Olympics fun!

Tonight we're watching the USA women's gymnastic team in their hunt for the gold medal.  They are really doing well!  Now they're on that stupid balance beam.  I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would have thought up this event!  It's ridiculous to be 4' off the ground doing somersaults on a 4" hunk of wood!  They are all doing well, though!

We've been watching Olympics off and on all day.  Water polo is fascinating.  I don't know how the officials know who's doing what to whom!!  Beach volleyball is my favorite, though!  I could watch Todd & Phil play all day long!  Kerri and Misty are just as fun to watch...but neither of them is 6'9"...what a great angle Phil has since he's that  tall!

I uploaded all of my cards today, but I'm on my laptop writing this, so I'll blog about them tomorrow night.  Right now I'm going to finish watching the Olympics!

More later...

Another hot one!

Actually today wasn't so hot, but it sure was a humid one.  I think the highest I saw today was 95, but we must have had 95% humidity, too.  I went to church this morning for Bible Reading Time, and I thought I might just melt in the humidity when I came out.  I didn't go to Fairfield today because Sudi & Howard were involved with his doctors...I'll go later in the week!

Dave was home when I arrived around noon.  He's pretty much done working now, but he took off this afternoon for the Habitat house.  He's got a list of things he wants to accomplish around here, too.

I worked on Stampin' Up orders today and planned to put in another order tomorrow, August 1st.  Juliene pointed out to me that tomorrow wasn't August 1st - maybe I should pay more attention to my calendar!!  I also watched the Olympics...wow, they're really good!

Other than that, I didn't accomplish much today!!  I guess that's what retirement is all about!  More later...

Sunday Ponderings

The first thing I'm going to do is apologize because I really didn't do much today.  I made the statement last week that I'm going to be sitting in my chair for the next 10 days or so, watching the Olympics...and that's what I've been doing.  I haven't even been on my desktop computer  - I can do everything from my laptop, except scan in cards, etc.  I've got lots of cards to scan in!  Maybe I can get some done tomorrow.

We went to church this morning where Pastor David continued his series on Jonah.  Today's sermon was based on Jonah 3.  Next week will be the conclusion of his series.  I'm glad we're going to be there!  After church, I took a couple of hours out and took a nap.  In fact, I took such a nice nap that I only got to see 25 laps of the Nascar race!  Since Jimmie won, I guess I don't care that I missed most of it.  This evening we've been watching swimming and gymnastics on tv - I love the Olympics!!

Tomorrow I have Bible Reading Time and then I'm hoping to go to Fairfield to see Sudi & Howard.  I didn't get Sudi called this afternoon, so I'm hoping to catch her tomorrow morning.  Maybe we can go to lunch together.

Dave says he's about done with his work, so he's thinking he'll work very few hours this week.  It'll be fun having him around again!

More later...

Beautiful Day!

Not only was this a beautiful day, it was also a fun day!  Juliene and I went to Des Moines for our upline meeting with Kathy & Jamie!  We made a card - a very simple, but cute one.  We also put together our paper samples, and looked at all the swaps that Kathy got at convention.  Jennifer also shared a bunch of her cards, as did Jamie.  Cool cards!!  I think we'll probably be using some of the cards as ideas for our stamping classes.

We got home around 1:30 or so and I watched USA women's volleyball...that was fun!  I also watched USA women's beach volleyball - love May-Trainor/Walsh!!  They are fun to watch!  Tonight we've been watching men's swimming and men's gymnastics!  I really like the summer Olympics!

More later...

Fun Friday!

This morning we had stamp club at the church.  We made a beautiful card that Juliene demonstrated.  There were 6 of us - a good group.  It was a fun time!!

This afternoon, Golden Furrow's tech guy came over and fixed Dave's computer.  Then later this afternoon, Dave, Nan and I went to the Hills to see Pete Mickeal get inducted into the IHCC Hall of Fame.  He had his wife and baby boy with him., along with his parents and about 15 other relatives.  Also there were David Watts, Billie McCoo, and Barron Thelmon.  Barron had his fiance and baby girl with him!!  There were a bunch of fans there, too.  More fun!!

The three of us went to the Club for dinner and then Dave and I came home to watch the opening ceremonies of the 30th Olympiad!  Even more fun!!  I loved the bit with James Bond and the Queen.  For the next two weeks, every chance I get, I'm going to be glued to the TV!  I love track & field, beach volleyball, swimming, gymnastics!!  Lots of fun!!

Also today the cast for the all-star season of DWTS was announced.  I was happy about all of the contestants but one.  Should be a fun season!!  This was a lovely day - I even opened up the house for a while today.  I thought the air conditioner could stand a break!  More later...

I'm wondering...

...why some people are complaining about over 1" of rain.  We only got .25 of an inch!  We're happy to have that!!  Unfortunately, the clouds just seem to disappear over Wapello County.  Must be that we're not living right!  Regardless, because of the rain we had last night, today was another hot, and extremely muggy day.  We didn't get to 100 today, though!  I think the highest I saw was 95...so about 10 degrees cooler than a few days ago.  It wasn't very noticeable, though.

I worked in my studio most of the day today!  I decided which card I wanted to do for the swap this weekend, cut out all the parts, stamped, and assembled the 10 cards I needed for Saturday.  I also put away all of my "stuff" from last night's class and sort of cleaned off my work space!  Tomorrow is our 4th Friday stamp club, so I had to get my kit together for that event.  Plus, I have to put together what I'm taking to Des Moines on Saturday!

I don't know if I told you or not, I'm reading "Uncle Tom's Cabin" on my Kindle.  I went online tonight to find out about Harriet Beecher Stowe and it seems this book was actually written as a series of articles about slavery for a newspaper.  She thought she'd have enough info for about 9 columns, but she ended up writing 40 or so.  It's a very hard read...lots of dialect and a horrible topic.  Her "book" was instrumental in getting more humane treatment of slaves and put an end to slave trading in the mid 1850's.  Unfortunately, it didn't put an end to slave hunters, who chased runaways.  That came later.  Sad, sad stories.  The book centers on two main characters...Eliza (a runaway) and Uncle Tom.  Eliza's baby boy (around 3) and Uncle Tom were sold to settle their kind owner's debts.  Eliza ran with her baby, but Uncle Tom chose not to run.  That's as far as I've gotten - I'm only about 30% done with the book.  Makes me very sad to read it.  I hope there is a happy ending...

More later...

Another hot one!

I know it was at least 102 today...fortunately, I was at church by 5:00 PM, so I don't know if it registered hotter or not!  This is getting to be a broken record.  They're having severe thunderstorms up by Ames - I'm hoping they sag down here!  I am sure all of us would love a good hard rain!!

We had 10 for our card class tonight.  It was a very good group and they loved the cards!  I'm hoping that Bev doesn't get too mad at me for not doing "ugly" cards!  In case she's reading this, these are the ugliest I could find!!  lol  Actually they're really cool cards!  I'll try to get pictures of them tomorrow to share with you all.  But I also have to make 10 swap cards for Saturday, so I'm going to be working in my studio until I get them done!

Nothing new here!  More later...

Cool Front????

We must have had a cool front go through here - it only got to 100 here today!!  And, it's only 91 now!  I didn't think it was too bad today.  At least there was a breeze blowing, even though it was a hot one!  I had to be out this morning, but I opted to stay in the house this afternoon and evening.

Juliene and I got together this morning to plan our strategy for tomorrow night's stamp class.  I think we're all ready for it!  We also have stamp club on Friday and a SU Downline meeting in Des Moines on Saturday.  Guess it's a Stampin' week!!

Since I've been leading a very boring life, I don't have much to ponder about tonight.  So, I think I'll sign off early.  I didn't sleep well last night.  In fact, I woke Dave up - I guess I let out a shriek.  I know that just then there was one of those awful garden spiders on my foot in my dream.  I hate those things, so I must have screamed!  Scared him, too!

More later...

Hotter

I saw 105 today on the computer thermometer!  Now, that's hot!!  Even though I watered my flowers yesterday, I had to water them again today.  It was just steamy in the garden!!  It's still 94 here at 9:30 and only 79 in Largo.

Today in BRT we started reading the book of John.  So far, we've only gotten through 11 verses!!  At this rate, we'll get through with John in about a year!  I'm sure it'll go faster, though, once we're into the book.  The first few verses are very difficult to wrap one's head around...

After BRT, I came home, fixed lunch and really wanted to take a nap.  I didn't though, so I'm tired now.  Hopefully, I'll go to sleep right away tonight!  I feel like I need to catch up!

We got our third invitation to a wedding today...sort of.  Actually it's an invitation to a wedding reception.  It's not until September 2nd!  Seems like a long ways away, but in reality, it's only about 6 weeks!  Hard to believe!!

More later...

Hot, Hotter, Hottest!

Today was a really hot day!  It wasn't unbearable, but I'm glad I didn't have to be outside whole bunch!  I just went out to water my flowers and it's still 92 out there.  (It's only 78 in Clearwater and 77 in Fort Lauderdale - for those of us keeping track of stuff like this!!)  My brother's up in Canada fishing - I wonder  where he is and if it's cooler up there.  If it isn't the fish won't be biting and the guys will be bored to death!

After church today, we went to Fairfield to see HB & Sudi.  Continue to pray for him/them.  HB's going through a rough time.  It was a good day for a drive, although it was very depressing looking at the corn between here and there.  There are several fields that are dying and no amount of rain will bring them back this year.  I'm glad that the majority of farmers have crop insurance, because they're going to need it this year.  Sad...

Tomorrow morning we start a new book of the Bible...we're starting to read John in Bible Reading Time.  I'm excited - it'll be interesting to see how John handles some of the same stories that Mark wrote about.  More later...

Is it....

bedtime yet?  Since it's only 7:45, I suppose I have to stay up a little longer.  I'd hate to be up at 3:00 AM after going to bed at 7:45!!  Today was our annual Memories car show at Bridgeview here in O-town.  Yes, it was once again the hottest show in SE Iowa as it was around 97 this afternoon.  This morning wasn't too bad, but it got pretty stifling around noon.  The participants were glad to have a place to get cool - Bridgeview is air conditioned!!  We ended up with 105 cars - if the temperature was going to be under 90, we'd have many more cars.  We, however, were happy with 105 today!  Another good job, Vintage Cruisers!!

Tomorrow we go to church and then we'll rest up from today!  More later...

Beautiful Day Here

It was a gorgeous day here today.  Winds out of the Northeast, so no humidity to speak of;...and only 83 degrees!  Watch out for the next few days though.  We're going back into the triple digit temps!  Hopefully it'll wait until after our big car show tomorrow!

PEO was good today.  We had 22 in attendance.  It was a good meeting with lots of participation.  I did the program about our area in Florida...complete with pictures.  Then I told them about capturing the bees out of our downed tree!

This afternoon, my PEO order came in so I went out delivering.  Unfortunately three of the ladies weren't home, so I've got more to do.  Why we even delivered one order in the '56 Chevy tonight on our way to the cruise-in at the Park.  She thought that was really cool!  We were at the park for about 2 hours - preregistered 50+ for tomorrow's show.  I'll get them entered into the computer first thing in the morning.

More later...

Good day today!

I got up relatively early this morning to pick up the house a little - the cleaning lady was coming!!  I'm not one of those ladies who clean before the cleaning lady comes - I merely straighten up a bit!  Ok, I did clean the sink because when Dave prepares his lunch, he makes a mess.  I clean the sink every day!  But other than that - I didn't do any cleaning!

Just before she was to get here, Dave came home...a nice surprise.  He and I went for a leisurely lunch at the Club.  I think half of my PEO sisters were there today!  It wasn't quite so hot, so some of them had been there playing golf.  After lunch we drove out to see Sue & Craig's granddaughters - all 4 of them.  They're such cute little girls, and all different as night and day.  Taylor's so sophisticated, Sydney is quiet, Brooke is a girlie-girl, and Lou (Alyssa) is 3 (that says it all)!  She warmed up to me right away so she and I played while we all talked!  It was a fun diversion!!  Thanks, Sue, for letting us visit!

I heard from Sudi today.  HB is going to be moved to Fairfield tomorrow - he's walking much better and most of his pneumonia is gone.  They're still treating the pain in his leg with antibiotics, though.  So he can recuperate at JCHC - much closer for Sudi.  I'm sure she's glad!!  We're still keeping him in our prayers!

Tomorrow morning is PEO and I have the program.  More later...

Hot Wednesday!

At 7:00 tonight, my computer said it was 101 here in O-town!  I think I've figured out why it is so hot, too.  On Friday and Saturday, our car club is having out annual car show and it's billed as the "Hottest Show in Iowa".  It'll probably cool off after Saturday!  I dread thinking about working at the car show, but at least I get to be inside in the air conditioned building typing entries and results.  I don't have much time to be outside...in fact, I don't have much time for lunch or anything else!

My sorority group had a summer social this morning.  Most of us were there - fun time with good food!  Then at 5:00 tonight I had an Evangelism meeting.  I told Dave I wouldn't be late because all we had to do was choose which of the web designs we wanted.  We got out of our meeting around 7:30 - so much for a short meeting!

Please keep praying for my friends HB & Sudi.  He's having to stay in the hospital in Iowa City for several more days.  I know he's tired of being in pain and is anxious to get back to normal again.  Looks like we need to pray for healing AND for patience.

More later...

Broken record....

It was a really hot day today and at 9:00 PM it's still 91 degrees.  If it's still 91, I can't imagine that it will cool down much tonight.  We really, really need this high pressure system over us to move so the jet stream can move and we can get some rain AND some cooler air from the North.  Does anyone know a guaranteed rain dance we can all do???

Dave's at a church meeting tonight, so I'm home alone again.  Seems to be a recurring theme!  Home alone all day and home alone all evening!  Really, though, he should be home soon.  He'll come rolling in in about 5 minutes probably!  Usually his meeting is over by 9:00.

I had some fun today.  Besides cutting out the majority of my card paper, I set up a Facebook page for our church.  At this point I'm the administrator, but I can see adding others as admins too.  I foresee it as a type of reminder calendar for our members, and maybe newcomers to town will check it out too.  I want to get a bunch of pictures on it so people can see what and who our church is made of...the people!!

I talked to HB today, too.  He's still having a lot of back pain, but he's supposed to be moving to Fairfield to the hospital.  He didn't know what the holdup is.  Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

More later...

Monday, Monday

Yet again, it's hotter here than in Largo, Florida!  Dave's saying we may go to Florida around the middle of October.  It'll probably still be in the 90's here!!  They've been having rain there - almost daily!  Hopefully everything is lush and beautiful!

I got a lot of changes made today.  I hadn't changed my email address a lot of places, so that was what I worked on today.  Now I suppose I'll start getting junk email again.  It's been kind of nice just getting fewer than 10 emails a day most days!!

I also worked on cutting out paper for my cards for our next card class.  I've got one of them just about done, but I need to wait for my order to get here to cut out the second one.  I'm about out of Whisper White cardstock!!

Speaking of cards, here are a couple cards that we did at the last classes.  This first one is an origami fold tree.  After it was folded and put together, I ran it through the Lattice embossing folder to flatten it.  The designer paper is Be of Good Cheer from the annual catalog...both the tree and the background!  The sentiment is from Petite Pairs and the "star" is from Snow Swirled.  I used Cherry Cobbler ink and cardstock.

We didn't actually do this card, but this was a sample I made up before I did the card below it.  On these cards on the bottom part opens and that's where you can write your note.  The first card is made with Summer Smooches designer paper and Rich Razzleberry cardstock.  The sentiment is from Perfect Punches.  The white flower is not from Stampin' Up.

This is the card we actually did in class.  I used Comfort Cafe designer paper and Day of Gratitude stamps. The base color is Cajun Craze and the ink is Midnight Muse, Cajun Craze and Old Olive.  I'm not a blue fan, but I really like Midnight Muse.  Again, just the light blue part opens for your message.

One of our Christmas cards in June was this card.  I used a mask and sponges to color the rectangle.  It's done with Baja Breeze and a touch of Midnight Muse for highlights.  Then I stamped Snow Swirled snowflakes in Basic Black and used a Basic Black marker to draw the lines around the rectangle.  I know you can't see it very well, but each snowflake has a touch of Dazzling Details for a little sparkle.  I really, really like this card.  It's very easy to do and looks good either upright or sideways - just move the sentiment!!

I hope you enjoyed my cards today!  More later...

Lazy Sunday!

Was this ever a lazy day!  It was already hot this morning when we went to church!  Church was good.  Pastor David started a 4-week series on Jonah.  I've done a study group on Jonah before, so it was good to hear PD's view of the book.  After church we went to lunch at the 2nd Street Cafe.  Seems like about 20 people were there from our church service, plus a couple of couples from car club.

Then's when the laziness began!  Dave fell asleep watching the race...I tried to, but couldn't!  So I just sat and watched the race - it was a short track race, and I'm not fond of them!!  We had originally planned to go to the movies, but I really didn't want to...I figured as hot as it is, there would be 100 kids in the theater.  So we just came home and bummed around most of the afternoon and evening.  We did install a printer on the car club's computer and got it working.  We put a load of wash in the washer at 1:00 and just now remembered to put it in the dryer!!

Tomorrow will be more productive!  I've got to get ready for a stamp class on the 25th!  I know which 2 cards I'm doing, I just have to get everything cut!

More later...

Saturday in the 'Hood

Whooeee!  It's hot out there tonight!  It's still reading 81 degrees at 9:30 and the humidity is very high.  You get wet just walking outside!

Dave worked at the Habitat house today.  They have installed a small A/C unit so they don't cook!  He came home early, though.  We needed to go to the Club for a wedding reception.  So I made a cool wedding card and off we went.  There was a little girl there whose name was Khloe - she's 3 - and she adopted me!  I have no idea why, but she latched onto me and wouldn't let go.  Maybe it was because when I first saw her, I helped her get chocolate on a piece of cantaloupe (from a chocolate fountain)!!  Then we ate little fish (those little "goldfish" in a bag) together AND purple M&M's.  We talked about fingernails and toenails and shoes and eating - she's always hungry, but she's not chubby even - she moves too fast!  She was a hoot!  She had one dark brown eye and one blue eye!!  Very unique.  

Here's a picture of the card I made.  As usual, it is completely made with Stampin' Up products.  You can't see it in the picture, but the white paper is Shimmery White.  I dry embossed both the heart and the background, tied the bow, and viola!  A beautiful card!  On the inside it says "Happy I Do Day!" The base of the card is Basic Black - very effective, yet simple!

More later...

Cooler Day

Today was a beautiful day, anyway I thought so!  It wasn't horribly hot like other days have been.  It felt like it might rain, too, but we haven't gotten any yet.  The radar looks like there's plenty of rain south of us, but it just dissolves over us!  Maybe we'll get some rain tonight!

I talked to HB today.  It was good to hear his voice.  He's still got his dry sense of humor!  He's feeling better, but still has a long way to go.  He's hoping to get transferred to Fairfield at least.  That would really help Sudi!!

I worked hard today getting cards finished and working on possible cards for the class on the 25th.  Tomorrow I need to get an invitation out to everyone, plus figure out the huge orders I put in tonight!  For now, though, I'm done.  I'm going to bed!  More later...

Pretty Thursday

Another hot summer day in SE Iowa!  At least tonight and tomorrow we've got a chance for some rain.  I hope everyone is praying for it!!  Go outside and do a little rain dance, too - it can't hurt!!  I may even wash my car tomorrow!!

Good news out of Iowa City.  HB is out of the ICU and in his own room.  Hopefully he can get to walking and get his strength back now.  After laying around in a bed for a week, he's going to be mighty weak!  He's still in our prayers.

We thought maybe we'd found a mobile home for us to buy at The Ranch...but we had a friend go into it today and they found termites on an inside wall.  Plus, our friend said it would take quite a bit of $$ to make it the way we want it.  It had lots of room in the main living area, plus 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, but the kitchen was itty bitty and would need gutted.  So that one's off our list.  Back to waiting for a 2B 2B to come available.

More later...

Beautiful Day

This was another beautiful summer day and tonight it's supposed to be cool enough to have windows open!! I didn't do too much today.  It seemed like the day went so fast that it left me behind.  I was putzing around and the next thing I knew it was lunch time.  Then just all of a sudden it was 3:00 and I had Stampin' Up orders to deliver and a massage to enjoy!!  Enjoy I did!  I love having massages, even though my shoulder muscles are pretty sore for a day or so following a massage!  It's a good kind of sore!  I did a lot of praying yesterday and today - for HB & Sudi, for a little girl in California, for Jerry & Toni, and for a newborn baby of a former IHCC golfer and his wife.  Not such a bad way to spend the day!!

When Dave got home from work, we talked about supper and decided that all we really wanted was popcorn!  So that's what we had.  The evening was spent on the telephone talking to Florida friends and now it's almost 10:00 and time for bed!!

Can't believe how fast this day went!  I hope to accomplish something tomorrow!!  More later...

Oops!

I guess I forgot to post my "ponderings" last night!!  Sorry!  I was tired when I got home from card class - and my back was killing me!  I'm not used to standing up for 3 hours straight.  I used to do that at every basketball game, but I've been gone from that job for 5 years now!

We had a great stamp class!  14 ladies on all different levels...some expert and some novice - and everything in between!!  It was fun!

Today was a short day - Dave came home early and we went to Lake Rathbun for a boat ride.  We boarded the boat at 4:30 and just got home!  The weather was so good today that this morning I turned off the A/C and opened up the house.  It was so fun hearing my little hummingbirds land again.  I really miss their little chirps when they land - I can't hear them when the windows are closed!!

More later...

83 @ 9!

We're having a chill!  Today was a beautiful summer day with low humidity!  Church this morning was wonderful.  We had two guys (Mark & his high school friend, Joel) who sang a medley of patriotic songs and it was just fantastic.  The entire congregation was on their feet!!  I had goose bumps - they were really, really good.  For the last song of the morning, Mark sang the song he sang this past week at his dad's funeral...Not a dry eye in the house!

Pastor mixed things up a bit today.  We had communion first and sermon last.  Good job, Pastor David!

After church we went to Iowa City to visit with S & see how HB was doing.  We actually got to go into the ICU to see him for a couple of minutes.  He got off the ventilator and the doctors are happy with his progress.  Hopefully he'll get his tube out in the next day or so - then he'll actually feel like he's better, I'm sure.  They continue to be in our prayers.

Tonight we've just been doing laundry and hanging out!  More later...

90 @ 9 Tonight!

Much cooler than it was during the day today.  The highest I saw was 103!!  Some of my friends in NE Iowa are saying it's already down to 87 there.  It's only supposed to be 86 here tomorrow - we'll probably need a jacket, don't you think???!

I had a good, productive day.  I got the Vintage Cruiser spreadsheets ready to go.  I had to change classes around and then I had to add the sponsors.  I copied it onto a thumb drive and got it into the right hands!  Hopefully the dumb computer will work this year.  Just in case, though, I've got it loaded on my laptop and I'll be taking it along!

I also got all of my Monday cutting done and organized...I hope!  It's all in one case, except for my Big Shot.  I sure hope I didn't forget anything.

Yesterday my friend, HB, had emergency surgery for a perforated bowel.  He's in ICU, so please keep him in your prayers.  I hope he can understand that God isn't done with him yet!  I'm praying for both he and S - for patience and understanding and that they'll know and feel God's love!

Oh, oh, oh...(I feel like Horschach!)  I forgot to tell you that I saw at least one hummingbird today.  I haven't seen them for about 2 weeks, but they were here today!!  Yay!!  Maybe they're bringing us good things!

More later...

93 at 9

It's still 93 degrees here in O-town.  I can hardly believe it can still be that hot this late at night!  I'm praying for lots of people right now...I'm going to add the weather in my prayers, too.  I think this prolonged heat can only be hard on people.  I just stay indoors, but I really feel sorry for those who have to work outisde.  Dave is going to work Habitat tomorrow and there's no air there...the heat doesn't bother him much.   He can work outside when its extremely hot...he just drinks more iced tea and water!  When he comes home, he crashes into his chair!!

Juliene and I worked on cards today.  I'm about done with my prep.  Then I can start on preparing for July 25th, when we're doing 3 for $5 again.  We've got 15 coming on Monday and 7 signed up already for the 25th.  Should be lots of fun!!

More later...

Finally!!

I finally got around to having a pedicure today.  Believe me, I needed it!  Now I have beautiful toes again!!!  Isn't it funny how great a pedicure can make you feel!

The rest of my day was spent working on getting ready for our card class Monday evening.  I can't wait to show you the cards we're making.  I think they are really cool.  I hope our class does too.

I guess I did some other things, too.  One of the Vintage Cruisers came over and I typed up a list for him.  He and his wife couldn't figure out how to change fonts to make the type larger.  He said they'd worked for hours on it...I typed it up in about 15 minutes!  I guess it pays to know word processing.

More later...

America the Beautiful!

We saw some beautiful countryside today.  We decided to go to the Dutchman's Store in Cantril today.  They had peaches for $.99/pound and various other things, too.  So we took off about 10:00.  Beautiful crops between here and there!  We got some bargains and a couple of things we really didn't need...just wanted!  When we left Cantril, we went out the east way and there was a camel....AND a baby camel!  Now that's something you don't see every day!  I had my camera with me, but I hadn't checked the battery and it didn't have enough juice to take any pictures!  We also saw shocks of oats and a big straw pile...and a young man raking hay with a team of draft horses.  I wanted to drive through Drakesville, so we went that way home.  The Amish down around Drakesville are prospering evidently...there are several new businesses, and everyone was open today.  It was a good day for a Sunday drive...on a Wednesday!

When we got home, we had our lunch and just enjoyed being with each other.  About 4:30 we made homemade ice cream.  Just as it got done, some of our church friends pulled into the driveway, so we shared with them.  I didn't like the ice cream very well.  It was a mix from The Dutchman's, called vanilla bean.  I would rather just have my mom's cooked pudding vanilla.  I thought this was a little overwhelming with vanilla.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Independence Day!  We sure did!!  More later...

BBB Tuesday

In Florida, we have B&B Tuesdays...today I had a BBB Tuesday.  I had several things I had to do today.  Those that required me getting in my car and going someplace were Bookins (to get Dave's watches), Blackwell Tire (to have the oil changed in my car, and SE Iowa BLOOD Center (to give blood)!  Actually, I think it's now called Mississippi Valley Blood Center...but the "B" is for blood!  I did the first two before noon.  It was hot, but not too bad.  My appointment to give blood was at 1:45 and it was HOT!!  I couldn't believe how much hotter it was!  Again it was hotter here than it was in Florida.  I checked the humidity level and "feels like" temperature and Iowa was hotter!  I think I'm ready to become a Florida resident!

Dave isn't working tomorrow and we're just going to hang out.  It's been a long time since we've just had a day for ourselves.  I think we'll make some homemade ice cream just so we realize that it's Independence Day.

More later...

Cutting Paper!!

I've been upstairs in my studio today, just creating up a storm!  (I wish!!)  I worked on a couple of different cards for our class on the 9th, so I've been cutting paper like crazy.  In fact, I've done enough that my shoulder is tender tonight!

Outside my window, it is very hot.  Dave and I keep remarking that we may as well be in Florida...it's not as hot there as it is here!  Plus, they've had rain!  I can hear people saying, "But it's so humid there."  Have you walked outside in the last few days?  That's humidity, folks!!  It's not any worse there than it is here!  I had to go out today just to fill up the bird bath and water my flowers.  I think some of my flowers are baked!  I don't think they'll ever recover!  I need to get a soaker hose to keep my perennials watered.  Even they are looking wilted!  

Tomorrow I have a busy day.  I have an appointment to get my oil changed, plus I have to run some errands for Dave, and I give blood!  

More later...

Superb Sunday

When I woke up this morning, there was thunder rumbling all around us.  Unfortunately we (in O-town) didn't get anything but about 12 drops of rain.  I hope our farmer friends around us got rain...because with all the thunder, it had to be raining somewhere!

As usual we went to church this morning.  We had a guest preacher because David & Liz are taking a few days off.  They definitely deserve it.  They continue to amaze me with all of their energy and desire to improve our Christian journeys.  I hope they are enjoying themselves.

Dave went to help a friend of ours move after lunch.  I fixed meatloaf and a lemon pie while he was gone.  When he finally got home, he had already eaten.  It seems that Sandy bought pizza for everyone who helped her with the move.  Oh well, my meatloaf will warm up tomorrow and the pie will still be good!!  I got my Stampin' Up orders in and even got to play some games.  I've got a list of things I want to accomplish this coming week...we'll see how it goes!

More later...