by jphilo | Aug 19, 2020 | Current Events
They say derecho, I say firewood.
That’s the tune I’ve been humming since weather experts christened the August 10 windstorm that blew through Iowa as a derecho. Also known to the citizenry of our state as #iowaderecho2020. If you don’t know what I’m talking about google those three words, watch a couple You Tube videos, and you’ll never forget the meaning of derecho.
They say derecho, I say firewood.
Living in northwest South Dakota for seven years has that effect on a person. Especially if you lived in an area where almost every home owner installs a wood stove to help with heating bills. Where chainsaw ownership is close to 100%. And where, from August through October, more people gather by the river to cut firewood than to be baptized.
Now you understand why when they say derecho, I say firewood.
Long time readers of this blog may remember how I affectionately referred to my husband as the man of steel. In the wake of the derecho he’s been cranking up the chainsaw so often, I’ve altered the spelling of his nickname to man of Stihl. He’s applying everything he learned in South Dakota about how to weld a chainsaw to the broken limbs, wooden yard light pole, and an entire cottonwood tree.
They say derecho, I say firewood.
I mutter those words every time my husband fills our clunker pick up with another load of branches. I watch him drives away toward the wood chipping station outside of town, and I calculate how long it would have taken to burn in our wood stove. Living for seven years in northwest South Dakota has that effect, too. It gives a person a different perspective, a sense of resourcefulness, and an appreciation for the gifts scattered throughout creation.
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by jphilo | Jan 22, 2016 | Top Ten Tuesday
A few years back I spoke at a conference in Corpus Christi, Texas in January and thus escaped several days worth of Iowa winter. With our state in the deep freeze again, perhaps these 10 observations will warm your chilly heart on this Fantastic Friday.
10. Bilingual signs are no big deal in Texas. In Iowa, some people view them with suspicion.
9. Corpus Christi, population 307,953, is considered a small city in Texas. Des Moines, population 206,599, is Iowa’s largest city and the capitol. We think it’s plenty big.
8. Texas wait staff ask if you want sweet iced tea or plain iced tea. Iowa wait staff ask if you want hot tea or iced tea.
7. Texas restaurants feature iced tea as their go-to drink in January. Iowa restaurants feature coffee. Hot coffee.
6. In Texas, you can order shrimp three days in a row, and it’s no big deal. In Iowa, it’s a big deal.
5. When the Star Spangled Banner accompaniment doesn’t work in Texas, every day folk sing a capella, no holds barred. In Iowa, every day folk refuse to sing anything a capella unless under duress because it’s not polite to show off.
4. Iowans feel guilty about escaping winter to enjoy 70+ degree Texas weather for a few days. Texans think Iowans are crazy to live where the temperature goes below freezing.
3. In much of Texas, home owners consider swimming pools a necessity and furnaces non-essential. In Iowa, furnaces are a necessity and swimming pools are for rich people.
2. In Texas, people will wait in line for a half hour to get ice cream at Baskin Robbins on a January Friday night. In Iowa, people wait in line for a half hour to get hot chocolate on a January Friday night.
1. John Wayne may have been born in Iowa, but Texas owns him.
by jphilo | Apr 8, 2014 | Top Ten Tuesday
The past weekend’s trip to DC was longer than the one to Orange County the weekend before last. Which means only 1 thing: more time to come up with the top 10 differences between Iowa and DC. Here goes!
10. DC metro traffic is crazy. Iowa…not so much.
9. Reagan International Airport gets bonus points for free Wi-Fi. Des Moines International does not.
8. A statue of President Reagan graces the entrance to the airport bearing his name. If Iowans felt comfortable with something as showy as artwork in front of the airport, which they don’t, they would choose a corn-related subject.
7. DC boasts a Starbucks about every 2 blocks while Iowa franchises are placed at 200 mile intervals.
6. As a general rule, men in Iowa don’t wear lavender suit coats with blue jeans. The same rule does not apply to men in the DC metro.
5. In a similar thread, Iowans wonder who in the world would wear the clothes pictured in fashion magazines while Washingtonians wonder where to purchase them.
4. 100% of Iowans know where Washington, DC is located. 100% of DC metro folks think they know where Iowa is…and then reveal their ignorance by asking if fresh potatoes taste better than their store bought counterparts.
3. In DC, the natives complain about the smell of fresh mulch in the spring. Iowans save those complaints for when farmers spread pig manure on the fields.
2. While staying in DC metro hotels, one hears people speaking in many languages and English spoken with a variety of delightful accents. Iowa hotels are considered cosmopolitan when visitors speak Minnesotan.. Yah, sure, you betcha!
1. DC daffodils and tulips come up a couple weeks earlier than Iowa ones, and their cheerful yellow faces are a feast for the eyes in both spring-hungry locations.
What would you add to this list? Leave a comment
by jphilo | Jul 16, 2013 | Top Ten Tuesday
After a week in Alaska followed by another week in the Idaho mountains, it’s time to head home. Here are the top ten signs that say “It’s time to go back to Iowa.”
10. The mosquitoes found us two nights ago.
9. I ran out of calcium supplements yesterday and have just enough clean undies to make it home.
8. The food is so good here that if I stay any longer, my clean undies won’t fit.
7. While walking a mile to use the internet is healthy, it’s not very efficient.
6. My fingers are itching to get back to my mystery novel.
5. There’s this pesky book manuscript to get done by the September 1 deadline.
4. Mom left a voice mail message this morning wondering where I was.
3. Sweet corn season is underway in Iowa.
2. Hiram and I plan to visit the kids and grandchild this weekend.
1. I miss my hubby.
How do you know it’s time for a vacation to end? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Jan 29, 2013 | Top Ten Tuesday
What’s the difference between Iowa and Texas? Here are my top ten answers based on a few days in Corpus Christi last week.
10. Bilingual signs are no big deal in Texas. In Iowa, some people view them with suspicion.
9. Corpus Christi, population 307,953, is considered a small city in Texas. Des Moines, population 206,599, is Iowa’s largest city and the capitol. We think it’s plenty big.
8. Texas wait staff ask if you want sweet iced tea or plain iced tea. Iowa wait staff ask if you want hot tea or iced tea.
7. Texas restaurants feature iced tea as their go-to drink in January. Iowa restaurants feature coffee. Hot coffee.
6. In Texas, you can order shrimp three days in a row, and it’s no big deal. In Iowa, it’s a big deal.
5. When the Star Spangled Banner accompaniment doesn’t work in Texas, every day folk sing a capella, no holds barred. In Iowa, every day folk refuse to sing anything a capella unless under duress because it’s not polite to show off.
4. Iowans feel guilty about escaping winter to enjoy 70+ degree Texas weather for a few days. Texans think Iowans are crazy to live where the temperature goes below freezing.
3. In much of Texas, home owners consider swimming pools a necessity and furnaces non-essential. In Iowa, furnaces are a necessity and swimming pools are for rich people.
2. In Texas, people will wait in line for a half hour to get ice cream at Baskin Robbins on a January Friday night. In Iowa, people wait in line for a half hour to get hot chocolate on a January Friday night.
1. John Wayne may have been born in Iowa, but Texas owns him.
