Braving the bigger world

Last Wednesday, Rick and I ventured farther afield than we had to date this year – we flew to Omaha, Nebraska! Our alma mater in Lincoln had asked The Down Home Boys, the college bluegrass band Rick played in, to come back to do some weekend music. Rick wanted me to go along, of course (he always wants me to go along), but even though my sister and some old school friends live there, I told him I didn't want to go. Between arranging care for all our animals, the risk of COVID-19 exposure, and my strong homebody bent, I just had no desire. Next thing I know, he said we had tickets. 😳

I proceeded to stitch together animal care; shouts out to our new neighbors, who offered to keep Poppy (playmates for days!!!), and other friends who shared onsite farm chores. My sister sent me a link to this article that made me feel much better about flying, and I kept my fingers busy with spinning and knitting and even got to watch a free movie that I loved. (Hitch. Yes, it's 15 years old. No, I don't watch many movies.) We got a rental car at the airport and then drove to campus, where we stayed in an on-campus guest room. Then Rick proceeded to practice a lot until their first program, Friday night vespers, while I visited with my sister and a couple of my old high school/college-and-beyond buddies.

This building is new since we last visited

The distant building houses the swimming pool where I taught kiddy swimming lessons my last summer

My sister and family are being UBER-careful during the pandemic, as they all have underlying conditions. We visited in her open garage, sitting on camp chairs with masks on. It had turned cold in Lincoln (as it did here), and believe you me, I was thankful to be wearing a mask for the bit of added warmth it gave! I was also thankful that my sister's French bulldog wanted to sit on my lap for the same reason....

On Friday we did go to my sister's and nephew's favorite craft store, Makit Takit. I had eyes only for the yarn side of the store, and even found two pretty skeins in the half-price bin – which my sister promptly snatched and paid for.

One of my friends took me around a small corner of the much-changed city of my college years. Scheels was a destination in and of itself, a combination of sculpture garden, Cabela's/athletic goods/gift/home decor store, and amusement park. Just inside the entrance there is a giant aquarium made up of three huge columns with connecting archways;  the Ferris wheel is beyond that (not operating in COVIDtimes). My friend thought I "would like the animals;" I just smiled and didn't say I prefer my wild creatures alive and free.

I loved this clever, customizable wall decor!

The 'Boys' provided a musical program for Friday evening vespers, followed by musical selections for both church services at the college church the next day. Masks were supposed to be worn for both; after a little kerfuffle over Friday evening's masklessness, there was compliance on Sabbath (they sounded just as good with masks). This is the church, minus the pipe organ, in which Rick and I were married over 36 years ago (installation started the week after our wedding).

Sunday we got out of Dodge just in time, as snow was forecast for that afternoon. In fact, our airplane picked up some ice on the way into Omaha, so had to be de-iced before we departed:

On the way home I spun and knitted some more, and we got to watch another free movie, one I've really wanted to see – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. I was not disappointed; what a wonderful film about the wonderful Fred Rogers.

We picked up Poppy from the neighbors on our way home Sunday night, and promptly built a fire to warm the chilly house. While waiting for that to happen, Poppy found a cozy place to wait:

The weekend was not all pickin' and grinnin', though. I got a text message from my parents Thursday morning letting me know that my 100-year-old aunt had died. She had just been admitted to the hospital the night before for the second time in a week; the first time she had been diagnosed with COVID-19. I'm so thankful she passed quickly; I'm so sad for my dad that he has not been able to see her or visit in person for many months. Then on Friday morning, Rick started experiencing symptoms consistent with past cardiac events. From then until now, he's been on edge, obsessing over every little sensation, but has not yet decided he needs to go to the doctor or hospital.

That's the travelogue from . . .

Old movies

Stinkbugs and can openers and a teenager – oh my! (Think Wizard of Oz.)

Petals on posies and puppies and ponies.... (Sing along to the The Sound of Music tune.)

How was that for tying together disparate topics? Just like life: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – ha!

Let's get the bad and ugly out of the way first. Stinkbugs: YUCK, we've been invaded by them since winter! We've had box elder bugs before, but these big, buzzy, stinky-dead-or-alive buggers are new, and very unwelcome. Can openers: Can't live with 'em; can't live without 'em. I'm about to resort to the hammer and chisel method. (Did you know that the can opener wasn't invented until 48 years after tin cans were introduced?!?) I've tried all kinds (except electric) and they all give me trouble sooner or later. Can anyone recommend one that's guaranteed to work or your money back??? The teenager: Can't live with 'im, can't kick 'im out (yet). 'Nuff said.

Now to good things. Flowers are blooming and the garden is growing, for starters. I just came in from planting four basil plants (three Italian Large-Leaf and a Napoletano Lettuce-Leaf), a packet of Blue Lake Bush beans, a hill of Black Beauty zucchini, and half a packet of Chioggia beets (will plant the other half for fall harvest). Tonight Brian and I will have a lovely salad from garden lettuce and kale (shhh, don't tell him) with our cheese and pepper quesadillas; Rick is away for continuing education until tomorrow morning so we can indulge in a little cheese.

Yesterday my friend picked up her horse; I'll miss having her in training but she made a lot of progress in three weeks. I'll also miss my puppy fixes! Glory has grown a lot in just ONE week, but continues to be the world's most amazing puppy. Yesterday she got to meet Dozer and Jackson, and while she was very excited, she was also amazingly respectful when they didn't reciprocate her playfulness.

"Kisses?"

"No? Okay then, I'll just sit back and look at you."

"How about if I lay down?"

We took Glory down to the barn with us, which drew the ewes.

The two-year-olds are probably just curious, but Vienna at least would pulverize that baby wolf puppy if given access!

Maybe I'll start riding Lance longer now that I'm back to just one horse to ride. It would help keep him from getting too fat from all that fresh grass!

Next up: a new episode airs on the Chuckie Channel. 😊

That's it for now from . . .

Galloping into summer

There is so much for show-and-tell today! Since my last post, we went on an abbreviated horse-camping trip to our favorite location, Rick got the garden prepped for planting, and I sheared another sheep. Triple-woot!

Mt. Adams coming into Trout Lake, WA – a town I'd happily move to!

Our Christian trail-riding club gathered at Mt. Adams Horse Camp over Memorial Day weekend. We planned to leave on Friday after Brian got out of school at noon, but Rick had a couple emergencies thrown in on top of his morning calls so there went the afternoon.... Rather than  get in at o'dark thirty, we left Saturday morning and arrived in time to set up our camp, join our group for Sabbath potluck, and then go for a family trail ride.

Rick borrowed a client's horse for the weekend so we could all ride together, which was really nice.

That evening while the lovely light waned, we enjoyed socializing around the campfire.

The next morning we went for another family ride, then relaxed with our ponies.

Two shining peaks! ;-)

While we were letting the horses graze I thought of all I had to do and casually said to Rick, "We've had two nice days; I guess we could go home and get more done there." He said, sounding hopeful, "You want to?" Then we found out that everyone else in our group was pulling out that day (one party had already left), which settled it.

So Monday was a bonus day! Rick tilled the garden (he had already mowed, raked, and burned all the weeds and cleared out a cherry tree that was growing in the middle of it). Brian did homework (he hadn't owned up to how much he had to do; he would have been even farther behind if we'd camped through Monday!). I sheared Vienna and then got busy in the kitchen, because we invited the friends who did chores for us to join us for dinner and a movie – Fiddler on the Roof. (Which brought to mind the old adage, "The more things change, the more they stay the same. Oy.)

Ewe's not fat, ewe's fluffy – wait; I think ewe IS fat!

Yesterday after work, I stopped by my MIL's for three little pepper plants she had for us, then went to my favorite store for garden starts and picked up tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplant, as well as seeds for bush beans, sugar pea pods, and beets (I had zucchini seeds at home). I still need basil and parsley starts; those staples slipped my mind.

This lovely was just outside the store; swoon.

So now the pressure is really on – to get seeds and plants in the ground and three last fleeces off woolly yearlings!

Getting off my duff at . . .