activities

Living in Arizona
The move to Arizona was one that we had been discussing for some time; now that we are here we can admit that it was a good move. There are things that keep us busy all the time, mostly work related but some just for sheer joy. (…)

Greyhound Park in Tucson
Since there aren't any horse tracks around here we decided to go to the dog track last night. Actually, it was rather fun. When we first pulled up all we could think was that it was in pretty worn out shape, then walking inside we got the giggles (at least I did) because it reminded me of Puerto Rico, the smells, the design, the 3rd world environment, worn out but still functional. Interesting.
We commented on how some people we know would have a heart attack going into this type of environment and then thinking about his parents we knew they would be just as comfortable as we were. Think that comes from some of the traveling we have done because I can guarantee you that 15 years ago I would have been taken back, now, it really seemed kind of normal. (…)

Rotary in Tucson
What a delightful experience I had while visiting the "new" Rotary in the Vail area. The club was split off from Pantano a year and a half ago and is in the growth mode. The members are educators, insurance people, an escort officer for international visitors (not how he described it but that's essentially what he is) who works primarily with people from Eastern Europe (Russia) and others that I'm not sure of their occupations. I will go back next week, it seems to be a great bunch of people. (…)

Pops Concert on Capital Hill
What a delightful evening, the Prof's parents were here for dinner and then we all went to the capital for the concert on the hill. It's such a neat way to spend the 3rd. The symphony playing patriotic songs, a Broadway actor singing some of the songs from his run and then Simon Estes singing songs such as "Old Man River" and "You'll Never Walk Alone." Just a great way to spend the night, with over 125,000 other people! It was mobbed, but everyone was so courteous that it wasn't an issue.
We had to park a long way from the center; in fact we parked at the old Friends Church which was taken over by Mercy Hospital some time ago. What a beautiful building and now it’s just there with windows covered over with plywood and not a Friends Church left in Des Moines. Bummer. (…)

Congratulations to Shawn Johnson from Des Moines
What a thrill it must be for the family of Shawn Johnson, the 16 year old that has just won the Olympic trials to go to China. She is a very poised, pretty young lady, a tribute to herself, her family and her coach. The news has been covering her since we moved to DM so when I saw that trials were on TV today we watched (well, I did). She, and the other girls, were superb. (…)

Sale Over, We're Back in DM
Whew, the sale is over, the stuff is gone and we had a delightful dinner with friends after the sale. It's probably the last time we will ever go to "the Little Pink House" for dinner, but it was a delightful way to end a long and stressful day. Janet and Ernest are so fun to be with, she is, without a doubt, the most pleasant person I have ever met. She always make me chuckle, even when it doesn't seem possible and Ernest, with his white beard and shorts and suspenders just cracks me up! Janet kindly informed Martha that she has known me longer than anyone else in MP, which is true. I met her when I first went down to look for housing and stopped at the bank to ask if they knew of anyplace. She made me smile then and has never quit. (…)

Bogging for Friends and Family
Just look at the new site available for you to explore join 3gb community www.3gb.biz
This is a neat way to meet new friends, catch up with family members and see the latest pictures they want to share. The site is easy to navigate which makes it even better! Don't miss out on the opportunity to expand your reach beyond the normal email programs and addresses.
Enjoy the adventure!

The Quilt
Ok, so I have taken this weekend to get the quilt for IAYM put together. I thank Bobbi for her wisdom and help when she was home by laying out the quilt with me, determining how it should go together and then being wise enough to draw out a chart so all I had to do was tape it up on the wall in front of the sewing machine and put it together. Now, that sounds like it should have been easy, and putting the right pieces in order was, due to the chart, but oh my, the sizes varied so much (and they were supposed to be the same size, that was the instruction given out) so that there was a lot of trimming and in one case adding fabric to the piece to make it large enough. (…)

Charlie Wilson's War
We just returned from seeing the movie "Charlie Wilson's War". It was a good movie, Tom Hanks does a great job and does Julia Roberts. I would recommend that you get it on DVD when it comes out, some interesting history in it. (…)

Darn it, Schedule Changes Drive Me Nuts
Ok, so we had the schedule for the weekend all figured out, not a problem. Then last night we found out that the date that we had set for going to the races with our friend and his girlfriend is a day earlier than we planned. That means that Friday is in DM and it will be late when we get done so I told Greg that I am not going to make it to the board meeting at Camp Quaker Heights. Just can't see getting home at 2 and leaving again at 6. Not going to happen. So, if they get all kinds of mad, so be it. I'm only human….yes I am. (…)

Adventureland in Iowa
If you have a houseful of kids (regardless of the age of the kids) you may want to fill their day with a trip to Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa. Altoona is just a couple miles to the east of Des Moines so it is centrally located in the state of Iowa. (…)

Garage Sales
The house is getting full of items that you no longer need or use, what the heck do you do with all of it?? Well, you can have a garage sale and find someone that thinks the stuff you have is something they really want to add to THEIR collection of too much stuff to store! (…)

Pat Watson will discuss family, travel, business and educational issues .