Friends for humanity

I'm still basking in the glow of a fabulous trip to Oregon with five of my best friends in this world. As I traveled to see them last Thursday my mantra to myself was that I wanted to be able to fill up their buckets over the weekend. And with any luck, I'd get my pail filled too. You know that deal - each day you start with a pail and some people scoop it out and others scoop stuff into it - filling you up.

I kinda needed some filling. It feels good to help fill others' pails too. This year Sal had invited us to Oregon. Two days at the beach and two days at her place on the Sandy River. Robyn, Paula, Chris, Julia and I were all able to make it. Pam couldn't make it, sadly. We had to make due with - you guessed it (or maybe not) a can of Pam.

I was the last to arrive at the airport. Wouldn't you know it - they had made a new friend, Eddie the bartender. And had a few drinks...

Eddie loves the AHS Class of '76

And we were off! To Rockaway Beach on the Oregon Coast - a nice 3 bedroom little condo. We hung out, talked, walked on the beach and laughed. My ribs got sore. On Friday afternoon we stopped by a little spot and picked up dungeness crab for the evening meal. My good cook friends took care of meal prep. The crab was already steamed. There were yummy red potatoes and a delish peach salad too. A meal fit for the queens that we are. We talked politics, health, family, sports - all of it.

After supper,  Jules broke out her Cards Against Humanity game. It's pretty raunchy but was quite fun - and this from a known game scrooge (me). We howled with laughter at times. Robyn kicked our butts - clever gal that she is. Each night I was first to go to bed. It seems laughing wears me out! But I was up early.

On Saturday we shopped a bit in our little beach burg. I scored some colorful fingerless gloves for work (aka the frozen cubicle). Then we were on our way to wine country via cheese country - Tillamook. It was a fun day with a couple wine tastings and a picnic at a place called White Rose - just like our favorite Atlantic bar. We'd picked up chicken and pork at a roadside grocery store in one of the small towns on the route.  Too bad there was any Armie and Irma.

Wine tasting

Sally and husband Bob's place on the Sandy River is perfect and so was the weather. We arrived there Saturday evening. It was a nice relaxing night sitting on the deck. On Sunday morning we went out to breakfast before saying goodbye before two of our group had to say goodbye - Robyn and Chris.

With our friend the bear

 We went for a hike that afternoon. The Sandy River is low. And it was smoky in the area due to fires in Washington. The drought is taking its toll. Paula, Julia, Sal and I watched a movie that night, and headed to the airport Monday morning.

Sitting on the deck at Sal's solving the world's problems

Julia took off first, but Sal and I got to meet Paula's friend Vic who flew in to meet her. They were going to travel on to Seaside, Seattle, Victoria and finally a cruise in Alaska. That sounded better than going back to work! My flight stretched late into the night, but I wasn't sad or grumpy. I was smiling.

My pail was full from a few days with my besties. Those are some great ladies. They shared their joy, sorrows, aches and pains. And listen to mine. Somehow that helps me feel better. Sharing the one's load always does. They filled me in on life tips and recipes.

Sally thinks we should put together a booklet from the weekend full of all the information passed out through our time together. I don't think Julia has a recipe for that salads she created - she just knows how to throw stuff together and make them fantastic. Rob can do it too. Just like the hair gene...I don't have that food/entertainment gene either. I need an actual recipe. I am able to spout off many insignificant factoids however - a font of knowledge! Too bad that doesn't feed anyone. Paula is also competent in the kitchen. Though she, Chris and I tended to work on the clean up crew. Rob is also an excellent bartender. Great skills that girl.

Good thing I get to see them all again next summer at our 40th Class Reunion in Atlantic (or risk the wrath of Roger Underwood).

Fair Time

Last week I worked 46 hours from Sunday through Wednesday hording vacation time to spend with my girls. I worked the first Sunday of the fair, then Monday and Tuesday. And this is what I ate:

• Corndog (token on a stick thing) with lemonade shakeup
• Dutch Letter
• Chocolate Chip cookies from the Pella Bakery - they were stuffed with a brownie like material (1 each day)
• Walking Taco
• Pulled turkey sandwich
• Pulled pork sandwich

I took my own tea each day - saving $ on that. By the last day, I was ready to be done with fair food.

On Sunday, my first day at the fair, I walked all over checking out the stuff I like to see. The 4-H exhibits, the giant pig and bull. Horses, big and small. The Ag and Varied Industries Buildings. One poor guy fashioned his own violin out of wood only to receive a white ribbon. I gave it a blue for effort!

Muralist - working on a fair mural Sunday

beautiful leather rigging for horses

I love the people watching! And interacting with them in the DNR environmental trailer that I work in. This year I told the kids coming through the trailer that they needed to fill me in on what they learned in the trailer to earn a fabulous prize - either a little tape measure or a lime green backpack. They got a mood pencil free. Most of the children enjoyed the prize challenge. They would go check out the light bulbs - incandescent, CFL or LED -which is the most efficient? Or they could watch a short video or read information on the wall.

I'd quiz them - "What can you do at your house to save energy?" If they were stumped we'd talk about turning off lights or shutting off the water when they brush their teeth. It takes a lot of energy to make clean water! I'd ask what kinds of things they recycle at their house. I enjoyed it! My last day to work at the fair, it rained and I was ready to be done by 9 p.m. when my shift ended.

No - not stained glass - windows made from water bottles gleaned from an event I helped with near our home

When I got home from the fair that last night, I packed for my trip to Oregon the next day. Yay!

Graves not digger, Goldsmith gathering

I swallowed a radioactive Iodine pill this week and had some photos taken of my thyroid - all to determine once and for-all just what my health status is. My new endocrinologist here is DSM was a bit surprised that my first doc hadn't had me undergo a test to see if I have the Graves antibodies, so she set me up to do the tests Monday and Tuesday this past week.

I checked in at Mercy Nuclear Medicine to take the giant pill and followed up several hours later for the photos that were similar to X-Rays, but took longer and I was able to move as they were being taken. I enjoyed chatting with the techs as the pics were being taken - students at Mercy School of Nursing. On Thursday, Dr. Singaram's office called to say my thyroid indicated mild Grave's Disease. I must admit I was disappointed. I'd convinced myself that I didn't have the antibodies because I've been off the meds for two weeks and have felt okay.

Mild is better than full blown though, ay? So back on the low dose Methimizole (we Gravesters call it meth...). And shoot for remission. I see the doc in September and will see what she says then. In the meantime, my fingernails and hair are growing much better, so something is going right. Plus my physical therapist is happy with progress on my shoulder - I see the surgeon this week. Yeah I know...I'm keeping the medical community busy.

There were Goldsmiths galore this week! Except for Paul who was in Washington, D.C. for work - without a working phone. His Samsung crapped out the day he left. He was reviewing grants with others from around the country - staying not far from all the cool stuff in our nation's capitol. Too bad he couldn't take pictures...he was full of excitement when he arrived home on Thursday, full of stories from the week. I hope to go with him next time he heads that way.

Meyer kids with their momma and spouses

Paul's sister Carol's family was in town this weekend and we were glad to get to see them Thursday night, along with sister Jean and her hubby Dave - Mr. Lucky at the casinos lately. It was fun listening to Tom, Terry and Barb laugh together about their antic growing up in Farley, Iowa - especially the stories about when their cousins the Fox kids would visit. We liked seeing the great nieces and nephews too. Laughs galore. We hated to leave but needed to get ready for out next get-together with Goldsmiths - a trip to Port Washington, Wisconsin the next day.

On Friday when the US Cellular Store opened, we stopped in to see what was up with Paul's phone. It was beyond help - so we switched his information to my phone and I got a new iPhone. Yep - big change for this kid. I'm not an Apple person - so the learning curve is huge. I proved that on the way to Wisconsin when I somehow put a security code in twice that I didn't know...good thing it recognized my fingerprint until I could go to the Apple Store today (they were stellar there). What a dope I am. My children will be happy to know I will no longer carry my phone on my belt. It's a painful change for me - I imagine I'll lose the dang thing now...change is hard for an old broad.

The Goldsmith gathering was fab. Man I love those people! They are such a great bunch - all intelligent, kind and loving (or they fake it well...). They love to laugh. We got to see our nephew Joe who suffered a traumatic brain injury several years ago during a car accident. He's doing great! And our niece Karen, a physical therapist raising three sons (one looks definitely like a Gsmith) with her park ranger husband. Plus Paul's three brothers and three sisters (only Carol was missing due to her fam gathering in DMS - and Connie, who passed away) and all the spouses.

Mary checks out the buttons

Eight played golf on Saturday and the rest of us shopped. I went to a quilt store with the group - through not a seamstress myself I'm able to admire the work of others. Then we visited Cedarburg where I purchased some spices, had a nice sandwich and got a puzzle for Christmas! That night we ate at a brewpub (photos above). It was a great time - Denny score the traveling rooster as he'll soon attain the age of 70. Next year - the Golf Tourney will be in DSM. Be on the lookout for the Goldsmiths about this time next year! Listen for the sounds of love and laughter.

The DNA knows

Why would you trash this?

I imagine a day when we all have our DNA test kits - and can track down just who dumped that McDonald's bag in front of the Goldsmith townhome last Sunday. There was still ice in the cups. And then on the corner - a bag leftovers from someone's dog. A trash can was right across the street in the park. Lazy asses!

I just read that some high rise (far away from DSM) was resorting to testing doggy DNA because people were allowing their pets to crap in the hallways and elevators. I wonder if the pooches get booted out on their tails if they're the stinky offenders.

I think the stockade in the middle of town would be a place worth of litterbugs - so they could be ridiculed right to their faces. Okay, maybe that's all a bit invasive, as much as I dream of hunting down those dirty rat bastards who think the world is their trash can.

For now we'll need to stick with reporting litterbugs: Call 1.888.NOLITTR (1-888-665-4887) to report littering from a vehicle.

Joy and sadness

Life is a tightrope we all walk. Each day we go about our everyday lives, until something out of the ordinary pops in to remind us why we're all here. We wobble.

Tuesday I received the joyous news that my friend and co-worker Becky Jolly had given birth to a baby boy - the fourth Jolly child born to Becky and her husband Jeremy. I thought perhaps we were going to have to have a naming contest, but then we heard Tyson James would join Trent, Kylie and Maya. I was so happy for the family.

Then word came that a relative had gotten bad news about her pregnancy. The baby had passed away in utero. My relative had been due this winter with her second child - to join a young son. I was sad for the couple - and their son. A miscarriage is the loss of a potential life that you have planned on for several months, yet there are no real formal ways society has to acknowledge that loss.

As one who has suffered a miscarriage, the news immediately brought back the feelings I had way back in 1984 when I suffered the loss of our first pregnancy. Watching other pregnant women successfully carry their babies. Wondering if I would ever had a child - feeling like a failure somehow, even though there was no way to know what had gone wrong, and I certainly wasn't anyone's fault.

Also, that was the first time life "had done me wrong". Before that miscarriage, I didn't really think about it. I just thought I was one of those people that followed the rules and did things the right way. So things like that wouldn't happen to me. I was wrong. Bad things happen all the time to good (and in my case pretty good) people. I had to get my mind around that fact. The whole "why us?" Little did I know there was more to come later...but first we had a couple of great healthy babies, Amy and Jud. Life went on. But there was grieving and angst first.

On Tuesday this week, I was torn - filled with joy for the Jolly family, but so sad for my family because of the loss. The great roller coaster of life. It gives, it takes. Any spare prayers or thoughts would be appreciated for those who have lost pregnancies.

post rain walk on Capitol grounds

It was a good week otherwise - early flooding rains gave away to perfect Iowa summer weather. I had a couple work road trips - to Franklin County and to Iowa City. It was nice to get out of the office. I walked in the East Village one lunchtime - for the first time since I broke my shoulder. I had been leaving the office at lunchtime to work at home, but the shoulder is feeling good enough now to work full time at the office. Physical therapy is ongoing. Odie will miss me at home!

I received a text message from daughter Amy Friday night that she had arrived in Atlanta, Georgia. That city is where she'll be making her new home with after seven years in Colorado. We look forward to visiting Atlanta in October as it's a place I've never really spent time. I can't wait to see what's next in this chapter of Amy's life.

DMS's one skyscraper in the background

Saturday, Paul headed south to check his deer trail cameras, so I decided to venture down to Gray's Lake near downtown DSM for my morning walk. It was gorgeous out. Afterwards, I stopped for a breakfast sandwich at Gateway Market, which I brought home to eat on the deck while I listened to a book. My idea of a perfect morning!

When Paul arrived home and we went to Windsor Vacuum to make a big local purchase - a new vacuum sweeper. Yep - Pablo gets a new saw (fun) and I get a vacuum (not). Life ain't fair McGee. I enjoyed the family operating this business. I had stopped there for bags for our present awful vacuum, and their 15 year-old son started in on the pitch, with dad taking over. We had been looking at the big box stores, but local sold me! Sales AND service. So guess what I did Saturday afternoon? You're right. I vacuumed.

That night, our friends the McKims met us at a new joint, Draught House 50 for a brew and a meal. We saw a few Crestonites (and former) there Mary Hilger and Mark and Tracy Evans were also at this restaurant on Mills Civic Parkway. It was fun to catch up with the McMs.

This week Paul heads to Washington D.C. for work, so I'll be flying solo with my sidekick the wonderdog. Then we head to Wisconsin for the Goldsmith fam golf tourney reunion. I'm looking forward to seeing Paul's brothers/sisters and spouses. It's been a while.