Bye May!

 The last day of May is here, and it sure went fast for a long 31 day month!  April was full of surprises and May has been the month of doctor appointments and follow ups.  Thankfully all is well.  I have one more appointment to see if I need to get my holy heart repaired with a patch.  Like a leaky swimming pool or a flat tire, I guess!  May is a month of birthdays and then we had our grandson, Cameron, graduate from high school.  He's going to go to Kent State University in the fall, and we sure wish him well He's a great kiddo.  He's very quiet and smart!  The school wasn't sure what to do with him for his senior year since he took every class and college courses they offered.  He wanted to continue to do track so they found a few classes he could take, and he took some online classes from Ashland University. 

Congratulations Cam-Man!

Our proud son Jack with his baby boy! The last of his 4 kiddos to graduate high school. Can't believe how fast time has gone! 

Proud YaYa and Paw Paw! 

Here's a few pics of the rest of our, as the song from Camelot would say, lusty month of May! The peonies did great and are now at the end of their blooming life.  I snagged a few bouquets to enjoy.

We've been getting the Pines ready for a few events happening here. In 2 weeks, we're hosting our granddaughter's baby shower.  Summer is due in August.  I blogged about her sister's baby being born in April.  Summer's having a boy also so I hope those cousins can be besties!  So, weeding and mulching our "garden of weedin'" has been a project!

Spot the wee white dog? Keeping an eye out for the squirrels and neighbor cats that like to roam the whispering pines!  Our next big event is our 2026 family reunion being held right here in October. You know that's my favorite month, so I picked it for the reunion.  Keeping this area clean of weeds and looking pretty until then will be our biggest challenge!  Oh well, it will keep us in shape anyway! Memorial Day had family joining us for some ribs and fixings.  I had gone to the cemetery to put out the summer/patriotic flowers on my in-laws grave site.

I change flowers for each season, and my Mother-in-law enjoyed the summer holidays like July4th, so I try and honor that for her.  

I also decorate inside for Memorial Day and then on to July 4th. I found these plates at a thrift shop a few years ago and enjoy bringing them out this time of year.  When the family was here last Monday for our rib fest, I was busy and didn't get photos except for one:

Our granddaughter Rae tried riding the trail bike last year for the first time and crashed it.  She didn't hurt the bike but did hurt her knee. She was lucky she didn't do something worse!  Memorial Day she came with her boyfriend, Ethan, and tried again.  He's an experienced biker so he patiently and carefully gave her instructions.  She finally got it and did good except for one thing....Rae, where's the helmet!? Sheesh, kids!  On my final May happenings, I tried my hand at an easy, non-frying, donut recipe.  The first batch I did used a spice cake mix and a can of plain pumpkin.  Mixed it together and put it in a donut baking sheet.  Success! They came out great!  I decided to try with a chocolate cake mix (no pumpkin, thank you!).  Problem was I didn't have a chocolate cake mix so I tried it with a brownie mix.  I used a brownie mix, one egg, and a half cup of applesauce instead of a half cup of oil.

Yes, they came out great too! They stayed soft and delish, and Jack said they were winners! I'm going to use the spice ones this fall for our reunion breakfast.  I have a few more ideas for these up my sleeve. So easy and no frying!  Well, that's it for May.  Bye, Bye.  Tonight we'll have a blue moon happening.  Look to the skies!  Fingers crossed for a nice June and the beginning of summer!