I think that I should never see

. . . unless it is a problem tree!

We have two problem trees in our neighborhood. One is a lovely, huge cottonwood in one of our neighbor's yards. I love it . . . except this time of year. The cotton on it overwhelms us. Last night, the lawn was white with cotton . . . so that when I mowed, it was drifting around me, grabbing onto my clothes, landing in my hair, and covering my face. It has turned our gorgeous dark-green cypress into a lime-green "cotton filter." I know it will soon be over, and then we will enjoy the tree . . . but until then!

The other problem tree is a mulberry - or two. Again, mulberries are not bad until they start to produce mulberries. Now if I were a pie-maker like my neighbor, Susan, I might like the mulberry tree. But as it is, it too grows in the neighbor's yard, causing our fence to couple and leaving its berries all over our yard. Then we find new little mulberry trees that have been planted by birds or squirrels . . .

I have to remind myself that without the cotton there would be no seeds for more cottonwoods; without the berries, we wouldn't have mulberry pie and the birds wouldn't have food. So I guess the little inconvenience is worth the hassle . . . but when I was mowing last night, it would have been hard for me to agree!

A Gift

Last summer I received a gift. It was unexpected, but it is the best gift I have ever received - a free year with my daughter.

I know Di was disappointed that she had to come home after graduating . . . nothing came together for her, and she had no options. She kept trying to find a full-time job and nothing worked out. But she found things to do . . . she worked for her uncle, volunteered to help with the rowing club, joined the Spanish book club, and learned to make the most awesome chocolate chip cookies!

In the meantime, she helped me. She took care of the dogs when needed, she cooked dinner, she went to the store . . . and she kept me company. We talked about all sorts of things - books we had read, political issues, and general "stuff".

And I have loved every minute of it. So has Don. But now it's time for her to go on to bigger and better things. So off to Vermont, and then to Madrid, she is headed. She is starting another adventure, and I know she will make the most of it. But I will always be grateful that she gave me this extra year . . . it has been awesome!

Lady's Slipper

There has always been something mysterious about the Lady's Slipper. It blooms in late May and early June, before many flowers are out. It hides in the shade, in moist areas where it is hidden from the view of many. It is usually gone by July 4, though on rare occasion I have seen them then. So I have always felt lucky when I happen to be in the area when they are blooming.

As a little girl, my mom would take me up the mountain in search of Lady's Slippers. We would tromp around, and one time Mom found a whole area full of them. Unfortunately, I haven't found that spot again. I know three places where they always bloom and yearly, I check for them. This year, they were just beginning to bloom when we were at the cabin the last time.

Marcia Cole, a cabin owner in the Canyon, used to know Jean Cusac, the woman who owned our cabin in the late 30's and early 40's, before Marcia's dad bought our cabin for a few years. Marcia said Jean knew where every Lady's Slipper bloomed and that she had actually seen black ones. The only black ones I have ever seen are the ones that have bloomed and withered into a black skeleton. But I would love sometime to be at the cabin during Lady's Slipper season and go in search of the black one. Until then, I will enjoy this mysterious flower each spring, knowing that I have had a chance to see one of the more secretive plants in the area.

BFFs

I had BFFs long before there was such a thing as a BFF.

When I was in elementary school, I used to play with Kathy Gunter and Betsy Cocke. Kathy and I were born two days apart (I AM the younger one, by the way) in the same hospital, so we have always known each other. She lived about a block and half away from me, and Betsy lived just up the street. In junior high, Betsy and I walked to school together nearly every day. Sometimes Kathy would join us, but not always.

Once we got to high school, I was dying to meet this girl who lived across the street from my cousins. Her name was Anne Turbett, and I had heard she was hilarious. Luckily, we had biology at the same hour, so one day I bravely walked into her class and introduced myself. We just hit it off! Soon she introduced me to her friends, Susan Howard and Kathleen Rogers, and I introduced her to Kathy and Betsy, and it wasn't long before we began spending a lot of time together.

In high school, we would have Friday night parties . . . but they weren't like the parties most high schoolers have. We would set up ping pong tables and volleyball nets and play games. Or we would sit around and sing while Mike Schingle played the guitar. Or we would go to school events. We were the squarest kids one could ever meet, but we loved being together and we always had a good time.


Luckily, we have remained friends, and now that all of our children are grown, we get together frequently. We celebrated our 40th and 50th birthdays together, and for the last several years we have managed to meet for a quick girls' weekend. We have been to San Diego, Chicago, Santa Fe and Taos, and Oklahoma City . . . we are hoping for Alaska next!





We are so lucky to have been able to share our lives for so many years . . . and for many more to come! Thanks, ladies, for being my BFF!!

34 Years and Counting

Thirty-four years ago today Don and I got married. It is amazing how fast the time has gone.

When a person at age 23 says, "For better, for worse, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live", one has no idea what all that means. I could never have imagined what I would look like (though I should have since I look just like my mom), what Don would look like (although he looks a lot like his dad), that we would have two kids, live in the same house for 26 years . . . and much more.

I remember telling my dad on our first anniversary that if the rest of our marriage is as easy as the first year, then we have it made. He said he was glad to hear that and he hoped so too . . . I can say, that most years have been that easy . . .

A lot of great times have been had since this picture was taken in 1975 . . . who are those skinny people, anyway? It has been a fun ride - here's to 34 more!!!

Loving Bookstores

I love independent book sellers. Theirs is a tough life - competing with big chains in an already difficult business makes it hard to survive. But Wichita is lucky. We have several independent book stores, two of which are my favorites of all favorites. Eighth Day Books, owned by Warren Farha, has found a niche with religious books, though he offers all sorts of other genre . . . I will write about his store in a later post. The other store, Watermark Books, is the subject of today's blog. It reminds me of the bookstore in You've Got Mail.

Watermark used to be a small cozy store with a large children's section, located at a very busy corner . . . and on my way to work. I loved going into the store, and since it was easily accessible, I went there often. Eventually, near the time that Barnes and Noble and Borders both built less than two miles away, it moved farther south and west . . . I wondered how it would ever make it. But amazingly, it did better than ever.

Sarah Bagby, the owner, is an amazing person who has made a name for herself within the book seller's industry. I adore Sarah, but that's not why I love her store. I love her store because it has made itself available to its patrons for all sorts of clubs and events. Numerous book clubs meet there at all hours of the day and night . . . Diana participated in the Spanish book club this year! Numerous authors come to talk about their books and sign them . . . yesterday 7 Young Adult authors spoke at 2:00, and then another man was there at 7:00.

And then they offer the summer challenge. I haven't done their challenge before . . . last year's series on Jane Austen must have been terrific, and I am sad that I didn't go. But this year, when they offered the Bronte series, I decided to dive in. The first session, with Mark Bradshaw leading, was hilarious, interesting, and downright fun! I learned so much about the Brontes that I couldn't wait to read Jane Eyre. Wednesday night's session on Wuthering Heights affirmed that it will be a much different read, but because of Mark, I HAVE to read it!

The key to surviving in this business environment is creating a niche and sticking with it. Sarah and her bookstore have certainly done that . . . and Wichita is much the better for it!

Jane Eyre

It wasn't until I went to the first session of the summer reading challenge that I realized there were three Bronte sisters - not just one Bronte woman! And the three Bronte sisters were very interesting women who all were writers and who didn't live very long. Charlotte, who wrote Jane Eyre, outlived her other sisters, but she died at age 39.

Kathy Dunlavy, who is doing the summer challenge with me, described Jane Eyre as a bit of a page turner. I hadn't started it yet and was somewhat skeptical, but indeed I found it to be so. I loved the way she made her women strong and opinionated, not willing to put up with the way women were treated back then. Her flowery language and eloquent sentences made for a pleasant read.

But what is the deal with the ghost scenes? That's why I put the book down back in 8th grade. And I notice that Wuthering Heights has ghost scenes at the beginning, also. Was that a trend back then, to have ghosts and crazy women in attics? Perhaps at tonight's meeting, I will get an answer. I will keep you posted.