High on Life

menu

Paul and I are pleasantly full of comfort food after eating at the High Life Lounge.
http://thehighlifelounge.com/

The rolls were soft and yummy too

They serve great broasted chicken there - crispy on the outside and piping hot on the inside. The mashed potatoes were real - with chunks and everything. Gravy - right thickness and not too salty. Paul said the fries were good. Beans - green, were just canned.

High Life only serves beers that were available before something like 1974. So no lite beer, ay. So don't go expecting anything fancy. Paul had a regular Coors. The night's food special was chicken fried steak.

One of the menu items is Tatertot casserole for God's sake. The first time I ate that stuff was at Sally Rodger's house - made by her mom Anna Day. Love at first bite for me...so much so that I talked my mom Pat B in to making it. Good stuff!

I love the decorating at the High Life - probably because the room is surrounded by the beer signs of my childhood. They don't rotate though - worn out by now I suppose. I loved the sign at the White Rose - it rotated around and the smoke bellowed up through the woods. Our waiter was quite attentive too.

Our whole invoice was $17.95. We give it five Moki Heads.

Moki

Mummy arm

Elbow surgery is in the past, best scase scenario so far -if the biopsy is what we're expecting. The little bump, that Dr. Leslie had speculated long ago was cartilage - was said to look like just that. Dr. Kallemeier thought it was a pea sized piece of cartilage. From one of my clumsy falls of the past couple years?

The Des Moines Orthopaedic Surgeons nurses called Monday to notify me I needed to show up Tuesday at 10 a.m. for surgery. Their surgical center is near their office - on 60th Street in WDM, off Westown Parkway, just south of University. I wore shorts under my sweats, hoping I'd get to keep them on with my sports bra, but no such luck. Undies and socks only, along with a lifeless gown. Paul and I waited quite a while as the Doc finished up another surgery. A nurse botched one attempt at an IV (I'd make a terrible heroin addict - small veins), but got try 2 into my forearm.

The doc came in for a last minute check and to feel the area. The bump was easy to feel, right under the skin on the inside of my elbow. She marked it with a pen. She was in scrubs - I was likely surgery number 3 or so of the day. Did that bother me? Was she tired by then? I thought about it. For a surgeon - it must be like game day! It's what they live for. Office visits are the boring stuff - what they have to do to get to the good stuff - their performance, fun!

We had decided I would be put under general anesthesia in case the bump was woven around nerves. It turned out that wasn't the case - but better safe than sorry. I walked into the surgery room. Brrr! The nurses were chatty, until the doc shot something into the IV that I felt into my lungs. I said a couple more words...then - lights out. I came to in my chair in the recovery room. My arm was wrapped elbow to hand. It's an amazing thing.

They gave me crackers and water. I was damn hungry since I hadn't eaten since 10 PM the night before and it was around 1 p.m. Paul said Dr. Kallemeier told him about the "bump". He said she told him it pretty much just popped out. Perhaps I could have had him slice it out with his deer cleaning tools (after I had several Lemondrop martinis...). haha We stopped at burger king for a chicken sannie on the way home. After a nice fatty lunch, I napped all afternoon, and woke up feeling pretty good.

Anyway - I am supposed to keep this mummy arm wrap on for 5 whole days. Right. I don't think so. I'll see how long I can stand it. There are only a couple stitches on under there. It's supposed to keep the arm swelling down. I have plastics baggy things to shower in. Nevertheless, I imagine some moisture getting in. And it will start to stink.

Hope this takes care of the issue - burning pain, sporadic and very distracting. If not - I'll be back in for surgery to move a nerve. I got some Tylenol with codeine for pain, but I don't think I'll even need to take any. Glad that surgery is over with.

Fong report

Tonight was Fong night. I'd been hearing about Fong's Pizza for quite some time - a delicioso combo of two of my fave foods - Chinese and Pizza. Tonight was the night. It's just off Court Avenue (north) on 4th Street. If you've ever been to the Farmer's Market - it's that street where the famous breakfast burritos are served.

Here is the link to their website - it's most complete!
http://fongspizza.com/home.html

Not a big place - with a longish bar and several booths in the front room, and a few booths and tables in the back room. Cozy. Most of the booths were full when we arrived about 6 p.m. We ended up sitting at a corner table by a group of guys who were rather loud, but quite entertaining to listen to (and we got to because it was hard to talk over them..).

Paul sits by their Cityview awards

Paul had a Blue Moon, and I stuck with good 'ol H2O. We shared crab Rangoon as an appetizer - three flakey pastries filled with creamy rich filling. We settled on Thai Chicken pizza, size small with white (not wheat), thin crust. It was just the right size for the two of us. Tasty - with peanut sauce that was a little hot - spicy. I ended up full yet not stuffed. Just right!

The table right next to us was filled with a gaggle of happy, beer drinking men (Pabst Tallboys)

Our waiter was a pleasant chap. The noise level dropped considerably when the fellas next to us headed out about 15 minutes prior to our departure. Ahhh, my ears were relieved.

Paul and I considered what type of rating system we might come up with for our critique of the food/bevvie joints we're trying out whilst living temporarily in the East Village.

Paul suggested Moki heads (Moki was our dog, a West Highland Terrier RIP). Nope, we can't use Moki, nor Odie heads (our present wiener dog). Neither have met a meal they didn't like! With that rating system, every restaurant/pub would always get the top rating!

But so far Paul and I haven't met a meal here during our quest that we haven't liked. (Paul has gotten up close and personal with a few wings that didn't agree with him...).

• Dos Rios really good (it's up on Court Ave. on the West Side of the river)
• Zombie Burger - good burgers, fries are soggy with really good dipping sauce. They need Gus and Donna King of Creston's own Elm's Club to teach them how to cook fries!
• Legends okay, but is a corporate joint, so nothing special...
• Court Avenue Brewing - only had appetizers, good
• Jethro's by Drake - really good! Ribs to die for. Didn't yet try the wings, must try those! The scalloped corn is really excellent.
• Baby Boomers - great breakfast
• Locust Tap - great local tap, no food but had to mention it, because we enjoyed it so...
• Capital City Pub and Hot Dog - good dogs, wings not so great
• Embassy Suites bar/restaurant - really good ham and bean soup, wings not good
• and I love The Continental for lunch - blackened chicken, and Tuesday is Taco Day
• We also hit Cheesecake Factory one Friday night - I had the skinny burger. Doing the healthy eating thing. It was really good, along with a side salad. Plus I looked longingly at the cheesecake.
• and now Fong's - I will go back there. Good place!

I look protective of my pie, no?

Note- Paul G. Goldsmith selected some new glasses which arrived recently. Note the stylish frames...as he speaks to Gary Bucklin, radio announcer from Creston Radio at last weekend's St. Malachy Auction. My man is stylin'!

Paul and the mouth of Creston talk sports

Mixed feelings

View of the Capitol from our building

I've got mixed feelings about our living situation. I work in DSM. Paul has a temp position in town, so we've taken a "place" - a loft in the East Village near both of our jobs. We'll be there through mid April. Living together full time for the first time in three years.

Though I admit it's been a bit of an adjustment. I'm finding I love it too much. I'm being spoiled. Last week on our way back to DSM, I spoke of the "South Place" and the loft. Like Creston was the south of France or something. Paul said - it IS on a lake - Lake McKinley, the pond-sized lake you can see from our house.

We love our neighborhood in Creston, and the people who live in it. As I write this, Paul is driving off in our neighbor, Bill Taylor's Chevy truck with brush from our yard. Taylors aren't home but they left their keys so Paul could run brush to the city yard waste site. Taylors also watch our house and cat when we're on vacation. Joni (Bill's wife) refuses to allow us to pay their daughter Jenna for this service. (I'm sure it's really Joni who is the one doing the job most of the time). We try to provide local gift certificates to show our gratitude.

Jim Anthony scoops our driveway with his blade after snowstorms - all for Hooters gift cards (he says he loves the wings..., right Jim). All the other neighbors are good peeps too. No troublemakers with Harleys or barking dogs.

Our house last fall...

Plus we love our Creston friends like family - without much of the drama. They've been through it all with us. The good, the bad, the crazy knuckleheaded stuff. Fun. Oh the times we've had!

But I'd love having my honey with me full time. It's not an option at this point...the position he's staffing is a temp one. The guy he is replacing is itching to get back to his real job! Alas...the feds aren't going to keep paying for us to have a 2nd home in the big city.

When we got back to the loft last Monday, both of us (and even Odie) felt like we were kinda "home" there too. Sure - my fave chair isn't there. And Odie can't run out the front door to potty. There's no place for Paul to putz around. And the light in the bathroom sucks - for all of my personal makeup routine (all 5 minutes). And the bird next door continues to gargle, coo, roar - whatever that noise is...

But it's so nice being together. For the little stuff. Groceries, library visits and surgery. Yeah - I have that elbow surgery next week and it will be really convenient living in town for medical stuff. Our search of the perfect wings/neighborhood food/bar has been fun too. It was quite distracting one day at work last week - trying to decide just which establishment we should try out that evening.

It's like riding the roller coaster. I'm trying to enjoy the ride and not think about the end. Because when this ride is over, Paul and I are lining up for another ride! We're not sure what it will be - or how fun, but we'll be on it together.

On a ferry ride - NYC. We look a little like we're in pain

Latest East Village pics

Before the latest snow I got a walk in. I like the exercise - for the LiveHealthyIowa thing, and for me. Plus that day, Wednesday, I was just ready to expend some energy. Do you ever feel like that? My friend Deb is like that every day. She is in such an excellent habit of exercising that she feels like she forgot something if she misses.

Along with exercising, I love to take pictures of the neighborhood. I like the energy of the place - discovering the nooks and cranny of back alleys. I'll share a couple with you.


I love the shadows this time of year!

Wiener waggin

Paul and I wagged wieners at Capital Pub and Hot Dog Co. on SE 6th Street on Tuesday. They were quite magnificent. Mine was a drunken dog - kraut with mustard. Paul had some type of chili dog I believe. Plus wings, which weren't our fave. But the dogs were swell.

The place had a nice feel to it - hoops on the TV, KSU vs Missouri. A woolly looking man sat down at the bar near Paul. He had a long gray beard, and turquoise rings on his fingers. When we left that night - it's quite a ways south so we had to drive - there was a total hoarders van parked near our Subaru in the parking area. It was an old regular size white panel van with only a spot for the driver...the rest was packed full of, well crap. Papers, boxes - nothing of value. I bet it was bearded guy's.

Last night we attended the ISU Men's basketball game in Ames. It was a late night for a working girl, but worth it to see another game with this team - win #20. It's been a while since we've seen that mark. Royce White dribbled between a guy's legs and dunked it.

Yesterday and today were filled with stressful meetings for me, so I was overjoyed to have a massage scheduled this afternoon. Thanks to my lil Jud Bud for that gift for Christmas. Tonight Paul and I met his sis Carol at Red Lobster for supper. I know - fish 3 days in a row for us...good to see Carol, who is down from Northwood hanging with grand daughter Mandy on days off school. Now it's snowing - and sticking. Supposed to add up to 3 or more inches. Odie's gonna love it. Not.

Forget Kevin Bacon

Jane Buck and me

A couple degrees of separation from...me! Monday night Pablo the Poolboy and I dined with an old A-town (Atlantic, Iowa) pal, Jane Buck. Jane and fam lived in our neighborhood when I was growing up. I liked hanging out at their house so I could play with her son Tommy's army men and other boy toys. We reconnected on Facebook a couple years ago since she lives here in Des Moines...I kinda do.

Monday night we chatted about a lot of stuff. The subject of Southwest Iowa came up. (I know - scintillating topic!) I'd forgotten that her beloved spouse Bill, who passed away in 1982, grew up in Mount Ayr, Iowa. That's not too far from Creston, our home.

• Mount Ayr happens to be the home territory of our dentist Dr. Dave Buck.

Hmmm same last name.

• Dr. Dave and lovely wife Gwen (now the Director of Nursing at Greater Community Regional Health Center) were two of the first people we met when we moved to Creston 25 years ago.
• I asked Jane if she happened to know Dick (now deceased) and Phyllis Buck - Dave's folks. Nice people - just like Dave and Gwen.
• Yes, she said, they're relatives of Bill's! (I don't quite remember the connection, I must admit when Jane said she knew them I was reveling in the coincidence of the whole thing and forgot to listen...) She said something like their dads were brothers? Cousins?
• I didn't think of it until later - but Joan McFee Bentley, my Des Moines roomie, is married to Billy Bentley from Diagonal. Billy is also related to Bucks - through Billy's mom, Barb, who I think, who may be Dick's sister. (Okay I didn't listen that well to that information either)
• It's a big circle and everyone's related-
• I'm listening baby - okay maybe not that well.

Jane, John and Nicks



Me with Jane, Monday night

I had supper with an old friend tonight - Jane Buck from Atlantic. Pablo was there too. She's the mom of one of my Atlantic classmates, Tommy Buck. Back in my tomboy days, I loved going to the Buck house - down the hill and around the corner from ours, to play with Tom and his guy toys. (green plastic army men - he had a million of 'em) My big sis Susi and Linda Buck were friends in high school.

I quit hanging with Tom when I discovered I was a girl, and I lost track of Jane after I graduated from high school. Like many of the men who worked at Walnut Grove animal feed, her husband Bill Buck died too early of cancer - lymphoma Jane said, when he was only 57. So tragic. That was the year we got married, 1982. Jane moved out of Atlantic soon after that, settling into the Des Moines area in various locations through the years.

Then Facebook was invented and Jane and I reconnected. We've seen each other a couple times the past three years - most recently last summer during the All School reunion in Atlantic. When Paul and I knew we'd be living up here I thought it would be a good time to catch up with Jane. She's fun to talk to and frankly, I miss hanging out with that generation - especially since Dad died.

The cool thing about Jane is that she doesn't act 80. She lives in a "retirement" complex, but doesn't have much time for old folks. Jane doesn't wish to eat supper at 5 p.m., much less arrive early for it at 4 p.m. like some of the residents do. She stays up until midnight, and has a computer that she must be fairly adept at. I know she's going to read this...and I don't want her head to get too big, but to me she seems to be pretty sharp. And I'm not even going to say "for her age" because I'm the chick who ordered the same book twice for book club.

We went to John and Nick's out in West Des Moines for supper. It's an offshoot of Chicago Speakeasy, an old fashioned steakhouse. While we ate we had a little gab-session - chatting about Atlantic folks. Jane keeps up on people, and I miss the gossip now that Dad is gone and I don't talk to his friend Kay Harris much anymore.

We had a great time. Even Paul was able to follow the conversation - since he's an honorary Atlantic person now, since he's been around me so long. All too soon it was time to say good bye. Jane tried to talk us into coming up for a cake she'd baked, but I was stuffed already from Prime Rib - with leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

I aim to have Jane's attitude in life - keep learning and don't act your age! Words to live by. As soon as she sends me the picture Paul took of us tonight, I'll post it here proudly. (She sent it Tuesday - it's at the top of this blog).

It's Organic

Aviva - at left is pulper and square part on right, dehydrator

Have I mentioned that I love my job? I got to go on a couple cool tours this week to check out ways to reduce organic waste. I know - who wouldn't love looking at people's left over food?

A group of us at the Department of Natural Resources reviewed results of a statewide "Waste Sort" - where people actually sift through trash being delivered to Iowa's landfills. We want to know what's in the trash. Garbage was sorted into many categories and weighed. What did we learn? Much of what's hitting landfills is organic - food waste. (Followed by cardboard - but that's a whole 'nother blog.)

To get ideas for ways to help Iowans cut organic waste we decided to investigate technologies being used to do just that.

I heard from my friend Rhonda at Metro Waste Authority (MWA), the agency in charge of the landfill and all things waste related in the Polk County area, about technologies a couple Des Moines insurance companies are using to reduce their reliance on landfilling of food waste. This week, planets aligned (thanks to Rhonda's persistence) and tours were scheduled to see kitchens at Aviva USA and Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Monday, my supervisor Jen, and co-workers Scott and Matt headed out west past Jordan Creek Mall to the Aviva, which opened in the fall of 2010. We met Rhonda there along with her co-worker Mary, who does environmental education for MWA. Even the foyer of the Aviva building is impressive! We provided our names for visitor passes - just to get past security. We met Tom Dengler - who works for Eurest Dining Services and proceeded to the spacious Aviva cafeteria.

Tom explains the Aviva system

It's a huge beautiful place. They serve  approximately 1,000 people each day between breakfast and lunch. The company has focused on reducing waste as much as they can and provide real dinnerware for people that dine in the cafeteria. When people wish to carry their food back to their desks, clamshells and flatware are compostable.

compostable cup and clamshell

When folks are done with their meals, they simply put trays on a conveyor and staff sorts - removing anything to be run through a washer. The organics head a different route to go through a pulper (after running under a magnet to make sure no stray forks are in there - though Tom said they've had a few crunched utensils despite the magnet, just like me with my garbage disposal...)

The pulper is similar to a garbage disposal - mashing food waste up with sharp hammers. Compostable containers with flatware may also go into the system. Water is piped into the mush to help mash it. Instead of flushing it down the drain, it then goes into a big sieve, where the water is then pushed back out of it. This process reduces volume 8:1.

Next, this lovely pile of dampish organics (300 pounds/week) is put into a dehydrator for 18 hours. There the stuff is stirred and cooked until it's reduced another 90% and has virtually no smell. The resulting product looks similar to wood shavings and is sent to MWA's yard waste facility to be composted. A whole week's worth of Aviva's organics turns into one tote of organic shavings. Remarkable!

Thursday we had the opportunity to see very similar technology - a pulper and dehydrator, at the gorgeous Wellmark , also built in 2010, in downtown Des Moines. This is a LEED Platinum facility - which means is was built in an environmentally friendly manner, set up to conserve energy. The place looks like a 4-Star hotel too!

Jen and Geri from MWA with Matt behind talk to Dee and Tom

Tom Leon and Dee Keul showed us around at Wellmark. Guckenheimer Enterprises Inc. is the foodservice management company operating the cafeteria in Des Moines. I understand that Guckenheimer takes pride in preparing fresh meals, and Wellmark - in the health insurance industry - takes great pride in their commitment to health. Even vending machines are "healthy".

choose a healthy snack!

cafeteria - that's Rhonda at right

pulp

The cafeteria was beautiful and gleaming clean when we saw it. Instead of compostable carryouts, Wellmark uses washable items that may (or may not...if people take 'em home) be returned. They serve around 900 people per day between breakfast and lunch. Tom had my mouth watering when he talked of some of the dishes served at Wellmark - bourbon, chocolate bread pudding was one that caught my attention. Yum!

dehydrated material

reusable containers

Unlike Aviva, Wellmark uses the dehydrated product - that is more of a dirt color due to the dark color of their recycled content napkins - on their grounds like a soil amendment. So they avoid hauling it away altogether!

Neither Aviva nor Wellmark had information readily available on how much energy the equipment uses. Comparison information - before using the system to after wasn't available either since they both are in brand new buildings. I'll need more info to help evaluate whether or not this type of technology might help others. Wellmark and Aviva seem very happy with how things are working out for them.

These field trips were a lot like school field trips of my youth - interesting, informative and they got me out of the office. My job is fun. (most of the time) And now I can share this information with others - like you!

Local gems

We didn't make it out to the Williamson fundraiser for the women's shelter last night. We started the night at the Lobby with McFees, McKims and my roomie Joan and her husband Billy Bentley, and never ended up leaving. I had suffering an excruciating migraine earlier in the day, hadn't eaten much and really wasn't up to much partying. So hanging local was fine with me.

I thought about the auction they were having at the fundraiser. I was sorry to miss it as it was highly likely Darwin West led the charge there. He's a local gem - an area do-gooder, and all-around wonderful guy. Darwin is an Auctioneer and bus driver by profession. He squeezes money out of people at charity auctions quite easily, by embarrassing them. At Creston High Schools annual Prom, he dresses in a tuxedo and announces each couple like they were stars on the red carpet at the Oscars. The kids love him too!

It all starts when Darwin drives the bus. He drives a rural route during the day, making friends with each of the kids - teasing them in a nice way. But he does it in a way that shows he cares about them - important in this day and age. Your parent are supposed to like you - but how good a feeling is it when this old guy accepts you for who you are?

Did I mention Darwin is around 70ish and is a bit round? At least he has the belly of Santa, and he usually wearing some type of hat. He never fails to speak to us when we see him, asking about the kids or work - whatever. When I was in charge of the St. Malachy Catholic School Foundation for several years, he and his Auction Crew graciously donated their time to this event, helping us raise tens of thousands of $! He's got some great lines to get people to up their bids. I'm sure Mr. West raised a bunch for the Women's Shelter last night!

Sorry I didn't make it.

I did enjoy a night out with our buddies - even if I kept it toned down. We ordered pizza from A&G and Paul and Jeff walked down to get it. Lobby staff whipped out plates and napkins - nice! They've recently opened up the larger room east of the bar area and a band was playing in there. Perfect - we could talk at the table we were at, yet still hear the band. We packed it in fairly early - around 10:30 PM, and it was nice to come home to my own bed (King size). Good night!

Real home feels real good

We traveled to Creston yesterday later afternoon. It felt good to walk through the door. The elderly kitty was glad to see us. Odie frolicked through the house, pranced in the yard sans leash.

Deb and I attended book club at Thea's at 7 PM. It was a smallish group - which may have been my fault. My book Alzheimer's anyway. It seems I ordered up a book our group had already read! Yikes. I've been working too hard. Or something. We won't blame alcohol. Once the club members started talking about characters and the plot...it did begin to come back. It had been a while since we read it - so yeah, that's my story.

Club member Francie is moving to Arizona to be near her daughter Amie - who is married and has a couple children, one who was born a year ago several months premature. We'll miss Francie, a former teacher who is a good story-teller.

Pablo had today off, so he was doing errands, dealing with constant appointments hair, eye, doc. I, on the other hand was holding down the fort working. Though I woke up suffering from a major migraine. Unlike most of my headaches, this one decided to hang on until around noon - reminded why I'm so thankful for today's modern medicine. I don't get too many migraines like that these days. Paul even stepped in to take Odie to her vet appointment - toenails/anal glands, while I was all miserable - nauseous and wiped out.

I felt good enough to begin working again around 11 a.m. and just after noon, I began to feel human! Phew. Bring on the weekend.

The neighborhood

Locust Tap

Realizing our time living here in the East Village of Des Moines is fleeting, I decided we'd better start partaking in the neighborhood establishments! I took off at 3:30 PM Thursday. One perk of working here on Fridays - I've got lots of hours in. I headed home and worked out - Wii aerobics and hula hoops - 10 straight minutes, yo. Then a half hour of Just Dance 3 aerobics, finishing up just as Pablo walked in from work. How perfect - he doesn't have to watch me make an idiot of myself!

Beechwood Lounge

Paul did a short workout at the loft exercise room and we were ready to check out a couple neighborhood bars I'd been eyeing. I zapped a couple potatoes in the microwave and put them in the pan with the leftovers from Jethros from our Monday night foray - ribs and barbecued chicken, and popped it into the oven on low.

We walked a couple blocks to the Beechwood Lounge on East 4th and Walnut. It was fairly crowded and loud when we got there about 6 p.m. People were dressed up - legislators or lobbyists from the nearby Iowa State Capitol building perhaps? The bartender gave us crap about our Cyclone gear. That was one black mark for that joint - ha! I had a nice Fat Tire, whilst Paul had a Coors Lite. Cozy atmosphere - long and narrow, warm colors. When we finished our bevvies - we were off to the next place.


I've been scoping out the Locust Tap (4th and Locust) for years. It's on my normal walking route from my job in the Wallace Building to several restaurants like Jimmy Johns. It looks like it could be in Creston (kinda looks like a dive...) which earns it bonus points in my book.

The joint was pretty empty at 6:30 on a Wednesday evening, but the bartender greeted us by complementing our Cyclone gear. Now that guy gets good points as opposed to the last place!

They had me at giant bra hanging from Bud sign

We each chose the Pale Ale brewed right in in Knoxville, Iowa. Pretty stout but full-bodied (whatever that means...) After chatting with the bartender about the Cyclone Pinstripe Bowl trip (he'd attended just like we did), we started talking to the kid sitting next to us.

the place has a pay phone! and wall artwork

It turned out his name was Ben, and he was quite friendly, filling us in on other area spots to hit. (Capital City Dog has good wings he said) Ben is a 25 year-old Drake grad and Municipal Bond salesman. He lives in a loft on the west side of the river but his office is near Locust Tap so sometimes he just walks home and leaves his car parked around here. Smart kid! And not hard to look at. Just because I'm old and on a marriage diet doesn't mean I don't appreciate cuteness...

We decided this was a place we could def hang out. Will be back.

Paul sits next to Ben

We headed home - just a few minute walk - to eat our fabulous leftovers from Jethros. Our meal was my bueno! I'll pick out some other places to check out next week - but I think LT (Locust Tap) is a place we'll return to.

Stubborn Wienie

Another Monday, a bit more snow. This one was slick as snot, according to those who had to commute longer than 3 minutes. That's about what my current commute is. Love it.

Back to the snow. Of course the sidewalk outside the loft hadn't been scooped, so Odie rebelled at the thought of tinkling first thing this a.m. when Paul took her out. It was still snowing right along, so we let it go.

At 11 a.m. , I had an appointment to see the arm surgeon again - after my MRI. I was glad to have the trusty Subaru driving to WDM for my appointment - the snow was still falling and roads were a bit treacherous.

The MRI turned up a nice shot of the blob in my elbow. Of course they still aren't quite sure what that lump is, but we agreed it needs to come out. I'm hoping it's the cause of the pain I'm feeling. Dr. Kallemeier says it could be a benign tumor on a nerve. Yay. (not) Anyway she's going to remove the little bastard on the 28th.

I was in a hurry when I came back (since the doc was running behind and I didn't get back until nearly 1 PM), but I realized I needed to run by the loft to take Odie out. Didn't want the little pooch to explode. I carefully scooped a path to her normal tinkling area, and clipped her on her leash for a quick jaunt out. She wasn't having it. I was angry. It reminded me of the days of having toddlers - totally unreasonable. All she had to do was squat quickly. But no! Argh!

I dragged her back upstairs and was very crabby with her. She got no treat. That's right - you heard me. After work - it was more of the same. Except I bumped my head on the metal railing for the stairs for our loft before taking Odie out - for nothing. Thank goodness when Paul came home she finally did the deed. I was tired of being mad at her.

I hope the winter clears up - I can't take much more of this stubborn wienie stuff!

Warbler

Late afternoon sun - cool loft shadows

It's very strange sharing walls with strangers once again. After all it's been 26+ years since we last lived in a place that housed more than one family.

Our last apartment was in Osage, Iowa - in a house we shared with an elderly woman. Not elderly like me. More like 80+. She listened to the television really loud. One night, I was afraid she'd "gone to the big house in the sky" because I woke up in the middle of the night and the TV was still going. The old gal usually turned in early. But she must have just fallen asleep with the thing on, cuz I heard her the next day up and about.

Odie with new dolly

When we moved to Creston, we bought our first house - and had to worry about neighbor's yards instead of shared walls. So living in a loft in the East Village of DSM has brought back memories of apartments past! I won't even get into some of the things I heard through college apartment bedroom walls...

The bird?? is on the other side of that wall...

In this building, we can hear the neighbors - despite the pretty good insulation. Like the "thing" next door. We first heard it during last week's Super Bowl - when I asked Paul to turn down the sound on the TV so I could listen to the strange noise. A lion? Of course not. Paul says it's a bird that those are pigeon-like warbles or cooing. It's very sporadic - only going on for an hour or so in the evening. Thank goodness!

There is a standard poodle across the hall that barks periodically - especially when Odie runs by. Neighbors nearby play music loudly on weekends at night. I guess they're not lame early to-bed weekend peeps like we are.

We're settling into the sounds of our new temporary digs. Not sure I'll get used to the damn bird though.

Jud and Kara stopped by today on their way back to Missouri from a visit to Ames. So we showed off the new joint and went back Baby Boomers for a late breakfast. Then we took a quick walk down Locust Street to see the neighborhood before they hit the road. It's fun to introduce people to our temp neighborhood!

Pelvic Politics

I'm fired up again. Last week it was the Susan B. Komen Foundation cutting off all possibility of funding women's health grants to Planned Parenthood (PP). Wow. I haven't Raced For the Cure for the Foundation for several years in Des Moines, but have in the past. Breast Cancer is something that has touched all of us.

But it seemed to me the event here in town was becoming so huge - over 20,000 walkers in DSM at last count. Then everywhere one looked the Komen name popped up. I saw it on products, with the trademark "for the cure". And pink ribbons everywhere. The Foundation was big stuff.

Prior to last week, I didn't know the back story of the pro-life "new hire" of the Georgia politician hired by the foundation CEO. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being pro-life in my eyes. I'm all for it - just not at all costs. Which is what got in the eyes of the Foundation I believe. The new goal, to strip funding from PP became a new side-mission. Though they won't admit it. They came up with a new rule that said an entity couldn't receive grant funding if it was under congressional investigation. And Surprise! That was PP.

Finally - something I've been waiting for. The women of American woke up! They found their voices and spoke up. SGK wasn't ready for the backlash - on Facebook, in the media, and most importantly around coffee shops and water coolers. I was pissed. This is a Foundation that in my mind should not be political - yet here it was, getting dirty with the best of them. I'm so sick of it.

In Creston, Iowa, where I live, the only access that some women have to a breast exam is through PP. They can't show up at Creston Medical Clinic and expect a free or reduced cost exam. Nope. So to cut that off, putting women at risk, because SGK now decided that PP isn't a pristine enough supplier of these needed health services sucks. 

The backlash was immense, and SGK was forced to change their policy. Some board members have resigned. They have egg on their faces. It's still not clear whether PP will receive future grant funds from the foundation. I don't trust them - and I'm not sure many others do.

On to the whole Catholic Church/Contraception thing. I couldn't say it much better than NYT Columnist Nicholas Kristof, who writes an evenhanded column.

I've been back and forth on this issue. I've read lots of articles on the topic. I disagree with the way the Catholic Church handles the whole issue of birth control - head in the sand (the fact that 98% of the flock uses birth control). I must admit I can't argue the theology of the whole thing as I'm not an expert in that area. All I know is people are people - and they aren't going to use the rythym method...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/opinion/sunday/kristof-beyond-pelvic-politics.html

It's been an interesting couple weeks.

City life

I stopped by Paul's office in the Federal Building on 2nd and Walnut Streets yesterday - to see his space where he works, and meet a few co-workers. First I stopped by our temporary home, the loft at 301 East Court to take Odie out. What was I thinking? It was cold and windy out - so the pooch was having nothing to do with tinkling until totally necessary.

Then I decided to walk the five or six blocks to the Federal Building - a little exercise on a day in the teens with a brisk wind. It wasn't bad until I turned to the north. Then my face froze. When you enter a Federal Building you go through security similar to an airport - after the Oklahoma City bombing, security is tight at all them across the country.

USDA is located on the 6th Floor. Paul met me there to wind me through the web of cubicles to his temp office - with a beautiful view of the city, north - looking over the Civic Center and toward Wells Fargo Arena. I snapped a photo of him at his desk - looking casual on casual Friday. He wears businesses casual the other days of the week. I think he's enjoying the challenge of his 90- day assignment at the state office.

Last night we headed to the Cheesecake Factory at Jordan Creek Mall for a bite, before attending the movie Safe House - Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. I had the "skinny" cheeseburger if there really is such a thing - with a salad. Paul got the regular old cheeseburger and fries. I snuck a few. I stared longingly at the cheesecake. Tiramisu how I heart you.

The movie was kinda like a "Bourne" movie with different characters. Shoot 'em up!

Paul contemplates life

Odie was glad to have us sleep in with her this morning. We headed to an East Village joint, Baby Boomers about 8:30 a.m. The waitress complimented us on our Cyclone attire (Paul was dressed and ready for today's home game - he's attending with Jud who is using my ticket). The cook had on an ISU hat. We LOVE this place already. Paul had a big breakfast and I went with oatmeal. Next door for latte on our way to do errands next.

We'll be glad to get back to Creston next weekend - to be sure. But this is a fun temp lifestyle. Now...whilst Jud and Paul attend the game, I'm enjoying some quiet time with my Dell, Odie and a book. The game is on. I'm set!



 

One is the loneliest

Bolder leads Christmas Carols at the annual Lefebvre party - with son Colby and Susi's daughter Jordan

Poor Boldie. On top of dealing with prostate cancer, the guy had to have a testicle removed last week.  It's been infected since his original cancer surgery back in August. Last week's surgery took an hour (not much effort to getting rid of one of those buggers compared to my 5 hour hysterectomy). He was supposed to be in recovery an hour.

Cindo said he was singing, "One is the Loneliest Number" in the recovery room. Bolder is always a nurse-pleaser. But the guy doesn't do surgery well...and his blood pressure and oxygen didn't regulate for several hours. They were stuck at the hospital much longer than anticipated. Poor Cindo said her BP shot up during the event as well...she said she snapped when she got home. (Updated good news - no sign of cancer in the pathology report of the removed body part).

I know it's a tough deal for a guy to lose "one of the boys". So I had to relate a story about my pal Sal, who dated a kid in college who was one short. He'd lost a testicle to childhood cancer. John, the guy Sally dated, was one of the sexiest guys I've ever met. I think Sal should have stuck with that guy. Cutie!

But still - the whole thing sucks. Bolder has an aggressive form of prostate cancer. He's scheduled for radiation therapy next. So the hits keep on coming!
Paul and I tried to think of anything we could do from afar (they live in Vail, Colorado) to perk the two of them up - so they know we're thinking of them. Knowing they both have good funny bones, we picked up some Nuckin' Futs Hot Sauce when we shopped at Bass Pro Shop recently. The name was just too clever.

And when you get down to it - you gotta laugh. We sent Cindy got a jigsaw puzzle - very therapeutic.

So here's my pitch. If you read this blog, think about picking up a funny card for them - just to let them know you care. Boldie is a big old softie - and he'll get all teary-eyed just knowing people he doesn't even know, care enough to send a card.

Don't make it sappy! That would put him over the edge...

Bolder (Brian) & Cindy Lefebvre (it's pronounced Lafave in case you're wondering)
PO Box 515
Vail, CO 81658

Thanks for all your support. And I'm sorry about all those chain emails I broke...since I'm asking you to do this...