Tag Archives: Kev and Beck

The Latest: Spring 2022

May 28, 2022 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

It’s been a while since I posted and caught friends and family up on the latest with Wendy and me. There are so many ups and downs on Life’s road. Some stretches of the journey are memorable for their intensity and/or for pinnacle events. Then there are stretches of the journey that are less than memorable. Life proceeds, the river continues to flow, and you simply surrender to the flow. That’s how the late winter and spring of 2022 feel to me. Relatively uneventful, but not necessarily unimportant. C’est la vie.

We continue to enjoy small moments of joy with loved ones like the night we went to the Des Moines’ nightclub, Noce, with friends to enjoy the Des Moines’ Big Band. “Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life,” said Art Blakey. He was right. In the depths of an Iowa winter, some good jazz warms both heart and soul.

But it’s not just jazz. The arts, in general, allow the Creator to infuse life with the joy and Life of new creation. Wendy and I are so blessed to be part of a local gathering of Jesus’ followers who celebrate this. I was asked, once again, to be the Master of Ceremony for an “Original Works Night” that featured amazing talent and original works from poets, artists, songwriters, and photographers. It was so good. There’s even a video of the entire evening.

We continue to enjoy the blessing of great meals with good friends and the life-giving conversation that accompanies them. May this always be a regular part of our lives, as it certainly was this spring.

St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated this year with our friends, Kev and Beck, at the Hall in old West Des Moines. We thought we’d beat the rush and arrive early, but forgot that the Iowa Hawkeyes were playing in the Big Dance that afternoon. We went with the flow and enjoyed the afternoon and evening with good friends, good food, and a joyous time together with friends.

Speaking of friends, COVID robbed us of so many opportunities to be with friends and loved ones. Wendy and I took advantage of the waning pandemic to jet out to Palm Springs and spend time with dear friends in California. We enjoyed great meals, great conversation, and a jaunt out to Joshua Tree National Park. It was so good for our souls.

You never know when life will throw you a curveball. Wendy and I found ourselves at the lake this spring. We were preparing dinner. Wendy was slicing an avocado and ended up slicing her hand. An evening in the Emergency Room was followed by surgery and we continue in a season of rehab and recuperation. We’re at least enjoying the fact that she has a Harry Potter-worthy lightning-bolt scar on her palm. Trust me when I tell you that you’ve never truly experienced the breadth of humanity until you spend about six hours in an Emergency Room in the Ozarks.

We enjoyed a lovely visit from my parents. Dad continues to suffer the effects of cancer, bacterial infection, and the early symptoms of Parkinson’s. Mom’s Alzheimer’s continues to progress. Nevertheless, they continue to persevere in independent living in Des Moines as we plan for the next stages in their respective life journeys.

Wendy’s injury put a bit of a damper on our annual turn as the Dominie H.P. and Maria Scholte at Pella’s annual Tulip Time festivities. I spent some time each morning greeting visitors and tourists at the Scholte House Museum and we rode each afternoon in the Tulip Time parade. The three-day festival was a bit of a miracle this year. Right up until the day before the forecast was predicting rain for the first two days, but the first morning of the festival the rain stopped and the weather was perfect the rest of the time. The tulips were right at peak this year, as well. They looked spectacular.

The crew in Scotland is anxiously awaiting the arrival of our granddaughter. That didn’t stop them from making a vaca trip to Belgium this spring (yes, I’m jealous). Baby girl is scheduled for a summer solstice arrival on June 21. Big brother, Milo, has floated potential names for his sister ranging from “Julie” to “Harry Houdini.” We’ll trust mom and dad with making an apt choice.

We loved having Madison and Garrett (aka “G”) with us at the lake just a week or so ago. They flew into KC and we picked them up and transported them to the lake for a wonderful, long weekend. As always, the time was too short.

We also enjoyed dinner and a visit with our friends, the Burches, who were welcoming their daughter, Shanae, along with her husband and baby son back to the United States from their home in Cambodia. It was so fun to enjoy a Cambodian meal and spend an evening of love and laughter together. To watch my friend, Matthew, with his grandson was awesome.

We returned to Iowa, briefly. Wendy and I returned to KC the following weekend for an enjoyable getaway that included a visit with our friends, Matt and Tara. We then scooted back to the lake. Memorial Day weekend has finally arrived, which portends our annual VW, JP, and VL get-together. The official kick-off of summer has begun!

Wayfarer's Journal

Warm Places in Winter

March 3, 2020 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

Wendy and I experienced an unprecedented amount of travel between November 2019 and February 2020. Ironically, one of the first trips on the calendar was a Florida and Caribbean cruise getaway with our friends Kevin and Becky. It was after this trip was booked that we decided to spend the holidays in the UK with our daughter, Taylor, along with son-in-law Clayton and grandson, Milo. Then, our daughter Madison’s wedding and Wendy’s sister, Suzanna’s wedding got added to the calendar. Add business travel to these family events and I spent 57 of 105 days living out of a suitcase between mid-November and late February.

Fortunately, the first trip we booked ended up at the end of the travel gauntlet. We were ready to escape the Midwest winter, the stress of travel, and decompress with friends.

We flew to Florida in late January and worked remotely from a lovely suite in Pompano Beach, FL, just across the street from the beach. Kev and Beck joined us mid-week. We then departed from the Port of Miami on Saturday, Feb 1 for a seven-day eastern Caribbean cruise on Carnival’s Conquest. Super Bowl LII was in Miami that weekend, so it was a little crazy!

Our ports of call were Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, and Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic. This was our first cruise on Carnival. Cruising will always be my favorite type of vacation. Being at sea fills something deep within me that this land-locked Midwestern boy can’t explain.

We loved our time with friends.

As for our ports of call, Grand Turk was okay. We shopped at the port and enjoyed drinks at Margaritaville. San Juan was, once again, a highlight for us. The old city is a favorite stop. We enjoyed lunch at the Choco Bar Cortes and Kev and I enjoyed a bevy and stogie at the Cigar House while the ladies shopped. St. Thomas was also an enjoyable port, and we really enjoyed a bevy at Taphus while shopping in the central business district. We chose not to get off the boat at Amber Cove, and enjoyed being on the mostly deserted ship.

The very best part of the cruise was, of course, our time with friends. We enjoyed the sun, fun, good food, good drink, laughter, love, and the making of so many memories. They are Kansas City Chief’s fans and it was a lot of fun getting to watch KC’s come-from-behind victory after dinner on Super Bowl Sunday.

We also enjoyed making new friends at the ship’s Alchemy Bar. The mixologists, Aleks, Brian, and Sonja became dear friends during the week. We learned from them and came to sincerely appreciate each one of them.

Below is a gallery of photos from our time in Florida and on the cruise. Enjoy.

Enjoying a stogie at “The Cigar House” in San Juan. They have a great humidor along with great environment and service.

Tom's Photos, Wayfarer's Journal

The Latest… June 2019

June 9, 2019 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

It is a beautiful June evening at the lake as I sit to write this post. The forecast for the weekend called for rain, rain, and a little more rain. Instead, we were treated to plenty of sunshine and only a few minor episodes of precipitation. That’s a nice change of pace. This spring and early summer have been rainier than I can remember for some time. The lawn tractor has been getting a lot of work as I’ve been mowing 2-3 times a week to keep up.

The rain has been definitely good for growing things. Wendy and finished phase 3 of our landscaping plans. We had new beds put in around the back of the house and around the patio. We still have one section we need to finish on the north side of the house, but it feels great to have it done. I planted some more roses and they have really been going to town.

Speaking of flowers, Wendy has been planning for many years to have a tat reworked. She was never really happy with the original and fixing it has been a topic of discussion for a very long time. Molly at Creative Images in Des Moines did her masterful work, as usual, and the result was just what m’love wanted.

We got our first I-Cubs game of the year in these past few weeks, and we kicked off the summer with what’s become a traditional Memorial Day Weekend at the lake with the VLs. Our arrival at the lake was delayed as I officiated the wedding of Joel and Kara (Zondervan) Larson at the Scholte Gardens in Pella. It’s been a while since I’ve officiated a wedding. Ironically, I received a surprise message on Facebook from the couple who were my very first wedding over 30 years ago. How cool to know that they are still together and happily married. I take no credit, of course. Asking the questions is the easy part.

Officiating a wedding at the Scolte Gardens on Memorial Day weekend.

Me c.1988 officiating my first wedding.

The rest of the weekend at the lake was fun, as always. It’s so much fun to watch the VL kids enjoying themselves and having watched them grow up right here at the Playhouse over the years. As the kids have gotten older and now entertain themselves quite nicely, it also affords the adults more time and space for conversation and that was wonderful.

Selah

Dock. Sun. Chill. Perfect.

Camille caught a fish, but wasn’t about to touch it.

Wendy and I stayed a few extra days and worked from the lake, but we had to buzz home as our friends Kevin and Linda were making a rare, brief appearance in Iowa. We met them, along with our friend Cyndi, for dinner at Cooper’s in Valley Junction and then for an after dinner drink at the Hall. Can’t tell you how much we miss having them living across the street.

The following weekend was another rare treat as all of Wendy’s siblings came home for a Hall family gathering. It was the first time that the entire Hall crew were in the same room since 2010. The agenda was very simple: be together, eat together. We got to meet our nephew, Asher, for the very first time and found out that we have another niece or nephew due to arrive by the end of the year as Wendy’s brother Luke and his wife, Brooke, announced that there was a bun in the oven. It was so much fun to be together as a family again.

The Hall family together again.

Sisters.

The whole Hall clan.

Our nephew, Asher.

It was back to the lake this past weekend for our annual early summer pilgrimage with our friends, Kev and Beck. Again, it was nice that we had better weather than was forecast. We enjoyed lunch and a leisurely few hours in the pool at the Redhead on Friday, along with some sun and relaxation on the dock on Saturday. As usual, the real focus of the weekend was sharing life, great food, great drinks, and endless conversations that move us all further up, and further in.

Fun at the Redhead

Me and M’luv

Lots of laughter.

Charcuterie night!

Life is good.

Life is good, even working up a sweat mowing.

Hope you’re having a great summer wherever your journey finds you. Play ball!

Wayfarer's Journal

Homecoming and a Belated Birthday Celebration

July 28, 2014 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

Cubbies Win! — (Photo credit: Tom Vander Well)

After a long week on a business trip to Texas, I returned home on Friday evening to an empty house. Our local community theatre opened their production of Seussical the Musical on Friday night and Wendy was taking care of Front of House and the Patron Lounge for the show. Suzanna is in the show as one of the bird girls. Wendy was home by intermission but I was pooped from my trip and Wendy was feeling the start of a summer cold coming on.

Saturday was a day for getting some things done. Wendy and I had finished clearing out an old drop ceiling in the basement a week ago and I took a load of debris to the dump while Wendy finished up some work.

It was a gorgeous day and after lunch we headed out to the lot where our new house will be built. The builder had staked out the footprint of the house on the lot so we could see where it will be. It was kind of fun to have neighbors come over to greet us and we ended up spending a lot more time out there chatting than we had expected. If all goes according to plan, we should be breaking ground in the next week or two.

Saturday evening we both helped with Front of House for Seussical before heading home to grab a George’s pizza. Wendy’s cold was getting much worse as the day progressed on Saturday, so we called it an early night.

Sunday morning things were not much better and we opted to play hooky from church. About noon we headed to Des Moines to meet Kev and Beck. For my birthday this year, Kev and Beck wanted to take Wendy and me to an Iowa Cubs game and this Sunday afternoon double header was about all that we could work into the summer schedule. So, Happy Birthday to me three months later! 🙂

It was a gorgeous afternoon for a double header, though our beloved local boys dropped both games to the Memphis Redbirds. It was very annoying. There were way too many St. Louis Cardinal fans at the ballpark. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the sun, the hot dogs, the popcorn, and the beer. After the game we picked up some burgers from B-Bops and settled in at Kev and Beck’s house for some enjoyable conversation. Taylor was not there, as she and some friends are at the lake this weekend.

Wendy’s cold was still plaguing her, so we called it an earlier night than normal with Kev and Beck and headed back home. A busy week ahead work-wise and a four-show weekend for Seussical with family coming to see Suzanna. We’ve got a lot to accomplish before heading to the lake for a couple of weeks!