African Art Auction

Our new neighbor to the north, an associate dean at UNL, took us to a fantastic fundraiser last night at the UNL quilt museum. (The idea of a quilt museum sounds kinda dumb, but it's a really cool place that deserves to be seen.) The main event was a rousing live auction of African art. The first lady of Tanzania was on hand to get things rolling. It was amazing how much security was present for her. It's one thing to see the deplorable conditions in Africa on TV, it's another to actually talk with people that live there who are doing everything they can to improve things. Very inspiring evening.

The event was hosted by an amazing lady, Natalie Hahn. She has spent her life improving conditions for kids in Africa. Her main focus is to improve education there. Check her out: http://gobigred.unl.edu/featured/husker/Natalie_Hahn/.

We sat next to her cousin, Shorty. He was an original Nebraska character that talked JP's ear off all night. By the end of it, she knew who was who and everybody's secrets.

The auctioneer was the 1971 national champion. He's used to selling cattle and corn, not African artifacts. He was very entertaining as he tried to goad the crowd into spending more for a good cause. Everything in the auction was from Natalie's personal collection.

The kids in the culinary program prepared and served all of the hors d'oeuvres, and the girls in the textile/fashion program showed off African-themed clothes they created. We met the new dean of Engineering - I'm looking forward to visiting with him at work and chatting about how we can help each other.

We did our part to support the event: JP ended up winning a pretty basket (she loves baskets!). I wanted to buy a robe that was created for the supreme emperor of Ethiopia, but JP said no. It had 24K gold stitching and would look really cool anywhere. Our neighbor took home two HUGE embroidery panels. By the end of the night, the auction raised over $21,000.

Here's a link to the event and better pictures of the embroidery: http://newsroom.unl.edu/releases/2013/08/20/African+art+gala+and+auction+funds+CEHS+scholarships+for+education+abroad

Firepit Season

Shorter days and cooler nights can only mean one thing: it's neighborhood firepit season! Our friends across the street are building a new house out in the country. We're going to miss hanging out with them around the firepit next year.

Tasty Tree

One of our river birches was putting out something that must have tasted yummy for our bugs. Beetles, flies, and butterflies were all filling their bug bellies on it.

CP's 1st Dance

Last night, CP went to his first high school dance. It was Homecoming. He went with a girl he texts all the time and his long-time friend from cub scouts. All four sets of parents were in the girl's front yard taking pictures. We were all very proud.

CP's date wore 5" heels & platforms to help match his height. I've never seen her in anything other than sneakers.

They had dinner at Macaroni Grill and then danced the night away. CP was beaming both before and after. He hooked up with his friends from speech camp, and they all had fun.

Cooler Windows

We put the boys' PC in the spare room upstairs. In the afternoon, the sun comes thru the top window and heats the room to nearly the temperature of the surface of the sun. JP finally let me install some window film to block out some light. It's still warm, but it's noticeably cooler in the afternoon.

Wipeout

GP was riding down a hill with no hands and hit some gravel. From the scratches left by sprocket teeth, it looks like he got pretty tangled up with his bike.

 

Alone Time

Sometimes, you just have to give yourself some alone time.
... with the potato chips in the pantry.

New Storm Windows

The windows on Nana's garage were looking pretty old. The glazing was gone from the outside, and the styles were getting thin. She bought some new storm windows from Menard's and we put them up for her. Now her garage is a bit more weatherproof.

 

Galena

No trip to NW IL would be complete without an afternoon in Galena. It was a picture perfect day, and we met up with S & BD for lunch.

 

Camp Shenanigans

We spent the Labor Day weekend in IL at Nana's house. The boys enjoyed an afternoon at JP's cousin's Camp Shenanigans. It's a recreation area for boys. They could zipline, hoot & holler, splash, and even sink the paddle boats without getting in trouble.

My favorite is the chair lift swing under a big oak.

Zombie Football

For whatever reason, we had Zombie week in Lincoln. There was a zombie night at the baseball game, and LSW had zombie night at the first football game. CP and his friend had a blast with all their other friends at the game.

GP sat in the student section and had fun, too. He can't wait to go to high school.

 

Water Dog

Who says cockapoo's don't like the water? M learned a new phrase to run from: "Wanna go swimming? Pool?"
We had the pool up all summer and went swimming most weeekends. Our neighbors gave us their old pump, which was able to keep up and maintain clear water.

Season of the Roses

We had perfect rose-growing weather this summer. The rose bushes in the back yard grew into trees. They were even with the bottom of the window when they started. They bloomed all summer and kept the deck smelling nice.

Shotgunning

The boys finally asked me to take them shooting. We hit Scheele's and picked up a box of Bluerock and hit the range at Pawnee Lake. GP was scared at first, but then realized that the gun wouldn't break his shoulder. We finished off three boxes of shells. I was sore the next day from slinging rocks.

 

Babysitting the Neighbors' Kids

Our neighbors went on vacation and JP babysat their kids: two King Charles spaniels. They are total lap dogs.

On the first day, one of them was missing his $40 leather collar. JP searched and searched and finally found the buckle and metal name plate. His brother had eaten the collar off of his neck. The collar was made of nice soft, juicy leather.

 

Finished Floor

Our plan was to have the floor finished before we went to Colorado, that way the polyurethane would be fully cured when we came back, and we wouldn't have to deal with the fumes. The third and final coat went wonky; we had fans going and windows open, and the finish was shiny and full of dust and cat hair.

When we got back from CO, we bought a belt sander and sanded off coat #3 and put down coat #4. It came out beautiful! That same weekend, the B's arrived, and the house stank of polyurethance, but it was worth it to finally get this project completed.

Lots o Kids

The B's stopped by for a day on their trek westward from MS to UT to Russia. We hadn't seen the kids in ages.

MB had fun with the girls next door, and TB had fun chasing "Those Boys" around.