Celebrating 200 Years!

2016 is the bicentennial of Indiana. I've been following some of the planned events as they happen. There is one particular event that has intrigued me since I first heard of it about a year and a half or two years ago. For five weeks in September and October 2016, torchbearers will carry the flame on a 3,200-mile journey through all 92 Indiana counties. The flame arrived in Johnson County on Friday afternoon and we made plans to be there for the arrival and the ceremony. 

The fire department raised this huge flag in
preparation for the torchbearer who would run under it.

I was lucky to get one shot as the torch passed by. As a photographer I should have been better prepared!

The final leg of the relay last Friday was carried by this young man. 

We learned that since this was the final destination for the day's travel, the torch was extinguished a few minutes later and this cauldron was lighted. On Saturday morning, the torch would be relit from the cauldron.

One of the many projects throughout this year was Bison-tennial public art in many of our counties. The Johnson County Bison art is located on the grounds of the Library and was unveiled after all the torchbearers were introduced.

This fiberglass scale model of a bison as
it appears on the state seal was
decorated by a local artist.
Many familiar sites are depicted in each letter.

The backside depicts the main roads and well known
locations throughout the county.

We enjoyed a BBQ sandwich from one of the street vendors who set up shop for the special occasion as well as a soft serve cone sold at Mrs. Curl's truck. On the north side of the Court House Square a car show was underway.

Corvettes

Can you see the skeleton
in the passenger's seat?

Outside the Public Library this friendly lady was dressed to represent an 1816 school teacher.

She was happy to pose!

My secret dream would be to be a torchbearer and since that isn't going to happen, I had the chance to pretend as others could too!

Nice spot for this photo op.

Thanks for reading this far! One final note, the Colts found a way to win the first game of the season against San Diego and are now 1 and 2. The Chargers had significant penalties allowing the Colts to make first down on about 5 different occasions. That was a big help! Next week they'll be playing Jacksonville in London at 9:30 Sunday morning.

Singing in the Rain

Oops! I wrote that wrong. Should have been Running in the Rain! Yesterday was the Indy Women's Half Marathon that was black flagged a year ago because of lightning and thunder. Yesterday, there was a threat of rain but nothing dangerous. We started running on damp streets and after a few miles the raindrops started falling. At times the rain was heavy but there was no wind or lightning. Of course, I was thoroughly soaked! I couldn't help smiling and wondering about another runner who deliberately run through puddles much like a little kid! No photos of a bedraggled me but I did receive a nice medal and a red rose and was first place in my age group of two. The other woman finished nearly an hour after I crossed the finish line.

My official time was 2 hrs, 42 minutes for a 12.23 pace per mile. There were 943 finishers and I was #560.

Our summer's entertainment came to an end with the crowning of Grace VanderWaal as the winner of America's Got Talent. If you didn't watch, you'll be surprised that Grace is a 12-year-old who writes and sings her own songs playing a ukulele. We also celebrated the Cubs as they clinched as winner of their division and are headed to the playoffs. Could they be playing in the World Series? Stay tuned.

After the Women's Half yesterday I spent most of the day recovering but did finish making a Kale Salad and a pan of Strawberry-Rhubarb Bars for the annual church picnic today. The weather was perfect and there was an abundance of food and desserts. I watched a kickball game and frozen T-shirt tag and played two games of corn hole.

All summer we've been watching construction of a new event venue which officially opened this weekend. This property was heavily wooded and heavy equipment removed many trees before construction began. The site is adjacent to our apartment complex.


After the picnic we were home in time to watch the Colts vs the Broncos as they lost their second game of this new season. Will they improve? We'll find out in the next several weeks.

Celebrating #9

Our first mission yesterday afternoon was digging rhubarb that is slated for plowing over next spring so we could save it for transplanting at Joe & Nancy's house. The weather was gorgeous and in a short while Ray had dug up the roots and I had salvaged the stalks to take home. After cleaning and slicing these remnants, I have six cups of rhubarb for making something special.

Not much later we arrived at the Martin's and Ray busied himself digging a small row and eventually planted nine small rhubarb plants. This isn't the best time of the year for transplanting but we had to take advantage of the unique opportunity and hope that most of the plants will survive the winter.

Jayden's birthday was last Thursday, Sept. 8, but the birthday celebration was yesterday. Shortly after completing the planting guests began arriving. I don't know how many came, but there were many young children, many of whom I didn't know.

Contemplating what might be inside

Mom & Dad serve cake & ice cream 

A brand new bicycle birthday gift!

Ray watering the rhubarb plants
while Joe watches

When Jayden was born, Ray and I were in Italy competing in the World Games in running and race walking. Ray's sister Veronica was our chaperone on the trip. Communication then wasn't as convenient as it is today, but still it was pretty good and we knew a few hours after his birth that Jayden had arrived safely. We finally got to meet him in early October when we arrived home from our trip.

Also, yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Towers in New York and, as most everyone does, I can remember exactly the moment when I first heard the news. Ray and I and his two older sisters were in Norway. We had spent a good part of the day visiting the ancestral home of Ray's grandfather and had just returned to our hotel. The news was on TV with direct broadcast from the States. At first it was impossible to believe the news but it soon became clear that this was a major event and one that we'd never forget.  

Labor Day 2016

Looking back at last week, I first thought it was pretty ordinary but then I realized that we kept busy with various happenings. Besides our regular activities we also visited the dentist for regular maintenance and Ray had several fillings repaired. The next day we met a former co-worker of Ray's and his wife for lunch.
I finished a banner for LWML Sunday on October 2 and delivered it to church.


But yesterday the most interesting day for me. The weather was lovely and after lunch we headed downtown. A few days ago I had read about #IndyAngelWings in the newspaper and I wanted to capture the wings too.


The location for the photo shoot was in the parking lot of mini-brewery next to the Monon Trail. We enjoyed a brew and then Ray had me take a photo that should be self-explanatory.

We left the north side and headed to downtown where meter parking is free on Sunday.

Entrance to the Eiteljorg Museum

We were searching for some of the 8 new sculptures announced during the past week to be on display for the next year. The sculptures are by Indianapolis native Don Gummer.

Should we have asked these two to move so we could take a better photo?
The sculpture is called "Minuteman"

This sculpture is made of stainless steel
and is captioned "Desert House"

Posing with long time former
Mayor of Indianapolis: Bill Hudnut

On returning home we were surprised that the Cub game was still playing (it had started just as we left for our odyssey) so we turned on the TV with the game tied 2-2 in the 12th inning. The Cubs were able to score in the bottom of the 13th--a fitting end to our day.