happy birthday, jenn!!!

Snickie put on her very special birthday hat

just to wish you a happy birthday!!!

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Seriously...we hope your birthday is the bestest.

Please congratulate Col Glen & Co. for us...

See you Friday!!!

free at last...free at last.

At long last…well, at least after the upcoming Sunday Seven…my life will officially be Harry Potter Free!!!

Starting back in July, I embarked upon the first installment of the thousands of pages to follow. Given that the crazy schedule that is my life has only afforded reading an hour here or a half an hour there…it has taken me three months to make it through all seven books…but this morning I reached the end of the road. I’m now looking forward to catching up on those periodicals that have been amassing in a stack on the kitchen desk!

wordless wednesday

c. 1999

birthday haiku

A bit of birthday haiku for my celestial friend...
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Birthday candles glow
But not as brightly as the
Stars aligned for you!

Congratulations on your successful completion of another year on the planet...may the next year be full of wonderful surprises and successes!!!

Celebrate...celebrate...celebrate!!!

americana at it's finest

Ed and I had made a quick little get-away this weekend to meet my parents at a Bed & Breakfast in Barnes, Kansas. This was our third such outing over the past few years...the first to Peru, Nebraska...the second to Mount Ayr, Iowa... and this time around...Barnes, Kansas. Barnes is a very small little berg (population less than 200!) in Northeast Kansas tucked into the rolling hills along Highway 9. We had a fabulous time and are already looking forward to our next adventure!

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...below...the tale of Barnes...

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...my wonderful Mom and Dad...

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...the tranquil field behind the B&B...

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We headed home on Highway 36 and made a stop in Baileyville. Below is the home of Ed's Great Grandfather Broxterman. There have been several renovations and additions over the years, so the house now is not exactly as it was when Ed visited as a boy. Amazingly, as we were sitting in the car in front of the house, one of the occupants was in the front yard and invited us inside!!!
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We turned onto Highway 73 and headed south through Leavenworth. Below, is the home that Ed grew up in. The area is still very rural, but there are MANY more homes around than when Ed was young boy.
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In front of the Leavenworth County Courthouse sits a boulder that was moved in 1976 from the farm that Ed's Grandparents McNamee lived on. It took two large bulldozers to lift the boulder to a truck, carry it into town, and place it in front of the court house. At that time, Ed's Grandmother was the clerk of the district court.
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…the plaque affixed to the boulder…
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All in all...a WONDERFUL weekend....
and we're already looking forward to our next outing!!!

kcrc in the news!!!!!

Outside of the mainstream

Rowing is an unusual sport for KC-area high schoolers, but these girls get to compete in big Boston race.

By CANDACE BUCKNER
The Kansas City Star
October 19, 2007

Not too long ago, Pembroke Hill senior Meghan Schwend would patiently tell her friends how she was spending her weekends.

Schwend had tales of regattas and coxswains and other words that made her listeners say ‘huh?’

“Most people don’t know what it is,” Schwend said. “They usually think I’ve misspoken. The ‘crowing club,’ or the ‘mowing club.’ ”

For the record, it’s the rowing club.

Schwend’s a crew member of the Kansas City Rowing Club junior division for high school athletes. She’s since given up on trying to explain her sport. Nobody gets it, she says. Still that doesn’t dampen Schwend’s enthusiasm for this big weekend. Schwend and four teammates will compete in the largest two-day rowing race in the world, the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston.

The crew, which was randomly selected by race officials, also includes St. Thomas Aquinas senior Haley King, Notre Dame de Sion senior Mollie Smith and St. Teresa’s juniors Kit Landwehr and Elizabeth McNamara. This is the club’s first junior team to compete at the renowned regatta. Lesson for Schwend’s friends — regatta is just a fancy word for boat race.

“This is a big deal for us,” coach Jenn Jewett said. “It will be somewhat overwhelming with the enormity of it.”

The 43rd-annual regatta begins Saturday and attracts 8,200 international competitors and more than 300,000 spectators to the banks of the Charles River.

“It’s actually the most disgusting lake,” said Smith, who attended a rowing camp at the Charles.

Disgusting and difficult. Jewett describes the three-mile course, with its sharp turns and bridge hazards, as a challenge for the team’s coxswain, McNamara. Again, lesson time. A coxswain (the “w” is silent) is like a chatty backseat driver.

While her teammates row upstream, McNamara sits facing the girls, calling out directions and yelling encouragement.

“The coxswain’s role in the outcome of this race is as important as it is in any race, and Elizabeth is dead on. She’s a great coxswain,” Jewett said. “She’s totally ready. She’s not going to have any trouble. How they do in Boston depends on how well she does.”

McNamara has competed for four years and thinks about continuing the sport in college. Landwehr believes her future is in art school and hasn’t committed yet to a future in rowing. Both Smith and Schwend, the team’s newest members, are sold on the sport.

They’ll keep rowing, especially Schwend who doesn’t mind being the athletic outsider at high school. The girl who misses homecoming for weekend regattas in Oklahoma City and who shows up the following Monday with blistered and bruised hands. Pulling on the oar handles for every stroke can really mess with her delicate fingers. But, again, Schwend doesn’t mind.

“I like being the only Pembroke Hill kid doing rowing,” Schwend said. “I really just don’t want to do school sports. It’s good to get away. Rowing is so refreshing.”

Blogger's Note: You girls ROCK...and so does your coach!!! Despite all of your challenges in getting to Boston [see 10/18 post 'It's Been Quite a Day' on Just Another Drill] have fun... and have a GREAT race. You can be sooooo proud of yourselves! ROW FAST!!!

a new concept...

I spent today at a conference off campus where the presenter made mention of the fact that today's students have never been without computers...unlike those of us 'older' folks in the work force to whom the digital age is not necessarily second nature. He cited the terms 'digital native' and 'digital immigrant'... hillarious! Now, I wouldn't exactly say that I ride the short bus when it comes to digitism...but I would not ever think of claiming to be a native. To which group do you belong?

wordless wednesday

a 'silver tsunami'

The nation's official "first" baby boomer, Kathleen Casey-Kirschling (born a second after midnight on 1/1/1946) applied for Social Security benefits yesterday as Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue looked on. The online application by the former teacher signaled the start of what Astrue calls a 'silver tsunami' that threatens the fabric of the Social Security system. A significant date, indeed...as the ripple effect of this segment moving through the health care system will be remarkable, as well.

I find it hard to grasp that I also (theoretically, at least) am considered a 'boomer'...as are most of the readership of this blog...all two of you! Albeit the tail end...most sources extend the boom through 1964. You can bet that I will not be relying on Social Security, alone, to carry me into my old age. Diversify, diversify, diversify! Save/Invest like there's no tomorrow...and make sure that you have a good health care plan! Contrary to the 'you-can't-take-it-with-you' philosophy...it is the sheer numbers that concern me...

happy birthday, amy!!!

Happy Birthday, Amy!!!

the time is drawing near...

I happened to be surfing the internet a bit yesterday, and saw that this year's propaganda has been released on the C2 website. Woo whoooooo!!! The time is drawing near for the annual Holiday Challenge ... ergo, the day counter in the upper right hand corner of this page. A little craziness and a whole lot of erging is what it takes to get through it...but it feels sooooo good when it is complete!

Concept 2 has been issuing the challenge for eight years... however, I missed the first year. If all goes well, this will be my seventh year to complete 200,000 meters on the erg between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mind you...this is roughly 120 miles (or 20 hours for old slugs like me) if this were to be completed in traditional craft...

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. ...as opposed to the time being spent on the blasted contraption in our basement!

The good news? Participation in 'the challenge' alleviates all guilt from the inevitable holiday snacking in the workplace and the soirees of family and friends! I'm certain there will be a few more erg-themed posts betwixt now and the end of the year...hang on for the wild slide!

it's all about the love...

This is one of my favorite Sade tunes (It's only love that gets you through)...an anthem for my strong female friends. The lyrics make me take pause to give thanks to my family and friends supporting me and encouraging me through the curvy road of my own life. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Much love,
Donna

Girl you are rich even with nothing
And you know tenderness comes from pain
It's amazing how you love
And love is kind and love can give
And get no gain

It's down a rugged road you've come
Though you had every reason
You didn't come undone
Somehow you made it to the other side
You didn't suffer in vain

You forgive those who have trespassed against you
And you know tenderness comes from pain
It's amazing how you love
And love is kind and love can give
And love needs no gain

[Refrain]

You didn't suffer in vain
You know it's only love
That gets you through
Only love, it's only love
It's only love that gets you through

wordless wednesday

as it turns out...

it might not be such a

nice day for a

ride, after all...
it just might be a

good day to sit with a
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on my lap, a nice

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and a good

..
We'll see what the day brings...

the real snickie...

In keeping with Jenn's post on Just Another Drill yesterday (A Letter to My Lovies), I thought that a pet post would be quite apropos. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, the feline is queen in this house.
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She does earn her keep, however, with a few very important household tasks for which she takes full responsibility:

> making the ice,
> keeping our home vermin-free, and
> supervising the comforter.

As you can see in the image above, supervising the comforter is probably her strongest suit of the three...and it is a task that she takes very seriously. We do find it necessary, on occasion, to remind her that she has no opposable thumb...and that her brain is barely the size of a walnut. She sure is pretty though…

wine by the label

First of all, is anyone concerned that I'm thinking about a glass of wine at 0700 on a Friday morning? What a week... TGIF!!! Seriously, I received a belated birthday bottle of wine from a good friend this week [thanks, June!] with GREAT label artwork in keeping with my life, at times... Herding Cats (see 8/22 post). We haven't sampled the wine yet... a South African chard/chenin blend... but the label is a keeper!

This got me to thinking about another label with some great artwork [inspired by Jenn!]... a chardonnay from Five Rivers Winery (a Fetzer vineyard). Five Rivers is a line of five very affordable "Goddess Wines" in a variety of flavors and hues (California, central coast) giving tribute to the elements Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Time...but I like the chardonnay label, in particular. I've linked to the website because it, too, is very creative.

"The goddess of water orchestrates strong currents in nurturing rivers that meet in green grapes ripe and sweet."

Don't you just love it?!?! : )

Cheers! It's happy hour...somewhere!!!

wordless wednesday

circa 2003