August 2, 2020...The Mystic Lilies are in bloom

On July 29, I looked out the dining room window and saw five Mystic Lily stalks.  Later, when I went outside I found more.

I call them Mystic Lilies because that is what Tom's dad called them.  He gave me a dozen bulbs shortly after we moved in this house over fifty years ago.  The bulbs multiplied, I gave some to friends and still they multiplied.  Just the kind of flower I like.  Plant them and they will take care of themselves.

On July 31, the first blooms appeared.

They grow tall, taller than the birdbath.

Just this year I learned their Latin name, Lycoris squamigera.  They are in the amaryllis family.

In the spring, the leaves come up, straplike leaves, densely packed, and over a foot high.  They die back and completely disappear.  But spirit-like, the flowers rise in late July or early August.

There are a lot of common names for them, Resurrection Lilies, Surprise Lilies, Naked Ladies.  Take your pick.  I will always call them Mystic Lilies.

Roses, Lunch and Ducks...February 22

It's been fifty-eight years that a dozen red roses have arrived for me on April 22.  This November, Tom and I will have been married fifty-eight years.  Tom and I had broken up in 1960 and we hadn't seen each other since that fateful day.  Tom said when he sent the roses he really didn't think I would reply but he wanted me to know that he would always remember me. I had been remembering him, too.

The flowers arrived in late morning.  At noon, we went out to eat at Ruby Tuesday's.  Our daughter had given Tom a gift card for Christmas which he used.  After choosing salads from the well stocked salad bar, Tom had meaty ribs, so tender and well cooked that the meat fell off the bones.  I had grilled chicken with a honey barbecue sauce.  Dessert was apple cake with ice cream.  We were pleased.

The day was chilly but sunny.  This time of year "sunny" means the day is a good one.  Tom drove us to Englewood dam, one of the five dams built in the Dayton area after the devastating 1913 flood flooded downtown Dayton up to the second floors of many buildings

The ducks were too far off for Tom to get good photos but we got good looks at Canvasbacks, Redheads and Ringbills

The usual Canada Geese and Mallards were there also.

Tom decided to check out Eastwood Lake.  That was where we saw our first Bufflehead of the year.  The next stop was Eastwood Metro Park.  There we spotted two Hooded Merganser males and one female. 

Tom finally found a bird close enough to get a good photo...a Great Blue Heron.  He already had a nice bib of mating feathers.

Seeing the ducks means Spring is on its way and that brings smiles to our faces.

Tom's Eightieth Birthday Celebration...4 Months Early

After my big surprise birthday party, I began thinking about Tom's next birthday.  It will be his eightieth and he will again be as old as I am.  

Since he was born in January and we live in Ohio, we didn't think it would be easy to have a big party like he had for mine.  My sisters told us not to expect them to come.  Nobody who lives in Florida is likely to chose to come to Ohio in January.

Finally, Tom said, "I'd like to go to a Reds baseball game."  

Now that is something he can't do in January.  But he can do it now.  I told him to order the tickets and I would pay for the day's expenses.   

Years ago we would go to a game or two every year. but the games are expensive now.  We haven't gone to a game for eight years or more. I paid for the expenses out of my savings account.  That way he could forget about the cost and enjoy the day.

Tom was able to get tickets for his favorite seats, the handicapped accessible seats on the street level so we were close to food, the restrooms, and under a roof to protect us from the sun.

We got to see one of our favorite Reds, Joey Votto.

Billy Hamilton made one of his astounding catches out in right field.

By and by it became clear that the Reds were not going to win.  That was disappointing but the day was beautiful...sunny, a light breeze, sweater weather.  We even saw a Monarch butterfly flitting over the heads of the fans seated in front of us.

We watch the Reds regularly on TV but it was fun to actually be part of the crowd and see things not usually seen on TV like this truck with a revolving shooter on the back end that shot favors into the crowd.

This man had an air gun that shot off  favors.

In the last few innings, by the magic of computers, catcher's masks covered fan's faces caught by the Great American Stadium's cameras.  The "K"s (for Kroger) were turned to celebrate strikeouts by the Reds' pitchers.  If only the batters had hit in a few more runs!

Afterward, Tom said wistfully, "Do you think you have enough money to eat at the Hofbrauhaus in Newport?"  He is a lover of German food.

I decided that I did.

Part of the brewing system is on display behind the bar and the entire process is pictured on this diagram between the men's and women's restrooms.

It took Tom a while to decide on his meal.

Saurbrauten with spatzle and red cabbage. (I chose Salmon.)

Happy birthday, Tom (four months early)

My Eightieth Birthday....Wow!

June 13, 2018...I have entered another decade.

The first day was amazing.  I expected that Tom and I would go to The Rusty Bucket where our grandson is chef and have a pleasant meal.

I was ready to go when Tom said, "There's someone at the door.  Will you get it?"

My two sisters from Florida were at the door.  One of them said she thought I was having a heart attack when I opened the door.  I could not have been more surprised.  They drove all the way up from Florida to spend my birthday with me.

Tom told us to go ahead and go to the Rusty Bucket.  He had things to do at home.  The four of us could talk when we returned.

With my grandson on the patio of the Rusty Bucket.

A few hours later my daughter, Sonja, arrived with supper.   So much supper, I told her, it looked like she had brought enough food for twenty people.

Good thing, too.  Other people, none of whom I expected, showed up.

What I have told you are only a few of the highlights of the day.  Tom and  and my sister took at least a hundred pictures so I have all of them to jog my memories.  And yesterday, a book made with help from the Shutterfly website , arrived so I have still another way of remembering.

This decade is off to a wonderful start.

Fifty-seven Years, Fifty-seven Bouquets

Our Anniversary...Number Fifty-six

Our anniversary is November twenty-second.  This year the date was the day before Thanksgiving, just as it was the year we were married.  That year we didn't have Thanksgiving Day dinner to prepare for but this year we did.  It was wonderful to see all the Ohio clan except Jacquie who had to work.  ( She is a manager for a restaurant.)  Twelve of us are below.  Three more arrived later in the day.  The other six live in North Carolina and had Thanksgiving there.

Tom and I decided to celebrate our anniversary the following Wednesday.  We went to Schmidt's German Restaurant in Columbus and then to the Columbus Museum of Art.

My dinner.  Tom chose the buffet but I enjoyed having my food brought to me.

Our waiter, Dave.

Looking out the window.

First new item in twenty-five years.  We didn't try it.  We have our old favorites.  Next time I plan to try it.

Afterward we took a short walk in the village.  Normally this time of year the weather would be unpleasant but on "our" day, the sun shone and fifty degree temperatures felt like early fall.

The homes and businesses were decorated for Christmas or in the process of being decorated.  If you look closely, you will see a black and white dog behind the gate enjoying the day.

We stopped at The Book Loft and bought a Christmas CD which included Christmas songs sung in German.

Our next stop was The Columbus Museum of Art where we enjoyed comparing many Pointillist paintings. in the Post Impressionism special exhibit.  There were also prints done in a variety of techniques.  

Art in the Park, July 17, 2017

 I told Tom about the ten food trucks being set up for the Art in the Park, hoping to entice him into coming with me to this first annual Art in the Park being sponsored by the Tipp City Area Arts Council.  We went, either because of the food trucks or because he wanted to please me...maybe both.

The food trucks were parked on the outer side of the circular drive in the park.  The art booths were set up on the inner side.  People sat around in the center area and listened to music. Seating was either in lawn chairs people brought with them or on the ground.

The community band was playing when we arrived.

We were pleased we came.  The gyros from the food truck were the best I have had in a while.

Later, we stopped at the high school music boosters booth for homemade ice cream.  They told us they are returned from band camp very late last night so they were feeling a bit groggy.  Band camp is held at Rio Grande which is in the far southeastern part of the state.

By the time we finished talking about band camp, the community band had packed up and a local group was setting up.

As we walked about we met friends we hadn't seen for a while.  It is always nice to catch up on the news.  

I was especially happy to see Lilian.  She has been teaching people how to manipulate polymer clay for many years.  I have taken lots of classes from her but she has been having family and health issues this summer so she hasn't been teaching.  I was glad to hear things are going better for her and her family and she is planning to resume teaching.

(We are in the process of reconfiguring our computer so I don't have access to softwear to give you a closer look at the jewelry.  I will add some closeups as soon as I can.)

Since I have a friend who makes "altered books" I was interested in this booth.

The artist cut books in shapes of letters and then decorated them to illustrate the word she created.  Notice the word, TRAVEL, in the background.  I asked her where she found so many books the same size and thickness. She said she recently inherited a huge collection of romance novels.  She wasn't interested in reading them but she does like art, especially mixed media. I wish I had asked her what she used to cut the books.  Do you suppose she used a scroll saw?  What else would do the job?

Changes Around the House

I decided this was the morning to begin rehanging the family photos in the hall.  In late summer, I took down all the photos and spackled the holes in the walls.  However, when I brushed on the primer and paint, all the repaired spots showed.  Tom decided the paint I used had been damaged since we had done the original painting a few years ago.

Eventually, we bought new paint, same color, same brand.  However, we had a problem.  One of the walls extended beyond the hall, and became the living room wall.  Our piano sits in front of that wall and Tom and I don't  have the strength any more to move it.

Eric stepped up and said he'd help us.  Bless his heart.  Not only did he move the piano...he painted the walls a few weeks before Thanksgiving.

 But I still couldn't replace the photos because...I didn't have the new style damage-free hanging strips I wanted to use to rehang the photos.

I got around to buying the hangers shortly before Christmas.  They have been sitting in a bag until this morning.

I still don't have all the photos up but I expect to have them up before spring.

It's a good thing we are retired.

Change Number One, Remodeling the Bathroom Vanity

Periodically, Tom makes changes to our house to make it more friendly for his scooter and power chair.

The first change he made this summmer was to his bathroom.

This is the vanity that was in his bathroom at the beginning of the summer.  It is now in our basement just in case we want it again.

He used the same washbasin surface but made a new vanity cabinet.  Now he can clean up facing the vanity.  Before he had to work from a sideways position.

He bought the wood at Menards, the big box hardware a couple blocks away after he had designed what he wanted.  A friend brought the materials to our house in his pickup truck.

Here is Tom cutting boards at the saw set up in our garage.

Here he is blowing off the sawdust after he was finished for the day.

Here is one of the finished boards, sanded and varnished.

His friend helped him install the new vanity.

And I sewed up a pair of curtains.