Well the fair and activities are all over for another year!! Had a lot of fun, spent some time in the beer garden after the rodeo, those cowboys were sure young!!!!

Decorated the church and did the flowers for a friends wedding, she is 57 and this is her first marriage, she is the sweetest person, just this round little thing, plain jane all the way, but she was beautiful on Saturday, What love can do to you!!! He is older and was a widower. They are just cute together, gives one hope!!!!

Bowling guy asked me why she had never married before, said wasn't sure but that maybe she was waiting for the guys to mature!!!!

School started last Thursday for us, that way we only have them for 2 days to do the back up work find out what they lost over the summer and so on and then we have the next week to move them forward!!!

I leave on Wednesday after school to visit my grandboys in Arkansas. I can't wait!!!! It's an 18 hour drive though!!!

So that covers my next weekend, with labor day being the end of summer, do we want to continue this thread or start a new one for the fall/winter?

Dawn

OK ladies, here's my pies from my new found baking skills!

They didn't last until 8:00AM when I brought them to work this morning!

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/screamingcockatoo/pies1.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/screamingcockatoo/pies2.jpg

2K a week Pariah? holy %&^$! I sure was dating the wrong guy from atlanta!

Here is a summary, I would need a freaking camera crew to follow me 24/7 to capture all of the action!

Wednesday night I went to a Nine Inch Nails concert downtown St. Louis. It was a very interesting show and a more interesting crowd. I took off both Thursday and Friday. Thursday I met Anna, my friend and fellow alderman, and we attended a Republican club luncheon in O-town (the neighboring town). It was an interesting crowd and I had a good time. I went out Thursday night for a while to Elmer’s in P-town (another neighboring town) where I was charmed by the cutest bartender I had seen in a while. I then went to The Dog (the world famous Dog Prairie Tavern in my town) and had much conversations and some beer there.

Slept in Friday and just puttered or most of the day, went to McGurk’s (Irish bar restaurant, fabulous outdoor bar area) in O-town for dinner and drinks and met some interesting people there and said hello to a couple that I had met earlier in the season at a party. Anna then called and wanted to meet at The Dog with her neighbor Cathy, who I’ve met several times. We grabbed a table and had some very interesting conversation and the scene got interesting late as the people from the Ducks Unlimited dinner started rolling in. A guy I've known since I lived here came over and joined us and told us a bit about his very interesting life. It was very amusing and I left at about 00:00.

Saturday went to Lion’s Choice (better than Arby's) in O-town for lunch and in walked the father and son that I met at the luncheon on Thursday, they asked to join, and that sat down and we had another interesting conversation. We were later joined by a prominent jeweler (and former alderman) from O-town that I had heard about. The father and son own and manage quite a bit of commercial property in O-town. All in all an interesting crowd. I like the son and him and I could become good friends. They collectively know where all of the bodies are buried in O-town and must have a pipeline into my town because they knew about everything going on there. I wandered onward to Lowe’s and Home Depot looking for bargain plants, found 2-more shrubs, did some grocery shopping and headed home. I didn’t have and plans or ambitions for the evening and stayed home, watched movies, and went to bed early.

Sunday up and at them early, read the papers, texted back and forth with Maureen, planted 5 out of the 6 large shrubs in the backyard, took a lunch break, and then mowed the grass front and back and had a few phone conversations with Maureen and we set it so that she would come over to my place for the first time at around 4:30pm. She was a bit late and that might be a trend for her but I tend to make allowances when it comes to women! The weather was gorgeous and we sat in the driveway, talked, listened to great music, and drank some beer. I took her for a tour of the house and she said some very complimentary things about it and both my tastes and style. She was also impressed by my tool collection. We had a great time and after seeing my tools and taking interest in all of my dimmers, she said that she has a honey-do list for me for her place. She left close to dark and I hugged her, she kissed my cheek, and then we looked at each other, she brushed some hair out of her face, and we kissed. It was very nice. I then sent her on her way, texted her later, and we’ve been exchanging emails today. She was looking for some song lyrics and I found them for her and emailed them to her, said some nice things about her, and she replied that I’m melting her. Not a bad bit of work via email! I took a walk through the neighborhood for a beautiful orange sunset and touched base with a few neighbors, finished a movie and headed off to bed.

I saw NIN back in 1992 at the Roxy in Atlanta.

It was an AWESOME concert. Trent Rensnor threw a whole pizza into the audiance like a frizbee and then he threw a pitcher of beer.

So you went to a NIN concert and a Republican Club luncheon?

yes, that is definately uuhhh.......interesting

I doubt if they'll be playing at the convention

I am a diverse person with very diverse interests. In my old age I listen almost exclusively to alternative music while being fiscally conservative and probably middle-of-road socially. I defy a lot of labels. I like all types of people but vastly prefer sane ones.

I'll concur and say that NIN will definitely not play the RNC. Amazing show though. NIN, that is!

One would wonder given the angular velocity whether the pepperoni would hold to the pizza or not. I have no doubt about the beer.

Hey Booka! I just spent the weekend in St. Louis taking my boyfriend's daughter back for her sophomore year at SLU.....are you anywhere nearby? We tried and tried to visit a well-known restaurant "Sweetie Pies" in Mangrove, but they were closed for the entire month of August for vacation! They had another location in North County(??) that we drove to - but they were closed.....so we went to Vesuvio's Italian in North County. Really good.....Hit the Galleria and had another dinner at Maggiano's.........maybe we passed each other on the street??

Laura

SLU is in the Lou'. I'm about 35-miles WNW of SLU. I've heard of Sweetie Pies but have never eaten there. Vesuvio's I've not heard of. There are in my opinion a plethora of good or better Italian restaurants in the metro area, better overall than other cities I have been in. North County would put you a bit closer. I know where the Galleria is and occasionally go to the Crate and Barrel nearby. I've always wanted to try Maggiano's.

If you head out this way again, give me a heads up and we can all meet for dinner someplace.

You got it Booka! Looks like we'll be back in 9 months to pick up all the stuff that we just dropped off! Went to the art museum and the Science Center - awesome day trips.

Yes, you should try Maggiano's - order one appetizer and one entree and you could feed 3 people! It's very good. I live in Chicago and we have awesome restaurants, but yes, I will agree - St. Louis has some fine dining establishments! So, yup, I'll give you the heads up when we get back down there - would be fun to get together.....

Ah, Chicago. I had a most memorable meal in the fall of 2006 at what I recall and Gene and Georgetta's in the River North neighborhood. I felt that at any moment during the dinner that Tony Soprano would walk out of the back room. Very interesting. The waiter was haughty and I felt that he only approved of me two times, once when I asked for the angelhair Arrabiata rather than the potatoes and the lovely Mt. Veeder Cab that I ordered.

I do love Chicago and miss an Italian beef sandwich, which are hard to find in the Lou'. Good luck to your Cubbies.

I was in Sarawak (Borneo) last week...

Day 1: Flew in to Bario on a 19-seater. Took a long walk in the evening, birdwatching and visiting longhouses. It rained and we had a rainbow and a fantastic sunset afterwards. Bario has no electricity, no phones, no newspapers. The town runs on solar energy. Had fish and local pineapples for dinner.

Day 2: Trekked to Pa Lungan. Pa Lungan has a population of 72 and is only accessible by foot. It is completely self-sustainable. The women tend to the fields and the men hunt. Our host whipped up a fantastic dinner of vegetables from the jungle, soup, wild boar stew and chicken curry. Had sweet rice wine for dessert. That night the women taught us the hornbill dance and the men taught us the hunter's dance. Then all of us did the bocor-bocor, it is like line dancing. The villagers go to church every morning at 6am. I stood at the balcony in my pajamas and listened to the hymns and a short sermon. We had eggs and pancake for breakfast and tapioca porridge before setting off.

We hired three guides from Pa Lungan.

Day 3: Spent a night in a jungle shelter and bathed in the river. Saw millions of stars and I think I spotted a shooting star. The men went night hunting and got us a wild boar. Had rice wrapped in fragrant leaves for my lunch pack and a slice of roast boar. It was juicy. And the rice was really good! The trek was very pleasant and our guide showed us how to make a simple trap for small animals. We saw about 10 helmeted hornbills. I learnt how to identify the laugh of the bushy crested hornbill although I couldn't see it.

Our guides turned out to be funny men and made us laugh throughout. I learnt how to make a kettle out of a biscuit tin.

Day 4: Trekked to Kalimantan. The trek was very narrow and slippery. It took us 9 hours. Climbed over fences, tresspassed on somebody's paddy fields and nearly got chased by a water buffalo. Curry wild boar, spinach soup and local vegetables for dinner. Very tired.

Day 5: More trekking! Climbed a 1,100m hill over to Ba Kelalan, our last stop. The view of the valley was magnificent. It was Sunday and we can hear the villagers singing hymns in the background as we descended. We checked into our dormitory which is about 300m from the air strip. Later, we illegally climbed over the airport fence into a orchard. The owner was very generous and allowed us to have as many oranges as we liked. Pluck, eat, pluck, eat. We walked to the next village to make a telephone call. Saw lots of cinnamon bitterns and moorish hens on paddy fields. Had iced lollies - lychee flavour, very good! Had some wild berries. Black peppered boar, ox tail soup and BBQ chicken for dinner. More pineapples.

I bought a stick of the local salt. It is high in iodine and is wrapped in leaves. It has also has high mineral content and is supposed to be good for joint pains. I gave the rest of my money to my porter and guide. I gave his wife a lipstick and his kids a bag of lollipops.

Day 7: I am home. Traffic jams and pollution.

Friday - son's varsity football game
Saturday - the beach with my mother, 2 brothers and their families, my sister and her family and of course my kids. We each take a ton of food and stay at beach from mid-morning til sunset.
Sunday - catch up on housework.

Wow! That's sounds incredible!

It was a very good trip.

The people were very open, friendly and helpful. We had perfect weather throughout. I am now feeling a little blue from having spent so many days in the company of so many nice people and then the long weekend all by myself.

Bario is very charming and I am tempted to make another trip soon.

Please know I'm not being critical or trying to rain on your lovely memories of your exciting trip, Ruffled. In your description of your trip you mention a few times that you trespassed on local peoples' properties and in one case took food. I wonder how this will make them view visitors, particularly if most were Americans. I imagine the first few people to do as you did might not cause too much concern. Magnify that by lots of visitors and you can see where there might be some strain on what appears to be a people of good nature and also generous. I hope you understand my thoughts, I mean no disrespect for you or your judgment.

We went back up to the vineyards up in Dahlonega and tried three different ones this time.

We had a good time and I found a fantastic little BBQ place off of Auraria Rd.

My YD and I set out Wed after school for Arkansas to see OD.

Drove 7.5 hr that night stopped in Omaha.
Drove 9 hrs the next day.
YD did her share of the driving which made it nice for me!!! The heartland of America is gorgeous!!!

Got to see and play with my 3 grandsons til Saturday afternoon. Had a blast!!! I needed time with them, I miss them sooooooooooo much!

Started back Saturday pm went through the Ozarks, found a 64 Ford Galaxy, will call on it this week, my dad has been looking for a project car for years!!!! Stopped in Knob Noster, MO. We had lived there for 5 years seen friends and attended the 25th anniversary of the church we had attended!!!

Left there Sunday and headed for Omaha, Had birthday cake with one friend and doughnuts this morning with a HS friend.

So was a great weekend!!!

Ruffled your trip sounds excitinag and exotic how did you ever pick Borio to go to?

Dawn