Elaine Ambrose

Bestselling Author, Ventriloquist, & Humorist

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Elaine Ambrose

New Book and Journal for Grandkids Premieres Dec 6 in Eagle, Idaho

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Details about the book and journal are listed on Amazon.

Your grandchildren grow up quickly, and you don’t want to miss important opportunities to create lasting memories. This book offers 30 ideas for fun, inexpensive activities to share. Each activity has been tested and approved by genuine grandchildren and prove experiences can be enjoyed without electronic devices.

Grandchildren are encouraged to write or color pictures to tell stories about each adventure. Age recommendations and supply lists are included for each activity.

Snacks are required. Batteries are not.

Activities include:

  • Walk barefoot in the grass
  • Paint rocks, design a flag, write a letter
  • Sing, dance, play with puppets
  • Cook a meal
  • Write and tell a story

Don’t wait any longer to plan an adventure. Your grandchildren are growing older – and so are you!

Benefits:
– Create a strong bond with your grandchildren and become a positive role model in their lives
– Pass on traditions and stories to future generations
– Prove good times can be enjoyed without electronic devices

What’s inside:
– Daily journal prompts for children to write or draw about their experience and create a keepsake
– Recommended age categories and supply lists for each activity
– Low-cost or free activities that won’t break the budget
– Opportunities to share activity-related snacks, tell stories, and create lasting memories with your grandchildren

Grandparent Role:
– Prepare a comfortable environment for the activities
– Provide snacks for you and your grandchildren to enjoy
– Remind them that electronic devices are not allowed during the activities

Grandchildren Role:
– Have fun and be open to trying new things
– Leave electronic distractions behind and fully engage in the activities

A Storytelling Journal for Grandkids is offered as a separate companion book.

My $625 Pillowcase

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This pillowcase is for my broken but resilient heart.

I made a mistake using an online payment center, and there is not one human being on earth who can help me. Here’s my latest story of imperfection:

My friend Connie McLeod in Louisiana creates unique and gorgeous pillowcases by “hammering” fresh flora onto cotton fabric. Through the process, pigments from the leaves and flowers transfer to the fabric as a stain. Last week, she posted photos on Facebook of her latest examples which included hempweed vine, vinca, cosmos, and oxalis from her garden.

I ordered two pillowcases at $75 each, and she sent me her Venmo account name.

Unfortunately, I sent the money to a person with a similar name – but not Connie. (Yes, I know this mess is all my fault, but the comedy of errors makes a good story.)

After realizing the mistake, Connie and I spent time and energy contacting Venmo to make corrections. Venmo does not respond to humans, even after calling, texting, and emailing the support team several times.

I sent $150 to Connie at the correct address on Venmo.

Because Venmo didn’t help, I canceled the incorrect payment through my bank account that is attached to Venmo and received a $20 charge to cancel the check. My bank took the fee but did not cancel the payment.

This pillowcase reminds me of hope and freedom.

Then, for reasons known only to mischievous trolls inside Venmo operations, they decided to pay both addresses again for another charge of $300. I tried for hours to explain the facts to Venmo through email, phone calls, and text messages.

Their support team said I could pay $5 for expert advice from an online source called “JustAnswer Team.” I paid $5 and discovered I had signed up for membership to a law firm that would charge me $55 a month. I had a few days to cancel, so I waited for the legal team to give me advice. They provided a form letter I could send to Venmo. I could have written the form letter myself. I cancelled the membership fee.

Now I cannot log into my Venmo account because it’s frozen unless I pay their extortion of $300. They will not take a smaller amount.

I can fly roundtrip from Boise to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for $600. My pillowcases are now at $625:

$150 – sent to wrong account

$150 – sent to correct account

$300 – extortion from Venmo to unfreeze my account

$  20 – cancel check fee

$    5 – Legal answer with potential $55 a month membership fee

I sent the expertly worded form letter to Venmo and am waiting for a robot to reply with the same answer: “Please contact our support team.”

There is one positive sparkle to this dark journey: I frantically sent a message to the “wrong” person and explained my mistake. She graciously returned the $150, so technically the current expenses are only $475.

I’m cautiously optimistic the pillowcases will arrive this week. I need them to cover some pillows so I can take a long nap.

Gratuitous plug: Besides pillowcases, Connie also creates other treasures, including note cards and framed art. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram. Her email is: conleemac@yahoo.com. Please notice: her name is Connie McLeod – not Connie McCloud.

 

Let’s Celebrate My Ejection Fraction!

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I’m so excited to be normal! Three years ago, an echocardiogram revealed my heart ejection fraction was registered at 30%, indicating serious heart failure. Another procedure this week revealed the ejection fraction had improved to 60%, a normal percentage. I’ve never been so happy to receive a score of 60%.

Three Years to Become Normal

I had a heart attack in June of 2021, and cardiologists at Idaho Cardiology Associates at St. Luke’s diagnosed cardiomyopathy heart disease and chronic heart failure with left bundle branch block and a reduced ejection fraction of 30 percent. I had a broken heart, but I was too weak to get my affairs in order. Survival was the only option.

After two surgeries, a defibrillator was installed beneath my collarbone. Until then, I didn’t take any medical subscriptions and suddenly I had eight pill bottles in my daily routine. I changed my diet to reduce salt and sugar, joined a gym, started walking, and canceled my writing workshops and travels. In March, I started the St. Luke’s Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Program and “graduated” in June.

Each participant wore an electronic monitor and three electrodes to trace heart activity on various exercise equipment and during weight-lifting assignments.

In addition to exercise routines three times a week, the program offered nutrition advice with menus and sample meals. Each participant met with various staff members to discuss mental and physical health. The staff, under the direction of Nurse Leigh McClure, was excellent, and the results were positive. All my lab values improved: I lowered total cholesterol from 187 to 145 and decreased the chance of having diabetes. I lost eight pounds, but I’m still chubby.

The program encouraged lifestyle changes and improvements to stabilize the progression of cardiovascular disease. (I wasn’t totally gallant because I continued to enjoy red wine.)

Ejection Fraction measures the heart’s ability to pump oxygen-rich blood. When oxygen isn’t pumped naturally throughout the body, the brain becomes confused (more than normal), climbing four steps seems like a month-long mountain excursion, and gasping for breath becomes priority. A few times, I saw my life pass before my eyes, and it wasn’t pretty. I needed to stay alive to fix a few problems.

EJECTION FRACTION

June 2021 – 30% June 2023 – 43% June 2024 – 60%
Heart Failure Low Function, Weak Heart Normal

LAB VALUES                                 August 2023                                   June 2024

*Total Cholesterol 187 145 Keep below 200
Triglycerides 136 127 Fat in blood
HDL 50 53.1 Good cholesterol
*LDL 110 67 Bad cholesterol
HbA1c% 6.4 6.2 Diabetes is above 6.5
Blood Pressure 143/85 104/64

Friends and Family Provided Therapy

Support from family and friends was additional medicine. I received encouragement from friends on Social Media as I prepared for surgery. My patient husband provided TLC at home, and my son drove me to doctor’s appointments. I tried to follow the new realities of living with cardiomyopathy, and my heart began to heal. I was grateful for three more years.

It was difficult curtailing or deleting previous activities I had enjoyed. I canceled a writing workshop last summer due to physical exhaustion, and my lack of breath caused me to relinquish a major role I had in a play this spring with the Eagle Theatre Company. Once an avid traveler, I preferred the pleasant resort on my patio. I’ve eliminated some unhealthy foods and added more fresh vegetables, but I just can’t eat tofu. It’s nasty.

My heart beat in a steady rhythm as I wrote this message. I smiled.

 

 

Why Ventriloquists Use Different Accents for Characters

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https://youtu.be/30TeVbq7epU?si=W_5zqVK9bAYkIcpE

Click the YouTube link to watch and hear six of my characters.

I have eight puppets with distinct accents. Ventriloquists use different accents to distinguish between their characters. The act wouldn’t work if the puppet had the same voice as the ventriloquist. My characters are British, Old World, grumpy old man, breathless middle aged woman, Country Western singer, and Mexican. Some ventriloquists have been accused of being racist because they use ethnic accents. That claim is usually untrue. We just want to entertain and have fun.

View ventriloquist sites on YouTube or visit Jeff Dunham for more examples of character and voice.

Are you interested in having me visit your party or event? My puppets love birthday parties for all ages, midlife humor celebrations, and business events. Find details here: GigSalad. 

Granddaddy entertained the crowd at the Moudy Mountain Summer Festival near McCall

 

Cycling Without Age in Idaho

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Elaine Ambrose was the first “pilot.”

In 2017, I ordered a Triobike  Trishaw from Copenhagen, Denmark, and created the first Idaho chapter of “Cycling Without Age.”

John Davidson helped load and unload the delivered Trishaw from Denmark.

 

With the assistance of Eagle City Council Member Mary McFarland, we met with the Mayor of Eagle to secure permission to ride the bike on the streets and along the Greenbelt. We organized a premiere party in October and requested volunteers to be “pilots.” Several senior citizens enjoyed the rides, and the local media ran stories about the event.

Cycling Without Age is worldwide.

Mary McFarland, Eagle City Council Member, seated, Rob Hovey, Ken McKay, and Christy Hovey attended the event.

The Trishaw and the organization were transferred to Kalynn McLain in 2019. She collaborated with Grace Assisted Living in Meridian to create a program for the facility, and senior citizens appreciated rides around Kleiner Park. She partnered with five other facilities and soon provided hundreds of rides.

The Trishaw is retired through the winter and will undergo maintenance before activities begin in the spring.

Kalynn McLain is the main pilot and organizer of Cycling Without Age in Southern Idaho.