Busy in Boise

BOISE RIVERSIDE RV PARK

Boise, ID 83714

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RV LIFE:

It's amazing how late it stays light here, both while in Declo and now in Boise. I think we are very close to the time change line to Pacific Time Zone. While in Declo, when Scott would walk the dogs at 10pm, he didn't need a flashlight...not even to pick up you know what.

Last night I was outside from around 8:30pm to 9:30pm finishing up my cardigan. You crafters know, weaving in the ends and sewing on the buttons. I finally had to stop at 9:45pm. It was still light enough to walk around without a flashlight, but I couldn't get that thin thread through that tiny needle eye for the buttons. 

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I'll review this park at a later date, after we've been here a few days. The one really nice thing about this area is we are right by (100 feet) the "greenbelt", which is a paved 25 mile bike trail along the Boise River.  Beautiful trail shaded by surrounding trees. The dogs love to walk along this trail. They pass horses, ducks, squirrels, and can also take a dip and drink from the fast flowing Boise River.

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Yesterday, Thur 6/14, was a great day. Maybe I missed civilization a bit. Declo had nothing to do. No stores, no restaurants, etc. Of course I thoroughly enjoyed just relaxing at the site with grass and shade trees around. But yesterday, I made of list of places I wanted to go

1. A couple of yarn shops

2. A couple of craft stores

3. A bakery

4. Dinner

I started out the day stopping by SUGAR RUSH CUPCAKERY (review below). Bought 6 cupcakes to go and a chocolate cupcake and coffee to eat in for breakfast.

Then headed to KNIT WITS, down the street. Very nice staff, but was disappointed in their selection of yarn. They had a couple of great display items that I definitely want to knit. One item made out of Noro, was a multicolored vest, but the pattern was by a customer of the store and they were all out. Saved some money there!

The other display vest is pictured below. I already have this in my favorites on Ravelry, and it looks even better in person!

On to the next yarn shop called Fuzz. I arrive at the address, but no Fuzz? But I do see a large sign that says "Brother". I have a Brother Embroidery/Sewing machine that needs repair. I head inside and ask 

Do you repair sewing machines-Yes

Do you repair electronic embroidery/sewing machines-Yes

Do you send the repairs out-Yes, but it is a local person and he comes in on Tuesdays. We were originally leaving Tuesday, so that wouldn't work.

They said they may be in the area and could call to see. Next thing you know, the wife of the guy who repairs the machines walks in!!!

Is your machine with you now? - NO

Will it be finished by Monday, since we're leaving Tues?- Yes, probably fixed by tomorrow.

Serendipity! She actually followed me to to our RV and picked it up and yep, it was back at the sewing/fabric store by the next MORNING! $50....that's it! Just needed a bobbin adjustment and cleaning.

I'll be testing it out this weekend. Any sewers reading this, if you are ever in the Boise area, be sure to stop by CALEDONIA FINE FABRICS! Very, VERY pleasant staff, authorized Brother machine repair, great selection of unique buttons, sewing lessons.

Never did make it to Fuzz, they moved to another location.

Now on to dinner at Bar Garnika (review below). Had a delicious dinner and a walk around the Basque area of Boise, with lots of historical buildings. The Basque community were mostly sheepherders and somehow along their travels ended up in Boise. Basque is located on the border of France & Spain, so they have a very unique culture and food.

Back home to finish the cardigan I mentioned above.

I had a great day.

Scott also said he had a great day. He played a game on the computer, went for a beautiful 12 mile bicycle ride and then on to dinner.

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RESTAURANT REVIEW:

BAR GARNIKA Our rating 4 out of 5 stars

This is another restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives TV show. Here's the BAR GARNIKA CLIP.
Very casual place. Waiter had long stringy hair hanging over his face and under a baseball cap, t-shirt and baggy shorts. Didn't bother me, was just surprised. This is basically a bar that has "expanded" into a restaurant also. Tables are pretty tight. No separate dining room, just tables in a room with a bar and also outside sidewalk seating.
HOUSE SALAD: Delicious, crispy with amazing house dressing which was garlic vinaigrette.
WHITE BEAN SOUP: Hubby liked it a lot. I felt it was fair, but only had a spoonful. Hubby said as you continued eating, you could taste more flavor.
LAMB GRINDER: Great bread, great au jus to dip the sanwich in.
FRENCH FRIES: Awesome! Real fresh cut, fresh cooked.
SOLOMO SANDWICH: Poor. Again, the bread is great, but the pork is supposedly marinated. It just tasted like a boneless pork chop in between bread. They added jarred pimentos also. The pork needed some extra flavor or at least some kind of special sauce to moisten the sandwich up a bit.
CROQUETAS: Awsome! Little one inch balls of a chicken flavor mashed potato center, breaded and fried. Absolutely delicious. The center mashed potato tastes like they use real cream in the mix.
RICE PUDDING: Very good, although I prefer a little more cinnamon & vanilla flavoring. This too seemed to be home made. Very rare to get REAL home made Rice pudding in a restaurant.
FLAN: At first I was disappointed, because it doesn't taste like that of your typical Spanish/Cuban flan, but once I accepted the difference, this too was amazing. Creamy, vanilla flavor. The caramel sauce was lacking in flavor. Again, I'm used to the Cuban darker, more "burnt" sugar caramel. But this flan was so delicious and flavorful, you didn't need a heavy flavored sauce to cover it up.
Would definitely return and try a different sandwich. It's worth the trip just for the fries, croquetas and desert.
They only serve beer and wine, no mixed drinks.
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SUGAR RUSH CUPCAKERY Our rating 4 out of 5

Clean open dining room with tables for 2 and 4 through out. Nice decor. Very nice display of the cupcakes.
Nice staff. This would be a great place for a knitting group to hang out. There are also electrical plugs along the wall at table height for your laptops, etc.
COFFEE: I just had a regular brewed coffee. Very good, smooth. Did not need to add cream or sugar.
CUPCAKES: I bought 1/2 a dozen to take home and 1 extra to eat with my coffee.
Great cupcakes. It's all about the icing. The cake part is fine, but really not something you'd really enjoy eating without the icing. BUT, that is good in this instance. The icings & fillings are amazing! They are not stingy either, so with that pile of sweetness on top, you really don't want a dense sweet cake also. The "plainness" of the cake part worked perfectly to tone down the delicious sweetness of the toppings.
Chocolate Ganache cupcake was great, although maybe too much sweetness between the chocolate icing and the dark chocolate ganache under. Definitely need a glass of milk with this!
Red Velvet with raspberry cream: Perfect! 
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CRAFTS:
Finally finished my Comfy Cardigan. Just used up some cheap stash, I couldn't bring myself to give away. This is acrylic yarn, so this sweater will be a great runaround and who cares if it gets dirty sweater. It's machine washable.

Here's a close up of the buttons. These are Reindeer antler buttons from Alaska. My ex friend who I've mentioned in previous posts, who keeps demanding payment for things that are not owed, gave me these. Hmmm, I wonder if she will now ask me to pay for her trip to Alaska, because that was how she was able to get these buttons that she gave me (thank you), but I did not request. Need to put in that disclaimer in case she's reading this blog.

Now on to new projects...