riverside

I walked this morning at Riverside Park. It's close to my house and I knew there was a walking trail but I had never walked it. Of course, because it is called Riverside it has a river view and even a historical marker.

Lewis and Clark passed by way back in 1804.

There is also a playground for the kids and a swimming pool. It's empty now but right before they closed it they invited all the dogs in town to come for a swim. I didn't take Sam as he is not fond of water.

There is also a large stone house at what was once the entrance to the park. No one lives there but it must be used for something because there is a sign on the door thats says "no smoking".

I only walked 3.38 miles. I had to come home because I was starving!

day one

I subbed yesterday in one of the newly constructed autism classrooms. We played with lots of new toys, marched around the classroom playing bells and clackers, and rode trikes on the playground until it became too hot to stay out. Oh yeah, there were some poopy diapers too! 

the fair

Did I mention that I walked 7.3 miles! Did not eat anything fried but had a great pulled pork sandwich at the Pork House above. Here are some more pics:

This last picture shows six team draft horses pulling wagons. I guess I was sitting on the wrong side for the picture.

what i'm reading

I walked 4.02 miles this morning on the Greenway trail. It has some pretty steep hills so I was hot and very sweaty when I finally got back to my car. I noticed that the fall wild flowers are starting to bloom. I'll post a picture next week of a lovely little bush along this trail.
Here's a list of what I've been busy reading this week:

• Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin by Frank Bailey. No I'm not a fan of Sarah Palin but I am a political junkie and I read it simply to gain information.
• Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zucoff. This is a true story of a WWII plane crash in the jungle-covered mountains of New Guinea. This is a fascinating book and I plan to finish it today.
• Dear Harry Love Bess by Clifton Truman Daniel. What can I say, I love everything about Harry Truman!
• The Everything Guide to Algebra by Christopher Monahan. Every so often I check out a math book and work my way through it just to keep my skills sharp.

martha stewart

Yesterday I walked 5.54 miles in my neighborhood. This morning I walked 5.29 miles on the Washington Park trail. The weather was cool and glorious; just right for morning walks.
Now if I am be catty...
 I saw Martha Stewart on the Today Show as I was putting on my shoes this morning and I feel I must give a shout-out to her. Martha, you are looking a little ratty and it's all because of your hair. The color is fine but that "pulled behind the ear school girl look" is so out of style. Use some of your millions and get yourself updated girl!

happy birthday little man

Today you are ten years old and that makes you a whooping seventy seven years old in doggy years! You were such a little furbaby when you came to live at our house, barely five pounds soaking wet. One day your Human Father came home from a South Dakota hunting trip. The pheasants were plentiful that year and he brought home his limit of headless, bloody birds. He was busy arranging them on the garage floor and I was getting ready to take yet another dead bird picture when you snatched one and managed to lug it upstairs. Here you were, running through the house with that huge pheasant in your mouth and your Human Father chasing after you. I collapsed on the couch laughing at you.
 Make God grant you seventy seven more my little friend! 

braille

This morning I helped the Braille ladies from church put together an eighteen page book entitled Alone, Alive, Fulfilled. It is a rainy day here so walking is out of the picture anyway. My job was to work on the assembly line sandwiching the braille plates between sheets of cardboard. We started at nine and worked till eleven making 34 books suitable for second-graders. These books will be shipped to a little town in California and then distributed to blind schools throughout the world.
I also decided to make a big pot of vegetable soup, the rainy day just calls for it!