What a wonderful, relaxing weekend I've had, filled with plenty of time for family, fun and, of course, reading. Friday night was a default "date night" since we had no parenting responsibilities after we went out to dinner. Saturday we got to see our parents, the Big Guy's sister and her family and we got to meet the newest member of our family, 2-month-old Baby Z. He is adorable! Today we headed downtown with Miss H in tow with a twofold purpose.
The Big Guy and I have been enjoying the Omaha Summer Arts Festival since we first moved to Omaha 25 years ago. When the kids were younger, we kind of stopped going--it's almost impossible to really look and enjoy the works when you're worried that someone will break something, pick a fight or start whining. In the past few years, we've really enjoyed taking our almost grownup children. Today was the first time in several years that Miss H joined us and what a delight she was to have along. She has really developed an eye for art and a sense of what she likes and why she likes it. We also got to enjoy some funnel cake and great music. They even humored me and let me go into the Friends of the Library tent to check out their book sale.
Then we headed down to the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, a bridge that spans the Missouri River, connected Nebraska and Iowa. From out in the center of the bridge, we were able to get bird's eye view of this flooding river which is threatening low lying areas of the city and has already caused millions of dollars in losses along it's path. Farm lands are under water, homes will be under water for a least a couple of months, and thousands are now homeless.
Those trees? They aren't supposed to be in the water. Nearby Harrah's Casino has water all the way up to the building and Omaha's airport is in danger. Festivals in Omaha have had to be moved from the landing that is normally 12 feet above the river. And that water, filled with an enormous amount of debris, some of it huge, is moving so very fast. It was hard to leave the bridge.
On the reading front, I finished Allegra Goodman's The Cookbook Collector today and will start Erica Bauermeister's Joy For Beginners which I'm really looking forward to reading. Tuesday I'm looking forward to meeting with the Omaha Bookworms to discuss The Cookbook Collector. There will be a lot to discuss and it's always good to spend time with these ladies.
What are your reading plans for the week?
I can't believe the devastation in some of these areas. I feel for those folks.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a wonderful weekend. We haven't had a date night in years!! Seriously.
What a wonderful weekend you had. SOunds lovely. I did not get a lick of reading done. Too much cleaning and True Blood Season 3 taking up my time. :(
ReplyDeleteI plan on finishing 212 by Alafair Burke this week.
Sounds like you had a great weekend, beautiful pictures!
ReplyDeleteFlood! It's crazy how much water there is. I should go toss a letter in a bottle in and see how long it takes to get to you! (ignoring any dams in the way, of course.) Our levees are holding here, so far.
ReplyDeleteWell, not to say we don't have a lot of houses in the water, but the ones behind the levees are still good.
ReplyDeleteI love going to art festivals, but I haven't been to any in a long time. We have some pretty good ones here in Nashville.
ReplyDeleteThat's terrible about the flooding. My heart goes out to the people who are affected.
I've got a lot of reading to do this week. I think I'm going to do Sheila's What are you reading Mondays later today. Hope you'll stop by!
Research. I don't seem to do much reading except research at the moment.
ReplyDeleteHow terrible. Flooding causes so much damage even when it doesn't take lives.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you had a wonderful time out there at the art festival and with your family. I can't wait to hear what you think of Joy for Beginners!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great weekend! I can't believe the flooding though.... wow.....
ReplyDeleteThanks for the photos. Funny, when I talked to AWP this weekend he didn't mention the river :). HA I did hear that the new baseball stadium could be in jeopardy of water damage. I didn't believe it though... wouldn't the Qwest have issues to? I need to call my spy. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a wonderful weekend!
Sounds like a great weekend Lisa! That flooding is so scary. We've had so many problems with it and fires here this year. My heart goes out to all affected by them. I'm curious to see what you think of The Cookbook Collector. I've heard some not so good thoughts on it. I hope you're enjoying Joy for Beginners as much as I did.
ReplyDeleteYour weeksn sounds great! IThe Omaha Arts Festival sounds really interesting especially with Miss H along with you.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Baby Z is adorable!
Oh that flooding is awful, so destructive. I'm sure it's hard to look at what's happened.
Will you be reviewing The Cookbook Collector?