Best Birthday Gifts Ever

While I received many wonderful birthday presents this year, there were some that were especially memorable, and show just how well the people who sent them know me. And now, posted in the order in which I received them...

Now, while some people would have wanted to send a lovely homemade cross-stitch picture with a welcoming statement or a Bible verse, my best friend chose to send one with a quote from one of my most favorite movies ever:

As she noted, sage advice. 

My mom, knowing how much I love the color red, knitted me this  set for the terrible cold here. Notice the wonderful cable pattern...

...and how excited I am to be wearing them! I wore the fingerless gloves one night and found them to be surprisingly warm. But, as Ian commented, "Millions of homeless people can't be wrong."

And then, finally, my friends from my writing group sent me a camera for my computer. Now we can do our meetings face-to-face instead of by chatting online through text or audio. It is easy to use and works wonderfully.
You can't really see Rachel (which is good, because I have this idea that you shouldn't post pictures of people on the Internet without their permission), but my face is the one in the little box in the left corner.

How exciting!

Taking a Walk Around Winterset

Okay, so I am going to take you on a tour around southeast Winterset. These are just some of the interesting things I have seen when Petey and I are taking walks. Now, do not get too excited; none of these images are going to blow your mind. However, I selected them because they are the kinds of sights that I don't remember ever seeing in Reno.

I came across this old, rusty tractor in someone's backyard in the middle of town. Large antiques are not just for country yards! It makes walking so much more interesting.

This suit of armor is sitting (or standing, I guess) on a porch. I thought it was quite charming, and it stands almost three feet high. If I ever see a for-sale sign, I will try to buy it. Who doesn't want a knight guarding their front door?

Welcome to Winterset's Middle School! Here, we have an elementary school, a middle school, a junior high, and a high school. It sounds confusing, but it's not, and it's all apparently due to some overcrowding and building-rearranging that went on at some point. 

The buildings you see here are some of the shops that are on the outskirts of the square in Winterset. They are all some type of brick or stone and are all connected, and most have apartments above (although not all the apartments are actually in use). But I took this picture because you can see the courthouse tower rising above, and you can see the courthouse spire from a lot of places, including several miles away as you approach town on the highway (just a testament to how flat this area can be).

And here is the town square itself, with the courthouse in the middle. Everything else in Winterset spreads out from the middle here, which, I have discovered, most people refer to as "uptown." Since this is the center of the town and the most commercial and touristy area in town (excepting John Wayne's birthplace a few blocks away), I am not sure what Winterset's "downtown" is.

Now, I was quite excited when I discovered this signpost in this front yard. I have no idea how long it's been there or what struck someone to put it up, but I thought it was interesting...

Notice that you can gauge the distance to various destinations away from Winterset. It would appear that San Francisco is approximately 1,785 miles west, while Ft. Lauderdale is 1,514 miles south. Good to know.

This is a sight that amused me quite a lot, which may actually belong on one of those "FAIL" blogs. Notice the second-story door, and the lack of something onto which you can actually step out. They must have had a deck, or been planning on a deck, at some point.

So, that is all for the first installment. I may include more pictures as I walk around different areas of town.

Too Many Beetles

Ian was in my office just a few moments ago sucking up some Japanese beetles with his shop vac.

I don't actually know what they are. They look like ladybugs, but everyone in Winterset assures us they are "Japanese beetle-type things." Apparently they stink and bite, but they haven't yet afflicted us in either way. But on sunny days they come out of nowhere and crawl all around the inside of my office window and in between the inner and outer window panes. I have been sucking them up with our vacuum because I hate touching any bugs, but then I have to empty them out of the filter later. So Ian used his shop vac to avoid filter problems. I am so grateful to have a strong man with a shop vac to rescue me from tiny beetles!

Anyway, pictures really are coming soon... I just still have to select the best ones.

Hello everyone,

Just a few quick updates. Nothing particularly interesting had happened for a while, so that's the reason for the long delay between posts. 

It's an overcast and rainy day today. It's enjoyable living in a place where it actually rains when it gets cloudy, and where the rain is more steady than a drizzle and lasts longer than fifteen minutes. It seems like one gets to more fully experience various types of weather in Iowa than in Nevada (except, of course, completely dryness). The last few days here have been beautiful- in the fifties every day, which feels like springtime after weeks of below freezing.

Anyway, I've been seeing a lot of interesting things as I walk Petey around Winterset. I will post some pictures soon.