Bye Bye May

 Those sweet May days are over in a few hours and I really needed to get one last post in.  I feel like I'm rushing around these days and not getting anywhere.   Then I look at my gardens and realize I've been busy and actually getting things done! After the last couple of years when Jack and I weren't able to get it all done it feels good to see progress at the Pines once again.  However, I hardly ever miss a Memorial Day to give my thanks to those who gave their all to this country we love.  I want to say thanks to those who have served, are serving and to the families who have lost loved ones in the wars.  

My Dad, (the one with the X)..my hero!  Drove a tank in WWII.

My brother, Greg, who fought in Viet Nam.  Another hero! My oldest brother, Phil, also served during Viet Nam but he served in Thailand.  I don't have a photo of Phil in uniform. I'll have to work on that! It's never too late to say thanks to a Veteran or someone serving now.  Also I can't let this month go without saying how much I miss my Mom who passed away on May29th, 2020.  I still find myself thinking I can call her and ask a question about something or just to chat. These past weeks as I've worked in our yard I thought of all the times I saw my Mom doing the same thing. Painting, planting, pulling weeds, all the fun stuff.  When Mom passed away a friend gave me a lovely wind chime with words that said when someone you love passes away the memories become treasures. So True!

In the middle of the pergola hangs that wind chime.  As I was mulching this area yesterday there was a lovely breeze and when I heard those chimes I felt like Mom was sending those memories to me with each melodic chime.

The peonies are in bloom as usual on Memorial Day weekend.  Again memories of the peonies

 at our house when I was growing up.  I loved them and like to watch all the ants crawl over them and I remember Mom saying that the ants help open up the blooms.  Not sure if that's true but I like the idea of it anyway! So this month has slipped by on speeding wings and now Summer is officially started no matter what the calendar may say.  We had the kids over on Memorial Day and we grilled out and had our first real Summer gathering. On Friday night Jack and I put in our first fire in the fire pit.

Our weather has been beautiful and it was a great night to sit around the fire and enjoy the evening. We even made pie iron food!  Pie iron pizza and also some desserts.  It was great!  We also put our garden in on Saturday and we put the herbs near the kitchen on the deck.  Good for running out and grabbing what I need when cooking.

So that ends my May musings and now onto June.  June will find us flying the hopefully friendly skies to Portland, Oregon to see our Grandson, Taylor, graduate and spend time with Craig and family.  It's been 2 years since we've seen our #2 son and Grandkiddos.  Way too long!  Jordan will be keeping the house safe and Annabelle company.  We'll be back for the rest of the festivities of Summer before you know it.

Save me a seat at the table! Night all and good bye to May!

Serve And Protect

This week was National Police Week.  I know our men and women in blue have had a hard time with the trust of some of the communities they serve.  Yes, there certainly have been some sad and unfortunate decisions and actions by the police.  Riots, and destruction of property has followed in some cases. I don't understand how that helps anyone but I will say that police are humans.  Humans make mistakes but they also can do wonderfully heroic feats.  I send condolences to families that have been involved in these tragic circumstances and in no way am I making excuses for police.  But I have a wonderful Niece that is a police officer.  She has put her life on the line and has served for 20yrs in the police force outside of Chicago.  She was a detective for a bit.  She was tackled by a drunk and has had back issues that involved surgeries and even a spinal implant.  Still she works and won't leave for disability reasons. Katie works with the DARE program at schools and helps with training their new therapy dog, Bandit. She helps plan events for Special Olympics that involve her department. I don't know all else she does but I know she gives her all, day in and day out, for her community. She serves and protects. I pray for her safety daily and I'm proud of all she does.  My Dad served as Chief of Police in our community when I was growing up.  It was a volunteer program back then that lead to a full, paid police force today. I know he would be so proud of Katie and I'm sure is smiling down on her.  I blogged about her being honored a few years ago as Officer of the year in at her police force.  Thank you Katie and thanks to all our police.  Give a thanks to an officer for service in your community.  Happy National Police Week!

Katie and my Dad, her Grandpa!  Katie is also a wife and mother of 2 kiddos.

Here's my sister Midge...Katie's Mom...and  my niece Amy...Katie's sister...and Bandit! Katie was involved in a program for Special Olympics today at Dunkin' Donuts called "A cop on top".  They stand on the roof and get donations for this worthy organization. 

Katie and Bandit at an elementary school helping with a reading program.

I love Bandit's badge! He's doing great in this program and will make a wonderful therapy dog for the department.  Let's face it, he's dang cute too!   

Progression

 I can't believe that May is half over and I've only blogged once! I need to be more progressive or maybe more aggressive in getting some posts in.  Before I go into my thoughts I want to take time to say Happy Mother's Day to all the great Mom's out there.  I sure miss my Mom and May wasn't only Mother's Day but also her birthday month and also the month she passed away 3 years ago.  Lots of memories and dates that bring her to mind in the month of May.  

This was taken at her 90th birthday party.  She would have been 97 this year on May 17th.  Just a few days away.  We all miss you Mom.  This coming weekend would have been the time we would travel to Chicago and celebrate with her.  So Happy Mother's Day and Happy Heavenly Birthday Mom!  This month has been a combo pack of weather.  Cold, warm, rainy, a bit of snow, and lately pretty nice Spring temps.  I know I showed the sidewalk mess in my previous post and it took a bit to get it finished but progress was made when Mother Nature got on board.

Step one...the wooden sidewalk that was a mess.

Boards all gone and mud mess next.

The cement guy got it prepped.

Cement getting poured before it actually poured raindrops!

Sidewalk in! Now the ball is in our court to get the steps rebuilt and the flower bed weeded and new plants put in.  Progression!  The other side of progression this month has been the bird nest that now has babies in it.

Fuzzy little babes.

Now they are hungry feathered friends.  It's been fun to see the progress and I know one day the nest

will be empty and abandoned.  I'll get my baker's stand back for flowers but I'll miss watching nature take it's course.  My final progress report has to do with our Church's Temple that was finally finished and had an open house in the past few weeks.  Jack and I went down last Wednesday.  It was closed for 3 years while they rebuilt it because of a builder's blunder and there was a mold issue that needed to be corrected. 

Not the best photos but it was a beautiful day to drive to Columbus and we're looking forward to having a Temple closer to us again.  They are going to build another Temple in Ohio near Cleveland so we'll have a couple to be able to visit.  Progression is a good thing!  Now to progress to bed!

Night all!

May Day!

Happy May Day!  I remember celebrating this day as a child in school with dancing around a may pole, gathering in flowers and making cone baskets to take home to Mom.  Once I had my boys, when they were little,  make a May Day cone with flowers for our next door neighbor when we lived in town. Did you ever do anything like that back in the day?  I wish today was a day fit to dance around outside and gather flowers but the rain keeps coming and it's only in the 40's!  Plus, to make it more fun, it's suppose to have a few snowflakes thrown in.  Oh well, that's Spring in Ohio for you! It looks like a warm up coming by the end of the week.  With nicer weather ahead perhaps the sidewalk will be able to be put in.

Here's the entrance to our front porch without the old sidewalk. Quite the mess!  I'll be very excited to show the finished project hopefully as soon as the weather breaks and it can be finished.  With all the rain we've had lately the Pines are super green.  Green like I imagine Ireland to look like.

Thankfully Annabelle is white so we can spot her easily!  You can see many of the trees are sporting green leaves now.

The dogwoods are all in bloom also.

 White blossoms down by the creek help break up all the green.  The other thing that happens in Spring are all the birds nesting.  I have a few in the garage that I want to evict! But the weirdest one is the goofy Robin that decided this area was prime realestate.  We have 6 acres of land with tons of trees and this was the best she could do?

The baker's rack on the patio between the house and the garage...really?  No shelter, no privacy, no way!  Every time we drive into the garage or come out of the house she takes off. It will be a long Spring waiting for those eggs to hatch while flying away every 10 seconds!

Good luck little birdies.  Momma is a crazy gal!  I did put some boards on the top shelf to aid a bit in keeping the rain off.

Maybe she needs a may basket with some flowers and a few worms thrown in to welcome her to the neighborhood.   Happy May Day!