National Quartet Convention!!!

As I am typing this post, I'm listening to the National Quartet Convention live via computer! And it's great! You can too, just go to www.solidgospel.com and click on listen live. If you don't have high speed, it probably won't work for you. But as much as I enjoy listening, it's going to be even greater still BEING there! And I am going! I'll be leaving Friday very early morning, and planning to enjoy an entire weekend of great music! I'm so excited about this trip. I've wanted to attend NQC for years, but just never made the arrangements. This year I started planning my trip way back in January, and I'm thinking it might become an annual event for me. I will certainly have stories and pictures to post when I get back! This year is the 50th year of NQC!

In Case You've Not Noticed

The Rag-Weed is in full bloom! Those who have allergic reactions to ragweed have no doubt noticed! In spite of the fact that Dennis is allergic to it, I still think it's a beautiful weed.
The woolly worms are running about 80% very dark. And, I have also been noticing that they are mostly moving from west to east. Now, what does this mean? Absolutely nothing! I just wanted to beat Heidi in posting that observation! Ha! Of course, it just might mean that winter is coming, the heating bills will be higher, and spring won't get her until March 21, 2008. I had planned to stop and get a photo of one of those woolly wigglers, but I'm afraid I squashed him with my big yellow bus tires. If I find one willing to pose for a picture, I'll certainly add it to this post.


WELL....HERE is the promised photo...such as it is:

Happy Birthday Dennis! And Lynn Too!

Yes! Today is a big one for Dennis! He'll never be 50 anything again. The year we were married, Dennis turned 24 and Lynn turned 12 on the same day. That was the one and only time Dennis would ever be twice as old as my brother. So happy birthday to both Dennis, and Lynn!
Well, we had a wonderful (but short) weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks. We arrived on Friday night well after dark.
Glen and Suzy welcomed us into their home and we so enjoyed their hospitality! After a "tour" of their gorgeous home, they took us boating on the lake. It was fabulous. Actually the word most accurately describing the whole experience....fabulous!
We stayed up way late Friday, sitting on the lakeside deck just visiting and enjoying the cool night, the moonlight, and stars. Saturday morning we watched the sun rise from the middle deck. The steam was rising from the water. It was beautiful. Saturday morning we rode Sea-Doos and played in the water for a while. Then we met Katie and Michelle with Jade and Lane at Tupelo Honey's for brunch. Mmmm! Delicious! After eating, we went to see the other properties and went for a pontoon boat ride. I can't tell everything, so will try to let my pictures do the talking. I have never figured out how to add these pictures in a particular order so, here they are....however they load up is the way they'll be! As I said before, it was a great time, and Suzy and Glen, if you're reading this...Thanks SO MUCH for having us!

Sum Ting Wong!

Yes, indeed! Certainly there is something wrong. I have tried several times to load the video mentioned in the previous post, and each time it uploads but an error occurs, so I am giving up on that one.
The first week of school has gone well. Tomorrow all the little Kindergarten and Pre-School age kids will begin, which means that if they all ride the bus, I will have seven little ones getting on for their first bus ride to school.
Other than that, not much to post.
Not sure yet what our Labor Day weekend plans are.
Dennis is thinking it might include baling some hay. I prefer a trip to the Lake of the Ozarks...LOL! Monday will be his 60th birthday! Woo Hooooo!
That's it for this evening!

Because You Asked!!!

Here it is! Most of you who read our blog have seen this at some point, however, Brandon is a new reader, so Brandon....this picture is for you! Also, at the risk of boring you all to tears and having you never look at our blog again, I'm going to add a video clip of a race between Tyler and Dennis in Memphis on Dennis' 58th birthday. The picture isn't really great...sometimes blurry, but the announcer is entertaining. Speaking of Dennis, and birthdays...he will be having another one on September 3.
School is back in session, and I've been transporting a bus full of students since Wednesday. Things have gone quite well, so far. The Kindergarten classes will start next week, so we'll have about six new passengers then. This week is Watermelon Festival in Montrose, and several (actually five) of the Watermelon Princess candidates ride my bus. Last year's Princess was April Burgess, and this year Miranda Rulon was crowned Princess. Both girls ride my bus.
Wyatt is on his way over to visit while his Mommy does some errands in town.
Dennis is on his way back from Green Bay, Wisconsin. He and some buddies went to Lambeau Field for a Packers game. I'm sure they've had a great time, and just spoke with him on the phone. He says he will be home around 4 PM this afternoon.
Guess that's it for today, except to say that we have 2.5 inches of rain since yesterday...so far!
Well....obviously, the video clip didn't make it. It downloaded, but some sort of error occurred, and I don't have time to fix it now. If I can figure it out, I will add it later.

Another Family Reunion!

This time it was the Miller Reunion.
It was a good time, and well attended. What fun to visit with some of the cousins that we'd not seen in way too many years! And it's always fun to see the faithful ones who are there every year too! When we counted heads to see how many were present, we had 69, but there were several late arrivals and we never did count again. I'm thinking that there may have been around eighty.

Autumn Is Just Around the Corner!

Yes, as hard as it is to realize, summer is nearly over and fall colors are already appearing just a little here and there in the landscape! The tree that provides afternoon shade for our house is yellowing and has lots of leaves falling already! That's why I decided to change the look of our blog to the autumn leaves. However, I still plan to enjoy the last remaining days of summer!
Last evening, we enjoyed a very fine meal at the Nauvoo Hotel with about 55 other "Schulte" family members. Not all of the names present were Schultes, but everyone there was of the Schulte family, and we had a really nice time. Dennis enjoyed visiting with cousins he'd not seen in quite a while, which was really fun for him. Zach and Wyatt came here to spend the night with us afterward, so on our way through Keokuk, we stopped in to hear some "blues music" at the Rollin' On the River Festival. We caught them between sets, so had to wait about 20 minutes for the next group to set up, and since it was so late we stayed only long enough to hear two songs, but it was enough to let the boys hear how "blues" music sounds. We learned that Zach doesn't like to hear cymbals. He says, "I hate the sound of cymbals, it sounds like scratching a chalkboard". Seems a funny thing to say, especially from him. He enjoys most forms of music, but now we know....NO cymbals!
Here are some of the pictures from our reunion.

Better Later Than Not At All!

When I typed that title, I was actually thinking that it's better to post news late than not at all, but in this case, it might also be a fitting description of our news. To make a fairly short story even shorter, earlier this week we received a phone call from Brandon saying that he and his family were in town, and would like to come out and visit a little. Wow! What a nice surprise! We did get together on Tuesday afternoon. Dennis and I had not seen Brandon in maybe 16 years! Brandon was a very close friend of Travis' when they were teens, and Brandon spent considerable time at our house back then. We got to meet Brandon's wife, Shellie, and their eight month old twin daughters, Annie and Izzie! Wouldn't you have thought that I would have had my camera out and taking pictures? I guess just the excitement of company addled my brains. Thankfully, Brandon and Shellie had a camera and allowed me to take a couple pictures with it! So, here are the pictures. The four adults are Gail and Travis with Brandon and Shellie. The other one really needs no explanation, except to say that Izzie is on the left, in front of her Daddy, and Annie is at right, in front of her Mommy. The girls are adorable!

Skies Seem to Be Clouding Up This Afternoon!

So, it's unlikely that we'll get to observe the best night of the meteor showers here. It might clear off again, but according to the weather channel, we have a chance of thunderstorms late tonight. We'd planned on watching meteor showers, away from the bat!
Last night, around 1:30 AM, I went out on our east side deck to watch for the meteor showers, and a bat kept swooping right in front of my face. Over and over he just kept flying at me, so close I felt his wings touch my face! Well...that was enough to send me back to bed! I like bats, but this thing just would not leave me alone, so I started thinking: "I wonder if this bat might be rabid" Then I started getting nervous about his swooping at me, so I gave up and went in. We had planned to go farther out tonight, and sit in the back of the truck to watch, but I don't think we'll see anything since the clouds are rolling in.
Not much else has been going on around here worth telling. Dennis raced again last night at Memphis, and won. Bobbie, Mom and I went to the Dutchman Store Thursday and I bought some peaches. They're delicious! I've put a lot of them in the freezer, and still have a few to eat fresh.
Since there's not much to write, and I have no new pictures to put on here, I'm going to put in a list of some "Amazingly Simple Home Remedies". Thanks to Heidi for sharing them with me! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Amazingly Simple Home Remedies

1. If you are choking on an ice cube, don't panic. Simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat and presto, the blockage will be almost instantly removed.

2. Clumsy? Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

3. You can avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat just by using the sink.

4. For high blood pressure sufferers: Simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use an egg timer.

5. A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives. Then you will be afraid to cough.

7. Have a bad toothache? Smash your thumb with a hammer and you will forget all about the tooth ache.

8. Sometimes, we just need to remember what the rules of life really are: In life, you only need two tools - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move but should, use the WD-40. If it should not move and does, use the duct tape.

9. Remember: Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

10. Never pass up an opportunity to go to the bathroom.

For Lack of Anything More Interesting....

It's been a while since my last post, but not much going on worth posting. Monday we (Mom, Bobbie and me) went to Milan to see Valerie and Shane's new home. It's a really, really nice place! Very nice house, nice big yard, perfect location...almost rural, and just minutes from her work and some nice shopping and eating places. We've decided that we'll be doing our shopping trips to Milan instead of Coralville from now on.
Dennis raced at Memphis for the first time this season. It was the Ed Sheckler Memorial event, and Dennis won his feature. I didn't go, but "borrowed" a picture from this website. www.heartlandmotorsports.com
The picture is Dennis with Ed's widow, Chris. He's planning to be there again this weekend, and if he goes, I might go this time.
That's about all there is to tell for this post. School resumes August 22, and I wouldn't mind putting that off for another month!