Wow! It's August already!
Hard to believe we're 2/3rd the way through Summer already!!!
We apologize for not posting lately. We could say we've been too busy....but no one would believe that for a minute ;-) Actually, things have been pretty ordinary around these parts the last several weeks.
Mom is doing pretty well, given her condition. As noted before, she's no longer able to walk, but still gets into her wheelchair on a weekly basis for a trip out to the porches and a view of the gardens she can't see from her bedroom. 3 weeks ago, she picked her first tomato from her 'upside down' tomato plant hanging on the front porch, and she's had several more since then from her plant, the most recent, and biggest one so far, this evening.
So, I guess it's time for a recap of the summer so far.
The drought in NC has continued, but this year, we have benefitted from a few more of the widely scattered showers and storms than last summer... - widely scattered being the key word. Aside from the vegetable patch, most of the gardening time has been spent in the back yard this year, since that's the view Mom has from her bedroom. June started out very hot, with 4 days 100º or higher, and as of this post, we've had 37 days 90º or higher. Those kind of temps somewhat limit our outside work to early mornings and evenings, and the never-ending battle with mosquitoes. Hard to believe how many there are, given the mostly dry conditions we've had.
The last weekend in June, thanks to Lynne's niece Tracy and her husband Kenny, we were able to get away once again for our once a year 'vacation', a gathering of Internet friends who have met for the last 6 years in Charlotte. Tracy and Kenny stayed with Mom, and took excellent care of the yard, while we were away for the weekend. We were so happily greeted to robust plants from frequent watering, and one garden completely devoid of weeds, one that was trying (and succeeding) in gettimg away from us.
Our good friend Alli stayed with us before and after our weekend in Charlotte, adding her special charm and charisma to our home while she was here, and another dear friend Kay, who has sort of adopted Mom as her own, also stopped by after our weekend gathering in Charlotte. Words cannot express how much such little things mean, not only to us, but to Mom. BTW, gals -- her chocolate treats are LONG GONE !!! (and we didn't help).
The Sunday we returned home, we had a nice family gathering and cookout ... one that celebrated many milestones. It was an early birthday celebration for Mom's 93rd birthday a few days later (July 2), one of our neice's 21st birthday, and another neice's graduation from High School --- which also meant we were celebrating Ruth and Russ successfully getting their 3 daughters through the HS years and off to college. All 3 are now enrolled at NC State, and that's quite an accomplishment that we're both very proud of for them achieving.
July, and the gardens started producing... not as good as in previous years, but there's been enough to give Mom fresh tomatos and cucumbers when she wants them. Not enough for us to can up in the quantities of previous years, but then again, that's a direct result of the unusually hot weather we had in June. Amazing the things you learn --- like tomato flowers' pollen isn't viable above 90º.
We quietly celebrated 3 years of married life together on July 9th, and just as quitely, celebrated Lynne's birthday last week on July 30th.
While I'm typing this, we're off and on watching a pretty non-stop lightning display from a storm 25 miles to our East and moving away. It's been that way for the better part of 2 hours, so in a way, we're glad we missed that particular storm cell, although we'd love to share in some of the rain it's dropping. We snagged almost 1/4" from showers earlier today, but days like that are few and far between this summer.
The next update will be filled with photos, which we also apologize for not having up sooner. Sometimes, we just get caught up in the simplicity and quietness of things, then remember we have family and friends who are looking forward to glimpses into our gardens and family life. Again, we apologize.... and will have lots of pictures up within the next week.
NOW>>>
If you've made it this far, we ask for just a few more minutes of your time.
Please keep in mind Lynne's sister Joyce, who lost her husband Bobby earlier this week, after an off and on again battle with cancer.
Also, please keep in mind my sister Mary Lou, who was just recently diagnosed with cancer, and began her treatments this past week.
Your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated on their behalf.
Thanks for stopping by our little corner of the world here in the Heartland of Carolina, and we'll be back again soon.
We apologize for not posting lately. We could say we've been too busy....but no one would believe that for a minute ;-) Actually, things have been pretty ordinary around these parts the last several weeks.
Mom is doing pretty well, given her condition. As noted before, she's no longer able to walk, but still gets into her wheelchair on a weekly basis for a trip out to the porches and a view of the gardens she can't see from her bedroom. 3 weeks ago, she picked her first tomato from her 'upside down' tomato plant hanging on the front porch, and she's had several more since then from her plant, the most recent, and biggest one so far, this evening.
So, I guess it's time for a recap of the summer so far.
The drought in NC has continued, but this year, we have benefitted from a few more of the widely scattered showers and storms than last summer... - widely scattered being the key word. Aside from the vegetable patch, most of the gardening time has been spent in the back yard this year, since that's the view Mom has from her bedroom. June started out very hot, with 4 days 100º or higher, and as of this post, we've had 37 days 90º or higher. Those kind of temps somewhat limit our outside work to early mornings and evenings, and the never-ending battle with mosquitoes. Hard to believe how many there are, given the mostly dry conditions we've had.
The last weekend in June, thanks to Lynne's niece Tracy and her husband Kenny, we were able to get away once again for our once a year 'vacation', a gathering of Internet friends who have met for the last 6 years in Charlotte. Tracy and Kenny stayed with Mom, and took excellent care of the yard, while we were away for the weekend. We were so happily greeted to robust plants from frequent watering, and one garden completely devoid of weeds, one that was trying (and succeeding) in gettimg away from us.
Our good friend Alli stayed with us before and after our weekend in Charlotte, adding her special charm and charisma to our home while she was here, and another dear friend Kay, who has sort of adopted Mom as her own, also stopped by after our weekend gathering in Charlotte. Words cannot express how much such little things mean, not only to us, but to Mom. BTW, gals -- her chocolate treats are LONG GONE !!! (and we didn't help).
The Sunday we returned home, we had a nice family gathering and cookout ... one that celebrated many milestones. It was an early birthday celebration for Mom's 93rd birthday a few days later (July 2), one of our neice's 21st birthday, and another neice's graduation from High School --- which also meant we were celebrating Ruth and Russ successfully getting their 3 daughters through the HS years and off to college. All 3 are now enrolled at NC State, and that's quite an accomplishment that we're both very proud of for them achieving.
July, and the gardens started producing... not as good as in previous years, but there's been enough to give Mom fresh tomatos and cucumbers when she wants them. Not enough for us to can up in the quantities of previous years, but then again, that's a direct result of the unusually hot weather we had in June. Amazing the things you learn --- like tomato flowers' pollen isn't viable above 90º.
We quietly celebrated 3 years of married life together on July 9th, and just as quitely, celebrated Lynne's birthday last week on July 30th.
While I'm typing this, we're off and on watching a pretty non-stop lightning display from a storm 25 miles to our East and moving away. It's been that way for the better part of 2 hours, so in a way, we're glad we missed that particular storm cell, although we'd love to share in some of the rain it's dropping. We snagged almost 1/4" from showers earlier today, but days like that are few and far between this summer.
The next update will be filled with photos, which we also apologize for not having up sooner. Sometimes, we just get caught up in the simplicity and quietness of things, then remember we have family and friends who are looking forward to glimpses into our gardens and family life. Again, we apologize.... and will have lots of pictures up within the next week.
NOW>>>
If you've made it this far, we ask for just a few more minutes of your time.
Please keep in mind Lynne's sister Joyce, who lost her husband Bobby earlier this week, after an off and on again battle with cancer.
Also, please keep in mind my sister Mary Lou, who was just recently diagnosed with cancer, and began her treatments this past week.
Your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated on their behalf.
Thanks for stopping by our little corner of the world here in the Heartland of Carolina, and we'll be back again soon.
posted by Tom | 11:25 PM
5 Comments:
Yeah - a new post! Now we need pictures ;)
Love you guys,
Dawn
aw, prayers for Mary Lou and Joyce. May God give them the strength they need at this time.
Thank you for the update, I was wondering..... ;)
Waiting for pictures..... taptaptap
LOL you guys... don't worry... there's no severe weather or tropical stuff on tap... pictures will be coming in the next few days :)
Love the pix of the boys playing ball - I look forward to one day enjoying something similar with my grandchild(ren)! Your gardens are wonderful, as always - an inspiration for me to get out there and work harder. Glad your Mom is able to go out and take a look once in a while - and yay on those tomatoes!
Snow
Saw a picture of your morning glory on an arbor.....loaded with blooms! How do you care for it? Mine don't have blossoms, although the vines are healthy and prolific!
Thanks, Barb
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