Arma............whaaaaa?

See the rock in front of the tire?

Bella; who is blissfully unaware of her surroundings 90% of the time; noticed something out of place as we left for our walk this afternoon. 

Here he is, posing for me and my 2-doors-down neighbor.

This is the middle of Missouri.

WE DON'T HAVE ARMADILLOS HERE!

The neighbor swears she has seen an albino raccoon while walking her dog pre-dawn. Her husband corroborates the sighting. I anxiously await photos.

Rain?!

We finally had rain this weekend.

 A 1 year old's birthday party with 5o guests practically guarantees it, right?

We met Amber, Jeff and Coen in Pilot Grove, Missouri for Jackson Inskeep's party. Jackson is the grandson of my friend Brenda and the happiest baby ever. He's only upset if he's hungry and food isn't arriving fast enough.

Our daughter, son-in-law and grandson followed us home to Pomme de Terre with hopes it would clear up on Sunday. We wanted to get the boat on the water but had no luck. 

It was such a dreary, drippy day the kids went home after lunch.

Finally late in the afternoon the sun came out and 

TAH DAH!!!!

It had been so long since we'd seen a rainbow we were stunned.

We were even more shocked to realize the end of the rainbow was in our cove.

The park was almost empty this weekend. When the storm scared people off see what they missed?

Looking through the rainbow at the trees across the cove you can see what looks like fall color. It's actually the leaves dying far too early. This has been a brutal summer for mid-Missouri, the hottest and driest on record. We are currently 12"-17" short on rainfall, so none of the party goers complained too much about getting wet.

John really loves this place. Insert end-of-rainbow joke here.

John's Birthday

Will you still need me,

Will you still feed me,

When I'm 64?

The Pythian Castle

The Knights of Pythias built this amazing structure in Springfield, Missouri in1913. Fifteen thousand people came to the grand opening, more than Springfield had hotel rooms for. It was designed as a home for orphaned, widowed and elderly members of the fraternal order. Built to house 100 people, it was so over-crowded during the great depression that tents were erected on the lawn.

The home was still in use until 1941, when the US Military acquired the property as a service club for wounded soldiers of WWII. They also housed POWs. Some of the cells are in the basement, and since the one Japanese prisoner had a private cell he painted a mural of his home.

The two Whippets who live here are definitely not watch dogs. They could hardy be bothered.

The theater was used for the Knights' meetings, then U S O shows. Our guide assured us that Bob Hope performed here. The facility is now a popular place for weddings, with a ballroom and dining hall.

The original seats are still in great shape.

This shows what the unimproved part of the home looks like.

 In 1993 the Army decided to sell the property, but the highest offer was only $80,000. Considering how much work would be needed to renovate there was little interest. The house was put up for bid and only one person put one in. A homeless man bid $3,600 and wound up with the property after sweetening the figure to $4000.

The current owners are renovating one room at a time. They offer a wide range of diversions. Besides the wedding venue they have ghost tours, murder mysteries,comedy nights, dinner dances and in our case, a private history tour.