Not so lonely

Deb and Larry

 

It's good to have friends! Especially friends that make a point to stop and see you when they're in town. On Saturday, Paul and I attended evening Mass at 4:30 p.m. at St. Francis (Paul's niece calls it St. Lexus...but heck, we drive a Subaru...) There we ran into a couple from Creston, the Fremls, Tom and Karin - in town shopping. Then Paul spied Gary Hemann - former Creston physician across the church. West Des Moines is shrinking already.

After mass, we welcomed my bestie Deb and her husband Larry, in town for a day of Christmas shopping. And ready for a beer! We enjoyed showing them the new digs. Just that day I'd finished putting pictures on the wall. I also enjoyed setting my some of my grandmother's (I think the stuff came from both of them - Zora Stewart Bullock and Nellie Weber Morehead) beautiful cruets and other glassware on the built in shelves in my bedroom.

We so enjoyed catching up on family and Creston news with Larry and Deb. Conversation was constant! It was as if we couldn't get the words out fast enough. Oh how I've missed my friend! And Paul too misses friendly familiar faces in his daily life. Later we went to Jethros in Waukee for a meal together. Deb and I had Planter's Punch - yummy. Paul and Larry - beer. It was such fun to be with them, and I disliked saying goodbye.

Sunday we woke up to a bit of snow on the ground, much to Odie's displeasure. She would not go potty, even for her favorite - banana pieces. At least until the snow melted, later that morning. My lil buddy Krissy had given us tickets to the ISU Women's basketball game that day, so we headed to Ames for the 1 p.m. game against Fairfield. We were glad the Cyclones bounced back after their defeat by the Hawks a couple nights earlier, and best of all their All American  Chelsea Poppens was back on the court. She had suffered a concussion a couple weeks prior.

Bobbie and Jeff

That evening, I cooked up some soup, and it was simmering on the stove.  I cooked it up for today at work (Munchin' Mondays - we're taking turns bringing food). Before we got anything out for supper, Jeff McFee called Paul to see if we wanted to meet Bobbie and him at Granite City. McFees were on their way back from Ankeny - visiting Caleb and Krissy at their new home there. I forced myself back into jeans from my sweats and off we went - we aren't wasting chances to see buddies! Daughter Kimmy was with them, and we had a nice time hanging out and catching up. Paul misses farm (and other) talk with Jeff, that's for sure. And we've always had such fun together on Friday nights - we miss that here. It sounds like Kim can house and dog sit while we're in Memphis for the bowl game. Good deal!

The Chicken Tortilla Soup was a big hit a work today. I took blue corn tortilla chips along and some salsa from World Market. A couple other people brought food too. After work, Paul and I decided to stop briefly to pick up a few things at the store right off the freeway. Okay, Okay, I admit it...it was a WalMart. I like that I can get generic Allegra D there. On the way in, I ran into my old friend Jane Buck, who was in a great mood! Paul and I each received a big hug, which made my day, really. It was nice to see her so happy. Odie was happy to see us when we got home. Such a nice way to wind down the day.

Me with Jane last winter

My sis Cindy started back to work today. She says it was good to be back, though she is very tired. Thanks again to all who have kept your positive prayers and thoughts going out to/for her.

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!

Diamond Brooke

Photo from earlier in the year...

I know - it's a corny name. It's our Townhouse Association. There are 66 units, with 2 basic layouts A and B. (Ours is a B with 4 bedrooms, but we use 1 as an office). It makes me feel so mature (translation...old) when I realize we live in a townhouse. Geez, my parents moved into their condo the year we got married. But I guess that was when they were about my age. Gulp. They seemed so much older!

We found out the scoop on the two layouts and the number of units last night when Paul and I attended the Diamond Brooke Holiday Party at Bravo Cucina Italiana near Jordan Creek Mall last night. There were around 25 people there, and the ones we got to talk to were all very friendly. There were several retired teachers in the group. I sat by a gentleman who had been a steamfitter for the DSM schools. He's a biking fanatic now. The food at Bravo was great - I had the salmon.

Despite feeling old, Paul and I seemed to be on the younger end of the age spectrum in the group. Many of the people there were retired and were headed off to warmer climates soon. Sally, who lives on our street - there are two and ours is a cul de sac, told me that the ladies of Diamond Brooke get together each month for an activity, liking going out to eat. That should be a good way to get to know people. We also met Leslie - who moved to a townhouse down the street in July with her husband from Atlanta. But she's originally from eastern Iowa near Paul's home town. Small world. And she's about our age.

Trail just north of EP True

Here's a couple photos I took on my walk last Sunday - the berm between the trail and the road really blocks you from Jordan Creek. I'm looking forward to riding that trail next summer.

Diamond Brooke from afar
 

Special Day and our weekend

It would have been our son Patrick's 21st birthday today, December 2nd.

The people showed up after I took the pic

We attended mass at St. Francis of Assisi. It was my first time there - at least as a resident. It is a beautiful church, and was filled with people. I thought about my little guy during mass. What would he have been like. I put Patrick's picture up in my room on Friday. Of course he never grows older in the picture - he's always a perfect newborn.

I joked with Paul the other day that if Patrick was alive we probably would be heading to Iowa City tomorrow  to buy him a legal drink. I just have a feeling he would have been one of those kids who didn't want to do what the rest of the family did. So he would have been a Hawkeye...and that would have been just fine! Let's hope he's someplace hanging with his Uncle Bolder - but not drinking Boldie's signature drinks...straight vodka with a Bud chaser...

The rest of today we continued to make progress putting things in their proper places. Paul even put up some Christmas decorations. He asked if I wanted to put up some Christmas decorations. Nope! Can't deal with them yet...but we do have lights outside thanks to him. Tomorrow night, we meet some of the neighbors at the Diamond Brooke Holiday Party - our condo neighbors. Wish us luck!

Other stuff
We're getting settled into to our new home. Friday I only worked a couple hours, and then took Odie in to get her nails trimmed and her anal glands expressed. I selected a vet clinic near where we live on Ashworth Road. The owner is an ISU guy, and the place looks more like a little house than a business. I liked that. The people seemed very nice when I checked in.

Odie didn't wish to stay there as I filled out the paperwork. She saw the other doggies, and she knew no good could come from her being there. She was right - she doesn't like what they do to her. The vet we saw was a nice young woman. The fee was more than it is in Creston. I guess that's to be expected. It IS the big city. At Creston Vet Clinic, the technician usually took care of Odie's needs. Odie felt much better when we got all done, and could swing by Goodwill and drop off yet another box of "stuff".

I worked on our bedroom the rest of the day. It had been a hodge podge of boxes and we hadn't put anything on the walls. I'm sorry to report that without Paul's help, I had to put extra holes in the walls. My arms just aren't long enough to survey my own work before a hammerin'. I cleaned that afternoon. When Pablo showed up after 5 p.m. he was flat. Literally - his car had one. So off he went to Firestone on Mills Civic Parkway. That night we ate at Legends on Ashworth - Odie and I had scoped that place out on our way to the Vet.

Saturday Paul and I did some errands - more car running. And then off to Ames for our first ISU game of the season. This year our season tickets are still the cheap seats, but are a bit better than last year. We sat behind some older folks who hardly made a peep. Can't wait to see if they are regulars...The Cyclones looked pretty good. Not great. Freddie is lookin' good. He's the coach - my college advisor Eric Hoiberg's son. He's doing a great job.

Next, we headed to DSM to our favorite watering hole - The Standard, where we each drank a martini. It was our first time there in many months. They were good. Then we ate some mints and headed to the Creston Panther high school boys basketball game at Wells Fargo Arena. Three of our former neighbors were playing against Adel-DeSoto-Minburn. The Panthers looked very good and kicked butt!

Luke Neitzel 31, Colby Taylor 23 and Alex Neilsen (in white on right) - have watched them grow up!

It was nice to see familiar faces. We talked to Joni Taylor before the game and after the game we chatted with Todd and Beth Nielsen. After the game we ran into Devin Leith and her boyfriend at Granite City in West Des Moines, and then Marion James said hello as we were called for our meal. It was a Creston evening! You can leave the town, but the town doesn't leave you...

Joanie's Birthday

Joan

It's my former roomie (I should say landlady) Joan McFee Bentley's birthday today. She never quite catches up with her bro Jeff and me. I love living with my spousal unit and furry pal Odie again, but I sure miss Joanie! I've had some great roomies through the years but Joan ranks up there with the best.

First, I can't leave out Betso Bean. That's my sis Betsy. Even though she is much younger than I am, I was glad to have a roomie. When you're a kid, bedtime - when it's dark, can be kinda scary. There was a light right outside our room that Mom would leave on each night. And then we'd leave the door cracked open. Then one night I noticed something - the light coming through the open door made my shadow look like a dead body on the wall. I was just the age when a kid starts thinking about the possibility of our own death. Scary stuff!

So I was glad to have a little tyke sleeping there right next to me. Some nights I would pull my little record player out from under my bed and pop on my Michael Jackson album. Then I'd talk Betsy into taking turns tickling each other's backs. I could always trick her and tell her she didn't quite do it right, so she'd have to do it again...

My next roommate was during my freshman year of college at Iowa State. I lived on 6th Floor of Maple Dormitory with Loraine Dunn from Pearl City, Illinois. The University housing folks just matched us up - me a small town southwest Iowa jock majoring in Ag and her, a junior majoring in child development without an athletic bone in her body. Loraine was a Mormon, me - Catholic. Surprisingly, it worked just fine once we got to know each other.

Sal, Jane, Vicki

The next year I moved in with the first person I met when I got to ISU for classes. Vicki Gernand (now Behr) asked me if we wanted to go get football tickets and the rest is history. Living together only made our friendship stronger. During our Junior and Senior years we moved into a new apartment on Campus Avenue and added two additional roommates, Sally Rodgers - a longtime Atlantic friend who had just happened to end up living on my dorm floor and Jane Flack, who we all were fortunate to get to know our frosh year. To our friends Moose and Steve, we were known at The Big 4.

Besides Paul Goldsmith (I guess you could count Amy and Jud too), until I lived at Joan's these fine people represent the extent of my experience with roommates. Back then, I was a youngster - so Joanie got me as a jaded old lady. And she put up with me! So for that I thank her. And I miss her. She and I need to get together and celebrate our November birthdays.

Odie goes to the library

I like this author - he combines mystery with spirituality without being too overt...

okay she sat in the car, but I didn't. Odie and I went to the West Des Moines Public Library today after I got home from work. I got a new library card. Okay it isn't really even a card. That's right - library cards aren't even cards anymore. They're bar codes! My new bar code just got applied onto my little plastic tab that is my Urbandale Public Library Card. So it's now a two-fer!

And it attaches to my key chain. Much different than back when I was a kid. Back then, I just had a number at the Atlantic Library. All I had to do to check out a book was to write that number down on the card and the nice librarian stamped it with the very special date stamp. Man I loved those stamps. They let me know how long I could keep my friends - the books. Nancy Drew, all those Happy Hollisters, the Bobbsey Twins - I wanted to live with those families.

Then later in Creston I had a firm cardboard credit card sized ticket to book happiness for many years, until they went to their electronic system. 3893, I believe that was my number. I loved the little envelopes glued into each book. They don't do that anymore, since there aren't any cards. I spent a lot of time at the Creston Library - Matilda Gibson it was called. It's a great library, and I loved how there wasn't as much competition for the new books.

I checked out a couple books and an audiobook with my barcode. Pretty cool, huh. Even though I have an electronic reader, I still like the feel of real books in my hands. I'm sure the WDM library and I will be seeing a lot of each other.

All my bags are (un) packed

I'm not ready to go. I'm not standing here beside my door. Yes - it's the opening words to "Leaving on a Jet Plane." I was thinking of that song as I unpacked my suitcase over the weekend. For the last time!! I'm having a hard time with it.

You see I've lived out of a suitcase for 4 years now. It's become a habit. I grown accustomed to it's space. (Yes, I threw a little My Fair Lady in there for you.) Socks in the outside pocket. Undies in the inside mesh. Of course I had lots of stuff stocked at Joan's so I didn't have to drag makeup, a hair dryer and shampoo back and forth. Now I have 3 hair dryers. Why 3? When we lived in the loft temporarily, I forgot both of them and had none...so I bought another little one for travel!

I took my earrings out of my travel jewelry box, and put them back into the real jewelry box. Paul got the jewelry box for me from the corner drugstore when we lived in Osage. It's so weird to be using it again! I forgot I actually had other earrings in there that I never wear because they weren't in the travel container.

Our new home has a closet with shoe shelves.Woohoo! It's going to be so nice to have all my clothes under one roof. It seemed it never failed that wherever I was, the article of clothing I wanted was at the other place...Joan's or my house. Becky at work joked with me today, saying she'd probably see me wear a whole 'nother wardrobe now. Sorry...I pretty well rotated through my clothes even with my suitcase.

I sure won't miss packing each Sunday. Especially doing all that ironing. Now I can be like the rest of you slobs - ironing as I go!