First, let me say that both the luncheons this month held at the Buffy Bed and Breakfast went well! Half our exercise group attended the first pot luck, and everyone had a good time. There were still iris in bloom, peonies, roses, ox-eye daisies and Dame’s Rocket, so we had color, and the gardens were still lovely. Saturday, the Red Hat Ladies appeared on our doorstep on a rainy day, and we held a birthday celebration for one of the ladies. We chatted, and had a great meal, and they were kind about well-trimmed, but mostly flowerless gardens. They were here just as the Spring flowers had faded away, and the summer flowers were not yet in full force. Luckily, one exceptional Peace rose, a red shrub rose, several lilies, the coreopsis and a couple of poppies were open, so the gardens weren’t totally bare.
You can imagine how I felt as the last of the ladies left Saturday afternoon. I’d been working hard to get the gardens into shape, and working on the linens and china, cleaning the house, keeping the laundry done, AND working for DH. I was thinking…..”I can nap, read…..watch T.V. or just SIT!! I don’t have to do ANYTHING!”
And then I realized my knee hurt. It wasn’t a bad hurt, just a little tightness. As the afternoon progressed, the knee hurt a bit more, and I found it difficult to bend my leg. Then it hurt to walk down stairs. I got into the whirlpool and let the warm water work on the knee for a bit, but it was still stiff when I went to bed, and still stiff the next morning. I was getting a toothache from gritting my teeth!
I had a periodontist visit this morning, and the doc happens to be a runner. I asked him what he knew about knees, and all he could tell me was to take Ibuprofen, use heat, and if it wasn’t better in two weeks, get an MRI done.
Bad back, bum knee, toothache…..I NEED A NEW BODY!!!
I figure my body knew that I had made it through my goals and it was okay to go to pot. Do you suppose I could scare it into shape by reminding it that we have a 90th birthday bash to plan??

I KNOW that there are people out there who wait for the first warm days of the year, longing for heat, hoping for endless days of sunlight and beach sitting. I understand the longing for the light. I can appreciate wanting warm weather so that you can swim or sit by the shore.
However, the weather we had to day, and will have tomorrow, is my idea of heaven, especially when I need to work in the gardens! It’s supposed to be 60 tomorrow; almost cool enough to make it reasonable to light a fire! It was in the fifties this evening as we watched the 6:00 news.
As I have gotten older, I’ve become less and less tolerant of the heat. I love my gardens, but I have learned to get out a O-dark-thirty to do my gardening, because once the sun rises in the sky, it’s too hot for me to work. By mid July, if our Illinois weather is true to form, you won’t see me outside for longer than it takes me to feed the birds and water my plants.
So…Bring it on! Give me a day’s respite from the heat. I won’t complain!

We’re almost ready for the Red Hat Ladies luncheon tomorrow. We’ve gotten an astonishing amount done in the gardens this week, especially when you know that I spent two quiet days with back trouble. Dear Husband mowed a good part of the lawn today. It looked like he was making hay, because he wasn’t collecting the clippings and it had been more than a week since he mowed last. I used the string trimmer at the front and herb gardens, and I filled the wheelbarrow (twice!) with weeds and iris stalks.
As I walked down to the garden along the west of the driveway, I was looking at a tree where the drive bends a bit. I realized that the tree has the largest poison ivy leaves I’ve ever seen! There’s a root growing up the tree that must be parasitic. We’ll have to cut it at the base of the tree, and then cover ourselves in a week or two when we pull the dead plant from the tree. We could leave it, but the oil would still be there to do it’s damage.
Dear Husband is going off to sail for two days. We’re going to have breakfast together before he gets on the tollway, and I run my last couple of errands. I have to pick up fancy bread, flowers, red and purple balloons to mark our driveway, and my dry cleaning. I should be home by 7:30 or so.
We’ll be celebrating the 83rd birthday of one of our members. Her friend brought a beautiful birthday cake to us today, so that the celebration would be a secret. I’m sure it’s going to be a lovely day!
I have to iron a table cloth, and Elegante Mother will set the tables. I’ll need to tidy the bedroom, make coffee and iced tea, bake the ziti, and arrange the flowers. Not bad, huh? It should be an easy morning.

Two of my friends from exercise and I went to see the “Da Vinci Code” yesterday. So many of our reviewers had panned it, that I was concerned I wouldn’t like it, but it wasn’t as bad as they said.
Yes….they “talk, talk, talk, talk, talk,” and then they “run, run, run, run run,” repeatedly, but that’s the way the the story is set down in the book. Ron Howard was amazingly faithful to the book, and that may make the story line a little difficult to follow in movie format, but I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to those of you who like mysteries.
I was in the car Monday, with Elegante Mother. I commented that there was something trivial that was making me rather cranky. She thought that we get cranky over the trivial stuff because we might actually change what bothers us. We tend to ignore the huge issues, or try not to be stressed out over them, because there isn’t much we can do to rectify the situation. In two sentences, she hit the nail on the head.
I’ve been gardening. I know…that’s not news. I’m taking the day off from gardening and exercise because I’ve done so much gardening lately that my back has flared up. I still have to get all those plants into the ground, just not today. I’ll have to read back through my posts to see if I’ve told you what I have in mind for the garden under the front windows.
I’ve made a start on the hand print quilt. I laid out about 20 of the blocks last night, so that I could reassure myself there would be adequate contrast between the amber and the navy blue. There is; I needn’t have worried. In a few places, the satin stitching that outlines the hands will help to create the contrast, but for the most part, things will be fine. I spent the morning preparing letters and packets for those of the family who have not yet given me the outline of their hand. One of my nieces is an expert at satin stitching, and she is going to give me some help. I have to get the blocks to her as soon as possible, because her free time runs out soon. Progress…..I’m making progress.
The exercise ladies have been providing me with their recipes from the luncheon. I’ve promised to type them up and print them for the class. One more little chore to get out of the way.
The Red Hat Ladies will be here for luncheon on Saturday. So far, eight out of forty-some will be here, but I suspect that more have forgotten to call to let me know they will be attending. BTW…isn’t it lovely that some women will call to let you know they CAN’T attend?? I had two very nice calls with women who have other commitments. I’ll set two tables, just in case. I have napkins and two table cloths to iron, and I have to put away my hand print paraphernalia. If I can get back to the gardens, I’ll plant some of the plants at the front of the house. The exercise ladies thought I should make the baked ziti for the Red Hatters. We should have a lovely day.
My oldest sis and her daughter flew to Perth last week. Two of her grandchildren are graduating from high school this weekend. The flight went well, the plans for the graduation and the following party sound awesome, and her grandson is the valedictorian for the class. GO OZ!!
I’ve just begun “The Other Boleyn Girl,” the first of my summer reads. One of my nieces, the one who has put me on to historical fiction and good reads, gave it to me for Christmas. So far, I can tell you that I’m relieved that I don’t live in a time when my parents saw me as a pawn for political advantage!
I hope you all have a great weekend, with sunshine, cool temperatures and lots of loafing time!

This household has been working for the month of May to be ready for Friday, June 2, 2006. Yesterday, about half of our exercise class came to a potluck brunch, and the quilting bee came for our monthly evening meeting.
I’ve been washing interior windows, gardening, cleaning out closets (to make room to hide more stuff!), planning seating and getting dishes and linens and glasses ready, and yesterday it all came to fruition.
About five or six years ago (perhaps seven…we’re a little fuzzy on how time flies), Elegante Mother was planning a trip to London to see the Chelsea Flower Show. I was worried that all the walking was going to be difficult for her, so we enrolled in an exercise class for adults. EM made the trip, enjoyed herself no end, and we stayed with the class.
Over the years we have had a change in leaders, and the class has grown, but we’ve stayed with it. EM exercises in the NW corner of the room, and I’m all the way across the floor at the SE corner. Of the 44 people registered, I know the names of 38-40, and we go early to chat with our friends before we exercise.
For the past two or three years, the class has been coming here in May for their birthday celebration. We go to brunch once a month to recognize all the people who have had a birthday that month. I have a devoted reader and friend, who thinks I’m crazy to open my house to such a large group, but she would understand if only I could express the joy it gives me to be able to share my home with my friends, and make them comfortable and welcome.
Without a doubt, this is the nicest group of people I know. Some of them came early to help me with the final setting of the tables. Everyone brought a delectable dish to share. Two ladies saw to it that we had adequate folding chairs, and another brought flowers cut from her garden that morning.
As the first of the women arrived, they brought the news that there had been a bad gas leak about a mile and a half west of us. I was concerned that some of our newer members might not be able to find us from the east, so we delayed lunch a bit to give everyone time to straggle in. When it looked like they were all present, we had everyone come to the island to serve themselves. I was seated at the smallest table, and was the last to sit down. Shortly after I sat, one more guest arrived, and there was a rush to sample her Vidalia onion casserole. Only two people who had planned to attend didn’t make it. We’ll have to find out Monday if they couldn’t find us.
Each carload of ladies, as they arrived had a story to tell about how they managed to get around the closed road. One of them told us that the policeman who was redirecting traffic started asking “Are you going to the luncheon?” Unfortunately, he gave each car the wrong directions, and they all arrived steaming.
The meal was superb, the companionship and conversation equally wonderful. And that’s where words begin to fail me. They gave me the loveliest card that talks about friendship and support. I know if I had a need, I could go to any of these people for help. They are the most amazing support group. I couldn’t ask for a better group of friends.
This has gotten long, so I’ll talk about the desserts in another post. I just wanted to share what a wonderful day we had.

Maybe just one extra hour each day?
There are SO many things I’d like to be doing. I have a dozen books waiting for my attention. I really want to be quilting and piecing new tops, and reading quilting magazines. I know this will sound funny, but I really want to be out weeding, especially the center section of the long driveway garden. I want to go to the Farmer’s Market, and to the fabric store. I want to nap, and to read all my favorite blogs and write in my own blog. I’d like to have more time with my family.
The truth is, I’ve been doing almost all those things this past month, but I’d like to feel more relaxed doing them. Either I need a wife, a housekeeper/cook, or I need an extra hour or two in the day.
Does everyone feel this way about life? I look at my three sisters, and see how much they accomplish every day, and feel put to shame, whining about what I want/need to do. And I want to do so much more, but I just haven’t figured out how to squeeze it in.
If you know the secret, please pass it on!

I need a QUILTING VACATION!!!
I may get one. Cop Car may be coming to visit, as soon as I tell her what weeks I have free this summer. Can you see the two of us quilting together??
I can’t wait to see what she’s working on. Her color sense is absolutely the opposite of mine, and I love it. You should see the sample from a lesson on making Flying Geese that she sent me. I’ve been trying to find the fabric in stores here, without luck.
I’ll have to encourage her to bring her digital camera, so that we can show you what we’re working on, and how it’s coming along.
Friday morning at 11:00 is our exercise group pot luck luncheon. Friday night is quilting bee. A week From Saturday, the Red Hat Ladies come for luncheon. I wish the flowers would be at their prime for these visits, but the garden peaked this weekend. We had heat in the 90s for a couple of days, and then punishing rain this evening. Maybe the lilies or day lilies will have opened before they arrive.
Of course, I’m in the middle of two or three quilting projects, too. I’ve begun collecting hand prints for the genealogy quilt and wall hangings. One of my nieces is going to help me by satin stitching around the hand prints, and machine embroidering the names and dates of birth on the blocks. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the hard part. I’ll use one set of the hands to make a full sized large quilt, and the other set will be divided up to make a wall hanging for each of my siblings, with just their branch of the family. I have my Dad’s hand print from a quilt that was made 25 years ago, and I’ll copy it for this quilt. Unfortunately, our quilt will be missing my stepson’s hand print. I’ll have to think of something else for his. He wore an American flag every day after 9-11. Maybe I can do something with that.
I’ve been fortunate that the office hasn’t needed me this past week, but I know I’ll have to put in some time this week. With the end of the month there’s always a little more bookkeeping to do. I’ve been filing, and creating folders for a new file. I want to create a way to track hiring and release dates for our employees. Some of them come and go, and the computer only retains the most recent information. When an employee seeks a loan from another company, they will call and ask how long they have been employed, and I can only go back as far as 2003 right now.
In the next two weeks, we have several appointments sprinkled over the calendar. Elegante Mother has a check up, I have to see the periodontist, and there are the standing salon appointments. We’ll be busy, but after June 15th, things slow down a LOT. It’s time to start looking for summer reading. I’ll take mine inside where it’s cool and shady, thanks!
Quilting Vacation, here I come!