Gay Marriage Upheld in Iowa!!

It's a great day to be an Iowan!

Not Again

Day 3 of no school. Seriously. Lord help me. It's -21 here with windchill it feels like -50. Do they go to school in Alaska? It's this cold there quite often, right? Kids have missed 6 days of school so far this school year. SIX!!

Good thing I like my new hat 'cuz I'm wearing it in the house.

All's Well

The pooper is home. He seems to be doing pretty well. He LOVES his stinky canned food. He is still on antibiotics for the inflamed liver and bile duct that caused this whole problem.

Tomorrow is Christy's 14th birthday so last night we drove in the the "wintery mix" weather to go to Hu Hot. It was shrimp night. Christy had 3 plates! Pretty amazing for a skinny little thing like her. Nick in his own words "burnt out his taste buds". Every time we go he tries the recipes listed. He's working his way from mild tot HOT! He only has the two listed in red left to try.

Since it snowed 2-3" yesterday and 5" was predicted overnight we stopped and got some movies. We figured we'd be snowed in, the kids are here this weekend, and Waterloo has a MUCH better selection. We ended up with 5 movies and a bottle of water for $6.72! On tap for the weekend are:

• Spiderman 3
• The Lost Boys
• Michael Clayton
• the Golden Compass
• Burn after Reading

I'm going to make regular chili and chicken chili today. I've already got a load of laundry in the dryer.

Kurt has a honey do list that is larger than normal since he was gone last weekend. Luckily, none of the "do-s" are very difficult.

Stay warm everyone!

Crummy Weekend

Well my last childless weekend - no, make that week - was crummy.

Francis has been sick, then better, then sick, then better, then sicker. He's spending the night in the doggie hospital having a series of barium xrays. All of his levels have JUMPED in the last two weeks. He started throwing up again last night. It appears his pancreas and liver are inflamed. Then when I was vacuuming this afternoon I found more dog barf. Rather than just being bile this pile had something red and green in it. Maybe cloth? I couldn't tell. So now Dr Tom is afraid something might be stuck. Hence the extra xrays. I just came into some money today, too. Looks like we know where that's going to be going :-( But I would like to have a happy, healthy, non-puking pooper again.

Kurt has been gone all but 3 nights this week. He was only home by default on one of them (I forgot to take his clothes when we met friends for dinner Friday night). Him not being here makes me crabby. His company being unorganized and ungrateful makes me crabby.

Saturday was Rikki's 30th birthday bash. She and Amy rented a bus and planned a pub crawl. I got a new outfit and accessories. Saturday we got YET ANOTHER ice storm. Travel not advised and towing prohibited on the route I need to take (along with most of NE Iowa). Lovely. It sounds like a good time was had by all. Instead of partying it up Francis and I stayed in our jammies all day, napped and watched tv and movies. We got in some Iron Chef, some Anthony Bourdain as well as Out of Sight ( I didn't see all of it but it was pretty good). I didn't realize it was a Soderbergh film. Then going with the Jennifer Lopez theme on TNT or TBS we watched Monster in law. It's not going to win any awards but it was entertaining, too. Probably the best of the 3 was The Sentinel with Michael Douglas.

So it's been me and a sick dog all week along with a somewhat crabby and very distracted husband on IM. A bright point was the Caribbean Crusted Snapper I had for dinner on Friday night at Ced Rel Supper Club. Gotta love a place that has a relish tray!

Freezing my A** off

It's been a cold, cold, cold dull weekend. Overnight Thursday we got 8 - 10 inches of snow so of course there was no school on Friday. The kids don't go back until Jan 5.

Saturday the weather forecast said blizzard warnings for late Saturday night and all day on Sunday. Kurt, my parents, and I went to the Amanas to see the play Nuncraker. It was snowing a little when we left. We took the truck. By the time we got out of the show at 5 pm it was a full blown blizzard. We only had one super scary episode when we hit a patch of ice and fishtailed. Mom and I shrieked and Kurt kept it on the road. It was a long tense ride home.

Friday night I fell down the front steps in spectacular style. I hit my tailbone, my butt, my butt, my back, my back, both wrists and my ankle before face planting in the snow. I've been bruised and stiff all weekend. Today I can't bend or twist. Kurt is being very patient with me.

Kurt's been reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows all weekend. I've been channel surfing and taking advil. I also made a pumpkin pie and peppermint bark.

So overall my weekend has been as dull as this post :)

A winter scene

I'm supposed to be disinfecting/cleaning our bedroom, but instead I'm watching a pair of cardinals hop around in the snow outside my bedroom window. I'd like to get a picture but am afraid that getting up and going past the window will wake up the dog and scare the birds away.

YAY!!!

We're not a red state anymore!!!!!

YAY!!!!

Wildlife Saturday

Saturday Kurt and I went to hang out with Kevin and Theresa for a while. We half watched the Iowa game, had some beers, and chatted. Afterward we were going to go to see Religious the Bill Maher movie. It was such a pretty day though that we decided to leaf look.

We stopped at a park and they had some elk. It was cool. One of the bulls had half his rack broken off. He and the other (bigger) one started sparring while we were there. It was cool!

Horrifying

Friday, I had to meet Kurt in Cedar Rapids so we could go to a party at one of his employee's homes. I was early so I decide to drive through the Time Check (or Time Czech) area of town. It was probably the area of Cedar Rapids that was hardest hit. More than two months later the devastation (and lack of progress) is still horrifying. It's one thing to see it on TV, it's another to see it in person.

Culver needs to call a special session and help these people. In another two months there could well be snow on the ground.

What a Day!

Seems like I spent the entire day running around. I hate that!

I had to drop off prescriptions at the pharmacy. (Oh crap! I forgot to go back and get them. oops!) Then I had to transfer $ from one bank to another. My car is in the shop so we have to figure out how to pay for that. I visited our insurance agent to see if our policy covers towing and car rental (it does). Our oldest child, Fred, has recently "allowed" us back in his life. (He needed a place to live). So we are setting him up in an apartment. We made that decision before the car conked out.

I had to go to Waterloo for dentist and chiro appointments. Now I'm waiting to see how much our share of my crown is going to be.

The poor puppy is still suffering. He has seasonal allergies which is causing him to chew his paws raw. I need to monitor that to see if he's going to need a steroid shot. Ugh.

On the bright side when I was in Waterloo there was a farmer's market near the chiro. I got red raspberries, leeks, and green beans. Yum!

Tomorrow Dad and I are supposed to go fishing. Rain is forecast, however. I REALLY want to go fishing!

The Iowa State Fair

Everyone I know went to the State Fair. I wanted to go too! I saw the bank was going on Wednesday for $33. It seemed like a bargain to me, but everyone was laughing that it would be me and a bunch of blue-hairs. Plus, the flyer didn't specifically say it included fair admission. ****sidebar*** I have this happen to me all the time – I have conversations with people that say “pacifically” in place of “specifically”. ****

I asked Kurt if he was interested in going. He really wasn't so I considered my options. My parents were going to go so I checked with them. Well they were going to DSM on Monday and stay until Wednesday. Since Kurt was going to on a business trip Tuesday and Wednesday that wasn't a viable option. I called the Wonder Twin. He was already there. Dang. I called Rikki. She, Amy and Amy's parents were going on Thursday. I could go by myself, but that didn't sound like much fun. When Kurt got home from work I said to him, “I really really really want to go to the State Fair”. He snapped at me, “Well then go!”

Drama!

Rikki ended up offering to go with me. She said she was fine with going twice. Since the kids are irresponsible and didn't take Francis out once when I had my root canal and was gone for 11 hours, I kenneled him.

Tuesday, Rikki and I went to the fair. It rained almost all the way there. We parked at a high school and took a shuttle in for $2 bucks. As we got off the bus, it quit raining. Some people that were sitting in front of us and eavesdropping on our inane conversation gave us an extra ticket! It only cost us $5 each to get in. Sweet! More money for food! We quickly went through the 4-H building and then went in search of turkey legs and a pork chop on a stick.

Marn called to see where we were. They had spent an hour on University attempting to get to the parking lot. I told her we were in front of the round horse barn getting our food. She said she was there, too! I looked around and she was probably 50 yards away. I was gnawing on my turkey leg and Rikki was chomping on her pork chop on a stick. Marn said, “how long have you to been here?” We said, “maybe 15 minutes.” We came to eat after all!

She, Ryan and Todd were having a funnel cake. Ryan was telling us a story and explaining how he smelled a witch in their bathroom the day before. He said something else hilarious. He was real chatty and then wanted out of the stroller so he could stomp in puddles. We went through the discovery garden with them. Marn is a master gardener and does her volunteer hours in one of the beds there. Ryan was running through the flower tunnels and stomping in more puddles. He gave me a hug and a kiss as he flew by on his way to another run through the tunnel. Rikki and I continued on our journey.

We saw the butter cow and the butter Shawn Johnson. I agree with Jen – thunder thighs! Plus, I think the butter Shawn Johnson may be taller than the real one!

I got a free boiled egg on a stick. We went through the Cultural Center and looked at the photography and art. There was some very cool stuff and some very weird stuff. Such as a taxidermied beaver coming out of a television. Huh? We had some root beer (not as good as I would have liked) and what is possibly my new favorite fair food. It was in bar form. It was a hunk of peppermint ice cream with and Oreo bottom and a fudge topping. It was FAN TAS TIC!! We consumed it so quick we didn't even get a decent picture. At $4.50 it was a bargain!

We had our handwriting analyzed for our personalities, watched outhouse races, had some free Iowa samples (cheese, beef sticks, popcorn and seasonings, chocolate), looked at the crazy people paying $25 to get flung into the sky via a slingshot/ejector seat, walked through the horse barn and then got our last fair food. Rikki got some cheese curds and I got a gater tater. Which is a potato cut into a continuous ribbon and fried. Then smothered with some cheese. We barely ate any of either one. We waddled back to the bus and headed north

Rikki is such a good friend to go twice in one week. I couldn't do it!

Father's Day Feast

We had a good brunch with way too much food of course. I made Sangria, dark chocolate dipped strawberries, quiche lorraine, grilled lemon pepper shrimp skewars, and oven baked french toast (that stuff is gooood). Mom brought ham balls and cherry/rhubarb pie. The aunt and Maria brought an cornbread/egg casserole, a chocolate ganache covered cake, a fruit mix of blueberries, black berries, and strawberries as well as a meat and cheese tray with crackers.

Kurt got home at 9:40 am and left at 12:20 pm. I just made him a hotel reservation thru Friday. His boss has decreed that the entire team needs to go to DAV, work 12 hours on/12 hours off and no one leaves until it's done. Their company alone is losing millions in lost revenue.

I'm so thankful we don't live in Cedar Rapids (or anywhere else tragically affected) and no one we know is underwater.

So it's the kids and me for the entire week. Feel free to send valium my way.

Hanging Art

My Grandma Arnold crocheted afghans and potholders. The potholders were made with a very tiny hook out of a thicker thread. I had 4 of the fancy ones framed. We paid a lot to have it done. I am NOT happy with it. Plus paying retail from framing makes me nuts since I know how much the frames cost an inch (since I had a studio). Sometimes I think I should have kept my tax permit for just that reason.

I also had 4 images from San Francisco enlarged. I'm not happy with one of them either. I think I ordered the wrong one. Also the color is off a few points. I wish I was able to print my own color. I was always good at that. However, I only shoot film once or twice a year so that's not really possible either.

We're trying to conserve water because of the flooding. It's one of those things you take for granted.

I'm hosting a father's Day brunch tomorrow. I have no idea if Kurt will be able to attend or if he'll still be in DAV. He did manage to get home last night, have a shower and get 8 hours sleep.

Currently, Cedar Rapids is predicting $735 million in damages. The river has crested, but rain is in the forecast and there have been intermittent storms, winds, hail and tornado warnings throughout the day.

Is the End Near?

Iowa seems to be the epicenter of disaster of late. First the horrible winter, then the Parkersburg EF5 tornado that affected multiple counties. Now the Boy Scout Camp tornado and the horrific flooding. We've been spared, but Cedar Rapids is doomed. Kurt's been gone since yesterday morning. There is 11+ feet of water in the building where his company's multi millions of dollars of servers and phone systems are. He and the other upper management pulled what they could before the generators blew and drove it to another center in Davenport. There are so many rumors concerning the flooding. National news people are here. We've been glued to the coverage on TV. We just got our Internet back because the Qwest building is surrounded by water on all sides and inside. I believe it's 55 of 99 counties are currently disaster areas. There will be more to come in the days ahead. 100 square blocks in Cedar Rapids are underwater. We watched furniture float of out a store and down 1st st, a houseboat hit a bridge, and a railroad bridge filled with 20 freight cars filled with rock collapse into the river like a house of cards. And it's just not Cedar Rapids. It's everywhere. It's farms miles from rivers. One channel showed cattle trapped on a deck of a house. They managed to bring them some hay and 48 hrs they are still alive. It's more than one can comprehend.

1st time shooting video

Anyone know how to rotate this?

And what's going on your Neighborhood?

Here's what's happening less 125' to the West of here. The bridge where I shot this is south 4 blocks. Our house was moved out of the flood zone after the Flood of '93. We're on a bit of a rise so we should be safe. Historically, the highest the water has been in to the middle of the street in front of us. The Wapsi is cresting at 18.8 feet, but up to 3" of rain is predicted north of here. Rain is also in the forecast for the foreseeable future.

Chicago

This past weekend was the only one where we have the kids until sometime in August. Therefore, we did our "family" vacation. The four of us overnighted in Chicago. Saturday we went to early dinner at Medieval Times in Schaumburg. The kids are into that genre of stuff so we bit the expensive bullet and took them. We were to be there an hour before the show. Turns out that is so you have time to buy overpriced crap. Both of the kids had earned around $50 which they could spend (mostly) how they wanted. I quickly vetoed $40 wooden swords.



Christy loved the show! She was shrieking and hollering constantly. Our guy, the Blue Knight, even threw her a flower. She was beyond ecstatic. Nicky really liked it, too. There was no silverware used in the 12th century so we didn't get any either. It was all hands. The menu was tomato soup, 1/2 herb roasted chicken (yum!), potato and dessert. Messy but good.

The show was over by six so we drove downtown and took the kids up to the 94th floor observation tower at the John Hancock Building. It was rainy so visibility was only around 2 miles. Still, it was pretty cool for kids that have never been anywhere near that high up. Christy noticed there were spiders making webs outside the window. Determined little suckers!

After the drive back to the hotel Kurt took the kids back to the pool since we had to be up early on Sunday to check out and get back downtown.

Sunday we had 9 am timed tickets to see Mystical Creatures special exhibit at the Field Museum. It featured dragons, mermaids, and unicorns. All of us enjoyed it. Nick and Kurt read every stinking word of every stinking thing so we were there forever. After lunch the boys went to the dinosaur hall. One and a half hours later they weren't even half way through. I begged them to cut the last half down. They finished up in half an hour or so. We got back on the road for the usually five hour trip home.

While we were having supper in Freeport, IL Mom called to say they were having terrible storms here. We did see the sky was getting darker and bluer. I'm completely paranoid after all the tornadoes here. I found a radio station that was doing weather alerts. We were smack in the middle of a bunch of super ells. We missed the worst by about 6 miles, but still had to pull over for 30 minutes or so because of sheets of rain and terrific winds.



Now that we are home we've learned that the river is flooding again. It's already higher than it was in April and it's not expected to crest for another 5 hours. Mom and Dad have 5" of water in their basement and the well pit is filling with water. My aunt's water pump switch burned out so she's waiting for the plumber who is evidently at a farm where there are hundreds of hogs without water. One of the bridges in town is closed and truck loads of sandbags are going by.

Horror

Our friend Amy that we are traveling with got a terrible phone call this afternoon. Her parent's home was destroyed in the tornadoes that hit Parkersburg, New Hartford and other areas. They weren't home and are fine. They were able to hike into town after the storm. All that is left is part of the living room. Everything else is gone. After much searching they found their kitty alive under the rubble.

I called my parents. There was a lot of damage around their farm, too, but nothing that severe. They are probably an hour and a half away from Parkersburg. It was a huge and powerful storm. Please keep everyone in your prayers. We're glad everyone is ok, but Amy is feeling very overwhelmed and helpless being here.

Palisade's Park

Art in the Park

Saturday Kurt and I went to the Marian Arts Fest. The weather was gorgeous! Bright. Sunny. Springy. Iowa ~ one day in few ~ when it is idyllic. Kurt got me a parallelogram shaped purse I can wear sideways from Helen's Daughters. That lady was doing a heckuva business. I bet she sold out early in the day.

Too bad my nephew is into trains instead of Robots. I would have gotten him one of these awesome lamps.

As usual there was some fantastic photography. Once again it served to remind me that I used to be a professional and creative.

Today, I'm busy packing. Kurt and I, Rikki and her girlfriend, Amy are going to San Francisco for the weekend. Our justification for the trip is to celebrate Kurt's birthday and their 4th Anniversary. At the end of the weekend, the three of us are coming home while Amy is continuing onto China with her college's academic society.

I plan on eating my weight in crabs and clams. We're going to Alcatraz at sunset, we've got a hop on hop off bus tour, and we may go to a drag brunch on Sunday. It would be cool to see some non Iowa drag queens (as well as some I don't personally know!)

Rikki and Amy have never been to SF. Kurt has been, but mostly on business. I have been many times and LOVE IT! San Francisco is still my favorite city on earth. Hopefully, she won't disappoint this weekend.