1-31-2010 The Sound of Music

I had Clavinova duty at the second worship service at church today.

1-30-2010 Bare Escentuals

Spending the day watching Ms. Leslie on QVC...

1-29-2010 Zzzzzzz

My sweet kitty...
catching the last few rays of sunshine
this afternoon.

1-28-2010 Must Have...

...Chocolate!!!
(At least I made it in single portion servings!)

1-27-2010 WebMaster

Today I handed over the webmaster info, duties and responsibilities for the webpage I created 4 years ago for my former church to someone there who has expressed an interest. I really enjoyed doing this for my former church and hope that the webpage was a blessing to them, but am glad to pass the job along to someone else now that I have moved out of state and am no longer a member there.

1-26-2010 Modern Physics & Ancient Faith

Last night DH and I drove to the University of Iowa to attend a lecture:
"Modern Physics & Ancient Faith." The lecture hall for 500 was SRO, with about 600 present. Every seat was full, people sat two deep down the aisles' stairs, and about 50 more stood in the back of the lecture hall for 2 hours!

Steven M. Barr is a professor from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Bartol Research Institute of the University of Delaware. Professor Barr argued that the supposed conflict between science and religion has really been a conflict between scientific materialism and religion, and that the science vs. religion myth is based on an outdated view of scientific history and a skewed interpretation of what science has actually discovered. Barr discussed five great discoveries of twentieth century science, arguing that they are more consistent with the traditional Jewish and Christian understanding of the cosmos and of human beings than with materialist philosophy.

Are we nerds, or what!?!?!?

1-25-2010 Feeling Arctic!

I'm starting to feel like a polar bear
as several more inches of snow blow in from the north today
with gusts of wind blustering up to 50 mph!

1-24-2010 The Other White Meat

Albino catfish...
at Cabela's aquarium.

1-23-2010 Carpenters-Knives-Fog

DH and I attended a knife show
(he's a collector)
in the Carpenters' Bldg. in St. Louis today.
MapQuest dropped us off in downtown St. Louis
so we ended up asking these firemen for directions.
The bldg. was some 5 miles away! Thanks alot MapQuest!

I took these photos in the entrance of the bldg.:

Then we drove home in very thick fog...

ALL THE WAY from St. Louis to home (~6 hours!)!!!
We almost got to see the St. Louis Arch as we drove by...

and we had about a quarter mile visibility all the way home,

which made for rather slow and stressful driving conditions!

1-22-2010 Bandanas BBQ

After driving from eastern Iowa to St. Louis through an ice storm,
we had dinner at Bandanas BBQ.
Service was fast and good,
and the ribs fell off the bones
and were finger lickin' good!!!
We gave the place 5 stars!

1-21-2010 Icicles

Icy long fingers
from up north
send shivers down my spine
and encase the branches
of trees and bushes
producing a clacking
in the breeze
like that of skeleton bones

1-20-2010B Old Man Winter

...blew in an ice storm today...
leaving this beautiful "abstract art"
on my windows of my home
for my viewing pleasure!
...or maybe it is more
from the "impressionistic" genre?!?
In any case
it would be fun to paint this!!!

1-20-2010A Ooops!

Oooops!

Someone

trying to park

in the handicapped spot

hit the gas instead of the breaks

and left a mess

at Village Inn this morning.

(not me, by the way!)

1-19-2010 Frosty

Frosty the Snowman
greeted us
at the snack bar
at card club tonight!
I love this group of women
and the friendships we are growing
over time.
Thank you for embracing me
into your circle.

1-18-2010 Book of Eli

DH and I went to see the movie "Book of Eli" today...
loved it!

1-17-2010 Sweet!!!

Sweet! I love a good sale!
I could not even knit this sweater myself for this price!

1-16-10 Picture Perfect

After a month of searching, I finally found the perfect frames for the beautiful photographs of hummingbirds sent to me by a dear friend! YAY! They are now hanging in my living room where I can enjoy them every day, and the background in the photos matches my sofa perfectly! Thanks again, Patty!

1-15-2010 Wood Wick

provides the perfect ambiance for a Friday night!

1-14-2010 Above 32 degrees

After weeks of 0*F days and subzero nights,
we finally had a daytime temp above freezing
and the 8 inches of snow on the ground are melting.
I liked the shape of this little ice formation on the deck.

1-13-2010 BE

Today I reorganized and alphabetized 12 years of BE!!!

1-12-2010 Sky Dog

While watching the roofers next door, I happened to spy a Sky Dog/mini rainbow...
see left center in the photo...

1-11-2010 Destination: Key West

Trying to think warm thoughts today with the outdoor temps near 0*F...
so I wore my Bare Escentuals Destination: Key West collection eyecolors today,
and thought of sunshine, warm ocean waves and green palm trees!

1-10-2010 Stories in the Snow

Here comes Peter Cottontail
hopping down the bunny trail
looking for food
in Iowa's sub-zero temps
under 8 inches of snow...
Mmmm! A tasty, tender new rose bush!
I think I'll have a nibble.
Yumm! Think I'll have some more!
Better leave the last stalk for tomorrow's lunch.
I'll leave a few turds
to fertilize the plant next spring
as thanks for its nourishment to me!

1-9-2010 Across the Miles

Just when I'm feeling low
an envelope arrives
bringing love from a dear friend!
I am blessed...
and very grateful!

1-8-2010 Computer Re-Load

After backing up photos, financials and some documents, my DH stripped my computer, reformatted the hard drive, and has been re-loading program software (from the list in the foreground) and downloading updates and drivers because the computer was running as slow as molasses and doing weird things! My computer now runs great again! Thanks, sweetie! You're my hero!

1-7-2010 Digging Out!

Got about 6" of snow overnight and have another 6" coming...
I'll have to dig out the driveway
before I can make it to the gym to try out my new shoes. Argh!!!

1-6-2010 Vibram Five Fingers

My new Vibram Five Finger "barefoot running shoes" came today!
I am sooooooo psyched! Can't wait to try them out tomorrow morning at the gym!

1-5-2010 Almost done!

I've almost completed knitting this shawl.
It tells a story...
which only the recipient gets to hear!

1-4-2010 Happy Birthday Son!

with Grandma F.

Here's to you on your birthday!
...to C & W!
...to the New Year!
...to you and M!
Thanks for the sparkling wine, M!!!

1-3-2010 Da Wall Of Fire!

Today DH and I drove to Chicago to take our son and the lovely lady he is dating out for lunch to celebrate his birthday. Altho I took their picture, I forgot to ask their permission to post in on my blog, so instead, I am posting pix of the Cajun restaurant where we ate. We sat near "Da Wall of Fire" and had several bottles of liquid fire on our table to heat up our meals. All I can say is "Y U M !!!"... AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY SON!... and it was WONDERFUL to meet you, M! Encantada!


And kitty had to go outside to check out the stranger footprints leading into her outdoor shelter...

1-2-2010 Runzas

Today DH and I made some Runzas (yum!!!)...
a birthday present for our DS!

1-1-2010 Brrrrrrr

A cold start to the New Year...
think I'll stay in and watch football on TV and knit!