I've Lost Count

I've just lost count on how many hot, humid days we've had...today was another one. I watered outside and came in soaked - not from the water hose, either!

We're leaving tomorrow for Des Moines where we'll stay overnight and board an airplane for Vancouver, BC on Thursday at 6:00 AM!! I don't know why we chose to go so early, but it'll be good to get there and relax a little before Dave's family arrives! We're not taking our computer with us, but I'll try to get on one of the ship's computers just so you can keep up with our daily happenings. If I can't you'll just have to wait and hear about our trip when we return! Get ready for lots of Alaska pictures!

More later...

Hot Day #10

Today wasn't so hot, but boy was it humid!! You just walked outside and you were drenched...and it's not any better tonight! I had church meetings today - one this morning and one tonight. So I missed The Closer and Rizzoli & Isles both. I guess I'll have to catch them on reruns!

Tomorrow I have a massage and I'm really looking forward to that. Plus, right next door to my massage place is a used book store and I'm out of books! I've got 14 books to trade in!!

More later...

Hot Day #9

Is this heat wave ever going to end??? I'm a little tired of it now! I am ready for a little bit of a cool down and less humidity! Church today was hot, too! I don't mean temperature-wise - I mean Gail and Kari had the place rocking! Their music, along with Pastor David's wonderful sermon on the forgiveness of sins - all I can say is wow! Great job, all of you! I'm sorry I'll miss the last installment of PD's series about the Apostle's Creed - the life everlasting!

Dave worked on the '56 today. He got the power steering pump back into the car and I think it's drivable now! I worked on 8 book bag backpacks for church. I also made pillowcases for our little travel pillows. I cut one of our Tempurpedic pillows in two and covered them with some fabric from my "stash"...mine is pink and Dave's has hotrod flames! I also started getting some of my clothes out. We won't have laundry facilities until August 6th, so we've got to pack 10 days worth of clothes - in one suitcase, and not go over 50#!! I sure hope we can do it!

Here are the last two cards we made on Saturday. I think this first one is beautiful. I like the color combination! Again everything is from Stampin' Up! This black ribbon is really luxurious! I'm going to have to find out which one it is in the catalog.
Both cards are made from the new In-Colors. This last card is only 4 x 4" but will fit in a regular envelope. We used dimensionals to pop the layers so in real life, it is 3-D! I really like this flower stamp. You can use punchs to cut all 3 layers out! Saves me from trying to cut things out with scissors!

I hope you enjoyed these cards. It'll be a while before you see any more. More later...

Hot Day #8...

It was another hot, humid day in the neighborhood! We got some thunder tonight, but no rain! We really need rain - I can't believe I'm actually saying that! The corn is curling big time, so we need some rain and some cooler days...not really cooler, like colder...just in the 80's instead of the 90's!

This morning I took a big step. I'm now going to be a Stampin' Up demonstrator! I love SU products and I'm a BIG customer, so why not be available to sell their products to others! I won't get my kit until I get back from Alaska, but I'm looking forward to getting started! In September, we're going to have a Stamp Camp type of day, where you'll make maybe 10 Christmas projects for a very low price. We haven't set the date yet, but be ready to get an invitation! I'll have more details later! In the meantime, today we made 5 cards in a 3-hour workshop. Here are 3 of them:

This first one uses the square punches as well as a 3-step flower punch (for the bows) . This designer paper is new and incorporates the new in-colors! Love the new in-colors! Those little black-dot-looking things just below the bows, are in reality little "diamonds"...just some bling! They don't scan very well!
This second card is really pretty in real life. The colors didn't scan as well as I thought they would. This paper is really vibrant! I'm not usually an orange and yellow gal, but I tried to step out of my comfort zone a bit today! I love the technique we used for the flower on this card. The flower petals are cut from a Sizzix die that SU carries exclusively. Then the petals are misted with alcohol and scrunched up. When you open them back up, they have texture! I also really like the way the sentiment is put on. In real life, the sentiment is furled like a real banner!
For this third card, we did a bunch of tearing of paper. I think my brown piece of paper looks a little like bib overalls!! It's really a pretty card in person. The colors are very rich!


I'll show you a couple more tomorrow night! For now, you'll just have to wait! Dave took time this morning to get his clothes all ready to go into his suitcase. I've still got to do that! I'll be done by Wednesday since we leave on Thursday! I don't want to get in too much of a hurry! I wonder if ships have hair dryers in their cabins? If they did, I wouldn't have to pack that at least! Everyone is telling us to dress in layers - are shorts and sweatshirts layers?? I might even pack some capris! I've been told you can buy sweatshirts really cheap up there so I'm not going to worry too much. Dave even went to Target and bought himself a little cheap rain jacket - he's way too prepared!!

More later...

Hot Day #7

Some people got rain last night and this morning - we got a few drops, not even .1 of an inch! It was really humid today which made it feel much warmer! At noon it was only 85, but it sure felt hotter than that.

I went to stamping club this morning and then ran errands afterwards. We made some really pretty cards all using the same background technique. For this first one, I used Certainly Celery and Close to Cocoa and just smudged those colors on a background of white paper. Then the script in the background was stamped on with Not Quite Navy and the mesh was stamped with a blue from Distress Inks. When I was finished with that, I stamped the flower image in Versamark and heat embossed it with white SU embossing powder. I then mounted the finished image on both black and white cardstock before adhering it to an olive green cardstock.

With this one, I tried to just use Apricot Appeal and Barely Banana, but I couldn't handle those colors so I added some Certainly Celery to tone the other colors down a bit. The white image was applied in the same manner as above. I mounted this image on a kraft color of cardstock, then white, and then placed them on an olive green card blank. Last, I added the ribbon from Kaiser Craft.

This card is my absolute favorite! For this one, I used a blue with my Certainly Celery. I love it - it is really vibrant in real life. For a little bit of sparkle, I added peridot-colored "jewels" in the two corners. Thanks, Jan! Love this technique!!

I got to sew a little bit today too. I am about finished with the gray bookbags for church. Then I think I have 6 or 7 blue bags and I'll be done. I hope I get them done before we leave for Alaska! I heard it was 61 degrees in Seattle today - I wonder what it was in Vancouver and in Anchorage??

More later...

Hot Day #6

Enough already! I'm ready for this hot weather to go back down south! Actually, as soon as it's gone, I'll be complaining that summer is over - I'm NEVER satisfied 100%! I like 78-80 degrees and no humidity - then I'm really happy!

Today was a fun day. Five of my PEO ladies met five of Chapter OO's ladies in Fairfield at Yummy's for lunch. Just like the name says, the lunch was yummy!! The company was great also. All of us truly enjoyed ourselves visiting with other PEO sisters! I only knew two of the ladies very well; I knew a couple others by name only. I wouldn't have known who they were unless Sally introduced them to me. One of the ladies I didn't know at all! Here is a picture of all of us - good picture!! This will go into my next newsletter to Chapter HC! Hopefully we started a tradition that will continue for many years to come. Next year, we'll host them here in O-town!
I also wanted to share another card with you. This is one I made yesterday or the day before. I used 3 yellow inks and brayered the background - the inks were Yoho Yellow, Daffodil Delight, and something Curry (I'm having a senior moment - can't remember its name and I don't want to go upstairs and look right now!). Then I took a sponge with Chocolate Chip ink and just dabbed around the background to give it some dimension. After that I added some lace that I had, a sentiment from Stampin' Up and a Primo flower that started out all white. I simply sponged some of the yellows on it. I really like the effect. This is a card that is a little out of my comfort zone...I'm not really a yellow kind of person! I do, however, like this card. I think I'll try it in various shades of pink!


I forgot to tell you that I got up this morning, pulled open the blind and checked the bluebird feeder - all of the food was gone! I think our deer must like bluebird food!! I mean the tray was wiped clean!! Funny!

Tomorrow's a very busy day starting with a haircut at 8:15 AM - what was I thinking???

More later...

Hot Day #5

I must be getting used to the hot weather...I didn't think it was bad at all today! I went out and watered plants and didn't sweat immediately!! I also had a pedicure today - that was a fun thing to do on a hot day!!

I don't have too much to report today. Other than watering plants and getting my pedicure, I didn't do much. I'm reading a very interesting book, so I seem to do that a lot! I also printed out boarding passes and luggage tags for our cruise. Now I'm trying to find where I stashed the info on the condo we rented in Anchorage. Right now, I can't find it...eeek! Dave's kind of upset with me because I can't find that information...oh well! I placed a call to the firm handling the transaction. If they don't call me back tomorrow, I'll call my sister-in-law. She'll have the email I sent her. Unfortunately I deleted all my sent items back in March so I no longer have my copy.

I did see Mr. Bluebird today. He just sits and looks at the window and chirps. I think he's trying to tell me something - I just haven't figured out what it is yet. He hasn't eaten any of the food we put out for him, so I don't think he's hungry. I also made a card today, but I've got to get a picture of it yet.

More later...

Hot Day #4

As soon as I went out to get into my car this morning about 9:30 AM, I was drenched with sweat! I only walk about 10 feet to my car door!! It was really humid! I had an appointment for my back - I am doing so much better! Unfortunately, I won't have another appointment now until August 12th! I hope it doesn't relapse!

After getting done at Dr. C's, I felt good enough to run errands. I took Dave's shirts to the laundry and I went to the mall -to Penneys, Herbergers, and to CJ Banks. Then I went to the Credit Union to get some travelers checks. Did you know that they don't have travelers checks any more? They told me that paper checks are pretty much a thing of the past...now you get a gift card from Visa with so much $$ on it. You just use it like you would a debit card and when it's out of $$ you get another one! Learned something new today!!

I came home and decided to fix a nice dinner for Dave since he's been out in the heat for 4 days in a row. So, I fixed ham balls and fresh green beans. He called at 4:30 and said he was on his way home. I knew he had a church meeting at 6:30, so this would work out really well. He called again about 10 minutes later and had to go take an anhydrous tank somewhere! By the time he got done with that, it was 6:15 and he decided to just go to Sonic and go to his meeting - so much for my nice supper! I enjoyed it, though!

I didn't see my bluebird today...I guess I shouldn't have bought him any meal worms!! More later...

Hot Day #3

I had a dental appointment this morning - yuck! I had an old filling that was loose, so Dr. W had to drill out the old filling and put in a new one - what fun!! That took almost an hour! After that I went to the clinic and had my glasses adjusted. I can actually see better now! This afternoon, I went to Earl May and bought this:Yes, those are worms!! I can't believe that I bought worms - dead ones at that!! Someone convinced me that Mr. B might be hungry, so I bought him some food. What am I going to do with dead worms if he doesn't LIKE dead worms? I guess it's better to have dead worms than live ones in case I have to throw them out! That other stuff in there is bluebird food - suet balls! I think I must be getting early onset dementia!!

But then I look at this little guy and I can't resist! Who could??

Isn't he cute?? The birds outside today weren't very active. In fact, lots of them were "panting". When they'd land, their little beaks were open and they appeared to be panting just like dogs!

Tomorrow I've got a Dr. C appointment for my back. I'm so much better! I've also got several other things to do, like get a haircut appointment, get a pedicure, do a little shopping, etc.

More later...

Waterloo Trip

We went to church this morning and then left immediately after for Waterloo...well, not exactly immediately! We came home and changed into shorts first! It was definitely too hot today to wear anything but shorts! Yesterday my car read 98 and today it only read 94 though. I told Dave it was because we were in northern Iowa!

When we were Dysart, we saw all the damage from the straight-line winds last week. It looked a lot like a war zone for about 10 miles. At least the corn and beans have pretty much popped up in the heat. There are many, many outbuildings and trees that are completely down or at least damaged. We went by two hog confinements where there was only debris...no buildings any more. For the most part, the houses were relatively unscathed. There were about two houses - one at the south end of the swath and one at the north end of the swath - both of which had roof damage. We think the one new brick house that was damaged maybe had a bin or tree hit it because other than right in the middle of the roof, there was no more damage - not even any shingles off of it. It was really bad.

My bluebird was back again this evening (and this morning before church). I'm wondering if he's hungry, so I'm going to buy him some meal worms tomorrow. We put some fruit out for him today, but I don't think he wanted that. I'm glad he's here - he's sure fun to watch!

I've got a dentist appointment in the morning. I have a loose filling - yuck!

More later...

Hottest Show in Iowa - Again!

Today was our 14th annual Vintage Cruisers' Memories car show, and as usual, it was hot, hot, hot!! Thank goodness we now have the show at Bridge View - we're at least able to get in out of the heat! We had 114 entrants today, which isn't bad considering it rained and my car thermometer read 98 degrees! Most all of our entrants took advantage of the air conditioning inside Bridge View! I know that I'm really glad I can type - I get to be in the a/c most all day!!

Dave just said he's about ready to go to bed - it's only 8:30 (barely) and it's still light out!! It was a long day for all of us Vintage Cruisers!!

Tomorrow we're going to church and then we're taking off for Waterloo to see Bryan. It'll be our last opportunity before we leave for Alaska! More later...

Good Friday!

I had a PEO meeting this morning and the guest speaker was....my hubby! Dave talked about Habitat for Humanity and did a wonderful job! Everyone was impressed. I brought home a bunch of the fruit that Christina dropped off at my house. We'll enjoy it! The strawberries and watermelon are wonderful...that's all I've tasted so far!

This afternoon, I started a new book - "In the Fall" by Jeffrey Lent. It's a good story line, but his writing style is cumbersome to say the least. The story takes place in Civil War times and is about a white soldier whose life is saved by a runaway slave. They eventually marry and the story takes us thru more than one generation if I read the synopsis correctly. I'm not that far yet...it's not easy reading.

Tonight as I am sitting here, I've had a bluebird landing on my window screen, looking at me. He's finally left, but he kept this up for about an hour and a half. I hope he didn't die outside my window. He's gorgeous! He first lands on this heart flower holder, then he flies at the window...
lands on the screen, and just looks at me! He does this every 5-10 seconds or so. I then went outside to see if he'd come up to me outside, but he didn't.
He's just the most beautiful color. He just keeps chirping at me like he's hungry or hot and wants in the house! I even stood at the window and it didn't scare him. Of course, there was glass in between us, but that's about all!

A little excitement for my evening!!

Tomorrow is our car show, so I'll be at Bridge View from 6:30 AM until about 4:00 PM. Fun, huh?! At least I'll be inside typing in results!! Poor Dave will be outside in the heat!

More later...

Thursday

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood! It's starting to get a bit humid, but I guess that's good. It is summer after all! Our car show is Saturday and we always bill it as being the "hottest show in Iowa" and it usually is. The forecast is calling for hot and humid again for Saturday, so no exception this year!!

I had a very productive day. I got all the way thru the BIG pile of paperwork on my desk! I reconciled my checking accounts, did laundry, and got prepared for tomorrow's PEO meeting. I think I'm all ready for the weekend too...oh, no I'm not. I still have to add the sponsors to the results page in the computer program. Then I need to find a keyboard and a mouse...and THEN I'm ready!

I just had a phone call about our friend Diana, who had the aneurysm. She is talking!! What a miracle. She started talking yesterday and she's easy to understand! The doctors and nurses are so happy with her progress. She still has a long ways to go physically, but it's wonderful that her brain is working!! Keep her in your prayers!

More later...

Another Gorgeous Day!

Are we ever lucky! We have missed those 5 days of rain we were supposed to have...mostly! At least we haven't had rain constantly - things are pretty much dried up now! And now, the weather forecast is calling for 7 days of sunshine - wow!! I guess I won't have any excuses now - I'd better get my windows washed!!

I actually had a little time to be creative today...in between vacuuming and paying bills and recording albums onto a memory card! This card is made with scraps I had lying around my studio. The blue card stock is Bo Bunny (I believe). The flowers are from Petaloo and the sentiment is from Stampin' Up. I spritzed the whole thing with some new product I got from Archivers...I can't remember what it's called. I thought I bought aqua spritz, but instead I got green...oh well, I like the effect. In real life is sparkles.
One day this spring, we were in Kalona at lunch. Across the table from me (with a huge window behind me) were these two pairs of gorgeous eyes...one green and one blue! Aren't they pretty?! Allison's are about as green as the flower on this card!
Kaylee's are a pale, pale blue...almost aqua! I had to have pictures of them. The girls sometimes think I'm a little strange, but they love me anyway - I'm their great-aunt!!

That's it for today. Tomorrow I've got lots to do...I hope I get my book done tonight, so I won't be pressed to finish it tomorrow. I probably read 200 pages today in between my chores!

More later...

Beautiful Day!

I thought this was a beautiful day! In fact, it was so pretty I decided to mow the yard after lunch. Unfortunately I waited a little too long, because we had quite a little shower along with some thunder and wind! I had watered the plants early this morning. We actually needed a little rain. It dried off pretty rapidly though, so I don't think we got much!

I had to be out at Indian Hills at 5:00 to meet with a guy about the computer program for this weekend's car show. Unfortunately, he didn't do anything since last year so I'm still waiting for him to deliver the computer to me. He said if he didn't get here tonight, he'd be here in the morning. I hope so! He's going on vacation tomorrow and without a computer to tally the votes, we would have to do it by hand. That's a long, tedious process! There's no way we'd be ready to give trophies at 3:00 if we have to do it by hand!

Yay - he just called and is on his way over now. I'm glad. I don't have a lot of confidence in him. Sorry!

When I got home from IHCC, Dave was mowing. I went out and took over so he could trim while I finished mowing. It was a beautiful evening for mowing! The yard looks really pretty now!

More later...

Bad Day Today

This morning I woke up dizzy, so I didn't have a very good day! I took a mecclezine, which puts my brain to sleep So this morning I went to Bible study half asleep! This afternoon, I gave in and took a wonderful nap! Tonight I had a Disciples meeting and I think I'm finally awake!! Unfortunately, now it's time t go to bed!! These days sure do go fast!! My mom said that as you get older, days go faster!!

I'm sorry, this entry is pretty boring! Tomorrow I'll try to do something creative!!

More later...

Hot, Hot Sunday!

I decided to wear my "little black dress" to church today...let me tell you, it was too hot to wear a little black dress!! I did, however, get about 20 compliments!! Maybe I should wear a dress more often! Some of the people at church didn't know that I had legs, I guess!

Pastor David talked about the ways people think they can get into heaven...the ladder of good works, the escalator of synergism, and the only way - the elevator of grace. To enable us to "picture" these, he had a couple of drama presentations. Dave and I were called before God and told that we had sinned and couldn't get into heaven...then Jesus spoke up and said he would take our sins on him and we were admitted. The second one had Satan chasing people who weren't saved by Grace. Good visuals!!

We tried to go to Bryan's today, but he wasn't home. So now we'll probably go up next weekend. Tomorrow I've got Bible Reading in the morning and Disciples in the evening. Also, The Closer starts its final season tomorrow night! Great show!! This week is PEO week and I've got to do some shopping to get ready to go to Alaska!

Here's a photograph that I took at Lake Red Rock of some Queen Anne's Lace. Beautiful weed - evidently the flies like it too! I think it's a gorgeous weed!

More later...

Beautiful Saturday!

Today was another beautiful summer day in SE Iowa! I actually went outside for a while this morning. I watered my flowers and tried to knock down some spider webs! Dave worked until about 1:00 or so. After he came home, I went upstairs to take a short nap. I woke up 4 hours later - not so short!! The allergies are getting to me!!

Dave cooked chicken grillers and asparagus tonight. Great supper - maybe I should take more naps!! This evening I've paid bills while I'm watching NASCAR. Unfortunately it's one of those boring 1.5 mile tracks.. I think there have only been 3 race leaders and none of them are Hendrick drivers, so it's really been boring for me. Jimmie Johnson is in second with 7 to go, though. I suppose it wouldn't be bad for him to win...he's only won once this year. Oops, caution with 6 laps to go! Now, it should get more fun!!

More later...

Tired and Allergy Laden!!

I have had a very hard day today. Not only am I tired - my legs kept me awake last night - but I'm also having allergy issues today! I think a lot of it is all the hay down around us. Yesterday when I was driving home from S English, it seemed like everyone was raking hay! Usually if I can turn the recirculate button on in my car, it doesn't get to me. However, I must not have hit it early enough!! So, I'm taking an allergy pill and going to bed!!

I thought you might like to see a couple of cards that I made. These are very simple cards that I'm giving to my PEO chapter to use. There's absolutely NOTHING to making them. They take about 8 minutes per card to make - and that includes cutting out the butterflies! These papers are just single sheets I had lying around. I think I bought them both in Florida one time. This one is made with double-sided paper. I simply turned the flowered paper over for the butterfly. The butterflies are cut out using my Sizzix butterfly die that I got from Stampin' Up. The sentiment is from SU too!
This card is basically the same as the one above, only the butterfly is made from DCWV paper.
Isn't she pretty? This is a little house finch female getting a drink right outside my window!
You're gonna laugh at this - I was so tired, I forgot to post this blog last night. It was still here waiting for me this morning!!

More later...

Fun Day!

Today was sure a fun day, but I'm really tired!! Sudi, Chris and I went to Amana AND Williamsburg! We went to the fabric store in Amana - Heritage Design. I got a few fat quarters to finish my Unusual Feathered Star wall hanging and a background piece for a snowman wall hanging I'm working on. Then we went to the general store as well as the Kitchen Sink. Lunch was at the Ox Yoke Inn where they had my favorite chicken salad sandwich as a special today! Then we left main Amana and stopped at Fern Hill to get our chocolate fix!!

After that it was watch out Williamsburg - here we come!! We spent several hours in the various stores in Williamsburg! I was able to get a couple of jackets to use with my little black dress on our cruise to Alaska! It's just 21 days until we fly out!! I can hardly wait!!

We didn't get home until near 6:00, so I'm tired - we left our various homes about 8:45 AM! It was definitely a long day, but worth every minute of it. It's always nice to spend a day with dear friends!! (You notice I didn't say "old" friends!!) The crops between O-town and Amana are beautiful! I even saw several fields of corn that were starting to tassel! What happened to "knee high by the 4th of July"? This is only the 7th and the corn is tasseling! That's amazing!!

More later...

Beautiful Wednesday!

It was another beautiful day in the 'hood today! I had a dentist's appointment this morning. Unfortunately I have to go back next week because I have an old filling that is loose - aaarrrrggghhh! I hate that drilling stuff! I've been very lucky the last few times; no new cavities! I must be doing a better job of brushing and flossing!

After the dentist, I came home and ate a quick bite of lunch, then I went outside to mow. I think I should have mowed a little earlier, because it was really hot mowing at noon by the sun! The lawn looks pretty good if I do say so myself!! I really like mowing now that my lawnmower has power steering and cruise control! I know - I'm spoiled!! I believe this was the first time I've mowed all year that the ground wasn't wet!!

This afternoon, Dave and I went to US Cellular to change our phones over from Golden Furrow to our own plan. We both got new phones and we'll only be paying half of what GF was charging us! Hopefully Dave can keep under our 900 minutes!

I had an Evangelism meeting at 6:00 and didn't get home until about 8:15. Supper was a bit late! Good meeting though!

Yesterday I forgot to mention the Casey Anthony trial...what a travesty! I've been following the trail pretty faithfully and I just knew she would be found guilty of SOMETHING! I didn't think they would get her for 1st degree murder, but I know she killed that little girl. How else does a little girl's skeleton have duct tape on her head covering where her nose and mouth used to be? I think it's just awful that she's going to walk - possibly as soon as tomorrow morning! I just don't understand...

More later...

Another Beautiful Day!

Today was another beautiful summer day! It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too humid - just right!! I had an appointment with Dr. C for my back this morning. I'm pretty stiff right now, but I'm so much better than I was a month ago. Thanks, Dr. C!!

Here are some of the beautiful sights we saw yesterday on our cruise. This is where the fishermen were catching the big Asian Carps. Beautiful area at the base of the dam.This is a picture taken at the foot of the dam at Red Rock...lots and lots of water being released! It was a beautiful and powerful sight. This is just a different view.

I took this picture out of the car window doing 55 mph. I just thought the lake was so pretty yesterday.
On another note, I just made our plane reservations to come home for Christmas! Can you believe how efficient I am?? Allegiant is having some sales, so I thought I'd better take advantage of them while I could!

I hope everyone in SE Iowa (and elsewhere) saw the beautiful sunset tonight. Lots of color to it - oranges, pinks, purples and the blue sky and gray clouds! Gorgeous!!

More later...

Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July everyone! This turned out to be one gorgeous and fun day! I couldn't sleep again last night, so about 1:30 I took a pill to knock me out! This morning, about 8:15 Dave called to waken me and tell me to get ready because we were going cruising with Craig & Sue. We haven't done that since last year some time!

We took off and went to Bussey where they were having a city celebration. It didn't take us long to decide that we didn't want to stay there, so we drove to Red Rock...beautiful drive! The crops were beautiful and it's gently rolling countryside, so it was so pretty to see. The lake was gorgeous and not crowded either. We stopped and went near the dam and watched the water come pouring through. We also watched some fishermen ccatching large fish - Asian carp! One guy told us they weigh about 30 pounds so you have to wade into the water to haul them out. He'd only landed one and lost 2 others.

After we left Red Rock, we drove up to Monroe and got a dish of ice cream, and then headed back home. Again, it was a lovely day for a cruise!! Beautiful countryside - it's such a privilege to live in Iowa where there's lots of green! Craig & Sue went home to chore and then they had a visitation to attend. After the visitation, we were going to cook hamburgers on the grill. We came home and I went upstairs to straighten my back for a bit, while Dave went to the grocery store to get the cookout fixin's. Next thing you know it's 2 hours later and Dave is telling me that Craig & Sue are here! I was really tired, evidently!! Anyway, we had a good supper and a great day!

Busy week this week! More later...

Woohoo!

Another beautiful Sunday! We had a good crowd at church today and I loved the sermon. We're doing a series on the Apostles' Creed and we've gotten as far as Jesus Christ, his only Son... Very interesting material!

Dave and I went to a friend's 70th birthday party today. Her daughters surprised her - one even flew in from California just to be here for the surprise! Too bad it sprinkled as it was in a double garage and outside. No more than it rained, however, no one got very wet! Both my PEO chapter and my sorority chapter had lots of representatives there! Way to go, ladies!

We got some good news on my friend who had the aneurysm. She is out of her coma and seems pretty alert. She can't talk and she has to be lifted to a chair, but she gave another friend a "thumbs up" sign and pointed to Steve when the nurse asked her where her husband was. Steve told her the other day that she might hurt her knee because she was dangling it off the recliner, so she picked it up and put it on the foot rest. I think those are all wonderful signs. She will be moved shortly to Ankeny to a rehab center - just not sure when exactly. Keep praying for Diana - it's working!

More later...

Headed to Church

For some reason every evening my internet provider goes down...so, no blogging! I'll post more later (hopefully) but wanted you to know that I'm here but no internet service :(!!