The Evolution of Ellie

"Time might change me..." David Bowie 

From June 27: Ellie is about the only thing around here that changes. I took pictures of Maggie as she grew, and we're trying the same thing with El. We take a picture of Ellie in front of the couch each Monday. It's hard to believe that we have had her eight weeks already.

8 weeks:

9 weeks:

10 weeks:

11 weeks:

12 weeks:

13 weeks:

14 weeks:

15 weeks:

16 weeks:

17 weeks:

18 weeks:

19 weeks:

20 weeks:

22 weeks (Oops, we missed last week):

Week 23 (sad days for awhile):

Week 24 (looking suspicious You don't have that cone, do you?):

Week 25 (I like siting her better):

Week 26:

Week 27:

Week 28:

Week 29:

Week 30 (just had a bath):

Week 31:

Week 33:

Week 34:

Week 35:

I like the pictures of Char posing with her dog.

But I like the unscripted photos more.

Take One Bag Please!

 It's a little hard to believe, but at our house Harry Potter has taken a bit of a backseat to another fictional hero. This season Char is all about Percy Jackson. She listened to the first four books with me in the car, and then she went back and read all five books by herself.

Percy's best friend is Annabeth Chase. She's often seen in her Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. Annabeth turns invisible when she pulls her New York Yankees ball cap over her blonde hair that's tied in a ponytail. 

Here is Char's version for Halloween (without the face mask):

One of the few things that Annabeth cherishes is a laptop given to her by the inventor Daedalus. There's a large blue Delta (Greek ∆) is on the laptop's lid. Char had the idea to use an old laptop carrying case as her candy bag. Daphne helped make the case look official.

A new book series wasn't the only thing different this Halloween, of course. I wasn't even sure Char would get to go trick-or-treating during a pandemic. The city decided it would be okay if people were careful, in the end. We did our best. We put candy in individual baggies the previous weekend, and then let them sit in storage all week. I wore a mask and gloves, and I stood behind the glass storm door when the monsters, ghosts, spacemen, and superheroes started coming around.

I  replaced the bags on the front porch as they were taken.

There weren't as many houses giving out candy this year, so I went through 50 bags in 45 minutes. That was really fast, and I wished had prepared more. We just didn't know how many kids would be out. I felt bad about turning off our house lights so early, but I didn't have a choice. 

Each morning the teachers in our school district get clean towels and spray bottles filled with Ozone water to disinfect the tables and chairs after each class. 

The water only acts as a disinfectant for 24 hours, so what is unused gets poured down the drain each night. Daphne took an empty spray bottle to work, and filled it with the Ozone water that would have been discarded. When Char got home from trick-or-treating, we spread her candy across the kitchen counter and sprayed it down.

Daphne and I had a quick dinner while Char played with Ellie. Then Char watched "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" for the first time. She liked the classic cartoon, but she didn't like Ichabod, "He just likes Katrina for her dad's money!" 

When it was all over, I asked Char, "Even though you had to wear a face mask and be extra careful this year, did it still seem like a normal Halloween?"

Char thought for a moment and said, "Well, I didn't get to go to as many houses, but yeah, it was a lot of fun." 

That's all that we could have hoped for. 🎃 👻 ☠️👀

Another Halloween Based on a Fictional Character

 Can you guess the book series? 

Promises to Keep

 “To the world you may be just one person, but to your dog you are the world." (my apologies to Dr. Seuss)

Charlotte wasn't friends with our first dog, Maggie. Mags was over two years old when Char was born. For a toddler, our dog was an ever present nuisance with a wet nose and a habit of getting in the way. "Maggie! Go!" was about all Char would say to her.

Maggie was protective of our daughter, but after years of being pushed away, Mags had given up on seeking attention from her. When Char was old enough to want to play with Maggie, Mags was too old to roughhouse or be chased around the backyard. They had to settle on playing with costumes. Mags politely tolerated this.

Neither Char or Maggie were at fault. They may have lived in the same house, but their paths never really met. 

Char regretted that relationship when Maggie passed away. So, Charlotte made us all kinds of promises about what she would do with her next dog. She would help with the bathing, grooming, feeding, and walking. She would buy dog toys and dog treats. They would play dress-up upstairs and wrestle downstairs. She made promise after promise after promise.

You know what? Char has kept every one. We've had Ellie for over five months, and Charlotte has played with her puppy every day. She and "El Pup" run all over the house and roll all over the carpet. 

Ellie smiles and stretches when either Daphne or I open the door to her kennel. When Charlotte opens that same door, you can hear the rapid THUMP THUMP THUMP of Ellie's tail beating a rhythm on the kennel's walls. Ellie loves her girl.

On weekdays, I spend the morning slowly getting Charlotte awake while Daphne takes Ellie for a walk. When they get home, Ellie charges up the stairs to jump on Char's bed.

Enamored with our stories of Maggie seeing snow for the first time, Char couldn't wait for her dog to see it, too. On Sunday morning they both got their chance. Our bedroom door exploded open, and Char cried out, "Guys! Guess what? IT SNOWED!" Daphne and I peeked out of our respective windows and blinked in disbelief. The backyard was covered by a thin, white blanket.

Charlotte bounced down the stairs, "C'MON Guys! Let's get Ellie!" 

Taken unprepared, Daphne needed a few minutes to locate Char's snow pants and winter coat from last year. But the two girls were out there soon enough. Ellie was hesitant for about 30 seconds, and then she flew around the yard. 

Char's goal is to get Ellie to sled down the hill with her. That hasn't happened, yet.

Char's first snow angel of the year was quickly trampled. 

As was her first snowman.

But Ellie was quickly forgiven.

I don't think Char will have any regrets this time around.

A Maize Maze

Although Halloween will look different this year, there are family traditions we can continue in 2020. For instance, we were able to navigate our way around the Pumpkinville Big Corn Maze for our fifth year.

We wore our masks to buy tickets and treats, but it was easy to keep our distance from others inside the maze.

The Mystery Van maze design was pretty complicated, and it took us three hours to walk it all.

I was dressed for the event.

A hole punch is usually used to mark your card at each station, but they made the maze touch-free this year by having you fill in letters as you find them. 

Here's 10-E.

If you haven't been in a corn maze, it looks like this:

We enjoyed another autumn tradition when we got home. I made chili for dinner, and it had been simmering in the crockpot since noon. Chili can be made anytime during the year, but the meal doesn't work for me in the spring or summer. I won't dust off our family recipe until October arrives. The comforting aroma greeted us like an old friend when we opened the door. 

"Oh, it smells so good in here," Daphne commented as she laid her coat on the kitchen counter. I just smiled at her. 

I love the fall.

Almost Fair

The Iowa State Fairgrounds opened their gates last weekend for the first of three more Taste of the Fair events. We enjoyed the Fair Food Fridays drive-thru, but there was one stand that was sorely missed.

The Brad & Harry's Cheese Curds stand is usually our first stop when we go to the fair, and when it was announced that the 2020 ISF was cancelled, the first thing I said to Daphne was, "Well, I bet we can find good cheese curds someplace else." 

And we did, but we didn't find any that are as good as these.

Yes! That's what I'm talking about! These curds are fried to perfection and even squeak when you bite through the slightly salty and crispy breading. These are the reason we were there.

The curds were same as always, but there were some changes at the fairgrounds. For one, the Giant Slide has been moved, and maybe updated? I can't be sure. The steps look different.

This was a bigger surprise. They now have a whole building dedicated to Barksdale's State Fair Cookies. That's commitment. 

We went with a cup of cookies instead of a bucket. We were pacing ourselves.

The Waffle Chix stand was also new to us.

Charlotte said, "Putting chicken inside a waffle is just wrong," but Daphne and I only got about one bite each, so it couldn't have been too wrong. 

It felt strange eating at the fairgrounds in the fall, but the weather around noon was perfect: cool, cloudy, and just a hint of breeze.

The "Taste" wasn't very busy, and that made it easy to social distance. 

I thought about getting a tenderloin, but I haven't had a Waygu Burger made in a converted firetruck before. Daphne agreed with that choice. 

After one bite we also agreed that covering the burger in condiments would be criminal. The meat was so good. After the cheese curds, this was my favorite food of the day.

Char isn't a big fan of red meat (I'm crushed), but we thought this would be perfect. 

We were expecting bread, jelly, and peanut butter with a few grapes thrown in for good measure. Here's Char eating that last year.

This time we were surprised to be served a deep-fried Uncrustable. It was good, but Char couldn't eat it all. (Daphne and I were more than happy to help our out daughter in times of stress.)

She was saving some space for Bauder's strawberry ice cream.

Daphne and I split a Salted Carmel Lightening Rod. 

Throw a Pickle Dawg into the mix, and I can say that we all had quite a lunch. We had not eaten like that in a long time. I was so full I took a nap when we got home. 

We got to eat some family favorites, and we could try new foods, too. No, it wasn't the ISF, but I'm complaining. 

The company was excellent.