Jethro's in Waukee

Joan and I have been meaning to try out the new Jethro's Barbecue on University in Waukee for quite some time, so last week - before I moved out of her place temporarily - we did!

It's a lot bigger than it looks from the outside! Good thing too - because the parking lot is always full. There are TVs everywhere and the smell of barbecue wafts through the air. I selected a Pale Ale draw to sip while we waited for our food. I selected 2 meats - chicken and beef brisket, along with a corn muffin green beans and mashed sweet potatoes. It was about $16, but J had a coupon for 15% off, so we got a bargain - and I ended up eating barbecue for 2 meals after that night!

This Jethro's location also serve Cajun food - and the peel and eat shrimp made me pine for Marco Island, Florida!

Our night at Jethro's convinced me of one thing - Joan and I should have eaten out together more. Now I'll get a chance to check out some Downtown/East Village places with Pablo.

Nashville

Pablo and I got up at 3:15 a.m. Monday August 22nd to get to the DSM airport for our flight to Minneapolis on the way to Nashville. A minor miracle occurred when everything went smooth as silk - a first for flying this year. In fact I was sound asleep when we took off - something that never happens! We got all situated for our next flight - set for 9:30 or so, when they announced that it was overbooked and they were looking for volunteers to be bumped.

Paul and I looked at each other - hey, we didn't have anything set we had to do that day. So I hot-footed it up there to put our names in, and was told to wait until everyone boarded and they'd let us know if we hit the jackpot or not. The flight boarded, and sure-nuff. We won! When it was all said and done, we ended up with $1,200 in flight coupons, plus $32 in lunch vouchers. We headed to TGI Fridays for lunch, and then awaited our 3:30 flight. Free Florida tickets - here we come!

View from our "handicapped" balcony

We ended up hitting Nashville about 5:30 p.m. and took the fancy shuttle bus to our village. When we checked in we learned that we got an "upgrade". Yeah..to a handicap room - with a view. Two very low queen beds instead of a king bed. A zero entry shower. But hey we had a balcony and a huge ironing room! Vacation Village was really Gaylord's Opryland Hotel - 49 landscaped acres under a dome. Pools, restaurants, various pods of motel rooms with fountains. Little shops and bars with escalators going to them. The convention center was on one end with Opryland beyond that. I only got lost about 10 times, but Paul was even loster (is that a word) than I was! I'm now very worried about him hunting elk in Colorado next month - good thing he has GPS!

Outside the pizza shop - our friends the horses..

When we first got there we hunted up my old pal Christine, who was the engineer for the Union County Landfill when I was the manager. We got to be buddies through all the (insert bad word) we went through. I had a lovely drink in the "Library" lounge. Then Laura a project consultant from Dallas hunted us down and we went to Fuse to get a bite to eat in a sports bar that only had about 52 TVs. Then it was off to find our room...after several false starts we did!

Sara Bixby cuts the ribbon

In the a.m. we found a little shop where I could purchase granola and skim milk, and Paul could get a roll and coffee - all for $16. Then we hit the ribbon-cutting ceremony for WASTECON. I know...awful conference name - but descriptive - no? I had not slept well, nervous for my speaking gig at 2 PM. But I managed to drag myself around the display area where vendors had their wares, and picked up a few cool freebies. I also attended a session on Rural Recycling that was excellent.

We choked down some lousy pizza at lunch and it was time to head for my gig. The others I was talking with were beginning to gather outside our room. Kathy, Mary, and Laura all got to talk before I finished up. Sara - another Iowan, who spent the year as the president of the whole international organization, was scheduled to introduce us.

About twenty people showed up to hear us - not too bad considering we were scheduled in a room off the beaten path. Paul was there for moral support. Our PowerPoint was superb. When it was my turn, I spoke a few words and my mouth turned to the Sahara. Gummy! I struggled along for a while...but had to excuse myself to get a drink. Of tea. Otherwise it went pretty well. Not as well as it did in my kitchen all by myself the Friday before, but oh well...

Phon-A-Phobia and the Big Freezy

You'd think this would cure me. Alas I'm beyond curing. My name is Leslie and I'm a phone-a-phobic. While I don't mind talking to loved ones and chatting with friends on the phone, I detest making most calls.

I always have! I remember back when I was a tot (okay I was a teen) and Mom made me call my own damn 4-H leaders - adults, for information. Can you believe she didn't do it for me? Okay, that was probably smart of her, but it didn't help. I got cold sweaty palms then, and even today I drag my feet before dialing. I'm glad my daughter didn't get that tenancy from me. She's a good phone talker.

Today was the day I've been waiting for - a visit to my new neurologist to talk about my migraines, which have been bad this winter. My DM med person - Nurse Practioner Sheryl Young's nurse called me with the appointment after I called Sheryl for a referral. I wanted to see a female neuro, as I haven't been to one since my last one - she who shall not be named, cuz I can't remember her name - retired. I liked her too - she was the first one to really understand that hormones do come into play when it comes to headaches!

So Sheryl's nurse called me with the appointment details, Dr. Heike Schmolck - German, who has an office at Mercy in the East Tower. Google Maps, and other quests for location only netted the basic Mercy Medical plaza. The hospital where my inner nether parts were removed (hysterectomy) in July.

I left work at 10 a.m. for what I thought was a 10:30 a.m. appointment. Due to "winter of constant blizzards - 2010" I trudged through snow and cold to my car and drove on very slickery streets to Mercy. I didn't see a blinking sign saying "east tower park here!" So I ended up entering one of the two parking ramps attached to the complex. I nearly drove all the way to the top and had to walk the full length of the ramp, through the cold to get into the building.

Then I did a good rat in a maze imitation, but I am proud that I overcame my manlike tenancy to not ask directions. A nice volunteer lady (I want to be her when I grow up) told me where to go. I only had to ask one other person on the way too! Hospitals give me the creeps...

When I finally got to my destination - at 10:25, what timing, I was chagrined to find out from the receptionist that my appointment is actually set for the 19th, not the 9th. Hmmm I had considered phoning ahead, as I hadn't heard from the Doc's office with a reminder. But Hell I though - they probably called my home in Creston. So I talked myself out of it.

One phone call could have saved me that awful trip. When I got back to the DNR parking ramp, I was forced to park on floor 4 - nearly on the top!

The day did end better than it started though- I scored a cardigan sweater (cream color) and a long sleeve tee for a total of $14.98. Yes, ladies and gents the thrill of finding a bargain is back! Lookout Pablo!

Great (and I mean really) great white hunter

Pablo the Poolboy shot a deer today with his bow. Not only a deer, but the biggest bestest deer he's ever shot. He called me right when I got to my cubicle this a.m. I was running late after having breakfast with my homies at S&K Cafe in Creston.



So I got a late start, and while driving had another headache (#3 of the weekend) so I took my meds on the way. Then I heard about an accident on the freeway, so I got off at 8th St. to avoid it. The good news is I wasn't IN the accident. And my wonderful meds get rid of my headaches.



So Pablo calls me all breathless and jubilant. "I shot a huge buck", he says. I can tell he's shot full of adrenaline. Last year he told me he shot a big buck, but it seemed to shrink (men do tend to exaggerate size - have you ever noticed that?) when he got out of his tree stand.



Not this year, though I must admit, the phone pic he sent me didn't do it justice. When he sent me the real pic from a camera I realized he was right. It's friggen huge! I printed out the pic at work to show other hunters. My boss Al expressed extreme jealousy - he's not even been out yet. Sue plans to hunt with her muzzle loader soon and she was quite impressed with said deer.

In order to avoid hernia and heart attack, Paul called upon Jeff to help drag the deer out of the woods to where the Jeep awaited. Odie had scads of fun sniffing the scents of death in our garage after Paul caped the deer there. Our neighbor Jean (pronounced Jhawn) all 100 lob of him helped Paul get the carcass back into the Jeep to go to Corning to be processed.

I'm so happy for Pablo - he's so pleased. And exhausted.

I'm sad for the deer though. He was alive this a.m. and now he's dead. There are way too many deer in Iowa. They're dangerous around roads and damage crops. They need to be weeded out, and Pablo is doing his part. Hmm I didn't really convince myself that killing animals was okay but I tried...

Paul is a good hunter - who spends a great deal of time and effort (and $$) on his sport. It gives him immense enjoyment, and stress relief. Nothing like killing things to release a bit o stress!