monthofmay | Good to be Home

HAPPY MAY 1ST

Today is a “catch up day” on the ol’ blog of all the photos I want to share from the last week and a half. I have 46 photos in this post. Life is good, full, beautiful, cherished.

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” — Willie Nelson

I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. Psalm 1:9

Mom, as she always does, made homemade meals when I was visiting; soup on Friday.

pumpkin bread on Friday evening; I grated the nutmeg and ground the cloves.

pizza on Saturday night

with homemade sauce preserved last fall from her own garden tomatoes

It was so good I was almost crying as I ate it. Tears of joy and of sadness because I can’t make pizza like she does and I have been trying for years. Mostly joy though, I ate three pieces.

She showed me how to make breadsticks using leftover pizza dough. She divided it into pieces and we rolled it out thin (like a snake), drizzled lightly with olive oil, and then twisted it and pressed it through a sprinkling of spice mix of mom’s own choosing on the counter. I remember smoked paprika, fennel, sesame seeds, pepper, poppy seeds. We put them on a cookie sheet to bake and they ended up delicious and fragrant. The next day Mom and I each took one and used it as croutons on salad by crumbling it on top of the greens.

Salad fixings on Sunday afternoon; asparagus, seasoned chicken, tomatoes, cheese, homemade salad dressing.

I went with Dad to his drumming lessons with Kubla the dog.

And for several walks with my parents.

And a nice long walk by myself on a sunny Sunday.

Sunday morning we woke up to frost and a pileated woodpecker! God knew what would get us outdoors in that kind of weather…Mom and I quickly pulled on our coats and boots and had a lovely walk before church, birdwatching. In fact, come to think of it, I do have more photos of that morning but they are on another memory card so I’ll have to share those maybe tomorrow, if ever.

It was a thrill to see the pileated woodpecker; they are the largest woodpeckers in our area and so pretty with the red hat on top.

Mom and Dad’s cat Asian.

Mom’s vegetables started at the window. She uses cut down milk cartons to transplant the tomato seedlings into as they grow bigger.

Dad keeps busy doing wood and keeping the fire going. Even this is picturesque with the wood sheds and rock path, wood smoke, forest in the background, and Dad in his pop of orange.

Sunday afternoon was fun. The frost had melted and the temperature had risen enough to make being outdoors the very best place to be. We worked in the flower bed by the driveway. Mom has a “Rusty Garden” with a collection of old rusty things that she uses as decoration. It’s a fun theme. We took everything out and threw it behind us on the grass.

You can see the different objects she has, most of which came from her Dad’s farm and land years ago before they sold the property.

We cleaned up the edge of the bed and thoughtfully replaced everything in new spots. By the end of summer the plants will fill in among the decorations and be so pretty.

Back at my own home; last week was The Week of the New Lens. The first day it came it was raining outside. (sobs) But then the weather cooperated and I was able to try it out. (cheers)

I was quite far away from these birds and I am thrilled with the photos.

Baltimore Oriole! I stood and listened to it’s beautiful voice before I finally saw it. It was hard to take a photo through all the tree branches–my camera didn’t know what to focus on.

It’s too bad that the roof of the car was in the way but nonetheless, I was so happy to get this photo of a female cardinal and her mate. In my peach tree.

And then on Friday there were four ducks on the pond! I sat on the bench and snapped bout 50 pictures with perfect ease. 🙂

I texted Rich “this lens is awesome!”

He texted back, “I love you, too.”

It’s so funny when they go “bottoms up”.

quacking!

Rich was on a business trip and sent me this selfie! 🙂

Thursday was “take your child to work day” and Seth was the chosen child this year. He went to work wearing clothes just like his Dad wears and with his hair slicked back all handsome. By bedtime he was asking/begging me (and not Dad) to tuck him in and I understood he had had a huge dose of Dad that day. His little love tank was full to overflowing.

Which leaves us with photos from Saturday; Little League Opening Day! It was hot and bright all day long. I went to Home Depot before the game and to my sister’s house. I picked up Naomi and Weston so they could watch the games, too.

The photo of Seth is from the National Anthem. Rich took it with my new lens.

Caleb at bat.

I was sitting on the bleachers!!! So happy with my camera!

After making a double play!

This boy is very verbal and keeps his attention on EVERYTHING, encouraging his teammates and getting them ready and watching for the next plays. He gets VERY into the game, even at home it’s all about baseball with this boy now.

(By the way, he’s a Yankees fan) LOL

I’m going to get him that black stuff that you smudge on your cheeks.

POOR SETH!!!!!!!! He gets TERRIBLE allergic reaction to the dust; his eyes were so red and swollen by the end of the day. Bless his heart. I’m giving him allergy medicine and eye drops now. He’s a good ball player, too, and got to pitch for a few innings.

And that dumb string was dangling all day long. I never did get close enough to tell him to put in inside his pants where it belonged. 🙂

Isn’t he so cute!?!?!

Last, but not least; DAVE! He is 14 and on Juniors this year. He’s known for his speed around the bases, he runs around them just as fast as his dad did when he played. He’s like the Flash (his favorite show on TV).

LOOK at that face of intensity!

I’m so proud of my baseball players. There is practice and/or a game every evening but it’s all worth it. We get outdoors, talk to friends, and watch our boys do great things. In every game there are impressive catches, scores, etc. The moms laugh and try to keep track of everything. Even when the team loses it’s fun simply because they are working together and learning so much. Pastor says baseball is a spiritual sport because “you’re trying to get home”.