The Amaryllis Left Behind

Dear Jeni,
I am posting some pictures of the Amaryllis that you had to leave behind.  It started showing color two days ago and now it looks as if it will really open.  I brought down my water mister that I use when I am ironing quilt blocks in case it needed a little help in opening up.  I misted it yesterday and today and it is opening up nicely although I don't know if the water had anything to do with it.
Here is a closeup of the one that is opening.

I also misted down below where the promised third flower is just starting to show.

I thought about it after I saw the third flower and I have decided that the leaves off to the side are a baby bulb being started.  What do you think?
I also read that it is possible to cut the bulb to start new plants.  One of the sites I went to had a video.  Don't worry, I am NOT going to do that.
Love,
Nancy

Visiting Jeni and the Parents

Hi there Mary,

I expect you have started back to school already and not even posted once. Bad sister! I am going to post late, but you know what they say about late. It is better than NEVER!

OK enough with the nagging already. It has been six days since I returned so I figured the pictures had aged well in the camera and it was time to release them.

The first picture was from before I went to Mpls. There is this huge racoon, probably a mother about to give birth and it has been showing up and eating the sunflower seeds I put out for the birds. I had to take a picture.

Next are two pictures of my sewing machine 'museum'.

I had been thinking this spring of doing a little reorganizing so I could have a more normal living room. Normal meant only one or two sewing machines in it instead of 5. So what happened is the landing at the top of the stairs has become my museum and I have four of the sewing machines with cabinets lined up there. I also have some of the machines without cabinets tucked under the others. Or, I will once I get someone strong to move them for me. That should make seven machines up at the top of the stairs, two in the living room, two in the library, and one in the spare bedroom and one actually in the quilting room. I also have two at Faye's Henhouse for emergencies I guess.

Isn't that the cutest apron you ever saw?

I picked it up at the same sale as the new Featherweight shown in the photo's below it. E was the only one it really fit so she got to be the model. It will be staying at Mom's as a 'bib'. Mom has two aprons for that now and they work really well if she remembers to put them on.

This is my brand new 1951 Featherweight.

Let's see. I went down to Minneapolis to visit Jeni before she had to leave to go back to Canada. I planned on being there over the weekend so we could go to rummage sales. Jeni has a talent for rummage sales. The very first morning she had me up early (for me) and the first thing she said was "Do you know what a featherweight is?"

Well a loyal sewing machine collector has to answer yes to that question and then of course I wanted to know why. Evidently there was a Featherweight machine mentioned in the newspaper advertisements for estate sales. It started that morning and Jeni said we could go there first. It was up on 74th and York so it wasn't far. We got there just about the time it opened and went in to look. Yup. A Featherweight. Now those of you who don't collect sewing machines might think that one featherweight machine is enough for a person. Wrong. It was just a fine machine. All the parts and accessories were there. A nice case and even a zigzag foot still in the box.

Of course I bought it.

I was leaving with it about 45 minutes after the sale started and another Featherweight Fanatic came in. First words out of her mouth were "Where is the Featherweight?" The sales lady pointed at me. :-)

My friend 'Treadle'Annie says I got a 'deal'.

Next is a picture of Mom and her new haircut.

Jeni and I took Mom and Dad to the Great Clips on France on Sunday for their haircuts. Dad paid.
The last photo is one of the corner junipers that Jeni put in the front yard. There are four of them.

One at each front corner and one on each side of the iron railings. They are just so beautiful with their gold tips. I want some too. They are not supposed to get very high, but they are supposed to spread and creep out to about 3 to 4 feet. I suppose Jon will feel obliged to 'trim' them.

Now if google will let me drag these photo's around I will put them in the body of the post and if it won't they will all stay at the top.

Nope, no movement today. Maybe another day I can edit it and put the photo's where I want them.

Love,

Nancy

The last day of May 2008

Well Saturday the 31st was quite a full day. We (Jon, E, Jeni, me and Dad) played hand and foot. Mom went for a walk and we had a hell of a hail storm. I have pictures....I mean movies. If Abbie can do it then I can do it.

Today is a quiet afternoon. Jeni has been taken to the airport, the 'rents are all tuckered out from their exercises and walks today on the first day of June, so I have time to play with this program and put up all the video. So, back to yesterday.

First Mom went for a walk. The day was sunny and bright, not too warm. Just a perfect day for a walk. I was outside helping Jon plant potatoes when she came out the back door and I didn't think about my camera for a few minutes. She went haring off down the driveway when I thought "I should take a picture of this!" and went inside for the camera. I didn't catch up with her until she was on the front walk.


If I ever figure out how to edit these they won't have so many minutes of Mom's butt off in the distance. I tried to fill in with Iris. :-)

After the walk we waited around for a while, you know what it is like. We ordered some Chinese for lunch and then Jeni went over to talk to Cal Oss and I went over to get her so we could start our Hand and Foot game. While we were there the sirens went off. It was still wonderful and sunny, but we came home and turned on WCCO and they were talking about bad weather way up north (near Hugo MN again) so we kept it on in the background and started our game. After about 20 minutes we started to hear thunder and the beautiful sunshine went away. WCCO kept inteviewing people with storm stories and they mentioned hail and high winds. Then we noticed the trees were all blowing about like crazy and we adjourned for a few minutes to close windows.

I was upstairs doing that when the rain started to come down lightly. I decided to shut off the new laptop and unplug all electronics which included my camera which was recharging after the walk with Mom.

Downstairs we started to play again when the hail started. It sounded like we were being bombed. I took the camera and pointed it out the back door for a little bit. I tried to open the door for a better view but hail came banging in the slightly open door and banged off of me, so I quit that.

I went back upstairs and everyone else, (well, Jon and Dad) was crowded onto the front porch looking out. The hail wasn't hitting the house as hard on that west side so I tried that view for a while.

About this time Mom took off her headphones and said "What is going on?" We told her it was hailing, and since she had put her hearing aids back in she could tell for herself. We milled around for a while and tried to play some more cards but were quite distracted by the weather.

After about 25 minutes the hail finally stopped. That is when I went out to take the pictures of the driveway and the front yard.

The rest of the story is a month ago Jim talked me into taking the comprehensive insurance off the van.

YOW indeed.

Love

Nancy

So this is Fernie

Hi Nancy,
We seem to be having a lot of sky in the blog lately, and here is some more - sky on top of the mountains of Fernie, BC. And this was only a little bit of the mountains.

I drove to Fernie today to pick up this sister:

shown here demonstrating her skill at dismounting a bike. Apparently, in Fort Nelson her bike is famous. She comes out of work to find it decorated by staff (once with a fake parking ticket), and even has the janitor applying WD-40 when he thinks it needs a little TLC.
Besides that, we talked about the sad fact that the new presidential dollars will eventually include one with our present president on it, the benefits of apple cider vinegar, what people should do with the money we give them as presents (whatever they want as opposed to what we want - damn!), why you pick dandelions for wine when the flower is closed instead of open, what Dad said, which card is best for Zeke Zychal's birthday (and if my scanner was working, I'd show it to you), why can't we remember anything anymore, and who knows what else. This is only the beginning.
We've already visited the second hand store once, and plan to go tomorrow again just so we'll have more time to look around. Goody. After we came home we had some fresh roasted coffee:

Columbian - a dark Vienna / French roast is my guess. Tomorrow I work most of the day, so Jeni will have to amuse herself. I'm sure she'll have no problem, except for maybe remembering people's names. And we really, really wish you were here too.
Love, Mary