The Cousin's Lunch, and Other Things

 According to my guests, our Cousin's lunch on Thursday was a big success. 

Two cousins, Kris and Susan, arrived early with their partners and while I was busy in the kitchen, they got right into catching up. Kris brought some China and glassware that belonged to our maternal grandmother, and Susan brought old photos. My sister Laurie arrived right on time and joined in.

Lunch was served on schedule at 12:30, and the talking and sharing stories continued through the soup and onto the cookies and coffee. 

Finally they all pitched in to clear the table and we girls spent time going over the treasures Kris and Susan brought. 

This is a photo of my grandfather's farm at haying time, located in the foothills on the east side of the Willamette Valley. 

These are his draft horses that pulled the farm equipment. 

These are Grandma's dishes. I am still working on trying to date them. None of us remember them. 

This is the house where I grew up. Over the years it was added on to as the family grew, but it started out as two rooms with on outhouse and no running water. Heat was a wood stove, as was the cook stove. 

Cousins and siblings: L to R - sisters Ilene and Laurie, cousin Wes, me, and cousin Susan.  It must have been a special day as we all were wearing pretty dresses.

I was very glad to be able to host this gathering. I kept the China and have found a place for it on my pantry shelves. There are enough plates that can, and will use it, most likely for Thanksgiving. 

Then I was tired. Saturday Tom and Irene went to the Sounders game while I stayed home and watched on TV. Another victory!

Jill is still in Hawaii, in Honolulu, where she has been diving and relaxing on the beach and she even found some free food for her birthday yesterday. I will probably have some photos for anther post later. She comes home tomorrow.

Tom leaves tomorrow for Whidbey Island and the San Juans to help move Jake to his new home and job on Whidbey Island.  I will be in quarantine except for a drive through COVID test on Tuesday. 

It's all coming together. 

She's 50!

 Today is my little girl's 50th birthday. 

I always loved her birth date, March 4th, or Match Forth, as I called it, because she has been marching out and along and to her own drummer ever since.

She is currently in Hawaii, scuba diving. I posted some recent photos on Facebook, and now I'll share them with you.

All taken in her 50th year, Jill is still marching from one adventure to another, today trading climbing up high for diving down below. 

And for those of you familiar with her free food eating pageant, which she declared last time she would end, she has apparently found free food in Honolulu! There might be pictures!

Mother, daughter, sister, cousin, friend, she is amazing! 

Preparations

 

                                Hellebores in my garden s-l-o-w-l-y opening.

It's March, and while we prepare our minds for spring, the weather is not cooperating. It's still cold and the rain often looks more like snow, that is except when the snow is really snowing before it turns to rain. 

But spring will come. The first little daffodils are braving the weather to make their appearance. 

Tom and Jill made preparations on Sunday to get their tickets on their phones and then gear up for the Sounders match at the stadium. 

They both reported that it was very cold, but that their new hand warmers worked very well.

I was quite cozy watching at home. 

And we won!

Monday and Tuesday I had appointments, preparing for surgery. Monday I had a steroid injection in my already fixed hip to try to settle down the persistent tendinitis. I don't think it's working. On Tuesday we met with my orthopedic surgeon to get set up for surgery next week and we brought home a bag full of prescriptions. I'll have to make a chart to keep them  all straight. 

Today, Wednesday, we are prepping for our cousins lunch tomorrow. We made a trip to the grocery store for a few fresh ingredients and for flowers.

Now the flowers are arranged and the table is set. It looks like spring in my dining room, which will be a good thing as it will be cold and dark and rainy outside. 

I'll be making soup to warm us up, served with good bread and cheese and fruit. Tom will help. When the guests arrive I'll give them jobs too. 

And we'll make our own spring. 

Going Green

 Away with the pink and red hearts. It's time for GREEN. And gold.  I bought some new flowers at the grocery store this morning. I swapped out the placemats.

That's close to Sounders green. 

Photo from a year ago

I wore a Sounders sweatshirt to breakfast this morning. The MLS soccer season starts this weekend. The Sounders will be playing at home on Sunday. By then it should warm up to 40 degrees. Tom will be going but not me. I did not renew my tickets this season since getting around is just too hard now. Jill and I each had two season tickets, but now mine are gone and Tom and Jill will be going together. Change happens. 

More green. The lawn is starting to grow, or at least it will be again when it warms up a bit. We are hoping that we don't get snow as the temperature rises and moisture comes in from the Pacific. 

We got the furnace fixed this week, and then I got my income taxes filed, after tracking down some missing 1099-R forms. The good news is the tax refund will cover the cost of the furnace. At least we are in the green on that. The property tax bill that came last week is another matter.

Tomorrow we will get together to celebrate Jill's 50th birthday. Her birthday is March 4th, but she will be in Hawaii then on a scuba diving trip. She's as adventurous as ever. Having a 50 year old daughter is a bit of a shock though. 

The sun is still shining, the sky is blue, and the grass is green, pretty enough to be outside, if you bundle up. Maybe I'll do that now. It's time to make the trip out to the mailbox. 

Stay warm, those of you in the snowy north lands. 

Checking It Off

 

                                                        Hellebore in my garden.

We got our furnace fixed this morning. It got pretty cold in the house, I piled on layers, but I'm still not sufficiently warmed up. We are glad to have it working though because the temperature will dip below freezing tonight and for the next several nights and the daytime temps will not get above the mid 30's. That probably sounds balmy to some of you across the country though.

I had a phone appointment this morning with a nurse at the my orthopedic hospital, getting some things checked off before my hip surgery in a few weeks. That got me to thinking about all the stuff I need to have ready at home. It will soon be time to get the walker out of the attic. I'm making lists of other things. And I need to hear back from my cardiologist. I think I was supposed to have an EKG and that didn't happen yet. 

Our winter blooming Mahonia finally bloomed. I hope the hummingbirds find it. They will need extra nourishment during the cold. 

I finished another quilt block and have the next one planned. I am not speedy at this and just work at it for little bits at a time. 

A new blogger, Daisy in the Garden, showed up in my comments today. She gardens in England! I think I will enjoy following her. 

Now that the garage has been closed up for a while and the cold air is no longer blowing through, it's time to brave the cold and get warmed up on my stationary bike. Staying as fit as possible is on my checklist. 

Garden Therapy

 I have been feeling kind of low lately. I know that it is up to me to do something about that. 

Sunday morning was cold and gray but it was dry. The Hellebores were starting to bloom in my garden so I thought they would also be opening in the Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden a few miles from our house. I asked Tom to take me there. 

I wondered if the Edgeworthia by the gate might be blooming yet. It was!

It's a strange shrub, with thick stems, and no leaves when it blooms in late winter, but with an incredible fragrance.

The Silk Tassel Tree was blooming too, on the other side of the gate. I have never been very impressed by this shrub but up close the chain of flowers is interesting, and it blooms early. 

                    . 

Pieris Japonica shrubs are starting to open their little bell shaped flowers. 

So are the very fragrant early Viburnums. 

And yes, we found hellebores! Since most varieties don't hold up their heads, they need help showing their beautiful faces. 

An early rhododendron. 

Winder blooming Mahonia (Oregon Grape)

The hellebores were just beginning to open. They will be wonderful in a couple of weeks, after this next cold spell. 

A lovely double. 

These are wild hazelnut catkins, the male, pollen producing flowers of the tree. 

We learned something from a blog friend last week that we had a chance to check out for ourselves here in the garden. See that tiny reddish bud at the top of those catkins? That is a female flower bud. 

Tom found one blooming! Cool, huh?

For my entire life, always living with these trees around, I never knew about these tiny flowers. 

These are the fuzzy buds of a magnolia. 

So happy to be here, I managed to walk around most of the several acres of garden, including around the serene Japanese Garden. 

No climbing up narrow paths or teetering on stone bridges for me now,

but holding Tom's hand I was happy to climb these lovely stone steps as we made our way out of the garden to return home, just as the rain was beginning to fall. 

Not only was visiting the garden yesterday good therapy, but now sharing it with you has worked it's magic all over again.