Weekend with Ashley and Travis

Ashley and Travis came down for the weekend and it was great to have them here. We really didn't do anything special which made it a very nice comfortable weekend. Dale, Travis and I had fun playing Jenga after exploring a lead on some great waffles. They were very good waffles and the Jenga competition was lively.

Ashley had scheduled a couple of photo shoots over the weekend so she didn't have as much time to just hang out. She was away photographing and spent some time editing at her computer at my home. It was nice to see her at work editing. She is always anxious to get the photos ready so that her clients can see them. If you want to see some of her photos you can look at www.ashleyschragephotography.com

It's Hot Outside

Today is a good day to stay inside. This is my least favorite kind of weather; hot and humid. Heat index has probably reached 100 but the actually temperature is still in the nineties. Although I love being outside, today is a good day to sit inside and look out the window at the patio flowers and plants. I am not tempted to sit out there today! Ashley and I did go to the pool this morning. It rained while we were there but it didn't stop us from enjoying the water and getting some exercise before the sun and heat came through!

Naked Ladies

Today when I got out of my car at work I saw these beautiful blossoms blooming at the edge of the woods. It was a wonderful surprise that brought back memories of my grandma. She taught me so many things that I have many triggers that remind me of her regularly. She grew flowers like this in her yard and called them "naked ladies." She explained that the spring foliage dies back completely before the blooms appear with no foliage. Therefore they were called naked! Later I heard these same flowers referred to more often as Resurrection Lilys. It would be just like Grandma to use the less reverent name! Once Jill and I thought we were getting daffodil bulbs from Grandma's yard but realized we had made a mistake when the following summer we both had naked ladies in our yards!

Nascar in Iowa

It was a weekend of sporting events and the weather was perfect. Friday night Dale and I went back to watch the Menace play soccer again. It was an enjoyable evening but the Menace lost and their season ended.

Saturday was the big day. Nascar Nationwide Series came to Iowa for the first time and it was close to home. Since Dale is a fan and it was a huge event, I was looking forward to the day. There were over 57,000 fans at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, the largest crowd ever. Again the weather was perfect for being outside. I was very pleased to find that the cars that run Nationwide are not nearly as loud as the Cup Series cars. We wore our headsets for much of the race but could still hear each other and the people around us. This helps when I have questions. Actually the people behind us had some questions that I was surprised to be able to answer. There was lots of passing for first place but in the end Brad Keselowski crossed the finish line before Kyle Busch. (I know most of my friends don't care who won but just in case my brother sees this he may want to know.) The event went very well. The only exception would be the exit plan in the parking lot after the race ended. It was very slow moving.

Summertime Fun

It's been a great week with near perfect summer weather. Although Dale and I had spent Monday evening at Principal Park, we accepted when we were offered a friend's season tickets for Wednesday night. We rearranged our schedules a bit and enjoyed the perfect evening. Perfect except the I Cubs did lose again!

Friday night was the kick off for the 48 Hour Film Project in Des Moines. Dale and I have been helping our friends from Cedar Falls for several years. We go to the kick off event and draw the genre and get the information about the required elements.

This saves Scott and Julie two hours of production time and lets us get involved. We are anxious to see Scott's film at the screening on Thursday night. Forty-one teams were entered in the competition which requires that the film be completed in 48 hours. Although Dale and I do very little, we get excited about the event!

Saturday night we had several ideas including Barnstormer Arena Football or Ladies Roller Derby...yes, they actually really do have roller derby and we think it might be fun to go one time...some other time. Because of the gorgeous weather on Saturday night I wanted to go to the Des Moines Menace Soccer game. It was the first play off game for the national competition which is down to eight teams. I do not understand soccer very well but enjoyed the people watching, the game and the kettle corn.

I always love mascots and I think that Maniac is one of the best mascots in the city. He is pretty cute and does a great job of working the crowd and playing with the kids as he cheers. The Menace won and will host the national championships next weekend at Valley Stadium, very close to my house. By next weekend we will be doing different things...possibly arena football and definitely a nascar race. Let the summer continue!

Monday Night Out

Sometimes when I get home from work I just want to relax or get things done at home. Monday was one of those days but Dale and I decided to head over to the ball park to watch the game anyway. It’s great to be getting off work by 4 or 4:30 this summer. With my job at the university I was often at work until 6 pm which made a huge rush to get to evening activities. After an hour at home I felt ready to head out with Dale. It was a nice night for baseball even though there was some drizzle the second part of the game. We saw some great fielding, but sadly it was mostly the opponents!

Visits from Family

I love spending time with family and I love it when people visit me. This was a great week on both counts. My sister, Sandi and my niece, Molly came down to Des Moines to do some shopping and hang out for a night. We had some pool time before heading out for Mexican on a very colorful patio. It was nice to get coffee time with Sandi before leaving for work the next morning too.
Jill, my sister-in-law and I have been talking about a girl's pool weekend for a long time and we finally made it happen. We had a great time this weekend relaxing, knitting and just hanging out together. It was fun to go to the Downtown Farmer's Market on Saturday morning and hit Valley Junction in the afternoon. I even enjoyed the shopping. We had some perfect weather for the pool too. Jill is going home with tan lines!

Kansas City with Eric

A week ago Dale and I drove to Kansas City to spend a day with Eric and see his art on display. It was great to have time to hang out with Eric and explore parts of Kansas City with him. Seeing his art as well as the arts incubator was very good. We saw River Market and ate interesting food at fun places too.
Although it was very hot and humid we did spend some time outside at Loose Park. It's a gorgeous park that is obviously very popular with wedding photographers. We saw several brides and lots of tuxedos. It was nice to sit near the water watching the ducks and turtles. It was also a good opportunity to play with our cameras. I photographed Eric and Dale. Dale photographed me and lots of ducks. He even got eye level with the ducks for a few shots!

Family on the Fourth

Finally I am posting more photos from the Fourth of July. I was quite disappointed in my photography that weekend. As I have been playing with the focus options, I failed to learn some basics. Many of my photos found the focus in the wrong spot. The tree, car or background would be in focus leaving the person blurred. Too bad I had to figure out the mistake on a big family holiday, but I am learning more now.

These are "the kids" or they were the kids. What happened? Obviously the kids have grown up.

Fortunately the next generation has started so we have a toddler in the family. Now we get to watch her grow up too!

I also love spending time with my cousins! I told Randy to look famous when Dale took this shot. I think he did a good job of that. Randy and I always enjoy conversation, fun and laughter.

Sherri is looking great with her year old puppy Samantha. Sammie is the older sister to Aunt Snook's puppy, Cassie. It's fun to watch them play together. There were at least five dogs at the family reunion this year!

John and Mel made a quick trip from Lincoln. Dale and I changed our plans and came up a day early so we could spend some time with everyone at the family fish fry before John and Mel headed back to Lincoln.

It's rare that I get to spend time with all of my siblings at once, so we always need a photo! It was great to get to spend the night with Dan and Jill when we went up for the holiday. I loved spending time with so many family members. It's my favorite thing about the Fourth!

Beautiful Aunts!

Here are two of my aunts. Can you believe that they have nieces and nephews in their fifties? Amazing, isn't it! We have been blessed with loving aunts and uncles. Aunt Betty couldn't make it to the party this year but I got photos of Aunt Carol and Aunt Snooks with her new puppy, Cassie. I am so slow at blogging this summer so I guess I will just post a couple of photos at a time. More of my free time is spent by the pool with a novel these days so blogging is even more limited.

Fun Family Fourth!

What a great holiday! It was so fun to see family. Several were not able to make the trip this year. A couple had to leave early, but here is a photo of those who were there at photo time. We had great conversations, good food, fun, laughter and lots of love and affection. It truly is a joy to gather together at Clear Lake each year. I took lots of photos and may post a few another day. It was a happy holiday!

Fourth of July

I love the Fourth of July holiday! For me it means family. . . lots and lots of Wreghitts! I get to see my cousins, siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncle and my kids. We always have a great time. We have gathered in the same place for decades and look forward to it each year. We always go to the parade and complain about the long gaps. We stick around for the tenderloins and corn dogs. We gather at the house, enjoy the lake, food, cameras and people. It's a real family reunion!


This will be our first year without Uncle Lloyd. He and Aunt Snooks have been gracious hosts for more years than we can remember. Sadly, Uncle Lloyd died last summer. We all miss him deeply. We do have wonderful memories of a man who loved us deeply and teased us often. He taught me many things. He even taught my kids how to drive a manual transmission. But most of all I think that he and Aunt Snooks taught us a wonderful hospitality and sense of family. He will be missed.

Zoo Brew

Volunteerism is a passion for me. When I first moved to Des Moines, I wanted to find community, connections and the opportunity to serve through volunteering. So much of what I do for my jobs and past volunteering involves direct contact helping other people. I was anxious to try something different. Blank Park Zoo has been one of my favorite places to volunteer in Des Moines. Wednesday evenings in July, the zoo hosts Zoo Brew for adults. It works with my schedule because it is an evening event. It’s a wonderful chance to experience the zoo in a very different way. There are no children. Beer or wine is served and there is a live band. It is a great event that reaches out to all ages of adults and makes money for the zoo. Although I have never been a bartender, this volunteer opportunity has given me that experience. I even make great tips for the zoo! I have also served as the volunteer for giraffe feedings. I love that but it does take up most of the day on a Saturday or Sunday so my other weekend activities limit that schedule. I do love photographing the giraffes, so I will take my camera the next time that I do a giraffe feeding.

Summer Skies

The weather this week has been interesting and eventful. We have had some very hot humid days and some stormy skies. I actually spent over an hour at the convenience store at the Grundy Center exit on Hwy 20 on Sunday night. There were small tornados touching down in that county and we were advised to stay put. I was quite impatient but did not want to drive into the heavy rain that followed the front. I stood outside to watch the sky and wall clouds. This photo was taken in Story County about an hour later. It is often absolutely gorgeous after a storm, much like life!

Sunday with Ashley

I had asked Ashley about a day that she might be free to just hang out together. Although Sunday was Father's Day, it worked out to be a good day for us. Travis had plans with his dad but I got to see him also. Of course we got some time with Mowgli too! I drove to Waterloo in the morning and drove back that evening. The only agenda was to scout out a few places that might be good for some of her upcoming photo shoots with families and little ones.
We spent most of our time driving around Cedar Falls and found several good spots. At the last spot we realized we really hadn't taken any photos so we grabbed the camera and played around a bit. It really was about finding places for photos, but I always like to get a few photos to record the day.
It was mostly just fun to hang out with Ashley. We had lunch at a favorite spot and also had time to relax at her house. They recently repainted and it looks very nice. It can be a challenge to find time to just be together but it's well worth the drive and the planning. It was a wonderful Sunday. I do love having adult children, but I already mentioned that, didn't I?

What a Fun Weekend

It was a wonderful weekend. I am slow about getting to blogging partially due to all the fun activities and partially due to my limited Internet connectivity, but that's another story!

Jay and Briana came down on Friday. We did not have any real plans but they were coming to town for a Saturday night concert and came early to spend some time with us in Des Moines.

We had no solid plans but decided to go out to the horse track since Jay had not been to this track and Briana had never been. Dale and I enjoy the atmosphere and the horses. We scope them out at the paddock then place our $2 bets. We stayed for three races. Dale and Briana were the winners, cashing in their tickets for the big bucks! After the evening at the horse track we stopped for some Thai food. It was after 9 pm when we ate dinner. That's really late for Dale and me
Saturday morning Briana and I decided to do "Yoga in the Park" which is a new program. Free yoga in the park on a gorgeous morning sounded like a great idea. Evidently about 200 other people thought it was a great idea also. There were men and women of all ages and skill levels. I was an obvious beginner but had a blast. We laughed too much to do some of the moves. The woman behind us encouraged us to listen to our bodies. Her body was telling her, "time to chill" and my body agreed sometimes. We were told to be "one with the earth." At times I took that one step further and just plopped on my belly. It's hard to be up on your toes and hands, sticking your damp butt up into the air while feeling grateful for the earth. I felt more grateful when the earth was touching more of my body! We were most grateful that Dale and Jay were walking and geocaching in the park so that they could drive us home!

We headed straight for the pool to cool off when we got home but couldn't stay long because we had plans. Dale and I were really anxious to take Jay to B&B Deli, the home of the Killer Sandwich. Jay ordered his sandwich with no veggies. Briana ordered hers with all veggies. The owner came out to take a picture of them. It was pretty funny!

After our killer sandwich picnic, we headed to the disc golf course. Jay has been playing quite a bit so we wanted to show him the course that we had discovered. Everybody else can throw lots further than me but I still enjoy it. We did a different part of the course this trip, very wooded and shady on a warm day. It was also a bit muddy from the recent rains. Of course Dale brought his camera and took some photos too. By the time we were done disc golfing, we were ready for the pool again. It was a great way to relax before cleaning up and heading to the book store then having dinner. Jay and Briana were headed to a concert so that's when Dale and I decided to go to a movie and ended up at the drive-in theater in Newton. By Saturday night we had packed in a full weekend worth of activities. It was so fun to hang out with Jay and Briana. Dale and I love showing the kids around Des Moines and all the fun places that we enjoy. It was great to have them visit. Have I mentioned recently that I just love having adult children? Life is good!!

Drive-In Theater

It's been years since I went to a drive-in movie theater. We are lucky enough to have a functioning and well run drive-in just thirty minutes from home in Newton. Dale and I have talked about going to the Valle Drive-in so we have been checking the showings this summer. Saturday night seemed like the right time. We saw Disney's "UP" and it was very good. The drive-in was full of young families, mini vans and SUVs. It was so cute to see the little kids in their jammies and tiny lawn chairs. It reminded me of going to the drive-in as a child of the sixties in my jammies. I took my kids to drive-ins when we lived in Mason City and in Cedar Falls, but are now closed. I am glad that they had that experience in childhood. It's pretty cool that there still a few drive-in theaters out there for us and younger generations to enjoy.

Grilling Kabobs

My grill has seen better days. It's seen better years! The oval shaped piece in the bottom that distributes the gas/heat/flame has a huge leak on the right side. It's not really a grill but a flame thrower on one edge with warming capabilities throughout.
I could fix it, replace the piece, but the last time that happened I was reduced to tears with tools in hand. I just do not enjoy that! I am not very mechanical so I make it work by rotating the food while cooking, which works well most of the time.
Friday night I made these chicken kabobs and asparagus on the grill. Both were longer than the foods that I usually grill. It was a challenge to move the hot metal skewers, especially the end that was over the flame shooter. No pot holders or oven gloves were damaged but it was risky. The meal was delicious but if you look closely, the ends are charred and the middle section is a bit pale! The meat was completely cooked even if it was very uneven cooking. It was actually a very tasty meal, considering the limitations of my crippled grill.

Lists of 100

I have mentioned our lists and here they are. When we explore, travel, photograph or dine we often look to out lists. We have visited 83 courthouses and many Carnegie Libraries, our own ideas for lists, photos and exploration. But these are my two favorite lists! This is what started it!
Shortly after I moved to Des Moines, one of these lists was in the Sunday Register. A few months later the other list appeared. I have saved these original lists which have started to yellow in my coffee table drawer. I have also downloaded and printed Word documents of each list. We keep one set in my vehicle and one in Dale's car. When we were first dating, I showed Dale the lists. We ate Tasty Tacos and Bauder's strawberry ice cream together and shared an enthusiasm for exploring more from the lists. Now we travel all over the state to visit a park, see a historical landmark, eat a pizza or taste a crepe. We have discovered new areas, met new people and tasted new flavors. We agree with many of the entries on the lists but there are several we would add if we were to create our own list. We have hit some road blocks along the way; a bakery closed by the health inspector, a restaurant burned to the ground and a couple of businesses that have closed. Now we are more likely to call ahead if possible. It's great to take Dale to the places that I have been and also wonderful to discover new areas where neither of us have ever been. I have lived in Iowa for fifty years but still see new things. The list may lead us to a location but then we will discover other things there and find another reason to explore there again. We have successfully experienced about 75% of the listings . . . so far! If you want a copy of the lists, just let me know. I will be glad to email it to you.

Saturday Road Trip

Last Saturday felt like a good day for a road trip. Dale and I had a couple of ideas, things from our lists, so we got in the car and headed Northwest. We had tried two times unsuccessfully to go to the Otho Pub for their famous loaded hash browns, but their hours are limited and we were unsuccessful. Saturday we called ahead to be sure of our arrival time and made it to the tiny town of Otho before the 2 pm kitchen closing. These were exceptional hash browns loaded with cheese, onions and green peppers. They were crispy and thick, formed by the pan. They weren't surprised that we had come for this dish. I guess when a stranger shows up it's a pretty sure order for loaded hash browns.

Our destination also included a couple of courthouses in that part of the state that we had missed. We visited Greene and Carroll counties. Dale was able to photography the courthouses and the Carnegie Libraries in those communities. Those are his own personal lists. We are making great headway with the courthouses. I decided to take a shot of this courthouse which is in Jefferson, Iowa on the Lincoln Highway, hence the statue of Abraham. We have explored the Lincoln Highway on previous trips but this took us to a new area. We often get bonus "finds" on these day trips. Last Saturday our bonus was Lake City, Iowa. We laughed and turned around to photograph the welcome sign as we pulled into town, "Lake City, Everything but the Lake!" There is no lake in Lake City, but as we pulled up to the center of town we were so impressed by one of the most gorgeous fountains we have seen in Iowa. It was a fun bonus. Mostly we drive around, stop at interesting spots, take some photos, eat some local food and enjoy the time on the road.

Sidewalk Chalk

This Spring when I looked for my sidewalk chalk I couldn't find it. For many years I have always had a little bucket of chalk in the garage, but I guess I gave it away when I moved. I have loved sidewalk chalking with my kids, my nieces and nephews and even my sisters. Although there are no kids around, I decided to go buy some and continue to enjoy that simple summer pleasure. Today I got off work at noon, read by the pool for a while then pulled a few weeds before deciding it was a good day to break open my box of chalk. It was fun, like a new box of crayons with exciting colors. Now it's raining. That's probably good news. I will have a fresh clean palette soon. I really love to draw flowers, houses and people too. We used to draw the earth then surround it with people hand in hand. Maybe I will try that when the rain dries up!

One More Photo

This is my favorite photo from the disc golf game, but yesterday when I did the post, I made a mistake, deleted it and didn't take the time to upload it again. So today I am correcting that. I like that I actually caught the disc in flight. It was so gorgeous out there yesterday. Today was very gray and damp but we made the best of it with another road trip. Maybe I will blog about that soon.

Trying Disc Golf

I finished my work day at noon on Friday and Dale had the day off. It was gorgeous outside so we decided to enjoy. We headed to our favorite deli for their famous "killer sandwiches" then went to a park to eat. We talked about what the kids had been doing and the conversation led to Jay's interest in disc golf. Dale and I had stumbled on a beautiful course at Ewing Park and decided to give it a try.

We stopped by Target and chose our discs. Since I had heard Jay's stories about water hazards, I decided to go with the clearance disc since I didn't know if I would have any control over the direction or distance!
It turns out that this was fun! My disc went in the direction that I intended. An occasional curve was easily corrected. I was even pleased with my distance, but I have plenty of room for improvement there. Of course we took the camera and photographed each other. That's always part of the fun. We may have been older than most of the disc golfers that we see, but that's OK with me. I love to be outside and this course was in a beautiful park that was partially wooded. I love being in the woods. We will do this again for sure.

Good-bye to Smokey

Our American Gothic

Pretty funny photo, huh? Or is it just dorky and silly? Dale and I set out for a Saturday road trip with a few ideas, plenty of time and sunshine. There are several Iowa destinations that we wanted to see. They were on our lists but we had not made it that direction yet. Saturday was a good day to head southeast. This photo was taken at the house painted by Grant Wood in American Gothic. We are not the first people to stand before the house with a pitchfork and try not to smile. It was fun to see the place especially after seeing the original painting earlier this spring. We also went to see the Villages of Van Buren County. It was not what we expected but still interesting to see the county that seems to be less affected by progress and commercialism than most. We did not see a single chain restaurant in the entire county. We also went to Fairfield which calls itself a cultural garden. It's the home of the Maharishi University which includes the Tower of Invincibility. It did not feel like Iowa to me. Of course we did get to visit a few county courthouses for Dale to photograph. We also found a couple of foods that are on our list. I will have to blog about the lists someday, but not now. Kinda gives you something to look forward to, doesn't it?