Annual Ancestor Hunt

Mom and I went to Fredonia and environs yesterday on the Annual Ancestor Hunt. Funny thing, they were just where we left them last year. At Farmington Cemetery we found Grandma Pearl and Grandad Troy.My great grandparents, Mamaw & Dada were still hanging out at High Prairie Cemetery.The Denneys are there also, and here is Grandma with her great-grandparents, my great-great grandparents.The yellow iris were blooming beautifully, as they are in both my garden and Mom's. We have that dead guy, Stevens, to thank for those lovely additions to our gardens. The oldfashioned pink rose was also in fine form, but I didn't get a photo of it.On to the Fredonia Cemetery where we stopped for a brief chat with Alvin R. and Ellie, my great-grandparents. He fought in the Civil War, you know. Doesn't that seem weird? Three generations back from me and we're at the Civil War. Must mean I'm kind of old!Grandma took a little rest on her final resting place. It seemed photo-worthy.The wind was nearly ferocious, but it certainly made the flags stand out. The photo doesn't really do it justice, but the cemetery was just beautiful with hundreds of flags lining each of the roads.And of course, we had to go find Grandpa's flag. He was the last one on the front row this year. Moving back each year. I'm sure there will be sufficient deaths in the A thru Bu's that his flag will be around the corner next year.The flag on top of the mound was standing out proudly in the wind also.We DO all turn into our mothers in some ways. I find that the rounds to the cemeteries are more meaningful each year. Judi and I will be the fourth generation in our family to be buried in the Fredonia Cemetery. I like the notion of history and lineage. It gives me some sort of warm fuzzy comfort.

Barbara's House -- The Detail

Some more photos of Barabara's new house. They were taken during a pre-move in walk through. The furnishings included are those of the previous owner. The outside:The entry looking into the living room/dining area:The guest bedroom:"The kitchen and hall way to the master and guest bedrooms:A very cool back porch:Lower level living area:Lower level living area from the other side:

What's Been Going On

So, what's been going on with me? Hmmm, well, I spent a couple of days in Topeka helping Barbara pack and I've been to her new house in Newton a couple of times to help her unpack. Cute house, huh? More on this with a post to follow.And then, I've been doing lots of gardening -- when it's not too hot, or too cold, or too windy, or I'm not busy with quilting and Guild things or I'm not too lazy. All of which explains why I didn't finish planting my annuals until May 16. NEVER, even in Chicago, have I been that late getting them in the ground. In the meantime, perennials have been blooming nicely, despite the weather variations.

The miniature rose that Carrie sent me for my birthday eight years ago in Chicago, still blooms beautifully.I have something new this year, painted daisies. Aren't they lovely? I hope they continue to bloom for a while. Don't know just how they'll respond to deadheading.My poor clematis has bloomed valiently despite its trellis having been blown over from a ferocious north wind. And then once righted, it was blown over the other direction by an equally ferocious south wind!The poppies are always so dramatic. I would put in more of them, but they bloom for such a short time and then leave an ugly mess for the rest of the summer. So I stay with just these few.I spent today cleaning house since I have quilting friends coming tomorrow morning for a day of quilting. Next week is church conference, and I'm already dreading being gone for three days. It's in Hutchinson, so I can drive back and forth each day without too much trauma.

Mother's Day & May Blooms

The mailman brought a box to my door today. When I opened it, I found this lovely box from Crabtree & Evelyn.And when I opened the box I found my favorite Garderner's Therapy lotion and hand soap. Yea!! Thank you, my lovely daughters -- for thinking about me at Mother's Day time and for the great gift. My love to all of you.I've been busy with the garden and with quilt guild duties lately. My snowball did quite nicely considering the whacking I gave it last year. I'm turning it into a tree. Now isn't that cool?The Miss Kim lilac out did itself this year. Lots of blooms. The smell was delicious. I brought some inside, and they lasted for a couple of days. The photo doesn't really do justice to their lavender color.My expanding hosta garden hasw taken up a good deal of energy and time. Photos will wait until it has a bit of time to mature. The thing is, I figured out how to clean the water spots off of the basement windows. So, now that I don't mind looking out of them, I thought I should dress up the outside area a bit to make it more pleasing. It is.

Easter & Spring Blooming

Well, now, doesn't that bunny just say it all?!? Hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter weekend. Grandma and I are off to Fredonia this afternoon for her umpteenth high school reunion. It's either stay in that seedy motel or drive back at night. Guess we'll drive back at night.

Spring is struggling to arrive. Warm days, hot days, cold days in rotating cycles. We have a few chilly ones in a row coming now. But despite it all, we're into post-tulip blooming. This is my spirea which is looking better than it has in 7 years.And then we have some early-blooming purple iris that are almost finished.And a couple of clumps of very cheery Candytuft.Think Spring, everyone!

Vinca ICU

Our version of yesterday's storms included winds of 46 MPH with gusts to 67 MPH and temperatures that fell to 35. I had 5 flats of vinca that I moved to the front porch. But that offered no protection from the northwest winds. This morning they all looked like this. Beaten up and dessicated from the wind.So, I trimmed their tops off, getting rid of the old blooms and top two or three leaves, put them in the vinca ICU, and soaked them with some light fertilizer solution. Poor sad things!And this afternoon they all look like this. Just a little miracle, huh?They'll be ready to plant in a week or so.

Grandma's Eyes

Grandma had her 4th treatment for macular degeneration today, and I thought you might like to see what that involves. First, let me say that each time we get to the retinologists office at 1:00 p.m., and leave no earlier than 5:45 p.m. We wait for 20 or 30 minutes, and then Grandma starts with Shelley doing a vision test. This is not Shelley, it is Dr. Varenhorst of the great gray hair and the cool back pleated lab coat. He examines her vision after Shelley is finished and after another waiting period.Then upstairs to the talkative and complaining guy who does some photos of the inside of her eyes.Then across the hall to the overly jolly guy who does some other kind of photos of the inside of her eye, gives her an injection of dye, and repeats the photos three times at intervals.Then back downstairs where Dr. Varenhorst of the cool pleated lab coat examines her eyes again in relation to the photos and gives us a status report. Again this time he indicated that the injections are working and the disease is no longer progressing. Have I mentioned that there are long waits between each of these steps? Oh,yeah!
From there Grandma goes to the treatment room where they won't let me go. Dr. Weishaar gives her an injection in the eye. She waits 30 minutes and then gets a 2nd injection in the same eye. They give her drops to deaden her eye, and only once has she experienced any real discomfort. They keep checking the pressure in her eye until it is at a proper level, which is what they are doing here.And finally, Dr. Weishaar, who did the injections, gives her a final exam to make sure everything is O.K., and he tells us we can go home.We weren't the LAST car out of the parking lot, but almost. Done until next month.