Finding treasures

Our church has a big rummage sale fundraiser every spring – this year it was this past Saturday. The money goes into a scholarship fund for local graduating seniors (anyone can apply, not just members of our church). They always have a great crew of people working – set up (for 4 days before), working the day of from 7am – 2pm and then cleanup. I often feel guilty about not volunteering, but I don’t have that much energy. And we help out in our own way. My husband made baklava for the bake sale (sold for $1 each!) and I go and buy at least a bag full each year.

This is one of the items I bought. Only 25¢. I almost passed it up because I felt the whole lace around the edges, pink dotted Swiss background and frilly ribbon was just a bit too over-the-top and dated for me.  But I just so happens I love doilies.  And tatting (which I haven’t mastered … yet).  So I added it to my pile and brought it home.  Where I promptly dismantled it.  Ribbon and fabric went in the trash and I scraped down the hoop (they had used some strange green adhesive).  So now I have a 12” hoop to use for another craft and this beauty:

I decided to bring her to work and right now she has an honored place sitting on my desk, where I keep glancing at her and smiling.

My other treasures for the weekend were a couple of clothing items for my daughter and myself (one turned out to be a dud), a full roll of macramé cord, some old flannel sheets I hope to use in crafting, and my best find: a women’s bike for $1.  Dave went and bought new handlebar grips and a kick stand (it didn’t have one), greased it up, put air in the tires, and it was good to go. It has a bit of rust on the handlebars, but otherwise looks in great shape.  Better shape than I’m in – as evident by the fact that I only managed a 10 min ride!!

I’d had some grand plans for Saturday. Turns out the shopping trip was the big event. I didn’t get any weeding done in the flower beds. I didn’t get our blankets washed to hang out in the sunshine.  But maybe that’s not important. What I did accomplish was to spend some time outdoors with my daughter, exploring the great wide world.

p.s. don’t our peas look great? We planted them in mid-March when it was so warm. We knew there was a risk, but decided the couple of dollars we might lose in seed money was worth the attempt. We’ve had several frost spells, but the peas have held on.  So have the Brussels sprouts (on the left).  We’re not sure if the carrots have survived or not.  We know we need to replant the beans, but 2 or 3 out of the 4 types of seeds we planted isn’t bad at all!

p.p.s.  E is picking rocks out of the garden. She’s very good about leaving the plants alone.  Doesn’t she look like a future farmer in her bib overalls?!

Terrible Tuesday

I have to say that my husband had a rather rotten day today.  He doesn’t seem grumpy, but I probably would be after everything…

It started this morning when Emma woke up – and promptly vomited.  As an infant I don’t think she spit up more than 1/2 a dozen times, so this was a strange occurrence.  She seemed ok, ate a little bit and then the two of them headed off to vote.  And Emma threw up again – at the town hall.  (You know you live in a small town when you show up to vote and several people working there ask if your baby is ok and did you know she got sick?)

It was fortunate she did that before they went to the grocery store, so he was able to pick up some Pedialyte for her and didn’t have to run back.  She seemed fine the rest of the day, so we’re not sure what was up.

Maybe she’s fighting something. She didn’t wake up until after 8am and she took a 2 hour nap this afternoon (naps that long are rare).

 

But that wasn’t all that happened today. Sometime after they ran errands and returned home, this happened…

…and then there were two.  Chickens, that is.  A couple of weeks ago, they left to run errands in the morning.  The chickens were free-ranging in the neighborhood and seemed fine.  But Dave and Emma came home to a yard scattered with feathers.  We lost four that day.  He found three bodies, which made us suspect a dog (rather than something that wanted to kill for food).  Today we lost two more.  He never heard a thing, so again we don’t know exactly what happened. We should have no problem keeping up with their supply and may even have to start buying eggs again.

Here’s hoping to a better rest of the week…

February in Florida

(Yes, I know it’s April. I started this post and forgot to publish it!!)

My parents recently became snow-birds in Naples, Florida.  As part of our Christmas gift, they offered to pay for airplane tickets to see them sometime this winter.  Last week, we spent 6 full days with them.

When we arrived it was 83º and sunny.  What a change from back home – even though we’ve had a relatively warm winter so far.

I was amazed at the different types of palm trees and greenery to be found around the city. This is not my parent’s house, by the way. Their trees are taller and have supports which are necessary for the first year after they are planted because of the shallow roots. This is actually in the back of the community center of their subdivision, so the landscaping is similar.

Emma did fairly well on the plane rides.  The worst was flying into O’Hare on the trip down – she needed a nap and didn’t want to eat or drink from the bottle, so her ears hurt.  I think she learned by the end of the return flight why Mom kept shoving a bottle at her and was giggly, squirmy and over-all a happy baby.  She didn’t see a lot of sun directly on her body – the temperature dropped significantly over the weekend, so we used the few long sleeves and pants we brought along!  On Sunday, I don’t think it got above 70º and the wind was cold and blustery!

It may have been due to the excitement of everything new, but Emma had a tough time falling asleep – both during the day and at night.  So we took walks.  The subdivision is one big loop – a mile in length.  During the day, we’d put her in the stroller and walk the entire length.  Most of the time she was asleep before the half-way mark.  At night, we’d just place her in our arms, give her a warm bottle of milk and take a slow stroll down to the end of the block.  Not something I’d want to do in Wisconsin in February!

Behind their house (in the middle of the subdivision loop) is a large pond… complete with a couple of alligators. 

Dave was kept entertained trying to spot them.  This guy was the larger of the two – estimated to be around 6 feet long.  The other was only spotted once, but he figured it was a couple of feet shorter.  We didn’t see much of them the last two days because the wind made the water choppy, so they stayed below the surface more.

I love crab but don’t get it much because it’s difficult (or expensive) to find fresh seafood in the Midwest.  We have seen several commercials for Joe’s Crab Shack – but the closest one to us is over 2 hours away.  There are a couple in the Naples area and my parents agreed to take us there!  Pretty amazing when you consider that my mother is allergic to shellfish (she had salmon).  Dinner was good and messy!

On the weekend, we attended the annual fundraiser for the local Greek Orthodox church.  We were fortunate to attend with my Greek cousin as he and his family also made the trip down around the same time.  Dave and I love Greek food.  We took the opportunity to sample all kinds of things – Greek chicken, souvlaki (chicken and pork), spanakopita, dolmades, rice, green beans (in a tomato sauce).  Not to mention the desserts – baklava, Napoleons, Galaktobureko, karithopita, and loukoumades (yes, we had all of that – and shared so we didn’t explode).  I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!  We didn’t even try everything available – there were still other dishes and desserts, but we ran out of tummy space.  They had dancers of all ages and plenty of other music and Greek artisans.  My dad almost came home with a beautifully carved wooden nativity set.

Because of time constraints and the colder weather, we didn’t make it to the beach until our last full day there.  As you can see, Emma didn’t care much for the cold water.  Then again, she really needed a nap.

After leaving the beach we visited another cousin who lives in Port Royal.  Their house is just a teensy bit bigger than the ones my parents have.  In true Midwest-hospitality fashion, we had coffee and delicious everything-but-the-kitchen-sink muffins before we were on our way again.

We left their home and went to the other end of the spectrum in wealth and property when one of Dave’s cousins took us to a hole-in-the-wall eatery in Everglade City.  It was a place where local fisherman bring their catch – for eating there or shipping out.  We were feeling a bit adventurous so Mom had grouper and frog legs, while I tried stone crab and alligator.  Not sure I’d ever order either again.  The crab didn’t taste like much while the alligator was heavily spiced and chewy.  It was fun to try though!

The trip was fun, but it’s great to be back home again!