November Mystery Tour

Last Fall our pastor invited anyone who wanted, to go along on a "Mystery Trip". Only two of us took her up on it, and had a nice, relaxing day as she drove us to Omaha.

Our main destination turned out to be Lauritzen Gardens. Beautiful!
This miniature weeping fig is only 35 years old. They had a miniature lacebark elm that was closer to 75.
I absolutely loved this Mexican Bush Sage. It looks and feels like velvet!
(Easier to tell if you enlarge the photo.)
They had a model railroad track built through part of the area. Would have been fun to see it running.
One of many rose bushes.Purple Hyacinth Bean
An Armillary Sphere. Looks like it was almost 1:00.
Crabapple
More Mexican Bush Sage
All that walking made us hungry. Pastor C. took us to one of her favorite places to eat, Bob Monkey's Noodle Zoo.
Szechuan Noodles--"A spicy grill of chicken, carrots, snow peas, sweet pepper and onion served over Linguini with spinach and tomatoes." In other words... YUM!
After lunch, we spent time shopping/wandering around some fun shops in old downtown Omaha.
I'll close with some "Advice From a Squirrel," taken from a t-shirt made by Your True Nature.
-Look both ways when you cross the road
-Plan ahead
-Stay active
-Eat plenty of fiber
-Spend time in the woods
-Go out on a limb
-It’s OK to be a little nuts!

November Notes

Sadly, though not unexpected, the middle of November brought the day of a longtime friend's funeral. That horrid cancer cut her life short, but it was a life full of love for the Lord and for her family. We were roommates my senior year in college.
Louise, 1978

B. and I took some time to go to Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge.
On the way there, we crossed the bridge on the left to get from Kansas to Missouri, but it won't be used a lot longer, as a new one is being built. The railroad bridge on the right is still in use.

Those big brown blobs are muskrat mounds, which some of the birds apparently like to sit on.

These deer know they're safe here, even this close to the road.

I thought these reflections were neat.

It was good to have everyone home around Thanksgiving.
K and T fixing something yummy!

Some of the relatives enjoying dessert at B's sister's house.

Our dear Pastor C loves to travel, so in early November she planned a "mystery tour," which one other lady and I joined her for. I'll post about that next time!

: ) ?

Some September/October Stuff

Seven sweet kittens--do you see all of them?

A.'s prize-winning horseshoe pitching form.

Dahlia and cosmos by the barn.

T and M at her new place

T's first kitty, Spud. Only 5-6 months old here, I think he's going to be a Big cat!

We enjoy having friends over to fly kites. This looks much better if enlarged.
This is what's at the other end of those lines!

Our swing tree in October

Summer Summary-August

Worlds of Fun

When we bought the tickets ahead of time, who knew it would be the most miserably hot day of the summer? But we still had fun from opening to closing!
Anyone recognize this full row of feet?

Relay For Life

Relay always includes some interesting games.

Mini Maker Faire

Inside a wooden submarine that had really been used!
My husband, oldest brother, and son
It's a marshmallow gun!It works!
Yummy chicken/spinach/walnut/strawberry salad
Niece L. and her family
This demonstration was for explaining the idea of a space elevator.
Don't ask me!
Free Meals
We also continued helping our church fix and serve two free meals each summer month. (once a month the rest of the year) One time we gave a "learn to make a pie" session beforehand, and somehow I was drafted as "master pie maker" and got to lead it. This pie is actually one I made in September. Oh, and when I entered one in a contest in September, it did Not win any prize!

Summer Summary-July

Fourth of July picnic

Annual quilt auction at the church camp where T worked this summer.

Two mama cats and seven kittens--who cares whose is whose?

B, M, and I went 650 feet straight down to tour
the underground salt museum at Hutchinson!
In addition to mining salt, it's used as a storage vault for old records from all kinds of businesses, as well as old films, and even props and costumes from movies.
If I remember correctly, it's a constant 68º there.