Christmas Treeing 2006

It's become one of our traditions to go Christmas Treeing every year. The first year, I made Dennis dress up in silly Christmas apparrel. He was pretty much embarrassed to be seen out in public looking goofy, so we have since toned down the costumes. What is Christmas treeing, you ask? We just drop in (totally unexpected) to see your Christmas tree, and we always take a picture or two of the folks we surprise, and then leave. We try to catch as many people as we can, and we never let them know we're coming. Sometimes we catch them, well...shall we say, not looking their best! Ha, ha, ha....right, Judy? We've tried to go twice already this year, and both times our plans had to be changed for whatever reasons. Finally, last night we did make it to a couple places, however, if you're reading this, and thinking..."ha! they're not going to get us this year", well, don't be too sure, because I'm hoping we'll get out again! After all, we still have eight days! Anyway, after getting a much later than anticipated start, we were able to drop in on a few friends last evening. We had hoped to make it to Tom and Cindy's while all the kids were there, but unfortunately, Sara and Shane had already left by the time we arrived! We sure hated missing them! Also, Erin and Alexis had gone into town for a while, so we didn't get to meet them. But we really enjoyed seeing Brian and Ava, Zach, Amy and Blake, Luke, and Kacie. Sterling was sleeping, so we didn't get to see him either.
We went by the Ft. Madison Community Hospital to welcome Miss Emily Jo Newberry and wish them all Merry Christmas. We were lucky enough to see proud papa, TJ, and the 85 million dollar man before we left. Miss Emily is a beautiful baby. If you want to see pictures of her, go to www.heids-world.blogspot.com OR just click on Heids World from my list.
Here are two more pictures from the stops we made last night:

Warm, Sunny Wednesday

We've gone from winter, back to summer. It's 54 degrees right now, and beautiful outside! However, that's not my main topic for this post.
Bobbie...you should stop reading here!
I've been putting off telling you all that Sassy passed away Sunday. She appeared to be healthy, but Saturday afternoon, she did act a little strange. I called to her and she took off in the opposite direction. At the time, I thought it was just her usual "attitude". I let her go off, telling her that if she wanted to be that way, I'd just give Scamba her biscuit. This was not really unusual behavior for her. She was well named. Sassy was the first pup of our first litter. We kept her only because she had a bad hip from birth. Most breeders would have euthanized her right then, but we kept her and loved her in spite of her independent and stubborn, sassy nature. Dennis found her in her bed Sunday morning when he went out to chore. She apparently died in her sleep. She was 11 years old. We're trying to give Scamba extra attention since Sassy died, because he's over 12 years old, and we don't know if he will survive the winter. He's really showing his age.
Well....now you know (Bobbie's still reading because she no way would have stopped where I told her to stop!) our latest news, and we have just one dog left now.

Sunday Slush!

What a wonderfully warm winter day! We enjoyed mid 40 temperatures, but the snow has turned to slush. My poor little snowman is turning into a big drippy puddle!
Zach and I enjoyed our trip to Iowa City yesterday. In addition to having our delicious treat at the Cold Stone (NOT Stone Cold, as I said previously) Creamery, we took in the Old Capitol Museum. Zach enjoyed participating in the activities they were having for the young visitors. He learned to write with a quill, did a treasure hunt throughout the building looking for interesting facts, for which he received a prize, and when we got back home, Dennis took him sledding.
Today we visited the Victory Faith Church in Ft. Madison, where Lynn regularly attends. We really enjoyed the service, and saw quite a number of acquaintances who also attend. Jacob goes to the youth program called U-Turn on Wednesday evenings. He has been involved there for a couple years and really likes it. If you can get the 89.9 radio station, you can hear the pastor speak on Friday afternoons, around 4 o'clock I think. He's really very good!
Tomorrow, it's back to the bus! Kathy, Gail, Wyatt and I are planning to make a quick shopping run to Coralville. I have another coupon for a FREE Cold Stone Creamery concoction!

STONE COLD Saturday!

Continuing the birthday celebrations! Zach and I have each had a birthday and received coupons for a FREE "Love It" size treat at the Stone Cold Creamery. We're planning to cash in on those today. Wish you could go along! Zach has never tasted the Stone Cold concoctions, but I'm sure he will agree that it is worth the trip! We don't plan to do any shopping while we're there, but if we see something interesting, that could change. We would have liked for Dennis to go with us, but we have a burial today, and someone has to stay home to do the work. We'll just be thinking of him as we enjoy every delicious spoonful of our ice cream.
I thought you might like to see the snowman I built on our deck Wednesday. The snow needed to be removed so we could get to the Bradley smoker, so I made a snowman, because I didn't have a shovel to throw the snow over the rail. Now we have a seasonal decoration on the deck, and we can also use the smoker without getting snowy feet.

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Well, today's my birthday. When I got up this morning we had -1 degree! Nevertheless, it's been a wonderful day for me so far. Bobbie picked me up this morning to go to school, so I didn't have to get into a cold frost covered car. That was very nice! When I got to school, my bus was already started, with the heater going, and that too was very nice! After our routes, Bobbie and I did some errands together, and finally got some pictures of Lynn's house.

We didn't stay for too long though, because it was still very cold. Lynn was working on setting the front door in when we arrived. He stopped long enough to give us a quick tour, and then we left to do a bit of shopping in Ft. Madison. When we came back around noon, he had the door set. You can see that the shingles are on the roof, and the forecast says that next week will be in the 40's, so he should get it shingled during that heat wave! It's a very nice plan, with great curb appeal, and on a big lot in a very nice location. Bobbie and Lynn wishing me a Happy Birthday!
Dennis plans to take me to Hotel Nauvoo for my birthday supper this evening. I'm looking forward to that! The hotel will close for the winter tomorrow, so we won't be going back again until spring at the earliest!
That's it for now. I'm off to celebrate and make a big to-do about my birthday!

Snow Covered Saturday!

Tyler brought the boys over this afternoon, with the motorcycle, of course. Popo and the boys had quite a time riding in the snow. They quit just before dark, and are planning to stay overnight. Bet they'll sleep well (and early) tonight!



What a beautiful sight! We really got snow this time! It started falling Thursday night, and when it ended, we had nearly a foot of snow. School was cancelled, but the basketball game at Van Buren was not called off. I took the JV boys to Keosauqua. Would you believe that they didn't have enough snow to cover the grass! This picture was taken Saturday morning, so it's not quite as pretty as it looked on Friday.
We had planned to be in Chicago for the weekend, but at midnight last night, Amtrak called Gariann to tell her that there would be no train this morning! We were so very disappointed! Last night I made a whole bunch of little chicken salad sandwiches to take on the train, and packed our cases and a cooler full of my Diet Dew. I thought it was a joke when we got the call at 1 AM from Gariann telling us not to meet them at 5:30AM in town! So, guess what we're having for lunch today!
I just talked to Kathy on the phone, and she told me the boys are outside. Zach is riding the motorcycle and Tyler is planning to take the boys, and the neighbor kids if they come over, hooding. I hope she gets some pictures. They'll no doubt look like snowmen before they are done.
I was just thinking this morning as I look out the window, how thankful I am to live in Iowa! We have the joy of experiencing all four seasons within a two week period! Just this past Wednesday we had thunderstorms, and 67 degrees. On a couple of days prior to the thunderstorms, we enjoyed summer...temperatures in the 70's. So, around here, you just never know how to dress!
Speaking of thankful...here are five more things for which I am truly thankful:
* Electricity! Thousands of people in the Midwest today are without power because of the storm! I am so thankful that we have electricity today! We can't even get a drink of water without it, because we have to pump our water in from our well. In addition to that, without electricity, we would be cold! I am very thankful for our electricity!
* Cell phones! How on earth did we ever get along before cell phones? I don't enjoy just chit chatting on the phone, but I am very glad to have the convenience of cellular service. I can remember many times having to run hither and to, trying to find Dennis to get an urgent message to him. Now, I just press a button on the cellphone, and there he is! It's saved 100's of miles on our vehicles, I'm sure! And, I've called him several times asking him to pick up something as he goes through town, which means that I don't have to go to town! I love that!
* Mail....the United States Postal Service. I love getting mail. We've been getting Christmas cards. Illa Jean Nye sent the first one we received this year. We also hear from our friend Frances Pickering through the mail quite often. It's such a joy to go to the box and find news from a friend. It's always nice to hear from friends via the e-mail too, but there's just something about a hand-written letter that the mail carrier brings that gives me those warm fuzzies! I LOVE getting mail!
* Radio. Specifically, Christian radio. We are very fortunate to have several stations in our area where we can listen to Christian programming all day and night. I am very thankful to have Southern Gospel music playing inspirational and uplifting music, when I tune to 91.7 FM. And we have numerous other stations that have teaching programs and music throughout the day. It is wonderful to have so many options!
* Birthdays. At my age, you might think it strange that I am thankful for a birthday, but consider the alternative. Although the alternative is not something I fear, because I know where I'm going, I have to say that I'm not really wanting to leave here just yet. I hope to celebrate more birthdays with our grandchildren, great grandchildren, and children. In just a few days, I'll be celebrating 54 years! I'm thankful to have that opportunity.

Oktoberfest in Ottumwa

Last October four buses took the Central Lee marching bands to Ottumwa for Oktoberfest. It's a long parade, and then activities and lunch (brats, naturally) with a drum line competition. Bus drivers were supposed to get free meal tickets, but they ran out of tickets before we got ours. We all went and cried a big sob story, and they gave us each a brat and drink free. A short time later, we found our band leader, and he had some meal tickets! So, we ate some more! After all, bus drivers work up quite an appetite!
It's a fun trip, and we bus drivers really "let our hair down" and have a good time. We posed for this silly shot, and Kerri has been holding it over Ron's head ever since. She says she's going to send a copy to his wife, Mary.
I would have posted this back in October, but Kerri just got the film developed! Kerri is the girl sitting on Ron's lap. Ron is the one with the big smile, and Pam is to the right. That other one, well...it's me!

Friday Frenzy!

What a busy day! But first, let me tell you we had a lovely Thanksgiving. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Gariann and Kirk, Tyler and Kathy and their boys were there. Kyle came after he got off work, and Travis stopped by for a short time. Zach and Wyatt brought a whole big bag of matchbox cars, and I caught Kyle laying on the floor playing with them, but he rolled away just as I snapped the picture.











We had a delicious meal and then played Tripoley until time to take the little boys home for bedtime. Zach played, and enjoyed betting and even winning some poker hands. In the picture, Zach and Wyatt are counting out the pennies for the game. We had ten players, and each started with 100 pennies. I finished the game with only ten cents!
Just before we were ready to leave, we saw two raccoons on the deck eating the birdfood. Tyler had the gun, and when Dad opened the door, Tyler blasted them.
Zach came home with us, and he and I got up early this morning to go to Farm and Home for some big bargains. We waited in line for forty minutes! We then went to Gate City Seed "Candy Land" and bought several kinds of candy. When we got home, Wyatt came over to help put up and decorate our Christmas tree. I warned them that it would be a big job, but they wanted to do it, so we worked all afternoon. First we cleaned and moved furniture. Then they helped carry everything down from the attic, and we "built" the tree. That's what Wyatt calls putting the artificial tree together. We finally got the tree up, decorated, and all the furniture re-arranged just as it was getting dark outside. Since the boys had seen our neighbor, Lanny, burning leaves earlier in the day, they wanted to go out and burn leaves. What they really wanted to do was play with fire, but we called it burning leaves. We had quite a blaze going for a little while. It was a nice break from being inside doing all that decorating! Believe it or not, it was almost like summer today. Way too hot to be putting up Christmas decorations! Anyway, we came in for supper. Of course, you know we had something with turkey in it! I fixed turkey and rice casserole, and Wyatt ate it, mostly because he had no choice. Then we decorated the wildlife.
Now it's showers and off to bed. Both boys are staying overnight. Tomorrow we're going to play Monopoly. Zach has it set up already so we can start as soon as we wake up.

Coralville Comments

I believe everyone enjoyed the annual shopping trip again this year. This trip was the first for Landon and Chris. Hopefully, Chris will make it an annual event! Landon, however, won't be going next time since next year he will be past the age limit for children. As the "rules" are now, the only babies permitted to attend are those who are under one year of age. Technically though, Landon was there last year with Golda, just as Emily was there this year with Amy.
After lunch at the food court in Coralridge Mall, we all went in different directions to shop. I found these girls taking a break near Santa. People were lining up to pay for pictures with Santa, but we figured that they could stand nearby with Santa in the background to get a free picture. Santa saw what we were doing, so he came over to give us a photo op! As you can tell...the girls were enjoying themselves, but look at the difference Santa made when he actually joined them for the picture! What a difference! This (I believe) is Emily's first picture with Santa.
After perusing the stores throughout the mall, we checked into our very nice rooms just across the street at Holiday Inn Express. If only I knew how to post a video clip onto this post!
Here you can see some of the reaction to watching the classic video "Goat Boy"...starring Timothy S. Porter!
We ate supper at the Olive Garden which was just next door. While there, I learned the right way to toss salad, and after stuffing ourselves way past the comfort point, we went back and just hung out visiting. At about 9 PM, some of us walked across the street to the Stone Cold ice cream shop! Never in my life have I seen such an array of delicious sounding choices. Since I was still feeling full from the Olive Garden, I decided on a small (like it) serving of pumpkin pie ice cream. It was wonderful! Here we are...except Golda and Landon, in the hotel lobby.

Think Thanksgiving!

Can it be only six days until Thanksgiving Day? How time does fly! On one of the blogs I read regularly, Deb posts a list of five things for which she is thankful every week. I think that's a great idea. I probably won't get it done on a regular basis, but with Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching, I think it's a good time for me to start.
I can think of no greater thing than salvation, by grace, through faith and I am truly thankful that God loved me and gave His Son to redeem me! I'm thankful for the blessings of a loving family, good health, friends, and freedom! These things would be on my "thanksgiving" list daily. My intent for this list though, is to be very specific in being thankful. I figure that if I limit my list to five a week, I'll be able to go on listing forever without duplicating! I'm hoping it will help keep my thinking more positive and thankful and my mouth less complaining and critical.
Here are my five "thankfuls" for this week:

* Blog sites! Not long ago, I actually said I'd never be connected to the internet. Today, I enjoy keeping up on the news of far away friends through blog sites, and I love it! I'm thankful for the technology that makes it possible and also for those who take the time to blog! Thank you!

* Digital cameras! A few years ago, the kids gave me a digital camera for Christmas, and taking and sharing pictures has never been easier! Again, I'm thankful for the technology making it possible to make and share digital pictures, and Thanks to you kids for the camera!

* SuperFeet insoles! Last summer, a salesman suggested I try the inexpensive inserts rather than buy very expensive shoes. I did, and I'm thankful for the support, and for the nice salesman who really could have made more money selling me the expensive shoes! My feet don't hurt, and I saved a lot of dough!

* Piano lessons! When I was 10 I hated taking piano lessons. I whined and cried because Mom made me practice. Boy, am I ever thankful that she made me stay at it, because rarely a day goes by that I don't enjoy playing the piano. I realize that it must have been painful for her to withstand all my whining and crying to make me practice, not to mention having to listen to those lesson tunes over and over and over...with many mistakes included! Thank you, Mom!

* Indoor plumbing! I don't mean to be offensive, but the convenience of not having to put my coat on to go potty is something for which I am really thankful. I'm thankful for a climate controlled toilet devoid of insects, spiders, snakes and who knows what else! Maybe most of you reading this don't remember the old outhouse, but I remember and am very thankful for our indoor bathroom!

Well, there you have the first five. We (Dennis and I) have so very many reasons to be thankful! May you enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

Veterans Day

Happy Veteran's Day. Dennis went to breakfast this morning at Hy-Vee, because they were offering free breakfast to all Veterans. I didn't go since Zach had spent the night and didn't wake up until about 8 AM. Zach and I made cookies again, and he rode his motorcycle. It was 33 degrees when he went out to ride, and the puddles on the ground were iced over. Nevertheless, he rode for almost an hour. When he came in, we had eggs, hash browns, sausage and bacon. After eating we played Trouble before he left to go skating with his friend.
This afternoon, Dennis went out to tear out more of the old fence, and worked at cleaning up the area where he is thinking he'd like to put a new building. This little shed has been used for many things. We bought it at an auction way back in '82 and Dennis dragged it home on skids. It served as a playhouse for the boys and then we used it for bottle calves, hogs, and most recently a doghouse. Today it was consumed by fire! It was still a decent little building, but of no use to us. The skids that were used more than twenty years ago had rotted away, so there was really no good way to move it to a different location, so the firebug torched it.
I stayed out there with a rake to make sure the fire didn't spread and was amazed at how quickly it burned! I told Dennis that there must be about a hundred pounds of nails in that pile of ashes.

November News

Since the last post, we've enjoyed Indian Summer and are now headed back to more normal weather. In fact, it's snowing in northern Iowa, and we're expected to see light snow or sleet. I say, bring it on!
We've really been keeping busy so far for the month of November. We started off on November 2 meeting friends at Ogo's for supper and then staying for the music. If you've not been to Ogo's on a Thursday night, you just don't know what you're missing! It's "Chicken and Pickin' Night", meaning all the chicken you can eat and music from 6-8PM all for less than $6! What a deal!
Friday, November 3rd was the first time Zach had come to stay overnight with us in four weeks. We enjoyed having him. We played "Walkie Talkie Hide and Seek". Each of us had a walkie talkie, and we took turns hiding. When you were the person hiding, you had to tell the other person what you could see from your hiding place, and then they tried to find you. It was fun. We also baked cookies, painted and rode the four wheeler and motorcycle.
Sunday night Wyatt stayed overnight. We had a great time with him too. He's funny without even trying! He played the PlayStation racing games, and although he can drive pretty good, he prefers to go into the infield and crash. He also likes to go the wrong way and run into other cars. Hopefully, this will not carry over when he drives a real car on the real highway. He played and played, and fell asleep on the kitchen floor!
We've been having lots of work too. So far, we've had eight burials for November. In addition to that, Dennis has done a couple small excavation jobs, plus we're trying to tear out the old, falling down fence on the north side of our pasture, and replace it. All the crops are out, but they still have a lot of ground work to do. And of course, there are lots of things we can help with on the house building project.
Next week looks to be filled! Today is Friday, and is the beginning of a long weekend for me. I'll be going to Iowa City Sunday to meet friends from New York. We'll go to lunch and just hang out for a while. There's no school Monday, so Dennis and I made an appointment with our attorney to update our wills and get things in order. We're not sick, but just figured that it's better to make decisions now rather than let someone else (like the state) decide who gets what when we're dead. On Wednesday, Dennis has an appointment in Iowa City. Several years ago, he had a melanoma cancer taken off, and he's way overdue for a complete checkup. Then I'll be going to Iowa City (well, Coralville actually) Saturday to meet up with the "Nelson girls". That's sure to be a good time. Before we know it, Thanksgiving will be here! I've been stocking up on the groceries in preparation for the big feast.
My, oh my....how I do tend to ramble on and on! I think this LOOooooooonnnnngggg update should suffice, so I'll quit for today and try to keep up better in the days to come!

What a Week-end!

Thursday the harvest came to a halt, because one of the big tires on the combine was punctured. It had been a very productive day up to that point. Travis shelled 6ooo bushels of corn that day in spite of a two hour delay to replace a broken belt. They all thought that was a pretty big accomplishment with that little 4 row corn head. Travis and I spent most of Friday trying to get tires. He ended up ordering a new set and thinking they'd not get here until today. What a pleasant surprise when Menn's called and said they had the tires and would get them mounted Saturday. They're back to beans again and if the weather holds, they should finish on beans this week.
Today Wyatt came to "help". He rode in the combine, and then hauled grain with Popo. He even ate some of the beans! He also ate the entire lunch I'd packed for him, which included a peanut butter sandwich, an apple and two cookies. Well, actually he saved one cookie for Travis. He had a pretty big day and was so tired that he fell asleep in the car on his way home.
I spent much of the weekend driving the bus. Friday night I took the Central Lee varsity football team to Durant. We got back to Donnellson at about 1 A.M. and I hurried home to sleep fast so I could be back at school by 6 A.M. to take the middle school marching band to Ottumwa for the Oktoberfest Parade. By the time I got home Saturday evening, I was pretty much good for nothing. I fell asleep quite early and missed the movie Dennis watched. Of course, he might have slept through it too! In fact, I'd almost bet that he did. He probably had his ice cream while watching the movie, and then ten minutes after the bowl was empty, he was probably snoring in his recliner!
On Sunday we went to Mom's for dinner. Mom invited everyone over because Valerie and Shane were here for the weekend. Shane is leaving tomorrow for a six month stint on border patrol. Shane's parents were there also, and we all had a nice visit, and naturally, an excellent dinner! That just about brings us up to date, so now I think I'll go catch up with Dennis and ride along in the grain truck this evening.

Wednesday Update

I have a peach pie in the oven and thought I'd take a few minutes to update you with some new pictures. Harvest is going well. They switched from corn to beans on Monday. The yield seems to be pretty good, so far. They're still working in the bottom grounds. The yields won't be so good when they get up in the clay.

Progress continues on the house. Thankfully, Lynn and Dad are helping out so Travis and Dennis can keep the combine running. It's clouding up here and looks like it could even rain. I thought that would be bad, but the guys said it's so dry that they'd welcome a little rain. In fact, it would actually help!
Here you can see Lynn and Dale carrying plywood up the roof. They finished sheeting the west side yesterday and got it tar-papered just before dark. Today they'll be working on the east side.
I'm starting to smell the pie, so better go check on it. I'd sure hate to burn it after going to all the effort to make it. With a fresh baked peach pie, I could probably get away with serving peanut butter sandwiches for supper, but I'm planning on home-made pizza. However, if it rains, and Dennis is not working, I'd let him take me out to Ogo's tonight!

What A Difference A Day Makes!

Here's what the house looked like at quitting time. I just thought it was pretty impressive what the crew got done in a day. If only the harvest goes as well!
I'm expecting a little visitor soon. Zach was planning to spend the night, but had a birthday party to attend first. I'm thinking if he doesn't get here pretty soon he may not be coming tonight. It's already past his bedtime. After all week at school, he usually is ready for bed before nine o'clock. If he doesn't come for the night, he'll call for me to pick him up in the morning.

Frigid Friday

It's Friday! Where did the past week go? It feels like winter outdoors, but the woolie worms are still saying that winter will arrive on or about December 21, with Christmas to follow in about four days. As I'm typing, the horse is running, kicking and bucking all over the pasture. She's beautiful when she's running. I guess the cold air must have given her a burst of the friskies. Burger King, the angus steer, is frisking too, but I think he's just trying to stay out of the horse's way.
Travis, Dennis and Gail are shelling corn this morning, and I ran to Nichtings for parts. When I got back with the part, I took a few pictures, but it was beginning to rain. Gail was driving the tractor with the auger wagon, so Travis could unload the combine without stopping. Dennis was taking the corn to the elevator. Yesterday, they skipped the field work and put rafters on the house. They had quite a crew there. Dale and Becky, of course, plus Dad and Lynn, and Dennis and Travis. Mom came with lunch, and I stopped by to take some pictures. When I came back home this morning I found Perry Harrison here engraving our name on the big rock in our yard. I think it turned out pretty nice. We found the rock here on our place and moved it up to the yard, so I could mow around it. My original plan was to collect a whole bunch of rocks and make a waterfall, creek and pond in the yard. I've pretty much given up on that idea. Can't see it ever happening, but I still gather rocks whenever I can! You can see from the picture that this rock is split in half. It was that way when we found it in our creek.