Hypothesis Confirmed: Idaho IS Heaven

Actually, I think this cloud photo is from out recent trip to Arizona. But they are nice clouds, no?














We spent a day at Henry's Fork of the Snake River. I got in the water, briefly, just long enough to confirm that the water was too cold to have one's butt in for very long. But it provided a beautiful scene in which to sit, think, and drink a beer.














Does Gus think Idaho is heaven? Yes, he does. It has water, bugs to chase, lots of room to run. Did I mention the water?














As if we weren't already aware, on our way home we stopped at Upper Mesa Falls and observed this spectacular rainbow. If we hadn't already been convinced that Idaho was heaven, we might have thought Idaho was showing off.

Where's Dr. Write?

I know you have been fretting, thinking to yourself, "Where's Dr. Write? What could have happened to her? Why isn't she blogging?"
Well, I hate to tell you, but nothing exciting has been going on. For one week I was in Pinetop/Lakeside Arizona at a condo with my mother and her husband, my sister, ErinAlice and her family, Middlebrow & Son. It was great fun hanging out in the pines where it was very cool, it rained nearly every day, I wore the same sweatshirt for a week, we over-hiked (meaning we thought we were going to hike 6 but really we hiked 9.5), we engaged in all kinds of sports (miniature golf, fishing, swimming, ping pong, basketball, pool, hiking, tennis), and the liquor flowed like water sometimes as early as noon! Unheard of! We also watched our share of cable, including "Deadliest Catch" which is strangely addictive, and plenty of HGTV.
Then we stopped, too briefly, at Otterbutt's, where we hung out, ate, did some hiking, and adored her beautiful and amusing daughter. Also drank sufficient amounts. Also experienced more torrential rain. Also watched "Flip This House!" Vacation = Cable.
What else? I read the first in the His Dark Materials trilogy. (Loved it!) Finished Cloudsplitter. Finally!!
Also saw "Mamma Mia." Ridiculous and totally entertaining. How could you not love a movie that has Meryl Streep AND Pierce Brosnan AND Colin Firth AND Julie Walters? I tell you how: it's impossible. You can't.
I also started running again and am running two races in the next two months. I started swimming again, and I went to the tennis workout. (News flash: my backhand still sucks!) Also I went for a hike (not too long) with Sylvia and Gus (who was very well behaved! He's a champ!).
Next week we are going to Island Park, which as you know from our friend Hightouchmegastore, may or may not be heaven. I'll give you my verdict when we return. So much depends upon the density of the mosquitoes and the quality of the margaritas.
Pretty soon, I'll have to face reality and work on my syllabi. But for now, there's a Corona in the freezer with my name on it.

Sometimes You Talk About Idaho

Dog in Field. Serene.

Fleur.
Le Taco Truck. Yum.
Literary Paver in downtown Pocatello.
An old sign. And a sign of dying downtown.

(FYI: the title of this post is taken from my least favorite Pam Houston story. It's about New Yorkers who talk about Idaho as if they understand it. I think the line from the story is "It [Idaho] is something you can talk about with certainty." Or some such bullshit. It's always grated on me. So here's a bit of Idaho I don't think she means: the taco truck, the dying downtown. She means the rivers and the rest of the stuff she can romanticize because she never lived there. Maybe I should write a story entitled Sometimes You Talk about California. It might include a wildfire that burns down a cabin belonging to a writer who lives in the city, but likes to "get away". Or maybe not.)

Recent Happenings in Dr. Write-ville

Back to lists:

1. I went to the Utah Arts Fest, where I read, friends of mine read, and Hightouch got a much deserved Arts Award from the Mayor (actually she got it from the Mayor's Chief of Staff who happens to be dating a friend of mine, but that's another story) and I had some important sightings. Let me list them here: the woman who punched another woman at the Son Volt concert last year (I saw her twice! with her kids!); the lead singer of the Purbats; a comedian with tons of tattoos that we recognized from Last Comic Standing. He's from West Jordan, but whenever he was on screen it said he was from West Jordy. Now that's comedy!
2. Went to Idaho. It was hot, but less hot than here, and fun. We did some hiking, and some swimming, some tennising, and more important, some eating of burritos from the taco truck and some drinking of the beer at the local brew pub. Also saw a grad school friend who just bought a house for $98,000. Anyone want to move to SE Idaho?
3. Two other cool things from Idaho: in downtown Pocatello they put pavers around downtown with quotations by local authors on them. They are about to do another round, but I missed the deadline. Maybe next time! I walked in to a coffee shop and there, there!, behind the counter was the man who had been my boss at the Starbucks on Queen Anne in Seattle. What, pray tell, was he doing in Pocatello? He opened a coffee shop there. His sister and brother live in Pocatello. Weird!
4. Middlebrow finished a big backyard project. He dug and hurt his back and sweated a lot. I helped a little. It's almost done (we need more gravel), but already I have that feeling of accomplishment, though I didn't really do anything.
5. Tomorrow: tennis! (playing. and maybe some watching. Wimbledon is nearing conclusion...)

And that's all for today.....

School Dread

I'm back from the jungles of Idaho where we braved storms and too many margaritas to enjoy family time and reminiscing with high school buddies, former teachers, parents' colleagues, and family friends and neighbors.
Highlights:

1. Sitting in hot pool that belonged to hotel nestled in evergreens, as it got dark.
2. Spending lots of time with parents and siblings.
3. Hiking with siblings in Lava Hot Springs.
4. Making the incredibly delicious pomegranate mojitos (not as sweet as you'd fear!).
5. Walking Gus in Lava and meeting the locals.
6. Talking to hip teenage niece about friends from Austin, myspace and emo-screamo.
7. Shopping with sister for shorts and buying two shirts and new dress instead.
8. Buying shorts at Ace Hardware.
9. Swimming laps at Ross Park Pool with my new polarized goggles.
10. Eating at Pocatello taco truck two times.
11. Running into high school friend and jewelry making wife at Pocatello farmer's market.
12. Hiking with grad school friend and dog on Boundary Trail.
13. Riding my bike in Island Park and Inkom.
14. Meeting sister's friend from State College. Mostly when he said things like "Yep, she's your sister" and "Don't you think 'Mike's Hard Berry' sounds dirty?"
15. Talking to cool sociologist who studies vampire culture and prison gambling.
16. Finally reading A Fan's Notes. What took me so long?
17. Eating lots of eggs and bacon for breakfast.
18. Eating lots.
19. Drinking lots.
20. Finally coming home and getting back to running. And sleeping in my own bed.

But, because I'm crazy!, I leave for Cincinnati on Wednesday to do research for what heretofore shall be referred to as the DFL. I'll spend two days at the Arts Center, also eating at whatever cool restaurants I can find, maybe having a martini, if I feel brave.
I hope I see many of you soon. Wish me luck.

I'm Home, Briefly, Before Returning to Idaho

First things first: PIE!I ate this delicious little rhubarb-berry concoction at the Almo Outpost in Almo, Idaho. First we had burgers, which were good, and then I ate this. It was yummy.
This is Son wearing goggles on the shores of Lake Alturas. He did get in the water, for the record, but he did not need the goggles.
My favorite recent pic of Son. Note the ice blue eyes. This was after he got in the water. The only reason he got in the water was that MB was out there holding a bag of M-n-M's. They were the disgusting white chocolate variety which no one else wanted, but MB was able to lure Son in to the water with the promise of the whole bag for himself, which he quickly consumed. MB accidentally bought them thinking they were the Almond kind. He still hasn't learned to read a label, but maybe someday he will.

We had a great time in Idaho, visiting with friends. My friend, who is married to the climbing ranger at City of Rocks, is a friend from junior high. She got out her yearbooks and reminded me of a prank we pulled on two (nerdy) girls who lockered next to us. We wrote them love notes from a supposed boy who liked them. (mean!) I had blocked this out of course. I remember all wrongs done to me, but have suppressed all the cruel things I did. I guess it's how we move on. But I also read what I had written in her yearbook, something like "we'll be friends long after all this is over" or something, which turns out to be true. Of all my childhood friends, I think she is one I have the most in common with now. She and hubby bought some land in Almo and they are going to build a straw bale house, which I've always wanted to do. I hope she calls me so I can come out and help!

Hailey was awesome. None of the icky grossness of Ketchum and Sun Valley, with all of the beautiful scenery and amazing food. We ate our weight in grilled meat (hamburgers from a ranch that Mark recently acquired as part of his job at the Nature Conservancy. Grass fed!), lamb chops (from local ranch, Lava Lake), and grilled veggies (heirloom potatoes that were sublime!). We also ate a ton of salsa from a local place, and went out for Thai food. Oh, and we drank real beer. I bought a pie at the farmer's market, which was great, but sorry, no photos. It was a mixed berry pie. We also ate wraps from a Ketchum place, Wrap City, which renewed my interest in the wrap as a food category.
The highlight was Lake Alturas, which we will definitely return to in the near future, hopefully to stay for a few days and camp and hang out at the lake to work on our tans and read fiction that's trashy, but only so trashy. It's not the ocean, after all.

Friday ErinAlice flies in with family in tow to begin the two week family festivities. We will go to Inkom, then to Island Park with side trips to Yellowstone. Then back to Inkom, where we will be joined by Sister 2, then Sister 1. We have a night of margaritas, guacamole and whatever else planned. Then to Lava for a few days before the big birthday bash for Sister 2. Then a big retirement party for Dad. Then we return to life as we know it, which is basically a long, screeching downhill slide into SCHOOL. (but I'm going to block that out for now)

Melancholiday

I love most holidays, I do, especially ones that primarily focus on food. This is why, in some ways, I prefer Thanksgiving to Christmas. Except for the fact that I usually see my family at Christmas and only sometimes see my Dad at Thanksgiving, but not always. But this year, I didn't see my family for any of the winter holidays. I did see my Mom and ErinAlice at Spring Break. And we went to Idaho to see my Dad for Memorial Day.
In spite of all that, I find myself somewhat melancholy this 4th. I'm not a big lover of the fourth, and I don't love the fireworks (especially this year, as I anticipate a Gus freak out), but I find myself a little sad. Maybe it's because last year we got to spend it with Otterbutt and ThirtyOne Flavors and children. (Son was talking about all the fireworks he did last year with "Camme"). Maybe it's because we weren't invited to any barbecues. Maybe it's because I didn't get it together enough to make either potato salad OR any kind of pie.
But really I think it's because I think of the fourth as a holiday that most people spend with their families. And we spent most of it inside trying to stay cool. I did watch some Wimbledon (a family tradition), and we did make some hamburgers with corn and potatoes (everything cooked on the grill, of course).
Maybe it's because I feel somewhat isolated and like a shut-in. I'm not trying to feel sorry for myself, but we don't really have a "group" of friends that we hang out with all the time and would, naturally, spend the Fourth with. We do have friends, but they are all from different groups (cliques?), not really forming a coherent whole. We don't really have people over (except sometimes we do). We don't really go out for drinks with certain people or go to bars (much) or etc, etc, etc.
I guess our social isolation is partly an effect of being a parent (babysitter? What babysitter? Ours is in France). And it's partly an effect of being writers who are trying to write this summer. We haven't been on the phone inviting people over. But partly, I think, it's an effect of the environment where we live. Lots of people here have lived here for a long time and have lots of friends that they have had forever. OR they spend holidays with their families.
I felt this way when I lived in Seattle too. But there, perhaps because I was single and very social, I made friends with other people who had recently moved to Seattle. Once, at a party, I made friends with a whole group of people from Ohio because they were in the kitchen talking and I thought they said "Idaho." I sat on the lap of one of these people, a man named Wheat (not kidding!), in a van on the way home. But that's a story for another post.
I also made friends with a woman who was a customer of mine at Starbucks because she went to College of Idaho. And she was good friends with the only person I knew who went there.
Maybe I just need to start an "I'm from Idaho or a state that sounds like Idaho" club. Or a "we used to have friends but then we had a kid" club. Or "My family's not here, want to have a barbecue?" club. Or "I like to drink pre-made margaritas" club.
I could go on like this for hours.