Faucet's still on, Lord!!

Yes...... we are still sopping wet here in Iowa. About 2" again last night! The river through town is out of its banks again and isn't due to crest until Sunday! Not good. Just got back from a bike ride and got to see where the river has already risen over our community recreation trail. Heck, the waters had just receded from the flooding last week when we got over 4"!

I had a nice walk with a friend on the trail this morning before the river started to breech its banks! The top of my head is itchy now, though, as I just discovered I got a little sun-burned. I was so good about putting on sun screen before we took off on our walk, but alas, I neglected to wear a hat! Someone needs to create hair styling products with sunscreen in them.... or are there some on the market already? Share your info here if you know of some good ones! Anyway, it was so nice to have a walk-n-talk with a friend. Now as an empty-nester (and in between jobs, as well) I am trying to work on cultivating some friendships. I fear I let that part of my life go by the wayside as I focused almost exclusively on my family (particularly children!) and my work. Now it is time to start expanding my support network 'cuz I find it gets a little lonely when the kids have 'flown the coop', so to speak! Any of you out there feel the same? All I can say is this transitional phase of life (going from full-time motherhood to full time couple-hood) can be challenging! I mean, I love seeing my children grow, mature and thrive, and I relish the adult relationship we are starting to enjoy... yet, it is still hard not to feel somewhat left behind. They are just starting the exciting, albeit sometimes daunting!, journey to total independence & young adulthood while I'm facing the stark reality of middle age (yikes- turn 50 in May!) and beyond! Oh well, I think I'll move on from this rather depressing tangent I've taken off on- more on my mid-life crisis in another post! :-)

Have been getting some wonderful fresh veggies from my friend's garden lately. I froze some sweet corn the last couple days so my two children can eat somewhat well away at school. I should clarify that- my daughter does not need any help eating well, she does an awesome job! However, my son is lacking in the culinary arts department! He just has too many conflicting interests and good eating habits get put on the back burner, unfortunately! Today my husband cranked up the smoker, and we had wonderful pork chops, sweet corn, green peppers, okra brushed with olive oil & onion filled with honey all on the grill! Pair that with some red wine and homemade, garden fresh carrot cake for dessert and life just couldn't get much better!! Oh, with my carrot cake recipe I finally tried the healthy tip of replacing one-half of the vegetable oil (I use canola, of course!) with plain, unsweetened applesauce. It worked terrific! I could not taste or see any difference, and the substitution certainly shaved off some unnecessary calories!

Well, time to get back to my page-turner book. I'm reading the first book in Stieg Larsson's acclaimed trilogy, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Although a bit dark, I am loving it and can hardly put the book down. I'm nearing the end and am on the 'reserve list' (first in line, thankfully!!) at our local library for "The Girl Who Played with Fire". Good night and have a GREAT weekend. Peace.