Lately

Butch played in a golf tournament yesterday. There are three courses in and near Jefferson and they hold a 3 course tournament every year and he has looked forward to playing in it and this time it worked out.
So Colleen and I planned a road trip. We went to Cumberland to see my old friend Floyd Pearce. I do not have the time or the patience to tell you all there is to know about Floyd. I have known him about 30 years and have just scratched the surface of who he is. I knew Colleen would enjoy him because they think along the same lines in many areas.
So off to Cumberland we went stopping at Floyd's house for poetry and much much conversation. And then Floyd treated us to lunch at Scooters. Scooter's is located where the senior center used to be and where I was manager for 14 years. Then Floyd had to be off to Lewis Iowa  where he volunteers as a tour director and oh so much more at Hitchcock House. Floyd is in his mid 80's and how he keeps up the pace is mindboggling.
Here are some photos from the day and be sure to check out the Hitchcock House website at http://www.hitchcockhouse.org/:

Floyd sharing his poetry with us. We loved it!

Floyd has a vineyard and these are some of his grapes

This old pump  in his yard is from the original house .

Colleen put together a whimsical stack.

Prairie plow

The Pottawatamie Indians had a settlement and the Mormon trail are within view in this photo

Floyd conducting a tour. Colleen in the hat.

Miscellaneous photos

I wish this was one of mine but it isn't. A classmate of mine Jolene (Dozier) Oyer who now lives in Texas came to Iowa to visit relatives and took this picture of the bridge on the bike trail near Madrid Iowa. She calls it "Rhapsody in Blue" and intends to enter in an artistic competition. I think her chances are very good!

This one is in our neighbors yard.

Our new red door is now mostly installed after this was taken. I will get another picture soon.

Butch looking over our new west door.

Thanks Leo! This will be our Magnolia directory photo for 2013

These are other attempts. Maybe in 10 years I will think they really look good.

Today Dick and Leslie stopped by to see what all we have been up to. It was a brief but pleasant visit as they were headed to Altoona to see Leslie's sister. Next time they will have to stay longer.

Things are beginning to happen...

Have I said that before? It seems I have.
We have one door installed and it looks great. I have the front door painted (not installed) and it is RED. Today, the Alliant Energy rep came to do our energy audit so we can now proceed with insulation. Still a couple of items to get done prior but nothing we cannot make happen in short order. So we feel like much was accomplished today. Getting excited!!
Leo and Keri treated us to supper tonight at B. J.'s in Glidden Iowa. It was a pleasant time and the food was great.
And to top it off we had a thunderstorm blow through this afternoon leaving us with about 4/10ths of an inch of rain. We needed it, every drop of it.
When Colleen and I walked this morning we noticed that the guy with the great garden along the trail had tomatoes free for the taking. That was a pleasant surprise. We helped ourselves to a few. That walk and talk is such a great way to start the day.

No 1 Door going in...now

This is breaking news as this is being installed at this moment!! It is the west door where no door has been before. Butch and Russ 

Colleen's place

A few days ago I decided to take some photos of my friend Colleens home. Her home is so much a part of her and the way she is that it is very hard to describe and fascinating to look at. Unfortunately my batteries ran down before I was finished shooting pictures. My first plan was to pick out a couple of pictures to show you but I could not decide which ones to use so you are going to see all I have taken thus far.

Caught her by surprise. She is painting the dark green trim on her garage.

Pergola with Virginia Creeper curtain

View from her pergola looking at the back of her house through the Virginia creeper curtain

Looking to the east from inside the pergola

Colleen's house used to be a country school before being brought to town for its second life. I took this shot standing inside her front door. The room seen in the far right of this shot is the kitchen.

Living Room

More living room. There are a few items considered necessities to some that are conspicuously missing from her house. They are a TV, dishwasher and microwave. She does not miss them. Oh yes, also no air conditioner. Hey folks, we lived through the 50's without AC!

The mirror is part of an old dresser. Using things unexpectedly is a trademark for her.

This is her kitchen

Colleen's kitchen and bathroom floors are a very unique feature. When they moved into this tiny house in Jefferson they were looking at it as a summer only house. And perhaps that had something to do with the freedom used in Colleen's decorating ideas. Personally I think not. The kitchen floor was in bad shape so Colleen painted, adorned it with her own artistic endeavors and then sealed it with resin.

Don't you love the old phone niches?

This is what greets guests as they go out the back door.

Holding Pattern

We are in the midst of a holding pattern. Butch's knowledgeable assistant, Russ has a granddaughter getting married in the next few days so he is temporarily unavailable to assist Butch with the installation of 3 exterior doors. 90% of everything else needing done before insulation has been completed. We have Alliant Energy coming to do an energy audit on August 8th to see how much they will reimburse us for going green with our choices. Their assessment is necessary PRIOR to the insulation job. Cannot schedule the insulation job until the energy audit is done although the insulation people are lined up awaiting a "GO" word from us. Thus the holding pattern.
Last year when friend Mickey sold her house in Clive and moved to Minnesota she asked me if I would like a plant from her yard called Lungwort. The feature of this plant is that it has both pink and blue flowers simultaneously. The foliage is also a pretty mottled green and white. I was undecided where to place it last year and almost waited too long before deciding but it did get planted and looked fairly decent. Then this Spring it was run over by a lawnmower tire. I was incensed. So I placed some cement blocks nearby to protect it. Then I mulched around it and watered it regularly. Let's face it, this summer has not been kind to any form of plant life. Then came the Japanese Beetles that thought Lungwort was the best food since sliced bread. So I purchased some Japanese Beetle killer and once again snatched the plant from the jaws of death. So through all this trauma the poor thing has not thrived. This morning when I went out for the morning plant inspection the lungwort had a companion so I snapped some photos of it and they can be seen below.

Grows on you

Link of the Day:

If you're a gardener -- seasoned or novice, you'll like Grows on You, an
online gardening community.

There are hundreds of pictures petunias to privets as well as helpful
tips and ideas plus a feature for asking questions of the experts.

Grows on You has links to gardening blogs and a shop for buying seeds,
tools and other necessities. If you'd like to post content or make
comments, you'll need to sign up for a free account.

http://www.growsonyou.com/

Picture time

Jason made me a bottle tree. I think I need a few more spikes on it and Jason agreed so it is still a work in progress. I like it though...I like it a lot!

New windows, shutters and flower boxes. Next up? New front door but that is a picture for another time

And the rest of the story...

This is day 3 after the second cataract surgery and I am very happy with the result. I can see better than I have for a very long time. I really did not have any idea how bad my vision was until now. I will only need reading glasses and if the print is large enough I can read it without them. The menu at A & W was large enough to see. All of that is the upside...
The downside is that some old lady that looks like my mother has jumped into my body when I wasn't looking. I aged 10-15 years the first time I looked at myself...and those freckles on my forehead really are not freckles. I think they call them age spots. I look absolutely nothing like the person looking back at me but she doesn't seem to go away so I guess I will have to learn to live with her. Things are rarely what they seem.

Things I learned about Elise.

Elise was two in May. She knows her birth date and how old she is. She likes to check out every bathroom even the icky ones. She does not give a hoot about TV and in fact I have never seen her watch it. She likes most men but will feel their face before she kisses their cheek and if they need a shave she will tell them so. Leo with his mustache did not have a prayer of getting a kiss.

Papa Rich and Scarlett

Scarlett, aged one, with her Grandpa Rich in Georgia.

Ethan at Adventure Land

He is 3 1/2 in this picture but doesn't he look grown up?

Leo's Ducks

Also notice the bad shape of the corn in the background

Weekend with the kids

 

Jason shows Brad his rock collection

Papa Gary and his sweetie pie Elise

Jason and Elise at the kids table

I can see, I can see!

The second eye has been done and what a relief. I could see much better right away. It has been only a few hours so I do have some recovery to do yet but I can tell this time will be much better. Living with only one done and my vision being what it was proved to be worse than I thought. It was much like only having one functioning eye.
The procedures were done in two separate hospitals and I cannot help but compare. I like Boone. It is a very nice town and our son and his family live there but when it comes to a recommendation as to which hospital I would choose again it would hands down be Greene County Medical Center. They were professional and got the job done in both facilities and everyone knew their jobs and did them well. It felt to me that Jefferson went one step beyond and took it to an almost spa-like experience.

In Jefferson we were greeted at the front desk and we had one nurse throughout, walking us through each step. In Boone we registered and then were told where to go for the next step. In total I would say I had at least 6 different people doing different things at different times.
In Jefferson after the initial steps were done we waited in a community area with the patients in recliners and their companions sitting next to them. Conversation soon flowed amongst everyone. Butch had brought the Kindle and did not have time to read it. Coffee and donuts were provided by a hostess to everyone. Of course the patients had to wait till after their procedure. But in Boone we were each in our own little cubicle and Butch had plenty of time to read the Kindle. There was a TV in the cubicle but we didn't watch it. We had to be in Boone at 7:00 AM so we did not take time for coffee or breakfast. I could not have either of course. Butch was never offered anything nor was he told where he could go to get anything. Only the patient received any refreshment.
There were many other small differences and it is amazing how those little extra touches make such a difference.  Like I said before things were done as they should have been in both facilities but the Jefferson experience was remarkably different, special and upscale.

From Papa Gary-Elise video

Had this a while but just got around to editing

 

http://youtu.be/QvcZ7k2bhME

YouTube - Videos from this email

 

From Great Grandma Barb-Looks to me like Elise is exerting independence.

Leo's tree damage

Those 60 MPH did a number on Leo's trees...again

But on a lighter note here is the latest pic of Brady...looking more like his Grandpa Leo every day!

 

Passed my test and this and that

On track for second cataract surgery on Friday. I was A-OK with the eye exam.

We had a big old windstorm go through here a few minutes ago with about 10 drops of rain. It has cooled off but would be so good to have had the rain with it even though the crops are beyond help at this point.
Today was our 53rd wedding anniversary. We had many people wish us well and some even brought us gifts. I had asked Jason to make me a bottle tree and he did; so that was a coincidental gift but greatly appreciated. Keri made us a PECAN Pie! I know there are several of you out there green with envy over that one. Leo tried to take us out for breakfast but with doctor appts etc. we couldn't make it happen but the thought was duly noted and appreciated. And friends Jack and Denise gave us a very different and beautiful wind chime. I will go on a picture taking rampage one day soon and show you all of our new treasures.
 
I had every intention of getting the second coat of paint on the window trims but it didn't happen. We are going to blame it on triple digit temperatures once again. As Ethan would say, " Not Today, Maybe Tomorrow"
So till next time...

Pictures coming soon

The timing was a little tricky to work around the most brutal heat of the day but we managed and we now have the windows caulked and painted with at least one coat.
Tomorrow we must go to Ames (40 miles) for number one eye checkup. I have to pass the test in order to have eye number two done on Friday. Maybe if it works out I can get coat number 2 done on the windows sometime tomorrow. Second coats do not take long. I am so hoping to have some really great pictures very soon. I have some plans to pretty up the front of our place very soon. We will look very good from the outside but then we haven't looked too bad from the outside all along by design. People who have not seen the inside are a bit shocked when they walk through the door. That too will change very soon. Every thing is moving along in a timely manner these days.

Overly Hot!! and Tuna Melt

We are hunkering down in the AC. The weather man has promised cooler temps in the next few days. 105 is just too hot for this delicate flower and her man. They are also promising some rain. Unfortunately it will be too late for much of the corn crop.
Today I once again made the following recipe. I enjoyed it very much the first time I made it and looked forward to making it again. It is a simple recipe and the original called for french bread but a whole loaf of french bread would be too much for us  so I made it on open faced whole wheat rolls and it was mighty tasty. Mr. Picky pants liked it very much too. I baked ours a bit longer than 10 minutes because I like a few brown spots on top.

Tuna Melt

1 12 oz can tuna, drained
1 cup mayo
2 cups shredded mozarella cheese
1 small sweet onion, diced


Mix together and spread on french bread. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Jigs Day

Yesterday 10 of us JIGS women met at The Corn Patch in Grimes. We had a great visit and caught up on news. The trip down and the ride back were fun as well. Our driver Pat (Limburg) Ruznak stopped at interesting places like the Hilltop Farm where we picked up some very tasty produce. It was a great day.

Keri stopped by with some ham balls yesterday and so we had an Iowa summer feast today after we returned from Lowes in Ames where we purchased hardware for some new doors. Back to the Iowa Feast...with the delicious ham balls, sweet corn and sliced tomatoes w/ cottage cheese. That was what I had. Butch had the delicious ham balls, potato salad, sweet corn and coleslaw. The summer abundance of all things fresh makes meals a wonderful experience.
It decided to sprinkle this morning so Colleen and I took a break from our morning walk.

Eyes- with my eyes being divided with only one done has been a bit of a stinker. I am sure glad I do not have to wait any longer than I do. Next Friday I will be having the left eye done. It is a contest just remembering the drops.  I will be doing drops all the way up to August 20th. It will be super having good vision again.
Till next time...

A Song/Video about Farming

My cousin Sherry's daughter Joanna had this video on her Facebook page. I shared it in that location but I know many of my farming connected friends are not big Facebook fans and knew they would enjoy this. Hope your connection is fast enough to make going to see it a pleasant experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48H7zOQrX3U&feature=player_embedded