Thankful Sunday

 I am thankful for the kindness of strangers.

Last Tuesday, Ward and I went with friends to see a John Prine tribute concert at Wolf Trap. Wolf Trap is a National Park for the Performing Arts in Virginia. The stage is surrounded by open-air covered seating and lawn seating, and is a magical place to watch a concert (if the weather cooperates, which it did).

When we made our way back to our car, we found the battery was dead. After a bit of asking around, we found someone with jumper cables and someone else who gave our car a jump. Soon, we were finding our way home.

So, for the kindness of strangers who helped us start our car, I am thankful.

Throwback Thursday

 It's time for another Throwback Thursday, when I will visit a post from the past that was from the same week. (As an aside, when I think about it, Throwback Thursdays were popular years ago, so maybe the concept of doing a Throwback Thursday is a throwback in itself.😄)

Today, we're going back to June 2011 when we had been strawberry picking. I haven't noticed local strawberries being available yet, but I should look around because the season is short.

Without further ado...

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Strawberries for Now

It's strawberry season. That time when the aromatic, sweet, and juicy strawberries are ripe. We were very fortunate this year because Aunt Martha had a lush strawberry patch that she shared with us. We quickly consumed the first batch of berries we picked, but luckily, we were invited to pick more.

Strawberries from Aunt Martha

Wally was excited with this prospect and started discussing everything we could do with them—make strawberry shortcake, make smoothies, make jam, and the list went on. 

So we set off one afternoon to go picking. As we were picking, Wally asked me if I remembered one of his favorite books from when he was a child, called Blueberries for Sal. 

In this book, a little girl named Sal goes blueberry picking with her mother but finds herself eating the berries faster than they can fill the bucket. He said he was reminded of the book because he was doing something similar. However, we did end up with some to take home.

When we poured our berries into a container, there weren't as many as we had hoped for, but we still planned to make strawberry jam. However, when I returned to the kitchen a couple of hours later, all of the berries were gone. I guess the fresh berries were just too tempting.

Now you see them.       Now you don't.

I started to be annoyed, but changed my mind. We could enjoy the strawberries now, or we could enjoy them later, and I guess now was okay. I reminded myself about the practice that is hard for me—being in the moment. That helped. Then I didn't feel so guilty about my part in the disappearing berries.

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Until next time...

Visiting with Sea Creatures

Recently, Ward's cousin, Cynthia, was visiting from Guatemala. One of our outings during her stay was a visit to the National Aquarium in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. It's been several years since we last visited, and we were pleasantly reminded of how much we like it. Below are pictures from our outing. Probably more than you want to see, but the animals were just so darn interesting. 

First up are the jellyfish, perhaps my favorite exhibit. They floated and glided so effortlessly that I found them mesmerizing. 

Fluorescent flower hat jellyfish

Egg-yolk jellyfish

Upside-down jellyfish that lie on the bottom with their tentacles up.

Tiger jellyfish

Not sure what kind these are, but we got to pet similar ones in a petting pool. They felt firm with a squishy layer on top.

Spotted jellyfish

And the giant display of glass jellyfish. 😉

On the top floor of the aquarium, you leave the water and enter the tropical rainforest. Cynthia felt right at home here, as many of the plants featured grow where she lives.

This banana tree, with its blooms and bananas forming, reminded me of the one time we got bananas from our tree in New Orleans. (Look to the right of the big yellowed leaf near the top to see the bananas.)

There were colorful birds, including parrots...

and scarlet ibis.

The real star of the rainforest display was the sloth. 

The poison dart frogs were not allowed to roam freely like the rest of the rainforest animals, so we saw these brightly colored frogs behind glass. It was pretty dark, so not the best pictures. The frogs ranged in size from about 1/2 inch to 2 inches.

This tiny frog had a very big voice.

A few other things we saw:

Green moray eel

Puffins

And no visit to an aquarium would be complete without seeing sharks.

After our visit, we made it home in time to go line dancing. A busy, but fun day.

Until next time...

Thankful Sunday

 I am thankful for my father-in-law.

Ward's cousin, Cynthia, decorated the cake.

Yesterday, we celebrated my FIL's 93rd birthday. It was a typical family afair in his backyard with family and friends. With fans, plenty of shade structures, and cold drinks, the 90-degree temperatures weren't too bad. Add to that music and little kids running around, and it was a festive time indeed.

The family band. Ward's father is playing the bongos.

My father-in-law has lived a good life despite some tragedies and contributed positively to the lives of so many others. And as part of this life, he and my mother-in-law raised four amazing children, including Ward. I have definitely benefited from this.

So, for the wonderful human being my father-in-law is and the excellent example he set for Ward, I am thankful.

Until next time...

Catch up or Throwback Thursday, the Recent Edition

 I see that it's been a week since I've posted, so instead of Throwback Thursday, looking back to something years ago, this one is going to look back to last week.

A new rose bush bloomed in time for our guests.

Ward's cousin, Cynthia, is visiting from Guatemala. In preparation for her visit, we've been cleaning and sprucing up things around the house since this was the first time she has visited us here. You know, dusting the baseboards that you usually don't see, hanging the pictures you forgot you had and meant to hang, fixing the two faucets that broke in one day, weeding the flower beds, etc. By the time we were done, things looked pretty good.

Cynthia is on a two-week visit and visiting with various family members throughout that time. Last Saturday, she came to our house, and we had a party for her. Ward smoked a pork shoulder, and I made a big pan of jambalaya, among other things. It also happened to be Theo's birthday, and he requested a pineapple upside-down cake. I hadn't made one in years, but luckily it turned out well.

Cynthia and Ward looking at a binder of some of his woodworking projects while we're waiting on some other family members.

After the party, she stayed with us for a few days, and we were busy from early in the morning until late at night. We showed her some of the sights and took her shopping for things she can't find in Guatemala. Yesterday, we did a handoff to the next set of people she will be visiting. And on Saturday, we will all gather for a 93rd birthday celebration for Ward's dad.

Cynthia was an easy house guest, and luckily, she has pretty good English. That was fortunate because the only Spanish I know is from what I learned from Sesame Street years ago. 😄

Today, we have been playing catch-up, and I have almost put away everything from the party, and the guest linens are washed. Then it's time to switch gears and prepare for Saturday's big birthday party.

Another time, I'll show you some of the places we visited, but I gotta get back to work now.

Until next time...