ACROSS THE STATE, AROUND THE WORLD

Halo.

That's hello in Malay, one of the official languages of Singapore.  You may be wondering why I bring this up, and I have a reason which I will get to.  But first let's pick up where we left off last time.

I was sick and Robyn and I were heading to Iowa City to get physicals and get registered for Iowa Care insurance.  By Wednesday I was feeling quite a bit better but still had the sniffles and a cough.  I went into work at 5 in the morning because we had some jobs to get done and I would be taking off at 10.  All the fiber optic lines had been run and all the caps were built, so we needed to get it poured.  Here are some pics of the project..

ready to pour

poured, capped and setting up

With that done I loaded up the ramp I built for Vacation Bible School and aimed in the direction of the church.  On the way I was slowed by this accident.

I wasn't sure if I should share this video on the blog but it made me think about how things can change in an instant.  I'm sure neither of those drivers knew what would transpire that day.  I started thinking of my life and my relationship with Christ.  How sometimes I am all excited about Him and His word, and at other times I find myself far away.  I took a couple of photos to help illustrate what I am saying.  When I first started building my spiritual relationship I was awe struck by the clear vision of that which I had not seen before..

The inspiration

It made me want to learn more, to build on what I had discovered..

a foundation of rock

As I learned more, it only made me want to learn even more.  I grew and grew in this relationship.  But there were things I didn't like about this new found friendship, things that didn't agree with the way I wanted to go.  So I would put it on the back burner, so to speak, and try life my own way.   Then, at somepoint I would look back and see what was happening..

crumbling and overgrown, but the foundation is still there

And I remembered the excitement, the wonder, the pure thrill of that relationship and I would rebuild and keep adding more.  There are constantly storms in my life and my house gets battered, but the rock on which I stand can withstand all.  So, like the little robin, whose home is knocked down in a storm..

It's not the end of the world

I rebuild and move forward.   So if my life is changed in an instant, or even ended, I know I have that relationship to lean on, the promise I have learned that is unfailing.  The promise that God is with me, through thick and thin.  He won't fail me even when I fail him (and I fail Him alot).  It's His promise to everyone who will listen,... everyone.

The promise

Anyway, I delivered the ramp to church and went home to get ready for our trip to Iowa City.  Robyn and I got in the car at noon.  Our appointments were at 2 and 2:30.  As we started on the way my phone rang.  It was the nurse from Iowa City.  She informed me that our doctor went home sick (I thought that was ironic) and wanted to know if we could come down Friday instead.  I let her know, while keeping my composure, that we had already taken time off from work and were in no position to take off whenever we wanted.  I asked that she please find another doctor.  She said she would call back shortly, so Robyn and I pulled over into a parking lot to await that call.

Half an hour later she called and told us they had found a doctor, and the appointments were only moved back by 25 minutes.  We got to the hospital just in time.  It just so happens that the hospital is right across the street from Kinnick Stadium, home of the Iowa Hawkeyes.  So I took a picture.

Go Hawks!!

Robyn asked why I was taking a picture since we wern't going there.  I told her I like to keep the blog random.  

Once we got to see our doctors, the physical was the most basic one I have ever gotten.  He listened to my heart and felt my neck and..  that was it.  I thanked him for seeing us on such short notice and explained that we had made this appointment 3 months ago.  He told me that under this goverenment program there was only enough funding for 6 doctors to see 30,000 people and that was why it took so long to get in.  Those numbers may not be exact but it was pretty ridiculous none the less.  The nurse drew some blood and we were sent packing.  On the way home we stopped in Newton to get a bite to eat and I took a picture of the Iowa Speedway..

The big boys race here

As Robyn called it, "another place we didn't go on this little vacation".  When we got back to Des Moines we went to the McDonalds drive through to see Canyon, and get a beverage.

hard at work

Thursday it was back to the grind.  At Speck we had a couple installs to do.  The first is the bench and planter tops we did.  Here they are installed..

perfect fit

The client will have rock added to the outside walls.  It will be beautiful. 

The second one we didn't actually install.  It was shipped to The Lake of the Ozarks and put on a clients dock.  It's one of our firepits and it will be a sensation on the lake.

Maybe it will sell more

After work I went home and had my head shaved.  Robyn made me do it.  

Should save us a ton on shampoo

Then we spent a day getting ready for the holiday weekend.

Saturday we went to the graduation of our nephew Colton.  Here is a video of the ceremony..

Very proud family

We took some pics and went to get a bite to eat.   Robyn and I were trying to eat light because we had a cook out to go to afterwards.  Just to let you know, splitting a burger and having a cup of chili at Legends fills you up like a buffet.  We were stuffed.  We said our congrats and good byes and headed to my niece Shonna's house for the big cook out.  There was quite a big crowd there, including my mom and dad who had come down as a surprise.  Here are a few pics.

I am NOT taking a pic of the blonde girl

My brother Steve and I with our purple nurple defense 

Ma and pa chowing down

We had much to eat, much to drink and much to play.  Here is a video of my mom tryin to get a ringer.  I told her to move closer.  

I told my brother (he is the tech wizard of the family) that I wanted to put a counter on my blog so I could see if anyone was reading it.  He informed me that there was a counter already on it, and a lot more neat information also.  We had to go home because we were scheduled to work at Church in the morning so with hugs and kisses all around we drove away and left the real partiers to play into the night.  We got home and went straight to bed, still full from Legends.

Sunday morning we got to church around 8 and we were taught how to do a new job.  Robyn and I were asked to be greeters.  It wasn't difficult but we didn't feel like we were greeter material.  

Would you want to be greeted by this...

or this?   ...OK, this would be fine.

So I'm not greeter material.  I feel more at home helping in the kitchen.

After church we were invited over to the home of our small group leader for a grill out.  He grilled up some bratwurst pattys that were awesome.  I'm not a bratwurst fan but these we delicious. 

good eats and good friends

 

Then we played bochi ball.  I don't know if that's spelled right but the game is played by tossing croquet sized balls at a target.  The closest gets the point and you play to 15.  Me and my partner lost the first game and won the second and in the rubber match we were leading 13 to 5.  Then we experienced the biggest melt down since Three Mile Island.  I knew we were in trouble when our opponents put on their bochi gloves and cleats.  We took the loss like gentlemen and retired to the deck for some sangria.  Robyn and I decided to call it a day because we were exhausted from the weekend.  

When I got home I decided to check on that counter for my blog.  I was blown away by what I found.  This blog is read around the world.  

Prestige Worldwide

People as far away as Singapore.  I changed my comment section so anyone can comment.  Well I think I did, but like I said..  I'm not the tech wiz.  Now you know why I started this post with 'halo'.  And I want to thank anyone who happens across this blog and finds it entertaining, funny or truthful.  I will continue to try to keep it riviting.

Well, I will end this post but stay tuned for more exciting adventures with the Griswalds.

Until next time...same bat time...same bat channel

Peace

Dan

 

THINGS THAT MAKE ME SAY HMMM..

Thursday afternoon I was out at the pool catching some rays.  But this wasn't fun time, I was at work.  You see, in the decorative concrete business, it isn't all about countertops (That is where I do my best work tho) it is also about stamped patios and pool decks.  In this case we were called by someone who had a different company do their pool deck, but they didn't do a very good job so we were called to come in and fix the problem.  This happens several times a year, with pool decks, drive ways and patios.  We stripped the sealer that had been put down wrong and restained and resealed.  Here is a couple of pics of the finished pool deck.

That pool cover was like that when we got there...wasn't me

I wanna party on this patio

If you stood by the fire pit and looked left, this was the sweet view behind their house.

Cool view

While we were putting the finishing touches on the pool deck I got a call from Robyn.  She said "We've got a problem!"  My heart sank as I immediatly thought of Canyon's little brush with the Waukee police and prayed that there wasn't more bad news.  I asked what was the matter and she said she was dumping her bucket of cleaning water down a toilet and saw her rag pour out.  The toilet was instantly plugged.  Oh great, the pool I was working on was north of Ankeny.  I asked which bathroom, hopeful it wasn't on the second floor.  She said it was Marcia's house.  So I thought, if this wasn't at my house how was it that 'we' had a problem?  Robyn told me she shut off the water and cleaned up the mess and asked if I could help remedy the situation.  I made plans to go over right after work.  Now I understood how 'we' had a problem.  

Now, a plumber I ain't but I thought I would give it the old Griswald,..I mean Petersen try.  Here is a quick video for your enjoyment..

I can now add plumber to my list of expertise.  And since I am now a plumber...

I'm going to go on letting you believe that is my plumber crack

Friday at work we just finished up a project that is a bench and flower box tops.  The client wanted something that looked natural and had the feel of water running through it.  I think this came out pretty nice.  We will install it Monday.

Bench is over 10 feet long

Mirror and glass inlays as well as Brazilian agates

The rock face edge adds to the natural feel

On Friday we also began running fibers for a large fiber optic outdoor bar.  It consists of 8 pieces with 5 of them being just under 10 feet long.  This may be hard to understand but some of the fiber runs were longer that 20 feet.  This bar will have almost 2 miles of fiber when complete.  Here is a picture of Chris doing a 23 foot run..

so far away we had to comunicate by phone

We have to run each fiber through an exit point after threading it through the piece itself, then bundle them in 10s so we don't get a big spider web.  Here is a video to help you understand.

Just as the day was coming to a close, my sister Debbie called to see if she could use a ladder.  I hadn't been feeling so great for the last couple days so I said I would run it over but then I was heading home to get some rest.  On the way to her house I spotted this bird.  I wasn't sure what I was seeing so I turned around and went back for a photo.  It's not a pigeon or a dove.  I don't know, you tell me..

albino robin?

Saturday, I slept in for a while but I had a project to do.  The church had asked me to build a skateboard ramp for vacation bible school.  Don't get too excited, they wanted a smaller one for someone to do a stunt on as entertainment.  Well I had been putting it off and now it was crunch time.   I stopped into Menards for material and on my way out..well.. let me give you a little back story.

Several weeks ago, maybe even a month ago, I was leaving Menards when I saw a man holding a sign looking for food, work, money , whatever so if you know me you know that I stopped and gave him some money (and a daily devotional that I had in my truck).  As I pulled away a voice in my head told me I should go talk to him.  Find out his story.  Share God's word with him.  I kept driving but the feeling was overwhelming.  I don't know why I didn't go back, I mean I had no pressing issues to deal with (like a clogged toilet) but I didn't go back.  It bugged me for hours so I stopped by on the way home but he was gone.  I felt like I had let God down or something.  It really tore me up.  Well, God is a God of second chances, because there on that same corner was the same man.  I recognized his sign.  It said retired military, please help.

This time I went back.  I parked and walked over to him and asked if we could talk.  I think he enjoyed the company.   His name is Jerry Norton, he retired after 32 years with the army.  He was awaiting retirement payments coming in a few weeks.  I asked if he knew God loved him and he responded almost immediatly.  He said Yes, I go to church every Sunday but more than that I talk to Jesus daily, I couldn't get by with out Him.   That rocks!  He had been working construction, driving big truck that required a cdl licsense, but he suffered a peptic ulcer and they revoked it.  They didn't want him having an attack and getting in an accident.  Down on his luck, he and his wife were living in his Honda.  Through his church she had found a place to stay.  I told him about my blog and asked if I could tell his story and have a picture.  He was genuinly happy to oblidge.

If you have the means, help the hungry

He has been working small jobs here and there, he just needs that one break.  I thanked him for his service with the army and asked if he had a phone.  He had one of those prepay phones, so I exchanged numbers with him and asked if I could give his number to one of the pastors at Point of Grace and see if they could offer any help.  He said sure.  I told him to try to put in an application at Speck, they are always looking for good men.  I gave him a little money, I wished him the best and headed out to finish my project.

May God bless Jerry and his wife.  And thank you Lord for the second chance.

I got to the shop, feeling great, but sick as a dog and put together the ramp in a couple of hours.  They can paint it up and make it look real cool for the kids at VBS.

Tony Hawk would be impressed

Then Robyn called and reminded me that we had a graduation party to go to.  I hurried home and got cleaned up.  We picked up Canyon and headed to the party.  Colton, our nephew, was graduating a year early.  I asked him how he did it and he told me he was a genius.  No doubt there.  There are some serious smarts in that family.  His sister (our niece) Meredith graduated early also.  She helped arrange the party.  We talked to family for a bit, told Colton how proud we were and had to go home because I was really under the weather.

Pretty smart, and smart n pretty

Speaking of under the weather, we got home and some storms started rolling in.  I snapped these quick pics and went inside to ride it out.

bubblin trouble

a scene from a movie?

There were sever thunder storms and several tornados about the state, buy we were spared.  Now if I could just shake this cold.  Robyn and I go down to Iowa City Wednesday to get qualified for Iowa Care Insurance.  If we lived in Polk county we could just go to Broadlands Hospital, anywhere else and it's Iowa City.  Hope I'm feeling better by then.  Until next time,  stay thirsty my friend.

Peace

Dan

'

LONG WINDED

Oh no!  It's the fuzz!

Let me take you back to mother's day, 2011.  While Robyn was cleaning her car, and I was at the shop cleaning my truck, Canyon didn't want to be left out so he took his car up to the carwash to clean it.  Great idea, right?  Ya, no.  On the way home he got pulled over.  He was driving great.  It's just that there are no plates on the car, and no registration, and no insurance, and Canyon has no liscense.  Other than that there was no problem.  So Canyon is now the proud owner of about $600 in tickets.  He informed us of the incident Monday because he didn't want to ruin Robyn's mother's day.  He goes to court on June 6th.

My little convict...

...and his refridgerator art

In the meantime, I took Monday and Tuesday after work to finish up that side job I have been working on.  I had to build a small cabinet over a microwave and build a wall for the micro to hang on as well as build an island wall and stain all to match the existing kitchen.  This next series of pics shows the finished job...

another job well done

Tuesday Robyn took Canyon to meet with the surgeon and figure out when he needs to have the operation.  The doc said it could wait till school is out.  That is a relief because Canyon is having a little difficulty getting caught up (so much school missed because of medical problems) and we couldn't have him miss more school. 

Thursday at work we installed that funky countertop with the odd shaped pieces.  It actually went in easier than I thought it would.  They had a relative fabricate the cabinets, and while they are very nice they weren't quite level but that was a problem we can overcome.  Here are a couple pics of the kitchen and bath.

The homeowner owns a concrete plant

He brought us his limestone for inlays

All these tops are made with 70% recycled materials

Thursday was also Robyn's and my 21st anniversary.  We had gone out the Friday before, (I blogged about it) so we decided to spend a quiet evening at home.  Canyon had to work so Robyn was going to prepare a nice meal and we would enjoy a bottle of good wine together.  Well, if you have been reading this blog you know we have some cooking stories, and Robyn wanted to add another.  Right before I got home she was grilling some steaks and had some veggies in the micro.  There was also a pan on the stove.  She stirred the veggies and put them down on the stove, then went out to put the garlic bread on the grill and grab the steaks.  So far so good.  When she came back in the fire alarm was going off.  Not because she was burning the food, but because the big plastic spoon she was stirring the veggies with was on fire!  It had slid into the burner that was cooking the food in the pan.  And while she was putting that out, the plastic pan that the veggies were in got to close to the flame and started melting.  While she was dealing with all this, the garlic bread was burning.  Robyn makes some fantastic meals, but not without some drama.

She may not be Julia Child, but she's mine

She really needed the wine after that.  I tried to cheer her up with this card..

Reminded us of the time we lost our car at a KC Royals game

Friday, right after work I headed up to Sioux City.  My niece Ashley was having a baby shower. 

Mamma to be

 I was also having my brother Dave put tires and brakes put on my truck while I did some repairs on his shower.  However, because of Canyon's little run in with the law, he needed to stay home and work to save money for his tickets and we thought it best if Robyn stayed home to keep an eye on him.  So I took the baby shower gift and headed up there.

Upon arriving, after inital hellos, Dave and I headed straight to his house to pull my tires so we could go first thing in the morning and get the new ones mounted.

all jacked up (which also describes Dave the next nite)

Saturday morning Dave picked me up and we went down to get tires.  Here is a pic of his tires.  I didn't get that kind.

Just the rims are $1800.

While they were mounting my tires, Dave asked if I wanted to go on the garage tour with him.  (You're saying, "What's a garage tour?".)  I had to ask too.   It seems there are a lot of motor heads in the Sioux City area and once a year they host a tour of their garages, and their hot rods for everyone to come see.  Some people put out food and beverages, including beer, and talk shop.  Our starting point was a place called Dakota Muscle.  This is where the bad ass rides are built.  I took a video, but I didn't have my camera so try to enjoy this blurry phone video.

We hopped around to a few morning garages, then went and got my tires.  Dave put on new brakes and put the tires back on.  I really wanted to hit one of the stops on the garage tour.  It was not a motor head's garage, it was a train museum.  It was quite interesting, I was thinking of my dad the whole time.  He's a model railroader from way back.  I will have to take him there when I am in town again.  Here's a couple photos from my phone.

Iron Horse, the pride of Sioux City

We took a tour of the old service area and were able to check out the roundhouse.  That was a turntable for locomotives so they could back into garage bays for service.  We went up into the engine conductors compartment.  There were more valves than most Home Depots carry.

whatever you do, don't touch the red valve.

Our final stop was where all the tourist ended up.  They had tons of food and drink.  I would venture a guess of at least 75 people showing up when I was there.  At one point I looked around and noticed that everyone was wearing a hoodie.  Everyone except me,..and a guy with his t-shirt tucked into his pants.  The tour for me was interesting.  I liked checking out all the cool cars, but everyone was talking a foriegn language.  Full bore, dual glide, turbo max, hydro-polycarboned injectors.  What?  I was excited when the home owners wife offered a tour of the completely remodeled old farm house they lived in.  That was a language I spoke.

Dave had mentioned earlier that he planned on pounding some beers at this stop, so I excused myself and went back to mom's to visit with her and my sister Sherry.  Now, this next photo will make my brother Steve and my sister Debbie salivate.  When I got back to the house we all decided to have some pizza.  There is only one place for great pizza in Sioux City.  Jerry's Morningside Pizza.  It is a taste sensation all it's own.  

Comparable to the soup nazi on Seinfeld, it's that good!

I was really missing Robyn, and she would have loved being up here because all the girls sat around watching lifetime TV.  So I decided to go to bed, I still hadn't got caught up on my sleep.

Sunday morning I came downstairs to stories of my dad taking a terrible fall on an escalator.  He had gotten home late the night before from a trip to Detroit.  They were up until 5 cleaning and dressing his wounds.  After a trip to the doctor Sunday morning, we were told there are no broken bones, he was just a little beat up and bloodied.  Dad said he went head over heels down the double speed escalator.  He vows to wait for the elevator next time.  My head went faster than my feet once too, when I was foot racing a moped down the block (there may have been beer involved).  I also vowed to never do that again.

and a bruised ego too

Then I went over to Dave's house to work on his shower, but he had just used it and I needed it dry.  So I put a fan on it and went back to mom and dad's.  We decided to get some yard work done.  I'm not sure but I think Sherry may not be used to a self propelled mower..

Dave stopped over and finished the mowing while the girls made tomato cages for mom's garden.  In the meantime I chased butterflies around the yard.  Now I know where Canyon got that when he was playing left field in little league.

I think this pic is suitable for framing

With the yard work complete I went back to dave's and finished his shower, then it was time to head back home.  I had my own yard to mow when I got there.  Time to hit the open road..

Picturesque and inviting..

until you see this, and I saw a lot of that.

Canyon called while I was on the road and said he would start on the lawn.  That was great.  It left me a little time to stop by a roadside attraction that I have wanted to visit for years.  Here is a little premature Memorial day bloggage for you.

A true memorial

One more thing, Robyn asked me to thank my mom for feeding me broccoli just before I came home.  Now you know why I titled this blog, 'Long Winded"

Thanks mom.

Peace

Dan