Meridian, Idaho
I had a totally car free day yesterday. No, not a care free day, but a car free day. 🙂
I didn’t drive anywhere. I didn’t ride anywhere. I just stayed home.
And, my oh my, did I get lots done.
Cleaned my filing cabinets (which is the job I hate the most), caught up on bill paying, and other tasks I’ve been putting off for way too long.
And then the best part of the day:
A 90 minute nap with Sophie. Lovely! 🙂
Meridian, Idaho
The Tipping Point is an excellent book written by Malcolm Gladwell. “The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.”
We witnessed the tipping point recently in regards to the feelings of the Confederate flag since the Charleston shooting travesty.
While there have been movements towards removing the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina capital for years, the scales just tipped towards removing it and it will be a huge surprise if their legislature doesn’t vote to remove it.
But has the issue tipped too far?
The city of Boise has a display of the flags from all fifty states at its city hall building.
Mayor Dave Bieter has asked that the Mississippi state flag be taken down because it contains the Confederate emblem . “Bieter felt it wasn’t appropriate for the city of Boise – with its welcoming reputation and immigrant population – to fly that state flag.”
I get not flying the Confederate battle flag on state property, but I don’t get not flying a state’s flag within a display of all fifty states’ flags especially when there are six states in the South that live in the shadow of the Confederacy and have purposely designed state flags with that in mind.
From FirstLook.org:
Alabama:Â Designed to resembled the flag of the 60th Alabama Infantry Regiment during the Civil War.
Arkansas:Â Top star added to show state was part of Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865.
Florida:Â Cross was added in 1900 by suggestion from Gov. Francis P. Fleming, a Confederate soldier.
Georgia:Â The state has a complex history with several flags. This was the flag from 1956 – 2001.
Georgia:Â This is current flag. Resembles the first national flag of the Confederate States of America.
Mississippi:Â This has been the flag since 1894 and attempts to change it in 2001 failed.
Tennessee:Â This is the flag since 1905. Slightly resembling the Third National flag of the Confederacy.
Meridian, Idaho
I faced a dilemma this morning and had to make a hard choice.
Should I stay home and enjoy some alone time or should I go play pickleball?
Rich is off to build shelves at our friends’ new home this morning.
And my favorite pickleball group is playing at courts less than two miles as the crows fly from our house.
I LOVE alone time. (More about that later this week…)
But apparently, I LOVE LOVE LOVE pickleball even more because I’m off to play pickleball.
There’s nothing like the sweat and euphoria pickleball induces.
I’m shocked that alone time didn’t win, but I gotta go…
Pickleball awaits. 🙂
Meridian, Idaho
I used to ride my bike to and from work when we lived in Fallon. My route was about seven miles, so it was a relatively easy commute.
Easy, unless it was during the dog days of summer.
The morning commute was lovely–temperature below 80, little wind, and car drivers were polite.
The afternoon commute could be a nightmare…
If the temperature was below 90, the dogs might bark but they never came after me.
If the temperature was between 100 and 105, they’d snarl from their place on porches or under trees in the shade.
If the temperature was between 90 and 100, watch out! They were vicious and would come after me and attack my legs with teeth barred.
I started carrying a squirt gun filled with ammonia to ward them off. After I squirted them a few times, they’d usually stay away.
That worked until it got really hot and the temperature was above 105.
Nothing kept them away then…
So I kept a close watch on the weather and wouldn’t ride my bike if the temperature was predicted to be over 105.
Looking at our forecast for the next ten days, I wouldn’t be riding much if I were commuting here in Meridian…
Meridian, Idaho
Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there!
A father’s role in his child’s life is so critical. Too often our society places too much emphasis on only the mother’s role. Both parents can and should provide valuable life lessons and help build healthy self-esteem.
I heard this song (Daughters by John Mayer) while driving the other day. It seems appropriate to listen to it on Father’s Day because it warns of the effects of an absent father. While the song is about daughters, the song’s message applies to both sons and daughters–the importance of a father’s presence and role in his children’s lives.
Daughters
I know a girl
She puts the color inside of my world
But she’s just like a maze
Where all of the walls all continually change
And I’ve done all I can
To stand on her steps with my heart in my hands
Now I’m starting to see
Maybe it’s got nothing to do with me
Fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too
Oh, you see that skin?
It’s the same she’s been standing in
Since the day she saw him walking away
Now she’s left
Cleaning up the mess he made
So fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too
Boys, you can break
You’ll find out how much they can take
Boys will be strong
And boys soldier on
But boys would be gone without the warmth from
A woman’s good, good heart
On behalf of every man
Looking out for every girl
You are the god and the weight of her world
So fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too
Meridian, Idaho
We live about two blocks west of the Boise city limits and a couple of blocks south of the Eagle city limits. So we are literally minutes from what all three cities (Boise, Eagle, and Meridian) offer.
One of the best things about the Treasure Valley is the Greenbelt. It runs for miles along the Boise River.
This morning Sophie and I took a stroll along the Greenbelt in Eagle. It was a beautiful morning and the walk was so very nice. We started out in a park…
And ended up on the Boise River…
There were lots of people out. Some on bikes, some with their children, some with their dogs.
Part of the walk was along wetlands that are lush with greenery…
We saw some fish sunning themselves…
I was all excited thinking they were trout, but then a man walked by me staring at them and said one word to set me straight, “Carp.” 🙂
One of the houses along the river has the most beautiful cascading petunias I have ever seen…
I’m a sucker for bridges and can’t pass them up without taking a picture or two…
Much of the walk is shaded, perfect for a hot sunny day…
I think I had a better time than Sophie. She was a bit miffed that I didn’t let her swim in the river…
Meridian, Idaho
From NPR.org, an article sent to me by my sister Joanne showing us, yet again, that people are good! (Thanks, Joanne!)
If a boy named Owen suspects his stuffed tiger named Hobbes has a secret life, the staff of Tampa International Airport won’t disagree. Owen recently lost Hobbes at the airport — and when he reclaimed the tiger, he also received photos of Hobbes touring the facility.
Owen, 6, had flown from Florida to Texas. His mother, Amanda Lake, says that for much of the trip, Owen was preoccupied with whether his tiger was OK.
“Hobbes is one of a kind. He was made by hand by his aunt who lives in Houston,” Lake tells the Tampa Bay Times.
Not only was Hobbes OK, but after he was found by the airport’s janitorial crew, the operations staff decided to take the tiger for some gelato and on behind-the-scenes tours of the airport. Hobbes also stopped by a hotel and played Jenga.
Hobbes poses for a photo with a member of the airport’s tarmac emergency crew. The tiger was safely reunited with his young owner — along with a photo album of his exploits.
When Owen returned from Texas, he was reunited with Hobbes and given a bound book of photographs that showed what his tiger had been up to.
It was all the brainchild of Airport Operations Center Manager Tony D’Aiuto, who says he used a coupon to make the photo book at a drugstore. The story is drawing wide attention — after all, it’s rather rare to see a heartwarming story emerge from an airport, particularly at the start of the summer travel season.
“It was very, very sweet,” Lake said in a news release from the airport. “We already told him over and over that Hobbes was on an adventure so it was nice to get back and show him that Hobbes really had been on an adventure.
“Thank you to everyone at Tampa International Airport who took such great care of Hobbes. It was such a nice surprise.”
On the airport’s Facebook post about the story, the top-rated comment is from a woman who wrote, “What a great story. What a great airport” — to which the airport replied, “Thanks mom!”
Owen, 6, is reunited with his tiger, Hobbes. He had left the stuffed animal at the airport.
Meridian, Idaho
I’m sewing a shirt for myself, and it’s been at least a decade since I’ve sewn clothing.
I’d rather buy clothing already made, but I’m having a hard time finding summer shirts that are made from a fabric that doesn’t contain rayon, polyester, or some other fabric that doesn’t breathe and help keep me cool. So I bought some 100% cotton and a pattern.
All the patterns I looked at contain multiple sizes, from 6 through 16. And that’s a good thing because I was not really sure what size I needed.
I’m not a clothes horse and HATE shopping, so I buy most of my clothes at Walmart.
I have always suspected that Walmart uses a different ruler to measure their sizes than other stores.
I’ve almost finished sewing my shirt and tried it on last night. It’s a little snug, and according to the pattern it’s FOUR sizes LARGER than the last shirt I bought at Walmart.
I think Walmart and other stores want their shoppers to think they are not as fat as they are. Â So we feel good thinking that we’re “only a size 12” when really we’re a size 16.
The pattern company I bought is called New Look, but they aren’t using new sizing.  🙂
I came across this on-line yesterday and found it inspirational enough to share with y’all. Hope it resonates with you as much as it does with me.
It’s a list of Melinda Gates’ “Golden Rules” for life which first appeared in the Winter 2014 issue of PORTER magazine.
I love the simplicity of the rules, the encouragement to connect with myself and with others, and the reasons behind the truth and importance of each of the rules.
1. Trust yourself. This is the most important thing. Everybody has an inner truth and if you learn how to listen to it, you’ll be happier in everything you do.
2. Make time for quiet self-reflection. There are distractions everywhere, and you need to connect with nature and quiets truths to live a meaningful, balanced life.
3. Cultivate great friends and keep them close. Tell them what you’re learning and what you’re excited about, and they’ll do the same for you.
4. Be a lifelong learner. You’ll be amazed at what you don’t know and what the world holds in store.
5. Broaden your world view. I didn’t know anything about half of the world until I was in my early thirties. I’ve spent the last 20 years filling in that gap and its one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.
6. Connect deeply with others. Our humanity is the one thing we all have in common.
7. Get a good night’s sleep! I’m talking about eight hours. And while you’re at it, exercise. Your mind and body need it.
8. Laugh aloud as often as possible. Laugh with others. Laugh at yourself. However you laugh, do it with abandon.
9. Teach your children your values – don’t just teach them how to tie their shoes and do multiplication tables. Teach them how to think about the important things in life.
10. Read books with your friends and family and talk about them. You learn and grow more when you do it within a community.
Meridian, Idaho
My dad will turn 95 at the end of July.
For 95, he’s in amazing health. Heck for 80, he’s in amazing health. 🙂
He lives with my sister Mary Lou in her gorgeous house that sits in a park-like setting on the Carson River in Fallon, Nevada.
Wildlife is bountiful including deer grazing on the pasture, neighborhood dogs stopping by for a Milk Bone treat, and a plethora birds.
For some reason, this year there has been an abundance of magpies. And Dad can’t stand magpies!
I’ve always rather liked magpies, but many people don’t. I think part of the reason is that they are clever, and the other part is that they have a reputation to steal things.
Magpies are part of the crow family, and the Eurasian magpie (pictured above) is considered one of the most intelligent animals in the world, and the only non-mammal species able to recognize itself in a mirror test. (Wikipedia)
Dad taught all his girls lots about the outdoors. We went on a camping trip most every summer. We learned how to fish in streams and on lakes. Â He taught us how to catch lizards using dental floss and a stick. We hiked to the top of Mount Rose, the highest mountain near Reno. (I’m pretty sure I complained the whole way because it was a tough hike and freezing cold, but now it’s one of my fondest memories…)
Dad taught us many of the things he loved doing as a boy. He loved sharing and teaching, and he also enjoyed doing those things again.
And apparently that continues…
He asked Mary Lou for a sling shot for his birthday. She ordered one and gave Dad his gift early.
And now he’s doing target practice for magpie murders. 🙂
