonably often in places so pretty they just plain make my heart sing.

8. LDS Temple
As an active member of the LDS faith, it is a wonderful blessing to have a temple so close. Unfortunately our temple just closed for major renovations and will remain so for about a year. So for the immediate future we'll visit the temple in Twin Falls - a couple hours away. Long term, however, we have our temple here which is 15 minutes from our house, and a second one is planned to be built in nearby Meridian. After living lots of places where we had to drive from 3-8 hours, this is huge for us.

9. Affordable Housing
No matter how wonderful a community may be, it would do me no good if I could not afford to live there. The flip side of the economy bust has been the radical drop in house prices. For those trying to sell a place, that's not good news. But for those trying to get into a home in Boise right now there are some amazing deals.

10. Family
The one critical thing that Boise offered us that no other place on the planet would have is BOTH my beloved and I have a sibling close by. After spending most my adult life living in towns far from any sort of family connection, it has been a tremendous blessing to spend time with my brother and his wife and to visit Larry's sister during her frequent trips here. (She lives just a couple hours away but comes here once or twice a month to visit her daughter and grand kids in Meridian.)

While it has been an absolute delight over the past year to have closer family connection, it also gives us both a deeper sense of security as we approach our old age to know that if anything happened to either one of us, the other would have a support system close by.

I could go on and on. There is so much I like about living in Boise, Idaho. It took me over 50 years to get here. But now that I'm here, I couldn't possibly feel more at home.

TimeBank Idaho - Potluck

2011-07-14T05:09:00.000-07:00

I wrote previously here about my interest in TimeBank Idaho. Tonight my husband and I went to our first potluck to meet other members of the group. I am even more intrigued than before.

I was impressed by the interesting mix of people that came together to share ideas. There was an attorney, a psychologist, a massage therapist, a reiki master, a "grunt laborer", and others who I did not get a chance to talk with much. But it was clear that people came from all sorts of back grounds, living all walks of life. I like that.

One of my all time favorite pieces of writing is the essay People Like Us by David Brooks from the September 2003 Atlantic Monthly. In it Brooks points out that while Americans talk a good bit about valuing diversity, when it comes right down to it most people tend to associate with others very much like themselves. In neighborhoods, work places, houses of worship, bars, all sorts of settings... from the playground to the board room there is a tendency for people to sort themselves to be with others like themselves.

I think there is tremendous value in knowing and associating with people who look, act and think differently than I do. My friends across the spectrum of life experience enrich my understanding of the world in immeasurable ways.

Because I am active in the LDS church I actually have lots of opportunities for giving and receiving, for connecting, for doing a lot of the things that TimeBank seems set up to support. But the thing is, as much as I love my LDS neighbors, I LIKE knowing people who don't fit that mold. I want access to the kinds of conversations I will have by meeting people of different faiths (or no faith at all). I like having contacts with people who live in a different section of town and therefore can give me tips on resources in an area my own immediate neighbors may be less familiar with. I very much enjoy the chance to contribute to a group that supports the idea of sincerely valuing ALL people as having something worthy to offer.

So I will definitely be looking to do more with TimeBank Idaho. Last night was my first potluck with the group. It most certainly will not be my last.

Willful Suspension of Disbelief

2011-07-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

Anyone who reads fiction is very familiar with the concept of "willful suspension of disbelief". This has to do with our voluntarily going along with the plot, characters and theme of a story, allowing ourselves to get caught up in the tale "as if" it were real, even though we know it is not.

Over the years I have read quite a bit of science fiction and a smattering of fantasy works. I grew up reading Tolkein's tales of Middle Earth and spent a few years in my 20's as an avid Trekkie, to the point that I would use phrases and analogies in my every day conversations based on the world created by Gene Roddenberry.

So I am no stranger to Willful Suspension of Disbelief (WSB).

Still, when a book violates not only the rules of the known universe, but also seems to change its own rules midstream, my mind balks.

Such was the case with my recent read of Sweet Dreams by Bosie author, Aaron Patterson.

But here is my quandary.... I am not sure which bothers me more, for a book to be totally predictable or for a book to shift gears so suddenly and unexpectedly that I lose my ability to believe in it.

I get bored with books that plod through a formula so entrenched that on page 30 you can pretty much guess how it will end. However, if an author is going to take a wild leap of changing all the rules of who characters are or what they have experienced there better be plenty of explanation to make those shifts plausible. I simply did not think Patterson met that standard with this book.

There were pieces of this novel that I genuinely liked. On two different nights I sat up late turning pages because I was very engaged in the story and simply could not put it down. It held my interest and made me want to know how all the pieces were going to fit together.

My frustration is, I don't think they did fit together. At least not enough for me. When I got to the part where THE WHOLE BOOK turned on it's head to go off in a different direction I was beyond skeptical. I kept looking for enough back story to make sense of the shift and it simply didn't play out. There was one point that had the potential for some fascinating spins that just never completely materialized.

Add to that some truly INSIPID dialogue and some extraneous sentences that annoyed the dickens out of me making me want to trade my whole kingdom for a decent copy editor (which could also have helped with the multiple typos my teacher eyes kept finding scattered throughout).

So I'm torn...is this a book I would recommend? It truly had some things about it I liked very much. I can see why some would very much enjoy it. I've just passed it on to my husband to get his impressions. I suspect the James Bond elements of slick agent with awesome technology will appeal to him. Still, for me there are just too many holes. MAYBE some of the questions the book left me hanging with will be resolved in later episodes of this series. Or not. I guess I just might have to read the next book to find out.

Books Read in 2011

2011-07-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

I didn't keep track of my reading until summer. I started logging each book on July 1, 2011. I'm sure there were many good ones early on, but what they were is anybody's guess. So here are the ones I DO have a record of:

JULY 2011
BOOKS IN PRINT:
The Ambler Warning by Robert Ludlum
The Spire by Richard North Patterson
Sweet Dreams by Aaron Patterson (Review Here)
Safe Money Millionaire by Brett Kitchen & Ethan Kap Review Here)
A Morning for Flamingos by James Lee Burke
Latter Rain by James M. Conis Review HERE

Audio Books
Death of a Village by M.C. Beaton
Leaving Yesterday by Kathryn Cushman
The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis

August 2011
BOOKS IN PRINT:
Deception Point by Dan Brown
212 by Alafair Burke
Sunset Limited by James Lee Burke
Dead Connection by Alafair Burke

Audio Books
These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauff
Let's Roll by Lisa Beamer
Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway
Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat

September 2011
BOOKS IN PRINT:
Angel's Tip by Alafair Burke
Two for Texas by James Lee Burke
....and a whole lot of student papers!

Audio Books
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
Oh Pioneers! by Willa Cather
The Keepsake by Tess Garritsen
Exit Ghost by Philip Roth

October 2011
BOOKS IN PRINT:
The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Sir Ken Robinson

Audio Books
LA Outlaws by T. Jefferson Parker
A first Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness by Nassir Ghaemi

November 2011
BOOKS IN PRINT:
Half of Paradise by James Lee Burke
Judgement Calls by Alafair Burke
The Assassination of Governor Boggs by Rod Miller (Review HERE)
Trial by Fire by J.A. Jance
Now You See Her by James Patterson
No Second Chance by Harlan Coben

Audio Books
Men of Ireland by William Trevor
The Capture of Cerberus by Agatha Christie
The incident of the Dog's Ball by Agatha Christie
Long Gone by Alafair Burke
Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Steven Dubner

December 2011
Books in PRINT
Growing Up Amish by Ira Wagler
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Traveling by Tin Lizzie by Laura Purtyman McBride

Audio Books
Ape House by Sara Gruen
You Were Always Mom's Favorite! - Sisters in Conversation Throughout Their Lives by Deborah Tannen
Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway

Back in the Saddle

2011-07-10T14:08:00.000-07:00

I've been out of town for the past week, visiting my grown up sons and eight grandkids back in Michigan. It was a delight to get to spend time with them all, and as ever difficult to leave them again.

I've been musing on how goodbyes never get any easier. Every other task I can think of seems to get easier with practice. My proficiency increases with repetition. Alas, parting from those I love is not like that. My first day or two back is always a difficult time as I adjust all over again to the awareness of all I'm missing out on in their lives and the bleak knowledge that those kids are growing up without much influence from me.

Try as I might to stay in touch with phone calls, email and facebook along with the occasional fun care package, our face to face visits happen only one week a year. Distance and dollars prohibit any more. Still, through those annual visits we have formed a bond that holds tight through the years. I hold fast to that in my mind and already look forward to next year.

Of course when we returned my gardens had gone through all sorts of transformation. The peonies and foxglove are all spent and the delphiniums very nearly so. Now we have roses and lilies blooming and the lamb's ear is really taking off. The squash and tomatoes in our raised beds went crazy. On the down side, the spinach, swiss chard and cilantro all bolted in my absence and without daily diligence weeds in the flowerbeds have sprung up with abandon.

I wish I had the time to really dig in to get everything ship shape again for the dog days of summer. But tomorrow I go back to work...no doubt to a "to-do" list that grew as much as my weeds while I was gone.

So for a while I was feeling grumpy, frustrated, out of sorts as I struggled with a combination of hot weather, messy garden, missing my family, and just plain jet lag from the trip home. But, blessedly, today I've been able to put my stinky mood behind me.

Changes and transitions, ever shifting seasons are the warp and weave of my life. Some times come easy and vibrant - like spring time in my garden, other times have bumps, like now.

Western culture focuses so much on what is quick, what is easy, what satisfies cravings for pleasure with little patience for the sweat times, the difficulties, the stones in our shoes. But if I've learned anything in my 53 years in this world it is that some of my best lessons have come from responding to the challenges. While I'm not one to seek out hardship, I will not discount the lessons. I love the saying I see painted on plaques now and again about how the challenge of life in not to avoid all the storms, but rather to learn how to dance in the rain.

In truth, I have just enough bumps in the road right now to remind me how blessed I really am. I wish I had a thinner waist and a fatter bank account. I wish I had more discretionary time. I wish I had more contact with my family. I wish the laundry fairy knew where I live. I wish I had more blossoms and less weeds in my garden. I wish my sweet husband would get over his cold. On a deeper level I do worry some about some concerns affecting some of my family. But I am practing acceptance, and doing my best to sincerely let go of the things over which I have absolutely no control.

Sure, there are times I wish and wish and wish about this and that which could be different. But rather than grumble about having to go back to work tomorrow I will count myself grateful that I have a job. Instead of bemoaning all the weeds in my garden, I will celebrate that I have a yard that grows so well. And rather than sulk any more about being so far away from my sons and their families I will be ever so glad that I live in a time when jet travel allows me to get to them in a day - even if it only happens once a year.

I think of all the early pioneer families who went west for faith or fortune, never to see their families back east again.

As for the bigger things, I'll just have to trust that things will work out in the end how ever they are supposed to. For now, rather than fretting, I choose to focus on the blessings. I'm no Pollyanna with rose colored glasses ignoring the rough spots. I see the dark alongside the light. But I am determined to point the spotlight of my attention to what brings me joy and makes me feel alive, rather than sink into discouragement or overwhelm over the problems I have no control over.

As I prepare lectures for my upcoming fall semester class I am reminded about the Reticular Activating System in my brain that only allows me to pay attention to a tiny fraction of what is going on around me. Since I only get a small slice, it just makes sense to be sure I pick the right slice to notice and fully experience. So I aim to do my best at choosing the bright spots - despite some challenges that lie lurking. That's not to say I won't have days when the hard things loom large, threatening to take over. But for now I am feeling closer to a positive balance, and that's a good thing.

Bird Watch

2011-06-26T05:54:00.001-07:00

Yesterday afternoon my beloved and I spent some time on Lake Lowell, which is a 14.5 square mile reservoir with 28 miles of shoreline five miles southwest of Nampa, ID. The fish were not biting, but we didn't really care. We enjoyed simply boating around the lake, watching the beauty of the sky, seeing different birds, and spending some time together.

One of the birds we saw in abundance were many Western Grebes They are interesting to watch because they will be swimming along on top of the water in groups, much like a flock of ducks, but then all of a sudden they disappear completely as they dive down below to go fishing for minnows. Ducks will stick their heads down to nibble fish, but you can still see their feet and butts in the air. Not Grebes. They go deeper and stay down longer. So as we drifted along in the boat it was fun to watch them popping up and down as they hunted their dinner.

As we went exploring around the shore we saw a duck box along the shore which makes me think there are probably wood ducks there too, although I didn't see any yesterday. Wood ducks are one of my favorite water birds. Their colors are so pretty. We used to get them in our backyard all the time when we lived in Malaga on the shore of Lake Cortez.

I also saw a bird building a big nest up on a platform that might have been an osprey, but we were not close enough to be sure. There are 18 different birds that nest on platforms, so there is no way to be certain. Next time I'll take binoculars. I'd love to have my camera along for the ride, but didn't want to risk getting it wet.

I did see a comorant recently and was a bit surprised as I did not know they lived in this area. Also on one of my walks I saw a big fat chucker in a neighbor's yard.

Little by little I am learning to recognize more of the birds of the region. Of course with hundreds of species there are out there, I still have a long way to go.

Time Bank Idaho

2011-06-26T05:12:00.001-07:00

I recently signed up to become a member of Timebank Idaho. This is a non profit organization that facilitates barter arrangements to mutually benefit its members.

One of the basic premises of Time Bank Idaho is that everyone's time is valued equally. You give an hour. You get an hour. It's that simple. The strength of the program is built on people developing relationships and empowering communities to find non-cash solutions to their needs.

For example, one lady baked an elaborate birthday cake for a kid's party. That took her 3 hours. In exchange she tapped into the available hours of a family law attorney who was a member to get her legal needs met.

Somebody might spend their giving time running errands or driving some older person to doctor appointments. In exchange they might receive the services of good car mechanic or house painter or massage therapist or language instruction.

The basic premise is that we all have needs. We all have skills and abilities that can benefit others. Time Bank Idaho provides the coordination so that we can help one another. The person who I teach how to garden may not have anything I need. But maybe the person I help will have EXACTLY the skills someone else I've never met needs and THAT person may have the skills I need.

In theory it sounds like a fantastic way of bringing people together. It remains to be seen how well this will work out for me. But I'm definitely intrigued by the premise and ready to give it a try. From time to time I'll post some of my experiences to track how it's going.

Time Bank USA, the parent organization, has been going for nearly 20 years and there are various Time Banks set up in 22 countries. Time Bank Idaho is just beginning to get off the ground. I'm interested in helping this idea to take root and grow here in Boise.

I am incredibly intrigued by the rather radical notion that everyone's time be valued equally.

In the sociology courses I teach I spend a lot of time discussing social stratification, the ways in which societies rank the comparative levels of prestige, power, and wealth that are given to various individuals. Age, gender, race, body size, and education level are just some of the factors that determine how "important" or "valuable" someone's time is in our culture.

But does it really make sense to say time of the man who picks up my garbage each week is less valuable that that of the guy who compiled my tax return??

I'm looking forward to learning more about Time Bank Idaho and the people who choose to become affiliated with it. MAYBE I'll find a cool new way to meet some of my needs without costing me any of my limited discretionary dollars. Or MAYBE I'll find a way to change the way I and others view the value of ourselves and everyone around us, whether they happen to be members or not.

Because really, no matter how much money you have (or don't have), or how many books you've read (or have not read) or how much influence you may have in the world...we ALL need each other in this big, crazy world. That's an idea I believe I can take to the bank. The Time Bank, that is.

Boise to Bogus

2011-06-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

When I got off work this evening my beloved and I took a drive up Bogus Basin road. Boise sits at about 2,870 feet and after a very twisty drive up the switchbacks through the Boise National Forest we got up to a little over 6,000 feet at the base of the ski area. We took a nice hike in the pine trees and enjoyed some great views of the city coming back down, even though it was a bit hazy.

One of the things I absolutely love about living in Boise is that I am within 15 minutes of every convenience or resource I could possibly want, yet within 20-30 miles I can be in wilderness.

Along the way we found the trail head to the hike we took with my siblings and some friends a few years ago when we were all gathered here for a family wedding. I always remembered the hike fondly, but since I didn't live here then I was totally out of my element in how we got to it so I really didn't know where it was we went. Now that I know how to get there again I suspect we'll go back, probably take Morgan the Wonder Dog for a bit of an adventure.

Whether we are in the mountains or down by the river, there is no doubt about it. Idaho is a very special place I'm glad to call home.

Here Comes The Sun

2011-06-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

FINALLY - after a long, cold, rainy spring the SUN has come out for summer solstice. On the longest day of the year it got up to 87 degrees in Boise. It is supposed to hit the 90's tomorrow. I say BRING IT ON.

My flowers are POPPING in the heat...what were just petal balls and buds yesterday are now full blooms and the garden is growing like gangbusters.

My peonies went from THIS:

TO THIS:

The Foxglove is fully open now:

The baskets are looking great and the vegetables in the raised beds are growing so fast you can almost watch them get bigger:

I've picked radishes, spinach and cilantro. My mouth is watering for my first fresh tomatoes...but those are still months away.

Still... SUMMER is here. At any eclipse or solstice my friend Sylvana says its time to go do the naked jiggly dance in the moonlight. Um, no. Not for me. But I will very much enjoy watching my flowerbeds transform to their summer splendor.
I was sad to see all the spring colors go when the tulips and azaleas faded, but this reminds me all over again that every season has its own beauty.

I dread the high water bills and pulling weeds in the 90+ days is not always fun. But I'm really happy to watch the seasons unfold.

New Read

2011-06-21T06:25:00.000-07:00

I picked up a book my husband had checked out from the library just to see what it was. I simply cannot put it down. Sorry love, this one is MINE. You can read it while I'm at work, but in the evenings, hand it over.

The book is Ambler Warning by Robert Ludlum. It has a very intriguing premise.

From the inside cover: "On Parrish Island, a restricted island off the coast of Virgina, there is a litle-known and never-visited psychiatric facility. There, far from prying eyes, the government keeps in "deep storage" former intelligence employees whose psychiatric state makes them a security risk to their own government, people whose ramblings might jeopardize ongoing operations or prove dangerously inconvenient. One of these employees, former Consular Operations agent Hal Ambler, is one of the few who is so dangerous that he is in complete isolation form other patients, kept heavily medicated and closely watched. But there is one critical difference between Ambler and the other patients in the facility: Ambler isn't crazy.

With the help of a sympathetic nurse, Ambler manages to first clear his mind of the drug-induced haze and then executes a daring escape. On the loose and barely one step ahead of the retrieval teams sent after him, he is out to discover who had him stashed in the psychiatric hospital and why.

But the world he returns to isn't the one he so clearly remembers-friends and longtime associates don't recognize him, and there are no official records of any person named Hal Ambler. With no resources and his unknown enemies closing in on him, Ambler has to uncover the truth of who he was and figure out what it is about him-remember what he knows-tat makes him such a danger that someone is willing to risk everything to see him dead."

This book was published in 2005 - AFTER Ludlum's death.

Apparently Mr. Ludlum's publishing house has made a tasty industry of printing several of Ludlum's works since his death in 2001.

One does wonder a bit how many of these words were actually written by Robert Ludlum and how many came from the unnamed author and editor who "prepared it for publishing". But right now, I frankly don't care.

This book has all the intrigue and suspense of Ludlum's other work - the tale of Jason Bourne which was made famous by actor Matt Damon.

Yet this one is not just Bourne in a different setting. It it has it's own unique character development and plot twists. I'm only a little over 100 pages into it so far, but I'm savoring every paragraph.

DOVES

2011-06-19T18:47:00.001-07:00

I've often loved sitting out on the back porch listening to the sound of the mourning doves. Such a sweet sound. But last week I heard a new bird call that I didn't recognize. Found the bird and figured out it was a ringed neck dove.
Their cry is very distinctive. Once you hear it, there is no mistaking them for anything else. According to Wikipedia the males and females look alike so I'm not sure which I've seen. I'm hoping it will come close enough to my feeders that I'll be able to get a photo, but for now I'll settle with what I can find on Bing.

(Photo from http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=ringed+neck+dove&qpvt=ringed+neck+dove&FORM=IGRE#x0y2399)

Nomad flowers

2011-06-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

We had a BBQ in our back yard last night - had 50 people over (mostly friends from church or around the neighborhood) enjoying good food, visiting, and walks through the garden. It was a nice night. Several people asked me whether my flowers had all been here when we bought the place or if I had put them in. Some of both...but a lot of the flowers that were here before me were not where they are now.

I've done A LOT of transplanting from place to place.

For example:

Delphiniums / Larkspur

When we first bought our place there were two huge sections of these growing in areas of deep shade. Of course they never bloomed there. I dug them up and moved to a place where they would get some sun and now they are absolutely stunning.

The foxglove / digitalis came from some my across the fence neighbors in back started from seed. It's doing well here, but I'm thinking I may move it to where the delphiniums used to be. Foxglove can thrive in part shade and my sun spots are few and far between, so I'd rather reserve this area for those plants that can't manage anyplace else.

While I like this white one, I'm looking to add to this one with some starts of some others in pinks and lavenders. Since they tend to be short lived biennials I want to plant different ones for a couple years so they can alternate blooming and then reseed themselvs when the originals wear out.

These astilbe htm have been moved FOUR TIMES in the year we've lived here. I think I've finally found a spot where they are very happy and seem to be thriving so I think this is probably where they will stay. I have not yet gotten the big showy plumes of blooms I've seen in photos...we'll see what they do now that they are done moving from place to place.

The petunias I planted in the pot out front were just so-so for a while and the geranium I had growing in the middle never really thrived there. The Morning Glory I planted along with this just up and died. So I yanked the geranium and added one more petunia (the purple) to give the contrasting color the morning glory was supposed to have offered.

Someone at our gathering asked if I considered my yard "done" now that our major projects are finished.

DONE?? Not hardly. I suspect I'll keep moving, shifting, adjusting things from place to place. I'll try new specimens from time to time, giving away some of what I now have. My yard will probably always be in transition.

These Lupine are not mine - I took the picture during my walk along the river. However, I do have three tiny baby lupines I planted out front that were salvaged from a neighbor's seed spill sprouts.

Flowers here, flowers there...I just keep moving them as seems appropriate.
I can't imagine ever really being "done".

Walking the Greenbelt

2011-06-18T11:19:00.001-07:00

As we often do on Saturday mornings, my beloved and I took the dog for a walk along the greenbelt, enjoying views of the Boise River and gorgeous gardens of the the lovely homes along the way. These are just a few of the shots I took today.

Stacy's Garden

2011-06-17T23:35:00.000-07:00

Columbine - June 17

2011-06-17T23:02:00.000-07:00

BOOK REVIEW - Sleight of Hand

2011-06-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

I spend A LOT of time reading on my computer. Because of that, I did not think I would mind reading this book online. However, when it comes to reading for pleasure, I just want to hold the book in my hands and turn the pages. I would not rule out reading another e-book, but clearly it is NOT my preferred format. Particularly with this book, I found the non-standard font and the lack of page numbers distracting. It simply did not feel like a "real" book, and I missed that.

Still - Sleight of Hand by Deanna Blackhurst (an e-book published on Smashwords) was such an intriguing read that I couldn't put it down.

The book deals with concepts of choice and accountability, justice and mercy through the story Daniel Cabrero, a con man who has manipulated, cheated, and lied his way through life. Daniel dies of a heart attack on page 5 of the book. The rest of the story deals with how he comes to terms with the "afterlife" he finds himself in.

Daniel is transported to a lovely rural setting that SEEMS like heaven. It's not. When his spirit guide, Jonah, explains that Daniel is actually in "Wasteland", Daniel begins to scheme like he has never schemed before in order to con his way out and into the comfort of Paradise City. After all, those skill sets had worked for him in life, why not in death as well?

While Blackhurst is an LDS author and some of the concepts of afterlife are clearly influenced by the doctrines of her faith, this book is NOT "Mormon Fiction". It is very much a non-denominational speculative tale about what MIGHT be around the corner when we die. It does not preach or proselytize. Blackhurst addresses serious themes in ways that are sometimes humorous and sometimes thought provoking.

As I was reading descriptions of the frustration Daniel felt at being able to drink all the cold beer he wanted but could never get that familiar warm "buzz" of intoxication since he had no body, it made me wonder what sort of things I would most miss.

However, the notion of being able to savor all of the richest, most decadent foods you might dream up with no health consequences sounded pretty heavenly to me.

As Daniel is faced with choices for the next steps he will make in his spiritual progression we are given flashbacks into the ill deeds he has committed throughout his life. This is clearly the G or PG version as the language is generally tame and our bad boy protagonist keeps showing a certain reserve of scruples that stop him from doing things that might be considered truly vile.

Nevertheless, we witness the many ways that one person's choices can impact others as Daniel is forced to recognize the harm he has caused. What he chooses to do about that will determine what his ultimate fate will be.

There were parts of the book I REALLY liked. I appreciated some of the little details about the physical environment...

"The path they traveled curved slightly to the right and then to the left, Daniel noticed, as it meandered its way through the greenery. The foliage was dense, sometimes creating a canopy above their heads, but there was nothing dark or shadowy about the place. In fact, there were no shadows at all, and when he looked up, Daniel could find no trace of sun above them.

"We don't require a burning star for light or warmth here", Jonah said, as if reading Daniel's thoughts. "Each living thing has a light within itself. The purpose of the sky is simply to reflect that light."

There were parts I did not like. Some of the supporting characters seemed a bit contrived. There was never really an adequate explanation about Jonah's predicament.
Also there was one plot twist that served to add suspense and build depth to the Daniel Cabrero character, but the details seemed very unrealistic to me.

Still, overall it was a good read. I enjoyed it and will more than likely look for other work by this same author.

If you are interested to see what OTHER people had to say about this book - check out the side bar of Tristi Pinkston's virtual book tour site. Mine is the second review so far. Others will be added in the coming weeks.

One last note - I would caution the writer to be a little more careful when selecting a title.

When doing a Google search for "Sleight of Hand ebook" I found another that was ALSO published on Smashwords - a completely different novel with the same title by CJ Lyons.

There is a Nook ebook about tribes and vampires by Lauren Dane ALSO titled Sleight of Hand.

There is a mystery for Microsoft Reader by Wilhelm Kate by that same title.

There is an ultra steamy bodice-ripper romance for Kindle by Katrina Strauss of the same name.

There is a thriller that takes place in Las Vegas by Jeff Marriotte with AGAIN, that same title.

Mind you, these are just e-books. There are others in traditional print format.
So my advice to any authors out there is do a little research before you pick a title for your baby book. It can avoid a whole lot of needless confusion.

Perspective

2011-06-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

Kudos to Amber over at Aberchronicles for writing a smashing post on perspective.

I was recently thinking along the same lines...noting how perspective can be very different, as I went wandering through a few yard sales this weekend. One man's junk is another's found treasure.

I also had to smile about the fact that I am currently at war with dandelions in my lawn, yet one of the sweetest memories of my life is seeing my first born boy at about six months old grinning from his kingdom of dandelions many moons ago. (1975 to be exact!) In one case they were a beautiful field of precious yellow flowers. In another setting they are evil devil blooms I must eradicate.

Context is everything, it seems.

Reading Amber's post made me ponder over what it is I value and why I value it. This also helped me to remember to be more open minded about other people's point of view who may see things a bit differently than I do.

(Photo from Amber's blog - check it out HERE

Special Offer

2011-06-09T06:28:00.000-07:00

I will soon be reading and reviewing a new novel by Deanne Blackhurst, called "Sleight of Hand." It is a 264-page e-book available in the following formats: Kindle, PDF, online html, online Javascript, epub, rtf, lrf, palm doc, and plain text.

If any of you care to join me, you can get an e-copy of the book for the special price of just $1.99 if you purchase before Aug 31.

To get "Sleight of Hand"
1) sign up (free) at Smashwords by going to THIS LINK.
2) When you click on the buy button, enter the code MX73D to get the special pricing.

About the book:

A Christian speculative fiction novel telling the story of Daniel, a fifty-five-year-old con man. When Daniel suffers a heart attack and dies, he meets his guardian angel, Jonah, on the other side. Jonah shows him to a beautiful cabin and tells him this will be his eternal home. Daniel is sure he was able to scam his way into heaven—he scammed everyone on earth, so why not heaven too? But as he spends time in his cabin, all alone, he realizes that he’s actually in a wasteland. Jonah presents him with a way to escape, but will Daniel want to pay the price for his freedom?

I'm not familiar with this author so I have no idea what to expect. Maybe I'll hate it. Maybe I'll love it. Who knows? But I'm looking forward to giving it a read and seeing how it turns out. Won't you join me?

Let the Summer Begin!

2011-06-07T23:45:00.001-07:00

Here are a few shots from the Relief Society gathering held in my back yard this evening. It was a nice night. We learned how to make some easy summer dishes, how to decorate on a budget, and heard all kinds of ideas for fun summer things to do. Best of all the women who gathered together spent a relaxed evening visiting and appreciating each other. I have a great ward!

Various recipes for chicken tin foil dinner

We also learned to make a great pizza flavored macaroni bake in the microwave - something fun, quick and easy that won't heat up the house for a summer meal.

Picnic cake with Fondant burgers and dogs - how cute is that?

water jug with mixed sliced citrus

decorating with sod

sliced citris in vase

Swiss Chard & Carrots for simple color arrangement

Making fruit smoothies

Ready, Shoot, Aim!

2011-06-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

Today I got the camera that I ordered off e-bay. I got a steal of a deal on a Canon XTi 400D with a 28-90 lens. I don't know the first thing about photography so I have a rather steep learning curve ahead of me, but I'm excited to explore with it and see what it will do. My sister, Sharon, has been a committed photographer for many years and does some exceptional work. Her advise is to simply shoot everything and then only show people the pretty ones. Works for me!

Bloom Report

2011-06-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

I just got back from vacation - had a fantastic trip to Utah which I have chronicled in words and pictures over on my Facebook page...I may upload a few things here over the next couple days. Stunning mountains, great visits with family, and enough time away to fully decompress and relax. (It always takes me a couple days away before I stop thinking about work, so a weekend just doesn't cut it.)

We especially enjoyed the trip down to Arches National Park. Amazing place!

Then when we returned I found SO many things in bloom and many of the tiny starts of plants I left have now grown leaps and bounds....especially the ferns. Once things get started it doesn't take long. Also, the gold finches have arrived in hordes.
As much as I enjoyed the time away it felt awfully good to come back to my gardens.

There's lots that need trimming, weeds that need pulling, a few things I plan on moving - so I have my work cut out for me. Still, this is a kind of work I'll take any day of the week...I'm seldom happier than when I'm diggin' in the dirt!

Teton Mountains

2011-05-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

I had some free time today so I drove around gawking at gorgeous mountains and cool old barns. Nice way to spend a day. I'm really looking forward to coming back here in August when Larry and I come up together for the bluegrass festival.

Only in Idaho

2011-05-18T17:57:00.001-07:00

A few images from the day....

Spud on a Truck - Driggs, ID

"The Spud" Drive in - Driggs, ID

The Teton Mountains

Magpie Symbiosis

2011-05-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

This week I am in Eastern Idaho, nearly to the Wyoming border, doing some presentations for my job. I had a little free time yesterday so I took a hike along a little stream enjoying the views of the Teton mountains. Amazing. I definitely have to buy myself a better camera because my cheesy little Casio Exilim simply would not do these mountains justice.

As I was hiking I was watching a pair of Magpies dancing in the sky, swooping back and forth between the creek and the trees. (photo shown here is from Wikipedia).

I decided to do a bit of reading about magpies to learn more about them. I learned that they like to land on the backs of deer, moose or other large mammals to pick out the ticks from the animals hide. I got a big grin on my face remembering an image from my childhood.

One of my brothers - I THINK it was Andy, but I'm not positive, drew a picture of a "hippopotomus tick bird". He related in great detail how the birds would ride on the back of the hippos to eat ticks out of the tough hide, giving a meal to the bird and freeing the animal of a nasty parasite. This was my first introduction to the concept of symbiosis, the living together of dissimilar organisms in a mutually beneficial way. I've always really liked that idea.

There are lots of examples in nature of symbiosis: the hermit crab and the sea anemone, the African crocodile and the plover bird (it cleans the reptile's teeth). The ostrich and the zebra travel together because zebras have great smell and hearing but lousy eyesight. Ostriches have lousy smell and hearing but very keen eyes. Together they make a great team in warning each other about approaching dangers. Even the plant kingdom gets in the act of symbiosis with lichens - a partnership between algae and fungus.

Why can't human beings be more symbiotic? Instead of creating walls of animosity over our differences, I believe we have the potential to find creative partnerships that would mutually benefit BOTH sides of very different people if we could just somehow manage to put down the bat of mistrust and suspicion that so ofen characterizes our species.

Every time I see a magpie I will be reminded to look for ways to make friends of my foes.

First Hummingbird sighting of the season

2011-05-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

We got just a quick glimpse of our first hummer this afternoon. It stopped briefly at one of the two feeders I hung up recently and then dashed off to where ever it is these little buggers go. I promptly put out two more feeders now that I know they are ready to start coming around.

Years ago I visited a farm in Dayton, Washington where the family had been putting out dozens of hummingbird feeders for many years. Their place was over-run with several varieties of hummers, many of which kept nests in their pine trees. Those birds had grown so accustomed to the people coming and going that if anyone stood quietly without moving for 15-20 minutes the hummers would actually light on them.

I don't know that our yard will ever rival that level of hummer activity, but I am hoping that by keeping multiple feeders well stocked from now till October we should get some fairly steady sighting. One thing I learned from the hummingbird sanctuary in Dayton was to put some of the feeders down low. Apparently hummers like variety in the location of their food sources.

It's DONE!

2011-05-13T13:52:00.001-07:00

After WEEKS of hard work and perhaps a few more dollars than we had initially planned to spend, the front yard project to re-vamp the landscaping is FINALLY done.

I love the raised beds for my veggies (tomatoes, squash, Swiss chard, spinach, okra, radish, carrots and cucumber) - ESPECIALLY because the drip hoses are all set up on a timer so the garden will water itself.

Then just for fun my sweet husband added a nice water feature - you can't really see them in the picture but there are an undisclosed number of turtles of various sizes and composition scattered around the catch basin of the fountain. It has been fun to challenge friends to a game of "Count The Turtles". I had planned it for little kids but there are two that have stumped more than one grown up.

I am excited to see how it will look when my flowers get going. In my big red pot I've got pink wave petunias, meezo (little red flowers),white bacopa calibachoa (ultra purple) with a Dahlia in the middle for height.

In the corner flowerbed where the light post is we have 3 roses, 3 cone flowers and an ornamental grass and some chunky rocks. Then in the flower barrel out there I've got more wave petunias and a biddy (yellow flowers)with geranium in the middle. I had tried some morning glories I had started inside but they don't look too happy. I thought they would look pretty going up the post but I may just replace that with something else.

Anyway...it was a lot of work. I'm glad we got it finished before it got really hot. Moving grass and shoveling rock about wore me out! I am SOOOO appreciative of my sweet husband for all the work he put into this project. There is no way I would ever have anything this nice without him.

Tomorrow afternoon we are having a BBQ here for the students in my class. It will be fun to have them see it.

I've loved my back yard since the day we moved here. Now my front yard is every bit as pretty in its own way. I love being surrounded by beauty! Then to be able to grow some yummy fresh veggies for our table makes it that much better.

New Plants

2011-05-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the annual fundraiser plant sale at the Boise Botanical gardens. We were moving rock in the the front yard most of the early part of the day so I didn't get to the sale till just shortly before they closed. Part of that was deliberate, figuring I didn't need the temptation of all the fine specimen plants they probably had to offer early on. As much a I can I try to avoid buying new plants all together...I trade starts of stuff I have with other gardeners who have things to share, saving us both some cash and making some new friends in the process. But I figured a few new babies to support the sale could not hurt.

I got a black hollyhock that I am very excited about and a really pretty bachelor button called "Amethyst Dream" that has rich purple flowers. Then I let one of the volunteers talk me in to one that I wasn't crazy about, but she said it would do well in nearly full shade and since I have so much shade to cover I thought I'd go ahead and give it a try.

This one is a lungwort, or pulmonaria. I was not at all familiar with it so I looked it up to add it to my inventory of plants. This is what I learned:
"Apart from being a pretty garden flower, old-fashioned common lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis) was a favorite medicinal herb in the Middle Ages. It got both its common and Latin names from the curious belief, expressed in the 16th century by a Swiss alchemist in the Doctrine of Signatures, that god made herbs to treat human illnesses and each herb’s physical appearance actually indicated how it should be used. Because the leaves of some lungwort species are oval-shaped with white spots, apothecaries concluded the plant was a sure cure for spotted lungs, i.e. “pulmonary” diseases like pleurisy, tuberculosis or pneumonia. What seems like crazy superstition to us dominated medical thinking in Europe in the 16th and the 17th centuries. Common lungwort has silver-spotted foliage and sprays of mauve buds that open into small blue flowers. It grows about 12 inches (30 cm) high and spreads aggressively by underground runners, making it a good groundcover for wildish, shady places under shrubs or trees." (By Janet Davis at BeutifulBotony.com)

The plant I got is a bit leggy, but we got it planted back in the shady spot in the back corner of the yard and we'll see how it does.

Tastes of Summer

2011-05-05T07:10:00.000-07:00

Last night we had some fresh local asparagus with our supper. It was absolutely YUMMY! We eat a lot of vegetables at our house, with hearty salads being a real staple. I'm grateful that we have access to produce pretty much year round thanks to modern packaging and transportation methods. Still, eating fresh foods grown locally is something I try to do as much as I can. Not only is it healthier, the taste is just unbeatable.

Here are a couple links that would agree with me:

Top 10 Reasons to Buy Local

Eating Better Than Organic

I really liked the article at the second link - "Eating Better Than Organic" by John Cloud for Time Magazine.

He lives in New York and found himself with a quandary over whether he should buy an ORGANIC apple that was probably grown several states away or buy a LOCAL apple that had probably been sprayed with pesticides. He ended up purchasing both, but then goes on to reflect on the merits of various sources of food.

There is just no doubt that something picked when it was ripe and eaten shortly there after TASTES far, far better than something picked prior to ripeness and then stored/shipped/stored again before it could be purchased and eaten. Also the nutrients are much richer. So I do agree with folks who encourage others to eat locally grown as much as possible. I'm just not willing to give up salads and such in winter when I have to get my stuff from California or Mexico or other places.

The one case of a far away food that I definitely choose to eat year round is bananas. I eat a banana almost every day. (Usually in a smoothie for breakfast, sometimes sliced down the middle lengthwise and spread with peanut butter, or just as a quick grab snack.) Also I do buy quite a bit of citrus, which also has to be shipped from other places to get to me.

So in concept I support the idea of looking for local things to grace my table. I'm just not at the point where I am willing to sacrifice the things I enjoy eating that are not.

Boise has some great farmers markets that I'm looking forward to frequenting once the harvest season gets going. And of course I do plan on growing some of my own vegetables this summer. Still - I will more than likely continue to buy foods that increase demand for fossil fuels to ship them to me. And honestly, I'm just not willing to pay the higher price for "organic" in most cases.

How about you? Do you know where your food comes from?

Didn't you mean "Flutter-by"?

2011-05-04T15:41:00.000-07:00

Did you know there are EIGHT families of Butterflies in Idaho?

I had no clue. But Larry might have. My sweet husband has a Master's degree in Entomology - the study of insects. Weird, I know. My niece, Rachel, always called him the "Bug Uncle" and used to mail him jars of various insects from Colorado to ask him to identify.

While we are out on our walks I'm forever noticing the birds and the flowers. Larry looks for the bugs. Hey, different strokes for different folks. I've never been a big beetle fan myself. But I do LOVE butterflies. We have several of them framed on the bathroom wall.

There are only so many hours in day and I DO have a full time job, plus a side job teaching adjunct college classes, so I have no illusions about becoming any sort of expert in butterflies as well as birds. However, by understanding A LITTLE BIT about the butterflies I can make more mindful choices of what sorts of plants I introduce into my landscaping to make an inviting home for them.

This sounds like a project for my husband to follow up on.
Hey honey - when you get done with all that work on your front yard project, how would you like to track down some information on butterflies of Idaho? We can find out what sorts of them are in our area and see what we can do to attract them, ok?

Butterfly Gardening
List of Butterflies in Idaho
Butterflies and Moths of North America - Idaho
Key to Butterflies in Idaho
We Love Butterflies

Name that bird

2011-05-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

After posting my piece about preparing for the hummingbirds I got to thinking about all the OTHER birds I enjoy watching in my yard. One of the reasons I was so adamant about buying a place that had mature trees was because I just plain like them. But just as importantly, I wanted a place that would provide habitat for my feathered friends.

I don't always know the names of the birds that I see come through here, I just know when I think they are pretty. I'm not all that knowledgeable about birding. But then, I didn't know the names of half the flowers and bushes when we got here. Little by little I've learned to identify most of them. So why not do the same thing with the birds?

I've decided I am going to set up some links on my side bar with references to the birds of Idaho and then I will track the ones that I can identify (both in my yard and when I'm out on walks along the greenbelt.)

One of my sweetest memories of my paternal grandmother, Jane Pendley, is of going for walks with her on the ranch in Oak Creek, AZ, which is now Slide Rock State Park. While she didn't have all that much formal education, that woman was SMART. She knew the names of every plant on the property - even the weeds. She knew the animals. She knew the birds. Having grown up in Oak Creek Canyon from the time she was about seven when she came out on the train with her mother from Oklahoma, Jane knew the land and all its flora and fauna like the back of her hand.

I doubt I'll ever be as knowledgeable of a naturalist as my grandmother was. I live too much in the modern word of media, technology and other interests to make that a live long study the way she did. Still, I am motivated by the words of Edward Everett Hale who said: "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do."

So I'm going to start learning about the birds of Idaho. I'll check out some library books and get out my binoculars. I'll do some clicking around on the net at places like:
Idaho Birds.Net
Birding.Com
Regional Reports
Digital Atlas of Idaho Birds
Birds of Idaho Field Checklist
Idaho Bird Inventory and Survey

I will admit that last one rather baffles me. Every page is stamped "Review Draft - NOT for distribution" but there it is on the Internet for all to see. What's up with that??

Anyway, I have lots to learn. What birds can I expect to see in this neck of the woods? What do their calls sound like? What is their preferred habitat? What are their migration patterns?

Some people would say WHO CARES? For me though, it feels like embarking on an adventure.

Ready for Hummers

2011-05-04T07:41:00.000-07:00

I put up three of my hummingbird feeders this morning. I have a few others that I'll wait on until I see my small friends appear.

Here are some great links for Hummingbird information, some specific to Idaho:

Tracking arrival date by county HERE

Basic Information

Migration Info

Banding Programs

So the watch begins. I'm looking forward to that first sighting. Even though they can be aggressive little bullies, I can't help but love these diminutive birds.

BLOOM REPORT

2011-05-03T20:22:00.001-07:00

Here is some of what I have blooming in my yard right now:

Bleeding heart

Tulips (along with some Basket of Gold - and while not blooming that rhubarb you see on the left behind the row of tulips is looking mighty fine.)

I think violets are so cheerful - and the lilies and allium coming up give promise of more pretty blooms yet to come.

Ornamental Plum Tree

Siberian Bugloss (false Forget-me-Not)

The deadnettle along the pathway has gone absolutely nuts. This is just one of the several different species of lamium we have.

I particularly like this one:

There's lots more - way more than I have the patience to photograph or upload. LOTS of things are just beginning to emerge. Every couple of days something new blooms. I love Boise in the spring time. What a blessing it is to have this garden~!

Picking our Battles

2011-05-03T19:40:00.001-07:00

Our many projects on the yard continue. Because of that we decided to forgo one project that was just bigger than we wanted to take on.

When we bought our house last year there was an old picnic table in the back yard that we had planned on scraping and repainting. We started the scraping job and bought the primer and paint. But the more we worked on it, the more overwhelming the task seemed to be. So finally we threw it the towel and decided to just give the thing away to someone with more energy and patience that we had. Can you blame us?

It didn't take us long to find a home for it. Better them than me!

Instead of working on that old bench we've focused on the front yard. We've gone from digging rocks and roots to a finished flowerbed with three rose bushes, several cone flowers, an ornamental grass and a big pot for some bright colored annuals yet to be planted. My hard working hubby did a terrific job of completely reworking our irrigation system to go from the old lawn springlers to a drip system that will target each plant with just the right amount of H20 to keep them thriving in our hot summer sun.

We went from a hole in the ground to a working fountain. No small task, that one. Had to bring electricity out to the site, haul lots of rocks, and dig a deep enough hole to submerge the recirculating pump. Then came moving the actual fountain piece we bought at the Boise garden show. Holy cow the thing weighs over 300 pounds! (It just LOOKS like a big tall rock - it's actually formed concrete.) Thank goodness for kind neighbors with strong backs!

Probably the biggest job was removing half our lawn and getting the raised beds created and filled.

Next we will be putting in the brick edging to match what we did around the corner flowerbed going all the way around the area where the raised beds are. Then we will lay down landscape fabric and stone. We thought about putting bark there, but since we get a fair amount of falling leaves in the fall we want something we can use our leaf blower on to clean it up. We've looked at a few different kinds - sort of leaning toward gold cinder. If I had lots of money I'd go for the new rubber mulch just because it would be cozy for bare feet, but then again that would get us back to the same problem with leaf clean up so I guess rock will have to do.

It has been a lot of work. My sweet husband has been amazing with the amount of progress that he has been able to get done each day. We had one lady who lives up the street be so impressed she wants to put the same raised beds in her yard. So we worked out a barter deal - Larry will do the miter cuts on her pieces of wood with his fancy saw in exchange for tomato plants and herbs she has growing in her plant shed. What a deal!

When we first started tearing out our lawn and the neighbors heard that we were planning to have our garden in the front yard I think they were all worried that it was going to be a horrible eyesore. But now that we've gotten these stages done lots of folks walking by or riding their bikes have commented on how nice it looks.

A few have teased us that they are looking forward to helping themselves to our tomatoes. At least I HOPE they are teasing! We are not tempting fate by growing watermelons. Those would just invite trouble.

Larry and I got into a great conversation this evening about the comparative ethics of watermelon stealing. It was one of those hilarious you-had-to-be-there sort of conversations not soon forgotten.

We're tired. We'll be glad when it is all done. But it is a good kind of tired that comes with taking on a big project and seeing it through.

Taking Pictures With My Heart

2011-05-03T04:20:00.001-07:00

Last night there was the most amazing rainbow directly over our street. It was a huge arc of color bands that seem to say to me "You are in exactly the right place." The whole evening sky was absolutely astonishing. I thought about running for my camera, but chose instead to simply stand in my front yard gaping at it in the light rain, soaking in every minute of it as the horizon transitioned from golds to pinks.

I have neither the quality of camera or skills as a photography to fully do it justice. So instead, I took pictures in my heart.

I thought of other moments like that - images that I have captured in my memory that were so surreal in their beauty that I would savor them always...

- my eldest son sitting in a field of dandelions grinning at me when he was 10 months old

- the first time I saw the Grand Canyon

- the glaciers in Alaska

- a certain overlook along the Wenatchee River with the Cascade mountains in the background

- the pyramids of Giza

And then there are other senses that have less to do with what I saw, but more with what I heard or smelled or tasted or felt.

There were some kind of flowers in my brother's yard in Florida that smelled absolutely stunning in the evenings. I never knew what they were and I can't even begin to describe it, but I've never forgotten it. I love the smell of fresh bread baking, of the ozone in the sky right before a big rain, and of my beloved right out of the shower with no cologne - just man and soap.

Favorite sounds that have touched my heart - my grand son's belly laugh, loving neighbors singing Christmas Carols at my doorstep, the ringing bells at the Orthodox church in Walla Walla on Pascha morning, waves crashing on rocks at a certain beach I once went to, and the special symphony that is the mix of light wind in the trees, birdsong and my backyard fountain bubbling.

I cannot take a picture of those things, but they are just as dear to me as the images I've seen. I do love taking pictures to look back on as a way to remember places, people and experiences. But sometimes pictures reduce, rather than preserve, a moment. Sometimes the grandeur of night sky, or a mountain vista or a beloved's smile just can't be captured with film or pixels.

It's at times like that when I just stand still, catch my breath, and take a picture with my heart.

Happy Anniversary Idaho!

2011-05-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

I just touched the one year mark of my move to Idaho. Hard to believe that much time has passed. I'm feeling pretty good about the transition to Boise. I love the climate, the people, the surrounding scenery. I'm enjoying exploring the local music scene and learning about various fun places to hang out.

After many corporate moves that kept shifting us to where ever my beloved's job told us we needed to be to suit their fickle company fancy, this is the first time in 30 years we were able to mindfully CHOOSE where we wanted to be. We took a mason jar ring and named it to be a 50 mile radius, then listed about 10 different factors we wanted within that space for our quality of life. We kept shifting our circle all over the western USA, considering several other places before landing here. However, after giving it lots of thought, Boise had all 10 things that were important to us. So, once we made our minds up that this was the place we just kept poking at it till we were able to find the job and the house to make the plan real. One year later I have absolutely no regrets about putting down roots here. I plan to burrow in deep. No more tumbleweed moving from place to place for me. I may not always live in my current house, but if I have anything to say about it, BOISE will stay my home.

I've finally found a place where I feel at peace, I feel connected. I generally believe that happiness and contentment come a lot more from INSIDE a person than whatever their external circumstances may be. Still, being in a place that FITS is a blessing indeed.

OOPS - I was wrong

2011-04-29T06:37:00.000-07:00

Ever since we move to this house I've been waiting anxiously to see the rhododendrons bloom in the back to see what color they would be. When they finally popped out this spring I was delighted with their lovely lilac/pink flowers. I have savored them day after day. When I pulled out some Heavenly Bamboo that were not doing at all well in that same area I decided I would get a few more Rhodie's to go as companions to the great big ones I have there now.

Once I got to the plant store I realized my mistake. What I have are not rhododendrons at all. They are azaeleas.

I had NO idea that azaeleas even got this big! So now I'm buying some baby rhododendrons to scatter around in some spots where I hope they will thrive

A Little Night Life...

2011-04-29T06:19:00.000-07:00

I wish I had a camera that would do justice to my garden at night. The previous property owners here had installed landscaped lights throughout the back yard. These are not the stick in the ground where ever you want solar lights you see in department stores. These are hard wired electric lights that go along the stone pathway. They spread a soft glow with just enough light to allow me to walk safely through the darkest corners and add a magical feel to the gardens. Then there are also five or six ground spotlights that shine up onto the tree trunks. I've got one pointed at the fountain we put in. I love my garden lights. They truly extend the amount of time I can be out there. During the day I'm usually weeding, trimming, transplanting, or scheming what I will design out there next. But in the dark of night you'll often find me quietly walking the pathways, or sitting in of the chairs out under the trees to just reflect on the peacefulness I feel out there. I'm thinking once it warms up I need to have an evening garden party out there. Now that the trees are leafing out and so very many flowers are coming back to life it really is a special spot.

Sharing gardens

2011-04-22T17:37:00.000-07:00

This evening Victoria from "Our Life in Idaho" came by to visit my garden and get some starts of a few things I had to share. I'm pretty sure the hellebore and the delphinium she took should thrive well under her care. I hold out less hope for the Nandina/Heavenly Bamboo I gave her. It was looking VERY puny in my yard as it was planted in a spot where it was almost completely shaded and didn't have much water. If she can save it, GREAT. IF not, oh well, we tried.

The nice thing about making new friends through the blogosphere is we had a chance to "get to know" each other before we ever met through reading one another's postings. Because of that I had no sense at all of meeting a "new" person or a the awkwardness of entertaining a stranger. I was meeting Victoria, who shares her life with Kim and some chickens known affectionately as "the girls". I knew some of her challenges and interests. I knew who her favorite authors are. From our email contact I knew what sort of work she does. So inviting her over to dig up some plants that needed a new home and take a walk through my garden paths just seemed perfectly natural.

I will look forward to pictures of those plants if they take hold, and no hard feelings if they don't. Either way, I look forward to sharing more garden visits in the future. By the way - give my best regards to Jelly Bean, and good luck with the squirrels.

Back Yard Inventory

2011-04-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

This Post will be a work in progress because I'm still identifying a lot of what I have growing in the back, but I figured I might as well get started and add to it as I discover more. So this is what I know I have so far:

TREES
Maple, Japanese
Maple, Ginnala (photo)
Maple, ??
Pine, Austrian
Quaking Aspen
Russian Olive Tree
Ornamental Plum
Ornamental Cherry

BUSHES
Azaleas
Boxwood
Dogwood Bush
Golden Current
Heavenly Bamboo
Honeysuckle
Lilly of the Valley Bush/ Pieris japonica
Lilac (I almost think these should be under trees - they are HUGE)
Oregon Grape
Rhododendron
Snowball Bush
Spyria

FLOWERS & FOLIAGE
Ajuga (Bugle)
Allium
Allysum - Easter basket mix
Astilbe
"Bachelor Button" / Centaurea (Amethest Dream) (photo)
Basket of Gold
Belladonna / Deadly Nightshade
Bergenia / Pig's Squeak
Bleeding Heart
Catnip
Clematis
Crocus
Columbine
Daffodil
Delphinium
Dianthis (Pinks)
Eryngium - Sea Holly
Ferns
Foxglove
Grapes - Concord
Goldenrod - Fireworks
Grape Hyacinth
Hellebore
Helenium - Mardi Gras (Sneezeweed)
Heuchera / Coral Bells
Hollyhock
Hostas (photos)
Hydrangea
Lady's Mantle (photo)
Lamb's Ear
Lamium (photo)
(several different varieties)
Lemon Balm (photo)
Liatris / Blazing Star
Ligularia (photos)
Lilies
Lungwort/ Pulmonaria (Little Blue)
Maltese Cross
Money Plant
Mrs. Brandshaw Geum / Avens
Peony
Phlox
Rhubarb
Rock Cress
Roses
Salvia
Sedum / Stonecrop
Siberian Bugloss
Twinspur
Vinca
Virginia Creeper
Yarrow (yellow)

Grass
Blue Fescue
Black Grass

FRONT YARD INVENTORY

2011-04-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

I've decided I want to track an inventory of what I know I have growing in my yard with links to information about their care.

Here's what I've identified so far:

FRONT YARD:

TREES -
Japanese Maple (photo)
Tri-Color Beech (photo)
Weeping Pussy Willow (photo)
Serpentine Weeping Cherry

BUSHES -
Burning Bush (photo)
Forsythia (photo)
Dogwood Bush (photo)

ROSES
Double Delight (photo)
Freedom (photo)
Peace(photo)

OTHER FLOWERS
Crocus (photo)
Tulip - "Claudia" (photo)
Echinacea (Purple corn flower)( photo)
Iris (photo)
Stargazer Lilies (photo)
Red Hot Poker / Torch Lilies
Violas / Johnny Jump-Up

GRASSES & GROUNDCOVERS
Blue Oat Grass (photos)
Feather Reed Grass - "Karl Foerster"
Sweet Woodruff (photos)
Lawn - Kentucky Blue Grass (photo)

In the Garden

TOMATOES
Sweet 100's (2)
Early Girl Nepal
Brandywine
Mskvich
Zucchini
Yellow Crook Neck Squash
Spinach
Okra
Carrots
Radish
Peppers Anaheim
Jalepeno
Poblanos

Name That Plant - continued

2011-04-19T20:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm excited to finally begin to be able to identify more of the things I have growing in my yard.

THIS plant is called Pieris japonica, also known as "Lilly of the Valley Bush" and I'm excited to learn that those buds it is showing now will develop into lovely long white chains of flowers that are supposed to be quite fragrant and the new growth will start out a pretty bright red before transition to these evergreen leaves. We have these all along the back of the house so they should put on quite a show.

This one is Bergenia cordifolia 'Eroica', more commonly known as "Pig Squeak". I have a bunch of them scattered in flower beds all over the back yard. They keep sending off new babies so I plan to share some with other gardeners I know.

Of course I was already familiar with hellebore (also known as "Lenten rose"), but did not realize how many different varieties there are. (There are 15 different kinds.) I have three or four different colors. They are so pretty it is a shame they keep the faces of their flowers hanging down to the ground, but I think of them as bowing in prayer, expressing humility rather than showing off their fancy faces which is appropriate for the season of Lent. These too have created lots of babies where I don't want them, so I'll be passing on starts of those as well. Any takers among my Boise garden friends?

Here we have one of the many variety of sedum

There are of course still several others I have yet to learn about. But I'm getting there. We moved in last June so I missed the spring here entirely last year. It really is exciting to see the many different things emerging from the ground and watch them take shape, unfold, become the lovely specimen plants I was introduced to all at once last summer. Each season has its own special surprises.

I have friends who tell me they can't imagine having to do all the weeding and dead heading that I welcome with such a passion. To each their own. As for me, I am seldom happier than when I am digging in the dirt in my garden.

Boise in the spring time

2011-04-19T19:00:00.000-07:00

I happened to have the day off today (a RARE occasion during the week) so my beloved and I took Morgan the wonder dog for a nice long walk along the green belt. I already knew I loved being in Boise, but today was an absolute stunning day.

Boise is known as the "City of Trees" with good reason. There are so many gorgeous trees, and this time of year when the naked sticks are clothing themselves in new leaves is pretty amazing.

The Boise River is running really high between the spring rains and the snow melt off which reminds me all over again why I will NEVER live by a river...

This is no where near flood stage, but it is high enough to show that rivers are living creatures that can jump their banks and go where they please.

I feel really blessed to live in a place that has so many great places to go hiking, many of which are within just a few minutes of where I live. What I like about Boise is that it is big enough to have some terrific resources, yet close enough to mountains, waters, and wilderness to offer the quality of life factors that I value. So this time of year I split my discretionary time between working out in my back yard tending to the flowers or heading out to some spot along the 22 miles of tree lined pathways and parks near me to walk the dog. Either way it feels good to be surrounded by beauty. So if I'm sporadic about adding new blog posts, you'll know why. I'm not spending a lot of time at home in front of the computer. Morgan and I are out on the trail.

BLOOMS & Mysteries

2011-04-14T19:31:00.001-07:00

My yard continues to come alive with spring flowers. The two rhododendrons in back of the house have been simply glorious.

And we've got lots of other things blooming, violets, vinca, lamina, hellebore, bugloss to name just a few.

However, we've also got things in flower that I have NO IDEA what are.

Mystery Tree # 1 - Remember that bushy tree I didn't know what was? I still have no clue what to call it, but it sure has turned pretty with these lovely yellow blooms all over it.

Mystery Tree 2. This one hangs over our fence into the neighbor's yard quite a ways so I was going to trim it back. But it blooms so pretty they begged me not to.

And there's plenty of other stuff just beginning to come up that I have yet to identify. It's going to be an interesting summer learning more about what we have growing here!

SUN VALLEY

2011-04-14T19:15:00.001-07:00

I just got home from a trip to Sun Valley. I went up for work. The seminar I was helping to facillitate went well. Also got to see some phenomenal country on the drive. It was rainy and dreary most of the way up, but on the way back we had blue skies and could see for miles. Idaho sure has some gorgeous country. I wish I had a camera with a wide angle sense to be be able to capture the scope of the grandeur. Even though these pictures don't do justice to it, they give a little taste of where I was. For more pictures of Sun Valley from the web click HERE.

Be Careful What You Ask For

2011-04-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I did ask for it to stop raining. So maybe I should be grateful. But what I THINK I need to be is more specific in my weather requests. It is no longer raining. Now it is alternating between hail, sleet and snow. SHEEH. Will someone please tell the sky that it is spring?

A Work in Progress...

2011-04-07T05:34:00.000-07:00

If it ever stops raining long enough to dry out we may actually make some serious progress on our front yard project. At least we've gotten started.

In the front corner by our mailbox we had several rose bushes. I took out the biggest one and made room for some iris and lilies.

We also got brave and cut out much of our lawn. We rented a sod cutter which helped, but the rolling, lifting and hauling away the strips of cut sod was a lot more work than we had anticipated, particularly since the ground was still wet so the pieces we had to move were REALLY heavy. However, I'm pretty happy with how the "bikini lawn" came out.

I took out one of the boxwoods under the bedroom window and planted a forsythia in its place. Eventually the other two boxwoods will go as well, probably to be replaced by burning bush, but for now it's just nice having that spot of color in the middle.

The main project so far has been reworking the irrigation and putting in the flowerbed around the light pole. First of course came LOTS of discussion of what we wanted to put there, how to border it, what shape and size, etc, with lots of mind changing along the way. We started out with this:

After cutting out the grass, digging out LOTS of rock, roto-tilling the irrigation lines, um, yeah...and a few other adventures we are getting there.

Next will come the raised beds for our veggies. We sort of have a plan...

but exactly how it will turn out when it's really done remains to be seen. We debated whether we wanted to put rock or bark around the boxes where we have taken the grass out. However, we dug so many blasted roots out of the ground from where the big trees were we cut down (3 huge pines and one locust) that after we put them through the shredder/chipper we now have two big garbage cans full of shredded roots. I'm tempted to just put that down instead of buying bark. Am I nuts? DON'T ANSWER THAT!

After we get the raised bed in we will decide where to place the two new trees we got

and then we will put in our water feature...

There is still A LOT of work to be done. But we are getting there. My hands are chapped and my back is sore. The laundry is piling up. This project has really taken over nearly all of our time. However, it should look nice when we get it all done. Let's hope so anyway!

SPRING!

2011-04-03T14:23:00.001-07:00

FINALLY it is officially Spring. I've been getting out in the yard to dig in the dirt every chance I can get. It does my heart good to see things coming back to life.

Of course, there are the obvious and expected things like Crocus Booming

Giant alliums coming up

Tulips Coming up

Lamium blooming

and the Rhododendron's showing a bit of color, buds just getting ready to pop.

(I'm especially excited about them since we moved in here in June, after they were all finished so this will be my first season to see them bloom.)

However, there are still plenty of plants in the yard I have yet to identify. So, friends, neighbors, it's time once again to play NAME THAT PLANT.

Do you know any of these?

MYSTERY PLANT 1 - low ground plant with small white flowers

MYSTERY PLANT 2 - I don't kn0w whether to call this a tall bush or a bushy tree - it's over 6 foot tall...no clue what it is.

MYSTERY PLANT #3 - this is and evergreen shrub of some sort planted behind my rhododendron. I was hoping it also bloomed but the little bud things don't look too promising.

MYSTERY PLANT #4 -

I have several of these and think they are pretty, but I have no idea what it is.

There's lots of other things coming up...I will catalog a few each week, some I know and some I don't. Also - coming soon, photos of our complete remodel of the front yard. GASP. Yep, we have begun. Chopped down the giant locust tree much to our neighbor's horror. Then we started tearing out lawn. Not ALL of it...we have a nice curving strip in the front which I affectionately refer to as my "bikini lawn". Behind that, however will soon be 3 4' x 8' raised beds surrounded by bark and off to the side a fountain that I will plant geraniums and marigolds around. Then, in front around the ugly light pole that our housing development requires for every yard (ugh!) we have taken out a big section of grass where we plan to put in 3 rose bushes, some tall ornamental grass, lilies and maybe move the delphiniums from the back yard that never get enough sun to bloom.

We also bought a serpentine weeping cherry and a weeping pussy willow tree to plant in front.

It's all a torn up mess right now, but we're diligently working on it and hoping that it will be beautiful when we get it all done.

Fickle Idaho Weather

2011-03-16T19:14:00.001-07:00

Spring is here, sort of, kind of, well maybe. Heck with what the calendar says. This morning before leaving for work I took a walk around the back yard to see what might be coming up.

Here is what I see so far:

BLOOMING:
Crocus and hellebore

JUST COMING UP:
Bleeding Heart
Columbine
Delphinium
Lamium
Rhubarb
And of course some stuff I don't know what is.

SHOWING SOME BUDS
Rhododendron
Lilac

I was feeling all springy and excited about the coming growing season.

Then throughout the day the weather turned wacky on me. The sun was shining. Then skies got grey. Then it was SNOWING with great big flakes and looked like it was going to stick. By the time I got off work at 5:30, however, it was blue skies again. Welcome to Idaho!

Ever changing weather notwithstanding, I AM excited to get back to my gardens.
We have big plans for the front yard this year...

We are taking out the great big Locust Tree that makes such a mess all year long. Hey, I LOVE my trees, but that particular one has got to go! Then, we will plant a Red Bud tree and a Weeping Cherry along with some whisky barrels of flowers and decorative rock. We are still weighing the pros and cons of whether we will keep the lawn or take it out entirely.

We do plan to put in three raised beds for vegetables.

Before I do anything too drastic we will be going to the upcoming Boise Flower and Garden show (March 25-27) to get some ideas and ask questions about what grows well in this zone.

In the mean time I'm exploring various garden blogs to see what tips I can pick up.
These are some I've been checking out:

Gardens of the Wild West
Natsplants
Our Life in Idaho

One last thing...I scored a half price family membership to the Idaho Botanical Gardens through Groupon, so I'm looking forward to checking that out...perhaps this weekend if the weather is nice. But then, this IS Idaho. So it could be sunny. Or snowing. Or both.

Charm City

2011-02-20T14:01:00.000-08:00

I just got back from attending a conference in Baltimore, Maryland. I was there for work, so most of my time was spent in the hotel. However, some colleagues and I did walk down to the inner harbor each evening for dinner. Two nights in a row we ate at Phillips which had some absolutely amazing sea food. The first night I had crab stuffed shrimp that was served on a bed of rice and vegetables. The second night I had a broiled seafood platter that included their award winning crab cake (much more crab than cake), garlic shrimp and broiled mahi mahi with a green Thai curry sauce that was to die for. DOUBLE YUM~!!

On the last day of the conference one of the other members of my team and I took some time to explore a bit by riding the "Circle Lady", the free city bus that took us into the Mt. Vernon district (on the Purple Route). We met some interesting people on the bus. I struck up a conversation with a few different folks, asking them what they liked best or least about living in Baltimore. It was intriguing the range of answers I got.

Baltimore, MD is known as "Charm City". Some say that is because in the 1970's the city developer came up with a promotional campaign (similar to something done in Pendleton, Oregon), having various businesses offer charms that in some way represent their establishments. People were encouraged to get the bracelets they went on and collect all the different charms, so the name stuck.

However, others say the name is more for the feeling of the place. Located on the East Coast of the United States, between New York City and Washington, D.C., Baltimore is one of America's oldest cities, known for its rich ethnic and maritime heritage, sense of history and fine food.

Whatever the reason, I found Baltimore to be a delightful city. Sure, it has its problems, as any city will. But at least the area where I went was pretty, it was surprisingly clean and I never once saw pan handlers or homeless people hanging about like I did on nearly every street corner on a recent trip to Salt Lake City.

I would like to believe that Baltimore's lack of beggars had more to do with providing appropriate resources for people down on their luck so they had more suitable avenues for getting what they need. I suspect it may have more to do with lack of tolerance for those who don't promote the "charm" image.

In speaking with some of the folks we met along our bus route the general consensus seemed to be that Baltimore is kept beautiful along the inner harbor and main business district - where I was for my conference; From what I was told once you get outside of that carefully guarded corridor there is a general decay.

The January 2009 Point-in-Time Homeless count for Baltimore was 3,419. That is out of a city with an estimated population of 636,919. (steadily decreasing since 1980.)

An interesting point a gentleman made to me on our bus ride was that there are enough vacant houses and apartments throughout the city to accommodate every one of those homeless individuals. However, those houses and apartments belong to someone who has no obligation to have them used by strangers in need. So what is the greater problem - poverty and homelessness or lack of willingness to be our brother's keeper?

That opens up a whole kettle of fish about whether or not giving someone free housing is in the best interest of the individual or the community. I worked in providing services to homeless long enough to know that many people fear if we do a really good job of providing for our poor the consequence will be having your community become a magnet attracting down and out folks from areas with fewer services. There are no simple answers.

Still, for me, my stay in "Charm City" was a pleasant one, even if I only saw the shiny face put on for visitors. I acknowledge that there are indeed significant problems behind that facade. Nevertheless, of the various people I talked to I felt a real authenticity behind the "charm", and I very much appreciated the graciousness and open friendly attitudes I encountered.

I will long remember the homeless vet who was carrying a big bag of food bank bread to go feed the ducks in the park. He didn't have much, but as he went he offered bread to the bus driver and other passengers, entreating them each to have a great day. I will remember the bouncer who had a pretty jaded view of life, who spent his days "beating people up and throwing them out of the bar when they get out of hand" and compare that to the conversation I had with the bus driver, an attractive young woman who had moved to Baltimore the year before, praising the city she viewed as "quiet, a good place to raise my son." (She had come from New York City.)

No matter where I go there will be both good and bad. I can be like the bouncer or the bus driver. I choose which part I will focus on.

75 Questions

2011-02-13T21:01:00.000-08:00

I passed out a handout in the Marriage and Family Relations class that I am currently teaching that had some interesting questions.

I'm thinking I may try to answer at least some of them here. (I'm NOT telling the whole world the most foolish thing I've ever done or what my greatest regret is....) but a bunch of them look worth pursuing.

Here's the list for any of the rest of you navel gazers who may be interested in starting something like this:

75 QUESTIONS
1. What do I want to know that I have not asked?
2. How could I improve my learning experience right now?
3. Am I doing what I really want to do?
4. What am I grateful for?
5. What’s missing in my life?
6. Am I honest?
7. Do I listen to others?
8. Do I work hard?
9. Do I help others?
10. What do I need to change about myself?
11. Have I hurt others?
12. Do I complain?
13. What’s next for me?
14. Do I have fun?
15. Have I seized opportunities?
16. Do I care about others?
17. Do I spend enough time with my family?
18. Am I open-minded?
19. Have I seen enough of the world?
20. Do I judge others?
21. Do I take risks?
22. What is my purpose?
23. What is my biggest fear?
24. How can I conquer that fear?
25. Do I thank people enough?
26. Am I successful?
27. What am I ashamed of?
28. Do I annoy others?
29. What are my dreams?
30. Am I positive?
31. Am I negative?
32. Is there an afterlife?
33. Does everything happen for a reason?
34. What can I do to change the world?
35. What is the most foolish thing I’ve ever done?
36. Am I cheap?
37. Am I greedy?
38. Who do I love?
39. Who do I want to meet?
40. Where do I want to go?
41. What am I most proud of?
42. Do I care what others think about me?
43. What are my talents?
44. Do I utilize those talents?
45. What makes me happy?
46. What makes me sad?
47. What makes me angry?
48. Am I satisfied with my appearance?
49. Am I healthy?
50. What was the toughest time in my life?
51. What was the easiest time in my life?
52. Am I selfish?
53. What was the craziest thing I did?
54. What is the craziest thing I want to do?
55. Do I procrastinate?
56. What is my greatest regret?
57. What has had the greatest impact on my life?
58. Who has had the greatest impact on my life?
59. Do I stand up for myself?
60. Have I settled for mediocrity?
61. Do I hold grudges?
62. What book has had a positive impact on my life?
63. Do I listen to my heart?
64. How could I bring more joy and passion into my life right now?
65. What role does prayer have in my life?
66. Do I constantly dwell on the past?
67. Do I let other people’s negativity affect me?
68. Do I forgive myself?
69. When I help someone do I think “What’s in it for me”?
70. Am I aware that someone always has it worse than me?
71. Do I smile more than I frown?
72. Do I surround myself with good people?
73. Do I take time out for myself?
74. Do I ask enough questions?
75. What other questions do I have?

Freeze Your Boogers Cold

2011-02-13T19:00:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I am heading out to Baltimore for several days of meetings for my job. So, as I'm getting my suitcases packed and printing out my itinerary, I just checked out the anticipated weather there. It's gonna be COLD. Perhaps that's just as well. It will remind me loud and clear that winter is still with us. It darn sure is not time to pack away the long johns yet.

Today was absolutely gorgeous here in Boise. Made me hanker for spring. I KNOW it's only February. We're likely to see more snow before this winter of 2010-2011 is over. This was just a brief respite. But oh, how glorious it felt. Yesterday I took Morgan the wonder dog for a long walk and used that as a chance to catch up with a friend I had not had a chance to visit with for a while. As we walked all around the neighborhood we saw several people out raking leaves up, trimming roses, savoring being out in the sun.

I am ever so grateful for seasons - even the "freeze your boogers" cold spells we occasionally get. I lived a lot of years in Arizona where there was little change in the look of things. Seasons went from mild to hot to holy cow- cook your brains hot. In Phoenix there were never any tulips or daffodils in sprig time (except those sold by florists). There were no red leaves in the fall. For all the nice things about living in the valley of the sun, the monotony of sand, sun, concrete and palm trees sure did get old.

Here I feel very connected to the earth through the changing seasons. It serves as a good reminder for me that life has times of rapid growth and new green shoots and times of dormancy and dark.

I love the seasons. All of them. Each has it's own beauty.

Still, I really am ready for spring.

Pirated Blogrolls

2011-01-30T19:20:00.000-08:00

Lynn over at Violins & Starships has put in a whole lot of efforts into creating a very impressive collection of blogs and websites that seems worthy of exploring.
I've explored a few and want to go back to look at others, so rather than just bookmarking her page I figured I'd share it HERE.

That of course got me to thinking - who else has well thought out, neatly indexed blogrolls I might pirate?

There are
Education Blogs
Garden Blogs
Idaho Blogs
LDS Blogs

Do you have any favorite blogrolls to recommend?

Cruising the Blogosphere...

2011-01-08T09:41:00.001-08:00

Saturday morning is Pancake morning at Casa Piranha.

I've enjoyed a lazy morning, sipping a cup of Good Earth herbal tea and exploring the blogosphere for a bit. Here are a few of the gems that impressed me...

1. Dan over at Black Owl has an EXCELLENT piece on the dearth of critical thinking in the retail world during holiday shopping...(which is endemic throughout the year, and not just in retail, I am afraid.)

2. Ruth over at Upstream Downstream shares some words on assumptions about guilt and innocence and our jury system...

3. Violins and Starships offered up a great clip of Elvis singing "Blue Solstice" to entertain my Pagan friends.

4. And just for grins, David over at Nephite Blood, Spartan Heart, shared some positively hillarious pictures that made me laugh.

5. Sergio over at Space Time Chronicles wrote a lovely piece on censorship from the perspective of a scientist. That one is an older piece from 2009, but isn't that the beauty of the blog world? It's still there to discover.

I LIKE being able to find cutting edge words about what people are pondering RIGHT NOW - the immediacy of this form of media has much appeal. But at the very same time I occassionally enjoy sampling the thoughts of various writers whose blogs have since languished or who may not have updated for quite some time.

Do you have any favorite dead blogs - words that resonated with you and maybe made you sad that the writers have ceased to publish?