Stargazer Lilies

When I retired, one of the teachers from the school game me some stargazer lily bulbs.  I love stargazers, but I was afraid they wouldn't grow.

It has been six years, and this year they are more spectacular than ever.  Their glorious scent permeates the back yard, and they decorate the corner of the house in stately fashion.

I love Stargazer Lilies!

Early Harvest!

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be harvesting potatoes on June 23.  We even got our potatoes in a little late and we were still able to harvest three of the five plants.

Usually our potatoes are scrawny and small.  Sometimes they have a disease called scab on them.  So we didn't know what to expect since it was so early.

Don set the shovel far enough away, we thought, but he cut right through a big potato.  Bigger than any other we had ever harvested.  And then we dug up more and more, some that were as nice as any a person could buy in the store.  Don set them out on the kitchen cabinet for us to look at.  We are impressed . . . and we still have two more plants that are not ready to harvest yet.

We also picked several chiles.  I was hoping, because the weather had been mild, that they would be mild as well.  I cooked them last night, and mild they were not.  A little ice cream after dinner helped cool the tongue!

We are very proud of our first harvest of the year and are looking forward to many more chiles and tomatoes to come!

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

Thirty-six years.  Yes, thirty-six years ago today, Don and I were married.  While the girls and I went to a bridal luncheon, my dad took Don to play golf, and he came right off the golf course to dress for the wedding.

Don's family came from Dodge City, though uncles, aunts, and cousins came from Colorado Springs, Kansas City, Tonganoxie, and Montrose.  I had never seen such support from a family before.  It was a sign of good things to come, and I have learned to love Don's aunts, uncles, and cousins.

The reception took place at the Albuquerque Country Club.  With a band, bar, and lots of food, a good time was had by all.  Too good by some, it turns out, as the priest who married us sent us off in interesting fashion.  I will leave it at that.  Kris, Don's youngest brother, even told him mom that he danced with "the real bride."  I cherish the picture that was taken of the dance!

In 1976, 36 years seemed an eternity.  Now it seems like a blink of the eye.

Happy anniversary, Don.  I love you!

Keeping Cool

It is hot in Wichita.  Hot, hot, hot.

So instead of staying home, Don and I went to a movie.  We don't attend many movies, but this was one we wanted to see, and it would be cool in the theater.  Win, win.

We chose The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, though we considered Seeking a Friend at the End of the Earth (or whatever it is) since Chris Mann's fiancee, Laura Perloe, is in it.  We decided to go to that one at a later time, and, armed with a lunch of pop and popcorn, headed into the Marigold Hotel movie.

I wasn't sure what to think.  The beginning wasn't exactly uplifting, but it was obvious that we would like the character Judy Dench was playing.  The portrayals of all of the characters were spot on.  I think we all have known someone like each person in the movie . . . well maybe not, but still, they were terrifically believable.

More than anything, the movie made me think about how I want to live the last twenty or thirty years of my life and what kind of person I want to be.  Will I be adventurous and willing to entertain new ideas, or will I be rigid and unable to adapt?  I hope, hope, hope I will be the former, because, as this movie shows, those are the people who live the happiest lives.

Connections

I love it when, in the course of an event, I run into people from a completely different part of my life.  The webs of relationships are so cool to trace.  For example, I purchased blueberries - I hope you read about them in the previous post.  Because I want another bag, but I don't want them until next week, I wrote to Chautauqua Hills Farms and requested them.  After receiving the email, I noticed the signatures . . . Liz and Lance Chastain, whose children attended The Independent School.  Their children were wonderful additions to the school, and I loved getting to know Liz and Lance.  I hadn't seen them in years . . . and here our paths cross again.

Same with Verdant Farm.  Dana and Dave Manda showed up at a Farmer's Market that I frequented last year (well, frequented is a little strong.  It was so hot last year, I didn't "frequent" any farmer's markets.).  I was surprised to see them selling produce from their farm.  They had decided to go into the organice produce business, and I hadn't seen them in several years . . . and certainly not in the farmer capacity.  Since then, however, I have become a frequent customer!

Friday I was at the Komen luncheon, and six or eight women whose children or grandchildren attended the school were there.  One I hadn't seen since her son graduated in 1999.  I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with her and the others.  Then there was the woman with whom I had worked the silent auction at the Catbackers' event on Wednesday night . . . I didn't know she was an accomplished musician and professor at Newman, and I certainly didn't expect to see her at the luncheon.  Learn something new every day.

Earlier this week, another random encounter led to us tracing a web of many years of connections.  You just never know who you are going to meet and what the connection is, but it is so fun to renew acquaintances and see what people are doing with the next phases of their lives!

Blueberries for All!

On Sunday, Linda Morgan told me about Chautauqua Hills Farms.  They have five products:  blackberries, blueberries, asparagus, garlic and honey.  Linda had just ordered a gallon of blueberries, and she thought they were quite tasty.  So I had to try them.

They have a pretty nifty system.  I don't know how it works for other cities, but for Wichita, after an order is placed online, they make arrangements to deliver the blueberries to a local health food store, Food For Thought.  I got an email telling me the berries were ready, and within an hour, I had my stash.

And they are delicious.  I am not certain what I am going to do with a gallon of them, but so far, just eating them as a snack is the winner.  They are wonderfully delicious.  I highly recommend going to www.chautauquahillsfarm.com and checking to see if they deliver in your area.  You won't be
disappointed!

This evening I also cut into the watermelon . . . and it is yellow inside.  Still tastes good, but I looked it up on Google to make sure it was legit.  It is . . . and we will eat it!

Landscape Quilts

At Kenneth's rehearsal dinner, my good friend Kathy Gunter Davis asked if she could spend a few minutes with us before the dinner started.  Unfortunately, it didn't quite happen the way she envisioned, but perhaps it happened better.  About 20 minutes after people began to arrive, in walked Kathy's adoring hubby, Walt, with a large picture in hand.  Large.  3 feet by 4 feet, maybe.

They put it down on a bench as we gathered to look at it.  I said, between tears, "What a gorgeous picture of the cabin you painted."  She corrected me.  "It's a quilt," she said.  And indeed it was.  A beautiful landscape quilt of the cabin.

Not long after, she brought me a similar quilt that now proudly hangs in our family room.  Every day, I get to see it . . . and love it!

Today, I gave Diana her quilt.  She was ecstatic!  The colors below do not do it nearly the justice it deserves, but perhaps you can see that the screens on the porch shimmer, due to the tulle that she put over the brown material.  If you could look closely, you would see the trees have needles, the rocks are variegated, and the side of the cabin is shingled.  It is truly exquisite.

When I talked to Kathy about her quilting, she told me that she entered her copy of the same quilt in a quilt show in Oklahoma.  Entrants submitted quilts that told about their home state, so Kathy submitted the cabin quilt.  I am not a bit surprised that she took first place.