My old Crestony Home

Any excuse for a party, and breakfast, and/or drinks! That's been the motto for my Creston homegirls these past few years. I've written about the group before - they are my homies, my gals - my clique.

I first learned that word - clique - in 6th grade (of course I thought it was "click") when Mrs. Nancy Pellett, the teacher used that word like it was a bad thing. And perhaps she was right in that case...we did have a large group of girls who had just learned how to be snotty. We could be bullies. Mrs. Pellett (related by marriage to the nice Pellett families - I think she and her husband (Gary?) eventually divorced) wasn't any help in dealing with us though.

There were two sections of sixth grade at our school - each with about 30 students. The other class had a teacher named Mrs. Harter. I perceived her as a crotchety old women, who used the word Shiste (not sure of the spelling) as an expletive. Doesn't that sound suspiciously like Shit!? She was no help with budding potential bullies in need of guidance. Of course bad then there were no counselors at Washington Elementary. We received little formal input on our behavior. We could have used some!

Wiki defines the word Clique as, "persons who interact with each other more regularly and intensely than others in the same setting". Even though I'm not it the same setting (Creston) anymore, I'm still in the group, thank goodness. Everyone needs a group.

Each year the homegirls have a holiday party - usually after the holidays so the pressure is off. Linda volunteered to host this year. McKims volunteered to host us overnight at their home. They even offered to have Odie, but I arranged for her to go to the Puppy Spa at Lila and Bill's - where she always went when we lived in town. I knew they'd be going through Odie withdrawals.

Prior to the trip, we bought supplies at the cult clubhouse - Costco. I was going to make a cheesecake, but then saw one there. And we bought brown water - Black Velvet and some Fess Parker chardonnay. After doing errands and a bit of cleaning Saturday a.m., we watched most of the ISU men's game before we hit the road. Odie was thrilled to go with us until she found out we were visiting Mendy at Creston Vet Clinic for a nail trim and another procedure involving her bottom. It's much cheaper to get that stuff done here than in the big city.

We found time to swing by our former house after that - we noticed they weed wacked Paul's native prairie area, but there were no trees missing. We'd heard tell that they had gotten a Christmas tree off of their own property.

Then we went to McKims. I thought it might seem awkward, but it didn't - since we've spent quite a bit of time there through the years. They're the kind of hosts that make one feel right at home. The Broncos/Ravens game was on. Jeff McFee arrived about 5:30, sans Bobbie who is in Idaho for work. Missing that girl!

We thought it was safe to leave for the party with the Broncos leading with a minute left. Wrong! By the time we got to Linda's, a couple minutes away, the game was in overtime and the Broncos went on to lose. A lot of Broncos fans in my family are not happy campers after that game! When we arrived at Linda's we got hugs from everyone - even the guys! I'm digging that part about being from another town now - I love hugs.

The guys retired downstairs to watch the Packers/San Francisco fame and we stayed upstairs to chat. And eat. I brought along my friend Jeremiah. Weed. Sweet tea vodka. There were 3 kinds of soup and I opted for Reuben - complete with sauerkraut. It was delish! Roll Call: Linda's BF (and my former hazardous materials tech) Mick Landers, Deb and Larry Peterson, Patti Kralik and Dean Leith, Susan and Brian Weinheimer, Nancy and Jim Anthony and the people who came with us. The missing: Bobbie, Pat and Steve Moeller and Lucy and Jim Hyde.
I did a lousy job taking photos this year...;>(

Patti, Deb, Nancy and Diana

Susan and Linda

I love these ladies. I don't have to pretend to be nice with them. I can just be my sarcastic self! They know my kids and I know theirs. We talked about Creston stuff - the basketball game and life in general. We used our collective memories to remember what people's names are that did that one thing that one time. We laughed at ourselves like only old friends can. It was relaxing and fun. I miss these guys!

So while the upstairs conversation went exceedingly well. The Packers game didn't - Paul and Larry are big fans. They weren't happy. Thank goodness for BV and Coke. When the game was over, we decided to head to The Lobby for karaoke and a bit of dancing.

Diana sings, while Don channels John Belushi

It was fun to go to a bar where we could see more people while we were in town. I saw Retta Baker as we walked in, and chatted with her for a while. The Baker kids went to school with Amy and Jud at St. Malachy. In the karaoke room my old pal Jeanne Piel and her hubby Sheriff Rick, and their son Chris with his partner Jason Hoke were hanging out. I haven't seen any of them in person for so darn long - hugs again! Barb and Joe Feld and family (they moved away some 10 years ago or so) were back in town celebrating Barb's 50th birthday. I also saw Brittany - the cute young Creston teacher we have run into at the bowl games the past 2 years.

Paul talked to a kid around Jud's age with an Atlantic connection - Lynn Kinen (Chuck and Collette's daughter) McCabe's son Bryant McCabe. We danced and Don and Diana sang. Don sang the Rodeo Song....a song that always reminds me of our years camping at Ridgeland, Wisconsin and floating the Apple River. I think it was after 1 a.m.  when we left The Lobby - Paul was lobbying us to stop at Sidetracked - the bar across the tracks, but smarter wives prevailed.

I must say we weren't moving real fast this a.m. when Diana served a great breakfast casserole complete with my fave tailgating food - sticky pecan rolls. We headed home around 11 a.m. Odie was happy to see us! We were sad to see Creston in our rear view mirror, but happy to be together when we walked into our WDM home. I don't miss packing on Sundays. Thanks girls (especially Linda for hosting) - let's get together again soon! Thanks McKims for the hospitality!

Calling it a Career

Brian and Garth Frable

Our Bureau Chief, Brian Tormey, is retiring at the end of the year. I'm going to miss that guy. Today we had his reception at the Wallace Building - with a baseball theme. Brian is a baseball and a hockey fan. And I didn't know, he is a huge Mets fan.

Check out the clever centerpieces - recycled from a high school graduation

Angie Clark, a technical staff person in our bureau, took charge of the party planning. Man, I want Angie to plan my next party. She rocks! I should have known...as that's how she handles all aspects of her job. Angie is very thorough and competent. She had a team working with her to put the party together - steamed hot dogs, just like at the ball park, with nachos, chips, and cracker jacks! Plus we had some marvelous cake from Costco.

Bill Ehm (it's pronounced aim) and Brian

Creston's own Division Administrator Bill Ehm presented Brian with a plaque commemorating his time with the State of Iowa. Before that he had put in time with the US Postal Service. So his retirement will be double dipping!

I forget how funny Brian is, but he had it going today. He brought a bag of stuff from his cubicle - Show and Tell. Here is one thing he brought.

 

Brian said the "Nun" chucks were a result of 12 years of Catholic education. Note the little nuns at the bottom left - ready to be launched by the apparatus. Too funny. It was nice to see some faces from the past at the reception. My first supervisor, Al Goldberg was there. I started my job at DNR 4 years ago today!

 

On a sad note, I found out yesterday that a woman from our bureau, who had been awaiting a heart for a transplant - got called to come to Iowa City Monday. Sadly, she was receiving some plasma prior during the procedure and her body reacted. She didn't make it. I was at work early yesterday, and overheard the Section Supervisor, Cal tell the news to a few who get to work early as I do. I felt so bad, even though I didn't really even know her. Everyone went from the high of being happy that Sandy's new heart was here, to the low of her death - all in 24 hours.

 

At his reception, Brian mentioned that last Friday Sandy had come into his office to congratulate him on his retirement. She had been back working, part time. She had an external pump to assist her heart. She was only 51, but had a heart attack a year ago, and then had more problems a few months later. She had been in the hospital in Iowa City many weeks,  and then recovered at home for a while before she returned to work while awaiting the call about the donor heart.
 

Brian said last week, Sandy mentioned that through it all, her faith sustained her. Brian felt good about that. It was a somber note during a happy occasion - his reception. But I was glad he brought it up. He's no stranger to grief. Just 4 years ago, right before I started my job, his wife passed away from breast cancer. So he was out of the office for several weeks when I first started work.

 

Brian's son stopped by for the party. And his bro, Ed works as the Bureau Chief for the attorneys at DNR - so he was there too. Nice that he got the support of family for this day.

 

It's hard to believe he won't be sitting in that cubicle next to Angie in a couple weeks. I'm going to miss him. Good luck big guy! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few funnies

I like to collect funnies.

This is for my friend Robyn

 

Don McKim and I are very intelligent and funny after beverages...

A rug we need at our house...

 

This week seemed long. My overall supervisor Brian, announced recently that he is retiring at the end of the year. He turned 60 this year, and he has not been in the best health...his back has bothered him for months. I feel like I owe my DNR career start to Brian, and I'm sad to see him leave the department - though I'm happy for him. When I quit my job at the Union County Landfill, I began applying for jobs, but had my eye on DNR positions - particularly one in Brian's area. I saw him at a conference in the fall of 2008 in Ottumwa, and he was nice enough to give me a heads up about the position I eventually got.

Even though Brian oversees 3 other sections besides ours, he has a special interest in my Environmental Management System program - so that will be a big change for me, when he leaves. The head of the next level up - Creston's own Bill Ehm won't fill the position until Brian is gone. It will be interesting to see how that goes!

Pablo and I headed to Adel today to get our driver's licenses updated. We were able to register to vote, and we registered for our Homestead Credit. So it's official now - we're Dallas County residents. And I miss my Creston Homies and neighbors. But I sure like my curbside recycling bin!

Every other week they come pick it up!

Bolder update

Bolder with Bud, Pablo and Lemondrop...last summer

It has been a while since I reported the awful news that my beloved bro-in-law Brian Lefebvre, whom everyone calls Bolder or Boldie has prostate cancer - a particularly aggressive type damn it! He had surgery back in late July to remove his prostate. Then it was discovered that the cancer had spread, so further treatment was called for.

But Bolder had to heal from surgery - and dealt with some complications like infection. So he wasn't able to start chemo until October. He just had his second round of the powerful chemical cocktail Taxotere (he'd prefer scotch), and will have two more chemo sessions - December 1st and 22nd with the drug Jevtana. My sis Cindo say the good news is that his PSA is still really low and his white blood cell count is looking good.

Here is an update in Cindo's words. "Thanks for checking in with us. Oldie Moldie Boldie has now become Balding Boldie. He has lost most of the hair on top of his head but still has a ring around the lower part (kinda like Friar Tuck). I asked if he wanted his friend Eric to shave it off and he said no. It's amazing how well he takes the chemo. He's a little tired but hasn't felt sick at all even after two sessions. Bolder and I are so thankful for our friends and family and that there are drugs to find the horrible disease called cancer! Love you all!"

After Chemo, Boldie will be starting radiation treatment. Amy, Jud, Paul and I will be in Vail celebrating Christmas with the Lefebvres. Can't wait to hug them and son Colby who is working in Vail Valley managing a local eatery.

The Bullock and Lefebvre families appreciate all your good thoughts and prayers for one the the best and most tender-hearted guys in the whole world - Brian Lefebvre.

Age 53, maturity age 10....

Some people will never grow up! And I'm one of them. I made myself laugh today. Several times. By myself. Just now again....

Today the two sections that I work in - Solid Waste and Financial and Business Assistance (FABA) of Iowa DNR met at Walnut Woods to do a Strategic Planning session  - all day. The leader of the Land Quality Bureau, Brian Tormey lead us in several exercises to help set up how we'll move forward through the next several months. In order to get started, we did an "ice breaker".

The purpose of the little exercises was to solve 30 questions - figuring out what numbers the statements stood for (the answers were the numbers 1-30). Our group of some 22 or so people was broken up into three groups. I was with Becky, Laura, Theresa, Matt, Kathleen, Jeff - and our FABA supervisor Jen chimed in once in a while. The questions started out easy - stuff like "A typical round of golf is this many holes."  Answer 18.

They quickly got hard! There were things like the square root of 256. And the British race track is the M____.

But the one that got me laughing at me and my big juvie mouth was: The number of planets in the solar system is? I asked Jeff, who was sitting beside me the answer. He said - 9. Without thinking I said, "Did you include Uranus?" It still makes me laugh. Out loud. Jen heard me say it and laughed too. Sometimes I can't help myself...it's like a little evil witty person lives inside me. Turned out the answer was 8 - they tossed Pluto out not so long ago...not Jeff's anus...I mean Uranus.

We grilled burgers and brats (supplied by the managers) for lunch along with potluck. I took calico beans that I put together yesterday with Paul's help and lots of good salads and desserts. It was all very good.

Walnut Woods was a cool place to meet - though the wooden benches got a bit hard after a while. And the walnuts hitting the wooden roof of the lodge was a bit distracting at times. Glad one didn't hit me in the head (though I prolly deserved it..) The walnuts reminded me of our old house - the walnut tree and the shed out back. Bam!

Let's hope the day away from the office translates to a great plan for our two sections.

***********

On a totally unrelated note, my sis Bets sent us this cute framed print last week, as it made her think of Odie, my darling dachshund. Thanks sis!

Ridin' the bus

I rode the bus today to the Land Quality Bureau retreat at the Annett Center in Indianola. It got me to thinking about bus drivers. Most of the drivers I've known are a certain personality - both nurturing and safety conscious.

I wasn't a bus kid when I attended Washington Elementary in Atlantic, Iowa. In fact we walked to school in the morning taking the shortcut through the "woods" - 10 yard wide strip of trees that ran the length of our block. Then we walked home for lunch - peanut butter and lettuce sandwiches on white bread. So I only got to ride the bus for special occasions like field trips.

When I hit high school, I rode the bus for sports. We always had nice drivers, but I don't remember their names. My most important sports memories are from the bus ride. We always had fun chatting. The best part was we got everywhere safely.

I believe the bus drivers I know best are the guys that drove the kids to their sporting events - Darwin and Lee. Lee is a quiet guy, genial and a sports fan. Darwin is like no other. He drives a school bus during the day too and is great with the kids. He gently teases them and they can tell he cares.

Darwin would share road information with us and we called his cell to find out what the weather was like on road trips. He also serves as the MC of the prom grand entry each year. The kids enjoy how he does the introductions. Darwin is also an auctioneer, who does great things when doing auctions for charity. He's good at parting folks from their $ while making them laugh!

When Paul and I went to Italy to visit Amy we were on a tour, with a guide and driver. I confess I don't remember the driver's name - but he was quiet and effective. Plus he lugged those heavy bags in and out.

Today, one of my co-workers, Mel (he has his CDL) drove us to Indianola. Mel is a take-charge guy who seems to be very effective at his job. (He used to be the tire recycling guy so I've known him for years). We arrived safe and sound.

At the retreat, Brian the Bureau Chief was talking about different types of people - ones who like to ride and ones who like to drive the bus. I found that to be ironic - when I had been pondering bus drivers and their personalities earlier this morning. While I enjoy a nice bus ride and I usually let Paul drive when we travel, I can't seem to help myself when it comes to work and life situations. At this point in my career, I am pretty sure of myself and am definitely driving, while carefully avoiding the other vehicles of course.