August 11, 2010 · filed under: Events by Geoff

With the flooding in Ames came lake-front property for the Janes!  Course, along with lake-front property comes a few little issues.

#1 – the trail camera that I borrowed from a friend is now taking pictures of the water up-close-and-personal, unless its not submerge water proof… in which case I owe him a trail-cam.

On the upside, if its still alive under water it will probably have taken some really cool pictures of the flood water!

#2 – firewood floats.  I had a really nice stack of firewood, enough to last for a few winters of fires several nights a week.  Unfortunately, wood floats.  The neighbors said they got tired of counting when the water rose high enough that even the large pieces were floating in a nice even line.

#3 – my bridge across the creek is also wood.  So it also floats.  I hope its still around someplace…

#4 – grass doesn’t like this much water.  That means less mowing, but it also means re-seeding is probably going to be required.

#5 – mosquitoes like this extra water everywhere, and they also like Grace and her Dad.  This spells even more itchy bites for the both of us.

Here are a few additional videos of the current as well:

All is well with the house, no water in the basement and we can deal with boiling our drinking water for now.  Our thoughts go out to those who weren’t as lucky.

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August 2, 2009 · filed under: Events by Geoff

Friday night was Jill & I’s 5 year anniversary.  Jill was in charge of our accomodations, and I was in charge of the evening events.  For Jill’s choice, we stayed at the Iowa House B&B right here in Ames (we didn’t want to get too far from Grace, since she was staying home with grandpa & grandma).

That left me in charge of the evening’s entertainment.  And in my usual style, I chose to make the plans in secret and surprise Jill.  So, first was dinner.  I had a few ideas, but decided to consult with our old neighbor Elin, who also runs our wine club.  She suggested Audubon’s at the Gateway Center, they have fantastic food and no corking fee for wine club members! – so we took a fantastic Biltmore Cab which we thoroughly enjoyed.

After Audubon’s, we hopped in the car and I asked Jill to open the glove box.  Inside I had a list of 6 options.  Of the 6, I knew what Jill would choose, but thought the options might be fun anyway.  I provided several movie choices, including some specifically for me…    And finally, what would be her choice – an evening at Snus Hill Winery near Madrid.  The Soul Searchers – a blues swing band – were playing on the terrace that evening.

A bit later in the evening, an older couple made their way up to the front and began dancing….

And after a few more glasses of wine, I was able to talk Jill into dancing, and we had a fantastic time!

So, after a fabulous meal, some great wine, some swing dancing, and a nice room at the Iowa House, we had a wonderful evening.  AND, a nice evening without being terribly anxious to get home to Grace… until the next morning when we cut our breakfast short to get home and see how she was doing.

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