Frisbee Golf

Rich is visiting this weekend and we wanted to find some fun, active things to do with him... so, we went Frisbee golfing today. We've played before - you just search around in your closet until you find an old Frisbee, dust it off, and walk outside. Then you pick an object within eyesight and state that it's going to be the first hole... a fire hydrant, a tree, whatever. Eighteen holes later you're done.

Things are different here. There are two, count'em TWO, professional Frisbee golf courses here. The "holes" look like this:

Each course winds it's way through the trees, around water traps, over hills and valleys, around clumps of trees. The course was really pretty.

Before starting, we drove over to Wal-Mart to buy a couple of Frisbees. We were SHOCKED when we saw the display. There are more than fifty kinds: drivers, putters, mid-range faders, experimental driver faders, an all-around disc. And they all looked different than a normal Frisbee. They were heavier and flatter. Of course, they cost more than a regular Frisbee. We were planning on buying a couple of cheap Frisbees and ended up spending $70.00 on discs.

That's okay, we're planning on being here for a long time and when you come to visit us you can play too!

Closing

Today we closed on our house sale in Rochester. We are no longer homeowners! We enjoyed living there, but I am very happy that we don't own it anymore. We feel very fortunate to have sold our home while the housing market is still falling. Goodbye, Rochester house!

Landlocked!

This weekend we went to the Landlocked Film Festival here in Iowa City. Film Festivals are really fun, and this one was no different. We saw 23 movies in three days (20 in two days - on Sunday we only saw three). Some of them were moderately interesting, some were good, and some were REALLY good. These are the ones we saw, with our favorites in red:

SPANISH-LANGUAGE SHORT FILMS

Estrella - an alcoholic nightclub singer and a housekeeper find they have something in common

Heroes - a documentary about a DJ who was born without arms due to thalidomide

Objects in Mirror Are Closer than They Appear - a model identifies with a street person

Made in Japan - a Spanish guy gives an excuse to his girlfriend for being late, which included a quick run to Japan to meet his real father

Porque Hay Cosas que Nunca se Olvidan - Italian kids get revenge on an old lady who punctures their soccer ball

Valkirias - a documentary about nurses. Boring. We left early.

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Cave Women on Mars -50's style sci-fi movie that fits the title exactly. Very funny!


Stash - This was a hilarious movie about a company called Discreet Removals, a business that removes porn stashes from clients' homes after they die.

The Flyboys - This won the award for best narrative feature in the festival. (justifiably) Two boys from a small town accidentally stow away aboard a Mafia airplane. You might see this movie in regular theaters soon. Starring one of the Baldwin brothers.

Who is KK Downey? - Two losers achieve fame when their novel becomes an underground sensation.

ANIMATION

Horizon Diner - a weird little cartoon about a guy who walks into a diner and experiences altered realities.


Street Musician - a Faustian story with characters that look like they came out of a Tim Burton cartoon.


NARRATIVE SHORTS

About Film Festivals - a film festival veteran gives a comedic introduction to film festivals delivered in monotone.

Bennet's Urn - An 8-year-old boy is dying and asks his parents to throw a going-away party.

Expendable - A temp gets a job as an anonymous henchmen in an evil corporation, only to encounter a British Secret Service agent


Gangster's Crib - A crime boss regresses back to childhood.

Spoonfed - A day in the life of a cafe spoon.

Sympathetic Details - An assassin has a crisis of conscience and tries to leave the business.

The Knuggle Incident - A spoof on the Snuggle bear commercials, in which the bear is murdered after ruining somebody's laundry.

The Perfect Mark - Con men target an elderly widow, but find that she has the upper hand.

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

Looking for Ms. Locklear - Two best friends go on an adventure looking for their first grade teacher, who introduced them 20 years ago. Well, not exactly "introduced" - she held both of them out of recess on their first day of school.

This American Gothic - a story of Eldon, Iowa (pop. 987) and the most famous house in town, which is in the background of the famous Grant Wood painting "American Gothic." By the way, they're not really farmers... it's the painter's sister and his dentist.


STUDENT FILMS & VIDEOS

Jean Shorts - This collection of short movies includes one in which a nerdy guy nicknamed Billy Jean Shorts comes to terms with his fashion choices. In other stories, a game of Russian Roulette involving an automatic pistol instead of a revolver, light sabers, transformers, and an MTV "Yo Momma" contest.

Baba Ganoush

We went to the Farmer's Market a few days ago and bought a beautiful white eggplant. Tonight, I made baba ganoush for the first time! It turned out to be delicious and I am posting the recipe because I know that all of our friends and family would love to try it. Ok, maybe just Melissa. And possibly Jen.

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
2-4 cloves garlic, minced (I like a lot of garlic, so I used 4 cloves)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice (juice of one lemon)
2 Tbsp tahini
1/2 t salt
~1/2 t paprika
dash of cumin
chopped fresh parsley if you have it - I didn't

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Slice eggplant in half longways. Place sliced sides down on baking sheet
3. Roast the eggplant for about 50-60 minutes, until very soft
4. Cool.
5. Scoop roasted eggplant out of skins and place in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients into the food processor. Puree.
6. Refrigerate (if you can wait that long!) Serve with toasted pita wedges.

Stuff to do after you move

1. Access rental house through garage keypad, search unsucessfully for keys


2. Call property manager


3. Find keys in a place where they weren't supposed to be


4. Unpack


5. Find towels, soap, shampoo for shower


6. Shop at Target


7. Reprogram garage keypad and remotes, since a neighbor's remote is working on your garage door opener


8. Study for boards


9. Ride bikes


10. Get one car registered, find out that Minnesota never issued a title for the other car


11. Call Minnesota DMV, order title


12. Get recycle bin from city hall


13. Shop at Target


14. Visit local gym, get 1 week free membership


15. Go to Iowa DMV, wait around until your number is called, get driver's license


16. Study for boards


17. Ride bikes


18. Join the New Pioneer Food Co-op


19. More shopping at Target


20. Study for boards


21. Open bank account, order checks


22. Get Iowa auto and renters insurance


23. Cancel Minnesota auto insurance


24. Go to police station, license dog; find out he's committed felonies in four states


25. More shopping at Target


26. Study for boards


27. Go to farmer's market


28. Study for boards


29. Take boards


30. Take deep breath
    

Moving

The movers came to the house on Tuesday to start packing for the move to Iowa City. We were ready to work, but it turned out we were just in the way, so we watched TV while they did all of the work. Three guys were able to pack up everything in the house in about 7 hours. It would have taken us weeks! All of that watching people pack made me tired! Here's me in my office.



They got the truck loaded on Wednesday, and we took a nap and loaded up the cars with stuff the movers can't take... dog, plants, propane, etc. We drove down to our new home in Iowa City and slept on the floor, waiting for our stuff to be delivered the next morning. The unpackers came on Friday and left the house in chaos, but took all of the paper and boxes away with them. There's a lot of work to do to make it feel like a home.

Mike and Jen's Wedding

We left Rochester in time to arrive for the bridal party's 2PM mani/pedi appointment.
The rehearsal dinner was at Lambs Farm, and was hosted by Mike's parents, Jim and Pam Taylor. We had a great time!

Uncle Guy is Mike's great uncle, a spry 78-year-old man who came up to Mark at the rehearsal dinner because Mark was wearing a Wall Drug t-shirt. He chatted a few minutes then continued working the room. I think by the time the evening was over he knew, or had at least talked to, everyone in the room. A few minutes after his first visit he came by to talk to Mark again after having found out he bicycles. He told him about his 1942 Schwinn bicycle, still in perfect condition, on which he recently placed new whitewall tires. By the end of the evening, Mark had a new best friend. Uncle Guy has had to stop riding recently, though a couple of people told me that he used to sit on the handlebars facing backwards and pedal while looking over his shoulder to steer....WITHOUT A HELMET.


The wedding, the following day, was outdoors near the Marriot. The weather was perfect. Heather was a bridesmaid. After the wedding was over, Mark was standing toward the back waiting for Heather when Uncle Guy came over for a chat. After saying how nice the service was, he mentioned about one of the bridesmaids. "There was one of the bridesmaids who was really good looking... and she gave me a hug last night!" he practically giggled. He looked around, found the one, and pointed to Heather. "There she is!" "That's my wife!" I exclaimed. Then, realizing he might be embarrassed, smiled and added, "She really IS great-looking, isn't she!"




At the wedding reception we got to visit with all of our friends from Rochester one last time before going our separate ways... Sarah, Val, Joline, Matt, Stacy, Dave, Michele, Bob, Joanne, and of course, Jen and Mike. Sarah invited Uncle Guy for a dance, then Heather cut in and joined them.


It was a beautiful wedding! We wish Jen and Mike a long and happy marriage!