Thursday, May 23, 2024

Life, Summer and Liberty

 Howdy all.  Boy oh boy is this a weird weather year or what?  Some of you gals are having super cold and frost still.  The mid-section of the U.S. is stormy!!!  From Texas to the north.  I read this morning there are 'winter storm warnings' in parts of Montana and Wyoming - they may get 1'-2' of snow in higher elevations!!!!!!  WHAT???  Crazy stuff.

We are absolutely lovely right now. 
It looks like rain is holding off until Sunday - 500 Mile Race Day!  Will it rain early or late or all day - that is the question. That will surely perturb tens of thousands of visitors to the city!!!!

Monday is considered a holiday here with Memorial Day.  Long weekend for you working folks - regular weekend for us retirees!
This is considered the official beginning of summer for most here.  Swimming pools open, picnics, BBQ's, graduation parties, cookouts, camping, celebrations of all sorts.

It should be a somber day as well - a day of remembering the ultimate sacrifice that so ever many men and women have made for us to all be FREE!
Remember them and thank them in your hearts and remember their families - they have all sacrificed as well.

My weekend will be a bit of what I do every weekend or day - same old stuff.  No plans here.
It sure is amazing how fast this month, well, and the year have flown by.  Another week and the month of May is done.

What are your plans this weekend?  I remember looking forward to big camping get-togethers.  We sure did enjoy that.  Good memories.
Are you doing anything special?  Just relaxing?  Gardening?

Sending prayers for all that have been in the path of storms and destruction lately.
May you and yours have a wonderful weekend, no matter where you live or what you do.

Love you guys - thanks for being here!!!



28 comments:

  1. Our long weekend was last weekend (Victoria Day), but it too marks the beginning of summer. However, Mother Nature is dragging her heels a bit on that in Saskatchewan. I belong to a gardening group on FB, and we've all been grousing about having to delay planting this year. I expect by the end of this weekend we should be good to go.
    Enjoy your day!

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    1. I guess we all have a remembrance day fairly close to each other. Yes, unofficial beginning of summer - but some of you sure have been having a time of it! Hope it warms enough to get to planting for you!

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  2. I planted ALL the garden yesterday, food and annuals. It got down to 38F this morning so I skated on thin ice. I have to leave town in a few hours so no options on that decision as it would fry in the greenhouse Monday when the forecast is 88F. Welcome to spring in Idaho. ;-)

    I never understand the parties on Memorial Day. A day of gratitude and reverence for the fallen soldiers defending our country and freedom around the globe.

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    1. I completely agree with you, Elle, about the solemnity of Memorial Day. Years ago I saw an ad: "Happy Memorial Day!" and I was disgusted. Avoided going to that store and oddly enough it closed in a couple years. They were trying to sell Memorial Day cakes, decorated like birthday cakes! Red white and blue icing, and flowers and all. Very odd. Figured somehow the Highschool Civics classes had bypassed the ad writer. Pitiful.

      MaryB

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    2. Elle so glad you got all your plantings done. Hope the temps stay warm enough to keep them alive and thriving.
      I agree wholeheartedly.
      SAFE travels!!!!

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    3. Mary - yes. It is such a somber day and we should remember it as such. It is a Hallmark payday. Retailers always jump on the bandwagon to promote their wares.
      Some see it as nothing but a party - sad.

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  3. I'm looking at a quiet holiday weekend. The young family is going to the beach - I hope the traffic, weather and the mosquitoes are acceptable! Sometimes they give up and come home days early because of rain or bugs - it's no fun sitting in a tent in the rain (with 2 little kids) with a zillion mosquitoes every time you poke your head out.

    So I'll play around in my "garden", eat hotdogs and baked beans, and some chips (if I remember to buy any). :) Might be nice to buy icecream, haven't had any of that in months!

    I'll remember my brother (the WW2 vet) and the cousins I never met who didn't get to come home from that war, they paid the Full Price, one in Europe, one in the Pacific. :(

    MaryB

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    1. Sounds like a lovely weekend to me. Mine will be much the same. Maybe some baked beans or corn with a burger. I don't usually change up my eating for a holiday.
      Hope the youngins enjoy themselves and have good weather.
      Remembering all the fallen.

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  4. Yeah, I don't get the parties on Memorial Day either. When I was a kid there may have been a BBQ but it was only immediate family. Always went to the cemetery to pay our respects.
    *In our new town there is what they call Boatnik, boat races and a carnival. I don't get it. I think it's mostly to raise money for the town/region. 65 years it's been going on. Big thing for lots of folks here I guess. As you can probably tell I'm not too impressed.
    *SIL and hubby will be here on Saturday for the parade which we will go to then not sure what else is on the agenda. When we were in Portland Butch always participated at Viet Nam Wall ceremony with fellow veterans. Here I'm just confused about it, no mention of any kind or very little.

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    1. I guess when younger, I never thought much about the meaning of the day. Now it means so much. Our freedom and everyone's freedom everywhere, is do to those valiant men and women. They paid everything.
      We always did the cemeteries too. Mom would pick peonies and put them in coffee cans wrapped in foil and leave them on the graves. I will go to a couple this weekend.
      Sounds like the Ragada they have in Madison every year. I think seeing the boats once would be enough for me. We do have a parade downtown Saturday - I don't think I have ever been.
      I love that Butch is involved in so much for the Vets. I remember going to see the moving VN Wall - goodness, that was sad and touching at the same time. Please tell him thank you from all of us. Enjoy your family time!

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  5. When we lived in Owensboro, KY, there was a regatta on the Ohio river. The sound was so loud that we could hear it across town at our house on Memorial Day. Or, was it the 4th. I was just thinking that I have relatives long ago who fought, but none died in war. I think that is amazing. However, I am grateful to all veterans.

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    1. Those boat races are extremely loud. So is the 500 race here. I truly don't know how the people in Speedway stand it. If the wind is just right, I can here the cars at my house and I live a good distance from it.
      I have had friends that have lost their sons in battle, and I had distant relatives pass as well. I am grateful as well.

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  6. I can only find a few family members who fought in WW2-my Maternal Grandfather had 3 of his younger brothers who enlisted-they all came back but "Mack" had mental issues(it would be PTSD now), married his nurse and was never the same. I don't think any of my Maternal Grandmother's brothers served(one served in Korea)in WW2. My Paternal Grandmother's younger brother served but I don't know what branch. My Paternal Grandfather ran away from home, lied about his age and joined the Marines in 1928. When time came to reenlist they found out his lie and booted him. But he ran again, deserting his wife and 2 kids when the US joined the war in 1941. From how he told it, he had a great time in the war! lol Was in European and Pacific theaters leading a band of Corp of Engineers. He married twice in England(while still married to my Grandmother)-may have been more wives but we've only figured out two so far. Didn't let his family(parents/siblings)know he survived the war until the mid 1960's. In the meantime, his mother died in 1945, not knowing if he was dead or alive. I am grateful for all our veterans who fought, except my Grandfather. ;-)
    Now if you want to know about WW1 or the War of Northern Aggression I've got lots of casualties from those wars in my family tree. 8-(

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    1. What interesting stories!!! Your grandpa sounds like a real scallywag!!! LOL. Wow - he really wanted to serve (or get away). Either way it sounds like he accomplished his goal(s). Dang on the wives! It sure makes you wonder why people do what they do.
      That is a very interesting lineage. Fun stories to know and tell!

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  7. The Victoria Day holiday we just observed in Canada is not related to war. As a kid you learned, "The twenty-fourth of May is the Queen's birthday; if we don't get a holiday, we'll all run away." Queen Victoria was born in 1819, became queen in 1838 so we've been getting a day off for a very long time. I believe that your Memorial Day started after the civil war. Traditionally a day to tidy graves.
    We only recognize the fallen on Remembrance Day, eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The day the war ended in 1918. War is such a terrible waste; usually of the young and idealistic and patriotic; not to mention the the civilian casualties in the invaded countries. Ugh.
    Well, we are at war with mosquitos now. As soon as the weather gets fine here, some biting insect shows up to wreck your outdoor enjoyment. Not as bad as those biting midges in Florida though.
    Well I need to get to deadheading my daffodils. Narcissus bloom and the lily of the valley is also very fragrant. Lots of bees!
    Enjoy the weekend, Cheryl and all. Stay safe.

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    1. Thanks for the info. Yes, we use to call it Remembrance Day when I was a kid. Always went to the cemeteries.
      We celebrate Nov. 11 as well. Yes, war is horrible, and it is usually the young that die. It is all so sad - yet I am sure it will go for the remainder of time.
      Yuck on the skeeters!! I hate those things. I love Lilly of the Valley. I don't have any - wish I did. That was my mom's favorite.
      Sounds like yard work is on everyone's minds!
      Thank you!

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  8. As Maebeme says our holiday was last weekend and it was cool with a bit of rain here in my part of the province. Frost warnings have been out a couple of nights. Nothing planted yet, but I hope to get something in the ground very soon. Harvey does have the veggie garden in, but will be replanting corn.

    God bless.

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    1. I sure hope you gals get some warm weather soon. That has to be frustrating. Hope it warms up in the next few days!

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  9. And we love you right back! I so enjoy your posts and this community.

    We watched footage of the storm damage in Temple TX. It will take a while to recover there. Alana said they got some hail but it didn't last long.

    We hear the cars also and we are west of the track on the other side of 465. Erin lives fairly close to the track but doesn't have any trouble getting to work.

    Today was a lovely day to work in the gardens. I also hung laundry on the clothesline. Fresh sheets, fresh quilt on the bed! Still have a ton of stuff to do in the backyard.

    Enjoy your weekend. We will putter around here.

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    1. The storm damage has been so bad from the pics I see. So many tornadoes. Glad Alana is good.
      I imagine you hear the race cars - you are much closer than I.
      Fresh bedding off the line - yum!
      Puttering around here as well. The weather has been so lovely.

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  10. Any three day weekend seems to now be party. Though, both families do flowers and wreaths for graves, or respect in ashes, and raise the flag. One could say it honors the sacrifice by living a life of freedom. Still, we must make sure current and generations to come understand that sacrifice that gives them the freedom of today and the future.

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    1. SAM I think that sums it up right nicely.
      Yes, we can do whatever because of the sacrifices - we have freedom. And YES, young people need to know how we got that freedom!!!
      Thank you!

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  11. No plans here for the holiday weekend either. It's always good for us to pause and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. It was hot here this week with one day getting up to 90 degrees, It's too early for that kind of heat,

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    1. It sure does do us good. Hope everyone thinks about these things.
      It got close to that here for a day or 2 - now cooling for the next week! YAY
      Have a nice quiet weekend.

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  12. When I was growing up we used to spend every Memorial Day on the Gulf Coast with my aunt and uncle. Such fun, fun memories! They are both gone now, but I'm so thankful for the memories. It will be a quiet weekend here at home, and I like it like that! Haha! Have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. That sounds fun and it sounds like good memories.
      Quiet is good. That will be my weekend as well. ENJOY

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    2. We love you too Cheryl. xo Cindy

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