Elaine Ambrose

Bestselling Author, Ventriloquist, & Humorist

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The Lights of My Life

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Chandelier in McCall house

I bought my first chandelier in 1997 while building a house on the east shore of Payette Lake in McCall, Idaho. I was divorced and had sold my interest in the family business. I wanted a new start so invested the proceeds to create a dream home in McCall.

Joan at the construction site in 1997

For the interior design, I consulted my friend and designer Joan Whitacre. She found a brilliant and massive chandelier for the entryway but when it arrived from Boston, the construction workers on site laughed at her. They told her it was too big to fit inside the door. She sent them to lunch and proceeded to manipulate the enormous chandelier one prong at a time to maneuver the entire fixture through the doorframe. The chandelier was perfect.

I sold the house ten years later, a greedy action I still regret, and was dismayed to learn the new owners replaced the chandelier with lights hidden inside a jumble of antlers. The new owners also removed the custom 1950 kitchen downstairs, but their payment cleared so I tried not to care. My personal drama included another marriage and divorce, so I started over again.

Over the following 16 years, I moved to eight different houses, always searching for the best light in the perfect home. I built a cabin in Garden Valley in 2008 and ordered lights from a local lighting company and a few online options. I added wall sconces to add indirect lights for a dozen writing retreats I organized at the cabin under the name “Write by the River.” I intended to retire there, but I sold it in 2021. Again, that’s another regret. The cabin recently sold again for a substantial profit for the owners.

Pulitzer Prize Winner Anthony Doerr speaks at the “Write by the River” writing retreat in Garden Valley
Chandelier and copper ceiling in Eagle home

When I moved to a third new house Eagle in 2009, I contacted Joan Whitacre for help with design and furnishings. Again, she found the perfect chandelier and recommended a ceiling covered in copper. The results were stunning and dramatic. I found a cute guy from Texas and invited him to share the home. The chandelier continued to shine over family holiday gatherings, book signing events, writing workshops, and birthday celebrations.

Moving the chandelier from Eagle to Meridian

 

We moved again in 2018 and brought the chandelier to the new home in SpurWing for my piano room. An earthquake in 2020 caused it to sway, and I captured a video on my cell phone. The video, posted below, received more than 18,000 views on Twitter.

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Piano room at SpurWing

I had to leave the chandelier behind when the house sold in 2020. After living for 16 months in a rental house without a chandelier, we moved again to a custom house back in Eagle. Joan had retired and was traveling the world with her husband, so I searched for new lights.

I found the perfect chandeliers in the Hyde and Seek Shop in Boise and purchased five in two sizes. I hung hundreds of crystal pieces on the chandeliers, and now they sparkle in the entryway, the powder room, the piano room, my office, and the main bathroom.

I also prefer eclectic lamps, including a “Storyteller Lamp” from Villa Decor in Eagle and a natural-leaf “jelly fish” lamp from North End Organic Nursery in Garden City, Idaho. I painted the shade to match the walls in my office.

“Storyteller Lamp”
Leaf “Jelly Fish Lamp”
Chandelier and tile wall in power room in Eagle
Chandelier in my office

The lights of my life have illuminated grand, poignant, and painful moments inside a wide variety of homes. I’m finally where I should be, and I don’t intend to move again or purchase another chandelier. I know the darkness can’t last long when rooms and attitudes are bathed in brilliant lights in a safe place that says, “Welcome Home.”

 

Falling off the 2018 Merry-Go-Round

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2018 was a year of adventure, stress, and writing achievements. I’m looking forward to a quieter year of positive opportunities to balance the roller-coaster events of the past 12 months.

In January, we returned to the secluded, non-commercial golf resort of Villa del Palmar Loreto on the east coast of the Baja Peninsula. This private nature preserve doesn’t allow cruise ships, motor boats, or jet skis, so it’s quiet and peaceful. The golf course is spectacular with dramatic views of Danzante Bay.

In March, we escaped to Arizona to get out of the cold weather in Eagle, Idaho. I traveled to the University of Idaho in Moscow to initiate the Ambrose Storytelling Endowment. I established the endowment in honor of my late brother George, and the program includes an annual workshop, a faculty stipend, and a student cash award.

In April, I traveled to Dayton, Ohio to the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop to reconnect with my tribe. I was one of 40 Erma authors to have humorous stories published in an anthology titled, Laugh Out Loud.

I was a speaker at the Boise “Storyfort” program and at the McCall Arts Story Night. I spoke for several writing workshops connected with the Idaho Writers Guild, and returned to my hometown to speak at Wendell High School.

At the end of April, I had the privilege to return to Ireland with the Wayfinding Women tour. A group of women stayed in a castle and in cottages by the sea. We hiked the Burren, lunched at a tea house, strolled through the extensive Powerscourt Gardens, and toured the sacred Hill of Tara. We listened to visiting lecturers talk about Celtic Goddesses, the Divine Feminine, and historic fairy tales. I stayed in Dublin for two days after the tour to visit the cathedrals, see the Book of Kells in Trinity College, and find the Temple Bar. I felt invigorated as I navigated the travel arrangements by myself.

2018 was a year to accomplish writing goals. I finished the manuscript for my memoir Frozen Dinners and submitted it to Brown Books Publishing Group. Two of my children’s books received national writing awards.

Gators & Taters – A Week of Bedtime Stories won the 2018 Distinguished Favorite Award for Children’s Fiction from the Independent Press Awards. Thousands of books were submitted for the honor, but apparently the judges couldn’t resist the narrative rhythm of the imaginative stories. The Independent Press Award recognizes and honors independent publishers and authors and assists them gain more attention and to better purvey their content to a larger audience.

The annual Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards contest announced this year’s medal-winning books “in recognition of exemplary children’s books and their creators, and to celebrate children’s life-long reading.” The Silver Medal was awarded to The Magic Potato – La Papa Mágica – Story Book in English and Spanish.


In June, I returned to Ohio for the conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. For the second year in a row, I received a writing award for humor for my blog posts. I received the award from Pulitzer Prize Winning Columnist Connie Schultz (left) and NSNC President Lisa Smith Molinari.

In August, we returned to McCall to golf and boat around the lake. Then at the end of August, we made a sudden life-changing decision: we decided to move.

We found a house on the third fairway of Spurwing Gold Resort in Meridian. I put the Eagle house on the market and it sold in 31 days. I put the cabin on the market and it sold two months later. We scrambled to move out of two full houses into one. We survived an extensive remodeling project on the new house: two colors of paint on the walls and ceilings, new carpet, new window coverings, and 1,500-square-feet of wood flooring. There were numerous problems with plumbing, water damage, and the well, but we hired excellent workers to get everything fixed.


In September, we hosted the annual birthday/anniversary party at our house. Professional cowboy poet and musician Ernie Sites entertained about 60 guests.

In October, I hosted 12 family members to the touring production of “Lion King.”

In the middle of the fall remodeling project, I traveled to Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri to speak at the farm bureau state convention.
Then I organized the premiere party for my memoir at Telaya Winery. Looking back, I don’t know how we did it all.

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner for the family in our new home, and we enjoyed a busy Christmas season. For the 40th year in a row, I fixed prime rib for Christmas Eve.

So, the year is ending, and I’m still standing. I intend to write another book in 2019 to complete the midlife humor trilogy. As always, my goal is to get in shape and be healthier. I’ll try to reduce the amount of wine consumption. Maybe. I’m grateful for a loving and fun partner, a devoted son and his family, and for the many friends we have in our new community. 2019 will be splendid.