The Nampa Life February 2018

The perfect day in Nampa--

a balmy, winter day in February with my SH,

we head West along the lakeshore, the clouds providing the perfect lighting for our afternoon adventure.

A late lunch at the Orchard House on the Sunnyslope wine trail:  house salad with ranch and a small pot of beef stew. We cruise on, top down, to Koenig--where a quiet tasting room provides a fun, relaxed time to sample some of their best wines while chatting up the tasting room gals. Politics, children, and what we're reading lately top the list of conversational topics. A crisp Chardonnay, a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, and the award-winning Syrah Amelia please my palette, while SH puckers over the super sweet ice harvest wines and decadent Port. His prize is a bottle of Koenig Bourbon to sample by the fire pit on late-winter evenings.

After we've said Adieu, we head back to Nampa, a late breeze cooling our flushed faces, to enjoy the best Cortado I've had since sipping a café con leche at a southern Spain café. I've found a reason to return to the Flying M Coffee Garage over and over in the months ahead--to ponder and write, converse or doodle, Cortado in hand. Plus, the gift shop is fun and funky--the vibe that the Flying M, the heart and soul of downtown Nampa, exudes. If you love coffee, you'll understand; this caffeine stop will rock your world. Another perk (pun intended) to living in a small(er) town; you'll never have trouble finding parking at this popular 2nd Street stop.

Buzzed on strong coffee, we head to a seminar on financial investments--a guaranteed win since it includes a free dinner at the best restaurant in town, Brick 29. The perfect martini--vodka, olives--makes the talk palatable. We finish the evening getting to know our table-mates, all California transplants enjoying the life ... in Nampa. 

I should probably start a new blog on Nampa. But we'll end the Les Bois! blog here, settled into our second property in Idaho, now fully renovated, and beginning to host on Airbnb:  Vista Vino!

La Luna de Sangre

After the great Solar Eclipse of 2017, we didn't want to miss another incredible eclipse opportunity:  The 2018 Lunar Eclipse.

Early on January 31, SH and I got up super early to view the transition of a very large, full moon (called a Super Moon because of its current, close proximity to the Earth) starting at 5 a.m. 

The triple event was well worth braving the early, cold morn! It began with the super bright Blue Moon, so called because it was the second full moon in the month of January.

But the transformation from 5 to 6 a.m. during the total lunar eclipse was amazing, and nearly as exciting as the summer solar eclipse. With coffee in hand, we sat on the front lawn, under heavy blankets, and watched as the moon slowly faded away. At the peak of the eclipse, the darkened moon shown a deep rusty red, representing the popular title of Blood Moon. My neighbor got an amazing photo at this point. 

 

Employed!

A follow up on earlier post of potential employment opportunities. Firstly, there is no end to the potential options, and I have such a hard time choosing...


between property management (experience,yes; desire to sit in an office and deal with hundreds of HOA complaints, no)

OR Llama farming (snuggly animals, outdoor activity--both huge bonuses, but Boise seems to have a plethora of llama and goat farmers)

And of course, renovations will keep us busy most of the time, so it had to be something fun and flexible.

So, the winner part-time job is... 

Managing Plant Accounts at local businesses!

I am learning all about the weekly care of indoor plantscapes, and get to spend time in Boise's vibrant downtown pampering gorgeous plants at corporate bank offices, the convention center, restaurants, and hospitals.

New skill set--check! And I love the view from the low sky-rise buildings downtown!

(Photo credit to the Boise tourism department)

Patience

You know you're passionate about renovation and design when friends send you photos of the cabinet pulls they chose for their kitchen.

Or ask about color choices for a specific room. These kinds of things get our creative juices flowing, and with the completion of our kitchen reno drawing near, I think we're really ready to start our next Casa Creations job!

Installing cabinet pulls is one of my least favorite things.

And we could not have chosen a more challenging pull for our kitchen. Achieving level and visual cohesion with these long narrow bars took serious mathematical equations and a lot of finagling.

It was a real practice in patience and took 2 days. But, I think we're achieving the modern, clean lines we wanted for this kitchen.

Can't wait to get that granite... and a sink!!!

Refugee

With the recent bombings in Brussels, we're experiencing a new round of terrorism awareness. It's not something new for me; living in Turkey during Desert Storm was a life-altering experience. When the bombings began in 1991, school was canceled for several weeks. When school finally reconvened, the schedule was altered daily to avoid routine--which provides a target for those with malicious intent. We rode to school in buses with armed soldiers. Car bombings hit close to home and my father rode to work with an armed guard. Yet, our lives continued with sporting events and prom, music festivals and evenings out in the city. My parents refused to let fear rule us, and I'm so thankful for their optimism in the face of terror.

Two weeks ago, bombs killed 40 in Ankara, the city where I grew up, in a busy shopping district that we frequented. Shortly after that, another bombing occurred in Istanbul. The current bombings in Brussels have received more attention, but were actually less deadly than those in Turkey. Nonetheless, the Brussels bombing hit close to home. My second cousin, serving as an LDS missionary there, was at the airport at the time of the bombing and is currently in a Belgium hospital recovering. Three years ago, my brother and his wife were running the Boston marathon when the bombing occurred there.

Is this the way it will be? In Turkey, threat of terrorism was somewhat of a given. But to fear attacks more and more on our own soil and in European countries where Americans once felt safe traveling seems to be inevitable.

And now in Boise, our chosen home, I fully expected--not intentionally--that we would be far from the fear of radical Muslims and potential attacks. Surprisingly, Boise is one of the largest refugee centers in our nation. A trip to Wal-mart guarantees that I will hear Arabic spoken and smile at women wearing hijabs.

It's a Brave New World. But I will not fear. For one, I was brought up to look for the best in people and any given situation. And secondly, my hope is in the eternal good and glory of Christ. Maybe I'll get to befriend some of the Boise refugees. After all, we all came to Boise in hopes of a better life, and I am confident that's what we'll find.

Recovering

So, the flu found us in Boise.

We survived; I've certainly had worse. Maybe the cold here scares the really bad bugs away.

Nonetheless, a big shout out to my favorite comfort creatures who made my many hours in bed bearable; they are so cute.

Super Diamond

 Out on the town in Boise :)

This is a Super Diamond concert--and I think it may have been better than the real thing!

With plenty of Neil's hits, and in a jumpsuit deserving of the Diamond himself, this guy did a great job belting out in true ND form. He even told some funny stories about growing up in the 70s as a Diamond fan, and how uncool that was...

But the house rocked last night with plenty of true fans singing along to their favorite songs.

I even got a few "bah bah bah's" in during Sweet Caroline.