Who knew?

We went for a drive this afternoon with Jim and Susie. We had been at the Branched Oak Farm for the Harvest tour where we sampled incredible cheese, breads, apple cider, and generally enjoyed the beautiful day. Next we decided to drive around Branched Oak Lake and when we got to the north side of the lake we continued north looking for a small lake Dave wanted to check out. As we were driving along we saw this off in the distance. It looked like some sort of compound. We got to the driveway on Agnew Road and there was a sign that said Carmel of Mary, Jesus and Joseph. Curious, we drove in to check it out.

It is a Catholic Church with mass held every day. It is a large complex with a wall around the whole thing. We were able to enter the church and the altar is pictured here. It was dismantled from the St. Joseph Hospital in Omaha in 1980. The statue in front is waiting to be installed.

This church is literally out in the middle of nowhere. There were a few cars around when we pulled in, and another car followed us into the parking area, but it seemed deserted, and rather mysterious. I have tried an internet search, but cannot find anything about it. We speculated that it may be a retreat center.

We didn't find the lake.

Knitting Group and Game Night

It has taken over two years, but persistance has paid off and I now have a knitting group to meet with in Seward. Cheryl and I have met off and on for over two years, with an ocassional visitor joining us. We met in the campus center at Concordia, thinking we might find some students who would be interested. We met at the Memorial Library in Seward and invited friends to join us, but really, it was just the two of us. Then we met Karen from KW Fiber Farms in York who was interested, and last weekend I met Donna while we were helping with the Red Cross food booth at an auction and she has been looking for other knitters. Result: a knitting group that met this week at the Panama coffe house in Seward!! It was a lot fun and we are meeting again in a couple of weeks.
Another fun thing I did this week was go to "Gamin' Gals" at the Civic Center. It was so much fun. I have not laughed so hard in a long time. Tears were streaming down my face, and I would try to explain what was so funny, but it is a case of "You had to be there" to understand. I will go again for sure!

Dancin' the night away

One of our favorite bands was in Seward on Saturday night: Tuna Fish Jones. They played at the Seward Fall Festival, which due to the snow fall on Saturday was not very well attended. It was too bad because they had really great food, and, of course the music was good. Dave and I got up and danced and sometimes we were the only couple on the floor. We had fun, although I sometimes think we might have looked a little foolish. I always think of Elaine on the old Seinfeld show and wonder if thats how I look while I am dancing!

Seward County Chapter American Red Cross

I spent most of yesterday selling sloppy joes and hot dogs at an auction. Dave and I volunteer with the Seward Chapter of the American Red Cross and the chapter held a fund raiser over the weekend. Joyce was our fearless leader and she did a great job preparing mountains of sloppy joe slop, buying and organizing every thing. I couldn't believe it was the first time she did this. Her recipe for sloppy joes was great and she ordered the buns from the bakery and the Pac 'N Save deli, so the bread was good too. Pies were donated, and I think we came out pretty good as far as making money goes.

Serious Painting

The grandchildren visited last Saturday and the four older ones wanted to paint. We moved this project outside from the get go and got down to some serious painting. You won't see a smile on any of those faces. They are using brushes and water colors from their great great aunt Marge's collection of painting supplies.

Heroes

It has happened again: I am addicted to a television show. I am almost over NCIS--I just watch the new ones, not spend hours watching the USA Network NCIS re-runs. And, David is also hooked.

A few months ago, our daughter mentioned how much she enjoyed the NBC series, Heroes. We order the DVDs on Netflix and see 3 or 4 episodes at a time. We are now almost done with season 3, and then we will have to switch to watching the first episodes of the current season on our computer at NBC.com or Hulu.

But tonight I will watch Grey's Anatomy and get some knitting done.

Where have I been?

Well, well, well. The blog. Here it is, just waiting for me to write something after a two month hiatus. Guess I'll hit a few highlights:

A lot has happened. The most dramatic was the death of my aunt Marge, who died at age 93, congestive heart failure listed as the cause of death. You know how these things are: you expect an elderly person to die, but then when they do, it is still a shock and a surprise. The funeral was in Minnesota and went well. I think she would have liked it very much.

We had a great camping trip and got see many cousins in August in Minnesota, as well as attend the Almelund Threshing Show, and go to Wisconsin and spend a lovely evening with the Corcorans.

This past weekend I had an amazing time relaxing with 9 other women at a Bed and Breakfast, the Waterfjord House at Johnson Lake, near Lexington, NE. We are all members of the Blue Valley Quilt Guild, so it was about quilting, but it was also about relaxing and getting to develop some friendships. I had an absolutely great time, and am looking forward to Sept. 17-20, 2010.