One of life's big steps

My nephew Joshua graduated from high school yesterday. How is it that 18 years have flown by so quickly? I remember being in between classes in my own high school halls when the news arrived that a blond, bouncing, baby boy had made his entrance into the world, making me an aunt for the first time. How exciting that day was and what a blessing Josh has been to all of us. Congratulations big guy...we're all proud of you!





Here are Josh, his Grandma M., girlfriend Jorie, and brother and sister Sam and Kirsten all celebrating. (Actually, I think Kirsten an Jorie are in pain...)








Me and the Man of the Hour.

How Does My Garden Grow?

Mistress Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
and pretty maids all in a row.

Well, my name isn't Mary and I have no idea what silver bells, cockle shells or pretty maids are, but I do have a garden and it is growing...almost in spite of me. You see, Mary may have been a contrary gardener, but I am an impatient one. I tromp out at least once daily to look for signs of life in my garden, and I even dig away a little at the crusty afternoon top soil to help the seedlings find their way to the air. It's all done with the best of intentions, but I'm pretty sure I knelt on one of my corn seeds and I'm positive I decapitated another. :( I just need to let nature do its thing, especially since it is doing a good job without my hovering and smothering. Here's an example of what has appeared so far. I have...


14 corn plants growing (out of 20 planted - but because of my foolishness, the most I can get is 18. My fingers are crossed!)








One Autumn Gold pumpkin plant










One Heritage Raspberry bush









6 Early Girl tomatoes, 2 Roma tomatoes, and 1 cherry tomato plant (bush beans and watermelon not pictured, but they are growing, I promise!)




I also planted scallions, but I had way more wee black seeds than I needed, so I thought I would save the rest for a later planting. I then had, however, a graceful moment and dropped the seed packet, spilling them on the east side of the garden. I tried to pick them up, but they are tiny...TINY!...I tell you, so I gave up. This mass of green is my garden oops, and it is, OF COURSE, growing really well. (Yes, that is muttering you hear.)

So, my garden is faring well. I think it would do better if I'd just quit bugging it so much. Grow dang-it! Gardening is my lesson in patience this year.

Yum!

I made Chocolate Oreo Pudding Pops last night. I think Grant really liked his!

Happy Memorial Day!

I love Memorial Day! I love to drive to the cemeteries and clean graves and reminisce about loved ones and see all the other people who do the same. Cemeteries full of flowers and balloons and flags make me feel happy. I told Merritt today that we are truly ungrateful if we do not remember our loved ones and those who fought for our freedoms, and I believe with all my heart that is true.

I also like Memorial Day because it gives us an extra day to spend together as a family. After six stops at different gravesites (we know a lot of dead people) we headed home for a lunchtime bbq - hamburgers and hotdogs - and then headed into the backyard to make some serious progress on my Mother's Day gift...a raised herb garden. The previous owners of our home left us with a very fine rectangle of weeds courtesy of the fact that they parked their trailer in the backyard. We had originally intended to re-seed the spot, but then I saw a picture and had an epiphany; we could make that dead zone into a wonderful garden! I had the dream, the energy to dig it out, the enthusiasm to see it through, and bought the stone and the weed barrier, but I really had no clue what I was doing. This was especially true since my proposed garden is on a slope! *Sound the trumpets!* Chad to the rescue!! He figured out how to make it work, and despite the fact that I am digging alone in the following picture, we grubbed TOGETHER and he made my dream a reality. Well...almost. I did run out of stone toward the end, so it's back to Lowe's tomorrow! I will post a picture when it's all finished and planted with the seeds I have carefully gathered: thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, basil, marjarom, chives, parsley...oh, the list goes on! Such fun! Also, I'll post a picture of my vegetable garden when I get some serious signs of life from my fun seeds, I only planted them on Saturday so it'll be a bit. You're so impatient! (Actually, that would be me.) :)

This is what happens...

when your lunch tries to eat you!

To And From Casper...With Love

I love my sisters. They each have attributes I admire greatly, body parts I wish I had, and clothes I want to borrow. :) We have a hootenanny when we all get together, which is, unfortunately, not very often since two of them live far away. Last week, I drove to Casper to see my baby sister (she's taller than me though) since she'd recently had surgery. For some reason I thought filling her house with my rambunctious children would be helpful...hmmm. Well, helpful or not, it was at least fun. We all ate good food and lots of dessert, went to the park, talked and talked, played with toys, shopped and rather unsuccessfully dug up weeds in the garden patch. Sandra and I also got our geek on and went to see the new Star Trek movie. I loved seeing her kids again, Mckenna was a wee baby last time we met and Eli is now a talking machine, and visiting with Keith. He is a great guy, and Merritt thinks he is the bomb. Keith is the only person Merritt knoes who has shot (either with bow or gun) a deer, antelope, coyote, wild turkey and a porcupine, AND skinned (or plucked as the case may be) them all too. Keith has a box full of devices that make animal calls, which Merritt thought was awesome. He especially liked the deer call because, in his words, "it sounds like burping." Keith even set up a spy glass (I'm sure there is a proper hunting gear term for it, but I don't know what it is...sorry) so that Merritt could watch the pronghorn antelope that were hanging out behind their house. I thought we were there to help them out, but they laid themselves out for us and were gracious hosts. We were all sad to leave and Merritt is already making plans for when we will visit again...watch out you guys cuz he says it will be 10 days next time!

(P.S. - Thanks to Merritt for the fun but slantwise and highly unflattering picture at the top. I need to hire a professional!)

Heavenly

These beautiful glories grow along my backyard neighbor's fence-line and spill generously over into my yard. I LOVE lilacs!! I think they're about the only flowering tree (or is it technically a bush?) that grows in Wyoming, and I looked forward to their arrival every spring when I was a kid. With three lilac bushes in the backyard, the scent of the flowers is wonderfully pervasive; it hits you as soon as you walk out the door. I'm enjoying every minute of their too-short life (I like to sit under the branches and breathe deeply - I feel so serene) and will miss them when they are gone.