Susi and the Baby! (Uncle Harv) and a walk

My sister Susan is now an Uncle Harv. One time she told me that she worked with a guy that didn't want to be called Grandpa. So he was going to have his grandchildren call him Uncle Harv, or Tom or something like that. Anything but Grandpa. I'm not sure what little James will call Susi. Nanna, Gramma or Momo. Whatever it is...I'm sure she'll love it!

Susi has arrived in Pasadena to help with baby care! She looks like a natural.  

I took a power walk after work tonight. I'm worried about Odie. She isn't jumping - because she's sore or weak - I'm not sure which. I had her anal glands attended to yesterday to see if that might help. I'm hoping she's just still sore from that. I figure it's a bit like hemorrhoids. But today she's still not jumping. The vet yesterday checked her back and legs and they seemed okay. Wiener dogs can have back problems. So I'm worried. If it's not your wandering kids, it's your dog. Walks help relax me.

On the corner of 68th and EP True- you can see Jordan Creek Mall in the distance

I walked along Elmer P. True Parkway and let dog problems fade away. I checked out progress on the new apartments. Who will live in all those units I pondered? Then I began to think about the apartments I lived in through the years.

Our Big 4 (Sal, Vic, Jane and me) first apartment in Ames - at 230 Campus Avenue. It was brand new in 1978 when we moved in, built by real estate guru Scott Randall. We paid $80 each per month that first year - for a two bedroom (2 girls per room).  The apartment was fully furnished - plaid couch/chairs and kitchen table with vinyl chairs, twin beds. I bet they've installed dishwashers at the place by now - but back then we were washing by hand. Vic, Jane, Sally and I sure had a lot of fun there. And that's where I met Paul - he lived in the 200's and we were in the 400's. When it came time to put together a co-ed softball team, he knocked on our door. He hasn't stopped knocking since!

After life pulled the college rug out from under me - graduation is a cruel thing after one has grown used to hanging with 3 best friends daily and partying several times a week. I was fortunate enough to land a job so I didn't have to move home to Atlantic. I found a furnished apartment in Sioux Falls South Dakota. The bed had seen better days. Ick. I lived there about ten months before I moved to Omaha.

Chris Deardorff helped me look for a place to live in Omaha. We checked out several and I ended up with a nice unfurnished apartment with cathedral ceilings on 144th and Pacific. I also went to Nebraska Furniture Mart and selected a couch, a queen sized bed and bedroom furniture and a butcher block table and four chairs. Exciting! Good thing I was a single girl and had actually saved money from working. Then I got engaged to that door knocking guy. He had gotten a job in Oakland, Iowa by then.

We decided to live partway in between our jobs - in Council Bluffs. We looked at a few options for living quarters - including a home on Lake Manawa. But we ended up living at an apartment on Little John Circle. Betso even lived there with us before we got married - keepin' things legit ya know. That was a nice 2 bedroom 2 bath place nestled up against a bluff and well-maintained. That was the end of apartment life for us though - when we moved to Osage we found a house to rent.

This place we thought about buying is right on 60th and had just been re-done

It took a while to think all through this. I walked to 60th and up to Ashworth. I took photos of a place we considered buying and that cool barn - the Aldrich Barnes place. It was a good workout in the steamy heat with a few light sprinkles.

I'd never noticed this sign before - we have Aldrich relatives on the Bullock side...

This barn is now sitting on some lucrative West Des Moines property

On the back side of the barn, development is taking place - looking south at Jordan Creek Mall

 

Last I walked by St. Francis, our church before turning south again on the home stretch. It was a nice 3.5 mile jaunt. Odie has a vet appointment on Thursday if she's not better by then. Tomorrow I'm off to Cedar Rapids.

St. Francis of Assisi

 



Odie - my bambino!