Iowa State Fair - Second Installment

I know for some of you this is old news but continuing our adventures at the Iowa State Fair.

You can't go to the fair without seeing the butter sculptures.  This year is a tribute to the Lincoln Highway.

This last picture is Sara repairing the cow after the damage.

For us the fair wouldn't be complete without visiting the Discovery Gardens

This year inside the Agriculture Building was a sculpture of a buffalo made out of scrap iron found in one of the Iowa rivers (couldn't remember which one).

One evening we went to the six hitch horse show.  It was amazing.  Pictures are a little blurry.  Sorry

In the atrium of the Cultural Center was a balloon artist.  The ferris wheel actually turned.

Next installment will be the last day of the fair.

Update #2 - Iowa State Fair

Fair arrived on Thursday, and we were there about 8am.  That is correct, I did drink some coffee on the way in.  We like having breakfast on the first day at Campbell's before checking out the fairgrounds.  Then we ride the trams around a couple of times, to check out the various food stands.

Then we stop in and visit the friends we have made at the Varied Industries Building.  We share info about what vendors have returned, the new foods, etc.  Of course, while we were there I had to see Floppy.

Then we checked out the Legos exhibit in the south atrium.

We love people watching on the streets of the fair.

This year we watched the ice carver.  Here's a couple of pictures.  I won't show all of them since I have them step by step all the way.  :)

We had to be to work at 4pm.  So that took care of the first day.  More later.

Update #1

Can't believe it's been this long since I updated.  Where has the summer gone?  I'll try and remember the summer happenings.  I know if I updated as I went but then .......

On August 1 we headed up to Iowa.  This was our 14th year volunteering at the Iowa State Fair.  We had a tire blowout on the camper near Osceola, IA.  Yes, again.  We thought we had all new tires on.  We replaced the wrong tire before heading out.  So the spare was the new tire.  Now, we have a new spare tire.

Before the fair started, we help out at the volunteer office helping to finish up the last few details of the program before the fair starts.  There is a training session and a potluck on the Monday before the fair.  We also get a tour of the fairgrounds with a fair board member as our tour guide.  Provides us with more information to help us with new items or changed items.


We ride in the fair trams.

The food is always delicious.  The fair provides the meat and drink: chicken catered from Hy-Vee and water, lemonade and ice tea.

Since retirement, Sharon and I have ridden in the state fair parade on the Wednesday before the fair starts.  We meet at the volunteer office and take the trams over to the parade route.  We're at the beginning of the fair so we get to park at the base of the Capital.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we also blew a front tire on the truck on our way back from the fairgrounds one day.   Let's just say that this was a much more expensive trip then we had planned on.  We have new tires on the truck and a couple of new ones on the camper.

Next update, I'll talk about the fair.  We had a really good time. 

Fourth of July

Well, have a couple of hours this afternoon while Sharon watches the Cubs and before the employee barbecue so thought I'd write a few words.

The summer is going fairly well.  Sharon's having foot and leg issues.  She has plantar fasciitis.  So after standing for awhile her foot aches and her legs swell some.  The doctor won't prescribe anything for it because of her other meds.  He just said learn to live with the pain.  Yep!  That's what he said.  We're only going to work 4 days a week now.  That's helping a lot.  So things should improve somewhat before the fair starts.

We'll be heading up to Iowa on August 1st and staying at the KOA in Adel.  Looking forward to seeing our fair friends again. 

Last week my sisters came for a short visit.  We put a lot into Wednesday and sort of wore them both out.  So we stayed inside the cabin on Thursday and played games.  We took a small drive around town and stopped at the national cemetery.  We had visited Wilson's Creek battlefield the day before.

We're standing in front of a flag found on the battlefield right after the battle.  Pam is on the far left.  She was doing fairly well.  Lost most of her hair after the first chemo treatment but looks good in the turbans and hats.  She's so coordinated.  Marcia's in the middle.  She got her brace and new shoes for her feet.  Marcia has Type II Diabetes and has been diagnosed with neuropathy.  She's now seeing a specialist that specializes in saving feet and legs due to diabetes.

It may sound depressing but everyone is doing well and we sure do have a great time when we get together.

At the cemetery we found a section of soldiers from Iowa.  We learned that after this battle, Iowa's governor mandated that a regimental unit couldn't be named the "first" due to the fighting of this infantry group.  Visiting this national cemetery was very moving.  It's the only cemetery that has both union and confederate soldiers buried.  They were brought here after the battle.

We've decorated the office for the fourth.  Took some pictures of Scott & Diane and a couple of the newer workcampers out front underneath our award sign.

At the beginning of June, Scott & Diane took the employees and families to a Springfield Cardinals baseball game.  It was a very cool evening.  You guessed it, Sharon wore a sweatshirt and was still cold.  They lost.  But we all had a good time.

This week the weather has been beautiful.  A few times we were able to sit outside reading in our recliner lawn chairs and enjoying the scenery.

We went shoe shopping at the mall yesterday.  Believe it or not, I didn't buy any shoes.  Guess just didn't find anything I wanted.  Sharon found a couple of pairs, though.  Nice support shoes without having psychedelic colors.  That was the hardest part, finding plain colored shoes. 

Over the next couple of weeks, we're hoping to get the cupboards cleaned out with our extra day off.  Think it will happen.  Maybe.  We'll see.

Almost a month has passed and I'm taking the time to update again.  Isn't it amazing. 

This weekend we're heading to NW Iowa for Sharon's nephew's (Austin) graduation.  So, you ask, what's been happening these past few weeks.  Let's see if I can remember.  I'll start from the most recent and work my way back.

Last Wednesday & Thursday (May 8 &9), Sharon and I took a trip to Adair, IA to visit my sister, Pam.  At the end of April she found out that she has cancer.  In less than 6 weeks time:  diagnosis, surgery and recuperation.  She'll have treatments over the next several months.  We were going up the week after her surgery but snow occurred in Iowa and Missouri.  

Here she is sitting on her new front porch.  We were enjoying the outdoors for a little while.  During her surgery, they removed 16 lymph nodes from her leg.  This caused her leg to stop functioning.  Hence the cane.  She's able to walk and go up and down the stairs but still trying to get those nerves to "fire up".  She was extremely happy the day we came, she is now able to stay at home by herself now.  My other sister, Marcia, came over for the afternoon and early evening also.  And, of course, we played games.

As I mentioned, the week before we had snow.  Not as much as Iowa but still it looked gruesome for a little while.

We had planted some flowers just the week before.  Most have survived.

This one is my favorite.  The daisies with all of the colorful zinnias around them.  They're growing up fine.

You should see the geranium now.  Three very large blooms.  Needless to say, this one survived.

This didn't survive the snow and frost.  At least we have a picture to prove it did exist.

 

 

 

We bought a new birdfeeding station.  A couple of hummingbirds tried to eat from the chickadee feeder so we went and bought a hummingbird feeder.  We have two pairs of hummingbirds, so far.

 

 

 

 



We've had several birds visiting.  We've had a couple of Baltimore Orioles stop by so now we have a container of grape jelly on the feeder. 

We've had grosbeaks for the last few weeks.  Sharon got a picture with 3 females, 1 male and an immature male.  We've had an indigo bunting stop by also.  Of course, we still have all of the normal birds:  red belly woodpecker, downy woodpecker, house finches, goldfinches, white throated sparrows, song sparrows, and a couple of other sparrows that I can't remember at the moment, bluejays, cardinals, mourning doves and of course, the red wing blackbirds.  I'm sure I'm forgetting a few.

Well, it's almost time for me to start lunch so I'll sign off for now. 

April

Can you believe it!!!  I'm updating before 6 months have passed.

Let's see what's been going on the last couple of weeks.

Scott & Diane invited us to their home for Easter dinner.  We sat outside until dinner was ready.  It was beautiful.  Their magnolia tree had large buds but had not begin to bloom, yet.   If you remember from posts past, S&D have eclectic tastes.  Here's a picture of part of their deck.  They love to go through thrift and antique stores.  You never know what they may find.

If you can imagine, it's a lot of fun just looking around to see what you can find.  Dinner was delicious.  She ordered a Honey Ham and we got to take home the left overs.

On Tuesday, they left and took a trip to Italy.  We were mainly in charge again.  So glad when they got back.  Their pictures were awesome. 

The next week we had two visitors.  Gary & Sue stopped in to see us on their way from Texas up to Iowa.  It was great to see them again.  We made a pizza when they arrived and sat outside eating and enjoying the sunshine.  No pictures of this visit but I'll see if I can find one of them from our Texas trips.  Here's one from their last visit with us.  Sharon's also in the picture.

Mindy & Dan stopped in later that day.  We were working and got kind of busy so they left.  We met up with them again on Thursday at Lamberts for dinner.  Forgot to take a picture of our food but did get these.

And, of course we had leftovers. 

The leaves are starting to leaf out and some of the trees are in bloom.  We remembered to get a couple of the trees. 

We have two new couples working this summer.  Had staff meeting this past week that lasted 4 1/2 hours - so glad they provided lunch.  We're looking forward to this summer.  It will be one of the first times that we may be working with people who actually know and do what they are supposed to.  Awesome.

It looks like we may be making a few trips up to Des Moines over the next few weeks.  My sister had surgery earlier this week.  She had a hysterectomy and they stretched some nerves, muscles, and tendons in her left leg.  Her leg is numb and she's doing physical therapy to get it working again.  So, it looks like we'll be doing some traveling on one of our days off to visit and provide moral support.

Well, the cubs game is over so it's time for me to go do something else.

It's About Time

Yes, I'm updating.  And, of course, no promises to keep this up on a weekly basis. 

This past week we have been fighting snow and chilly temps.  Today, it's 50 degrees and the snow is gone but it did look like this just a few days ago.

The first picture was on Sunday when we had to work.  The second picture was taken from our window on Thursday when we stayed nice and warm and comfy.

We're going to be closed on Sunday for Easter.  We'll go in and check things out for a couple of hours in the morning and then go over to Scott & Diane's for dinner.

This afternoon we finally got to see Lincoln.  Great movie but I've always been a fan of Lincoln.  I find his life so interesting. 

Sharon and Diane have been talking so it looks like we're coming back to Springfield after the fair. 
Can you believe we're talking about the fair already.

I am so ready for Spring.  We're going to be in charge of the flowers and bird feeders.  Scott wants bird feeders at the deluxe cabins and we love working with flowers.  They're not big on perennials so we'll be using planters and scattering around the front - at least so far.

Next week Scott & Diane will be going to Italy for 10 days.  Sharon & I will be mostly in charge while they are gone.

Last Wednesday we went out to dinner to celebrate Sharon's birthday.  She chose Red Lobster.  She order mahi mahi and shrimp.  Yes, I tried a bite the fish and ate one of the shrimp.  It wasn't bad.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Of course, I wasn't that adventurous so I ordered the New York Strip.

You won't believe this but we're now ordering from Schwan's again.  There is a freezer in the Pavilion that we can use and we're taking advantage.

This is one of the first years I can remember that we didn't fill out brackets for the NCAA tournament.  We have been enjoying the games.  We have the TV on while we're working.  When it's kind of slow, Sharon's in the back watching the games.  So enjoy working while watching TV.  HaHa

While up in Northwest Iowa, Sharon got together with her family at the Pizza Ranch in Rock Rapids.  Donna got a cake to celebrate her and her brother, Kevin, birthdays.

 

 

 

Well tomorrow will be a run errand day and Sharon's doctor appointment.  We need to go to Lowe's to pick up some more suet.  Still have bird seed for another week.  We know we have a pair of Carolina wrens and red-bellied woodpeckers.  So far, we've seen four downies.

 

 

The gold finches are starting to turn a bright yellow.  Sharon took this one yesterday on our new finch feeder.

 

 

 

 

As I said, I definitely want Spring to arrive.  Tired of soggy ground and chilly temps.