Memorial Day

Today was another absolutely beautiful day! I just love these warm, low humidity days. I couldn't go to sleep last night - I know it was after 3:00 before I finally succumbed! I'm tired of this not being able to sleep - I even looked for my tranquilizers and couldn't find them. In fact I still haven't found them. When I awoke at 7:30 this morning, I just wanted to crawl back under the covers and sleep for another 4-5 hours!

We had a wonderful lunch today - Sudi, Howard, Bob, Rita, Bob, Ann, Nan, Dave and I were all here. Everyone ate their fill and then some! We had burgers, Gaumer potato salad, guacamole, salsa & chips, fruit, beans, and then we had brownies and homemade ice cream for dessert! Quite a repast if I do say so myself!! We sat around for 3+ hours exchanging "war stories"!! There were lots of laughs and fun! Everything went well and I think everyone had a good time! Thanks, all of you!

Another beautiful day..

It was another beautiful day in the neighborhood!! At church this morning, we honored our OHS graduates - Drake gave the sermon (the same speech he gave at OHS Baccalaureate.) Maggie sang a solo, played a piano solo, and played the flute while her mom played the piano. John was the liturgist. It was all good. I do wish that we had at least mentioned the college graduates - Alyssa was there in church today. She told me she would be teaching in DC for the next two years anyway. After church, Dave and I went grocery shopping then came home and had lunch. We both took short naps in our chairs and then Mr Energizer Bunny went to work! He washed the algae off the side of the house, cleaned out the gutters. He went to O'Haras and bought another flower pot for me. We planted some bulbs that Juliene had given me. I can hardly wait for all these flowers to "come up". Then we watered all the plants and we went for a bike ride.

Now, if you remember, I fell while riding my bike last year, which caused my initial tears in my shoulder. So, needless to say, I was a little nervous about riding. I made it up to the cemetery and back without falling! After riding around the cemetery a while we came home - I can tell you that I feel like a 62-year-old woman! I am sure out of shape!

About 3 hours ago we started making some of the preparations for tomorrow's Beginning of the Summer Get-Together. We made the salsa so the flavors could mingle. I made the hamburger patties and put them in the refrigerator. I made the pudding for the homemade ice cream and have it in the refrigerator. Tomorrow morning we'll sweep the floor and make the final preparations. During all of this, I've been watching the NASCAR race and now I'm watching Jeff Burton get in Kyle Busch's face! He is really hot!! It was a pretty good race, but rather boring - very few wrecks, mostly just spinouts.

Tomorrow we celebrate the beginning of the summer season and we thank God and our fallen soldiers for the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. We also remember our ancestors who have gone before us. We miss them and by decorating their graves, we honor them.

Lazy Day

This picture pretty much says it all!! I walked out the front door this afternoon and this is what I saw in the tree just ahead of me! She just lay there while I took her picture - what a riot! I guess she was taking her afternoon nap and she thought I couldn't see her! When I got a little closer she ran to another tree.

Dave and several others worked at the Habitat house today. They wanted to get the siding on the house, but they only got it about half sided. They had a few issues so it took a lot longer than they thought it would. It was good to see such a big crew working and a perfect day for it, too! I didn't do much today. I tried to pick up a bit - since Dave's home the house gets a little messier than it used to with just me here!

This was a fun day!

It's so fun having Dave around!! You're probably tired of hearing me say that! I went to stamp club this morning, came home and fixed lunch. Then Dave and I went flower shopping. We ended up planting about 8 pots with flowers, 4 pots with tomatoes, 1 long pot with cilantro, and 4 other pots with flower seeds!! I also found some of the fiber optic/solar lights like Ann & Bob have too. They are so cool - they're out there shining red then blue then green!! I am so easily pleased!

Tonight we went to a cruise-in at South HyVee. We only had about 21 cars, but it was a lovely night to sit out and chat. We had some different cars too, which is always fun! South HyVee gave all the cars a door prize of window washing fluid and we gave $41 to the 50-50 winner - which wasn't us!! :(

Tomorrow Dave is working Habitat and I'm going to try to catch up around here!

Busy Day

I've been busy, busy, busy today! I went to workout this morning and I about died while I was there!!! They talked me into doing this Leslie Sansone video where you walk the equivalent of 2 miles in 30 minutes! It was a whole lot faster than I usually walk! I started out good, then I started getting cramps in my right butt cheek, then I got one in my left butt cheek! It's really hard to walk fast when you've got cramps in your buttocks! So I'd stop and stretch out and go back in - I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment! I ended up doing the whole routine, and by the end the cramps weren't quite as bad! After I finished the workout, I immediately got in the relaxation chair to try to keep my hips from locking up. Ohmigosh, am I ever out of shape! The other ladies in the class are at least 5 years older than me and some of them are 10+ years older. They weren't huffing and puffing like I was, but they kept telling me they'd been doing this a while and they were just like me when they first started! I hope I can get out of bed in the morning!

I limped home and got dinner for Dave and me. We had ham steak, steamed asparagus and little red potatoes cooked the way my mom used to - she cut them in half and boiled them, then fried them just until they were browned. Yummy! After lunch, we went out to Sue and Craig's to return a couple of things we'd borrowed. It was good to see Sue and the 3 little granddaughters...unfortunately, Taylor was at school so we didn't get to see her. We needed a grandchild fix and these little girls just hug us just like our own do! Thanks girls!!!

This afternoon, I got even more exercise because we went to the cemeteries. We traipsed all over Fell Cemetery out by Libertyville. I always have to walk up the hill to the old part of the cemetery to put flowers on my grandma Allison's parents and grandparents' graves. I was dragging by the time I got back to the car! After decorating the graves, the four of us (Bob, Ann, Dave, and I) went to Pizza Hut and put back on all the calories I'd burned off today!

A Little About A Lot

This is the look I got this afternoon when I took a picture of the robin's nest to see how many eggs were in it. Mrs. Robin sat there scolding me and looking pretty fierce! There are still only 3 eggs, so I guess we will only be having 3 baby robins this year. Do you suppose Mrs. Robin is the same robin from last year??? On or about June 4th, we should have babies!

I told you I'd post a picture of Allison from last night. This is her in the middle of her delivery. Remember that she's only 8! She's pretty amazing!

Dancing With The Stars tonight was VERY good! That Nicole can really dance. Even though everyone else got great scores tonight, she just makes all the rest pale in comparison!

I found out the answer to my question from a few nights ago about why men are buried on the right and women on the left. It's tradition that a married couple is buried the same way they stood at the altar to receive their wedding vows. As you (the congregation) are looking at the couple, the bride is on the left. Another interesting tidbit - graves are traditionally east and west. Don't know the reason for that, though.

I helped Dave put Roundup on the edges of our lawn. I showed him a weed in my flower garden. He zapped it and then he zapped one of my flowers that I've been nursing back to health for 2 years!!! It had almost died when he put mulch on it 2 years ago, and then again last year. Well, now it's dead for sure because he sprayed it with RoundUp! Aaarrrghhhh!

Tomorrow's another ballgame and workout session for me. Dave is painting at church and then he's going to go with me to the ballgame...weather permitting! I'm getting a little tired of this rain!

Welcome to Summer

Boy was it hot out today! We went from running the furnace on Friday to running the air conditioner on Sunday! I just got back from a ball game where, thank God, there were trees and the bleachers were shaded! I went with Bob and Ann to Wellman to watch Allison play softball. Allison is 8 and is quite an athlete already. She pitched 2 innings and had 4 strike outs in those two innings. She also had 2 hits in her 2 at bats! She was so excited that we were there. It's amazing to see someone like her who knows what the game is all about and then on the same team you see girls twice her size who haven't the foggiest notion of what they should be doing. You can really see the girls who have parents who work with them on a consistent basis. Anyway, it was a fun way to spend the evening. I took lots of pictures, but since I just got home a little bit ago, I'll wait until tomorrow to download them. She plays again Wednesday and then I think Dave will be able to go with us.

Dave was up at 4:30 on his first real day of retirement! I think he was so excited about not having to go to work that he just couldn't sleep. He's so funny!

Sunday the 23rd of May

Sorry, no pictures today - we're still at three robin eggs, so can't even post a new one of those. This was a very interesting day. We went to church this morning - had a wonderful worship service with LOTS of music, both bells and vocal. Why, we even had a praise band!! I told you First Presbyterian would be rocking this morning and it was! Even Pastor Sara got into the musical experience - she sang a wonderful song and surprised us all! After church, Dave and I went out for lunch and then we both went out on the sun porch, read and both fell asleep. We love that sun porch!! Even when it's really hot, we can turn on the overhead fan and get a breeze blowing!

This afternoon late, Bob called and the four of us (he and Ann, Dave and I) went to the cemetery to see how bad Aunt Helen's grave was and if it needed black dirt and grass seed. Actually it looked pretty good - we're not going to put any more dirt on it at this time. They've got a good stand of grass growing already too. Then, the interesting part came - we picked out our gravesites. Bob/Ann and us will be beside each other for eternity! We've chosen a plot in the new section of the cemetery and have called in the plot number, but we've yet to hear back from the cemetery manager (or whatever his title is) to see if we can actually get this plot. Bob had a hard time with this "project" so we tried to keep it light!! Hopefully, our choice will be confirmed and we won't have to think about it again for a long time! We couldn't get close to our folks, which is what we wanted, because all the plots in that section are sold. We figured we should be close to the little road going into the cemetery so anyone wishing to throw flowers out the window of their car can do so! We noticed something interesting while we were there. Most of the time, the man is buried on the right and the woman on the left. I would think it would be the other way around...wonder why that is? If anyone knows, let me know at frushour@rew2000.com - thanks!! More later...

Saturday the 22nd

Yesterday when we went to Des Moines, we had two little eggs in our robin's nest. Today when we got home, we had three!!! Do you think there'll be four tomorrow? I guess we'll know soon!!

We had a good time in Des Moines. It turned out that it was a celebratory trip - my hubby decided to retire from Golden Furrow...well, sort of! He's retired from full-time part-time and will just be working hourly now - when they need him, if he wants to work he will! He called me in the morning yesterday while I was working out to tell me he'd decided to retire completely. So I called him back to ask him when this was effective and he said today (Friday)! So After PEO we went to Des Moines, did our shopping, and stayed all night at the Embassy Suites. We went to dinner at Doozies and walked out and sat by the river, which by the way, smelled like a river! This morning we set an alarm for 6:30 (weird I know, after all it's Saturday!), went downstairs for breakfast and then hopped on the shuttle for the "famous" Des Moines farmers' market. It is very large! Lots of booths of produce today - beautiful asparagus, beautiful radishes, tomatoes, onions; lots of booths with plants - flowers, tomato bushes, herbs, hostas, etc.; lots of booths of fresh flowers and planters; lots of food booths - anything from Bosnian to Dutch letters from Pella!; art booths; musicians; and even mimes! It was quite an experience. We were there by 7:45 AM and it was BUSY! There were so many people it was hard to see some of the booths. There were also lots of dogs - every kind imaginable, from little bitty to huge!

After we got home, Dave went to work at the Habitat house and I took a short nap out on the sun porch. Then Dave mowed while I worked on the laundry and got supper. Tomorrow is worship in music Sunday at church so I'm really looking forward to that. After church I think I'll try to get my brother to go to the cemetery to see if Aunt Helen's grave needs more dirt and/or grass seed. I'm looking forward to Monday - I'm going with Bob to watch Allison play softball. She is 8 and pitched 2 innings last night in her game. In the second inning she threw out one batter and struck out the next two...and she even got a hit when she batted. This morning she was playing soccer! She's playing in a 10-year-old league...I asked Vicki why. Vicki said that she throws so hard she would hurt an 8-year-old catcher! Of course, her daddy is a world-class fast-pitch softball pitcher and her mommy (Vicki) was a pretty good pitcher when she was a kid too! I think she's going to be an athlete, what do you think??

Thursday Thoughts

Since I knew that rain was forecast for today, when I got ready to go to exercise this morning, I also went up by the cemetery on Court Street and took some pictures of the iris. They are absolutely beautiful this year. These pictures are pretty good, but they don't really do them justice...be sure and drive by before they are all gone. You know that iris don't really last that long, but they are gorgeous.
This is one of the iris that I loved. I used to have one of these big yellow hybrids, but somebody I know killed it out by putting too much mulch on it! Actually it didn't die, it just is stunted...it's coming back this year, but I don't think it's going to bloom. I may have to dig what's left of it up and replant it. Isn't this pretty?? It's around the corner south.
I love this picture. I took a picture almost identical to this when this flowering crab was first blooming, but this one is better I think. In fact, I think it could be a postcard promoting Ottumwa.
Since I was out taking pictures, I also took this one. Mrs. Robin didn't move a muscle or twitch an eye - I was only about 12 feet away from her...after she finally flew, I got a picture of the next and there's still only 1 egg in it. She sat there a long time today...I figured she was laying another egg, but when Dave got home about 2:30 there was still only one. The bird books say that robins usually lay 4 eggs, so she'd better get in gear!!

Tomorrow is a PEO day, so it'll be a busy one. I will exercise in the morning and then PEO is a luncheon, followed by a meeting. After the meeting, Dave and I are taking off for Des Moines to do some shopping for things we haven't been able to find in Ottumwa. We'll either come home tomorrow evening after dinner or we'll stay all night - I'm going to vote for coming home. I like my own bed too much!! Dave wants to work Habitat Saturday morning, so if we stay in Des Moines, we'll have to get up early to come home.

That's all for now. More later...

Wednesday the 19th

All I can say is we're going to wow them at church Sunday. We're singing some beautiful songs! This will be our last Sunday for the summer, so we'll leave them wanting more!

I'm sorry, I don't have much to blog about tonight. I went shopping to try to find some sheets that are at least 15" deep, but I couldn't find any that I liked. I guess I'll have to go to Des Moines sometime soon! I sat outside for over an hour today, much to Mrs. Robin's chagrin! She wanted back in her nest and tonight I figured out why - there's one egg in her nest! I'll try to get some pictures up here tomorrow, but for now I'm going to bed. Dave's asleep in his chair and has been for a while!

Busy Tuesday

I have been a very busy girl today - I went to exercise and then this afternoon I mowed the yard. But the good part of mowing was that Dave came home and did the trimming WHILE I was mowing. I think I'm going to like having him around some!! Then at 4:15 I got my hair cut. I went to someone different this time...interesting hair cut. She actually cut it dry. When she got done you should have seen the waves and curls in my hair. She didn't cut it too short, but yet it's short enough that all the curl came back. The problem with her cutting it dry is that there were at least a million little hairs all over me and I itched something awful, so I had to take a shower!

Then tonight was my last sorority meeting of the year. We don't meet in June, July or August. I will actually host the first meeting of the new year on September 7th...and I have the program that night too. This way I get all of my sorority commitments out of the way in the first meeting, as we all have to sign up for two things during the year - either hostess, co-hostess (which means dessert), or program. I opted for hostess and program, someone else can bring the dessert.

Well, I'm off for bed. More later...

Monday

I just think this world is going way too fast! It's Monday again and it's already the 17th of May! Wow - this month will soon be gone. Tomorrow night is our last Beta Sigma Phi meeting of the year and Friday is the last PEO meeting in our book! We'll get new yearbooks the first meeting in June. This year is flying by!

Dave got home early this morning. When he called me at 8:00 he was already in Delta, so he had to leave Waterloo pretty early! I had a hard time sleeping last night, so I was still asleep at 8:00. When he's gone, I usually have trouble sleeping the first night. I went to work out about 11:00, then came home and cleaned up the house. I also spent some time watching Mrs. Robin re-build her nest in my beautiful wreath. You know, of course, that the robins use mud and other wet stuff to build their nests. Therefore, they're a little messier than some nests.

Sorry, I'm not very chatty tonight. More later...

Sunday at Home

Church was really good again today. Our anthem was super! The sermon was wonderful! Even the cookies looked good! Our friends, Jim and Janice, even came to church. He always says that the roof will cave in if he comes, but it didn't!! Hopefully they'll come again next week!

After church we came home to get ready to go to Waterloo again. I decided that maybe this painting expedition should be a bonding time for Dave and Bryan, so I stayed home. I had a good day even though I was alone again. I watched the NASCAR race - it was kind of boring as races go...I think there were only 4 cautions. It wasn't a good day for the Hendrick Motor Sports racing team either. Jeff got 11th, Jimmy got 2nd, Junior was 3 laps down at one point, and Mark Martin didn't do well either. I didn't want Jimmy to win, but I'd rather have him win than Kyle Busch and Kyle won today. Oh well, there's always next Sunday!

A couple of months ago I subscribed to Games magazine as one of the fund-raisers for Kelly and Megan. I worked on puzzles for a lot of the day. I went outside at one point and tore down a robin's nest that she was building in my wreath. Within minutes she'd started all over, so I guess I'll just let her build up there. I did enjoy watching the baby robins last year, so I'm sure I will again this year. It's just that I put a new wreath out this year and I didn't want it dirtied up! Then tonight was the final episode of two of my favorite shows - Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters. Both were really good episodes and as usual, B&S made me cry! They killed off Robert, who is played by Rob Lowe. I had read that he wasn't coming back next season, but I didn't think they'd kill him tonight already! He's turned into a very good actor. I'll miss him.

Since I'm up past my bedtime, I guess I'd better go to bed. Dave stayed in Waterloo and will start home early in the morning, so I'm baching it tonight! More later...

Saturdays - More of the Same

My title says it all - today was just more of the same. Dave went to work at the Habitat for Humanity House; therefore, I was alone all day again! I did have some fun, though. I went shopping!! I found a jacket that I could wear in the spring weather - it was $100 and I got it for $30! I didn't really have anything that I could wear to church or someplace where a sweatshirt isn't appropriate...but now I do! I also went to the Mall to Donna's Gift Court. Now that is a fun shop. If you're looking for a gift for someone, I'm sure you could find one there! She carries purses, jewelry, flip flops, cutsy note pads, coffee, candles, wall decor, etc., etc., etc.!! She's looking for part-time help. If Dave keeps on working every day, I may go to work for her. She only wants someone from 10-3 Tuesday thru Friday and once in a while on a Saturday. I could do that, but I'm not really wanting to work. Just might consider it to help her out. She and her husband used to have a cool '61 Chevy. They sold it a few years ago because they just don't have time with her running her store. We really enjoyed them when they were car showing! We'll see! I haven't mentioned this to Dave yet...and I probably won't for a while - so don't tell him!!

When Dave got home from Habitat, we both took short naps in our chairs. Then I woke up just in time to watch the Preakness. I wish I would have had money on Looking' at Lucky. I said after the Derby that he would win at the Preakness and he did. Unfortunately our Iowa horse only came in 6th and the Derby winner was 8th. No Triple Crown this year!

Tomorrow is church and then we're going to Bryan's again. His dad is going to help him paint his garage. It's just bare drywall and he wants it painted, so we're going up to Waterloo again tomorrow. At least this time we'll drive the Cadillac and won't feel so many of the bumps in the road! I'll be taking my book and I'll also play with his cats while he and his dad are painting! I'd hate to get in their way! We feel like we've been slighting Byran since we spend 2 months with Jami and hardly ever go to see Bryan. I think he's enjoying seeing more of us!! More later...

TGIF

The sun was out today - Oh Happy Day!! It's so nice to see the sun, we just haven't had much of it lately! I won't say that it was really warm, because it wasn't, but it was pretty!

I went to Fairfield today to have lunch with Sudi and Howard for Sudi's birthday. I didn't know that Rita, Chris and Earl were joining us too! What a nice surprise. Sudi, Rita, Chris and I all went to school together so we're part of the Girls of 66. It was fun to see all of them again. I was a little late getting over there because I went to exercise a little later than I anticipated going. Those darn games on Facebook are making me late and I am usually very punctual. I didn't get home from Fairfield until about 2:30 and then Dave came home about 3:30. He went to the chiropractor again before he got home - his neck is much better, but it's still stiff! It wasn't so bad that we couldn't cruise tonight, though.

Craig and Sue took their 64 Chevelle and we took the 56 Chevy and went to Mt. Pleasant for their first cruise of the summer. They had probably close to 40 cars there - some that we hadn't ever seen before. There was a beautiful bright red lead sled there - a 56 Ford Crown Vic! It was straight out of American Graffiti!! We didn't get home until about 8:20 so we almost didn't get home before dark, which is always our goal when we're out with the old cars...don't want to hit a deer that we can't see! It was a fun day and night! More later...

Thursday, May 13th

Today was my late sister-in-law's birthday...I sure do miss her! It's funny how when I write the date, it reminds me of someone or something. May the 13th will always be Bonnie's birthday to me, no matter what else happens on May the 13th!

I wasn't very productive today, or very creative either. I did finish about 8 cards so I guess I did do something creative. I went to exercise even though I didn't want to and while I was there, I got weighed and measured. I actually gained a pound!! I don't think that's what I was supposed to do. I did, however, lose 4.5 inches, according to Sue who measured me last time too. She said it isn't a scientific measurement but she always tries to measure people the exact same way, so it should be close. I also lost a half of a percent in body fat and 4 pounds of fat composition. So, I guess I shouldn't be depressed over gaining a pound. After all, muscle weighs more than fat, right?

Walmart called my name today, too. I had to get a couple of things so I decided that I should make the trip out to Wally World. I actually had 4 things on my list and I got those 4, plus a few more. I bought myself a wireless mouse for my computer. I have to stretch too far to use my regular mouse, so this should be better for my shoulder.

Tomorrow is my friend Sudi's birthday. She will officially become a senior citizen tomorrow. I'm going over to Fairfield to take her to lunch. The sun is supposed to shine tomorrow AND it's supposed to get to 69 degrees. I can hardly wait!! Maybe I can wear my shorts withOUT a sweatshirt!! More later...

True Senior Citizen

Today is one of those days that shall go down in infamy...at least in my life! I got my first social security check today! Since I had my 62nd birthday in March, I've know for a while that I was a senior citizen, but today really proved it! After three years of having no paycheck, I got paid today - woohoo!! This is kind of fun! Now, however, along with being a senior citizen officially, came lots of aches and pains. This wet, cold weather is playing havoc with my thumb joint and it must be doing something to Dave, too. He went to work at his normal early time, but about 10:00 he came home. His neck is so stiff he can hardly move it. He went to the chiropractor twice today and he's been sitting in his chair with ice on his neck for most of the day. Poor guy - a stiff neck is no fun at all!

My big brother is leaving for Lake Kabetogema (sp) in Minnesota this weekend and will be there a week. He came over today to show me what he'd had done with Aunt Helen's diamond ring (WOW) and to get a printout I'd made for him showing the weather conditions for the next 10 days in International Falls, Minnesota which is very near to this Lake. The weather forecast is for 70+ degrees and no wind for the whole time they're there. He said he'd already packed Carharts and long underwear and that he wasn't going to unpack them. I don't think he trusts the weather forecast! I guess they usually freeze up there.

I had a great time today at lunch. I went to the Cyclone Tailgate Tour at Bridge View and listened to Coach Rhoads talk about next year's football team and their goals. I always thought McCarney was a dynamic speaker, well so is Coach Rhoads! He's just as exuberant and vocal as Dan was. I introduced myself to him and told him (1) that Kyle Benning is my great-nephew and (2) that I had been the head coach's secretary for 16 years. He made me feel good - he said that Kyle was one of the best, hardest-nosed kids on the team...that he gave everything he had...he just wanted to be part of the team. He said he was really proud of Kyle for what he accomplished. Coach Fennelly and Coach Jackson were there too, as well as the volleyball coach and the swimming coach, but Paul was the only one to speak. They gave away tons of door prizes, but as per usual I didn't win one!

Tonioght we had a great choir rehearsal at church. We're winding down our singing season - we break for the summer. This Sunday we sing a cool song and next Sunday, which will be our last, we sing 4 anthems! If anyone wants to come hear a variety of music sung by a really good choir, Sunday, May 23rd would be a wonderful day to visit First Presbyterian Church. We've been told that Pastor Sara's sermon will be great too!

Well, it's time for this old gal to go to bed! More later...

Tuesday's Thoughts

Actually, I don't have a lot of thoughts today!! I had an appointment with an estate planner this morning at 9:00 and I cancelled it. Dave thought it was redundant because Bob Kramer does all of our estate planning. So, at 5 minutes until 9:00 I called and cancelled - thought I really shouldn't waste his time since Dave wasn't planning to participate in any way, shape, or form. Usually Dave is much more cooperative, but he just flat out didn't want to do this.

Later on this morning, I went to work out and then at noon I had a massage. That's why I don't have a lot of thoughts. I think I'm still in a fog even 9 hours later. She really worked on my neck and I know that tomorrow I'm going to be sore! It will be a good sore, though. Since today wasn't very nice and I didn't want to be outside, I actually took a nap! I sure hope I can sleep tonight. Dave's asleep in his chair. I'm so jealous of him...he can sleep for 2 hours in his chair, go upstairs and fall sound asleep within seconds. Not me, I'll be reading for at least 30 minutes before I can even think about going to sleep.

I'm looking forward to lunch tomorrow. I'm going to Bridge View to be a part of the Cyclone Tailgate Tour. I will put on my cardinal and gold and go listen to Coach Rhoads and Coach Fennelly and others talk about the upcoming sports seasons. Fun for us Cyclone fans!! More later...

Monday the 10th of May

Today was one of those yucky days...it rained and the wind blew something fierce. In fact, on the weather channel, it said that we had 58 mph wind gusts. If you could see all the sticks in our yard, you would definitely believe that we had 58 mph gusts! I was really glad that I ran all my errands this morning. I went out this morning to do my workout, then I had to pick up Dave's shirts at the cleaners, pick up my prescription, and go to the grocery store. I then took another one of my 24x30 prints to M&J to get framed. By the time I got home, the wind was starting to blow, it was starting to rain, and the temperature was dropping.

I fixed a meatloaf this afternoon and put it in the oven about 4:00, along with some potatoes so we could have a baked potato with our meatloaf. Just when the meatloaf was to be done, I had to leave for an Evangelism meeting at church. I really wasn't looking forward to going out in the weather, but I was glad that I did. It was really nice to have some new faces and ideas involved in Evangelism. Now, if we can just do everything we talked about!! When I got home from church, Dave had the meatloaf and the potatoes ready for us to eat. Now, I'm watching Dancing With The Stars and getting ready to type up the minutes from tonight.

I thought I would share some of my creativity with you tonight. I haven't put any cards on here for a while, so here we go...this first card is made with all Stampin' Up items, paper, stamp, and ink. I ran the white paper through the Cuttlebug to make the little flowers all around the tree. I love this idea. This tree stamp is so versatile. You can stamp it on a thank-you card, a birthday card, a thinking of you card, just about anything. It can be used for both men and women.
This card is also made with all Stampin' Up products. The flower is actually 2 butterflies punched out with a hand-held punch. I used SU pastel crayons to color them, and then used a water pen to spread out the ink. The flower is supposed to be a pansy. I think it looks like a pansy, what do you think? My friend, Juliene, taught us this technique at our last stamp club meeting.

This is another card that Juliene taught us how to make. Unfortunately it is on a white background, so the card itself is kind of hard to see. The horizontal lines that you see above and below the flowers are actually score lines - a very effective design element that we don't seem to use enough of. The sentiment on this card is from Gina K.

I hope you enjoyed my creativity tonight. I'll try to share more. Later...

Sunday May 9

We did it - we sang "No Night There" and had the church rockin'!! In fact, people were even clapping to the beat while we sang. It was really fun. I think we did really well too - until the very last note, when one of the guys sang it early - aarrgh! Can't believe that some of the guys think they're too good to watch the choir director for the cues. Probably no one but the choir even knew he came in early, but we sure did! Pastor Sara dressed up and portrayed Lydia today for her sermon. She does such a good job...too bad she can't be our permanent minister.

After church we took off for Waterloo to deliver Bryan's stuff. He took us to the Eagle's Nest (I think that was the name) in downtown Waterloo, where we had a wonderful lunch. We headed home about 4:15 and now I'm tired! Jami called a little while ago to wish me Happy Mother's Day. She said the girls went snorkeling today. Kelly liked it, but Megan didn't much. Jami said the ocean was a bit rough today. Speaking of tired, Dave is sound asleep in his chair and I'm having trouble staying awake to watch the rest of Brothers & Sisters. Oh well, I can sleep in in the morning, I think. I'd better check my calendar! More later...

Cold Saturday

Boy was it ever cold today! I even had to put on jeans instead of shorts...what's wth that? I thought it was May! Tonight we even have a freeze warning out. Bryan came down today and he and his dad took all my hanging flower baskets to the garage for the night. I think it's supposed to be a little warmer this next week, but it's supposed to rain for about 4 days, so I'll be complaining all week. Get ready for it.

Tomorrow we're going to church and then we're taking off for the day. We're heading up to Bryan's to take him some stuff that he couldn't get in his car. Right now I'm watching the race on TV. There are 143 laps to go and there have been several wrecks already. I'm afraid we're not done having wrecks either! I've been trying to play several of my Facebook games, but I can't get on them. If Facebook actually starts charging for their "service", I won't be paying - I'm getting very frustrated with them! More later...

A Beautiful Day - - - Not!!

Today was an ugly May day! I cannot believe how hard the wind is blowing tonight! It's almost as if it were January and it was blowing up a blizzard!! The drizzle finally stopped around 12:30, but it's still damp and windy! We even kicked on the furnace this evening just to get the chill out of the air - and that's unheard of, because usually I won't let the furnace be kicked on after May 1st!!

I had a nice lunch with Sudi and Howard today. It's always fun to get together with "old" friends...one of whom is about to get even older!! Sorry, Sudi, couldn't resist that! After lunch I went to price a picture frame next door. Sudi told me it might even be more expensive there than it is in Ottumwa, and it was! It was $5 more, so I brought my picture home with me. I'll have it done here at M&J's! When I got home, my cleaning lady was just leaving and Dave called and said he was 10 minutes from home!! He got home and we both took a nap - felt so good! Hopefully I can sleep tonight - I know he won't have any problem!! He told me he'd just gotten off the phone with Bryan and that Bryan was coming home tomorrow around noon. I think I'll make a meatloaf, which is something he doesn't get often because Deanna doesn't eat beef. I hope I didn't make it the last time he was here - he'll think that's all I remember how to cook!

I bought several hanging baskets today at the Heartland Humane Society plant sale, but I could still use a couple more. I put them out when I got home from Fairfield, but Dave took them down and put them up against the house where they'll be protected from the wind. They were a bright spot in an otherwise dreary day! More later...

Thursday

I talked to Dave about 6:00 and he thought he was coming home in about a half an hour...he called back - chaos in Moravia. All kinds of problems. He finally got home about 9:30. At least he wasn't so tired that he wouldn't help me take out the trash, hang a new flag, put bird seed in the feeders, and hang my new oriole feeder. Come on over, birdies!! We made lots of progress in about 35 minutes!!

I'm pooped tonight. I changed sheets on the bed, which is quite a chore when your back hurts! Usually Dave helps me with that project, but he wasn't here to help. :( Then I went out to run errands - I went to work out, I had to take his shirts to the laundry, get groceries, pick up a new flag and a water filter, and I went to Earl May's to look at oriole feeders. By the time I got done with all of that, it was about 1:30 and I hadn't even eaten my lunch yet. After lunch, I went out and mowed the yard. Today I mowed on the diagonal, which takes longer, but I love the look! Anyway, now it's supposed to rain tonight and like 4 of the next 6 days! More later...

May 5th

Happy Cinco de Mayo!! I wish I had eaten Mexican food tonight in honor of the 5th of May, but I had an egg sandwich instead. Then I went to choir practice. Sunday's anthem is "No Night There", an old spiritual. It is wonderful. I wish I could clone myself so that I could hear how we do it. It sure sounds beautiful from where I'm standing!

Here's a picture of Simon Estes singing last night. He did a great concert. At the end of his concert, he and the soprano he brought with him sang with the Pella Christian High School choir. They sang the "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Wow!! Can you imagine being a high school student and singing with Simon Estes?!! After the concert, he came out into the lobby and signed CDs for everyone. He even had his picture taken with the Royal Court of this year's Pella Tulip Festival!

Well, I think I'll go to bed now. Dave's not home yet, but he thought he'd be here around 10:00. I haven't checked the weather for tomorrow, but if it isn't supposed to rain it'll be another lonely evening...oh no it won't, I'll go to Fairfield! More later...

May 4th

Simon Estes was wonderful. Wow - what fun. I even bought one of his CDs which he autographed for me. I asked him when he was coming to Ottumwa and he said it was in the works...he just couldn't remember the date. I'll post pix tomorrow. G'night!!

May 3rd

When I got up this morning, and called Dave, he asked me to bring him a set of keys. So, after I ate my breakfast and got ready for the day, I took off for Moravia. I got really sleepy driving over there - the sun was shining in on me and I was so relaxed, I just got sleepy!! Coming home wasn't any better, but at least I made it safely. Once I got to Ottumwa, I went to work out, then came home and did all my "farming"! I'm getting very frustrated with Facebook. It just seems that everything on FB is in slow motion and I hate that! Today I couldn't hire anyone on Farmtown and thought I was going to have to do all my harvesting and plowing myself. I've got crops ready shortly and just hope that whatever was wrong is fixed by now.

Dave came home and hung my hummingbird feeder right outside my window. I can hardly wait to see if they use it. I'll be able to sit here and take pictures of them! I just watched Dancing With the Stars. Wow - they were all good tonight! tomorrow night I'm going to Pella to see Simon Estes in concert.

May 2nd

Sundays are always one of my favorite days. I love going to church and singing in our choir. We really did a great job on the song this morning! We didn't get applause, but we got lots of smiles and everyone said it was great. After lunch I went with Bob and Ann to Des Moines where Ann received an award for being one of the 100 Great Iowa Nurses for 2010. It was a very nice ceremony. There were probably close to 900 people at this event. Ann was the first nurse across the stage. I think it made her very happy.

Don't they look good? Bob felt he was overdressed, but we saw a little bit of everything there today.

Happy May Day

Dave was supposed to get me up early today so that WE could put up mini blinds in the family room. About 8:10 I woke up and came downstairs to find that he'd already put them up without my help! I asked him why and he said, he knew he'd be getting frustrated and I don't like it when he swears, so he just did it himself. What a guy!! So then, we ate our breakfast and I hear him on the phone. He called Bryan to see what he was doing today. Dave told me to get ready because we were heading to Waterloo to see Bryan. When we got there, we got a tour of bryan's "home projects". He's so handy! He has taken out most of the built-ins in his front room, painted it with 4 different paint colors (all tans - 1 is a darker taupe over the fireplace). It no longer looks like a 1950's room. He did a really good job. We hadn't seen his bathroom finished either - wow! It's fabulous. He said of all the tiles on the floor, only 1 didn't need a special cut! I don't know how to describe it, but he basically gutted the bathroom, retiled everything including the shower, and put in a new vanity. It is just beautiful! Now he's working on making a center island with 2 drawers and 2 doors (with slide outs in them) and a butcher block top (which he made himself!!) Deanna was in North Carolina getting ready for a presentation Monday, so the 3 of us went to Famous Dave's BBQ...then we came home!

We got home in time for Dave to mow and I got to watch the Derby and now I'm watching the NASCAR race! My guy is leading right now with 32 laps to go, but he hasn't had very good luck lately. I hope it's changed for tonight. Tomorrow is church and a really cool song for our anthem. We're singing several spirituals in the next few weeks and this is one tomorrow. It's called "Joy in the Morning". These spirituals are hard to sing because of their syncopated rhythms. This one has lots of sixteenth notes so hopefully we'll hit our entrances correctly. More later...