Friday, December 28, 2007

Back in Boise!

Phew! We are safely back in Idaho, after arriving around 2 a.m. on the 26th. We were welcomed by another snowstorm, which everyone assures us is NOT normal. This is the pond by our condo, and the footprints are from the ducks who trek across the snow and swim in that little unfrozen area. And this is Miss G, patiently waiting for me to get the mail. With all this snow, she can barely make it to the mailbox and back before she starts complaining about her frozeny foots. My husband pledges to get her boots she'll actually wear. We'll see if those exist. She's wearing the new green coat he made her, which I have to admit, is the best-fitting one yet!

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Safely in Oregon!

Our first drive over together was fun! We stopped at the scariest rest stop EVER. I decided to not use it for fear of being bludgeoned to death inside. The best sentence used during the 6.5 hour drive: After I offered to drive, my husband admonished me by not even looking up, and said only: "WOMAN. Split-tails cain't drive on Christmas. Everyone knows that." Awesome.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Blue Sky

MAN! Today was freakin' gorgeous! I had my sunglasses on and the sunroof open in my car, if you can believe that! Here's the backside of our condo (we are on the ground floor under that stairwell) with nothin' but blue sky, baby!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Two Ornaments

Well, it's nearly Christmas, and we have yet to decorate the tree. I did get it out of the box and plug it in though, so that counts for something.

We have only two ornaments on the tree. Every year I buy a new snowman ornament, and I got one this year whose body is made of large jingle bells. I like him lots. The other one is a super-cute, tiny red mitten that came with a coffee card from Starbux.

Maybe if I got a cup of coffee with the card that was in the mitten, I could stay up long enough to decorate the tree? Naw, probably not.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

The End of a Good Run

Well, after two months of living in Boise, I finally had to pump my own gas. I am that rare Oregonian who relishes that five to seven minutes of downtime I get when I am being waited on by a gas station attendant. Such indulgence! I know, I know, you like having control yourself. I can appreciate that. But those few minutes to listen to whatever CD is playing, to balance my checkbook, or to wipe off the dash with one of those handy individually packaged plastic protectant wipes that will end up in a landfill...priceless. Just before crossing the state line into Idaho, the last thing I do is get gas in Oregon. God bless you rogue Oregon legislators!

I have not had to actually fill up since we've been here through a series of random events that had me travelling and not driving the Mini, or him filling it up just because he's driving. I had to get gas for the first time last night. Luckily it was a balmy 41 degrees out, so my fingers didn't stick to the pump. It was awesome to go to Target smelling like a gas station attendant. Mmm.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Shopping Adventure!

Saturday we visited our local Cab.ela's store! It's like an amusement park! Tanks of fish and dioramas of stuffed wildlife everywhere! It was the greatest sports and outdoor shopping adventure ever. It was there I made the realization that I live in a Big Hair State. I didn't realize Ida.ho was a Big Hair State, but it is, and a lot of that big hair was in that store on Saturday afternoon.

In the guns and ammo department, I encountered a small sign that read: "Federal says do not use 'pattern.master' with Bla.ck Cloud since they are conflicting devices. A patternmaster deviice [sic] might enhance a standard wad, but will restrict the flight control wad. The Bla.ck Cloud Flight.stopper wad works like a parachute to enhance the pattern (opens at the rear of the wad). The patternmasters works [sic] to slow the wad on a front open petal wad. There are no safety concerns if used to together, just performance issues."

Just doing my best to keep you all informed about that.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

More Lost (or Found?) Stuff

We went to dinner at the Mexican restaurant by our house, then to the Fred Meyer for grocery shopping afterward. We ran into one of my coworkers at the restaurant.

I have decided it would be a definite hardship to live anywhere that didn't have a Fred Meyer. Someone lost this wee Vans shoe near the magazine aisle. There's no reference item in the photo, but the shoe's only about 3 inches long.

Having our house unsold in Beaverton ["the worst housing market since World War II"] and living in the condo is a little like waiting for the other shoe to drop. Hopefully we can resolve our housing issue in the new year and move forward!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Seventeen Degrees

This morning brought seventeen degrees! That is very cold on tiny wiener dog foots! 'Sposed to be 18 again tomorrow morning. So chilly! I love it!! I suspect whoever lost this lone glove in the gutter downtown is regretting that unfortunate event. After the Xmas party we went to "the falcon" downtown with a gang of folks, and I spied this travesty.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Christmas at the Ranch!














The CH Holiday Party was Saturday night, and it beat the pants off almost any other corporate event I can think of...barring perhaps Tiffany's "open bar at the Grand Lodge where her boss got into a drunken brawl" of 2006. The event was at the 60-acre ranch at Bogus Creek, and started off with a brisk half-mile covered-wagon ride out to the site. A large heated event tent offered a prime rib dinner, country music and dancing, and the highlight of the event: the mechanical bull. [Note: the person flying off the bull in this photo is neither of us.] It marked the first time I'd even been to a company event and heard the phrases:
  • "Well I saw a six-point bull elk this year..."
  • "She's not from a rodeo family, but she's from a railroad family, and that's pretty close"
  • [Male MC to male MC]: "I wish I knew how to quit you..." Predictable, but pretty funny.
  • [In rather chilly line for outhouses]: I'm pretty sure there's 60 acres of men's room out there behind those trees... [OK, that was my husband.]
  • [MC to a bull-rider]: "I'm not sure how this rider's going to fare with that limp-wristed technique..."
  • "She spent her summers castrating cows"
  • "We held the wagon for you because they said there was one person still in the bathroom..." [wagon driver to the last person to board the wagon...OK, that was me.]

It was a good ol' time!

Girls Night Out!




OK, so maybe it wasn't a whole night out...Stacey and Taline and I left the boys home and ran to the ice cream store for treats after pizza! I just realized the coat I'm wearing today is not unlike Taline's...does that mean I dress like a four-year-old? Hmm. It was lovely to see the whole clan and bid them bon voyage on their trip to Maui!

Saturday, December 8, 2007

More Snow!!

More snow!! I was super-psyched to awake this morning to MORE SNOW!! It's so beautiful! Perfect timing -- tonight's my work Christmas party! I hope the snow sticks around for a little while...

Word on the street is there's gonna be a mechanical bull at the party. I'll report back.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Sister night!

What's more fun than Sister Time? Sister Time with fondue!! We went cowboy boot shopping then off to swiss cheese fondue, beer, and salads!

Sister used the word "flagrantly." As in I "flagrantly" bought cowboy boots in front of her. What can I say? I live in Idaho. It's a strong boot state.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Nastiness!

Goodness the weather has been yucky, eh? A wet (tho warm) welcome back to Portland! I normally don't shoot and drive, but as I was going 5 mph in Sunset traffic, I felt the benefits outweighed the risks. As much as I love my 'Coopah, I have never been happier to be driving a kinda-tall baby SUV.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

A Little Slice of Heaven

Today is our Dating Anniversary! If you haven't been keeping track, that makes it 16 years ago tonight that we went see "The Addams Family" in Eugene. I wasn't really sure if this man was just going to the movies with a chick from Rainier, or if he was really interested in me...until he stepped up to the concession stand and got us only one soda to go with our popcorn...Stacey and I analyzed this detail for hours and hours. Looks like we were right, that was definitely a sign he was interested. Happy Dating Anniversary to us!

Hope Chest Christmas Party!

The Hope Chest is the thrift store the parents volunteer at, and this year Mom graciously served as the head of the Christmas party planning committee! As each volunteer is able to bring a guest, and they both volunteer, I was able to attend! It was a fun evening at the Sea Shack in Wheeler and nice to kick it with the parents for the weekend!

Snow at the Coast!

I flew into Portland Friday night, picked up a rental car and cruised on down to the coast to hang with the 'rents for the weekend. Saturday morning we awoke to SNOW! Their place is gorgeous when it's green, but quite spectacular in a fresh coat of white!




Thursday, November 29, 2007

The View From Here















Here's the view from my cubicle and the view on the other side of the building, the one that catches my eye on the way to the elevator. Both were taken today, Nov. 29. I enjoy watching the cars and the people and activity. As you might imagine, skateboarders and dogwalkers take advantage of that expanse of concrete and lawn. They are trying to lure a developer to build a hotel on that concrete site. I plan to do anything I can to sabotage that. But breaking ground on the organic grocery across the street? Get me a shovel!


Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Santa Left Baby Deer!

Santa came to the lobby of CH! He left baby deer for all the good little boys and girls!

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Thirty-Eight!

We have now entered the very short window where, on paper, my husband is TWO years older than me. So far he seems to wear 38 well. To celebrate another year of having not been selected out, we stayed in for an extravagant breakfast of omelettes and hash browns, and later went to the movies to see "No Country For Old Men," which was excellent, though a little bleak. Wrapped up the day with some leftover pizza (there's a Flying Pie Pizza here too, though I think not connected to the one in PDX) and cake. OK, we might have busted into the cake on Saturday night.

Oh the Pagentry.

We watched the Boise Holiday Parade on TV this morning. I myself hate parades, but my husband is a biiiig parade freak. He'll do anything to get to a parade...up at all hours, sitting in the gutter at the crack of dawn, taking way too many pictures, he can't get enough of them. OK, maybe that's backwards. Anyway, we were impressed by the large number of pageant queens in the parade. Miss Idaho, Mrs. Idaho, Miss Idaho Teen, Miss Rodeo Idaho, Little Miss Idaho, and Ms. Senior Idaho, to name just a few.

Possibly next year we will go to the Holiday Parade in person. In our future explorations of our new state, we are also looking forward to attending the Spud Days Celebration featuring the Miss Russet competition. Our minor league baseball team is the Chukars, hopefully we'll see them play. I look forward to touring the Old Idaho State Penitentiary Museum, as I, like others in my family, have an unnatural obsession with imprisonment. Did you know the state dance of Idaho is the square dance? I have to wonder what others were in the running.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had such a nice day in Idaho! Our second Boise holiday! Idaho spuds were on the docket, of course. It was the wee-est amount of stuffing I've ever cooked! I made homemade cranberry sauce which I was able to cool outside...as it was like 26 degrees out. We went for a family walk, napped, and watched "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry." God bless us every one.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Our First Snowfall!

It snowed! It snowed! This was apparently big news to only me. I was the only one in our condo complex running around in the yard in my bathrobe taking pictures in the wee hours of the morning. It barely made the morning news reports. One person mentioned it at work. Even Miss G was nonplussed by it. I promptly went and bought suede, fleece lined gloves. Idahoans can never have too many gloves.

Snow, people, SNOW!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Tiffany in Bellevue Nov. 10 and 11

My sweet sister was not only gracious enough to come visit me, she also agreed to turn around backwards on the escalator for a photo, against her better judgment. We went to see "The Darjeeling Limited," which we both loved a lot. After the movie we stopped at "The Parlor," which had a 42-foot "ice rail" to keep your drink cold. Very clever.

We met our Jenny in the Magnolia neighborhood for lunch, the Packers/Vikings game, and a too-short visit. It was lovely to be together, even for such a short time.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Working in Seattle

My third office in four weeks. I'm sitting in for Dennis, who is on safari in South Africa. The view is nice...if you like cranes. If you can believe the irony, the coffee in the Seattle office is the worst yet. Blech.

Tootie in the Sawtooths

While Miss Ginger yells a lot in Boise, the beauty of the Sawtooth Mountains did leave her speechless.

Nampa Car Phone


Who knew people still had car phones? This one is in Nampa, where my husband works.

We moved to Idaho.

We decided the lovely town of Portland was getting a little too big for us. That, and we had enough of Pacific Standard Time. We suspect Mountain Standard Time is more our speed. So we up and moved to Idaho. So far we are enjoying it, though Miss Ginger isn't so sure. This is the view from Bogus Basin Ski Resort, about 20 miles from our condo.