Busy Days

Retirement certainly is tiring! Who knew I'd be so busy that the days are still not long enough to get everything done? I suppose I knew that in theory, but in actuality--whew!


Yesterday was one busy day. Our bees arrived at the post office so Larry made a quick trip to pick them up. Once home he set about putting them in their hive, and while he was at it he checked on the other two hives and discovered that we needed to harvest. While he was busy with that I was making the jam I wrote about last night, baking bread and doing laundry. When we reached a stopping point we spent some "porch time" and assessed the rest of the day. Since the rain had held off we decided to plant some tomatoes. I swear this is the latest we've ever put in our tomatoes but with the daily rains we've had it's been just about impossible to get any planting done. We also got in a few hills of cucumbers, some beans and corn seed and I put out some romaine lettuce plants.

We got chased to the porch by some brief showers once or twice while planting but we got about 50 tomatoes in the ground before stopping. Dinner was followed by more planting--flowers this time. Then as evening settled in we ate spaghetti on the deck and enjoyed watching the Cedar Waxwings continue their bombardment of the mulberry tree. Larry brought the laundry in from the clothesline and I sorted it and put it away, then got to work listing a few things on eBay and packing sold items for mailing, and finished up by writing my blog for the day. Bedtime came early and was mighty welcome!

Today we relaxed a little. It rained all night (perfect for our plants) so instead of hustling out to do more planting we went into town for the Ripley on Sale event--yard sales all over town and all over the courthouse lawn. I found lots of bargains, some to sell on eBay and others for us to keep, and we saw many friends as we meandered around. I was happy to find some really big sheer curtains that I plan to use to cover my cherry trees when the cherries start to ripen. I don't mind the birds getting the mulberries, but the cherries are mine! Other cool things were wood bushel baskets, some nice kitchen utensils and, very, very best--a stainless steel egg poaching pan for $1.00. My mother had one exactly like it and I loved those poached eggs. I can't wait to try it out.

When we got home Larry donned his bee suit and headed to the hives. He brought in the frames of honey and put them in the honey extractor, whirling them around to spin the honey out of the comb. I don't have photos because I was busy in the kitchen getting jars ready. When he brought in the honey (about a gallon this time) I skimmed off the bits of wax, dead bees, etc and then jarred it up. It went beautifully this time--no bees in the house like last year! The honey is light and just beautiful. Larry also found that one hive is building a queen cell so he is planning to go out there again on Sunday and try to split the hive. Wish him luck.

Tonight I've been getting ready for storytelling at Vandalia tomorrow. I can't wait to head to Charleston to hear the great old-time music, see friends at the storytelling tent and browse the arts and crafts. It will be another long, full day of this restful time they call "retirement."

Simple Tools

Today was my first jam-making day this Spring--I missed the violets, redbuds and other things earlier on, but now the mulberries and strawberries are coming in and it's time to make jam. Actually, the mulberries came in and then a huge flock of Cedar Waxwings, of all things, arrived and they pretty much cleaned the tree today.

This is the first time I have seen Cedar Waxwings on our land so I am not unhappy about the berries, and we picked a lot of them yesterday so I had enough to make jam. 

 The jam I made today is three-fruit jam, although maybe that's not technically correct since rhubarb probably isn't a fruit. I combined strawberries, mulberries and rhubarb and came out with a really stunning taste combination. I ended up with 11 pints which was more than I anticipated.

As I was working in the kitchen I thought about tools. Kitchen tools, and how having the right ones can simplify cooking and make it enjoyable instead of a chore. Now you know I love my Tappan Deluxe stove, and its simplicity is one of the reasons. It just works. I love having drawers in the stove for implements and potholders and towels. I love the light on the back. I love the way the gas adjusts so quickly and easily so I have just the right amount of heat. I love the burner covers that give me extra work space and the wide space between the burners for the same reason. Did I mention I love my 1950 stove?

It was the other tools that got me thinking today, though.

Like the spoon holder that is just like one my mother had. With a ladle, a stirring spoon and a jelly skimmer all at work, it's good to have a place to put them without stickying up the entire stove.

And the jelly strainer-how easy it is to skim the foamies off the top of jam with this thing! Simple, but nothing else can do the job as well.

Then there is the little electronic timer that was in an auction box, I think. Nothing to look at but it works great and I can time the boil and the skim time so easily.

The canning funnel is another tool that is so simple yet irreplaceable. Ladling hot jam into jars without one would be a total mess.

And the cooking pot. To make jams and jellies you really need a good, heavy, preferably stainless steel or enamel pan. It needs to be big enough too. I bought mine on eBay last year when I was getting rid of all Teflon in my kitchen. This is a great pan, stainless with a heavy copper bottom and so easy to clean up at the end.

None of these are really high tech; all were used, most were at least 30 years old when I got them and certainly didn't cost much. But when it's time to can, these tools make the job a downright pleasure. Of course, they were made in a time when almost everyone put up their own food and the kitchen tools were made to fit that need.

Do you have some kitchen tool that you consider indispensable? Something passed down or bought used that is your standby tool when you're cooking?

Here's my jam recipe:

1 1/2 cups cut up strawberries
2 cups mulberries
1/2 cup cooked, mashed rhubarb
Mash the berries and rhubarb together.

Add:
1 box pectin

Cook to a full boil, stirring pretty constantly (the berries can stick and burn if you're not careful)

Add:
5 1/2 cups granulated sugar

Stir in well; continue to cook until the mixture comes to a full rolling boil, stirring regularly. When it boils, set timer for 1 minute and stir constantly. After one minute, remove the jam from the heat. Stir and skim to remove foam and impurities for 5 minutes. Ladle into hot sterilized jars. Wipe rims, put lids and rings on and tighten. Process following standard procedures.

For jam and jelly-making recipes, check out these books:

   

At Lost River State Park

...there is a little stream...

 that invites you to sit quietly on its bank and read...

...or look for treasures along its trails...

...or just jump in...

and get in a little trouble with Nana...

...or explore the hidden places...

...and after everyone has left...

...the stream runs on, waiting for the next visitors.

First Berries and a Little Junking with the Sisters

It's that time of year--strawberries, mulberries and rhubarb are ripening, asparagus is on the table weekly, and many herbs are ready for harvest. This is the first batch of strawberries from the patch we planted last year. They look and taste perfect.

Keeping weeds out of strawberries is a real challenge. If you have a secret I'd like to know it. We've learned to hoe it early, keep the weeds pulled and mulch with straw--but even with all that the weeds keep creeping in.

And the asparagus! It has decided to seed itself in all sorts of places--like right under the new currant bushes and in the gravel at the edge of my parking place. These are NOT the places I would like it to be, but the plants have been thriving in that general area for years now, coming up in this weird assortment of daylilies, hibiscus and other things that planted themselves where I thought my rhubarb would take over.

The rhubarb is still there, cuddled up close to the daylilies. Then last year I stuck a couple of currant bushes in a bare place and this year that is exactly where the asparagus has decided to go. Sometimes I think we'd do better to just sow seeds and plants and see what happens; that's how it often ends up looking anyway.

My seven sisters and I have designated the day before our family reunion as "Sister Day." We bring plants from our gardens to trade. Here's the back of my car before we left home:

This year I came home with two baby redbud trees, some pretty pinks, a Shasta Daisy, some forget-me-nots, a black-eyed Susan, and a couple other things. All are already in the ground and look good.

We usually find something to do together too; one year we visited the Dolly Sods Wilderness area, and last year we went to junk shops. This year Judy found Dot's Whatnot Shop as a place for us to visit. My. Goodness. Dot has a ton of stuff from vintage to antique to dollar-store. I came home with a lot of things I plan to re-sell on eBay. So far I've sold a couple of them and I have a lot more to list. It was a relief to find I chose well. Since I'm new at this selling business, I'm feeling my way as to what might sell and what won't. Getting all our finds into Mary's Dodge was interesting, especially since all 8 of us also had to fit in there. Mary and Julie did some creative packing to make it work.

More pics to post tomorrow!

Family Reunion and Potato Salad

The Connelly family reunion is over for another year. We had a great time at Lost River State Park. There is little access to electronics or the internet at the park and only a few cabins have televisions. Most cabins are log, built by the CCC in the 1930's and are heated by wood-burning fireplaces.

It's rustic, remote and beautiful, with walking trails everywhere, a pretty creek, picnic shelters, and even Hidden Trails Stables, run by my sister Judy. It's a good place for a family reunion, and a good place for kids to get outside and explore. Which they did, in spades. I'm pretty sure all of the kids under 15 were in the creek at one time or another, and lots of people rode the horses or hiked the trails. Some even went geo-caching to a really remote mountain (yes, they found it!). Brother-in-law David is always on hand to help at the stables during the reunion.


One highlight of the reunion is the Saturday afternoon gathering. Everyone brings something for a big potluck dinner. Sisters Judy and Mary coordinate everything and brothers-in-law Jackie and Jay command the grills. In past years I've brought a pasta salad that has been a big hit, but this year I decided to make potato salad since pasta salad was already spoken for. The potato salad disappeared and a lot of people asked how I made it. Now if you make potato salad you know it can be as easy or as complicated as you want it to be. I kept mine simple. This is the recipe I used, as well as I can tell you. It makes a very large bowl full, perfect for a reunion or other gathering.

Family Reunion Potato Salad

About 4 pounds of red potatoes, boiled in their skins, cooled and cut up into bite-sized chunks.

Add:
4 stalks of celery, chopped
6 kosher dill pickles, chopped

Mix the vegetables together, then add:
About 1-2 cups of mayonnaise or salad dressing
About 1 cup of yellow mustard
About 1/2 cup of spicy brown mustard
About 1/4-1/2 cup kosher dill pickle juice

Mix well. You may want to start with the smaller amounts of the above ingredients and adjust them to your taste as you work. 

Chop the potatoes into finer pieces with a knife until the potato salad is the consistency you like.


Add about 1 teaspoon paprika, or to taste.


Chill until ready to serve.

That's it. I do not add salt because the pickles and pickle juice seem to have enough, but again it's a matter of personal taste. Some people like to add olives, fresh dill (I do when I have it), hard-boiled eggs (I don't because it makes the salad not keep as well, in my opinion), and other things. The beauty of potato salad is its flexibility.

Another family reunion tradition is the Friday evening meet-and-greet. Jackie usually makes a huge pot of vegetable soup for this, but next year we're going to make Trash Can Soup, as Jackie calls it, or Stone Soup as storyteller me calls it. Everyone is supposed to bring something to add to the pot. In the story of Stone Soup, a man takes a rock and a pot of water and manages to make other people so curious that they add a few things to the pot--carrots, onions, a meat bone, etc--and in the end they have delicious soup, all from a stone! Imagine that.

Greening Up

The world is green, green, green with all the rain we've had lately. We can't keep up with the mowing and weeding. The shade is deep under the trees, and plants seem to be bending from the weight of their greenness. It is not easy now to remember the starkness of winter, and when I look at pictures from just a few months ago, it is like looking at a different country. 

This picture was taken before Larry was able to get out the weed-eater and mower--everything has been so wet. It looks so much better now, but just give it a few days...

And this one was taken just a few short months ago:

Remember those days? Maybe mowing and weed-eating won't seem like such a chore!

Green is associated with new life and luck and yet also with death and misfortune.  In folktales and ballads, those wearing green are returning from death, soon to die, or are otherworldly creatures, like fairies. Even today some people still think it is unlucky to wear green or own a green vehicle; many race car drivers avoid a green car because of bad accidents in the early days of racing.

Green sayings:

“Green December means a full graveyard.” This probably means that a warm December means people are not be prepared for bad weather and are more prone to illness.

“Married in green, you will not long be seen.” This was from the belief that green was a sign of bad luck and death.  In Scotland at one time green considered such bad luck that nothing green was allowed at weddings and no green foods were served.

“A green Christmas, a white Easter; or, a white Christmas, a green Easter.” This is like the saying that rain on Easter means it will rain on the succeeding seven Sundays—something I have seen proved right several times.

 “Never trust a woman with green eyes.” Perhaps because jealousy is the “green monster,” or could she be “green with envy”?

“Green thumb.” In this case, green is good!

“Green around the gills,” A beginner, which doesn’t seem either lucky or unlucky. It also refers to mean someone is ill.

“Greenbacks.” Money, and good fortune, certainly.

“Living green.” Environmentally aware living is a good thing!

I consider green to be good luck. I am always anxious for for fresh lettuce, green onions, and green buds on trees. And the green brings flowers with it, the best reward for waiting through a long winter.

Here is a folktale for this “green” season:

The Fairy Tulips (An English Folk-tale)

Once there was an old woman who raised beautiful tulips. One night she was wakened by singing. She looked out at the window but she could see nothing. On the following night she was again wakened by sweet singing, so she rose and went into her garden. Standing by each tulip she saw a fairy mother who was singing and rocking the flower like a cradle. In each tulip cup laid a tiny baby. The old woman tiptoed back to her house, and from that time on she never picked a tulip.

The tulips grew brighter in color and began to bloom all year round. Every night the fairy mothers sang to their babies and rocked them in the flower cups.

One day the old woman died. The tulip bed was torn up but nothing would grow there again. The fairies sang over the old woman's grave so it was always green. All around it grew tulips, daffodils, and violets, and many other flowers of spring.

Worry Bundles

My adaptation of a tale from Germany. So often our worries overwhelm us and we look with envy at those whose lives seem easier than our own. 

Once there was a woman who was overcome with troubles. No matter where she turned it seemed there was another problem waiting for her. She dreaded the sun's rising, knowing that yet another day of anxiety and stress was ahead of her.

One day she sat in her yard, moaning about her fate. "Ah me!" she cried. "Why is my burden in life so heavy, while those of my neighbors are so light? What have I done to deserve such a difficult load?"

A wise man was passing and happened to hear the woman. "What ails you, sister?" he asked. "You sound as if you had the cares of the world upon your shoulders.

"If you knew how much trouble I bear every day, you would cry with me," the woman said.

"Well, would you like to put down your heavy bundle of woe, and take up that of someone else?"

I would indeed!" The woman sprang from her bench. "How is this possible? I have neighbors who carry much lighter loads than I do, and I would happily trade mine for theirs."

The wise man instructed the woman to follow a certain path to a cave after dark. There she could light a candle and look about. "There will be many bundles in the cave, so choose carefully," he warned.

The woman was so excited she could hardly wait for it to be fully dark. She almost skipped down the path to the cave. When she arrived, she found the candles and quickly lit one. Then she made her way into the cave.

On the floor were many bundles, piled in heaps against the walls. The woman looked around and saw the smallest bundle. "That's the one for me!" she thought. She ran to the bundle and looked inside.

The bundle belonged to her next-door neighbor. Inside she saw a child in a casket, and a mother weeping. She saw an old woman who could not see, and a man bent from hard labor.

"That is the child my neighbor lost so many years ago, her only child. Still she grieves. And that is her old mother who lives far away. She cannot go to her mother, who must beg on the streets. It is breaking her heart. And her husband, poor man, works so hard every day and for very little money. My troubles are bad, but I would not want to carry my neighbor's burden."

She moved to another bundle, another small one. Inside she saw a man beating his wife and children. "I did not know that this man was so cruel! How horrible for his poor family. I would not want to have their problems. What a sad and difficult life they must live."

The woman moved from bundle to bundle, and inside each she found troubles far worse than her own: sickness, death, unhappy marriages, poverty, lost children and so many terrible things that she found it more and more difficult to look into the bundles. At last she saw a bundle in a corner that she had not looked into. She opened it and was surprised to find that this was own bundle. It felt surprisingly light and the worries inside seemed small indeed. As she made her way out of the cave, she saw the wise man waiting for her.

"I did not realize that my neighbors carried such heavy loads," she said. "My troubles are small in comparison. What is this place, anyway?"

This is where people's troubles go when they are sleeping," the wise man said. "For at least a little while, they can put their worries down and rest. The bundles are always here when they wake and start another day."

Tonight, let's lay our burdens down and sleep well. I hope that when you wake you will find your bundle lighter and your way brighter. 

Around Home: Rain, Pets, Cooking

Life has been pretty busy in a simple way for most of the past week. Here's a few pics of what's going on.

1. Rain--and rain and rain and rain. We've had a few sunny spots but basically, it's rained. The early garden is doing all right, although the cabbages and broccoli almost drowned; I am not sure they're going to make it.

2. Walks--Larry usually takes a daily walk, accompanied by various of our pets. Yesterday he had a lot of company on his way up the driveway. You can see the irises we transplanted a few weeks ago, coming into bloom:

3. Roses: The Knockout roses Larry planted for me last Mother's Day are coming into their own this year:

Don't look at the grass! I assure you it was neatly mowed and trimmed on Friday, but it's growing so fast and the continuous rain isn't helping. There's no way to mow when the mower gets stuck in the lawn. And it has.

4. Cooking: I have been cooking! It is so pleasant to have time to plan meals and make good use of the food we have on hand. Yesterday's cooking was blackberry pie with berries from the freezer:

It tasted ...like summer:

Even more than just cooking, I love cooking on my Tappan Deluxe and using vintage kitchen tools. Recently at the Salvation Army Store I discovered a big yellow bowl like my mother used to have. I have always wanted one because of my many good memories associated with cooking in the kitchen with Mom and using her bowl. This one was priced right ($4) and I took it and the cherry red smaller bowl ($2) home with me.








5. Herb Garden and Patio: I finally got the patio cleaned up, pressure-washing it in the  rain but what the heck, I was going to get wet anyway. It looks a lot better for the cleaning; of course, we found places that Larry needs to repair in the process. No good deed goes unpunished!

The herb garden is still really muddy. I hoed out some weeds and mudded in a few plants after this photo was taken because they were starting to look puny in their pots. Whenever the ground dries and the weather warms up a bit, I'll plant my seeds. Today it's 49 degrees...and raining.

Which brings us back full circle to number 1, doesn't it--rain. Are you getting drenched in your areas like we are?

The End of Week One: Some Thoughts

Tuesday was my last day at my full-time job. Today is the end of the first week (although not a full week) of retirement. Several people have asked, "So, how's it going? Are you bored yet?"

Bored? Shoot, no! This week has been full of so many activities I fall into bed exhausted (but satisfied) every night. So, how is it going?

First, I think Larry was apprehensive. How would it be for him to have me around all the time? He's used to being here alone during the day, planning his own schedule and doing his own thing. What would it be like for me to be here all day and all evening too?

Second, would I be missing the daily contact with people and the challenges of my job? Would I be wanting to go out every day to get my people fix?

Third, what would I do all day? Would I wander around trying to find my place, or would I stay online all day as a distraction from being so far away from "everything"?

To answer those questions in order:
As for me "being underfoot" all day, that never seemed like an issue to me. Larry has his things to do, I have mine. And years ago when we both worked evening shift and rode to and from work together, we got along quite well, working together as a team and getting a lot of things accomplished every day before leaving for work. I could not see why it would be different.

But it is different in some ways. First, Larry has diabetes and that means a special diet. The man has worried me to no end the past few years because he would not take the time to prepare and eat the food he needed to eat. So this week I've taken over meal preparation, focusing on his diet and trying to keep our meals somewhere close to what he needs with the occasional cheat meal (like this morning's homemade waffles and strawberries!). He's mostly okay with this although I think he gets tired of me being the watchdog. I just want to keep him around as long as possible, and I think he understands that--and maybe he'll get used to the diet after a while.

The other way it's different is because I seem to have more energy than he does. This surprised both of us because I've had a desk job for the past 8 years and I was sure that sedentary job was going to mean I would not have the energy or stamina I needed to do the physical work this place demands. So you can imagine my surprise that I can work longer without rest or breaks than my strong hubby. Again, this is the result of diabetes--and I sure don't have the muscles I used to have! I can't even pull the crank rope on the pressure washer to start the darned thing, and that's a piece of cake for Larry. Back in my heyday I carried 100-pound sacks of feed and had my own chain saw, but I doubt those days will return.

As for the second question, I have to be honest and say I have not missed that daily commute or the daily stress and routine of my job at all. I do miss some of the people, but I know I can email or call them any time--but miss the daily drive, phone calls, city streets, and all that? Not. At. All. And not likely to either. The job duties were the reason I retired. When I was a library branch manager, I could determine the course of my day. I have a creative streak that needs to be fed daily, and as a branch manager I could plan my day's work to fill my personal needs: if I was feeling creative, I could plan programs, find crafts, do displays. If I needed rote work, I could shelve books. If I needed people contact, I worked the desk. If I needed intellectual stimulation, I could work on collection development, staff development or a myriad of other tasks. It was up to me to decide how my day would go. But as the facilities manager, my day was filled with problems and crises, or at least that is how it felt. There was no room for creative or artistic expression; I handled security problems and knew more about the police records of some patrons than I ever wanted to know; I dealt with leaking roofs, malfunctioning air conditioners and faulty toilets; I wrote reports, RFPs and other dry stuff. I do not miss any of it, and I seriously doubt I ever will.

And what do I do all day? The days are as varied as I want them to be. I have worked in the gardens; I've planned and presented a program; I've worked on some writing; I've cooked; I've planned; I've cleaned; I've been learning about selling on eBay; I've spent time just listening to the birds; I've pressure-washed the patio and porch; I've worked in my greenhouse and herb garden. I've slept until I woke up naturally, without any alarm clock telling me when to get up. And I've only scratched the surface of all the things on my to-do list.

So that's how it has been so far. I marvel at my freedom to do what I want to do, and I hope retirement continues to be this interesting. I am still wondering how I managed to find time to go to work every day. Those of you who are already retired are quite familiar with this territory, but for me it's like discovering a new country, in my own home.

Migration Celebration!

Yesterday I wrote a long post complete with photos, etc. Blogger has been having some issues and they DELETED all posts from yesterday. Now that's just really bad service. Surely they could have backed up the posts first?I wonder how many other people's posts were lost?

Today's post will have to be short and sweet since I need to leave soon to tell stories at Migration Celebration tomorrow. I hope some of you can come! I will be doing a craft for children at 9:30am--we'll made edible bird feeders. Then I will be telling stories at 1pm, and at 2pm we'll be making birdhouses. There are bird walks, exhibits, nature talks, nature photography workshop, a magic show and so much more, and it's all free.

Click here to view the day's schedule. Now, I am off to pack!

Vintage Thursday: Auction Aftermath

I mentioned that we went to an auction last week, I think. We had a very good time--too good, I think. We came home with the truck loaded and no time to sort it all out. Thank goodness our friend Lynn was there and willing to take some of the extra things that came with lots I bought or we'd have been buried even deeper.

Larry carted in the house-type boxes on Monday and I've been working my way through them, one box at a time. The thing with these kinds of auctions is that you're often buying a pig in a poke--you might see one or two things in a box that you like, but you have to take the entire box. So while I got the things I wanted, I also ended up with tons of odds and ends in my $1 or $2 dollar box.

This is really the fun part. It's a gamble in a way. You pay your money and take your chances. Take this box for example:

I really just wanted the top to a butter dish because mine doesn't have one. I was willing to pay $1 to get one--and I ended up with all these other things too! And of course, the lid I thought I wanted didn't fit my butter dish so I'm out $1.

Or am I?

Most of these are lids or bottoms to refrigerator storage dishes that were popular in the 30's-60's and are now collectible. A quick check on eBay confirmed that I can probably sell at least some of them and get a good return on my investment. So all is not lost. But I'll need to do a lot of measuring and if I can identify the maker of each piece, so much the better. Research. And here are more miscellaneous lids, etc:

Then there was this little item.

I saw it down deep in a box and thought it might be worth something; even if it wasn't I just liked it. After checking the label on the bottom I did some online research and found that this is a wood carving from Italy from a well-known company and it's definitely worth more than $2.

This tray was a similar find. I started to give it to Lynn because it wasn't really my style, but I looked closer and decided I needed to do more research. As it turns out, the tray is actually a good item by a company named Couroc. Who knew?

Another small item that I almost tossed was this little 3" plate.

I turned it over and saw that it was Spode. Again, it was time to research. The blue print on the back, I found, means it was made pre-1970 and the position of the doll's arms meant it was the "Left" pattern. I listed the plate on eBay for $10 and it sold in five minutes. Obviously I underpriced it, but then I'm happy with the result, so it's all good.


Did I say we had a great time? We sure did. I will be working for the next two weeks at least on figuring all these things out and listing them on eBay. This will be a new retirement hobby, I can see that, and one that might actually pay its own way. That's what I call a win-win.

Are any of you auction bugs? What was your best-ever find?

As for Lynn, she made quite a haul too!

First Official Day of Retirement, and a Gift

Today was the day I have been waiting for since last October--retirement! Yesterday at work I finished up all the ends and pieces I could, tried to be sure everyone was informed of the status of various projects and even developed a plan for how my job duties would be handled since my position has not yet been filled. I had been cleaning out my desk and office for weeks, bringing home my personal things, sorting files and organizing my computer so that the next person might be able to make some sense of it.

I said a lot of good-byes too. I have worked there for almost 20 years and there are many people who have been there the entire time with me; others I hired at some point during those years or worked with closely in some capacity or other. There are a lot of threads woven in a 20-year career.

Some people gave me gifts of remembrance--a silver card case engraved "Granny Sue," an engraved pen that hides a 2 gb flash drive, a bottle of Chardonnay, a basket filled with gardening goodies, a book, and even a tape measure with the most creative story written on the back of it. (I will post a photo of that, and the story, tomorrow.) My fellow managers teamed up to provide a gift certificate to a local garden center, and I used it to buy 4 blueberry plants, 3 raspberry plants and some herb plants. What a nice gift! I'll post photos of those plants tomorrow too.

The most amazing gift came from my office assistant Sandy. Sandy is one of those people who prefer to stay behind the scenes, keeping everything organized and everyone running smoothly. If you need something, she's the one to ask. She is also a stained glass artist, and offered to make me something as a retirement gift. She asked if I had anything in mind that I liked.

Now I love stained glass, and I love quilts, so I said I liked the double wedding ring pattern. It speaks to me because of the timelessness of circles and the interweaving of the pattern that is so like storytelling, and living too. She asked what colors I liked and since I thought I would put the glass in my kitchen, I said red, yellow and green, my kitchen colors.

Well.

THIS is what she made.

I have not yet had a chance to hang it up, but I wanted to show you all because I am still amazed. It's the most beautiful piece of stained glass I am ever likely to own--just incredibly pretty. The other staff in our department chipped in to get it framed in oak. Can you believe this?

So even though I have retired, the people I worked with will be with me for a long time--each time I hand out a business card, use the flash drive or pen, sip some Chardonnay, make blueberry pie, use the tape measure or think about the characters in that book, or work in my garden.

I can't wait to get the window hung; I just might have to get new curtains too, so it is never covered up.

And every time I look out my kitchen window to a multicolored world, courtesy of Sandy.

Weekend Getaway

Where did we go?

Well, we went through this tunnel

Saw this bridge

And this cathedral

Which was near this museum

which our motel window looked directly out over.


Our youngest son was in a bodybuilding competition here this weekend, and it was the first time I'd been to one of his events.


Anyone want to guess what city we were in?

There is so much variety in my life: one day we are picking wild greens on a quiet country mountain, and a couple days later we are in a major city watching a professional bodybuilder competition.

 
I was amazed to see so many people in such fit condition in one place--it's stunning, I can tell you. And encouraging.

Today we enjoyed a leisurely trip back, with brunch on the way, and then home to get the firepit going for an evening hot dog roast with another son and his family. This was a simple meal tonight--hot dogs, cantaloupe, strawberries, tortilla chips and salsa, sliced cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, some Pinot Noir, and roasted marshmallows for dessert. Delicious, few dishes and no pots and pans to wash. It was a perfect ending to an interesting and relaxing Mother's Day weekend.

I hope your Mother's Day was a good one with good times and many memories made.

A Few Things Going On

Time for a little catch-up post on what's happening around our place these days. It's been a busy, busy time, as it usually is in the spring.

Baby chicks! I got them about 2 weeks ago. These are barred rock and Rhode Island Red pullets and a couple of unknowns that are straight run, meaning they could be pullets or roosters. Our hens are 2 years old and older so it is time to start looking at replacing some of them.

They are so cute when they're this size.

The potatoes are up and thriving on all the rain. This was taken about a week ago, and they are twice this size now. Larry planted them on March 21 in a lull between rainstorms. It's been tough getting things in the ground but we did manage to get all the spring veggies in.

We went ahead and planted new raspberry and blueberry bushes in the rain. We figured we had to water them anyway, why not? These are lovely big plants I bought at Green's Feed in Charleston with a gift certificate that was a retirement gift from people at work. They knew I liked to garden so this was a perfect gift. We got 4 blueberry bushes with berries already on them and 3 raspberry plants, plus some new herb plants. In this photo you can see the peas climbing up their trellis; they're about twice that height now and blooming.The hay mulch is around the cabbages and broccoli--those plants are struggling because of all the rain. It's been dry for like 24 hours now so maybe they can catch their breath a little.

The big snowball bush in the side yard is coming into its own. This bush is out of sight most of the time so I have to remember to look for it--unless I am hanging wash on the line. Which is what I need to do right now.

I found this lovely, big porch swing at ReStore, the Habitat for Humanity resale place. It's made of oak and is 6 feet long. We need to buy chains for it to hang it, and I think I'm going to put it on the front porch, where I used to have a swing. We took that swing down in favor of rockers but I've missed it. This is a better, bigger swing and I am in love. Can you just see it with pillows, me and a cat or two? That box of junk you can see to the left is another story:

Can you say auction? Can you say $2? The truck is still full and I will be sorting and listing on eBay for a good while from the haul we made. More on that later.


That's a quick catch-up on all the side projects going on in addition to the usual grass-mowing and so on that keeps up hopping in spring.

We also have a special event for this evening. More on that in tomorrow's post, I hope. In the meantime, Happy Mother's Day to all of you! I hope you have a restful and memorable day.