Not here yet

I am trying to be patient and wait for spring, in the meantime I thought I would post this dogwood blossom again. Dogwoods are probably my favorite flowering tree...though I really love them all.

This is in my front yard, lucky to be alive. I don't know what happened but it got injured when it was young. Almost killed in fact. The bark was missing at least half-way around and probably a width of 8-10 inches up and down the little trunk of the tree. I left it alone, not really believing it would heal itself but it did.

However, the blooming was changed. It was a pink dogwood when I bought it, and though it had only bloomed a few times when it got injured, they were always pink...at least when it was in full bloom. After the injury, the first year or two it bloomed, the flowers were much more white with just a touch of pink. Slowly, it has come back to basically a pink dogwood again. Yet there are usually a few blooms with a touch of white to them. I guess in time it the white will disappear.

Special days...

Yesterday was sort of a special day for me...in more ways than one. I got to looking at this little pamphlet that Roger picked up about Indiana's recreational areas and wanted to take a drive to see one of them...but we didn't. And I was so glad we didn't.

First of all Kay came over; she has not been over for more than a minute in a very long time. I have not known the reason....and still don't for sure though I do have a pretty good idea. Which is not mine to tell. Anyway, she and her 5 year old cousin, and her younger brother came over and visited for quite a while. Played outside, got blankets from home and laid out in the yard pretending they were sunbathing, had snacks. Just as if they had never be absent. So that was all good.

I was sitting outside talking to them, and looked up and here came three people down the sidewalk. It was another couple of 'our kids' that used to spend a LOT of time here. It was Travis and Kenny, and Travis's girlfriend. I don't remember her name...but she was a cute girl. They are both grown up and have been out of high school for a couple years I think.

Kenny first started coming over here when he was about 3-4 years old. His grandma lives down the street, and how he got started coming to play with the girls is more than I know. My youngest, Sarah, is probably at least 4 years older than him older. Anyway, when the girls were young, and I worked, I always came home early enough to be here when they got home...some of the time here Kenny would come. He would come in and sit down to watch TV and wait for them and lots of time would go to sleep. I will have to dig out pictures if I can find them....

Fast-forward a couple years and his cousins' parents were going through a divorce...so they were all staying down at his grandmas. Even Kenny and his family, but I don't remember why she was down there. Their house was a full house!

So then Kenny started bringing Travis down, and before long, Travis's younger brother Dustin. Only Dustin was so quiet he literally wouldn't say a word for the longest time. They literally spent hours and hours here...and the thing of it was they were the best kids ever. They were never picky about food...ate whatever I fixed. I might should not admit this, but I am not always that at ease with kids. I never once wanted to send those kids home, and only had to a couple times because we all had to leave. (Kenny's younger sister was a different story--when she and her little female cousins came in, it was like a whirlwind coming through and I couldn't wait for them to come home.)

That went on for several months...by then my girls were up older and stayed home part of the time when I worked and usually those kids stayed with them. Their family's kind of got their life straightened out, and Travis's mom moved to Terre Haute, and Kenny's moved not too far from here. In other words, he was still at his Grandma's fairly often. And for a while, when they came to visit her, the boys would still come down.

Then they grew older, and of course had their school friends, had their own life. And we just got a wave from them. And maybe they would stop every now and then...but that was okay so long as they were happy.

Then year before last after was out of high school, he stopped and visited for quite a while with us, and after that he joined the army....and is still serving. Yesterday was the first time we had seen him since that one good visit. He has served in Iraq and is now back stateside. I can not remember when he said his enlistment is up, but he wants to go to college and become a teacher. Physical education, of course. If you knew how athletic he was, you would know that that fits.

We had not seen Travis for a good visit since he was young...he is working for UPS....the way I understood him he is still considered part time, but hopes to make full time in the future. He had played football all during high school...I didn't ask why he wasn't going to college. He was always a smart kid and should have went.

They told us Dustin had also joined the army and is in basic training now. I would love to have seen him also...can't wait to tell our girls about their visit. Of course I showed them pictures of Lorelei.

Well, it is time I started thinking about getting ready to take Bubbie to get his pin out...just had to tell about what a good day yesterday was.

Oh, and on top of seeing the boys, I got Rachel's curtains finished.

Today's doings..

The following photos were all taken today...I hope you will take the time to enlarge them. The barn for its beauty....
and its colorful appeal....
And these of the house. Another of those houses that would have volumes to tell if we could only hear.
What really impresses me on some of the old houses is some of the artistic work that has gone into making them beautiful. Just look at the porch and then this window...one has to wonder what tools were available to do the work. Or are they new enough till someone just went and got them and put them in place. I don't really think that was the case, but even if it was, it still took time and effort to get them in place.
I am not sure how good this next photo is...I had to use photoshop to make it at all viewable. (Every now and then for no apparent reason I will have a photo turn out so dark that it has to be messed with...all these others are straight out of the camera. And they are all at the same stop along the road.)
First of all the top window pane has little panes of colored glass all around the edge...I don't know if you would call it stained glass or not. But it is still something you don't see very often on every day homes. And notice this window has the same work above it as the other one...but then glance on farther up at the peak part of the house...I guess that is what you would call it. The part with the clamshell work...I don't have any idea how that is done. But look all along the bottom of it...more artistic work. Not sure if this is classified as gingerbread trim or not...

I think we can safely assume that this house was well loved by someone. Don't you just wish you knew the real story and didn't need to imagine it?

You know what prompted today's travels? I think I mentioned I had to do some work on my daughter's curtains...well, in the early afternoon, I was all set to start on them when I realized I did not have the right color thread. I ask Roger if he wanted to go to Walmart with me...he needed two or three things out there so he did. I took my camera along, and after picking up what we needed, I had more plans...you might say I had an ulterior motive for asking Roger if he wanted to go.

Not too far from here is a very small town...it has one gas station and one or two tiny restaurants, plus a little place that has a drive through or you walk up and order and sit at picnic tables...and they have cheesecake ice cream. I had been craving it...so we went on up there we went. And of course I took my camera...I am getting more and more till I don't leave home without it.

Now from there, Roger wanted to go back where we went last week to this one covered bridge to see how high the water was...he is ready to start wading and fishing. But Sugar Creek was way out of the banks so that put a halt to those plans...

But it did lead us on a little drive and that was fun.

Did I get the curtains done? No, but I have a good start on them. Should get them finished tomorrow if nothing else happens. But for now, good night.