No Betsy in Sight

First of all........gaze upon this colorful holiday goody tray my son's girlfriend's mother graciously gave us!

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Sad to say, there is no good news of our missing dog, Betsy. I'm resigned to the fact that she must have become trapped somewhere and has frozen to death. She was not one to wander off the farm, so I'm sure she's somewhere on the farmstead. My guess is that possibly she chased a rabbit into one of the crevices in the round bale rows and got stuck or caught on some loose netwrap inside. That netwrap is nasty stuff to get tangled up in. We searched all the holes and crevices in the bale rows, and didn't see her, but she could have been too far in to be seen. We're all very sad, but there's nothing to be done, except enjoy our good memories of Betsy and start looking for a new Australian Shepherd pup. Thanks for thought, prayers, and concern for Betsy's welfare. I'll post some photos of her later in the week.

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Today we went to a funeral home visitation in Waterloo, about 20 miles away. Our route went through the downtown........here is a historical mural which watches over Lafayette Street on the East Side.

Along Mulberry Street, across from the Courthouse, is the former East Side Public Library, embellished with interesting rooftop features:

After crossing the Cedar River, we headed up the hill on West Fourth, in the area dubbed "Church Street", due to several churches nestled right next to each other there. The next photo shows the twin bell-towers of Sacred Heart Catholic Church; and, in the left lower corner is a bit of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church.

Finally we reached the funeral home where we were greeted by Husband's nephew, now serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, and stationed in Jacksonville, NC. He looked so nice in his dress uniform (green "service alphas", he calls it)! He has served twice in Iraq and will be returning there in February for a one-year tour. He just got married in September! Goodness.......to think he and his new wife will have to be separated that long.......
The funeral visitation was for Husband's brother's wife's mother, a woman I've known as long as I can remember. She was the organist in the Baptist church I grew up in, and she taught Sunday School, Bible School, and Youth Choir, where I was under her tutelage many times. Quite a gifted person she was, indeed.......she played organ and piano by ear......truly. She rarely ever used music books or hymnals. She could play any song anyone mentioned. Her funeral folder stated that she was recognized as a musical prodigy when she was a child, but it was the Depression era and going on to college was not possible. She also raced model planes when she was a child......if you can imagine that.......she once took part in a race in Des Moines which was emceed by an on-air personality from radio station WHO.......Ronald Reagan!
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This woman had some rather rigid religious beliefs, however.......which were passed on to some of her family. Shortly before I got married to my Lutheran husband-to-be, this woman invited me over to her house to have a talk during which she solemnly informed me that "Lutherans are not saved" and I should rethink my decision to join them. Her daughter who had married Husband's brother had convinced him to join the Baptist church. I suppose she thought I should insist my husband-to-be to do that, too. It just wasn't in me to do that, though. For better or for worse, I joined the Lutherans.
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Being at the funeral home today was like a step back in time; I encountered many faces I haven't seen in over 20 years. Most of the names came to mind after a few seconds. It was fun to visit with these folks and catch up on news of their lives. It seems to take deaths to get people together, doesn't it.
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