Jessie's Christmas Cookies

 Jessie made these.

 

Darla and Lynn Zoom

 My really good friends Darla and Lynn and I go way back to High School. This year we couldn't get together because of the pandemic, but Darla figured out how to set us up for a Zoom chat.  It was SO FUN!!

I sent each of them this card.  This is us!

Jolie and the Kids Visit

We had a surprise visit from Jolie, Bradley, and Alexandra yesterday.  It turned out very nice.  We had a nice lunch and freeze pops.  I didn't get pictures of all of it, but it was very nice.  Bradley made himself right at home.

We walked down to the farm and saw baby chicks, ate fresh watermelon, and picked blackberries.

 

Ali and Jolie drove the lawn tractor back to the house.

I got lots of snuggles.

Bradley liked the mask I cut from a T-shirt sleeve.

New Welding Cart

Sam Lopez, Louie's long-time friend is retiring from farming and has offered to let Louie go through his barns and warehouse and take anything he can use.  One of the things was a cart, which Louie built into a welding cart.

Caring for Mom

 I am caring for Mom at home following a hospitalization.  Here's our selfie along with a note she wrote on August 2, a few days before going to the hospital. 

 

 

Her helper Alma often reads aloud to Mom from the stories that she wrote.  You can see by her expression that it really takes her back to fond memories.

 

We never know how much time we have left.  She came home from the hospital on August 5, 2020, and I am staying with her 24/7 for a few days until she can stay alone (or not).  In the morning when she woke up, she told me about a dream.  She said (with a big smile),   

            "I just had a dream, and it was so real.  In my dream I knew I was going to Heaven today.  But I woke up, and you're here.  So I guess I am having another day!"   

I love my Mommy.    

 

 

 

 

           

New Potatoes

Delicious new potatoes and beans in cream sauce.  One of my Dad's favorites.

Another Gorgeous Sunrise

Weeding and Cultivating

It is weeding season, and Louie likes to keep his gardens looking perfect.  Here he is weeding on the way down to the farm.

And here is cultivating for one of the last times before the plants get too big. 

Lunch in the Orchard With Eileen

Eileen came to Racine and we took a walk down to the lake (with masks of course, because we are still in the Pandemic).  Then we had lunch in the orchard (socially distanced).  We split a bottle of wine and talked all afternoon.

A few weeks later we did it again.  It was so fun to see her, and have some company IN PERSON! 

Jolie's Visit

Jolie came for a very brief visit and we spent some time with Grandma.  She was in her glory, of course! 

Masks down for pictures.

Jessie and Paul

This is such a great picture of Jessie and Paul! 

Hank's Birthday

Shelly brought ice cream cake for Hank's birthday, and we had it outside at the picnic table.  He is always so thrilled to see his kids and grandkids.

My 2020 in 20

Osher is the lifelong learning program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the members were given the assignment of writing in 20 words what changes the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic has created for us.  The year 2020 in 20 words.  Here's mine.

Fourth of July

During the Pandemic we were very careful to only be with members of our immediate households.  So no Easter dinner, and no birthday parties.  But when Fourth of July came and we were able to be outside, socially distanced, with masks and lots of hand sanitizer, we had a cookout and fireworks in the yard.

  
The kids had sparklers and poppers, but the adults had bigger ones.  It's hard to tell from this picture, but Louie and Hank would light one of the fireworks and then RUN back!

We were really all a bunch of young boys blowing stuff up!

There were an unusual number of fireworks displays going on all around us in the neighborhoods (probably because there wasn't a city-wide display).

The moon was full, but my camera couldn't figure out what to focus on.  Still very pretty.

Brick Garden Edging

I am using our old antique paving bricks we got years ago when they redid Barker Street (Louie) and College Avenue (me).  They each weigh 8-10 pounds apiece, and the sod has to be removed, so it's a lot of work.  But Louie will be able to mow the grass cleanly without running a trimmer afterward, and I love the tidy look.

Helping Mom

Many times over the years Mom told a story of coming home from college for Christmas, and her mom asking her to help wrap presents.  So she gave her the gifts, with notes about who they were for, and the wrapping paper and supplies.  One of the gifts was for Mom, so she had to wrap her own present with instructions NOT TO PEEK!  

Today I helped Mom (now 92 and almost blind) prepare some birthday cards for all her July friends and ME!  So I had to help with my own card.  History repeated itself, and she enjoyed reminiscing about that other day 70-some years ago.

(Shirley's is already in the mail.)

Mom is still living at home alone, but she's needing some help from me.  Recently she confided that her breakfast was too putzy to make, and she was forgetting parts of it, so I started setting it out the night before, and that helps.  It reminds me of those desperate days when I had very young children and not enough sleep, so I set out their cereal for them the night before. 

My Flower Bed

I have not been able to get a Coreopsis to grow here in the 4-5 years I have had this garden bed, so this year I am trying a Blanket Flower to get a yellow, medium-height plant right here.  Hope it survives!

And in this one you can see how my Ajuga (Bugle Weed ground cover that Sandi recommended) really took off.

The house looks so good when the front flower bed is at its peak!

And the hydrangeas on the north side came so late this year.

I often see a little yellow finch at the bird bath, but today it was a robin.  Wish I could filter out the window screen.

Mom's Haircut

During the Coronavirus Pandemic, we couldn't go to our salon for a haircut, so I started cutting Mom's hair at home.  It wasn't too difficult, and it usually turned out okay.  Here we are with our "cape" (dish towels) and our masks.  She actually enjoyed it.

Eileen and Me

Eileen and I went for a walk Friday, after 3 months of staying "Safer at Home" during the Coronavirus Pandemic.  It was so wonderful to see her.  Courtenay came for the walk too.  We wore our masks and were properly socially distanced.  Then Eileen and I talked for 4 hours.  It was wonderful! 

Louie Planting Squash

Louie marked off an area of the field and then planted squash and pumpkins. Here's the clean field, worked up ("fluffed up") and ready to go. 

 
I took this video to show how hard he works, how much of the work is done by hand, and what a huge area he planted! In the video you can see he's wearing gloves, because that day he planted so many the skin was coming off his fingers, just like sand paper.