It's back!

Deadlist Catch has returned! Love it!

Are you kidding me?

We got our usually amount of groceries last Friday night. It was over $200! Plus that's without any meat. Kurt and I were discussing it this morning so he looked at our YTD spending compared with this time last year. We're spending 20% more! Our fuel cost is 50% more.

That's Awesome!

I'm watching the NBC Nightly news. They had an item about 6 Masai warriors running in the London marathon. They ran in their tribal outfits. They normally run for days to protect their cattle. One warrior when asked to compare the two marathons said, "This will be easy. There are no lions to fight off!"

Done!

I finally got our New York trip scrapbook done! I started it at the crop in November; continued it at the crop a few weeks ago; and finished it on Monday. Whew!

Sprucin' Things Up

We're fixing some things around here. Today the plumbing guys came and put in a new kitchen faucet and a bathroom light/fan. They cleaned up after themselves, too! Also they rewired the bathroom so we have less of a fire risk and replaced the sink trap since it had a crack and was leaking. Once again - gotta love small towns!

I have pictures from our Schera's adventure but I don't want to deal with uploading them to the computer. While it should be easier with the new camera since it hooks in via USB I don't find that it is which leads me to have less pictures posted.

I took a practice NHA test today and I scored 83%. I'm going to study everyday from 1230-330 minimum. The advice I'm getting it to keep taking the practice tests until I score 100% every time.

African food feast

Saturday night Kurt, the kids, mom, Aunt Jan and I went to Schera's in Elkader for dinner. Their website suggested making reservations which was totally unnecessary. We sat over looking the Turkey River and historic stone bridge. We had the Algerian combo platter for an app. It consisted of Samosas which are triangles of dough filled with a spiced chicken or vegetable mixture, then fried;Bourek which is Seasoned ground beef rolled in phyllo dough, and fried; and Za'atar. Za'atar (a flavorful mixture of thyme and sumac) mixed with olive oil, spread on pita bread, topped with feta cheese then baked until crisp. The first two were good. The Za'atar makes me think I don't need to go to Algeria anytime soon. The aunt ordered (and shared with us all) - Cade. It's Chickpea flour mixed with spices, egg and water, and baked to a custard consistency. Served with a basket of bread and harissa, a Tunisian hot sauce. Nick slathered on the harissa. He and the aunt were the only fans of cade. The kids chose the tortellini, the aunt and I had the tilapia, Kurt selected the tuna, scallop, and shrimp over couscous while mom had the couscous with chicken and beef skewers with roasted veggies. It was a fun experience, but I don't think we'll be repeating it anytime soon. I was impressed the kids tried everything and almost acted their ages. However, their table manners and social skills still have a way to go.

Elkader was named after an Algerian who was for freedom and free thought. Elkader is named in his honor. The restaurant is run by a native Iowa and his boyfriend who is of Algerian descent. Elkader is very scenic. Tourist traffic should help them I would think.

On the way home we spotted a bald eagle nest and tons of deer.

Too Bad it's such a dreary Day

Good-bye Winter!

Easter Pics

My Day Would Not Be Complete

unless I got to do at least one load of laundry.

Much in Common

My dog and my nephew have much in common.

When either of them hears the garbage truck or some similar large, loud equipment they run to the window. Francis is currently looking out the window at the city guys jack hammering across the street.

Lucky Me!

I get to have a root canal! I can't get in for it until May 16th however. I know have antibiotics and a desparate need to get a hold of Dr. Fuchs (who did my previous one 10+ years ago). I hope I can get into see him earlier.

I just got F***Ked by Blogger

I lost my post! I thought it was supposed to save intermittently?

It's a Festivus Miracle!

The kids didn't have school today. They were scheduled off on Monday, too, but it got taken back to make up for snow days. I informed them last night that we would be going through their rooms to give things to good will. It turned into an all day affair. The miracle part is that is was a cooperative affair! Very little grumbling was heard. I took another truck load out to Goodwill. I should have taken a before picture of their rooms. Turns out they both have floors! Who knew? Now if Alex would just come get his things I would be a happy woman.

Sucked in Again

I've been totally sucked in by America's Next Top Model (again)! It's a marathon. This has happend before. I'm on the 3rd episode this morning. It's like on FRIENDS when Joey and Chandler's tv all the sudden has porn and they are afraid to turn it off. Someone needs to turn it off!

Weekend Wrap up

My doggie loves to look out our almost floor to ceiling living room window. I noticed at the 18" level the window is totally nose prints. He likes to bark at the people, cats, and buggies going past. I can post pictures once I get around to learning about my new digital camera.

Kurt wanted to rearrange the living room. It's nice. We flipped the items north to south. I went through a garbage can of stuff from Grandpa's house. It had checks and bank statements from 1937 up to the 50's. Some of the checks were written in pencil! I have checks paying on the first farm my grandparents bought, checks to my great-grandfathers that have their signatures on the back, and checks paying for the various horses and livestock. In the can there was also tax assessment rolls for the farm and yearly tax payment receipts. Taxes for half a year were $14.28!

A couple of sacks had vintage linen postcards as well as postcards from when my parents drove to Mexico City in 1968. So cool! What I am going to do with the THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of postcard I own, I have no idea. On one of them my mom is glad they haven't had to fill up the car since gas is 72 cents a gallon!

We went and ate at Jonesey's in Center Point last night. It the home of the giant tenderloin. I had a bacon cheeseburger with fries and slaw, while Kurt had the ham dinner with mashed taters, slaw, and Texas toast. With drinks our bill was under $15.

Alex called early yesterday morning. He needed his good pair of shoes for mock trial. Kurt and the kids went and saw him in SEUSSICAL Thursday night. He actually thanked Kurt for coming and told him he was hoping he'd come. Maybe all hope isn't lost on #2.

I made green lentils yesterday. It's some Turkish recipe. It was ok. I need to accept that I need to eat crap like that. Ugh.

This is not the week....

to try to quit cursing. Yesterday we went through my grandpa's tools. It would have been his 93rd birthday. Doing that wasn't so bad. We sold Kurt's car to the dealership. The plan for yesterday was for me to get my eyes checked (perfect vision tyvm). Kurt was to leave work at noon or so then we would go to the dealer and exchange the title for the check. Well, he was running late, the eye doctor took forever and they dilated my eyes. We were going to meet everyoneat the farm at 230. We got there at 3. Sometime around 1 pm Kurt's systems went to shit again. He was on a the phone the entire time we were at the farm. He was on the phone all night last night. At midnight he left for Davenport (2 hours away). He's still there. He's been up since at least 6 am yesterday. He's hoping (against hope) to be done by 2 or 3 am tonight.

After being at grandpa's, we hot-footed it to the dealer. The person that cuts the checks was gone. The plan was to go this morning at 9 am.

The puppy and I go to bed. At 5:58 this morning, I hear the bedroom door open and see what I thought was Kurt come in. I say "Hello" and get no answer. The dog sits up and starts growling. I say "who's there". The figure moves over to the closest. Francis is freaking out. I grab my cell phone and illuminate the room. Nothing. My heart is racing. I am completely awake. I calm Francis and lay back down. I see the figure again. I am completely freaked the F out! I get up and check the bathroom and main floor. The front door is unlocked, but I didn't check it before bed. Neither did Kurt since he had no bedtime routine. I get online to talk to Rikki. She's not on. I text her freaking out. She calls me to see what's going on. When I go to take Francis out, Nicky is just getting up. I tell him to turn on all the lights. I take Francis out. When I come back in I lock both doors. The next time I take him out the inside door is unlocked. That happens several more times. I know I saw someone.

I get ready to go get the check. Then I remembered I have water aerobics at 8:30 am. So I missed that. When I called this morning the dealership had no clue what I was talking about and the guy we dealt with is off today. AWESOME.

When I finally make it to the garage, I discover the monster truck has a flat. There is NO WAY I can possibly change it. Luckily we have an awesome service station in town (same people we got the washer from). They came out, put air in it, and I went to get it fixed. Turns out there's a "chunk" of steel in it. They repaired it ($16) and said to watch it for bulges.

I do manage to go and get the check this afternoon. On the plus side my class for tonite was cancelled. However, now we have two 5-1/2 hour classes to make up.

I'm doing homework and chatting with my husband tonight when the laptop goes black. Some message about utilities and F1 and F2 comes up. Nothing happens. I call Kurt. Yep, the hard drive has died. We just replaced it in the past year. UGH.

Kurt is now waiting for a tech to come help him and some big deal support guy is supposedly in his car and on his way. I bet we pay for another night's hotel of which Kurt never manages to darken the door. I am not very excited about going to bed tonight either. I locked both of the automatic garage doors, I've triple checked the locks. The pooper, the cell phone, the baseball bat and I will be locked into my bedroom tonight.

Busy week behind - Busy week ahead

Our week did not improve after my last post. Kurt had a conference call at 7 am Thursday (following his 2 am return from work the previous night). All hell was breaking loose. He got off that call at 1pm. At 1:12 he was back on - it lasted til 5:30. Phone calls from his boss and his boss's boss followed. At 6 pm he was finally able to shower and get dressed for the day.

Friday I went with my aunt while she got an IMT treatment as well as I believe quantum biofeedback. It was interesting. We got to go to Red Lobster afterward followed by a trip to Barnes and Noble. I splurged at Hy-Vee. I bought Gouda, Camembert, a not crusty enough baguette, and a bottle of Moscato d'asti. YUM!

Saturday Kurt and I puttered around the house all day. We went out for Cajun food later that evening. They were again out of the catfish. I had to have the jambalaya. The hurricane's were good and my dessert had undisclosed nuts.

Today we didn't do much at all. We played with the puppy and took a load to Goodwill. We both feel a little under the weather.

Tomorrow we are going to my grandpa's farm so Kurt and Todd can go through his tools to see what they want. We'll sell the rest. I have an eye appointment and I need to go to the bank again to see if I can find the title to the Impala. We accepted the offer the dealership made.

Tuesday I have class. Wednesday and Thursday I have doctor's appointments. Wednesday Christy gets her braces on and we don't have dog class. I don't think we have anything planned for Friday. Alex's musical is this weekend, but I don't plan on going. I think Kurt may though.

OH I'm sooooooo excited. I bought a Roomba today! It should be here in the next week.

A Helluva Week

Here's what's happened here in the past week:

1. Kurt's car died
2. I was sorta but not really offered a job because they are afraid to hire me since I'll probably leave
3. Alex threw a temper tantrum and moved out (ahead of his planned April 14th - 18th bday)
4. Nick and Christy have shitty grades due to laziness
5. It's snowed AGAIN
6. We took two truck loads of stuff to Goodwill and filled the "dumpster" giant garbage can
7. I gained weight on Lighten up Iowa (but damn those marshmallow eggs were good!)

I'm sure there are other things, but these are the "highlights".

I'm so Happy

I alphabetized the items I have under "Favorites". No more frustrating search for the right category. It's the little things my friends!

I called it!

No school on Wednesday either.

We Made It

What is normally a 5 hour trip took 9 1/2 hours over two days. Nice. When we got up this morning, Amherst, had indeed received almost 18" of snow (and it had started snowing again). We left at 8:30 am. In the first 10 minutes on the road we saw more traffic than we had seen the entire day previous.

We went over through LaCrosse, cut across SE Minnesota and then took 52 down into Iowa. The blowing snow was incredible. Luckily, with the truck we were high enough up that we could see over or through the drifting while cars wer just having to drive through it blind. Huge piles of snow on the sides of the road were major hazards. As were the retards who were driving without their headlights on. It was very tense, very windy, and we switched drivers often. There's no way the kids are having school tomorrow*. I have my doubts about Wednesday, too if this wind continues. We could see that the East/West gravel roads were completely drifted shut. There is a tow ban on for most of Northeast and North Central Iowa.

I have pictures from our travels, but I have a new camera. Kurt still needs to load the software so that I can upload them. The ice on the trees that was glistening in the sun was gorgeous. The ice that was glistening on the highway, not so much.

Hopefully, we don't have to go to Green Bay anytime soon. Although, Rikki and I are planning on going to Madison to see Korrena on Saturday. I hear there is another storm coming - arriving on Saturday. Being trapped in WI twice in one week is probably more than I can handle.

*School cancelled for tomorrow at 3:20 today.

And we're stuck...

We left Green Bay at 8:30 this morning on a sheet of ice. We decided to head west to get out of the ice zone and into the snow zone. Two and a half hours and 71 miles later we called uncle and found ourselves an inn. Bob and Tom (no, not the radio guys) are a very friendly and accomodating couple who have taken us in for the night. We're the only ones here besides them, their 2 cats and 2 dogs. So far Amherst has received at least 12" of snow and it could hit 18" before it's over.

The kids are spending another night with their brother, the pooper is spending another night at the doggy hotel and we are tucked away in the J & J Suite.

We'll have to see what tomorrow brings.

We have the worst luck

We're in Green Bay yet again. This should be that last trip for a while. The forecast is 7-12" of snow with at least an inch an hour. Don't forget about the 20-30 mph winds, too. Sunday is showing at 100% chance of snow with blizzard conditions and travel is called "hazardous, if not impossible". Nice. Kurt is working until probably 3 am tonight. Amy said I should cut my losses and start driving!

I got an email from Mom that saying that IA is predicting a 1/2" of ice under the snow. We brought the truck, but still. The guy on NBC26 just said the average snow pile in Winnebago is 20 feet high! It could be an exciting weekend.

I won 1.96 in the casino last night. Tonight the plan is to study and take practice tests. On the first section I got 52%. One needs 70% to be liscensed. If I hadn't second-guessed myself I would have had over 70%. I'm not sure what to do about that.

Happy 2nd Anniversary, Babe!

Kringla

The first weekend we went to Green Bay we bought some Kringla. It was freezing and we were bored last Sunday so we attempted to make some. Kurt remembers making it with his Grandma Marcile as a child. We have a 1954 cookbook from Fenton (where he grew up) and it had an incomplete kringla recipe. It was just ingrediants and "add flour as needed". We tried to supplement the recipe with some online research.

I didn't think they were very good. Kurt and the kids ate them. I commented, "these taste nothing like the ones we bought". To which Kurt replied, "Well those weren't right", but they were good (unlike these).



We will have to try again!

Lake Michigan at Algoma, WI

Algoma, WI

Not Again

They cancelled school yet again. The kids are going to be going well into June. They were scheduled to get out before Memorial Day. I'm not sure why it was cancelled today. It is bitterly cold at -15 windchill and 1 degree temp. Also another storm is predicted for this afternoon and evening. Only 2-3 inches of snow but high winds.

My insomnia is back evidently. I didn't get to sleep last night until almost 2 am. I've decided to try to go to sleep the minute I feel sleepy whether it's 9:15 or 6:30. It seems there's a 5 - 10 minute window where there's a chance I may get to sleep. Once that window is closed I am f***ed.

What I Accomplished Today

• Washed, dried, and sorted 3 loads of laundry
• Made dinner
• Took the dog out twelve thousand times
• Bought school and study supplies (new class starts next Tuesday)
• Began cleaning/organizing the scrapbook table
• Made the bed (that usually happens just before sleeping)
• Got bread, milk, and juice
• Studied for 4 HOURS!
• Went through the mail
• balanced my checking account
• Chatted with Rikki
• Took a load to Goodwill (There was just a commercial begging for goods ~ I'm doing my best!)
• Went to Water Aerobics
• Dealt with my husband's dry cleaning
• Bought Valentine's, anniversary, and birthday cards
• Mailed out a resume

A Geography Test

How well do you know your states? I think this is fun! I missed by an average of 17 miles in 255 seconds!

Packing on the Pounds

Kurt and I have both gained weight since the Friday morning weigh in. We ate out WAY too much plus went to the birthday party. Plus I'm sick. When I'm sick all I do is eat.

Iowa weather continues to blow. I see on the news that everything north and east of us is closed while schools to the south are either 2 hours late or closed. It's thundering now and raining. There's also occasional snow and sleet. I also hear freezing rain is a possability.

I had crazy dreams last night including one where I was one of Hef's girlfriends. We weren't getting along though so nothing naughty happened (thank goodness!). I like old guys but 81 is a little much. I remember feeling a sense of dread that since I wasn't putting out I was going to get kicked out of the mansion. THEN what would I do??

Saturdays have such Promise

I've spent the morning/early afternoon cleaning. Our vacuum is back from the repair shop. It got a tune-up and a new HEPA filter. It's working so well it about sucked the pattern off the carpet!

Tonight is a 60th Birthday part for my Aunt Merry. It's at a restaurant here in town. I told Kurt "crap" because now we'll have to buy food rather than have it provided like when it was at the house. He, however, pointed out than now we can order drinks! He's a smart one :)

I've pretty much lost my momentum, but scrubbing around the toilet base will do that to a person. Eeeewwwww.

I've had a Rough Day

I've had a rough day.

My mom, aunt, and I sorted out my grandpa's clothes. Some of them went to Goodwill, some of them went in the garbage, and some of them were kept. It was difficult. My mom and I got in a fight. Typical of our relationship.

I have killer cramps and I'm freezing cold.

I did laundry all the live long day.

My step children do not listen to me. However, that one has been resolved for the moment.

I've had it with lazy, inconsiderate, rotten, dipshits.

I've taken to my bed. Kurt can deal with it. He's the only thing about today that isn't awful.

This and That

I've started studying for the NAB exam. I'm taking an online review thru DMACC. Now that I've finally been able to log in, I know why it was only $50. It's 173 (of I believe a bank of 20,000) possible questions presented in seven different formats. Of course, some of the answers are "none of the above" or "a and b" when there aren't any choices provided. Also sometimes they want 4 or IV or four. There appears to be no pattern to it either. Still, I think the game/flashcard/quiz format will be effect. I will at least have 173 of the answers memorized. Oh wait, some of the questions are presented twice with different answers. Nice.

We got a Phillips ipod docking station/speaker system yesterday (on the front of the target ad). I really really like it. It's causing me to watch less TV which is a good thing.

The lifestyle change is going ok even though there was a chocolate zinger incident the other day. Weigh-in is in two days.

My diploma arrived to day. I stuck it in my diploma cover. Now what shall I do with it? I got a transcript, too. My overall GPA was 3.21. I ordered two more study texts. The two new ones will bring my total to 7 + the study class. I need to review my medical terminologies too.

We bought a recumbent bike today. It's still in the box in the kitchen because I sidetracked Kurt when he was in the basement. We've now liberated 6 rubber maids (although 2 of them were refilled). I have a load to take to Good Will and the garbage can is filled to capacity as are the recycling bins.

Can you believe it?

My husband has never had beanie weenies! He didn't know what they were. I'm STARVING to death at the moment. Good thing it's still snowing and I'm in my nightie, or I would be in the truck on my way to Mickey D's for a quarter pounder with cheese.

I was expressing to Kurt how very very hungry I am. I grabbed the neck of his shirt to emphasis my point and pull him toward me - and I ripped his shirt! I told him I was hungry.

I've decided to go with beanie weenies. The beans are good...the weenies are bad so it should all even out right?

Celebrity Siting - I Guess

Kurt's at work so I went down to the casino (they have free pop). There's all kind of security guards everywhere. I thought I heard people talking about some football player going by. I get to the lobby and there's a rope line. People are standing there with all sorts of Packer items. I walk past. I ask a guard "Is there a football player here?" He replies, "A few."

I play the 25 cent and 2 cent slots for a while. I put in $5 and won $10. I came "home" with $9. Gambling is really not my thing and it was really smokey.

I go back to the room. There is even more security. The guard I spoke to before opens the door for a bunch of guys in suits. Then a very tall guy in a sweat suit comes out along with a littler dude. One of them handed me something (he must be a Jehovah's witness)(it looked like one of their brochures). The both looked at me, shook my hand and headed up the hall. All kinds of flashed were going off. I heard one of them call the taller one KBG.

I looked them up. The first one was DE KABEER GBAJA-BIAMILA #94 and the shorter one was Aaron Rodgers

Evidently the Packers stay here the night before a home game. I'm watching the news and they're interviewing some of the players. The footage is from inside the hotel.

Greetings from the Tundra

So I've come to Green Bay with Kurt. Tomorrow is the NFC game with Green Bay and (I think) the NY Giants. We drove by Lambeau Field tonite since he has a horrible sense of direction. People around here are in a green and yellow frenzy. It is -4 degrees with a -30 wind chill. The game is at 6 pm tomorrow. They are going to freeze to death. I asked the clerk in the gift shop how people are going to keep from freezing to death. He said, "Oh they aren't. You just wrap everything up except for a tiny slit for your eyes."

We had dinner at Old Chicago. I've never been there before. It was yum yum yummy. We had a thin pizza with Canadian bacon, pineapple and basil.

The hotel has a casino in it. After breakfast this morning we checked it out. There was a Deal or no Deal video machine. After waiting for eons for a change person we just stuck a 20 in. It was a 2 cent machine. We had no idea what we were doing. After 3 bets we'd lost $17. We were bickering about it and then made one more bet. We were sure but we thought we'd won. We walked away with $52.50!

Last night and this morning we went out to Door county. I'll have pictures once we get home.

Done!

I got done with my internship yesterday at 3:30 pm!!!

The last meal

Tomorrow starts the lifestyle change so Rikki, Amy and I went out for a last meal. We went to Road House and pigged out!! I had sirloin and ribs with a baked potato (butter and sour cream) and green beans with bacon and onions. YUM!!! We also had the honey bun things and a blooming onion or whatever they call it. Oh yeah, don't forget the beers! I had a brownie when I get home. Tomorrow is weigh in!

My parents, husband, aunt, sister, Rikki, Amy, Marn's friend Diane and I make up our team. There are over 12,000 people registered state-wide. I think I'm actually motivated this time!

Time waits for No one

My grandpa passed away tonight. I was on my way to see him when the nurse called and said she thought the end was near. I asked if my mom and my aunt were there. She said she would check with the nurse in the room and call me right back. She called back with in 2 or 3 minutes. She said my mom was not there and "I'm pretty sure he's gone." I was 8 minutes away. I wanted to be there with him. When I left this morning I didn't think that would be the last time I would see him. I was going to be there tonight to try and get him to eat supper. My aunt was with him and so was a nurse I liked. I'm glad he wasn't alone. I'm glad he isn't in anymore pain. I'm glad he didn't linger on. I just wish he could have waited another 10 minutes.

A Tough Decision

We decided it was best to put my grandpa on morphine today. He's getting 10mg every 2 hours. They started at 10 am. I then left (just as the social workers came in to counsel me) and went to work. I only have 18.5 hours of internship left to complete. I called my sister so she could come up and see Grandpa while he still has some semblance of himself since the drug will depress all of his systems. She, my brother-in-law and nephew came this afternoon. Marn thought Grandpa looked awful. AJ and I commented how much better he was with the morphine. He was smiling at Ryan and would give more than one or two word answers.

Right now I'm trying to get to the home in time to help him with breakfast if necessary. He'd eaten 100%, was in the dining room, and was feeding himself when I got there this morning. I usually go back around 5 pm so I can relieve my aunt and then feed him supper. We got him to eat all of his sandwich filling and two things of applesauce for dinner. I am tired.

Back from the Caucus

What a clusterfuck. Seriously. My sister just called. It was a cluster at her precinct too. We can't even count to 37. How in the hell are we supposed to elect a president when we can't even agree on how to count to 37? This is seriously the stupidest in which I have ever participated. I'm glad I went but if someone else wants to be first in the nation it's fine with me.

There were way more people at the Middle school than I expected. There were more cars/people than for a sports or musical event. We had 99 people in our precinct. I thought the Obama chick was going to cry. I'm sure she'll declare fraud with the numbers. It ended up 4 delegates for Hillary, 4 for Edwards and 2 for Obama. The delegates are based on the number of people each candidate had once we were aligned by group. I see they're saying Obama is the winner which probably means he won't be the candidate because the people who win Iowa seldom are.

Brrrrrr!

It is FREEZING here! Despite the frigidity the politicos are still out and about - both Hillarians and Obamians stopped by. Tomorrow night are the caucuses - we're planning on going, but we still don't know for whom. The way the caucus is run it would be a lot shorter to be a Republican (that's the only reason I can think of though!)

The kids are back. I can't get warm. We have a new faucet in the bathroom. We had the care conference for my grandpa today. The home isn't doing very well in keeping his medications straight. The conference was very frustrating for me because where I'm doing my internship is very well run and they know all the residents very, very well.

I got a George Bush a day isms calendar for Christmas. Only 385 days til he is gone!

A Hot Date

Since Kurt has been gone since Thursday afternoon we made a lunch date. He had to come back this way to the office and I needed to go his way to check on my cows. (I'm keeping the cows I got for Christmas)(I'm happy with them btw).

He suggested lunch at Perkins, probably because he wanted pie. I agreed but then got a hankering for Mexican. We had a late lunch at Hacienda. Very yummy. I had lunch Chicken Fajitas and he had a beef taco and a chicken quesadilla. We both had rice and beans.

Then I went to the office with him and watched him install a part in one of the multitudes of data cabinets. Wires everywhere. I have no idea how he can make sense of any of it.

I stopped at the mall and used my gift card. They were having 50 -70% off sales. It is the only decent sale that I've seen anywhere. I got four body creams, two body sprays, one big and one travel size shower gels, and two glycerin soaps. All of it for $29.95! I'm set for a good long while.

I took Francis to get his stitches out this morning. It was a forty minute drive each way and approximately 7 seconds to take out the sutures. I should have done it myself. He is fine and without a scar.

F***ING ANNOYING

So far today, Hillary has called, Joe Biden has called, Obama has called. I got mail from all three of them as well as Edwards. Hillary and Obama people have both stopped by.

I think of the rest of the nation knew how much of this BS there is to deal with (it's been over a year I think) there's NO WAY they would want to be first in the nation.

Bill Clinton is nearby today. Chris Dodd has invited me to dinner in Waterloo.

Please please let January 3 get here!!

And We're Back!

Much like MacArthur we have returned! We got back for MN late this afternoon. Within forty-five minutes I was childless and husband-less. The former makes me happy the latter not so much. Kurt delayed work before Christmas so now he'll be gone until Sunday afternoon.

Our trip to MN was good. The truck is soooo much better than us all being stuffed in the Impala. Francis still hates riding in a vehicle. On the way back today though he was relaxed and snoozing. Probably because he was exhausted from playing with his "cousin" dogs, Sparky and Bandit, and youngest nephew, Ethan. Francis is currently passed out on the bed amidst Christmas presents. It was a very good Christmas. My husband is a very sweet and thoughtful man even though I am terrible at controlling my expressions. He got me a painting that I've been obsessing about since last summer. However, it's not the one I wanted. I really really like it though. I feel like crap for being ungrateful...or unpleased (is that a word?)He says I can check and see if the gallery still has the one I want. He says they looked all over and he's pretty sure it wasn't there.

With my single days ahead I hope to get some cleaning and organizing done. My scrapbook table is a disaster and it makes the entire kitchen look like ca-ca.

Christmas Wishes

Christmas Wishes have been fulfilled around here! The kids were up at 5:20 waiting for us to get up! We started opening around 7:45. Nick likes to pile the presents by name under the tree. It irritates me to no end, so this year instead of name tags I assigned them each a number. Then I realized that he could stack by number so I then assigned each kid a random number. It worked out pretty well. They are good a guessing what their gifts are too. Next year I think no presents will appear under the tree until Christmas morning.

We had our traditional oyster stew (and chili) on Christmas Eve at the farm. We've done this every year of my life. It's always been on Christmas Eve except for the year Marnie and Todd lived in Ohio. However, this year is the last year for that. Marnie and Todd want Ryan to wake up in his own house on Christmas morning. Also, Grandpa wasn't there. This is probably our last Christmas with him. I guess I have to accept change however hard it is.

We'll go back to the farm for Christmas dinner. Marnie and I are both bringing lots of food to help Mom out. We'll play BINGO after lunch for dollar store prizes. Then later in the afternoon we'll head to Rochester for Kurt's family Christmas.

Here's hoping all the best for you and yours. Merry Christmas Everyone!

No idea what to call this

i made chex mix (for the first time ever) last night. I'm doing two more batches now. It's misty/drizzly outside currently. We're waiting to see what the weather is going to do. The kids want to go shopping, I won't them to get some decent dress up clothes, and Kurt has to work in Davenport tonight. I am NOT excited about that. Last I heard tonight is supposed to be blizzard conditions.

UN - BELIEVABLE

I got a B in my biology lab! My grade point for this semester is 3.91!! SO I am OFFICIALLY a graduate of UNI. I got my diploma cover last saturday and now I can wait for the actual diploma to arrive (as soon as I finish my internship). I have less than 100 hours left.

Whew!

Lonely

Took the pooper to the vet to get neutered this morning. I really miss him (although it's been WONDERFUL not having to stand outside with him). I can pick him up tomorrow, bring him home, and then turn around and drive back to work.

Speaking of which - I only have office practicums left to do. I have around 120 hours to finish it. This week I'm conducting Medicare Part D sessions with our residents. So far no one has signed up, but tomorrow and wednesday I have short info/sign up sessions scheduled.

On Saturday I graduated with my BA in Gerontology with an emphasis in long term care. I'm glad I walked. It was pretty cool to see all the robes, hear the orchestra, etc. However, everyone forgot to bring a camera so the only pictures I will have will be the ones I can buy. Oh well. Lots of celebrating was done. I had a family dinner at Biaggis. Then on Saturday we ate at Red Lobster afterward and that evening had dinner with friends then drinks with other friends. It was nice.

My grandpa is in the hospital in the Hospice room. He seems to be doing better, but is still sleeping almost constantly. It's very difficult to see him there. Especially since he's in the room where my grandma died. I think they may have redecorated though. The strangest things will make me cry. I'm glad that I am close enough that I can go and see him everyday.

I'm watching VH-1's greatest songs of the 90's. It's reminding me of songs I'd like on my Ipod!

A Double Doozie

We're having a bit of a snowstorm. After work I drove the truck to Grandpa's to check on him and to deliver some homemade ham & bean soup as well as vegetable beef. Part way there I knew I'd made a huge mistake driving the truck. It's too big for me to be comfortable with it in snow and ice despite the 4 wheel drive. Kurt had to come and rescue me.

I got to Grandpa's right after Hospice had left. He's all signed up with them. He was very nauseous when I first arrived, but later managed to eat (and hold down) some bean soup and some Jell-o.

The second thing was that my grandpa's younger brother (who is 91) and also lives independently had fallen 2x yesterday. He has a heart thing that causes him to faint. This is the third or fourth fall recently. His hip is bothering him but they can't find a break in it. He is now in the hospital and has checked himself into a nursing facility. Uncle Melvin very upset about my grandpa which isn't helping. Plus their younger sister, Aunt Donna (who is in assisted living) is upset as well. Bad things happening to each of them just makes it a vicious circle. It's coming all at once. Yikes!

I knew this day would come...

My grandpa has been tired and losing weight. He and mom have been "doctoring" Grandpa has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and nodules on his lungs. Mom told me Friday night. I held it together while I was on the phone with her. The second I ended the call I freaked out and went into hysterics. I was crying so hard I was almost hyperventilating. Kurt was driving (this was after we'd been to Christmas with Wartburg Concert)(wonderful btw) and on our way to Perkins. It was all I could do to dial the Wonder Twin and hand the phone to Kurt. Luckily, I have a very wonderful, understanding, and non-jealous husband. In this case, Brian just knows me and the history better than Kurt. Brian was able to get me to breathe and get myself under control.

I went over to Grandpa's today. It was 4:15 in the afternoon and he was in bed asleep. I've NEVER seen him in bed during the day...EVER. I took him some home-made chicken noodle soup, potato soup and some ground chicken. My aunt from CA is here. I hope she can be a help.

I realize that I have been blessed to have my grandpa as long as I have. He will be 93 in March. He lives on his own on the farm and is mostly healthy and independent. He recovered from a broken hip last year and made it out of the nursing home and back to the farm. I can't imagine him not being a part of my life. He's always been there. Every Sunday I know he will be at my parents' house visiting. He's had a long wonderful life as Brian pointed out. It's just that I don't want him to be in pain and to suffer. My grandma died 20 years ago last October from cancer. I was almost 16. It was horrible horrible horrible. It's still vivid in my mind and heart.

Wednesday is the doctor appointment to decide what, if anything, to do. Grandpa always says the way to go is to just wake up dead one morning. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to happen.

Turns out I'll be 36!!

A few years ago when I thought I was turning 33, I was, in reality, 34. I lost my ENTIRE 33rd year. Well, it's happened again!! Tomorrow I will be 36 and damned if I didn't think I was turning 35. Oh, the crushing disappointment.

My sister got me an I-tunes card. I got myself some cool tunes! Pet shop boys, Tina Turner, You sexy thing, John Dever, Santana with Chad Kroger, and a few more.

Kurt and the kids took me out for Chinese so I started and finished my meal with crab legs! We are celebrating tonight because tomorrow I'm going on Bed and Breakfast retreat with "work". This intern is really making out! Senior staff is having a team building activity. The B and B is famous for it's murder mystery package. Check it out .

It is FREEZING outside. Why oh why is it necessary for my puppy to have an audience to poop and pee?

Happy Thanksgiving from Omaha!

We've had a lovely Thanksgiving at my brother and sister-in-laws in Omaha. They are moving to Dallas in December so their house is a bit bare, but it's gorgeous! I feel like a bumpkin from the poor side of the family. I know that we aren't but I too would like a jacuzzi tub, marble counter tops, and hardwood floors! I suppose I could if I could come up with the cash.

The drive here yesterday was treacherous. We saw 38 accidents/cars/jack-knifed trucks on the way. We just kept plugging along. People are seriously idiots! How long have you lived in Iowa?? This happens every year get a clue people!

The boys(men)here are studying the ads, formulating a plan and charging up the two way radios. They are SERIOUS shoppers! I will be staying here.

We're going home tomorrow. We might stop in DSM and see my sister and nephew. We need to be home by 5:30 so we can rescue our puppy from the kennel.

To Caucus or Not to Caucus

Since we live in Iowa the presidential campaign has already been going on for WAY over a year. All the media outlets say how important the Iowa Caucuses are to the process. I'm not sure I believe that. I know that I'm sick of all the politicos being here. I get more phone calls from Barak Obama than I do from my friends!

I'm thinking that I should participate in the caucus since I'm here and I've listened to all these candidates for so long. It seems you can't turn around with out bumping into one or seeing their campaign bus.

I remember my parents caucused at least once when I was a kid. What else am I going to be doing on January 3? Also what's the point if the person I like isn't one of the front runners? The media is saying that if Edwards doesn't win here he may as well hang it up. If that's the case what chance to Bill Richardson or the guy with the big ears and the hot wife have?

I've been tagged!

Marn's friend (and mine) Jen tagged me. As my sister mentioned Jen tagged everyone we know. I guess I could tag Kurt but he only blogs once a year.

THE RULES:1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

1) I too, have mud wrestled a hog at the Buchanan County Fair. (My team won)(two years in a row)(I have the trophies to prove it)! Go Conklin Crushers!

2)I was the only one of my friends not to get kicked out of National Honor Society for getting picked up for underage drinking. (I was also one of few who didn't get picked up for underage drinking period).

3)I have rocks in my head and you can still feel them. When I was 6 or 7 and had just learned to ride my blue bike with the banana seat; I was cruising down the big hill above our house. The nasty little boy next door cut me off with his big wheel. I crashed and face planted into the freshly oiled and graveled street. My forehead was cut open and the rocks went in.

4)I'm obsessed with melanoma. I'm very fair skinned so I've always burned easily. Then my mom got skin cancer and the obsession increased. I'm always slathering on the 50 proof sunscreen, wearing a hat, and trying to convince my friends to do the same. Rikki, have you called the dermatologist yet??

5)I fell down a cliff in San Francisco. I was trying to humor my aunt on the Trek Across America. I fell just past the sign that said "Warning Dangerous Surf - People have been swept away". It was where the Sutro Baths used to be.

6)I drove myself to Canada one Labor Day weekend. I saw Kakakee Falls, I mined amethyst, I saw a porcupine, and I made it back home alive. Some people were convinced I wouldn't nor could they believe I went on a three day driving trip in a foreign country alone.

7)I am sugar cookie impaired. I cannot successfully make sugar cookies. My sister has the same problem.

If you'd like to post this about yourself - feel free.

Things that make you go hum

As of this morning in the past year I've lost 48# I can't think of anything that I've done differently than I've done in the past 20 years. I don't drink as much pop, but I'm back on it to some extent. I guess being nauseous every morning and every night probably helps. As did the months when i was gagging.

I've had several medical procedures/exams to no avail. I feel alright. I hope the weight keeps coming off.

Tomorrow night Kurt and I are going to the play "Cloud 9". Plus our tickets for the Nutcracker just came. As a student I can get a half price ticket. If it's a school production I can get a free ticket. We better get tickets for anything we want to see before graduation in December.

Woo Hoo!!

While scanning entertainment"news" this morning I see that Bon Jovi is kicking off a world tour. I LOVE Bon Jovi!! So on April 22 you will find me at the Wells Fargo Arena!

Free at Last!

Well I'll be free tomorrow anyway. I'm in my dietary rotation right now. I HATE it! I'll be so very glad when it's over. I'm totally an office person now. I've done my food service stint. My pizza making, chicken cleaning days are DONE!! I haven't learned where I'll be going next. I still have Business Administration, Human Resources, Environmental Services, Administrative Organization, and 40 more hours of Governmental and Legal Aspects left to tackle.

Today was BINGO day at the home. They love it! One lady came down an hour early and wanted me to get things started (I kept sneaking out of the kitchen). They play for candy and little bags of cheetos. The cheetos are by far the most popular!

Tonight we went to Alex's first choir concert. He joined because his girlfriend is in it. He claims it's because he likes to sing. Whatever. There are 96 kids in the concert choir. I think that's pretty good for a high school with an enrollement of less than 400.

I have a biology test over genetics tomorrow. Yikes! I'm not good at those punnett squares for figuring out if you're going to have a trait or be diseased.

I finished our book club book. It was excellent and a departure from what we usually read. It's nonfiction (with some fiction in it) about the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. It's called The Devil in the White City. It's also about a serial killer who was operating during this time period. I highly recommend it. It should be interesting to see the book club ladies like it.

Four Thumbs Up!

Saturday Kurt and I went to lunch the the Lucky Buffet ($13the two of us!) and then to the theater ($5 bucks each). Despite hating baseball I tend to like baseball movies. The latest one out is terrific! Everyone who likes to feel good should check this out. It's based on the true story of a smalltown in Iowa that's going to lose its school and its identity. Norway isn't that far from here and the movie was filmed almost entirely in Iowa last summer. The local radio station put out calls for extras and often talked to the stars and the film makers. In fact the two morning dj's are in the film. One plays the coach of an opposing team and the other is the announcer.

We really really enjoyed the movie (despite Tom Arnold being in it)(I think he does a disservice to Iowa anytime he opens his mouth)(He makes us all seem like hicks and buffoons). He wasn't that bad this time around. Iowa is showcased quite well and very little of it seemed hokey or too "country-fied". The movie was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year to rave reviews.

School consolidation is a HUGE issue around here. The high school that I graduated from consolidated in the 1960's. Some people still aren't over it.

Really, check it out. Tell me I'm wrong. I don't think you'll be able to do so.

Something you Don't see everyday....

A horse and buggy running a red light!

The Boss's Wife

I went to a pizza party with Kurt's work team tonight. I had to go and represent as the boss's wife. Luckily the pizza was pretty decent.

I tried to blog yesterday, but my java script was off or something. I got frustrated and gave up. Today it works.

I'm wearing a brace on my knee. I went to bed saturday night and I was fine. I woke up Sunday morning and I couldn't bend my knee. It got worse throughout the day. Monday I went to Urgent Care and had xrays. Evidently I have arthritis in it and an effusion (which is fluid under the knee cap). They said if it isn't better by Monday to get a MRI to see if the miniscus is torn or if the ligament slip. Joy.

Our puppy is growing!

EVITA!

Kurt and I went and saw EVITA today. It was wonderful! It's so nice to be able to go to a quality production in a quality theater and only be 35 minutes from home. We were going to go the the BrewBQ in the park by our house yesterday, but something came up and we ended up not going. I did go down and get some brisket, beans, slaw and BBQ chicken. Plus we could hear the music from here.

I took the pupper to the vet yesterday a.m. He REALLY hates riding in the car. He now weighs in at 9#. I don't want him to get any bigger :( I got him a shabby chic wicker basket bed on clearance at Targucci. He LOVES it and has been snoozing it up.

Another busy week coming up. I'm going to the state nursing home convention in DSM this week with the administrator, the director of nursing and a guy that is half intern and half assisted living director. Should be interesting.

Long Time - No Blog

It's been awhile I know. I'm a working woman again. After a year off (from paid employment) I'd forgotten how exhausting it can be!

I'm doing my internship at a Retirement Community/Nursing Home. At this place you buy an apartment and are then "endowed". Once you are endowed you live in your independent living apartment (which includes 1 meal a day and access to a nurse). You just pay your monthly maintenance fee. When the time comes you can move over to the assisted living unit with no additional cost. Finally, the nursing home/med center is available for your final move.

I'm really enjoying what I'm doing. I've made the right (second) career choice. My internship is for 720 hours. I have to do 80 hours each in nine areas. I've completed the nursing portion and I'm finishing up the social services area. I think I'm going to activities next.

We are spending our Saturdays at cross country meets. Alex improves his time at each one. We expected it to be freezing today, but it ended being in the high forties. It was a huge improvement over the mosquito infestation of last week.

Nicky and Christy seem to be doing well at school. They are doing their homework without much prodding or protesting. It's a nice change.

It's about Time!

Finally, Iowa gets something right. Yay to Judge Hanson who ruled that the DOMA was bs. My gay friends can get married if the want!

Closure

I called my ex-husband tonight to find out why he left me. It's been almost 5 years so I figured I could handle it. I can. In retrospect it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. Of course, it didn't seem like it at the time.

I have an entirely different life now.

WTF??

Kurt and I had chinese for lunch. This is my so called fortune:

When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out - because that's what's inside

This and That

I've been busy trying to potty train Francis, study my medical terminologies, making sure the kids have what they need to start school, getting used to them being back, and trying to find myself an internship.

I did at least manage that. I start Monday in a 65 bed facility. They also have independent and assisted living too. I have 9 practicum areas that I have to do 80 hours each in. I've gotten close to zero guidance from my advisor and am throughouly disgusted.

This weekend in my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. We and my sisters are taking them out Saturday night and then hosting a small cake and ice cream feed on Sunday.

Day 10-15 ~ Groton ~ Utica ~ Home ~ 3232 miles total

So we got up and headed out of Connecticut. We drove up her middle passing through towns that had been founded in the 1700's (you don't see that at home!) It was very beautiful and I would imagine very expensive. It took about 45 minutes to traverse Connecticut from south to north. So small! I drive 45 minutes to get to decent shopping! We journeyed into Massachusetts and stopped at a Starbucks. We were trying to match up with the New York Turnpike. We drove through heavy rain for a while. I can check another state off my list! I did notice that we crossed under the Appalachian Trail. That's cool because for book club we are reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson in which he and a childhood friend attempt to hike it.

We finally got into Utica. We found the hotel, the work place, and some food. It's like all Italian all the time in Utica! Kurt had to work for two or three days at the site there so I drove around and found there was little to do. Although, Utica does have multitudes of statues. Unfortunately, there's nowhere to park to stop to look at them. I scrap booked while he was at work. I got a good start on my trip to Memphis back in '92.

We saw The Order of the Phoenix while we were there! We loved it! I went to Utica Monday nights and listened to the band Buddhahood. They were freaking awesome! I bought the CD.

On the third day we were ready to depart. We pretty much followed I-80 home. We spent a rotten night in South Bend, IN. The first day we spent 12 hours in the car and the second we spent 7. That's too much. We did get The Half-Blood Prince listened to on the way home. We were totally primed for the release of The Deathly Hallows.

All in all we had a great trip! Give us a month or so and we'll be itching to go somewhere again!

Day 9 ~ 1622 miles ~ Poughkeepsie, NY to Groton, CT

~ I don't know about all of you, but I'm getting tired of this trip! All I have left to do with it is blog it, scrap it, and pay for the rest of it! ~

Today we got up and had a breakfast at a 50's diner that we passed countless times a day on our trek back and forth from the sites. After breakfast we toured the Vanderbilt's "cottage" on the Hudson. They only stayed here a few weeks in the spring and few in the fall since they had houses in NYC, Ashville, and Newport. By most standards this house would be a mansion. However, I've been to the Biltmore in Ashville and in comparison this place was a nothing!

The tour guide was pretty funny, but he still rambled on. Of course, there were some idiots with idiotic questions in our group as well. I try not to be an idiotic tourist; others though, seldom make the effort.

The view from Hyde Park is spectacular. The grounds are open to the public daily with bike and walking trails.

After our tour we headed for Connecticut. I wanted to eat lobster and I've never been there!

We were staying the night in Groton. Connecticut is very beautiful (but small!) We got into Groton around 4 pm so we had just enough time to tour the submarine Nautilus and a nearby base. Kurt was like a giant in there! I would think you'd have to be tested from claustrophobia before you signed up to be a "fish".

After our tour we drove down to the sound to go to Abbott's lobster. What an experience! Tall ships were sailing by and we savored chowder, peel n eat shrimp, steamers and mussels, and lobster. Afterword we decided we wanted a little more since it was a once in a lifetime experience. So we got back in line and had a hot lobster roll and crab cakes! It was a perfect meal!

Vanderbilt's Hyde Park

The Submarine "Nautilus"

Abbott's in the Rough

New England Seafood Feast

Delish!

Dessert!

Did you ever wonder?

I found this on a blog I read daily. Thanks, Todd!



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Francis

Our little Francis is a lot of fun. He is very curious and observant. Here he is listening to the guy across the street weed-whack, which is, of course, distracting him from the reason we're outside in the first place.

My days have become all about pooping. He's got the peeing thing pretty much down, but pooping outside still appears to be an inconvenience to him.

What a cutie!

Day 8 ~ Poughkeepsie, NY ~ Hudson River Valley

After a good night's rest we were ready to tackle some more historic houses! We started off at the FDR presidential library and his home (or his mother's home) Springwood.

The library was very interesting. It is the only one where a sitting president actually used it. His mother had saved the dresses he wore as a boy as well has the long blonde curls from his first haircut when he was five. Eleanor's diamonds were on display, too. Of course there was lots of stuff about WWII. Including a recreation of the secret map room FDR had in the basement of the White House. It was modeled after Churchill's War Cabinet bunker.

We toured Springwood, Roosevelt's home. His mother, Sarah, was alive during most of his marriage so until she died it was her home and Eleanor was pretty much a guest in it. Eventually she grew tired of living under her mother-n-law's thumb and she got FDR to agree to let her build a cottage on some of the land.

Val-Kill is the only home Eleanor ever owned. It started out as a cottage industry factory making furniture in the 1920's until during the depression. Then after it was forced to close she turned it in to a home. She and two friends lived there.

The home's contents were sold at auction immediately following her death. Luckily a curator from the library came and photographed ever inch of it before the auction. The National Park Service is now trying to recreate the interior from the photographs. Slowly artifacts are being found and purchased or donated back to the museum.

We had a yummy lunch in Foster's Tavern. We each had one of the specials. I had some yummy beef and Kurt had something good too! Of course we went in search of ice cream and candy after. We weren't disappointed.

After naps and some hot tubbing at the Marriott we headed for the waterfront area. We found a great restaurant called River Station at the foot of the Mid-Hudson Bridge. We sat on the patio people watching, drinking, gorging ourselves and watching the magnificent sunset.

Eleanor's Val-Kill

Sunset over the Hudson

Day 7 ~ 1287 miles ~ Auburn to Poughkeepsie

We actually managed to get up and going at a decent time today. It appears to be about 250 miles to our next stop. We decided to do most of it on state roads. It seemed it would be more direct and definitely more scenic.

Our last stop in Auburn was at the Harriet Tubman home. Here was another museum that is just getting started. There are loads of historic things in NY so I would imagine that funding is tight. This white house is a home that Tubman ran for aged, destitute blacks. Her home was across the lawn and is in the process of being gutted and restored. Tubman on the advice of Seward purchased this land in Auburn. She had a farm here and planted many apple trees. When she was a slave she had to work in the apple orchards. Even though she was starving she or the other slaves dared not to eat any of the apples. She planted her orchard so that anyone that was hungry could eat. Tubman made scores of trips back to slave country and rescued hundreds including her own family members. A huge price was on her head, but she did it anyway.

Following an hour or so at the Tubman sight we headed east on Hwy 20 through the heart of New York state. It was very hilly and covered in orchards and vineyards. It seemed to take forever to get to Poughkeepsie. Once we turned south we could see many huge old homes along the Hudson River. Our only other tourist stop was at Martin Van Buren's home in Kinderhook. We managed to get a stamp for our passport and in on the last tour of the day. His house was very progressive for its time (mid 1800's). He had running water and to the dismay of his guests, indoor plumbing. Van Buren had a huge built in copper tub and he bathed every day! This was Kurt's favorite home of all those we toured.

Traffic was getting much worse in this part of the state. We came upon an accident that had just occurred minutes before so we got flagged off in a different direction. We ended up driving though the tiny village of Tivoli. It had a very high concentration of what looked like very yummy restaurants. The CIA (Culinary Institute of America) is in Poughkeepsie so lots of chefs start up in the villages surrounding the school. It would have been awesome to have stopped and dined at one of the them but we were exhausted and just wanted to find our hotel.

Once we did find the hotel we ordered in some NY style pizza. I had a shower and a fabulous nap. Once I woke up piping hot pizza was at my door. Fantastic!

Martin Van Buren's Kinderhook

Harriet Tubman Home

Day 6 ~ Auburn NY ~ Finger Lakes Region

Today is our day to explore the Finger Lakes. Auburn is a pretty historic town. It looks pretty run down though. Our first stop of the day was a Willard Chapel. It’s the only existing religious building designed entirely by Louis Comfort Tiffany. They were setting up for a concert so we couldn’t do the tour and movie. The chandeliers were astounding. The docent here was well meaning but overly attentive as well. We made our escape when she latched on to some unsuspecting couple from Indiana.

The Seward House was next on the list. There was some filming going on there as well as a meeting of some sort so the gift shop and visitor’s center was inaccessible. This huge home is almost entirely intact. Seward’s (of Seward’s Folly fame) grandson gave the building and contents over to the Park service. There is a painting of a daughter-in-law wearing a lavender dress from the 1860’s. They have the painting AND the dress! I didn’t realize that Seward worked with the Underground Railroad nor that there was an attempted assassination on him the same night as Lincoln (though I think I knew that at one time).

For lunch we decided to drive over to Skaneateles (skinny-atlas). It’s a beautiful town on one of the Finger Lakes. It was crowded with very chi-chi New York women. Very casual yet expensively dressed ladies. Lots of the men had tassels on their shoes. This is a money kind of area. The town is old old. Very federal and Victorian at the same time. We ate right on the water at the Bluewater Grill. I had a fantastic bowl of lobster bisque followed by something else that was yummy. Kurt had baked scrod. It was delicious, too. We stopped at a candy store on our way back to the car. WE bought fudge, truffles, and taffy. I was disappointed in the candy. It wasn’t that good for as nice as the shoppe looked.

We went back to Auburn and checked into our new and much improved hotel. The towels were better, the beds were better, and the internet worked. Heaven! After a brief rest we drove the 20 miles back west to Seneca Falls to go to the Women’s Rights National Historic Park www.nps.gov/wori. It is on the site of the first women’s national convention that was held in 1848. Only the walls and part of the roof remain of the Wesleyan (go Methodists!) Chapel where the gather was held. The museum next door is interesting, interactive and I thought poorly organized. It seemed crammed full of information about women, their struggles, and what’s happened since 1848 but there was no flow or cohesion to the information and exhibits. The gift shop was great though!

Seneca Falls also has the Erie Canal running through it as well as Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s home. We looked briefly at each of them and did our usual miss the turn around and do it again routine. Many of the miles we are putting on the car is when we are trying to get turned around from having gotten turned around!

I consulted the map and saw that Aurora, NY was nearby. Now I’m an Aurora, IA girl! We had to go. The founder of Aurora, IA was from Aurora, NY. The NY version is a picturesque village on the lake. We stopped at the post office and took my picture. I shot some other pictures of the town too thinking someone at home might be interested. We found a soda fountain/coffee shoppe. I went in hoping to get a postcard of something. The girls behind the counter asked why we were in town. When I told them the one exclaimed, "Well there’s nothing here". I told her she was wrong; she should see my Aurora and compare! We had a scrumptious piece of banana caramel cheesecake and were on our way.

I hate to go the same way twice so we took off on county roads on our way back to the hotel. It was very scenic. NY state is very small farm and orchard orientated. I think the Finger lake region is considered the Catskills. There are lots of trees, lots of fields, and lots of bucolic countryside. People around here say "bucolic" a lot. Weird.

We got back to our hotel in time for tipple time. We quaffed some wine and got advice on where to eat from the all blonde and boobs girl handing out the drinks. We went to Curley’s for dinner. It’s an Italian place. It was right on the river and also across from the prison. We sat on the patio which overlooked a wooded area. As we were dining I noticed some people in blue uniforms with radios and side arms poking around in the trees and pointing at the river. Keep in mind this river is shallow and looks more like creek. They’ve been 6 or 8 weeks without rain here though. Pretty soon another guy in uniform shows up. This one is wearing a white dress shirt. He must be higher up. By the time we get done with dinner there are police cars, fire trucks, and 8-10 personnel milling around. I’m thinking Prison Break! Kurt wouldn’t let me get my picture in front of the prison but I did persuaded him to drive by it 2x so I could take pictures out the window! As a side note for book club a few months back we read the good wife. The main characters’ husband was convicted of murder and spent time in Auburn. We also passed a road sign pointing to Attica at some point.

We spent the remainder of the evening at a laundry mat. As we waited we played two games of scrabble. We sat on the bench out front. The weather was nice. We are pretty, wild party people!

Tiffany!

Seneca Falls

Skaenateles - Lady of the Lake Church

Aurora IA girl in Aurora, NY

Been There

Done that. Won't do it again.

Kurt and I ate for the first (and most likely last) time at the New Isle of Capri buffet tonite. Blech.

Day 5 ~ Niagara, ON to Auburn, NY

So far we've put 938 miles on the car.

Today is our last day in Niagara Falls. Should we go down and see it again? We decided against it with all the people and traffic. After another chatty breakfast we packed up and headed out. WE still had our pass to the butterfly conservatory. We weren’t that interested, but we’d already paid for it and we’d get there just as it opened so we decided to stop. It was FANTASTIC! Herds and herds (what do butterflies travel in?) of gorgeous multicolored butterflies of all sizes. Blue, green, hot pink, orange, yellow. Gorgeous! We spent probably an hour and I shot tons of pictures. Since it was early it wasn’t that hot, either.

Our entry back into the states was as simple as our entry into Canada. It was kind of disappointing. I was hoping for more stringent security. So far on this trip there hasn’t been any security of any sort. No x-ray machines, no purse searches. Nothing. Not at all like when we were in D.C. or Chicago.

We made our thru downtown Buffalo, NY. We bought this National Park Service passport so we were working on another stamp. We stopped at a tiny but nice museum in the house where Teddy Roosevelt was inaugurated after McKinley was assassinated. You can tell it’s run by volunteers and that it’s in the beginning stages of museum-hood, but it was nice.

It was back in the car to go to a Frank Lloyd Wright home on Lake Erie. It was designed for the Martins who also have a house in Buffalo (closed on Tuesday) so we were only visiting their ‘country’ home, Graycliffe. The drive along the lake was grim, but very pretty once we go out of the former industrial zones. The house is open by tour only and we were early. We decided to drive around and find somewhere to each lunch. We drove and drove and drove. Evidently you eat at home in these parts. We crossed a double railroad crossing. We got to the no man’s land in between the two crossings when the lights flashed on and the bars dropped. TRAPPED! We decided to raid the cooler and make some sandwiches. Disappointing, but cheap.

Graycliffe is on a spectacular piece of land towering above Lake Erie. Wright designed it so one line of the drive is on the summer solstice line while in the other direction, on a clear day, the mists of Niagara falls is visible. The property is currently being restored. It’s in pretty sad shape really. In the 1930’s it was sold to some Hungarian Priests and was only reacquired in the late 1990’s. We had the doozy of all long-winded docents on this tour. The 75 minute tour took almost 2 excruciating hours. I’m really all for the self guided tour!

Hot, and tired we climbed back into the car. We were still almost as far away from Auburn as when we left Niagara Falls. Driving into the Finger Lakes region was very pretty. The last of the Mohicans was starting to pick up speed so it wasn’t a bad drive. Our Super8 was a block from the prison. It was nasty. Kurt says he hopes to never stay in another Super8 again. I found us a different hotel for the next night.

Auburn Prison

Graycliffe

Teddy Roosevelt Inagural Site

Butterflies