 What's the deal with the black & white saddle shoes?  Click here for the story of our farm in Greene County, Iowa. Here's looking at life at Simple Serenity Farm  We've had very little snow so far this winter. Saturday morning, January 14, brought a reminder of just how pretty a light snow can be. Just over an inch fell in the wee hours, and the countryside was beautiful at wake-up time. Click here for larger format Earlier photos in this series
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| Carla Offenburger's columnsWhen confronted by a puzzling Bible verse, she realized its meaning in four true stories By CARLA OFFENBURGER February 1, 2012 JEFFERSON, IOWA On “Laity Sunday” at her church, our columnist was asked to give the sermon. She pulled out a Bible passage, one in which the apostle John starts off, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning….” She said it is a passage that has always confused her, even intimidated her. But when she studied it this time, she thought of specific things that she’d heard or experienced recently. And suddenly she had one of those “aha” moments – and John’s message not only came clear, it came to life.Her birthday celebration was a little “wacky,” topped by an Asian feast cooked at the farm By CARLA OFFENBURGER January 16, 2012 COOPER, IOWA Our columnist believes that your birthday really lasts a whole week, and that you eat chocolate “wacky” cake every day -- even for breakfast. And then she talked our friend Dr. Jim Teusch into helping prepare a gourmet Asian feast, right here in the kitchen of our farmhouse. Here is the story and 12 colorful photos from the celebration.It’s been a year when our health was restored and we O’burgers began living in the moment By CARLA OFFENBURGER December 23, 2011 COOPER, IOWA We kept thinking we were going to get a Christmas letter written. But with the great day almost here, our columnist realized there was only one way a letter was going to get done and sent -- by writing it here. She reviews what has been a fantastic year, maybe a miraculous year, for us Offenburgers and discusses what we learned from it. She also conveys our fondness and well-wishes for you all!We Offenburgers are especially thankful this November for our “new beginning” By CARLA OFFENBURGER November 8, 2011 COOPER, IOWA It was a year ago this month, our columnist writes, when “my husband Chuck and I went to the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics for Chuck’s stem cells transplant, to try to stop the lymphoma that had twice threatened to kill him. I’d been through cancer earlier in the year myself, had throat surgery to remove a tumor, endured six weeks of radiation and was recovering nicely. While we were optimistic about Chuck last November, we were scared, too. The doctors were optimistic, but they were also cautious. The seventh floor transplant unit at UIHC is a rollercoaster of fear and hope.”Some church celebrations are a lot of work, and then along comes one that’s a whole lot of fun! By CARLA OFFENBURGER September 18, 2011 JEFFERSON, IOWA Our columnist served as co-chair of the quasquicentennial celebration of Central Christian Church in our county seat town of Jefferson. She has been involved in bigger and more expensive church projects at the churches that she has belonged to elsewhere. But this one proved to be especially easy, meaningful and, yes, fun. She writes about it here, and shares 14 colorful photos.Why was she suddenly thinking about all the “strong women”in her life? Time to add one. By CARLA OFFENBURGER August 30, 2011 COOPER, IOWA There have been a half-dozen of them who, over the past 35 years, have become very important in our columnist’s life and development. They have come from very different walks of life. But all brought insights, wisdom and confidence that have changed her forever. She knew in recent weeks that the same thing was happening as she spent time with Nicole Friess Schilling, a young mother of four who was losing her husband Chris to cancer. His funeral was this week.My goodness! Where’d the month of June go? Now our columnist is “needing to play catch-up” By CARLA OFFENBURGER July 8, 2011 COOPER, IOWA So much was happening during the month of June, she couldn’t find time to sit down at her computer to keep you readers posted. So here are updates on some fun baseball, her new job, the garden, our RAGBRAI training, several birthday celebrations -- topped off with a great recipe for a potluck dish at any summer picnic!She’s back from loafing on her “sisters trip” to Cancun – all rested, refreshed & ready to go By CARLA OFFENBURGER May 25, 2011 COOPER, IOWA The Burt sisters all went to one of the resorts in Mexico to celebrate youngest sister Chris’ upcoming 50th birthday. Our columnist turned it into a very relaxing getaway. In today’s column, she is filling you in about that, as well as giving a garden update, a report on recent trips to Des Moines to listen to notable authors, and her latest thoughts on trying to live simply at our Simple Serenity Farm.It started in Iowa City. He gave her an apple, said “Happy birthday!” & “Let’s go to New York.” By CARLA OFFENBURGER April 10, 2011 NEW YORK, NEW YORK She had wanted to go explore and experience New York for “about 35 years,“ and for her 53rd birthday this year, hubby Chuck Offenburger told her “let’s go!” And they did. Our columnist writes here that it was as good as she expected it to be, maybe even better, although there were several times she stood in front of eye-popping sites and said, “This is so not us!“So, just what have you given up for Lent? Oh? Maybe it's time to give away something instead By CARLA OFFENBURGER March 20, 2011 JEFFERSON, IOWA Yes, our columnist was asked to give another sermon at church. No, it doesn’t mean this is becoming a new career for her. Her pastor asked her to deliver the message for the weekly Lenten luncheon service that the churches share in Jefferson. So as she prepared, she started thinking about what she has done for Lent in the past. She typically gave up something. But did she really? This year, she decided, she is actually giving it up, giving it away and trying to do a better job of following Christ.She was the guest preacher on ''Laity Sunday,'' and her message: ''Don't sweat the big stuff'' By CARLA OFFENBURGER January 31, 2011 JEFFERSON, IOWA You regular readers here all know that we Offenburgers have been through some real ''big stuff'' in the past 18 months with cancer diagnoses and extensive treatments. Telling or writing our story is one thing. But drawing a sermon from it requires much more -- and in fact turned into a very healthy challenge for our columnist. She shares the text of what she came up with here, and you can judge how she did.It turns out that fooling us Offenburgers is pretty easy to do: They ganged up on us! By CARLA OFFENBURGER January 17, 2011 JEFFERSON, IOWA We were invited to the Greene County Chamber & Development organization’s annual banquet “to speak a few minutes on tourism and economic development.” We did that. But what they really wanted us there for was to present us the annual ABC Award -- for going “Above and Beyond the Call” to the volunteer work we’ve done during our six years here. We were surprised and humbled to be receiving an award for projects that we thought were a whole lot of fun!Thanksgiving Day reflection: Chuck recovering, new grandbaby is born -- thankful indeed! By CARLA OFFENBURGER November 25, 2010 IOWA CITY, IOWA Ever think about spending your Thanksgiving Day in the hospital? We Offenburgers approached this one knowing that would likely be the case, with Chuck still recovering from his stem cells transplant at mid-month. We've already been so thankful that he even had the opportunity for this life-saving procedure. We thought it might be our best Thanksgiving ever. And THEN came the call from New Haven, that daughter-in-law Maria Offenburger would likely deliver new daughter Casey Jaye before Thanksgiving Day was done, and she was born about 9 p.m. ET. Life is good! What a great day! Our blessings overrun!Remember the columnist’s summer “to do” list? Well, a lot of it got shifted to the “not done” list By CARLA OFFENBURGER September 6, 2010 COOPER, IOWA She had the best intentions and a lot of projects lined up, but when cancer comes a-calling, and then comes back again, a lot changes in your life. Summer went by real fast. And now the Offenburgers are hoping the fall goes by real fast, too. Hooray for the Christmas holidays!You may not realize how your iPod & iPhone are somewhat like prayer in our busy lives By CARLA OFFENBURGER July 28, 2010 COOPER, IOWA There is a temptation for many of us to skip church services during the summertime. After all, isn’t this supposed to be “vacation”? But the columnist’s pastor, Rev. Deb Griffin, gave a powerful sermon this last Sunday in Jefferson. It was a good reminder that if you’re sleeping-in instead of going to church this summer, it’s like you're ignoring important downloads or phone calls.And now in a next step in her cancer treatment, she will likely be starting radiation therapy soon By CARLA OFFENBURGER June 1, 2010 COOPER, IOWA After our columnist had a tumor inside her jaw removed in late April, and she was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, the hope was it was contained and had all been removed. But now the oncology specialists on McFarland Clinic’s “Tumor Board” have determined that she should undergo radiation treatments to knock out any possible cancer growth along “nerve paths” in the jaw area. There are some possibly ugly side effects, there’s a whole lot of inconvenience, but there’s also a better chance for a good long life by persevering through this.Her spring update: The old barn must go now, and the old husband? He gets to stick around By CARLA OFFENBURGER April 20, 2010 COOPER, IOWA Our columnist has more projects lined up for this spring than you'll believe -- including finding host homes for RAGBRAI, lots of garden and lawn work, building a new swing set for her granddaughter (well, for herself, too). But she also is reflecting on her 19th wedding anniversary, which she and her husband are actually counting as their 35th wedding anniversary -- ''it's complicated,'' as they say on Facebook.She sees same-sex marriage as a civil right & allowing a popular vote on it would be wrong By CARLA OFFENBURGER March 7, 2010 COOPER, IOWA Our columnist answers the February 25, 2010, Guest Column by Andy Upah on this ’Net site, about one of the most contentious public issues of our time. Carla Offenburger’s argument supports the Iowa Supreme court’s decision: Giving gays and lesbians the right to marry – and thus opening up for them the legal benefits and protections that our laws give married couples – is a basic civil right. We’ve never allowed a popular vote on whether some group’s civil rights should be removed.Adventures & lessons of five winter storms, starting with, “So how do we make coffee?” By CARLA OFFENBURGER January 27, 2010 COOPER, IOWA A week ago, on January 20, we woke up to a huge ice storm that knocked-out our electrical power for more than 48 hours. We again learned a lot about life without electricity, heat and water. Then this past Monday, January 25, what was supposed to be a nice light snow turned into a raging 18-hour blizzard. Those kinds of storms make you realize that living in the countryside is a never-ending education – with occasional severe challenges.It’s time to make her New Year’s resolutions, and so she starts by checking on last year’s By CARLA OFFENBURGER January 5, 2009 COOPER, IOWA Our columnist actually did pretty well on her resolutions for 2009. In fact, if it weren’t for the huge burn piles that we still haven’t managed to get burned, and maybe getting our home paperwork a little more organized, she would’ve accomplished them all. And she liked the results so much that she’s extended her nine resolutions for 2009 right on through 2010 – and added four more!The “go-slow” Offenburger method of traveling has had us driving thousands of miles this fall By CARLA OFFENBURGER December 2, 2009 COOPER, IOWA People always ask us why we don’t just fly and save the time. But we really enjoy the time together, and we enjoy slowing things down to enjoy the journey as well as the destination. There are new communities, new states, new restaurants and hotels to discover, and we can do so on our schedule. We feel like we learn so much more along the way. And here our columnist shares some of what we learned on our most recent trip, to New Haven, Connecticut and back.It’s a thrill to see our family’s next generation thriving, while we taste sweet Savannah too! By CARLA OFFENBURGER October 29, 2009 SAVANNAH, GEORGIA Our columnist’s niece and nephew, the Amsbaugh kids from the Des Moines area, have both wound up in the historic Georgia coastal city, where they and their spouses are building careers and family lives. They were great hosts for our recent five-day visit, sharing their lives and their fascinating community. When you’re visiting from Iowa, especially this time of year, and you can put on shorts and sandals and experience 80-degree weather again, you’re bound to like the place!A day of mourning at Simple Serenity Farm, as the garden plants are pulled for the burnpile By CARLA OFFENBURGER October 1, 2009 COOPER, IOWA If you love gardening as much as our columnist does, it’s kind of a bummer when the autumn day comes for you to uproot exhausted plants and start dealing with the stubble. However, that also means a good last week of eating fresh vegetables. There are those topics and several others in the chatty column that follows.A festival touting bestseller Debbie Macomber’s novels turns out to be as good as her writing is! By CARLA OFFENBURGER September 3, 2009 PORT ORCHARD, WASHINGTON For five days in late August, Macomber’s hometown of Port Orchard, Washington, turned itself into “Cedar Cove,” the fictional town she created as the setting for the extremely popular nine-book “Cedar Cove Series.” But many characters, businesses and places in the books are based on the actual residents, companies and sites in Port Orchard. Three days there – with a whole lot of time around the personable Macomber – were a delightful get-away for our columnist and her mother, both of whom had read Macomber’s entire Cedar Cove Series. Here is her report.Great late-summer get-away – a literary fest with a top author in her West Coast hometown By CARLA OFFENBURGER August 25, 2009 COOPER, IOWA Our columnist and her mother have both become fans of the writing of novelist Debbie Macomber, who lives in Port Orchard, Washington. Macomber has a series of books with stories based in “Cedar Cove,” with details influenced by the people, places and events in Port Orchard. So local officials have put together a fantastic four-day “Cedar Cove Days” festival that runs through this coming weekend. It’s already a success with reservations pouring in from Macomber fans in 25 states and three other countries – and at least two of them are coming from Iowa.When rhubarb’s served in heaven, she thinks it’s probably made into this rhubarb bread pudding By CARLA OFFENBURGER August 3, 2009 COOPER, IOWA Our columnist gives you a quick round-up on how her vegetable gardens are growing, makes a plea for more heat during August and then shares the recipe for rhubarb that is absolutely celestial. She has pulled it from a brand new cookbook she thinks you might want to know about, too. Her editor thinks it is a terrific idea that the columnist has pledged to make every recipe in the cookbook – more than 250 of them! “What has dawned on me is that I don’t know how to be the wife of a man with cancer” By CARLA OFFENBURGER July 20, 2009 COOPER, IOWA Her best friend told the columnist, “Carla, I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing as the best friend of someone whose husband has cancer.” That made the columnist begin to realize that she, too, has a whole lot to learn aboout this. She thinks she and her husband “are discovering now what our first role is in all this – to be public and honest and open about the disease and how we are dealing with it.”Reflecting on the life, death of Michael Jackson, loving the memories but feeling some guilt, too By CARLA OFFENBURGER July 13, 2009 COOPER, IOWA Our columnist is the same age the king of pop was. He was her first star-struck childhood love after her mother took her to the 1971 Iowa State Fair concert of the Jackson Five. Michael's appeal to her generation, even now, is something older people say they can’t understand. She explains it was really all about the music, but asks, “Must I remind you of what you have all done with Elvis?” She thinks we all have a role in what happens to such stars later in life.When you load and unload your vehicle 14 times in 3-plus days, you are a little too busy By CARLA OFFENBURGER June 8, 2009 COOPER, IOWA Coordinating a golf tournament and a bicycle ride on back-to-back days, then throw in a recycling trip, and a big Sunday at church, and wow! No wonder a two-hour nap on Saturday and an hour-nap on Sunday were “musts.” That “Trails & Trills” bike ride, by the way, got rained out but we’ll be rescheduling it later in the summer, which means another round of loading and unloading down the way!Here is the early-season gardening report from Carla’s gardens at our Simple Serenity Farm By CARLA OFFENBURGER May 21, 2009 COOPER, IOWA She is again following some sage advice she got when we moved to the countryside five years ago – to always keep a “things done” list as well as the ever-growing “things to do list,” because if you don’t recognize that you’re making progress you’ll go nuts! But all the work is paying off, with beautiful flowers and expansive vegetable gardens. Oh, there’s the strawberry patch that is a total embarrassment, but it too seems to be producing.A little about a lot of different things as spring finally begins to settle in on us at the farm By CARLA OFFENBURGER April 30, 2009 COOPER, IOWA Let’s see here: Our columnist is bragging about the great coffee we have being roasted right here locally now. She is also proud of Iowa for legalizing same-sex marriage, couldn’t be happier with President Barack Obama after his first 100 days in office, is feeling very challenged by First Lady Michelle Obama’s arms, gives you the preview on her gardens, moans about her husband Twittering away his time, and finally, welcomes a beautiful new grand-niece to the farm.Let’s talk here – the Iowa girls’ state basketball tournament is just a mess and she’s had enough By CARLA OFFENBURGER March 16, 2009 COOPER, IOWA Our columnist is also getting us caught up on her continuing admiration for President Barack Obama, and if a lot of people are not happy with him, that’s probably a good thing. Then she moves on to being anxious to start gardening again. And she is reflecting on our Super Cooper group giving up in our efforts to try to save the old Cooper Community Building. She says it’s “about time I let some of this stuff go,” so pour a cup of coffee and hear her out.They felt like they were in a chocolate heaven at the “Van & Bonnie Chocolate Breakfast” By CARLA OFFENBURGER February 2, 2009 WEST DES MOINES, IOWA Thousands of people lined up in the darkness of Friday morning, January 30, outside a conference center in West Des Moines, just waiting their chance to get inside to sample free chocolate food items from about 36 vendors. It’s another bit of zaniness coordinated by WHO radio’s morning show co-hosts Van Harden and Bonnie Lucas. One vendor gave out “chocolate truffles to die for.” Can you imagine that at 5 a.m.?The rule is you can celebrate your birthday for one full week. (On your 50th, you can stretch it.) By CARLA OFFENBURGER January 21, 2009 COOPER, IOWA Oh, my! What a week of fun it was for our columnist as she whooped it up with family and friends. There were three different chocolate “wacky cakes” that she says are her favorite, a delicious cheesecake, a raspberry coffeecake, rice pudding and more. Another highlight was a weekend-long getaway at the very cozy Sisters Inn in little Bancroft, Iowa. You’ve just got to see that place. And you can, in fact, because we’re sharing 16 colorful photos with this column. The whole town of Bancroft is neat, a fun place to visit.It’s now time for New Year’s resolutions, & our columnist starts out with nine of them for 2009 By CARLA OFFENBURGER December 30, 2009 COOPER, IOWA Inspired by a sermon from a local minister last Sunday, our columnist says – priority one – she wants to talk to you about what Jesus Christ does in her life. And besides that, she’s going to take on a mountain of paperwork in her farmhouse, say “no” and say “yes” at the right times, read more and travel more. She is also going to, spend more time with her husband, mother & sisters, and quit worrying about whether the house is clean enough for company and just enjoy the visitors instead. Oh, and the “burn piles” simply must get burned in 2009.When Mom moves after 52 years “at home,” well, uh, “You’re messing with my childhood!” By CARLA OFFENBURGER December 1, 2008 DES MOINES, IOWA Our columnist’s mother Sue Burt just moved from the small, south-side Des Moines home where she and her late husband somehow lived and raised three daughters, and accumulated thousands of memories – and a lot of stuff! She’s comfortable now in a west-side Des Moines apartment, but Ma Burt, “the Burt girls” and all the rest of the family are realizing we’ll never forget that little house.Lessons from Pastor Les, as he lay dying, are getting his flock through their malaise of grief By CARLA OFFENBURGER November 15, 2008 COOPER, IOWA One of them at Central Christian Church in Jefferson is “a picky parishioner,” insisting that her church give her a good sermon every week. And Pastor Les Borsay delivered in a big way. She took extensive notes on his sermons, so she could refer back to them during the weeks after he gave them, and she was doing that a lot as she prepared to lose him. It’s amazing the impact and hope his lessons have, especially now during this sad time. Meanwhile, the pastor was comforted by his wife Karen Borsay in a relationship that obviously was destiny.What a change in America we can all feel with President-Elect Obama preparing to lead us By CARLA OFFENBURGER November 10, 2008 COOPER, IOWA Our columnist picked him out of the early crowd of candidates 16 months ago, and she has stayed with him all the way through his election to the presidency. In a speech in our county seat town of Jefferson on New Year’s Eve day, Obama said, “ There’s a time in the life of every generation when that spirit of hope has to come through.” That time seems to be now for her and many others.Road notes: What a grand time of year for a slow drive across the eastern half of the U.S. By CARLA OFFENBURGER October 22, 2008 COOPER, IOWA We were thrilled to see our son and his family. And we loved being back around college campuses again, too -- maybe a little too much. But we really had fun everywhere we stopped, and we had a great time listening in on America’s conversations. And, yes, it was good to get back home, too.As hot issues go, we’ve had it with the financial crisis. Couldn't we all just go back to lipstick? By CARLA OFFENBURGER September 25, 2008 COOPER, IOWA We thought the late, great lipstick debates were just so much gloss with no substance, you know? But now we're trying to figure out this economic mess, and why we taxpayers should hand over 700 billion smackers to bail out Wall Street. It makes us feel like saying, ''Hey, read our lips: K-I-S-S O-F-F!'' Which brings us back to lipstick again, and we're glad to be there!Look who's back with a fresh column for you! It's a starter-upper for her as we head into autumn By CARLA OFFENBURGER September 8, 2008 COOPER, IOWA Our columnist is wondering where did that summer go? Then she realizes she spent so much of it gardening, helping get our county seat town of Jefferson ready for RAGBRAI, helping her mother get ready for a big move, absorbed in John Grisham novels and then there was a month-long funk in August. Funk over! Fall is nearly here!When coming off months of very intense work, ''doing nothing'' is a challenge, but a nice one By CARLA OFFENBURGER July 29, 2008 COOPER, IOWA We've come to realize that the only time we really unwind and relax is when we are on bicycle rides. But after working long and hard helping Jefferson get ready to host RAGBRAI, then doing it, we were so exhausted we had to give up riding on it ourselves. That started five days of intentional loafing for our columnist, something she had to rediscover how to do.At last! We Offenburgers find enough time to get back in touch with all of you kind readers By CARLA OFFENBURGER May 18, 2008 COOPER, IOWA We’ve been BUSY, and that’s why we’ve fallen behind on our updates here at Offenburger.com. So our columnist fills you in about everything from her mother recently being robbed in Des Moines, to the carryings-on of our 60-pound puppy, to the chain saw we bought each other for our wedding anniversary, to the extensive changes she’s made in the gardens at the farm.Let us introduce our newest family member, Sally, a 50-pound pup with a ton of energy By CARLA OFFENBURGER April 7, 2008 COOPER, IOWA She is a nine-month-old mix between a black lab and golden retriever that we bought at the local animal shelter. Our cats, after four days of protesting by staying in the garage, have now resurfaced. Even better, we're pretty sure word has spread fast among Franklin Township's skunks, possums and raccoons -- there's a new boss at Simple Serenity Farm!Why we Offenburgers say “yes” when RAGBRAI asks if it can take over our lives for six months By CARLA OFFENBURGER March 24, 2008 COOPER, IOWA The Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa has positively impacted so many lives, including our own, that when we’ve been asked to serve as co-chairs of RAGBRAI host committees in Storm Lake and now Jefferson, it’s a quick answer for us. Most of the cyclists have no idea just how much planning and preparation goes into it. RAGBRAIers would be astonished to know just how many volunteers are involved in planning and providing them their happy vacation experience across Iowa. This column will give you all a glimpse of how it works.Iowa’s girls’ state basketball tournament doesn’t grip her as it used to, but it’s still a good show By CARLA OFFENBURGER March 3, 2008 COOPER, IOWA As nice as new Wells Fargo Arena is, you still don’t have the feeling that you’re “in the middle of the fray” like you always did at old Veterans Auditorium. And it’s much harder to move around and visit with old friends from tournaments past. But the games are good – this year’s championships were terrific – and they’re still a bargain. The $16 our columnist and her sister spent for admission was sure less than they would’ve paid doing a lot of other things together! She gives us that story, plus two vignettes about how she has been reminded again that life in a small community often beats life in the city.It has been a very sad week for us at the farm, as we mourn the loss of our old dog Ginger By CARLA OFFENBURGER February 18, 2008 COOPER, IOWA What a winter! Our 18-year-old terrier was the third pet we’ve lost since last fall. Ginger was an indoor dog – deaf, with cataracts and some arthritis – but she was still happy. She did enjoy short walks outdoors. On February 9, we had her out on one, just before a bitter cold front was moving in upon us. She must’ve caught a scent, took off into a field of long grass and deep snow along Dead Brier Creek – and never came back. We’ve searched as best we can, but haven’t found her. Sad as we are, we know we gave her a good life for a lot of years.It’s time now to order your Cooper Prom tickets so you can experience “Almost Paradise” here By CARLA OFFENBURGER February 3, 2008 COOPER, IOWA Our fourth annual Cooper Prom will be on Saturday, April 12, and we expect it will be another sell-out! We’re going to welcome 250 of you to our tropical island of Cooper, “just off the coast of Jamaica!” The “High Society Big Band” will be back with great dance music. As always, all ages are welcome for our alcohol-free event, which features fine dining, exotic decorations (get ready for our island volcano), great music and excellent dancing. She has the antidote to our political withdrawal: Bubble baths & eating chocolate “wacky cake” By CARLA OFFENBURGER January 15, 2008 COOPER, IOWA Does everybody else in Iowa miss having the presidential candidates around us all the time as much as our columnist does? It sure was fun, wasn’t it? And it made getting back to normal life a little harder than it normally is post-holidays in mid-January. But she shares a few ideas she’s been trying out to lift her spirits.As the campaigns in Iowa were winding down, her choice Barack Obama swept into our town By CARLA OFFENBURGER January 1, 2008 JEFFERSON, IOWA The Democratic U.S. Senator from Illinois brought his “Stand for Change” tour to our county seat town of Jefferson during the noon hour of New Year’s Eve day. He drew more than 300 – the biggest political crowd any of the candidates has drawn in Greene County during the year-long run-up to this Thursday’s Iowa Political Caucuses. Some say his message of “hope” is naïve. But, wow, it sure seemed to resonate with our crowd. Here’s the story in words and 18 colorful photos.With our best wishes to you for the holidays, here is the Offenburgers' Christmas letter By CARLA OFFENBURGER December 24, 2007 C OOPER, IOWA Wow, what a year of blessings upon us, with trips to South Africa, Arizona and Connecticut. There was a baptism, First Communioin and confirmation of a grandson and the birth of a granddaughter! We love our lives of family, friends and community service, and hence we share this reflection about them.Carla Offenburger: Barack Obama for president By CARLA OFFENBURGER December 23, 2007 COOPER, IOWA I’m caucusing for Barack Obama on January 3 in my Greene County Democratic Party Central Precinct, and I’m thrilled to be doing so. I like to follow my gut instincts, and they’re leading me straight to Obama. I didn’t need Oprah Winfrey (although I admire the woman’s influence). And I didn’t need a lot of the literature I’ve received – from Obama and others. What I needed was Obama himself, and he delivered.It’s now time to make our political decisions, and here is one columnist’s choice: Obama By CARLA OFFENBURGER December 3, 2007 COOPER, IOWA In our politically divided farmhouse, our Democrat says that for her, it “comes down to choosing a candidate who is relatively new and fresh on the national scene, with new fresh ideas, over the older tried-and-true Washington politics.” So with this column, she is endorsing Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. She also says she is amazed at how all the campaigns have pursued her, asking in frequent phone calls if they can answer her questions, even sending out a staffer for an in-person visit. It’s clear, she says, that every single Iowan is important to them.When you’re craving a little intellectual lift, you can indeed find it close by here in rural Iowa By CARLA OFFENBURGER November 12, 2007 PERRY, IOWA A key first step to finding it is probably getting off the couch. Then go hear a presidential candidate – they’re everywhere right now – or do like our columnist did one recent night and head to Perry. There “Hometown Perry, Iowa” offers fantastic programs, events and exhibits on all kinds of topics. Last week, it was an evening with Ted Kooser, the former poet laureate of the United States, and we’ve got the details here, including a poem about it. Living close to “Hometown Perry, Iowa” is a little like living around a college campus.Gimme an ''R!'' And an ''E!'' And an ''A!'' & a ''D!'' A pep rally that encourages our kids to read! By CARLA OFFENBURGER November 1, 2007 COOPER, IOWA It's a tradition at Scranton Elementary School in the Jefferson-Scranton Schools. A couple of guest speakers, as well as football players, other athletes, cheerleaders, band and choir members and even the coaches talk about the importance of reading with the third, fourth and fifth graders. It was enough to make the book reviewer who was a guest speaker think she'd died and gone to heaven!The month of October knows we’ve had enough of just about everything, and thus it’s nice to us By CARLA OFFENBURGER October 16, 2007 COOPER, IOWA That is a good line our columnist recently discovered in a good book, and she says it is so true. She thinks about her life right now and decides that for this year, she has had more than enough lawn mowing, weeding, tree damage, wearing her summer clothes, even enough baseball. She is looking forward to a few weeks without “haywire shocks” and “jagged edges.” Come on, October, deliver! Listening to the conversations of Yale students stretches where your mind’s edges usually are By CARLA OFFENBURGER September 19, 2007 NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT You hear them walking around talking about “living on the edge of contradiction” and about the philosopher Nietzsche’s views on morality. You wonder how anybody here gets any rest with all the fascinating lectures, concerts and events happening. Yet, the best part of New Haven is the columnist’s grandbaby, little Lindsay Lee Offenburger.A 9/11 reflection on what’s changed about her life and her view of the world since Sept. ’01 By CARLA OFFENBURGER September 11, 2007 COOPER, IOWA She begins by again sharing the haunting poem she wrote on the first anniversary, about the “teaching moment” she missed that fateful morning in the college writing class she was instructing. She goes on to outline the specific changes she’s made in her life since then, and how they’ve changed her views on a whole lot of things. How about you? What have you done in the six years since the horrific day when “life became incomplete, and tragedy piled up”?It’ll be a big weekend in Jefferson for quilters, with our “Heart of the Lincoln Highway” show By CARLA OFFENBURGER August 20, 2007 JEFFERSON, IOWA More than 300 quilts from 120 quilters in 35 communities will be displayed in adjacent buildings here Saturday and Sunday, August 25-26. There will be presentations and demonstrations by experts, great shopping from 16 vendors, and an appearance each day by Betty Nielsen, of Varina, Iowa, who grabbed the heart of the nation with her “Freedom Quilts” project after the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. A Jefferson family, the Carmans, who received one of the Freedom Quilts after their Marine son Ben Carman was killed in Iraq, will appear with Nielsen. The whole event benefits the foundation of the Greene County Medical Center, and you’re all welcome!Jump in with a little help for someone, and it’s amazing just how much you get back yourself By CARLA OFFENBURGER August 6, 2007 COOPER, IOWA Our friendship with Beni Wardikun, who recently left our community for his home country of Indonesia, introduced us to many people we had not yet met around Greene County. We are awed by their generosity and concern. We also got first-person instruction in the traditions and culture of another nation and its people. There are all kinds of lessons and opportunities in this, and the most important one is probably this: Hold yourself open to others, and you will benefit immeasurably. Plus, our columnist has some other news and views from out our way.Advice for RAGBRAI rookies from two veterans who wish they could be out there all week By CARLA OFFENBURGER July 23, 2007 COOPER, IOWA When a first-time RAGBRAI’er, coming from Pennsylvania, asked us for tips on how to make the most of the experience, we had plenty. Nothing showcases the hospitality and fun of rural and small-town Iowa better than the Des Moines Register’s big bike ride across the state – and riders should take the time to sample every bit of it. We’ll get on our bikes and tag along for a day of it.A memorial for a favorite old teacher and notes from a week’s vacation spent home on the farm By CARLA OFFENBURGER July 2, 2007 COOPER, IOWA At ol’ Lincoln High School in Des Moines a long time ago, English teacher Lillian Hildreth not only inspired a life-long love of reading, but she also “showed me what confidence looked like.” Our columnist also says that the vacation spent at home was sure no break from work – she re-built the interior of the garage – but there was also time for a serene lunch in the garden with one friend and a lesson for another friend on how to make a good pie crust. It was indeed a fine week!In our community of Cooper, we decided it was again time for the town to have a parade float By CARLA OFFENBURGER June 21, 2007 COOPER, IOWA We hadn’t had one since the Cooper Centennial in 1981, and everybody apparently got so worn out on that one, it took 26 years to get over it. So we’ve dragged out chicken wire, tissue paper, the whole deal, and we’re now showing off our “Who knew…COOPER!” float at parades around our area. Here’s the story in words and photos.Our crop report differs from most you've heard: We skipped corn, beans are in, harvest is now! By CARLA OFFENBURGER May 21, 2007 COOPER, IOWA She enjoys talking farming with the large-scale operators around us, and is grateful for the weather and planting information they share. She brings it all home and puts it to work in the vegetable and flower gardens at Simple Serenity Farm, and they are all off to a fantastic start, she is happy to report. We show you in photos what she is doing with the bountiful rhubarb crop.Becoming a grandparent in this 21st century can be very different than in earlier times By CARLA OFFENBURGER April 23, 2007 COOPER, IOWA Let’s see – we’ve welcomed little Inam Sifo into life in South Africa with a birth announcement via “text message,” then phone calls over the Internet, then photos on the hospital’s Internet site and even a “virtual shower” of gifts from 10,000 miles away. We’re glad for the “closeness” technology provides, but it’s sure not as tender as holding a new little granddaughter. In other items, our columnist also tells you about her new car, a victory in her continuing campaign against general use of the term “guys” and cheers a genuine rally by her flowers from the late winter storms.It is that time of year when many of her plants seem to be calling her name and talking to her By CARLA OFFENBURGER April 2, 2007 COOPER, IOWA Most of them seem to have survived the winter, even with two major snowstorms late in the season. She’s ready to work with them again because she’s “never so excited as when I can start getting my hands dirty, and smell the fresh clean, black Iowa soil all around me.”It’s time for spring cleaning, but it’s also time to re-commit and clean-up in our lives, too By CARLA OFFENBURGER March 19, 2007 COOPER, IOWA We’ve discovered there is a whole lot to be said for simplicity, but we need reminders now and then that we indeed want to keep it simple. You can read here whose philosophies she follows on this, and why they seem to work for the Offenburgers.Snowbound! An account of our 48 hours without power, heat & water. Guess what? It was fun! By CARLA OFFENBURGER March 5, 2007 COOPER, IOWA But, then, two days of it was plenty, too. The biggest blizzard of the winter, March 1-3, gave us ice, then 15 inches of snow, 40 mile-per-hour winds and drifts as tall as we are. We put blankets and towels on the north windows, kept the fire roaring in the fireplace and the columnist summoned up her long-ago Girl Scout training to do some excellent cooking over the burning logs. It was all challenging, though, and makes you wonder how the pioneers survived winters out here. Here’s the story in words and photos.At basketball tourney time, she is wondering, are kids having fun anymore playing hoops? By CARLA OFFENBURGER February 12, 2007 COOPER, IOWA She is a fan who has drifted away from girls’ basketball in recent years, but she took-in a big game recently between powerful Des Moines Roosevelt and Norwalk – and was shocked. A coach threw a tantrum, the fans were angry and players looked like they weren’t enjoying being there – and this was for one of the state’s best teams. Is anybody else beginning to believe we need to lighten up?“Take me back to South Africa,” she says, and after reading this, you will understand why By CARLA OFFENBURGER January 15, 2007 COOPER, IOWA Fabulous food, spectacular scenery, fascinating stories about a nation reborn – Cape Town has it all. In a series of vignettes from our two weeks there, you will feel the pulse of the place and understand the hopes and fears of its diverse people.When we two mothers of Bolekwa Sifo met here in South Africa, tears flowed and hope soared By CARLA OFFENBURGER January 2, 2007 KHAYELITSHA, SOUTH AFRICA Bolekwa, now 24, spent a year of high school and three years of college in Iowa. She returned to Khayelitsha, the black township outside Cape Town, and went jobless for two terrible years. But now she is working full-time, supporting her family and fixing up their home, where her mother Francina Mabongo and her siblings welcomed us.Reflections on the Christmas just past, when traditions seemed more important than ever By CARLA OFFENBURGER December 26, 2005 DES MOINES, IOWA One of her traditions is feeling guilty about not getting out a Christmas letter, especially because she so enjoys the ones we get from you. But there's also the special music, church services, the peculiar way of unwrapping gifts, the stocking stuffers, the gourmet Christmas Day meal. It's all spiritual -- and Spiritual.A peek inside “Our Iowa Store,” which is now all geared up for you holiday online shoppers By CARLA OFFENBURGER December 5, 2006 COOPER, IOWA Our store featuring fine Iowa products that we use or have in our home, and endorse, is now four years old. We’re still not sure how it works, but we know it regularly brings in orders from California, Virginia, Texas, Florida & all over the Midwest. Amazing!When doing a “Girls’ Weekend” with your mom and two sisters, where do you want to go? By CARLA OFFENBURGER November 18, 2006 COOPER, IOWA They thought about Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha and several terrific places around the state of Iowa. But then they decided that, actually, there’s so much to do in their hometown of Des Moines that they’d never done yet, why not?It’s not just the political ads that are outrageous, as this baseball fan learned on radio last week By CARLA OFFENBURGER October 17, 2006 COOPER, IOWA She airs that thought and these others thoughts in this column – including the good busy-ness of small town life; the blessings unfolding all around her; having a mother who is a rabid baseball fan and especially for the Detroit Tigers, and the melancholy of putting the gardens to bed for the winter.The importance of having a really good porch, or having friends with really good porches By CARLA OFFENBURGER September 25, 2006 COOPER, IOWA We’ve got a great porch at Simple Serenity Farm, one just like she’s had in her dreams. The problem is that every time she sits down to enjoy it, a herd of pets want attention, or a weed that needs to be pulled springs into view, or…there’s always something!When the first of your sisters turns 50 years old, it’s a time to reflect on what it really means By CARLA OFFENBURGER August 27, 2006 COOPER, IOWA Her first, flippant answer: “Well, it means Mom is getting older!” But then you start thinking of how you all managed to survive the girlhood battles in a tiny house with only one bathroom, how you are similar and different, and what you’ve learned from each other.Here are 10 very good reasons why she wants to return to Wisconsin for more bicycle riding By CARLA OFFENBURGER August 9, 2006 COOPER, IOWA The lightly-traveled back roads are perfect for cycling, especially with a scenic route along Lake Michigan, fabulous desserts, gorgeous gardens, friendly people and a campground service that spoiled us rotten. When's there been a better vacation? She came home relaxed, not even worrying about getting right to that to-do list.She’s now got her sixth flower garden in place at Simple Serenity Farm – and isn’t done yet! By CARLA OFFENBURGER July 17, 2006 COOPER, IOWA What becomes clear, as you survey the beauty around us here, it has happened with plants, advice and even volunteer weeding from assorted friends and “garden buddies,” living and deceased. And every time our columnist is out in those gardens, she thinks of those others – and smiles.If you really want to know any town’s story, go out and talk to those in the local cemetery By CARLA OFFENBURGER July 4, 2006 COOPER, IOWA O.K., you can’t do that every day. But during Cooper’s Quasquicentennial celebration, we had local people costume up and portray some of our notable ancestors and characters buried in Franklin Township Cemetery. Those taking the tour were laughing out loud, shedding tears and drawing inspiration from the people of the past.Releasing our frustrations? Sowing tenderness? You know, you just can’t have too many gardens By CARLA OFFENBURGER June 12, 2006 COOPER, IOWA Actually, gardening can be complex, time-consuming and, of course, hard work. But it is amazing how time spent out there helps put things in perspective in the rest of your life. And after all, we all have a need to weed, don’t we?Here are a dozen great things to do and see in Greene County in addition to our new barn quilts By CARLA OFFENBURGER May 22, 2006 COOPER, IOWA Jackie Orton and her friends are coming to see our increasingly famous barn quilts. But they wanted to know what else I can recommend for them to experience. So here are my dozen favorite other things about Greene County – wait, make that my 13 favorite – and I could list more, too!Good preacher, good bookstore, doting mother and other vignettes proving that life is good By CARLA OFFENBURGER May 1, 2006 COOPER, IOWA These rainy days lately have given us time for a little rest, and some reflection, on the special people and special places in our lives. One of those special places is a new bookstore on the square in Oskaloosa. Check the photos here.The NCAA basketball on TV stirred our hearts, but the commercials were just the worst By CARLA OFFENBURGER April 5, 2006 COOPER, IOWA A sexy young women gyrates in tight leather and “glistens,” selling deodorant. Maybe you'll buy some. But for us, it was just a reminder that we're glad we seldom watch TV.Please put Lee Greenwood and Sawyer Brown on a stagecoach and get 'em out of here! By CARLA OFFENBURGER March 13, 2006 COOPER, IOWA Adding ''big name'' entertainment to the Iowa girls' high school state basketball tournament was a flop. And that was not the only disappointment at new Wells Fargo Arena.At last! A wonderful, cozy night at the farm, a big fire crackling in the fireplace, and then... By CARLA OFFENBURGER February 20, 2006 COOPER, IOWA Life had really been hectic, but finally there was an evening to myself. Special dinner. Good book. Get Chuck off to a meeting in Jefferson and -- what ho!Confession of a feminist: She's now fascinated with Miss America as well as the doll Barbie! By CARLA OFFENBURGER January 30, 2006 COOPER, IOWA She was cruising along with only a Barbie fixation, which is bad enough. Then a clever friend from California inflicted her with a Miss America virus, which has attacked her brain.Epiphany -- the time to un-decorate -- lets us smile again at how each ornament is special By CARLA OFFENBURGER January 9, 2006 COOPER, IOWA Our tree always has bobbles that you might think are silly, even sappy. One is downright ugly. But they have great sentiment for us, and we prize them all.We’ll remember this “bean soup Christmas” as being a real highlight of our life at the farm By CARLA OFFENBURGER January 2, 2006 COOPER, IOWA The holidays indeed seem slower, simpler and more real now that we're doing them here at Simple Serenity Farm. And we enjoy them more than ever!How would you like to start your Saturdays with a Diet Pepsi & five hours talking literature? By CARLA OFFENBURGER December 12, 2005 COOPER, IOWA Teaching a class at Upper Iowa University in West Des Moines opened our professor's eyes. There is indeed life before 6 a.m. on Saturdays!Where did this menagerie of animals that are now on my porch come from, anyway? By CARLA OFFENBURGER November 28, 2005 COOPER, IOWA Ever feel like a dear, departed parent visits you in your sleep? That's how it was for me when my late father came in the night and said, ''Take the dog.'' So we did. Cats, too.“Stop at the stop sign” is not just good advice, it’s also like code about a very deep feeling By CARLA OFFENBURGER November 1, 2005 COOPER, IOWA There's a stop sign where our gravel road meets the highway, and it's a ''must stop.'' It's become more than that for us Offenburgers, however.When good friends gather, the ''harvest'' of good feelings is as bountiful as the crops coming in By CARLA OFFENBURGER October 19, 2005 COOPER, IOWA The Bateses from Tennessee made their first visit to Greene County and Simple Serenity Farm. They quickly fell in love with the grand view from our porch.A ''Board of Common Sense,'' my lovable losers in sports, big winners in music, the fall harvest By CARLA OFFENBURGER October 10, 2005 COOPER, IOWA A little about a lot of things, including her idea that this new board -- headed by her -- could tell people if some idea they have makes good sense, little sense or is nutty.It seemed clear that this was how high school class reunions are really supposed to be By CARLA OFFENBURGER September 28, 2005 SHENANDOAH, IOWA She went along for her husband's 40th in Shenandoah, Iowa, putting up with their bluster about being the biggest and ''best'' SHS class ever. You know what? They actually are pretty good, and so's their hometown.A great trip to our old hometown of Storm Lake, where autumn Saturdays are almost perfect By CARLA OFFENBURGER September 19, 2005 COOPER, IOWA She was way overdue for a visit anyway, then a good friend, turning 50, invited her to a fun party. Our favorite football team was playing on the lakeshore, too.Cooking the most fun way: Making great meals with creative recipes & others do the clean-up! By CARLA OFFENBURGER September 12, 2005 WEST DES MOINES, IOWA That's what is offered at a year-old business in West Des Moines, ''What's for Dinner.'' Our columnist and her sister have now tried it and say they'll be back!Our ''work release'' program is a grueling way to spend a weekend -- especially Labor Day! By CARLA OFFENBURGER September 6, 2005 COOPER, IOWA Her sister and brother-in-law Chris and Tony Woods, of Des Moines, came up with the idea of working visits to our farm. Now our neighbors all want to host them, too!Rooster Bates became a real rascal, for sure, but he left us with some darned good lessons By CARLA OFFENBURGER August 27, 2005 COOPER, IOWA Who'd have thought a rooster in Iowa would develop a global following? He seemed to help people forget their other problems -- especially when he was chasing them!A tale of two great friends of mine, both very spiritual and genuine, but oh so different By CARLA OFFENBURGER August 16, 2005 COOPER, IOWA I love and lean on both, one very conservative, one very liberal. One says I need to read my Bible more, the other says I should get my estrogen checked. Both may be right.When in a funk that not even a bike ride or a ''Pity Party'' will fix, try an idyllic garden tour By CARLA OFFENBURGER August 8, 2005 COOPER, IOWA You really need to see Lake City, Iowa, as well as the Prairie Pedlar near Odebolt, Thistle Down Nursery near Lake View & the Peterson home's gardens in Farnhamville.Iowa looks terrific from the seat of a bicycle, and 10,000 of us have new appreciation of it By CARLA OFFENBURGER August 1, 2005 COOPER, IOWA Spending even a couple of days on the Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) reminds you what a beautiful, hospitable place we have here.With all these young folks rushing to the altar, it might be good for them to consider... By CARLA OFFENBURGER July 25, 2005 COOPER, IOWA We've come up with what we call our practical “You Want To Make Sure It Lasts” marital advice. We share it with young brides & grooms -- and we do our best to live it ourselves.10 years later, memories of a summer together, riding bikes trans-USA, are even more dear By CARLA OFFENBURGER July 20, 2005 COOPER, IOWA For most of the 308 of us who were involved, the 100-day, 5,048-mile ''Iowa 150 Bike Ride/A Sesquicentennial Expedition'' was life-changing.So how does a little place like Cooper, Iowa, pull off the big things that we're doing here? By CARLA OFFENBURGER July 9, 2005 COOPER, IOWA We've learned that to keep Cooper on the map, we have to be enthusiastic, positive and energized 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year -- and get a little help from our friends! Why do we all dread weeding so, when we learn so much by getting out there & doing it? By CARLA OFFENBURGER June 27, 2005 COOPER, IOWA Problems big and small can be solved while working in weedy gardens. A key point: Do they really need to be weed free or just look weed free? |