Archive for the ‘Iowadawg’ Category
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07.28.10
Some Shocking Ideas
Monday afternoon we went to Des Moines. First picked up our daughter Pam then drove to the funeral home. It was for the visitation of my wife’s sister-in-law who had died. Her side of the family was all there. Her sons and daughters, and down the line. Plus of course my wife’s side (her first husband). Not a too sad a time as everyone was there more to celebrate her life and what she meant to everyone. After about 2 hours or so, we all left and came back home.
This friday will be the gravesite services down in Decatur. She was cremated Monday evening after the visitation and her remains will be interred. My wife and granddaughters will be strumming their guitars and singing the requested songs at the gravesite. They have been practicing for almost a week.
Tuesday morning it was back to Des Moines for the weekly visit to our dear Aunt Louise. Who now hates me she says because I came up with the words she had never heard of to finish some of her crossword puzzles. Funny that she is a retired teacher among other things, and I had to help her out. Of course, how many people could have come up with the long answer to the clue of who was made famous by the 2008 presidential election. Could you? Save you the trouble. The answer was (and Aunt Louise looked at me and asked how in the world do you know this? Oh, how I hate you now. lol) Joe The Plumber.
Then this morning? Back to Des Moines yet again! This time back to Aunt Louises’ because wife’s brother was coming in from Tiffen (out near Cedar Rapids, south side of IH80) with his wife, grandson, and of course his daughter and her little baby girl (known to all as Baby Grace). His daughter is back home for about a month or so from North Carolina as her husband is in Russia of all places (he is in the army and with some specialized group that jumps out of planes and helicopters to thrill the crowds) for a month. Now Baby Grace was, like one of our granddaughters, born 3 months prematurely (she was born in February) and had to fight for her right to live. Tell you, been ages since I held a little baby and even fed her. She is such a doll. Anyways, Aunt Louise at first was not too happy and not too well, but she perked up when she got to hold Baby Grace, her great-grandniece. So we all had a good time visiting and talking. Or at least the women did!
Damn, our eldest granddaughter came over this afternoon to practice with the wife for Friday and she grabbed one of the quarts of jalapenos my wife had put up the other day. I told her to put it back, it was my private stock. So she goes to grandma and grandma says don’t listen to your grandfather, of course you can have it. So I told her, one day I will be over at her house and I will reciprocate. LOL
Ran across this earlier today on Wired Magazine. Found out, I am not the only one that comes up with some shocking ideas to change the world! That there are many others out there (with more fame and pull, power and money, than I will ever have) who think close to how I think. Do check it out for the 12 shocking ideas that could (SHOULD) change the world. Especially if they were put into action ASAP.
Two I like a lot are simple to put into action. But one the US government, state and local governments, would be slower than molasses in February to implement. Something I have said for ages. That is why are we throwing people into prisons for non-violent crimes? Do you know that the USA has more people in prison per capita than any other country on this planet? The other idea is again something I really know about and have talked about ever since I first met our autistic grandson. And that is hire autistic people for jobs (not factory line work, thank you) that require someone to just sit there and find the answer. Or sit there and find the problem. Well, one man found this out and actually started a company that hires autistic people. You will have to read the entire article.
Now go to 12 Shocking Ideas That Could Change the World. Do think about each one as you read about it and think of ways you could help.
I just found this picture and like it. Someone found a good way to end cable clutter!
Something I have always suspected, that we all are part Neandertal.
Up to 4 percent of the DNA of people today who live outside Africa came from Neandertals, the result of interbreeding between Neandertals and early modern humans. That conclusion comes from scientists led by Svante Pääbo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, who pieced together the first draft of the Neandertal genome—which represents about 60 percent of the entire genome—using DNA obtained from three Neandertal bones that come from Vindija cave in Croatia and are more than 38,000 years old.
Read all about this at Our Inner Neandetal.
DeClutter Fast – Get Your Home In Order!
How To Declutter Your Home Immediately! Discover The Joy And Power Of Order. This Quick Read Changes Your Life! We all have too much clutter in our homes! Do something now about decluttering your home at Declutter Fast.Now to take a break, get some more ice tea, and just chill out. Just as I do every day!
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07.24.10
Flooding in Iowa
Tell you that we have been getting a lot, and I mean a lot, of rain here. Today so far, no rain in our area and the outlook for the next few days look good for no more rain. Which is a relief for us.
But there is flooding in many parts of Iowa! And this morning, in the eastern end of Iowa, a dam broke loose….
This is in Delhi, Iowa. Here is just one picture to show you the dam giving way. For more pictures, there will be a link below the picture to the Des Moines Register.
AP PHOTO/THE GAZETTE, JULIE KOEHN
Maquoketa River water surges over the bridge of the Delhi Dam as areas surrounding the Maquoketa River continue to flood on Saturday, July 24, 2010.For more pictures and information about this damn breaking loose and the areas and towns affected, go to this link:New: Dramatic photos of Delhi, Iowa, dam failure & downstream flooding: http://bit.ly/9Urltu
Today my wife and her daughters went to a baby shower. So they all stopped at Gordman’s first to buy some baby girl outfits and cards. Got some cute outfits! (wife said to her daughters, this is grandpa’s dream right here picking out dresses for little girls)
For some reason I made a pot of coffee and been drinking coffee. Going to blame the coffee for me being a bit warm here!
Okay, what are the odds of 4 people each on a motorcycle being handicapped?
Are you like me and just hate those freaking videos on youtube and other sites that have to have advertising in the front end? Just viewed one that had an entire one minute commercial before the video finally started. Only to stop every 3 minutes for another one minute commercial! Anyways, one thing I took away from the video (it was an interesting video about idiots doing idiotic things) is that I will never buy any product from Amway! That will teach them to waste a good video with their commercials.
Oh, the visitation for our sister-in-law who died yesterday will be Monday morning. The gravesite services will be Friday. And yes, I forgot the little town where she will be interred. She will be cremated.
And to top off all the other sad news, now one of my wife’s sisters is have renal problems. Talking about dialysis at best, something else at worse. Will find out more as it develops and she tells my wife what is going on.
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07.23.10
Very Sad News
This morning, my wife had this weird feeling. So she called her niece to see how Linda (wife’s sister-in-law, sister of her first husband) was doing.
Linda passed away this morning in her sleep.
It was good for my wife that we did go and visit with her Wednesday morning. They talked and laughed about everything. Told my wife, keep those memories of her and know that she has gone to be with her mother and her brother.
It never is a happy or good occasion when a loved one passes on.
We did go to Winterset this morning and picked up the camera. Again, it was a wonder that the camera was still on the table at the park. And the very nice Korean woman is tickled that her camera with all the pictures she took on her travels of the USA and Canada are again in safe hands.
Having off and on little drizzles of rain today. And watched the news about flooding in various parts of Iowa. Tell you, if you have never been in a flood, you really can’t imagine what these poor people are going through.We are lucky here in that we are not that near any river or stream that could overflow and flood us.
Wife is baking and cooking stuff for the baby shower tomorrow. And found out today that the doctor may birth the baby in 2-3 weeks. Not let the baby girl go to full term. This is because the mother is diabetic and they do not want the baby to be diabetic also. As soon as they verify that the lungs of the baby are fully formed, they will deliver her. Again, another worry for the family.
Now, before you forget to do so, call or better yet visit if you can those relatives of yours that are elderly or may have health problems. And let them know you love them.
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07.22.10
Today’s News
Today found out that our sister-in-law I wrote about yesterday is dropping a bit faster. They now are giving her morphine every 2 hours instead of 4 hours. Doctors are a bit vague about how much time she has left, but everyone has been told to visit her in the mornings only as soon as possible. Saturday morning my wife and her oldest daughter will be dropping by to visit and my wife said, probably be the last time she will see her until the funeral. Very sad really, to see this great woman slide so fast and look so sick (can’t think of another word to describe how she looks without getting gross on you all).
Then last night, our daughter told wife that her husband’s older brother has been diagnosed with cancer of the kidney. They will be taking out one of the kidneys soon, plus check him carefully to see if the cancer has spread. Everyone is hoping that the cancer is only in the kidney and removing the kidney removes the cancer for good. He has been a bit weak for some time, and skinny.
Today one of my wife’s sisters came this way from Coralville (east end of Iowa) with 3 Korean ladies (one who had her 2 kids with her). Some connection between university in Seoul and the University of Iowa in Iowa City, plus the sister’s church. They all wanted to come to Madison County and visit all the covered bridges. So Becky (my wife if you have forgot already) met them in Winterset and they went to lunch after visiting John Wayne’s birthplace and seeing his new statue. After they went to the park in there to see the Cutler bridge. Then walk (the road was blocked off) up to see the stone tower. Well, Becky left then as no way she was going to walk uphill about a mile or so to see the tower (she did that once before and swore no more walking up there again for her). Anyways, to make a long story short, her sister called from Coralville a little over an hour ago. Seems the Korean lady left her camera on the table at the park! Yes, all the pictures she had taken on her journey around the USA and Canada (she said she has drove about the same distance that it is by air from Korea to here, about 6,000 miles). So Becky called Marcia (cousin, Aunt Louise’s daughter) and Marcia called a friend of hers in Winterset. Guess what? He went to the park and the camera was still on the table! How about that for good news to offset a little bit the sad news we been getting? In the morning, Becky will go to Winterset and pick the camera up. Return it this saturday when everyone gets together for the baby shower in Des Moines (Marcia’s first granddaughter!) I bet there were some good Korean words used when the lady found out her camera was found and it was safe.
No rain today, but the ground is so saturated that so far the top layer has yet to dry out. Took the hoe to wipe out some weeds that dared to pop up and it was hoeing mud. Hopefully the rain they forecast for tonight and tomorrow does not come here or if it does, it is just a light sprinkling like yesterday.
Hey, got 21 jalapenos picked! Told wife, tomorrow or Sunday got to slice all of them up and pickle them suckers for use later. Finally, a use for the dill plants growing wild at the other end of the building.
With our president and his liberal democrat cohorts in charge, are we due to see bread lines like this one?
Bread line during Great Depression
(Picture from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.)And how many of you remember these two? Harpo and Groucho Marx? (no relation to Karl Marx)
