Category Archives: Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary

The Latest 12-6-2015

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After hosting Thanksgiving a few weeks ago, Wendy and I spent the rest of the weekend hunkering down at home. Thanksgiving evening was spent watching a family movie with Taylor and Suzanna (This is Where I Leave You). We enjoyed the movie, though Suzanna fell asleep, which is not unusual (see featured photo of this post).

One of the priorities on the honey-do list since moving into our house has been getting shelves built in the storage room downstairs. So, on Saturday I was up early finishing walls and beginning the task. It took me about 10 hours without break, but we have 24 feet of shelving for all of our “stuff” (and Taylor’s “stuff” and Madison’s “stuff” and Suzanna’s “stuff”).

Storage Room Before Shelves
Before
After!
After!

Needless to say, I was fairly tired and sore, so Sunday would have been a day of rest and routine. It started out routine: Breakfast with CBS Sunday Morning and church, but then we headed to the Community Center to sell tickets for USP’s production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Wendy and I stepped down from our Board positions, but we’re continuing to volunteer our time in other ways. Wendy heads up ticket sales and I am doing web and social media. Once ticket sales were done we headed home to watch the Vikings (they won!). In the evening we walked down the street to McQuade Pub for cocktails and conversation which was the perfect cap to the holiday weekend.

Aslan is on the loose!

The weather continues to be unseasonably warm. Highs have been in the 50’s the past few days. Wendy and I continued to sell tickets for the USP show on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings. We stayed to watch the show on Thursday.

On Friday night we were invited over to the Burch’s for a late dinner and stayed late into the evening. On Saturday morning I drove to Des Moines for the funeral of Doug Appleby. Doug’s brother Dan was in my class at Hoover. We and our siblings were all in the youth group together at First Federated Church back in the day. It was a bit of a sober homecoming of sorts with friends I hadn’t seen in many years. Doug was a great kid, a veteran, a family man, and a man of faith. There was a lot of love and hope at the funeral.

Wendy and Beck at V-Dub Pub

Kev, Beck and the kids came to Pella last night. The kids went to the play with grandma and grandpa while we adults enjoyed dinner together. After the kids returned we all hung out downstairs in V-Dub Pub and watched the Iowa Hawkeyes blow their lead and lose the Big10 championship game.

We’ll help with tickets for the closing USP performance this afternoon. It’s a sell-out. We’re hosting the cast party here at Vander Well Manor. Looking forward to celebrating with the cast and crew.

Sunday Summary

The Latest 11-22-2015

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Madison has her wings!
Our birthday girl!

Today is our daughter Maddy Kate’s 24th Birthday!! I have to send a shout out to her. Madison has diligently focused her life on graduating from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in December. Between school and flying the friendly skies, she’s been such a busy girl. We’re so proud of her and can’t wait to see where God leads her in her impending new stage of life. 🙂

It seems like I’ve been unusually haphazard with posting the last couple of weeks. To be honest, the switch back to regular time from Daylight Savings Time has thrown my body off more than usual this year. I’ve always been a morning person, but I’ve been having a hard time pulling myself out of bed in the mornings and so I’ve missed a few mornings.

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Wendy and I enjoyed celebrating her brother, Lucas’ Birthday at Hickory Park in Ames. We also had the opportunity to meet his fiancé, Brooke, for the first time. After dinner we got a tour of the Greek Orthodox Church that he is helping to fix up in Ames and the parsonage where he lives with a couple of other guys from Iowa State.

My friend, Matthew Burch, and I were scheduled to present our More Than Conqueror’s men’s conference at Westview Church in Waukee on Nov 13-14, but it was rescheduled due to a tragic death in the Westview family and the funeral that had to be scheduled that Saturday. We’re looking at a date in January or February. Stay tuned.

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Pella’s Tulip Court for 2016.
Me with my fellow judges Doug and Chad. We were three of about 30 or more judges for the evening.
Me with my fellow judges Doug and Chad. We were three of about 30 or more judges for the evening.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to be a judge for Pella’s Tulip Queen. We got to meet each of the 13 ladies for a brief personal interview. We then judged their presentation before the Tulip Queen and her court were announced at the end of the evening. It was a great experience, and I was amazed at the amazing group of capable young ladies. Any one of them would have represented our community well. It was hard having to see eight of them be disappointed, but so proud of our 2016 Hollandse Magdz.

Speaking of Pella, a shout out to the boys’ football team who won their second State Championship in a row on Thursday night. Wendy and I had to record the game, but we stayed up late to cheer them on. Well done, boys!

Even though the men’s conference got cancelled, I had plenty of opportunities to speak this past week. I gave the morning message in the Auditorium at Third Church last week. On Monday I left at 4:30 a.m. to make the four hour drive to Sioux Center where I presented two training sessions for a client. Then drove home. Long day. Then on Wednesday evening I spoke to the high school group at Third.

We headed to Theatre Central’s production of Lion in Winter on Thursday evening. A few of the cast members were in Ah, Wilderness! with me back in 2013 and it was fun to see them on stage.

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On Friday night Wendy and I had our Open House and Stock the Bar party here at VW Manor. Murphy’s Law struck and Iowa got pounded with our first snow storm of the season. We forged ahead with our party and were pleased at the number of hardy souls who braved the elements to join us. We got the chance to meet several of our neighbors whom we had yet to meet. Our house was packed, and the bar definitely got broken in. Of course, Wendy had an amazing spread of snacks and desserts and everyone had a good time!

Sunday Summary

The Latest 11-8-2015

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It has been a gorgeous autumn here in the heartland. I heard it reported yesterday that it’s been the warmest November on record through the first week, and I can believe it. Nevertheless, we can feel the premonition of winter in the north wind. This week we’ve been getting ready for it.

I spent some time early in the week putting decking in our garage attic and yesterday began taking long term storage there. I mowed our lawn for the first time yesterday. It’s looking pretty good. See the picture below. It didn’t really need it except in a few spots, but I ran the mower out of gas for the winter, which needed to be done. Wendy started getting Christmas decorations out. It will be our first Christmas in the new house and she’s excited to make our home merry and bright.

rugs and lawn

We also got a couple of matching area rugs that arrived on Saturday. One for the living room and the other for the back hallway. They look great. We’re prepping for an Open House and Stock the Bar party scheduled for Friday evening, November 20th from 5:00 p.m. to whenever. We’re inviting people to stop by and see the house. We’ll have light appetizers and those who wish to do so can bring a bottle to share and help us stock the bar. There will be more details on Facebook later today.

Coffee time with the Frelighs

On Friday afternoon Wendy and I paid a visit to the Frelighs in our old house on Columbus. They have done a ton of work to our cute little brick house, and it looks fabulous. When they first toured the house Wendy had a Costco death by chocolate cake out for some event and Peggy commented that if they bought the house the cake was part of the deal. So, Wendy and I took one over for afternoon coffee time.

 

Dinner

Suzanna came home from Cedar Falls and we went to see The Aadams Family musical in Knoxville. A few of our USP friends were in the K-Act production and it was fun to see the show. Last night Taylor, Suzanna, Wendy and I sat down to a wonderful family dinner. Wendy made her Italian chicken and pasta, we opened a wonderful Italian red, and stoked the dining room fireplace. It was nice to sit and chat. The “if” question of the evening was “if you had to choose a famous couple to raise your children, who would you choose?” The answers included Chip and Joanna Gaines, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

 

 

Sunday Summary

The Latest 11-01-2015

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The week started with three days on the road for me. I was in the Twin Cities for a couple of very long days of coaching and training presentations. On Wednesday I drove to Sioux Center for another presentation before arriving home late.

We had a full social calendar over the weekend. On Thursday we met friends Cyndi, Doug and Holly at George’s to partake of Pella’s legendary pizza. We then headed to Pella Christian High School for their performance of West Side Story. It was a great show and we were so impressed with the quality of the choreography and how maturely the leads handled the intimacy between Tony and Maria.

We also had a full house on Thursday. Taylor returned from travels to California and Colorado, along with a couple of days working in Des Moines. It was great to have her back home. Wendy’s mom was also in town to spend some time with grandma and attend a couple of events. She spent the night with us.

Friday we headed to Des Moines. We stopped to spend some time with my folks at their apartment. It was so good to have some time to just sit and chat. Dad was sore from a fall he took a few days before, but they continue to enjoy their home in the retirement community and we got the low down on all that was going on in their world.

From the folks place we headed to Kev and Beck’s for a little Friday night happy hour at their place. As always, we could have stayed and talked all night, but we had special festivities to attend. We headed to Cafe di Scala in the Sherman Hills neighborhood of Des Moines to surprise our friend Chad for his birthday dinner. The V.L.s, J.P.s, and V.W.s gathered to usher m’boy into his final year of his 30’s.

Chads Birthday at Cafe Di Scala
JPs VLs and VWs at Cafe Di Scala
Wendy Jen and Shay
Wendy, Jen, and Shay at Cafe Di Scala

Cafe di Scala is a contemporary Italian restaurant located on the main floor of a palatial craftsman style house in the old neighborhood. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. The food is amazing, and the selection of wines was not only unique but also created exquisite pairings with the food. Since customer service is my vocation, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the service was the best I can remember experiencing in Des Moines.

The Pella Pub Crawl Crew
The Pella Pub Crawl Crew

The evening had been full to overflowing, and yet we weren’t through! Our friends Kevin and Linda had been messaging us all night from their impromptu Pella Pub Crawl.  By the time we returned to Pella the Pub Crawl crew (including Vandy, Rob, Robin, and Chris) was at Kaldera. We joined them for a night-cap and it was the perfect end to an amazing evening of family, friends, food and fun.

I worked a good part of Saturday as I was behind from my travels earlier in the week, but Wendy and I enjoyed watching both Iowa and Iowa State football teams emerge victorious. It was our first trick or treat evening in our new neighborhood so I donned a little ghoulish make-up to greet the kiddos. It was so fun to see the number of parents who got all costumed up with the kids. There was a Knight and Lady, a cowgirl, and an awesome scarecrow escorting his sweet little Glenda the good.

Trick or Treat!
Trick or Treat!

After the trick or treating was over, Wendy and I drove down the road to visit our friends Matthew and Sarah for a glass of wine and some late night hors d’oeuvres. We ended up staying much later than planned, but with daylight savings ending we got an extra hour of sleep! 😉

Today was blessedly routine, starting with CBS Sunday Morning and our regular time of worship. We came home to watch our Vikings squeak through with a win and now hope to watch the Royals win the World Series before bed tonight.

Sunday Summary

The Latest 10-25-2015

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Better late than never…

It has been a rather amazing autumn here in central Iowa. It’s been an extended Indian summer. The days have been sunnier, warmer more dry than usual. The blustery, wet chill of an Iowa autumn has been virtually non-existent up to this point.

The past week was fairly routine for Wendy and me with work and fall activities. Taylor has been traveling to see friends and family the past week and a half. She was home briefly on Tuesday night from her weekend in California and flew out early Wednesday to spend some time with Madison in Colorado. So, the house was quiet. Wendy took the opportunity to do some cleaning and arranging late in the week.

The weekend, however, ended up being even more full than we had expected. On Friday night our friends Dan and Anna came over for dinner and the conversation lasted late into the night. During the evening our friend Cyndi texted and mentioned she had two extra tickets to The Illusionists at the Des Moines Civic Center on Saturday afternoon and asked if we’d like to join her, Ben, and Megan for lunch and a show.

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The time in the car with Cyndi afforded us an opportunity to run lines for our performance on Saturday night. It was the Silver Anniversary of the Pella Opera House restoration and re-opening. Opera House Executive Director, Kevin McQuade, had planned a huge gala event for the occasion and asked me to pen a short sketch for the occasion. Cyndi, Wendy and I performed the sketch and had precious little time to rehearse, so the time in the car was beneficial.

By the time we returned from Des Moines we had to make a quick change and get to the Opera House for the black-tie event. It was a wonderful evening and we loved visiting with all sorts of people from the community (see featured photo).

IMG_6980As the crowd was ushered upstairs into the Opera House auditorium for the evening’s program. Wendy and I headed back stage to change into our costumes for the sketch. I was standing in the dressing room with Wendy and Cyndi running lines when Laurinda Nikkel arrived. Laurinda is an opera singer who returned home to Pella to perform for the event (it is, after all, an Opera House). When Wendy was a little girl, Laurinda dated Wendy’s uncle and Laurinda sort of adopted Wendy as a niece. They had not seen one another or communicated since Wendy was very young. It was so cute when Wendy approached Laurinda, looked her in the eye and said, “I’m Wendy.” I thought Laurinda was going to lose it right there. It was a wonderful reunion and the we had a great time chatting with her after the program.

IMG_6994Kevin and Linda invited us over for a nightcap after the evening’s festivities. Wendy and I didn’t get to bed until right around 2:00 a.m. We tried but couldn’t remember the last time we were up that late. Taylor’s comment: “you crazy kids.”

Needless to say, Sunday was spent resting and recuperating from all the activity. I spent much of the day on the couch doing a make-over on the Union Street Players website.

Busy week ahead with three days on the road and month-end deadlines looming.

 

 

 

Sunday Summary

The Latest 10-18-15

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After a long business/leisure trip to Texas the week before, I was really glad to spend the past week at home and in the home office. Autumn is in full swing with chilly, blustery winds balanced only by the sun’s warmth. The house has been really cool in the mornings as temps dipped for the first time into the 30’s. Wendy and I have not yet turned on the heat, but the fireplaces have gotten their first workouts of the season.

The week was blessedly routine as Wendy and I worked at our home offices and took care of things around the house. Our lawn has been looking decent despite weeks with no rain. We’ve tried to water it well, but I haven’t been able to do that as much as it really needs (nor have I wanted to pay for that high of a water bill).

The week was really highlighted by October baseball with our Cubs beating the evil empire of St. Louis in the NLDS. By the end of the final game Wendy and I couldn’t sit down. We were both standing behind the couch watching and cheering. When it was over we invited our neighbor, Kevin, over for celebratory toasts. Of course, by Sunday night we’d be 0-2 in the NLCS to the Mets (whom we had swept in the regular season). Such is the life of a Cubs fan.

Wendy was my stylish assistant and carried the camera bag for me!
Wendy was my stylish assistant and carried the camera bag for me!

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On Friday afternoon Wendy and I headed to Des Moines. Our friends Kevin and Becky asked if I would take some fall family photos for them. We had some fun at Des Moines’ sculpture garden. The featured photo to this post is the them striking their own version of Greek god statues. Wendy played my faithful assistant, lugging my bag and tripod, as we ran around Des Moines trying to get photos taken before the sun set. After dropping the kidlets off at home, the adults then went out for a meal. Enjoyable evening.

Wendy and I had some post-show fun with cast and crew from NCT's productions of "Ham Buns and Potato Salad."
Wendy and I had some post-show fun with cast and crew from NCT’s productions of “Ham Buns and Potato Salad.”

IMG_6961Saturday afternoon Wendy and I headed to Newton to watch Newton Community Theatre’s production of my play Ham Buns and Potato Salad (more about the play here) There was a brief “meet the playwright” time before the show and the audience got to ask me questions. It was so much fun to see the show done by a completely different crew. Wendy and I walked away pleased that the script held up well. We went to Okoboji Grill after the show with the cast and had a lot of fun fielding their questions about the characters and inspirations for the story. They called on me to write a sequel to tell the rest of the story. I hadn’t really thought about that before. Hmmmm. I also heard rumor there is some interest from another community theatre who would like to do it.

On Sunday morning I filled the pulpit for our senior pastor, delivering the message in all three services. I always feel honored to be asked. It’s a rather draining morning, however, and I was so appreciative of Wendy who took good care of me and made sure I had what I needed. Needless to say, I was worthless by the time we got home. We became avid couch potatoes to watch our Vikings and Broncos win, then to watch our Cubbies disappoint.

Sunday Summary

The Latest 10-11-2015

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Long week on the road this week, which began with a 5:45 a.m. flight out of Des Moines on Monday. Was on site with client in San Antonio Monday through Wednesday morning, then made the drive down to Laredo for more meetings Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday. Finished up about 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Redemption for the long week of business travel began on Thursday night about 10:30 p.m. when Wendy arrived. Last summer our friends Kevin and Becky informed us that, for Becky’s birthday, Kevin had given her tickets to see Counting Crows at Austin City Limits in Austin, TX this past Wednesday. Looking at the calendar we realized that I was going to be in San Antonio and Laredo that week. So, we conspired to have Wendy fly down and for the four of us to meet in Austin for the weekend.

Wendy and I headed north from Laredo about 10:00 a.m. on Friday, arriving at our hotel in Austin about 2:00. We grabbed a shuttle into downtown Austin where Kevin and Becky met us to being what amounted to our 24 hour Austin blitzkrieg.

We were starving so we Uber’d to South Congress for some Home Slice pizza and dessert at the Cupcake truck across the street. We then did a little shopping before Ubering it back downtown. We did Happy Hour at Malverde’s where I was introduced to El Cubico, a cocktail made with tobacco leaf infused tequila, vanilla infused brandy, grilled pineapple juice and volcanic saffron-infused salt on the rim. It was like drinking a fine cigar. Wow!

We made our way to Stay Gold, a bar with live music, a nice courtyard, and a food truck (Toaster’s) that made a mean grilled cheese. We ended up spending the rest of our evening there and were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves enjoying some foot-stomping old-timey southern gospel from the McMercy Family Band:

By the time McMercy Family ended and Meatloaf Spaceship began, we were into our third band of the night. It was late, so we called it a night and took Uber to our hotel.

Kev and Beck picked us up at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and we high-tailed it over to Gordough’s Doughnuts, a food truck that makes speciality doughnuts. I had the Sin-a-Bomb doughnut which was topped with cream-cheese frosting and a liquid cinnamon and sugar glaze poured over the top. Wendy got the Naughty-and-Nice which was coated in sugar and cinnamon and then came with honey butter for dipping. I’ve gone entire weeks without that many calories!

We stopped by Hope Gallery Park after breakfast. It’s the shell of an old building terraced in the side of a hill. Graffiti artists have continually transformed it with their work (as well as random visitors with spray paint). It was a fascinating place. We got to watch and talk to one of the artists who’d been painting there for a short period of time after moving from California.

For lunch we’d decided on visiting a place called Bangers Sausage House and Beer Garden. The menu is nothing but different kinds of unique and gourmet sausages (they even have a Turducken sausage). What was really impressive, however, was the more than 100 beers on tap. Kevin and I each did a flight of four different beers. I did the dark and roasty stouts while Kevin did the IPAs. Of course, we all shared and enjoyed the variety. Wendy even got herself a pint of Funnel Cake Beer (I’m not kidding) which actually smells like and leaves a hint of funnel cake on the palate. Quite amazing, really. We had a good, long lunch together and really enjoyed ourselves.

Despite the fact that we were stuffed, we decided that we might as well go over the top by stopping at Amy’s Ice Cream where Wendy and I enjoyed a salted caramel fudge sundae over dark chocolate ice cream.

That’s when my stomach exploded.

Not really, but it was  touch-and-go. Time had slipped away, and it was time for Kev and Beck to catch their flight home. They dropped us off at our hotel where our car was waiting. Wendy and scooted down south to San Marcos and met my brother Tim and his girlfriend, Kumi, at Kent Black’s for a drink and a chat. Wendy and I then drove the rest of the way to San Antonio where we were scheduled to fly out on Sunday.

All of our socializing had the two of us relatively pooped, so by the time we got to the hotel we were ready for some relaxation and quiet. We watched the Cubs beat the Cardinals in game 2 of the NLDS and then got some take-out to bring back to our hotel room for supper. We had the Mets-Dodgers game on as we ate. Then I laid down on the bed and remembered no more.

 

We took our time getting ready this morning. Made a quick trip to Wal-Mart for a few items and got Wendy a treat from McDonalds. We checked out of the hotel and went to the McNay Art Museum. When Wendy and I honeymooned in San Antonio 10 years ago we’d made our first trip to the McNay. It’s become a special place to us and we enjoyed a gorgeous Sunday afternoon walking the grounds, sitting in the courtyard, and touring the collection.

All good things must come to an end, and after our time at the McNay we headed to the airport for our flight home. It’s been a really fun weekend, but we’re looking forward to being in our own bed tonight!

Sunday Summary

The Latest 10-04-15

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Summer has turned to autumn. The mornings are crisp and cool. The late summer sun is strong, but tempered with the cool fall breeze. The trees are changing color and looking increasingly bare. Here in the Iowa heartland the combines are out and the landscape changes daily as fields full of tall corn are laid bare with the harvest.

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A few weeks ago we returned from our fall weekend at the lake with Kevin and Becky. While we were in Missouri there had been a big rain back here at home. And, I had been watering our fledgling lawn religiously. Early that week I was sitting in Vander Well Pub with Taylor talking about her day when I looked into the basement family room and noticed that a big pillow sitting on the floor was discolored. It was then that I discovered our sump pump had not been working and our storage room and family room were flooded. When our contractor came over to inspect the issue, he found that at some point the sump pump plug was not flush in the outlet. All he did was push it in and the sump started to work. It was not a good evening.

We had a lot of damaged photos, artwork and other belongings that were still boxed in the storage room from the move. Fortunately, our friend Brad responded to my text and brought over huge fans and a special machine for sucking up water out of the carpet/pad. I was up until the wee hours trying to dry things out. Ugh.

The Latest 10 04 2015 - 1The Latest 10 04 2015 - 4Wendy has been planning a new tat for a long time now, and had vowed to put it off until after the summer (You’re supposed to keep new tattoos out of the sunlight). She finally pulled the trigger and had a gorgeous phoenix inked onto her upper left arm. It’s a gorgeous tat. The phoenix, a symbol of rebirth and glory from ashes, has long held special significance for Wendy. I’m happy that she finally got it done.

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Last weekend was Pella’s Marching Band Festival. Des Moines Christian was marching, so Jody and my folks drove down for it. Wendy and I met them at the field to watch the band, then came back to the house for a quick bite. It was great to have them here and to see both Emma and Harry Roose marching.

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This past week Taylor received word that her Master’s dissertation had been accepted by Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. We uncorked a nice bottle of wine, made a special dinner of grilled salmon, and toasted her acheivement!

Yesterday we were in Ames. My dear friend, Megan, asked me to be honorary dad at ISU Dad’s Weekend. Her mom picked Wendy and me up early in the morning and we drove up to the campus. Megan has pledged to a sorority, so after picking her up at her dorm we went to the house for tailgating and games. We then walked to Jack Trice stadium and sat in the student section to watch the Cyclones beat Kansas. It was a cloudless day and one half of my face got nicely burned! It was great to see Megan and, as always, it was a privilege to be honorary dad.

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Wendy and I have spent the past couple of weeks finalizing our transition out of leadership with Union Street Players. There have been files to transfer, final reports to prepare, meetings with the new Board. Last night was the 2015 USP Award’s Night which was essentially our final major responsibility. Wendy planned the event and made several cheesecakes. I put together the year-in-review video and emcee’d the event. Suzanna came back from school to attend. Our friend Heather MacClennan came down from Des Moines with her trio to provide entertainment. Good time had by all (despite some maddening technical difficulties that just about fubar’d the entire evening for me).

Sunday Summary

The Latest 09-21-2015

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I’m a little late on the publishing of my Sunday Summary this week. There was a lot happening early in the week. Wendy and I were excited to finally see our yard getting graded and seeded with grass. We were thankful for a couple good rains late in the week.

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The early part of the week also included a whirlwind of work that had to get done early and a business trip to northwest Iowa. On Thursday evening Wendy and I headed down to the lake with our friends Kevin and Becky. We had to drive to Kansas City and pick up Kevin at the airport as he flew in from a business meeting in Denver. We arrived at the lake near midnight.

It was a bit overcast on Friday, nevertheless we got out on the boat for a slow cruise in the morning. We headed into town in the early afternoon and went to BWW for lunch. Becky went shopping while the rest of us stayed to watch the Cubs take on the Cardinals. We were about the only people in the restaurant and the manager, Darin, came over to chat with us. One thing led to another and Kev and I found ourselves doing a “tasting” of their four hottest sauces. We were even given complimentary boneless wings with them. My digestive system is still recovering.

As usual, our weekend with Kevin and Becky revolved around food, drink and rather intense conversation lasting deep into the night. Great salmon dinner on Friday and then burgers on the grill on Saturday night. We, of course, also found time for some sun and fun. On Saturday afternoon we spent a lot of time on the dock in the sun. Becky insisted we say good-bye to summer with one last boat right. We headed in the boat to both Bulldog’s Beach House and Larrywood for some refreshment.

Sunday morning we packed up and headed home, arriving back at VW Manor around 5:00. Wendy and I unpacked and settled in to watch the Vikings beat the Lions on the DVR.

Sunday Summary

The Latest 09-13-2015

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Wendy and I have spent less time at the lake this summer than ever since buying my folks’ place back in 2008. There are a number of reasons for the reduction in lake-time including our increased involvement in Tulip Time, our trip to Scotland to see Taylor, Taylor’s move back home, a new house that still requires a  number of projects to get settled and finished, my parents transitioning into a retirement community, three weddings in August, and Suzanna’s final summer home and launch to college. As summer wanes, we figured we’d better get in some time down south before it’s too late.

We headed to Missouri on Tuesday, Sep 1st. Wendy and I worked from the lake and did some much needed cleaning up before our friends Matthew and Sarah joined us for Labor Day weekend. Matthew and Sarah were celebrating their three week anniversary (one of the weddings in August) and since they didn’t take a honeymoon after the ceremony this provided them with a much needed getaway for the two of them.

As soon as Matthew and Sarah arrived we jumped in the boat and headed to Bear Bottom for an afternoon of sun and fun in the pool. It was a gorgeous weekend and Saturday was also spent in the sun, this time off the dock. We had a fabulous grilled steak dinner on Saturday evening followed by watching the movie A Little Chaos (highly recommend). Sunday morning was spent in some amazing conversation before our friends headed home.

Wendy and I stayed behind and enjoyed some time to ourselves, though we continued to work while we were there. We were hoping for more sun on Labor Day, but the weather didn’t cooperate. We laid out on the dock with our books under overcast skies until it finally began to rain. Later that day we both had an “Awww” moment when we got a text from Taylor saying, “You can come home now!”

The lake gets so amazingly quiet after Labor Day when all the summer revelers have left for the season and only the residents are left. We enjoyed breakfast at local greasy spoon, Chances R, on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday morning we took a nice cruise on the lake (we were the only boat out there) before grabbing pizza at Captain Ron’s for lunch and heading home where we found new sidewalks out front of Vander Well Manor thanks to G&B Concrete.

We got settled back in at home, and Wednesday evening was spent doing handyman duty as we had a couple of nightstands and a desk for Wendy’s office for which there was “some assembly required.” The nightstands were a cinch, but the term “some assembly required” was a bit of an understatement for Wendy’s desk which game in about a half-million pieces. Got ‘er done, however.

Suzanna came home from college for the first time on Friday. It was great to see her. She’s enjoying her freshman year at Hawkeye CC while living on the UNI campus. One of her friends from USP had a birthday party on Friday night and Suzanna came home to surprise her. Wendy and I enjoyed a date night at Kaldera with our friends Dan and Anna on Friday. As always, good food, good friends, and good conversation were a winning combination. We were among the first to arrive and the last to leave our favorite Pella eatery.

Taylor and Tom Coffee on the Patio

Taylor has been house-sitting again this weekend but came home for our routine family breakfast on Saturday morning. Wendy wasn’t up yet so Taylor and I sat out on the patio in the gorgeous early fall sunshine for coffee and conversation. So excited that Taylor has an interview for a job on Wednesday. More on that at a later date.

Dumping dirt for lawnThe one last major project at VW Manor is our lawn. We missed the window for planting grass in the spring. The result has been a muddy, weed infested, wasteland of a yard which I’ve told people was landscaped by the four horsemen of the apocalypse.  We’re finally getting that remedied and on Saturday morning Hackert’s had the black dirt delivered and grading began for what will eventually be an actual yard. Seeding should take place early next week.

Saturday morning was clean-up day as Wendy and I prepared to host the VLs and JPs for an Iowa-Iowa State football extravaganza with dinner following. The crew arrived around game time and we set up in the V-Dub Pub downstairs. Wendy and I, Cyclone fans, were outnumbered by black and gold but it was a good natured crowd 😉 At least it was a good tight ball game which kept everyone interested until the final couple of minutes when the Hawkeyes took the lead and the Cyclones imploded. Ahhhh, as a long-time Cubs fan I’m reminded that there’s always next year.

We ordered take out from George’s for dinner and enjoyed ourselves late into the evening.

Speaking of the Chicago Cubs, Wendy and are still excited about baseball in mid-September for the first time in years as our beloved boys of summer make a run towards the post season. Go Cubs, go!