Finally!!

 I am happy to report that after four months, all of the paperwork is completed from the car accident I had at the end of January. You may remember that someone ran into the side of our 2-week-old van and totaled it. We have been working steadily to get everything cleared up since then. In the meantime, we did get a new van - just like the old one. Unfortunately, it got its first dent in a parking lot while we were on our recent trip. But, hey, it's just a dent, and we can live with that.

In other news, today is Theo's birthday. Below is a post I wrote about him a few years ago. It seems like I rerun a lot of posts, but I've been doing this long enough I've covered a lot of things. And I'm trying to get some yard work done before I go to work, and I don't have time to reinvent the wheel. Maybe another day. :)

Until next time...

_____________________________

Theo

Theo entered the world early and, at first, seemed like a calm baby--at least calmer than his brother. He only cried several hours a day instead of all day. But as he gained mobility he was not so calm-he became nearly perpetual motion. We spent a good deal of our time trying to keep him safe and from tearing down the house. Never a dull moment. For example, even when we tried to lock the door of the fridge, he managed to open it. Playing with eggs was a favorite. Do you know how hard it is to clean up a dozen broken eggs? I do. Nearly impossible. And he was a climber from early on. He was just as likely to be on top of the refrigerator as opening it. But he never fell, even when he was learning to walk. A calculated risk taker, one doctor called him. At the playground, the other mothers would look at me disapprovingly as my toddler was on top of the swing set instead of swinging in a swing. But I had to choose my battles. As I said, he never fell.

He was curious, and all the world was an experiment like the time he burned some of his toys in the fireplace (gas logs that he turned on while we were sleeping). He was only a preschooler at the time. When we hysterically yelled questioned him, he pointed out he wanted to see how they burned, and he only used toys that he had two of. We didn't sleep well for a lot of years worrying about what he and his brother were into.

Also, Theo has always been a deep thinker. Many times, he would think something through, then engage us in a conversation, and carefully lead us down a path to a gotcha at the end. Ward and I used to think we were pretty intelligent people until our preschooler kept outsmarting us. Not only was he thorough, he thought about the big issues, too. When he was five, he lamented about his place on earth and whether his life mattered in the grand scheme of things.  We weren't exactly equipped to handle those kinds of thoughts from our child at such an early age. But they kept coming.

As you can imagine, when Theo entered school, it was not easy.  Hyperactivity, along with an active mind, didn't always work in the classroom. Some teachers loved him with the interesting thoughts and insights he brought to class. Others got upset when he asked a question or made a comment because it often got the lesson off track. Not because it was off-topic but because it was beyond what the other kids could understand.  His deep thinking didn't stop just because he was in school now.

I don't think I need to describe the calls I got about him because he couldn't sit still. Eventually, we understood that was because of anxiety, but the teachers didn't care what was causing it. They just needed him to be still. It was hard for everyone--Theo, the teachers, and us. I think we were on speed dial with the principal and that is not something that we wanted, but we can smile about now.

However, Theo made it through school, and I wish some of his teachers could see him today. I don't think they would believe the adult he's grown into. He is calm and measured, as well as a kind and responsible person. Kids grow up. Thank goodness.

So, for Theo and the wonderful, rich, and interesting life he has given us, I am thankful.

Memorial Day

 Today is Memorial Day here in the US, where we remember those who lost their lives while serving our country. It is also the unofficial beginning of summer and a weekend of cookouts, including Wally and Theo, who have us over today for ribs. But amongst the fun, I want to make sure we acknowledge the day. Below is a story I've told before, but I'm going to tell it again about Ward's grandfather, who lost his life during WW II.

 Memorial Day--Leo's Story

Leo, 1941

Leo was the son of Polish immigrants and, as a young man, joined the Army in 1929. He became part of the Army Engineer Division. Later, at a dance, he met a smart and pretty young girl, LeeAnn, and married her in 1932. They soon added a baby boy to the family, and two years later, they had another. After renting a small home, Leo built a house for his growing family. Being an enterprising young man, he used discarded lumber from a railroad yard for much of the house. (By the way, the house he built still stands firm today.)

Leo's and LeeAnn's happy life was not affected much when World War II broke out in Europe in 1939. However, the Army started to send units to Iceland to build defensive fortifications to be ready just in case. At the end of 1941, his unit was assigned to go to Iceland to help in these preparations. While they were in New York waiting for their boat, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The US immediately declared war against Japan and its allies, including Germany. The US was officially in World War II.

Leo and his unit continued with their orders to go to Iceland, but they didn't make it. Their boat was attacked in the Atlantic by a German submarine and had to be repaired before it could go any further. During the month that the repairs took, the soldiers got to go back and spend time with their families. No one knew this would be the last time they would see each other.

Their boat was repaired, and they were finally on their way. They made it to Iceland and completed their work. However, on the way back to the States, the boat was attacked by another German submarine, and this time, it sank. The seas were rough, which made it difficult for many to survive. Most went down with the ship. First, Leo was declared missing at sea, and later, he was declared killed in action. It wasn't until several years later that his family knew the details of what happened because much of the information was classified.

LeeAnn was suddenly left with two young boys to raise on her own. A few months later, the unthinkable happened, and her younger son was killed in an accident. Despite the terrible losses, she kept going. With various jobs, hard work, and the help of family, she carved out a good life for herself and her son (Ward's father).

When I met LeeAnn, these events had happened over 40 years ago, but it was like they had happened yesterday for her. She talked about the surprise that Leo was going to bring her when he got home from Iceland and still wondered what it was going to be. She showed me some of the subflooring that Leo built, where you could read writing from the railroad cars. She talked about how long it took them to declare Leo dead and how that affected her benefits. But mostly, she talked about the surprise her husband was going to bring her. She thought it was going to be something to do with their tenth wedding anniversary that they would celebrate when he came home.

On this day and every day, we remember Leo and the sacrifice he made for his country. We also want to remember all the other men and women who have died in service and hope their stories have been told. Most importantly, we want to thank each and every one of them and their families. Because of their sacrifices, we can live a good life today.

A Book and Its Sequel

 Recently, I read a book and its sequel that I enjoyed, so I thought I would share them with you.

The first is The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson. This historical fiction book came out in 2019 with favorable reviews and was on many bestseller lists. Somehow, I missed it and only stumbled on it when looking for something to read/listen to recently.

The story takes place in 1936 in the mountains of eastern Kentucky and revolves around Cussie Mary, a Blue packhorse librarian. A Blue is a person with a rare genetic disorder that makes their skin appear blue. There was an isolated group of Blues in eastern Kentucky, and they were severely mistreated by many as they were considered "colored" or a work of the Devil. The Packhorse Librarians was a project of the WPA (Works Progress Administration), and the purpose was to get books into the hands of people living in remote areas. Many places were only accessible by horse (or mule, as in Cussie's case); thus, the packhorse librarian name.

The narrative of the Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a blend of hardship and beauty. It alternates between scenes of mistreatment and poverty, and vivid descriptions of the mountains and the resilient people who call them home. The emotional journey of Cussie Mary is intertwined with secondary plots of people on her route and her father's difficult time in the coal mines.  

I loved this book. The story was compelling, and the writing was rich, with each word seeming to have been carefully chosen. Also, I enjoyed learning about a part of the history of the Blues and the packhorse librarians that I knew little about.

Last fall, the sequel, The Book Woman's Daughter, came out, and I listened to it after finishing the first one It picks up about 16 years later but goes back and fills in some of the stories of what took place during that time. As with most sequels, The Book Women's Daughter could be read independently, but will be a much richer experience if you read the first book first. This book shows the same warmth in some characters and horrible behavior from others. In both books, the mountains are one of the characters, and Richardson continues with the same beautiful language to describe them.

I recommend both books.

Note: Here is an important part of my positive experience of the books. I listened to them. I do not usually listen to books, but I was looking for something to listen to when I stumbled on The Packhorse Librarian. The narrator, Katie Schorr, is excellent. After I was into the story, I considered getting the book to read because it would progress faster. But the characters became real with Shorr's voice, and I looked forward to visiting with them through her.  These books would be compelling reads, but I highly recommend the audio version of them.

Until next time...

A Little Getaway, Day Three

Ward and I are on a little 3-day get away to Chincoteague (CH) and Assateague (AS) Islands in Virginia. Here is our third day. 

Black Brant IX.
A sounding rocket still in use.

Today was our last day, so we gathered up our things, had breakfast, and checked out of the hotel. We didn't have much planned except a stop at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, which was just a few miles from CH at the beginning of our trip home.

Ward was quite excited when we drove by earlier on our way to CH. I, on the other hand, had never heard of Wallops Island or the nearby Wallops Flight Facility, which is a rocket and balloon launch facility. They launch suborbital things, with the focus being on collecting scientific data of all kinds. Unfortunately, there were no launches scheduled while we were there, but since it's only a few hours away, maybe we'll go back for one. 

Of course, the actual launch and research area is off-limits, but they had a very nice visitor's center we browsed. 

Below are a few pictures from our visit.

Across the road, on Wallops Island, was the actual launch facility and labs. 

Ward examined Little Joe Rocket, part of the testing for
Project Mercury, which sent the first men into space.

After NASA, we had peanut butter sandwiches in the car and headed home. Along the way, we finished listening to Misty of Chincoteague. And as often happens on the way home from a trip, we switched into home mode and wondered if we could make it home in time to mow the grass. It was quite tall because of all of the rain we had been having.

We made it home, the suitcases were unpacked, and the yard got mowed. It was a wonderful trip, and I'm so happy we went.

Until next time...

A Little Getaway, the Second Day

Ward and I are on a little, 3-day getaway to Chincoteague (CH) and Assateague (AS) Islands in Virginia. Here is our second day.

The morning looked cloudy and windy as Ward and I made our way to the dock, where we joined Captain Dan and six other passengers for a cruise around the islands.  We were motoring into strong winds, and it was COLD! I had on three layers, but still sat tensely trying to keep warm. Ward had on an unzipped sweatshirt and was not cold, or so he says. That's hard for me to believe, but we are different people.

Captain Dan's family had been on CH for 8 generations, and he was quite knowledgeable about all things CH and AS. He also had been in the Navy and worked commercial fishing boats, so he knew a lot about the ways of the sea.

Along the way, he pointed out various things, such as these oyster houses. Oysters were a big business at one time, and these houses were used for harvesting and protecting oyster crops. No structures are allowed to be constructed in CH Bay now, but these were grandfathered in. Now, they are used for fishing and duck hunting. We also saw a bald eagle sunning itself, but I didn't get any pictures.

Our first stop was near the north end of CH, where we saw our first band of ponies. I was very excited, to say the least. It is foaling season and we saw two colts less than a week old with this group. There are several bands of horses (a stallion and up to 15 mares) on AS, and Dan knew the names of every pony, who had mated with whom, and their roaming habits. At first glance, they all looked roughly the same to me - brown and white. But he was pointing out small patterns that differentiated them, and I was amazed. We spent a while here watching the ponies graze on seagrass. We were out of the wind, and I was very thankful to feel warmer. 

We were able to get closer to the ponies on our next stop where we saw this young stallion, Norm, with his "girlfriend." She was an older woman, 22 years old, and probably Norm's first attempt at forming his own band. She looked like she was pregnant, but Norm may not be the father. Gestation for horses is 11 months, and then there are 8-10 days after that that they can't conceive. Then, they're good to go again.

This is Norm's girlfriend. The ponies belong to the CH Fire Department, but their treatment is regulated by the Wildlife Service. The ponies are monitored and receive regular vet care.

By the time we made it back to the dock, the sun was shining. The forecast was for clouds all day, so this was a very pleasant surprise.

Our cruise had taken us around some of AS in the water, but after lunch, we decided to explore the island itself. Our first stop was AS Lighthouse. The short trail to the lighthouse is famous for horrible mosquitoes, so I told Ward I was staying in the car. He convinced me to come along, and to my relief, the wind had gotten rid of the mosquitoes for the afternoon. This lighthouse was built in 1867 and is still operational today.

Along the side of one of the park roads, we saw two more bands of ponies. In the morning, we had only seen them grazing, so it was exciting to see this group trot by. A knowledgeable bystander told us that they were going to a watering hole in the woods. This was a group of mares only as the stallion was getting vet care for an abscess on his leg. (I never take videos, so excuse the "extra" footage.)

The park service has determined that AS* can only support 150 ponies, so the CH fire department, which owns the ponies, sells some of the colts each year to keep the population down and raise money for equipment. They have a drive, and the ponies swim from AS to CH each July for this. After the sale, the ponies go back to the island. They keep some of the young ones to keep the herd going. (The water depth in CH Bay that they swim across is usually only 4' or less.)

Tis the season. Not only did we see foals, we saw goslings crossing the road. 

A little further down the road, we had a terrapin crossing. It shut down traffic for a few minutes as it made its way along. I had another person taking a picture to put her foot out for scale.

Then we made our way out of the bay waters to the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. It was cold and windy (for me anyway, see Ward in shirtsleeves), but it was a pleasant walk, all the same.

Then, we decided it was time to go back to CH. As we explored CH by car, we found the Captain Timothy Hill house. It was built in 1800 and is the only structure remaining of the 13 houses that were on CH at that time. Hand-hewn logs and a wooden chimney.

After an Italian dinner at a local restaurant, we found a nature trail for a nice walk.

Yesterday was a very full but great day. Now it's time to check out of the hotel and get on the road home.

Until next time...

Note:

--AS is a long barrier island owned half by Maryland and half by Virginia. The fire department owns the ponies in VA, and the park service owns the ponies in MD.

--I didn't have time for editing, so just read around whatever doesn't make sense.

A Little Getaway, Day 1

Almost dark on Chincoteague Island

Ward and I are on a little getaway to Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. CH and AS (as they shall be known from here on out because typing those long names gets tiresome) are barrier islands off the coast of Virginia. CH is where most of the people live in the area and AS is a wildlife refuge. Besides the beaches, they are famous for their wild pony population. Wild ponies have been living on AS for hundreds if not 1000s of years. Stories differ on how they got there, but the most popular one is that they escaped from a Spanish galleon during a storm. 

I have heard about these ponies my entire life and have always wanted to see them. So, here we are. We planned the trip just before Memorial Day to hopefully beat the crowds. So far, so good.

The islands are about 4 hours from home, and we took a leisurely drive (at least after we got around the beltway to get past Baltimore) to get there. On the way, we listened to Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henty, which is a story about two children raising a pony from the pony roundup they do each year. The narrator is quite good, and we are enjoying this historical fiction kid's book, especially since we are now where it took place. 

This morning, we have a cruise scheduled around the islands to see the ponies and other wildlife. However, about 10% of the time, the ponies are not seen. But hey, that means that 90% of the time, they are. I have high hopes. The weather is in the 50s and windy, so I will be bundled up. I'll let you know how it goes, but in the meantime, here are some pictures from our day yesterday.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is often a choke point going to the Eastern Shore - especially during the summer. However, we had smooth sailing over it, luckily.

After a couple of hours, we decided to stop in Cambridge, MD. They had a very nice park with piers into the water to walk around.

There was also a free lighthouse museum we explored.

Harriet Tubman was born close to Cambridge and there are many things about her throughout the town. On this trip, we visited the Harriet Tubman Memorial Garden. We will do more the next time we visit.

We drove a couple of more hours and then checked in at our hotel.
This is the view from our balcony. (The same view as the sunset picture at the top of this post.)

After a seafood dinner, we walked around town and figured out that many attractions in the area are not open until next week when the summer season begins. That's okay with us. We are finding plenty to do and are happy to avoid the crowds.

Now we're off in search of the ponies.

Until next time...

Blooming This Week

As some flowers are fading, others are making their appearances. Here are some of the things blooming in my yard this week.

This yellow iris bloomed last fall for the first time. Now, it seems to be on a regular schedule, with spring blooming.

The Siberian irises have had their first blooms. We had these at our last house, and I shared them with a friend. She then shared some with me from her yard for our new house. So these are from my old house, so to speak. However, they took the long route to get here.

The snow on the mountain is blooming among the day lily leaves.

Our scraggly rhododendron is in full bloom now.

However, the ones in another part of the yard have just started to bloom.

The dianthus has more blossoms.

The poppy I transplanted this spring had its first blossom before something dug it up.
I tried replanting it, but it was dug up again. Oh, well.

The baby chickadees are maturing rapidly. It shouldn't be long before they fledge.

Ward and I will be gone for a few days for a little change of scenery. I'll tell you all about it when I get a chance.

Until next time...

This and That

Good morning.

Our 1st head of broccoli is forming.

Mornings are not my best time. Some people wake up wide awake, and some people have sleep latency, where their body wakes up slowly. That would be me. It usually takes a few hours before I feel totally awake. And more often than I like, I wake up with a migraine. And that would be this morning. Add to that a phone call that my father-in-law went to the hospital this morning, and I wouldn't be what you would call chipper.

But it's almost time for work, and I will be doing storytime this morning with preschoolers. May is National Mental Health Month, so I'm doing a storytime on feelings. This is my version of tying into that because, of course, three-year-olds are not ready for a big discussion about mental health. Storytimes are always fun, so that, combined with time to wake up, should have me feeling okay soon enough.

After a long time of talking about it, we finally got a new mattress. We found mattress shopping intimidating because so many variables and unique branding made comparisons difficult. Thus, we would start researching and shopping, become overwhelmed, and move on to something else. Memorial Day is traditionally the biggest mattress sale of the year, so we took advantage of that and bit the bullet. Last night was our first night on the new mattress. It will still take time to get used to, but I think we made a good decision. We also got an adjustable base because of the variety of setups it lets us have. I'm not sure how much we will be using it at this point, but we shall see.

Times up for now, so I will finish this later.

___________________

Well, it is a day and a half later now. The rest of yesterday was busy and intense with a visit from a friend I hadn't seen in a long time and, later, more disturbing news from another. Both made for a busy mind and too much awake time last night. Good thing that today is a day off with nothing really pressing to do. 

Begonias that didn't get planted.

Ward and I spent our wake-up time this morning playing with the different settings on the bed frame. It has way more settings than we will probably ever use, but they were fun to play with all the same. There are under-the-bed night lights. I'm not sure what we need those for, but we can change them to four different colors. The head, foot, and middle all raise and lower to several heights. Raising the head of the bed is what I thought might be the most useful, but we haven't figured out the right setting for that yet. We got the giggles as we tried out the different vibration settings. They might be good to go to sleep by, but for now, they just seem strange and funny. And even with all of these features, believe it or not, we did not get the deluxe version of the bed frame. Ours has no charging ports, and we can't operate it from our phones. Neither is a problem since we don't take any devices to the bedroom.

We have had several straight days of rain, so my hopes of doing some needed yard work were not met today. Instead, we made progress with some of our financial papers, which always seem to need some kind of attention.

That's about it for now. What kind of this and that have you been up to?

Until next time...

Happy Mother's Day

  Happy Mother's Day! 

I come from a long line of mothers.

My mother, Betty, and me. I was about three and she was pregnant with my sister, her fourth child. I didn't have a care in the world, but she looks very tired. I think she was. 

My mother with my grandmother, Donnie. My grandmother was very proud
since my mother was the first in her family to graduate high school. 

My paternal grandmother, Yula, with 17 grandkids. There were 6 more to come.
(I'm next to the boy with the bowtie.)

My great-grandmother, Anna Estella, on my paternal grandmother's side.
In other words, this is the mother of the person above.

This is my paternal great-grandmother, Lavenia Jane
In other words, this is my paternal grandfather's mother.

This is my great, great grandmother, Anna Elizabeth,
mother of Anna Estella.

There. Do you have all of that straight? Don't worry. I'm not sure if I got it all correct myself. What I do know is that each generation along the way has made me who I am, and for that, I am thankful.

So, as you remember those who came before you, Happy Mother's Day!

Until next time...

A Mother's Day Walk

Theo has to work tomorrow, so he and Wally came over today to celebrate Mother's Day. We were lucky that there was a break in the rain and the sun peaked out from among the clouds for our outing. Temperatures were in the low 60s with a gentle breeze blowing. Theo commented that the weather was just about perfect, and we all agreed.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we headed out to my request for the day -  a walk in a local azalea garden. The garden is rimming a reservoir lake that provides water to Washington, D.C. The garden was planted in the 1950s and 1960s and covers 5 acres with over 22,000 azalea bushes among hardwood trees. 

It had been a few years since Ward and I had visited, and Wally and Theo had never been there. The blooms were past their peak, but there were bursts of late bloomers here and there. As we wandered among the bushes, Theo was telling us interesting things about the "intelligence" of plants, including one vine that mimics the leaf shape of whatever it is growing next to. It's always curious and, sometimes, surprising to me to hear things that my kids know about. Theo is not one who is interested in the green world outdoors, so I was surprised that he knew so much about it. 

We had a pleasant walk and then hurried home to beat the rain. And speaking of rain, unfortunately, we won't have a chance to see the rare appearance of the Northern Lights in our area tonight because of rain. But a walk in the woods with my family is almost as good, if not better.

Below are a few pictures of our afternoon. 

You can see that most of the blossoms had faded.

I found this fringe of suckers on this tulip poplar stump interesting. 

Wally, Theo, and Ward

This bush actually had buds on it, promising more blooms.

Unfortunately, we also saw a lot of poison ivy.

After the garden, we walked along the bridge over the dam so Ward could check out its structure.

While he was checking out the workings of the dam, I was watching the geese. :)

Until next time...