Saying Farewell to August 2025

     My goodness, what a change in the weather. Our temperatures hovered in the 70s this past week. After high humidity and temperatures in the 90s, it was a welcome relief. In fact, yesterday, Saturday, we were chilled when helping at a water stop for the Indy Women's Running Festival.

This shady area shielded us from the sun's warmth.

        After coming home from the water stop, we watched college football games all afternoon. The college football season got off to a big start with the much-anticipated Texas-Ohio State game. We were surprised by the low score, but had hoped for a Texas win that didn't happen. Both Indiana and Purdue had wins in their first games of the new season.

    This afternoon, we celebrated Joe's birthday! Lots of family and friends milled around the house and outside on a beautiful afternoon. We hadn't seen Josh in a long time, and I had to capture a photo.

Josh and son, Jayden, looking good!

    Dustin (in the white) was in charge of decorating, assisted by Josh Benefiel.

It's #58 for Joe today!

    We enjoyed a delicious taco bar with a wide variety of options. Then the birthday carrot cake was served.

Candles were extinguished in one blow!

Dustin, Joe, and Kylie

Ray and I are dressed in our church clothes
arriving at the party after the Sunday service.

    

    Until next time, may all your days have blue skies with low humidity, may you enjoy delicious food with family and friends, and may all your favorite teams win next weekend.

Not An Easy Week

    We had three appointments last week. One each on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The first was at the Indiana Skin Cancer Center, where Ray was scheduled to have squamous cells surgically removed from his right ear. We arrived at 8 a.m., and he was called in shortly after our arrival. Since they didn't get all the cells, he was called back in for further surgery after reviewing the lab results. We then learned that the doctor planned a skin graft because of the amount of skin removed. We left for home at 10:45 with a big bandage covering his ear.

    The next morning, we removed the bandage, and I had the challenge of following the directions for taking care of the wound and covering it. I'm not a nurse and don't have any expertise in this area. The ear was also sensitive to the slightest touch. We followed the printed instructions, but they didn't offer much help when trying to cover someone's ear. A band-aid on a cheek or arm is simple!

The skin graft isn't pretty. I hope this isn't disturbing.

    

    On Tuesday, Ray's appointment was at the optometrist's office for a regular check. Then on Wednesday, we both had long-standing appointments at the dentist. We both had our teeth cleaned, and Ray had a filling on his lower jaw. 

    Each day, I had to change the dressing on his ear. When someone asked him what happened to his ear, he couldn't explain due to his dementia. We didn't play pickleball all week, but I managed to squeeze in a workout two mornings. When Thursday arrived, we were able to go to the Senior Center and play bridge. I was feeling better as the week progressed.

    We started the week in the 90s, but enjoyed a change of weather by mid-week. The high humidity we've had for several weeks was gone, too. Everyone was relieved at the change in the weather.

    Yesterday, we relaxed and enjoyed lots of music. After breakfast, we had a quick trip to the grocery store and then made lunch to take to the band festival in Greenwood. Eight bands were scheduled to play starting at noon. After listening to the first band, we ate our lunch and enjoyed a soft serve ice cream dish during the break after the second band. We'd never been to the festival before, but planned to listen to two bands. With the mild weather, we stayed longer than planned, leaving after the fourth band finished. It was a fitting conclusion to the week.

There were tents and chairs, and a food tent to the right.

The amphitheater

    Until next time, may you have the opportunity to hear great music, may the weather be mild without high humidity, and may all your appointments be quick with good results.

Wedding

     My usual Sunday afternoon routine is to sit down and write about the past week. Last Sunday, August 10, we were on our way to Grand Rapids for the wedding of Katherine Fowler and Zakary Lucas. We arrived at our motel after a 4-1/2 hour drive, giving us time to change into our good clothes. We had been looking forward to the wedding since last Christmas when we learned the date of the planned nuptials at the family reunion.

    The venue was only a 10-minute drive from the motel, and as we walked to the car, we felt a few raindrops. By the time we arrived at Venue3Two, the quick rainstorm was nearly over, but the chairs in the outdoor setting were soaked. The staff began toweling the chairs as soon as it was apparent the storm had passed. 

    In the welcome area, we found a display of wedding photos of the parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents.

    

This is a close-up of my parents,
Rudy and Mildred, who were
married on May 16, 1936

    As we waited, other family members arrived, including Sam & Chandler Brittain and their toddler, Bowen.

Bowen, dressed nattily for a wedding,
practices his climbing skills on this step

Later, we photographed Sam, Bowen, and Chandler.
Standing behind: Great-grandma Judy and Grandma Leslie

    The DJ, who was already there in the reception area, suggested that we relax in our seats and announced that the ceremony would commence after a short delay.

We relaxed until it was time for the delayed ceremony.  

Photos were taken after the ceremony.

Dora's Family

We enjoyed hors d'oeuvres as we waited for all the photos to be taken.

Ray, me, and Judy 

Judy and Stuart were at our table

Leslie & John Brittain
Paul Brittain and his date, Audrey 

Katherine & Zakary Lucas

The Wedding cake and assorted cupcakes.

Andrew & Dora, Father and Mother of the Bride

Fowler Siblings: Stuart, Leslie & Andrew

    We drove home Monday morning, enjoying lunch at Culver's as we neared Indianapolis. We had a delightful time and were happy to have made the trip to Grand Rapids. We also have these photos to help us remember the happy event. 

    This past Wednesday, we attended the last regular summer concert in Franklin, enjoying the Crossroads Brass Band.

Several of the musicians had solos!

National Senior Games - Part 3

     Early Sunday morning, we dropped Bart off at the airport for his return to New Orleans and back to work on Monday. Bart had been a big help as we made our way around Des Moines and the various venues. It relieved me of all the responsibility for which I was grateful.

    We stopped at the same Hyvee after leaving the airport and purchased a few items for our remaining days in Iowa. Settling back in at our house, I was able to stream Concordia's worship service where our new pastor, Rev. Sam Scheltens, was preaching his first sermon. He had been ordained and installed the previous morning, and I clicked on the YouTube video to watch that, too. 

    After lunch, Ray and I went to the pickleball venue to watch for a while. There were 48 courts, and this was for only half of the contestants. Another venue was the site for the other half. 

    We watched a match on this court where mixed doubles players, rated at 3.0, played the best of three. I don't know their age group, but only two games were played, and the match ended 2-0. The winner moves on to another match. The loser would play another match, hoping to stay in the competition. If they lost their second match, they were out. Besides age divisions, pickleball competition also has skill levels: 4.5, 4.0, 3.5, and 3.0. There are mixed doubles, women's doubles, men's doubles, and singles. There were more athletes registered for pickleball than in any of the other 20 sports. Swimming also has lots of participants.

    We next found our way to the West End Salvage. Since it was Sunday, we didn't pay for parking. All the meters were free!

The building has four stories plus a basement
with all sorts of salvage items and antiques

We visited each floor but skipped the basement

    We woke up to no electricity in the house on Monday morning and weren't able to make breakfast. We learned that the outage was widespread, so we left for the Power Walk venue in Ames at Iowa State University, which was about a 30-minute drive. I picked up my bib numbers for front and back, and then checked in at the clerk's tent. My race was scheduled for 9:10 on the track, but I miscalculated how much time I had before the race and missed the start. I was sitting with Ray in our lawn chairs when the race started. I was frustrated and upset with myself at the moment. On reflection, however, I allowed someone else to medal! Would I have gotten gold? I'll never know.

    The Celebration of Athletes was Sunday evening, and we arrived in time to join the delegation from Indiana. The evening was the warmest of our stay in Iowa. 

Preparing to parade

We are in line for the parade,
holding a state flag and a US flag

All the athletes joined in repeating the athlete's oath

    Tuesday was our last day in Des Moines, and we were up early to have breakfast and pack the car. I had one more race at Jack Trice Stadium at Iowa State University in Ames. Racewalking competition preceded the Power Walk, and my race was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. I was grateful to again win a Gold Medal with a time of 42:39. 

    After the awards ceremony, we began our trip home to Indiana. On the road, we stopped at a Perkins restaurant for lunch, and when we saw the sign for the Hoover Presidential site, we decided it was time for a break. We spent about an hour in West Branch, touring the visitor center and other public buildings. The presidential library is being renovated and isn't open to visitors.

This humble dwelling was Hoover's birthplace

    

    We continued on our way and arrived home at 11:10 (Eastern) after traveling 521 miles. In two years, the National Senior Games will be in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and two years later, in 2029, in Birmingham, Alabama. I'll be thinking about the possibility of competing again, but it's too early to know if this is a realistic possibility.    

National Senior Games - Part 2

     Friday, July 25, was an off day. We had breakfast and lunch at our house before leaving for Principal Park. This is the home of the Iowa Cubs, who were on a road trip, so we didn't get to see a game. We stopped to look at the log cabin located at one end of the parking lot.

    In 1846, the City was established near this site at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers. A fort was established in May 1843 and evacuated in March 1846. The plaque at the site says that all the original Fort buildings disappeared. This 1840s log cabin was moved to this site in 1964 by the Polk County Historical Society.

    The 10K race the next morning was scheduled to begin and end at Principal Park, and by visiting the area in advance, we felt prepared for the next day.

    Not far away, we found the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park. It spans about a city block, featuring a wide variety of sculptures.

Nomade (2007) by Jaumue Plensa

Visitors invited to touch these "Seating for Eight"
sculptures by Scott Burton

"White Ghost" in the foreground (2010)
by Yoshitomo Nara
A copy of Robert Indiana's "LOVE"
sculpture in the background

This sculpture is named "Reclining Figure"

Posing under the "Ancient Forest" Sculpture
by Deborah Butterfield

    We next visited the grounds of the State Capitol. It has a gold dome and is visible from many locations since it is located on higher ground. We saw people setting up for the arrival of the torch and the planned lighting of the cauldron later in the day. Before the ceremony, a one-mile run was planned, open to anyone who registered. 

    I didn't plan to run the one-mile since I was registered for the 10K early in the morning. Instead, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the theater watching the Fantastic Four. As a youngster, this was one of Bart's favorite comic books, and he was eager to see the live-action film just released. He gave us a preview of the characters, which was helpful. I suspect there will be a sequel based on the ending of the film.

    We woke to rain on Saturday morning and drove back to Principal Park for the 10K race. Fortunately, the rain stopped minutes before the start. The rain-cooled temperature was a plus for all the runners. This time, I was prepared and used my stopwatch to mark each kilometer. I averaged 8+ minutes for each kilometer and finished in 1 hr 22 minutes for a Gold Medal.

    After showering, we drove to Cedar Falls to meet Bart's college professor, Vince Gotera, who recently retired after teaching at the University of Northern Iowa. He was the editor of the North American Review and is currently serving as Iowa's Poet Laureate, a position he has held since March 2024. We enjoyed meeting Vince and his wife at their home and then had lunch with them at a local restaurant. Vince also plays guitar, and as we said farewell, he and his wife were on their way to a local festival where his band was playing.

This marks the end of days four and five of our trip. More to come.

National Senior Games - Part 1

    NSGA holds the Senior Games every two years. This year, Des Moines, Iowa, is hosting the games from July 24 to August 3. We left for Iowa early Tuesday morning (July 22), planning to drive to the Des Moines airport to pick up Bart when he arrived from New Orleans at 1:39. The timing was perfect, and as we left the airport, our first stop was at a Perkins restaurant. Ray and I were hungry because we were still on Eastern time. A short distance down the road, we saw a Hyvee grocery store, which allowed us to stock up on groceries.

    We found our way to the Vbro house that I had reserved and checked in. After settling in and visiting, we made our supper of salmon, salad, and asparagus. Bart checked the area and found a park within walking distance, and the three of us started out for a walk. As we began our return, we noticed dark clouds but assumed incorrectly that we'd be back home before the impending storm arrived. When the rain started coming hard, we huddled on a sidewalk under a tree, and Bart called for a ride. Within a few minutes, our driver arrived, and we were home a few minutes later, somewhat damp. We enjoyed the angel food taco dessert we had saved for an after-dinner retreat. 

    Wednesday morning was leisurely, with Ray and Bart going for a walk and visiting the local library. Registration for the games opened at 2 p.m., and we arrived about 30 minutes early, finding quite a few people already in line. After that process was completed, I picked up the Bib numbers for my two road races. 

    Next, I checked in to participate in the SAFE (Sustained Athlete Fitness Exam) program. This group from the University of South Dakota has been part of the national games since 2011 and measures cardiovascular, muscular, flexibility, and balance fitness. I received a good report when compared to others in my age and gender group.

    

    After finishing the registration process, we enjoyed a meal in a local restaurant not far from our house.

   
    During the night, we had storms, and it was still raining when we got up at 5:30. We left for the State Fair Grounds at 6:15, parked, and boarded the tram to take us to the site of the 5K Road Race. The rain clouds were gone, and the storm had cooled the temperature!

    

    The start of the race included a good-sized hill, which no one was expecting. And I wasn't prepared either to see the course marked in kilometers. Even though it's called a 5K race, most races I've participated in are measured in miles. Measuring in kilometers may be the new standard at the national level, but will local promoters be willing to change from miles to kilometers?

    My time was 40:09, good enough for a Gold Medal. There were five women in the age group 85-59.

Photo by the Director of the Indiana Games

    After the race, we went home so I could shower, and then we headed off to the Des Moines Botanical Garden, where we enjoyed lunch and toured the 12 acres of the garden.

    This ends the first three days of our trip to Iowa. More to come!