Rainy Autumn Day In Wellman, Iowa.

Last night was a wonderful rainy night complete with thunder and lightning... and the pitter patter of raindrops on the window  as we slept.  With the morning, the rain has diminished to a drizzly mist.   The perfect day to sit back and enjoy the fall colors....   Unless they cut down one of the few trees that actually have color in the neighborhood.



That is correct!   The sewer people had to take down one of the most colorful trees in the area down.  It, unfortunately, happens to be right in the path of the projected sewer system and can not be saved.   Ah well,   it is not unusual that Iowans are constantly taking down trees to keep the land nice and flat.  ( I'm kidding)



Other than that,  the cat has been enjoying the outdoors with the introduction to the cooler temps.  He seems to enjoy exploring the earth moving equipment that the sewer people have left on the yard.  Not to mention the exposed earth!


As for Cheryl and myself,   we ran today in the mist ( thankfully, the rain had stopped before we set out on the training run) and Cheryl got her Boston Acceptance note-card in the mail.  Looks like we are going to have to "officially" plan on saving up for the race.

Also,  stockings are beginning to hit a higher gear than the last few weeks.  It's a good thing, because we shall need all the resources we can gather for that Boston Trip.   Hope everyone is having a great day today.  The months of Autumn fly by so quickly....  sometimes it is just nice to take time and enjoy the sensations that are offered.   Thanks for stopping in!

T'was the Friday Before Chicago...Marathon.

And Ethan and Cheryl were trying their best to catch everything up and relax for a few hours before the big trip.  The End!

Just kidding.

Looks like Tomorrow will be the travel day with the Expo to wrap things up.  And then...Sunday is Race day.

I wanted to post a quick update on things before I'm stuck in a hotel room trying to recap the EXPO and trip.  This week has been a bit of a chaotic mess that has somehow managed to work out.   Allow me to explain...

We started the week with a gig for Collegeboard and I began scoring a Pearson project in the evening.   We finished the Collegeboard job earlier than expected ( mostly because we read like madmen in order to finish ahead of schedule.)  and I'm continuing the Pearson project as I'm writing this.   Throw in the number of miscellaneous stocking orders and you can probably wee how there are not enough hours in the day to squeeze in a blog posting.

Ah well,   I'll have more time after Chicago.   And I'll have the actual Chicago Marathon event to blog about!   How fun is that?


In the mean time.  I should point out that the "city" of Wellman has provided us with a new manhole cover!   I'm not sure if it is hooked up yet, or when they plan on finishing it.   No one was here today to work on it, so perhaps it is one of those "Wellman Holidays" that only the city workers know about.

I changed the oil in Subie,  replaced and programmed the new Key Fob, and had a bit ot time to help Hiro with his latest Catch.  ( I'm not sure where he keeps finding these things)  You would thingk that we would eventually run out of Chipmunks after a while, but I watched one run across the porch this morning!  I guess there are more than first thought.

Chicago Traffic Battle!

That is all for now.  Hopefully I will have enough energy to post something tomorrow night.   I will remain apprehensive;  given that I will have to fight Chicago traffic and find parking, check into a crowded hotel and navigate the EXPO.  We shall see.   In the mean time.   Wish us luck!

IKEA, Cool Weather, Kite Flying and Bulldozers. The Calm Before The Storm!

The New IKEA shelves

We started the weekend with a trip to IKEA.   A couple of reasons being that Chicago Marathon is coming up in less than two weeks from now.

Cheryl is in charge of "Books and Accessories"

 Also,   Cheryl has been dying to spend money and replace our existing furniture!   I'm not sure why; must be a female thing.  This may be one of those great chasms that separate the men from the women.  The "old" IKEA stuff was still good,  but the color was "off".  So,  after we painted the walls a bright white,  Cheryl thinks the shelves in the living room need to be white as well. I guess it looks OK for me not to protest too much.   (Aside from my snarky comments in this blog. that is.)

Cooler Weather = Long sleeves!

Running down the Coralville path.

The weather is FINALLY cool enough to enjoy the outside without wearing nearly naked clothing.  On the run in Iowa city,  Cheryl was able to wear her long sleeve shirt the entire run.

Cheryl chases the Geese

Note the Police car stopping the let the geese cross

Aster in the morning sunlight

While running,  Cheryl chased geese while I took photos of the purple Aster and colorful caterpillars.

A close up!   VERY bright Purple.

The picture does not do the wild Aster justice.   The purple is BRIGHT!   But the bright light of the sun tends to wash it out in the camera.   I possibly could have adjusted the light filter, had I remembered at the time.   Ah well, it is just for the blog and not for a National Geographic award.  My standards are just fine.

Why so many pics of the Aster? 

Is it because I love purple so much?

Additionally,  I captured a couple pics of a Caterpillar that I have never seen before.   Close up, it looks like a colorful dessert cactus!

Actually, it is the last flower left!

Colorful Caterpillar!

After the run,   we grabbed some grub and headed tot he soccer field for some kite flying!    This is the first time I have been able to seriously spend a little time flying one.  I have a small, store-bought one I picked up at Springtown Grocery ( Amish Grocery store).   It flew pretty well after a few adjustments.    The wind was perfect for flying.   Lately, the air has been heavy and stagnant with humidity.   Maybe the cooler weather will also bring more breezy days.

Note how he looks like a cactus up close!

Great day for Kite Flying!

And finally,   the "city" of Wellman has decided that the sewer system that has been in place for the last 100 years needs to be adjusted...  right through our yard!   It is more like an add-on instead of an adjustment.   I guess the city has expanded a bit over the last 70 years and there are areas that have no sewer system hooked in.  Unfortunately, it comes right down the same path the driveway took a few years ago.   We have been told that we have nothing to worry about and that it will only inconvenience us a day or two.   If the past is an indicator,  that will translate into a week or two of not being able to park in our lot.  Right during Stocking season, as usual!

Small, $3 store kite flies high.

Time to dig up the yards of Wellman.

And tear up some fences!

This week,  right as the pleasant weather arrives,  I have a Pearson project along with an SAT project kicking off; Collegeboard;  Stockings;  And the Chicago Marathon!   Add in a possibility that our driveway will be torn up and I wonder what other stress we can add to our lives. And I was just beginning to enjoy the life of a Sloth.  Ah well,   we all need money,  right?

Hope everyone else is having a pleasant fall day today.   And thanks for stopping in and reading this rather lengthy post.   Basically I have several days of pictures to publish at any time and not enough time to write.   And possibly even less in the future.  We shall see.

More Apartment Adventures In WELLMAN, IA.

Flooding, power outages, Heating problems, Poisoned water, And now Crevasses! When the WORLD rends ASUNDER! Could this be a disaster site in some distant third world country? NO It is another adventure in Wellman, Iowa. They decided, now, as winter approaches, that this would be a good time to rip up our driveway/7th ave. This is just the beginning! They plan on repaving it next week so for the 10 days after that, we will have to park on the road. Now, I know many of you are saying, "big deal, drive around the construction." If you don't know Iowa, Their lawn is their CATHEDRAL! Seriously! I have never seen a people so religious about their lawn as these people in Iowa. Lawn work is like Sunday MASS! Raking leaves is like communion! I can not imagine the wrath I will invoke if we were to drive on that immaculate green carpet. So that leaves walking from the road to the apartment with our stuff. It's not too bad as long as it is not dark or you do not have any thing heavy. (It's rather distant, more so than the picture may imply) So that should be fun to look forward too. It's almost a Blessing that the car DIED! At least we didn't have to park that on the road as well. ( that is a joke) With so many things throwing our peaceful routine into chaos, We are doing our best with sales, cats, and estate trustees. I can hardly wait till things REALLY get crazy! ALSO The Spartains beat Iowa 37-21 today. Payback for the humiliation of last year. WAY TO GO SPARTANS!

Kirigami Dragons and Fish that can FLY!

I picked up a book the other day about Kirigami. ( art of paper cutting) I looked it over and thought," I can do that..." Well, granted, I did not have any patterns to go off of, but I think the dragons turned out pretty cool! Of coarse, white paper against a white background ( i.e. the ceiling) did not make the pictures turn out the best. So I had a little fun with Fixfoto and gave them a nice blue tone as well as helping the shadows show the definition. I may make more! I'm already formulating an idea to make some improvements on the design. I'd like to get the bodies more cylindrical without looking so much like a crumpled paper in spots. We shall see how it goes. As for the Poison water in Wellman.....ALL WEEKEND LONG! NO showers, no dish washing, no drinking.......what the HECK!?! I'm sure the water is not as TOXIC as they would want us to believe ( Americans DEMAND clean water!) so we have been taking showers ( well, YEAH! DUH!) And washing the dishes and the cloths. THe water never tasted very good even when it was CLEAN, so we never really drink it. We even buy bottled water for the cats. Mostly, It's that the Casies can't serve us up fountain drinks that really cuts into our lifestyle. ( Americans DEMAND Fountain Drinks at their local convenience stores!) Hopefully the "city workers" will get off their butts and work for their tax money. Instead of leaving a job half done on Friday and coming back on Monday to finish it! Sorry for the rant.....I WANT MY BEVERAGE!

The Joys of Flat tires!

Well, Friday was spent getting my tire repaired...again. I must have drove over something on the way back from Iowa City on Thursday. This may sound familiar, because it happened to me once before....and I'm Sure I blogged about it. I'll be brief: Got a flat tire midway between two cities ( 7 miles either way!) It was dark, cold, and I had a flat spare tire that was Frozen in the trunk as well. ( sound familiar?) I'm somewhat of an expert on flat tires by now! Well, I drove home on it and was able to fix it up on Thursday easy! You see, I had three extra tires in the shed...all they needed was to be put on the rim. And BONUS! There was a perfectly good spare tire in the shed left by the previous tenant! Now it is mine ( because the old one was ruined after driving 15 miles on it!) And the tire repair guy in literally a stones throw away from our house ( as is everything in little bitty Wellman, Iowa. So in the end, we stayed home on Friday and I was able to snap a few cat pics and shots of Cheryl hard at work. We have new Items in our shop.....check them out! By the way,, Check out the really cool Claymore poster!