Dr. Evermore and his Forevertron

Meeting Tom Every was one of the highlights of our trip. Go to the site below to see amazing pictures and facts about his Forevertron. Beyond cool! His wife gifted us with a tip to go to PeeWee's Nest. It's really called Pewits nest. More about this later.
http://heart2art2heart.com/pages/theforevertron.html

Herman the German

Herman the German is a major landmark in New Ulm. Randy and I climbed to the top of the monument, 98 steps. The view is quiet stunning from the top. Herman is New Ulm's Empire State building. Every town should have such a lofty public place to view their world from.

How does an Albino Peacock impress their colorful friends?

Answer: Serve them Schell Beer!
I saw this albino peacock at the Schell brewery in New Ulm. While we were there we had fun times and great beer! Adrian ought to have it's own brewery! Go to Schell's web site to learn more. A local asked me if we have Applebees in Adrian (like maybe it was just a Minnesota thing), I said yes and asked if their Appelbees sold Schell beer and the man said,"Oh, Yes! If they didn't they'd be driven right out of town!"
http://www.schellsbrewery.com/home.php

Taking our Girl to College

We had a good time taking Kadie to Martin Luther College. We made an adventure of it! First we visited Aunt Marlene who took us out for dinner at JJ Twiggs. We ate the best pizza!!! If your ever in the Lake Zurich area it's definitely worth seeking out!
Wisconsin is all about the cows and cheese. Who can turn down chocolate cheese? Yum! Yum! Wisconsin loves their cows so much that they make cow cookies to honor them.
This time around we stopped at the Mississippi River. The Mississippi is a noble river and worthy of American honor. It's easy to see how Twain was enchanted by her to the point that he spent nearly his whole life devoted to thought about how the river runs and life on the Mississippi.

Look UP!

No amount of "interference" can diminish this truth.
Rainbow's are quiet, beautiful, and attention getting like God's voice.

Grandma's Girl

Arianna and me goofing around over blueberry pancakes. We are best buddies, mostly because she "gets" me. I think she is going to be an athlete, and I think she may learn to love quirky things like her grandma does. She already loves one quirky thing, me.

Kathy!

Last weekend Randy and I visited my friend Kathy who I have known since seventh or eight grade. She lives on a lovely lake. This was my first time meeting her new boyfriend and seeing her lovely home. I should have taken more pictures of the gorgeous place. I about pooped my pants when I saw her kitchen counter. I dream about having a counter made of recycled glass and concrete. Kathy's recycled glass counter included ammonites! Too Cool for School!
Take notice of the grooviest bear cubs carved from a tree trunk. What a beautiful place.
Bad note: We had a delicious vegetarian meal. However, I had my first food reaction. It is impossible for me to know what I am allergic to because there were many new things there (she invited a slew of friends and there was so much to eat). At first I didn't know what was happening to me, but my throat started getting tight. I took a Benadryl and all was well. Freaky!

Summer Snapshots

1. Kadie being a "Marshall" at St. Stephen's Son Run.
2. Pizza from Lena's Sicilian restaurant. Randy and I went to Lena's for a romantic Italian dinner for two (it could have fed five). I love that the sauce was served on top of the pizza.
3. Gwen's giant birthday bench before I painted it neon lime green.
4. The new gadget at the meals on wheels. No more collecting food trays, now the meals are served in degradable trays that are sealed with a plastic film.
5. My buddy Diane helped me serve meals one day. Diane and I used to play church softball together. She was a much better player than me. We never spend much time together anymore since we have been so busy raising kids. Meals on Wheels was mighty fun to do together. Afterwards, we had a fine relaxing picnic lunch at the park.

Bad News

J and Joel's apartment building was destroyed by fire on Friday August 1, 2008. We've been thanking God today that they weren't home when the fire broke out. Still, it is all very sad as Joel lost everything with the exception of a few small items. Joel has been working on a manuscript and he is so grateful he backed it up in several places, because his flash drives and his desk top were destroyed.
Although,J's side of the building went undamaged the remaining structured has been deemed inhabitable, thus both families have been displaced. The Red Cross set up a school for the tenants to stay in, fortunately J and Joel's good friend Derrick has offered to house them until they get on their feet. Lawsuits are already in the works as one of the tenants works for a law firm. Faulty wiring seems to have been the cause.
Several firefighters were injured in the fire and two of the residents.

To see a news article and a photo go to http://www.wnbc.com/news/17067890/detail.html

also

http://www.abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6301974

So we had a close call. Our hearts are only shaken, J and Hitomi's hearts have a bruise they'll recover from, and Jenny and Joel's have a hairline fracture that will heal with time. TLC and prayer are the recommended therapies for all to achieve a complete recovery; so please keep us in your hearts to speed up the process.

Bead People

Last year during our trip to Kimmy's we stopped at the Salvation Army and I bought a nearly complete bead doll kit. Then Melissa bought me a kit for my birthday. So I had two kits and not too much enthusiasm to make any dolls until yesterday.
Maripat and Rosbud came over and we intended on blueberry picking, but we showed up a day early (it's a good idea to call ahead). We decided to take a little side trip and check out the new bead store in Tecumseh. At the store are the cutest bead heads and knowing I didn't have enough heads I bought a couple. MP bought Rosebud the turquoise colored kitty head.
We got back to the house and made these funny little bodies. MP's is on the left, Rosebud's is in the middle, and mine is one the right attached to my phone! Funny stuff, aye?

A Little Light Seasoning on Life

Jeff grew a a beard and mustache and decided to shave off just the beard to see if he really resembles his dad. SCARY! Believe it or not Jeff has some of my DNA. I think I see it in his eyelashes.
In my hands are some Gnome earrings I made and gave Flora who is in the picture with Kadie. Flora returned to Brazil on Monday. It's fun to think that my art with be seen and worn in Brazil.
The bottom picture is of my art fair shirt. I love that Kadie said, "It's like art and science."

Bows

We have seen many rainbows right out of our front door over the years. The power lines are a source of frustration as they obstruct our view. Still, the lines teach us to develop strength in ignoring those things that might spoil a wonderful moment. However, it's important to see that the lines are there so when the opportunity arrives to enjoy an "uninterrupted" moment of wonder you are able to recognize, appreciate, and embrace the perfection of it.

THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY SUMMER!!!

YAY!!! My nephew Dave made the trip home, from California, to go to the family reunion!!! He looks WONDERFUL! We had the best time! I couldn't stop starring at him and got teary eyed more than once just seeing him. I was a having a "cup runneth over" moment.
The center picture is of a recent ramp ad he promoted in a skate magazine. YEP! He's a skater dude.
The bottom picture is of Dave and sisters Andrea (left) and Kristy. My heart is swollen with love and joy. The big regret is that my other nephews and my sons weren't there to see him.

Girls Get Away

The road and bridge we take to get to Kim's was washed away. I look at these images as metaphors for the summer. I feel like I am being detoured and needing to take a different path to where I want to go. Not that this is all bad, but there has been some degree of inconvenience.
Have you ever grilled with gasoline? Didn't hurt the flavor of the steak at all.
This was my favorite meal. Elizabeth made creamed corn with left over corn on the cob, we ate salad with avocado, grilled peppers with cheese, perfectly ripe musk melon, and washed it all down with mojitos. Yummm.
Feeling tipsy we went over to the neighbor's cottage. His renter makes these awesome, purses from canteen gourds. Cool!

Number Thirteen

Kadie's All Star Game was last week. Senior's from around the county participated in the event. KD scored 8 pts, and her team won the game! Alas, it was the last opportunity to see her in her Madison number 13 jersey. It was another bitter sweet moment.

July Days

Top picture is of Gwen's Horses displayed at the Ann Arbor Art Fair. First she made the head of wood, Styrofoam, plaster, and paint. Then she beaded the extraordinary masks.
The middle picture is of Sarah who moved so far away, but who came back for baby L's first birthday. Aren't they just radiant with love?
The bottom pic is of the annual trip to Kimmy's. MOJITOS!

COOOL

I have been busy making signs. I made signs for the ice cream booth at the fair called The Frosty Cow, and for the church's 5K Son Run. I had help will the Son Run signs, a few friends came and helped write Bible passages and Randy made professional braces so they could be propped up easily.

The Frosty Cow's ice cream is the best because it is full of fat.

The Son Run went well on 7/12, but the storm came ahead of schedule and the sky splilled out rain and it even hailed a little. Someone asked where the Bible verse about the flood was. Only one runner (my friend Ross) got dumped on pretty bad. Normally he would be one of the first ones in, but he was running with his kids who found the race a little much. Ross's children ended up hitching rides back to the church, but Ross wanted to finish out the race. Kadie and I had a good laugh over the whole thing. Ross was near the end so it was pointless to offer him a ride. In the end he said he enjoyed the dousing. I suppose he felt something cleansing.

On Wednesday I made a sponge cake with lime zest in the batter, homemade lime curd filling, and coconut seven minute frosting for Valorie's belated birthday celebration. Yummm I love it when the cake is cold!

A lovely surprise last week was the blossoming of two buds on my scented clematis vine. I love late-bloomers, I understand their motivation.

I got new glasses so I'm ready to read. I let you know what I tackle first.