So I have it recorded on my timeline...

Had the briefest (thank goodness) of kidney stone incidents last night/this morning. I woke up a bit before 2:30 am in a mean sweat and needing to use the bathroom. Soon after I realized I was having another kidney stone.

The sweating and the feeling of an elephant sitting on my lower back are the signs I have gotten accustomed to unfortunately. I pretty much decided it was not worth going to the emergency room. Been there. Done that. There isn't anything medical they can do other than provide me pain relief. I still have pain pills from the last go round and could use them if necessary. I also still have the filter to use to try to catch the damn thing.

I did finally have to really go so stood at the toilet for a bit. Not sure any stone actually materialized but the pain went away and I was back in bed and asleep by 2:45am! I am thankful this episode was so very short.

MAP MN AIDS Walk Trophy

Rosie's Art Ensemble was the first place fund raising team. This year Rose is allowing each team member to have some personal time with the trophy. Amy brought it along on our recent road trip to Iowa. The following are photos of events the trophy participated in. #mnaidswalktrophy,#rosiesartensemble

Enjoying some hot tub action.

Preparing for a swim.

Enjoying the New Bohemian neighborhood of Cedar Rapids, IA.

Drinks with friends.

More drinks with more friends.

Last call.

Driving home.

 

First tomato harvest

The Best Boy tomatoes are starting to ripen. Going to have a lot this year.

Public library light chimneys

The light chimneys at the Walker library in Uptown.

Rose's birthday roadtrip day 2

We stayed in Cedar Rapids. Apparently so is everyone else. I had reserved two rooms with two beds each. We ended up with two rooms but one only had one bed. It was an all suites hotel and each room had a pull out sofa. There were no other rooms available so we worked it out.

Rose's birthday flight.

Saturday after my morning run and Rose and Amy's swim, we drove to the Amana colonies to meet Megan and Michael. The Amana colonies were settled by German immigrants in the late 1800's. These are the Amana of the appliance name.

We met at Main Amana where there is a General Store, Meat Market, Winery, restaurants, antique shops and other buildings from the original colonists.

We ate at the Ox Yoke which specializes in German food. It was delicious. Rose ordered a flight of different fruity wines made in Amana. We ordered a few different desserts to all try.

Michael and our dessert sample.



Meat Market hat switch.

Meat Market hat switch.

Saturday evening we went to Michael's show in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. Michael directed 'I Love You, You're Perfect, Now CHANGE'. It is a very cute and, at tome, touching musical. Michael did a great job. We all enjoyed the show.

Rose's birthday road trip

the Iowa barn welcome center

For her birthday, Rose wanted to see a friend's show in Iowa. JT found a fascinating stop along the way... the site of Buddy Holly, Rickie Valens and the Big Bopper's plane crash outside of Clear Lake, Iowa. The site is marked with a pair of giant Buddy Holly glasses. We then stopped at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. The venue of their last performances.



Buddy Holly crash site marker



Buddy Holly glasses with Buddy Holly glasses

Friday night we met Megan and Michael in the New Bohemia section of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. New Bohemia was originally the Czech-Slovak neighborhood. It was devastated by flooding in 2008 and is now being rebuilt and renovated.

We ate at Bata's. An eclectic restaurant with a blueberry burger on the menu. It was a blueberry compote and a jalapeño relish. It was outstanding. There were also caramelized sweet potato fries and another appetizer that sounded like way too many ingredients but was fantastic and also unrepeatable.

Garden update

The raspberries are nearly done and friends have thankfully picked most of the currants. The cauliflower was fantastic as was the spinach. I planted the beets in the wrong place. They are almost completely shaded by the Japanese peony and the tomato plants.

the ripening tomato

Speaking of tomatoes, there are a couple that are ripening. Yay! The three plants have lots of fruit on them. I haven't had much success with tomatoes in the last few years so I am super excited to get three bearing plants.

peppers - green now...waiting to ripen orange

Same with peppers. I was about to give up on trying to get any produce and this year did not start out promising. One of the plants was getting eaten up by something. Now all three plants have at least one big pepper (they are supposed to eventually turn orange) so I should have enough to freeze some.

caged strawnerries

This year I am getting strawberries. I did purchase two additional plants and the new ones along with last year's two are producing. It is kind of late for strawberries but I am certainly not complaining. I think the birds were eating everything last year so I have caged the plants.

a couple of apple branches

The apple tree is once again drooping heavily with lots of fruit. I always lose some when I hit the branches mowing and from trying to keep them propped up. I made a smoothie with a few of the green apples. Added some honey and cardamom with coconut milk and protein powder for a refreshing protein shake.