Blossoms

Rock and Roll on the Prairie

2010-09-04T19:16:33Z

Last night we went to Conner Prairie for "Symphony on the Prairie", an annual summer series of outdoor concerts. We were guests of Steve and Gloria Worth, and the evening was such fun! The concert was "Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper" and their music was recreated so well. We brought a picnic supper to eat first, and then during the concert Gloria and I did our fare share of dancing! Who can sit still for good old rock and roll?? Steve and Steve apparently, but they were very tolerant of us ladies and our spirited enjoyment!!

We hope to be able to go again maybe next summer - music under the stars can't be beat!

Many happy returns of the day!

2010-09-03T21:14:29Z

Happy Birthday wishes going out today to my mother, who turns 81 today ~ wish I could be with her to celebrate!

And belated birthday wishes to Davie, who had the big 4-0 on August 23rd!! Also wish we could have been together for a party, but we were a little bit too far away! But when we are next together, a gala celebration will take place - this birthday is quite a milestone!

What a month!

2010-09-01T15:01:08Z

We are home again, and reliving our trip in our thoughts and through hundreds of photographs that we took along the way. Each place we visited had something unique to remember it by, and the people that we visited added so much to our trip that I don't think we will ever forget the wonderful experience of a trip across the pond!

Now it is back to my real life, and all the daily routines and chores that I had left behind ~ it's funny how fast one can slip back into the ordinary life, and for that I am very thankful for! Certainly it is enough to have the memories of our trip of a lifetime to process through for many years to come!

Ready, set, go!

2010-08-04T00:54:04Z

We leave for Europe tomorrow! Gloria will take us to the airport for our 12:25 pm flight to Atlanta, and from there to Copenhagen by Thursday morning. It is so exciting to think about all of the new places we will see and the friends we will visit!

I am planning to take a picture or two..... :)

Two arrivals

2010-08-02T03:07:04Z

I checked the cardinal's nest today - mama wasn't there, so I could see 2 hatchlings, fresh from their eggshells! One more brown speckled egg to go!

Crunch time

2010-07-31T16:50:55Z

I am working on the list of "things to do" before we leave on our trip this Wednesday. I know I will be heading out the door to the airport at about 10 that morning, ready or not!!!!

Getting pretty excited about all the people and places we will visit!

Splashing

2010-07-28T01:26:22Z

This afternoon the girls came by for a little while when Taylor was out job hunting. It was another hot and humid day here, so it seemed the best thing would be to go to the Y for a dip in the pool. Oddly enough, there were less than 20 people in the water! We had a great time, and got completely cooled off before we headed back here for some ice cream and then on to meet Taylor and head home. Their "summer" is nearly over, as school starts on August 11!

Persuaded

2010-07-26T03:22:38Z

In anticipation of our upcoming trip, I have been re-reading Jane Austen's Persuasion. It is not her most famous or well-liked book, but it is my favorite. I can't really say exactly why, I only know that it is the one I reach for first when I need a little Austen in my life! At any rate, in England we hope to visit one of the book's settings, Bath, one of Jane's homes in Chawton, and possibly Winchester Cathedral where she is buried. I can't wait!

Birthday Girl

2010-07-24T02:47:16Z

Today is Ella Dawn's birthday - she continues to be the joy of our lives, a sweet girl with a huge personality - and a 7 year old who would love to fill in her toothless grin one of these days!!

Wishing Ella many happy returns of the day!!

The good, the bad and the ugly

2010-07-23T01:14:42Z

Worked outside in the back yard today ~

The good: Ligularia in bloom, windflowers reblooming, zinneas bursting with colors, a cardinal nesting (3 eggs!) in the climbing roses

The bad: Japanese beetles chomping away at the climbing hydrangea, aphids on the butterfly weed, mildew on the honeysuckle

The ugly: My inner arm with a skin gash, torn open and bleeding that I got when I was yanking at a dead branch on a thankless rhododendron bush, that suddenly broke and stabbed me and the six yellow jacket stings all red and puffy that I got while I was yanking on the dead rhodo branch (stepped on their ground nest!) Don't know which hurts more, the stings or the gouged out skin gash!!

Update: I was wondering why the gash was hurting so much (it is in the exact spot where they'd put a needle to draw blood) and I now see that there is also a huge sting spot right beside it! No wonder I can hardly straighten my arm! It matches the stings in the soft area behind my knee - it also hurts to bend that!!

Heaven on earth

2010-07-19T22:35:38Z

Tomatoes have started appearing on our back porch, courtesy of the divine Mr. Riffle across the back yard from us. I cut one up and ate it with my lettuce salad for supper and I will report that it tasted heavenly. There is nothing like a fresh tomato!!

Delaney dives!

2010-07-18T01:52:11Z

This afternoon we took the girls to the Y to swim. Steve and Delaney were in the deep end, and she was determined to learn how to dive. Steve gave her some demonstrations and pointers, and before we knew it she was diving like a pro! Unbelievable. It's amazing how well she and Ella swim, considering they have never taken a single swimming lesson.

As for me, I took lots of swimming lessons at Cross Lake while i was growing up. The one thing I never quite learned to do (fear factor!) was to dive. I did do it in order to pass my Junior Lifesaving class. But I haven't made a dive since then, which is at least 45 years! Safe to say, my diving days are done!

Busy times Birthday!

2010-07-17T15:39:01Z

Happy Birthday wishes go out to Steve on his 59th bday!! We are squeezing in a little celebration today, with hamburgers on the grill and a birthday cake that Delaney is making right now! It has been quite busy around here with travel, Steve's web design work, gardening, and Europe trip preparations among other things. Tomorrow he is going up to visit his folks for a few days and that will be enjoyable for them all.

Outside it continues to be warm and at times quite humid. The flower gardens are doing fine as we have had such good rainfall the past month.

Well, it's off to do Saturday chores!!

Now it feels like summer outside!

2010-07-05T23:22:52Z

We are back from our trip up to Minnesota with Delaney and Ella - had a nice visit with Steve's folks, plus went on some fun outings while we were there. The girls loved the Mall of America and the shopping time in the American Girl store. Delaney had saved $ to buy a Bitty Baby, and Ella had $ to buy some accessories for her regular sized doll. We ate at the Bistro inside there also. The mall is so huge that we really only spent time in one-quarter of the place. There is a full sized amusement park there too - I took Ella on one ride. I also drove up to Pine City to visit Glor (she owns the house I grew up in there!) but unfortunately she was in Duluth! But the girls and I had a blast roaming around inside my old school, eating lunch curbside at the rootbeer stand, and driving around the town, lake and river areas etc. Also took them to Como Park in Saint Paul - a nice zoo and beautiful conservatory, Japanese gardens etc. , to the Minnesota State Capitol and twice to the Minnesota History Center. We didn't begin to run out of things to do in the cities. And for Steve's folks, Delaney and Ella put on the "Shakespeare's Sonnets" program (the one Gloria and I did at Poetry group - including the quiz at the end, Maureen!). Delaney read the sonnet and Ella (a fantastic reader for a 6 yr old) read the paraphrased meaning.

We had a nice 4th of July and today Taylor, Melissa and girls are coming over for mesquite smoked turkey breast on the grill. Missing Matthew and Davie, who were part of our Independence Day celebration for the past three years!

Land of Sky Blue Waters

2010-06-27T14:23:30Z

We are spending some time in Minnesota this week, visiting Steve's folks and doing some "tourist" activities as well. Yesterday we took the girls to the Mall of America - they were amazed at the size of it, and we really only walked around one of the four sections. Today we hope to go to the Minnesota History Center, a beautiful and interesting facility we are very proud of due to Steve's dads close involvement for many years. The girls are having fun playing Barbies, doing art work, working on jigsaw puzzles and talking with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa!

We love Minnesota!