A Flashback

Sooo, I was reading my friend Sarah's blog today...and it totally reminded me of the time Jim's truck caught fire on the Hwy. He coasted into town (How he did without completely freaking out, I don't know) and parked in the Best Western's parking lot. (I'm sure they were just THRILLED.) Jim called 911 - he thought the beast was going to go up into flames. We were blessed...THIS TIME. The truck, whom I have affectionately named "Vulcan"...look it up...survived the ordeal. Shortly after Jim's call, an officer decided to come to the rescue. Well, he totally drove by the truck and into the OTHER half of the parking lot. The smoke apparently didn't give enough of an indication that it was on fire. When the officer finally did pull up to the truck he said, "It's on fire? Now???" Jim was SO lucky I wasn't there to reply. I may have stuck my foot in my mouth with something like. "No, we just called 911 BEFORE we started it on fire..." I get in trouble with my sarcasm sometimes.

Anyway, Officer Obvious WAS heroic and used his handy-dandy fire extinguisher to salvage our truck (it's been salvaged a few other times...it's in the business). Whew. And now, we can continue to transport various and asundry large things to our house, which is STILL under construction.

Also, big thanks to our dear friend, Dan'l for supporting his missionaries and helping tend to(and pay for) Vulcans injuries...we couldn't say THANK YOU enough.

And thanks, Sarah for letting me bounce this post off of yours...I give you credit for the idea. Otherwise, I'd just be posting ANOTHER "photography blog update." I need to write more.

Speaking of Moving It...

Last week we moved (temporarily) to an apartment in Ankeny. Jim is working hard on the rennovation of the house up north (and thanks tons to all who are helping us!)...and the goal to have it done is June. BUT, if he needs more time, he has the freedom to do so. We didn't think it terribly wise to continue living there while staining, painting, carpet glueing and other random construction things are going on - we have a third party to think about now! :) Plus, the musty construction smell was REALLY getting to me! So, we've moved and our quaint little apartment is very cozy and I'm SO glad to be able to cook again! Yay!

I'll be updating you with pictures of the house soon! So much has changed!

Progress - Part 2

Above and Below: Jim and Jay working on the Drywall.

After Jim sanded the drywall mud...

Whoa.

Progress

Here is our house...we've made some progress. This used to be the old Kitchen/Dining Room - with some of the appliances cornered in the mudroom. But, soon it will be the living room.

What you're seeing in the way back of the room used to be the porch. We've opened it up some so it will flow a little better...to look a little bigger. We took out the drop ceiling, so we have a foot more of room!

This next picture is the view from the old porch area. To Jim's right (your left) is the mudroom where we currently store the refridgerator, stove, sink, washer and dryer. Eek. It will soon be a Laundry Room only, but I'll post pictures of that later. To your right (Jim's left) the big open space in the wall with plastic is going to be the entryway to the new kitchen/dining room. Now, we call it the Blue Room. There will be a short countertop coming from the right side forming a sort of "bar" for more seating and social time during food prep. I like that idea!

Below is a better, more straight-on view of the entryway into the Blue Room (soon to be Kitchen/Dining Room).

We've got a long way to go! But we're seeing progress and we like that!

Bloomin' Garden - Part 1

Remember how excited I was about my Dahlia's, Zinnia's, Blue Boys (Bachelor's Buttons) etc?

I have some pictures of MY garden (no more copying them from garden websites!) for you to enjoy!

My Beautifully Bright Pinkish-Reddish Dahlias.

My Bluer-than-Blue (framed with cascades of green) Blue Boys

My Zinnias, which mostly bloomed in hues of Iowa State rememberance. Oiy.

My Delicate White (tips dipped in elegant pink) Dahlias.

Some of my favorites...touched up and funned up.

Come back for more; believe me, there's more.

We have Gas

Not something most people admit...but, it's true....we have gas. BAD gas. So, bad we had to leave our house.

Okay, okay. I know what you're thinking. And no, I didn't make an experimental dinner then night before. I'm not that brave.

BUT, when Jim and I walked into our house after work, we there was a faint smell that seemed to be wafting through our house and became a very distinct rotten egg smell after we turned the furnace on.

"Why does it smell like something is cooking?" I asked Jim. "Something not good."

Jim explained that those kinds of smells happen when you turn on the furnace for the first time after the summer season.

I waited it out...and it only got worse. Jim and I both became highly suspicious of this strange odor.

The Mid-American guys were galavanting around our little town telling people that they put too much smelly stuff in the gas and not to use the range or furnace. Well, we didn't have a gas stove - so, no worries there, but our furnace was gas, so we turned that connection off.

We opened the windows and for a few short minutes the odor seemed to dissipate. No for long though. After about an hour or so, Jim started getting a headache and I felt like puking.

That was the end of that...we called up some dear friends and found a place to sleep without feeling like the room is spinning.

The Mid-American guys came back, though. They verified that we did, indeed, have a gas leak. And boy, was it a smelly one.

Wondering?

I've had a few "Are you Under Water?" emails lately, and I thought I would answer via blog.

No, we are not personally using scuba gear to get from our front door to our driveway. We are not in need of a canoe to get to and from work. We are not turning into the underwater City of Atlantis (although they had the luxury of a big dome to stay dry). BUT, there are several people, churches and businesses who are, and they could use your prayers, too!

My friend Jenna has been updating her blog on the happenings in Cedar Rapids, where her family is from. So, you can read that for information...and entertainment. She even posts pictures so you can feel like you're there! Up close and personal with the water, they are!

Thank you all dearly for your concern!

Here is a copy of an email I sent to a caring friend:

We're doing alright in our neck of the woods! Our basement has some water, but we have a sump pump working 24/7 to keep us dry! :) Mingo is basically dry, our river banks are steep, so all the water rising has been fairly well contained, praise the Lord! It's just the saturated ground that is causing a lot of standing water. Our ditches are full, though...and constantly running. It's like we have a little stream in our front yard where the ditch is! One good thing about all this is that I haven't had to water a single plant or flower most of this new spring! Although, the weeds are getting pretty nasty! Our yard is in good shape as well. But, across the street is another story! We are surrounded by lakes...that once were fields. Hopefully, the farmers will still have decent yield after this! Most of the flooding is in Des Moines, though...where they opened the Saylorville Lake flood gates to keep the whole city from going under! So, many of the streets and bridges in the city of Des Moines are closed and Cedar Rapids and Waterloo are really under water. We have a friend that pastors a church there. In fact, we just had a meeting there in April. So, we're hoping to hear good news from them. Also, we have a friend who pastors a church in Des Moines. They had to evacuate the church (files and important things, etc) just in case the levy didn't do it's job when the Des Moines River was getting filled up. Our church in Cambridge suffered some flooding as well. The basement hasn't been useable for a few weeks so classrooms and nurseries have had to be relocated. The town of Cambridge has also seen damage from the water. From what I have heard, people have had significant damage to their homes! As a church, though, we hope to reach out to them during this time.

Here are some pictures from my friend Dan'l, who is a Cambridge resident.

A Heart Melting Moment

We have rhubarb.

I wanted make something rhubarb.

I picked some rhubarb (some of which was pooped on by a bird).

I washed the rhubarb.

I found a rhubarb recipe.

It was called Rhubarb Crisp, which I consistently mis-pronounce as Crips.

It was easy.

I cut the rhubarb into little chunks.

I found a cute heart shaped baking dish.

I wanted to use it to make heart-shaped rhubarb crisp for Jim, because I HEART him.

It was not a glass cake pan.

Or a metal one.

It was a plastic type material.

I lost the instructions for how to use it.

Jim said it might melt.

I said who would make a cake pan that melted.

I filled it with yummy cakey goodness.

And put it in the 375 degree oven and set the timer for 30 minutes.

We went for a walk.

We enjoyed the fireflies.

Upon entering the house, we didn't smell yummy rhubarb crisp.

It smelled like burnt plastic.

I felt like a dork.

I took some pictures...might as well.

It didn't melt onto the oven's bottom...for that, I was glad.

The electricity went out - a frequent occurence in our town.

We cleaned up.

In the dark.

We ate still yummy rhubarb crisp, by candlelight.

It was romantic.

The Outside

Jim and I have recently started working on the outside of our house since the sun has finally come out and it's been weather fit for outside work. We've dug up old bushes and planted new flowers ALL around our house and in the yard. I can't wait til they bloom...hopefully they survive. I'm kind of new at this...

Here's a preview of what we'll be seeing in our yard this summer:

Blue Boy/Bachelor's Buttons

Zinnias

Silver Carpet

Weeping Pussy Willow

Lily of the Valley

Canterbury Bells

Dinner Plate Dahlias