velogogo.

it’s hard to start when there’s been such a long break.  my brain somehow doesn’t know how to put words together.

so, i’ll just say that although a sweater has been worn for the last few days –  summer is here.  when the calendar turns to june everyone decides it’s time to vacation and relax and do everything out of the ordinary.  while most of my family is out of town, i’m spending my second evening down the road at my sister’s yellow ranch house.  it’s my own way of saying i can live in a vacation sort of mode even though i leave every morning for a day in the office.

i love summer.  so much.  speaking of summer, it’s meals like this that make my summertime heart happy:

is worth a thousand words.

two girls are supposed to be studying and i’m here on the laptop trying to not distract them.  two finals are to be done and then we’ll go gallivanting for the rest of the day like we have every other day.  yesterday was our adventure day and i discovered more reasons to love this place.

9.  it’s beautiful and full of not-too-strenuous outdoor fun.  i am not much of a hiker so we took the very easy trail.

10.  anyone else grow up watching “Adventures of the Wilderness Family”?  i’m convinced that they filmed the series here.  this plane is more proof.

11.  old abandoned buildings beg for you to explore.  so we did.

12.  the one thing i wanted to see and yesterday we saw several.  a real deal ranch!

are you ready to learn some more reasons to love idaho?

7.  i tease that they have no history here.  after a few days of driving around i asked where all the old buildings are.  i was taken to a fort that was built in 1880 and realized that my family house is older than the town of coeur d’alene.  i forgot how young the west is.  but although there’s still a sense of newness, sometimes you feel like you stepped back in time.  like when i passed this laundromat.  (click to enlarge photo)

8.  yesterday i woke and walked a mile to the lake where i proceeded to sit outside and eat breakfast.  please north country, open some fun places.

day number 3.5 here.  it’s different than the east coast and somehow different than the california west coast i know.  i’ve been trying my very best to figure out what it is that makes it so unique.  the trees are quite similar to where i live.  there are mountains and lakes and lots of pleasant people.  there isn’t much of an accent and although dirt bike racing is popular, everything else seems to be quite normal.

yesterday afternoon i figured it out.  this is a hick city.  there are thousands of people surrounding me, a million starbucks, stores at your right and left — they even have a target!  and yet everything is completely hick.  the combination of urban life and rednecks is completely confusing.  so while i pass a massive herd of people on my way to the coffee shop downtown, these are a few things i pass which are reasons to love this place.  so completely hick.

reason 5.  massive ugly and dirty trucks seem to abound here.  and this kind is the definition of the west.

reason 6.  they eat/drink the strangest things.

one girl i met told me i needed to eat rocky mountain oysters to get the real idaho experience.  like the naive trusting thing i am i said i would.  i was then told what they are — bull testicles.  not everyone likes them, but it’s not unusual for all the men to go out for beer and oysters together.  gross.  i think i shall stay away from such Fear Factor-ish delicacies.

one more reason to love this place:

a few years ago, in the midst of many people in a small school building, a boy met a girl.  they didn’t think anything of each other at that point but since they discovered that they both came from the same town, the boy and girl continued to hang out after the year in germany finished.

fast forward three years and they’re getting married.  last night i went to the rehearsal dinner and today i shall go to the ceremony.  and i can’t tell you how wonderful it is to be here to celebrate as the two of them make this covenant together.

life is good.

i’m here.  in idaho.  my schedule has been planned for me and packed every second of every day since my plane touched the ground.  coffee get-togethers, birthday lunches, breakfast parties, small group studies, bride-to-be helping, live music listening, and walks and walks and walks.  i’ve been loving it.

but now, i’m here at starbucks sipping my free americano with white mocha and i have a few moments to just be.

i told you i would have you loving idaho for more than potatoes by the time i come home and this seems like a prime time to start.  so, here are my first few reasons for how lovely this forgotten state is:

1.  although i’m in the north west and i didn’t expect it to be too “western” there are constant reminders that i was completely wrong like this one.  click the image to enlarge and see the smaller sign in the left-hand corner please.

2.  it’s beautiful here.  although it might be a tad bit chilly, the sun has been shining the whole time and i’ve found many wonderful places during all my walks.

and 3.  i get to spend every waking moment with this dear wonderful soul.

and now i’m going to spend some time reading.  i shall give you more reasons later.

someone came into my blue office last week and told the coworker and i that we lead very boring lives and we should get out more.  they were sure to remind us that we are always to return but suggested that leaving the confines of our four walls we sit in for most of the year wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

i told them i do get out now and then.  and i do.  in fact, i’m getting out early tomorrow morning.

i’m flying off to potato country idaho.  i shall see jolly faces that were part of my year abroad –  i’ll even be present as two of them make promises till death do them part.

i’ve received many a teasing remark as everyone wonders why on earth i would go to this forgotten state.  i’m convinced there must be wonderful things there and i intend to find them and share them with you, my dear reader.  although i can’t commit to posting every single day, i shall try to share my adventures as frequently as possible.  perhaps after a week of stories and pictures you shall love idaho for more than potatoes.

leaving is always such work though.  so many loose ends to tie up.  so much laundry to take care of.  so many things to think through.  and tonight, mere hours before i shall have to wake and leave, i feel exhausted.  i’m most thankful that the friend i’m flying to see works at starbucks.  i shall be in desperate need when i finally arrive tomorrow.

i would ask you to pray for her.

this afternoon i held her hand and read this aloud.  she closed her eyes and the words seemed to settle her soul.

i kissed her forehead and told her that she could take a nap when the clock told me i really needed to go.  she looked at me for another second and i wondered if i could step away and leave her alone in that bed.  i squeezed her hand again and forced myself to turn.   i stopped at the door and glanced back to see her laying there, eyes closed, with that one hand that moves clutching her sheet.

right now she needs a miracle to live.  so please pray.