Winter Activities

It's March already all of a sudden. Winter activities have been varied: some travel, occasional socializing, some crafty things, and lots of reading.

Sarah and I traveled to Phoenix for Thanksgiving, Montana for Christmas, then rushed back soon after for Sarah's family's Christmas in southeast Iowa.

The next trip was over Valentine's weekend to Kansas City, to cross off a city on our list. We met up with a buddy of mine from MSU, Drew Walters, who is from Missouri and who moved back not long after I moved to Iowa. We went to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, toured the Boulevard Brewery, had a lovely Valentine's dinner, and went out in the Power and Light district. It was a nice departure from the usual routine.

I haven't traveled much for work besides a two-day trip to a Milwaukee suburb to check out a potential vendor. It wasn't a particularly notable trip. I'd love to go to Florida with the baler or mower groups for winter prototype testing, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards much anymore.

We are planning a trip to New York in late March to visit Noah, Jean, and Lydia, and tour the city with David and Amy Kelly from Ireland. They have been planning this trip for some time now, and it seems like a good "half way" point to get together. I have been to NYC a number of times, but have done very few of the touristy things there and this will be a good opportunity. I will report back with stories.

Sarah and I have a good social circle here in Pella, largely of my coworkers and their families. Many are like-minded in their enjoyment of having dinner, playing games, finding interesting things to do in Des Moines, sitting by bonfires in my yard, and having pints at Pella's meager selection of bars. The times aren't always wild but the company is always good.

One thing (of many) I've enjoyed about living in this big house is the working space in the basement. I've gotten good use out of the bench and vise for various leather projects. I have lots of room out of the way to cut things out of big hides, stretch them out, and twist them up; unlike my old place, I don't need to pack everything up to get it out of the way every time I reach a stopping point. Having storage and room for tools is yet another joy. I made a braided rawhide scarf slide for my dad for Christmas, my first rawhide (as opposed to tanned leather) item. I finished an eight-foot stockwhip just before Christmas and a complicated six-footer in January. My dad now has the former, and I plan to sell the latter. These were my seventh and eighth whips. I recently sold one of my early ones with an antler-base handle to a coworker. I plan to get in a few more projects before things warm up and I can't stand to be inside anymore.

I've gotten more reading done this winter than I have in past years. These have included works by Bill Bryson, Mackie Hedges, Bill Dorrance, Jim Gaffigan, Matthew Crawford, and the Bozeman Police Department. Again, I am trying to cram in all I can before I'm drawn outdoors.