Girlhood and Dreams

     When I was a young child I, like many other children, had a special friend that I took everywhere and loved very much.  For me it was Raggedy Anne.  We played together in my imagination, and at night I snuggled under the covers holding my cuddly friend in the crook of my arm. She had big black button eyes with eyebrows and lashes painted on as well as a painted on triangle for a nose and shy smile.  She had red yarn for hair, a flowered dress with a white pinafore over it, red and white striped stockings and black shoes.  I loved her then, and find that in looking back I identified more with her than with the Barbie fashion dolls and baby dolls I also played with. I can't believe I still have her!  When we cleared out my parents house at the end of  their lives, there were some boxes in the attic with toys that they had stored there.  There were a few of my dolls, (no Barbies), and my nap blanket that I used in kindergarten at rest time.  I guess my parents couldn't bear to part with a few things that their little girl held dear in her girlhood days.  Raggedy Anne's dress and face are a little dirty, there is a water stain at her hairline on one side of her face, half of her hair on the back of her head is worn off, and there are stiches in her shoes where my mother lovingly mended the worn spots.  She is well loved and I found her recently when clearing out some things around the house.  She is a reminder of the love and security I felt when I was very young. I don't think I can part with her.

    When I was growing up, I had a recurring dream about a witch chasing me.  I can still remember it, a witch was chasing me riding her broom as I ran through the neighbor's house chasing after a little black and white dog.  How very strange!  I don't remember having any other recurring dreams the rest of my life, funny I should remember that particular dream.  I do occasionally have odd dreams that leave me foggy headed and wondering what they were about when I'm waking up.  Like gossamer threads they float away and disappear, and the mist left behind dissipates as I stretch and get out of bed, although some impressions remain for a bit. Some are really perplexing, like dreaming that I am driving a bus or something that suddenly turns into a house that is my house, but not like any house I have ever lived in, or that I overslept but in reality I haven't and it's the weekend anyway so don't have to be up any specific time.  Dreams are funny things--I remember my father told me one time that he had a dream he was being run over by a lift truck when he was in the hospital and a medical machine down the hall was beeping. The unconscious mind is a mysterious thing!

    There are, of course other types of dreams, such as daydreams and what we dream of happening in our lives in the future such as dreams of being a famous author one day. Ha!  Well, a girl's gotta have a dream, as they say! Never say never.

                                  My Raggedy Anne. She was very loved.  

A Wrap Up of September Celebration

It seemed to me like September was just a blink of the eye.  It was an eventful month so maybe that's why it seems to have passed so quickly.  It started with Labor Day and the little cookout I hosted and was followed by a 30th birthday party for Hillary.  There was a lot of planning and preparation and hoping for nice weather.  It all paid off and the day was a huge success with beautiful weather which was warm and sunny with a bit of a breeze.  The birthday girl was very happy that day and fully enjoyed the festivities and attention from family and friends. I couldn't have asked for anything better than that!  She even kept her birthday crown on all day which was a surprise because generally she doesn't like anything on her head.  I was exhausted by the end of the day but it was such a good time had by all that it was a really nice kind of tired that made the bed feel so good that night when at last I fell into it.

The birthday girl surrounded by all her gifts.  Which one to open first?  Such a fun decision to make.

Since we were to be outside, and because there are still covid concerns I decided that cupcakes and individual ice cream cups was the way to go.  No I didn't make the cupcakes, but I arranged them in two tiers and it was quite a nice presentation.  They were delicious!

A chipmunk sits on my husbands car munching on the acorns the old oak tree litters our driveway with.
 

Back Fred's Demise

 

               Back Fred was a Wisteria which I bought and planted 17 years ago when my mother passed away.  When I bought it, I expected beautiful purple blooms as the one my mother had in our side yard.  Mine, however didn’t ever bloom.  It didn’t fail to grow, it was quite good at that and I planted it in what I came to realize was an ill-advised spot as it got quite large and top heavy.  I had my husband put a trellis behind it and we tied both to the deck so that strong winds wouldn’t pull it over. Over time I kept it trimmed back from the deck landing and the walkway into the back yard as well as I could.  It grew exponentially when we had lots of rain, and if we went away for a few days in the summer it began covering the deck requiring a severe cutting back.  Still, I enjoyed it and hoped every year for flowers on it; until we realized that it was leaning to one side so much that it was pulling the deck apart.  Even so, we kept it there and enjoyed the bit of shade it gave to the back yard and the bit of privacy to anyone sitting on the deck. 

               We spoke about moving Back Fred or cutting it down every year for the past few, but somehow just never got around to doing it.  We kind of liked his spirit and willingness to just keep growing no matter how much we cut back.  Winters full of ice and snow and strong winds out of the north did nothing to hurt it, even if the frozen stuff was so heavy that he bent almost to the ground he’d stand up again as soon as the sun did its job and melted the ice off the branches.  Yes, Back Fred was hardy, as wisteria tends to be.  We named it Back Fred because we already had a Front Fred which was old forsythia which predated our homeownership and we just didn’t have the heart to get rid of. He was in the middle of the front lawn and for a time we (well, my husband) kept it trimmed into the shape of some type of umbrella tree.  Eventually Front Fred became too tall and top heavy and didn’t fare as well in winter as Back Fred.  After one especially icy winter Front Fred no longer stood up once the ice melted and became an obstacle to efficient lawn mowing so a couple of years ago we had  landscapers come and remove and trim some trees and put poor Front Fred out of his misery.

               It was this past Saturday that we came home from a run to the market to get some things for a cookout we were having on Sunday to see that Back Fred was falling over.  Despite a valiant effort by my husband to trim enough off to stand him back up, the trellis had been pulled out of the ground and rusted and would need to be cut out of the plant.  We decided that it was best for poor Back Fred to be put out of his misery as well as save the deck from being pulled completely apart.  So now there is an empty space where there was lush greenery, but it does kind of give a more open feel to the patio and deck and back yard.  We also have lots of wood to burn in the chimenea if we ever get days that are cool enough without being frigid to enjoy a fire on the patio.  I know they’ll come but it feels as if the summer will never end this year as it’s been especially hot and dry.  It might be that the ground was too dry and helped Back Fred’s ultimate demise as he was too top heavy for the dry soil to hold the trellis in place any longer.

               So we had a fun time the next day with our gathering which began with my daughter’s boyfriend helping remove Back Fred’s remains.  We had a Yahtzee tournament, (I won!), good food, lots of laughs, and nice sunny weather.  We did miss Back Fred’s shade but we compensated by using various umbrellas as parasols.  We’re well versed in making do with what we have and moving on and umbrellas were the most obvious solution to our lack of shade for a little while until the sun was a little lower and the house cast enough shade for us to be comfortable once again.

               I will miss seeing Back Fred, but I won’t miss the work of keeping him trimmed and once the deck is repaired he will just be a fond memory. 

   On the right you can see where the deck is coming apart.  Poor Back Fred was touching the ground.

        This is when my husband tried trimming some off the top in an attempt to save poor Back Fred.

         Then he fell over and we realized that he was going to have to be removed completely.

Summer Vacation

     This year we travelled the 200+ miles again to visit and stay with family for a few days.  It was touch and go as to whether or not we'd actually be able to make the trip as when we took the van in for pre-trip check over there were some problems and one of them had to be fixed by another garage.  There was some concern that not all of the parts could be either found or fabricated in time to make our old van safe for the trip, but luckily the skilled mechanics at both garages were able to get us in fine shape for the journey north. Happily the traveling part of the trip was uneventful and we made good time, even stopping at a favorite restaurant for a fish sandwich that can only be gotten in the area where my husband grew up.  It has their own special chili sauce on it and I recommend stopping at Ted's Fish Fry if you ever travel in the area of Troy, New York.  Get the coleslaw and onion rings too--you won't be sorry!  It's where we stop for lunch on our yearly trek to the Adirondacks, and we look forward to that almost as much as seeing family.

    Once at our destination and unloaded we were able to settle in and be pampered a bit by our hostess, and very well fed over the duration of our stay.  The weather was very hot and humid which was a bit of a disappointment because we had hoped to escape that by travelling north into the mountains, but we made the best of it and enjoyed the peace and quiet, as well as the company.  There was some worry the first night that a predator of some sort such as a coyote may have gotten Flora, one of the kitties, who failed to return home for 24 hours, but the next morning there she was outside the door when I got up. (I was the first one up as I generally awaken at the same ridiculously early hour every day no matter where I am.) She is a little bit skittish of strangers and wouldn't come in when I opened the door to her, but she ran around to the glass sliders and I let her in that way.  She made a beeline for her food dish, so I guess aside from being hungry she was no worse for the wear and found a safe place outside to hide until she decided to come home.  Her sister, Luna, was sleeping curled up on the bed with my sister in law, but seemed happy to see her when they came down later in the morning.  Flora is quite the explorer and daredevil, also a bit of a brat but incredibly cute so you just have to love her when she comes and taps at you for pets and attention.  Luna is the homebody and likes belly rubs and cuddles with her mommy, and seems to look at her sister the way and older sister will react to a younger more gregarious sibling although they are the same age.  It's funny how each cat has her own distinct personality, it's not something I ever gave much thought to before.

    We mostly just relaxed over the course of our visit, I read a novel cover to cover while we were there, which was quite a treat for me to have so much uninterrupted reading time.  We took some walks and my sister in law took us by turns in her 4 wheeler or her Subaru to the little cabin she put down by the brook on her property where she sometimes camps out.  She loves nature and really it's wonderful that she is able to be living out her dreams now that she is retired.  There is something new every year because she keeps herself busy gardening and building little sitting areas around her property. She added an outdoor fireplace to a small flagstone patio she has, and new ornaments and a hammock swing to a grotto she built to the side of that patio. Her garden shed is new since we were there last year, although we knew she was building it from a kit with one of her sons. The vegetable garden is prolific with tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, and some root vegetables.  She recently planted some fruit trees and her flower gardens are enviable.  In the winter she takes care of her houseplants which are also to be admired, especially her little lemon tree which she places outside in the summer and this year is heavy with fruits. My husband is quite jealous of the lemon tree as the cutting she gave him years ago just barely stays alive through the winter and has yet to  blossom or produce fruit.  She has a very green thumb which is handy because she is a Master Gardener.

    So we returned home refreshed and rested, driving through some much needed rain on the way home.  Naturally one of the first things I did after unpacking the van and getting Hillary freshened up was laundry and  packing away the suitcases for another year.  Although, since my husband is retiring in about 6 months perhaps we will take a trip for a few days before next summer. Hmmmm, that might be nice!

    Although our summer vacation was (and usually is) short, it was pleasant and relaxing. Can you really ask for much more than that from vacation?  I don't think so!

When we come up the driveway we are greeted by two beautiful hydrangeas.

Here's Luna relaxing in the heat of the afternoon in the shade under the hammock swing in the grotto,

I took this picture as I was walking up the small part of the trail we drove down to get to the little cabin by the brook.  I didn't walk very far down the hill because it was a bit rocky and uneven.

The gardening shed.  The curtain was made by her daughter in law and 2 of her granddaughters.

Flora jumped into the pantry looking for treats when I opened it.

We had a fire in the outdoor fireplace our last night there.  We also saw a few shooting stars which was a treat since where we live there's just a bit too much light pollution at night to see any.

Flying Things

On a recent Saturday we loaded up into the van and drove to the small airport we sometimes visit for a few hours to relax and watch the little planes take off and land, and the gliders being towed into the sky and soaring overhead until finally they sail softly to land in the grass next to the tarmac runway.  It was one of those rare summer weekends where the humidity was low, the sun was bright in a deep blue cotton ball cloud dotted sky with a gentle breeze whispering through the tall pines.  It was a restful afternoon made even better by table service from the airport luncheonette and a plethora of other flying things to observe when there was a lull in aircraft action.

It began near the beginning of our journey when as we passed through a small town a couple miles from our home a katydid landed on the radio antenna as we sat at a red light. It was a pretty sizeable insect as you can see from the pictures below and we expected that once we were out of the town and picked up speed it would fly away.  We were wrong and amazed to see that the tenacious creature clung to the antenna, it's little bottom legs straight out in the wind, perhaps for balance, all the way to the airport.  I took a proper picture of it when I exited the van as it was still there, but by the time we left a few hours later it had flown away, perhaps to explore the vegetation in its new home.  I hope a bird didn't swoop down and make a snack of it.

The luncheonette has a garden outside the kitchen and we watched bright yellow and black butterflies enjoying the nectar in the flowers there as we munched on hot dogs and fries.  There are hummingbird feeders and windchimes hung under the eaves and the tiny birds flew from the pine trees (where I assume they built their tiny nests) to the feeders and back again to their home all afternoon.  There were sparrows playing in the shade under the empty picnic tables and on the post and rail fence, and the occasional honey bee on the clover which grew along with the grass under our feet.  We also noticed some young people flying a toy plane over by the rental office for the gliders. 

There were many sights and sounds that day as we spent a lazy afternoon under the pines before loading back into the van and returning home.  It was a perfect summer weekend afternoon. 

Sparrow under  a picnic table.

The little yellow spot on the middle left of this picture is the tow plane and to the right you can see the glider it was pulling into the atmosphere.  There a plane in the center waiting to cross the runway and a white one on the right tied down waiting for its owner to come fly it away.

      The katydid on the antenna when we got parked and I was out of the van---it's so big!

This is the katydid as we were driving, see it's little back legs extended as we drove along?  It almost looks like someone parasailing.  Perhaps that's what it felt like to the little guy.

There's a little yellow bird in among the yellow flowers that grow at a farm market we buy local corn from.

                                                         No explanation needed!