Ye old stomping grounds

I've gone to visit my mother et al in Lincoln, NE and returned home again. I meant to do a quick post before I left, took my laptop along and thought I might be able to do a post while there, and now . . . well. I don't know how quickly I will be able to edit photos and finish this, but "a journey of a thousand miles . . ." and all that. When you see this, it's obviously done.

The high points of my trip were seeing old friends and visiting my old stomping grounds. I'm terrible at selfies so there are no photos of me or my three friends😢, but I did take photos of my alma mater and the associated church where I got married. All have changed in 41 years of course; the church has been added onto and college (now university) buildings have disappeared (notably the old science building where my FIL taught and the art building; I had classes in both), expanded, and appeared in the intervening years. Much of this I have seen, at least from the outside, in previous visits, but this time I got to see the improvements and additions from the inside as one of my friends is now a professor at the university and gave me a guided tour.

the old science building and my FIL's office were to the left of this arch

the old gym, where I played volleyball (for fun)

one of the expanded buildings, and two of the programs the school is now known for

the girls' dorm, where I lived for four years

inside the new gym, above and below

the iconic clocktower

MUCH newer art, carved from a dead(?) tree

the expanded college/university church (only the part to the right of the cross was there in the 80s)

the outside of the stained glass panels (next three photos) in the original church building

we were married here the last weekend before the pipe organ installation began

Seeing my mom was both good and hard. Except for the Sabbath hours, meeting up with friends (one each Saturday, Sunday, and Monday), having one quick coffee break with my sister, and going out for an early birthday dinner with Mom, my sister, and her family, I stayed busy helping Mom from morning to bedtime. We threw out empty boxes and useless things and put stuff out on the freebie table in her apartment complex*, shredded old documents, rearranged furniture, set up her TV, made a rhubarb crisp (instead of birthday cake, with rhubarb from the complex's garden), coordinated needs with the complex's handyman, hung pictures and photos, and tried to get her NE driver's license and car registration (when that failed, I started applying online for missing documents**). We made visible progress, but I felt frustrated that I couldn't do more for her and save my sister and BIL additional effort and time off work.

my lovely mother

The entrance to her apartment complex.

The units on the front side face the treed driveway and can see nothing else.

The units on the back side see only green fields and the back of the Holmes Lake dam.

Mom's apartment is second to last on the left, ground floor.

Holmes Lake. The top of the dam is a wonderful walking path.

*There is NO rhyme or reason in what she brought to Lincoln and what she left behind in TX.

** Mom either doesn't have or has no idea where copies of her birth certificate, marriage licenses, Dad's death certificate, or her car title are. Any of these could have been inadvertently tossed, are still in unlabeled boxes and file folders in her apartment, or were left in her TX house and tossed out with all that she left behind. Getting replacement copies takes time, money, and in some cases, information that she can no longer remember accurately.  😳🙄😩😢

I kept up with my daily step goal throughout the trip, and spun a lot of silk while traveling. This was the first time I've been to PDX since its major renovation, which made my favorite airport even better. I acted like a tourist and took photos!

the Denver airport does have a view of the Rockies, though

on my way to Nebraska

in Nebraska, against Mom's coordinating blouse

on the way home

Now home again, home again, which feels so good but is always so busy. In spite of washing my hands of the rest of the prunes when I left, I couldn't resist picking enough to fill the dehydrator one more time when I got back. In the meantime, Rick and Brian got the rest of the dead fir from our lower pasture moved into the woodshed. The garden needs attention; I harvested most of what I need for a big pasta salad and a big batch of pesto but haven't touched the tomatoes yet. Next week is supposed to be wet; I foresee baking and applesauce-making in my near future.

Poppy and I have an agility match this Sunday and when we get home a buyer is arriving to pick up young Bryan as a flock sire; hurray! Maybe he'll look around and want to take a ewe or two....

That's it for now from . . .

Full September

volunteer 'sunshine' in our garden

When the State Fair ended and our schedules returned to 'normal,' I felt a little giddy, like a big load had lifted. Yeah; that was short-lived. Garden harvest and fruit preservation season waits for no one, and with my upcoming trip to NE taking a considerable bite out of the month, I can't afford to dawdle. I finally procured a lug of so-so peaches, and have been picking our prunes to freeze and dehydrate. Since these won't wait, making applesauce will have to. I'll lose most of the apples on our first-to-ripen tree, but should have plenty to sauce from the others once the stone fruit is put up and I'm back from my trip. The limiting factor? My ability to stand for extended periods. Nothing 'cripples' me like standing; my knees stiffen and my sciatica screams. So I adapt my work to sitting at the table when possible, and take icing breaks when it's not. (This is also why I'm so behind on skirting fleeces.)

I've been helping a little with the firewood, but Rick has been doing the lion's share. Last night he got a bunch of the split hardwood moved into the new woodshed. The woodpile has been Poppy's obsession for days, as well as some cabinets in the shop. Apparently varmints are afoot, and we have to physically drag her inside to get her to stop her fruitless hunts. (Then she moves from window to window, bark-screaming when she sees a Western Gray Squirrel scurrying around preparing for winter.) The obsession seems to have affected her ability to focus in agility class, so I'm limiting her freedom on class days.

before any of the wood had been moved inside

AHA! A California Ground Squirrel scurried out when I approached to take this photo.

Yesterday morning Bitsy was unusually cuddly; it was loverly. 😍 Some of the sheep need bigger coats and I should go through the flock to check feet for needed trims. Just add it to the list....

That's it for now from . . .