Archive for May, 2005
May 31, 2005 – Man About Town
Yesterday I was interviewed on the streets by a TV station about the Holiday weekend. Members of our group were quite surprised to see me on the news at 6, 10 and the next day as well.
Last night was the conference banquet and the band that was playing was “graced” by Lou Diamond Phillips, who ...Read more.
May 30, 2005 – Luckenbach, Texas
Today Linda’s at the conference, so it was off to Luckenbach, TX. I was surprised that it is not really a town. It looks like a set from on old western town, with only an old open air dance hall, general store with the emphasis on “rustic.” It is more like someone’s run-down ranch/summer camp, ...Read more.
May 30, 2005 – Memorial Day/Logan Cemetery
There’s a township cemetery about 2 miles down our gravel road. It’s on a rise and you can see the trees on our farm from there.
There are some old graves, some unreadable with many from the 1800’s.
There’s an old house to keep people warm in the winter.
The house remains unlocked (one of the country ...Read more.
May 29, 2005 – Club 311
Yesterday afternoon we walked in Zilker Park and then met comrades for a Cajun dinner. Jackie has a “Don’t mess with Iowa Either” T-shirt to complement Barbara’s “Don’t mess with Texas” shirt. After dinner we roamed around a bit and settled into a club that had a band that played R&B standards. It was a ...Read more.
May 28, 2005 – State Troopers
We have arrived in Austin with only minor difficulty. I am now in the state of Iowa court system. On the drive to the airport in Des Moines, we were pulled over by a state trooper. No, I wasn’t speeding – the front windows of Snowball (who just turned 200,000 miles) are tinted, ...Read more.
May 28, 2005 – Keeping Austin Weird
We’re off to Austin, Texas (that’s pronounced Ahh-sten, Tex-is) for a few days. Linda is speaking at a conference themed “A Whole New Rodeo: International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence.”
As for me, I think I’ll be roaming the streets of Austin, but that’s ok since there’s a strong sentiment to Keep Austin Weird. One ...Read more.
May 27, 2005 – Graduation
Today was Emma’s graduation from elementary school. Next year she will be in middle school (5th grade in her district). Claire played pomp and circumstance for the ceremony. Here’s Emma with her class and diploma!
May 26, 2005 – 200,000
It has been a tradition of sorts to name all of our vehicles. When the kids were younger, the names were simple, like “Golden Car” for the gold Taurus. Our current fleet includes Snowball, a 1994 Geo Prizm.
Our minivan, a larger white version of Snowball is called Blizzard. The truck is called ...Read more.
May 25, 2005 – Playground
This is one of those well-meaning projects that drags on and on. Last year we thought it would be great to get Martin a playground with a swing, slide, tower, and monkey bars. So last June 30, he got the playground in a box – a stretch for a 2 year old to ...Read more.
May 24, 2005 – #2ey Day
After I got home from work, it turned into a #2 day for Claire and Emma. First, Blue found a fresh cow pie to his liking and was pretty much covered on one side of his body. His patches of white were greasy grey-brown. Since Emma is the lead caretaker, she had ...Read more.
May 23, 2005 – Lofty!
Today Lofty came to the farm. To those without a youngster in the house, Bob the Builder is a toddler construction hero supreme who has a wholesome motto of “Can we fix it, yes we can! Lofty is a crane, there is also Dizzy the cement mixer, Muck the bulldozer, Scoop, the bucket, and ...Read more.
May 22, 2005 – Wonderful Quilt Keepsake!
Claire is guest blogging (again).
Today we all went out to eat with Molly and her daughter, Erin, after church. Molly gave me a quilt that she made for me as a Coming of Age present. It’s a beautiful quilt that has a lot of meaning to me. She also typed up what it symbolizes. I ...Read more.
May 21, 2005 – Ruby Skipper
Claire is guest blogging.
Tonight we had the final ceremony for Coming of Age(COA). I learned a lot through this experience. Every participant chose a mentor. My mentor was Molly. She was a great mentor to me. We had three retreats and monthly forums. I learned a lot about myself ...Read more.
May 20, 2005 – Dog Agility
Emma has been taking Blue, our Australian Shepherd, to dog obedience classes and today got the dog jump apparatus out for the first time. It was a bit of a milestone since it was the first time she has used the equipment since Frankie, our Shetland Collie died unexpectedly. She started Blue jumping over the ...Read more.
