Mother's Day

It's the day past Mother's Day. I've been a mommy for 32 years now. Yes, I count my "pregnant with Amy" year. I scored a diamond necklace that Mother's Day! The two of us were living in Osage, and we headed Austin, MN that weekend to shop a bit.

I was still in the earlier stages of pregnancy - not yet full-on big and bitchy. He had always told me if I ever spied a deer before he did, he'd get me a diamond necklace. I know, it doesn't sound like much a feat today. But back then, deer were still rare. (If only...). It took me a long time. I'd been searching for a couple years by then. That day I scored!

I still think of that when I wear the necklace. It's not a big diamond, but I love it. The funny thing is, Paul still yells out, "there's a deer!" every time he sees one. Like it's a rare creature. Right. Anyhow, I still love him, father of my children.

Not sure who was driving...

When Mother's Day rolls around, somehow I always feel like an imposter. It's supposed to be for MY mom, not me. Even though she's been gone 20 years this year. And sadly, I didn't value her as much as I should have when she was here. First I was busy being a self-centered young person. Then I was busy being a young mommy.

I was in about 8th grade here. Don't tip Dad! Are those socks he has on?  

I miss my mom. In her honor, I published the picture above on Facebook. It's  from the early 1970's. Mom got the idea that she wanted a sailboat. So she switched cigarette brands for a while - from Virginia Slims to Kool, collecting carton ends to purchase a Kool Sailboat. I remember when the styrofoam boat was delivered and we had to put fiberglass sheets on the bottom and smear epoxy glue over them to harden and protect the boat. The result was a lightweight boat that held 3 people or 4 if 2 were little kids.

I don't remember how we got the boat over to Lake Anita. Periodically we'd head over there and said. Susi and Cindy had attended Camp Lake Hubert in Minnesota and knew how to sail, but I don't think Mom and Dad knew a thing about it. The Deters like to go over with Mom and Dad too. There may have been some beverages - perhaps a trip to the Redwood.

The boat's official name was "the Bullfrog" and they joked that they should put the letters on upside down - as that was how they sailed it. I wonder if they Dad's wallet when they drained the lake a couple years ago? Happy Mother's Day Momma. Love you.

I was childless this Mother's Day because the kids live far away. But the offspring represented very well! Flowers on Saturday from Jud and Kara, with a gift - a way cool dish towel from an environmentally friendly company. Amy made a great donation to an organization I care deeply about. I've told them before - don't get me anything. They disobeyed! And they both called. Jud fessed up that Kara took care of the gifts. Daughter-in-laws rock. Soon Amy will be married and we'll have another son - Corey! I'm so glad I'm a mommy.

Paul treated me well on Mother's Day even though I'm not his mommy. He talked me into riding 14 miles on my bike. At least there were some nice cool stops along the way. And beer. And water. I'm very careful about drinking and biking because I'm a brittle old girl! Great weekend.

Kid's Day!

Facebook tells me it's "Happy Children's Day" today. That brings back a rush of memories from good old Atlantic, Iowa. Back in the 1960's the town would bring a carnival in each June, closing off the downtown for "Kid's Day". It was marvelous - like a tiny state fair midway right in my home town.

Mom would take us downtown and buy us tickets for the wonderful, heart thumping rides. The Scrambler, the Octopus, Ferris Wheel, mini roller coaster and - yes, The Hammer - where you would actually go upside down. No doubt most of these have been outlawed by now, or at least insurance is too expensive for carnies to haul them around to Iowa towns. It's the end of an era.

Hammer

Once we had our tickets in hand, we were on our own - at least by age 10. The tiny temporary carnival world was my oyster. Not only could I use tickets for rides, they could be used to play games like toss the ring on the pop bottle. The prizes were so cool like fake swords and wicker finger cuffs. So - mostly crap! Plus cotton candy, ice cream, pop corn, hot dogs. All the bad, good stuff!

Once my little fellow kids and I had our fill, I'd walk up to my grandparent's house with all my new junk in all my bloated child glory. It was a good day - Kid's Day.

obviously not a summer picture - but me at around 10. Pay no attention to the Hawkeye banner

It's the 1 year anniversary of breaking my shoulder biking. It happened near our home on the sidewalk as I passed a woman walking and tried to go from the grass back onto the sidewalk - caught an edge, fell and heard a crunch as my shoulder hit first. Ouch.

I must admit I've had a bit of a hard time "getting back on the horse" when it comes to riding my bike around the neighborhood. The sidewalk edges - changing surfaces scare me!

This morning I decided to take an early morning ride in celebration. I'm back baby. I'm more careful - but life goes on and I want to keep riding for exercise and fun.

by the rugby fields - Jordan Creek Trail

That's why

they call them accidents. Ugh. It wasn't my turn! I was so looking forward to a summer of activities including biking...after feeling so badly last summer prior to the Graves' Disease diagnosis.

No energy, abdominal pain, muscle and weight loss. Plus high anxiety. I was a mess. So I was determined to return to my "fun girl" self this year. Meds have brought my thyroid under control. It's amazing to feel better. I've been walking and felt ready to add biking to the mix - putting about 30 miles on my lovely steed Albie.

old pic of Albie - on right

Finally the city opened up the trail under I-35 which adds a world of trails to us. Yay! After a long day at work Wednesday, we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous day and ride to Saints - just down off 50th for a meal and a beer on the patio. It's about a 5 mile round trip.

We weren't the only ones with that idea. We saw Bill and Kathy Matthews there. They are the couple we purchased our townhome from. Huge bikers themselves, Kathy plans to ride from Iowa City to Washington DC soon - and she must be around 70 years old as they just celebrated their 50th anniversary. Very cool people.

Then our niece Barb and her daughter Mandy stopped by our table. They were there with another mom and daughter pair. Sometimes West DM is a small place!

I chose to have one beer only - so I wasn't wobbly on my bike on the route back. And I had a big salad with a whole chicken breast. It almost felt like we were on vacation for that short time - it was a lovely evening.

Until the trip home. We were so close to our house when I made a bad decision - to pass a woman on the grass. When I tried to re-enter the sidewalk, my upper body strength wasn't enough to pull the bike back up and I flopped down - hitting on my elbow on the grass on the other side of the narrow sidewalk. I heard something pop - with pain. My head bounced but not bad. There was a scrape on my knee. My hip hurt. It was about 7:30 p.m. Maybe I should have had a second beer - that fall would have been easier?

I knew I needed to go to an emergency room. Paul and I walked our bikes home - about a block. Then we headed to Methodist West, right next to DMOS, where my shoulder surgeon resides during daytime hours. Emergency was a zoo. I finally had an X-Ray about 2 hours in. The docs, tech and nurses were all very nice. Broken shoulder was the diagnosis.

You can't put a cast on a shoulder. You can just put it in a sling and take pain meds because it's very painful. I could feel it grind around a little. I had a few choice words for myself. What a stupid thing to do. Now this summer will be shot as well...

I called my surgeon at DMOS the next day - Dr. Schulte. They snuck me in and one more XRay confirmed the diagnosis. I'll go back in a month to see how it's healing. The break is near the armpit. Pop! $(%*#

It's likely to freeze back up. Nice. At least this time there will be a reason. Sleeping isn't easy. I've been taking the pain meds as directed. Atlantic buddy Patrick Hayes has a similar injury. He gave me some tips. I'm worried about turning into a big gelatinous blob this summer - need to figure out how to get some exercise. With this pain level, that isn't happening though.

God bless Paul Goldsmith for doing laundry and opening my car door as needed. He's been a saint!

Work will be interesting. That goodness I have some flexibility regarding working offsite. I will meet with my supervisor next week. My left hand isn't the strongest...but working on the laptop is preferable to a standing work station at the Wallace Building (with real mice).

They say 4-6 weeks for the sling. Then the aftermath. It's going to be another long summer - but at least this time I know what's going on! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Gettin' high and cooking

Sunday we got to have a late breakfast with Jud and Kara, before they headed south to Kansas City. It was fun to see them two weekends in a row! I was spoiled. I like hanging with my kiddo - hearing Paul and him talking about their teams. Jud chased Odie around the house Sunday morning and she got all jacked up, barking and whirling - she's still got it for an old gal. Kara thought it was a hoot.

I ran some errands during the Green Bay game - left Paul to feel the pain of another tragic loss. His teams aren't faring too well this season so far. Luckily it was the early game and there was still plenty of beautiful day left when the game ended. We were off to Woodward to ride the bike trail to the High Trestle Bridge - something we'd been itching to do all summer!

Can't have an Iowa town without a grain elevator

The trailhead is right in town
 

There was an overlook that made Pablo queasy...

Orange and Albie liked the nice railing - it kept them from plunging 40 meters

See...he's not quite smiling - he doesn't like this height. For some reason it didn't bother me

I guess it's really cool at night with the lights

Afterwards we couldn't resist a cold bevvie at the Whistlin' Donkey!

We need to go back to this trail sometime with friends! The trail is all paved and is flat as a pancake. It goes to the High Trestle Bridge which is 15 stories high - built from a former railroad trestle. It's up there! We saw lots of recumbent bikes as we rode. Plus walkers and families. It's 2.6 miles to the trestle from Woodward - and is another 2.6 to Madrid (pronounce Mad Rid) after the bridge.

I always think of Betso when I see that town name. When she was in high school, she and buddy Julie Hansen drove to Ames to visit me at college. They took a left turn at the wrong place, and they ended up there for some reason - lost! It was prior to the cell phone era of course, and she found a public phone and frantically called me and said, "We're lost - we're in Madrid!" pronouncing it like the Spanish city. Being the smart ass college student I was, I said, "Wow, you did take a wrong turn!" Clever, no?!? I hear there is a pub in Madrid too. Could be a fun ride!

Last night I attended a cooking class put on by LearnWest. It was in a little magazine I received in the mail from the community education program. They offer all sorts of classes - from jewelry making, to quilts (damn - you have to know how to sew) to cooking, exercise, computers, blogging and more.

About time you learned to cook, some of you might say. So I mature slowly. There's still time! It's not like I can't cook - it's just that I have no style. I'd like to learn to be comfortable in a kitchen - and not just on the clean up crew. There were nine of us at the class set at a local Junior High Home Ec room. Visions of Mrs. Elming, my very own Junior High instructor. She tried valiantly to teach me to cook, sew and apply makeup. It didn't take.

This class was taught by Stacey Parkins, who runs her own business - Nonna's Inspired Cooking. She'll come to your home and teach you to cook a dish. Stacey also teaches several of the LearnWest classes. Nice gal, who is assisted by her sister. Nonna is her gran - awww.

Gail and Angela

Soup

We learned to cook chicken and rice soup and whipped up a citrus salad dressing to put on some greens. I partnered with a couple other gals who came without built in pals - Angela and Gail. I got a kick out of Gail who said she doesn't even own measuring spoons. It will be hard to cook at home without some, I believe! Stacey had us tasting the recipes after several steps and also gave us tips about things to keep in our kitchens. It was nice to ask questions of someone who wasn't snooty. We had to keep adding mustard to the dressing because it was too thin and a bit bland to start with. The evening was fun. I won't be cooking like that every night - it takes time! But there might be hope for the weekends. Maybe I am growing up. Naaa.

We were supposed to be paddling...

My friend Deb and I set a date for a NE Iowa, SE MN kayaking trip several month ago. We decided to go in June in case it was dry again like last year...we wanted to go while the rivers still had water in them. HA! Mother Nature sure fooled us. Again. She rules.

Yet Deb and I could have fun in a paper bag. So we decided to go anyway - take that Mom N! So we loaded up the bikes last Thursday night (she worked late in Creston that day and drove up after) and headed out Friday morning after a walk near our house and breakfast at the Waveland. I know - I've become a regular there!

We were so into our initial catch up chat that I missed the turn...we ended up weaving our way through Minnesota and Iowa on our way to Lanesboro, MN, our weekend spot - arriving about 3 p.m. Then we checked into our bed and breakfast - the Stone Mill Inn, Lanesboro. The Mill Room - which is the only room in the room with the checkout area. We hauled our stuff in, put our bikes in the barn and went to the work of shopping.

I got this coaster for Pablo

Lanesboro is a small picturesque town built along the Root River. There are some cute little shops and some nice places to get a beverage there too. And we did! One gift store tickles my fancy.

And I don't know why I bother working for the Department of Natural Resources anymore as I now have a new talent...I tell fortunes...I got this so I can predict the shit out of my high school friends' lives when we get together in October.

Lanesboro is one of the few remaining towns with one of these.

Deb is pretending to be Superwoman - changing clothes...

Our B&B had a wine and cheese reception. It was that sweet local wine, but I suffered and drank zinfandel anyway and we chatted with other patrons. We rested after and changed for supper. I was delighted to find out there was a GASP martini bar in town. This was a new development since the last time I was here. We walked the 2 blocks to the restaurant and found a little corner table for a couple martinis and supper. The food was nothing special, but the martinis were good.

Deb pretends to own the place

During the night, it started raining. A lot. It didn't stop by morning - so biking was out. We were disappointed to find out the breakfast part of the deal was only continental. What? I was looking forward to something yummy and hot. We had the whole check in desk to ourselves that morning early...when the clerks are away...

Cheers!

 Deb and I headed south (after going north due to a detour) to Harmony to the huge antique mall. One of the many Amish families in the area was sitting outside the store selling their wares in the rain. I told Deb they looked like they needed blast jackets. Remember that term? Mom used to call our jackets that...anyway the bonnets they were wearing weren't cutting it...we wondered where this guy had disappeared to. He stiffer than ever and in not living in Harmony.

Love me tender!

We at lunch in Preston, then headed back to Lanesboro. After cleaning up - that shopping is dirty stuff - I picked up some items we had scoped out earlier. One of the coolest things happened when we went into a store that re-purposes things and I saw this:

 What - you don't know what it is? The shopkeepers were amazed that I did, when I said, "Hey, it's a Dey-timer!" This one is bigger than ours, but the one Mom spied in the basement of Bullock's store and had refurbished looks nicer and has a top. The piece, that was an old clock used by workers to punch in and out sits by my chair.

Saw this sign at the recycling store

That night, after a couple more martinis, Deb and I joined a group at the art store reception for an artist who received a grant. We got there just in time for her speech - and for wine, chips and salsa! The locals may have wondered who we were...

That night, I had a fabulous meal of Red Snapper.

Sunday broke with no wet stuff falling from the sky. A minor miracle! We broke out the bikes and rode the trail until we ran into some mud. Then we made a circuit around town - including a huge long hill. Then we headed home, stopping in Osage for a winner winner chicken dinner.

You can see where the flooding has been around the parking lot

I loved having time with my good friend Deb. We never ran out of things to talk about. Saturday night we broke out our fave book "If" by Evelyn McFarlane - and discussed questions like "Who do you most want to be like?" and "What Pro Team would you like to coach?"

Can't wait for our next trip!

Bicycle

A cool Apple Krate above

While I rode my bike yesterday a.m. I thought about all the bikes I've had through the years. Starting with my first trike, that unfortunately I left parked behind Bubba's car in our driveway and it ended up a bit scrunched when he backed out into it. It was green with a white metal seat. Those old trikes were sturdy and you could stand behind the "driver" on the axle of the back wheels - even when you were a bigger kid.

Next I must have had some sort of hand me down starter bike that I don't remember. I kinda remember training wheels - but not the bike. But oh my first very own two wheeler! It had a banana seat (right when those became popular), a white wicker backet on the front (good to carry piano music) and was a lovely aqua blue. Of course it was no Apple Krate - that's what the cool Schwinn bikes were called that the boys got. But I loved it. I spent a lot of time on that little machine.

Next, when I was around fourteen, I got a 10-speed bike. Again I was in love! We got it down at Western Auto in Atlantic and it was a Western Flyer. It too was blue, with white tape wrapping the cool handlebars that curled under so I could go ever so fast. One time I was messing around on it in our neighborhood, hit a curb and crashed. Lucky, besides a few scrapes only my pride was bruised.

When I hadn't had it too long I rode it over to show it to Chris D, and on the way the brake started rubbing on the tire with each rotation. Rub, rub, BANG. It went flat. What was that about? I had to walk my new bike into Chris's driveway deflated. She wondered what I was doing - pampering my new bike. Took a trip to Western Auto for a new tube to fix it.

I've only had 2 more bikes since then - Paul and I bought new Raleighs when we were first married. Got them in Ames at the bike store downtown, twins of each other. Mine was always a bit too tall for me - guys bike.

A couple years ago my sis-in-law Carol sold me her spouse's bike. Bud passed away right after dad did. It's got a lower cross bar so I don't have to kill myself to get on. It's a 21 speed but I stick with 7. It's probably 10 years old - Trek, a crosstrainer. A nice bike. Gets me where I'm going. Guess what - it's blue!