Yeah, right...

If I had my make-up done by a professional this might be what I would look like. It doesn't hurt to wish, does it?

Phenomenon

 We have noticed this phenomenon for a few years now. We used to think of it as a joke almost. When rain is predicted we watch the radar and as it reaches Jefferson, Greene County Iowa, it separates and the rain goes around us. We do not get it. The rain does not come. We might get a sprinkle but not the kind of rain one needs for sustainment. Now this happens mostly in summer. We are not here for 6 months of the year so we need to be careful about the word "always". So let us say it happens often enough to get noticed, and often enough to not fill our rain barrel, and often enough to feel a bit scary about it. Especially when I am listening to an audio book about the duststorms of the 30's.

It is a good book. Brings me to tears in places. Some of the reviews say it is better as an audiobook and that is what I am doing.

Synopsis: The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a historical fiction novel set in Texas during the Dust Bowl era of the Great Depression in 1934. The story follows Elsa Martinelli and her family as they struggle to survive and hold on to their American dream. Elsa must make a difficult choice between staying on the land she loves or moving west to California in search of a better life. 

Oh, by the way as I put this post together it is sprinkling! 

Being Mayor

 I was Mayor of a small town of 300 people for a few terms and when I was first elected there were classes recommended knowing my knowledge was marginal. Apparently, more people running for or getting elected need these classes. I clearly remember one of the rules. Never pass a law that cannot be enforced. I would add that would be difficult to enforce. 

Example: A woman in Florida miscarries a baby and it is perceived to be an inflicted abortion, she can be jailed along with her doctor and carry the burden of being a felon. There are so many holes in this law it is impossible to count!  What were they thinking? Answer: They weren't!

Loose Ends

 We have been taking care of loose ends. My computer chores take longer and longer each year. Add in a Doctor appt or two and I can get way behind. Yesterday was my annual cardiology appointment. I had a carotid test added to a echo test and then a visit with the doctor. Shot the heck out of the morning. All is well. Afterward we did some shopping and shot the rest of the day.

Today was a follow-up with Butch. He was having some respiratory issues and he didn't think he was coming along as well as he should, made the appointment a couple of days ago. And you guessed it! He was feeling much better today. Kept the appointment anyway and has confirmed he is better. 

I had a rough patch with my pool game. Butch kept telling me it was the "F" word...'focus' and he was right but it took a couple of weeks for me to believe him. It is much better now and I am on the right track. It makes my days much brighter and less stressful.

This was taken last year. Butch in his windowless cubbyhole and on his computer. It was shortly after this that I organized his desktop. Can't tell it now though. He will tell you that he knows where everything is and he probably does. His eyes are not sore but mine are! ❤

Wanna be challenged?

 I have been more in touch with my camera lately. My NikonPIX P900. It has some age on it now and has given me a challenge or two lately. One was fixed with a low battery and another with a played-out SD card. No matter all the hype from the phone people I have yet to find a phone pic that lives up to the quality of my Nikon. I took one this morning that proves the point beautifully to me once again.

Here it is:

For years we have had an abundance of stray cats. I do not mind because they keep the rodent population under control. The city and some residents declared war on them a few years back and we haven't seen many for a few years. This morning I saw this beauty in our back alley. I could tell she had recently given birth to a litter. She made her way to our patio and looked straight at me through the window. She is beautiful.

Back to being challenged. I have been attempting to organic pictures. I have thousands, old and new, mostly digitalized. Now that is a challenge! I would not even be tempted except; have you ever had a special picture in your mind that you remember vividly and want to share with a friend? So you start to look for it? But can't seem to find it? Now there is a challenge!

And what could this possibly mean?

 Yesterday Butch had an appointment with an Orthopedic doctor because he was having pain in his repaired leg and thought perhaps he had a screw loose. He doesn't. It ended with him getting a cortisone shot with hopes that would take care of the pain. So far, so good. Since we were in Ames, which is not too far from Costco (Ankeny), we decided to swing by.

As we were meandering through the aisles I kept seeing twins! There must have been a "twins" event somewhere in the vicinity because I am not exaggerating, I saw at least twenty or more sets of twin children!

Another oddity... I said to Butch, "Now that things have settled down a bit we need to call Jerilynn and Pete to play some cards." He agreed.  As we left Costco a car was parked directly in front of the place with an Iowa license plate (JERILYN)! I pointed it out to Butch. Our Jerilynn has two ens while this one had only one but you must admit it is a rare enough name to get one's attention. It gets stranger! We are in the car getting ready to pull out when the phone rings and it is Jerilynn!! She had a computer question. I am still trying to figure out what to make of it all. 

Here is a 6th grade picture of Barbara Brock. 

And now for something completely different!

 After the hubub of getting ready for the reunion and the goal of getting rid of excess in our lives it is a bit of an adjustment and a bit tricky changing gears. But we are working on it. First there is a bit of a respite and that must be where we are currently. We do have doctor appts. this week and next. We took the car in for its recall earlier this week. I have discovered that afternoon appts ruin the entire day for the umpteenth time

.

Since getting the feeding station for birds with the baffle on it, the squirrels are completely baffled and we hope they stay that way. I am back to getting some really nice bird pics.

Zimmerle Reunion!

 We had 21 attending the Zimmerle reunion this year, It was a success and it took so many people to make that happen. Some played pool, some played a card game called 'Golf' and we had live music with cousins, Larry Zimmerle, Elizabeth Taylor, and Howard 'Ed' Zimmerle sharing their talent. It was the best reunion I have ever attended. Another facet was the food! Joanna Neff, and Keri Brooker sharing the load but others contributing as well. So many people pooled their talent to make it an over-the-top event And I want to give all of them a big ol' THANK YOU!

https://www.facebook.com/1627352305/videos/1229369345095965/

Everyone wants to do it again next summer and we will do our best to make it happen.

There are songs that Elizabeth sings on Facebook if you can find them they are worth the search.

Won the War!

 The squirrel war that is! Here are pics of our latest configuration to feed and observe the birds.We are seeing a large number of birds these days. 

Note the satellite/birdbath behind the feeder

This is a new one, designed to fling off the squirrels.  It has taken a long time for birds to accept it, squirrels cannot get to it anyway and it doesn't work.

This is where the action is!

My friend Colleen is a stacker of rocks. So is my son Jason. This one is Jason's. I now call them "Colleen's". 

This is what Butch worked at most of his working career. I saw the guys working one morning, replacing a pole, so I decided to give Butch a bit of nostalgia.

What's in bloom at our house.

Wet

 Yes, it is wet. The most common reason we have to cancel the morning walk is rain. Either real or predicted. We happen to live in a slot of land that does not get heavy amounts of rain. We have been getting far less than the rest of the state, and that is a good thing. Parts of this flatland state look more like an ocean.

Butch is about 2/3rds done on the "shop". We call it the shop because it is too small to be a garage and it is separate from the house despite being attached. It needed a good clearing out. We will not know what to do with ourselves when that project is done. I cannot see us sitting still so something will happen. We might even cut loose and visit some of our friends!

The 4th of July is a few days away and that does not seem right or possible. With age, these things change in many ways. Less celebration, less anticipation, and more likely to enjoy it from home rather than fight traffic and too many people. A lot of things change with age, just wait and see! Nothing wrong with being content and happy!

We're Having a Heatwave

 A tropical heatwave. This morning it was 78 degrees at 6:00AM. The weather is crazy all over the world. When I was managing the senior center in Cumberland IA I would frequently share with them this little ditty. "Whether the weather is cold, or whether the weather is hot, we'll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not!" Still true.

Squirrel Wars: As many of you know Butch has an ongoing battle with the squirrels. The battlefield is being altered. We are on the lookout for the enemy to see what they do about this change. The birdhouse has already been checked out by the House Wren. How will they do with new neighbors? We are just So busy!

 Earlier this morning I did get a couple of good pics.

Recent Photos

Leo and Keri have a nice birding station in their yard and living outside of town they attract many birds.  I caught this woodpecker when visiting one day.

Sad story here. One of these two ran head-on into a window. Not unusual. Sometimes they will recover and this one did. His/her friend came to see what happened. These are house finches.

This one was taken earlier this Spring at Spring Lake. Butch and I drive out to the lake every now and then. I always take my camera. 

Always up for a ride!

 

Productive

We have had a very productive Spring. I find it hard to believe we have done so much to take the chaos out of our everyday lives. We are down to the last bit by tackling the old garage/shop on the south side of our house. The rest of it, pool hall, house, and breezeway, have all been cleaned while discarding excess. I have dreams of being a minimalist. I would love to be a minimalist. It never seems to work out for very long.

Our backyard is a busy place for birds. We have a wren box by our backdoor and it has been a home for house wrens for many years. For a while, Mom and Dad were tag-teaming to get the baby wrens fed. That has progressed now so the fledglings are out of the nest. It is hard to tell but the babes are smaller than the parents. Yesterday we had a Blue Jay trying to eat scraps from the feeder and one of the wrens, Dad?, I think, was trying to run him off. The Jay never felt threatened. I am sure he did not appreciate having his meal interrupted constantly, however. A whole lot of living is happening in our own backyard.

Deer Delight!

Keri is doctoring a foot so I walked this morning with my phone and audiobook. I looked up and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a DEER. I was more surprised than the deer. She didn't move or huff standing perfectly still giving me time to remove my phone from my back pocket, open the camera app and take several photos. I even talked to her! I took 5 photos and these are the best ones.

 

A wonderful visit!

Butch and I went near a small town in northern Iowa to visit Marlene and Bernard Kelley. Marlene is Butch's sister and she and Bernard have been married longer than we have, and that is saying something! Marlene is also known as one of the world's greatest cooks and she prepared a feast. Roast beef, potatoes, gravy, carrots, and one of my favorite jello salads. Also her famous brownies and a mid-afternoon dessert that I do not know the name of was topped with cherries. All of which was scrumptiously delicious. We played cribbage all afternoon with both the guys and us winning some and losing some. We have always had a good time with them; Marlene and Bernard were our first inspirations for going to South Texas.

Meandering

 We had a great time yesterday. The only planned part was our oldest son Rich coming for a visit. And then our youngest Jason came over from Boone. We four played pool and talked. Then later in the afternoon Leo dropped by, followed by Keri. Lots of fantastic conversations took place. I remember sitting there thinking "I am so happy!". Has that ever happened to you? It is an added layer of happy when the thought happens in process.

This morning I went back to the photo adventures. It's possible for it to never end. So here is some of my meandering... I was manager of a Senior Center in Cumberland Iowa for 14 years. Our small town was fortunate to have access to the Internet early on. I was a big fan! So I started classes in the Senior Center with the cooperation of the telephone company and Netins. 

2007- New Year's Eve in Magnolia Park-Donna Texas

Berwyn Cleveland with his famous homemade concoction. "Hop-Skip-and Go Naked" I have the recipe somewhere!

Found it! Make it at your own risk!

Hop, Skip and Go naked

INGREDIENTS:

1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed 12 fluid ounces water

12 fluid ounces vodka 2 (12 fluid ounce) cans or bottles of beer

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Place lemonade concentrate in a gallon pitcher. Measure water and vodka in the 12 ounce lemonade can and add to the pitcher. Pour in the beer, mix well and serve over ice. And that is enough adventure for one day!

It's Saturday

 Sometimes it takes work to keep track of the days. I work on it with conscious effort. This is also the Belltower Festival in good ol' Jefferson Iowa. We have attended many of these. Enough so the thrill is gone. Don't get me wrong, it is very well done most years and I am sure this is one of them. It is just that I prefer to watch Mr. and Mrs. Wren tag-team feed their babies. Beer tents, food trucks, carnival rides and numerous vendors...hmmm Not so much.

I am happy hanging out in our cozy house and home doing exactly what I want to do.

Made this Rhubarb Dump Cake. A winner! Crispy on top and yes, I followed the directions. I will admit I do not always the second time.

Rhubarb Dump Cake

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups fresh rhubarb, diced (about 1 to 1¼ pounds)

1½ cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup water, divided

15.25 ounces yellow cake mix, super moist (such as Betty Crocker)

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with baking spray and set it aside.

In a large bowl, combine the diced rhubarb, granulated sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract, and ½ cup of water. Stir until the ingredients are evenly mixed. Pour this mixture into the prepared baking pan.

Evenly sprinkle the yellow cake mix over the rhubarb mixture in the pan. If necessary, gently spread the cake mix to ensure it covers all the fruit evenly.

Drizzle the remaining ½ cup of water evenly over the layer of cake mix.

Carefully drizzle the melted butter evenly over the water and cake mix layer.

Bake the dump cake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until it turns golden and bubbly.

Once baked, remove the rhubarb dump cake from the oven and allow it to cool on the counter for 15 minutes before serving.

Prep Time: 5 min

Cooking Time: 45 min

Total Time: 50 min

Very good. Nice and crispy on top.

Myrla-1960-2023

 My sister passed away a year ago, the one to pass that left me last standing in my immediate family. I have been working with old pictures for weeks now thus causing me to think of her and many of the rest often. Here is Myrla. Today is her birthday.

Today, Tomorrow and next Tuesday

 Today I am getting ready for tomorrow. I am getting a haircut at 4:30 today- Trivia at 6:30. Also getting ready for the guy to come wash windows tomorrow. In addition, Jason is coming over today, after golf, to work on the dirt disturbed by the folks getting water back in the pool hall. Bored yet? Just checking.

Tomorrow windows washed! Hurrah! Always a good day. Of course I have to get ready for him. Like getting the excess dirt vacuumed from the sills, curtains down and washed etc.

Butch's birthday is Sunday and son Rich is coming to see us Sunday afternoon. I plan to make a rhubarb desert, a favorite of both of them.

Tuesday we are traveling North to see Marlene and Bernard. We will be delivering the vanilla we purchased for her in Mexico. 

In between time and in the meantime, I am still working on photos, new and old.

Like these: Jason, the most artistic one, made these walking sticks after visiting us in Colorado while we were work camping at Snow Mountain Ranch YMCA of the Rockies. There is a plentiful supply of Aspen there that inspired him.

Still Chipping Away...

 I am making progress with all I wanted to get done this Spring. The Zimmerle Gathering is set up for July 6th with every one of the cousins I can think of notified. 

The picture ordeal is partially under control. At least it doesn't look like the mountain it has in the past. I will share some with you further down the line.

We dropped off a load of "excess" at the Goodwill in Boone yesterday. I like that facility because they make drop-off so easy.

The first of the season Trivia has begun. It was good to see all our trivia people again.

Keri and I have been walking most mornings. Rain seems to be a constant interference. It is in the forecast for later today. We haven't missed very many days without at least a sprinkle. 

My latest read is The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary. Warning: If you have empathetic issues this may not be for you. It brings tears in places.