Photo Challenge: Day 69

House #5 - On E Washington St between N Locust St and N Pierce St. This is a simple, smaller stone home that has the A-Frame roof and chimney. Very cozy looking.

The Whole House Thing...

I was very recently asked why I'm posting photographs of houses on my blog. Well, there's a few reasons. 1) Necessity. I needed to figure out how I was going to take a picture a day for 365 days and not have at least half of them be pictures of Koda and Kaya (aka Psycho-Ninja Cat).  2) I love houses. I think my siblings would agree that Mom (and Dad, but especially Mom) has shared her love of architecture with us. Mom and I have frequently talked about homes we love, the style of homes we love, looked through The Not So Big House, and plotted how we would take that cesspit down the street and make it livable.  3) I want to live in a beautiful, unique, functional, and cozy home someday. Therefore, I need to plan. Granted, all we get to see in the photos I've taken are the outsides...but the exterior says so much about the potential inside...

Let's review...

House #1 -

It's big. It's white. I love the idea of so much space. I see space filled with loved ones. I see warm Christmases with my whole family, friends, people from church who don't have a better place to go, and of course a couple furry people (that would be dogs and cats to non-pet lovers). This house has at least one (but I think two) sun room(s). We had a sun room in our house on Santa Paula Ct growing up. I loved just walking through that room; it was like a burst of sunlight even when it was cloudy.

House #2 - 

It's the porch and the color I love on this one. I feel very strongly that if our communities had more large front porches, we'd all know each others' names and work together for our cumulative good. I love the defined walkway leading to this house. I love the symmetry - the windows are even placed in a way that the house has a face.

House #3 - 

What don't I love about this house would be easier. I imagine this home is filled with nooks and crannies - my favorite feature in any truly cozy home. It has a partial wrap around porch, which most likely means a kitchen door. It has character. The colors are elegant. The landscape just seals the deal. In the summer, the yard is just dark green English Ivy and it climbs the trees and seems to protect this house. Here it is in the middle of Boise, on a popular street; yet it feels isolated, rural, rustic, like a cottage.

House #4 -

One thing I definitely learned from Mom is to love a good bungalow. I'm pretty sure we both commented on how much we loved this home EVERY time we passed it, liked we'd forgotten. But it is so true! This home just draws me in. I feel cozy just looking at it. I feel that this house would do its best to keep me warm in the winter and cool in the summer. This home would protect me if it could. I would call "Sanctuary!" on this home's doorstep and feel secure once inside. That's what I feel just looking at it...

That's why I'm featuring homes right now. If you'd like to hear my favorite song about homes follow this link: The Cinematic Orchestra - To Build a Home

I also love Duncan Sheik - Home; Matthew Mayfield - Come Back Home; SHeDAISY - Borrowed Home; Dixie Chicks - A Home & Silent House; and Amanda Seyfried - Little House.

Photo Challenge: Day 68

House #4 - Between N Maple Ave and N Walnut St on E Bannock St. 

Photo Challenge: Day 67

Please tell me you see Koda in this picture...I laughed this morning when I saw this...

Photo Challenge: Day 66

House #3 - On Warm Springs Ave near Bruce St. in Boise, Idaho. This is my overall favorite house on Warm Springs Ave.

 After church, I went for a walk with one of my good friends. It was so nice to have the sun out finally! It was so beautiful seeing the sun's reflection on the water...

 And here's that random family of swans that live near the river. It took me a few minutes to realize that was their baby swan and not a Canada Goose.

Photo Challenge: Day 65

It was a bad day, but at least Koda enjoyed looking out the window.

Photo Challenge: Day 64

House #2 - Corner of Walnut and Warm Springs Ave in Boise, ID

Photo Challenge: Day 63

House #1 - Corner of Second St and E Jefferson St in Boise, ID

Photo Challenge: Day 62

Bowling league night. Love the Winter Pizza League! I was trying to take pictures that might end up in Sports Illustrated Magazine. Oh well - I had fun taking the pictures!

Photo Challenge: Day 61

Even in death, this flower manages to be beautiful.

 And this is Claudia, my clinic's certified diabetes educator. She is great at mothering me. This just made me laugh so hard. She saw the camera and this was the pose I got.

Photo Challenge: Day 60

Sorry I didn't post yesterday - just too tired. Had a blast at home evening group. We did Rock Band and a dancing game on the Wii. It was so fun. Here's a couple of pictures from it.

Photo Challenge: Day 59

I met with my Stake President this morning and afterwards drove to my favorite section of the greenbelt to take pictures. I was in my skirt, dress shoes and nylons. It was cold. But it was so beautiful. I stayed out there as long as I could stand (about 15 minutes) and took pictures of the frosted trees, ice-floe filled river, and geese and ducks. Boise's having an inversion right now, so the air is not very clear, but it filters the light differently. I don't know how I got the one picture with actual blue sky peeking through.

Photo Challenge: Day 58

Today was a great day! I picked up my Little Sister for our first ever activity. We attended a Big Brother Big Sister activity put on by the Boise Basin Quilters' Guild. We sewed a 9 patch square and bean bag cases for a bean bag toss game. Little Sister was amazing! It was her first time sewing, but she was a pro! She told me she wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up. Little is 11 years old and in 6th grade. She and I share a love of soccer and playing in the snow.

 Then, I got my hair cut and cleaned my house. I finished up a great day with snowshoeing in the dark up near Bogus Basin. My friend, Jenna, went with me. We had headlamps and moonlight to guide our path. It was beautiful and serene. It was a steep climb, which made it difficult to get back off the mountain. We decided to slide for a ways as the going was rough in our shoes. It was a good, productive, fun day!

Photo Challenge: Day 57

Took one picture...turned out pretty good...

Photo Challenge: Day 56

Here is St Luke's campus being illuminated by the morning sun. It was a cold, but beautiful walk at 7 this morning.

Photo Challenge: Day 55

We had a Relief Society activity tonight. Jen (shown below) demonstrated and made real Italian lasagna. She served her mission in Italy and this was a recipe that her Mission President's wife obtained for them. It was delicious!!! Thanks Jen!

Photo Challenge: Day 54

Messing around with the camera after work while I was relaxing in my room.

 Koda looks down on me...not just literally...

Photo Challenge: Day 53

Texted my roommate today to see if she needed anything at the grocery store as I was stopping on my way home from work. Her response had me laughing out loud in the car - "A normal LDS guy. Do they sell those there? :-)" Well, I don't know if he's normal (especially based on his outfit) or if he's LDS (he doesn't talk much), but I found her a guy!!!

 And this is Koda's way of telling me he loves me? Thanks?

Photo Challenge: Day 52

This shot might look familiar. It is my monthly picture-from-the-same-spot. Isn't Boise beautiful covered in snow?

Photo Challenge: Day 51

I volunteered with Idaho Department of Fish and Game. We were spreading sagebrush seed over the snow in an area that burned this summer. In the first picture below, where you can see the dark ridge headed to the peak, that's where I was. It was so cold this morning (between 2-9 degrees F)! 

This was one of the other ridges where sagebrush seed was spread.

 

Lucky Peak Reservoir is a little low right now!

The tree covered peak in the background is Lucky Peak.

Photo Challenge: Day 50

A beautiful evening in my lovely neighborhood

Photo Challenge: Day 49

A cold night in Boise

Photo Challenge: Day 48

Last night was our first set of games for the Winter Pizza Bowling League. It was a blast! Our team name is the Queen Pins. One of our teammates was sick, so a new friend substituted (that's why there's a guy on the Queen Pins). So fun!!!