Butch's carpal tunnel and other stuff

Butch is doing fine after his surgery last Friday. His hand was swollen but not any more than you might expect. His visit yesterday was to see if all was well and it is. He will be getting the stitches out next Tuesday and then he can drive again. I haven't minded driving but I think I do it much better from the passenger seat. That was a joke...
After our doctor trip yesterday we met up with Marlene and Bernard out to Leo and Keri' place. Marlene and Bernard had made their way to Jefferson for multiple reasons. Bernard made Leo a squirrel toy that Leo liked when they made their way to Arkansas to visit Bill and Jo. So they came to install it, see how Butch was doing and Marlene had her eye on the casino. Bernard dropped her off  at the casino before installing the squirrel apparatus.

She left with $400 so she did not do bad for an afternoon's work. We had an early supper at the casino. The food was delicious by the way.

This morning I decided to walk instead of ride because I was suffering from more than usual aches and pains. I like to walk them out if I can. I was semi-successful. On my return, I came across a couple of young girls headed for school. They wanted to walk with me and were quite chatty. The oldest said she likes to help the elderly. I didn't laugh out loud but I knew immediately where I stood with her. They noticed my camera so I asked to take their picture.
 Kayla and Priscilla

 Kayla is in 5th grade and Priss as she told me I could call her, is in kindergarten. They used to live across the street from us but we really didn't get to know each other until a chance encounter on the bike trail.

Goldenrod

Two ladies with hats...

That is what I see.

Time for spiders

Spiders are doing what spiders do. I saw many dew-covered masterpieces this morning on the trail. It was a riding day but I stopped long enough when I saw a sight I could not resist.

I keep trying!

Feel Good

Karla is feeling so blessed after getting a message from the mother of one of Devon's classmates. I have always known he was a good kid and so has Karla but getting outside recognition made her and me feel very good.
Here it is:
"Hi Karla! I have wanted to tell you for a long time that I think Devon is one of the nicest boys that we know. Allison has talked for years about how nice he always is. She says that he is always so nice to her no matter what friends are around. It seems the older they get the harder it is to find some boys, or any of the kids in general, that are consistent. Devon is always sweet, always kind and friendly. Including to me if I see him somewhere.  I wanted to tell you that I think you've done such a wonderful job raising such a sweet young man.  I know that Allison really appreciates his years of friendship, as do I.  🙂"

Okay then...

It has been a busy week. Every year I remind myself I am going to remember that August in Iowa is a busy month for everyone. State fair, school startup, friendly get-together's  -everyone seems to settle into having a good time.
And as the first days, when a bit of cool sets in, we also start thinking of the things needed to be done before fall. It is totally a "Getting Ready for the Next Season Month".
Butch has talked of getting his carpal tunnel fixed for a couple of years now and yesterday was the first of two. When the second one will be done is still being speculated. His left was worse than the right so went there first. He also had a couple of trigger finger releases done at the same time. We were asked to be in Ames by eleven and we were. We left town at 2:45 PM headed for home. Things have become so much easier these days.
He cannot drive so I have that duty until he gets the okay from the doctor. We go back Tuesday to get the stitches out. He is having a bit of trouble with my driving but I told him early on to back off and I would get him home. He was slightly sedated at the time so we will excuse him this time.


To be fair, I have not driven much in the last 10 or so years. I doubt it would take much to polish my skills and I am aware they need a bit of polishing.
 On the other hand, I do not care if I drive or not. So it is all good for the minute. We will not be taking any extended trips until he has the word from the doctor that it is okay.

To back-peddle a bit, Mickey hosted a gathering of the Deja Vu group last Wednesday evening for Green Chile Burritos. It was a great time. We enjoy each others company as much or more now than when we were kids.

This morning was a walk day and Keri went with me. The company makes the walk seem so much faster. We spotted 4 deer, all at the same time and location. It was very close to town in a tree-covered area. They went single file across the trail in front of us-2 young deer followed by two really young deer still sporting their spots. That was the highlight of the walk on this cloudy morning.

Yesterday and the day before-

Monday was a riding day. The big event of the trip was a coyote encounter. That was indeed a first. I think he/she may have been chased as it crossed the trail in front of me about 30 feet. When it saw me it picked up speed and dove down the hill lickety-split. And then today- another ride day, I saw a young antlered buck in nearly the same spot. I am thinking it might be a wildlife corridor.
After I spotted the buck I let my mind wander to how little protection deer have; their eyesight is very bad, their hearing is adequate at best and when they are spotted they stand in one spot trying to figure out what you are and how much of a threat you might be, making it easy pickings for hunters. Their coloring is a plus as they blend in very well with the colors of surrounding foliage.

I am always trying to capture the sunlight peeking through the trees. I am rarely happy with the shot

This picture was taken this morning.

Back in town...

This is the elevator at the trail head. I liked the angles and shapes in this picture.

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This picture was taken looking south at the trail head. Depot is on the right. Lincolnway is the east/ west street  in foreground. The Freedom rock for Greene County  has been placed and will be painted October 19 -26th. 

The very first Freedom Rock in Iowa is just off  Interstate 80 at the Greenfield exit. There is a plan to have a freedom rock in all 99 counties of Iowa.

More party pics

This was our dessert and it was wonderful!

 Line up of guys...

From beginning to end

From beginning to end was a fun day with friends. Randy and Sherri, friends from Atlantic came to visit with us. Butch and Randy played golf while Sherri and I caught up and reminisced about old times.

When the guys returned we had a quick lunch and then went to the casino. I do not think any of us came home with more than we went in with but then that is the way of casinos, isn't it?

Returning home we readied ourselves for Bill and Pauline's party. Bill and Pauline are newer members of the Deja Vu group having lived away from Jefferson and then returned to settle in the old home town. They put on a fine party. There was a bunch of good food and one of the more unusual offerings was a radish dip. It was a most requested recipe.

Radish Dip

8 oz Cream Cheese

¼ c butter

¼ c dried onion

1 tsp. Worcetershire sauce

1 c shredded radishes

Cream softened cream cheese, butter and Worcestershire sauce-fold in onion and radishes-chill

 

And here are some pictures of people having fun.

Walk Day

I took off bright and early because it is still quite warm. A cool front is on its way and tomorrow we are promised a high in the 60's. 68, I believe. Whoo hoo! We can turn off the air and open the windows. What a treat! The moon was full as I started out this morning and I kept looking for a good picture and I found one.

At the place on the trail this photo was taken is a home that many people think "something" should be done. It is very cluttered with all kinds of yard art. In past years it was cluttered but tidy. Apparently, the creator of this art is no longer able to take care of it as well as in years past. I appreciated the opportunity to get this arty photo.

Miss Elise 

Little Leo is returning to Preschool and Miss Elise is in 1st grade!

I like thistles. I think they are beautiful...in their natural habitat.

My morning ride

It was foggy this morning so decided no on picture taking. Did see a total of 5 deer. Momma and two fawns in one sighting and Momma and one fawn in another. They were a few miles apart.
The trail is still twig-littered from the last storm so I must pay attention or deal with a bumpy ride.
It was pleasant and cool although a bit damp. Morning is my favorite time to ride or walk. It starts the day off right.So now on to laundry!

Full Moon Last night

Leo sent me this picture taken last night. When I got up during the night I noticed the neighborhood was well lit by moonlight. Beautiful.

Too busy living...

I had to go back and find out where I left off. Sunday, sister Theresa,niece Karla and Butch and I went out to Roger Conant's farm for an annual Zimmerle gathering. My mother was the youngest of seven Zimmerle's. Roger was married to my cousin Sherry. Roger still hosts a gathering for that side of his family. Joanna , his daughter, helps him with all of it. It was a great time visiting with cousins. The original seven, the children of John and Myrtle Zimmerle are all gone now but when the cousins were all small getting together at Grandma Z's in Herndon was not all that unusual. A great time was enjoyed then and now.

Monday must have been quite mundane because I do not remember much of it. I did have one computer student Monday evening. She has been coming for a few weeks now. I really like working one on one.

Yesterday Butch and I went to West DesMoines to get a new battery put in my phone.We dropped the phone off then went to Costco while Chuck worked his magic. When we returned Chuck told me it was a good thing I had the battery changed because it was bulging and would not have lasted much longer. He said he thought it was bulging because it was thicker than the new one. He also assured me I had bought the right one. An assistant of his also cleaned up excess apps and other stuff I didn't want or need that may have helped my phone run slower. So it is now behaving like a much younger phone.

It also was brought home to me that you can not always tell what someone looks like by listening to them on the phone. Chuck may or may not be a nerd but he looked like a well-dressed, well-groomed businessman, wearing dress slacks, shirt and tie and closer to my age than I imagined him to be. I was impressed with his knowledge and the way the business was run. When I am ready for a new phone I will be paying them another visit. I called several Verizon stores looking for a tech to put a new battery in before I remembered Chuck. And before you think replacing an internal battery in a phone is easy, rest assured it is not. I think Chuck is a rarity in the phone repair business. I now have his number in my phone under Chuck Phonefixer.

Verizon Wireless Premium Retailer
Cell Phone Store
Address: 5010 Mills Civic Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA 50265
Phone:(515) 225-7169

Sunlight on dew

Keri and I went for a walk this morning and that could be considered the highlight of my day. The sunlight was glistening off the dew drops on the Pampas grass flags. Had to take a stab at capturing the look.

I came home and made some banana nut bread to make use of a couple of overripe bananas. The age old argument of a rescue or few more pounds continues. Somedays I win and some days I lose. I do not think that when I die they will say, "She was hot and sexy right up to the end." So why? That ship sailed a long time ago, in fact, it may have never existed. I say that cheerfully and with great relief.

The Olympics are dominating the TV at our house and some of you are very enthusiastic about them and completely understand why that would be the case. Binge watching sports of any kind are way down the list of my warmest desires.
So lots of thumb twiddling has been taking place for me. This too shall pass.

Sooo... I think I will go out and pull some weeds.

Next pics from the trippers

Greer's Ferry dam

Lunch

Storm, Rain, trivia and Bike trail

It rained on the day before yesterday-1.2 inches. and then last night the skies  dumped 2.7 inches. We were at the HyVee Market Cafe playing trivia with a group of friends. We came in second. We enjoy it. Butch didn't think he would so he surprised himself. However, while we were playing the skies opened wide and dumped on us! We had a front row seat for the storm.
This morning I checked out radar to see if it was okay to ride the trail. It looked clear enough so I went. The trail was littered with twigs, leaves and other tree trash. I decided I would ride till I was stopped or I reached the end of my route, whichever came first. The first obstacle was at the entrance to the big river bridge so I stop my bike and cleared the trail. It was not a big branch but just enough to be hazardous to a fast rider. No pic for this one. I walked across the bridge and remounted on the other side. This is the next minor blockage.

The next one was from the top of a dead tree. It was a tall tree but only the top fell on the trail.

 And then we have the deer who are becoming very unafraid. I talked to them I asked them nicely to not run in front of me when I passed by. They were frozen.

 Finally they moved.

So I thought I shall continue until I have to get off my bike again for any kind of issue and it was not too far up the trail when I encountered the next one.

So I decided I had better things to do than clear the trail so this is where I turned around. Even then it was like an obstacle course getting back to Jefferson. 

Trippers

The trippers had breakfast at the BIG Chicken!

Family Pics from trippers

Leo sent Keri some pictures he took while they were visiting Don. And here they are!

Bernard Kelley

Bernard and Don

Don Brooker

Marlene Kelley

Butch's Doctor appt.

Butch had his appointment with his hand surgeon today. He is scheduled for carpal tunnel and trigger finger release surgery ( left hand) on August 26th. He cannot drive for 10 to 12 days after that so I told him we would not be going very far.
His right-hand surgery will be waiting till next Spring.

Wednesday morning walk

Today was a walking day and I was feeling it. Very high humidity. Most of the time if I have an ache or pain I can walk it out. I could this morning but it took about 3/4 of a mile. Low back pain. I had a broken back ( 3 vertebrae) when I was 13 so I suppose it should not be too much of a surprise that old Arthur kicks me in the backside on occasion. It strikes me that it is worse on humid days.
 I started my walk at 6:00am. The sun had not yet risen but it was light out.

These are today's trail pics.

Tree Bones

 Sunrise 1

 Sunrise 2

 Sunrise 3

And then there are the black rabbits. I had heard they existed but had not seen them til today. Apparently, they are escapees. They look healthy and happy!

 Located at the east end of Madison street