Lazy Sunday - Last Day of Stever's Visit

As Sean says,  "This morning everybody was so lazy.  They got up at ten o'clock!"  We ate at Ed's favorite -- Golden Corral.  

The bacon-filled breakfast was followed by a trip to the James Madison University's arboretum.  We had a nice walk through a beautiful forest.

Sean has been such a good trooper.  He played for days with a magnetic building set that I had and read with me as much as I could get him to.  His reading vocabulary probably doubled this week.  This is his robot.

He was quite take with Blanche. 

He thought it quite amusing that the cats don't like the air conditioning in the house so they spend a lot of time outside in the litter box area in the hot garage.  You might like to be in a warmer spot too if you were a Cornish Rex without much hair!

Here's the pet door going out of the utility room  (my invention).

Here's the "cat house" cage that Ed built so they can get to the litter box but not into the garage.

We went to Bravo's for some Italian food and to the famous Kline's Frozen Custard bar.  We were all pleased that Sean got to see three deer in the field across from our house as we arrived home.

Veggie Garden Fun

We went to visit our neighbors just down the hill to see their chickens yesterday.  Glen and Laura are such gracious and friendly hosts.  They raise chickens for Tyson that are used for the meat.  There were 23,000+ chickens in each of their two houses.  

But, the exciting part was yet to come......a tour of the vegetable garden.  Sean got to pick some blackberries and eat them.  He saw beans, cucumbers, watermelons, cantaloupes, tomatoes and more growing.  

He was thrilled with Laura dug some potatoes and he got to bring them home.  We're going to eat them for supper tonight.

Who would have thought that what I had envisioned as a ten minute visit to look at chickens would turn into such an educational experience for Sean?  A child's enthusiasm is contagious and I think it gave all our hearts a lift!

Chicken Egg Farm

by Sean Angelil (age 6)

We went to a chicken egg farm.  When we got there we saw very, very long chicken houses.

There were 9,000 chickens and 900 roosters in the house.

Ms. Mary's cousin (Stashia Kline) showed us this cart with more than 2,000 eggs that she got that day.

She showed us the little contraption that brings out the eggs.  When the eggs come out on the moving belt, she puts the good ones into flat boxes.

Some eggs were not good to sell.  Some were funny, some were little, some were round and some were brown.  

She gave me some of the funny eggs.  

 My favorite one was the soft egg that was like rubber.

Sometimes chickens die so they put them in a thing that looks like a barbecue to burn them. 

Everybody liked the chicken egg farm and we ate the eggs that Ms. Mary's cousin gave us.

Dairy Farm Visit

Ed's grandson, Sean, is six years old, which is a good age to travel because he's old enough to remember experiences.  We visited a neighboring farm to see how cows are milked.  Linden and Christie Rhodes' dairy operation is presently milking about 100 cows.

Here are Steve, Lorraine and Sean.

Did you ever wonder where the milk is stored until the milk truck comes to pick it up twice a week?  It's stored in this 2,400 gallon tank.  Now you know!

 

Touching a deer skull is certainly a new experience!

Sean got a kick out of Morgan holding his fingers out so the calf sucked them and followed him around.

  Sean enjoyed petting the calf, which wasn't as scary as he had anticipated.

So, what do cows do between the morning and evening milking times?  They loaf in the loafing shed, of course!

There is one concept I don't think Sean quite grasped so, for now we just let him keep thinking that chocolate milk comes from black and white milk comes from white cows.

Ed's Son Arrives

Ed's son, Steve (Ed calls him "Stever"), his wife, Lorraine, and grandson, Sean (6) arrived last evening from Florida.  This is Sean's first visit to the country and he is so excited -- starting with seeing lightning bugs last evening.  We're going to see a milking operation this afternoon. 

If you wonder what we're up to for the next week, just let me remind you how much entertainment a 6-year-old needs.  Sean's a good kid but he's also a normal, active boy.  Naturally he wants to show Grandfather Edmond and Ms. Mary everything.  Ms. Mary is enjoying having him read to her and is scrambling to find some things for him to play with.  

Sean's magnetic art creation.

 

Is Sean entertaining Blanche or is Blanche entertaining Sean?

A teacher never tires of teaching reading, especially to a young man who can read and is getting better.

 Grandfather Edmond and Sean Angelil

More 85th Birthday Pictures

The Birthday Queen, Frances May

Maribeth found this flat crown on a stick in the gift shop at the restaurant and held it behind Mother's head.   What an eye that sister-in-law of mine has!

Is this how Shelley (her caregiver) gets through the day with Mother?

 Grandmother helping Levi count coins.

 My sister, Anita, at our first pretty breakfast at Maribeth's table.  Anita's fresh banana bread provided breakfast most of the week for us.

The 2nd morning I suggested we just get our own breakfast -- that Maribeth was going to too much trouble.  She said,  "That's just how I am.  Get used to it!"   She proceeded to make her presentation even fancier than the first day.

My lovely, kind and gentle sister, Anita May Krull.

 My brother and his fine family with Mother.

Frances May and Shelley McDonough 

(Shelley is a gal from Phil's church that we hire to spend several hours with Mother each day.  She's a true Godsend.  She gets Mother out of the room, takes her to bingo, drives her to the library, dentist, or wherever.  She's extremely patient and knows when and how to motivate Mother to try and to do things.)

Brother Phil plays Happy Birthday along with Liszt, Chopin, Beethoven and Ravel.

Leftovers for supper, then CAKE and ice cream.

Tears in Texas

...or, 

How to Make Your Grown Children Cry

Mother wanted to give us something special to remember this week.  She and Maribeth cooked up a real surprise.

  
Anita reacts first...

Then Phil and I comprehend...

Are you curious?

 What a thoughtful remembrance.

Thank you, Mother and Maribeth.

85 Years for Frances May

Today was Frances Freeman May's 85th birthday.

Shelley brought Mother from the rehab center over to Phil's about 10:30 a.m. We visited a while and Phil gave Mother a foot massage.

We headed for the Dove's Nest restaurant in downtown Waxahachie, TX.  Maribeth had had flowers sent for the table.  We all had good things to eat and especially enjoyed orange spice tea. 

(Click on each picture for a larger view.)

Mary, Frances, Anita, Phil

 Levi, Maribeth, Shelley

When we got back to Phil's, Levi helped his grandmother open her gifts.  He loved showing off his new knife, too.

Levi coaxed the best smile of the day out of his grandmother by telling her if she didn't smile, he'd pinch her hard!

Anita brought her cake tips and pastry bags with her from Ohio and made this beautiful birthday cake.

Here we are...."Tiptoe through the tulips..."

Maribeth May deserves full credit for having the idea for this week-long birthday celebration.  She planned it and made it happen -- with lots of surprises along the way.

Yay for MB May!!!

Talkfest in Texas

The week-long celebration of Mother's 85th birthday got off to a grand start yesterday!

Shelley McDonough, the gal/sitter who spends several hours a day with Mother at the nursing home, brought her over about 11 a.m. Shelley has become our other sister and spent most of the day with us.

Mother, Anita, Phil, Maribeth, Shelley, and I just about talked our tongues off for the whole day.  We laughed, shared memories, and ate Maribeth's good food. 

 Anita May Krull, Frances May, Mary May Angelil, Philip May 2010

Phil invited her doctor (who lives nearby) to stop in so "the sisters" could meet him.  VaVaVoom! Dr. Bousquet is a cutie pie, not to mention a nice guy.  He's certainly done a good job at getting Mother to feeling better.  He and Phil have worked closely on tweaking her meds and it seems they've hit a good balance.

It was after nine when Phil and Anita took Mom back to Pleasant Manor Nursing Home.  We were amazed at how well she did to last all day.  We couldn't even get her to take a nap......as with all of us, she didn't want to miss anything.

Seasoned Traveler - Not so Seasoned After All

It became obvious yesterday that I hadn't flown for several years.  I had emailed the airlines to ask if I was required to bring my meds in their original bottles.  They replied in the form of a boiler-plate template with a link to their website.  I never found a clear answer to my question but I think you don't need original bottles for meds.

I studied the site overall but it quickly became obvious that I overlooked a few things. 

As I started into the security check area at our local Shenandoah Valley airport, they asked me if I had liquids in my carry-on.  I remembered a little bottle of liquid medicine and pulled it out.  

After my things went through the line, there was a table with a glass partition between me and the table.  I happened to notice that the the security (lady) officer had my carry-on open and was taking everything out.  That's when things started going downhill.  

She deemed that my little travel bottles of cosmetics were over 2 ounces.  She had a zip-loc bag in her hand and said I'd have to decide what I really needed and she'd have to throw the rest away.  I was horrified.......not my perfect- sized bottles that I'd traveled with for years!!!  They were like my old friends!

Thankfully, I turned around and saw Ed was there waiting to be sure the plane took off successfully, so I was able to give him the things that wouldn't fit into the zip-loc.  She did let my contact solution and sunscreen through because they could count as medicinal items.  A couple of times I started to reach across the glass partition and she'd sharply say,  "Don't touch that!"  Well, excuse me, Mam!!!

After dissecting and separating my cosmetics and CPAP machine, things were sent through the scanner again - separately.  By that time, most of the other passengers had gotten onto the plane.  I had to quickly stuff everything back.  (There was ample room because so many things got left behind).

As luck would have it, it was raining so I got damp in my dash to the plane.  Then, they wouldn't let me take my "carry-on on" (Hummm, words are funny aren't they?)  They gave me a claim ticket and when we got to D.C. they had everyone's carry-ons on a cart standing in the rain ready for us.  Oh, well, it was only water, right?

The best news was that I didn't have to go through security again because I was staying on the same airline for the leg to Dallas/Fort Worth.  Whew!

My brother, Phil, and nephew, Levi, were there to meet me at the United terminal.  The D/FW airport is one of the largest in the country!  It seemed like miles of traffic circles and loops with overpasses over us and underpasses under us but Phil easily found American Airlines, where we met Anita's plane. This is her first time in Texas so she enjoyed looking around on our 45 minute drive to Phil and Maribeth's house in Waxahachie.

It was frustrating to have so many of my "magic potions" (they "magically" turn me into a lovely, fair maiden) taken out of my "magic box";  however, I did end up with shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and perfume.   Next time, the "magic potions" will go mostly into my checked luggage and I'll have my bare necessities in the trusty little zip-loc.

I thought I was being such a savvy traveler because I followed Maribeth's advice and wore backless sandals so as to avoid the aggravation of putting tie shoes on after the scan gate........however, I wasn't so smart or seasoned with other aspects of traveling!  

p.s. RV life was so much simpler.....sigh.....

Traveling to Texas

I'm excited!!!  Mother's 85th birthday is July 15th and my sister, Anita, (lives in Ohio) and I are going to celebrate the week with Mother in Waxahachie, Texas.  This is the idea of Maribeth, my dear sister-in-law.  We'll be staying with my brother, Phil, Maribeth, and my nephew, Levi. 

I leave in about 20 minutes so had better go zip up my suitcase.  More later.....

Cowboy Ed

Cowboy Ed 

by Mary May (Barrows) Angelil   2002 

(When we moved to VA, we lived with Mother while building our house)

Just after supper as Mother, Ed and I were all peacefully reading, there came a sharp, frantic rap, rap, rapping on our door.  A motorist stopped to tell us that 6 of Linden's cows were out in the road.  (Linden rents Mother's farm).  She tried to call him but he was gone.  Uncle Bob didn't have Linden's cell phone number nor is he able to chase cows.  So she called Glen Koogler, our farmer neighbor down the hill.

Ed came in and timidly asked Mother,  "Are the cows going to hurt me or charge me if I try to herd them?"

Thankfully, Glen came right up on his tractor and Ed helped him herd the cows back into the safe pasture.  They fixed the closing on the gate so the cows couldn't lick it loose.

When Ed came in after all that, Mother called Uncle Bob back to let him know things were under control.  She said,  "I think Ed was a little afraid. . ."

Ed interrupted and bellowed,  "A little afraid?  I was a LOT afraid!!!!"

. . . . .  Stay tuned for the next episode of "Ed, the City Dude, Moves to the Country".        

Country Music

Since weeding doesn't make for interesting blog posts (unless you'd like for me to keep a running count of weeds pulled), I think I'll share some thoughts from the past.

Country Music

by Mary May (Barrows) Angelil    April 2002

The unexpected warm weather motivates us to open all the windows in the house and a whole new world of “country music” begins.  It has been over thirty years since I have experienced Spring with all its wondrous sights and sounds so I am acutely aware of things I probably took for granted in the past.  Having Ed, the city dude, here makes us notice things we’ve never noticed before.  There is quadraphonic sound featuring birds, farm machinery and the mooing of many cows.

The morning concert begins precisely at 6:45 a.m. when the banty rooster gives his first LOUD crow  - -  right under our open window.  How does he KNOW it’s 6:45???  He is like a snooze alarm and continues with this cacophony throughout the morning.   My mornings of sleeping in until 7:30 or 8:00 are over for now! 

The mockingbird is the most entertaining bird as he loudly and cheerfully imitates every bird’s song imaginable.  The crows grating “ca-ca” is quite distinctive and the turtle doves with their soft cooing are soothing to the ears and nerves.  The noisy blue jays seem to always be arguing about something!  The nuthatches, snow birds, sparrows and bluebirds chirp cheerfully.   It is a never ending concert throughout the day with birds from all sides of the house. 

Every so often we hear the unmistakable sounds of farm machinery rumbling by.  I can often identify which are tractors or four wheelers.  The man who rents Mother’s farm, Linden Rhodes, has been busy moving cows around into the various pastures.  First, he brings them from his farm, takes them into the barnyard and vaccinates them - that causes one type of mooing.  Then he puts the new mothers with their calves (Ed calls them “little cows”) out in the pasture.  Instead of having a sheep dog to herd the cows or using the old fashioned method of running after them, Linden uses his four- wheeler to guide the cows and calves into the place he wants them.  It is frightful to hear (and see) him back up full speed and zip around to achieve his goal.

There are now about 25 sets of cows and calves in the field right behind Mother’s house.  Linden has 25 more cows, which he calls “springers”, ready to give birth at another farm.  After he gets the cows into the desired pasture, much mooing begins. Sometimes, it seems to be the mother calling her calf to “get its little self across the field” for lunch.  Other times it seems to be conversation among several cows.  At times, it seems they are mooing to cows in another field.  Then there are those who just moo and moo and moo for no apparent reason.   

The toughest time is later in the summer when he separates the cows and calves  -  that always causes several nights and days of desperate bawling from many distressed mothers - all at the same time.  That’s enough to make you feel so sorry for them in spite of being annoyed at all the noise when you’re trying to sleep!

Experiencing this forgotten country music is proving to be a great joy for me.  I awoke at 3 a.m. and experienced another sound sensation of the country  - absolute quiet - no cows, cars or birds.  We seldom experience silence in this day and age and I revel in it.   

Just think . . .  all these years I thought I didn’t care for “country music”!!

"Whether?" Depends on Weather

During the years I was not living in Virginia (7 years in Puerto Rico, 1 year in Australia, 24 years in Florida) it always struck me that every phone conversation with someone from home always included the person asking me about the weather.  (Oops, I didn't talk on the phone from Australia). 

 

I always wondered about that because where I was living it was always hot and sunny or hot and rainy.  Now that I'm back in Virginia, I am starting to understand why the weather is such a topic of conversation.  I now check the weather forecast often. 

 

The weather determines whether you close your windows before you leave the house, whether the farmer should cut his hay, whether he can bale the hay, whether you garden that day, whether you water your garden, whether you garden wearing knee boots (after it rains), whether you can sleep with the windows open, whether you wear shorts or long pants with a jacket, whether you have a picnic outside or inside.........and the list goes on and on. 

 

During the winter, the weather causes even more "whethers", especially when you add snow, ice, and drifting winds into the formula! 

 

Now I get it.......the weather determines whether or not you.......whatever.