Overall I had a good weekend. I was ill with what I call a 24 hour bug that knocked me out on Thursday. I knew something was up late Wednesday evening when my throat started feeling sore and I was a little feverish. I did not go into work on Thursday. Went back to work on Friday and did not really push myself which was a good thing. Slept in a little on Saturday morning before spending some time at Barnes and Noble then headed over to Ann and Harley’s. During the storm on Monday morning, two pretty large tree limbs feel on their roof. I’m so glad it did not go through the roof. It basically propped itself on top of the roof and I sawed the limbs into smaller pieces and got it off the roof. The adjuster came and had a look at it on Tuesday. The only thing that needs to be replaced is the gutters. That in and of itself is almost a miracle especially when you consider how big the limbs were. Ann prepared some amazing food. Harley grilled Iowa think cut pork chops and let me tell you, there’s nothing like it in the world. It was yummy. There was twice baked potatoes, salad, home made bread, and devilled eggs. I was like a kid in a candy store. After dinner, Ann and I sat around and chatted. It was such a fun and relaxing evening.
Brian had called and left a voicemail while I was with Ann wondering if I was headed downtown for the electronics music festival and I told him I was. We met up downtown and once the music ended headed back to my place to chat. Can you believe we were up till 4AM?! I told him I needed to be up at around 7:30AM since there were a couple of things at church that I was responsible for. So, I ended up with three hours of sleep the entire day yesterday. My salvation was a cup of double shot espresso at brunch and I was amazed that was the one thing that kept me going while I was working at the facility. Speaking of working at the facility, there was an incident that could have turned out pretty bad if it was handled wrongly involving me and a resident. Let’s just say he was very angry at me for something he thought I did as a way to get back at him when in fact I was trying to get him to cope with the situation at hand. Cooler heads prevailed and instead of trying to make sense to him, I walked away and he ended up going back to his room. When the overnight staff came in, I informed him of the situation so he was aware of what was going on in case there would have been an incident later that night. Proves to show that you just never know what’s going to happen especially when dealing with residents who have mental illness. I’m most interested to see what’s going to happen today when I’m back at the facility later today. From prior experience with other residents, he’ll probably not even bring it up and it’ll be a non-issue. When dealing with people who are not suffering from mental illness, you could try to explain and make sense to them, but that’s just not the case with some of the residents at the facility. That for me is always the most interesting part of the job.
Well, believe it or not, not too many weeks from now I’ll be back home in Malaysia. It’s kind of weird because the ticket was bought many moons ago and I know the trip has been planned for quite some time, but I’ve not really thought about it. In fact, I still have not been thinking too much about it and one of the reasons is because I’m still pretty much swamped with work at Aging Resources. I’m trying my best to get as much done as possible because once I leave the country, that would be it. One of these days, I know it’ll hit me that I just really need to spend time thinking and planning for the trip home. Right now is just not the time. Mark my words though, the day will come and it’ll just creep up on me!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Up all night.
More on the subject line later in the e mail. This weekend was pretty darn relaxing. I did not have anything going on Saturday so I decided to watch movies - made it my movies weekend! I went to Smitty's for lunch and it's a place I like but have not been to in a while. They have breaded pork tenderloin and it's probably the best place in Iowa to have it. The thing I love about the joint is the fact that it's this little hole in the wall and it's a mom and pop place. They know the regulars by name and its reputation precedes it. I got work that the father has decided to retire and the business will be passed down to the son who has been working there for some years now. How cool is that. Breaded pork tenderloin is an Iowa staple and let me just say this place does an amazing job. Once I devoured lunch, I went to the movies and ended up watching Mamma Mia and Batman - Dark Night. Mamma Mia was so much fun and you can't help but like the show. If you're an ABBA fan, it's an added bonus and you'll probably be tapping your feet to the music. Batman was next and by no way was I disappointed. It was very impressive and I won't be surprised if Heath Ledger wins an Oscar for his performance as the joker. It's the best joker portrayal ever by far. I know, it's kind of weird to think that Batman can win an Oscar, but weirder things have happened. I'm glad I saw both movies. After the movie binge, I came back to the apartment and ended up watching two more movies on dvds. See, I told you it was a movie weekend!
Sunday - so this is when things got a little interesting. Work started off fine although my colleague had to deal with a couple of incidents while I was away. Things have a way of happening while I'm not around. As the evening progressed, I soon found out that one of the newer residents had some internal bleeding issue which was pretty serious. It did not help that this resident is one of the younger residents. The nurse was called and we were told to monitor the situation, but if things did not improve, she was to go to the ER. Since the other person I worked with is not a staff but someone who works for an agency, she was not allowed to transport the residents. I ended up driving the resident to the ER. Now, I could have easily dropped the resident off and left her there to fend for herself, but I just could not do it. She called her foster parents and found out that they were in the ER at the same hospital too. My thought was she would call them and one of the parents would be there for her. Guess not. She called, left a message with them and no one showed up. I ended up spending the overnight with her. We were in the ER at 9:45PM and she only got to see the doctor at 3:15AM. Can you believe that? This was the ER! Supposedly there were roughly eleven people in line in front of her. Kind of makes you wonder what would have happened if you were shot and whether you would still have to wait. The last time I was in the ER at a different hospital, I was whisked right in and operated on within a number of hours. Granted, it was probably a slow night for that hospital's ER, but still to wait for over five and a half hours to see a doctor in the ER is more than absurb. To make matters worse, the tornado sirens came on at roughly 3:30AM and everyone in the waiting room had to move to a different and safer location. I did not know that this hopital has a policy whereby if there is a tornado warning, the entire computer system shuts down and no lab work can be performed. So, I waited till roughly 5:30AM to find out what was going on and that was when I was told the nurses were waiting for the results of the blood work. This poor kid was resting yet she was neither here nor there and I know she was more than loopy. I received a call from our nurse at roughly 5:55AM who told me that she would be heading to the ER and I could leave for home. Since I drove the van to transport the resident, I went back to the facility and picked up my car. I left a note on the administrative assistant's desk informing her that I would not be working this evening since I'll probably be catching up on my sleep. Talk about a weird day. I had put a call in to Aging Resources letting them know at 3:15AM that I'll be making it in but not quite sure what time. I ended up calling my supervisor when I finally left the hospital at 6AM to let her know that there's no way I would be making it to work today. Thank goodness for comp time!
So, the time now is 2:40PM and I probably got up a half hour ago. It's kind of weird not to be working at this time of the day, but let's just say it was a wacky overnight for me.
Sunday - so this is when things got a little interesting. Work started off fine although my colleague had to deal with a couple of incidents while I was away. Things have a way of happening while I'm not around. As the evening progressed, I soon found out that one of the newer residents had some internal bleeding issue which was pretty serious. It did not help that this resident is one of the younger residents. The nurse was called and we were told to monitor the situation, but if things did not improve, she was to go to the ER. Since the other person I worked with is not a staff but someone who works for an agency, she was not allowed to transport the residents. I ended up driving the resident to the ER. Now, I could have easily dropped the resident off and left her there to fend for herself, but I just could not do it. She called her foster parents and found out that they were in the ER at the same hospital too. My thought was she would call them and one of the parents would be there for her. Guess not. She called, left a message with them and no one showed up. I ended up spending the overnight with her. We were in the ER at 9:45PM and she only got to see the doctor at 3:15AM. Can you believe that? This was the ER! Supposedly there were roughly eleven people in line in front of her. Kind of makes you wonder what would have happened if you were shot and whether you would still have to wait. The last time I was in the ER at a different hospital, I was whisked right in and operated on within a number of hours. Granted, it was probably a slow night for that hospital's ER, but still to wait for over five and a half hours to see a doctor in the ER is more than absurb. To make matters worse, the tornado sirens came on at roughly 3:30AM and everyone in the waiting room had to move to a different and safer location. I did not know that this hopital has a policy whereby if there is a tornado warning, the entire computer system shuts down and no lab work can be performed. So, I waited till roughly 5:30AM to find out what was going on and that was when I was told the nurses were waiting for the results of the blood work. This poor kid was resting yet she was neither here nor there and I know she was more than loopy. I received a call from our nurse at roughly 5:55AM who told me that she would be heading to the ER and I could leave for home. Since I drove the van to transport the resident, I went back to the facility and picked up my car. I left a note on the administrative assistant's desk informing her that I would not be working this evening since I'll probably be catching up on my sleep. Talk about a weird day. I had put a call in to Aging Resources letting them know at 3:15AM that I'll be making it in but not quite sure what time. I ended up calling my supervisor when I finally left the hospital at 6AM to let her know that there's no way I would be making it to work today. Thank goodness for comp time!
So, the time now is 2:40PM and I probably got up a half hour ago. It's kind of weird not to be working at this time of the day, but let's just say it was a wacky overnight for me.
Monday, July 14, 2008
60th Birthday and Dim Sum.
The subject line kind of tells you how the weekend went. I was done house/pet sitting on Tuesday and I have some respite until next Tuesday when I’m back living there. It’s nice to be back in my apartment again even if it’s for a short period of time.
John’s 60th birthday party was on Saturday. His actual birthday was yesterday. We met up at the Farmers Market on Saturday morning and did the obligatory walk around and I had my breakfast burrito. Once again, the Filipino vendor was nowhere to be seen so I’m guessing it was a one time deal. Not to worry, I’ll soon be back in KL and will be able to eat all my favorite food. After the Farmers Market, I headed to Ann’s place to help her with sweeping some leaves off the roof. It’s been quite some time since I headed there so that was nice. We met up with Kathy and Donny Sargent for lunch at the Chinese restaurant where they patronize frequently. It’s always great to hear stories from Kathy and Donny because they do a great job of sharing it. I left the Martins and headed to Mass at John’s parish. That’s when John invited people to come to the party/picnic held in the large social hall. Quite a good number of people stayed and I hung out with the St. Kate’s/religious sisters (Mira, Carola and Jude) group. John bought different wine for those in attendance and it flowed freely. True to a picnic style, brats, burgers, potato salad and baked beans were served. There was a parishioner who baked four or five large sheet cakes and it was mighty good. Towards the end of the celebration, John blew out the 60th birthday cake and I believe it was topped with 60 candles. Can you believe he got it all in one fall swoop?! Amazing. Different groups presented him presents and no, he did not get a car! That’s pretty much how the celebration went. The weather could not have been more amazing and all of us had a grand time. After the celebration, I made it back to the apartment and just had a nice quiet and relaxing evening.
I forgot to mention that last weekend I went to this Chinese restaurant that advertised Dim Sum. By no means was it the best, but considering the fact that if I want to have great Dim Sum I’ll either have to drive to Chicago or fly back to Malaysia, I was not complaining. This restaurant had the standard fare and overall they did a good job. I had six items on the menu and it was a pretty selected menu to say the least. Dim Sum is served from 9AM-2PM on Sundays. After Mass, I invited a group of friends from the young adults group to join me and no one from there had Dim Sum before. Let’s just say it was a good food experience for them. Overall, they liked it although there were some things on the menu that appealed to them more than others. The comment was made, you can always count on Anthony to expand one’s culinary experience!
That’s it for me for the week. Nothing too exciting which is fine in my books.
John’s 60th birthday party was on Saturday. His actual birthday was yesterday. We met up at the Farmers Market on Saturday morning and did the obligatory walk around and I had my breakfast burrito. Once again, the Filipino vendor was nowhere to be seen so I’m guessing it was a one time deal. Not to worry, I’ll soon be back in KL and will be able to eat all my favorite food. After the Farmers Market, I headed to Ann’s place to help her with sweeping some leaves off the roof. It’s been quite some time since I headed there so that was nice. We met up with Kathy and Donny Sargent for lunch at the Chinese restaurant where they patronize frequently. It’s always great to hear stories from Kathy and Donny because they do a great job of sharing it. I left the Martins and headed to Mass at John’s parish. That’s when John invited people to come to the party/picnic held in the large social hall. Quite a good number of people stayed and I hung out with the St. Kate’s/religious sisters (Mira, Carola and Jude) group. John bought different wine for those in attendance and it flowed freely. True to a picnic style, brats, burgers, potato salad and baked beans were served. There was a parishioner who baked four or five large sheet cakes and it was mighty good. Towards the end of the celebration, John blew out the 60th birthday cake and I believe it was topped with 60 candles. Can you believe he got it all in one fall swoop?! Amazing. Different groups presented him presents and no, he did not get a car! That’s pretty much how the celebration went. The weather could not have been more amazing and all of us had a grand time. After the celebration, I made it back to the apartment and just had a nice quiet and relaxing evening.
I forgot to mention that last weekend I went to this Chinese restaurant that advertised Dim Sum. By no means was it the best, but considering the fact that if I want to have great Dim Sum I’ll either have to drive to Chicago or fly back to Malaysia, I was not complaining. This restaurant had the standard fare and overall they did a good job. I had six items on the menu and it was a pretty selected menu to say the least. Dim Sum is served from 9AM-2PM on Sundays. After Mass, I invited a group of friends from the young adults group to join me and no one from there had Dim Sum before. Let’s just say it was a good food experience for them. Overall, they liked it although there were some things on the menu that appealed to them more than others. The comment was made, you can always count on Anthony to expand one’s culinary experience!
That’s it for me for the week. Nothing too exciting which is fine in my books.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
4th of July weekend
I really thought I was able to write yesterday, but evidently I did not have the time. Oh well.
So, the past weekend was the 4th of July. It was a long weekend with Friday off. On Thursday, Joel, Kathy another couple and I had dinner at this British themed restaurant that I’ve not been to because of the smoke from cigarettes. However, on July 1st, restaurants and bars became smoke-free which is a blessing. So, this is the place we had dinner. I had a couple of pretty good beers and a British classic meal which name I can’t remember. After dinner, we plopped ourselves down on some grass right in the heart of downtown to watch the fireworks. Let’s just say it was nice to sit and relax especially after the week I had. Joel too concurred. Kathy and I took the shuttle to head to the capitol just to see the crowd and those who were there to listen to the symphony perform. I saw on the news yesterday close to 125,000 people were in attendance. The weather was amazing so it does not surprise me on bit the amount of people who were there. The fireworks were OK, nothing too spectacular and definitely not the worst I’ve seen. After the display, Joel and Kathy headed to my place for a nightcap.
I worked at the facility on the 4th in the afternoon. I was so happy to see a good number of the residents had spent the day with their family. That must have been good for them. The menu was pretty sad so I decided to make things a little more appetizing by getting them a watermelon and some pie. They liked it. Anything I can do to make the holiday better for them, I try my best.
I was at the Farmers Market early on Saturday and there were quite a lot of people. The vendor that sells the siew pau has not returned which is kind of a bummer, but I did manage to eat my breakfast burrito and it looks like something I’m going to have every time I make it to the Farmers Market. I just love the way they prepare it. Oh, I did sign up to work at the DRC that afternoon and all in all I’ve banked close to eleven hours total. I’ll probably take some time off during the Iowa State Fair or may make a trip to Chicago in the fall. We’ll see. It was a pretty quiet day at the DRC and our table had ten people show up. When I submitted the numbers, I was told that we received the gold star for having the most people. Yay! Saturday was also the last day I was staffing the DRC so I said my goodbyes to all the FEMA people. Some of them genuinely commented that they’ll miss me. A few of them said I should pop by the last day they will be open to say a formal goodbye. I probably will. I’ve worked with this group of people a number of days and you get to know them. So many of them have never been to Iowa and will probably never come back.
Later that evening, Joel and Kathy organized a party celebrating just 200 days left of George Bush in office. Needless to say those in attendance were Democrats and some independents. No Republicans were there. It was a blast because most of the people were from St. Kate’s and the rest we from Kathy’s Spanish group and a couple of them former staff at Aging Resources. The weather was more than perfect, and we all sat outside enjoying a beautiful summer day. Once everyone left, I stayed around a little to help clean up and move some chairs around. Indeed it was a very fun evening had by all.
Nothing too much went on Sunday. I sang with the group then it was off to work at the facility.
This Saturday is John’s 60th birthday celebration at his parish and I’ll be attending it together with some people from St. Kate’s. I don’t think it will be a major celebration, but you just never know what the people from his parish will plan. A couple of former Drake/St. Kate’s members who are not longer living in DM will be attending and it will kind of be a mini reunion. I’m definitely looking forward to it.
That’s all the news from me.
So, the past weekend was the 4th of July. It was a long weekend with Friday off. On Thursday, Joel, Kathy another couple and I had dinner at this British themed restaurant that I’ve not been to because of the smoke from cigarettes. However, on July 1st, restaurants and bars became smoke-free which is a blessing. So, this is the place we had dinner. I had a couple of pretty good beers and a British classic meal which name I can’t remember. After dinner, we plopped ourselves down on some grass right in the heart of downtown to watch the fireworks. Let’s just say it was nice to sit and relax especially after the week I had. Joel too concurred. Kathy and I took the shuttle to head to the capitol just to see the crowd and those who were there to listen to the symphony perform. I saw on the news yesterday close to 125,000 people were in attendance. The weather was amazing so it does not surprise me on bit the amount of people who were there. The fireworks were OK, nothing too spectacular and definitely not the worst I’ve seen. After the display, Joel and Kathy headed to my place for a nightcap.
I worked at the facility on the 4th in the afternoon. I was so happy to see a good number of the residents had spent the day with their family. That must have been good for them. The menu was pretty sad so I decided to make things a little more appetizing by getting them a watermelon and some pie. They liked it. Anything I can do to make the holiday better for them, I try my best.
I was at the Farmers Market early on Saturday and there were quite a lot of people. The vendor that sells the siew pau has not returned which is kind of a bummer, but I did manage to eat my breakfast burrito and it looks like something I’m going to have every time I make it to the Farmers Market. I just love the way they prepare it. Oh, I did sign up to work at the DRC that afternoon and all in all I’ve banked close to eleven hours total. I’ll probably take some time off during the Iowa State Fair or may make a trip to Chicago in the fall. We’ll see. It was a pretty quiet day at the DRC and our table had ten people show up. When I submitted the numbers, I was told that we received the gold star for having the most people. Yay! Saturday was also the last day I was staffing the DRC so I said my goodbyes to all the FEMA people. Some of them genuinely commented that they’ll miss me. A few of them said I should pop by the last day they will be open to say a formal goodbye. I probably will. I’ve worked with this group of people a number of days and you get to know them. So many of them have never been to Iowa and will probably never come back.
Later that evening, Joel and Kathy organized a party celebrating just 200 days left of George Bush in office. Needless to say those in attendance were Democrats and some independents. No Republicans were there. It was a blast because most of the people were from St. Kate’s and the rest we from Kathy’s Spanish group and a couple of them former staff at Aging Resources. The weather was more than perfect, and we all sat outside enjoying a beautiful summer day. Once everyone left, I stayed around a little to help clean up and move some chairs around. Indeed it was a very fun evening had by all.
Nothing too much went on Sunday. I sang with the group then it was off to work at the facility.
This Saturday is John’s 60th birthday celebration at his parish and I’ll be attending it together with some people from St. Kate’s. I don’t think it will be a major celebration, but you just never know what the people from his parish will plan. A couple of former Drake/St. Kate’s members who are not longer living in DM will be attending and it will kind of be a mini reunion. I’m definitely looking forward to it.
That’s all the news from me.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Busy, busy, busy.
I’m finally able to find some time to write. I can’t believe how busy I’ve been the past couple of days. It really started when I was called upon to staff the Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) last Wednesday. Because of the flood, the federal government (FEMA) had come in to assist people with a variety of services. A DRC was opened a week ago Monday and that’s where people who were affected by the flood were able to go and sign up for assistance. Evidently they were slammed the first couple of days. We got word that we needed to be there due to the nature of our agency and what we do for older adults. Since it was considered part of my quiet period, my supervisor had volunteered me for the job which was great. What I do at the table is to get the word out to older adults about the things we do and how we’re able to assist with post-flood. For me, it’s interesting to see how the Feds come into play and assist with all the local agencies and do the best they can. Our table was not too busy on Wednesday, but things definitely picked up on Thursday and Friday. I got to see first hand how the process works. Now, it’s not the most perfect system, but a lot of lessons were learned especially after the way things were handled at Katrina. Overall I have to say that my experience with FEMA has been extremely positive. I’ve gotten to know a number of them and they come from all over the country.
An observation I’ve been able to make is to see all the different people who come in for assistance. There are African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Whites and everyone get along and talk to one another as they all wait in line which could sometimes take hours. They all are in the same situation and they all have stories to share. Looking at some people, you can see faces of desperation, utter dejection and frustration yet overall, voices are not raised and people patiently await services. For many of them it will take many months before their lives go back to some semblance of normalcy. I attended a conference call with FEMA and different area agencies on aging and it was a very educational experience. Needless to say, DM can’t even come close to what Cedar Rapids went through so to hear from the area agency there what’s been going on has been more than enlightening. Everyone is trying to do their best to get the services and assistance to the people to the best of their abilities.
So, because I’ve been staffing the table, I’ve not been in my office for long periods of time. I come in for maybe an hour and get as much work done then head over to the DRC. I leave with enough time to head back to the office and submit whatever paperwork that needs to be done to get the services to our clients before leaving for my other job. That’s pretty much been how my work week has gone. A lot of touch and go. A number of different agencies have stopped staffing their table as they figure it’s more beneficial for them to remain at the main office, but Aging Resources have continued to stay. We’ve not gotten any word regarding the last day the DRC will be open and I’m guessing we’ll continue to be there as long as it’s open.
My respite came on Saturday since I had the off from work. I went to the Farmers Market early and did my rounds a couple of times before meeting up with Anna at 8:30AM. I was on the lookout for the booth that sold the siew pau, but it was not there. I ended up going to the information booth for the Farmers Market and they informed me that the particular vendor I was looking for was what they called a temporary vendor and they do not have any idea when they will be back. I was pretty bummed, but ended up eating a pretty darn good breakfast burrito right across from where I was to meet Anna. By golly, this may just end up being my most favorite food at the Farmers Market. Once Anna arrived, we walked around some more and the weather was just perfect. We left in time to make it to the opening of the Des Moines Arts Festival. I missed it last year because I was hiking the Rockies so it was nice to be there. There were tons of vendors and there were a couple of art pieces that really piqued my interested. However, the ones that were impressive were all between $3,500 and $5,500. Evidently I have expensive taste in art! All in all we just had a great time walking the festival and just taking the gorgeous summer weather in. We ended up by attending a performance by this DM based jazz quartet that was pretty impressive. Anna’s in charge of the music program of a high school and we were at Drake the same time and active at St. Kate’s. She knew one of the guys from the quartet who teaches history at the school. Talk about a great way to enjoy a summer day.
I was supposed to go back to the festival later that evening with Kristi, but she cancelled on me because of volleyball so I ended up spending time at the house and playing with the dog. He had a good exercise for sure because of the amount of running I made him do! Sunday was pretty quiet as there was not a lot going on which was fine by me.
I can’t believe it’s already Wednesday and Friday is the 4th of July. Where has time gone? It seems like summer is half over although it feels like it has barely started. That’s all the news from my front!
An observation I’ve been able to make is to see all the different people who come in for assistance. There are African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Whites and everyone get along and talk to one another as they all wait in line which could sometimes take hours. They all are in the same situation and they all have stories to share. Looking at some people, you can see faces of desperation, utter dejection and frustration yet overall, voices are not raised and people patiently await services. For many of them it will take many months before their lives go back to some semblance of normalcy. I attended a conference call with FEMA and different area agencies on aging and it was a very educational experience. Needless to say, DM can’t even come close to what Cedar Rapids went through so to hear from the area agency there what’s been going on has been more than enlightening. Everyone is trying to do their best to get the services and assistance to the people to the best of their abilities.
So, because I’ve been staffing the table, I’ve not been in my office for long periods of time. I come in for maybe an hour and get as much work done then head over to the DRC. I leave with enough time to head back to the office and submit whatever paperwork that needs to be done to get the services to our clients before leaving for my other job. That’s pretty much been how my work week has gone. A lot of touch and go. A number of different agencies have stopped staffing their table as they figure it’s more beneficial for them to remain at the main office, but Aging Resources have continued to stay. We’ve not gotten any word regarding the last day the DRC will be open and I’m guessing we’ll continue to be there as long as it’s open.
My respite came on Saturday since I had the off from work. I went to the Farmers Market early and did my rounds a couple of times before meeting up with Anna at 8:30AM. I was on the lookout for the booth that sold the siew pau, but it was not there. I ended up going to the information booth for the Farmers Market and they informed me that the particular vendor I was looking for was what they called a temporary vendor and they do not have any idea when they will be back. I was pretty bummed, but ended up eating a pretty darn good breakfast burrito right across from where I was to meet Anna. By golly, this may just end up being my most favorite food at the Farmers Market. Once Anna arrived, we walked around some more and the weather was just perfect. We left in time to make it to the opening of the Des Moines Arts Festival. I missed it last year because I was hiking the Rockies so it was nice to be there. There were tons of vendors and there were a couple of art pieces that really piqued my interested. However, the ones that were impressive were all between $3,500 and $5,500. Evidently I have expensive taste in art! All in all we just had a great time walking the festival and just taking the gorgeous summer weather in. We ended up by attending a performance by this DM based jazz quartet that was pretty impressive. Anna’s in charge of the music program of a high school and we were at Drake the same time and active at St. Kate’s. She knew one of the guys from the quartet who teaches history at the school. Talk about a great way to enjoy a summer day.
I was supposed to go back to the festival later that evening with Kristi, but she cancelled on me because of volleyball so I ended up spending time at the house and playing with the dog. He had a good exercise for sure because of the amount of running I made him do! Sunday was pretty quiet as there was not a lot going on which was fine by me.
I can’t believe it’s already Wednesday and Friday is the 4th of July. Where has time gone? It seems like summer is half over although it feels like it has barely started. That’s all the news from my front!
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