Weekend update: Mini part I

10-11-10 road-trip brain

Saturday was a fun day exploring south central Iowa with 18 other Mini Cooper owners. I’ve come to realize the average Mini Cooper owner is NOT average/normal at all…. Just a little on the eccentric, yet charming side of weird.


(Take ME for instance.... then multiply by 18 others)..My hat is a tradition from several years ago from our Mini trip to the Danish Villages out in western Iowa)

Just to name a few other interesting people… Dave and Ladonna (Dave is British); Daryl, Roger #1; Gary and Penny; Chris and Roger #2;… and some from Easter Iowa that were new to me. Oh and yes, this year a KC couple joined us, Kay and Tillie. Our group was smaller this year than last year, only 11 Mini’s…. but with the perfect weather, and FUN stops along the way, this will be a year to remember!



Dave and Ladonna with matching Mini shirts.










Gary and Penny with matching shirts which matches their Mini Cooper yellow car.





Six Mini's from Des Moines meet up for breakfast, then drove together to our starting point this year in Fairfield where we meet with 5 other cars.



Sunny skys.... very warm temperatures!



More pictures to be posted all week! The Iowa country side was beautiful this time of year....

Hey! .... Who's steering this thing? PS: We rode in Greg's red Mini this year. Mine had to stay home in the garage.

Autumn sunshine

10-8-10 autumn brain

Weather report: Sunny with high near 80, lows in the 40s.
I must report that the weather over the last two weeks has been glorious, although sadly, I feel like I have not been able to really fully enjoy it, due to being sick and then being busy at work. I hope that all changes this weekend.

It’s that time of year again when a dozen or so Mini Coopers will be driving together through the Iowa country side…. Just for the fun of it. Last year was cloudy, cold with some rain…. This year sounds perfect and we will be exploring SE Iowa. I’ll be posting pictures on Monday.

Greg and I will also be celebrating our 18th Anniversary. It’s been 3 years already that we have been living this split in two life between Des Moines and Kansas City. WOW…. “time flies”!!

I had my astrological chart done once back in the mid 80's, by a friend of my sister's down in Florida. I was still single then in my early 30's.... what I remember the most from that assessment of "JUDY" was that there was a good chance that I would not marry, but if I did, it would be an "unconventional marriage"..... I guess according to "the stars"....Greg and I were meant to have this weird life together (he being 9 years younger than I for one thing.....and us now living in two cities. And we have always said, that we seem to be one of the happiest couples that we know... even with this current strange stage of life; together and apart or apart and together....

Happy Anniversary to my best friend, my partner, and my great love!

My big sister

10-7-10 celebration brain

Today is my big sister's birthday.
I'm sending her happy wishes for a great day. Looking forward to your October visit to Iowa.

I don't have any reference for a date on this picture. I had the "pixy" hair cut for a few years.... age 5-8??

Jan was cute, whereas I looked like Dennis the Menace... remember that TV show? This picture was dated me age 7 and Jan age 8, so it looks like the prior picture was a year or two earlier. I don't know why we weren't smiling.... we WERE happy kids, most of the time.

Lowering blood pressure: a purring cat

10-6-10 kitty brain

Since I was sick most of last week and in KC, I had so much bedtime, which turned into great bonding time with our new KC cat, Clover.

She is sweet and now getting a bit too comfortable in bed with me.
A few nights ago she spend half the night under the covers with me and part of that time she was purring in my ear. Actually it was kind of comforting and restful for me.

Now I am back in DM and will have to wait awhile before I see her again. This will give Greg time to become her favorite human again.

Clover loves playing with small fur mice. I brought a big packet of 9 mice, so now they will be spread all over the house. Eventually they find their way under the living room couch.

Only one seed

10-5-10 amazed brain

Back in spring I planted one small gourd seed next to the shed out back at the KC house. Nothing seemed to be happening for the longest time. Finally, late summer a vine started to grow.

WOW was I surprise to see how it had taken over one corner of the backyard. I have spotted at least 8 gourds growing of various sizes. I am such an accidental gardener.



I can't wait till harvest time to see all what we have under these vines. I am wondering are these types of gourds good for anything beside making bird houses. Maybe painting these can be the next Girls Weekend art Project?

Weekend update

10-4-10 pink brain

After being sick for a week, I am finally feeling back in the pink. Sunday I was able to take a short outing and I headed down to the KC Plaza area. There I did find one of the fountains turned pink for Breast Cancer Awareness in October.

This fountain is very close to our former apartment on the Plaza, and one of my favorite to sit by in the park, although Sunday, I think the fountain looked like it was menstruating.





I picked some new make-up at the "Origins" store while enjoying a stroll along the sunny Plaza streets.... as I did a little window shopping. I also did some bargain shopping at the "Half-Price Bookstore" down at Westport area. I spent $30 and got three music CD's and three books.

Greg has been out in Ohio again this weekend at another Cleveland Browns football game, while Clover and I are hanging out together. We even managed to stay awake to watch the entire Saturday Night Live, and I took in some Village Presbyterian Church Sunday morning.

Now Monday, back to 8 hours of work I think.... and back to Des Moines soon, hoping to find the repair work on the DM house complete....? Crossing my fingers.

The color of October is PINK

10-1-10 thinking-pink brain

The last week in September, thanks to my cold/flu, just seemed to slip through my fingers and now here it is October. Usually October is one of my favorite months since it holds our wedding anniversary, my birthday and several others family and friends birthdays, and Halloween…. And it is also breast cancer awareness month.

I’ve read in the paper that once again this October some of the public fountains in KC will have the water turned pink. Special type of dye I guess. If I happen to see a pink fountain, I’ll be sure to post a picture.

This weekend, my friend Carolyn will be traveling to Denver where she is meeting up with several others of her old friends from around the country and they all will participate in the Breast Walk, several of them are breast cancer survivors.

Carolyn had these cute brown and pink T-shirts made up for her team walkers and she gave me one too. (Sorry this picture turned out not so good.... I'm still not 100%)



I will be wearing this T-shirt tomorrow and I will be thinking of Carolyn. She is now a five year survivor and I can’t imagine my life without her in it.

Safe travels to you Peace Sister- Carolyn!