Monthly Archives: October 2014

10.28.14
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October has been good other than the political commercials….

I may have mentioned this before, but when we moved to Missouri, Dish TV failed to switch us over to local TV stations..so for the last 8 months, we have been continuing to watch Des Moines local channels.  I have no problem with this other than my oldest daughter lamenting on the fact that I don’t know what is going on in the area and I’m sure she fears I will be the victim of (insert catastrophe) because I’m unaware.  PFFT.  He would like to have Kansas City news too because he wants to know about the weather.  My thought process includes the belief that he gets his weather from a million different sources on the internet and would not be as bright if he watched Dapper Dan radiating personality in front of a green screen.  I usually know what is going on with the friends we have made in the area; but, it isn’t as easy to keep up with friends from back in Iowa.  Plus I long to hear the news about someone I have dealt with in my 30 years of dispatching that is finally getting their due…plus…how would I watch Kevin Cooney from KCCI continue to stammer over the news giving me my nightly reason for little noises of disgust.  But the political commercials….OMG make it stop…..I’m not willing, yet, to find out if the local politicians here are as angry, nasty and hateful as I already know they are in Iowa!

Kate and Adam were down last weekend.  He brought me my new MAC computer and set it up for me…ahem…us.   I’m now 100% apple and after 2 days, I realize Kate was right about the ease of having apple products all in sync!!!  We all got together Saturday night…Kate, Adam and Jenny to giggle on one couch and Phil, Justin and I to cuss about the beating the Royals were taking by the Giants in the World Series.

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We walked over to the Mexican Restaurant for dinner…Jax got a lot of attention from Aunty Katy and Adam.

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Justin and Jenny were going to the Chief’s Game on Sunday so we kept Jax overnight…first time he has been away from Daddy and Mama overnight.

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Until next time….

10.14.14
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Yesterday was a miserable wet day…

NWS is saying we got 1 to 3 inches in the area. Finally the pond is high enough to send some water under the bridge.

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It looks very nice bank full

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Btw…does anyone want Osage orange/hedge balls? I have access to them….

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Trying to figure out how I can craft with them…I found they are worthless for keeping crickets away because I’ve watched crickets crawl all over them…boo!

He and I ran some errands in Lee’s Summit today. I came home with indoor and outdoor plants so that is what I’ve been doing this afternoon…repotting and putting hostas, daffodils and iris in the ground.

That’s it for today…now patiently waiting for a Royals/Orioles game. what a perfect year to be able to say I live in Kansas City!

Until next time…..

10.03.14
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Friday with Franny

Franny and I decided to venture out in the cold breezy outdoors for a walk this afternoon. I wore a t shirt, Dog the Bounty Hunter sweatshirt and a quilted vest. franny wore a fur coat.

Osage orange trees are dumping their fruit in our back yard and all along the trail. I can’t believe how big they grow them in Missouri. The Fruit on the Osage orange trees behind our house in Iowa were about half the size.

we were also ducking walnuts. I didn’t pay any attention to how many walnut trees there were until today.

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We got enough rain yesterday that the pond is getting close to the over flow and the usually dry streams have water. the pond is very rough today from the wind and the geese are huddling. I through in a picture of Frannie in her outfit.

until next time…..

10.02.14
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Rome

While you have probably figured out that I loved Venice….my second favorite place is Rome. The sound, the hustle and bustle, the smells…we did most of Rome on foot which I think is the only way to see it. The second time in the Eternal City was as exciting for me as the first….but I think I loved it even more.

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These pictures were take after the climb up the steps of The Altare della Patria also known as the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II or “Il Vittoriano” is a controversial monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy, located in Rome, Italy. Wikipedia.

From the very top, we viewed the Colosseum, the Forum and the Pantheon along with just a wonderful view that gave me chills.

II Vittoriano is the home of Italy’s tomb of the unknown soldier guarded 24/7

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The mustache on the rider is 5 feet across and it is said that 22 soldiers dined in the horses belly when the monument was completed

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Random pictures of the colosseum:

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And the Pantheon:

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And just the people and life in Rome:

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our room…I loved opening the shutters and hanging out the bathroom window in the morning and at night…just listening to the city waking up and going to sleep.

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10.02.14
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Rain, clouds, sun….

When I went into the shower this morning, it was raining….a nice gentle rain…when I came out of the shower the sun was poking thru the clouds…I have always appreciated this act of Mother Nature because it always reminded me of appreciating the good times after you have weathered the bad times.

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Then my very next thought was (don’t hate me because I’m retired) that every day of retirement is like summer. I no longer look at the forecast and have angst because it s going to rain or snow or storm on my days off…if the weather doesn’t meet my particular needs, I can change what I’m going to do that day. Every day of retirement, I appreciate something new that I had not realized would be a perk.

Don’t hate me because I’m retired just trust me that when it comes, it will be worth all of the agony of the daily grind that you are calling life right now.

Until next time…..

10.01.14
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Airplanes….I love airplanes….

One of the things that he and I have in common is our love and fascination with airplanes. Perhaps you don’t know, but he attended Indian Hills in Ottumwa for airplane mechanics and he actually left me while we were dating for a job in Louisiana to work on helicopters for PHI.

Before 9/11 and TSA, we used to stop at airports and watch planes take off…we used to sit at the blue lights at the Des Moines airport near the runway…everyone else was making out…we were watching planes take off and land. one visit to Chicago, we found an abandoned parking lot near the O’hare airport and watched them take off. We opened the sunroof and took pictures…

While waiting for our plane in Rome…we had an awesome view…it was very exciting to see planes from different countries and different airlines than I’ve seen before…here are some pics.

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