Rainbow!

Breakfast! What? I'm hungry...

Rock Climbing

I think I told all of you that I went rock climbing for the first time a few weeks ago, right?  Maybe that was on facebook. It's hard to keep the two forums separate!  Well, in case I didn't tell you, I went rock climbing. :-)  I had gone once before at the Black Cliffs, about 6 years ago, but it was a very embarassing experience, as nobody told me what to wear and so I showed up in shorts on that hot summer day.

Rule number one of rock climbing:  Do not wear shorts.

When you wear a rock climbing harness, there's a strap that encircles each thigh at the top, right at your hip.  There's also a waist strap, and a strap that connects each hip strap to the waist strap.  They all look like a death trap waiting to happen, until you get the thing on.  See here for a visual.  After you're strapped in and you start climbing, the belayer (ooo... technical jargon!), also known as the person who holds your life in their small, weak hands, keeps tension on the rope so that if your muscles give out and you fall dramatically off the wall, screaming like a little hyena (hypothetically speaking), you won't go plummeting to the ground.  What this also means is that the tension on the rope translates to tension on the harness, which translates to tension on your shorts.  Can you see where I'm headed here? 

Welcome to Wedgie-ville.  Nice to...ahh... see you.

If you're a girl, and the longest shorts you can find in any store on planet Earth only go to about, say, your mid-thigh, that will mean they turn into bathing suit bottoms the minute you get up on that rock wall.  Goodbye modesty.  My first rock climbing experience, so long ago it is almost blissfully eradicated from my memory, was traumatic.  Not to mention my belayer was a guy.

So you can imagine what I wore the second time I went rock climbing... duhn duhn duuuhhnn.... PANTS!   Smart, smart move Ri.  It was much more fun and carefree this time around, especially since we were at the Y with semi-padded floor beneath us.  Here's my friend Kim and I ringing those bells:

Boots! Tall black ones, to be specific.

For the past two or three years, I've been searching for a pair of tall black boots.  Yep, you read that right, years.  I have a weird foot, or pair of feet, and finding shoes that will even fit on my foot feet is very difficult (they're very wide, one foot is wider and slightly longer than the other, very high arch, yada yada yada).  Two years ago, I gave up on finding anything in a store and started shopping online.  I was highly skeptical of online purchases because... these are shoes.  Which need to fit my weird feet.  Which means I need to try them on.  So what am I supposed to do?  Order pair after pair after pair until I finally find some?  YEP.  Care to wager a guess as to the number of pairs I ordered online, had shipped to my house, tried on, carried to the office to ship back, and occasionally even had to pay return shipping on? 

Thirty-one. 

My feet hurt just thinking about it.

So you can imagine how thrilled and willing-to-invest-hard-earned-cash I feel for this pair I finally found.  I'm not even head-over-heels (hee!) enamored of the little design on the ankle, but they fit - They Fit!  I even wore them outside already.  Now that's committment, friends.  Forget signing on the dotted line or swearing to uphold the law in court or giving out your social security number.  I got dirt on the heels.

The Boots.

Announcement!

I have a big announcement!  Well... not so big, but something very fun and hopefully useful to you.  Thanks to the encouragement of my good friend Debbi, I started a food blog.  About half of what I write concerns food anyway, so might as well give it its own space, right?  It's called Molto Gelato.  Anyone who knows me knows I love ice cream, and in my opinion gelato is the best!

I'll still be tweaking it here and there over the next few weeks (I'm not satisfied with the template yet, for one thing), but there are a few posts up already, including one about kitchen disasters.  Ironically, I haven't posted any ice cream recipes yet.  That will have to be remedied, pronto.  Some day I hope to use Molto Gelato as a kitchen journal to document the results as I bake and cook my way through every recipe I own.  Yep, all of them.  I have folders (both real and virtual) full of recipes that are just begging to be tested, not to mention two shelves of cookbooks!  No time to start like the present!

If there's a particular sweet you'd like to see me try, be sure to let me know.  I'd love to make it for you.  If you're within reasonable mailing distance... and the item is sturdy... and you're a faithful blog reader... we may be able to work something out.  *wink*

Ciao for now,
Ri

MaryEllen

MaryEllen is a good friend of mine.  We usually only get to visit in person once or twice a year because we live almost an hour apart, and we are both busy little bees.  Just thought I would share this recent photo.  The Weavers' house reminds me of Mom and Dad's!

MaryEllen (left) and I

If you happen to be looking for new makeup, MaryEllen's your girl.  She makes her own!  It's completely natural, moderately priced, and can be found at Ella Rose Minerals.  I have several of her eyeshadows and lip balms.  Highly recommended.  :-)

10.10.10 One Day On Earth photo project

Boise downtown farmer's market

I don't think I've ever shown you around downtown, have I?  Well, this won't be a total downtown exposé, but it is a tour of one of my favorite places to be on a Saturday morning.  Apologies to all of you who already saw these on Facebook.

This rootbeer is phenomenal.  You can taste the chicory, spearmint, and sassafras.

I bought one of the purple peppers and one of the light green peppers.  They tasted the same as other bell peppers, but they are prettier!

Meredith enjoys some of the kettle corn we bought.

We determined it was indeed Boise's Best.  Mainly because we don't know of any other kettle corn producer in Boise.

Every time I come to the market I smell the orange-lavender bar at this handmade soap vendor.  Pretty soon I will have to buy it because half of it will be on my nose anyway.

My old home.  :-(

The buffalo meat from Brown's is good stuff.  Especially as fajitas.

One of my favorite stops, right there on the right.  Look up "Saturday" in the my dictionary and you will find a picture of mini doughnuts.

Art on the side of City Hall.  My office is on the other side.

Farmer's market flowers.  Pretty much the only thing I buy at the market that lasts a whole week until the next Saturday.