Workplace Entertainment

I am fortunate to work with some very colorful people. A colleague sent this email out to our team today--I thought it was funny enough to share.

"I seem to have caught an annoying cold. I'll be at home pissing and moaning about it. I'm also annoyed with the product "Kleenex" or whatever it is. I put it up to my nose, blow, and I get snot on my hand every damn time. Might as well cut out the middle man and just blow right in my hand. The product manager for that crap should be shot."

A Weekend Trip to Montana

Last weekend we were on the road again, this time headed east for Montana. The weekend plans included at least one day of hard work trimming century-old apple trees in the orchard of our family farm, as well as spending some quality time with family and friends.

We left Boise just after 3am Friday morning in order to make it to Billings for lunch with the grandparents. We were both surprised at how quickly nine hours of driving passes these days when compared to our cross-country drive in July. It is a pretty drive from Boise to Billings with many different types of scenery. Eastbound from Boise almost to the Montana border you see nothing but potato, sugar beet, wheat, and malt barley fields. Even during the flattest parts of the drive you are still surrounded by mountains on the horizon. The contrast of irrigated valleys against the dry grassland of the hillsides paints a beautiful landscape for the entire drive. The drive home was equally beautiful, but different; Sunday's storm rained snow on nearly every mountain range!

Saturday: The Ranch

We got an early morning start and headed out to the ranch, having done lots of research the week prior on pruning apple trees. It was a bigger job than anticipated; we were hoping to trim dead wood, prune rubbing branches and shape the treees. We quickly realized that we only had time to trim and stack the dead limbs. The family arrived just after lunch and helped stack wood and pick apples. It was an exciting foreshadow of what family adventures are to come once we have a place to stay on the ranch.

We also had to cut down one tree that we discovered was completely rotten inside. Benign neglect (no water or pruning) has killed many of the original trees, leaving nine healthy ones: Gano, Wolf River, and Yellow Transparent varieties. The Ganos were loaded with fruit, so Leslie and I took home about 20 gallons of apples. Once the irrigation ditches are reestablished, we will be planting new trees. I have been researching all sorts of fruit to add to the orchard; cherries, pears, peaches, mulberry, and more apples.

When I was in college, my friend Betsy came up with the concept of a "last first". We would get together in the courtyard of Cafe Gardens, drink pitchers of beer, and trade last firsts--what was the last thing you did for the first time?

This weekend I had several last firsts, one being my first time using a chainsaw. I had expressed interest in learning how to use one so Jon bought me a 14" Stihl.

Sunday: I Heart Plum Jam

We arrived in Billings at the tail end of plum season and Granny and Grandpa Dunn's tree was still loaded, even after the family had made over 50 jars of jam and jelly. Here I had my second last first: my first plum ever, plucked ripe from the tree to boot.

While picking plums, Granny told me the story of this tree. The tree that stands in the yard today is actually the second tree in that spot--the original tree is gone. Granny tells how, when Jon's father died unexpectedly in late September of 1980, she wandered into the backyard and stood under the original tree, contemplating. Eventually, she found herself standing under the tree, eating plums and "feeling sorry". Granny buried one of those pits that day, and the pit grew into a tree that eventually was big enough to replace the original ailing tree. Fast forward almost exactly 27 years--Jon's sister and I made roughly 40 jars of plum jam on Sunday.

Sunday evening: Red Lodge, Montana

Jon did chores for Granny and Grandpa on Sunday afternoon. That evening, after stopping first at the ranch, we took the scenic gravel road route through Dry Creek to the quaint town of Red Lodge for pizza (incidentally some of the best pizza I have had) with friends from the next ranch over from ours. A nasty storm rolled through, bringing much needed precipitation and some pretty spectacular views.

Here we are standing on Dry Creek Road looking to the west--about 3 miles from our place.

The picture below was taken about 15 miles from our place--almost to Red Lodge. This view is to the east-northeast. Our ranch would be in the top right corner.

Before there was Boise

We sold our home in Raleigh.

Emptied the house.

Stopped in at the Pancake Pantry in Nashville, Tennesee for the best-ever pancakes.

Continued on, bleary-eyed, through the hay bales of Somewhere, South Dakota.

Stopped for barbecue, hacky-sack and family time in Billings, Montana.

Toured the Beartooth Pass on bicycles.

Toured Grandpa Dunn's meticulous garden.

Spent some quality time with Granny and Grandpa, making sure to sample homemade plum jelly.

We also toured the ranch property, making mental notes of a long list of projects.

The original house on the ranch.

The original out-house on the ranch.

Chokecherries abound on the ranch--jelly is in my future!

Another lovely view.

(New) home sweet home.

Good and Bad

I finished up my first week of classes tonight in the best possible way, an early release! The instructor finished the first nutrition lecture in about an hour and 15 minutes. Hopefully my two night classes will need less attention than the two day killers. I get to ride my bike to campus for my day classes, but I have to use gas twice during the week for school, isn't that cool? Only driving two days a week is going to take some adjustment.

As most folks know, Idaho is the top spot for wildfires this year. I could see three fires north of Boise while driving east on I-84 going back to Boise after class tonight. I took a picture with my phone , I must apologize for the quality of the picture. It's an awe inspiring thing to see the smoke from such a great distance. (Look above the white car and you'll see the plume of smoke, to the right and left are two more fires.)

Hopefully we won't run into any fires (or bears) while camping this weekend at Lake Cascade.

Oh, Larry!

By now you have likely heard about the scandal surrounding an alleged (homosexual) bathroom incident involving Senator Larry Craig from Idaho. If not, you can read more here in the national news and here for local commentary.

When I walked into my downtown Boise, Idaho office building on Monday morning, the street was littered with picketers holding signs urging for an end to funding for the Iraq War. The Peace Coalition of Idaho is holding an event called “Bring the Iraq Occupation Home” and will be protesting outside of Senator Craig’s office building all week. In addition, “teams of two resisters will share their grievances in the congressional offices all day for the entire week.” I don’t know how much “sharing” is going on—I can see them through the office window, waiting patiently, every time I make a trip to the bathroom. See, Senator Larry Craig’s office is in my building. On my floor.

He was having a really bad Monday.

When I left the building for lunch, the TV station vans were parked out front and the cameras were set up on the sidewalk. I had to wiggle behind a camera stand to unlock my bike from the security of the tree I lock it to each morning. A different set of cameras and reporters were rolling as I left the building that night.

On Tuesday morning there they were, yep, more cameras. I saw a reporter delicately picking her nose in preparation for going on camera ("I was not picking my nose!"). As I hurried up the steps of the federal building to check for mail at the post office box, an Associated Press (AP) reporter had a woman in front of the camera and was asking for her thoughts on the Senator Craig incident. As I hurried back to work, the same AP reporter had someone else in front of the camera. Later that day, the woman I had seen being interviewed earlier walked into my yoga class at the YMCA. “Hey, weren’t you being interviewed on the steps of the federal building?”, I asked. “Yes!” she groaned. "That guy totally cornered me and I was just like, ughhh!”


There you have it folks:

"What are your thoughts on the Senator Craig scandal?"

"Ughhh!"

Today, Wednesday--repeat. The Peace Coalition folks are still protesting outside and sharing their thoughts sitting quietly in the waiting room of Senator Craig’s office. I have yet to catch a glimpse of him so I doubt he is entertaining visitors in his office. Maybe I can find him in the men’s room…

Seriously, he is having a really bad week. I spoke with one of the Peace Coalition activists and they said their protest is completely independent of the scandal. They have had this event planned for months. The gentleman I spoke with expressed some chagrin that they were being upstaged by this whole gay bathroom thing.

And, oh, what a circus scandal it is. Regardless of my political beliefs and the likelihood that they have little in common with Senator Craig’s, the entire incident seems very subjective and overblown to me. I actually feel sorry for him. I kind of doubt that a multi-term senator was propositioning a random male bathroom stall neighbor in the Minneapolis airport (that presumably was there to take a dump—how sexy is that?) by tapping his foot three times and running his hand palm facing up under the stall divider. I think he just needed some toilet paper to wipe his own ass.

And furthermore, last night on the local news they interviewed a man (I forget his name but he had the title “Gay Man” under his name so clearly he is an authority) who said that tapping three times and running your hand under the stall divider is not how you proposition for sex. At least, not in Minneapolis.

Update: 1:58pm MT
I was just stopped in the hallway and asked by a reporter/cameraman team if I wanted to be interviewed.
"About what?" I should have said.
"No, thank you," I said.
"Really?" the incredulous reporter said. "You are the first person to turn me down for an interview. Don't you want to add your two cents?"
"The only place I share my two cents is on my blog, where I can be fairly certain my audience wants to hear my thoughts."
"And it won't be edited!" piped the cameraman.

A Few Tidbits For You

We came, we saw, we bought. Thursday morning we closed on our new house. It's a great little house, about half the size of the King Charles home. As ya'll know we found another 1950s ranch (with an underground home heating oil tank that has been removed). Thursday morning we did the final walk through and accepted the property. This lot is less than half the size of our last house, with more landscaping! Check out the pictures, it's very overgrown and in dire need of some pruning.

The front and back yards are full of projects that will need the attention of Kate's green thumb. It also seems as though we've encroached upon a squirrel that doesn't take kindly to four-legged guests. The squirrel just hangs out in the trees chirping, barking, and hissing at the dogs. It's driving them mad!

My Own Private Idaho 1.0

Today Jon met me downtown for lunch at Pollo Rey, a local burrito joint. After lunch, we walked to the post office where two discoveries were made:

1) Boise has diagonal crosswalks.

2) Only leashed dogs are allowed in the post office.

I never cease to be amazed.