Back in Iowa.....

I returned to the farm on Wednesday night, Oct. 25. Matt picked me up with my car at the airport and then we drove to his home. I drove in drizzle, cold and rush hour traffic through Omaha. It was quite a slap in the face weather-wise after being in Phoenix and 80+ weather for two weeks. When I leave to be granny nanny I will miss Mark much during the planting season but I will NOT miss Iowa weather. I know many people love Iowa weather, I just happen to not be one of them. :-) I did some shopping yesterday in Ames but other than that I have not been outside since I returned home. Sad....

The pictures show what Iowa looks like right now. Dead is the operative word. Dead flowers, dead tree leaves, dead corn and beans, deadly winds, dying grass. Other than that, it is really nice here. :-)

Catching up......

Since last posting......

Sharon and I hiked up Squaw Peak on Thursday morning. It was most definitely a HIKE! Going to the to top was a real challenge but very invigorating! We were both worried about the treacherous trek going back down but after that uphill battle, going down was a walk along the beach! The view from the top was worth every labored breath we took.

Friday I spent the day painting the guest bedroom while Andy and Megan were at work. That evening we went to a new sports bar in the neighborhood for dinner. That is one very nice thing I notice about being in the city....if you don't feel like cooking a restaurant is a stone's throw away as compared to driving 25-30 miles on the farm in Iowa.

Yesterday Andy's friend from work invited us all to tailgate with them and attend the ASU-Stanford game. The tailgating is quite different from a Hawkeye home game. Not very crowded! Of course, Stanford was 0-6 going in to this game and are now 0-7. I was sweating bullets sitting in the stands....another difference from an Iowa game. :-) We left at the end of the 3rd quarter to go to a sports bar that shows the Iowa games. That was another sad game for the Hawks. Of course, two of their losses are to the number one and number two teams in the nation so I must take that into account when assessing their season. Following that game's end we went to Oregano's for possibly the best bread and pizza I have ever had in my life.

Sunday brought on a walk with the dog and house cleaning. Now Megan and I are going to go to Babies R Us......I must buy "Buck" something at this store. Last night I bought a combo package of about four newborn outfits for him at Target. I am going to like being a grandma. :-) I didn't forget Sox, though, and bought her a package of rubber balls to chew on and toss around!

The pictures on the right are from the Squaw Peak hike, one showing Megan's law firm building to the right of the open-roofed Diamondback's stadium. The water is Tempe Lake right near ASU stadium.

A hike at Sharon's Terravita

Sunday Megan and I went for a hike with sister Sharon at Terravita. The first picture is a view from their home looking at Black Mountain. The house at the top is Goldie and Kurt's home. The second picture is the home of Michael Jordan's mother. The last two pics were from our hike and one of the golf course. It was another beautiful day to hike in AZ. Surprise!

The rest of this week I have been painting. I am making progress and should get most of it finished before I leave on the 25th. If not, I can finish in December when we return for Christmas. We will be here quite awhile when we do come, as we had to make reservations to depart for Phoenix early and the return late due to using frequent flier miles and blackout dates. I hope Andy doesn't get sick of us.....he might. :-(

This morning Sharon is picking me up at 8:30 and we are hiking Squaw Peak. It has been named something more politically correct now, but I cannot recall its new name and I happen to like "Sqauw Peak" so that is what I am going to call it! It is a pretty good climb so should get some much needed exercise today.

before pictures....

Megan and Andy are in the midst of having their backyard torn up to begin contruction of a swimming pool, grassy area for their future son and new trees, landscaping, etc. The area behind the wheel barrow will be the pool location. The area of the BB court and hot tub will all be grass, landscaping. It will be fun to see the new look when we come back in December.....if it is finished by then.

I took Sox for a jog this morning then kenneled her and have been painting since. Just taking a break..... :-) When you are retired it is required that you take several breaks during the day. Actually, not unlike when I worked.....

My travels...

I left home yesterday around 7:30 and drove to Omaha to meet Matt. He took me along for a home appraisal and I got to see what he does for a living. In my second life I want to come back as Matt.....the appraisal took around 30 minutes, he will go back and type it up (perhaps another 30 mintues) and voila, he made some money. Repeat, rinse and more money. I had a great time with him doing this and then we went to the airport for lunch and my early afternoon flight. He will keep my car for these two weeks and thus save me around $140 in parking fees. Thank you son!!

My flight was uneventful and actually arrived early for once. Sister Sharon picked me up at the airport as Megan and Andy were still at work. I met dog Sox for the very first time. She is MUCH bigger than I imagined and her hair is unbelievable....it is a beautiful red and lays in wave upon wave!! I am sure the mix of golden retriever and poodle showing up there. She was very excited to see two new people so Andy had to hold her for a bit. :-)

This morning I rode to work with Andy and Sharon picked me up there and we headed to Pinnacle Peak for a great hike. Up and down and quite vigorous. I have enclosed some pics from this morning's hike and also one of Sox. I am now going to start painting....the main thing I am supposed to be doing here. :-)

Perfect time to go to AZ!!!

I leave tomorrow for two weeks with Andy and Megan. It is supposed to be quite cold here tomorrow, in the 40's, so it will be awesome to go to Phoenix where it is upper 80's. Ahhhhhh!!!

I am going to help them with some painting projects they have left and after that I will play with their dog Sox, hike and golf with sister Sharon when time permits. Sounds like a great two weeks to me. :-) My first priority WILL be the painting, though, since that is why they are flying me out there. :-)

Mark finished harvesting beans last Sunday. It is always a good thing to get a crop out of the field. He had some problems with his old combine and had to spend quite a few bucks, but it is much cheaper than buying a big new rig! Hopefully he will start corn this week and have no break downs.....

Well, I am off to do some packing. Tanks and shorts are my top priority.......

Colors of fall in Iowa

Cyndy and I met at Honey Creek for 18 holes of golf today. It was another beauty, near 90, sunny and the course was awash in fall hues. The pics should give an idea of the beauty of the back nine at Honey Creek. I had a birdie, 2 pars and the rest were....a bit more than that. :-) Great day though. After golf we went to the local Mexican restaurant for lunch.

Mark is busy combining his beans. Our local elevator has been "condemned so it is awfully slow to haul the wagons to town and unload where they are hoping will work. A mess, quite frankly! Oh well, whatever it takes to get these crops out of these fields.