Pedley's Ponderings

This winter hasn’t been much of one. I think I can speak for all of you when I say that’s perfectly fine.

Still, it’s winter in Iowa, and with that reality comes a degree of boredom. I don’t ice fish, ski or have a snowmobile, so my options at killing time are limited to the indoors this time of year.

I can kill a whole evening watching basketball, but that wears thin after one or two nights. My better half has been doing puzzles and reading books. Since my attention span often seems like that of a gnat, I don’t find much interest in those hobbies.

Lately I’ve been playing a football game on my phone for an ungodly amount of time. I was terrible at it in the beginning, but I’ve since won five Super Bowls with three different teams on the hardest setting. Thirteen-year-old me would be so proud of himself; 33-year-old me just feels like a lazy dolt.

I’m bored of that too, now. I really don’t know what to do to fill the void, but my wife sure has plenty of suggestions. Last week she was chapping my hide about painting the kitchen; a chore I’ve been putting off since July. She’s offered to paint it several times, but I’ve been a critic about past jobs she does with a paintbrush. Accordingly, I told her I’d just do it – eventually.

I successfully avoided the job again last weekend thanks to a migraine on Saturday. I rarely get these things, but when they hit, they hit hard. Still, if there was ever such a thing as a well-timed migraine, that was it – nary a speckle of paint hit the wall thanks to its arrival.

Sunday actually had something on the schedule. I told Oliver I’d take him to the Sanford Museum & Planetarium in Cherokee as it seemed like something that would interest him. I was right, and he enjoyed looking at the exhibits about space, Iowa’s natural history and Native American culture.

The museum is a hidden gem in northwest Iowa and offers a great visiting experience; however, we had seen everything after about 20 minutes. That left us with a full hour before the planetarium show started and nothing to kill the time.

We ended up walking around the downtown area a few times before heading back to the museum. I’ve only been to Cherokee a handful of times, so the scenery was at least new.

Oliver and I enjoyed the planetarium exhibit and went on our way. Since we were close, I drove out to the Cherokee Mental Health Institute to check it out. I had never seen the facility first hand and figured it was worth a cruise.

I was quite impressed by the size and appearance of the campus – it looked like something out of a movie. Oliver’s interest was piqued too, though, I’m not sure he understood what services the facility provided. I told him I’d bring him back there and leave him if he didn’t mind his P’s and Q’s.

All in all, we were able to kill the entire afternoon on Sunday. I don’t know what we’ll do this weekend outside of watching the Super Bowl, but I imagine I’ll figure out something to help put off painting another week.

After all, it’s too nice outside now to spend the whole day inside. Maybe I’ll do some yard work.

Nick Pedley is the news editor and ad manager of The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News.