Next Gen, Cake, Creston Loving Arms

I've been sifting through generations of stuff at our home. Thinking about what the next gen might want. We've been hauling around Bullock/Morehead stuff for 30+ years now. Add in all of our own stuff. I don't want to stick our children with all that. Sure we have a nice big place now, but what happens when we downsize again?

HGTV has made an impact on furniture "hand-me-downs". Suddenly (okay over a period of 60 years), the Ethan Allen cupboards my parents and grandparents handed down to me are looking outdated. They have served our family well, but I don't see them moving to the next gen. End tables, inherited from my parents, are looking beat up. Wear and tear have caught up with them. It's time to move on. And what about all those knick-knacks? Our children may want a few, but some may need to go as well.

I cleaned out the kitchen area last week. I knew there were some containers and items I hadn't used since we moved to Des Moines five-plus years ago. I must admit failure when it came to a few key items pictured below. In the end, I put these back in the cupboard. Amy and Jud could score big someday!

30 year-old blender, snazzy ice bucket

The angel food cake pan above was never on the chopping block. I took a photo of it to send to our family. It was a walk down memory lane that had started when we traveled to Jud and Kara's just after Paul's 60th birthday. They had asked what Paul's favorite dessert is, and I replied angel food.

Jud took on that challenge - despite the fact that he and Kara do not have a cool cake pan like the one above. If you've ever made an angel food from a box, you might have noted that there is an alternative recipe for loaf pans. Our loving son related the story of how he attempted to halve the recipe, dumping some of the cake mix on the floor in the process. Clean up on aisle Goldsmith. I'm sure the dogs helped! Then he must have undercooked it a bit (these cakes are tricky). And you must prop them up upside down so they don't collapse. Oops. Still, I'm so proud that he cared enough to make his dad's fave treat.

The birthday boy with Jud and Kara

Kara and Jud rescued the cake with lots of whipped cream, strawberries and love. They served it that night after taking us out to a yummy steakhouse. That night we talked about the cake pan and memories of cake baking. Paul usually baked those cakes - many times for of our angel Patrick George's birthday. Amy would draw birthday cards (early artist in action). Paul loves eating the crusty angel food top hot out of the oven - a great memory from his own childhood as well. It was a wonderful family evening. That pan is priceless.

Speaking of family, a big shout out to the SW Iowa towns of Creston and Corning. Tragedy struck when the Sharp family lives were cut short. On vacation in Mexico, an unknown gas killed the family of four in their condominium. This is unimaginable.

I've spent the weekend trying to come terms with it. It seems impossible. I am not a close friend of the family. Kevin grew up across the street from our first house in Creston. I met Amy when I worked at the landfill and she worked at the courthouse. Still, they are part of the Creston family. In a small town, this is how one feels. They should still be there. This story should be about a family I've never heard of from somewhere else. It hurts. When it is someone you don't know it is worrisome, but it doesn't hurt like this.

Family takes care of each other. Already the Adams County Speedway held an event honoring the family. Kevin was a racer there - in Corning, the town next to Creston. More events are scheduled to surround the families with love. Individuals and families will step up and deliver meals, hugs memorial money, prayers and thoughts. That is why we raised our children in this area. I trust that the loving arms of the communities will do what can be done. Such a loss. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

Barbra Streisand Cloned Fido

I read a NY Times article last week about Barbra cloning her beloved dog, Samantha. Miss Scarlett and Miss Violet were cloned from cells from Samantha's mouth and stomach. The old girl passed away when she was 14. Babs loved the dog so much, she wanted to copy her - for an estimated $50K.

I find this idea somewhat ludicrous. Each dog has its own wonderful spirit. You can always select a breed with certain characteristics you enjoy. (Facebook hounds me with articles like this all the time). Now you can even adopt a "homeless" dog that has been fostered. That way you will know all of its nuances and habits ahead of your decision. If I get another dog someday, that is what I plan to do.

In my life, three totally different dogs have blessed me. Have they all really been the same spirit? Sometimes I believe so. Perhaps it's just me seeing what I want to in their little bodies. Let's compare:

Jud the dog

Jud Bullock. Yes, I named my son after a dog. In all fairness, the from my childhood was named after my dad, David Judson Bullock. So our son is really named after him. But he could have done worse to be named after the loyal and determined 25-pound doggy bro of my youth.

Jud was a full-sized dachshund, reddish-tan. He was born March 25, 1958, so his 60th birthday will soon be here. One might wonder why I remember a long-dead dog's birthday - but cant' recall your name. Ah, they say short-term memory is the first thing to go. Jud lived to be 15, passing during my freshman year in high school.

Jud was loyal and true. He made like McGruff the Crime Dog, following the Bullock kids all around the neighborhood, ensuring our safety. There were no leash laws back then. Our Jud had the run of the area, luring the neighbors into feeding him. Jud's short little legs couldn't keep up with our bikes - yet he eventually showed up wherever we went. If any neighbor kids encroached on our playhouse - Jud went into attack mode, barking like Kujo. Jud was a good boy.

Amy, Jud and Moki all make funny faces 

Moki Goldsmith. I can't believe I waited until I was nearly 30 to get a dog as an adult. I am a very pragmatic person. I don't believe in getting a pet when you can't properly care for it. I had to "try out" parenting with kids to know I could do it. haha. I would not recommend having a puppy and a one-year-old at the same time though.

If Jud were cloned - chubby tan wiener dog, lays around all day. Loyal? To food.

Moki came to us thanks to a puppy advertisement in the Creston News Advertiser.  Paul and I had learned to love West Highland White Terriers thanks to my sister Susi's sweet dog Mac. Paul named our new white fur ball. Moki means great white bear. Bears are very creative when it comes to getting food - so the name was a good fit.

Another fitting middle name would have been Houdini, a whiz at getting out of the kennel. Even after Paul fastened a clamp on the top. Moki would do anything to get people food. I'd holler at him and he'd put himself in kennel "timeout" for a couple hours. He thought of himself as Jud and Amy's sibling. Smart dog, good boy.

Moki clone - comes complete with a Houdini outfit, he lives on the street. No kennel can keep him. Moki sneaks into people's homes to dine like a king.

Odie with mustard

Odie Pearl Goldsmith. Moki passed away in 2004. He'd lived a good life - considering he'd had diabetes for 7 of his 13 years. We were dog-free for six months. It was lonely. Amy was away at college. Jud wanted a bigger dog. Paul wanted another Westie. I wanted something different. My sis Betso had a couple miniature weiner dogs. Dad's girlfriend Kay, a dog trainer suggested that breed for us. So we got Odie - named after a cartoon character and the dog in the Spenser (Robert B. Parker) novels.

Puppies are so cute. I never want another one. Training them is ridiculous. Chewing and potty. Doxies are stubborn exceptionally stubborn. That said, once Odie was potty trained, Odie became a model doggy. She is a lover of people, especially women. Odie is a model traveler and houseguest (except for those pesky black hairs). She knows where her meals come from, so she never runs away. Odie does love people food, so she is a beggar. My bad for teaching her that our food is yummy.

Clone of Odie - already a good jumper, new Odie can leap even higher, allowing her to snatch food right off the counter.

If only our pets could live as long as we do. No doubt that's what Barbra is looking for by cloning her pet. For me, there's no replacing my best friends with new dogs their genes. The heartbreak when you lose your pet is rough - but worth it.

I enjoyed a day with my bestie this weekend. Deb drove up from Creston. Odie made a big deal about it - moaning and howling, expecting belly rubs. We tried an Ecuadorian place for lunch. One I couldn't get Paul to go to....it was great! Then we shopped at a couple consignment shops - Deb loves those. I found a cool jacket. Last stop - Taco Hangover for a beer. All the while we talked - fam, jobs, and politics! Love that girl. It was a great day. Just ask Odie.

Meet me in St. Louis

St. Louis was never a place I thought I'd be visiting often - until Jud and Kara moved there a few years ago. Even then, we thought the city might be a "passing phase". Now it seems they've settled in quite nicely. Kara travels and works from home. Jud is enjoying his new job at Purina, managing lines of pet food. They have lots of friends to hang out with. We're so proud of both of them. 

We hadn't really seen them since our family gathering in St. Louis for Thanksgiving. Sure, we glimpsed them briefly at ISU's fab bowl game in Memphis. But that was a few words in here and there, mostly on historic Beale Street. Not really the quality time one is hoping for with our kids, though celebrating that victory together was priceless! They seemed more excited about seeing the winning players instead of us on Saturday night.

So we scheduled this early March trip to STL - just after Paul's birthday. It worked out well. Mother Nature is trying to hang on - snow showers fell on the way there, and back. During our time in the Gateway City, the weather cooperated just fine.

Odie went along to see her "people" and to put up with the boys, Jud and Kara's dogs Henry and Archie. She didn't have to tune them up as much as usual - the boys are growing up and are past the puppy phase. I was tempted to purchase a pill organizer for her meds. She's now on 3 meds for her heart, but those seem to make a difference. 

We were all overjoyed to arrive at Jud and Kara's home on Friday night. Once we had the tour of all the updates they'd been working on at their 1920's home, we visited a Cajun/Cuban restaurant.

The next morning, we stopped at a kolache bakery right in Jud and Kara's neighborhood. We could choose from pastries filled with cream cheese, eggs, sausage, and fruit. Warm and tasty.

Later that morning we headed downtown to tour the Fabulous Fox Theatre. In Des Moines, we have a fine modern theater in the Civic Center and are fortunate that it pulls in awesome Tony Award winning musicals each year. That building cannot compare to the truly fabulous Fox Theatre, originally built in 1929 as a movie theater. When the building fell into disarray (damn you 1970's rock concerts), Fox Associates purchased and refurbished it - reopening in 1982.

Organ Player

Above the stage

The tour was historical. It included a short performance by the organ player - he and the organ slowly raised up out of the floor as he played dramatically. We traipsed through all areas of the large building. We got to see where the rich people sit and the dressing rooms with posters drawn on the walls everywhere - for Broadway shows and music groups. We stood on stage. The whole thing took over an hour, up and down stairs.  We heard about ghosts at the theater - one of the employees died on the job, running the movie machine.   

You can book this for your wedding for $25K

On stage

That night we celebrated Paul's birthday at a great place Kara and Jud discovered, Twisted Tree Steakhouse. The salad dressing was super and my filet was really good. Thanks to K&J for taking us out! Later we sat up and talked, sharing a nice bottle of red wine.

Have I mentioned how much I like adult children? It's fun to talk about work, tell them family stories and hear about their friends. Jud entertained us with stories from his new job at Purina. It seems they have culinary events at work. And no they don't taste the dog food.

Archie thinks Henry is his pillow

All too soon, it was Sunday morning and time to head home. It's hard to leave when we don't know when we'll see them again. Summer? I hope so. Both sets of our children have weddings here this summer. Yay. We also have a date in August in Washington for our nephew Alex's wedding. Some dates to look forward to. 

Rob the Cradle

Paul turned sixty years old this week. Now he's my age once again.

As his birthday approached, I sensed he was apprehensive about this age milestone.

Sixty seems like reverse puberty. We'll be going through some changes during this decade. Aging bodies and finishing up our careers. It's exciting! And scary. I wrote the blog about this very thing when I turned sixty. March 1 was Paul's turn to join the 60 Club. He warned me - he wanted no surprises.

What does one do if he doesn't want a "party" for his birthday? We planned a pub crawl of course! Our tailgating pals, Ehreckes and McKims came to DSM to celebrate with us on Friday night. It was Kari's big bday earlier in the week, so we had 2 to celebrate.

Initially, Paul planned about five stops. I reminded him that we're 60 (except those youngster McKims).

We started at Peace Tree. It's a Quonset hut brewpub in the East Village. The place is named after a magical tree in the area that is now Lake Red Rock, near Pleasantville. As you can tell, I didn't think to snap the photo until we nearly drained our beers. We did take our own snacks - something that is welcomed at the places that don't sell food.

Then we went to the larger joint, Confluence in a warehouse area off Bell Avenue near Grays Lake. Paul and I usually enter through the other door, biking in. Confluence sells beer all over the state and one can find their beer on tap many places. After I took this pic, Kevin and Kari's daughter Kacie joined us. She recently moved back to Iowa from California and said she had fun hanging with the oldsters. It was nice to see her.

Our last stop before supper was Carl's Place. Because you need a good dive bar to bring you back to your small town Iowa roots.

Carl's is located near Hoyt Sherman on Woodland Avenue. It was hopping - filled with young people. In fact, Donnie tracked down one other group of older people for us to talk with. They too had noticed that we raised the average age of the joint. We watched the end of the ISU/Oklahoma game on the big screen. The Cyclones young team gives us reason for hope for next year. Plus ISU is really a football school, right? haha

We stopped at Gilroy's Kitchen for pizza on our way home. The conversation had me laughing so hard. Watching Paul laugh was fun too. Kevin can be quite entertaining and is a good artist. When we got home, Odie was so overjoyed to see that we brought friends with us.

Saturday morning we tried a breakfast casserole I put together Friday afternoon. Sausage, hashbrown, eggs, and cheese - nothing fancy, but filling. We are already excited about the football season and tailgating. Seven games this year! This is a good group to be sixty with.