The Barglof Clan on a beautiful fall day in Iowa!! Dr. Erika cleaned our teeth on Saturday, the same day in which the Hawkeyes beat Penn State!!! Go Hawks!! Sunday was family day at Mark and Betsy's. Tomorrow - back to work!! Why does work have to interfere with having fun?

Grandpa and Jacob. Jacob loves to have his picture taken. Grandpa isn't so willing!!

Daughter, Dr. Erika with grandson, Jacob on Mark's back deck!

Benny Becomes a Swimmer!!

Benny, the Wire-Haired Pointing Griffon is swimming!! We took him out to the Bennett Park pond last night and he jumped in just like a kid!! He loves to swim and usually makes a big splash (note the splash in the picture).

Oh, Bountiful Harvest

Ahhhh, fall in Iowa!! My favorite time of the year!! Yesterday I finished up the garden - pulled the carrots, picked the tomatoes, stepped on the weeds........I think we have enough tomato juice to feed all of Cedar County and then some.

Since this blog is from an Iowa farm, you should really hear about the "farm". The corn isn't quite ready yet, but some soybeans were combined north of here and they yeilded 50 bushels to the acre and tested 10%. For all you non-farmers - that's good!!

(Raise your glass -of something) Here's to a boutiful harvest and may God bless the farmer with pleasant weather, a great yield and most of all a safe harvest season. Thank you for feeding the world!!

Roland and the Rolettes (Cedar Ramblers)

Last night the Cedar Ramblers had a gig at the local bar - GB's. Pictured here are Roland (guitar), daughter Julie (singer), my mom (keyboard) and me (accordian). Julie's husband renamed us Roland and the Rolettes. I think it has a nice ring to it!! We played all the oldies for 2 hours and everyone was dancing, singing and of course, drinking!! Look for us on tour soon!! I think the next gig is in Durant - about 10 miles away! Road Trip!!!!

The Li'l Darlings

The li'l darlings that I teach spent the day at the YMCA camp working on team buildings skills. We came home dirty, tired, thirsty and hungry, but we loved every minute of it!!

Hangin' With the Big Boys

Last night, Bill and I enjoyed a wonderful night with the big boys!! We attended a Republican fundraiser for our state rep, Jeff Kaufmann and the featured speaker was Michael Reagan. What an awesome speech and a great guy! He was whisked off right after the speech, so I didn't get a picture with him, but I did get to shake his hand!! We did have a "connection" since his grandfather lived in my hometown for a while!!

Salsa, anyone??

...................to this. Only 1 jar of jalapenos, 2 fresh green jalapenos, 2 hot peppers, lots of garlic and other ingredients to give you heartburn!!! Think 4 quarts will be enough hot stuff??

Garden Goodies

From this.............................

Quasquicentennial

This year was our town's 125th anniversary!! I was in charge of the Memory Walk which included gathering historical pictures and displaying them on posters throughout Main Street. Friend, Jo, helped with programs and editing. Thanks, Jo!!

Jacob is so talented - he can play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star with a corncob and a stick!! Now that is real talent!!

Music, Music Everywhere

Jacob as a violin expert!! I know, he is brilliant because he is my grandson!!

Luke's wedding

Luke and Yasuka at their wedding reception with Mark and Betsy at Luke's parents' farm. Congratulations!!

Beautful evening and a great time with some wonderful folks!

Mark at 31

Mark turned 31 on Sept. 8th. Funny, I don't feel much older than that myself!!

Swinger

Benny's favorite spot - the porch swing! Can you say "Swinger"?

Benny Arrives

Bennett of Midnight Falls has arrived. He is an adorable (but wiggly, jumping, running, biting, barking, whining) puppy! He was flown in to O'Hare from a breeder in Alaska and we have "puppyized" our house. Everyday he gets a little better but oh, what a change in the household.

New cowboy hat!

The day we left for home, we spent a day in downtown Denver. The museums and shops are great! Bill even wore his new cowboy hat purchased in Estes Park!!

How do you like the black one compared to the white one? Oh, Bill, you rock!!

Cousins

Bill's cousins from Ft. Collins, Jay and Ruthanne!

We had a wonderful visit and a great tour of Ft. Collins, including the Budweiser garden and a few beers!!

Tom - where have you been?

Bill and Tom, Mark and Betsy's friend from college. Tom lives in Fort Collins doing what he loves best - working for a huge sporting goods store!
We miss you Tom!!

Colorado Rockies - awesome!!

Amtrak from Mt. Pleasant to Denver and crisp, beautiful mountain air. The perfect trip for two old koots on their 35th anniversary!!

Note: NO cowboy hat and we are in Colorado!!

Colorado Dreamin'

(singing) "Take the night train to Denver and I'll see you in the morning.............." OOPS! Wrong town, I think it was Memphis - oh, well, you get the idea!

Colorado, here we come!!

Union Station - August 2009

Note: Cowboy hat!!

Couldn't Pass It Up!

Did I tell you I loved antiques? I couldn't pass this buffet up when I spied it in the antique shop at Galena.

Thirty-five years with the same man!! I love him!!

Remember what I said about the cowboy hat! Kenny Chesney has nothing over on my Bill!!

Summer Skiing

Ever been down a mountain in the summer?? Yeah, that's called an Alpine Sled. Silly, heh!!

Food, glorious food!!

Just a "small" plate of cheese and fruit - YUM!! Chestnut Mountain Resort just opened a new restaurant and we loved it!

On to July! Hey, it was a busy month!!

Bill and I have been married 35 years as of July 13th, so we had to celebrate with the family. We spent the weekend in Galena, IL and on to Chestnut Mountain for an evening of eating and drinking and a fabulous boat ride on ol' Mississippi the next morning.

Grandson Jacob is "surrounded" by Grandma.

Another June Event - Old HIstory!!

June brought another great event! The birthday of our youngest grandson, Ryan, seen here with Great Grandma Delores.

I'm going to regress a bit and review the wonderful summer we enjoyed this year!

In June, after spending a few days in northwest Iowa, Bill and I stopped in Clear Lake, Iowa, to visit the Surf Ballroom. The last place Buddy Holly played before the fateful plane ride to heaven.

Bill loves to wear his cowboy hat and it was raining like crazy that day too!

I Must Be Crazy!!

The reason I say I must be crazy is because I have a zillion and one things to do and here I am starting a blog!! Living on an Iowa farm sounds boring, but this time of the year things will really be hopping with harvesting. I love this time of year!!