7-25-09 BIX7

The BIX7 (a 7 mile road race through hilly downtown)...

15,000 runners from all over the world!!!

DH & I love this race... a great personal challenge!!!

7-25-09 BIXfest

Sights, sounds and smells from the BIXfest today.
These 2 dogs in a stroller just cracked me up!!!

7-24-09 Happy Birthday MOM!

Happy Birthday, MOM!
Hope you have a good day!
I love you!

7-23-09 BeachWear

My new cover-up, swimsuit, and shades
for my upcoming tropical island vacation...
Hope I still fit into them
after eating those ribs for dinner last night!!!

7-22-09 Ribs

We allow ourselves to enjoy BBQ ribs for dinner about twice a year.

Today is one of those days... they were on sale...

out in the parking lot of our local HyVee...

from Bar B Que Specialties, Inc. of Grafton NE (http://www.jbsfatboy.com/).

Yumm!!!

We got a free jar of BBQ sauce for buying two slabs!

(After being a vegetarian for 7 or 8 years, I must admit, I missed eating BBQ!!!)

7-21-09 Rainy Day Birdbath

It's been pouring rain all day today, so I took a pix of my birdbath out in the front yard and played with the pix at picnik.com while my DH spent the day out in a kayak.

7-20-09 Dewy

Got home from my early morning jog (5K) in the pre-dawn mist dripping wet... to find these beautiful dew drops on each point of the leaves on my tomato plant... I thought they were pretty so I grabbed my camera. (I'd much rather see dew drops than aphids or Japanese Beetles!)

7-19-09 Lilah 101

Today after our church worship services, we celebrated the birthdays of two special people... our church secretary (in the purple top behind the pink cake) and our eldest member, Ms. Lilah (in the blue top behind the purple cake). The pix on the far right is of Lilah and me. Hope I look and feel that great when I'm 101! She still lives by herself and goes out line dancing every week! Happy birthday, Lilah!!! You go, girl!!!

7-18-09 Mmm Mmm Good!

I got this papaya for 3 bucks at the grocery store today... it was the size of a LARGE Butternut squash or a small Watermelon!!! Plan to dehydrate most of it and add it to my oatmeal in the mornings this winter! Mmm Mmm good! I love papaya!!! How blessed I am to be able to enjoy tropical fruits here in Iowa!!!

7-17-09 Thanks Canada!!!

Thanks Canada!!! Thanks for the cool arctic jet stream and the most beautiful deep blue clouds that you sent down to Iowa for the past several days! Today we had a record low for our high... 66 degrees Fahrenheit (the previous record for this day was 71*F)!!! What a wonderful break from mid-summer temps... hard to believe I actually wore long sleeves and pants on my morning jog today, near the end of July... but I'm NOT complaining. Tonight it is supposed to get down into the 40's... think I'll open the windows!!!

7-16-09 Banana Love

Nothin' says lovin' like fresh hot banana bread from the oven!!!
Today I made some banana bread, wrapped it in a new tea towel, and took it over to our new neighbors across the street (see 5/23 & 7/2 posts) to welcome them to the neighborhood. I wonder if they would enjoy seeing/having some of the pictures I have taken of their house being built??? I will have to ask them next time I see them!

I'd love to share a warm slice with all my blog friends too, so guess I will do the next best thing...
For those of you who still enjoy baking, here is the recipe (a hand-me-down from my mom):

Cream ½ c. margarine with 1 c. sugar, then
Stir in 2 beaten eggs and ½ tsp. vanilla.

Sift together: 2 c. flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. baking powder, ¼ tsp. salt; set aside.

Mash 4 very ripe bananas with a fork on a dinner plate until they are the consistency of lumpy pudding.

Add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the mashed bananas to the margarine/sugar/egg/vanilla mixture.

Stir in ¼ c. nuts (optional)…I use black walnuts.

Bake in a greased and floured loaf pan at 350*F for about 65 min. or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and not gooey. (I used two smaller loaf pans and baked them about 45-50 min.).

Enjoy!!!

7-15-09 Shoes!!!

It has been ages since I bought myself some new shoes! (and clothes!) I recently bought a black skirt and a black dress, so needed some black flats to wear with them. I found these two pair at Target and thought they were both super cute, comfy and reasonably priced, so I splurged!!!
It made me think about shoes... and WALKING A MILE IN OTHER PEOPLE'S SHOES... of which I need to be extra mindful this week, what with TWO funerals of friends at church this week! It is always difficult to know what to say or do to help ease someone else's suffering other than just being present, as I have not yet walked in the shoes of someone who has just lost their husband or mother. I pray that God will help me be mindful and present and a source of comfort anyway.

7-14-09 Yin & Yang

Which do you prefer?

(Mississippi Palisades & Poopsies in Galena)

I enjoyed both yesterday on my "Girl's Road Trip."

They balanced each other out... like yin and yang.

7-13-09 Tram

I rode this rickety tram up a steep hillside in an old river town today. Scary!!!!

7-12-09 Blimp

The GoodYear Blimp is in town this week for the John Deere Classic (Golf Tournament). It has been fun watching it fly overhead. I never have my camera when it is close, so here is a far away shot.

7-11-09 Argh!!!

DD's wedding
in St. Lucia
in a few weeks...
she took me shopping today
Mother of the Bride
spent 2 1/2 hours in the "Fitting Room"
where nothing fits...
unless you are a size 2.
ARGH!!!!
I feel some negative self talk
creeping into the conversations
in my head.

7-10-09 Finished!

Today I FINISHED knitting my first prayer shawl (begun at the "Knit One, Pray One" retreat ~ see 6-9-09 post) which used three 6 ounce skeins of yarn. I love the rainbow effect produced by the variegated yarn and the soft, chunky texture! Seeing it finished gives me a wonderful sense of accomplishment. I can't wait to start my next project!!! YAY!!!

7-9-09 Wheel of Life

I spent the entire day today looking at and learning about this particular piece of artwork and how it was used to teach the illiterate masses in Medieval times about life. It was absolutely fascinating!!! "The Wheel of Life ~ A Medieval Meditation of Modern Life" was presented at the Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat in Iowa. Which figure in the picture do you identify with? Why?

7-8-09 Mohair

DD and I scoped out several new (to us) yarn shops yesterday and today. Because I am about a day away from finishing my first prayer shawl (see 6-10-2009 post), I wanted to have more yarn on hand to begin a new project right away... a surprise gift for a friend using this luxuriously soft mohair... it will be light as a cloud! I remember the old saying, "Idle hands are the Devil's workshop." Well, I won't have to worry about that now, will I!?!?!?

7-7-09 Organic?

7-6-09 Beautiful Berries!

This morning's breakfast... picked along my jogging trail... the bushes are so full right now that I had to use a wild rhubarb leaf to carry home my pickings (there were so many my hands could not hold them all!). I will be so sad when the canes are done bearing fruit for the season... but am sooooo grateful for every delicious, nutritious, organic morsel DH and I have eaten and enjoyed! (Sorry, you guys are probably getting sick of seeing pix of my blackberries... but I'm sure not getting sick of eating my free blackberries!)

7-5-09 Sunday Organist

Yours truly was the "substitute organist" at church today. Our usual church organist was out of state for a family gathering over the 4th of July weekend, so he pre-recorded today’s liturgy and hymns on the Clavinova, and I was to punch buttons on the Clavinova to play the (recorded) correct music at the right time. I was a little nervous during the first service but made no mistakes, and second service was a piece of cake! Whew!!! (Don't wanna mess up in God's house and get struck by lightning or something! ha.) Our real organist is magnificent... and self-taught!!! His music adds such a wonderful dimension to our worship. Thanks B.

7-4-09

Happy 4th of July!

7-3-09 Sushi Rolls

DD and I had fun making Sushi Rolls (using brown rice and seaweed) for dinner tonight! We filled them with cucumber, avocado and crab meat, and dipped them in soy sauce mixed with wasabi. Mmmmmm!!!! Love the burn! It is the first time we have tried making them, and they turned out GREAT!!! YAY! I love it when that happens... and I love doing things with my DD (Dear Daughter)!

7-2-09 Across the Street

We'll be getting new neighbors soon! I wonder what they will be like. It makes me think about also BEING a good neighbor... welcoming them when they move in... taking them a warm loaf of freshly baked banana bread and a tea towel as a housewarming gift... inviting them over... waving to them and/or going over to talk when we see each other outside... watching out for each other...

7-1-09 Birds of a Feather...

flock together.