Jack, I hope you're reading this

Jack, I hope your recovery is going strong and that you are able to look at your computer every now and then for some way to pass the time. I know your days must be full right now. Last night I walked 6 miles in 91 minutes and then another 1.5 miles in 35 minutes. I am signed up to walk a half marathon on October 19. I'm really looking forward to it. Actually I wish it were sooner.

My guy at camp

This week was Aaron's first time away from home at camp. He suffered from being homesick at first and I sent him an email every day. I haven't had much to write about here on the blog. Sorry, Jack! The water has gone down and I thought they were predicting rain for most of this week, but there hasn't been any. Journey Bound is going into the studio to record their 14th album. I'm going to Ohio to visit my niece (my brother's girl) next week. Aubree has begun visiting me regularly and is even helping herself to the refrigerator! In the last year she has grown 4 inches and has gained 5 pounds. She has really begun to look like a little girl rather than a preschooler and her hair keeps getting longer - enough that she has gone from pigtails to her first ponytail just yesterday. Since she loves horses, that was a big deal. She's in summer school and then she begins kindergarten in the fall.

Downtown

I love downtowns. I have since I was a little girl. I think they're sort of exciting. It doesn't matter if it is tiny Manhattan, KS or downtown Chicago. I love 'em. It was a little sad watching water flood the roads yesterday as water flowed out of the river. I had to go downtown this morning for a meeting with a candidate. I didn't go down to the river of course. I just glided in and parked in a parking garage. The garages are a little more full than normal, I was told. There is a lot of parking flooded right now. I parked, took the elevator to the skywalk, walked through and got the restaurant in no time. The water is everywhere you look. And it rained again this morning. This stinks. Sorry this wasn't a more constructive post. My mind is wandering.

Here we go again? Let's hope not.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Des Moines city officials are coordinating efforts Tuesday to prepare for significantly higher levels on the Des Moines River. The city has begun public briefings three times a day to distribute information about the flood.

"We're doing everything we can to mitigate effects of the flood," said city manager Rick Clark.

An Army Corps of Engineers flood specialist, Roger Less, said the temporary flood gates on the emergency spillway at Saylorville Lake will likely be lowered Tuesday evening, which will double the outflow from Saylorville into the river headed toward Des Moines.

Less said the lake is rising quickly, even though the dam spillway is releasing its maximum amount of 21,000 cubic feet per second. Once the emergency spillway is topped, that amount will double to 42,000 cubic feet per second. Less says 60,000 cubic feet per second is flowing into the lake and that's causing the lake level to rise rapidly.

He anticipates that once the temporary gates are lowered, it will take about 12 hours for that higher water to reach downtown Des Moines. "The City of Des Moines is doing all the right things to be proactive and prepare for the flood," Less said.

City Public Works Director Bill Stowe said he anticipates that will put the river at or near the top of the levee system in Des Moines. He said he expects the levee system will hold at the anticipated levels but warned that a forecast of more rain Wednesday night into Thursday could make things worse.

Stowe also said downtown Des Moines bridges will be closed Tuesday afternoon and evening as a precaution. He recommends that traffic leaving needing to move east-west through downtown use 2nd Avenue and East 6th to I-235 and use the freeway's bridge across the river.

Des Moines police chief Judy Bradshaw said police are moving equipment and personnel into place in case evacuations are needed. She said the department is preparing for the worst.

Parks and Recreation Director Don Tripp said city pools will be closed through Wednesday because employees are being used for sandbagging operations.

Party time

The kids' parent's had a big BIG party yesterday and I went to the kid's portion of the party during the day. This is Aaron leaning against his dad's car. The other photo is Feta. I have a photo of Ernest, but didn't get one of Prince. He refused to cooperate even when Aaron had the camera.

Cats: you breed 'em, we'll feed 'em

We have a cat hotel in the garage. Most people don't. When we rescued a colony of cats for neutering and relocation years ago, we had several hutches against the back wall of the garage. One remains for the odd injured animal or feral cat that we'll relocate to a willing dairy farmer. One night a couple years ago, I was at a party and the house caught on fire. That's a whole different story about how quickly a fire spreads and how I don't burn candles and how I, a mere visitor, was the only one to go back for the fire extinguisher, but I digress.

I ended up taking their cat home with me for a short visit.

This weekend, friends have asked for use of the cat hotel because their daughter has a cat she doesn't pay attention to and they are leaving for the weekend. I hate this for the cat. She's super sweet and she talks all the time because she's lonely. I think if we found a home for her, they wouldn't mind. How sad.

I was playing with her a few minutes ago. I gave her some treats and then some catnip and she bit my pinkie! The garage is hot & humid, so letting her rub against my face means accepting a bunch of cat hair stuck to me. There's a fan blowing, and it helps. The big cat in town, Roscoe, knows she's out there and since he's the girl-cat wrangler around here, he sits on the bottom step by the garage door and looks into the garage. Knowing him, he'd offer to let her come upstairs, lick her face and snuggle for a while. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Jack, I'm glad to know you have the CD and that you're enjoying it. Thanks for letting me know.

storms and peonies

Another night of storms, thunder, lightning, flooding and tornadoes. The peonies are blooming like crazy, but they're so full of water, they're almost lying on the ground. Even with the rings around the stems. It's sunny now, but overnight it is supposed to be more of the same.