8-31-09 FootPrints

Footprints along my jogging trail this morning...

Racoon...





Opossum (?... help me out here, dad!)...


Deer...

Turkey...

More turkeys...

Dog...

Quite a few visitors to this trail!

And all these "impressions" etched in stone

got me to thinking...

What kind of impressions am I leaving behind?

What do my "footprints" look like?

What do I leave etched in stone?

What kind of "imprints" make people think of me?

Hopefully, acts of love, kindness and goodwill,

a love of nature, all God's creatures,

the arts and music...

and the treasuring of family and friends!

8-30-09 Sunday Sabboth

In the park
By the Mississippi River
Watching the world go by...

8-29-09 Saturday=Party Time

I must say...I just absolutely LOVE our neighborhood!!!

This afternoon was our annual neighborhood street party (pot luck).
We live in a very diverse neighborhood that we call International Drive
because we have neighbors from Africa, Canada, China, India, Pakistan and Poland...to name a few!

Our annual street parties give us a chance to meet new neighbors
and see how much everyone's children have grown!!!

8-28-09 Mexican Train Dominoes

DH and I keep seeing this couple walking on the trail where we jog, so we invited them over for a "Game Night" last night. We asked them to bring a game that they enjoy playing and they brought "Mexican Train Dominoes" which neither DH or I have ever played, so it was fun learning a new game and enjoying getting to know these new friends.

8-27-09 Directions

Today I made my first mistake while knitting this Shrug, and being a beginning knitter (I'm a life-long crochet-er!), I had no clue how to fix my mistake, so I immediately put the caps on my knitting needles and headed to the local Knit Shop to ask for help and directions in fixing the problem...which they did. It was either that, or rip it all out and begin again, or leave the mistake and end up with a big hole in my Shrug (not an option!).
It got me to thinking... it is said that GUYS are not good at asking for help/directions when they need it, but how many of us GALS ask for help when we need it?!?! Or do we just struggle along, hoping that no one will notice the resulting errors, dropped stitches and holes we leave behind? Today's knitting boo-boo was a gentle reminder to me to seek help when I need it, and that there is usually always someone available to give help when asked! Is there something you need help with today in your life?

8-26-09 Rainy Day Antique-ing

8-25-09 Peat & Poo

Today DH added peat (organic material) and poo (manure) to the raised garden beds and mixed it in a bit with a spade. Later this Fall he plans to deep rake the grass, and spade in some of the dead grass as well. Then it can "percolate" through the winter, and should be ready for planting next Spring!

8-24-09 Dirt & Deutsch

DH and I bought 2 pick-up loads of dirt (2 tons)
and shoveled them into the raised garden beds today.


Local colleges begin classes today, and so do DH and I.
He is taking more CISCO/computer classes.
I am "home-schooling" this semester: German/Deutsch
in preparation for a trip to Germany next summer!!!
I had several years of German in high school
and one year in college, so I am hoping it will come back quickly.
Wish me luck! Auf wiedersehen!

8-23-09 Got My Ducks In A Row!

Got all my ducks in a row
during this morning's 7 mile bike ride along the river
after church.

8-22-09 Grass

I mowed the grass today while DH trimmed.
I thought about how blessed I am to even HAVE a lawn to mow, inhaled the distinctive aroma of freshly cut grass, and felt its cool softness beneath each step I took. I thanked the Creator for eyes to take in the beautiful green hues, for healthy arms and legs and lungs to push the mower up and down the hills, for frequent rains and cool temps this summer that have kept everything spring green, and for the delight of being outside to enjoy such a beautiful summer's day! Isn't it amazing how God can rain down blessings even in the midst of my mundane chores?!?!?

8-21-09 Galena IL

After the Didgeridoo workshop in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin, we drove back to Galena, Illinois for the night. We stayed in the DeSoto House on Main Street. This is such a charming "Victorian" town... takes you back in time.

Note the horse in the window of the lower right pix! (A reminder to those of you who are new to my blog... you can left click on the picture to enlarge it, then left click on the blue "Back Arrow" in the upper left hand corner to return to the blog.)


We drove down IL-84 past the Mississippi Palisades...
a magnificent view that my DH had not yet seen so I wanted to share it with him.
Upon our return home, our DD was just finishing loading up her car to move back to graduate school, so we got to say good-bye to her and her DH. The house will seem strangely quiet for a while with her gone! Love you guys!

8-20-09 Didgeridoo

DH and I attended a Didgeridoo workshop today at Sinsinawa, WI.
On the way there, we drove through Dubuque, Iowa, where I took him up the tram to see a bird's eye view of the city and the Mississippi River...
then we crossed the bridge into Illinois on our way to Galena...


In Galena, IL we had a DELICIOUS dinner at an Italian Restaurant called Vinny's.


After dinner at Vinny's we headed to the Sinsinawa Mound (in Wisconsin) for the Didgeridoo workshop with Phil Jones, a native Aussie. It was awesome!!! We learned how to create the didgeridoo sound, as well as a "circular breathing technique" and many other variations, which will need hours of practice, like playing any musical instrument. He also spoke of "The Sacred Aspects of Breath and Sound." We love learning and trying new things!

Photos of the Sinsinawa Mound (Wisconsin) from a distance, the inside of the lobby, some wooden and PVC pipe didgeridoos, and of Phil Jones.

8-19-09 After the Storm

Looking out my kitchen window following the afternoon storms
we saw a huge double rainbow...
more storms coming tonight, along with tornado watches...

8-18-09C ~ Afternoon Work

DH spent the afternoon working on the (future) raised garden,
turning over the sod and mixing in sand and organic matter.

8-18-09B ~ Morning Play

Played in the water this morning (Grant's Slough)...

8-18-09A ~ The Remains

8-17-09 Eewwww! Gross!!!

After being in Nebraska for a week, we returned home to Iowa
to find these bad boys (tomato horn worms,
which I find strangely beautiful in an odd sort of way!) doing a job
on my one and only tomato plant!!! (See 8-5-09 post)
DH sprayed them, so I hope that's the last we see of them!!!
There are only a few undamaged tomatoes remaining on the plant...
they ate the rest!

8-16-09 Whitey's

Ended our day with some of our favorite ice cream
from our hometown favorite: Whitey's!

8-15-09 Mediacom

So glad we changed from DSL to Media com... NOT!!!

Our TV reception with Mediacom looks like this above

and there is no audio...

We changed from satellite to cable to get faster internet...

I'm thinking we may change back to DSL!!!

8-14-09 Another Surfer

Today, DH created another web surfer...
My MIL is always up for learning something new
(must be the teacher in her!)
and wanted to learn how to e-mail and surf the web.
You go, girl!!! I know you can do it!

8-13-09 Scrabble

Try as we might, MIL and I could not beat my DH at scrabble!
The first game was fun... the second game was a killer...
mostly three letter words. Ugh!

8-13-09 Runza

At Mom and Dad's, we enjoyed another special treat this week...
We only get these Runza sandwiches about twice a year...
Which is probably a GOOD thing!!!
I'd be big as a house if I ate these on a regular basis!

8-12-09 Maintaining

DH and I spent the day doing some home maintenance projects...
shampooing carpets, tightening towel racks, washing windows, cleaning the dryer vent of lint, washing dishes in the china cabinet, tightening toilet seats, etc. ~ all those little things that need to be done after time passes. We rewarded ourselves with some Valentino's Pizza for dinner! Yum!!!

8-11-09 Power from Iowa

Corn for ethanol isn't the only thing growing in Iowa...
Wind turbines have sprouted everywhere to "grow" electricity!

8-10-09 Eyes

I only have eyes for you...

8-9-09 Polo Warm-up

Today I watched the polo horses running in the field at the end of our street!!!
They are the perfect combination of strength and grace...breath-taking!

8-8-09 Running Wild

Replaced my 3 year old running shoes today...
My new shoes felt great on this morning's 5K jog!
And they're purple and silver!!!
Whoot!!!

8-7-09 Let There Be LIGHT

DH replaced the flourescent light fixture in the laundry room today.
Now I have plenty of light photons!!!
In a world of darkenss, my DH always brings LIGHT into my days and my heart!
I adore him... he is the LIGHT of my life!

8-6-09 Raised Garden

Because DH wants a garden and...
Because all the topsoil was bulldozed away in our housing development, all we have left is clay... which is NOT real conducive to gardening...
DH and I built frames for some "raised garden beds." He sprayed inside the frames with Round-Up and after the grass has died in a few days, he plans to move the frames, spade over the dead grass and mix in some sand (for drainage) and organic material, then replace the frames over the turned soil and top them off with more dirt, organic material and manure for fertilizer (which should be easy to find in rural Iowa!!!). Next spring/summer he plans to plant vegetable seeds & plants, as well as several herbs (and maybe a few flowers?), put stepping stones and mulch around the frames and maybe some chicken wire around the edges to keep the critters out!

8-5-09 Stake

My top-heavy tomato plant toppled over today, so had to go buy some stakes and tie it up.
Now if only it would give me some red, ripe, juicy tomatoes!!!

8-4-09 Haircut

Gave myself a haircut today...
cut off 9-10 inches!!!
Why is it so emotionally difficult to cut hair?

8-3-09

A week's worth of newspapers, mail, and hundreds of e-mails to go thru...
should keep me busy for a day or two!

8-2-09

Beautiful (and bumpy!) clouds on the flight back to Iowa...

8-1-09 One Last Look

One last look at the beautiful beach before heading home to Iowa...

7-31-09 Exports Tour

The primary export of St. Lucia is bananas (to the U.K. only)...


Cacao fruit is white, stringy, vinegary, and slimy...
until roasted...
after which it becomes Cocoa beans!


We also visited an old sugar cane factory (no longer in use)
and did a bit of RUM tasting at the end of the tour! Yum!!!

Crystal Lime and KoKoNut were my two faves!