Suger and Spice and Everything Nice

What flavor was your week? Was it smooth and cool and simply delicious? Or a little dry and stale, burnt popcorn in the microwave type week? If it was anything like mine, it was probably a little of both. (Check our Dene's flavor of the week.)We went to Dubuque last weekend and had a wonderful time...then said goodbye to Dene' and Tyler until when...? What is "good" about saying "goodbye"? Not much. But they are off on an adventure that they are excited about and I believe it is where God is leading them. That's a good thing.

We video chat with Mom and Dad  almost every Saturday morning. They have coffee and yummy things with any family members that drop by and Cindy and I get to be a small part of that via the computer technology age. That is a blessing...and we feel like we are there. Almost.

We get to see our grand boys via video chat too...Michael likes to watch himself in the video screen chewing on almonds...it's pretty hilarious. The video chats help us to stay connected from a distance.

Pope Francis said "If a person's prayer life is boring, that generally means that he or she is focused too much on the self and not enough on Jesus and the needs of others." Oh...that's me.

 I am very thankful for all our family and their well being. We feel far away at times...probably because we are...but that's what is.

 

Thanks for letting me wine a little.

           

May your week be sugar and spice and everything nice...with a very little burnt popcorn.

Come Sail Away

If you said 'Styx' for the song-group in the title...you may give yourself a point...but that's another blog.

Dene' and Tyler have left the "Port of Dubuque" and are heading to Belmont, NC via Montgomery, AL and summer training in Ave Maria, FL. That's a lot of sailing.  But before they left Cindy and I spent the weekend in Dubuque doing some of our favorite things...spending time with our kids and eating angry noodles!

We went to Galena, a little town in Illinois that has some wonderful shops including one with 100 varieties of popcorn of which we always partake, and a canning shop which offers wonderful samples. We took Fannie to the river walk AND (drum roll please) went downtown to a restaurant called "The Crust". When our waiter came and asked us if we were ready to order, I told him I was ready two weeks ago and had come from Lincoln, Nebraska for the angry noodles. He wasn't sure what  to say but took our order anyway. Angry noodles are hot and spicy and delicious. It is worth the drive to Dubuque :) Cindy and Dene' had something called "Thai one on" which was a spicy pizza with a peanut-ginger sauce. Tyler...like the wonderful son-in-law he is...had angry noodles, too.



Galena...I stole this pic from a previous bog of Dene's.



Fannie says lets get walking.



Dubuque was still in bloom and very pretty.



River walk.



"The Crust"...ya!



Angry noodles.

We left Dubuque Sunday around 1:30pm and dodged severe weather all the way back to Lincoln. Just west of Des Moines on I-80 we hit a downpour with some hail and missed a tornado by 40 miles which crossed the interstate behind us. We thank our Lord for safe travels and pray for all those affected by the storms these last few days.

Dene' and Tyler left this morning (Monday) for a long journey to Montgomery.  Cleaned their apartment, locked the keys inside and walked away.

We look forward to our next adventure down to North Carolina. I just hope they have angry noodles there.

(See Dene's goodbye to Dubuque.) 

Nature

I wanted to blog about playing with nature...but the longer I thought about it we don't really play with nature...nature plays with us. We might be in nature (check out Dene', Tyler and Frannie), watch nature, hide, run from, complain about, pray for, be in awe of, taste, feel, hear and just let nature be nature...but do we play with nature? I think nature not only plays with us but enjoys messing  with us.

There is this tree at the end of our block that I believe is the prettiest tree in Lincoln. We get to see it go from dormant, to bud, blossom, to peak and finally green up. It is incredible.

The tree

Lovely

 I do have a neighbor who has a yard with grass like a golf course...just beautiful. I did catch one dandelion growing in the yard so took a picture.

The one and only

 

 This spring has turned out to be great for the blooms in the trees. Good moisture and cool weather.

Two blocks down Vine street

I took this pic in  park by my office.

 Each spring I get to 'work in nature'...kind of participate and help nature along.

Lots of mulch

Flowers ready to be planted

Daises

Fuchsia

On our deck

More nature

If there is any game I play with nature it is picking up sticks. A simple game really...I pick up sticks...and more sticks and more sticks before I mow. I think it's my tree's favorite game to play with me...it doesn't seem to get tired of dropping the branches and watching me pick them up.

Fun game



After I mow, the tree is still playing games...I think it's just messing with me now.

 

Check out Cindy's blog on playing in history next.

Who thinks the Bill of Rights is a pretty darned good thing?!

A business trip took me to Philadelphia last week where I was able to play in history.  Although, flying there might fall under playing with nature.

I arrived Sunday late afternoon, in time to scout out the area for how I wanted to spend Monday morning, before the meeting started in the afternoon.

My hotel was within easy walking distance of several old, beautiful Catholic churches and Independence Hall.

The oldest Catholic Church in Philadelphia, founded by Jesuits.

Thanks to music practice I was able to go in.



I was hoping to be able to go to daily Mass here on Monday. The Mass time didn't fit my schedule, but I was able to go to Mass in the chapel at St. Mary's Convent at 7:30 am, which was a perfect start to my day.

After Mass I found a bagel shop at the corner of 5th and Walnut, where I studied my map and fine tuned my plans.  I picked up (free) tickets to tour Independence Hall at 11:30, then headed to the Constitution Center.  Anyone who knows me knows I am seldom early.  I had a good half hour before it opened, so visited the Liberty Bell.  I hadn't planned to stand in line to go through security to see the Liberty Bell.  I expected it looked like its picture.  The line was short and I had the time, so I did.

Liberty Bell with Independence Hall in the background.
(My cell phone doesn't do well with light/dark contrasts.)

At the Constitution Center I watched a program that was a combination of oratory presentation and an audio visual show, presenting what lead up to and the writing of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  After the show, I, and several school groups, walked through the Constitution Center museum.  I got to vote for my favorite president (George W. Bush). 

I toured Independence Hall and a small building next to it that housed the House and Senate for the 10 years that the federal government resided in Philadelphia.  That was cool - getting to see where John Adams was inaugurated as the second president.

The picture above is the room in Independence Hall where the Articles of Confederation, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed.  Most is a replication, but the chair at the head table is the chair in which George Washington sat as he presided at these meetings.

You learn this stuff in grade school, so it's familiar, but I really appreciated the opportunity to be reminded of where our country started and the price that many have paid (and continue to pay) for the freedom we have .  (Hence, the movie quote from "Field of Dreams" that titles my blog.)

I also saw Ben Franklin's grave, the house Thomas Jefferson rented and in which he drafted the Declaration of Independence, Christ Church (Episcopal), and the house in which Dolley Payne Todd  lived before she married James Madison.

As often seems to happen when I travel for work, I was there over a Catholic Holy Day - Ascension Thursday.  I was able to go to Mass at 7 pm Wednesday at Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

Holy Trinity Catholic Church - the second oldest Catholic Church in Philadelphia.

 

Before we left for the airport on Thursday, we had time to tour the Philadelphia Mint. 

 

What I did learn, while playing in history, that I didn't know before, or had forgotten?

John Adams was our second president (pathetic, I know).

Our Navy was started in order to protect merchant ships from pirates.

The War for Independence was supported by France and Spain, and financed by the Netherlands.

The federal government was located in Philadelphia for 10 years (1780 - 1790, I think).

The Liberty Bell's name has nothing to do with the War of Independence but with the Abolition movement and women's rights.

Not all colonies supported religious freedom.  William Penn, in Pennsylvania, adamantly did.

If there is a letter on a coin, it identifies in which Mint the coin was made.



 

How to Build a Tree House

   First close your eyes...take 5 deep breathes and let them out slowly...now picture a place that is peaceful and enjoyable...a place that has wonderful memories. This is a tree house. Cindy has learned a number of relaxation techniques and one she has named a 'tree house'. Taking yourself to a place you have been (or a place only in your imagination) where you are at peace. This works especially well at night when you are trying to go to sleep after a stressful day. We have a number of tree houses and will ask each other at night "are your in your tree house? Where is it...describe it to me." It works...try it!


This pic is over our bed reminding us of tree house memories.



Mom painted this...I like to go fishing here in my dreams.



Another painting of Mom's...this is my dream house.



A favorite tree house is Harney Peak in SD!




What a view.

Cindy in her tree house




Dubuque...Dene' and Tyler's place is definitely a tree house.

We had the privilege of staying at Barb and Jeff's (Tyler's parents) condo in Naples for a tree house experience. Yea!

 

Tree House!

Tree House!

 

So go to your tree house...it's the place to be!

 

See Dene's tree house here.

 

See Ashley's tree houses here.

 

 

 

Something I learned this week

I wanted to write Mike's blog on this week's topic, but he insisted on doing it himself, so I wrote my own.

Part I by Mike:

I like to think of myself of being a patient person...and a great golfer. Neither one of these things are completely true. First of all, I don't golf, except on my I-pad and I'm getting better on that. When it comes to things that need to be repaired I have very little patience to let things work themselves out. Maybe because I am a paid professional when it comes to repairing copiers but that doesn't translate to all home repair projects. We had some water come through the ceiling in our spare room down stairs last week after 2 1/2 inches of rain in a couple of days. My first thought was to cut out  a chunk of the ceiling to see where the water was coming in from then start tearing into our deck we just had installed last summer and fix the dang problem (sorry for the strong language...just breath). A little common sense took over and I called another paid professional to come over and give me a second opinion. He showed up today and I found out that cutting into the ceiling and tearing up the deck is not the best option. So I learned that patience may not be easy to come by but it can save you from a bigger headache later.  Now do I have to be patience with the squirrels too?

 



The very rare and elusive Eastern screech Squirrel.

After much patience with 2 weeks of cool, spring weather, our tulip tree bloomed.

Part II by Cindy:

Things you don't like to hear your dentist say......

Tuesday morning I went to the dentist expecting a quick, routine small filling.  You see where this is going.  My dentist said, "I told you this tooth has multiple cracks."  (All of my teeth have some level of cracking - I can't distinguish specifics.)  Followed by, "I don't think I'm going to be able to just drill this." 

I broke out with shingles the day after the last partial crown she did for me.  When I told her that at my next appointment, she didn't find it funny, but I don't know that it was completely coincidental.  It was stressful.  It was the first time I'd had my heart start to race with the Novocain shot.  I thought I was headed for a panic attack.  You know what causes most panic attacks?  Fear of a panic attack.  (I just made that up, but this much is true....)  I'll spare you the recap of the rest of the experience!

I got over my initial reaction to what we were about to do, reasoned with myself through the Novocain racing heart beat and kicked into my 'breath deep and slow' routine.  And, it worked!  I counted to five as I breathed in, then counted to five as I breathed out.  Pretty soon I was okay and realized I was no longer breathing deeply.  Just like when I have trouble relaxing to fall asleep.  Head for the tree house and breath.  Next thing I know I'm dozing off and am no longer breathing deeply.  (Some times it's longer than 'next thing I know' but it works for me!)

As I was concentrating on my breathing I realized what a blessing I didn't know this was going to happen - until it happened.  I wasn't worried ahead of time.  I also reminded myself what a blessing I can go to the dentist, unpleasant as it might be, and keep my teeth.  You may be asking yourself, "so what did she learn?!"  It wasn't really a new learning, but it reinforced that no matter what the stressful situation, breathing will help me get through it. 

I did learn a totally new thing this week at work - how to add a line to a bar graph in Excel. But, how would that blog take more than one sentence?

 

 

Keep breathing!  And check out what Dene' has learned.

Favorite Places

                                   My favorite thing about Lincoln?





                       Is it the leaves?


Is it the moon?                               

 




 








                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                             

                                 Is it the snow?    

                                                                   

        

Goodness no!

 

 

 

 

It's the memories we have made living here these last 15 years.

 Here are just a few.

 

 



Must have been kiss a pirate day.




Drama.






More drama.

 

Speech was some of our best memories.



Yea.



With cousin Whitney.



Lot's of band concerts.




I'm not really sure?

 

 

Dene' with 3 of her cousins who all are
taller than she is now.

 

Best friends.

Good looking girls.

Sweet secrets.

Two amazing young men.

 

Trying to be serious :)

 

 

 

Memories are my favorite thing about Lincoln.

 

 

 

Check out a special place in Dubuque and Denver.