DSM fun, five day work week

This was my first full work week back after vacation. Reality bites! I'm of the opinion the good 'ol US of A should consider going the European route - work less. Enjoy living more. But so far employers are stuck on 40 hours (or more) for full time. So we need to make the best of our lives - in between that work stuff.

When Paul and I moved to the DSM area, one of my goals was to try to enjoy life more during the week. It's tough in the winter - all I want to do is hunker down in our place when we get home. But now that it's starting to get nicer out...we're doing more! Weather didn't cooperate for outdoors activities (except for a few lunch walks), so our activities were indoors. I don't like to be cold.

We were watching the nightly news on Wednesday when I got a text from my pal Robyn in Orlando. "Hey Pal! Turn on Food Channel...Triple D is featuring (George the) Chili King...I want to go there when all of us do the Iowa reunion!"
I reported the text to Paul. We switched channels and watched George finish up making a yummy pork tenderloin.
Hmmm. We'd never been there. Sure sounded better than the leftover salmon and green beans I planned to zap in the microwave. Google location - and we were off - to Hickman and Merle Hay. We sat at the counter by a nice couple a bit older than we are. They had rushed over after the show too and were Chili King virgins, despite being from the neighborhood.

Service was, um, interesting. We saw four staffers - all busy, none was George of TV fame ( George looked to be about 80 years old). None of them was interested in taking our order, but we just sat and watched the show. One cooked loins, the others shuffled around (one big guy had some low-rider jeans with a view, ugh). There is an outside area - for car-side service - I'm not sure how many were serving those customers.

We enjoyed sharing stories with the couple next to us as we awaited our pork loins. Their daughter had been with Cirque Du Soleil for a while, but has "aged out" and is using her degree from ISU to do something with biochemistry. The man is an architect whose firm has looked at the locking system at the Wallace Building. We bragged about our children. As you can tell - it was a fairly long wait...but the loins were very good. I saved half of my sannie for lunch Thursday. Not gristly. Good breading. It was a fun outing!

RoCa - craft beverage

After another long day of work Thursday, we deserved a break at Team Building at a new place called RoCa on Court Avenue with federal retirees and Jim G. from the Department of Ag. Paul has fun talking hunting with Jim (a Creston native), and we even discussed where all those dead chickens and turkeys from the flu outbreak. How will they be disposed of? Hey...what a fun convo! We did eat the leftover salmon that night.

Friday Paul took the morning off to hunt turkeys near Creston. His decoy - Suzi Snood, was quite seductive once again. He double dipped by having a filling re-done at Buck Dentistry and was back in time to work half the day. Meanwhile, I got to go to the dermo for my annual skin check. They zapped one place on my leg - but I'm so proud of the job I did protecting my skin while I was in Florida. Sadly...the skin damage I have is from years ago - before sunscreen.

That night, we tried out DSM's only brew pub theater - Flix Brewhouse. It's located at Merle Hay Mall. We saw The Age of Adaline - a movie about a woman who experiences an accident that prevents her from aging for 100+ years. It was kinda sappy, but we enjoyed it and the Flix experience - burgers, brews. Next time we'll buy our tickets earlier so we aren't seated so close to the screen.

Merle Hay Plaza - pic thanks to Lost Des Moines Facebook webpage

Being at Merle Hay Mall brings back memories. While the Bullocks did most of our shopping in Omaha when I was growing up. Downtown and Crossroads first - and then Westroads. We did go to DSM occasionally. I remember Merle Hay when it was a shopping plaza - not even covered. Mom had promised me a new turtle as a pet, but when we stopped at the store - there were none available. As a substitute, I ended up with some type of pink foam goop from a toy store. (I was gypped - not as good as a turtle!). I'm sure we went to Bishops Buffet while we were there too - and I got chocolate pie and a balloon with feet.

Now today I was watching a moving there and sipping suds. Go figure. My pal Jennifer said I'd likely sipped beer at a movie before - only it was from cans snuck in. Righto! The Atlantic Drive-In was the site of many beers and movies. In college we took beer to the Indian Hills theater in DSM to watch Sound of Music when it came back out again. That empty bottle made a lot of noise when it rolled to the front of the theater during the movie...legal movie beers aren't quite the same....

Free Range Children

I didn't really read the story - but I got the gist. Somewhere out east, a dogwalker saw some "loose" children at play in a park. They were GASP not being supervised by an adult. Gulp. How dare they. The children were taken in by some type of protective services and the parents were arrested. Someone labeled them the "Free Range Kids" - like they were chickens.

Um, I'd like to put out a warrant for the parents in Atlantic, Iowa in the 1960's and 70's. You're busted! I know it's a different era now - but arrest. Really? Kids can't even go to the park?

Mom's fortress - as painted by Marilyn VanAntwerp

Last summer a little girl was taken in here in Des Moines because she was left at a park all day. I can't remember if her Mom was working? Looking for work? In a bar? That made headlines too. The little girl was around eight years old, and didn't have any way to have lunch - so that's understandable that people were upset that she was left alone. So what is acceptable?

I saw a funny blog last week "What Would Mom Do?" Sneak preview - Lock us outside and drink a Tab.

That was pretty much our childhood - but Mom didn't lock the door - she just shooed us out. We ragamuffins did show up for meals though. Peanut butter sandwiches with a lettuce leaf in it. Iceberg!

Cindo and me today

When I got to hang out with my big sis Cindo on vaca in sunny Florida (Yeah, I'm rubbing it in), we talked about our idyllic childhood. The neighborhood was our kingdom! We'd trot through storm sewers, climb barbed wire fences up above Bredensteiner's house to get to the pond (Thar be frogs here!), and make anyone's yard our own. Any open space was open season for a pickup game of anything - football, freeze tag, hide and seek, and kick the can. My mother didn't lay eyes on us for hours at a time. Free range!

As a young adult I was a life guard at Sunnyside Pool. There I saw many Free Range children - on their own for the day....or under the life guard's supervision only. That meant they'd come and go to the park, eat junk if they had any money. Freeze if they only had a towel and it got cold. There was nobody at home if their parent(s) worked. Many rode their bikes to the pool (no helmet), or were dropped off with a wave. They survived.

I'm not advocating that everyone today should send their children off by themselves. Paul and I sure didn't allow our kids to explore on their own any too soon. I remember the first time I left Amy in the yard of our first home in Creston all by herself. There were large picture windows so I could keep an eye on here - but it was on a somewhat busy corner...and the street...it was so close! I watched like a hawk.

The first time we left the kids at home without a sitter, the Kristina and Kim McFee were with them at our house. Amy must have been about 12 and we adults were just downtown. Let's just say it didn't go the best - something about our dog Moki barking and the big girls thought someone was there and they all went outside...We received a phone call and had to go home.

Everyone needs to know their own child's limits and slowly let the string out as they begin to function on their own. I saw a great quote yesterday - it's very appropriate here. It's by William G.T. Shedd. “A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.” You can't keep your kid in the harbor forever!

I feel fortunate that I grew up in the golden Free Range age. I hope today's children are allowed to range some too!

I returned from 10 days in sunny Florida to snow

Well kinda.

 

My office cubicle was covered with this snow-like stuff. All surfaces. A note on my desk said - "See What You Missed". Well played Jeff Fiagle, well played.

Oh how nice it was in Florida this year! The weather was fabulous - best ever I think - from the day we arrived to meet Cindy and Colby at the airport to the day we left.

When we arrived, we ate shrimp and drank beer at the Crazy Flamingo. It's tradition! During the week we walked on the beach - some 35+ miles. Colby and Paul fished. We even ate the shark they caught. We celebrated Cindo's birthday at Fin. It was fun. There was cake! No singing.

Birthday girl and son Colby

We cleaned up for the birthday extravaganza

Mom's tree - a bit more crooked every year...

Enjoying oysters our last night

Sisters!

Paul was proud of his shark

 

My favorite beach!

 

There isn't much else to write about our week. Rinse repeat. Beach walk, pool, drinks, supper - with people I love. It was just what the doctor ordered.