Entering a Frank Lloyd Wright home....


Kevin and I unexpectedly learned about a FLW home that was built just north of us about 40 min away. So we decided to head up there since we were only 5 miles away when we learned about it. This is looking into the foyer, heading into the living room on the left and dining area on the right. Notice the planter in the floor. It actually has no floor beneath; it is just earth.




Frank L Wright (hereafter referred to as W in this post) designed not only the house, but all the furniture, and placed all decor, with instructions to the owners that nothing ever be changed. The colored slag is backlit. Really adds nice accents of color.




Looking from the foyer into the living room. W shortened the legs of the piano and bench to accommodate the view outside.




Not exactly cozy and inviting furniture, but what a view.





The dining table where the owners ate all their meals. Notice the blue glass vase on the top shelf. Bear in mind that W placed items where he meant them to stay. He would come to visit occasionally as a guest. One time he came and that vase was on the bottom shelf; he noticed this and tapped his cane on the top shelf and gave instruction that the vase needs to be put back in its place after use, as he proceeded to put it back on the top shelf.




This is a guest bedroom. The glossy paneling is rich looking.





the hallway, with all kinds of practical compartments lining one side





The master bedroom. The owners wanted one bed for the 2 of them to share, but W insisted they have separate beds because after the wife spent all day working (cooking, cleaning, laundry), she'd need a good night's sleep. W was so arrogant...and anal. And how could anyone let an outsider run their personal lives like he was allowed to do? I found myself becoming a little angry with the whole situation.





The back of the house as it looked out over a hill and down on the Wapsipinican River






The boat house






The firepit behind the house




Looking out under the carport. The owners wanted a 2 stall garage, but W insisted on a carport.







The entrance to the house






We had a special treat. In our tour group of 7 people, this gentleman had an interesting story. His father did the electrical and plumbing on this F.L.W. house. As a child at 7 yrs of age, he came to the property with his father while he worked. W was known to not be fond of children, but this man said that W took him on a tour of the property while his father was working.

Behind the scenes....


This was our living room last Friday....it looked like this most of the day. I was frantically framing new photos I decided to include in my booth at the Fall Fest in which I was asked to participate. It was a long and stressful day. I'm always amazed at how much time it takes to frame any photo.





Most of the photos are gathered and waiting for labels, then packing into tubs to be taken to the show. Our main floor pretty much becomes one large studio for a few days before a show.





Totes carefully packed with photos, ready to be loaded into the car.





And then there's always the misc. items that must accompany the photos.






In the morning, there were events for children. There was a chalk walk, then they could register to go into the money booth where there was a compressor blowing around a lot of dollar bills. A child could have as many dollar bills as they could grab within a designated time. One child caught 42 singles. After the children's events were over in the early afternoon, foot traffic pretty much came to a halt. Of course, there was an Iowa football game that day. That just about kills anything else that is promoted in nearby communities.





My booth was set up just outside the gallery's front door. The photos on top of this table are the ones the gallery selected from mine to display. Just outside the window were the 2 musicians that played really nice music throughout the day.




Kevin had to run home and get something we forgot, so I was left alone to hang all the photos. Above is Rob F (his 2 sons graduated with Britt and Trey from high school), who is a gifted stained glass artisan. He does beautiful work and gets all kinds of commissioned work. Anyway, he saw me struggling with the first photo and graciously offered to help me hang all my photos, as he already had his booth set up. I was desperate and took him up on his offer. There was no way I could have been ready for the 11:00 opening time without his help. But he, Kevin, and I had a fun time getting acquainted and visiting throughout the day.





And here are the musicians.




This was the powerful picture above us in the afternoon.
We were grateful for any cloud cover as the day grew hot.





It was a hot...and slow day. But we met some very nice people. And I so appreciated the lovely comments people made on my works.




My ever present and patient helper...from beginning to end.


We were so tired at the end of this long day....this was the medicine we really needed the next morning.

breakfast in bed.
(Reality...this was not to be had the following morning, but it sure would have been nice.)

Cosmos at dusk...
Doesn't God create such beauty all around us, a gift to us all? I just wanted to share these with you. I planted the cosmos seeds that my sister, Deb gave me. So these beauties are growing in our own yard.













This gold flower came up in the new flower bed where I just scattered a variety of seeds. Anyone recognize this flower? Is it from the marigold family?

Debby K's surprise 50th birthday party


This is for you, Trey and Jesse.
Sonya planned a successful and fun surprise party for her mom. Stasia flew in from D.C. to surprise her mom at the party. Debby had no clue about any of it.
Our good friends, Stasia, David, Sonya, Debby

The rains came down and the floods went up...


Our neighbors had some new landscaping wash out in the big rains we had a few weeks ago. Their problem affected our yard, as we are down the hill from them. So Kevin and our neighbor, Ed, dug a long trench, lined it with gravel and perforated tubing and ran it down through the yard. Kevin dug a dry well where it ended in our back yard. Poor Ed had to run it through his whole back yard, as it is one big hill.




Throwing in the loose gravel





a deep trench





Thankfully, the rain held off until the job was totally finished in both yards.

My mirror smells so fresh and clean!
Yes, that's what I mean.
I got busy cleaning...bathroom is always first because I want to be done with that job the most. Well, I was in too much of a hurry, reached into the not-so-well lit cupboard and grabbed the glass cleaner....generously sprayed it on the mirror and....










...discovered I had grabbed the wrong bottle. I had sprayed Listerine mouth wash on my mirror. Why, you ask, do I keep Listerine in a spray bottle? Because it's supposed to act as a mosquito repellent when sprayed in the yard.





Just for fun....


Driving through Amish country...Saturday must be laundry day




Thought my family would enjoy this experimental photo. Don't know why I put them together, but I really like this. The peaches are inside a very old bowl I found at a garage sale this summer. The handsome couple in the background? My mom and dad in 1948.

Just a side note: growing up, our family was anything but wealthy. Happy, but without much money. I remember that one year Mom had made some beautiful satin doll clothes for my sisters and me. There was no money to buy new fabric. My mom had cut up her beautiful wedding dress for her daughters' doll clothes. She sacrificed much for all her children throughout the years.

We had a lot of flooding in our area again a couple weeks ago (though nothing like a year ago), so we went for a walk along one of the local trails to see what we could see....

....worm tracks. Wonder how long it takes for a worm to travel 2 feet across the mud.





The creek waters overflowed the banks and the flood waters sent debris against this fence....limbs washed to and lodged on these fence posts, making them all look like crosses.

Oh, skip it!


Just before the release.....
Whenever Kevin and I go to the lake or river, I'm always on the lookout for flat stones. Kevin is the champion rock skipper...at least I've never seen anyone who could beat him. He can make them skip so fast and so far, that they just flutter across the water. I never tire of this entertainment, so he just humors me when I bring him all the skipping stones I've collected for him to send across the water.





On its way across the water....

Why so serious, Kevin?


Because he's paddling ever so stealthily in order to get close to the pelicans.





We paddled into the very shallow end of the lake...I'm talking just a few inches deep...to get close to these birds. Surprisingly, none of the pelicans flew off.





We never knew though, they had black feathers on their wings.





He was keeping company with the big boys.





Kevin finds it so relaxing to observe everything around him when we're out on the water.