September 2025 - A Very Busy Month

It's time for a recap of September 2025. I don't remember it being such a busy month! I did a hell of a lot. So much, in fact, that I almost split this up into two parts. Still, I hope you enjoy.

Labor Day weekend, I took the kids down to Kansas City for the weekend. As you may or may not recall, I started giving my kids experiences instead of gifts for birthdays and Christmas. So, that was what this trip was.

We stopped at Jowler Creek Winery on our way down, a place I had always wanted to check out.

We then stopped at Pirtle Winery. I've never been here, but their meads are served at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival.

It's located in an old Lutheran Evangelical Church, built by German immigrants, in Weston, MO.

The next day, we were up and at 'em for, what else, the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. This was my third Renaissance faire of the year, as I visited the Colorado Renaissance Festival for the first time in June.

I always check out the Jolly Rogers while at the KCRF. They are hilarious...if you like bawdy humor (which I do).

Gotta check out the parade.

My son treated me to the mead tasting event. I've done this before with my friend Audrey.

My daughter enjoyed feeding the animals - some things never change.

We also checked out the adults-only section of the Festival. It did NOT disappoint.

Of course, we had to attend the main Joust.

The next Saturday, my daughter and I met up with my dad and stepmom in Manning, Iowa. They have a lot of fun things to see and do in such a small town. We checked out this maze installation that is a tribute to farming and sits next to the Milwaukee Railroad Trestle.

I got a cool photo under the trestle.

Then we headed over to the Hausbarn. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that we only had 30 minutes before they closed, so we rushed through the complex.

The Leet-Hassler Farmstead is located here as well.

They were the first home in the area with electricity, which is detailed in the next slide.

This was the farmstead barn.

Downtown Manning has a Veterans Memorial Wall, so we checked that out.

The Monday following, I lost my Grandma, so I had to fly down to Texas for a second time in 2025.

While there, I looked through Grandma's photo albums and came across this old photo of my aunt and I. I was about three years old at the time.

Of course, we went to H*E*B, a Texas staple. 

An evening shot from my mom's back porch.

My best friend, Keith's, birthday was the 19th, and some other friends had a party for him on the 16th. His sister was up from Florida. I grew up with both of them, so it was a nice little reunion.

That Friday, I went out to my happy spot, Soaring Wings Winery.

On the 24th, my friend invited me out to see the 50th anniversary tour of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Nell Campbell, who played Columbia, did a Q&A session before the show. The show consisted of the movie being projected on the screen while an acting troupe from Des Moines acted it out on the stage below it.

On that Friday, I did the usual thing of getting together with my bestie, Rebecca. We take turns hosting, and this Friday was at her place. This is the snack board she put together. Yum.

The next day, the last Saturday of the month, my friend Libby and I, along with her son, went to the 34th Annual Intertribal Powwow at Fort Omaha.

People gather at this event which honors traditional Native American dance, music, artistry, oral history, and food of tribes throughout Nebraska and the surrounding region, including the Omaha, Ponca, Santee Sioux, and Winnebago.

Free and open to the public, we brought camp chairs, bottles of water, and set up for a few hours to watch.

It was a fun way to spend a few hours.

And there you have it, September 2025 in a (sort of) nutshell. Until next time, friends!