Texas Food

Dale and I are foodies and it's an important part of our travel. We research ahead looking for local eateries that are landmarks or favorites. Of course we always focus on the specialties of the area. This trip we got lots of Tex Mex and BBQ and it was very good. This is a photo of Dale enjoying the big bacon cheeseburger at Kincaids in Ft. Worth. This was a very unique stop with a great story behind the business. We even got fried okra. You certainly don't get that in Iowa

Joe T. Garcia's was amazingly good food in a beautiful setting. The food was just incredible. We even got cloth napkins!! As much as Dale and I love good food we often hit the diners, drive-ins and dives when we are exploring and love those places also.

We spent part of a morning at the Dallas Farmers Market. We were quite impressed with the beautiful displays of produce. We had thought it would be more of an event, like the Des Moines Farmer's Market but this one was much more about the produce and less about entertainment and atmosphere. We didn't buy any vegetables but we had lots of samples. We also ate lots of ice cream on vacation after we discovered Braum's.
Their ice cream was so good that it may be worth a trip South.

This was a very interesting stop in Oklahoma! The huge sign says just "Fried Pies." The woman at the rest stop insisted that we must stop at exit 151 so we did! It was a very unique experience and well worth the calories. I had the chicken vegetable which was like a very good pot pie then the blackberry for dessert. This place was as local as it could be!

All this food and chili tamales, ball park hot dogs, sausage, brisket and more made for a good eating trip. It was my hope to not gain any weight on this twelve day vacation. I was thrilled to succeed! I was not as thrilled to find out that Dale lost six pounds on vacation. WHAT? How could that happen? OK, so I was happy for him but really? He lost six pounds!!

Congratulations, Molly!

On Sunday I headed to Mason City for my niece, Molly's graduation party! Molly is the youngest child of my youngest sister. Our family is growing up very quickly. It was fun to celebrate with Molly and see lots of family. I am excited that Molly is going to UNI and will be living in Cedar Falls. It's a great town.
I got to town early and met Jay and Briana for a walk in East Park. It's a gorgeous park where I spent time as a child and lots of time with my children when they were little also. The park has been improved and well cared for over the years. It is a gem in Mason City!

Waterloo Weekend

I had a great weekend visiting Ashley and Mowgli in Waterloo this weekend. Travis was gone for a motorcycle weekend so I didn't get to see him but it was a fun weekend anyway. We went for lots of walks and Mowgli was happy to go with us. We also ate great food and got to go some of my favorite places; Brown Bottle and Pablos. I got to see a couple very good friends, Linda and Larry. I love the opportunity to catch up with my Cedar Falls friends!

Linda gave us rhubarb from her yard. Ashley had mentioned strawberry rhubarb pie recently so we found a recipe and made a yummy pie for dessert and breakfast the next day! It was so fun to hang out with Ashley, walking, eating, talking and just lounging around together! Mowgli cried when I left. . . how sad. I will be back soon!

Hiking and a Hotdog

I had a great Mother's Day!

The kids were not here but they will all be down in two weeks and I look forward to that.
Dale and I went hiking at Ledges State Park in the morning and went to an I-Cubs game in the afternoon. How great is that? Hiking in the woods and a ball park hot dog for lunch?


I hope to get to a good hiking spot often this summer. It is great exercise and much more pleasant than a treadmill at the gym. The trails were quite steep and we did make it up to the crow's nest lookout. It was a good workout. I love that the creek weaves through the park with the waters running over the roads in several places. We didn't get to all the trails so I hope to get back to Ledges again soon. The I-Cubs won today too. It was a good day. Now I look forward to seeing Jay, Ashley, Travis and Briana in a couple of weeks.

I Love Being a Mom!

I am very grateful for the privilege of being a mom to Jay and Ashley. It was wonderful to have them in my life as babies, children, teens and adults! Mother's Day is a reminder of that wonderful blessing.

On rare occaision when they were little one of them would call me Linda. I would remind them that everybody calls me that but only they got to call me Mom. I thank God that I get to be their Mom!!

Farmer's Market Season Openers

My favorite farmer's markets
opened for the season this week.
I always love the event; the music, sights, sounds, smells and the people. On Thursday Dale and I got some amazing flax seed bread and some very fresh asparagus at the Farmer's Market in Valley Junction. Those purchases created this wonderful Saturday lunch along with some fresh mozzarella from Graziano's, one of my new favorite markets.

Last Saturday Ashley, Travis and Mowgli went with us to the Downtown Farmer's Market along with thousands of other people. I love the market and the music. We got some very tasty things but the crowd made it hard to move around. It was opening day and the weather was perfect so lots of people came. I took this photo when we took a short walk downtown to get a break from the crowds at the farmer's market. It was fun to take Ashley and Travis to the farmer's market and it fit in well with our dog friendly weekend.

Texas Events

In Texas we saw some great events.

I have enjoyed visits to Major League Baseball Parks throughout the country on my travels. When I met Dale I found out that he did the same thing with Nascar tracks. On this trip to Texas we were able to include one race, two baseball games and a rodeo.


Minute Maid Park in Houston was a fun ball park. The train high over the outfield was a great way to mark the home team home runs. That was the most unique thing about that ball park. Houston Astros played a good game against Florida. It was a beautiful evening so the roof was open and I enjoyed the game as I watched the sun set over the city. We didn't see much of Houston, this was our only stop in that city.

We saw the Texas Rangers play a great game against the Detroit Tigers. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington was more enclosed on the sides than many of the parks that I have seen. There wasn't a view of the city but it didn't matter because it was a very interesting game. We even stayed for the fireworks after the game. I think we will have good memories of both ballparks.

Our trip timing was based on the Nascar race held at Texas Motor Speedway. The forecast did not look good and we ended up experiencing our first rain delay. We traveled to the track on Saturday and spent a couple of hours under the bleachers due to a continual rain. The race was postponed to the next day so we found some fun in Ft. Worth, then headed back to the track to see the race on Monday.

I was very excited to see a real Texas Rodeo. We got lucky to find that the Real Texas Festival was being held in conjunction with the Mesquite Rodeo while we were in Texas. Dale and I had been to several rodeos in Iowa and were pleased to see that the Texas rodeo was very similar. It was a fun evening in Texas and we were pleased to see that Rodeo is good in Iowa or in Texas.

I still have some more vacation photos and plan to post them soon, probably mixed with current posts also!

My Photographer

Sunday morning Ashley and I did a mini photo shoot to TRY to get a good photo of me. When she requested the session, I was game. I had certainly put her through many photo sessions and taken thousands and thousands of photos.

We didn't find the perfect lighting and I didn't have time to color my gray roots, but we got a photo! Jay didn't like my old facebook profile picture, so this one will work better and is more up to date. I have aged a couple of years since the old shot was taken. I wasn't her easiest subject. I laughed and looked goofy lots but it was fun to play around with it.

Ashley takes lots of portraits and is doing very well with her photography. You can check out her work on her blog or on her website.

Weekend with Mowgli

It's been a very fun weekend and there is still one more day to enjoy! Travis and Ashley brought Mowgli with them for a visit. The weather was perfect and we have enjoyed many fun outdoor activities. This is a shot of Mowgli joining us at Snookies for his first "puppy cone." We also took him to the farmers market and the dog park as well as a picnic with our favorite B & B deli sandwiches. It was a perfect weekend to find outdoor activities. I just love being outside in this weather and Mowgli adds to the fun!

Texas Wildflowers

One of the things that Texans seem to be very proud of are their wildflowers. We hit the season perfectly and found roadsides covered with wildflowers of every color. We pulled over several times to stretch our legs and photograph the flowers. Bluebonnets seem to be the favorite for good reason. They are very striking. We were very fortunate to visit the state during bluebonnet season!

Texas Vacation

Dale and I recently returned home from a twelve day vacation in Texas. We did a pretty good job of exploring some of the cities and rural areas, but it's a big state and we did not see all of it. We were impressed with many thing and had a great time. Texans are obviously proud of their state for good reason. I finally got my photos from the camera to the computer and I will be posting more very soon.

April in Iowa

It's absolutely gorgeous in Iowa this week! We have had enough sunshine and warmth to open many blossoms. The daffodils have been just perfect the last couple of weeks. After the warmth this weekend the magnolias and many tulips have come to a full bloom. The magnolias smell wonderful and my favorite place for a magnolia fix is the Drake University campus. Tulips are my favorite flowers of all and the best tulip beds in town are blooming this week. Last week when I drove past Anderson Erickson dairy the tulips were all closed but after a perfect weekend, the flowers were opening quickly on Monday. This is just the most gorgeous time of the year. Well, this and October are my favorites! So although I am very excited, I am asking myself why we would leave Iowa for a vacation this week. It's so beautiful here! Of course I am looking forward to exploring new areas on vacation and plan to take lots of photographs of all sorts of beautiful places and things.

Birthday Weekend

Dale's idea of a birthday weekend was fantastic! Sunday was another gorgeous day. I met my friend, Jackie at our neighborhood coffee shop for a leisurely latte outdoors in the sunshine. Dale and I spent the afternoon at the I-Cubs game. It was a beautiful day to be at the ballpark. We saw Ryne Sanberg, the new manager and we ate hot dogs and peanuts! Too bad that the I-Cubs didn't win but we thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. To make the weekend even better Dale got a device and successfully got all of my documents off the computer that seemed to crash a couple of months ago. Now the documents and all my photos are on my brand new computer and I did not have to deal with the hassle! I just love that!! The birthday is officially over and now it's time to get ready for work on Monday. Just four more days of work before our next adventure!

Fifty-One

I just love birthdays! This was a very good birthday. So many people were so wonderful. I got lots of cards in the mail. Since I have been developing some self control I actually saved them to open on my birthday. I got off work at 2, came home and sat on a lounge chair in the sun to open my cards.

I work with the best volunteers! They are wonderful people all year round, but they were especially nice to help me celebrate my birthday. They brought flowers, cards, candy and balloons. Gladys baked my very favorite red velvet cake and it was yummy! I got lots of hugs and birthday wishes reminding me of how fortunate I am to work with such wonderful people.

Dale did a beautiful job of helping me celebrate my birthday. He took me to my favorite spot for artichoke dip and Merlot. He even told me about it a couple of days ahead so that I could look forward to it and answer my friends when they asked what we were doing. We took a sunset stroll at Gray's Lake after our dinner which was wonderful! He brought me flowers and wrapped presents too. I have to admit that I told him after the first couple of years that the birthday dinner didn't count as a gift. I guess that's part of my history with birthdays. I love the celebration and I think I have passed that on to my children. They probably have higher birthday expectations too. . . thanks to me! (Sorry about that, Travis and Briana! But it is fun, isn't it?)

Dale suggested that it be a birth-weekend rather than just one day and I thought that sounded like a wonderful idea! When he asked what I wanted to do on Saturday the answer was easy. I wanted to go hiking in the woods, preferably at Ahquabi Lake near Indianola. It was a gorgeous day near seventy degrees and perfect for hiking. Tiny flowers were blooming on the floor of the woods and the trees were budding beautifully. It felt so good to be in the woods and near the lake. The trails up and down hills were also a great workout after the birthday cake and wine!

Last Week

Last week was wonderful with visits from both of my kids! Ashley was in town for two nights during the work week. I took one day off and we had lots of time to hang out, shop, eat and enjoy the perfect weather. We went for some walks and to the gym. She was registered for a photography seminar and because her friend ended up home with a sick babe, I was Ashley's partner for the seminar which was very fun.

The day that Ashley left Jay and Briana arrived for two nights. We

had a great time hanging out at the house and exploring new places. The photos are from our Saturday trip to the zoo. After the zoo we played a few holes on a disc golf course that was new to us. Jay got to try two foods from our list of 100 things to eat in Iowa, Claxon's ribs and Tasty Tacos! All four of us also made a trip to the gym. It was fun to learn some things from Jay's experience at the gym.
It was wonderful to have the kids around the house for several days. Having family in the house is one of my very favorite things. I love waking up in the morning and remembering that the kids are here! Jay and Briana brought birthday gifts too and that is always fun. I have to admit that it felt awfully quiet around here when the visits were over but the sheets are clean and I am ready for the next visits!

Healthier Eating

Since joining the gym I have been making a good effort to cook healthier meals at home. After work yesterday I stopped at the grocery store to replenished my supply of produce. I decided to grill some pork chops but couldn't decide on a vegetable. I had just gotten pea pods, broccoli, asparagus, red bell peppers and a few other beautiful veggies. Since I couldn't choose I just started throwing a bit of each into a pan and did a quick stir fry. It was so rich with colors that Dale grabbed his camera and photographed while I tossed the veggies around in the pan. It was delicious with the pork! I have been doing well but still wish that veggies tasted as good as cookies! My taste buds often prefer less healthy choices, but I do try to resist more often now.

First Day of Spring

Today is the first day of Spring and we woke up to about four or five inches of snow. It's gorgeous! (Because we know it will melt very soon, it's even more gorgeous.) Dale and I went for a walk along the creek and on the trails by my house then we also drove out to Lake Heron where the gulls were very busy. It was fun to trudge around in the fresh snow leaving prints and kicking up powder.

Thursday I washed my car wearing flip-flops, capris and short sleeves. Today I wore my snow boots. I guess that's March in Iowa! Its been a wonderful week.

Cats at the Zoo

Sunday afternoon turned into a bright Spring day so Dale and I decided to head to the zoo. I really wanted to be outside but it was too muddy to do many outdoor activities. The zoo was a good destination.

The cats were especially cooperative, even a bit lazy. It was fun to catch the tiger's yawn. I also took lots of pictures of the red pandas but I am sure that I can get a better shot of them another day.

Reiman Gardens

Last weekend Dale and I made two trips to Ames to watch Jake and the Mason City Mohawks play hockey. It was fun to watch the boy skate. They did very well.
While in Ames we took the time to visit a couple of our favorite places. On Friday night we went to Hickory Park for bar-b-que with Dan and Jill. It was fun to hang out with them and eat delicious food together.




Saturday morning after the game Dale and I headed over to Reiman Gardens specifically to visit the butterfly garden with our cameras. It is a beautiful and peaceful space. I was surprised to see a constant flow of people of all ages through the butterfly area on a Saturday morning. It is a quite popular place.

It was like visiting summer in the very early days of spring. It was a gray and chilly day but quite warm and green in the butterfly garden area. It was a fun place for photography and I took lots of photos. They are amazing creatures.

New Orleans

Two weeks ago my friend, Becky and I spent a Saturday in New Orleans. As we entered the French Quarter, I said, "New Orleans is just so different from anyplace else!" The culture, food, music and architecture are unique in so many ways. It was fun to enjoy a gorgeous sunny day exploring the French Quarter. I took a few photos and ate lots of great food. Red beans and rice, Muffulettas, pralines and beignets. . . all in one day!

I tried to sneak a quick photo of a man holding this sign outside of a French Quarter establishment. He spotted me immediately and insisted on trading the sign for my camera so that he could take a photo of Becky and me. Of course, he wanted a tip but he was so much nicer about it than some of the others, so we were happy to play the game! We did not get one of these huge beers but do see great humor in the sign!