Thursday April 22, 2010

 

 

More Signs of Spring

…what is that strange smell

…preparing for a new kitchen floor

…Cerwin’s Birthday Supper With Jordan

…and a Rainbow

Thursday, April 22

 

 

Chipping Sparrow

Before I learned to identify birds I didn’t realize there were many varieties of sparrows – and some of them quite pretty.

 

 

When I came home from a trip to the post office this afternoon, I noticed these wildflowers in the woodsy part of our yard.

 

 

They always take me back to my childhood. I used to love finding them in this woods when I was a small girl.

 

 

The few ferns we planted the other year are beautiful and spreading nicely.

 

 

The mint leaves will soon be ready for brewing into my favorite garden tea.

 

 

The rhododendron are about to burst into bloom.

 

 

My dad’s last pair of work shoes are covered with new “hens and chicks.” The shoes have been here since shortly after his death in 1997.

 

 

While working in my basement office this afternoon – about the time I heard the washing machine drain itself of water – I began smelling a strange odor and was concerned that something was wrong with our drain field or septic tank. However, when I checked into other areas of the basement, I found nothing amiss with drainage pipes. When I went upstairs for something a short time later, I located the source of the strange odor. Our neighbor Eli was spreading manure.

 

 

After forty-three years, we are getting a new kitchen floor. One of the reasons we are replacing it is because the old floor boards have become quite noisy and squeaky.  In recent days Cerwin screwed the old linoleum to the offending squeaky boards and sanded the area where he inserted screws to make sure the floor is as level as possible. The floor is currently quite ugly – but there are no squeaks when we walk through the kitchen.

 

 

When our grandson Jordan came this evening, he and Cerwin carried furniture out of the kitchen.

 

 

We are storing everything in the garage until the floor is finished on Monday or Tuesday. We needed to empty the kitchen today, because the men who are laying the laminate floor are bringing it tomorrow. The laminate must be the same temperature as the room where it is going to be laid, so they want it to be here over the weekend.

 

 

Texas Tonion (fried onions) for our appetizer

After removing the furniture from the kitchen, we took Jordan to Longhorn Steakhouse as a reward for his help in chapel construction. He was laid off from his job several weeks ago, so has been doing a lot of volunteer work for Cerwin.

 

 

Cerwin and I enjoyed a delicious Strawberry Salad

Mixed field greens with strawberries, grapes, mandarin oranges, candied pecans, red onion, feta, and raspberry vinaigrette

 

 

Jordan enjoying his 7 oz. filet steak, baked sweet potato, and rice.

 

 

Cerwin and I also got a baked sweet potato and 7 oz. filet.

 

 

Because it was Cerwin’s birthday, his dessert was free. The waiter suggested that we may enjoy the sampler. That was a great idea, because we each got to taste three desserts: Chocolate Stampede (six kinds of chocolate), Caramel Apple Goldrush, and Mountain Top Cheesecake.

 

 

Before our dessert arrived, a patron who just came in the door, told the person next to him about the pretty rainbow. When I told our waiter that I was going outside to take a picture, he and half a dozen other waiters and hostesses followed me.

 

 

I thought it looked extra pretty with the flag in the foreground. Notice a light double rainbow.