“There is a part of blooming which I did not understand, you see. You can be a flower all your life but still not understand it. Blooming is one thing; but blooming where you are planted is another. It's so easy to say, "I will bloom when I am there", but you need to be saying, "I will bloom right here, where I was planted." ~ C. JoyBell C.
 

My cosmos are blooming in full force! I do love these colorful, wispy flowers but my big reason for planting them where they are was to cover the window. That's one of the windows on our remodel and it needs a window cover. The new blinds should arrive in a couple weeks 🤞 

The bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds love these flowers. I don't know if I will plant cosmos in this spot next year and if not, there will be a spot for them somewhere in the yard.

senior moments

As I celebrate my 50th high school reunion this weekend, the 2025-2026 school year is gearing up to start next week. School bus drivers are driving through the neighborhoods to familiarize their routes, community requests for school supply donations have been ongoing since the beginning of the month, the Ohio sales tax holiday is in effect until the 14th to give parents a break with the back-to-school purchases, and for the high school seniors who drive to school, if they so choose, they can paint their parking spot. 

Senior year is the most unique of all high school years. While seniors are technically still adolescents, they are in the midst of preparing for adulthood and college life. This year is full of the past, the present, and preparing for the future for these young people.

As I celebrate my memories of my senior year, these 18-year olds are beginning theirs with creativity, humor, and splashes of color.

A favorite football team - the Cleveland Browns

Love the creativity with the next two...they're side by side in the parking lot.

the friday feed: field corn

Treadway Gardens started out as a roadside stand on a two-lane country road. A few years later a housing development came in so Mr. Treadway moved the stand to the other side of the road. A few years later another housing development came to the other side of the road and Mr. Treadway bought a farm right around the corner so his farmer's market would never have to move again. 

Centerville and Washington Township used to be all farmland but now builders are buying the farms and putting up houses. Farmland is still interspersed between developments but they are becoming few and far between. Field corn is planted on all these remaining farms. Each acre typically has around 35,000 stalks of corn on it, opposed to 24,000 stalks for sweet corn. 

I remember running through the corn fields at my grandparents' farm and Grandpa telling us not to go too far in because we might get lost. Not a lot of light gets in when the stalks are packed that tight and it's easy to lose your bearings. Those stalks are impressive - they have to be at least 8 feet tall (2.4 meters). And of course as little kids we made up monster stories about the fields and as it got dark the fields took on an eerie vibe. 

When I was close to this field to take pictures, I thought about walking among the stalks, but looking down the rows it got dark in there pretty quick and I thought, "Nope," and I could hear Grandpa saying, "It's a jungle in there!" 

beware the tall stalks

for the field has countless ears

always listening

 

50th high school reunion

Holy blink of an eye. My 50th high school reunion starts today. The opening night reception will be at a restaurant/bar owned by a classmate's family. 

I'm excited and a little nervous about this event. My family moved to Kettering from Springfield, Ohio (a 45 minute drive) during my junior year in high school. I was new to this big Kettering school - 650 people in this class - and I missed my friends in Springfield. I made friends at my new school but I also spent a lot of weekends with friends at my old school. I was in a no man's land...didn't belong here and didn't belong there. College was 1 1/2 years away. 

Over the years of living here, I have connected with high school acquaintances so I won't be walking into a room full of strangers. For me, these are present connections but my friends have long-time connections from living here for all of their lives. Six of us are going to sit together at the dinner at the country club...we made these plans a few months ago. That's a relief. I remember those first few days sitting in the lunch room by myself, surrounded by a noisy mass of humanity. I have my people now!

But still...50 years. 

What was fun is that my kids attended my high school. Kettering used to have two high schools but with declining enrollment numbers the schools consolidated into one building in 1983. A new wing was added to accommodate more classrooms (freshmen were included in the student population), a new gymnasium was built to take the place of the old gym with the wooden bleachers on both sides, but the basic layout of the school was the same from my time there. When it was time to pick up their freshman schedules, each child was nervous about being the newbie in a new place with 1600 students. I walked them through their schedules until they felt comfortable, telling them stories of my high school days (daze?). And walking through the halls brought back memories that hadn't come to mind for so many years. I even found my old locker!

Cheers to 50 years!

wednesday's words and wandering and wonderings

The weekend...wow!

What a fun, busy weekend with Andrew, Owen, and Hallie! Jennifer was at a bachelorette party so Andrew road tripped with the kids to hang out with Didi and Grandpa.

We met Andrew in Columbus at Krispie Kreme Donuts and what good luck to get there when the "Hot Light" was on. Glazed donuts traveled along the conveyor belt and with our purchase we received a few donuts fresh off the line. Owen was very happy with his donut "lunch" and intently watched the donuts as they went through the various stages of production.

"That's a lot of donuts!" ~ Owen

The splash pad at RiverScape was a big hit. The squeals of surprise and joy as Owen ran through the spurts made us feel like kids again.

Many thanks to Andrew's friend Taylor who brought the tractor to the farm stand on our visit to Treadway Gardens. What's the first thing Owen found when he climbed onto the tractor? The horn. It's in good working order.

Then there was Baconfest at the Fraze, visits from Uncle P-House and Aunt Kelsey, friends Brad and Maverick, running through Grandpa's sprinkler, finding the toys that Andrew and his sibs played with when they were little, reading so, so many books. Andrew and the kiddos left on Sunday and Monday morning the house was TOO QUIET! Our 45th anniversary fell amidst all this happiness and exuberance and hurry-flurry activity. We are blessed.

goals

Your checklist for today, and tomorrow, and the next day.  ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Try to keep it going.

 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (August 28, 1749 - March 22, 1832)

monday's mulling: mom

Today would be my mom's 94th birthday. She died in 2020, not from COVID but from complications from Alzheimers. 

This photo makes me smile for so many reasons. It was taken for her church "yearbook," if you will. The ironic part of this is that when she was a little, feisty girl Mom hated going to church. Her mom was a devout Catholic and she took her children to church every Sunday. No getting out of it. Mom didn't like the incense, she had lots of questions about things to which the answer was "Because this is how we practice the faith," and she didn't like wearing hats. Fast forward to 2015. Mom was in assisted living and my brother and sister-in-law started taking her to church. The Catholic church. And mom loved going to church. 

When she died, the COVID restrictions on attending church were lifting. She had a funeral mass, the first one at her church after the diocese said funeral masses were allowed. Families could sit together, all other visitors had to sit 5 feet apart and in every other pew, still had to wear masks, and singing wasn't allowed. Only family was allowed at the gravesite service.

The sweater she's wearing in the photo was her favorite piece of clothing. She wore it at least three times a week. She wasn't allowed to wear jewelry in assisted living so for this photograph she wore her favorite turquoise necklace and was sad when we told her she wasn't allowed to have it in her room. We told her that it might get stolen if she kept it in her room and she reluctantly let me take it home to keep it safe.

 

So many memories...

One of the most impressive ones that sticks with me is during my dad's 35 year Sears career, the family moved to 7 different cities. Our last move was to Dayton in 1973. For each move, Mom unpacked the boxes, set up the new house, and got dinner on the table in record time. She loved a comfortable, organized home that was a base and welcoming place for family and friends. Such a gracious and kind lady.

zinnias

Yep...another flower post. Zinnias this time instead of sunflowers.

With their bright colors, zinnias quickly catch the eye and make people happy. Out at the farm are three long rows of zinnias and the customers love to take photos of their children standing by them. The zinnias are full of bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other birds flitting from flower to flower. On my breaks at work, I love to stroll past this blast of brightness and of course take a few photos. Looking at the photos I've noticed the crown of tiny yellow flowers that separates the petals from the center and the center is the same color as the petals, or very close to the same color. 

Lessons from the zinnias: Persist through life’s challenges, embrace joy even in difficult circumstances, and continue to bloom brightly, no matter our obstacles.

A yellow zinnia is totally yellow...even the bug on it!

45 years

Who are these kids from 45 years ago?

We've gone from newlyweds to oldyweds,

No kids to 4 kids to empty nesters and now our family has grown with two sons-in-law, a daughter-in-law, and another daughter-in-law in three months. We are grandparents to two grandsons and a granddaughter. What a gift for this stage in our lives.

We started out with one car, a Volkswagen Rabbit, to two cars with Todd driving a company car, to the family mini-van, next a Suburban, and then teenagers gave us a parking lot driveway full of cars. We are now back to two own cars.

Late nights because we were young to late nights because we were parents (had four teenagers for a couple years) to now, "what's a late night?"

From our first home - a $200 a month apartment, to the first house we bought, and now six houses later, our last home - a one story perfect for the two of us.

And there's lots, lots, LOTS more!

Arm-in-arm, we're still walking through life, just like those twenty-somethings on their first steps down the aisle. 

the friday feed: blackberry-basil "sangria"

My mom's side of the family has a history of Alzheimer's. My mom, her mom, and her grandma, all died from complications of this horrible disease. Now my siblings and I are next in line to see if Alzheimer's will pass along to us. It's an unpleasant thought, I don't dwell on it, but I am being proactive with my lifestyle to keep my brain and body healthy. Diet and exercise, enough sleep, hobbies, socializing...all those factors contribute to a healthy lifestyle.

Today is the Friday Feed and I found a fun recipe that uses summer produce - blackberries and basil. The bold blackberry flavor combines with fresh herbs for a brain friendly drink. Blackberries deliver antioxidants to enhance memory and improve blood flow to the brain. The tea adds inflammation control and the honey adds a dose of sweetness as well as supporting restful sleep.

Bright Blackberry-Basil “Sangria”

Ingredients

• 4 cups blackberries  
• 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves 
• 1 cup water 
• 1/2 cup honey 
• 3 cups fruity herbal tea 
• 1 cup sparkling water 
• 2 limes cut into 1/4 inch rounds 
• 2 cups ice 

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine 3 cups of the blackberries, 1 cup of the basil leaves, the water and honey. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Let cool and strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring cup. You should have roughly 1 cup of syrup.
3. In a serving pitcher, combine the blackberry syrup, tea, and sparkling water.
4. Add the limes slices, remaining 1/2 cup basil leaves, remaining 1 cup blackberries, and ice.
5. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
6. Serve and enjoy!

The Alzheimer’s curse

runs in my mom’s family.

Food as medicine.

This is a refreshing, tasty drink on its own but...it makes a great cocktail, too! I like mine with tequila and Todd likes his with vodka. Versatility is a spice of life.

a new table

Every Tuesday morning a group of Dayton artists gets together at an area coffee shop for an “Art Pop-Up.” This is to help their art get exposure, maybe make a sale or two without a space fee or commission to the business, rub shoulders with other artists, and introduce the public to some fun coffee shops around town.

Part 2 of the story is that once a month four of us friends get together and we play euchre. One of the women (not me) is a really good euchre player and she is a wonderful teacher for the rest of us so-so players. We rotate houses, fix snacks, and usually finish two complete games because we talk too much. The first time everyone was at my house, we sat at the dining room table. My table is oval shaped and whoever sits at the oval ends has a farther reach than the other two players. It’s not a good table for playing cards and I don’t have a card table. 

I follow a few local artists on Facebook and one day one of them posted a photo of a card table he had made into a piece of art and he was taking it to the Wholly Ground coffee shop. He calls it “Hollywood Squares” and it can hang on the wall until you need to use it as a table. What fun! I messaged him and told him I would like to buy it, Todd and I met him at the coffee shop, visited with him and the other artists, and left with a card table. 

Sometime in August it will have its first euchre game played on it.

wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

Look who's in Kettering, Ohio this week! Wonder if this guy's last name is Trump or if he uses his license plate to show his political support or maybe he's really good at playing cards. His car, his choice. It is an eye catcher and thought provoker.

Out at the farm we have two mockingbird nests. I was at the table to tray up some tomatoes and this mama was giving me what-for. Also at this table is a little container of blueberries and she wanted to come down to get get a blueberry to feed her babies. She was not happy that someone had invaded her space so I stepped away for a few minutes to get some big gulps of water on that very hot day.

Boxwoods are dying in Ohio either from boxwood blight or from the invasive box tree moth. The moth defoliates the bushes so my guess this one has died from blight. So there's a dead bush by my front porch and it needs to be dug out. One of these days Todd or I will get around to it. 

 

My basil needed to be trimmed. Those flowers grow so quickly. Pinching off or trimming the flowers encourages the plant to focus its energy on producing more leaves, resulting in a bushier plant with a larger harvest. Additionally, basil leaves tend to become more bitter after the plant flowers. I did get around to it.

Look what's in my garden - a conjoined coneflower. Side-by-side beauty in one of nature's anomalies.

This doesn't happen very often - Wordle in 6. On that last word, I thought, "What the heck. I'll just go-fer it and see what happens." Didn't break my streak!

tuesday

Not much happens on a Tuesday. Every other day has something to offer except Tuesdays. Tuesday is just bland and basic as a day can get. Whether you love or hate any other day of the week, you don't love or hate Tuesday. Tuesday just happens with an "eh."

This past week I've been going through boxes, looking at my "stuff," and came across a letter that I sent to me. It's postmarked February 22, 2022. In the numerical date format that we use in the US, it shows up as 2-22-22. All twos. And to make it even more special, the day of the week was Tuesday! Tuesday, February 22, 2022, was dubbed as "Twosday." (Look at the stamp...it says "celebrate!").

Just thinking way ahead, February 22, 2222, will be all twos in any worldwide date format. Very cool. But it will fall on a Friday. Sigh.

The next "Twosday" will happen 400 years from now on Tuesday, February 22, 2024. Wonder if my "geek gene" will pass along through the generations and someone will send a letter to him/herself to commemorate this day. But then again, in 2422 will people hand write letters, will there be stamps, will the USPS still be in existence? I hope someone will take note of this once-in-a-lifetime date.

monday's mulling: another sunflower post

(Image created on Snapseed)

happy monday!

welcome your day with energy and strength

and a sunny disposition

stand tall

shoulders back

chin up

and share your beautiful smile to spread a little sunshine.

(Original image)

thought to start your week

"May we have the strength of the mountain and the wisdom of the water."

~ Paul Coelho

 

back in the day...

Was this part of your gym class routine...climb a 30-foot rope (9.14 m) with a life-saving 2 inch mat below? It was a test of strength and agility.

I was good at climbing the rope. My grandparents had a tire swing tied to a rope that hung from a tree and that's where I first started my rope climbing adventures. Those skills carried through the physical education years. My children never did this in school but they did climb a rope at their gymnastics classes. The rope hung over a pit filled with big foam blocks - just a bit safer than the 2 inch mat of yesteryear. They were so excited when they finally made it to the top to ring the bell. 

This activity was phased out in the early 2000s due to concerns about safety, rope burns, and injury, the lack of participation, and the liability for the schools ended this exercise.

 

the friday feed: popsicles!

Last Saturday at the farmers market, we had an incredibly busy day. Non-stop customers for the five hour afternoon shift. And when you're the busiest, of course what could be a big glitch for some was just a minor inconvenience for my co-worker and me. One of our iPads that tallies the purchases and processes the credit card transactions lost its connection. 

"We're going old school!" 

I brought out a pen and paper and tallied the transactions using my good old math brain. The older customers commented, "That's how we did it back in the day," and some of the younger customers watched with fascination. "Wow, you did that really fast." (Smile). The way I learned math vs. how students today learn math is so different. I drilled, drilled, drilled with flash cards and memorization and today's students learn with a step-by-step process. I don't know if one is better than the other but last Saturday my skills served me well.

At the end of the day, my boss and her two little grandsons brought up popsicles to celebrate getting through a busy, crazy, and very fun day. I haven't had a popsicle in ages. These are so much fun to break off a piece and crunch it or make it into a slushy or to let it melt and drink the juice. Made me feel like a kid again.

Eating popsicles

makes me feel like I have pig-

tails, though I do not.

 

chiasmus

Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. - John F. Kennedy

One should eat to live, not live to eat - Cicero

All for one and one for all. - motto of The Three Musketeers

What do these phrases have in have in common?

They are examples of Chiasmus (pronounced kee · az · muhs or kai · az · muhs), where you take a phrase and flip it around. It's named after "chi," the ancient Greek word for the letter X. The X shape captures the structure of the chiastic shape.

 

The chiastic phrase has balance, element of surprise, and playfulness. It makes us rethink the relationship between things and ideas at the same time. It's a powerful tool for getting a point across.

Put your readers on and enjoy a few (40) more examples of chiasmus.