It’s Time!

It’s time. Time to move to the mountains. I have been packing in blanket bags ever since I figured out that I could stuff a lot more in them. Although I have gotten better. I use to pack three of these.

We are making room to take our flower baskets this year. Since  legalizing marijuana  in Colorado most of the nurseries have discovered is it a lot more profitable to grow that instead of flower baskets. They are not easy to find and can run as high as $75.00 ....where these are $15.00 here.

I am wondering if this little guy is going to miss us? His favorite pastime is to run up and down the wall staring in the window all day. He should be relieved to see Tom leave since he fusses at him for digging holes in the flower beds. Now he can dig to his hearts delight.

I by the way will report from the road if I find something newsworthy.

Rain Rain Go Away!

 This has been the wettest month of May that I can remember  around here! So I felt sure that the Women and Wine  special interest group I belong to was going to cancel our get together .

Just in case I set about making an appetizer  to take. This is an easy one. Blue Cheese Bites.

You simply make a mixture of cream cheese and blue cheese, along with a few other ingredients....spread on white bread, cut in fourths and bake for 15 mins.

The party was in the home of a member who lives in Aledo which is west of Ft. Worth. None of us wanted to drive in the rain, so we were delighted to see the sun pop out.

I received several compliments on my offering.

We had an especially good time even though 

only seven ladies about of the twenty came. Yes, the wet weather really did scare folks off. It is so wonderful to get to socialize again!

The recipe in case anyone would like to make these.

Walking Home

 It’s been a trying year for our kiddos around the world. My five year old granddaughter was looking forward to her first year at BIG school, not to be confused with preschool, but like so many she has had to get use to meeting her teacher and fellow classmates on Zoom. Don’t know about you but before 2020 I had no idea what Zoom even was.

Things have loosened up here in the U.S. and she is finally in class, in person, five days a week.

My daughter Stacy promised her that before the school year ended she would walk to pick her up and they could walk home. Funny when I was a kid, we always walked to and from school and would have been excited about getting to ride home in a car.

How about you, did you walk to and from school?

Meeting the Neighbors

 

We have been in our home about seven years now but we are just meeting some of our neighbors on the other end of of  the block. One of them stopped by and said on Friday afternoon at five bring a lawn chair , what you would like to drink and meet us out in front. We enjoyed ourselves and love the idea of getting to know our neighbors.

Do you know the people on your block?

Are Men Color Blind?

 We don’t plant a lot of flowers for the summer season, since we spend our summers in Colorado. One flower that we have discovered that can take the heat of the summer here in North Texas are the Pentas. For the first several summers our gardener planted these beautiful light pink ones. Since then we have started using a different landscaping service and I have had trouble conveying what like pink is.

This is what I mean by light pink.

Well last summer this is what they planted. Pretty, but not what I wanted.

I came home today and my husband was so pleased. He informed me that the landscapers were here and they planted the light pink flowers that I wanted....which appears to be the above color...Which  to me is lavender.

This is what I had visions of.

Not this..

Or this..

I must explain, I am not a difficult person so I will be happy for what I have,

...but next year maybe I need to track down the right color if it is so important to me.

Again I ask are men color blind?

Special Interest Group

 I have mentioned before that Tom and I take fun classes at the University provided for seniors. Each semester we can take three classes that meet once a week and three lectures whenever they are offered. 

It’s been changed up a bit and you can sign up for six things whether it be all classes or all lectures or any combination that suits you. They also offer special interest groups which you can sign up for as many as you like. My one special interest group has been The Art of Ft. Worth, which I’ve really enjoyed. My sister has been trying to get me to sign up for Women and Wine...but since I am a one glass gal, I figured it wasn’t for me.

Well, since I like most of you have been cooped up for way too long I gave in. Women and Wine had their first in person get together in over a year last evening....and I really enjoyed it..and no one noticed that I only had one glass.

Since everyone has been vaccinated we felt somewhat  safe.

Kathy our hostess  (with the long hair) has a wonderful outdoor area  with a complete kitchen by the pool.

The weather really didn’t cooperate, but at least it wasn’t cold. The weather also kept some from attending. There are usually twenty in the group.

The five acre property in on the edge of a bluff and the view was beautiful.

It sure was wonderful to go to a social event.

Do You Have a Plan

Recently I went with a friend to look at a gated community of small patio or garden homes. She is a widow and wants to live in a smaller place. In most communities like this, the lawns are also taken care of which is a real draw for aging seniors. 

This particular property also had a clubhouse and a small swimming pool. On this day the only ones in the pool were a couple of passing Mallards.

It got me to thinking. Do you have a plan? In  many cultures  the parents move in with their children in their final years. I can see that as a problem if the house is also occupied by a growing family. Wondering to myself if senior citizens and teenagers can happily  co-exist?

There are a lot of different options in the U.S.  depending on your economic level. There are places where they have three different levels of care: senior apartments, assisted living and  then full nursing care. Not sure why I am thinking about this since we are not ready for any of those

Reminds me of a conversation with a friend who was a real estate sales person in Florida. He said “oh one family can keep you busy. The wealthy come down here and buy big properties, some on the water with big docks for the boat. They are so sure that all of their kids and grandkids will be constant visitors.When that doesn’t happen they eventually call and want a small home in a gated community. Then they call a few years later and are looking for just a condo. In the end I sell that for them because they are headed for assisted living”......What was supposed to be a funny story, I found sort of sad 🥲.