Kevin sent me a link for a Serial Killer Speak Easy in Des Moines in June.

we're going, baby. I picked up new mower blades after got my oil changed, Kevin installed and mowed yard, I did massive weed-eating. Kevin also did the weekly grocery shopping. (thank you! I hate grocery shopping. so many decisions. I don't know today what I want to cook next week....)

last night was a concert at Hoyt.

today I went to Olathe to see Coralie's concert and hang out with her at Main Event....Kevin had dentist appointment and oil change. (I have oil change tomorrow.) the new windmill threw the ball bearings. didn't last long.

a busy day for team Kevin & deb.

dentist appointments. I am good. Kevin has a return visit. bought more rock, landscape timbers, rebar. bought correct size treats for Rip. I opened the new box before I realized they were LARGE. so Meggie at the farm is gonna get a 10 lb box of Milkbones. Kevin built the rest of the landscape timber frames for rock. had 1.5" in rain gauge. after just saying out loud that we hadn't caught a mouse since we got the new back door on garage....the trap in basement was blinking this morning. changed sheets. Kevin ordered 2 new bags for our cruise.

day 2 of working on our new rock display. I'm not used to actual physical labor. I am pooped.

ran out of rock, and rebar. still a work in progress. just need more supplies. mowed at farm.

Kevin whipped into DG today on our way to buy stuff to put rock in front of house, my ink pen died before we even got out of town and I couldn't doodle.

I saw the sign at the register..."exact change only. The. Penny. Shortage." they just quit making them (or announced they were quitting?). there are still pennies everywhere. so after buying 3 tons of rock, landscape timbers, rebar, weed stuff....I came home and sorted through the change jar. now there is a penny jar. to save these precious extinct coins. and I put a verse on the jar....

see a penny, pick it up all the day you'll have good luck. see a penny, let it lay bad luck you'll have all the day.

because I am nothing, if not a smart ass.

last nights storm broke several limbs in that thorn tree I hate out at the farm.

Kevin cut them and pulled them off to the burn pile. Showed Izzy what happened to the tree, then we said hello to her flowers and agreed they look just beautiful. I spent hours looking through my Ghosthunting box, sorting, reliving old memories, and doing a lot of scrapbooking.

last night at The Psychology of a Serial Killer, I learned that 4 bodies have been found in Des Moines River in the last 2 months.

whaaaaaaaaat???? is there a serial killer in Des Moines?????

Published: Mar. 25, 2026 at 5:33 PM CDT DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) - Authorities are investigating after a body was recovered from the Des Moines River Wednesday morning, KCCI reports. Police and fire crews responded to a report of a potential body in the Des Moines River near Court Avenue just after 11:00 a.m. First responders confirmed the person was dead upon arrival. Crews recovered the body shortly before noon after securing the scene. An investigation into the cause of death is underway. This marks the third body found in the Des Moines River in the past month. A body was found in the river east of the Harriet Street boat ramp on February 27, and one along the banks of the river on March 9.

A body was found in the Des Moines River on Friday, April 10, 2026 the fourth in just two months. Someone called police to report a body in the river near East 14th Street just before noon

Donald Arthur Piper (born May 11, 1961) is an American murderer and suspected serial killer convicted of killing two women in hotels around West Des Moines and Clive, Iowa in 1993 and 1997, but is considered a suspect in four other killings. For his confirmed crimes, Piper was convicted and sentenced to two life terms.

On August 23, 1993, the body of 36-year-old Patricia Lange was found in room 732 of a Holiday Inn in West Des Moines, Iowa, by an employee who worked there. She had been tied up, and evidently strangled with some sort of ligature

Four years later, on September 4, 1997, 21-year-old Zurijeta Sakanovic was found stabbed to death at a Budgetel Inn in Clive. Sakanovic, who had recently immigrated to the States with her family from Teslić, Bosnia and Herzegovina, worked as a maid at the hotel along with other refugees fleeing persecution in their native country.[

After his conviction, Piper was transferred to serve his sentence at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison. In 2009, he filed an appeal to the Polk County Court, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel. This claim was rejected by Justice Joel Novak, who claimed that his lawyers were professionals and made none of the mistakes that he claimed they had made in his appeal.[18] As of April 2025, Piper is still incarcerated at Iowa State Penitentiary.

Shortly before the start of Lange trial, The Des Moines Register published in an article in which it was claimed that multiple police agencies were investigating Piper as a suspect in the murders of four additional women.[19] They were the following: Connie Jo Bodensteiner (August 8, 1995): a 24-year-old prostitute whose half-naked body was found inside a storage locker in Des Moines. She had been strangled to death, was last seen leaving the Polk County Courthouse on August 1. Police investigated multiple people in relation to her killing, but none led to an arrest.[20] Martha Erickson (November 22, 1995): a 47-year-old woman whose body was found in an unincorporated area near Carlisle by two people walking their dogs. She had been stabbed, beaten to death and finally drowned, with the water washing away most of the potential evidence.[20] Authorities investigated Piper and another man, convicted sex offender and murderer Jerry Lee Proctor, but neither man was charged with her killing. Julie Bell Davis (August 28, 1997): a 33-year-old advertising company employee who was found stabbed to death in the backroom of an office in downtown Des Moines. She had been repeatedly stabbed in the chest, and showed no signs of sexual assault. Piper was among the suspect questioned in this case, but was not charged.[20] Mariana Redrovan (January 16, 1998): a 15-year-old Ecuadorian maid who was found stabbed to death at the hotel she worked in West Des Moines. Piper was repeatedly questioned in this specific case, as it heavily resembled his confirmed murders, but was never charged and law enforcement have refused to confirm whether he still remains a suspect.[20]

The case was covered by multiple television show, including: Cold Case Files, Unusual Suspects and I, Detective.

helped the girls plant their garden in a blustery wind. then Zerelda read me some Junie B. Jones. I'd forgotten how sassy this kindergarten student was!

Katie was a Junie B. Jones fan. Kevin is upset. NFL draft night one and everything pre-empted for severe thunderstorms, tornado watches and warnings...He. Just. Does. Not. Care.

had a fabulous night out at The Psychology of Serial Killers at Hoyt Sherman Place.

we tried out a BBQ place Kevin had heard about....Smokin Ds. and Ghostleigh Grey got a much needed bath!

took girls to greenhouse to buy their flowers and veggies....

first mow of the season at the farm. Kevin also did more work on the windmill.

mowing the yard seemed to get rid of the back ache I've had since yesterday...

no school Ridgeway today or tomorrow...town water tower leak causing extremely low water pressure.

today Kevin planted the new lilac bush he bought me yesterday. this is #7. they are my favorites. I just love the smell.

he also braced the new windmill that the big old windstorm knocked down the day after we put it up. today the girls had an appt. I did a half hour interval walk in the parking lot, hitting my daily step goal. go me! when I got in the car, my back seized up. I thought it was cause I wore my slightly too big crocs. when we went to McDonalds it got worse. I got dizzy. hot. nauseous. I got a sweet tea. took them home. went to bed. when I woke up , felt better. back still sore. I'm pretty puny. sometimes I just get too tired and my body revolts. this happened a lot when I worked. haven't had it happen for awhile. we did have a big weekend. and I get stressed out sometimes. I'm thinking just a deb thing. so, I'm ending the day in the 14s. took it easy after I got home. some days are just like that.

I am SO annoyed. (what's the reason I'm annoyed at 10:33 a.m.?)

first off, I forgot to pay the AF. the BIG one. farm/houses/equipment. the whole enchilda. a day late. THEN I have to answer ALL the security questions. AND THEN I HAVE TO VERIFY MY ID WITH A CODE...and choose whether I want said code sent to me by text or email. who the fuck is trying to pay this outrageous overpriced insurance premium? I truly believe we are being screwed over. how much does the agent make off this? we've been through a string of successive agents. 2 we never even met face to face. they don't return emails or phone calls in a timely manner. admit they don't know answers to questions. this one "doesn't know how to get into the old system." "doesn't understand the new farm rules." it's not personal service anymore. we'd probably get a better deal online. but the hubs is all about personal service. face to face. which it isn't even anymore. he reminds me how many years we've been with this insurance company. so frustrating. (and they don't even have good commercials - insert eye roll here.) I have a personal opinion. but I didn't inherit the farm from my dad. so.

we went to St Joe and rode The Murder Bus! a fun afternoon.

lunch at Cheddars. some shopping. and back home.

Saturday: an impromptu trip to a little town in Nebraska....

hanging out with our little Nebraska daughter and grandson....

windmill 0. wind 1.

more hail and t-storms today. all area schools out early.

mom's neighbor was arrested for elderly fraud. I know this from messages sent to me and a quick FB search.

I 'helped' Kevin assemble his new windmill. moved the last bulb from in front of house to flower bed. did a quick walk at park.

while Mom had an appointment, Izzy and I shopped at the local book store.

they have toys she can play with, we read several books and she picked one to bring home. found some for Zerelda, and a bookmark and reading timer. I love going to book stores and browsing the stacks. took the girls to the park until it started raining. ended up with a real thunderstorm and some hail. I wore shorts in public today.

took girls to appointment. did a parking lot Walk Fit walk.

bought a kettle bell and jump rope at Walmart. time at Princeton park. had a fraud protection message when I got home. first call kept cutting out after I was on hold forever. had to fucking call back. usually they're just regular weekly things I do like the local gas station. this time there were multiple $0.00 charges from places I don't recognize, so had to shut off card and will get a new one in 7-10 days. so have to replace my card in my book and on my paypal and do any auto payments come off my card???? idk. I just don't know. then found an email from Booking.com that they may have had a data breech. ???? Kevin planned supper and cooked it while I was on phone.

Tax Day.

I was so worked up I was seeing spots. wtf is wrong with me? our refund will pay for our Alaskan Cruise. went to Des Moines to sell the last of the silver. had my favorite DQ treat, a Peanut Buster Parfait. (inside joke. my sisters get it.) lunch at Famous Dave's. hadn't been there in years. Kevin said he'd rather see Charlie and Benji unplugged out east than Mexico deal. will watch for tickets. first mowing of the season here. Ann announced her pregnancy on social media. changed sheets, took another blanket off the bed and washed it to store for The Next Winter.

another nice quiet day at home.

reading. sewing. Kevin really wants to go see Blackberry Smoke in Mexico in December. he really wanted to go last year. I guess we'll try to get tickets? we're not getting any younger.

a nice quiet day at home.

nothing wrong with that.

Izzy was very excited about Preschool Roundup today!

I got a kick out of watching her at her screening, and during her tour of school and classroom. She. is. ready!

did some after Easter clearance shopping at Walmart...

took girls to Bethany for an errand, then Izzy played here for a bit. I told her she was magical and she told me she is NOT a fairy. (insert smiley face emoji here.) she had her serious face on.

worked on quilt, framed Chiefs puzzle and found a display spot, made potato salad. a good deb day.

doing Bigfoot research for Alaska. picked up Z from school, played here for awhile. wwwwiiiinnnnnnddddddyyyyyyy.....

another WalkFit in the parking lot while Izzy has an appointment kinda day....

this sounds heroic, but it was only a 10 minute walk. I did make a TikTok of it....cause that's who I am. I am still proud of myself for making the effort. there was at least one person in a parked vehicle I saw, which made me feel awkward. so I hid in the car after I was done....went to "The Horse Cafe" for tenderloins.

had my own private Shark Week this week, courtesy of Netflix and Jaws, Jaws 2, and Jaws 3.

Kevin and I saw Jaws 3 in 3-D at Trenton on a date in 1983. ah. memories....

this is pretty cool, since I've blown off Shark Week the last few years. which is ironic, now that I have time to watch it...I got kinda bored with the specials and documentaries. this was just the Shark Week I needed. (insert smiley face emojie)

Monday

Kevin took an early out and came home today. meatloaf for supper. I like it better since I started using BBQ sauce. not sure when I started this? but yum. got the grands collage made and hung. hung the kids wedding pictures. ripped out all my fuck ups on quilt back. (it was a shit ton). I will proceed with extreme caution, lots of pins, and constantly check back for bunching. jeepers. started watching Jaws 2 on Netflix....have I seen it before? made a Sanderson Sisters/Eyeballs pillowcase. ordered a new Troy Taylor book. I haven't gotten one for a time. I felt like I was re-reading the same stories over and over. hopefully it's been long enough that won't be a thing. a very productive day.

today we ate the leftover soup and used frozen bread from freezer to make grilled cheese to go with. tomorrow I plan on using the heels to make meatloaf. no waste. what IS going on with me lately?

I did realize I forgot to decorate Bigfoot for St Pats (and he has a green sparkly bow) AND Easter. which I haven't done yet, but should NEXT year. I saw a FB memory of the door wreath with a Mothman Easter Egg on it....what happened to that? need to make a holiday list for next year....(sigh.) 'cause I am REALLY not on the ball this year....

ordered a Desk Goose with a gray hoodie. I'm pretty sure a Porch Goose wouldn't last long. lots of wind on our porch...

Izzy brought her mommy and daddy over for an Easter visit. She wore her pink sparkly 'cheerleader' outfit (one of Katie's old dance costumes) and decided the green tractor I got for Everett last year at the Flea Market was Cow Kevin's Big Green Tractor because Grandma's Husband (her grandfather) has a big RED tractor. she also loaded up passangers on the Barbie Airplane AND built block towers. and built fence for Cow Kevin's cows out of blocks.

it was the first flea market of the season, but it was cold and windy and muddy and we sat around in our jammies and didn't go....

we did make it to the store and I finally got 'clean downstairs bathroom' off my to-do list. The closet doorknob I'd super-glued back together broke again, so bought different knobs today. AND I used up all the leftover crockpot steak.

a wonderfully lazy day at home

did have to put on pants to go out for supper. Catfish night at Crazy Horse.

I really feel like I found my copy of 1984 at just the right time in my life....it is really making sense to me right now.

visited Brenda on a rainy day to deliver Rachelle's diapers and baby book.

we had an excellent visit. she is so fun to hang out with!

FYI

Kevin and I have agreed that we do not covet prayers. there is no circumstance in which we want ANY family member making a social media post about our health conditions, etc. NO. CIRCUMSTANCE. we are not those people. if we want someone to know something, we will personally tell them. if we die before that happens, then that's just the way it is. we feel others posting our personal health information on social media is not appropriate. this is not something we are comfortable with. to each their own. this is the hill we will die on. I fully intend to haunt people. just saying.

didn't have an April Fools Day prank in me today. the only one I ever remember doing was when us three girls woke dad up and told him the cows were in the alfalfa again. he went running out of the house.... we got him. ah, memories.

thunderstorm last nite. some rain today. took Dailey girls to an appointment in Bethany, then McDonalds where Izzy did an unboxing video, and a stop at the library for a new stack of books. temps have dropped.

day 300 of Walk Fit. from Couch Potato to exercising again. I am rather proud of myself. (still fat though, right?) 210 lbs. which is less than I weighed when I started. my eventual goal is Onederland (under 200). I count this as a NSV. (non scale victory.)