Porto Cima

This is an areal view of hole 15 at Porto Cima at the Lake of the Ozarks. The Talley lake home is built on the right tree line on hole 15. Looking at this picture, the house is on the right hand side, tucked behind the trees.

The Club at Porto Cima- Last week I snuck down to the lake to see Ken's Uncle Buddy, Aunt Emmy Glo, Uncle Boyd, and Aunt Dixie, who were visiting from out of town. They met Ken's parents at the lake house and did not come to the St. Louis house. I met everyone at the club for dinner on Thursday evening. We had a delicious meal and great conversation. I only wish Ken could have joined us!

A Family Dinner!

A Talley Tradition

SRA Lion (A Talley Tradition)- I have a tradition of giving all new born babies an SRA lion. The lion puppet is used in Pre-K, K, and grade 1, for phonemic awareness activities. Although I often give the lions to the mom at the baby shower, I decided to wait until Abby came home from the hospital and give her the lion in person.
The lion is actually a Talley tradition. Ken received a stuffed lion from his big sister when he was born. She brought the lion to the hospital and gave it to him. Ken's mom still has the lion. When Ken's nephews were born he bought them stuffed lions and continued the Talley tradition.

Abby has been home from the hospital for one week. This was my first visit since she has been home. I brought Ginger something to eat and enjoyed holding baby Abby.

The proud mommy!

Dinner in Kansas City

Bo Lings- Tonya and I enjoyed a quick dinner at Bo Lings at Zona Rosa shopping area. Bo Lings Fine Chinese Cuisine, a favorite Kansas City restaurant for almost 25 years now, has recently been presented with the Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in America Award by the national publication Chinese Restaurant News. Bo Lings is a local chain and I love their chicken dishes!

English Phone Booth- Along the streets of the Zona Rosa shopping area are several bright red English phone booths. I couldn't resist snapping a picture of Tonya standing by one. She loves everything English and hopefully she'll get her picture taken next to an English phone booth in England one of these days!

Osage City, KS

I trained teachers (grades 2-5) in Imagine It! in Osage City, KS. The Osage City School District is located in Osage City, KS and includes 2 schools that serve 720 students in grades KG through 12. What a wonderful group of teachers to work with! Their enthusiasm made the day go by quickly. They have never had a comprehensive reading program for grades 2-5 and they are very excited about Imagine It!


The school had a Dr. Pepper True Cooler! I couldn't resist getting my picture taken next to it!

A picture of me with Jennifer, KS/Western MO sales rep, and her beautiful son Graham.

Bobo's Drive-In

I stayed in Topeka, KS the night before I trained teachers in Osage City, KS. I enjoy watching the Food Network and had seen this Drive In featured. I decided to check it out while I was in town and it was well worth the visit!

Bobo's has been a Topeka tradition since 1948 and was orginally owned and operated by Bob Bobo. It was featured on the Food Network show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" in 2008. It is famous for its homemade apple pies -- served by the slice or whole pie -- and its onion rings, which also are made fresh every day. Car hops take your order and bring your food to your car.

This is a picture of the menu at Bobo's Drive In. I was going to order a chocolate malt, or a slice of their famous homemade apple pie, but I had already eaten a cheeseburger and sampled a few onion rings.

I ate a yummy cheeseburger and onion rings at Bobo's Drive-In in Topeka, KS while working in Osage City, KS. I worked out in the hotel gym afterwards!

Father's Day 2009

Father's Day Lunch- Ken and I had our parents over on Sunday to celebrate Father's Day. I fixed a dish we like to call Bobby Chicken (the recipe was given to us from Ken's best friend Bobby). We also had cheese potatoes, salad, veggies, fresh corn on the cob, and fruit. It was a healthy meal if you don't count dessert!

Our Fathers: We gave our dad's recyclable Rams bags filled with goodies. Since we gave our moms recyclable bags for Mother's Day we decided to do the same for our dads. The bags were filled with: candy, Dad's Original Scotch Oatmeal Cookies (locally made), peanuts, potato chips made in North Dakota, and a gift card to Lowe's.


Homemade Ice Cream: One of my childhood memories is making homemade ice cream with my dad on Father's Day. Last Father's Day I attempted to make homemade ice cream and it ended up being ice cream soup! I decided to try again this year and although the ice cream was a bit thicker than last year's batch, you could still drink it. We discovered what I did wrong, and next year we will have homemade ice cream! Luckily I had bought a gallon of ice cream and a lemon pie at the store. I set up an ice cream bar with a variety of toppings: whipped cream, carmel, fudge, strawberries, cherries, nuts, and sprinkles! I also picked up a bag of Windmill cookies in memory of my Grandpa Freeman. I have found memories of eating Windmill cookies with grandpa every time I visited him. He always kept the strawberry cookie jar in his kitchen filled with these yummy cookies!

Father and daughter.

Father and son.

Baby Visits

Last Thursday, June 18, was the day to spend time with children! It all began when I dropped off flippers for my friend to borrow for a VBS lesson. I got an opportunity to visit with her two wee ones, Miss M. and Mr. C. That's what she calls her children on her blog!

Mr. C. does the monkey pose!

Miss M. swings on a swing she helped her daddy build and paint.

Then I was off to mom and dad's house to see my cousin Nikki and her new baby boy. What a surprise to hear that she was in town from Georgia. I got to hold baby Demitry who was born on May 22.

Holding baby Demitry Jr.

My cousin Nikki, me, and baby Demitry.

My Uncle George and my dad holding Demitry.

Demitry Sr. and my cousin Nikki holding baby Demitry.

After visiting with family at mom and dad's I stopped and saw my friend Jennifer and her wee ones. I fed baby Kevin and played with Emily. It was nice to chat with Jennifer. I didn't have my camera so these pics were taken on my cell phone.

My friend Jennifer and her daughter Emily.

Holding baby Kevin.

Summer Adventures in Reading

Yesterday I went to the Chicago area to train teachers in Burbank, IL on Summer Adventures in Reading. It is a wonderful summer reading program for grades 1-5. There are 6 weeks of instruction for a total of 30 lessons. Each level has the same theme each week making it easy to do a theme related activity with the entire school at the end of the unit.

After the training, Susan, the sales rep, took me to Chuck's. I recommended the restaurant because I remembered it was located in Burbank, IL. I have eaten there several times in the past and have found the food to be pretty tasty. Chuck's is an interesting place with a variety of menu items including yummy BBQ, Tex Mex, and New Orleans style food.

Ken is traveling this week for his new fire inspection job. He continues to have all of his other responsibilities at work, but has recently been added a new role. He leaves for Boston this afternoon and he will come home late tomorrow night. Next week he is off to California. I guess I need to change the title to: "Where in the World is Jennifer and Ken?"

Shakespeare Festival

On Sunday, June 14, Ken and I attended the Shakespeare Festival in Forest Park. Going to the festival has become a tradition that we try not to miss. This year they performed "The Merry Wives of Windsor." It was told using the 1920's as a setting and was very enjoyable. This was closing night and the weather was perfect! Looking back over the years, I realized I have only missed one of the plays since the festival began in 2001. We usually invite friends to join us, but everyone was too busy to get together this year. In fact, a few years ago, it was at the Shakespeare Festival that Krysti and I introduced Carissa and Ben. The matchmaking must have worked because they are getting married in July!

Friends

On Friday, June 12, I made another trip to Children's Hospital to visit Ginger and baby Abby. I was thrilled when I got to hold Abby for the first time. Notice how all the wires and tubes are gone? I am happy to report that baby Abby came home from the hospital today.

After the hospital visit I met friends for lunch at The Barn Deli in Florissant, MO. We gathered to celebrate Krysti's birthday and The Barn Deli is her favorite lunch spot. When you eat at The Barn Deli you get to dine in a historic red barn behind the Meyers House. They have yummy salads and sandwiches.

Leah, Krysti, and Liz at The Barn Deli in Florissant, MO.

Jaime and Jennifer enjoy eating at The Barn Deli.

Minneapolis Views

Angela and Jennifer

We went shopping above the street on the SkyWay. This picture overlooks an indoor park along the SkyWay with live trees.

Aunt Dixie showed me how to use her Wii Fit.

Picture of Uncle Boyd, me, and Aunt Dixie. Notice the wonderful views of Minneapolis behind us?



Memorial Tree- Dedicated to the Hennepin County Territorial Pioneers by the Native Sons of Minnesota on June 3, 1916.



Ard Godfrey House- Built in 1848, this is the earliest frame house still standing in Minneapolis and it is within walking distance from Aunt Dixie's condo.

View of the oldest church building in Minneapolis. Our Lady of Lourdes has been in continuous use since the mid-1800s. The First Universalist Society of St. Anthony erected the building as a meeting hall between 1854 and 1857 and as the First Universalist Church where they worshipped until 1877. The Catholic Church acquired the church and continues to hold mass every Sunday. The church has become a popular place to get married and Aunt Dixie enjoys watching the bridal parties from her kitchen window.

Standing on one of their decks.

View of the Guthrie Theatre from Aunt Dixie and Uncle Boyd's condo.

The Depot

While in Minneapolis I stayed at the Renaissance Hotel at The Depot. The last train left in 1971, but The Depot still stands today as a hotel complex. The Depot fluttered with activity during the late 1800s when Minneapolis was a rapidly growing city. At the peak of activity in 1920, the prosperous Depot was bustling with 29 trains departing daily. In 1971, the Milwaukee Road terminated rail service to Minneapolis and converted the building into office use. In 1978, the Minnesota Historical Society placed the Depot and the nearby freight house on the National Register of Historic Places.
At The Depot we were able to step back in time by viewing train memorabilia. Throughout the hotel were white statues "ghosts" that represent the many travelers who walked The Depot halls throughout history. Aunt Dixie and I got our pictures taken by a few of the "ghosts." I have included their stories below.

The Shoe Shine-

Timothy smiles as he slides his cloth over the fine shoe. The soft sound of his work mingles with those of the station. Although he has never spoken to the shoe’s owner, the man is a regular who Timothy has silently dubbed “Mr. Star” after the folded newspaper the man always reads after asking kindly for “Just a buff”. Timothy has never seen “Mr. Star” exit or board a train, yet he appears every Friday at 10:05 a.m. for Timothy’s services. Sometimes Timothy imagines the gentleman is an important businessman traveling to Minneapolis from Chicago to confirm his enterprise is running smoothly; or perhaps he is a local lawyer or doctor, enjoying the trains and the bustle of the station as he reads his morning paper. Nonetheless, Timothy is here, every time, to give him “just a buff” and receive a nickel in return – for he’s a pretty good businessman himself.

The Sailor-
Norman Soley was a strong, young Norwegian lad. Having been orphaned at a young age, he grew up and spent much of his time at the Earle Brown Farm in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, shoeing the Clydesdales. Each year he proudly watched the Clydesdales march down Hennepin Avenue during the annual Aquatennial Parade as he longed for adventures unknown.
In 1914, his day had come. As a newly enlisted sailor, Norman knew the locomotive he waited for would take him further than those behemoth studs ever could. While he stood on the platform, he contemplated the day when he would return to his sweet Lenore and raise his family on the banks of Lake Minnetonka.
After a blessed life, Norman died in December of 1995 at the age of 98.

Enjoying the breakfast buffet at Charley's Grill in the Renaissance Hotel at The Depot.