Boise - August 2012

We had a glorious time in Boise last week. 

Jeanie (Debby's mother-in-law) called me a few weeks ago and invited me and Ray to come to Boise for a few days. They were going to McCall for a family vacation, and Debby and family would be there a few days early, staying at Bob and Jeanie's before they all left. Ray couldn't come, but I jumped at the chance. Then she invited Audrey and Beth to come too. 

This was just too good to be true. Oh, how we miss Debra and her family. Debra and family arrived in Boise on Wednesday afternoon. We took off from here early Friday morning and were in Boise by noon. What a great reunion! Me, my girls, half of my grandchildren, and the most fun people to stay with in the world.

Bob and Jeanie always make us feel right at home. I couldn't believe how generous Jeanie was to invite us right when she was getting ready to leave for a week. We tried to be helpful, but I know we were an imposition--not that she'd ever admit it.

We relaxed. We sat in their lovely backyard and watched the kids play. We girls went to lunch on Saturday, and Jeanie, Audrey and I made a quick trip to a local quilt shop. I had to indulge, and bought some fun future projects. Then we relaxed and watched the kids some more.

Sunday we left after lunch. I tried to put on a happy face, but was completely unsuccessful. It was hard to leave.

It was like Sisters Weekend all over again with the added bonus of Jeanie being with us. My only regret is we never got a group picture with Jeanie in it. I guess that means we'll have to do it again sometime so we can rectify that!

Here are a LOT of pictures with a little bit of explanation in some of the captions:

Jonathan--so big I can hardly believe it. This happy face shows how we all felt being together again.

Andrew and Beth. Debby was a little sad that Andrew doesn't remember her.

Somehow this seems to be Diane's expression in pictures. It is not how she is in actuality. She was so fun!

Audrey

Jeanie, our hero

Debra!

Jonathan in the johnny-jump-up, a favorite family gadget

Beth helping with the art project.  Diane, Madeleine, Beth

Madeleine, Beth

Madeleine. 

Audrey cutting Diane's hair

Diane

This is so blurry, but you can see Madeleine being silly with Andrew. You can't see the giant smile on his face.

 

Andrew

Madeleine explaining her artwork to me

 

Beth, Diane, Audrey, Debra. Next time we'll have Jeanie in there with us.

The Bourne Legacy

In the summer we usually see a lot of action movies. We'll head out to a matinee and enjoy the air-conditioned theater and an exciting (hopefully) film. Ray and Ray have gone to a few movies this summer, but I haven't seen a movie since The Hunger Games in April. I was long overdue for a movie of any sort.

We hit the matinee today to see The Bourne Legacy. I liked it. It was a teeny bit confusing at the beginning, but I knew it would sort itself out as we went along, in true Bourne fashion. And it did. There were some great chase scenes--both on foot and on motorcycles.

Was it as good as the ones with Matt Damon? Probably not. But I still liked it, and they left plenty of room for sequels with the ending.

Now to find a nice romantic comedy.

Moose Sighting

Most evenings we go for a ride on the motorcycle after dinner. It's a great way to cool off in this heat. We usually ride up either Little Cottonwood Canyon or Big Cottonwood Canyon, or sometimes both. Tonight we went up Little Cottonwood Canyon and just as we were coming back down we had to slow way down and let a moose finish crossing the road in front of us. Yes a moose. We're always on the lookout for deer, but have never even thought we'd see a moose. 

I didn't have my camera with me. Bummer. So I poached this picture off of Google Images. That's what it looked like - no antlers. It was as big as a horse. From now on I'll make sure I take my camera with us. Of course if I'm prepared that means we most likely won't see anything exciting. It was pretty exciting tonight.

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

A romantic historical novel.

Simply put: a novel within a novel. Takes place in Scotland, present day and early 18th century. I liked the premise.

Completely diverting.

Just what I needed.

I'll be exploring her other books.

July Report

This means it's August already and the year is slipping by quickly.

1. First things first: I'm doing okay with this. Some days and weeks are better than others. Although I know the value of exercise I'm having a hard time making myself do it. Once I start I'm okay. It's just the getting started. Part of the problem is an irregular summer schedule and if I allow myself to sleep in at all, exercise seems to go out the window.
2. One shelf/drawer per day: I've got to get back on track with this one. I am still doing it, just not every day. I can't believe how great it feels to do it and get rid of more clutter. This should be a perpetual goal for me.
3. 30-30-30: I can't believe how much more productive I am when I do this.
4. Skype/webcam: Facetime can't be beat.
5. Digital photo system/labeling photos: I am in the midst of my online course, and loving it! It is the answer for photo retrieval and storage. I can't wait to finish the course and get to labeling all my photos.

One excellent thing about July: I have read and read and read, and it feels great. It was worth sacrificing a few other goals to have taken care of the need to read in my life.

By the Shores of Silver Lake

After over a year of frustration with my main camera lens, I'm finally up and running again. When we bought my camera used, the lens never really took good pictures. The lens needed to be repaired. We took it to a camera repair shop who had the lens for eight months and never fixed it. (No one wants to hear those details, or my thoughts about them). Then we took it to a very reputable place and it turns out it is a gray market lens, so Nikon won't touch it. (Why not? They can still repair it, just not guarantee it--again, no one wants to hear my thoughts about that.) Bottom line: no camera lens. Or I should say only a long distance lens, nothing that will take close ups. Within a day of getting the lens back for the final time Ray bought another lens (used) that covers close up to distance, all in one lens, and it works beautifully. Now I just have to learn how to use my camera better--a goal for 2013.

Today I took Audrey's kids up to Silver Lake, at Brighton ski resort. We had a fun little walk around the lake, and I took a few pictures. 

Matthew and Austin

Matthew, Austin, Elizabeth. Believe it or not, they are very happy to be here.

 

Elizabeth

Austin

Matthew

Matthew, Elizabeth, Austin

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath

This book is a Newbery Honor Medal winner. I'm not sure it ranks up there as high as some other Honor winners. Al Capone Does My Shirts comes to mind--but then I thought Al Capone Does My Shirts could have been the Newbery winner. (Hmm, I might foresee a post on Honor books that have more lasting power than the actual winner.)

Here's a true indication of how I feel about writing about this book: 
1. I have made notes on some blogs to write about Newbery books
2. I have looked up all the Newbery and Honor books since 1922 (when they started)
3. I have printed out the list of all the winners

I think it means I'm ambiguous about it. Parts of it I really liked. It was a quick read. But overall I have sort of a ho-hum feeling about it. It didn't start out that way, and I don't know what made it just okay for me by the end. Maybe I was distracted while reading the end? I don't know.

I do think kids will enjoy it. But the best juvenile lit is a book that both kids and adults can love.

I'm done reading kid's books for awhile. Time for a good novel.

Over My Dead Body by Kate Klise

This is book two in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series. I liked it every bit as much as Dying to Meet You, which was the first one. There are lots of clever subtleties which I think kids would enjoy discovering. Reading it aloud with your child might make some of them more clear - especially everyone's names. They are a kick.

Like I said with the first book, this is great for kids. (I liked it too). And I think it would make a great read aloud book. Make sure you don't skip the newspaper articles. Good stuff is revealed there.