August 3, 2007

in the news

So, um, it has been hot here. (Welcome to more after-the-fact weather reporting on the Quelle Surprise weblog.) Also, the state is on fire. While the primary ring of fire is north of here, all the smoke seems to be filling the Treasure Valley and my throat hurts. Instead of letting the weather get me down, I am keeping myself reminded why I love living in Idaho. Tonight, I'm heading north for a quickie hiking expedition with the awesome Turbo (probably with a bandana tied over my face). Then next weekend it is off to the heart of fire country for a week of riding bikes. Peppermint Patty has had a little makeover--a tune up, a fancypants new rack (thank you Nonny and AC for the wonderful birthday presents!), new pannier bags, a tail light to replace the one that was stolen, and a vented bean lid. The ride is over an old railroad, and thus has a very moderate grade. Hopefully I am making the right choice taking the comfy cruiser bicycle (with 7 gears, handbrakes, and an alloy frame), instead of the serious Green Machine mountain bike. Yes, I am 33 years old, and I am again vacationing with my parents. Hey, the price is right, and we travel well together!

I better live it up, all too soon it is going to be fall, a season I like for about 3 days a year when the cooler air feels crisp. Then it just gets cold and icky and I wait for next summer and knit. This year fall has the added bonus of eating up my free time when I return to class on August 27th. Good thing I am very motivated to work towards a bigger paycheck, because I honestly have a pretty bad attitude about returning to school. At least I'm taking classes I can see the point of, and ultimately my employer is picking up the tab. Everybody needs better math skills, right? Especially if everybody (see: me) does a lot of work with computers.

In the pro column, fall is also going to bring a quick trip to Billings for a librarians conference. While I'm guessing Montana isn't going to be as thrilling a trip as the last time I got to go to this conference (in Seattle a few years ago), I think it is going to be grand. For one thing, that trip to Seattle marks the moment a lot of stuff in my life started falling apart. I'm hoping the trip to Billings can mark the moment when things are fully back on track. Also, I like travelling alone, and I don't know why else I would ever go to Billings. Plus, there are three brewpubs/breweries within six blocks of my hotel! I'll have two free evenings and one free morning to explore the Big Sky. (Plus, the conference is usually pretty darn good, so there's that.)

I'm also hoping that this year's cool season brings a new house, puppy, a fat raise, and some time to bond with Elizabeth Zimmerman.

Posted by amy at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Tags: bikes, bschool, camping, fall, hiking, hot hot hot, idaho, jobby job, motorhome, peppermint patty, summer, travel

July 23, 2007

no harry potter spoilers here!

While my amazon order was delivered promptly and tucked neatly behind my screen door, I wasn't home on Saturday to dive right in. Instead, early Saturday morning I headed up Highway 55 in a Honda Civic with 4 other girls and some camping gear. Before we pitched our tents, we rafted the Cabarton stretch of the Payette River. I've done a little rafting in the past, but this section was a little higher on the thrill-o-meter. Even though I am the biggest weenie that ever lived, I had a great time--in large part due to the boat full of dedicated (if drunk) paddlers and a wise and safety-conscious guide. Overall, a perfect trip!

Now I've got to return to the highjinks of Potter and friends before I accidentally overhear something that spills any beans!

Posted by amy at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: camping, whitewater rafting

March 7, 2007

i didn't write this in the shower

While I was in the shower this morning I wrote an entire weblog post inside my head. Of course, I can't remember a word of it, or even the theme which I thought I might highlight. Let us assume that shower-induced weblog post was witty, pithy, and wise.

Instead I will write something else to put an end to the slogging around here. Spring has decided to, well, spring on us here in the Treasure Valley, and I am love-love-lovin' it. I rode my bike to work this morning wearing short pants and a jacket and didn't freeze (instead of the long-johns, coat, hat, gloves, etc. I've had to wear on other recent bike-to-work jaunts). Hooray! Good weather always makes me feel like getting off the sofa, and I've been skiing, putting in the hours at the YMCA and planning early-spring backpacking trips. Yes my friends, the Knee of Doom is no longer holding me back. I'm off to have fun, and it better come along with me--kicking and all.

If'n you are local(ish) and would enjoy doing some activities in the outdoors (as varied as an evening stroll through the Liberal Containment Zone to a weekend camping trip), gimme a holla (my new phone works in the house!* or shoot me an email).

And just in case you thought I'd forgotten, I have photos of completed knits to share. These two (my brother and sister-in-law) are sporting their Christmas presents before heading out to dinner with the 'rents in SF a few weeks ago. She's got on Intolerable Cruelty in Knitpicks Merino Style color Storm, and he's showcasing Avast in Brown Sheep Co. Lamb's Pride Worsted color Olive. These are the first clothing knits I'd ever actually completed (Tempting still doesn't have a ribbon), and I'm very proud of myself. Hello, they fit! I'm hoping to someday get those two crazy kids to do an actual photoshoot for me, but until then this will have to suffice. (Also, in the background, Afghan of Love.)

Now if only I would take some other finish projects outside into the sunshine, I could show you that my hours of Not Blogging and sitting on the sofa actually do lead to more than me knowing way too much about pop culture. Yeah, whatever, camera.

*Trust me, you don't want to hear the story about how my REPLACEMENT phone went kaflooey and I had an aneurism and hit up ebay and now all is well in the world.

Posted by amy at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Tags: avast, backpacking, intolerable cruelty, knitting, move your booty, peppermint patty, spring

January 6, 2007

amy go boom, without the years of pain

Just to prove it is possible for me to do something besides knit, I should tell you about the snowshoeing outing I had with those crazy kids from So Pedestrian while they were in town for the holidays. The Saturday before Christmas, we loaded up in my car and drove up to Whoop-Um-Up. Even though I roll in an AWD Subaru, I am a very skittish winter driver. It takes wheel-less out-of-towners to get me behind the wheel. Although the roads were slick AND it started snowing right before we headed home, we didn't slide a bit. This makes me think perhaps I overreact to potentially bad-conditions driving.

Anyhoot, this was my first ever snowshoeing adventure and I can't wait to go again. Amazingly, it is a lot like walking, though a ton more work. Even though I did somehow fall down, there was zero potential for knee injury--just the way I have come to like my winter sports. David took a bunch of photos. Wanna see?

Posted by amy at 6:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: move your booty, snowshoeing

May 25, 2006

camping with fern

This past weekend, I engaged in an outdoor adventure. I went camping with my dear friend Fern up north of Crouch, Idaho. It was fun. I have been working on writing a blow-by-blow accounting of this adventure, but I got about 5 paragraphs in and was still on Friday night. While I do tell very long stories and feel that it is important to share each moment as if you were there camping with us, most of the time, today I am going to refrain and only give you the camping highlights (in no particular order).

Fern is an excellent firewood gatherer. I highly recommend her skills as a finder of combustables in the forest.

Riding bicycles on dirt roads, and even on dirt trails, is way funner than I remembered. However, it is not quite as much fun as being able to hike almost like a normal person without massive swelling in the knee cap area until two days later.

The sound of rain on a tent fly in the middle of the night is awesome. This sound is less awesome if one needs to pee. Or if one is done sleeping and wants to get up and play.

There is a strong chance that zippers have it in for Fern. At least the zippers on my tent.

While I am not a religious person, I really do find some sort of airy-fairy loosey-goosey spirituality in the great outdoors. Not to be all Oprahfied or anything.

Food never tastes as good as it does directly after engaging in prologed physical activity.

Fern is a very patient person, even when sleep deprived and maybe a titch cranky.

ATVs? What's the big deal? Seriously. I don't get it.

Mocking science in an overly convoluted manner of speaking is superfun. In case you were unaware, bicycling down a hill is a great deal easier than bicycling up a hill. We opined that if anybody ever discovered "gravity" it might be a good explanation for the aforementioned phenomenon about uphill v. downhill cycling.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, it is not a good idea to fall asleep in a lawn chair while reading back issues of The Economist (did you realize they come EVERY WEEK?!?). There is a very real danger of tipping over.

Good company and being on something some people refer to as "the same page" is a pretty good way to enjoy any sort of excursion.

In summation, we had an awesome time. I'd love to revisit our campsite again real soon, camping with Fern is big fun, my sleeping bag is very comfy, and I like feeling less limited by my stupid broken knee.

Posted by amy at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: bikes, camping, fern