I LOVE Spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love things in bloom! I think I started with one pink iris. :-)

Part of today I spent with my Mom, taking her in for her infusion, then shopping with her after plus driving around town looking at the iris, rhododendrons, and peonies in beautifully landscaped yards. And I was sewing at home, and shopping on my own. Hobby Lobby is having a great sale on frames! But mostly I spent money on rhododendrons. I got a small leaved pink one and a large red one. I've decided that rhododendrons would look beautiful against the horse pasture fence, under the trees. Theoretically. In reality it will probably be too cold for them, unless the masses of leaves that pile up there protect them.

Mom and I were treated to a close up look at about 5 Canadian Geese today. They wouldn't get out of the middle of Irish Ridge Road. I finally eased by them, herding them into a driveway.

Decoration Day

When I was a little girl Memorial Day was still called Decoration Day and the cemeteries would be full of people putting flowers and flags on the gravesites of loved ones. You'd get dressed up to visit with family, friends, and distant relatives you might not see often as you walked around the cemetery and remembered the relatives, neighbors, and friends who were buried there. You'd have taken food along with you to snack on in the car. I don't have a clear memory of what you did about bathrooms. Hmm... It was a bit boring for an older child to walk around the cemetery in the heat and watch older people talk and so you find yourself wishing later that you had paid more attention and picked up more family info along the way.
Yesterday Mom Weyer and Judy were on the way with the flowers (FRESH ones of course) for half the cemeteries Mom visits when Judy started to feel unwell. So, John and I took Mom, in Judy's car. I grabbed my camera as I knew they wanted to start a photo record of where all the relatives' grave sites are. We went to Old Stone Church Cemetery for Dad Weyer's parents, Matie and John Weyer and his half brother's wife; Kossuth in Mediapolis for Dad Weyer and the Pillings (except for Julie and Connie); Aspen Grove in Burlington for Great Uncle George and aunt Inez Weyer and Vivian, and some cousins; 6th Street Cemetery for the first Weyer in America, Joseph Weyer; and Sacred Heart Cemetery in Crapo Park for John and Elizabeth Weyer, born in the 1850's and parents of the 16 children who were written about and photographed for the Hawk Eye and also for cousins of Dad Weyer. It was a beautiful, sunny day and interesting to learn some more family history. By the time we got home, an indoor picnic was ready at Mom Weyer's and we ate with Stephen, Carolyn, Judy, John W.ll, Cindi, and Nathan.

Today Mom Weyer and I went together to Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church Cemetery for Julie Pilling, Elmwood Cemetery in Morning Sun for the Moyers family members (Mom Weyer's grandparents and great grandparents), and Oak Grove Pioneer Cemetery in Trenton (near Mt. Pleasant)for Grandma Matie Weyer's mother and possibly grandmother. I certainly wouldn't have found that place on my own! It was NOT as nice a day as yesterday and Mom and I finished up in the rain. I'll be putting all these photos, and history notes for them, on CD's.
While we were in Morning Sun, Mom pointed out the white two story house where her grandparents had lived after they moved to town from their farm east of Newport. She said it had had lots of purple clematis climbing up the front of the wide porch when she was little and out back there was a wonderful vegetable garden and raspberry bushes. Pearl Moyers sold some of the vegetables and berries he grew. He and Jessie Mae Swan Moyers (Hotel Swan in Mediapolis was run by two of her sisters) rented a room to a teacher and Jessie would always use linen tablecloths and napkins for every meal when she had boarders. At that time a ball park was across the street with a tiny ice cream shop (still standing) on the opposite corner. It was fun to hear a bit about them. John C remembers visiting when he was very young. He remembers the garden, of course. :-)
So, since I'd have to change the blog to do captions I'll tell you which photos I put on because I liked the angle or the stone. Ghoulish, perhaps, but then I'm from Kentucky, where coffin quilts were made in the mid 1800's.
Top two: Grandpa's
Then:
Matie and John Weyer at Old Stone. Their flat stones are in the foreground. A candle lit service of Christmas Carols is held at the church every Dec.--there's no heat or electricity.
Joseph Weyer at 6th Street 1810-1860. You can just make out the flowers by his little stone. We stuck in what might have been eagle feathers we found under the oak. I wonder how old the oak tree is?
John and Elizabeth Weyer's at Sacred Heart, parents of the 16 children--written about in The Hawk Eye. The name Weyer is written across the top of the stone.
A very impressive Moyers stones I liked in Elmwood--parents of Pearl Alfred

More Chicago Photos

The cutest photos are of the boys behind the bench. They DID NOT want to sit on it but it turned out that their expressions were priceless when peeking over!

Elizabeth flew to Phoenix today. Updates on that later.

I have other blogs that I can arrange photos on and do captions but can't seem to do that on this one!!??!!

JT joins the fun

John J and JT made it to Chicago Saturday evening. JT was so excited to see us. He shouted our names. "Grandma!" he said and then ran over for a hug! Talk about making my day!!!!!! Then he gave Gabe a hug and a kiss.
JT and Gabe obviously had a great time together. Beth made fantastic from-scratch pizza and apple pie!!! The boys were almost too excited to eat! They settled down later for the firemen DVD and we got to read to JT and get in some snuggle time before he went to sleep.
Sunday, after George's awesome omelets, we went outside in the courtyard for some fun before Elizabeth and I had to pack up. There are great photos on other cameras so I'll add more later.

Today in Chicago

It's a beautifully sunny but cool day in Chicago. We had a relaxing trip up and George stopped at Dominick's on the way to his home. I LOVE shopping for food in Chicago!! There is such variety and the produce is always so fresh looking! And I got a pot of stargazer lilies for Beth! She can plant them later in her Mom's garden or in the courtyard of the dorm. We took a walk in the Midway garden, played with bubbles and a ball and bat, and admired the blooming trees and shrubs. We have some really cute photos from the gardens which I'll post later when I've been able to make them smaller.
Elijah is such a sweet, happy baby. He's full of smiles and chuckles! Gabe has been entertaining us with his inventive play and awesome vocabulary. Last night Beth made us some of her fantastic spaghetti. Her sauce is the best ever! And we had some great pastries, including a giant doughnut!
This afternoon George is off teaching a class. Earlier Beth got a chance to go throw some pots at the art center.
We'd been hoping to see John J and JT today, too, as Elizabeth wanted to see her nephews before leaving for 3 months, and possibly see the Harry Potter exhibit. However, JT's mother's aunt has a birthday party today and so we'll only see JT this evening and in the morning. I'm sure we'll have good photos of that, too!

Just traveling around

Last weekend we were in Davenport for the Beaux Arts Festival. I'm sad that I forgot my camera as the Figge Art Museum in the background made a great photo on my phone--just small and hard to access. Thanks to John J for sending it to me!!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!!
This week I worked on Monday and Thursday. John went to Des Moines, to Ottumwa, and is now in Washington, D.C. We went to Iowa City to move some of Elizabeth's heavy items on Wednesday and so today I'm going up (in torrential rain) to move the rest of her things. Tomorrow she wants to go to Chicago to see her nephews before leaving for the summer, and train fare is less than expected. So, that's what I'll be doing, too. Judy will take us to the train and John C will be home to pick us up on Monday. My mom, bless her heart, will come down and spend yet another night with my cats.
After John C saw the bobcat in the upper part of the backyard on Wed. I feel more like keeping them in as much as possible.

Mother's Day Weekend approaches

In honor of Mother's Day here are some old photos of me with my mother. I was truly blessed to have parents that cared so much for me, and for each other, and who worked so hard to make the most of what they had been given.
The sun is shining and I get to be home!! :-)
I HOPE it's dry enough to mow this afternoon. I have the bathroom all cleaned out and ready to paint with primer. Even the fish got moved--to the pool. And I have 8 new patio blocks that I need to dig spaces for. Hmm!!!! That sounds like enough for one day!! But, I have to make the most of it as I have to work tomorrow afternoon and this weekend there's another show, this time in Davenport.
I bought another blueberry yesterday as I read that you should have more than one variety for best results with them. So I have two Blueray and one Bluecrop. The raspberries are all Heritage. (There are five of them as one pot had a second tiny plant.) And I have two different rhubarb plants.
And of course I bought some more FLOWERS!! I got a white with crimson center dianthus (carnation) with a gorgeous scent. And Muscadet lilies (white with pink freckles). And lemon basil.
I got outside at 6:30 yesterday to plant more of the lilies I started and to divide and/or transplant some other things.
Other exciting news is that John C has agreed that we might get two or three hens WITHOUT having to butcher them at some point. I just am NOT doing that!! He'd just have to agree that my pet hens give us eggs in return!!!! (Better than the mice that Uno brings me!!)
So, I'm trying to be cheerful here and having a beautiful yard and a clean house makes me cheerful.

Weekend in Iowa City

I've always loved Iowa City. There's so much diversity in a relatively small town. The shopping is fun and there are good restaurants. I love the eclectic little shops in campus town and the wonderful greenhouses on Hwy 1.
Iowa City is set in a lovely rural area, with a nearby Amish community which has some great stores, too. So, you can have the best of both worlds.
Our show went well. It was great to see Elizabeth for a few hours each day. She helped a lot at pick up time. Cindi had some beautiful things so it was fun to browse in her booth while helping her out. I did sell some things for her, too. :-)
John C is in Omaha and I have two days of work scheduled so we're getting even farther behind on the garden.
HOWEVER, I planted two blueberries today near the machine shed. I bought two beautiful raspberry bushes at Myers' greenhouse and got them planted, along with a rhubarb plant, in the bare patch in the south west yard.
Oh, and I planted a Casablanca Lily from Myers and a calla lily bulb from Paul's in Iowa City. I still have all Great Grandma Pilling's tuberous roses to plant, plus some lilies I started. AND all the garden plants and seeds.........and mowing.
Wednesday I'm taking Grandma to the hospital for her infusion and taking a friend in for an MRI. I'm also going to shop for primer and for paint for the bathroom.