Health and Freedom

Boise is on Mountain Time, 1 hour later than California. I am staying up later, because it stays light later, but I am still up early. The light is also different here, there seems to be longer morning light and evening light and not so much mi-day. I still could not stay up last night to watch Mad Men, it wasn't on until 11 pm, I could have made it if it was on at 10, like it is everywhere else but here. I am really disappointed to finally have TV and not be able to watch Mad Men.

Sometimes I feel like I am still in Simi Valley, especially around the mall and all the same stores. I was in Target, which is the same everywhere, and I forgot I was in Idaho. Then I went to Meridian to sign the house lease and drove through city, then farm, then city, then farm again, and I felt like I was in Idaho again. My neighbor gave me a Boise fun-fact, Boise is farther away from a metropolitan area of equal or greater size than any other metropolitan area. The closest is probably Salt Lake, 5 hours and 21 minutes. Probably where Boise gets it's independent spirit.

I ordered a lawnmower, a small push mower for my little yard with the getting to be very tall grass. My truck driver neighbor came home yesterday and today he mowed his entire front and back yard with a weed whacker. It took most of the afternoon. I'm glad I did not ask him if I could borrow a mower.

One neighbor got out the guitar and played this evening, not too bad. I noticed a Karaoke set up in the neighbor's backyard across the alley, but have not heard any usage, that would be bad. Last Friday, someone at Wee Bit O'Scotland played the bagpipes for a while, that was interesting, but it seems to be a Friday thing.

So, I brushed up my public administration portfolio and researched Idaho statutes regarding health and welfare, but boy is it dry reading. The interview is for a position for Food Stamps compliance (meaning getting employees to follow the rules and monitoring errors), which is based on federal law, so much of it is the same as California, but I don't have access to Idaho's internal procedure manuals, which would help me know how they are doing things.

I was thrilled to find the Idaho Health and Freedom Act, passed last March and effective last July, that rejects Obamacare,

IDAHO HEALTH FREEDOM ACT
STATEMENT OF PUBLIC POLICY.

The power to require or regulate a person’s choice in the mode of securing health care services, or to impose a penalty related thereto, is not found in the Constitution of the United States of America, and is therefore a power reserved to the people pursuant to the Ninth Amendment, and to the several states pursuant to the Tenth Amendment. The state of Idaho hereby exercises its sovereign power to declare the public policy of the state of Idaho regarding the right of all persons residing in the state of Idaho in choosing the mode of securing health care services.

It is hereby declared that the public policy of the state of Idaho, consistent with our constitutionally recognized and inalienable rights of liberty, is that every person within the state of Idaho is and shall be free to choose or decline to choose any mode of securing health care services without penalty or threat of penalty.

The policy stated herein shall not be applied to impair any right of contract related to the provision of health care services to any person or group.

I picked an interview outfit and located the appropriate shoes. One moving tip, when packing shoes, especially if they are going to be in storage for months, use shoe trees or pack the insides of the shoes so they don't flatten or crunch. I have some pretty disfigured shoes and some of them look like they will never recover. I was able to un-mangle the pair I need for tomorrow, which are sandals, and am glad that it will be somewhat warm tomorrow since I think sandal season is just about over. I did go shoe shopping, but I am very confused about what shoes people wear when they live in a real Fall and Winter. As soon as it is Fall, I'm going to have to start looking at people's feet.

Unpacked

Dad took some pictures before I left for Boise. Here's the packed car,


Here's the cats in their 24" cage,


Notice the blanket I laid on the bottom is crunched to the side, no matter what I did, the blanket never stayed on the bottom of the cage.
Here's me about to help Dad get the caged cats in the car,


I think I look either still sleepy or frightened.
Here's the caged cats in the car,


I taped a stack of paper cups to the side of the cage and filled the top one with water for them. I don't think they drank any of it, but if they didn't, it's their own fault. The water cup I could buy that attaches to the inside of the cage was $10. Mine was free.



That was more than a week ago, but it seems like a lifetime.

I am all unpacked and mostly put away, no more boxes in the house. Most of the pictures are not up, but I need to live here a while to decide what I want to put up and where. Today was colder and it rained this morning, so it was a good day to get organized around the house. I made some granola in the oven this morning, which works great, even though it's electric, and that helped me feel normal. This afternoon I took a bath, but I have held up pretty well for someone almost 50 who has been obsessively unpacking and hauling things up and down stairs for 3 days.

I started my Idaho health and welfare laws research, I at least found the sites, but I will do more and polish my portfolio tomorrow.

Still Unpacking

It is cooler today and looks like a storm coming in. I'm glad I now have my garden shears and first thing this morning I clipped those branches that like to scratch my bathroom window.

My bedroom has a trick closet. It's not a walk-in, just a wall closet, but it runs across almost the whole side of the room, so it looks big and like it holds a lot of stuff. Problem is, the doors only open to half of it, and one side runs along behind the wall back 4 feet from the door opening. Once you fill up what you can reach from the door, you can't get to the 4 feet behind the wall. It either needs a bigger door opening, or the house should be a foot wider. They have seasons here, people must shift their clothes every season and move last season's to the back or store it, except with my closet, I will have to take half of the stuff out to do this.

There is also no hall closet. How can you not have a hall closet in Idaho? Where do you put your coat? For now, I put mine in the studio closet, but the side with the tall opening was the only side missing a pole, so I installed the pole holders that I bought a few days ago at my favorite store, Home Depot, and stole a pole from the other side of the closet. To install the pole holders, I had to get out the drill. Every girl should have a power drill, it is even more important than a stud finder. Even with the drill, installing the pole was hard and my hands already hurt from unpacking. Unpacking is tough on your hands, I hope the woman I interview with on Tuesday doesn't look at my hands and think I am really a truck driver.

My studio is almost unpacked and I took Hazel out and put her on my easel, so I could admire her some more. I set up my drafting table, but it kept looking so low. Then I realized I got used to standing at Dad's table because it was so high. Fortunately, the studio closet is a walk-in closet, and it is now almost full. I could fit much more of my studio stuff in the closet than I have been able to over the last 2 years. The computer is in the studio and is all set up. I only have one piece of mystery wire that I have no idea where it goes.

One shelf in the TV cabinet was missing a pin. You know that little pin that sticks in the side of the cabinet and the shelf rests on it? There were 4 and then there were only 3. My fault, I should have taken the pins out and taped them to the shelf. So I went back to my favorite store, Home Depot, this morning and they actually had them and I resisted buying anything else and got out of there for less than $2. That never happens. And the part worked the first time just right and I did not have to go back. That never happens either.

I filled up the recycling bin with boxes, some of my boxes have seen so many moves, and not all mine, that their life is now over. There are still more to throw away and to save, and those are all now in the garage in case it rains. I love having a garage.

Unpacking

Thank you to Colleen, for picking up that darn flat file that the Hilford rep was supposed to throw away. The rep cried about having to send a guy from Ventura to Simi just for my file, yeah, like it is a lot farther than Idaho. The Allied movers said good things about Hilford, so it must just be the rep.

Also thank you to Rosemarie at Public Storage on LA and Tapo in Simi, she was better at communicating than the Hilford rep. The Allied movers said they were there until 5:45 pm loading on Sunday, they close at 5, and the entire staff waited for them to finish. I was the last load and they put some of my stuff in the cab with them. If I had the mattress, or if they had to take that flat file, it would not have fit and they would not have been able to take the load.

My interview is Tuesday. I should have an unwrinkled interview outfit by Tuesday. I am going to treat it as a chance to meet people and learn about how Idaho works versus California, but I really don't want a job. I think I thought that same thing the last time I was offered a great job. There is still so much to do, besides unpack, driver's license, registration, car insurance, there is all of the be an artist footwork I want to do. I forgot to set up an appointment with SCORE. I will do that on Monday. SCORE is everywhere and is retired business people who advise other people trying to start or maintain their own business.

Cruiser woke me up at 1 pm last night to let me know how unhappy he is about all the boxes in his house. Whine, whine, whine. The living room is pretty much set up now (my TV is still too big) but both cats are now curled in their usual spots, one on the couch and one on the chair. I hope they know that now that their familiar stuff is here that they are not going back in the car and will let me get some sleep.

When the Allied movers unload, each piece has a number and they call out the numbers and I check them off. When they were done, and my piece of the truck was empty, we looked for missing numbers and I did not have any. The movers, who were Tom and Dena, by the way, said that never happens, really, never. They said it's the customer who isn't paying attention and doesn't check off numbers, which I bet is accurate since they probably have to go around through the person's stuff looking for the missing numbers and always find them before they leave. I had 164 numbers and I can't imagine having to go through everything at the end trying to find a few numbers.

So, so far, I am close to having looked in every box and am not missing anything and only a few glasses are broken. These were a few of the flat bottom glasses Dad gave me for Christmas and these broke while the more fragile stemmed glasses all around them did not, go figure. I am really happy to see things I have not seen in 2 months. I have some gifts that I barely had a chance to open before I packed them. Oh yeah, I remember this! I even have some room in the kitchen to put out some things that I have not seen in years.

This weekend I have nothing to do but unpack and review Idaho Health and Welfare law. Maybe I will also finish reading Seabiscuit, which I started when I got here.

My stuff is here!

The movers were due today between 1 and 3 and showed up just after 1. I'm not sure how they got that 18 wheeler onto my street, but they did. They were a couple my age that live in Washington State. They were not liberals. They moved one of Obama's Czars to Washington DC, they said he was so creepy that sometimes they had to get up and leave and that the couple had no family pictures, only Obama, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King. Both movers both worked like machines while I checked off box numbers and I liked them. They got two flat tires in Oregon and were cussed out by the woman they are delivering to tomorrow, so they were having a terrible week, and I hope today I was nice enough to them that their week was better, at least for today.

It was supposed to get up to 103 degrees today and I'm not sure it made it, but it was hot and it rained a few times. It was beautiful cloud weather, but I mostly missed it with moving. Tomorrow it is back into the 80's.

While the movers were here, Idaho Health and Welfare called me for an interview. I am feeling lucky for a change. I am now sitting at a desk, but need to unpack. More tomorrow.

Cemetery and Parks

Mom wins the tree identification contest, the tree in front of my house is a Catalpa tree. It was the pioneers' choice of trees to plant on a new homestead because it can survive most conditions and grows rapidly. They put on a big, but brief, flower show in June or July, the flower pollen is quite allergenic, and the seed pods and seeds contain a mild narcotic and sedative. Maybe I will send some of the seeds to Dad to feed to the Jays.

The cats are no longer hiding in the bathroom cabinet, but spend most of the day under the quilt on my new bed. When not under the quilt, this is Cruiser's new spot, which unfortunately shows he is not sweating off that pot belly while under the quilt.


I let both cats out in the yard in the late evening starting Monday. Both first roll around on the warm cement and then survey the perimeter of the yard. Monday, Cruiser tried to jump the fence and fell far short. Tuesday, Spit stuck her entire arm through any spot in the fence where she could and then jumped and hung on to the top of the fence long enough to take a good look around. I don't think they want out, they just want to see what is there.


I went to the bank to get a cashier's check for the mover. The assistant manager upgraded my account so I would not have to pay a fee for the check and got me the check herself. She was very friendly. The bank still has a drive-up teller, you remember, with a window and a person.

I took a walk around the corner from my house and the opposite way from the sword and sorcery store, and in 5 minutes I am at a huge graveyard. I like graveyards, maybe because they are so quiet. The oldest marker I saw was 1887. There is a large Basque population in Idaho and they must like to be buried because at least a quarter of the names were Basque, there were more Mendiolas than Johnsons. The most common appeared to be Hummel, or else they were the rich people that sprang for big, noticeable headstones.



5 minutes farther after the graveyard are 2 parks. On the right, Ann Morrison Park, which is Boise's largest park and today it was full of geese with a few ducks and seagulls. Seagulls? Maybe they are lost from Salt Lake. There were a few really colorful ducks. I watched geese honk their way in and one do yoga, left foot on the ground, right foot straight back and off the ground, right wing outstretched. He stood like that for 5 minutes and I thought there was something wrong, until he put himself back together.



On the left is Kathryn Albertson Park, which is 41 acres of restored wetlands and its use is more restricted, including no dogs during nesting season.



If I walk about the 2 miles through Ann Morrison Park, I reach Julia Davis Park, which includes a 2 mile running path along downtown and the Boise River. I don't know why so many parks in Boise are named after women, but if you want to like Boise, you will have to like parks.

Jacksons

It's not JackOns, it's Jacksons and notice on the right is a pay phone.


The cable installer came this morning, I now have a local number and internet at home. Once I had an internet connection and a local phone number, I sent off my legislative analyst job app. I finished the cover letter and updated my resume, which was waiting for a local phone number, this morning with the computer on the floor. My legs keep falling asleep and my back aches. I thought it would be easier to blog once I had my own internet, but my back is killing me and I am back at Starbucks where I can sit in a chair. The mover called and is now coming Thursday. Then I will have a desk, and my really nice Aeron chair.

The cable installer was ex-military from Temecula, California. The handyman that works for my landlord is from Van Nuys via Lancaster. He arrived in Boise in the 90's with $900. I suppose he left when I left last time, except I went to Vegas. All of the utilities I called, cable, water, sewer, and trash, sound like there are no more than two people in the office. When I called the cable rep this morning for my new number, she said she lives on my street. Can you imagine someone at AT&T or Time Warner Cable saying that? From them, it would give you the creeps.

I checked out the pawn shop and did not see the push mower I want, but I did see a nice bicycle with a big basket in front, and then went to the fruit and vegetable stand close to my Starbucks and bought blackberries, the sweetest I can remember since Michigan.

By the time I left Dad's last Friday, I had been unemployed for 8 weeks. I had been at Dad's for just over 7 weeks. I gave up my mattress when my stuff went into storage, so except for a few nights in motel's and at Mom's, I have slept on a futon for 7 weeks. It wasn't so bad, and I could have slept in the guest house with the nice bed but away from my animals, but my new bed is better. I got a good night's sleep last night, but I am really looking forward to another one.

Sunday night at Dad's at about 11 a coyote started howling just above the studio. Dad yelled and howled back to chase him away and he just got louder. So he got the bathrobe, the slippers and the gun. He shot in the coyote's direction and he took off. Dad thinks me and the cats would have been petrified, but I think the coyote was sorry to see me go.

I feel weird, like I spent months trying to reach a goal and now I'm here and I need a new goal. I have plenty of new goals, but I think I will enjoy meeting the big one for a few minutes. Funny, the thing I was most intimidated by is driving 2 days with my cats, and that was hard, but it already seems like a long time ago.

Neighborhood

This is one neighbor accross the street. Notice the Blue Spruce in front. Dad grew a Colorado Blue Spruce at our house in the San Fernando Valley. Colorado Blue Spruce do not grow in the Valley and Dad babysat that thing, and it did grow, until the new owners chopped it down. I was in Home Depot yesterday, checking out Idaho's plants, and the front was full of Blue Spruce. I think they grow here without babysitting.


This is around the corner and looks like Black Eyed Susan.



Around the corner the opposite way is a main street (for Boise) with a tiny, tiny store called "A Wee Bit 'O Scotland" (I have not yet investigated what this means), then an antique store, then a kitchen parts store (I think they survive on appliance repair), then "JackOns" (the equivalent of 7-11), then this really weird sword and sorcery store that sells incense, which I was happy about. On the opposite side is a bowling alley with a seedy bar (I did not go in, but you know it) and an asian market and Thai food. Then around the corner back to my house, look Frank! Sonic! I'm going there for dinner. Then the pawn shop, it looks like the place to buy a bike or a lawnmower.



Then back to my house past the violin store.


This is the tree in front, I have no idea what it is, but it is really tall and did not budge in the 70 mile an hour winds we just had. When I bought my house in Simi Valley, all I wanted was a house, with no common walls, my own mailbox on the street, and a big street tree. Today I have all 3 again.


An this is my next door neighbor. He is gone this week working some huge Oregon fires. How big do you think that house is? 800 square feet? It does appear to have a fireplace.


So, we just did a 10 minute walk around the block in my neighborhood. Pretty eclectic for what you think of Idaho.

I am now at Starbucks using free internet. It is on the edge of the Boise Town Center, which is a few miles from my house. In a few square blocks is every chain store and restauant you know, from Target to Fridays to PetCo to the mall with Macy's. I don't like it over here, but it is really convenient.

The matress arrived this morning and I am looking forward to a big Sonic hamburger and a good nights sleep. My stuff left storage Sunday and is due Wednesday afternoon. My stuff was the last on, so I should be the 1st stop, but who knows at the rate these guys are going. They were not supposed to take a flat file cabinet, they were supposed to bring it back to Hilford, so Hilford could get rid of it, since I was not there to do it and it was in the back of the unit. Instead, they left it in the unit and Public Storage will not close out the unit with something in it. What a pain. Public Storage has been great, they've told me more about what is going on than the movers.

Tomorrow I should have my own internet and a local phone number. Just in time, I finally used up all my Starbucks gift cards.

Home

One picture from my drive, this is southeast Oregon.
Now, some pictures of my house. My neighbors have the same house on one side, the neighbor next door is closer than I remember. You can see a bit of my garage behind.


Bay windows in front and the livingroom:




The yard and garage:


The 2nd bedroom is above the livingroom and has the same bay windows. The windows face North, the ideal light for an artist's studio.


70 mile an hour winds blew through the Boise bench (where I now live) last night. They knocked over power lines and 2 houses caught fire. I am fine, my house is fine, but the first thing I wish I had is my gardening shears. The neighbor's tree branches scratched against my bathroom window all night and if I just had those shears I could have reached out and given that tree a trim last night and slept better. My chances of sleep were already pretty slim on the sleeping bag and quilt.

Before I left I read about cable versus dish network. My house already has a dish, but I read that the direction that the dish has to face is the same direction that the weather comes in and the weather causes reception to go out. Last night I found that the weather was blowing directly into those dishes. Glad I chose cable.

I am glad it is Sunday, so I don't feel obligated to do much. I unpacked the car and set up the computer, which is booting slowly. I went out matress shopping, 2 stores were closed, but I bought one to be delivered tomorrow. The salesman/delivery guy had to fit it into his school schedule. When he said that I laughed and shook my head and explained that you just don't hear that in Southern California.

My neighbors with the same house came over and introduced themselves and brought me zuccinni bread. They are Sara, from San Luis Obisbo, and Joe from Milwaukee. The neighbor on the other side is a guy with a shaved head who used to be in construction, but who now drives a truck and is gone most of the week. He has a dog, but is gone so much that the dog kept jumping the fence and adopted my neighbors on the other side of me. I was really confused, I thought both of my neighbors had dogs that looked a lot alike, turns out it was the same one.

Allied Movers is at my storage unit today. I hope to see my stuff soon.

I'm Here!

I'm here! For some reason, I feel like Jim Carrey on The Truman Show, stepping off the set with the audience cheering.

I left Fernley at 8:30 am and arrived Boise 7 hours later, 4:30 Boise time. I was tempted to stay another night in Ferney and watch TV and lay by the pool, except that both cats slept on the bed with me and jumped off at every noise, then came back, so I would not have been looking forward to a good night's sleep.

Both cats reached the point of acceptance and were quiet almost the entire way. So quiet I kept checking to make sure they were alive. I did not stop much this time, mostly because after Winnemucca there is nothing but golden hills and sage with a handful of farms and no turnouts for hours. It is beautiful scenery through Oregon, but I would need a 4 wheel drive to get many photos.

The day passed without event, but it was really long. I came into Idaho and was so excited that the speed limit changed from 55 to 70, that I forgot to take a picture of the Welcome to Idaho sign. Coming in to Idaho on the 95 is brown. Tan hills with these lumpy brown rocks sticking out. Through those you come into the valley and overlook miles of farmland with squares of bright green and gold and a scattering of trees. Today, this view was half covered in cloud shadow with stripes of bright color through it and golden mountains in the background. As I saw this and then drove through the country and acres of 12 foot high corn stalks, I felt pleased with my choice.

The house is nicer than I remembered. The cats investigated, cried, and are now hiding in the master bathroom cabinet under the sink. There is new carpet and paint, but the grass already needs mowing. I will post pictures once I get my computer set up.

Right now it is 91 degrees and a storm is blowing in. I would love some thunder and lightning, but I don't think my cats would apprieciate it.

More tomorrow, now I have to go to the store.

Halfway There

I am now in Fernley, Nevada. I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am to be here. Not a bad small town, if you like golden hills. Across the street is the biggest WalMart I've ever seen.

I left Dad's at 8 am. I could not sleep last night and finally got up at 2 am and took a Pamprin, which always makes me sleepy in addition to its other benefits, and Dad woke me up this morning at 6:30. I took a shower, finished packing the car, and got the cats in the crate without too much problem, but Dad had to help me get the crate in the car. How will I get it in the hotel room myself? So, I left an hour late and did not account for the time it takes to get from Dad's to Paso Robles, so that means I am not due in Fernley until maybe 4 pm.

I stopped twice in the first hour to clean up cat poop, my apologies to the city of Paso Robles for what I left behind on the street, and then I gave up on the whole idea of what time I will get there.

As great as whatever change you make is and as positive as you may feel about it, all changes include some loss. I felt sad to leave Dad's. I had a great time and it went by really fast and we didn't even really do much. I felt sad to leave my friends and I did not see my family enough, except Dad, before I left. But it is important to leave without regrets or resentments, and I do not think I have any of those.

Once when I visited Dad's from Las Vegas, I came in towards the 46 near the 5 and saw those golden rolling hills with scattered oak trees and I felt so homesick. It's funny what you end up missing. I enjoyed seeing them again today.

The entire drive along the 5 included signs that said, Congress Created Dust Bowl, and many of the groves of almond trees were dying. Anybody heard about this? I haven't had TV, but I read internet news, and I have not seen anything about Congress cutting off water to farmers in California and their crops dying. They were right, it was really dusty.

Spit settled down after about an hour, but Cruiser took longer. Every 10 minutes Cruiser would belt one out to remind me he was unhappy, or maybe this was Cruiser's equivalent of, Are we there yet?! We stopped for a long stop just before Sacramento and had a talk. I am fussing over the cats not getting enough air with the crate covered, but lately Spit spends the afternoon under a quilt, sometimes 2 quilts. You cats are not going to suffocate. Cruiser spends the entire afternoon laying around in the sun, either on the drafting chair, under the quilt with Spit, or in the dirt outside. Cruiser, this is not different, just lay down. For the rest of the drive they both laid down and mostly slept and were quiet.

I missed a turn near Sacramento and hit traffic. The funny thing about printing out directions ahead of time, is that you have to look at them during your drive. The road through Donner Pass sucks, it's really bumpy. I hate driving that pass, but it is much better on a sunny August afternoon than on a snowy early morning like it was on my road trip. So, with that and all the cat checking and resting stops, I arrived in Ferney, Nevada at 6:20 pm. I was counting the miles after Reno, and honestly during the whole drive I would see lodging signs and longed to just pull over. If I was not concerned about the money for hotels, I think I would have done this drive in a week, instead of 2 days, and if I had a dog, I would camp.

But I now know how resilient my cats are. Once that crate was inside the hotel room both cats were out of in a shot and investigating without too much hiding. Cruiser ate, Spit did not, and I'm not sure I will feed them in the morning, as a poop preventative measure. Regardless, we are leaving at our leisure tomorrow.

Packing the Car Again

I finished the painting of Hazel, I worked on the eyes a bit, and took another shot today before I packed, since the color was off on the last one.

My car now has a new axle boot, no more chance of grease on the brakes on my way to Boise. Dad took me to drop off my car and brought me back. The guy said 3 hours and then this morning he says this afternoon, my appointment was at 9 am. I said I need it to be 3 hours and he did not seem to care much. Then he calls at 11:30 telling me my car is ready and all about what he did to get it done so soon for me since I was leaving the state. Dad and I figured we better go pick it up right away since the guy got it done so fast and needed me to know what an effort he made, then we went to lunch at 46, that's the name of the restaurant, which happens to be on the 46. Then I ran some last errands and got home and got my period.

Now I did not mention it, but I got my period 2 hours into the drive up here and I thought that just was not fair. This time it is really early and I think it's just not fair again.

So, then I started to pack the car. I packed the computer and the art stuff in the back and it was really hot and I was thinking no way is everything going to fit. I tested the dog crate on the back seat and realized I had to put the crate behind the passenger seat due to where the door is set, so I packed up the other side. It took about 3 hours, but I did get everything packed in that I wanted and have the passenger seat for my cooler and overnight bag and the moving bag with all the papers and chargers and stuff.

Dad offered to help, but I said no, there is just too much packing and unpacking and contemplating when trying to get this much stuff into a small space and I knew I needed to do it myself, but it reminded me of how impatient we used to get with Dad when he packed the car for a vacation, which he usually did himself. Now I get it.

Cruiser and Spit went out on their last stroll for a while and saw turkeys. It was pretty funny, they knew they were birds, but they were way too big. Instead of trying to stalk them they just looked confused. They were pretty upset watching me pack the car. Cruiser cries and Spit hides. I prefer hiding. It was hot and I did not think everything would fit and Cruiser is whining, whining, whining. It reminded me of Dad packing for those family vacations again.

I am off to Boise tomorrow, I hope by 7 am. That gets me in Fernley, Nevada by 3 pm, where it is supposed to be 97 degrees. Shit, I thought northern Nevada would be cooler. Sacramento is even hot, 90 degrees. At least driving through Donner pass will be cool, then an hour of heat to Fernley. Too late to change anything now. Saturday in Boise it is supposed to be 94 degrees. Saturday will be a hot drive, too. I hope my cats will settle down enough in the morning when it is cool that they will not be stressing themselves later when the heat will make it worse, and dangerous for them.

So, I will be off tomorrow early, car packed to the brim, cats crying, listening to the opening piece on Phillip Glass' Glassworks. I love this piece, to me it sounds like anticipation and hope.

Will she ever leave?

I am now back from my last trip back and forth to LA for a while. I left here yesterday just after noon and the bad driving started earlier this time, now at Santa Barbara. (And stayed bad through Santa Barbara on the way back.)

The mover still had no pick-up date yesterday and I met the rep this morning to give him the storage key and code, so he can deal with the long distance mover. By this morning, he had a pick-up date, this Friday. I gave my 2nd key and the code to my friend just in case and I pity the mover if there is a problem and he has to call her.

I stopped on my way in yesterday to see Mom and have a glass of ice water, then went on to get the much needed haircut and not only got my haircut, but a gift of shampoo and conditioner. Thanks, Kathleen! After being so annoyed with the mover, I felt better after my haircut. I promised Kathleen I would post when I get safely to Boise on Saturday. Then on to my last Tuesday night women's coffee for a while, some of my friends think I am never going to leave.

Today I had breakfast with Mom, my brother John, and my sister-in-law Jen, then went to meet the mover, then made some important calls, then to Mom's for lunch, then to PetCo to by a dog crate and more food for the cats, then back to Dad's and I am beat. There seems to be too much to take care of before I leave on Friday.

I spoke to the vet I used here, actually I spoke to an assistant, who happened to have recently taken her cats back and forth to Vegas. She put them together in a dog crate and they did much better than they have in the past in separate carriers. She did not use medication and said if I wanted them to prescribe some, my cats will need to go in for an exam, since last time was just shots. So, cats are going without meds and I think they will be OK. She said something about taking them for a test drive in the dog crate, but I'm not sure I can face this.

I did not get to stop at the beach on the way back and now my combo farmer's/driver's tan is even worse. Oh, well, they won't care in Boise.

I asked Mom if she had an old pillowcase for Dad's pillow I am going to take with me, and she gave me some really nice embroidered ones that were mildewed in Bob's closet and she took them and cleaned them up. Guess Bob's not getting them back! Thanks, Mom! Dad also gave me a designer shower curtain he can't use here. So I already have housewarming gifts, pillowcases, shower curtain, and salon shampoo.

Screwed Up by the Movers

The last people that I thought would screw me up are the movers. They appear to have filled the truck my stuff was scheduled to be on prior to getting to me. They are still waiting to schedule a driver for my stuff, but it will not be as scheduled today or tomorrow. They still guarantee arrival in Idaho within 12 days of the original scheduled pick-up date. Normally, they (Allied Movers) would have Hilford Movers put my stuff in Hilford's storage and Allied would pick it up there, but my stuff is already in storage, which is paid for through August. What a pain. I gave the Hilford rep a hard time, but he's just the messenger. I will meet him tomorrow to give him the storage key, so he can deal with it.

I already scheduled things in LA today, so I am about to leave to get my hair cut and get a dose of gratitude from my Tuesday Night Women's coffee girls. My hair looks pretty good for being 2 weeks overdue for a hair cut, but it is REALLY long. My hair hasn't been this long since I was in Junior High. I have a few more things to add to storage that are here and at Mom's, so I can do that tomorrow. I'm making the Hilford rep meet me there.

I signed up on-line for some of the utilities, so we will see how that goes. I did not remember that renting (or owning) a house includes monthly payments for more things, water, sewer, trash, gas, electric, and I am hoping that these do not total more than they were at my last apartment.

I applied for the 2nd Idaho state job in Human Services, this one is for a Specialist in compliance. I would have liked to see my score on the 1st application before I reused the same answers for 3 questions that were the same, but they have not posted my score yet. They also posted a job in the legislative office, this includes budgeting and I do not have much experience with budgeting, but it is outside of the usual state civil service rules, so they should be more flexible about qualifications. This application I can mail or email and is not due until August 24th. I think I will work on mailing that one, but later when I am not so irritated.

I already knew that I have problems with being flexible or spontaneous and with handling more than one thing at a time. I like things organized, one thing in place before moving on to the next thing. I do not like to be surprised, except when it is with a party and gifts! I feel tested today. The idea of leaving for Idaho without my stuff also on the way makes me uncomfortable, but it seems like I should not wait around here, either. Life is messy. At least I learned over the last 7 weeks to live with a minimum of stuff.

Excited, Scared, and Sad

I went out on my picture taking trip and finally got a shot of the turkey family, 5 adults and 4 teenagers, that I see almost everyday. I also noticed Dad's bridge was built in 1948, not 1927 as I posted yesterday.



I took several golden landscape shots, but early morning light would have been better. I liked the leaf pattern and fruit shots best.



This is the falling down barn on Dad's street and the 46. It is very popular with painters.


And the horse retirement home. A few seconds after this shot, the horses that could were standing in front of me wanting attention.


And Dad's repaired Amelie gnome. He lost his leg in some ground squirrel trapping commotion and I glued it back on.



Finally got a call from the new landlord and a copy of the lease to sign. He will leave the key in a lock box on the door, and gave me the code, so I can get in as soon as I arrive on Saturday. There is a $400 refundable pet deposit I didn't count on, and he did not send the pro-rated rent amount for August or the utilities. I keep having to remind myself that the guy is just lazy, he is not going to screw me over.

I took the car in this morning for the 75K mile check minus an unneeded oil change, which cost $175. My car needs a new axle boot, the left front is leaking grease and will damage the brakes. The guy has a small shop in Templeton and seemed like a legit, thorough guy and showed me the grease. They ordered a boot kit and I scheduled an appointment for them to install it. This will cost $287. I feel like money is flying out of my hands and over $800 spent on my car alone.

I added 2 new links, one about the Laffer Curve and a survival blog. The Laffer Curve is called an economic theory, but is very well supported by fact, and shows how total tax revenues decline when taxes increase over a certain point. Inform yourself and learn what will happen when the Bush tax cuts expire, even if they only expire on the rich. Then learn about some of the things you may need to survive that our ancestors took for granted. If you had to, in order to survive, maybe you could catch a fish or a rabbit, but do you know how to clean it? What part to eat? Know how to store for winter? Maybe we cannot all be award winning canners like Lani, but we should know how.

I am feeling excited, scared, and sad all at the same time.

My thoughts and prayers to Carolyn and Murph.

White Fence Series

I finished the last 2 studies, the beginning of the white fence series:



Then I packed up the art supplies and cleaned up after myself.

I walked out from the main house to the studio late yesterday morning and Sophie was sleeping in the shade by my car and right above her on the hill was Cruiser. He appears to have pushed the screen door open and wandered out. As soon as he saw me, he skulked down like he knew he was doing something he should not. He was lucky Sophie was too busy sleeping in the dirt to notice him, but now that he learned how to escape from the stdio, it is definitely time to go.

I gave Sophie the last bath she is going to get from me and then Dad and I took her on a long walk so she could dry before laying in the dirt again. We walked up to Nick's ranch to the West, saw many cows and Nick's horse retirement home. Nick makes some side money housing people's old horses. The pig barn was empty of pigs and I think we may have eaten them on the 4th of July, since they served an incredible barbecued pork loin.

Later today, when the light is better, I am going to go on a picture taking trip before I leave. Right now it is hot for a change and I am going to try to even out my driver's tan, which means I am tan only on my left arm and thigh. It's not a great look, maybe I can get in an hour or two at the beach on the way to or from Simi to meet the movers.

Sophie is barking, Sophie rarely barks, and turns out she's barking at people who stopped on the road in front of Dad's and got out to look at the creek or the bridge or whatever. There is a space to park just east of the bridge over the creek and people stop there and get out and look like they are trying to find a creek walk. I like to let Sophie bark at them, and there was a group once that looked like they were looking for a break in the fence and I almost went and asked if they needed help (really meaning to remind them they were on private property.) There seem to be too many people who do not understand this is not a public park.

San Luis Obisbo County bought a small piece of land at the bridge to fix the road, which they appear to plan on doing differently than all the engineers recommend and The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obisbo County is involved. I'm guessing The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obisbo County convinced someone that digging up the road and reinforcing underneath it was less destructive to the environment than cutting out the hill and widening the road that way. Cutting out the hill is what the engineers recommended. Dad's the one that power-washed the bridge for Memorial Day and repainted the completion date, 1926.

These jerks call themselves environmentalists, dedicated to preserving natural beauty for future generations, but sound like communists to me. The land they want to protect is never their own. Why are they involved in road building? Why should someone's land, that they own and pay taxes on, be open to everyone? How would you like it if I parked in your driveway and took a look around? At least Dad's not a rancher and they are not interfering with his ability to make a living. Dad gets pretty fired up on the topic, and is hoping to be gone before they start work on the road and devise some new plan to take some of his land. Who knows what bug lurks in the creek that needs protecting. I don't know if the communists have anything to do with the trespassers, but for now, I just like to let Sophie bark at them.

Friendship

I did hike up the hill behind Dad's to the site of the soul retrieval and leave my offering. That hill is steep, there are cow pies on the way and I am amazed a cow can get up and down that hill, and I had trouble finding the spot. Country girls should be in better shape than I am today. I left the orange and asked for a safe trip to Boise.

I do not have much to write about today, and I am missing my friends, so I am choosing my own enlightenment topic, Friendship, with the poem "On Friendship" from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran,

Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.

When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you withhold the "ay."
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

My favorite line is, And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit. The poem is about friendship, but could just as well be about love, that is the real kind of love, not the ego-centered kind that we mostly see today. I like to remember this line when my friends are not being what I want or when I am trying to find my responsibility in a problem with a friend. I would not have the spirit for my adventure without the friendship I have known over the last six years and today, as those ducks just will not get in a row, I am missing the little things.

Summer is Ending

Dad won his golf match and his team won their tournament, the team ended 1-5, Dad called it, all's well that ends well.

Called the mover, who cannot confirm if moving day is the 17th or 18th yet, and researched where to stay on my way to Idaho. I decided to stop in Fernley, just past Reno. It will be Friday night, what do you think is going on in Fernley on a Friday night? I plan on getting there early with plenty of time to rest before I have to go out and do it again. I'm taking my car in for a check up on Monday. I am trying to get as prepared as I can, but I am getting a bit frightened of that drive by myself. It's not any different than my road trip, except for my cats, and I wasn't frightened on my road trip. Is it just being responsible for something else besides myself that is scaring me?

I stayed up late last night (late for me) writing the answers to the questions on an Idaho State job application that was due today. These take a really long time, but I can reuse my answers. I was going to complete the application last night, then decided it was too dark to walk from the studio to the house and it could wait, then twisted my ankle, then could not sleep. I should have stayed up and watched the meteor shower. Meteor showers are not unusual, but it is unusual to have them when there is very little moon to obscure the view and last night it was very, very dark here. Too spooky to sleep.

This morning I sent my application early, before I have to compete with Dad for the computer, and found out what animal is leaving footprints all over my car. A flock of birds, all over the top of my car, having a morning dew drink.

I went to my favorite store, Home Depot, to buy one more box, and took some time to walk through the garden section and admire all of the plants I love that will not grow in Idaho. Most of them will not even grow at Dad's, bougainvillea, lantana, cape plumbago, crepe myrtle, flowering pear. I can grow a maple and I'm looking forward to planting one at my new place. I used to plant a tree every year for my birthday, and sometimes one for Lauren, too. I walked out of Home Depot and noticed I'm missing a wheel cover, or do they still call them hubcaps? I wonder when that happened.

I called the IRS today, everything seems to be cleared up and I actually talked to someone who was nice and not a moron.

The next enlightenment topic is Time, with the poem "On Time" by John Milton. It's long, so I'm not going to post it, but the idea is that the one thing that can defeat the passage of time is eternity. Eternity takes over and shows us the timelessness of truth, peace, and love. Yea, but by then we are dead. This is not helping. Live your life every day without regret, without words unspoken, make your amends, then time is not your enemy.

Next is Humility, with the poem "Solitude" by Alexander Pope,

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air
In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire;
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.

Blest, who can unconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years, slide soft away
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day.

Sound sleep by night; study and ease
Together mix'd, sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.

Nice poem, but the man sounds like he's got it good and just doesn't want anyone to see or know him. Is that humility? I prefer my friend's, humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. Anyway, the more I talk about humility, the less humble I sound.

No Man is an Island

Thank you for the comments, Colleen, they are helping me feel less isolated.

The deer come to the meadow every day. There are 3 families and all of the fawns are getting big. I have not seen the coyote for a few weeks, but it's funny, Dad has never seen the coyote so much, never seen a bobcat, and never had deer regularly in the meadow. The feral cat did not run away the other day when he saw me go out, and Dad has never seen that either. I'm now waiting for a bird to land on my shoulder and to suddenly break into song.


Just in case you didn't believe me, here is Cruiser trying to be forgiven. Spit is really making him work for it.


The next enlightenment topic is Mercy, here is part of the segment from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice,

And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice.

When a person is truly powerful, they will have less need to display power through authority and the more they will display power through mercy. Be compassionate and be just.

Then the topic, Oneness, Meditation XVII by John Donne,

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.

This reminds me of the movie, About a Boy. Hugh Grant tries really hard to be an island, and the film has the same message, but not so morbid. When difficult things happen to me and I cannot find a reason why, I like to remember that I am not the center of the universe and that maybe am part of someone else's lesson. I am not an island.

I should have titled yesterday, Laziness. Today I need to get things done. So far this morning, I made an appointment to take the car in for service before my trip and I printed out the supplemental questions for the 2 human services job posts in Boise. These always take a long time to write, so I write them first and then paste them into the application. This also means I have old answers I can reuse and believe me, I get to do this all the time. I revised my address on the application to the new address in Boise. They are not going to send me mail, but this makes me look local. I figure Idaho does not want to help California's unemployment rate, they want to help their own.

Finished one study and started another one this morning. Once that is done, no more painting until I am in Boise. I will miss it. I miss my books already, in some of them there are pieces I think are better than in Wisdom of the Ages, so I started a non-fiction reading list to my blog. I also miss my Life Recovery Bible, although I only read the recovery parts.

At the end of my soul retrieval, I left an offering and I chose an orange. I brought it as part of the ritual, but Dave said I should leave an offering. I said, But Dave this is a really good orange, part of a good batch I bought and the others were perfect and sweet. Dave said, Then it will make it an especially good offering. Today I am going to go back up to the spot, leave another perfect orange, and ask for a safe trip to Boise.

The Hawk

I'm glad to be back to painting first thing in the morning.

Spit appears to be pissed at Cruiser, she keeps hissing at him if he sneaks up on her, and Cruiser is looking at her and rolling over on his back like he is trying to placate himself, as if Spit is saying, Why did you leave me alone so that dog could chase me?! Where were you? Wandering down the road! Tonight a hawk circled down really low over us as the cats were out for their evening stroll. They do not venture far from the studio now, but, funny that hawk seemed to know how to fly in front of the sun so I could not see him. Hawks are beautiful birds. I don't think either of my cats is a match for even a small hawk.

I paid the security deposit for my new place, but that darn landlord has not sent the lease yet. I also ordered some Ottmar Leibert CDs for my trip. Spanish guitar is good road trip music. I brought a good collection of CDs, but I've done enough driving to be tired of them already. I forgot about Leibert until Dad was playing one of his CDs that I gave him.

I'm trying to relax today and just painted, took a nap, and went to town to the bank and Kohls. Underwear is on sale. Mom sent my last outstanding check from the electric company, which I deposited today. No one owes me any more money, darn. I overpaid the electric company, I sent the cable payment to them in addition to my regular payment, so they had deducted June and still owed me money. Edison is great about sending reference letters, I received one that I asked for when I discontinued my service and I received it before I even moved.

In the Six Feet Under season finale, the best season finale of any TV series ever, one of the main characters drives off from LA to New York in her new Toyota Prius. The Prius had just come out then, so it was great advertising product placement, but completely impractical. She was going to be a photographer and did not appear to have any stuff. Photographers have a lot of stuff, worse than artists. Besides being in the car to Idaho for 2 days with cats, it will be tricky to get all of the stuff I have at Dad's in that car. Oh Lord, I don't need a Mercedes, won't you buy me a Toyota 4Runner, 2005 before they started adding too much electronic stuff?

Back to enlightenment tomorrow, Dad will be off the computer and in the last Thursday match play golf game for this tournament. Dad has been playing well, but he is the team captain and the team is 0-5. When the team's a loser, whose fault is it? Usually the captain! Except that no one else wants to be captain, it's a thankless job.

Back to Painting

Hazel is just about done. This is the point where I struggle with the things I don't think are quite right and overworking the painting. I have to let go of the reference and judge how it looks on it's own. Where did Hazel get those lips? Those are not Johnson lips. The painting will sit for a few days with me looking at it every once in a while until I surrender and let it go. In the meantime, I started another study.

I spent the rest of the day yesterday researching on the Internet and writing down addresses for things in Idaho like the bank, AAA, CostCo, and the DMV. I don't know how long it will take me to set up the Internet connection. How long do I have to register my car? What do I need to get a driver's license? Where should I get car insurance? How much is a new bed going to cost? I got rid of the bed, it was time for a new one anyway, I want a platform bed, no more sleeping miles high up on the Princess and the Pea bed, but that means I have no bed in Boise until I buy one. Back to the sleeping bag.

I have to call the mover and give him an address and find out if moving day is Tuesday or Wednesday, then I will have to decide how I am getting my cats to Boise. Should I drive straight though with a few rest stops? Should I camp? Should I stay in a hotel that allows animals? Should I stay in Reno again? Reno is half way. Should I arrange to stay in Boise, too? How will I get the keys from the landlord without making my cats wait in the car? I don't know if he would mail them to me, and it is getting a bit late for that anyway. At least I told the landlord the truth that I have 2 cats, there were no extra charges for them for a change. The landlord has not emailed me the lease to sign yet and I would really like to get that duck in the row. Is he stalling, is he going to screw me up, or does he just have no sense of urgency? I'm going to send him the deposit on-line, then he is stuck with me. When the tenant gave me a tour of the place, I asked about the landlord, I described him as laid-back. She laughed and rolled her eyes and thought that was a good description, but she added that when there is something to do, he is good about doing it.

Yesterday was a new moon. Things start with the new moon and reach their peak with the full moon. The next full moon is August 24. I should be in Boise by then, maybe even with my stuff.

Approved!

My future landlord sent me an approval email last night at 9 pm, which I did not see until this morning. I figure he stalled all weekend and did not get another offer, so approved me. Funny, after stewing and worrying about it all day yesterday, and trying to come up with a back-up plan, my first thought is, why didn't anybody else want it? What's wrong with it? I am just not used to things working out well or getting what I want. It's made me suspicious.

Dad and I never made it to the movies yesterday, so I cooked dinner and we watched the next episode of Mad Men, which fortunately for us is on earlier here. My cats are not damaged by their brush with Sophie and are still trying to rush the door, although now they do not go far from the house. They both zeroed in on a gopher hole this morning, which looked back filled when I checked, but then I could hear scratching as if the gopher was filling in the hole at that moment. Sophie and I play keep away every night, she is very funny and jumps and hops more like a deer than a dog. Sophie is going to miss me. I worked on the painting of Hazel and am finishing it up today. I have room on the paper with Hazel for 2 more studies, so I hope to do these and then I have to give Dad his studio back.

I called the Oakland Airport and got the name of the shuttle driver who watched over me and an address so I can send a thank you and let her know I got home safely. It took calling several numbers before I found someone at the Boise Dollar Rent a Car who had my keys. She will send them UPS today. UPS ground was free, otherwise I have to pay for shipping, and they should be here by Saturday if she really sends them today. I did not give her hard time today, she still has my keys, but this is the person I left 2 messages for and who did not call me back. She's not getting a thank you letter.

I checked the Idaho government jobs website today, and there are 2 program specialist jobs that are posted that require my exact experience that I will apply for this week. (Both related to the Food Stamps program, $18.73 to $27.55 per hour, for my Ventura County readers.) This is not the job I want, I just want to be a painter, but I will try to get interviews anyway, meet some more people in Boise, and keep an open mind.

I still have much to do before I leave next week, but I get to relax and enjoy it for now.

Cats for Breakfast

Yesterday I woke up early after the 1st good night's sleep in 4 days. I went to the main house, made coffee, brought it back to the studio, and both cats decided they spent too much time inside over the last 3 days and rushed outside while I was opening the screen door, coffee in hand.

Sophie goes out as soon as she can get Dad to get up and open the door, she does a round around the house, then she comes in for breakfast when Dad is up. When the cats rushed out, I did not think Sophie had been out yet for her morning round, but both cats stayed near the house and I figured I would hear the door slam when Sophie went out and would have time to get both cats in. Then Cruiser wandered off and made it past the main gate. I went after him, unlatched the gate, and then I saw Sophie. She was standing at attention next to the end of the main house, focused on Spit. I closed the gate and took off towards Spit, and so did Sophie. Spit took off for the studio and made it and Sophie turned to Cruiser. By now Cruiser is on the wrong side of the fence, fence between him and Sophie, running along side trying to get closer to the studio. I head off Sophie and get her back in the main house. Cruiser is now howling, the holes in the fence are too small for him to get through, and I am admiring how tightly the wire fence is held together as I walk along on the opposite side of the fence from Cruiser looking for an opening. Cruiser finally decides to wiggle his way through one of the wire squares in the fence (he could stand to loose a few pounds) and takes off for the studio.

At least both cats know where home is, but that was more excitement than I care for at 7 am.

I spent the rest of the day unpacking, re-organizing, going through my Boise trip stuff, and trying to stay out of the wreckage of the future. So far, I am only missing my extra set of glasses. I sent an email to the property management guy and left another message for Dollar Rent a Car about my keys. The storage lock key was also on my key chain, and I think I have an extra, but I am not positive. I have just over a week before the mover is scheduled and I do not have an address.

Boise Housing Trip 2

I put in an application for this is house. This is the one close to the city with the good neighbors. It is a row house, with the garage in back and a yard between the garage and the house. This is the only thing I saw that I would rent. I am still waiting for an OK on my application and I am not good at waiting.

I looked at the outside of 10 houses/duplexes and the inside of 3 and I looked at 2 apartments. I looked at one nice duplex in Nampa, and the neighborhood was nice, but the neighbors looked a little tough. The other house I looked at had a great yard, and when I saw the inside the barking dogs I heard the day before were gone, but the inside was a not updated 1930's house and it looked at an office building. The woman that showed me this one was another nice person and told me about First Thursdays, art and music in the city once a month, and says she goes to the September art fair every year and that it is a big deal. I told her I hoped to participate next year.

On my way to Nampa, I experienced rush hour traffic made worse by road construction. I guess every city has this. Nothing beats the sign in the Oakland airport, though, right in the middle of current construction, that said, construction due to be completed in 2008. I also had some bare headed (no helmet, no hair) motorcycle rider swear at me because I did not move over fast enough, even though traffic was merging and he was not giving me much room and I am pretty careful not to cut off motorcyclists. I guess every city has these guys.


When I went to Meridian, I never found the property I was looking for, but stopped to take pictures of horses right in the middle of the main part of town. Note the kid on the horse in back. A few minutes after the picture the horse took off running down the street with the kid on it. I didn't see what caused the horse to take off, but it ran right in front of me and I am still such a city girl that I stayed out of the way.

Both days were hot, 98 degrees was the high, and on Thursday I could smell a forest fire, but I don't know where it was. There were also thunderhead clouds over the hills behind the city. I didn't think there would be monsoons this far north, but these looked like monsoon clouds. I liked monsoon season in Vegas.


The trip was exhausting. I found my best choice and put in my application the first day, but felt obligated to keep looking just in case and because that is why I was there and then didn't see any 2nd choice. I learned how to get around much of Boise, and the street names, and I saw many houses in great neighborhoods I would love that were not for rent. I saw a few houses with for rent signs while I was driving around, but again, nothing I would rent.

I met a girl from Salt Lake on the plane, who explained western snow is different, it's lighter and it makes better snowballs than eastern snow, and she gave me some tips on dealing with cold weather. On the other side of me was a woman my age that worked on her laptop and then read a book. She wasn't unfriendly, but she was closed off in her own bubble, like I used to be.

Sleeping in my Car

More about my time in Boise later.

I arrived pretty much on time at Oakland airport and the economy lot shuttle dropped me off at my car before 10 pm. The shuttle driver waited for me to find my keys and get in my car, the economy lot at the Oakland Airport is not the safest place in the world, and it took me a few minutes to realize that I have turned in my car key to the rental car attendant with the rental car key. The keys to my car are in Boise, Idaho and the spare key is at Dad's in Paso Robles.

When I put the rental car key chain on my regular key chain, I could hear Frank's voice in my head telling me not to do that because I will forget and turn in my car key with the rental one. I chose to ignore that voice. I can be stubborn that way. What is that voice? Common sense? The voice that knows my limitations? All day on Thursday I was annoyed because I kept trying to use my car device to unlock the rental car and it didn't work. The universe trying to tell me to SEPARATE THE KEYS!

I explain what I did to the shuttle driver, tell her I am calling AAA, and she moves on, but checks on me every time she drives by. I have a Toyota Prius, it's all electronic, there is no real key, just an electronic device that unlocks the car and just needs to be in the vicinity of the car for me to start it with a button. The car will not lock with the keys in it, which is a great feature, but the rest of the electronicness is not. I call Dollar Rental Car, the sales guy calls me back later and says the car has been rented out again and my key is probably in their lost and found, which opens at 8 am tomorrow and he gives me the number. AAA can get me into my car, but cannot start it. AAA cannot call a locksmith to come and make a key, because there is no key! AAA comes, unlocks the car, the driver shows me how to unlock it from the inside and helps me get my person and my stuff in it, but I cannot unlock all the doors, I cannot lower the windows, so I cannot get out of the car and shut the door, or I will be locked out again. Mom had an emergency service contract with Toyota, but the card for it is in the car, so now that I am in the car, I get the card and call them. They tell me I have to have the car towed to a Toyota dealer and the dealer makes a new key. He gives me the name and number of the nearest Toyota dealer. I call the Toyota dealer and their service department opens at 7 am. By now is 11 pm.

In between this, I call Dad and my brother Dave, who lives in San Francisco. Dad is not too excited about driving 7 hours to and from Oakland to bring me my spare key, but he will. He also reminds me that this is part of the adventure. Oh, yea, this is an adventure, it's not a problem or a crisis or an excuse to be angry. This helped me change my attitude. What if everything we experience was just another part of an adventure? Would our outlook on life, or our attitude be different? Dave is up and I can stay with him in SF, but Dave doesn't have a car, I will have to get from Oakland to SF at 11 pm on my own. Once I am in my car, I call Dave back to give him an update and tell him I am just going to stay in my car overnight.

One thing about being somewhat homeless is that you end up partly living out of your car (if you have one.) My emergency backpack, that is usually in my apartment, is in my car. This has toilet paper, candles, waterproof matches, a medical kit, a box of energy bars, a pocket knife, and a rope. I've been meaning to add an axe, but haven't got to it yet. I also have a gallon jug of water, a down sleeping bag, and hiking boots. I have the stuff from my trip, including toothpaste and toothbrush, a cooler with more water, Gatorade, a pop top can of Mandarin oranges, trail mix, a real orange, and a towel I stole from the Boise hotel. I am ready for Armageddon and an overnight stay in my car. Dave asked what will you do if you need to pee? After that I stopped drinking water, but I did need to pee by about 1 am, and I won't describe how I took care of this except that I am adding an empty jar with a lid to my emergency supplies. (And a pillow.)

I did sleep a few hours after the shuttle stopped going by every 15 minutes and woke up before 5 am. I felt pretty safe in my car, trying to break in will set off the alarm, and I now know it could not be driven even if anyone could break in. It was cold and I was warm in the sleeping bag with my head covered, hiding, just an empty sleeping bag in the back seat. I would have really liked a cup of coffee. At 6 am I called AAA for a tow. The tow truck driver was there within 15 minutes. I watched a towing master get my car on and off a flat bed tow truck without being able to put the car in neutral (shifter is electronic, too.) To unload the car at the Toyota dealer he angled the flat bed, dismantled all the safety chains, and shimmied the flat bed to shimmy my car down the ramp. I was impressed. The Toyota dealer was 2.2 miles from the airport and tow was free.

It took the Toyota dealer 2 1/2 hours and $310 to make a new key. First there is a key part that unlocks the car, then there is a computerized part generated from the Toyota mainframe in LA that starts the car. My old keys are now no good and reprogramming those will cost $135 each. Fortunately, they finished before I could trade my Prius for a used 4Runner with real keys. The Toyota dealer was One Toyota of Oakland and they were great. The key maker explained what is involved in making a new key and that most of this trouble is the result of making Toyota harder to steal. The Camry was the #1 most stolen car in the 1980s and today it is as secure as a Mercedes.

So, Dave asked me what I thought the message was in all this. I think there were several. I need to listen to the voice that knows my limitations. I need to spend more time in the adventure and less time focused on the goal or destination. I live in the future, in the destination, I forget to enjoy what is around me. When I was in the adventure, people were more interesting, more helpful, and nicer than I expected. I also need to let go of the fear of not having enough money. I did not have anywhere to be, Dad is taking care of my cats, so what was I initially angry about? Spending money on something I don't want to spend money on. But I had the money, I am just worried about not having enough money in the future, so there I am in the future, the destination again.

I am now back safely at Dad's, looking forward to a good night's sleep and dreaming of a 2004 Toyota 4Runner with an old fashioned key and no electronic extras.