Back in the CR

I realized when I typed in the title how ambiguous it is. We were back in CR (Cedar Rapids) for five weeks and have now returned to CR (Czech Republic). Next time we pick a place to move to, it is going to have entirely different initials.
The trip to the US was great and we had a chance to see many friends and family. If we missed you this time, we will try to catch you next time. It is just so hard to squeeze everyone in. We are especially grateful to our good friends (really more like family) Leslie and Dennis for sharing their home with us when we were in CR. We would stop in for a few days and then take off again. The bed and the wine was always waiting when we returned. Love you guys!
We did manage to get out to New England to visit Quentin and Alana. They have moved into temporary housing as they wait for the bigger move to Toronto. That should be in the fall for Alana and around Christmas for Quentin. She will have a post-doctoral position at the University in Toronto and Quentin will be finishing up his doctorate,..or so he promises. They are discussing a wedding in June or July and probably in Toronto. They have also kicked around the idea of doing a party in Cedar Rapids, so that Quentin's family and friends don't have to travel to Toronto. More details will follow,... We also got to visit with old friend Jon Ploof and his friend, Brunna. Really wonderful to see them.
We also got to Sioux City to visit Ken's sister, his nephew's family and good friends Roger and Roger. Now that Ken's Mom is gone, our trips to western Iowa were fewer and I had forgotten just how beautiful and different that part of the state is. It was a good trip and we picked up with visits to other friends along the way. I think that the next trip we will have to head south to visit Ken's other sister and then out west to visit good friends.
The antique shop is up and running and so far things seem to be good. The city is something else. Even a year later, it still looks like a disaster zone. Abandoned houses, broken windows, trash and litter. It is really sad.
I am attaching to this a picture of the poppy fields here in the CR. The white ones are the most common and they are grown for their large seed pods, about the size of an apricot. The orange ones are rarer and have smaller pods. Not sure of the difference but the fields only last for a short time before the flowers get knocked off. As much poppy seed as they eat here, there has to be lots of fields. So Joyce and Perry, here are your pictures.
I have to make this short as we are having about 12 Czechs over for a 4th of July potluck. A new experience for them,..