Here We Have Idaho

The only way to travel...

2009-10-04T11:20:00.002-06:00

...with a 2 1/2 year old.

Beautiful light rays in my home!

2009-09-12T08:58:00.002-06:00

Esly's first day at school

2009-09-01T10:44:00.001-06:00

more pics

2009-08-02T13:09:00.000-06:00

Ikea trip and lovely esly.

Summer fun

2009-08-02T12:57:00.000-06:00

We've been on the road for weeks and return home for good today...if you want to see us you'll have to come to Boise! In other news I now have the ever so fabulous iPhone in my hand and am (hopefully successfully) blogging as we drive along the beautiful Columbia river gorge. Here are some photos in no apparent order of our travels!

Oh no, no, she never goes to work...

2008-09-10T23:02:00.004-06:00

I must admit it took me 2 months to figure out how to upload the last pic of Esly talking on the phone. This is what she looked like this morning as she said "no no no no no no". The last few days she's been saying "no" a lot. I mean, a discouraging and confusing amount. She wasn't exactly being sassy and didn't seem unhappy but I was feeling a little out of the loop. Finally while talking to Andrew I realized she was singing, not being ornery. We recently got the They Might Be Giants 123's dvd. There is a wonderful song that goes "oh no, no, I never go to work" and then details how each of the 7 days of the week the singer never does go to work. Well, we love that song. So does Esly. And here she is singing it for you:

Esly likes to talk on the phone a lot...

2008-09-10T22:25:00.000-06:00

...and her phones are, well, anything. Alphabet blocks, juice bottles, dirty socks- all phones. Baby spoons with food all over them, real cell phones, her shoes...all get the same treatment. "Da da do, doohh. " On and on with major inflection. Pretty funny.

Don't we all edit for the better photos?

2008-07-27T21:02:00.003-06:00

3 weeks+ west coast= vacation!

2008-07-11T12:47:00.008-06:00

What a great time we had! We had a few reasons to take such a long trip...namely that Andrew's sister Tiffany just graduated from high school with every honor I've ever seen (and some I hadn't), and I had support from my university to attend Paintings Edge lectures and work on art for a while! (What an amazing opportunity...more later.)

I'll post a bunch of pictures:

Many thanks to everyone who put us up and put up with us...travelling with a 1+ year old is both exhilarating and life-threatening, as you'll see...

First we went to Sacramento to see my brother Mac. It was great to see where he is living- it's a small neighborhood downtown in biking/walking distance to everything you could need. All the food was excellent and I was envious. We have great food but you usually have to drive.

We also went to the zoo and Esly loves her uncle Mac.

Then we drove down to Southern CA where we went pretty directly to Tiffany's graduation and spent a few peaceful days with the whole family before a lovely Father's Day bbq and the parting of ways. We stayed with my Dad and Shari for a few days and Esly especially enjoyed their 2 dogs.

We did our rounds and saw 2-3 people/groups a days for a few days. We stopped in to see some great old friends from the Huntington...we got a glimpse of the new Chinese Garden but it was a day when Esly was ready to go before we were.

We also saw some friends with a daughter a few years older than Esly...you can see the look of awe and admiration Esly has for Clare. Clare graciously showed Esly all her dolls and I could tell Esly was anxious to be older...

We saw Alison and Mac and spent time at the Norton Simon- he was very sweet and tried to help Esly identify a certain Duchamp piece from the exhibition brochure... it was a fun piece because everything was spinning (literally). Mac has this amazing vocabulary and is incredibly perceptive. It ws nice to walk through a museum with him. I wish Esly were closer to the other kids in our life. It's always really wonderful to watch their interactions.

We stayed with the Patterson's a few days and Esly just wouldn't sleep...she ended up getting 2 molars during the trip. So, one morning around 5 am when it was no longer possible to force sleep we got up and drove to Santa Monica where Esly enjoyed running headlong into the waves- no fear at all and perfectly happy to forget about her teeth pain. What a beautiful kid.
The fabulous Patterson's threw a fabulous bbq and we saw many old friends there...she's stuck in THEIR tamborine.

So- Paintings Edge. We stayed with a friend who had a cabin in Idyllwild and had wonderful soulful conversations reflecting on life, art, poetry and the good lectures we attended which included Fred Tomaselli- an artist I've always enjoyed (process and content) and who I found forthcoming and interesting in person. It was amazing to get some time to catch up with myself and Andrew (Esly stayed with Grammie-Andrew's mom- for a few days so we could have some rest THANK YOU).

After about 3 weeks we ended our trip with time in Vancouver, WA seeing the Martins who have recently left us alone in Boise. ( sorry, I'm still getting over the loss!) It was great to see them despite the heat wave and our waning traveling energy...we love them dearly. This is Andrew on the porch playing ball with Nels- I love Gypsy's alarmed face. And no, Esly never got hit although Andrew let her believe it was often HER catching the ball.

We had a lovely time with you all and miss you already but it was time to get home:

More posts at some point on my new backyard studio! I'm in process on a body of work I really like and I have a chance to show some of it at SPU in January. Hooray for my real life (outside my workaholic tendencies at my academic job).

esly videos...thanks for the camera, dad!

2008-02-20T22:47:00.004-07:00

For all you eslyphiles (meaning grandparents): Esly plays, crawls, stands, and exclaims (what we know to be) "dad!". She basically shouts this everytime he enters a room or she finds herself at eye level with him. "Dad", "mumumum"(we believe this to be a reference to me), and "hi/hey" are her basic words/sounds. We love her.

Posting with more frequency...

2008-02-20T22:11:00.006-07:00

...as this post is occurring in less than a 3 month interval which is literally SHATTERING my track record. So...to start you off, here's Esly talking earnestly...

...and super cute bath baby. She loves to splash and crawl around in the water. I'm looking forward to taking her to swimming lessons this summer.

Here is a nice video of her looking at the snow we had a few weeks ago...she really likes the large maple tree across the way. How do I know this? She speaks to it excitedly on a regular basis .
In superficial but fabulous news the Boise anthropologie opened 2 weeks ago...oh, sincerely: yay.

Oh, Christmas break! & Happy Birthday Andrew!

2007-12-05T04:46:00.000-07:00

First- Happy Birthday to a lovely man.

This has been the longest Fall of my life. Learning to create a happy balance (it IS in fact possible) of teaching, mothering, and living the rest of life has been all encompassing. Everything has found it's place and my daily life is very pleasureable. A lot of this is thanks to the woman who so lovingly watches Esly 3 days a week when I'm at work...Esly loves her and it makes it possible for me to keep teaching. Andrew is also an amazing dad and we continue to be best friends...it's amazing how much that helps. Note- I think it's a sick myth that kids bring people together because our pre-existing friendship is all that's made this work so well!

Esly has been attempting to walk the last few weeks. She is just 8 months but threatens to be getting around on her own pretty soon.

Alison was in town last week installing her work in the galleries and it was so nice to see an old friend. The show is smart and lovely...pretty funny too. I'll post some pictures of us feeding Esly pickles (not our idea, she wanted them).

Hope to see you all over Christmas, we'll be in LA for almost 2 weeks.

new pictures

2007-10-24T18:51:00.001-06:00

So for all you Esly fans who have requested some new pictures...it's your lucky day.
Esly is super active and inquisitive. We happened to have the camera on us the first time we noticed her discovering shadows.
She loves to eat everything she can get her hands on...

and just a cutie passed out in the afternoon.

Much love to you all!

School is in session, we don't have a newborn anymore

2007-09-25T21:19:00.000-06:00

A friend sent this picture last week and I couldn't believe how busy Esly is compared to 5 months ago!

She and I spend our mornings exploring the house and yard.
She is pretty interested in her own reflection right now.
As much as I love my job I am really struggling to make this working mother thing work. I love being with Esly but am grateful for the time to do a job that feels so much like me- so much of my identity. At the same time, I hate when my job spills over so much into my time at home (a 9-5 sounds good sometimes), even more now that Esly has joined us. Sometimes she comes to work with me. These are some pictures my friend Jamie took with the webcam on her mac. You can actually see Esly's little brain saying "eat the keys".

Esly is also trying to eat me:

In other news, our car which we have loved to much is done. I was rear-ended last monday and the cost of getting the hatchback to open and the right lights to blink is worth more than the car. I'm just hoping we'll get enough to replace it with another dependable car.

Hopefully we can figure out the car thing so we can be in Portland next weekend visiting friends.

Going for overkill...more pictures

2007-07-23T12:16:00.000-06:00

Do two posts in quick succession make up for 6 weeks of silence?
Here is Esly doing some of her fabulous 80's dance moves.

And here we are just moments ago...waking up at 10am! Hooray for sleep. Esly is really wanting to sit up on her own but still needs support. Cute girl.

Busy Summer

2007-07-23T12:00:00.000-06:00

Hello all. Yes, we've been having a very busy summer. Esly is not yet 4 months old and we've driven to Seattle , flown to LA, and leave for NY in 2 weeks. So, this explanation is how I'll assuage my guilt about not posting for a while. (Hi Mom.) We've had many visitors...actually it's Esly who has had the visitors. We were never so popular before this baby! Here are some pictures.
This is our lovely friend Gypsy holding Esly in front of their place on July 4th. We set off some small fireworks and had fabulous burgers.

A week later my Dad came to town. My brother was here at the same time and somehow we didn't get a single picture. He'll have to come back...or we'll make a trip to Sacramento- soon!

Just as my dad arrived so did my first sling for Esly...we spent the week getting used to the pouch type sling. She loves her Baby Bjorn with Andrew but the Baby Bjorn kills my back...the sling works pretty well.

We all went up to Cascade and McCall fishing for the day. Great times.

Yes, it took us 2 months to give Esly a real bath...

2007-06-04T23:19:00.000-06:00

I did try. Esly didn't really like the water...so we thought. She would cry and scream so we assumed she didn't like baths. But last night we decided she really needed a bath, wet wipes weren't doing it anymore. To our delight and surprise she loved being in the water.

The more of her little body that I could submerge in the warm water the happier she became. She laughed and "talked" excitedly. I think our cat Franny considered grooming her....
Fun stuff. (Yes, there is life apart from Esly but I'm still mulling over what to write about. I think I'll put together a decent post honoring my favorite movie of the year...Stranger than Fiction.)

Seattle Trip: 11 hours in the car and everyone is OKAY!!!

2007-05-30T22:52:00.001-06:00

We just returned from a quick trip to Seattle...we had a work related excuse to drive to this lovely city and made the most of it. We stopped at Multnomah Falls, a beautiful place. The crowded tourist atmosphere just added to my enjoyment because all the other tourists were so thoroughly enjoying themselves.
We stayed a night in Olympia with our friends Heather, David and their family. It is a wonderful thing to catch up with old friends. I really can't explain the comfort of seeing a familiar face. It's refreshing to see how we all keep changing. Through moves, marriages, children, new jobs, losses, all the things that life brings us...it's amazing to be constantly surprised by what God is doing in our lives! We went on to Seattle and spent some time with the Mazzarello's. Esly became enamoured with Steph one afternoon and had quite a little conversation going. She ran through her repertoire of sounds a few times with heartfelt vocal intonation.Esly is now 2 months old and we've discovered that she is an excellent traveler. (Thank goodness.) She seems to like change and loved walking around the city. We are so glad she finally decided to like the Baby Bjorn. Andrew does great with it though it hurts my back. I'm going to a babywearing class this friday and hoping to find something that will work for both Esly and I.

So it seems many of us are reluctant to blog about our "real" lives. Quite a few friends have called, emailed, etc. that they are also uncomfortable or unsure about sharing their significant musings in an open forum. I'm going to get more information about password protected blogs...

Oh, and on the way home we passed through some of the places they filmed Twin Peaks. Oooohhh....creepy.

to blog or not to blog...

2007-05-24T20:51:00.000-06:00

So, hello all, I have this quandry. For many reasons I like the idea of blogging about any and everything that comes into my mind...ethical, religious, artistic, and purely random thoughts on my small life. However, I feel very wary of this given my job (which feels public). So, for now, you'll have to subsist on more photos of the lovely Esly if you want to grace this blog with your presence.

I'll keep mulling this blog thing over.
Love, A

Coming to LA...

2007-05-20T21:55:00.000-06:00

...yep, that's us. We'll be in town and hoping to see friends on June 18th and 19th. I've got a date with the Hammer, MOCA and the Getty (to see Zoopsia)...but other than that we're all yours!

Another May 10th...unlike last May 10th

2007-05-10T20:34:00.000-06:00

So...I decided to photograph the same views of our house from last May 10th. We worked on the house a lot last summer and now we reap the benefits! (If you scoll down to last May 10th you can see our progress.)
It looks much better and just as I offered last year: Come over, we still know how to cook and now we have a great place to entertain as well. It's so mild in the evenings here. Lovely.

This is a Bleeding Heart...I don't think we had them in CA but they are charming and have little hearts dropping from the leaves. They also come in pink. (hence the bleeding heart title...)

And here is a picture of Esly and I. She is so strong she can hold up her head pretty consistently. She actually rolled herself over a few days ago. We're afraid she'll be walking very early at this rate.

P.S. Congratulations to Myste and Phil on their coming wedding. (Cute announcement!)

SAD BABY

2007-05-04T15:34:00.000-06:00

Lately Esly has had bad gas. It amazes me that this has become my major concern...gas and poo. Even though the gas makes her (and sometimes me- on her behalf) cry, she is still too cute.
She has this particular "sad baby" face she makes and it's pretty cute- square lower lip, dramatic pout. It was nagging at me that I had seen this before and yesterday it hit me: Alice in Wonderland and the pig-baby illustration! I think it's pretty funny.

Ariana & Amelia Visit!

2007-04-29T11:22:00.000-06:00

We had our first friend visit since Esly's birth! Ariana and Amelia visited for 4 days last week and it was great. We were so glad to see an old friend and it was fun to hang out with an older baby. Amelia is 10 months and a really smiley happy baby who was almost ready to crawl...it really put into perspective what people mean when they say things like" enjoy it- it goes fast". (Because really, when you're tired and everything is new...it does not go fast. Some days feel like an eternity while you try and figure out how to make it all work and wonder if you will ever be the laid back parent you want to be...)

Here are some photos:

Andrew and Esly at the Capital City Market

Amelia and Esly holding hands (aww...)

Andrew, Esly and I along the gorgeous Boise Greenbelt. The snow melt has filled the river really high this week.

Great fun...we'd love to see you all. Let us know if you're planning a visit this summer...and don't mind sleeping in the same house as a baby (whose starting to sleep 5 hour stretches already- thank God.)

Gratuitous Photos

2007-04-17T19:07:00.000-06:00

Well, I am finally going to be posting now that my days are full of time at home with Esly. I do realize it has been year since I last posted...here goes! This is the most recent picture of Esly...taken this afternoon.
She and I went out for our first walk this afternoon and made it to the local park. (Our house is in the background up there...)

Some favorites...in the days before Esly arrived I used up my time by painting a mural in the livingroom. We hope Esly will like it in a few months when she can see further than 8 inches in front of her!

This board is on the porch of the Treasure Valley Midwives Birth Center. We loved our labor and birth- our midwives were incredible!

More to come!

...and now for our lovely yard...

2006-05-10T20:23:00.000-06:00

It's really too wonderful...so you should all come visit. We still know how to cook...

New Home...oooh we love it

2006-05-10T20:14:00.000-06:00

The cats are even happy now...although they still fall off the window ledges.

Our River, and Other Niceties

2006-02-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

This is what our river used to look like. I won't show you what it looks like now, because it's too depressing. It's nearly dry. All the water is frozen. Come spring, the ice will melt and the river will rise. The river will bring with it warm air, bugs, and smiling faces.

Amanda is in New York City with Peter, Alison, and Mac Owen. We wish her well. We wish her safe return.

Good evening.

IDAHO, Y'ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-01-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Greetings.

News.

You want it?

I got it.

Here it is.

Exhibit A: Work/School News
This semseter is way better than last semester. Amanda's classes are going well. She gets to teach Modern Art this semester, which she seems to like quite a bit better than Ancient Art, and she is having a good time with her students. Andrew's (hereafter referred to as "my") classes are going very well, thank you. I find it much more enjoyable to be in upper division classes. I will do my student teaching next semester and then I will be done. All in all, good times.

Exhibit B: Personal News
As usual, good. Nothing much to report on that front. As the salty dogs of yesteryear used to say, "Red skies at morning, sailor take warning. Red skies at evening, in the clear."

That means things are good.

Exhibit C: Cat News:
They grow, they get spayed, they are calm for two days, then we figure out they were calm because they were on drugs, they get back to normal, scratching, biting, charming. I realized the other day that I address the cats as if they were humans, that is to say, as if they speak English. This frightened me, though I can't seem to stop myself.

Exhibit D: Misc.:
Amanda painted her office green. It's cozy.

And now, potatoes:

Everybody likes a good potato joke from time to time.

Home, Or, January, the Monday of Months

2006-01-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

We had a nice holiday in "La California," as the locals call it. We saw many, many people, most of whom were happy to see us, and ate quite a lot of food. Family + Food + General Sense of Apathy Towards Exercise During the Holiday Season = New Year's Resolutions. Ours are to eat less and keep in better contact with our friends. This is good news for everbody.

In other news, school starts next week, the cats are getting spayed (thank God), we got haircuts, and I have started using shower gel. Amanda is getting over being sick, I am entering into being sick, and yesterday was our second wedding anniversary. The 2006 Dodgers are shaping up to be better than the 2005 Disappointments, er, Dodgers, and it looks like we're in for a busy spring. Many, many visitors.

And now, I'd like to introduce you to my brothers and sisters. I am the one attempting to hit the little one with the baseball.

Happy pre-Spring!

SNOW SNOW SNOW

2005-12-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

I love it. I have never lived in a place where it snowed. I am charmed by it. Even though our commute almost tripled in time this week, I still love it. It feels wintery and like Christmas...

Andrew's family visited for Thanksgiving.I cooked my first turkey. Well, my first real turkey. When I studied abroad in London a bunch of us made Thanksgiving dinner for our brit friends who kept thanking us for leaving their country but all we did was throw them in the oven and I don't remember if they were edible or not. The food this year however was great. I relied heavily on Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. Yes, and I am unashamed. She (actually it was probably a lot of RISD grads about my age who were responsible for it...) printed a shopping list of all the ingredients and I bought in completely. I never had to fret about what to cook and we all loved the food.

I cannot wait for school to finish. In brief, it has been a good, exhausting, lesson-filled semester. I like my students and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better when we return after break and the shock of so much change has passed over everyone. (or is it just me...) Oh, here is a picture of my campus, the art building is the white building to the left. This is the winter wonderland that is my office... I mostly cannot wait to visit all y'all in under 3 weeks. I should say that's we'll be at Mi Piace yet again on my birthday (Dec 28th) and would love to meet up with all our friends. Yes, I cannot wait to see you all! Until then...

Gratuitous Pictures of Kittens

2005-11-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

Here is Franny.

Here is Zoe.

Happy Thanksgiving...

Arrrr. (Like a Pirate.)

2005-11-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

You want to know about cats? They grow too fast, they eat your feet in the night, and they gots claws. No, I'm kidding. They're cool. I will miss my toe though...

I am sitting in possibly the only coffee shop in the continental United States that plays post-1987 Stevie Wonder. And let me tell you, that's some baaaaad Stevie Wonder. Also people play cards. That's ok. I like playing cards. Also there are old ladies with lattes and nice coats. They are carpeing their deim.

I have finished my coffee, and am finished with you.

Have we fallen off the edge of the earth? No, we're in Idaho.

2005-10-31T22:07:00.000-07:00

Hi all. It's been quite a while but here's what we've been up to...

Our friends Ryan & Jen did in fact visit. We had a wonderful time, ate and drank and traveled and sat around and just stared at each others faces (as my papaw would say). My school commitments have been pretty consuming...I've been able to rewrite the curriculum for the studio emphasis and it is in the process of being approved. I was able to slip in some intermedia type classes & focus an art history section on contemporary practice. I am speaking at a conference this weekend and feeling only slightly nervous and overcommited. I just had a show closing in the galleries for Tim Timmerman on friday night. Everything went really well, you can see the galleries are far more beautiful than a school our size deserves. Actually, they are bigger than my painting studio (that I teach in) and we have TWO of these galleries! Andrew and I went to Silver City with our friends (yes, we made some!) Ben and Michelle. I'll post pics later once Ben sends them over. It was AWESOME. It's an old silver mining city from the late 1800's...you could quite easily imagine gunslingers and painted ladies (as the nicer saying goes). You have to drive over an hour on a dirt road through the mountains to get there. Obviously we didn't take the volvo wagon. We wandered around for a while and then went down river to set up a campfire and cook food and hang out til late. It was literally freezing outside and by the time we left everything was covered in frost. Our big news is that we've got kittens. Their names are Franny and Zoe (used to be Zooey but we realized he was a girl).
They are wonderfully naughty. You can see it in their wee beady eyes. Hellions we call them. To their faces.
Actually, our biggest news is probably that we just bought tickets to fly home for christmas. (I debate if I should still call la/sandiego/whittier/etc home.) We'll be there from Dec 21-Jan 3rd. We hope ya'll are planning a new years eve party...........

The Patterjen Cometh...

2005-10-11T17:29:00.000-06:00

Patterjen is coming to visit.

But not Pat.

Patterjen but not Pat.

Not Pat.

Not Pat.

Short, But True. And Sweet.

2005-10-04T20:11:00.000-06:00

Things are good.

That is all.

Thank you.

New News from B-Town

2005-08-16T10:57:00.000-06:00

Q: What's new?

A: Oh, not much. Once you live in B-Town for three weeks, you learn something. It's a slow town. The kind of place where the weather is a real and often invoked topic of conversation. Typical conversation at grocery store (stranger edition):

-Hot today.
-Yep.
-Sposed to be cooler tomorrow though.
-That right?
-Yep.
-Oh.

This may sound boring. It's not. Weather patterns can be quite fun.

Q: So, how's the weather?

A: Actually, quite pleasant. It cooled down quite a bit, which means one can cover one's self with a sheet at night without feeling as if one is swimming in an ocean of night sweat.

Q: That right?

A: Yep.

Q: And the jobs, how are they?

A: Amanda loves her's; it's fantastic. Andrew has begun "The Search."

Q: How about cooking, how's that coming along?

A: Now there's a fun topic of conversation! As it turns out, Andrew is quite the little cook. Why, just last night he prepared a tasty Tuscan Zucchini Pie, and the night before that, Morrocan Fava Bean Puree with homemade bread!

Q: He needs a job, doesn't he.

A: Yes!

Q: Have you seen any wild life yet?

A: Yes! A rare Idaho Dragon. It looked like this:

2005-08-11T20:27:00.000-06:00

Here are some more...the music store we like (where we saw Sufjan Stevens play), the capitol, public art (agh! it steams out of the weird crevices...), and the obligatory sign with trite sayings/deep thoughts.

Boise Pictures...what it looks like where we are.

2005-08-11T20:20:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures of our home and the view from our porch at dusk. Followed by pictures of restaurants and buildings we like. I'd like to note, we live 4-10 blocks from all these lovely places.

Float the River

2005-08-11T14:52:00.000-06:00

Hi!

You might be wondering what Amanda meant with that whole “float the Boise River” business. So I’ll help you out. And if you’re ever in Boise and someone wants you to float the river with them, you’ll know exactly what to do, and you won’t look dumb.

Floating the river turns out to be exactly what it sounds like. Here's what you do:

Drive your car about two or three miles north of town to Barber Park, where you will pay $5 to park the car. Rent two inflated inner tubes at $6 each. A lengthy contract will be required for release of the tubes, which contains the following warning: FLOATING THE BOISE RIVER IS AN INHERENTLY DANGEROUS ACTIVITY THAT CAN RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY AND/OR DEATH. THOSE FLOATING THE RIVER MAY ENCOUNTER DANGEROUS CONDITIONS INCLUDING FAST MOVING WATER, RAPIDS, INCLIMATE WEATHER, OTHER RAFTERS AND SWIMMERS, AND OBSTACLES. SOME OBSTACLES, INCLUDING ROCKS, TUBES, AND OTHER PERSONAL WATERCRAFT AND FLOATATION DEVICES MAY BE CAPSIZED, CAUGHT ON BRANCHES AND ROCKS, PUNCTURED, AND/OR DIFFICULT TO MANUEVER. INFANTS, SMALL CHILDREN, INDIVIDUALS WHO CANNOT SWIM, AND ANYONE SUFFERING FROM SERIOUS MEDICAL CONDITIONS SHOULD NOT FLOAT THE RIVER. PERSONAL FLOATATION DEVICES SHOULD BE WORN AT ALL TIMES. At this point, you picture a river similar to the one in the film Apocalypse Now, with smoldering rafts snagged on skeletal tree branches and emaciated birds pecking at the eyes of cowering floaters. You worry.

Pay for the tubes and join a hoard of Mormon youth groupers at a sandy shoal where all sorts of inflatable nautical vehicles are in various stages of deployment into the river. The water is ice cold, but as the air temperature hovers somewhere around 102 degrees, ice cold feels just fine.

Once in the water, position yourself on the tube so that you are with the direction of the current. Try as best you can to get ahead of the Mormon Hoard, who by this time have whipped themselves into a near Pentecostal frenzy. Signal to your friend (silently, with the eyes) GO! NOW! BEAR RIGHT AND BEAR FAST! She receives the signal, and as you both turn the first bend in the river, the M.H. and their resounding tumult slips behind you. All is still except the constant, soothing passage of water. You wonder if the warning in the contract was mere hyperbole, stop caring, and let the rhythm of the water lull you into a silly, grinning oblivion.

Floating turns out to be an optimal athletic activity, as it requires little to no physical involvement on your part. In fact, the most exertion you exert is trying not to fall off your tube when going over what initially appear to be vicious but turn out to be docile rapids. You remember reading that until a couple of years ago, floaters where allowed to bring alcoholic beverages along with them on their personal floatation devices, presumably so that they might meet their thirst needs on the long voyage. Lord only knows why the city outlawed this practice.

Float on, float on. Sing to yourself every song you can think of involving the words "float" and "merrily" (there will be two). See your friend floating a few yards behind you with a lazy smile on her contented face. Feel the warm sun, watch sparrows flit and fish test the surface of the water, nary an obstacle or gunboat in sight.

After a bit (how long is hard to say, time measurements are meaningless in an inner tube), you will hear a wavering, familiar chant growing steadily louder behind you. As it gets nearer, you recognize the chant as the controversial “tomahawk” chant employed by fans of the Atlanta Braves to express their approval for the home team. Confused, you try to figure out why what sounds like minions of Atlanta Braves fans would be floating the river. Then you see it – a legion of enormous, poorly steered inflatable rafts bearing down on you fast. The M.H. approaches with the “tomahawk” chant on their lips, presumably because riding in enormous, poorly steered inflatable rafts makes them feel like Native Americans, who ride in canoes.

You deftly maneuver your tube to the right bank of the river, hoping to God that the M.H. leaves you with your scalp intact. Suddenly the warning makes so much sense. Finally, the last of the brigade passes you by. You look back to make sure your friend has escaped the wake without capsizing or colliding with some other obstacle, which she has. Resume the float.

You float for a total of two hours, down to Ann Morrison park, which is in downtown Boise. There you get out of the river and turn in your tubes. From the park a shuttle (a converted yellow school bus painted white and re-dubbed “The White Whale”) will take you back to your car ($2 each). On the shuttle, you and your friend devise ways to make this activity cheaper while listening to the bus driver rant about the war in Iraq and getting cancer, among other things. You learn that he used to be a chef in Westwood (which, according to him, is near Santa Barbara), until he learned that he had contracted cancer (type undisclosed, though such information is requested by the passenger immediately behind the driver). You learn he quit being a chef because he “didn’t want to drop dead in his kitchen.” You pray he doesn’t drop dead driving this bus, either.

Despite the threat of sudden death and hail of brilliantly insane conspiracy theories, you and your friend are delivered safely to your car. Drive home and admire your new tan. You have completed the float.

First Boise Report

2005-08-10T21:01:00.000-06:00

Hi loved family and friends!
We are in Idaho, have been for 2 1/2 weeks now. We loved it when we got here, then we realized none of you were coming with us. It came as a blow but we still like it an awful lot. Quite a lot has happened so I'll try and answer questions you may have in an orderly fashion:

Question: Do you like your house/place/apt?

Answer: YES! It is lovely and we feel like we, along with all our belongings, were always meant to live in such a place. Though it's small everything just fits perfectly. Our neighbor is an architect and informed us that this is the first building in Boise built specifically as an apt building. It was built at the same time (and by her firm) as the beautiful Capitol building. Maybe around 1900? Also, the location is AWESOME. (Don't make fun, I said awesome when I lived in LA...this is not some Idaho thing. It just looks dorkier in print.) We are about 4 blocks from downtown, replete with great little restaurants and shops. We happen to be one block from the only co-op in Idaho. Which brings me to your next question...

Question: What do you eat without Trader Joe's?

Well, let me explain the Co-op. Trader Joe's+Bristol Farms+Whole Foods=Boise Co-op. They have everything we oogled but couldn't afford in CA and more! They have great fresh bread, cheese that is on par with the Silver Lake Cheese store (almost) and those bins with every grain, cereal, nut, etc you could ever hope to find. We want for nothing.

Question: Do you (Amanda) like your job?

Answer: I don't know yet. I think I will, this is my dream job. I have an office (no more lugging stuff to 3 different campus's), I will teach studio classes, I will run the gallery, and I'll be able to have ongoing relationships with my students! Everyone I have met at NNU is so welcoming and kind it's almost hard to believe. We've had lunch with one of the newer English props and her husband...It was so fun. However, school still doesn't start for 2 weeks, so I think I will love it, more reports later.

Question: Did you (Andrew) find a job?

Answer: Not yet. As planned, Andrew is taking a hiatus from work for a month or so...it's been so great for us to have the leisure to make this transition together and get to hang out so much.

Question: Did your stuff come yet?

Answer: Finally yes! 2 weeks and 2 days after they picked it up the movers actually dropped in off in Boise...and nothing was broken!

So, Here is a short list of the fun things we've been doing.

1. Visiting ALL the museums and galleries in Boise in under 4 hours! You could never do that in LA or NY...can you tell I am making the best of the present resources? The great thing is the gallerists here actually talk to you when you walk into their space which is nice. I've already been able to strike up some conversation about collaboration with the gallery and NNU for lectures and such.

2. Happened into the park for a festival (?) and upon getting food at the outdoor pavilion realizing we were at the "Goddess Fest". We left quite quickly, you can imagine the scene. There was dancing and a drum circle as well as some characters who looked like they had wandered off the path from the ren fair.

3. Floated the Boise River. In inner tubes. It takes almost 2 hours and is so relaxing! For those of you wondering if we would "get all outdoorsy" this is the answer, NO. Floating the river necessitates a person sitting in an inner tube and waiting while the river pulls you of it's own volition. You just sit and get tan. Doesn't sound very sporty doesn't it?

4. Traveling to Sun Valley/ Ketchum for a day trip.
We went to see the art everyone talks about and they did have pretty good galleries. However, it is a resort town with serious money walking around and being spent everywhere you go. We didn't feel that comfortable so we took off pretty quickly and decided to use our day driving back through the Sawtooth National Forest. My goodness. Everything here is so beautiful.
We drove for 5 hours and appeared suddenly in Boise again. Along the way we stopped at lakes, roadside stops with teepees and great tree carvings...We found some good spots to camp and swim. Come visit.

Alright...I'm verbose. I miss you all. That is the only and glaring problem about being here. I'm sure we will adjust, after all it hasn't even been 3 weeks. So, adieu, farewell, bye-bye, for now.
Much love,
Amanda