Time for Keokuk's 2nd Annual Geode Fest!

Today between morning and afternoon bus runs, I was invited to go "scout" out one of the sites that will be used for the guided hunts during Geode Fest. What fun! I enjoyed it very much, and even brought home a few geodes! The leaves seem to be turning more colorful by the minute. It was a gorgeous day. After school, I went to Ft. Madison for a mandatory training session for bus drivers. Several from Central met at Vel's to eat prior to the class. I still have no harvest pictures. They've been working long days though, and things have been going quite well. Dennis just got home, and I expect he's very hungry! Better get that casserole out of the oven. Oh, that big black looking thing in the boat is the geode I brought home!

It's Harvest Time!

I have tried and tried to delete the double post, but can't seem to get rid of the extra one! So, I give up, and we'll just go on. Yesterday the guys got started shelling corn. They didn't really work yesterday, but they got everything in place and ready to go. Travis shelled just enough so that they could park the trucks off the road. They got an early start this morning, and hopefully things are going well. I've not had time to check on them or get a picture. Since they're busy with harvest, I'm the one that gets to do the rest of the work. Today I went to Hamilton to take care of backfilling a grave, and tomorrow I'll be back over in Illinois...same thing-different place. Between that and the bus route, they'd better just be exceedingly thankful for a meal...whether it's good or not! I'll try to get a picture added tomorrow....but right now, I better get to the kitchen and start preparing something edible!

Another Typical Saturday

As usual, Zach spent the night with us. This morning, Travis, Tyler and Dennis were all working on the big truck. Wyatt came over with Tyler and brought his bike. He was riding it all over the place and only crashed twice! Zach rode his bike too, as you can see him in the background. The dog is just trying to stay out of the way!
All the big guys were under the truck most of the time. I fixed chili and cornbread for lunch, for which they were very thankful. They're working on the semi that's used to haul grain, getting it ready to go. When I was out there to see how they were doing all I could see was legs sticking out from under the cab, and tools everywhere!
The little guys went to school to help me wash my bus. It's now the cleanest bus on the lot, and looks great. I'll be taking it to Mount Pleasant later this evening for a High School Band event. That's about all that's going on around here. We expect to be starting harvest very soon. Travis and Gail's house is coming along. They're ready to put rafters up next. Once that's done, it won't take long to get it all enclosed, which will be nice!

Something To Think About

The following story seems doubly appropriate since elections are just a few weeks away. Read it, and ponder!

While walking down the street one day a US
senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter
at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you
settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom
see a high official around these parts, you see, so
we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher
up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell
and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to
spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in
heaven," says the senator.

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules."

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the
elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The
doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a
green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse
and standing in front of it are all his friends and
other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They
run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce
about the good times they had while getting rich at
the expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on
lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very
friendly guy who has a good time dancing and
telling jokes. They are having such a good time that
before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves
while the elevator rises...

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens
on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it's time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group
of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud,
playing the harp and singing. They have a good time
and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone
by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another
in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers:
"Well, I would never have said it before, I mean
heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be
better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes
down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the
middle of a barren land covered with waste and
garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking
up the trash and putting it in black bags as more
trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around
his shoulder. "I don't understand," stammers the
senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf
course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar,
drank champagne, and danced and had a great time.
Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my
friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday
we were campaigning......

Today you voted."

Labor Day at Osage Beach

Well, we spent Labor Day weekend at Osage Beach. All summer long we'd hoped to get there to see the Main Street Opry, but for one reason and then another, we hadn't yet made the trip. So, we took Zach, and went for the holiday weekend! Even with the holiday, we didn't think traffic was too bad. We did the usual stuff: Miner Mike's, go-carting, bumper cars, bumper boats, a little shopping, some swimming and of course, the show. We had a really good time.

That's all I have time to write for now....it's 6:59 a.m. and Bobbie will be here in about one minute! We ride together to the bus garage!

Have a wonderful day!

Wednesday Night At the Track!

Well, they had a good turn out, and Dennis finished second, Tyler third. Not as good as they'd have liked, but not bad either! Dennis finished the point season as the Track Champion at Donnellson. These photos were "borrowed" from one of Dennis' favorite sites. www.heartlandmotorsports.com
We're planning a weekend trip to the Lake of the Ozarks! We're actually going! I can hardly believe it, but tomorrow morning, we'll be on the road! Have a happy and SAFE Labor Day weekend!

Saturday Helpers Work in the Rain

Well...I don't know exactly what happened to the arrangement I'd planned for the pictures, but at least they're on the page. It's another Saturday morning with the boys. Since it's raining, we're taking advantage of the "pre-soak" and getting the van all cleaned up. Both boys, of course, wanted a turn at scrubbing the bugs off. So far we have three quarters of an inch in the rain gauge. Dennis did win the Championship last night at Donnellson. Don't know what else we might do with this rainy morning.

Back to School MUJIBAR!!!

School is back in full swing. Yesterday started off with a few small bumps, but not bad for the first day back. I can't truly say I'd been looking forward to returning to work, but I will admit that it's nice to be back to a more structured lifestyle. We have new busses coming, and I will be driving one of them, but until then I'm using old #16. Bobbie and I are on pretty much the same schedule, so we're riding together. She takes her route to Donnellson, and I go to Montrose. The picture you see was taken at our welcome back to school cook-out. The little gal in the black shirt is our boss. The three guys across the table from her are three of our co-workers.

Dennis will be racing at Donnellson again on Friday night, and if I'm not mistaken, it's the last "points" race. If he finishes, he should be the 2006 Track Champion in his class. They're also having a "powder-puff" event, and he's offered to let me drive his car. I'm considering it, but most likely will decline. There are still quite a few races to go even though the regular season is over and I'd feel really bad if I crashed it up. I know he'll be racing again at Donnellson on August 30 and Shiverfest in October, plus several other special events. Here he is, painting his new safety cage, getting ready for Friday's race.

The following story is one to which I can certainly relate! Sadly, the humor of it is that it's so true!

MUJIBAR!!!

Mujibar was trying to get a job in India .

The Personnel Manager said, "Mujibar, you have passed all the tests,
except one. Unless you pass it you cannot qualify for this job."

Mujibar said, "I am ready"

The manager said, "Make a sentence using the words
Yellow, Pink and Green."

Mujibar thought for a few minutes and said, "Mister manager, I am
ready"

The manager said, "Go ahead."

Mujibar said, "The telephone goes green, green, and I pink it up, and
say, 'Yellow, this is Mujibar.'"

Mujibar now works as a technician at a call center for computer
problems.

No doubt you have spoken to him. I have.

Saturday Morning and All Is Quiet......

Woke up this morning to dense fog! We have the two little guys for the weekend, so I'm being very quiet. Let them sleep as long as possible! Actually, Zach got up about twenty minutes ago, and is already out riding his motorcycle, but Wyatt is still sleeping.
Races were rained out last night, so Dennis was home all evening to help entertain the boys. We had pizza, ice cream and then a movie. I asked Zach how much ice cream he wanted, and he said, "too much"! Ha! When he was just a little toddler, Travis was sharing some M&M's with him. Travis asked him, "how much do you want?" and Zach said "too much". Travis and Dennis thought that was so funny, and of course Zach had no idea why they were laughing. Anyway, after too much ice cream, we watched Return to Snowy River. Zach had seen the first Snowy River movie just about a week ago. Wyatt was not as interested in the movie, except for the parts when the horses were running fast, so he played with the toys while we watched.
This is the last weekend before school resumes. I can't believe summer passed so quickly! We'll be back on the bus bright and early Wednesday morning. I'm trying to get used to the idea, and truthfully not dreading it like a was a couple weeks ago. Bobbie and I plan to ride together, and who knows what we might do between our morning and afternoon routes. You can bet that whatever we do, wherever we go, we'll have a good time...after all, it's our motto.
I'm going to take advantage of the peace and quiet while Wyatt is sleeping and Zach is out riding his motorcycle. I'm thinking of a great cup of coffee and the newspaper. All too soon, we'll be racing through the activities of a day with the grandkids. They have big plans....we have to go to the Moo Moo Cafe for ice cream treats, ride motorcycles...(for hours), go shopping for a brush for Timmy (their dog), play cars, and a host of other things they think we must do while they're here.
Just moments ago, Wyatt woke up, came downstairs and said he wanted to ride the four-wheeler. He says he saw them out the window. So, within 5 minutes of getting up, he's also out riding with Zach and Dennis! Time for that coffee!!!! Who knows how long this will last.
Have a great weekend!

Knocked Out by Another Storm!

Yes, indeed. We are again having problems after the thunderstorms. When it works, it's great, but at the moment, I'm waiting on the phone for the next available representative for tech support. The expected hold time is between 5 and 15 minutes. Of course, I can try later during their less busy hours, but I'm not sure when that would be. Since the last time each wait was between 15 and 30 minutes, I'd say my chances are better right now!
Zach spent the day here, and since it was raining all morning, we went to the library and checked out some movies. We watched Man From Snowy River. After that, we made no bake cookies and then rode motorcycles after lunch. Tyler stopped to get him and the motorcycle after work.
Not much else going on here. Next week I'll be back to work. I'm still holding, so will continue to mess with the computer. I'm thinking of it works alright I'll just hang up on these people. Here are some really great photographs. I didn't take these pictures, but whoever did really got some great shots.