Winter Reading

One of the things I love most about winter is it gives me the chance to read by the fire, have a nice glass or two of wine and enjoy a good book. Or in my case, several. I sometimes draw up a list of books by authors I enjoy and hit the Boise Public Library and pick up those books. Other times I peruse the Idaho Youth Ranch bookstore, Costco's books on sale, or the Hyde Park book store that sells used books.
This winter's reading is almost exclusively fiction, and either humor or espionage type thrillers, with a few quirks thrown in.

Here's the authors and books I've either read or am currently reading:
Bill Bryson-I'm a Stranger Here Myself; A Walk in the Woods
Carl Hiaasen- Sick Puppy; Lucky You - What can I say about Carl? He is the quintessential environmental mystery writer with a twist who has influenced my view of Southern Florida bubbas, crooks and religious nuts with humor and wonderful character development. I haven't read a book by him I didn't enjoy. And I've read at least 8 or 9 by now written by him including two of his three kids books including Hoot.
Barbara Kingsolver - The Lacuna --I confess, this book hasn't done much for me, and I've set it aside. Could be my mindset, but this may be my least favorite book by her. I loved The Bean Trees, and Pigs in Heaven. Less so did I like The Poisonwood Bible.
Mary ann Shaffer & Annie Burrows - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (awesome story taking place during World War II on the tiny island and post War)
David McCullough - Brave Companions - Great short stories about people who made an impact on America that you've probably not heard of.
David Baldacci - Deliver us From Evil - I enjoy all his mystery thriller/espionage books. They are totally mindless entertainment, easy to read, good character development and perfect for plane rides, too.
A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest, Third Edition - I always wanted this book to own and found it updated and better than ever, so I snagged a copy at Costco.

That's it on the current reading list. Go visit your local library and pull up a chair, an ottoman, a glass of wine or nice cup of tea, and READ ON!

What a Difference a Day Makes

You know you're getting old when you spend so much time ruminating about the weather. But, let's face it. This has been a very odd winter indeed. Things started off like gangbusters at Thanksgiving here in Boise with nearly a foot of snow over a handful of days. And it didn't stop. It pretty much snowed some most days for the next 7 weeks. Snow on the ground the entire time, too and temps that rarely if ever topped the freezing mark. Whether you count in celsius or farenheit, it was way chilly. Then the Pineapple Express showed up, an odd weather phenomena that afflicts Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. Warm Pacific monsoons rained on our parade up to 8500 feet, washing away the snowpack, stabilizing the avalanche danger once it settled and making skiing pretty much such after awhile. It hasn't done much since MLKing Holiday mid January when the Express showed up. In fact, it's been downright mild. Last Saturday I went for a 17 mile bike ride in 61 degree weather. Then on Sunday I raked out 9 bags of pine needles, finished trimming broken branches from the earlier storms, pruned the fruit trees and enjoyed the fruits of my labor with a very sore back. Monday it was 68 degree. Well, it's Thursday morning and what a difference 24 hours makes. We're back to winter, and I love it! Nice bright clean snow on the ground.

Oh and in the midst of this, my daughter had her 8th grade winter formal dance; which simply put, means they dress up and don't look like gangbangers, like they do much of the time in Jr. High. It's a good thing it's been warm because these kids wear shorts all through the winter and typically no winter coats, either.

Next up is off to Bogus Basin to teach snow science to 4th to 6th graders. And there is 5 new inches of snow. Life is good, indeed.

Exploring Idaho-Whitewater Film Fest Teaser

Now here's some things I love--Idaho boaters and boot beers. These are some of the rambunctious punks I've met from the next generation. Click on the Title to view the movie

Dipper Creek, British Columbia

If this doesn't get your heart pounding living vicariously, I don't know what will.

The Chicago Blizzard-3rd Biggest Since Recordkeeping Began

I didn't grow up in Chicago, but I do recall the ginormous blizzard we had in Illinois in 1967 as a kid. We lived in Decatur then but my older brother was at the University of Chicago in graduate school. They got close to 3 feet in that storm and we got similar at home. School was closed for days while everyone dug out. Here's some of my favorite photos taken by Chicago area locals of the storm today on 02_02_2011.