Minnesota Maples

Dale and I spent a couple of days along the North Shore in Minnesota. Fall was in full glory. Our innkeeper gave us directions to a maple syrup farm to see the colorful maples. It was a back roads trip and well worth the drive. We stopped at many points along the road to jump out with our cameras. At this stop, I was out of the car and had moved forward. Dale pulled over to the right side of the road. When I was finished I suggested that he "come up here and get me." I wanted to avoid walking in the damp shallow ditch and expected that he would pull the car up for me. He thought that I was asking him to get out of the car and come take a photo of me. We laughed at the confusion then he shot a couple of photos before pulling the car away from the ditch for me. It was funnier at the time!

Sunset on Lake Superior

Tonight we got to enjoy sunset from the shore of our lodge on Lake Superior. They have a great shoreline with lots of places to relax and enjoy the beauty. The colors were beautiful and the crashing waves were wonderful. My blog entries have no rhyme or reason this week...just posting a few photos when I have a chance. The fall colors are amazing on the North Shore. Tomorrow will be another good day!

In Green Bay

Yesterday we were in Green Bay, Wisconsin so it seemed like the thing to do. I am not a Packer fan. Dale is actually a Chicago Bears fan, but Lambeau Field is a landmark. It's actually considered sacred ground to many fans. Due to a rich team history it was an interesting tour. Since the Packers were playing the Bears that night Dale and I asked around and found a fun local sports bar and grill to watch the game. Packers fans were very passionate but there were more than a few Bears fans in the crowd too. We got a taste of Green Bay which was just one stop on our journey through Wisconsin and toward the North Short of Minnesota. I have lots of photos of light houses and beautiful fall foliage but those will be coming later.

Vacation

I keep singing, "Vacation, all I ever wanted. . ." I am lucky to be on vacation again! Dale and I spent the last couple of days wandering the Wisconsin coast of Lake Michigan from Milwaukee to Washington Island. I have taken lots of photos from sunrise in Port Washington to sunset on Green Bay in Door County. I will post more photos soon but for now I will focus on the vacation. Today is Door County then on to Green Bay and then Duluth and the North Shore of Minnesota. Sweatshirt temperatures and wonderful food have added so much! The only downside is that my little point and shoot camera is broken! It jammed up yesterday. I love having it in my pocket so hopefully I can get it fixed. Now I have to wait until I get home to get the photos off that camera.

Road Trip with Ashley

I put a few miles on this weekend, mostly in the car. I drove to Waterloo to connect with Ashley for a quick trip to Rochester, Minnesota for a Saturday wedding. Before we hit the road, we did get a nice country walk with Mowgli. It's a pretty September in Iowa.

I didn't take any photos in Rochester but Ashley did a great job documenting our road trip on her blog. You can check out our "bad self portraits" by clicking here. It was so fun to be at the wedding of a bride who went to preschool with Ashley and became her freshman roommate. The mother of the bride is a very dear friend so it was so nice to be with them on that special day.

Yellow Basket Weave

This is my latest knitting project. Yes, it is another rectangle but I just love the pattern. Jill was making one and encouraged me to buy yarn and start one myself. It was so fun to watch the basket weave appear. I enjoyed every minute of the project. Maybe I will make another one!

Paddle Boating

We spent part of Saturday morning on Grays Lake and it was wonderful! I have been wanting to rent a paddle boat for a couple of years but we had not gotten around to doing it. I didn't want to go when it was too hot but September seemed like the perfect time. It had been years since I had been on a paddle boat but I remembered that it was some work and thought it would be a fun way to get some exercise and enjoy nature. It was breezy but just beautiful. I loved the water splashing on my legs and the sound of the waves, the wind and the trees. We pedaled plenty but we sat, relaxed and enjoyed the atmosphere some also. After working up a good appetite we headed to B & B Market for some of our favorite sandwiches to eat on a park bench. It was a wonderful way to being outdoors on a gorgeous September Saturday!

Labor Day

Labor Day signals the end of my pool season and it's always a sad farewell. Although I love Fall, I really do enjoy the opportunity to exercise in the water, sip cold beverages and read novels by the pool. I love to bring friends and family to the pool all summer also. This Labor Day was forecasted to be 89 degrees after some cooler weather so I set the day aside to enjoy the water. The chilly nights have cooled the pool considerably but Tammy and I braved the 75 degree water to work out for thirty minutes before enjoying the lounge chairs and sunshine. It feels like summer is over so I washed my beach towels and now look forward to finding time to ride my bike more often.

Labor Day Weekend, Part Two

Sunday was another great day! After all the activity we could have relaxed but there were fun things to do. We had a couple of I-Cubs tickets that a friend had shared with me and didn't want to waste the gift so we headed back to Principal Park on Sunday afternoon hoping to see the I-Cubs clench their division. We stayed until the bottom of the twelfth inning when we finally had to leave to make it to the rodeo on time. We listened on the radio and heard that our team lost the game in the fifteenth inning. It's a good thing that we left but it was a very nice day at the ball park with short sleeves and a breeze. Dale took lots of photos and I borrowed this shot. I love the reflection in the sunglasses and it is very much like my first blog post.

Dale and I have become regulars at the Dayton Rodeo on Labor Day weekend. We usually go to the afternoon event but since the Monday forecast was 89 degrees, I wanted to go on Sunday evening and see the rodeo under the lights. It rained on the way there and it rained on us a couple of times as we sat in the bleachers but it ended up being a great night bucking broncos, bulls and all sorts of events, cowboys and animals. It was a fun day even if we got home past my bedtime. It's a good thing that I still have Monday to relax!

Labor Day Weekend, Part One

It has been a wonderful holiday weekend and it's only half done! We started out early by watching Jake play sophomore football with the Mason City Mohawks on Thursday. They traveled to Des Moines and beat the team from Hoover. I love watching Jake and sitting in the stands with Dan and Jill. Jake played very well. This is his big touchdown!!

Although football has already started we wanted to catch another Iowa Cubs baseball game before the end of summer. Friday evening was a beautiful weather. Notice the sweatshirts and jacket? It was chilly but so nice to feel the crisp fresh air . . . more like fall than summer! I-Cubs won and the hot dog and peanuts were delicious!

Saturday was a gorgeous day and I wanted to be outside. Dale and I went for a quick visit to the zoo with our cameras. As always, the giraffes are my favorites. I think that they are absolutely beautiful but then I look closely at these photos of Jacoby, the young male giraffe and notice those nobby parts of his head and wonder why I see so much beauty, but I do. They are gorgeous!

The next stop on Saturday was the Latino Festival. The performers are always entertaining. Dancing, music, costumes and horses! This little boy was so intense and fun to watch as he concentrated on his rope. We also got tasty Latino foods; tamales and a burrito. It's always a very colorful festival and it was fun this year too.

Saturday evening was the first Drake home football game. The weather was perfect. After feeling chilly on Thursday and Friday evening, I was prepared with a big blanket but I didn't need it on Saturday. It was a pleasant night at Drake Stadium but they lost the game. I am sure that the Drake football team plays better when they come back to the home field in October. It's fun to go to the games, no crowd, easy tickets and plenty of parking!

August Ends!

Ashley was here to visit the last few days of August. It was a great way to end my least favorite month. We had lots of good pool time and found a perfect afternoon for a patio lunch. We had some excellent Thai food and some very yummy Mexican as well as some pretty good meals at home! I knitted and she edited photos while we relaxed lots.

At the beginning of August I challenged myself to make some good things happen instead of just waiting for September to arrive. There was plenty of August heat but fortunately I did survive. I got my mammogram, annual physical and dental appointment completed this month. I decided to pump up my exercise also, planning to double up on my workouts some days. I succeeded by at least doubling my 30 minute workout fifteen days in August. My best accomplishment is the fact that I actually did exercise every single day this month! Half way through the month, I realized that I was on a roll and added the goal to work out every day in August. I know lots of people do that but I really don't enjoy exercise much so it was a stretch for me. I do enjoy the pool so that helped lots. I often went to the gym right after work knowing that I could head to the pool to swim afterward. Now it's September, just a few more available pool days. The temperatures are already changing. It's starting to feel like Fall.

Farmer's Markets

When I moved to Des Moines the farmer's markets became a part of my weekly routine during the Summer and Fall. I do love going to the markets and go once or twice a week. This year Dale discovered some great bread and we have both become regulars at the Valley Junction Farmer's Market on Thursdays. We also hit a Saturday market some weeks. Since I have been trying to eat healthier this year the produce is even more appealing. I love the colors and the variety. I also love the atmosphere at the markets. Now that I have my very own hand made market bag it's one more thing to enjoy. Now that it's almost September I look forward to squash, apples and much cooler weather!

Iowa State Fair

Although I am not a huge fan of the State Fair I do go every year with Dale. I realize that some of my feelings stem from a bad experience four years ago. I won't go into all the details but when I returned to my car to find four police officers waiting for the tow truck it was not a good day! I was able to talk very nicely and the tow truck driver was dismissed and one of the officers gave me a golf cart escort through the herds of people swarming on the grand concourse. In the years since then I have not had any major incidents but it is not my favorite event. It is always in August. The heat, humidity and crowds are usually awful but this year Dale and I made a great choice when we headed out to the fairgrounds after work on a rainy day. As forecasted, the rain stopped shortly after we arrived. The air was nice, almost cool and there were no crowds. We walked right up to the butter cow and the pork producers. No lines!! We ate our favorite fair foods . . . mostly foods on a stick. Pork chop on a stick, corn dog and a Fair Square (rice krispie bar on a stick.) We saw the largest ram, the largest boar and the largest bull too. That's always quite a sight! Again, I will spare you the details!!

Farmer's Market Bag

I finished a knitting project that was NOT a rectangle! This is my new handmade farmer's market bag. It has been a very fun project. In July when I met my friend, Julie on Main Street in Cedar Falls we wandered into a yarn shop when we saw these bags in the window. Julie and I each bought yarn and got the free patterns. On my way home from Cedar Falls I stopped in Ames to have dinner with my friend, Kymm and she lent me the appropriate needles. I was uncertain at the beginning but really enjoyed it once I got to the mesh body of the bag. Last weekend when Jill was here I spent lots of time knitting and finished the body and started the handle while I had expert advice in the house. I was motivated to finish the handle this weekend so that I would have the bag to use at Saturday's farmers market. I was thinking that it wasn't very big but that bag really stretches. It's holding six ears of corn, cantaloupe, pepper and a loaf of bread! We also got to check out the newer smaller market at West Glen. It was certainly not a huge event like the downtown market but it was much less crowded and easy to grab some quick produce on our way west to attend the annual Adel Corn Festival. I guess that we will have corn twice this week!! I truly enjoyed this knitting project. Thanks to Julie, Kymm and Jill for the assistance! Fortunately I have new yarn ready to start the next project, which happens to be another rectangle!

Knitting with Jill

I had a great weekend with Jill. She came down on Friday night and stayed until Sunday. We spent most of our time in the pool or knitting in the air conditioning. It was so relaxing to just sit and knit and talk. Saturday afternoon we finally got dressed and did a little shopping. . . mostly for yarn. I actually purchased yarn for two new knitting projects. I am almost finished with my current project; a farmer's market bag. Last night I started a new project, a mobius scarf. With this horrible heat, I love the thought of having to bundle up in a warm thick scarf this winter. I also have some yarn ready to start an afghan but that will wait. I cannot have more than two projects going at one time! It was so fun to spend the weekend with Jill . . . relaxing and fun!

National Balloon Classic

Saturday evening Dale and I drove the short distance to Indianola to see if we could spot some balloons. We knew we were too late to catch the mass ascension scheduled as a part of the National Balloon Classic but we were fortunate enough to catch the end of the flight and see many of the balloons landing just before sunset.

We had not attempted to attend this event for a couple of years but I was very interested in the idea of catching a few photos this year. We were just out on the country roads following the brightly colored balloons as they moved closer to the ground. The one that landed just on the other side of the pond offering the beautiful reflection was a big bonus. It was fun to chase a photo opportunity.

“Viva L’Italia”

On Friday after work Dale and I went downtown to check out the Italian American Heritage Festival and we were not disappointed. We saw some traditional Italian entertainment including these men who are part of the Five Gumbas. These gentleman made friends with Dale early in the evening when it rained and there was extra room under Dale's golf umbrella. It was fun to get to know them a bit then watch them entertain later. It's not a huge surprise that the food was amazing. We tried several very delicious Italian foods. It was a delicious festival!

Last Weekend

It's the weekend again . . . already! I don't say that very often but this week did go quickly. Last weekend I got to enjoy lots of time with Ashley and an extra day off work. We had so much fun cooking, walking, relaxing, shopping and splashing around in the pool. On Sunday we went to the Civic Center to see a production of Jersey Boys. It was a great show and the music was wonderful. During the intermission, we warmed up under this sky light. I was drawn to the image of the clouds and the architecture and took a quick shot with my point and shoot.

Long Weekend

I am enjoying a three day weekend! Ashley's schedule worked out for a visit so I took Monday off work to enjoy a long weekend and it's been great! We have eaten some really good food and enjoyed cooking together. The photo shows our Sunday morning breakfast which was yummy and pretty. We also have gotten great exercise by taking a long morning walk and enjoying the lower temperatures and low humidity. We have exercised in the pool every day, enjoying the refreshing water but also taking time to enjoy the lounge chairs, magazines and icy drinks at poolside. With Monday off work I get another 24 hours of this wonderful weekend!

Cedar Valley Weekend

It was a wonderful weekend in the Cedar Valley. This was my first visit now that both of my kids live in that area. It was relaxing and it was fun. Even though it was quite hot Ashley and I spent quite a bit of time outside with Mowgli. We even did a little gardening at her house and a messy dog bath in the yard. Saturday we went to the Cedar Valley Arboretum which is a beautiful place. When I saw Mowgli standing at this pond watching the Koi I wanted to come back again with my camera to capture the image. Sunday before church Travis went with us for a trip back to the arboretum. After church we met up with Jay and Briana to have a family lunch. When everyone else went back to other activities Jay and I spent sometime exploring the area and finding things that he didn't know about or we may have forgotten after being gone for several years. The brush dump and the recycling center were probably the best finds. I loved spending the weekend with the kids. Now it's Monday morning and time to get back to work. I will never understand why we work five days and have just two days each week to play.

Cedar Valley Saturday

It's the middle of a wonderful weekend in the Cedar Valley. I came to visit Ashley and Travis for the weekend and it's been great. This "frappe vino" was served on the front porch by Travis on Friday evening after a wonderful dinner. It was a perfect July evening even cooling off enough to enjoy outdoors.

One of the motivators for visit was the College Hill Arts Festival. I always loved the event when I lived in Cedar Falls and it was fun to come back to it. We had a full morning before the festival too. Ashley had a photo shoot early so I got my exercise by walking Mowgli. Then I headed out to catch up with a friend at Cup of Joes. There are so many places that I enjoy in the Cedar Valley!

We did spend some time exploring the area for photo shoot sites for Ashley. It was fun to find some fun places that we had explored more than fifteen years ago when my kids were little. Ashley made this wonderful pizza on the grill for lunch today. It was so yummy and perfect for a summer meal. The weekend is only half over and I look forward to the rest. Jay and Briana had lots of plans this weekend but we will make connections on Sunday.

Summer Shopping

Summer can mean lots of heat and humidity. We have had plenty of that in my opinion. Yesterday the heat index was well over 100 degrees. Anybody who knows me very well knows that this is my least favorite weather but there are things that I like about summer. I love having easy access to a swimming pool and I love visitors to share the pool. Last weekend my good friend, Linda came for a pool weekend and it was wonderful. We also went to the farmers market, a movie and malls. I got a new swimsuit which should quiet some of the people who say that I don't always need to buy black swimsuits. As you can see in the photo, there is plenty of color in this one...even though most of it is black. Hey, I like black and my mom told me that black was slenderizing and it matches my flip flops and most importantly; if I can find a swimsuit that covers the important parts, feels comfortable and is on sale then that is the one that I will wear! It was especially nice to have Linda's opinion. We do shop well together and eat well together and relax well together. It was a good weekend. Now it's time to look forward to the coming weekend. Let the fun begin. . . tomorrow!!

Family Fourth

I am fortunate to have a loving family that enjoys each other! Again this year we gathered in Clear Lake at Aunt Snook's house to celebrate the Fourth of July and spend time with cousins, aunts, uncles, siblings, nieces and nephews. At least five more people arrived after this photo and it was great to see everyone! I got to meet my great nephew, Weston for the first time and spent most of the last two days catching up with other family members. It was a wonderful reunion again!

Happy Birthday, Travis!!

Today my favorite son-in-law turns thirty! I know he is having a good day because he is dirt biking with friends. Tomorrow I will get to see him at my family reunion but for today I will just send him an electronic birthday greeting!

Happy Birthday, Travis Jon!

Perfect Weather

As June turned to July we had perfect weather day after day! Highs were in the lower 80s with low humidity and mornings were fresh and clear. I went to work early so that I could rush home and be in the pool before 4 pm. I probably burn more calories at the gym but I just love my time in the pool. One evening Dale and I went for a walk downtown to check out the newly opened pedestrian bridge. I took a couple of shots with my point and shoot but I would like to go back again. Although we got a little exercise, we also stopped at a downtown establishment for an appetizer called "Velvet Elvis." I am certain that it is loaded with fat and calories cause it was so yummy! Now that its time for the holiday it sounds like the heat, humidity and storms may return but that's ok. I will be with family and that will be fun regardless of the weather!

Major League Baseball Parks

I do love ball parks. The atmosphere is wonderful; the sights, sounds and flavors! The game is entertaining and so civilized. It's just a great place to be. I started out in Minneapolis visiting the Metrodome when the kids were little. Then when traveling I would check out the baseball schedules. I took the kids to Yankee Stadium and Busch Stadium; both gone now, but I have added the new parks to my to-do list. We saw the Colorado Rockies play during their inaugural year but haven't been to their current ball park. Now when I travel, I try to find opportunities to visit more. Dale has been very willing to visit ball parks with me so we have seen quite a few together, three this year already. The baseball collection started out as Jay's. I would buy him a baseball and buy Ashley a team teddy bear at each park. She lost interest in the bears and Jay lost interest in the ball parks. He finally told me that I could keep his baseballs because I liked them better. So I continue to buy myself a baseball at each new ball park and will continue to collect more baseballs. I would think I was getting close to visiting half the teams but then they build new ball parks and that means more on my to-do list. I do love my baseball collection and display them at home. They are fun souvenirs.

Old Friends

It's been more than four years since I sold my house in Cedar Falls and packed up my belongings. At that time I thought this West Des Moines home would be a short chapter in my life so I left some things packed in storage. I have moved a few things out of storage and passed some things on to the kids but there are still some boxes and furniture in that space. Today my friend, Tammy asked me about those boxes and it reminded me that now would be a good time to sort and determine what I still want to keep. I recently heard that you should only keep what you find to be often useful or very beautiful. I like that philosophy. I want Grandma's Fostoria, but there is no room in the kitchen at this time. I do not want the box of telephones. Those will land in the dumpster. I decided to open the box of Hummels and found that it was like seeing old friends again; seventeen old friends. Yes, I do want to keep them, for now at least. They hold some precious memories and I still find them to be beautiful. Most were meaningful gifts from my mother-in-law, Betty. I remember which one was my first and I remember the occasion marked by others. She brought me the one in the front with the buggy the day that I gave birth to my first child. It's nice to see my old Hummel friends in my living room again.

Pool Time

Ashley came to visit!
It did not turn out like we planned but it ended up being a very nice visit. She was going to have a couple of photo shoots but one got canceled. I was going to take Friday afternoon off to hang out but ended up going to a funeral out of town and leaving Ashley at my house. There were plenty of clouds and a few rainstorms but we made it all work. We ate good food and relaxed lots. We went to the Farmer's Market and even took a quick trip to the mall. The sun came out and we got to spend time in the pool all three days. We exercised in the water and lounged on the chairs with icy drinks. I wanted to document our weekend and took my little camera down to the pool. With plenty of water and sun neither of us felt camera ready. We each took a few shots thinking that foot photos might be the answer and then decided which ones could be blogged. These were the two that passed the test. I always love it when Ashley visits but often do not have any photo documentation of our very relaxing time. This visit was relaxing too and it felt a little bit like vacation which is a good thing.

Fishing Weekend

Once a year Iowa offers a free fishing weekend allowing people to fish without a license. Since Dale and I barely used our fishing licenses last year we thought this would be a good weekend to get out our fishing poles without the expense of two licenses. We fished on Saturday and we fished on Sunday. We went to Mine Pond, Q-Pond, Lake Ahquabi, Moffitt Reservoir and Water Works Park. Sadly this was the only fish that we were able to get on a hook. We had some nibbles and sacrificed a few nightcrawlers but did not catch anything until the last hour of fishing on Sunday. It may be a tiny little fish but I was thrilled when I reeled it in to the shore.


I thought we would fish just one day but after coming up with nothing on Saturday I was motivated to go again on Sunday. I lost a couple of lures on snags. Dale even climbed out on a dead tree to find the right spot, but no fish! We did see some turtles, dragon flies and butterflies. We got to watch storms roll in and back out on Saturday. Sunday we got a beautiful sunny and breezy day. Finally I did catch my tiny fish and felt content with my fishing weekend. As always, I was grateful that Dale was there to take the poor thing off the hook for me. We set it back in the water to swim off but it may never see out of its right eye again. That may be the extent of our fishing this year but we did enjoy some beautiful areas on a nice June weekend.

Minnesota Twins

The initial motivation for Dale
and me to go to the Twin Cities
over Memorial Day weekend was to visit Target Field, new home to the Minnesota Twins.
I do love to visit major league ball parks and this one was extra special. Back in the late eighties Jay, Ashley and I were big Minnesota Twins fans.

This is a photo of Jay, Ashley and their dad is at the Metrodome in 1988. I never loved the Metrodome but I think it gave me a real appreciation for outdoor ball parks. We were familiar with lots of players back then but Kirby Puckett was a favorite. That's me above by his statue at the new park. Don't Jay and Ashley look cute all decked out for a Twins game? Ashley's Kirby Puckett doll still lives in my guest room. I had the doll's uniform made especially for Ashley after finding the right Cabbage Patch Doll to be her Kirby Puckett. Jay wore his Twins jersey often and was ready to photograph the players on the field that day.

I was quite impressed by Target Field. It has a very unique appearance from outside of the park. Its a great place to watch a game and we got to see the Twins beat the Rangers who we had just visited in Texas last month. Minnesota seems to be embracing outdoor baseball. The game was sold out. The scalpers were charging three times face value for tickets. We chose to buy standing room only tickets because that was all that was left at the ticket counters. The atmosphere was great. Its a beautiful ball park. I hope to go back again, maybe with the kids next time!

Como Zoo

I have always loved Como Zoo in St. Paul Minnesota. As a child I remember sitting on the large turtle when my parents took us to the zoo. I took my children to the Como Zoo many times. They no longer allowed children to sit on the turtle but we always enjoyed the zoo. This photo of Jay and Ashley is from 1987. Last Sunday, Dale and I visited Como Zoo and although there were lots of changes, I smiled when I saw this same gorilla sculpture still in the same spot. My disappointment was that the polar bear display was closed. It reopened a couple of days after we were there. The polar bears were always my favorite, so I guess I will need to go back again.

The zoo was very busy on Sunday with lots of small children and many strollers. It really made me smile to remember that I had pushed a stroller through the same zoo over twenty years ago. The people crowded in for the Sparky show just like we did in the 80s. It was so fun to be in the Twin Cities again after so long.