Why I Love Boise

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Columbine - June 17

BOOK REVIEW - Sleight of Hand

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

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

Let the Summer Begin!

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!

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

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!