Visit to Wisconsin

Last weekend, I took a trip up to Appleton, WI to visit friends Lynsey and Jeremy and their son Jack. It was a great visit and we did all sorts of fun Wisconsiny-type things, including a trip to a cheese store (yay!!!), a visit to a Farmer's Market downtown, and lunch at a restaurant called Pullmans. At the cheese store, Lynsey and Jeremy introduced me to the wonders of cheese fudge -- yes, cheese fudge! I never knew such a delight existed! We bought fresh cheese curds, these ropey-type cheese things, string cheese, and of course cheese fudge. In the evenings as we relaxed and chatted, we sampled from the fine cheese platter before us. I made sure to buy some to take home with me.

Our trip to the Farmer's Market amazed me with the almost 3 blocks of vendors. We each tried some Gelato, bought some kettle corn, and ate a BBQ pork skewer. Fabulous! Later in the afternoon, Lynsey and I took off for a lovely lunch at a local restaurant called Pullmans which overlooked the river. Naturally, we sampled some of the cheesecake! Then we headed off for a little shopping!

Before I knew it the weekend was over and I had to head back to Iowa. I was sad to leave them all, including Rigby the dog, who became my new BFF while I was there. Jack and I also became buddies and spent a lot of time playing with all of his fun toys in the basement. Believe it or not, during the whole weekend, I only managed to get one picture from the visit. Here I am with Lynsey and little Jack. Lynsey says she has some pictures of me, Jack, and Jeremy dancing downstairs to some Beatles music. Will post those sometime in the future.

There was one other surprise to the weekend! Lynsey and Jeremy surprised me with a sign whose story dates back to the nineties and some early college days fun. I'm thinking about putting it in my office.

Finally, the day after I arrived home, I received a call saying that I had flowers to pick up. My Kenny did it again! It looks like he's going to send me flowers pretty regularly while away. He's now overseas and will be making his way to his next more "permanant" destination soon. The last time he was deployed, he arranged to send me flowers once a month to help the time pass and let me know he was thinking about me. I got my "July" flowers on Monday with a very sweet card. What a guy!

Farewell to a Friend

This is a sad post. Yesterday, Mom and I had to put our cat, Reilly, to sleep. He'd developed a tumor on his side and had held on as long as he could. When his personality started to change and he no longer acted happy and comfortable, we knew it was time.

He was about 11 years old. I remember when I picked him out at the Humane Society in Waterloo. I was only about 20 years old, but you had to be 21 to adopt a pet. I remember calling my dad, who was still alive then, asking him if we could get him (I was living at home at the time while an undergraduate). As Dad often did for me, he said yes, and Reilly, the orange cat, came to live with us.

He was a loving, friendly, and playful cat. One of my happiest memories of him was when he was small. I would throw a Christmas bow down the hall at my parents' house and he would "fetch" and return it to me. We played like that often. It was fun to have a cat that played fetch. He loved to sit on laps and be cuddled and was overall just a wonderful cat. I felt guilty leaving him behind in Waterloo when I moved to IL.

I'll miss you, Reilly cat. I'll miss seeing you at Mom's house, miss how you liked to sit in the living room window and watch for people to come, and miss how you always waited until we let the dog out to be extra playful. You always knew to roll around on the floor as soon as the dog went outside because you'd get a good scratchin'. You were a wonderful pet and member of the family. I hope you are resting peacefully now. Know that you were very loved. Thank you for loving us back.

July 2009: At a Glance

Can it possibly be July already? I swear (and I am not one prone to too much swearing) that my summer is flying by way too fast. Well, the month started off with a family wedding on the 4th of July. Brother Tom's daughter Tracie married her intended, Cory, in a beautiful lakeside ceremony on the 4th. It was simple, elegant, and very touching. I was sad that Ken couldn't be there with me as he was still in Indy doing his pre-deployment training, but he was there in spirit, and the couple let me take some wedding cake home for him. Here is a picture of Tom and the beautiful bride on their way to meet the groom.

Then the month really kicked off when Ken was able to come home for his last leave before heading "over." We had 3.5 lovely days lounging around home, puttering around the house, and spending time with family. The visit went way too fast, but we were both grateful for the extra time we could spend together before the long haul really kicks in. I received a short email from him this afternoon saying they'd made it as far as Ireland and would continue on their journey as soon as some small details pertaining to the trip were cleared up (sandstorm, etc.).

I only have 2 weeks left of teaching my summer writing class. Then it's time to think about what I need to do to get ready for my 5 fall classes. I am planning a getaway soon though to visit friends Lynsey and Jeremy and their son Jack in Wisconsin. I am excited to see them again and excited to spend some time actually talking and hanging out with them. That's what summer's are for, right?! It's a bit of a drive up there though, so I think I may stop by the library beforehand and get some books on CD for the roadtrip. Before I know it, July will be wrapping up and August will be here again, and with it, the busy-ness of the fall semester. Hopefully, that will make the time go faster, and before I know it, Ken will be home again to share in the adventures.