Weekend Recap

This past weekend wasn’t going to be overly busy and, before I knew it, it was gone. The only thing we really had planned to do was go on a date Friday evening. We haven’t been on an official date in quite a few months. We’d been using grocery trips as our “date”, which is sad considering we haven’t been married long but definitely shows how old we are. A lot of changes have taken place in our lives over the last five months, some due to the pandemic, some not. Some good, some blessings in disguise. So, Ryan felt that we needed a date night.

Who’s Open and Who’s Dining In?

With Iowa slowly opening back up, it’s hard to know these days who is completely open and who’s partially open. Ryan asked me where I wanted to go, but told me he was thinking of taking me to a steakhouse in Mason City. The luxury of where we live is that there are several bigger cities within an hour’s drive from the farm. Mason City is an hour North, Des Moines an hour South, Ames is 45 minutes South, Cedar Falls/Waterloo is an hour East and Fort Dodge an hour West. The steakhouse he was thinking of does not have dine in right now. I decided I still wanted to go to Mason City and we went to a nice place called Prime and Wine. I called ahead and asked if reservations were required and was told no, but they’re suggested. So I made a reservation for 7pm. This place had the ambiance of the Chesapeake Seafood House in Springfield, IL. For my Illinois family and friends who have been there before, you’ll know what I mean. The lighting was low and had those orange-ish lamps on the walls, the music was quiet, but still audible and, the best part, it was practically empty. (For the record, Chesapeake Seafood House is always packed when I’ve been there.) Odd for a Friday evening at 7pm, but we’ll take it! Ryan had a Prime Rib sandwich with fries and I had Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Garlic Potatoes. It was delicious! We very much enjoyed our food and hope to go back sometime.

The rest of the weekend was taken up with visiting some of Ryan’s cousins who were in from out of town, enjoying time with some friends at a cookout on Saturday evening and then going to church on Sunday morning.

Spread the word

With the devastating derecho that hit Iowa last Monday, August 10th, Iowans are in need of support. There are a lot of organizations who are taking donations and then there are individuals who are hosting fundraisers to help aid in rebuilding our state back. So many farmers, ranchers and citizens of Iowa were greatly affected by the storm. Here is a list of the organizations:

• Iowa Farm Bureau
• American Red Cross
• Samaritans Purse
• United Way
• Eight Days of Hope

There are individuals on Instagram who have a small shop and are hosting fundraisers. Check them out!

• @theshopforward – Apparel
• @haileywhitters – tee shirts
• @crystalcattle – jewelry
• @the gingerhillfarmer – tee shirts
• @mollyknuthmedia – tee shirts
• @onemission_love – tee shirts
• @sweetbriarcreative – stickers

Organizations specific to Iowa:

• HACAP
• Iowa Giving Crew
• Cedar Rapids Area Derecho Facebook Group