Grab the Day

  


 Summer  has been slow in getting going.  Some how she has forgotten her quick step and replaced it with a waltz.  Yesterday started gloomy and of course windy--not the best day to haul bikes out for a short trip.  After deliberation and some hesitation we decided to just go for it.  Jackson Hole was the planned destination  and from past experience we have learned that crossing to the other side of the mountains often opens up a window of better weather.  Dark grey clouds loomed in front of us guiding us through Antelope Flats and into Swan Valley, over the pass into Teton and on over the mountain to Jackson.  Sun and light wind greeted us as we followed the curve of the road into Wilson.    

It turned out to be a grab it day.  Perfect in so many ways: mild temperature, moderate breeze, few people and broken clouds.  There are experiences which just happen and grow as the day develops with little direction on our part and this was one of those days. 

Too much worry and the search for perfection throw up road blocks and discourage risk taking.  Not everything should be approached with perfection in mind.  That perfect sun, the blue sky, the right temp--just doesn't come together very often.  But who cares.  Time moves too fast during an Idaho summer and the days we are given are meant to be used. 

  We took a chance and the day paid us back in full.  Lucky us!  The lesson learned--don't be a foot dragger.

 

 

Gee I got a medal
 

Smiles, a great attitude and positive approach to a major bump in the road.

 

Twelve thousand  people joined in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Boise Mother's Day weekend.  Seven hundred of the participants were survivors.  You see families in the white t-shirts walking with a family member wearing a pink shirt which lets everyone know that she is a survivor. 

 

These women have battled a private war and have come through much stronger and more self assured for what they have experienced.  Not only is the race about raising money for breast cancer research, but it is a celebration of life and individual victories. 

 

The logo on the white shirts--INSPIRED-- is representative of the attitude shared by all walkers wearing them.  They support and praise those in pink who have journeyed farther than just the 1k or the 5k. 

She is the survivor and I am inspired!

Never too young

 

The Harley ladies--Leaders of the Pack

A fun atmosphere almost like a carnival

If you show up be prepared to have a good time and even be a little silly.  A good costume helps

 

 

 the sillier the better   

   Will Kathy and I be back next year?  You bet we will.

Oh So Good

Long before we knew that some of our favorite comfort foods were not really all that comforting we were a happy people.  We blissful ate at our local drive in and indulged in such horrible things as hand dipped corn dogs deep fried in GREASE which was saved and used over and over again.  Sides like onion rings and French fries, also cooked in that same grease accompanied the dog.  All the fat contained in this delicious combo was washed down with a thick chocolate shake. 

 

Sometimes you just have to relive the days of ignorance and marvel at how blissfully uncomplicated life was.  If it tasted good we ate it with no guilt or calorie counter.  Many of our memories are associated with food.  As a child going to the drive in for a hamburger, fries and coke was a special treat.  The 50's introduced us to the fast food.  You pulled into the parking lot and walked to the window to order and waited while everything was freshly cooked.  You sat outside at a table or ate in your car.  When I was in Jr. High my friends an I walked to the Jumbo Drive Inn with a dollar and ordered a 50 cent hamburger, 25 cent coke and a small order of fries also 25 cents.  What a treat.

 

We had no idea we were eating unhealthy fat depositing food.  The trip for hamburgers was not a daily or even weekly experience.  It was a special treat with days and weeks passing before the next grease surge.  We had no idea we were eating junk food.  There was no quilt associated with consuming onion rings, a shake, chocolate sundae, or hamburger; only joy and satisfaction.

 

Occasionally it is good to resurrect the fond memories of drive in food; to just eat it because you want it and because it tastes darn good.  Evidently others feel that way too because when we visit the Fanci Freeze in Boise we stand in line to order.  During the winter we eat outside in a large heated tent, and in warm weather we sit at outside tables with umbrellas.  There has to be something about the over used grease that feeds the soul and calls us back because Fanci Freeze  has served comfort food since 1947. I figure several times a year I can visit and eat whatever I want.  No quilt, remorse or calorie counting is allowed to come along and spoil the experience. Just give me a hand full of napkins and I am a happy camper.

A Spring Day

 After months of gray skies, wind and

cold temps, I am hungry for the color green.  The grass is changing from brown to emerald green and 
the soft green of new leaves brings a lightness to the air.  Spirits begin to lift and everything and everyone comes alive.  It is time to breath deeply and enjoy the clean new season of spring.


This season called spring creates a new energy--the need to get outside. Today we took  our favorite bikes, the cruisers to Blackfoot to ride the path along the river.  It was a beautiful quite morning a fresh new day with sun just waiting to be soaked up.  The trees are bursting with new growth and the river bank is still free of brush and tangled vines. A heron fly low along the bank and landed ahead of us.  We quietly searched until we found him hidden in the willows.  On a perfect spring day even the ever present dandelion shines.  Today I welcomed its bright yellow buttons and thought of it as a flower and not a weed. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

So Much To See

So Much Too See

Little Italy farmers market----San Diego

I have a restless soul, a soul that needs to move and stretch, a soul that needs to be fed. 
There is always something more to see and experience further a field.  Here is not enough.
Sometimes I have to leave the wide open spaces and seek the larger, more crowded arena.
People I don't know and have never seen before and will never see again intrigue me.
I like the color of noise and crowds and tall buildings stretching toward the sky.  The
activities of lives pushed together in a shared space makes me feel energetic, invigorated
and large.  I don't mind. sharing the sidewalk with people who bump my shoulder or ridding in
a bus rather than a car and even the grinding subway train is musical.

out door cafe Little Italy (phot shopped)

succulents big and luscious

My day to day space is small, brown and tiny.  I like coming back to it, but I also like leaving it.
Perhaps, I want too much of the world and should be content with what I have at hand.  I can plant my feet for only so long and  they begin to itch with wander lust, and soon my thoughts turn
toward some place diffeent.  There is more beyond here and now.  Someday I may be content to
rest and watch things move past me and not be a participant.  I hope not, but until then I will not think about it and allow my curiosity to propel me forward.      

"I'm only ninety nine," says Retha as she pushes her walker through the halls of the Idaho capitol building.  She moves with as much spring as her near 100 limbs can muster.  Moving a little slower than the rest of the assisted living group,which consists of younger people in their 80's she never misses a beat.  "I'm only ninety nine," she tells me again.  Two members of the tour sport walkers, one a cane and two on their.  Jack, using a cane and sporting a white Santa beard and a Vietnam veteran ball cap is rather quiet, but he and Nolan converse back and forth about various things as we all move through the capitol building. 

Because stairs are not an option the elevators are the mode of moving from one floor to another.  I get two with walkers, Jack and his cane and a chaperon in the elevator and there is no room for me.  Off I go running up the stairs to meet them. Nolan loads a second elevator and he can just squeeze in. This process continues until we reach the 4th floor.  We even manage to get them into the balcony of the Senate Chambers for the opening devotional.  "I'm only ninety nine," Retha says as we sit together on the steps of the balcony.  Jack sits on the other side of her with his ball hat in  hand and stands to say the pledge of allegiance.

Never once a moan or complaint was heard from the group.  Coo dos to their energy and interest level.  Age may make them physically slower, but the desire to learn and look for stimulation is still alive and well.  Younger individuals could take notes from this group about staying in the game of life.

 

Winter Tricks

As winter settles in over southeastern Idaho there is an erg that comes with--an erg to run--not for the sake of exercise but to escape.  Most runners head south toward southern Utah or even further to Nevada or Arizona.  Pickup trucks pulling fifth wheels and large motor homes with little dogs on the dash boards helping navigate push south.  So when the need to leave the extreme cold and snow took hold of us, we decided to head west--go west young man go west.  We heeded that famous advice and went to Boise


With seats down in the highlander and no dog on the dash, we packed it full and left the cold temps of Idaho Falls and sought the more moderate climate of the capital city.  It has not been a repreive from the snow that doesn't melt or single digit temps.  Sometimes fate plays cruel tricks on us and laughs histerically at our surprise and horror.  You played a good one on us--the worst Boise winter in years with snow and cold.  We have felt confused and stunned; this was not suppose to happen here.  What is it with the night time lows of 3 degrees and 4 inches of snow in one day?

                                Out door cafe--January day in Boise  cold and sunny


We have touched base with old Idaho Friends who moved here for the better weather and have received a cold shoulder.  They have suggested, in a polite manner, that we brought this mess with us from the underworld of the lesser part of the state.  Okay, now it is time for them to cowboy up and quit complaining.  The single digits eventually move into double digits before the day is over and stay above zero at night.  In my opinion they have had it too easy for too many years in the banana belt of Idaho.

We are here and this is where we will be for a couple of months enjoying our city loft and our city life style. Neither rain nor sleet nor snow will send us packing. Eveything is always in constant flux and continual change.  The weather is a good example.  Trust me you Boise people--it will get better.