Sports and Art

Our first weekend back has been a busy one! Bobbie and Jeff McFee phoned Friday to say they were coming to the Big City from Crestonia. We met them at Maverick's after Paul got home from work - they beat us there! My former roomie Joanie joined us later and we shared some nachos.

We decided to head to the Original Legends on 60th and Ashworth for supper. Maverick's is just a bit loud for elderly folks like us to chat. B & J's daughter Kim joined us after she got off work. Legends isn't flashy but the food is good. It was nice to catch up with our chums. We had missed McFee's surprise 30th Anniversary Party the night before we left for Florida. -so we got to hear about the big event. Kim and Krissy cleaned the house in case visitors stopped by, and then panicked thinking that might be too obvious...so they messed it up again. Funny.

Saturday Paul and I headed to Ames to the ISU Spring Football Game. The Gridiron Club had a barbecue at noon, so we grabbed sandwiches at that. We heard a rah rah pitch from Coach Paul Rhoads and picked up new football posters. Now I'll have something to look at in my cubicle (besides all of you readers who are in photos I have on my walls). The sun was shining and there was no breeze - fans showed up in force. Only 4 months until the real thing - then we'll fill up both sides of the stadium. My HS classmate Ted Simpson told me Nebraska had 60,000 at their spring games...Don McKim says that's because they don't have television there...

Section B - Row 13 is my spot!

This is the first time we've made a spring game. It was fun - but not nearly as much fun as a real game. All the fans sat on the east side - so we could see our Season Ticket seats West Side in section B from our seats. Paul and Jud (who wasn't able to attend, since he's taking a continuous education course for his job) know all the recruiting and roster information. So Paul especially enjoyed watching the talent. We sat in front of two non-stop talkers who started to drive me crazy. They knew it all! So we located our pals the McKims and made plans to meet later for a beer in the parking lot.

This week I heard the U got wise and refurbished the fountain in the Dairy Industry building. About time! It's only my fave place on the prettiest campus in the country. Okay I might be a bit partial...I did spend four of the best years of my life there. When the 4th quarter rolled around, Paul and I walked to campus to check it out. We had to go on a stealth mission to get in to see the most awesome place on the prettiest campus. It turns out they are still keeping it a secret. The building didn't seem to be officially open.

No problemo for me! I could still be a co-ed. If you don't look at me closely. And you're looking from the back. We found an open door and made our way to the enclosed courtyard. Paul had to hold the door open, so we didn't get sealed in the courtyard forever. But I got my photos!

The cows look so relaxed

I used to study here. Or pretend to.

Paul holds the door

 

 We walked back around central campus. A large man was chopping wood for the forestry department. Some women were doing their native dance near the campanile. I vow to make it back for the parade some year soon.

After a few brewskis in the parking lot with McKims and Ryan's girlfriend Laura's parents, we went downtown to Whiskey River where Kevin and Keri (from Davenport - they tailgate by us) joined us. Diana sat by this weird group - one guy had a stuffed snake on his shoulder. We asked if it was a trouser snake.

Snake guy - just over Dee's shoulder...

Kevin and Keri with Don

 

 Today after church, Paul headed to south to turkey hunt. I had a date with little sis Chiya this afternoon. We went to the Art Center for an Art Sampler event designed for kids to try different art. She was one of the oldest kids, so I was afraid she'd find it a bit lame - but she was a good sport about it.

Since Chiya is in 6th grade, she doesn't have official art class. Doing a project like drawing a still life is a new experience for her. A volunteer tried to explain to her what to do but she was still a bit confused about it. I tried coaching a little. Then I took pics. Volunteers praised her work - that pleased me! There were several other stations that involved gluing, bending wire and more.

The volunteer told her to draw an outline first, then color it in

Look at that concentration!

 

We got to talk to a guy who draws comics for TV - he showed us how to draw faces. Artists are amazing - how skillfully they move their pens to create. We also watched a couple people spinning pottery - so cool. Chiya seemed especially interested in that.

Last we had to look at 3 pieces of art in the galleries to describe what season each made us think of. The Art Center is a hodgepodge and they were hard to find even with a map! Chiya and I laughed at several pieces...I don't think that's what the artist had in mind. I hope she enjoyed the day - I know I did!

No turkey for Pablo. The gobblers are safe this season. That guy needs to kill something...