Just Ramblin' (On)

I just want to catch you all up a bit since my last writing. A lot has been happening in the area of living life, accepting death and all the in-between. Living life involves just enjoying each new day, whether it's cloudy, windy, chilly or warm. I hope I never judge a day as being a good one or a bad one by just the course of normal weather. Of course natural disasters constitute a different way of looking at it, especially in light of the volcanic ash, tornadoes, landslides, etc. I'm very thankful we have not experienced any of those here in Winston Salem, other than very heavy winds of late.

A brother-in-law passed away recently. It was very interesting that everyone who got up and spoke about him talked about what a good cook he was. What a nice way to be remembered...feeding people the things they loved to eat. In honor of him, his grandchildren and I went fishing, along with the eldest's girlfriend. The younger of the two boys and I dug for worms and we actually found just what we needed, along with a plastic tub with holes already punched in the lid and dirt to put them in. It was a blessed day.

I have 3 wonderful sisters and life just seems to be drawing us back to each other more and more. Scarlette and Pam (oldest and youngest) watched from afar as the 3 kids went out in the canoe onto the lake, while Linda and I remained on the dock trying to fish ourselves, but a dog kept jumping in the water and swimming circles around the dock. (The boys' grandmother...my eldest sister...has lived on the lake for many years and this is where their grandfather lovingly taught his grandchildren to fish.) I screamed from the shore, just as they were pushing off, "Bring back 7 fish and I will cook them! But you have to clean them!" I think they usually just caught and released, but this time I wanted them to have a feast and I wanted to do the cooking.

They brought back the fish and I told them how to clean them. Now, I have to admit here...I've rarely fished; never baited a hook; double never ever touched a fish or worm, and certainly never cooked a fish before, but I certainly did a fine job of telling them what to do. (Once a teacher, always a teacher. : ) (I did call Randy just to make sure my steps were correct, and my sister Linda was there for back up and scaling, because she's done it all, but she was not so quick to step in this time. She did a fine job of teaching the girlfriend how to scale, though.) My younger sister Pam made hush puppies and we had other food people had graciously dropped by and we truly had a feast by candlelight. It had to have made their grandfather smile. It sure did me. The fish was delicious, but I wanted so badly to put it on a stick and cook it over an open fire. I taught everyone at the table how Grandpa Harry had taught me to squeeze the fish on both sides, years ago, and everyone was amazed at how quickly the meat pulled away from the bone. So as not to waste a drop, I had my nephew save all the YUCK from his cleaning and bury it in the ground as fertilizer. (I hope my sister doesn't plant over there any time soon.) It was a bittersweet day to say the least.

All the stuff in between is the stuff that feeds your soul (or works to destroy it, but I'm staying away from that) ...like picking roses and arranging them into bouquets that will remind you inside of what awaits you outside...the product of your labor; and the necessary things like cleaning and lawn upkeep that make your life uncluttered, and encouraging others in their time of need.

Randy's co-worker and our friend, Michael came for a night and Randy cooked a spring chicken stew from a recipe he'd found in the paper the week before. It was delicious. Goodness...does it seem as though the theme of this post is cooking? Could be because I'm trying to watch what I eat...swimming pool weather is fast approaching and I do not want to do the winter waddle down to the pool in a few weeks. Well, I guess I'd better go and drink some water to fill up so I don't go foraging for that late night snack I used to eat before bedtime...you know...just to tide me over til morning. Happy eating.

Spring's Just Springing Along

Leah's pink passport has been retired for awhile and I am glad. I loved her being over in Singapore, but I love the "concerned" distance being diminished from all the way over there. Florida just doesn't seem that far away anymore. We drove down to see her the day after she returned, and she did so well with transitioning. It's so funny how people returning from being outside our country always look forward to a food item once they return home. For Leah it was Twistee Treat...a huge cup of vanilla yogurt. She enjoyed every frozen mouthful to the last drop. Aunt Connie & Uncle Larry met us up in Orlando and it was a great reunion for the Easter weekend. We cleaned the condo's windows and screens and the place looked like we were putting it up for sale, which I'm happy to say we weren't.

It was amazing how many engagements we heard about, and babies, while down there. I guess those are some of the contents of this new chapter we find ourselves in, along with where our children's friend's younger brothers and sisters will be going off to college. Speaking of college, I would be remiss if I didn't tell you our good news about Matthew and his newest appointment. He will be sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Judicial Branch of SGA at University of Central Florida, in early May. Yes, he does get to wear a robe and use a gavel, as Gail asked him jokingly. They take care of all peer mediations, etc. at the school. It's a huge responsibility, so he will not be coming to NC for the summer to study for the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) that most law schools require. He'll do his preparation down at UCF now, and that is fine with us. We just go with the flow and stand back and watch God work our children's future out to His glory.

We brought Leah and my dear friend, Gail, back up with us and they just returned on Saturday. Randy is so smart. He took me straight over to the Farmer's Market in Greensboro and bought me some of their delicious kettle korn, which I munched on while I looked at plants and picked out the ones we would plant that afternoon to keep my mind off of their departure. We bought more azaleas, verbena, petunias and some herbs. I LOVE going to the Farmer's Market. It's like going to an art gallery for plants. You'd be hard-pressed to walk out of there empty-handed.

Randy and I enjoyed seeing old friends and revisiting our familiar past while down in Florida. I volunteered to greet at our traditional Easter Sunrise Service at Lake Down in Windermere, and sweet Johnnie Neal, who wears many hats and took over my job when I left, had a bag of presents for me: an Easter basket filled with chocolates, a shirt, a box of chocolates from my friend, Carol Vereb, AND A GREETER NAMETAG with my name and "Greeter Emeritus" underneath it. So I guess I can greet whenever I want now. I asked him if I could have a parking spot with my name on it next. Still haven't heard anything on that one, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are having the sign made even as I type. We didn't make it to either of the church campuses, but we did get to see a lot of people we had not seen in years.

We arrived home to the tulips bursting out in all their beautiful regalia. The irises are next, and then I guess it will be time for the summer flowers, since the bulbs are coming and going quickly. BTW, you may remember the story of the "wild irises" that I saved from the bulldozer 2 years ago...well they really weren't irises, if you recall, but tiger lilies. They have multiplied like bunnies this year, so I am giving them away to good homes...a little piece of Brookberry beauty. Someone dug up the last of the daffodils over on the empty lot and that makes me so happy. I saw a couple looking at the lot a few weeks ago, so that land may be cleared before you know it. I would hate to think those daffodils that Mrs. Beroth, the caretaker's wife of Brookberry Farm, planted all those years ago, would be destroyed, never to be enjoyed again.

The housing market is definitely looking up here at BBF. Many of the real estate signs are boasting "SOLD" perched at the top, and resales are saying, "Under Contract." The newest part of the neighborhood is under major construction. I just walk Mollie by and say, "Thank You, Lord, " for every house being built. We can no longer say which family lives in each house as we used to be able to do.

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful rest of Spring and that whatever is springing up in your garden makes you happy. Hope to be back more often now that things are settling down. Happy planting! Do your best not to get pollinated!