Quick Weekend Update

From two weekends ago! That's how far behind I am. Last week got away from me, what with so many deadlines at work. But my student is back, things are getting caught up and we are making progress! There is now organization where there wasn't before!

But anyway... a week ago Friday we jumped in the car and headed to the Amana colonies in Iowa. It was as gorgeous of a day as you could hope for, and we had a pretty uneventful drive. Until we saw this sign, and we knew we were not on the right highway. No problem! We figured out how to get back onto 151 and head towards Cedar Rapids. By this time Scott and Becky were nearly there and we felt like we needed to hurry, but there's really no way to hurry on a two lane road that winds through dozens of small towns. (Difference between Iowa and Wisconsin: Wisconsin small towns consist of 9 houses and 2 bars. Iowa small towns are composed of 9 houses and a grain elevator.)

Anyway, we arrived in Amana and checked in to the lovely hotel. This "special" doormat greeted us. We spent the weekend eating fairly heavy German food which was served family style, visiting museums and shopping. We attended church services which are conducted largely the same way they were in the mid-1880s, when the communities were settled. Men entered through one door and sat on one side, women entered through another door and sat on a different side - music was acappella, in German - no pastor, an elder speaks. Very interesting, really.

We discovered Lily Lake, a 200 acre lake covered in pale yellow lotus blossoms. Had a wonderful time and made the trip home without any detours.
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Now I'm off to buy paint - at last! - for the extra room that I'm now calling a studio. That's probably glorifying it a bit but it's shorter than the other names I came up with. The color will be blue, but it's only got a number, not a name. I'll post a picture when it's done.