Beautiful Saturday!

I couldn't believe how gorgeous today was! I got up, put on jeans and a long-sleeved shirt (based on the weather forecast) and was pleasantly surprised!! I picked up Ann and we went to get some plants. We first hit the Laureate Guild plant sale where I got a couple of cone flowers, a beautiful red begonia, and some tomato plants. Then we went to the April Madness sale at HyVee Drug...madness is right! We waited for several minutes just trying to get into the parking lot. Then we lucked out finding a parking place! Ann found a shopping cart, but I didn't...so I put my flowers in her little cart! It's a good thing we didn't get much there! I was supposed to buy top soil, but they were already out of it.

After flower shopping, we went over to the new craft/hobby store on Church Street just to check it out. Actually I wanted a Scor-Buddy, but she didn't have one. She had the Martha Stewart version, but it's for 12x12 paper and I want a little one for cards. I guess I'll just have to order one online! I've tried Michaels, JoAnns and Hobby Lobby and haven't found one yet! The Craft & Hobby Connection has lots of stamps. It's a cute shop and has a big inventory for a little shop!

Tomorrow is church and then Bob & Ann and us are going to the Libertyville Methodist Church for Sunday dinner! They're having their annual pork loin and chicken breast dinner...I sure hope I get a piece of Marilyn's chocolate pie!! More later...

Allison's on my mind!

I wanted to share some pictures of Allison with you. She's 9 and a pretty good little softball player! Here she is catching. She likes to catch, but her first love is pitching...she wants to be as good as her daddy!This is just one of the pictures I have of her pitching. I love the way she has her mouth! She's pretty focused!


Then, of course, I had to show you a picture of her on base. Her last two at-bats produced two hits and she scored both times too!

She doesn't play tomorrow. I guess that's okay since it's supposed to rain tomorrow! Today would have been a lovely day to sit out at ball games all day!

More later...

A Promise In the Air!

There seems to be a promise in the air tonight. There's not a cloud in the sky and I'm hoping that's our promise for spring to finally get here! The lilacs are starting to bloom, as are the crabapple trees! The sun was actually out here today - off and on anyway! I can hardly wait for the sun to shine AND the wind to blow less than 20 mph!

Tonight the FHS class of 1966 reunion planning committee met. Our reunion is September 30th, which is Homecoming at FHS. Should be lots of fun. It's always good to see old classmates - even if it's at a planning meeting like this.

I don't have any plans for the weekend. I'm hoping my back feels better tomorrow. I'm planning to take a muscle relaxer tonight!! Hopefully I just overdid this morning...I woke up feeling really good. Then by noon the pain was back! I've got a purse cut out ready to sew together, so I want to get it finished this weekend!

More later...

Bad Day!

I had a very painful day today...so I went to visit my friendly chiropractor! I feel so much better this evening. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep tonight!

Tonight I went to choir practice. We actually got out early - 8:45!! Dave is working out in the garage. Now that there is only one car in there, he's got room to clean things out! He took a whole trailer load to the dump! He has also been working at church the last couple of days. I hope he gets to go back to work pretty soon...that will mean that the weather is nicer!

More later...

I'm Mad!

I get so angry over some of the decisions of the voters on Dancing with the Stars! Sometimes I think people are really stupid! They voted to keep Kendra on and sent Chris Jericho home...too bad! Kendra has no redeeming qualities - with the possible exception that she's dancing with Louie, who is the best professional dancer on the show! Surely, Kendra will get voted off next week! She's the last of the iffy dancers!

I didn't do much today. My back hurt really badly! I even called Dr Coram to see if I could get in to see him. Unfortunately, he hasn't returned my call yet. I just feel like he can help me, so I hope he calls soon! More later...

We're Home Again

We made a flying trip to St Louis and back yesterday and today. We went to St Louis to leave the GTX at Classic Cars Studio to be sold on consignment. Noah, the proprietor, is very familiar with the GTX because he sold it to us several years ago! We drove down in rain and we drove back home in rain! While we were there it was nice! In fact, I should have had on shorts! Now, we just wait to see if the car sells. Since we took the car all that way, I'd like for it to sell so we don't have to go back down to get it!

I'm really tired tonight. Dave picked out a Days Inn for us to stay at - he was able to get it for $51, so figured that it was in a bad part of town, but it wasn't bad at all. I think it was an old Holiday Inn, sort of like the one in Hutchinson, KS. It was old and needed some TLC, but it wasn't horrible like some others we've stayed in around the country! The worst part of the motel was that the bed was too soft! Therefore, my back is killing me today. I'm going to take a muscle relaxer and go to bed shortly!

Dave had a Habitat meeting tonight so I got to watch Dancing with the Stars uninterupted but Dave's dad always calls when Dave leaves for a meeting! So I missed part of Kirstie Alley's dance. DWTS was really good - the highest scores of the season came tonight...10's even! I think Kendra should go home after tonight, then it's going to be hard to pick who stays after that! The rest of them are pretty darn good!!

More later...

First Softball Game

Bob, Ann and I went to Kalona today to watch Allison's ASA softball team play. They played three games - one at 9:00 AM, one at 1:30 and then again at 3:00. We about froze! When the sun came out, it was pretty nice...but unfortunately, the sun wasn't out much!! The wind was blowing from the side of us (northwest, I think) and made it feel more like football weather than softball weather! Regardless, it was fun! Linda and Kaylee came down too, so that made the day even more fun!! Allison got to pitch one inning in the first game and then she caught the second game. She then pitched 3 innings in the 3rd game. They got beat their first game...when we got there the score was 5-0 in favor of the other team. Allison said the little girl who was pitching didn't do so well because her parents weren't there to watch her! Cute! They won the other two games!

Dave asked me if I'd told you about the Charger getting shipped out of Moravia to Belgium. After three days of polishing the car because they wanted it to be perfect for the new owner, it was loaded onto an open trailer to be hauled to Missouri, then on to Florida, and then to S Carolina before being put on a ship for overseas. Can you believe they put it on an open trailer?? Classic cars usually don't get hauled on open trailers! I guess we can't worry about it any more!

Tomorrow is a big day for us. We're going to Son-rise service at church at 7:15, then breakfast, then choir practice at 8:40 followed by 9:30 church. After church we're headed out to St Louis to deliver the GTX to the guy who is going to try to sell it for us. I probably won't be blogging tomorrow, so Happy Easter everyone. Remember He is risen!! More later...

Stamping Club

Today was our monthly stamp/card club at First Presbyterian. Juliene was the demonstrator today and she showed us how to make three cards. The first one was this scalloped square., which was made into a sympathy card. It was fun to make and is much prettier in person than it is in this scan! We used all Stampin' Up products - Juliene is a SU consultant! I guess the dragonfly embossing folder isn't from SU - it's a cuttlebug folder that Jan got online for Juliene.
I think this card is very attractive and if I had the die cut for the scalloped square, I'd probably make some more of these. You know, I may have a 4" die from Nestabilities...I'll have to check that out!
The second card we made was this one with the tulip on it. Again, the scan does nothing for this card! It is unique in the way it opens! I messed up with my "from the heart" - it should have been down lower so it would show better...then I also messed up on the inside of the card, too. I will be remaking this one! Everything on this card is from SU except the above-mentioned Cuttlebug embossing folder! The tulip is made by using the owl punch and modifying it! Very clever!!

This is the third card we made. I stamped it on the outside with River Rock, but you can barely see it...I guess I'll be making this one again too! Oh well! I always like to have a sample for my card album, so these will be my samples!! The flowers were colored with a white gel pen. The uniqueness of this card is how it opens too! Good job, Juliene!

Juliene also showed us how to make an envelope to fit any sized card. I was glad to see how to do that as I have often wanted to coordinate my envelope with my card!

This afternoon, while Dave worked on his garage, I got my hair cut. Yay! She gave me a new style - Dave really likes it, as do I. It's very different from the way I usually have my hair cut!

Tomorrow I'm getting up way early to go to Kalona to watch Allison play softball. It's supposed to be 62...I don't have a clue what to wear. Her colors are orange and black and if it were to be warmer, I'd wear an orange shirt and black shorts. I don't think 62 will be warm enough to wear shorts and sit outside all day! I think I'll wear jeans and take a coat!! More later...

More April Showers

It's raining again tonight...I believe the May flowers ought to be absolutely beautiful with all these April showers!! Here are some pictures of flowers at our church. Aren't they beautiful? I just love this double daffodil - I don't think I've ever seen a while double daffodil before! This creeping phlox has really spread too. It's so pretty - isn't it funny, though, that it is so prickly to touch! And, how about this red tulip! It is the most brilliant red - gorgeous!

Speaking of church, tonight we had Maundy Thursday services at Westminster Presbyterian. I'd never been in that church before. Very small, but a pretty church. Our choir combined with their choir for a wonderful sound! We sang one song together and then our choir did the anthem, "Is Is I, Lord?" It was beautiful!! Pastor David did the sermon on that phrase. He challenged us that we should all be asking just that - is it I, Lord?

Dave worked on the GTX today and we got it loaded into the trailer. We're taking it to St Louis Sunday afternoon.and should be back on Monday. I can't talk him out of selling it - :( !! Next thing you know, he'll be wanting to sell my Chevy too! Tomorrow I have card-making club at the church in the morning and I finally get my haircut tomorrow afternoon - yay!!

More later...

Saying Goodbye

Dave went to Moravia today to say goodbye to an old friend. This is the last time he'll see his plum crazy 1970 Charger 500. We sold it to a man in Belguim!! So, it really, truly is the last time we'll see her!! She is being shipped out tomorrow morning.

Dave is also detailing the 1969 GTX in order to try to see it. I don't really want him to sell the GTX, but he's determined. Next week one day we're going to St Louis to take the GTX back to the guy we bought it from. He's pretty sure he can sell it for what we want out of it. So, we'll see!

One good thing came out of this sale of the Charger. We paid off my Cadillac!! So no more car payments - yay!!

More later...

Winter Again!

I am sick of this cold weather!! When there's still a chill factor and only 37 degrees on April 19th - that's just awful! This morning I woke up to thunderstorms and pouring rain. In fact, we had about .8 of an inch in a very short time. It's spring!! I'd sure like some warmth to go with the blooming trees and flowers!!

I got my third Easter card made today. Here it is. I think it is darling! Everything except the eggs are made of Stampin' Up paper. I printed the sentiment on my computer and used the large oval punch to cut it out. The eggs are cut with Nestabilities out of DCWV paper. I think the kids will really like these cards. I know Jami will!! She keeps all of these for their scrapbooks!


Tonight I went downtown to the Hotel Ottumwa to our annual Beta Sigma Phi Founder's Day celebration. It was very nice. For entertainment, we played "famous women" trivia. One table had the easiest questions and the rest of us had really hard ones! It was lots of fun, though! Thanks ladies for a good evening.

I got home just in time to see Petra and Dimitri kicked off of DWTS...again, I'm wondering who in the heck voted for Kendra. She is horrible and Petra was very good and improving. I guess I'd better start voting again!

More later...

Easter critters

Another day gone and what do I have to show for it? After I ran errands and changed the sheets on the bed this morning, I went to my craft room. Not only did I go through my patterns and box some up for the garage sale, but I also made a couple of Easter cards for the grandchildren! Here they are! These are CASE'd from Kay at Creations on Paper. I fell in love with hers...she used chocolate chip paper so her's was a lot darker than mine. I used a sponge and SU inks to do the sky. All of the punches are from SU and most of the paper is too. The Easter egg is cut from a Nestabilities die and is made from DCWV paper.

This little chick is another one of Kay's designs. She is extremely talented and so easy to CASE! She gives you all of the punches needed as well as step-by-step instructions on how to put the critters together. Both of her critters were on bookmarks...I made mine on cards!

I'm hoping the kids like them. I've still got one more to make. I hope I can get it done tomorrow so I can mail them out Wednesday morning.

More later...

Palm Sunday

We had a wonderful church service today. Pastor David led a parade of young disciples (the children) through the streets of Jerusalem (the church aisles) behind Jesus (imaginary). While he did this, the east side of the church was cheering Jesus and the west side was jeering Jesus. Very dramatic! Then the symbols presentation today was the hammer and nails. While the readers were telling about the symbols, a hammer pounding nails into wood was heard over the loud speakers...it made you have chills. I can't even imagine what he will do for Easter Sunday, but I'm sure it will be very effective.

This afternoon, after Bible Study, I was able to get some of my pictures uploaded. Now you can see some of what I've been up to the last few days!! This is a picture of Gunnar and Matthew Nelson on stage at the Sondheim Center in Fairfield. Wonderful concert!! The lighting in these public places isn't conducive for real good pictures. I'm sure they would be clearer if I knew how to change either my aperture or my ISO settings. I didn't want to mess with it during the concert though! Maybe next time I'm in a public building at a meeting or something, I can experiment with different settings!


Here is a picture of the "girls of 66" at the Fairfield Country Club. I guess there were only 16 of us at the dinner. Most of the ladies have on wine shirts...mine has chocolate as its theme, and Joneane's was a champagne theme. It was a fun night!!



This is a picture of our church's Saturday morning egg-stravaganza! This was just one table where lots of creativity was taking place!! I don't know that this little one got much out of it, but just wait until next year when he's a little older!! The last picture tonight is of a houseplant that I started from just a cutting. I think this is it's third year...and last week it started blooming! It's never bloomed before. It has the most delicate pink blooms all over it. I have no idea what this plant is. I just know that I think it's beautiful and I'm thrilled to death that it has survived and that it is blooming!! I don't know for sure what I'm going to do with it next year when we're gone a little longer! I may have to see if my friend Juliene will care for it. She and her husband seem to have green thumbs!!



More later...

Busy, Busy weekend

I'm even tireder tonight, but I've got to let you know what a wonderful weekend this is shaping up to be! Yesterday my PEO meeting was lots of fun - 20 ladies there and everything went very smoothly! Then last night I drove to Fairfield for dinner with some of the "Girls of 66" at the Country Club. There were 18 of us, I think. Anyway, we had a great evening, as always when we get together...lots of laughs, some wine, more laughs!! I'll try to get time tomorrow to post some pictures.

Today First Presbyterian Church had their first annual egg-stravaganza! Lots of little kids and their parents came to decorate eggs and play egg games. I think everyone had a great time. I only heard one little girl cry...and she threw a little tizzy-fit! But it was short-lived! Once she got her way, she was all smiles again! Those of us who worked this event had as much fun as the little kids! I even colored some eggs for us!! Can't think how many years it's been since I did that!!

This evening, I went back to Fairfield to a pre-concert party at Sally's - again for the "Girls of 66" and a few significant others. Then we all went to the Sondheim Center to hear Gunnar and Matthew Nelson in a tribute to their late father, Ricky Nelson. It was a very good concert. Those boys are 44 now and Ricky has been gone for 18 years - how time flies! They interspersed Ricky Nelson songs (and a few of their own) with video clips of their dad as well as other members of the family...David, Ozzie, Harriet, their sister Tracy and their brother Sam. Very well done!!

Now I'm home and Dave didn't turn my light on, so I figured I'd mess with the computer instead of reading tonight. I haven't been able to get on FarmTown all day and still can't - so tomorrow I'll be plowing under all my withered crops!! Oh well...more later...

Friday, April 15th

I'll blog more about today tomorrow. Sorry - too tired to blog tonight!!

Thursday, April 14th

What a day this was! I got up early and got busy working on my sewing/craft room. I would say that I'm about 90% done with it and it looks so much better!! I'm still going to go through all the drawers - there are 6 of them. Culling out is really fun!! I've also got all my quilt books to go through, but they're in a closet in another room. I'm hoping to have a huge garage sale this summer and get rid of some of this stuff. I really should sell some of my fabric, but I don't think I'm ready for that!! I've got about 15 projects that are individually bagged. I guess it's time to get busy on some of them.

Tomorrow I've got a PEO meeting in the morning and then I'm going to Fairfield for dinner tomorrow night. Several of my high school classmates (the girls of '66) are getting together this weekend. They're also having lunch tomorrow, but I won't get done with PEO until about 11:30, so I'll just have to settle for dinner tomorrow night to see everyone! I can hardly wait. We had so much fun in Galena in October...it'll be good to see them again!!

More later...

April 13th

My husband turned the big 6-0 today!! He unfortunately worked the whole day! I took a cake out to Agency for him and the guys to eat. That way it wouldn't be here!! He got home about 8:45 so it wasn't as bad as I figured it would be. Tomorrow's supposed to be another good day, so I'm sure they'll work late again tomorrow. Then it's supposed to rain for the weekend, so hopefully he'll get a day or two off!

I didn't do much today. After I went to the grocery store, I stopped at the Hellyer Student Life Center to introduce myself to the new basketball coach. He seems very personable! After lunch, I had to give blood. When I finish doing that, I just like to rest. I didn't lay down or anything, I just hung out. I did work a bit on my sewing room, but I'm a long ways from being done in there. I'd really like to just throw a whole bunch of this stuff away. I'll probably never use it and I don't want to have a garage sale, but I probably will. Yuck! I think I could embrace the minimalist approach to decorating!!

More later...

Tuesday, Apr. 12th

Dave got home early tonight! He actually was home by 8:30! That's pretty amazing...I'm sure tomorrow night won't be any different unless it starts raining. Today was sure a pretty day. I sat outside for about 45 minutes this afternoon. I should have stayed out there!!! I'm trying to organize my craft/sewing room. Right now I have a hard time finding anything if I want to sew. For instance, I have to remove about half of the closet just to find a piece of fabric. I'm about to pull my hair out!!! I need Clean Sweep to come in, clean everything out, and then organize me! HELP!!! I probably won't be able to sleep tonight because it's pure chaos in there. I've pulled about 3/4 of everything out of the closet and it's all sitting in stacks around the room, on my sewing cabinet, on my card making area - it's everywhere!!! Guess where I'll be tomorrow!

More later...

Monday Again!

Dave needed me to run some errands so I got up and about early this morning - or at least early for me! I had to take a tire to be repaired to Blackwell Tire. Curtis fixed it while I was waiting. I also had to pick up a prescription and some groceries and I was able to do some one-stop shopping at HyVee Drugstore - that was nice! They really have a lot of groceries now - even fresh fruit! Then I went out to Vista Woods to see my high school friend. She was in room 108, so I found it, but she wasn't there. The nurses' aides told me she was down watching television, so I went down there - no Leigh Ann...just ladies and men who were at least 85!! So, I went back down the hall to room 108 again. They said she WAS down there watching TV, so I finally said "I'm looking for Leigh Ann." They said, "Oh, she went home Saturday!! Sorry." Evidently the lady in that room now WAS watching TV!! I'm really glad for Leigh Ann, but I'm sorry I didn't get there to see her before she went back to Fairfield!!

After all of this, I came home, did laundry, cleaned up the kitchen, and made a card!! Most of the materials are from Stampin' Up. Some of the papers are papers I got from various places, but the majority of the papers are SU. The ribbon is from Kaisercraft and the stamp is from a set I got off the internet. I'm not impressed with this set of stamps! Some acrylic stamps leave good impressions and others don't. This is one of the sets that do not leave sharp impressions. Don't you like my bow? Dave made me a peg board so I could tie perfect bows every time!!
I will do this card a little differently next time. Next time, I'll separate the 1 1/4" squares so that they're not right up against each other. I think a bit of the white background between the squares would add to the design. I would also use a darker ink. This is Tempting Turquoise...I just think a darker ink would look better.

My cousins moved my Aunt to Mt. Pleasant today! They said the move went well, except for some car sickness on the way over. They said she doesn't have any idea that she's not at home. Bless her heart.

Tonight I had a meeting at church and now I'm just waiting for Dave to get home. It's already 9:30 and he's...oops, there he is now!! More later...

Beautiful Sunday

Today was another gorgeous day! It was warmer here than in Fort Lauderdale!! The wind was a little strong, but at least it was warm. I could get used to this lovely weather...unfortunately I'm afraid it's going to change! Church this morning was just great. Pastor David delivered another outstanding sermon! He was talking about rejection and our rejecting God by not doing His will. The service started with another symbol of the season. Pastor David and Elizabeth were washing each other's feet. Dave and I did the reading which accompanied their diorama...very dramatic! I also stayed for Sunday School where Becky was talking about the ordination requirements of PCUSA. There are amendments which will be voted upon that will, if passed, not limit a person from being ordained because of their sexual preference. Very interesting material. After church and lunch, Dave worked in the yard while I read and watched the Master's. Those young men who are now on the professional circuit are very good! Tiger is old at 35 - can you believe it??

This evening, I thought I heard the emu that is loose in Ottumwa squawk, so I went outside with my camera. I didn't see the emu, but here is a shot I got of the clouds off to the west of Ottumwa. Sorry about all those stupid telephone/electrical lines! I can't get a picture around here without them in it!! Anyway, I thought these clouds were so beautiful!


I also wanted to share with you how pretty our forsythia is this year! I know everyone's bushes are beautiful, but I think our's is exceptional!! Look at the contrast between the vibrant yellow of the blooms and the brilliance of the blue sky!

Then here's a shot I took looking into the bush at a close distance. I just love the color of this plant this year. I saw today that some of the tulip trees were blooming too, so I'll have to get out and get some spring pictures!! I hope you enjoy them!
More later...

Beautiful Day!!!

We sure had a beautiful day here in SE Iowa today!! Right now, it is showing 76 degrees both here in O-town and in Clearwater, Florida!! Fort Lauderdale is showing 78 - pretty cool that we're the same here as those towns in Florida are! Unfortunately, ours won't last and theirs will! I think tomorrow's supposed to be nice again and then the rest of the week will be 50's and 60's! Spring in Iowa - you gotta love it!! Dave and I worked in the yard this afternoon. I ran the lawn mower with the de-thatcher behind it while Dave picked up sticks and did other things. Then he took over and swept the thatch up with the lawn sweeper, and after that he rolled the lawn. Now when it rains our yard should look really pretty! He also blew all the winter dirt out of my garage and got the lawn chairs out!! It was a wonderful day to work outside! I've had the doors and windows open ever since I got home from Fairfield about 1:30 or so!

I went to see Mae this morning. She acted very glad to see me! She repeated things LOTS today, though. Ray came in just as I was getting ready to leave. She didn't know him. She asked me who that guy was. I'm hoping she doesn't move to Mt.P yet. That's a long drive from over here!

I thought I'd share some more Florida beauty with you tonight. This hibiscus is one of two at our place in Clearwater. This is one of the prettiest reds that I've seen.
This is a picture of a laughing gull at Tampa Bay. He's got his summer plumage already. Some kids had thrown some pretzels into the Bay and the gulls were attacking those pretzels. This guy waited until everyone else got theirs and then he dove in for one.

Here is a view from the Columbia restaurant on Sand Key. Columbia's is a great place to eat with a beautiful view! It's in an area called the Boardwalk. This wooden walkway covers 2-3 blocks there on the Bay. We've eaten here twice now and both times we've loved it. This time we took Maury, Roberta, Judy and Ray with us!


The first empty chair you see there is where we were sitting. That's my chair - I was up taking pictures!! I hope you enjoy this beauty!

Tomorrow is going to be another busy day. Church in the morning and Bible Study in the afternoon. More later...

Friday Ramblings!

Today Dave and I went to Iowa City where I met with a neurologist about my tremors. He was so nice! He tested me for Parkinson's and I show no signs of that!! Thank you, Lord! He then talked to me about familial tremor for about 20 minutes! He answered all my questions and told me that I could "test" to see if the medicine I take was doing me any good by going down to one pill a day for a week and then going off of it entirely. He said I'd have to be off it for 2-3 weeks before the medication was completely out of my system as it has a long residual effect - one pill lasts something like 96 hours in a person's system and I've been taking it for 2 years! He said if I find that it's not doing much to stop taking it! He also told me that every one of us has tremors in our bodies...some people just manifest the tremors like I do...sort of a genetic defect. Since I have it on both sides of my family, it's no wonder I have it! I really liked this doctor - he seemed to care!!

We stopped for lunch in South English on the way home. On our way UP to Iowa City, the road was blocked in North English with what appeared to us as a school bus wreck. We met 3 Sheriff's cars with their lights going and an ambulance. When we were in the little restaurant in S English at noon, we asked if anyone knew what had happened. One of the guys said his sister's school bus (she was driving it) had been rear-ended by a car. Two people in the car were taken to the hospital, but no one on the bus was hurt! After we got home, then, Dave went to work and I just hung out! I was able to get some pictures uploaded, so...

I want you all to meet George! George is a Greg Egret (American Egret) who roams around our park in Clearwater. Our neighbors feed him hotdogs and he seems to really like them. Someone said that he's probably the only bird in Florida with high cholesterol!! He comes for a hotdog twice a day (at least)...one day around April 1st, he was there 4 times!! I probably took 30-40 pictures of him...he's quite a ham! He likes to sit on our roof! You don't suppose he's the reason our roof leaks, do you?

You can tell that George is a Great Egret by his jet-black legs and his yellow beak. In the early 1900's the fashion industry was using large amounts of plumes on ladies hats, fans, etc. At one time, the price of an ounce of plumes was over $30 - double that of the cost of an ounce of gold! Thousands and thousands of birds were killed in Florida for their plumes until federal legislation and the National Audubon Society changed this slaughter.
In this picture, you can see the hotdog in George's mouth!!

The following pictures were taken on March 31, 2011 when tornadoes did damage within 5 miles of our park. This is the spillway beside our place...it was overflowing with water! We had 5.25 inches of rain!! You'll notice that we have amaryllis blooming outside! This one is red and there's another one that's red/white - they're really pretty. We also have red hibiscus that were blooming while we were there!!

This second picture is of us sitting out the tornado warning (for about an hour!) in the men's restroom up by the club house! Bob was our "weather watcher!"
You can see the urinal behind Bob!!

That's all I have for tonight. I'm planning to see my Aunt again this weekend sometime and I'm hoping to visit my high school friend who's in Vista Woods recovering from hip replacement. More later...

This will be short!

I finished another book today. It was a quick read..."The Street of the Small Steps" by Helen Willock. This book was written in 1972 and someone gave it to me, so I read it. I think I just started it on Tuesday night. It had a pretty good plot and a surprise ending! Not a great book, but entertaining. Tonight I'll start "Live to Tell" a new book by Lisa Gardner or Lisa Jackson - can't remember which. I'm sure it will be good!!

Dave got home at a decent hour tonight. I think he was home by 7:00! Tomorrow I have an appointment with a neurologist in Iowa City and since it's raining, he's going to go with me. I hope this new doctor changes my tremor medicine...there has to be something better out there.

More later...

Weds., April 6th

One week from today, my husband's twin brother will turn 60!!! We were hoping to be in Florida with Don to help him celebrate, but we came back a week too early! Dave has said he doesn't want to have a party or anything, so I guess I'll comply...

Today was a grocery day and tonight was a church night. The youth group at our church served a baked potato bar with all the trimmings tonight. It was scrumptious! We even had brownies and ice cream for dessert!! Then I had a personnel meeting and then choir practice. I left home at 5:00 and just got home! We're singing some beautiful songs during this Easter season, but they sure are difficult ones! We have some of our music already for Worship in Music Sunday May 22nd...one of the pieces is 20 pages long...and fast...and percussive!! Wow!

More later...

Busy, Busy Day

I went to Fairfield this morning to visit our aunt who is in the hospital after falling. Thank goodness she didn't break anything! She and I had a nice conversation. I'm not sure she knows she's in the hospital, but she knew who I was. Someone got her this cute little black stuffed puppy and she holds it and calls it her baby. I'm sure it reminds her of the little dog she used to have.

After I left the hospital, I went over to Sudi & Howard's and gabbed. Then we went to lunch and gabbed. It was really good to just sit around and visit without having to hurry. We haven't done that for a long time. It was good to catch up!

I came home and tried to get some church business done, but I couldn't get in touch with everyone that I needed to get in touch with. Hopefully tomorrow, I'll be luckier!

Dave still isn't home and it's 9:30. I think he went to work at 6:30 this morning, so this is a long day for him! I had a sorority meeting tonight and now I'm watching the Notre Dame vs Texas A&M women's championship. This is a rough game! I think some of these "girls" should go out for football! There's lots of fouling going on! More later...

Massage Monday!

Drat! I had this all typed, ready to post, when Mozilla crashed...so I'm starting all over! I had errands to run today, and a massage at noon. Then I planned to go to Fairfield to visit Auntie Mae in the hospital. However, after my massage, I was dizzy, so I drove home very cautiously and went upstairs to lie down. About 3:30 or so, my dizziness went away, but I'd already decided that I'd just go to Fairfield tomorrow and maybe I can get Sudi & Howard to have lunch with me!

I talked to Bob this afternoon. He said it was really hot in Clearwater, but that rain was supposed to move in tonight and tomorrow. We're all hoping that what Dave did to the roof this time will take care of our leak in the yellow room. It doesn't leak during the rain...it's a delayed leak, so it's really hard to find out where it's puddling! Bob will check it periodically just to see if they got it this time!

It's 9:15 and Dave isn't home yet. He's hauling anhydrous right now, so it's long days and short nights! More later...

We're Back!!

Imagine our surprise when Captain John, our pilot, told us it was 72 degrees in Des Moines when we were about to land!! By the time we got done with lunch and got close to O-town, the temperature was reading 86 in our car!! It was a gorgeous day. It made it a little easier to leave Clearwater where, other than Thursday, the weather was perfect! Thursday, however, was another story entirely!! We had tornadoes that did lots of damage about 5 miles away from our park...and us in a "tin can"!! The four of us - Bob, Ann, Dave and I sat out the tornadoes (for about an hour!) in the men's restroom at the club house!!! We got 5.25" of rain in about 15 hours! I'll post some pictures of the drainage ditch near our home. It was actually overflowing - it was raining that hard!!

Tonight, however, I'm tired and I'm going to bed!! More later...