Shifting Gears   Baby Boomer…Member Life 2.0…Wife, Mother, Grammie…Bicyclist…GoldWinger…Mensan…Girl Scout…Reader…Knitter…Rotarian

The dog days of August have produced zilch in the way of blog inspiration – in fact, the constant 90+ temps and lack of rain are reminding me of Groundhog Day.  The real variables have been weather-related with one or two nights of sleeping under open windows and shorter days which always are a clear indicator of fall on the horizon.  I’ll admit I’m even thinking a bit about fall clothing although I won’t need to even consider a winter coat or wool sweaters!

But I have been reading, knitting, lounging in the pool, volunteering and spending time with family and friends – all those components that create a blessed life.  So today I’m going to share some of my recent favorites – and a few misses.

Thumbs Up

• One of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time is “The Help” which captures Kathryn Stockett’s best-seller almost exactly as I saw it in my mind.  Having been a teen-ager during that time, I have memories of some of the segregation issues and the cast did an outstanding job of bringing the characters to life on the big screen.  Ron Howard’s daughter absolutely nails her character, Hilly, and the sets and costume designs are spot-0n.  Despite being reviewed as a chick flick, Burl (and several other guys we know) really liked it.
• Piper Kerman may have been an Ivy League grad but that didn’t help her when she was arrested for international drug trafficking.  She recounts her 13-month incarceration at the Women’s Correctional Facility in Danbury, CT in her personal account titled “Orange Is The New Black.”  I ranked it a solid A.
• According to Oprah, the most important book of the summer is “Rules of Civility” by Amor Towles.  I fell for her tag line and read it and have to admit it was a better-than-average piece of fiction.  Set in 1938, the book follows a young secretary as she integrates into the fringe of New York City society.  It’s a fun look at that point in time before war broke out. B+
• I love my iPhone and recently got a couple of apps that are making life a lot more fun.  First of all is My Fitness Pal which allows me to record every morsel that touches my mouth as well as track my exercising and weight – and syncs it automatically with my computer to myfitnesspal.com.  After 6 weeks without a diet Coke and some sensible tweaking of my diet, I’m down 8 pounds with several more to go – but it’s a start!  The other handy app is called KeyRing and lets you enter the info for all those annoying loyalty cards that promise to give you super-duper prices and earn rewards.  Those little bits of plastic come off your key ring and you only need show the bar code on your phone when you make a purchase – plus they push out coupons to you on a regular basis.  Sweet!
• We first experienced the “self-serve frozen yogurt sold by the ounce” craze several years ago in California.  It hit Springburg last summer and this year has exploded.  Thanks to recommendations from friends and daily deals I think we’ve tried them all but one favorite has now emerged – Simply Yo!  Located on South Campbell across from Reliable Chevrolet, this locally-owned place has now risen to the top of our list thanks to yummy yogurt (including some sugar-free options), excellent toppings, a decent price and comfortable seating and decor.  Half-off coupons don’t hurt either – and you don’t need a loyalty card to earn freebies.  They enter your phone # in their system when you purchase.  A close runner-up is Cherry Berry which now has punch cards.
• Daily Deals are the best way I’ve found to score bargain prices on food, massages, entertainment – even golf.  I love looking at all the options my inbox yield each day and just have to be careful I can use them all before our winter migration.   In the last week I’ve enjoyed a 90-minute massage, dinner at Mr. Yen’s, golf at Murder Rock and yogurt at Simply Yo.
• Wehrenberg Theatre scores big in my book for their new zero-tolerance cell phone policy – no texting, emailing, talking, surfing the net – nada, zilch, nothing. 

Thumbs Down

• We love to try new local restaurants but a recent visit to City Mexican Cuisine insured we will never return.  The kitchen was obviously under-staffed because people were kept waiting while many tables were empty, they were out of many menu items at 7:30 on a Saturday night (including chips!), despite an attempt to make a reservation we had to leave a message and it wasn’t acknowledged (except with a comp order of queso after a 35-minute wait) and the food was so-so.  The good news was we had a great waiter and the prices were okay – plus we were with good friends which made the bad experience bearable.
• Despite an excellent cast of Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore and Emma Stone, “Crazy Stupid Love” really needs to have the word “STUPID’ emphasized in the title because that’s what about 75% of the movie was.  But 14-year old Jonah Bobo is the true star – the kid is a hoot and provides tons of comic relief in what was mostly a bland movie.
• I usually don’t complain about summer weather – I reserve my “weather bitching” for snow, ice and temps below the legal AARP age.  But I definitely haven’t liked our lack of rain this summer because it played havoc with our green bean crop.  Burl did his best with watering the garden twice a day but the first batch only produced beans that were pithy and inedible.  Recent rainfalls are giving us hope the current blooms on the vines will yet yield a decent meal or two but for now we’re relying on Harter House to furnish our beans.
• Congress and our President – need I say more.  Don’t care which party – Republican or Democrat – they all need a swift kick in the butt and a reminder whose money they are spending.  Why don’t they grow up and run this country like Dave Ramsey tells us to run our households financially?
• Joe’s Crab Shack!  We went there last evening with our motorcycle group and had very expensive non-descript salads –  plus all 8 of us agreed that our waitress, Heidi, didn’t get her exuberant personality without some kind of enhancing substance.  She was totally annoying and we all declined when she kept telling us we could add to the automatic 18% gratuity they added for a party of our size.  Sorry, Heidi, you weren’t really worth 18% but you got it anyway.  The place had very few patrons and it still took >35 minutes to get our food while we were serenaded by an incredibly LOUD music system.  That’s our last visit there.

Well it’s taken me two days to finalize this post but the good news is that my likes outweigh my dislikes!  Good-by to August and here’s hoping September brings some cooler days – and nights!

Tonight the Women of Substance decided to take advantage of the 417 Mag August dining experience where the special 3-course meals are $20 per person.  Our choice was Metropolitan Grill which as always was excellent!  Vickie and Robin chose the house salad while I had the Caesar.  I opted for the appetizer of flash-fried spinach and ended up with a double portion thanks to a waiter error – then for our entrees, Robin had the hangar steak, Vickie went with the chicken spedini and I had the salmon.  Their third selection was the chocolate thunder cake which actually looked more like a brownie.  Excellent food all around.

And of course with good food, we had great conversation:

• I got a free drink from my friends Kevin and Rick who were in the bar at Metro – not sure why but I’m betting my mom probably told me to never turn down a free drink!  Thanks guys.
• The District Governor spoke at Robin and Vickie’s Rotary club today and as part of her speech, she did a cute thing where she cut out the Rotary emblem from folded paper.
• When Vickie said “three dimensional” is sounded like “Rita Mitchell”
• Vickie wants a do-over for today since it was a major FUBAR – not sure how she thinks it will really be any better the second time around.
• Vickie has a friend who turned down a major event to go to her 30th class reunion – and among those at the event were Bill Clinton and Marlee Matlin
• Downtown Rotary is staying at 425 for a few more months although there are concerns about parking and how well the sidewalks will be cleared of snow in the winter months
• What should Rotary do about those who leave early (before the speaker)?  Fine them – or ask them to leave before the Sarge?
• Vickie read a blog that told about a payroll company that has a contest among their employees for who has the biggest mistake – employees submit their own errors and the winner gets $400.
• If we always rescue our kids, they don’t learn anything.  (And no, Tammy, I didn’t say that – Vickie did!)
• Hannah is still looking for a job – currently applying at Academy Sports and Hy-Vee.
• I have now gone 4 weeks without a diet Coke – and find I didn’t miss it.  Also trying to avoid white foods (potatoes, flour, sugar, etc) but would make an exception for the beignets at Cafe du Monde.
• Vickie and Chaz recently celebrated their 23rd anniversary with dinner at White River Fish Co. and the Liverpool Legends concert while Hannah went to Moonshine Beach with Billy and his family.
• My yoga instructor is leaving and I’m not too pleased with the replacement – guess I’ll use up my hot yoga sessions now.
• I recommended two great books – Orange is The New Black and Rules of Civility. 
• Robin just read Switch for the second time and is getting more out of it – she needs to learn to look for the bright spots instead of being so analytical and looking for problems to solve.
• Vickie’s volunteer experience in Joplin was disappointing – she and Hannah worked at the distribution center but they were unorganized and they weren’t dressed to work on debris removal.
• Vickie recently heard a story on NPR about the prison where the Shawshank Redemption was filmed.  It closed in the early 90s and now is available for tours.  It’s booked for over a year out for reunions, weddings (seriously?) and conventions.  She reminded us that at the end of the movie, Morgan Freeman goes to a tree and digs up a box – the tree is actually 15 miles south of the prison and is 175 years old and 100 feet tall.  Four days after the story aired, a violent storm ripped the tree in two. 
• Vickie’s dad would have been 76 recently and on that day, her mom drove three hours to see his headstone and visit with some relatives – Vickie was glad she didn’t know in advance or she would have worried about her.
• Robin’s neighbors have a skunk under their sidewalk.
• Chaz has trapped three coons and relocated them – he now calls himself a CRE – Coon Relocation Expert.
• There’s a white girl on Toddlers and Tiaras who prays to Jesus to make her black so she can be Beyonce.
• Robin is now lifting weights three times a week and last week she did 4’30″ of cardio over 6 days.  Go Robin!  It shows.
• Robin and Vickie saw The Help and Robin was very touched by it although it has gotten mixed reviews.  They liked the quote “you are kind, you are smart, you are important.”
• Robin and Jim saw Crazy Stupid Love and said it was very good but also sad.
• When you’re at Metro, the question is “to bidet or not bidet?”  1/3 of us did – and we’re not telling who.
• What happened to Mesa at Millwood?  Metro was supposed to take over the kitchen as of 9/1 and now that arrangement is off.
• Vickie got an email at work from a student who wanted to send in her resume – and the email was written in all lower case letters.  She replied that the student should see them at a job fair – and she needs to learn proper capitalization.
• And finally – one last snippet that I forgot to share – the Price Cutter restaurant on Battlefield is closing in two weeks which means Burl’s motorcycle group will now have their weekly breakfast at the Price Cutter on National.

That’s it for this month.  We’re now taking suggestions for our September dining – we want it to be a local place and after my experience on Saturday night it won’t be at City Mexican Cuisine.

See you in September……….

Last year our special toy didn’t run.  Burl fiddled with it and then forgot about it – just left it sitting in the barn, unlicensed and uninsured.  When we got home this spring he started talking about selling it and I told him that was fine with me – we need to start getting rid of stuff we don’t use and anytime Mr.  Packrat even hints of parting with some of his “stuff” I do the happy dance!

Then a couple of weeks ago he ventured into the barn, turned on the ignition and it started right up!  Amazing!  He put gas in it and drove it around the block and then a couple of days later, smelled gasoline in the barn.  Yep – a leak in the gas tank.

He checked prices and a new gas tank for this model runs $469 – uninstalled!  So Tim The Tool Man went to work and after several coats of fiberglass, the gas tank is once again holding gas and tonight we took it on an ice cream run! 

It’s been over a week since we went to Joplin to help with the tornado recovery efforts and I still am haunted by the images of that day.  We worked with over 100 Rotarians from Tulsa, Broken Arrow OK, Parsons KS, West Plains and Joplin – a sea of yellow t-shirts proclaiming “Rotarian At Work” and that’s exactly what we did.  We worked!

The weather gods were in our camp that day proving a cloud cover along with a gentle breeze that made the work manageable until about 2:00 when the sun came out in full glory and pretty much polished off what little energy we had left.  Our work group was assigned to an area that appeared to be about 4 lots where homes once stood just a couple of blocks from St. John’s Medical Center.  There were concrete foundations for what remained of the homes and one actually still had a partial wall that  we helped tear down.

Tearing out the sub-flooring on a home

Under the direction of Americorps, we sorted debris into piles of organic materials, building materials, trash, concrete and rocks, and personal effects.  Everything had to be carried to the curb and placed there so the Army Corps of Engineers can remove it – at the expense of the homeowner, whether or not they have insurance to cover it or the funds with which to pay for the removal.  So says FEMA. 

Using rakes, shovels and gloved hands we loaded debris in wheelbarrows and made countless trips across yards to the curb where we dumped our load and repeated the process – over and over and over again.  One of the first items I found in the dirt was a small locket with a photo of two little girls – and as the mother of two daughters, I almost lost my composure thinking of the devastation that had occurred for someone who loved them.  I put the locket in an empty briefcase someone had laid on the foundation, fought back my tears and went back to the job at hand. One of the things that struck me the most was the randomness of the destruction mixed in with the everyday items  – things like Legos, broken Christmas ornaments, a set of BBQ tongs, a new jar of parsley that looked like it came straight from the grocery store that day, a wire whisk.  Items that all put together helped create a home.  I was saddened to learn that they no longer save jewelry – apparently they have numerous lock boxes full of unidentified jewelry and can no longer collect it.  To me, jewelry is very personal and I think of pieces that were heirlooms in a family and now are lost forever.

Personal items collected at homesite

July has been a busy month for us with Vickie going to church camp and me hosting Camp Grandparents but we managed to squeeze in our monthly diner tonight at Avanzare.  Vickie came with a LLLLLLLOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG list of topics but sadly many of them aren’t blog fodder.  Here’s what made the cut:

• Vickie stopped at the dollar store near Avanzare and picked up some cute placemats along with some cookie containers.
• Robin LOVES beets so naturally she had to get the Insalata alla Tony which had beets in it.  I also ordered that and we all chose the Chicen Balsamico for our entrée – I split mine with Robin and gave her all the mashed potatoes!
• We had a lengthy discussion about carbs, sugars, glycemic index, etc – all kinds of nutritional stuff since Robin and I are really into that at the moment. 
• Chaz recently had a stress test and got good results.
• Vickie spent several days at church camp with Hannah and had a great time.  She was in charge of the 7th grade boys and had a blast with them.
• Vickie saw online that Jessee James and his fiancée have split.
• Vickie recently had a disaster at a board meeting when someone showed up unannounced and wanted a match for a fundraiser they were having.  It wasn’t on the agenda and she should have tabled it and discussed it late but instead they went ahead with the discussion.  It wasn’ a pretty scene.
• Vickie’s mom refers to her toilet as a “commode” which Vickie thinks is very old-fashioned.  She told her mom that but she won’t listen to Vickie.
• Some people really need to evaluate if they should ever wear skirts.  The person in question needs What Not To Wear big time.
• Care To Learn was recently honored at a big gala in Minneapolis.  It was good PR and now other cities want to set up similar programs.
• Looking at the list of the Springfield Business Journal’s 31 Game Changers we think they should have picked Doug Pitt instead of his brother, Brad.
• We critiqued the list of 20 Most Influential Men and found one who possibly should be on the Most Influential Women list……..in our humble opinion of course!
• The Help comes to the big screen next month and we all plan to see it – great book.
• Vickie is just barely surviving office politics.
• Robin is currently doing a BIG favor for Vickie!
• New term for ex-husband – wuzband!
• One local college won’t give out scholarship funds until the recipients write personal thank you notes to the donors.
• Is cursive writing a lost art?  Many elementary schools are no longer teaching it so kids only know how to print.  Vickie hates her handwriting so prints everything except her signature.
• We all agree the Washington politicians need to compromise on the debt ceiling issue.  Some taxes and lots of spending cuts.
• If the debt ceiling isn’t raised and the US can’t make bond interest payments, we all need to go to total cash.  After all, government bonds are supposed to have NO credit risk.
• Regarding Billy Long’s tweet about Amy Winehouse - Robin was shocked he’s even on Twitter, much less knows who Amy Winehouse is.  I think it was a despicable tweet.
• In the next election I’m voting for ABO – Anybody But Obama.  Vickie likes Bachman – Robin and I are not impressed.
• Hannah is still looking for a job – today she applied at Best Buy.
• I joined Snap 24/7 Fitness Center since it’s free with my health plan – I get 4 free personal trainer sessions and my first one is on Friday – also get free nutrition analysis.
• Today was Day #8 without diet Coke for me.
• Vickie is currently watching Design Star on HGTV.
• Next month we’re going to enjoy 417 Dining Month at Metro Grill.  In fact, we already have a celebration planned – stay tuned to find out what it is.

Until August, stay cool!  We are!

If anyone has missed me, it’s because I’ve been hosting the Summer 2011 version of Camp Grandparents for our grandson, Alex.  Alex and his dad, Len, arrived a couple of weeks ago and have split their time between us and the other grandparents.  The idea of Camp GP is that wherever Alex is, his dad isn’t!  But this year we had to make adjustments since the other GPs were moving out-of-town and needed Len’s help plus Len had to make sure he and Burl got in plenty of golf!

Alex just finished 7th grade and is 13 now – a bright young man/child who still has enormous energy to run – not walk – everywhere but when he talks you’re not sure at what pitch his words will be.  He’s extremely bright and a delightful conversationalist and he loves playing Pathwords on my FB page too – when he’s not hunkered over his iPhone playing a video game.

Burl had one big project in mind for the two of them and couldn’t wait for Alex to arrive so they could build it – a potato gun!  Trust me, I’d never heard of a spud gun but that’s probably because I produced girls and never dealt with any weapons stronger than a Star Wars Light Sabre! 

Another not-to-be-missed activity was a day at Silver Dollar City or as Alex liked to say, Steal Your Dollar Silly!  Three guesses who taught him that one!  I think the last time Alex was there he was 4 and Len also hadn’t been for many years so he went along with us and we also took our granddaughter Bella who is 5.  Nothing like hitting Steal Your $ on a day when the heat index crosses over the 100 degree line but thanks to plenty of misters, shade trees and sprinklers, we survived!

When we weren’t doing other activities, Alex spent most of his time in our pool and/or playing with Mulligan.  We have neighbors whose sons are 13 and 14 and they came over yesterday to swim and have lunch.  Mulligan spent all that time throwing his toy into the pool so the boys would find it and then throw it out in the yard for him – a game he never tires of playing.  You’d thing a dog that’s a mix of yellow lab and golden retriever would never want to come out of the water but our mutt is a total wuss!

I certainly didn’t forget the birthday of my second-born yesterday – I just never got around to posting a birthday blog for her!  That’s to be expected with the second child – the baby book never gets updated, photos are taken less frequently and they generally learn to fend for themselves at an earlier age.  Given her schedule with two little girls of her own, I doubt she even bothered to get online yesterday, much less read my blog.

Her arrival time on earth was 7:15 on a Saturday morning which conveniently allowed me time to watch some cartoons while in the recovery room!  (Well, what else was I going to watch on a Saturday morning?)  I started to call yesterday at 7:15 thinking the girls would be up and going strong but decided to wait a bit and was glad I did – they actually slept late!  But by time I talked to her a little before 8:00, both Julia and Lydia were in high gear over “Mom’s Birthday”.

I’m sure Ralph would have opted for a day at the spa with a massage, mani and pedi – what she got was a volunteer stint at Vacation Bible School!   She’s seen below on the left in what was probably supposed to be an authentic biblical outfit – but those Birks she’s wearing definitely give away the 21st century!

And while a spa may have been her choice du jour, volunteering at VBS is more in line with Ralph’s life these days.  As a mostly-stay-at-home mom to Julia and Lydia, her days revolve around the girls’ activities and she’s always ready to help in any way she can – at their school, baking cookies, carpooling to gymnastics or soccer, working the nursery at churh – whatever is needed to support them.  Thus far she’s avoided Junior League – because she’s too busy!!

Twice a week she works in Blair’s orthodontic practice putting her accounting and nursing skills to work and on those rare occasions when she actually does have some time to herself she prefers to go for a run or read a few chapters in whatever book is on her nightstand.

I admire Ralph so much for the way she and Blair are raising the girls – they stick together on discipline and while both Julia and Lydia like to push the limits, they know (most of the time) not to cross the line with their parents!  Or at least Julia has figured that out – still not sure about Lydia!

Ralph started college at William Jewell with no idea of her major – by her sophomore year she had chosen Accounting which now seems like the least desirable career for her – and it was!  Within 6 months of graduation with her BS in Accounting and sitting for the CPA exams, she knew a life with numbers was not in the cards for her.  She quit her job with the State of Missouri Auditor’s Office and moved herself to Kansas City where career #2 was waiting!  A few years later she had her BS in Nursing from University of Kansas and had easily passed the RN boards.  Those summers as a secretary in the Emergency Dept of CoxHealth clearly had an influence on her despite seeing the very worst of patients and physicians!

She obtained her MS in Nursing from the University of Iowa a few years ago and except for a few brief stints teaching clinicals to nurse assistant high school students, her nursing duties are basically scraped knees and wounded egos!  But she’s a good clinician and dedicated to her chosen profession even though Tammy lovingly (?) refers to her as “Nurse Ratchet”.

I’m so proud of Ralph for her accomplishments – as a nurse, as a gourmet cook, as a friend and most of all for the wonderful wife and mother she is.

So here’s to Ralph – your baby book may not have been as complete as Tammy’s but you did get your ears pierced earlier than she did!

Happy Belated Birthday – I love you very much.

Plan A for today was a long bike ride with Jill.  I put air in the tires, filled my water bottle, put on my biking clothes and as I wheeled my bike to the front of my house, here came the raindrops!  GRRRRRR!  As I checked the weather map online, Jill called en route to my house – in the rain!  We quickly scratched our plans – it’s one thing if we get caught out in the rain (one year we rode over 60 miles in rain during the MS150) but it’s a whole new ballgame if we haven’t yet left.

So I resorted to Plan B!  A few weeks ago I purchased a gift certificate for 5 sessions at Sumit Hot Yoga  and today was the perfect day to give it a try.  I had just enough time to change clothes and get to the studio with time to spare for relaxing before class started.  The instructor told me that many new students can’t even do 90% of the class and if I got too hot or couldn’t keep up, not to worry – just lay on my back or in child position and join back in when I was ready.

Nikki was the instructor today and was fabulous.  She kept the pace going much faster than the class I’ve been taking at my gym but I knew most of the poses and really appreciated her constant reminders that we should focus on ourselves and our bodies and not worry about anyone else in the class. 

I seriously doubt any of my classmates have yet seen their 40th birthday and many of them looked like skinny little pretzels going into some of the poses while I resembled a chunky pretzel rod – but I just reminded myself that it wasn’t about comparisons, it was about doing what I could do and learning and relaxing and most of all, enjoying the moment.

The website definition says  ”Hot Yoga is a series of specialized yoga poses performed in a heated room, which is usually maintained at a temperature of 100 to 105 degrees.  As you can imagine, a vigorous yoga session at this temperature promotes profuse sweating which rids the body of toxins.  It also makes the body very warm, and therefore more flexible.  Students of all ages who regularly practice yoga notice an increase in energy, strength, balance, flexibility and mental focus.  The body is flushed of toxins, leaving a deep sense of relaxation and well-being.”

I had consulted with my friend Kirsten prior to buying the gift certificate and she stressed the importance of drinking plenty of water before, during and after the class – thanks Kirsten for that valuable information which probably saved me from passing out!  Fortunately we took a few breaks and I had taken a spot near the door so when it was opened on breaks, I felt a cooling breeze inspire me to stick with the class.

I’m not sure if I’m a true convert yet from regular yoga but I did enjoy the class and plan to attend again.  Sure I got hot and sweaty – in fact the sweat was pouring off of me and at one time, made my mat so slippery that I fell onto the floor, providing entertainment for the others in the class.  But hey, at this age, I’m pretty much past embarrassment so I just picked myself up, toweled off and went back to joining the group.

The instructor was complimentary at the end as we chatted which helped my aging ego.  So if you’re looking for a break in your workout routine or just want to try something different, give them a look-see.

And rest assured, you WILL break a sweat!

Today my dear friend, and fellow Woman of Substance, Vickie was installed as the president of the Rotary Club of Springfield.  Naturally Robin and I were there to support her along with “Woman of Substance In Waiting” Hannah who is Vickie’s beautiful daughter and my adopted granddaughter. 

I love the 4th of July!  After all, how can you miss with a holiday that features my favorite color combination of red, white and blue?  A holiday when it’s almost always hot – when the primary activities are eating and drinking – when I get to see a parade with a band playing “You’re A Grand Old Flag” (and yes, I sang along!)?  See – it’s a can’t miss day in my opinion!

The year with the 4th on a Monday we had several days of festivities made even more special by all the quality time I got to spend with Tammy and Ralph and their families – especially Julia and Lydia.  The Des Moines crew arrived on Friday and the girls lost no time in getting into the pool.  Julia is now a member of the swim team at their local country club so had to show me her favorite strokes and demonstrate her skills from the diving board.  That kid can do a mean flip off the board but I’ll admit my heart skipped a few beats when she started the flip before she got to the end of the board!  I even impressed her and her mom with my diving!

We spent a couple of days trying to convince Lydia to go down the slide and when she finally did, Ralph and I missed her performance.  I even tried to persuade her to try it by showing her how even Grammie could navigate the slide – all the while hoping Medicare wouldn’t reject a claim for any accidents I might have had.  Fortunately there were none from me but on Lydia’s last slide adventure, she wrapped her little hands around the edge of the slide and ended up with some fingers full of fiberglass.  Ouch!  So much for Lydia and the slide!

It seemed that when we weren’t playing in the pool our time centered around food and drink and tonight I’m feeling like a 7-day fast will just be a start to make me quit feeling so full!  Ralph and I took the girls to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday and picked out an array of fresh veggies and fruits and then Tammy, Steve, Ralph and Blair pretty much took over food preparation for the rest of the weekend.  We had apple brats, fresh corn on the cob, several varieties of salad (all with fresh dressings), some amazing smoked ribs courtesy of Steve along with his homemade baked beans, strawberry pretzel salad, Cake Pops, Key Lime pie, chocolate cupcakes and of course, homemade ice cream.  Not to mention beer, wine and margaritas.  If you’re gagging as you read this, please remember, it did take us a few days to consume all this stuff.

When the clouds rolled in yesterday the kids played on the deck or in the house – friends came by and we enjoyed leisurely conversation – puzzles were put together, games were played, summer birthdays were celebrated.  Throughout this time, Mulligan wandered around with his favorite toy hanging from his front tooth looking for someone to play with him – and he was often rewarded.

Naturally we had fireworks which are illegal in Iowa (except for public displays) – Steve and Blair assembled a great selection of pretties for us all along with some ear-splitting ones too.  Lydia loved the black snakes which she said made the driveway look like it was pooping – a comment that did NOT sit well with her mother.  I managed to stifle my laughter!

This morning they were on the road early headed north to home and Burl and I went to Marshfield for the 132nd parade there – the oldest 4th of July parade west of the Mississippi River!  Burl rode his mini-motorcycle with the other Shrine Cruisers in the parade and had great fun high-fiving the little kids who lined the parade route.  I met my friends Barb and Kathie and we sweated out about an hour of the parade before going to a picnic at Ron and Barb’s with our golfing buddies.  By then, most of the parade entries were political and I can do without those.

What I really loved, in addition to the band, were the floats with the veterans riding on them.  Without them, we’d have no reason to celebrate the freedoms we enjoy in this country.  I kept thinking today about our founding fathers who fought against oppression from Britain to establish our great nation – about the sacrifices they made with no guarantee of safety for themselves or their families – no guarantee that they would win the war – but still they fought for their beliefs and for our freedom.  I only wish they could know that what they did was not in vain – that despite all our shortcomings, America is still the greatest nation in the world.

And to all those people who come to America, legally or illegally, I just ask that you learn OUR language and abide by OUR laws – get a job, pay your taxes, don’t think you are entitled to have anything (welfare, healthcare, food, housing) handed to you – and most of all, please, please, please don’t desecrate our flag!  Being an American is a privilege – not a right.

God Bless The USA – He has certainly blessed me by allowing me to live in this country I love.