Happy New Year!!

As we close the old year and reflect on the past,
On things that may (or not?) last,
Give thanks for the good
and learn from the bad,
Give thanks for our loved ones
and good times we’ve had.

For the new year does bring us
a brand new fresh start,
For peace and goodwill,
let’s all do our part.
Let’s be kind to our global
sisters and brothers,
Let’s care for our earth
and for one another.

So, Old Year, Adieu,
I’m glad that it’s done,
I’m thankful we get to
start a new one.
I wish you the best of good health
and great cheer
As we enter a grand
and joyous New Year!

Happy, Happy New Year!

Love,

Bonnie

Merry Christmas!

I didn't do a very good job of sending Christmas cards this year so I hope you can consider this my card to you. I spent pre-Christmas in Seattle with Andy, Brandon, and Alix. I had a fabulous time and hope that they did as well.

Of course, as soon as I got to Brandon and Alix's place the first thing I did was go out onto the deck and take pictures.
The weather was almost balmy and has even fooled some of the trees and bushes into thinking it is spring.

But, inside it was looking a lot like Christmas.


And we are looking pretty jolly!

I was there on Winter Solstice and wanted to do something special involving lights of some sort. So we decided to go to the Belview Botanical Gardens to see their display. Having been to the light display at the zoo in Billings, I had a pretty good idea what to expect. At least I thought I did. What I didn't expect was a spectacular display of lights. Here we are in front of "forsythia" and a "butterfly"
We then moved on to an incredible display of hyacinths, water lillies, cattails, ducks and a fountain.
My three shining lights
Sunflowers and grapes. What a great way to spend the Solstice.
The next night Andy fixed a most incredible Indian meal for our "Christmas dinner."
He says he enjoys cooking for us even though he cooks every day at his job. We really enjoy him cooking for us!

I had to leave the next day, but we had time to stop at Pikes Market for a bit (had to get my Pike's fix).

Then, sadly, it was back to MtnHm and my quiet and very empty house. I have to confess that I broke down this year and bought a fake tree. After looking at trees at a lot in town, I decided that $50 for a blue-tinged and manicured tree wasn't worth it so I bought a fake one at Wally World for $35. It's too perfect looking but it holds the ornaments (and I didn't have to string lights on it) so I guess that's the main thing.

It was fun getting out the decorations although it took twice as long as usual to decorate because I didn't know where they "belonged." But I figured it out

and it looks a bit like Christmas


Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Miscellaney

I had planned to post something for Thanksgiving but it somehow slipped away from me--like time always seems to do. But even though Thanksgiving is gone and we are in the slippery slide to Christmas, I am still feeling overwhelmingly thankful for my family and friends. You're the BEST!! Thanks for being there.

So, I've mentioned to some of you that the family room is now painted and is 100% better than the ugly paneling, but the color is a bit bold. What was supposed to be wheat field gold, is definitely pumpkin...

I wasn't exaggerating, was I???

So then it was on to more chaos as I moved everything into the living room in order to have the carpets cleaned. Finally. It feels really good to get rid of the last of the construction dust.


Somewhere along the line, I managed to get in a hike at Bruneau Dunes. The view from the top of the big dune

That's all folks.

A Bit of Fun

I've managed to get out for a bit of fun the last couple weekends. Last week my retired librarian friend, Mary, and I went to Hagerman (east of here) for hiking and hotsprings. We stayed at a cute little place on Billingsley Creek--a lovely setting.

We hiked around Thousand Springs. This water was just gushing out of the side of the ridge--pretty impressive.

This was taken from the bridge across Malad Gorge. This is typical of southern Idaho. I hiked down into a similar gorge three weekends ago. (unfortunately forgot my camera on that one.)

We also hiked at Little City of Rocks. I thought the rock formations and "hoo doos" would be a fantasy writer's paradise! Do you see the eye of the iguana? Or maybe it's a cobra ready to strike a man with a helmet. Or maybe it's a dinosaur...
Last weekend was the plains, this weekend was the mountains. I went to Bogus Basin outside of Boise for a women's survival class. It felt so good to be in the mountains again.We had the first part of the class in the ski lodge.


Then we practiced our whittling skills
Our fire making skillsAnd here I am happily sitting in our little shelter
I almost feel like I should go out and get lost so I can use my new-found skills!

The Madness Continues

If I ever talk about buying a fixer-upper again, please shoot me! The last room that needed work was the family room. I really didn't like the dark paneling.

I had Davis paint the paneling on the fireplace wall but that took three coats of paint and looked really lousy. But by that time, I was at the point of no return. I either had to paint the rest of the paneling and live with it, or take the paneling off and texture and paint. Silly, me--I chose to take off the paneling. Two inches of dust and total chaos later...

I'm thinking the paneling wasn't all that bad. Will I ever learn??!!?

AHHH Vacation!

Oh, to be independently wealthy and on permanent vacation... I would probably do what I've done the past few weeks but just more of. I took a long weekend and flew to Seattle for a fabulous time with my kids. This time I stayed with Brandon and Alix and although I arrived in the dark, I could tell I was entering a sanctuary. Pretend you're going down the steps through the tunnel of bushes and trees

and it just keeps getting better. Through the house (which is really cute) and out to the deck and this is what you see looking north

Looking south, here's Alix and her buddy J.L. Seagull which she isn't feeding. Really. Well, just one round cracker that went down his throat and looked like he'd swallowed a frisbee. And maybe just one more because the first one kinda got stuck...

Then there's Andy, Brandon and I after a hard evening of fishing right below the deck

I really could get used to this lifestyle! Thanks, kids, for a great time!

Less than a week later, I was off for Montana. My first stop was at Greek Creek Campground on the Gallatin River. This was a trip down the memory river as my family used to camp here when I was a kid. I just sat by the river and drank in the clear, pine crisp air. It feels good to be home.

I got to spend time with good friends and get some much needed (for both body and soul) hiking. First on the Boulder,

And then to Lost Lake south of Red Lodge.

Funny how these three places feel more like home than the house in Billings that I've had for 18 years or the house in Mtn Home that I currently live in.

Vacation was way too short and then it was back to ID. I thought I'd get in one more hike after I got home before going back to work so I drove to a reservoir north of Mtn Home where the map showed a trail. Well, apparently it's all private land and has been so since the '50s. Let's not rush things here--I guess 4o years isn't enough time to update a map. So, after hiking to a pretty alpine lake in Montana,

I end my vacation at a lake where people drive down to the shore and bait fish.

And what's wrong with this picture??

Isn't a forest supposed to have ... well... trees?? Welcome to southern Idaho.

End of Summer--Bummer!

Well, I may not post often, but at least I'm once-a-month consistent. School started this week which, even after all these years of being an empty nester, still signifies the end of summer. I try not to dwell on all the things I didn't do this summer but it's hard when there is very little that I did do. I haven't gone hiking, fishing, or golfing. I did finally make it to the mountains but not for hiking. McCall, about 2 hours north east of Boise, is a small resort town on a lake. I went with two of my coworkers (one of them insanely conservative--my tongue is still raw from biting back words!), the other definitely not a hiker, more of a sitter. Still, it was nice to smell pine trees and be by water.





But, jeez, do I ever miss Red Lodge and the Boulder!






On the somewhat creative side, I finally finished a baby present for my nephew's new baby, Xavier. He was born end of May--I was beginning to think that if I didn't finish it soon, I'd be sending it for his graduation! Of course the hard part is finding a box and card and actually putting it in the mail. Soon very, very soon.


It's a stuffed dog that turns into a blanket. I think he turned out pretty good. I hope Baby Xavier likes him.







Things to look forward to:

I'm so excited--I get to fly to Seattle for the weekend to visit the kids! It's a quick trip--Thursday nite to Sunday afternoon--but I'll take any time with them that I can get.

Then the next weekend, Labor Day weekend, I'm driving to Billings under the guise of taking care of the house, but really to visit friends and hopefully get in some much needed hiking. It seems hard to believe that it's been almost a year since I left there. Funny how time flies while it's sitting still.

Time's a Flyin

Another month bites the dust. And a busy month it's been. I just got back from the Air Force/Navy Librarians conference in Chicago. It was a good experience, although a bit overwhelming. I stayed in a 5 star hotel (a first for me). The downside was that I had a roommate. The upside was that it was an amazing room. The bathroom was as big as one of my bedrooms and, get this, had a tv at the foot of the tub.


Unfortunately, the tub was so big I couldn't lay down in it without slipping under.

We were on the 17th floor so had a pretty good view.I got out an about every day. Here I am with "the Bean." Not sure that's what it's called but that's what it looks like.

I also took an architectural cruise on the Chicago River. This is one of the views.

Note to the Librarians out there who haven't gone to ALA yet: plan three times as much time to get around as you think you might need. I had one day to do the exhibits and well, yes, I did get a bit of a late start--you know me--but then it took me an hour and a half to go 5 miles. shoulda just walked it... And then, halfway there I realized I forgot my exhibit pass. So, needless to say, I didn't get to see the exhibits. But I did get a taste of the craziness that is ALA. Look out D.C.--I'll be ready next year!

So, just to catch up on previous happenings, I found a labyrinth to walk in Boise. It was a nice solstice kind of thing to do.

I also went on an herb/nature walk with some folks.

Micaela (in green) is an herbalist; her husband Davis (on the uphill side) is my handyman and their daughter Johanna (number 8), along with some others.

We snacked on some wild currents and plan to return when the wild plums are ripe.

That's about it for life in Mountain Home.

Remodeling Continues...

It's time for a remodeling update. The kitchen is totally complete.

This includes the completed backsplash. It didn't turn out quite as good as I had hoped, but it's good enough. I keep telling myself that anything I do to this place is better than what it was. Plus, I feel like it is practice for my "dream house."

The next project that is in progress is the master bath. This will be the final major project (besides the family room, garage and yard...). I forgot to take a "before" picture so this is a "during" one. The tile in the tub enclosure is already in.

The walls have been textured and painted, a 100% improvement over the sand that was there before. Yep, you heard me--sand. It made great pumice--just rub your heels on the wall and it was like getting a pedicure (not that I tried it--euwww!).

Stay tuned for updates...