Two Masonic Events

Friday Night was the Festive Board for St. John's Day for Specialis Procer Lodge.  It was a great evening.  (even if I did eat too much.)


Saturday was the Grand Lodge Masonic Leadership Symposium.  Good meeting


You can read more about the Leadership Symposium here and here,

Found this over at Iowa Freemasonry:

IowaMason is a new Masonic blog by Matthew Risberg. Brother Matt is a member of Acanthus Lodge #632 in Beaverdale. 

Check out his blog at this link.

Taylor Morris meets the President

From the WCF Courier.  An article about Taylor Morris meeting President Obama who was over to the Hospital visiting wounded soldiers.  

"Additionally, the couple and Taylor’s father, Dan Morris, have been invited to the White House on the Fourth of July.

“We’re going there for dinner and to watch the fireworks from the lawn,” Taylor said."

Go read the article here.  It will touch your heart.

Found For Friday

As we get older we sometimes begin to doubt our ability to "make a difference" in the world. It is at these times that our hopes are boosted by the remarkable achievements of other seniors who have found the courage to take on challenges that would make many of us wither.

Harold Jenkins is such a  person:  THIS  IS QUOTED FROM HAROLD:  "I've  often been asked, 'What do you do now that you're  retired?'  Well ... I'm fortunate to have a  chemical engineering background and one of the things  I enjoy most is converting beer, wine, and whiskey  into urine. It's rewarding, uplifting, satisfying, and  fulfilling.  I do it every day, and I really  enjoy it." Harold  should be an inspiration to us  all.  AN INDIFFERENT BULL A farmer goes in half with a friend to buy a bull so he can increase his stock. A couple of weeks later the friend comes by to see how his investment is doing. The farmer complains that the bull just eats grass and won't even look at the cows. His friend suggests that a veterinarian have a look at the bull. The following week his friend returns to see if the vet helped. The farmer looks delighted: "That bull has taken care of all my cows, broke through the fence, and has even serviced all my neighbor's cows!" "Wow," says his friend, "what did the vet do to that bull?" "Just gave him some pills'" said the farmer. "What kind of pills?" asked his friend. "I don't know, but they sort of taste like peppermint."  An 86-year-old very wealthy man went to his doctor for his quarterly check-up. The doctor asked him how he was feeling, and the 86-year-old said ,'Things are great and I've never felt better. I now have a 20 yr-old bride who is pregnant with my child. So what do you think about that Doc ?' The doctor considered his question for a minute and then began to tell a story. 'I have an older friend, much like you, who is an avid hunter and never misses a season. One day he was setting off to go hunting. In a bit of a hurry, he accidentally picked up his walking cane instead of his gun. As he neared a lake, he came across a very large male beaver sitting at the water's edge. He realized he'd left his gun at home and so he couldn't shoot the magnificent creature. Out of habit he raised his cane, aimed it at the animal as if it were his favorite hunting rifle, and went 'bang, bang'. Miraculously, two shots rang out and the beaver fell over dead.. Now, what do you think of that ?' asked the doctor. The 86-year-old said, 'Logic would strongly suggest that somebody else pumped a couple of rounds into that beaver.' The doctor replied, 'My point exactly.'  The man who worked at the watch factory was very funny. He stood about all day making faces.  Propagate - leaving your garden wide open.  Its okay to watch an elephant bathe as they usually have their trunks on.  I don't find health-related puns funny anymore since I started suffering from an irony deficiency.  With only one piece of wood, I tried to convince the fire to light by use of a monologue.  Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.  It's not that the man did not know how to juggle, he just didn't have the balls to do it. I couldn't quite remember how to throw a boomerang, but eventually it came back to me

Something I am looking forward to -

Hysteria

I went to the movie Wednesday night.  I had to go to Des Moines to see it because it is probably never going to show in Ames.

"Hysteria is a romantic comedy with an accomplished cast led by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce, Felicity Jones and Rupert Everett, that tells an untold tale of discovery - the surprising story of the birth of the electro-mechanical vibrator at the very peak of Victorian prudishness."

It is really more about the way Victorian England treated women and medicine (bleed them and put some eels on them.). This was a time when clean bandages weren't thought to be important and as a result they were not changed often. Women could not vote and men would not listen to them. Often they were diagnosed with female hysteria and would have hysterectomies as a (radical) treatment. It is also a romantic comedy and Maggie Gyllenhaal does a remarkable job as the daughter of a doctor who earns most of his living by treating hysteria in women.

It was enjoyable and of course, a major part of the enjoyment came from the Fluer experience. I enjoy this theater very much. They always have movies that are not always playing in the Cinemark theaters and they have good popcorn and ice tea (instead of sodas - but you can get them also) There are enough people behind the counter that you don't have to wait long and that helps.

I also, since I was in Des Moines, went to Costco and got a few things including gas. Gas in Ames is $3.349 a gallon. In Des Moines it was 10 cents cheaper and at Costco it was $3.199 a gallon. So I had two great experiences. Tomorrow (really today) Miss Molly (who was very happy to see me) is going to the vet to get her toenails trimmed. Wonder how she will like it. Thanks for stopping by. Hugs, j

You know how I am supposed to finish one book before I start another. Well I am still reading the Lyndon Johnson book and I am enjoying it but it is rather thick and heavy reading....Heavy in that because it is thick it weighs a lot.  So Monday, since I had to go to the Doctor I decided to pick up one of the books in waiting and I chose The Third Gate by Lincoln Child..

Good Reads says this about the book:

"

 

Under the direction of famed explorer Porter Stone, an archaeological team is secretly attempting to locate the tomb of an ancient pharaoh who was unlike any other in history. Stone believes he has found the burial chamber of King Narmer, the near mythical god- king who united upper and lower Egypt in 3200 B.C., and the archaeologist has reason to believe that the greatest prize of all—Narmer’s crown—might be buried with him. No crown of an Egyptian king has ever been discovered, and Narmer’s is the elusive “double” crown of the two Egypts, supposedly pos­sessed of awesome powers. 
The dig itself is located in one of the most forbidding places on earth—the Sudd, a nearly  impassable swamp in north­ern Sudan. Amid the nightmarish, disorienting tangle of mud and dead vegetation, a series of harrowing and inexpli­cable occurrences are causing people on the expedition to fear a centuries- old curse. With a monumental discovery in reach, Professor Jeremy Logan is brought onto the project to investigate. What he finds will raise new questions . . . and alarm. "

I finished the book this evening. It was a relatively short book (320 pages) but the reason that I finished fast was because it was what is called a "page turner" one that you don't want to put down.  Well written and it kept my interest all the way through....(well duh Jay you already called it a page turner, now you are stating the obvious) and it has an ancient Egyptian theme - one I have always been interested in with a twist at the end.  I am going to recommend it to you if you want a good, summer read by a fine author.  I am going to explore his other books.

I had planned to go to Des Moines to see a movie at the Fluer theater that ends on Thursday but decided to put it off until Wednesday because I really wanted to finish the book.

Have a great day and Happy Reading..  God I love being retired!

 Monday was busy,  Two trips to Doctors.  One to get a shot in my shoulder from Dr. Greenwald (He looks like George Clooney) and that took about 5 minutes.

Then this afternoon I saw Dr. Snider who looked my skin over and pronounced me good to go for another year.  I always worry but not too much.  She is good and really nice (and beautiful).  We made a date for next year also.

Then I was sitting at home and James called.  It was his

birthday and he was getting a group together to go out to eat.  As it happened I was just thinking about what to have for supper.  On my way back from Dr. Snider I had driven past a Mexican Restaurant and thought that I had not eaten there for quite awhile.  So I was predisposed to go there and his invitation was serendipitous.   So James and Naomi and Stephen and Meghan (or Megan?) and I got to eat together.  It was really nice. Good company and great food and I had a Margarita. 

I stopped at the liquor store this afternoon and purchased a bottle of Booker's Bourbon.  I also got a bottle of Iowa Bourbon.   I have heard that the Bookers is a really fine drink and I love the Iowa stuff so I am set for awhile.

I started an new book.  I am still reading the Lyndon Johnson book but it is too heavy to carry around so I picked up one of the novels waiting around for me. I may finish it before I go back to the biography.  I got into it quickly and am pretty sure I want to finish it fast.  Thanks for stopping by.  Hugs from Molly and Me.  Oh speaking of Molly I am thinking of getting her a companion puppy.  Somebody to play with when she gets bored.

Anticipation

I am so ready for this show to come back on....Maggie and Shirley -- delicious.

Molly on Monday

 Molly here,

It's been a quiet week.  Miles was over and that was fun.   BG forgot to get pictures.

He took some pictures of me doing my "stuff"


I can wag my tail..

He should have taken a movie..




He makes me roll over but I don't quite make it all the way.

 He played around with the camera effects on iPhoto.  I am not sure I like this one.

He tried to get a picture of me doing a "Give me ten." but it didn't come out well.

 He did get me to shake hands.

And he took a couple of glamour shots of me.  I like the second one best....even if it is a little fuzzy.

 Jon came over on Sunday night.

He gives good ear rubs.

I am always excited to see him.


Cassie loves him also

He told the BG that he successfully defended his final requirement for his Master's Degree and now has multiple degrees.


Woopie!  The BG and I are very proud of him.

 He told us all about his paper and his poster that he used in his presentation.
He could be a High School Teacher now but is going to Arizona to pick up a Doctorate.  We are going to miss him.

 He does a good job rubbing my behind also.

 I luvz it!

 Notice Cassie hanging around.  Jon got the vacuum out and cleaned up all the stuffing that Mr. Miles had left all over the house,

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great week.  Always remember that Molly Loves You.

Sunday's Serendipitious Images - Photos by Bob Kelly

On Sunday, June 24, I went out with my camera to find whatever fate provided for me, and these images captured what I found.  From the Sweet Peas, flower bed, and Hollyhocks of summer, to a tired house with distinctive ginger bread wood trim, to a house with hot pink accents, followed by a charming bed and breakfast farm home, to a clever way to give a tree stump some new character, to a stately windmill and an unusual square and tall corn crib, to a rooster crowing distinctive mail box, to the amber waves of grain ripe for harvest, to the cool refreshing fun on Little Wall Lake, to an algae encrusted turtle catching a few of the suns rays….all of these subjects made for a fun, productive, and creative afternoon.  I hope you enjoy them.