Storytelling Trip: Day 4

Saturday was a booming day for the Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival, we were told, but Sunday? You can see for yourself how it was. The rain did not stop all day, but brave souls ventured out anyway--and a few foolish ones, too, like my sister Theresa and me.



Our first stop was at the display created by Theresa's former professors and their students from Northern Virginia Community College. Their gazebo featured a green roof of drought-resistant plants. Lovely! They won 2nd place this year, so they were very happy. The frenetic night before stretched into the frenetic early morning--they completed their display at 6:30 am Saturday morning, just before the show officially opened.


This is the winning entry, by a company called Wildwood Landscape. I liked this stone structure with two small waterfalls, and the mossy logs edging the front of the gardens. And all this constructed between 6pm and 8am on Friday-Saturday--amazing. I'm pretty sure my brickmason husband could build something similar, if he ever had the time. He's built several things with stone around the house--flowerbeds, the patio, the fireplace...surely this would not be much of a challenge?




Back at Jon's to dry out, and to play with Baxter, the golden retriever who considers their home his castle. Kate taught Baxter a new trick--balancing a dog treat on his nose, and waiting for the signal to Go! He then flips the treat into the air and catches it. Larry loved it--well, he loves Baxter anyway, the dog is so loving and willing to please. The first time Larry saw Bax do his trick, he just shook his head. "That dog isn't right," he said, with a wide, wide grin of approval.

That evening we took Jon to BWI to fly out to Las Vegas. I looked back over the day and had to laugh at the variety of activities, from a quiet breakfast with Jon's family, the flower show and tea with Theresa at a nice little tea room in Leesburg (to take off the chill of the rain--and talk), to the bustling airport at Baltimore, and back again to enjoy a little time with the kids before bed.

As I hit the pillow, I wondered what Day 5 of our journey would bring.

Storytelling Trip: Day 2 after the telling

After storytelling? Well, on the way back to my son's home we had to pass a Goodwill store. My car usually will not pass without automatically turning in at any junk shop. So of course we stopped. What I found:

Two handmade pottery mugs, a Chico's necklace, 2 pairs of new reading glasses (I buy these whenever I find them cheap because I lose so many pairs!), a bottle for the blue bottle bush, and a tiny silver bunny. Total cost: about $10.

Dinner was a reunion with my sister Theresa and her husband Jay. Daughter-in-law Jennifer put together a good meal of grilled chicken and burgers, veggie and fruit trays. Jennifer works full-time as a teacher, is completing her Masters degree in Special Ed in May, and has three teen/pre-teen daughters. She is a role model for her girls, and an inspiration to me. Although I'd suggested ordering pizza or something for dinner, her response was, nah. This is easy. And she made it look easy too.

After dinner, Theresa, Jay, two of the girls and I went to downtown Leesburg to see the construction of the Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival. I forgot my camera and regretted it, because the scene was amazing---10pm on the streets of the old town of Leesburg and the place was a madhouse of construction. Big lights glared down on workers who were wheeling in dirt, mulch and gravel, bricklayers and stonemasons at work, plants everywhere, cords, wires, hoses strung underfoot--I felt like I was backstage on a movie set.

Theresa attended Northern Virginia Community College's horticulture classes, and her professors were there with their current students, constructing their entry in the competition. Boys on ladders with power saws? Yep. We cheered as the cuts went through and everyone came down without injury. I could see that Theresa longed to be part of the action again--she'd been in charge of their display in the past and seeing the work in progress reminded her of the fun of the frenetic pace, the tension, late hours, and exhiliration when they'd place in the competition.

By midnight, we were in bed and sleeping soundly.