My week - visit with Mary

It's been a pretty good week - thanks mostly to a kindly invitation from a friend. I met Mary Morman-Graham many years ago - so long ago I can't quite remember when! She's a good friend of a good friend of mine, Kay Lauritsen Wilt. Okay, Mary knew Kay first. They were college buddies. We got to know Kay post-college when she began to date our pal Moose (Steve).

I saw Mary last summer when Wilts and Behrs were visiting and we came up from Creston to Des Moines to the Farmers Market. After that we became Facebook Friends. This week she invited me over for a beverage at the home she shares with her her hubby Kerry in the Drake area of Des Moines. I got a 'lil tour of the main floor of their lovely home - Mary has so many cool antiques including this mannequin, Eileen.

Eileen is wearing pearls for Memorial Day

The hostas are going strong

 Mary and Cary have five cats. It made me miss Samantha (not that I called her that - she'll always be just plain Kitty to me).

They put this brick in just recently - it's recycled. Isn't it cool!

Then we headed to the beautiful and relaxing garden. Mary had made homemade salsa and get this - her own humus. I didn't know that was possible! It was very good too. Not to mention the nice walk down memory lane we had, establishing just who the mutual people were we knew from our time at ISU. (She's a whole year older than I am-and she probably met my Pablo the Poolboy before I did). Bob Fitzpatrick, Steve Schneider, Brad, Tom, Catfish - we talked about all of 'em. (But I picked the best one...awww).

I enjoyed hearing about her family - her parents are still living in their own home, her father is in his 90's. But they are struggling with keeping things up - like mowing. Her dad has some health problems now and the fam is considering assisted living - tough though after all those years in a family home.

We decided we need to get together again - and arrange for another mutual friend to join us. Jane Flack Conn, my college roomie who later became Mary's roomie and her sis Susan should come too! There's no friends like old friends. Then I backed out of Mary's driveway and tried to smash her recycling bin - how that's for a trash queen? haha

And another thing...
On my walk at lunchtime in the East Village this week, I spied a new store opening soon - vintage. Looks interesting.

I work near a group of people who work on developing Iowa's rivers for canoeing and kayaking. They put this sign up on their cubicle area recently. I thought it was funny.