Happy Birthday To You! And Other Events ....

Okay, we know that we haven't posted in a long while, but it's been pretty crazy-busy, between work (mid-term time for Lauren), and work (ramp-up to being productive after training). Between dodging the winter weather and bad drivers, it's been a challenge simply getting up in the morning to make the near-2 hour commute down to KC and back. But it's been worth it; the new job is going wonderfully, and it's nice to finally be with a company that appreciates my skills.

So, in the meantime, what's happening with us? Well, we're planning to travel and simply do things, because March will bring with it our one year wedding anniversary. Hard to believe that a year ago, we were ramping up to March 17th, planning, sending invites, picking colors, setting up the hotel and venues. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it.

Anyway, we're not going very far, unlike a certain fellow friend and blogger who is going to India for 3 weeks. No, our trips will be a bit shorter this year: in April, we are looking at a weekend trip to Kirksville, MO for an SCA event (we're not members, but we thought it sounded cool to go to, so we're going), and then in May, we plan on heading up to Illinois around Memorial Day, where we'll do an outdoor memorial (now that it's warmer) for Pat, Lauren's mom. Somewhere in there, we hope to spend a weekend in KC to celebrate our anniversary.

Finally, in July, we are planning to go out to Blacksburg, VA, as a longtime friend of Lauren's is celebrating her 60th birthday and possibly (she should know by then) getting tenure from Virginia Tech, her current college. That will mean a trip out and back; due to the smaller size of the nearest airport at Roanoke, 3/4ths of it will be on regional jet (cramped, but reasonably priced). Still, it will be worth it; we hope to do some historical sightseeing and some local winery research, as well as the birthday and tenure celebration.

Speaking of birthdays, it was almost a year ago that we adopted Snowball, following the demise of Kitty. Here's a pic taken the day after we adopted her:










She has grown considerably, so we thought we would post a picture of her now:















The concensus is that she's a little odd looking in some ways, but she's still the sweetest kitteh we've owned in a long time.

Okay, So I'm a Little Disappointed ....

Given the announcement a couple of days ago that, in the reshuffling of release dates following the writer's strike resolution, Paramount has pushed back the release date for the next Star Trek movie to May of 2009, rather than Christmas of this year, it means one less movie to look forward to, and it is a little disappointing.

However, I am hoping that with the writer's strike resolved, that this means Abrams will have extra time for polish, (including updating any potential rough spots with the script, more time for VFX, and more time in the editing bays), so that the movie has a better chance of succeeding at the box office.

And I also hope that this means we will get a final last half of the season for Battlestar Galactica, and a well thought-out end to the series as well.

Still, there is still a lot to look forward to this year. Earlier this week, I was able to catch the just-released trailer for Indiana Jones 4, and it looks great (although it is disconcerting to see Ford as Indy at the actor's current age). Oh well ... to quote Indy from the original Raiders: "It's not the years, it's the mileage."

Chocolate Festival

Today marked an annual Maryville tradition. As a fundraiser for the local Presbyterian Church's food kitchen, the women of the church put on a chocolate festival right before Valentine's Day. In the week before it, they make enough chocolate to rival Willy Wonka, producing everything from cakes to pies to chocolate covered cherries to brownies to cookies ... you name it, they have it for sale.

For a donation, you can also sample plated samples of their wares, as well as hot chocolate, chocolate-flavored coffee, chocolate-flavored tea (this year a chocolate raspberry combination), and, of course, melty chocolate from a chocolate fountain.

Quick Restaurant Note

Tonight we had dinner at Napoli's, a new Italian restaurant in town that replaced two former Mexican restaurants (and before it, a Country Kitchen) in the location adjoining the local Comfort Inn. Since it opened, the parking lot has been packed, so I convinced Lauren that we ought to try it out.

What we found was a place that serves very reasonably priced, very authentic Italian cuisine. Lauren had the Chicken Lemon (kind of like a Chicken Piccata), while I had their "works" spaghetti: meatballs, mushrooms, meat sauce, and Italian sausage (which also provided the seasoning). That was topped off with a stuffed dessert cannoli cream, which we split.

As I remarked to my wife as we left, "now if we could only get a decent Indian restaurant in town, we'd be in great shape" (Fuji, in St. Joseph, covers Japanese cuisine pretty well).

It's Nice to Know Even the Forecaster Can Be Wrong ....

We weren't supposed to get snow today ... mostly freezing fog. However, the conditions have changed enough that we're getting snow this afternoon. Unlike most of the snow we've gotten so far this winter, which has been of the "small flakes or small flakes mixed with freezing precipitation" variety, we've been getting big, fluffy flakes of of the winter wonderland variety instead.

It's almost enough to make me like winter again.

Strange Dreams, etc.

Sorry about the lack of recent posting, but the last couple of days have been rather hectic for both of us. Monday found Lauren headed to Jefferson City with two busloads of students for Child Advocacy Day at the Missouri Statehouse. Although we hadn't planned on it, the timing was such that the bus dropped her off at Hazel's, a longtime independent coffeeshop in St. Joe, and I was able to leave work, head up to St. Joe, and pick her up to take her to dinner that evening.

The remainder of the week went by rather rapidly, or at least it's gone that way because of the below zero wind-chills, which have done much to encourage getting home as quickly as possible and making one's way straight to bed. Of course, that gets interesting when you start having strange dreams: in my case, one night I'd concocted a mash-up of Battlestar Galactica and Enterprise, with a harried Trip Tucker being chased by a determined Caprica Six. Utterly strange. And Lauren's been having some strange dreams, too. Those I blame on the NyQuil she's been taking. I'm not sure where mine came from.

This week's also been a bit of a cooking week: with the temperatures encouraging us to stay indoors, I've been finding the time to cook a bit. Wednesday night, I made a West African soup-inspired peanut curry recipe I found off one of my favorite recipe websites, the Simply Recipes! blog, which was an instant hit with Lauren (hey, it had curry, it had cilantro, it had mint, and it had creamy peanut butter ... what wasn't there not to like?).

On Friday, the development team I sit with held yet another potluck. I've been with them a little over two months, and they've had two potlucks and one team dinner for the holiday. These are my kind of software developers.

Friday's potluck was the "Security Siesta", so named because the team I work for supports the security side of the software the company sells, the theme for the potluck was Mexican, and because it would be a break from work. Yours truly brought Chicken Mole ... a bit of chocolaty-BBQ sauced goodness made quite easy with the crockpot. I cooked the chicken the night before, then got up early to shred the chicken in the morning and mix in the mole sauce (okay, I confess, I cheated ... rather than do a scratch mole sauce, I used Dona Ana's pre-made sauce, except I livened it up a bit with some extra cocoa (Hershey's Dark), a little bit of creamy peanut butter, and some Splenda to cut the edge on the sauce.) It was received pretty well; I had exactly 1 bowl left afterward, which became Lauren's dinner Friday evening.

This morning found us getting a break from the cold weather (finally!), and it was a good day for sleeping in. Lauren's been feeling a little bit under the weather due to that cold, but it had warmed up enough this morning that we could scatter seeds for the side garden, after which I realized it had thawed enough outside that I could do another raking of branches (from the ice storm), and sawdust (from the tree we had to have removed following the ice storm). The lawn's not 100 percent back to where it was (we still have to replace the trellis that the drunk driver took out), but all in all, the lawn's looking a bit better than it was before Christmas.

Lauren also put out new seedlings in the phonebooth-sized greenhouse she keeps out on the back porch. After that, she headed back to bed, which is where I will likely go here shortly ... we'll both need to be in good shape to watch the game tomorrow (well, at least I'll be watching the game ... Lauren will be watching it for the commercials). I must admit, we're going for the "reasonably healthy" for game-day snacks: buffalo wings with fat-free blue cheese dressing and guacamole accompanied by multi-grain tortilla chips for snacking. I might even be tempted to pull out a pack of chicken-spinach sausages to grill on the George Foreman in lieu of the usual brats.

And Of Course, This Really Has Me Pumped ....

Being a Star Trek fan, this image gives me hope that after the dismal outings of the last two movie treks and the "didn't quite get there until the end" meh-ness that was Enterprise, that JJ Abrams will get this one right, and provide the franchise a sorely-needed kick start.

Next December can't quite come soon enough for me. Well, to be honest, all of this year can't quite come soon enough, because by then:

1. Battlestar Galactica Season 3 will finally come out on DVD (in March) here in the States.
2. BSG Season 4 (part 1) will finally show up (and come back to Friday nights, after Sci-Fi realized its mistake in moving it to late Sunday nights).
3. The 4th Indiana Jones movie will make it to theaters in May (May 22nd).
4. The next Harry Potter movie installment is set to come out in November.

It's nice to have good reasons to go back to the theater and to watch the Sci-Fi Channel on Friday nights again.

OMG, Not AGAIN!!!!

To say that this week has been "interesting" to say the least, is to do the classic Chinese quote on the subject some justice.

Life is getting back to normal after Monday. Realize that I've only been at my new job since late October/early November. Realize also that I've also been through a long stretch where I went unemployed for about a year, living on unemployment insurance and my severance package from my last company. So, when I got into work on Monday morning and checked my e-mail, only to realize that we were going through a company-wide "right-sizing" effort, that cold icy ball o' fear that my job was on the chopping block materialized.

My team's meeting was late that afternoon, so I had the whole day to focus, to think about what-ifs. I knew that I had a job to fall back on, should the worst come to the worst. But still, it was hard to focus on work.

Suffice it to say that the worst fears weren't realized, I am still employed, and I'm still enjoying the benefit of being able to work from home, as I did today due to the winter roads.

But as I told my teammates: "this time, we dodged a bullet. Next time, I don't want to even be near it."

Back to Work amid the Bleakness (Cheshirekitty speaks)

I know, I know -- I am just so spoiled working in academia. While Richard got only a few days at Christmas (some of them bereavement leave from my mom's death), I have been off work from about the 20th of December until tomorrow -- almost 3 weeks. On the other hand, end-of-semester is usually insane enough that I NEED at least two weeks to recover. This year, the extra time was welcome because it gave me a little more peace to process my mom's death.

Spring semester's arrival isn't as momentous as the beginning of the school year in Fall. There are fewer rituals -- although we have a campus-wide meeting on Friday (just as we did at the beginning of Fall semester), we don't have events like the President's lawn party at Gaunt House. Add that to the fact that Fall semester ends with the whirl of campus Christmas events, and the beginning of Spring semester seems like an afterthought.

Spring semester comes in like a lamb, and will (like many Springs) go out like a lion. With extensive planning for the annual department banquet, coordinating the Department centennial, and serving on a search committee to replace our department chair, in addition to the usual teaching/research/service components of my job, it will be a crazy-busy semester.

Guess I needed that three-week break after all!

Happy New Year!

Hi all,

It's 2008. It's cold outside (7 degrees now, low of 3). And the New Year's project (housecleaning and sorting/disposal for things we no longer need) is almost done.

But first, a thank you to those of you who have read the blog (Lauren's friends from CalorieKing, Anne in Colorado, Martha in Phoenix, the Larcoms, and also the Knoll's (Linda and JT)) and who have sent cards or e-mails and left condolences. It was a very stressful, very bittersweet holiday for both Cheshirekitty and myself due to her mom's passing, but in retrospect, there were some small blessings in that her mom didn't suffer very long and that remembering her brought a small miracle to the family: an estranged family member (a sister's son who hadn't talked to his parents in 13 years), came to the memorial service on Thursday evening. We hope that it's the start of a reconciliation for them.

Despite the loss, we did still manage to have a little bit of Christmas while we were in Illinois. After leaving early on Friday to beat the oncoming winter storm (and driving through heavy fog until the last 30 miles of the trip), we made it to the bed and breakfast we were staying at, the Brightwood Inn, in Utica, IL. While there, we enjoyed the hospitality of our hosts, John (Jack) and Jo Ryan, and quite possibly some of the best breakfasts we've had in awhile, including a sublime herb-laced cheese omelet, a breakfast casserole, and a breakfast strata, all accompanied by fresh bacon or sausage, juices, pumpkin bread or scratch coffeecake, as well as grapefruit and chilled fruit salads. They also kept the cookie jar in the library well-stocked with Christmas cookies, too. We're hoping to stay there again for the holidays next year as well (if anything, we like the instant comfort of gas fireplaces, and maybe next year, we'll be able to afford a room with a hot tub).

Christmas Day we spent with the family at the house in Marseilles, where we swapped presents, snacked on breads (more pumpkin loaf plus a scratch gingerbread loaf we had bought from an organic-themed bakery-goods shop in Utica), and drank some of Dad's very good plum wine. Cheshirekitty got a very nice cat-themed photolocket from me and a powered wine de-corker (as well as the copy of the Heroes hardcover comic which I let her open early), as well as a power drill (her old one had died back in October), a set of serving dishes, a "fat" cat penny bank, and a set of "caroling kitties". Meanwhile, I got a nice knife sharpener, as well as Dr. Who (NuWho) Series 1 on DVD, which we've been wanting for awhile now. I also got the special (pre-edited and enhanced) versions of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, which completes our collection there.

But on to New Years: Cheshirekitty has this little thing called "project obsession". When she wants to do something or get something done, she will keep working until it is done. This usually manifests itself as a New Year's project. Last year's project was building and installing a closet insert, so we would have more room to hang and store clothes. This year's project involved the purchase of a new, larger clothes dresser armoire (made possible by a very good sale at the local furniture store), the purchase and installation of a hanging jewelry armoire, the removal of furniture no longer needed (the old dresser and old standing jewelry armoire), and the disposition of a bunch of old clothes and items no longer needed.

Afterward, we headed out to A&G for dinner, and then settled in to await the New Year accompanied by Irish Coffee, chips and cheese dip to snack on, and a NYE toast over a little more Adam Puchta port which we purchased while on our honeymoon.

Rest in Peace (Cheshirekitty speaks)

Yesterday, my mother, Patricia Leach, died at age 77 from complications from metastatic cancer. She had only been diagnosed three weeks before that, as the result of an arm fracture that did not heal. Had the doctors noted the small tumor that had caused the fracture three months ago, this story might have been somewhat different, but her lifespan may not have been prolonged by much, given the spread of the cancer at the time of detection.

My mother would have liked to have been well for Christmas, I think. Christmas was always one of her favorite holidays, and even though she could not decorate this year, my dad decked the halls for her. She had planned on wearing a grey robe with some of her favorite vintage Christmas pins on it. Her last words to my husband and I in the hospital were, "You go and enjoy yourselves."

Mom liked to refer to herself as a magpie, given her penchant for collecting pretty things -- vintage jewelry, small metal jewelry boxes, Art Nouveau busts, antique furniture. She and I bonded over fantasy art and cooking. She had overcome being the child of an indifferent cook by collecting an extensive repertoire of cookbooks and experimenting with recipes -- often more exotic than her upbringing had dictated. On the other hand, her family recipe for pineapple upside-down cake, made in a skillet, was one of her favorites.

I always admired my mother's ability to talk to just about anyone. She worked as an assistant personal tax assessor, desk clerk, and Census Bureau interviewer over her lifetime, and her skill of connecting to people served her well. She gave me her secret to this talent years ago: "Remember that you have something to learn from everyone you meet, whether it be a janitor or a politician." She once asked for a hug from Jeff Smith (the Frugal Gourmet) upon running into him on a Chicago street.

Mom could not be described as a tranquil person. She was at times flamboyant, at times frustrating, but never lukewarm. She sometimes had trouble moderating her emotions, as if there was just too many of them to bear. However, in the last couple weeks of her life, she had resolved her conflicts with the religion of her childhood and had exhibited a rare serenity. As it turns out, she had simply tackled the business of dying with as much impatience and drive as she had approached her hobbies and artistic endeavors throughout life. Mom never liked to be a beginner at anything.

Rest in Peace, Mom. If there is a Heaven, you are now decorating a corner of it with great aplomb, and none of the ravages of age are in your way.

My mother's obituary can be found here.

Quiet Saturday

Been a quiet Saturday here this weekend:

1. Earlier this afternoon, we watched the NCAA Division II playoffs, where once again, the Bearcats struck out. Great season, but we were just outplayed. Oh well, there's always next year. And as my wife pointed out, as much as we love our Bearcats, "it's just a game".

2. With both the exterior and interior work done on the house following the drunk driver incident, we were finally able to put the living room to rights and also put up the living room Christmas tree (aka, the "kitty tree", since it has kitty-themed ornaments). We also put up our stockings (not by the fireplace, since we don't have one of those). However, "hung from the bookcase with care" is pretty close though, and we also put up the "Leon" from last year ... pictures later.

3. The "light snow" they were predicting for today came and stayed ... rather than 1 or 2 inches as forecast, instead we got about 5-6 inches. Winter wonderland, hah! Fortunately, we're snug and toasty indoors, with the base for another round of scratch chicken noodle soup cooking in the Crockpot.

Holding Out Despite the Weather ... And a Few Random Notes

Hi all,

Since the last post, we're surviving nicely through the ice storm and now the snowfall of this weekend. Given that we only lost power on Tuesday morning, we are counting ourselves very fortunate, given the number of people here in town or who live out in the country who are still without power. Since we have power, we're actually helping our next door neighbor out by keeping their deep freeze running (with a very long extension cord run across the street, which until earlier this afternoon, had been blocked off due to the telephone pole shown in the last post). Fortunately, the city came by, pulled the old pole, and reset a new one. However, they didn't re-attach our phone wire ... we're waiting on that from Embarq, and that may take weeks.

The cleanup around town is beginning; a lot of trees were damaged, including ones on campus (which is significant because the campus also doubles as the state arboretum), and our backyard is full of fallen limbs (none of which hit the garage ... darn!). Odds are, we're going to have to hire somebody to chainsaw the debris and load it onto a trailer to take to a collection site ... we're holding off on that until we can find someone who will charge a reasonable fee: the last person we checked with was charging $200.00 a trailerload. We hope that after a week or so, prices will go down.

I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that my web browser stays open so I can finish this post. I recently upgraded to Firefox 2.0.11, and while Firefox has usually been a stable browser in the past, 2.0.11 seems to want to crash if I even sneeze wrong. Not sure what's up, but it's almost making me want to go back to using IE7 (and if anything, that should tell you how serious the problem is, since I swore off using IE years ago due to pop-up and malware vulnerabilities).

Come on, Mozilla ... you've had a good product, but this one appears to be a stinker. Get it fixed!

EDIT: The Embarq guys showed up Sat. morning to finish redoing the pole. And we were without power for about 20 minutes while the Aquila crews restored power to the rest of the neighborhood.

Sure Enough ....

Sure enough, the storm did hit, and we lost power right at 6:00. By 8:00, we had branches down. By 9:00, we had a telephone pole down and hanging over Edwards against the phone wires on the other side of the street. By 11:00, we were down to just my Treo to connect us with the outside world; our Internet service was out with the power and Lauren's cell service was out as well. Fortunately, the power came back after lunch, so I've been able to do some work apart from reviewing CBT notes for work.

Pics are above: the first two are of the back yard and show the downed branches and the telephone pole. The third is of the front showing the ice coating.

Coming to a Standstill (aka, Snow Day!)

Tomorrow's going to be a first: both Lauren and I are going to be working from home tomorrow. Due to the upcoming severe weather (possible winter storm, possible ice storm), the administration closed the campus during the day - the first time Lauren can recall this happening, and she's been here for 10 years - and adjusted the finals schedule, while I will forsake the drive in to KC and work from the warmth of indoors.

Fortunately, we're well-stocked on food, we have plenty of flashlights and candles, and both our auxiliary heater and stove are gas-powered, so even if the power goes out, we'll be okay for the short-term. We might be a little bored without Internet access or access to media (though now that I think about it, we will have both iPods, the laptops while on battery which we could use to play DVDs and CDs with, and we'll also have our smartphones for Internet access ... we're covered), but we could also catch up on our reading, too. And if for some reason we really desperately need to go outside, we have matching sets of snowshoes to strap on.

However, all told, I think staying indoors will be the order of the day tomorrow. Supposedly, the interior contractor is supposed to be here tomorrow as well to start the drywall repairs from last month ... we'll be amazed if he even shows up, given the weather.

Endings and Beginnings

Today was one of those days marking endings and beginnings:

On the plus side for beginnings, the contractor has promised to finally start work on the exterior of the house next week. We hope that the interior gets worked on next week, too.

Also, today marked the end of my formal role-training at work and the beginning of my actual work without having my role coach looking over my shoulder. Now I just have to make sure I'm ready for it.

The next one marks an ending ... but also a beginning as well. We learned today that our minister, Pastor Mike Kyle, will be leaving our church for a new position near West Plains, MO. It's a little bittersweet because of the reason for the move (in part to make a long-distance relationship a little bit shorter), but we hope that the people in West Plains appreciate that they are getting a wonderful minister ... and it's our loss. Still, we have heard that there is a tradition of good ministers coming to our tiny rural Episcopal church; we hope that the tradition continues and brings with it a new beginning as well.

Lazy Saturday

It's a lazy Saturday afternoon-early evening here, following another dusting of snow in the morning and one more afternoon of cozy football watching.

We just finished listening to the Bearcats stomp West Texas A&M, and now we're waiting to hear word on which team we'll face (either Chadron State or Abilene Christian, who are now in overtime and tied at 56-all). The difference? If Abilene pulls off an upset, then we'll have another home game here. If not, then next week finds the 'Cats on the road to Chadron, NE.

If we do play here, then we'll try to get tickets.

Black Friday

It's Black Friday in Maryville. We didn't get up with the roosters (to be honest, the stores were open before they crowed), but we were able to get in this morning and get our Christmas shopping to the 99% point. We have one more item left to get, and we're not saying what it is or who it's for. They'll just have to guess ;-). I finished the Christmas card send-off list, so those are all primed to go early in December (thanks to Blue Mountain), so those should hit your e-mail inbox sometime soon.

So now we're home. The iPod is hooked up to the stereo, and we're listening to the Chieftains "Bells of Dublin". We might start on interior Christmas decorations ... at least, those we can get to without causing the contractors any problems.

The soup from yesterday has turned out gorgeous; we'll be dining on that for lunch here shortly. Whoops ... strike that, Woodgie has already turned out a bowl, which means I'll have to get one for myself shortly.

Life is good.

Change of Plans

Well, rather than head up to Des Moines for the holiday, we took one look at the road conditions for this morning and decided to spend Thanksgiving at home this year. It also didn't help that Woodgie was starting to develop a cold, so traveling would have been a bit miserable for her. We're still hoping to head up the 2nd week of December for a couple of holiday-themed events, but for now, we're at home, safe and snug.

It's been pretty good so far; we hadn't planned on being here for Thanksgiving dinner, so we cleaned off the inch and a half of snow we got yesterday off the car and headed down to the local Hy-Vee for their Thanksgiving buffet. We followed that up with enough grocery shopping to get us through the weekend. So now, we're home napping and resting while the mirapoix base for scratch chicken noodle soup gently cooks down in the crock-pot. After this, I'll likely get the Christmas e-card list cleaned up and ready to go, and will be calling around to the family later this afternoon.

And with that, we hope that everyone reading this has a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Working From Home ...

Today's been interesting for a few reasons:

1. Dialing in for work - which was a good thing, given we got an unexpected dose of sleet turning to light snow for the rest of today. And with Woodgie home (classes were out as of Tuesday evening), it's been a good day to enjoy being home (and not deal with the commute).

2. Starting to put up Christmas decorations ... just the wire tree. We'll get the rest up sometime this weekend.

3. Making sure we had a place to eat at tomorrow for Thanksgiving. We'll likely be eating at the local Cracker Barrel.

It's beginning to look a lot like ...

Christmas?

I couldn't resist snapping this piece of local color with my Treo yesterday:














When I showed it to the gentlemen hanging the greenery, the man in the orange commented, "Usually, people don't think we're all that photogenic."
I beg to differ.

Still More Pictures ...

Here's some more pictures from Friday, some of which show the damage to our neighbors' house. These I'm posting only so Lauren can pull them and e-mail them to the contractor ... for some reason, file attachments on both of my e-mail accounts seem to not be working right now.

You're Not Going to Believe This ...

We woke up at 4:30 this morning to a couple of loud crashes, and the house shook like it had been hit by something. Unfortunately, it was too early for Santa to arrive, and the New Madrid fault isn't due to go for another 43 years yet.

As it turns out, we were visited by a drunk driver, who had veered off Edwards (our side street), somehow missed Lauren's car parked in front of our garage, drove through our back yard taking out the trellis and bench in the moon garden, and then drove through a section of the neighbor's adjoining privacy fence. Once in the neighbor's back yard, she turned right yet again and then hit the back corner of the neighbor's house, causing a foundation crack, and then knocked their central air conditioning unit off its concrete pad.

Unfortunately, she wasn't done ... in trying to escape, she broke through the neighbor's front fence, turned right again, and then plowed into a corner of our house. After checking to see what was damaged inside (not much, apart from one oil lamp broken, one picture frame with calligraphic character broken, one wooden lacquered wall panel art sitting on the floor, and a 1-foot crack in the sheet rock directly opposite the corner where she hit), things were mainly fine.

Meanwhile, Lauren went outside and retrieved the driver, who was by now hysterical and distraught but uninjured ... five minutes later, the police showed up.

"Hey, what's this car doing here?"















"See the fence in the pictures? Neither do we."





























The driver, who shall remain nameless (at least, until the police blotter comes out in tomorrow's paper), was given her sobriety tests and, as far as we know, was taken away for a BAC check. We don't know what else has happened to her, but we suspect she is probably in a world of trouble, both legally and financially, both with law enforcement and her insurer.

We have a visit from a contractor tomorrow morning to do the claims estimate, since we now have a 1-foot by 1-inch width interior crack right near where her car hit, plus some clapboard damage on the outside. We don't know yet about damage underneath the clapboard yet ... the contractor will do the initial adjusting and let us know what the damage will be. For us, it will be about $500 out of pocket deductible (which we'll recover, eventually, when State Farm subrogates the claim with the driver's insurer. We hope that State Farm has its usual good record with turning around claims quickly.)

We're thinking, given what happened today and what happened to us last year around this time that next year, we need to go somewhere else on vacation. Someplace private ... and far, far away from bad drivers.

Where Did the Year Go???

It's mid-November, and it seems like the year has gone by in a rush because of so much that has happened: marriage, honeymoon, new jobs (for me, anyway), and the oncoming holiday season (no, wait, it's already here, according to the retailers) ... where did the year go??? It seemed like last year dragged a bit, but that was because I was between jobs and had more time to stop and smell the roses (in between the job applications, that is). Now, it's different .... with the new job, I'm commuting an hour 45 there and back every day, and I'm usually getting home by 7, which gives me some time in the evenings, but not much (which means less updates to the blog).

At least the holidays are coming up, with the days off that follow.

Cognative Dissonance

Yesterday at the local Wal-Mart, Lauren and I were looking at the half-off sale on clearance Halloween items, when the usual ads and music blaring in the background changed suddenly:

Me: "Am I hearing what I think I'm hearing?"

Lauren: "What?"

Me: "Christmas music."

We had already seen the "Christmas section" set-up for the last two weeks where lawn and garden had been, but yesterday was very disconcerting: we'd arrived just in time for Wal-Mart's not-so-subtle move-up of its annual "Black Friday" sale, and the Christmas music was playing over the intercom while we were looking at Halloween costumes on clearance. It's like Thanksgiving had been skipped over entirely.

Maybe it's just me, but is anyone else struck by the "wrongness" of this? It may not come fast enough for you, but isn't it just rushing things a bit to have the decorations up 5 weeks before Thanksgiving and then starting the Christmas rush sale 3 weeks before the normal start day?

Just curious.

Keeping Up With Things

Hi all,

It's been a long while since we've last posted, but we've been really, really busy over the last few weeks: Lauren with mid-terms and classes, me with wrapping up the last few weeks at my (now former) job at the plant, and both of us trying to get caught up on house cleaning and various home repair projects. We mostly wanted to get as much done as possible prior to having company (Lauren's friend Jenny) over this weekend for Homecoming festivities and the game of the week (yet another close near-heartbreaker, as our Bearcats barely beat Washburn by 1 point! And this after almost giving the game away in the last 3 minutes). Once again, we're left grateful that they won, but scratching our heads at the last four games (which they've won by a grand total of roughly 10 points).

Once again, we're in a transition period ... me moving on to a new job (and the longer commute and being home later in the evenings), and adjustments from that. But we'll manage.

We Wimped Out

We had tickets for today's football game. We even braved the rain for the tailgating prior to the game. But with an hour rain delay due to the thunderstorms rumbling through the area and the rain coming down, we huddled underneath the stands for a bit, then wimped out and went home, where we're listening to the game via streaming media (we live at the lowest point in the neighborhood and have trouble with radio reception). So we're home doing a little bit of home improvement/winterization before settling down to a nice fall nap with the Woodwick candle crackling nicely.

Two More Weeks to Go

I got my e-mail this afternoon with my orientation schedule for the new job. It sounds like I'll be working in a different (read, more casual) environment, as I'll be working at what Cerner calls their "Innovation Campus". It certainly sounds more laid back than your traditional office environment (in other words, jeans are permissible) ... I'll probably do business casual most of the time, though.

Honestly, I'm looking forward to the challenge of the new job. Now I just have to put in my last two weeks at the old one.

The Fall Classic and The Harvest Festival

This weekend found us traveling down to KC for the "Big Game", as Northwest played my old alma mater, Pitt State, at Arrowhead Stadium.

Okay, I was expecting a blowout. So was the Morning Sun's forecaster. We were both wrong, and instead, we were treated to an "edge of your seat win it on the last play in overtime" thriller.





























This morning, home from the game, we also found the opportunity to experience a bit of history. One of the sister churches in the West Missouri Episcopal diocese, St. Oswalds-in-the Fields, holds an annual Harvest Festival every fall. Built like its namesake church across the pond, St. Oswalds has stood in the country for decades and it's still going strong.

New Opportunities and Moving Forward

Hey all,

Looks like it's one of those months where I get a whole new set of challenges. Specifically, I successfully applied for and (pending final acceptance of their offer this evening), gained a new job working for Cerner, a medical software corporation down in KC, as a document developer (i.e., a technical writer). That was one of the "promising" prospects I mentioned in an earlier posting.

On one hand, it's going to be a long (roughly an hour plus forty) commute each way every day, but it will be worth it to once again have a job with benefits (paid holidays, vacation, and health insurance), plus a better salary than I could hope to make at most of the jobs here in town.

So, that puts me in my last two weeks working as a temporary, and my last two weeks (hopefully) of blue-collar factory work. I've toyed with the idea of writing up my blue-collar experience in a blog post, but that may wait. I don't want to burn any bridges at the plant; after all, I do owe them (especially the folks at Northwest Services), quite a lot, given I was out of unemployment money when they hired me. Maybe later.

So, it's a time of new opportunities and moving forward in a lot of ways, and it looks like I'll be doing it for a great company.

Another Week ...

It's been an interesting weekend and start to the week here in Maryville ... we haven't been writing as much on the blog as of late because we've been busy living instead.

Saturday found us out and about at the local Arts Festival, where we found a wonderful lithograph for Lauren's office which features the front of the Admin building, the bell tower, and Northwest's mascot, Bobby the Bearcat. We also did some Christmas shopping (the whos and whats will have to remain a mystery, of course), and also tried out the coffee (KC's own Roasterie blend) at the Bookstop, which is (thanks to the untimely demise of Main Street Coffee), the only public coffeeshop in town (unless you count Java City, on campus, or the local McDonalds, which recently installed custom coffee equipment towards becoming a McStarbucks).

We also discovered that afternoon (pleasantly so), that we have a new co-favorite in our quest for "favorite local BBQ": a local caterer, Quick Draw Todd's, served up a subtle "smoked but juicy" pulled pork and brisket that left us very impressed. Of course, we still like Bubba's, but for different reasons. We're hoping that maybe Todd can do a smoked turkey breast for us for Thanksgiving this year.

That evening found us at the Bearcat's latest home football game. Final score: Us 86, the other Bearcats (SBU): 13. The next game is the annual Fall Classic vs. my old alma mater, Pitt State, down at Arrowhead Stadium. As much as I love my old school and hope that there would be a decent game this coming weekend, there are a couple of worrisome items which would indicate otherwise:

1. Pitt doesn't have a run defense like it used to have, giving up 200 yard running games in several of its last games. Northwest has an exceptionally strong running game this year.
   
2. Pitt is down to their 3rd string QB, while Northwest has all 3 QBs back in the game.
   
3. Previous to last weekend, Pitt lost to Missouri Western, a team which Northwest beat handily and which Washburn, a non-ranked team, also beat this past weekend.
   
4. Northwest set MIAA offensive (points scored) and defensive (running yards allowed) records in last week's game against SBU, while Pitt struggled to a 2 OT win against Central Missouri last weekend.
   

The prognosticator for the Pittsburg paper, the Morning Sun's own Fearless Forecaster, hasn't called the game yet and won't until this Thursday, but after last weekend (and after last year's game, which the Bearcats won, 41-14, despite being minus Omon at running back), I'm spotting the Bearcats about 40 points this go around.

Another Weekend Trip

Just a quick post ... the past weekend found us traveling to Illinois, specifically back to Urbana-Champaign, to attend the 80th birthday party for Lauren's mentor, Professor Les Savage. Going there meant a 7 hour drive there on Friday night and 7 hours back on Sunday.

I must admit to being a bit nervous meeting a few more of Lauren's friends for the first time, but after I realized that I probably felt how Lauren must have felt when we went to Kansas for my 20th high school reunion, it made sense.

All told, everyone had a great time; Les threw a catered dinner for all of us. As a special treat, Les' piano and music theory teacher played several selections that Les had composed over the years, which we all enjoyed.

The weekend was also marked by several excellent breakfasts, at the Courier Cafe on Saturday, and a brunch at the Courier's sister restaurant, Silver Creek.

Back from the RenFaire

Hi all,

This past weekend found us down in Kansas City for several events:

1. The 3rd Annual Kansas City Chocolate Festival: A charity event held at the Overland Park Convention Center, it featured free samples (including not one but two separate chocolate fountain stations), and cooking demonstrations.

2. This year's KC Renaissance Festival: Where Lauren and I found out that our favorite bagpipe/world music band Tartanic is not, to quote Monty Python, "bleedin' demised" like the infamous parrot. We were afraid that the band had gone their separate ways after an announcement on their old website earlier in the year, but when we got to the fair, we rejoiced to discover that the group survived a partial break-up and is continuing its mix of on-stage comedy and traditional pipes and Middle Eastern drumming at venues nationwide. And that kicked off a fun Sunday of shopping, light noshing, and later, a great dinner (we once again did Korean at Cho Ga) afterwards.

3. We also celebrated Lauren's birthday (she's 29 again, seriously!). Lauren and her friend Jenny both celebrate their September birthdays with a dinner and gift exchange, and we decided that instead of their meeting up in St. Joseph, MO as usual, we would head down to KC and combine it with the RenFest and Chocolate Festival gatherings.

4. And I got my phone fixed ... my poor Treo needed a new faceplace, so I grabbed one off of eBay and took it down to a Sprint store in KC to have it replaced. Unfortunately, in the process of replacing the faceplace (which required some internal work), the tech managed to damage the internal camera (which is why we don't have good pics from the chocolate festival). However, the tech was able to replace the camera with a better camera from a newer model Treo, so all was set right on Sunday.

Yet Another Kitteh Picture

And just for filler this week, it's a picture of da newest kitteh, Meme:

No Joy in Maryville (Re: Yesterday's Bearcat Game)

Hey all,

It's another weekend in Maryville here. Some more details on the work uncertainty referenced in the last post: I'm still employed at my temp job at the local Energizer plant, but the assignment that I've been doing at the plant will likely be going away in several months at best, several weeks at worst. Apparently, an administrative decision was made that they are going to replace the temporaries on the cleaning crew with full-time staff due to the amount of turnover among the temporary cleaners and (my best guess) because of end of budget year shortfalls ... they've had to pay a lot of overtime for weekend spill cleanups over the last four/five months, and that's likely depleted their maintenance budgets. I should note that this change was completely unexpected and we had no warning this was coming, as usually cleaning jobs are the most stable temporary assignments at the plant, but that is unfortunately going to change for the long-term.

What it means for me is ... well, I'm not sure. As of last week, they were mentioning the possibility of confined space training (specialty training for working in confined/narrow spaces within the plant), which could mean travel to another Energizer plant for that. So far, no word on that at all.

At best, we think it means they'll give some of us that are being displaced a new assignment elsewhere in the plant, which means for me, the possibility of working on the main floor again and getting out of the dust, noise, and excessive heat from the current work location. So far, the temp agency keeps promising that they'll find us alternative assignments, and I have to trust them on their word, but it also means that I have to keep searching for a better job, putting out applications, and hoping something better comes up in the meantime. I have some possibilities, none of which I can discuss yet because they're only possibilities so far, but I have my fingers crossed.

FYI, if you have access to cable and get The History Channel, an episode of Modern Marvels coming up later in the month talks about the history of alkaline battery making. For background, a film crew spent some time at one of the Maryville plant's sister plants in Asheboro, NC. I believe the episode is showing on Wednesday, September 19th, at 8:00 Eastern (7:00 CST), so if you want to find out what my current work environment is like, feel free to watch.

The title for this entry refers to last night's NWMSU football game vs. University of Nebraska-Omaha, which unfortunately, due to injuries to key players, including our starting QB and both starting wide receivers, and a good opponent, resulted in the first regular season loss for the team since two years ago. While they were undefeated last year until the championship, it looks like it's going to be a tough year for the Bearcats this year. Oh well ... it just means that this year's matchup between the Bearcats and Pitt State should be interesting, to say the least. Last year's was a blowout; this year, I'm not so sure.

Anyhoo ... apart from the chaos, it's been a good week so far. Lauren's birthday is in a couple of days, but we've started the celebration a little early with a trip to our favorite Japanese restaurant in St. Joe. She's already gotten her birthday gift (a roll-up floor bed so she can take her daily nap at work), but I may be able to find something for her at the KC RenFaire next weekend, too.

Ups and Downs

Hi all,

It's been a busy couple of weeks, with some recent ups and downs and future changes showing up. We haven't been able to post much, but here's what is new with us:

1. I found out at work in the last few weeks that the staffing drawdown leading into the winter shutdown is starting a bit early, so the cleaning assignment that I've been doing for the last four months at the plant will end sometime in the next few months. Odds are, they will try to keep me on at the plant, but doing what, I'm not quite sure yet. I keep hoping that something better will turn up for me in the meantime. I have my fingers crossed, anyway.

2. I recently found out that my middle sis and brother in law have moved out to the Pacific Northwest in the last month, Jim to take a new job and Linda and the kids to move as well. It looks like they haven't sold their old house in Michigan yet, either.

3. School is back in session. It's been interesting getting back into the school year, too; with Woodgie going back to teaching, we're working through the "who does chores and which ones?" concerns. So far, it looks like Lauren gets to maintain the litterbox, while I do the laundry. So far, we're splitting cooking chores and the housecleaning, as well as the dishes (she does them, I put them away).

With the start of the school year, we're also in football limbo, too: we went to the Bearcats' thunderstorm-shortened season opener a couple of weeks ago. We saw a lot of good things about this year's team, but we have yet to see a full game. Meanwhile, we wait while the NCAA Div. II rules committee decides who won.

4. Two of our favorite sci-fi shows are having some horrid things done to their schedules in the name of improving ratings: Battlestar Galactica, which is currently filming its last season, may be stretched out into two shorter seasons. According to AICN (Ain't It Cool News), it is reported that Sci-Fi Channel will be splitting Battlestar's last season into two shorter seasons, with the show actually ending in 2009. Meanwhile, the BBC announced this weekend that the 5th season of the new Dr. Who will not run until 2010 (which means given the delay, we wouldn't see it here in the States until 2011).

Meanwhile, we're taking a nice, quiet couple of days off for the holiday and regrouping; Lauren from her first week's teaching schedule, which included a weekend of teaching a Freshman Seminar session (orientation for what has turned out to be Northwest's biggest freshman class ever), and me from work.

My first Cat Macro

Yep, even I have fallen victim to captioning cats:

Cheshirekitty speaks: The summer winds down ...

Today, I saw the surest sign that the fall semester at NWMSU is approaching: the university grounds crew out on College Avenue re-stenciling the safety yellow Bearcat paws on the pavement. This yearly ritual necessarily precedes the arrival of over 5,000 students (including the biggest freshman class we've had for years) next week.

Incoming freshmen will arrive on Thursday for Advantage events, including the first Bearcat football game of the year. Their first class will be days earlier than the official August 27th start date -- they will attend Freshman Seminar on Friday, August 24th and again on the early afternoon of Sunday August 26th.

The rest of the students will meander in over the next few days. On campus, Cat CREW will help students move their belongings into the residence halls and apartments, while off-campus, other students will be finding friends and family members to help them move in. Wal-mart will be more crowded than it's been all summer.

By the time the students arrive, however, I will already have been in nearly a week's worth of meetings. My first meeting is the annual Freshman Seminar faculty/peer advisor training. I have been teaching the Family and Consumer Sciences Department's section of FS for about four years. This year, I will have 25 students -- unless, as often happens, I find three or four more new students at my classroom door, transferring into my section.

This half-day meeting will be followed by faculty development days, where my colleagues and I will meet and greet and plan departmental goals for the semester. I will give a dog-and-pony show of my powerpoint portfolio stack. (I figured that, as we pride ourselves on being the "Electronic Campus", my portfolio should be hyperlinked and burned to CD!) The College of Education and campus-wide meetings also will occur during this week. I will follow Friday's morning meetings with an entire afternoon reviewing schedules for my freshmen.

I find myself eagerly awaiting the new semester, as I do each year. To me, the academic calendar has been the only calendar that makes sense: Shouldn't the year start as the weather is cooling? Shouldn't April be pregnant with anticipation of new careers and lives launching? Shouldn't summer be a change of schedule, slower-paced to cope with the heat?

Back From KC

Got back from Kansas City this weekend; Lauren's friend Jenny and several of her friends were participating in this weekend's Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 4k walk/run Downtown, and she had invited us to join their walking team, so we drove down on Saturday afternoon in order to stay overnight prior to the walk today.

Even so, we did find a few things to do yesterday. The afternoon found us at a regional cat show at the Overland Park Convention Center, where Lauren discovered a new favorite cat breed, and we kinda confirmed that one of our cats has some Maine Coon in her background. Afterwards, we stopped off at Oak Park Mall for a little shopping, including a small visit to the local Godiva chocolatier.

We then made our way over to Cho Ga, a Korean restaurant in Overland Park that we had been wanting to try since it opened earlier this summer. The last time we had Korean food was at a small place in Des Moines back in early 2006 (the former Ariang over on Douglas Avenue up in Des Moines, which reopened as Teriyaki House before the place, sadly, closed for good last year), so we were eager to try out a new venue.

Cho Ga

Lauren commented that the menu was the "most traditional for a Korean place she had ever seen", but we all enjoyed the selections we picked. Both Jenny's younger sister Beth, who was in town following an Americorps stint down South, and I had bulgogi (grilled, seasoned, and shredded beef roundeye and veggies done on a small grill) with chapchae (long cellophane noodle) and served with lettuce for wrapping the meat and steamed rice for a side, while Lauren managed to talk Jenny into trying the bibimbap (ground meat or seafood with veggies served in rice and served in a super-heated stoneware pot, with an egg cracked over the rice). Bibimbap presented this way is served hot enough that the egg cooks as it mixes into the rest of the ingredients, leaving the dish rather crunchy in texture. The sides (which we were given plenty of) were also quite varied and flavorful, ranging from onion cakes, to pickled daikon radish in spicy chili sauce, to bean sprouts, to kimchi, to an interesting apple with mayo salad.

The Walk

We left Jenny's condo early on Sunday morning, in order to make it to Union Station by around 7ish and find a parking spot. At Union Station, we were joined by some of the other members of Jenny's walking team and over 20,000 other walkers and runners.




















After checking out the various vendors, we went to the starting line near the Block fountain in front of Union Station. There, the "race" started, with the runners starting first, followed by the walkers. It was quite an amazing sight, seeing the street ahead of you packed from one side to the other with people, and the crowd stretching for several blocks ahead and behind.














Afterward, we checked out the sponsor and vendor tents (including the one from Energizer), but because the heat by then was getting into the danger zone (up to 101 degrees), we adjourned indoors to Union Station for drinks and some some air-conditioned rest before heading to the car.















Bollywood

After the race, Jenny and Beth had some errands to run at Wal-Mart, so they dropped us off at Jenny's condo in Blue Springs. After a nap for Lauren and some light reading for me, they returned from Wal-Mart, and we set off for Bollywood, a roughly year-old Indian restaurant that features a big-screen TV continually showing Bollywood Indian movies (so named because of their lavish production and dance numbers). We were pleasantly surprised that afternoon to discover that they have started offering an inexpensive (but very good) lunch buffet on the weekends, so we were able to indulge in a lot of our favorite curries, kebabs, vegetarian-only dishes, their garlic and herb naan, and desserts such as carrot halvah without hitting the pocketbook too hard.

Overall, we had a great weekend and we managed to avoid the worst of the heat as well, so it was well worth it, and now that we're home, it looks like we've got another good shot at some rain this evening.

We're Still Here, Honestly

It's almost 9 PM today, and it's still 82 degrees, down from 90. And it will be hotter tomorrow. Not much to do but ...

1. Read about the storms of the last two days. We got 5 inches of rain in about 36 hours, wind that took down tree limbs and the steeple of the Presbyterian Church, and thunder/lightning.
2. Roast coffee beans at home. I just got my shipment of beans from Sweet Maria's, and have roasted and cupped (that's roaster lingo for tasting) two out of the three beans I bought:

Ethiopian Kochere District Yirgacheffe: Roasted to City Roast; perhaps could have roasted it a bit darker. Tastes citrusy and lively; I could drink this all summer!

Costa Rican Tarrazu La Minita: Roasted again to barely City Roast; I am trying to get the hang of home-roasting. I thought this was mild, almost too mild, but I did get a hint of apples and an aftertaste that was a little dark.

How am I roasting coffee at home? you might ask. Strangely enough, you can roast enough beans for one cup at a time in the right kind of air popper . The average air popper takes on enough berries for a good cup of freshly-brewed coffee using a Senseo machine and either Eco Pads or the Presto MyPod .

Talk about fresh coffee! This is some of the most unbelieveable stuff I've ever tasted. It's more like drinking wine -- the nuances of flavor are amazing, even with cream and sweetener (as I am prone to drinking coffee). I would like to try the third coffee I bought -- Rwandan Butare Bourbon -- but, umm, I need to sleep tonight!

We're Not Missing ... Really We're Not

Hi all,

I know we're a bit behind on regular postings, but that's because there isn't that much going on with us right now. We're staying in from the heat, and our normal walking schedule has been curtailed a bit because of it, but we're doing our best to stay indoors and keep cool. It's not anywhere as bad as it was last summer (when we were staying indoors due to the extended 100 degree days), but it's still bad enough to discourage going outdoors for any length of time. We're hoping that it a)cools down, and b)finally manages to rain here. It seems like in the last couple of weeks that any rain we've promised by the forecasters either goes north of us up into Iowa, or south of us, between St. Joe and Kansas City. We are hoping that the forecasters are correct about the next few days.

It's just as well; Lauren's in academic mode, doing syllabi's, setting up schedules in Outlook, and getting ready for the coming semester, which starts in two weeks (we just did the annual "clean the office" ritual earlier this afternoon). At the moment, she's indulging in her love of all things coffee; our regular coffee grinder died last weekend, so Friday night at Sams, we picked up a Cuisinart Burr grinder they had on the clearance rack for $30.00. Now that we have something which can do fresh-ground coffee en mass, she's looking at what it takes to home roast coffee beans.

Meanwhile, everything is quiet in town; with the college between semesters, there isn't much activity apart from the few students who are arriving early to move and get settled in.

Things will pick up later on, with a couple of road trips to Kansas City for the Race for the Cure 4k run/walk (we're walking, obviously), and later in September, we're hoping to do a couple of trips down to the KC RenFaire: one to see our fellow church-goers Channing and Louise Horner participate in a Renaissance music quartet (they both play recorder), and the other, a meet-up with Micah (and hopefully his family, too).

It doesn't look like we're going to get up to Des Moines for the State Fair this year, but we hope to get up to there on some weekend this Fall to visit, do some shopping, and also indulge in some of our favorite restaurants (Adong and possibly Cookry over by the Drake area on the way out of town).

Lauren's Simpsons Avatar

Not to be left behind, I made my avatar...now all I need is my walking poles.

Simpsons Avatar

Just to be a little silly ... the Simpsons movie website allows you to make avatars, so I made one of myself strolling through downtown Springfield in Bearcat green.

Home Again, Home Again

Just an FYI ... Lauren's back from the mission trip; we'll have a longer posting with pictures sometime later in the week ... but for now, we've just been getting reacquainted after being apart for a week, which, if anyone is counting, is the longest time we've spent apart since I moved down here. And we've got better things planned, like going to see the new Harry Potter movie and heading to the county fair this weekend.

The Week's Gone By Rather Quickly ...

Literally; it seems just last Sunday when Woodgie left for South Dakota, and left me to fend for myself with the kitties. Now it's the Sunday following, and after a week's worth of house cleaning, laundry, a couple of household projects, and getting used to having the whole bed to myself, keeping up with the daily walks (except for those days when it got too darn hot, requiring me to head to the campus fitness center), it's still felt a little strange, given that in the space of a week, we've only talked a total of 5 minutes due to the lack of cell coverage up there.

Still, it sounds like she had a great time up there. Meanwhile, I managed to do something new ... something that my middle sis would have a good laugh about. Growing up, one of the career alternatives that Dad always thought I should try was to enter the seminary and become a Lutheran minister (hah!). To be honest, I wasn't sure if that was a direction I wanted my life to go in.

Now, 38 years later, here I am leading a morning worship service as an officiant and delivering a sermon that I wrote myself ... it's a rather scary feeling, but a heady one, too. Granted, I've participated in dozens of services over the last couple of years at former churches as a praise team singer and soloist, but never as "the leader". At least it went well, without any hitches, and quite a few people liked the sermon that I wrote. All in all, not bad for a first time for it.

Back to the Single Life for a Little While ...

At least, until Woodgie comes back from South Dakota, that is.

Oh well, I've got plenty to keep me busy ... now if only it would cool down so I can do the touch-up painting on the house.

4th of July

With the plant closed for the 4th, Lauren done with her second summer class, and the Solstice gathering shelved, Lauren and I were finally able to camp out this summer, which was nice because neither one of us had been to the Mozingo Lake rec area east of town for a campout (actually, Lauren has been there before; she just hasn't camped there before).

We set out Tuesday evening for the lake, managing to grab one of the last tent campsites available in a nice shaded spot not too far from the campground entrance and about a mile from the visitor center. After unloading the car, pitching the tent, filling the air mattress, and setting up the grill (not to mention letting Woodgie nap for a little bit), we embarked on dinner, which we'd mapped out late last week. Although I've grilled before, I hadn't done small grill/charcoal grilling in awhile. I hate to admit it, but I don't have my Man Scout merit badge in starting a charcoal grill; fortunately, Kingsford has come up with these "light the bag and walk away" BBQ in a bag charcoal packs, which work wonderfully.

Dinner that evening was grilled Chicken Sate (Thai version, using a set of Thai-spice skewers we found at Hy-Vee, with a little bit of Indonesian gado gado substituting for the usual peanut sauce), a cucumber-onion salad, and some grilled fruit (pineapple and melon) with yogurt dip for dessert:















Following dinner, we went for a walk from the campsite up to the visitor's center, where we discovered that (amazingly) one of the cabins near the lake was open (last year they were all booked). We also picked up some camping supplies (we'd forgotten to pack some dish soap, among other things). Woodgie also found time to visit with the neighbors at the campsite and, in one case, find a new friend:















The following morning found us waking early to the sound of thunder; concerned that we might get rained on, we quickly packed up the tent and chairs into the car. Later, after realizing that we weren't going to get rained on, we unloaded the lounge chairs with the new camp stove we got among our wedding presents and proceeded to make breakfast: instant oatmeal and fresh coffee made in Woodgie's stovetop espresso pot:















After breakfast, Lauren went for a walk, while I ended up finding a nearby electrical outlet so I could charge my phone, which was almost out of juice. Later that morning, with the sun coming out (too much for our tastes), we ditched the campsite in favor of a small shelter near the lake itself, which featured shade and the possibility of a great view of the fireworks later that evening, as well as a great view of the lake. As the shelter also had a grill, that allowed us to continue our holiday feasting: grilled veggies with the remainder of the gado gado peanut sauce and the remainder of the cucumber salad for lunch, and later for dinner, hot dogs, grilled corn, and more grilled fruit.





























We also got to watch the fireworks crew set up the displays, which they tested with a couple of dry (no firework loaded) powder charges in the afternoon:















Alas, staying for the fireworks wasn't to be: right after dinner, Woodgie discovered that despite her best efforts, she'd gotten a little sunburned and wasn't feeling well (and I didn't blame her, because the temps had gotten into the mid 90s that afternoon), so we called it an evening about 7:30, packed up the cooler, and headed home for the cooler comfort of the indoors.

The Great Outdoors, Part 2

Another weekend again finds Lauren and myself outside in the back yard after a busy weekend, with a citronella candle sitting between our lounge chairs; Lauren's working on a quiz/lesson for her summer class, while I'm surfing and chatting, with fireflies flickering around both of us.

This is the weekend that we would have been in Des Moines, for a solstice gathering and small second wedding reception that two of my friends were throwing, but there wasn't enough response from everyone, so both it and the solstice gathering got cancelled. It peeves me a little that two of my friends wanted to do something really nice for us, and hardly anyone up there responded to the RSVPs, making their efforts for naught. I mean, it is summer, and everyone does have busy schedules, but c'mon people ... what gives??? To quote Stan Lee: "Nuff' said".

Anyhoo, we had a great and productive time this weekend anyway. After another 8.5 mile walk out to Gray's and back on Saturday, we spent the afternoon doing some planning and yard work ... mainly planning for the 4th of July, some shopping for groceries for that campout, some hoping that the weather on the 4th stays pleasant enough that we don't get rained out, and also some more yard work, which will lead into several nice additions to the back and side yards.

Friday afternoon, we rented a tiller and did some bedding prep for what will become "the kitty garden", or the 3rd corner garden to go with the rose garden and lily garden at each corner of the property and create a "virtual border" for the lawn.

For a little backstory, last summer Lauren and I had brainstormed what "theme" we wanted for the next corner garden, and I suggested doing a "kitty" garden, with pussywillows, catnip, and some cat-themed decorations. Then, after our cat "Kitty" passed away last February, we decided that we'd also add a small memorial marker for her, too. We'll probably hold off on planting until fall, but the seedbed will be ready by then. Lauren also did some relocation of her day lillies and some of the peonies, which cleaned up some of the clutter by the street.

Last night, we started another leftover project from last summer, burning out an old tree stump near the street, and that is now turning into another "nice to have" item, too; we've decided that we're going to turn the former stump space into a small firepit area, so tomorrow, we'll be getting a trunkload of paving stones and a bag of sand to assemble that. It will cost us about the same as an average-grade portable firepit from Wal-Mart, but we think doing it this way will let it blend in with the rest of the yard decorations. Since the location is out by the street, it's plenty far enough from the house for safety purposes, and when it's done, we'll not only have a decorative place to use as a conversation and cooking pit for later in the fall, but we'll also have a place to do junk branch and leftover garden plant burns as well. It's a pity that the closest of my friends lives an hour and a half away, and some of Lauren's friends live even farther away .... we could put the conversation pit to good use.