Madison

Saturday night Kurt and I made quick and dirty trip to Madison. We didn't get left until after 10pm so it was well after 1 am when we got to the hotel. An IT guy from Green Bay was meeting us outside of Madison so Kurt could give him one of the servers they need to move out of the flood building. Meeting us cut the trip in half so that was great. My good friend, Korrena, moved to Madison a couple of years ago. It's hard to justify many trips up there with the price of gas (also with both of our packed schedules). Sunday afternoon we went out to their house. It's on a dead-end road in the country. They have have a great, shady yard with views of trees and open pasture. They see lots of wildlife like deer and wild turkeys. She and Jacob have 2 kids (and a third on the way). Sam is 5 and Alytha is 3. We decided to spend the afternoon hanging out at the zoo. Madison has a decent sized zoo which is completely free. They go there a lot. Enough that the kids know what order the animal enclosures are in.


I got some cotton candy. It was HUGE. Kurt said the guy making it and the guy next to him were having a contest to see who could make the biggest cone. My guy won. (The picture of it is out of order at the bottom).

Miss Alytha loving the sugar that her momma doesn't normally let her have.

Sticky and Sweet!

March of the Penguins

Two chimps - which one is out of it's cage?

The is the funny looking Tapir. That is a scientific description courtesy of Sam.

I bought the kids some goat food.

Korrena, me, and the winning cotton candy.

Done!

I finally got done weeding at my Mom's. She's been completely tied up trying to get my grandpa's estate settled. Between that, the monsoons, tornadoes, and humidity she hasn't been able to get to it.

She asked if there was anything I wanted.

"Huh?"

"Is there anything that you want that I can afford?" My face must have lit up because she then qualified the question, "anything within reason?"

So I've been weeding for a new gas grill. I really think I've been at it for 3 weeks or so. I think I've gone over there 4 or 5 times. Earlier this week was way too humid. I pulled lots and lots of grass as well as some noxious vine with leaves that looked like morning glories.

We are going to trade some of my yellow Asiatic lillies for some of her pink ones. I also marked some hot pink hollyhock to take seeds from this fall.

Next week is going to be a big week. Kurt is leaving for Manila on Monday and then I'm following him on Wednesday. Before we leave we need to get the room upstairs finished. The ceiling still needs touched up and the woodwork needs a 2nd coat of paint.

Why does it seem that going on a trip always leads to the need for new clothes?

It's A Dog's Life

At least around here it is. Kurt made this comment this morning as Francis was sleeping between us with all 4 in the air. He likes to be comfy. Our new pillow top mattress under the new ceiling fan is just fine.

He is spoiled. Worse than Lewis ever was. However, Francis is cuddle dog/lap dog where Lewis was not. Francis has doggie steps so he can get up on the bed. He got a new rope toy today as well as a car harness. He's gonna hate the harness, but it's just not safe with him sitting on my lap while I drive the monster truck.

Mom and I had lunch at the Chinese buffet today. It was good. The cashew chicken was especially good. Then I went to town for groceries. I had a tiny, tiny list. There was no meat on the list. I bought 2 things that weren't on the list - propel for 2.87 and Ben and Jerry's for $3. The bill was still $100.86. I only had 3 tote bags of stuff and 1 cheap lamp in a box. It's ridiculous. The food we have around here is going to change. They can eat apples instead of applesauce and peanut butter instead of sandwich meat and cheese. I've figured out what we are having for supper for the next 2 weeks. I won't have to cook lunch since I'm the only one here. That should help keep costs down, too.

I declined to buy a gorgeous purple butterfly bush. It was on sale for $9.98. If I bought a tote of .95 I could get 30% off of everything could fit in the tote. I may have to go back.

Happy Birthday America!

We had a helluva a fireworks show here. My poor doggie is traumatized. The fireworks are shot off just a block away. When we got back in the house Kurt noticed one of our photographs had been knocked off the wall! The concussions were something else. Mom, Dad, and the Aunt came up to view with us.

We watched the parade this morning. It went on forever. (I hate parades). In years past Grandpa has always come to watch. So it was a little sad without him.

We went to the park and listened to the Community Band and then the Eastern Iowa Brass Band. They were really really good.

We painted all the woodwork this afternoon, then had supper and watched "A Capital Fourth".

Not too exciting around here.

Hostas!

I ordered some hostas online. I am addicted to hostas! They are on the Fed-Ex truck on their way to me as we speak (read)(write). I got them from direct source hostas. They are great because it's one shipping price no matter how much you order. I got Blue Umbrella, Great Expectations, and Pilgrim.

I invested my inheritance this morning. At least I can't spend it now. Whew!

I'm going to weed at my mom's house today. And finish mulching at Grandpa's. I got the woodwork washed in the room we are painting. The ceiling looks like crap and needs another coat. Plus there are some serious touch up (missed) spots on the walls. I'll do that when I get home.

I took a paid for practice test for the NHA last night. I passed two sections (and failed three). Yikes! Needs to be more studying, too.

It wasn't as bad as I thought

i freaking HATE to paint. When my friends paint I fetch their beers. Kurt and I started painting what was formerly Nick's room. The kids are gone til Aug 3 so now is the time to get things done! The room has hideous flowered and water stained wall paper. Plus the previous owner painted all the woodwork in the house a blah dingey beige.

We are painting the walls "blue beyond", the ceiling bright white, and the woodwork is going to be some bright white color of which i forget the name. It might be "snowflake." After the painting debacle of the boudoir of last year we bought better paint. I must say that Sherwin Williams paint is far superior to the cheapo walmart stuff. Kurt pointed out that everything everyone else makes if far superior to walmart products, but we live where we do so we shop at walmart a majority of time.

We got the walls all done as well as the ceiling. It only took us about 3-4 hours. It would have taken me weeks and weeks and weeks. We need to paint the woodwork, baseboard heaters, and windows (which is gonna stink) and touch up where Kurt got paint on the ceiling.

We need our handyman to show up, too. He needs to install the ceiling fan in that room and fix the ceiling in Nick's new room so we can get that room set up.

Fait Accompli!

It's 5:05 pm and we have gotten a lot done! We went to the Farmer's Market where we bought mini lemon poppyseed muffins for a buck, and some garlic jack goat cheese (YUM!!).

This morning after playing with the puppy I went up and started shoveling out Nick's room. The kids are gone til Aug 3. I've gotten it mostly cleaned up. I have all their bedding washed. As soon as I vacuum and flip the mattresses we can remake the beds.

Then we went to my grandpa's farm to plant some trees and perennials. We put in 2 Colorado spruce, a pink lilac, and a hydrangea. I also planted 8 - 10 different hostas for my aunt. We mulched til we ran out of it.

The pooper was having a great time tearing around off the leash. Well, we had his harness on with a leash attached so if we heard traffic coming on the road we could grab him. Only 2 vehicles went by while we were there and he was way too tired to give chase. The three of us walked the outside perimeter of the grove. There's a hackberry, 5 or 6 mulberries (which Kurt was loving!), a couple of hardwoods I can't identify, and some sort of fruit tree with a pit. I bit into it to find out. It was bitter!

Being out there and planting stuff felt great. Trying to decide where to put things. Our plan is to move out there in 5 years. I want plants and things to start being established so that we can enjoy them when we get there.

Once we got home we mulched here. We also planted a second lilac. I put in some bee balm the aunt bought me and I watered everything. We moved the porch furniture back since the painters are done and gone. Kurt put our mailbox back up and I made brownies. While the brownies cooled we went and vacuumed and washed the truck.

Now we are watching GHOSTBUSTERS. I remember seeing it in the theater in Dubuque when I was little. My shower will have to wait until it's over.

I can smell that it has started to rain. It's VERY windy and cool today. In the 70's is perfect!

Bargains Galore!!

my sister recently posted that she has an addiction. She is addicted to buying plants. Well, so am I! Hardly anyone is having decent sales on perennials, but Wal-Mart in Waterloo is! I - actually the aunt - bought a cartload of stuff. We got hostas for 2.96 ea; a 3' hydrangea for $2; and 2 pink lilacs for $2 ea also. She also bought some hibiscus that were very cheap. I went back yesterday and bought 2 Colorado blue spruce trees for 50% off. Kurt is very excited about all the gardening we get to do this week. I bought mulch earlier in the week that we need to get put down, too. Oh, and I ordered some hostas online, too!

The painter boys have been here since Tuesday scraping and painting Big Blue. She's the same color (although I think the cream is a shade darker). It will be nice to have that over with. The only home improvements we have left are installation of 3 more ceiling fans, replacing 2 sections of drywall and painting nick's room - soon to be the office and craft room. Unfortunately, Kurt and I are planning on doing that ourselves. Hopefully, that will go better than our boudoir did.

I took my "test" malaria pill on Monday. Next Monday I'll be able to start the typhoid pills. They have to be refrigerated. I hope they aren't too large. The malaria pill was difficult to swallow. I have to take gummi vitamins cuz of the pill size. I'm such a delicate flower!

The Boys

Rikki came over on Wednesday to keep me from going insane. She brought her 9 mo old terrier puppy, Stewie. He and Francis had a barkfest. They tore around the dining room table taking turns chasing and attacking each other. They were a little tired by the time I decided to video them.

I especially like at the end where they both look at me.

What I couldn't Be

Well I definitely couldn't be a military wife. I HATE Kurt being gone (and it's been less than a week)(and I went and saw him yesterday). I couldn't be a wife whose husband traveled all the time either. I can't imagine how couples can stand - or survive - such arrangements.



The kids are driving me crazy. The dog is driving me crazy. Having limited contact with Kurt is driving me crazy. I realize that the floods are not his fault, but that does not mean that I am understanding.



Saturday is my grandpa's estate auction. We're selling a bunch of stuff at it, too. All the s**t needs to be hauled out of the basement and pulled down out of the garage. In addition we have to load up all the boxes at my gpa's and then of course, unload them again at the auction site. UGH.



Kurt's been working 15 & 16 hour days. I should be glad that this husband works.


*** BTW it's the second anniversary of our church wedding. We celebrated by im-ming. And don't forget bickering. I miss him. (and it's not just because I'm trapped with the children)

****
Jon Stewart just said "I've been to Iowa. They are nice bleeping people." It's true. We are. We are very very soggy at the moment. When I went to Davenport yesterday I went through CR and Iowa City. Water was EVERYWHERE and it had gone down. I came home via US 61 and Dubuque ~ there was water EVERYWHERE there, too. The stench coming out of the park is horrendous. Mud, muck, dead fish. It's awesome.

Bush is coming tomorrow. woo hoo.

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.

Saving Blogs

How do you save your blog for posterity? Save it to disk? Print it out? Or maybe make a book? Does anyone know about this? Discuss amongst yourselves....

San Francisco I

We ate a wonderful lunch at the Sausage Factory in the Castro. Brian was mad that I didn't get him a T-shirt!

The Drum Bridge at the Japanese Tea Garden.

Sometimes you just have to scratch that itch!

Sights in Haight-Ashbury are colorful!

The Queens and Harry Denton at the Starlight Room

San Francisco II

The four of us in "Bed".
Approaching Alcatraz at Sunset.

Chihuly glass at the Palace of Legion of Honor (where I snuck in to go potty!)

Dungeness Crabs....mmmmm

The Golden Gate and Marin Headlands from the Palace of Legion of Honor.

San Francisco III

View of the City from our Room. Overlooking Union Square.

Pink Triangle Park in the Castro commemorating all the Gays, Lesbians, and Transgenders killed in the Holocaust.

The Powell Street Cable Car right outside our hotel.

One of the many unique sights in the Haight-Ashbury District.

An "arty" shot on Alcatraz.

San Francisco IV

On our last night we had dinner at Pier 39 overlooking the Bay. We spent a good deal of time watching the sea lions.

Here's on of the Drag Queen's from the Starlight Room.

Recognize these houses? It's Steiner Street better known as the opening for FULL HOUSE.

One of the best known places in SF is the Wharf.

This is what's left of the Warden's house on Alcatraz.

San Francisco Photos

Kurt loves to find and make use of the Penny Stretcher machines. He even found a book to keep them in! He gave them to Christy.

We toured Alcatraz at night. It was really neat. Included in your ticket price is an audio tour narrated by former prisoners and guards. Our time was cut short because of mechanical issues with one of their boats so they refunded our $63 ticket price. I'm still waiting.

Here's a picture of Rikki and Me at the Supper club.

Our beautiful room #2009 at the Sir Francis Drake.

Flickr

I've added all the free pictures I can to Flickr. Take a look!

It really didn't amount to many pictures. I think I need to resize my camera. I took 476 photos in 5 days! Plus video!

Parkersburg, Iowa

Here are pictures of the aftermath in Parkersburg, Iowa. Five people were killed there and two more in New Hartford. Amy's parents, Greg and Pam, lost everything. They weren't home at the time. Greg and Pam says the pictures don't even begin to show the devastation. I think the shocked, blank looks on their faces does a pretty good job.

The tornado was rated an E F5 on the new scale. They say wind on the ground was 200+ mph. The Red Cross is helping a lot. The Iowa National Guard is on site. Donations are needed. Please designate Parkersburg, IA if you do donate. A fund has also been established for Greg and Pam at a local credit union.

***I received these pictures in a forward and am trying to track down the original source.

I left my Heart in San Francisco

We had a wonderful trip to San Francisco. Each of us got to do everything we wanted to do! The four of us travel together very well. Despite the storms over Dallas that delayed us a day we still rate the trip a success. Kurt, Rikki, and I got to spend some time on the tarmac in Oklahoma City and the night in Dallas. We even got to have dinner with Kurt's brother Kelly since we were stranded in Dallas. Oddly, he was on his way to the airport to pick up someone else (who didn't arrive) so he was able to meet and shuttle us to our "Distressed Traveler" hotel.

I took a ridiculous amount of pictures and video. I'll be spending a lot of time downloading and labeling them. I adore our new camera (thanks Mom!). It has awesome features (that i don't know how to use) and video.

Some of the hilights of our trip include:

• Going to "Bed" - a lot like in Sex and the city!
• Riding the Cable Cars
• Staying at the Sir Francis Drake and attending the Drag Brunch at the Starlight Room
• Visiting Alcatraz at night
• Eating seafood - chowder, dungeness crab, prawns mmmmm
• Visiting the Japanese Tea Garden, Haight-Ashbury, and the Castro
• Riding the Double Decker bus and crossing the Golden Gate
• Eating, Eating, and Eating
• Walking, Walking, and Walking

Picture highlights will follow. Maybe even some video if I can figure it out!

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

Angel

I put flowers on graves yesterday. This angel was in the cemetery where my great great grandpa and grandma Martin are buried. I've always wanted to stop and photograph this statue but haven't. I need to go back with my film camera. Digital is not my best medium.

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.

The Sights of Spring

Sprucin' Up

We've had some home improvement happening here abouts! Yesterday we got our rubber membrane roof on the flat part of the house. Today, we're getting three new windows. Two in the dining room and one in the kitchen. I'm so excited to be able to open my kitchen window by myself!

We also have our handy hubby's son here installing insulation above our bedroom. Last night his dad (the handy hubby) fixed the roof soffit outside our bedroom, put drawer pulls on the vanity in the bathroom, and installed our 3rd new motion light/porch light. Next he's going to install ceiling fans in the bedrooms and dining room!

The outside of the house is scheduled to be painted in June.

Saturday we went to the Garden Club plant sale. We got probably $75 or more worth of plants for $13! It include a brownie and a 4 pk of chocolate cupcakes, too! All the plants were perennials. We got a blackberry, Siberian iris, blue iris, yellow yarrow, and a flowering crab apple tree. I see today that I have deep purple almost black iris blooming. My bleeding heart is huge and in full bloom.

Kurt and I got a lot done over the weekend. We got the lawn mowed, the flowers weeded, and the new plants (most of them) in. We are ready to mulch now. We also put little picket fence around maple seedlings in the yard. We're going to see if we can get some of them to turn into trees.

This weekend we are celebrating Kurt's birthday. We've got a free room at the Marriott and will be dining at his favorite sushi restaurant. We'll be attending the Marian Arts festival, too.

WARNING: Whining Ahead

i have a terrible sinus headache.

My arm hurts from either the Hepatitis shot or the tetnus shot (I got it on Monday - c'mon already!)

The stuff I made for supper was rotten.

A Pizza Hut run ensued.

Kurt is gone til tomorrow night. He's in a New Jersey kissing some corporate butt.

I can't believe I went

Despite my comic book aversion I went with Kurt to see Ironman. It was shockingly good. Robert Downey, Jr was looking FINE. I like Gwenyth Paltrow, too. Jeff Bridges was a great villain too. Why are the chrome dome guys always the bad ones? Hmmm. I'm sure there's some commentary there.

Before the movie I got to go garage sale-ing with Korrena. We had a blast. She got a brand new pair of Addias for $5. I got Christy a half dozen shirts for summer (25 cents each)(some with the tags still on them) and a pair of crop pants. I got myself the kids book Tiki Tiki Tembo. It was in my 3rd or 4th grade reader. I've been trying to think of the story for years. Happiness for 50 cents. It's hard to beat that!

Today I am being a po'd domestic goddess. So far I have washed the crusty hand dishes (that Kurt assured me he would do last Thursday), washed the rugs, and cleaned the bathroom. I'm currently roombaing the kitchen and bathroom in preparation to mop the suckers. I HATE TO MOP!!!! But when your feet are sticking to the floor it is time. Sigh.

I also got some weeding done this morning. I wish Francis weren't such a barking, loves to chase cars beast. It's impossible to take him outside with me.

Happy 15th Birthday Nick!

Nicky turned 15 yesterday. We celebrated with lasagne, garlic bread, salad and chocolate butter cake with fudge frosting and vanilla ice cream. Nick was pleased with his presents. He got $5 and some books from my parents, $ from Grandpa and Grandma H, and bubble gum, a Rube Goldberg book, and I am Legend dvd from us. Tomorrow night my parents are going with us to Hu Hot to continue the celebration. Wednesday is shrimp night. The kids were disappointed last time we went because it wasn't shrimp night. Nick is working his way through their posted recipes of graduating hotness.

In the picture on the previous post in the middle right side of the photo - that cement corner - the water was ABOVE that this weekend! The river crested at 17.96'. I think it's normally around 6 or 7'. We made the front page of the area paper.

We had a fabulous Saturday. We went to see Saltimbanco by Cirque du Soleil. It was awesome! It was the absolute coolest thing I have ever seen! (And I've seen some pretty cool things!) We were sitting with our mouths hanging open the entire time. We had fantastic seats too! We were in the 2nd row of the first balcony. It was perfect. It was worth ever penny we spent. I would see it again in a heartbeat! Now I want to go to Vegas so I can see their productions out there. I cannot recommend this show more highly.

After the show we had dinner at a new restaurant called Zin's. It's a tapas restaurant (though in Iowa they call it "small plates")(which may be because every time we say we went to a tapas restaurant people think we said "Topless" restaurant). It was very fancy. They took our coats when we got there. We didn't have reservations. I didn't think we'd need them at 5:45! We were able to sit and eat at the bar though.

We started with the calamari which was ok. Then we had the quail. It was very yummy when you ate a bit of all of it - quail, stuffing, and the delish sweet potato strips with maple. I usually hate sweet potato. Then we had the pot roast with the potato knish. We finished with the lobster cheesecake. It was like a cold lobster quiche. There were two of them. We inhaled them! I had signed up for their email so we had a free dessert. We took the Blueberry Choux cake. It was pretty yummy too! Oh, the chef also prepared an "amuse bouche" for everyone to try. It was goat cheese and garlic on toast with an apple chutney. I adore goat cheese! We had some drinks, too. It was a wonder wonder day!

My husband was complaining

that I hadn't updated my blog. So here goes. In the past two days we've received close to 5" of rain. Places north of here (in our watershed) have received closer to 7. The water is rising - and rushing - as you can see.

Francis is not real excited about the noise. Yesterday morning it was 70 degrees. Today we have a windchill factor again!

I got a $5 rebate yesterday so I bought myself Bon Jovi's LOST HIGHWAY on itunes! Love it!!

Whoa!

Our town is currently flooding. The water is less than a block away. It won't get to us though. Plus being on a slope helps. Francis and I went for our walk this morning to look at the water. Where we walked yesterday is no more.

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".