Memorial Day

 

Thank you to all who have served. Honor those who never returned, giving their life for our country.

The Flowers

 Here are photos from the perennial flowerbed. Columbine seems to be the flowers I should be planting rather than attempting others.

Minnesota Gopher* Columbine

Watertown Arrows* Columbine

Sunshine* Columbine

*my names for the Columbine colors

the peony will bloom while we are gone

I attacked the 30+ milkweed shoots that appeared in the flowerbed! I will have to wait until we return to see if they are truly gone. I just wish those 30 shoots had appeared in the swale/ditch rather than my perennial bed.

We will be out of the country for two weeks. There won't be any blog posts until we return. There will be LOTS of photos on Facebook!

Perennial Flower Bed

After cleaning the flowerbed on May 3rd, I  planted 4 more perennials before the 3 days of almost 90º temps followed by 3 days of more normal May temperatures and the possibility of rain. I checked the flowerbed on Saturday when I got back from the 3 day road trip.

the grass is sneaking in, again

chives in the lower right (bee feed)

rhubarb in the upper center and

wild roses behind the rhubarb

the poppy I planted

I don't know why I keep trying to grow poppies

they never survive to come back the following spring

the youngest/newest peony is growing

one of the three columbines that bring color to the bed

I bought 3 pasque flowers, hoping at least 1 would survive

a second pasque

another flowering Columbine

a wild rose next to the rhubarb

I am going to try and remove it

If a plant is growing where it is not wanted, it is a weed.

and milkweed

OMG are there milkweed plants in the flowerbed!

why can't they grow in the swale that doesn't get mowed???

I will have to remove some of them or they will kill 

the perennials - there are that many!

The temperatures are more seasonal for May right now and for most of this coming week. There is a frost warning for Saturday night for our area. Also the possibility of a half-inch of rain this coming week.

What Has Kept Us Busy in May?

 The month of May is beyond the half-way point. School programs for the G'Kids are done. The weather was nice enough to play in the dirt. Some of the days were much busier than others.

May 3

The temperature was perfect for being outside and playing in the dirt. I am always surprised at how much grass fills in the perennial bed! After several hours, it was looking good.

The Columbine survived the winter of very little moisture. 

The peony plant is making an appearance!

I really tried to kill the rhubarb last fall because it does not produce enough to make it worth the space and weeding it requires. But, there it is!

My reward for the hard work in the garden on May 3rd!

Hubby's project in the garage - his display of license plates from the countries he has visited, through his time in the National Guard and from the trips and cruises we have taken. I will post a completed photo when they are all up on the wall. He had to put a pause on climbing a ladder to add more plates because he had a stent procedure on May 6th. All is well and we are hoping to see some improvement in his energy level later in the day.

May 6

McBe's final chorus concert. The school gym was packed when I got there, so here is my one photo from the 7th and 8th grade choir of nearly 90 students.

May 7

We are so proud of OFD for completing her Master's Degree while going to school and working two full-time jobs! The degree finally arrived in the mail on her birthday. Congratulations OFD! I think we should celebrate the occasion with a trip!

May 12

Miss Willa's final Lincoln High School chorus concert at First Lutheran Church because the school's theater/auditorium is in construction mode. Four different chorus groups performed. For one song, her group sang from the balcony in the back of the church. When the entire choir sang, they filled the center and side aisles as well as the altar area. 

May 13

A little geocaching Tuesday morning to test an Adventure Lab for a fellow geocacher.

Sioux Falls was known for their weather balls.

May 14-16

Our G'Kids have outgrown playing with the toys our kids played with when they were little. Hubby and I decided to offer this cupboard to my cousin for her grandchildren. The cupboard was made by my maternal grandfather for OFD. She was the first great-grandchild in the family. I was one of the older grandkids and Melanie is one of the younger ones. I am thrilled to know Grandpa Fred's cupboard will be enjoyed by more of his great-great-grandchildren! I brought the cupboard to my cousin when I went to visit my mother this past week.

The Fern Peony was in full bloom. The peony was a housewarming gift from Dad's sister's family to Mom & Dad when they moved into her parents' former house in 2000.

The peony did not look this good when I left on Friday after two days of rain and wind. Glad I took the photos when I did.

Mom is 95 and has dementia. She lives in a care center and has since her 92nd birthday. It has been emotionally hard to watch her decline since August 2022. She has not said my name for two years and on some visits, I wasn't certain if she knew who I was. On this visit, her face lit up and she had the biggest smile when she saw me. She introduced me to her tablemates as her daughter. No name, but she knew me as her daughter. I watched her play kickball both afternoons. She appears happy and is not in any pain and for that, we are thankful! 

Sunsets and a German Meal

 I got a notification that Northern Lights might be visible in my area, so I grabbed the phone and headed out to the deck. Instead of an Aurora, I got to see a sunset. I checked several times in the next hour but did not see Northern Lights from our deck on Thursday evening.

OFD gave us (me) an air fryer for Christmas a year ago. I have used it and enjoy the convenience of the small appliance and the shorter cooking time for some foods. 

Hubby's parents were of German descent, and his mother cooked German food. My Dad was German, but early in their marriage, he told Mom she did not have to learn to cook any German dishes. I don't know if my grandma was a good cook of German food or if Dad just did not like her German food, as both she and grandpa were very German, but either way, we did not have any German food/meals in our house when I was growing up. My mother-in-law introduced me to some of Hubby's favorite German dishes during the three years we lived in the same community. There was only one of her meals I truly enjoyed. Hubby says I did make it in the early years of our marriage, but that was a LONG time ago. Lately, I have had a craving for that one dish we both enjoy. 

The original German recipe calls for making a dough from scratch and deep-fat frying - two things I do NOT do anymore. I have been thinking about this for some time and felt I had reached a suitable compromise.

I thawed Rhodes Texas-size rolls

cooked the hamburger with onions, salt and pepper

rolled the dough and filled it with the hamburger

and cooked them in the air fryer

Fleisch Keuchla without the hours of prep and the grease

delicious!

On Friday night, I got another Aurora notification. When I went outside to check, I got another red-orange South Dakota sunset...and no northern lights.

The Rest of April

 As you will see by the photos I am posting, it has been a busy month. Here is a wrap-up of April...

We watched McBe's TKD testing for his next level of blue belt. 

Later that week, we attended his belting ceremony.

Also in that week, we renewed our driver's licenses and had some doctor appointments. On the weekend, we celebrated Easter weekend and enjoyed three days with OFD and the rest of the family. The family bowling outing was not worthy of sharing! The following week was dental appointments, more doctor visits, a library book club discussion, and...

...a very informative OLLI class, which I really enjoyed.

Last Thursday was the start of a busy 5 days. Miss W and the Lincoln High School Ensembles had their Spring performance. Miss W is a member of the freshman women's group. There were a total of 5 groups performing choral numbers. Miss W and the blond freshman on her right had a solo in one of their songs. The last photo is of all 5 groups in a final number.

Friday night Edison Middle School Show Choir, Inventions, had their performance for parents and friends. The 7th and 8th grade members present roses to their moms after their last song. Inventions alumni are invited to join the group to sing a traditional song each year. This year Miss W wore her Inventions T-Shirt and joined the group.

On Saturday, we celebrated Miss W's 15th birthday.

It was a combined birthday and confirmation celebration with family.

Hubby and I took a few minutes on Saturday to check the new set of geocaches he placed.

Affirmation of Baptism, or Confirmation in our vocabulary, was Sunday afternoon. Miss W read the lesson for her group's service. (Every confirmand had a part in the service; all 24 of them.) The second group had their service later Sunday afternoon.

The final event of those busy 5 days was McBe's middle school band concert. He is a percussionist. For this concert, he played the cymbals, the snare drum, and the marimba. The top photo is of the 7th and 8th grade band students at Edison. Each group performed separately but had a final number together at the end. 

We continue to organize the garage so both of our vehicles will fit next winter when it snows. We think we have a plan that will work. Hubby is now working on his license plate collection for display in his Man Cave. Pictures will be coming. I keep organizing in the kitchen. I am almost done. 

The weather is finally spring-like, giving me an itch to be digging in the dirt. I bought a few plants for the perennial bed and did a bit of removing grass and weeds in that flower bed today/Wednesday. The Columbines survived the winter and are growing. The peonies are making an appearance. I love this time of year!