Day 701

Boise, ID to Sumpter, OR
(Quite long, 7 minute read) Wow, 100 days since we landed in Boise. Hard to believe. Thanks Uncle Jerry for letting us park in your driveway! We haven’t done as much as we hoped to do because of the pandemic, but we got to spend some great time with family and friends. We weren’t planning on spending so much time in Boise, as we were expecting to go up to Northern Idaho to see my brother and up to the Lowman area to visit with our good friend, Dean. My brother is an essential worker and asked us not to come this year as he did not want to possibly expose us to the virus or visa versa and Dean was able to come to Boise, so we were able to see him here. Would have loved to go up there, but we decided not to because of all of the fires in the area. Some days the smoke was so bad in the valley that we couldn’t see the mountains.
I got to spend time with my BFF Tammy, and she taught me how to make potholders. I taught her how to use the knitting loom and how to make a mask holder, so that it doesn’t pull on your ears. I made one for her and each of her 2 daughters. They liked it so much that she ended up having to make 7 more. Well, only 6 because I gave her the one that I made when I was learning her how to do it. We also spent one day yard selling, and I got a brand new pair of tennis shoes for only 5 bucks! She felt bad that I only got one thing, but I assured her that new shoes for 5 bucks was just enough!
We also went to Parma and Fruitland with my mom. Tammy had never been to The Honey Store, so we had a road trip. Got some great local honey and also found a farmers vegetable stand and got a ton of fresh veggies.
Spent at least one day each week with my mom. We went to the Star Bi-Mart a few times and won some cool prizes. Mom won a shop vac and I won a pair of Game Cameras. Both of these were valued at around $100. I also gave mom a haircut and a perm. Believe me, if I had known that I’d be giving her a perm, I would never have cut her hair so short. Oh well, we had a great day laughing at all of my challenges. Mom did some canning and let me help her a little bit, it’s been a long time since I’ve canned stuff. Good thing mom knew what she was doing.
Visited with my friend Tina a couple of times. We had lunch in the park one day and I stole tomato plants from her when we got home. I ended getting about 6 plants. Not sure what types they are, but two of them have a dark fruit, almost black. They are really interesting and I can’t wait until they are big enough to eat them. I have 4 pots with tomatoes in them, so I’ve named them (because my original one from last year was already named Mater, and I didn’t want the others to feel bad.) The biggest one is named Tom, it’s loaded with blooms, but no fruit so far. It’s grown at least 6 inches since I transplanted it. The other two planters are May and Toe. (Can you see where I am going with this?) It’s Tina’s fault really, because she suggested Tom. They are going to be really happy in Arizona. Lee bought me a greenhouse at the neighbors yardsale, so they will have a nice warm home until it gets too cold be be out at night.
Had 2 yardsales at Jerry’s house and got rid of a ton of stuff. Mom came by and was the cashier. Believe me, I could not have done it without her. I had so much fun. Took me back to my thrift store days. Had one guy come by the first one 3 days in a row and he showed up to the second one as well. Paid all in $2 bills. Lots of them.
Went to the thrift stores here in the area. I can’t tell you how much nicer the stores are in the Treasure Valley than they are in Mesquiet. Bought far too much craft stuff, but it will hold me through the Winter.
Found a painted rock from the local rock group Boise “Rocks”!, so I joined the group and posted a photo of the rock. This of course just made me want to paint rocks again, so I went to Home Depot and bought a bag. Jerry gives me a hard time because I bought rocks, but I told him there weren’t any around, not like out in the desert. I painted some and hid them, but never heard whether they were found or not, so the next group of them were hid and I took a photo of them and posted where I left them. Got feedback on all of the photos, but only one was found and she said she was going to rehide it. I also painted a Tic-Tac-Toe set with Ladybugs and Flowers. This one was found and I was actually asked it I could make one to sell. Kind of flattering.
Spent an entire day loading up the truck with treasures found here in Boise. I am looking forward to unloading it in Beaver Dam as I have a new glider loveseat that will get used almost daily. I was able to get some outdoor fabric from the craft store on clearance and I’ll be making new cushions for it with my new sewing machine that I got at the thrift store. I got enough fabric that I can make all of my outdoor furniture match.
We weren’t able to go to the Nascar race inVegas in September, but even though we were disappointed, we at least got to see the March race. Thousands of people never even got to see one this year because of the cancellations due to the pandemic. After the race was cancelled we decided to stay in Boise a little longer because it was still over 100 degrees in Beaver Dam.
Lee took the truck in to have it checked over and get a tune up because it had no power. The mechanic tried to get information from the computer and found that something had shorted it out. Turns out that it was a part from a phone charger that fell off in the cigarette lighter and shorted it out. He had to reset the computer to factory settings. What a difference that made. It actually has enough power to get on the freeway without punching it. It’s like a whole new truck. We even got almost a mile and a half a gallon better mileage. Sweet! Definitely recommend Bench Auto in Boise if you need some work done.
We left Boise and headed for Cousin Steve and Denise’s house in Sumpter, Oregon. It’s beautiful here. Pine trees as far as the eye can see, and I am assured that we will see some Deer and possibly Elk. Lee told Steve that he feels like he is at the Ponderosa and is expecting to see Little Joe at any time.
Gave them a camera with great zoom, so be expecting to see some great photos. Steve is going to help me begin learning the guitar, so look out Beaver Dam neighbors, it`ll be music night, every night.
Well, I’ve rambled on enough, so until next time, stay healthy and happy!