A few days ago when we were going for a walk, we saw a volley of baby bunnies running pell-mell around a house. Before we ever got past the house, they had circled it three times, and were showing no signs of stopping any time soon. Victoria laughed and laughed.
Monday, the school children made May baskets. My sister Lura Kay, who has a habit of making festive occasions out of all sorts of minor holidays, gave every elementary child gifts. Later that evening, she came and gave Victoria a couple of leftover party whistles and a sparkly bead bracelet. Victoria was thrilled. “Isn’t Aunt Lura Kay nice?” she said happily, admiring her things.
Dorcas has been practicing her violin every day for the Spring Program. Hester and Lydia have verses to say, and all the children have been practicing their songs diligently. Helen Tucker, Hester’s teacher, always sends a stack of the new songs they will be singing home with Hester, and we all enjoy learning them and singing them.
One afternoon, I went to Pawnee Park to take pictures. There were birds of all kinds in the trees. I even saw a pair of titmice--something I’d never seen around here before. By the time I put my big lens on my camera, the little birds had flown, but I did manage to get a couple of pictures of a downy woodpecker.
Early that evening, Larry took us on a drive around the Quail Run golf course where he works. We went in the shop and office, and I sent an email home, being almost sure Dorcas would pick it up soon. I was right. She found it only moments after I’d sent it. One of the main reasons we went to the course was so I could take pictures of the Canada goslings Larry had seen the previous Saturday. But…where were they all? We were afraid the resident fox had them for dinner. Oh, dear… they were so cute…
But early the next morning, Larry saw the goslings!--they were on a different lake, further into the woods near the river. Soon, I shall make another attempt at photographing them.
Tuesday evening, Hester had her last Jr. Fire Patrol meeting. She had the most correction slips of all the fifth-graders in town, but she didn’t get a prize, because she missed two meetings when she was sick, and that disqualified her. Anyway, two boys in her class won first and second prize. The children were all given rides on the fire trucks. They always bring out the old trucks for the event, all polished and shined, and looking ever so decorous and splendid. There were four trucks.
The girls rode first, and got the longest ride (because they were quieter), while the boys had a terrific water fight. When the trucks returned, the children swapped pursuits.
And then the girls were not quiet, having that water fight! Ooooo, our poor ears. Hester and Emily did not get wet. Charlie, Freddie, Kirby, and Andrew did. Craig stayed out of the water--for a little while. It was not warm enough--it never is--for a water fight in early May. One poor thin boy was shivering so violently that I was quite concerned over him.
At the Agricultural Park, where the big water fight was held, and from where the firetrucks departed, we wound up parking next to a woman I went to school with, and whom I had not seen, all these years. She was a good friend of mine. I was pleased to meet her again. And then, before we left, I saw another woman with whom I went to school. People always seem to recognize me immediately, although I am often not sure just exactly who they are.
The other day, Victoria was in the kitchen with Hannah, who was doing the dishes, singing away: “Lalala, lots of stuff I shouldn’t mess with here,” she sang with gusto ---and just then the cooking oil spray went pssshhht.
“Aaaa!” said Victoria.
And then, in a very small voice, “Oops.”
This week at Jr. Choir, we had ‘choices’--the children get to pick most all of the songs. They always enjoy that, and seem to sing with extra enthusiasm, since, after all!--they are singing songs they have chosen.
When I got home, the house was empty. Teddy is on lawn duty at the church (all the young men and boys take turns, and each turn is a two-month duty); Joseph was at the shop with Larry; Hester and Lydia were with me at Jr. Choir, and they were still outside talking with their friends. Dorcas was at Helen Tucker’s house practicing her violin (or, more accurately, fiddle); and Hannah had taken Caleb and Victoria outside. It was still light out at 8:45, and much cooler than it was in the afternoon, so I went back outside and took Victoria for a walk.
Hannah and Lydia then rode their bikes to Hannah’s house, where Bobby was working. He’s been toiling away on that house, spending many hours there every day--and that, after a hard day’s work on a construction crew. We are all hoping he doesn’t fall sound asleep, deader’n a doornail, right in the middle of his own wedding ceremony!
Meanwhile, Hester played with the cousins. Aunts and uncles and cousins and friends abounded, all over the neighborhood... Joseph came home, and as soon as Teddy was done working on the lawn, they started up a basketball game with some friends behind Mama’s house.
After it got dark, everyone came in and we watched a funny children’s video entitled “There Goes A Truck”, which Hannah got from the public library.
By Thursday, there were two more families of Canada geese and goslings at Quail Run. Perhaps tomorrow I will go again to try taking pictures of them.
I am now sewing Victoria’s dress, and it is turning out very pretty. I will finish it tomorrow, I think--all but putting on the appliqués that I will cut from Hannah’s dress when I remove the train, which is altogether too long, and must be used to remodel the top, anyway.
Friday was a hot day here in Corn Country... 90°. Did you know that one of the specialties in Nebraska--somewhere around Central City--is popcorn? There is a big popcorn plant, out in the country, just a couple of miles from the town. It is not far from two lakes--Horde and Brayer. Brayer is so named because, for many years, there have been large corrals of donkeys along the northern shore.
One hot day, several donkeys got out through a broken fence. One was soon walking through a field of popcorn. All afternoon, the temperature had been rising... and, about the time the donkey was midway through the field, it got so hot, the popcorn started popping.
The donkey, however, never before having seen popcorn in its final state, thought it was snow, and he got so cold he froze to death.
Moral of the Story: Feed your donkeys anti-freeze before letting them into popcorn fields on hot summer days.
* * *
Dorcas has been sewing a dress. (Really!!) It is for the Spring Program, and it matches the other three girls’ dresses. Just what we needed: more sewing! Aarrgghh. Since it is the first dress Dorcas has made--well, there was the one she was sewing the week before last; but it isn’t done yet--she needs help every so often. And I’m running out of time! I still have Hannah’s dress to do, and the house must be thoroughly cleaned before the wedding, because we are having visitors--and it will take a steam roller, a back hoe, a caterpillar, a front-end loader, and several sticks of dynamite to clear it. And maybe a street cleaner, to finish up. Help, oh help!
Practice for the Spring Program lasted all afternoon Friday. It’s hard to believe, but this is the last month before school gets out for the summer.
She made a face, pushed it away, and said, “I don’t like it. It’s icky.” And then to Hannah, “You can eat it.”
Hannah said, “No, I don’t want it.”
Victoria raised her eyebrows and looked quickly at her sister: “It’s good!” she told her emphatically.
Hannah asked, “Then why aren’t you eating it?”
Victoria paused, looked into her bowl, then answered, “It is icky.”
That afternoon, I went to the church with Hannah and Dorcas, where I took Hannah’s picture with her wedding gown on--and with the train still intact, so as to have pictures of it before I cut off the train. I must take it apart at the waist and shorten it; I must cut off the train and use the fabric to remake part of the top; and I must gather up part of the sleeves near the wrist, because they are too long, and there is no way of cutting them shorter. Well, almost no way. Unless I were to carefully remove an appliqué in the middle of the sleeve, then, using a complex hypothesis from Advanced Calculus, put it back together again, carefully matching and inserting and slotting in and weaving and interweaving and interleaving and interlacing and merging and fusing and amalgamating… Never mind. I will gather them at the cuff.
Saturday morning, Larry went to work at Quail Run at 6:00 a.m., got off at 8:30 a.m.; then went to the shop. He finally came home at 8:30 or so that night, which made for a long day.
Here was our Sunday dinner menu: chicken (I baked three), cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, apple muffins, jello (lime, strawberry banana, and wild cherry) with fruit, and rice pudding with raisins. I used a dozen boxes of jello, which made three big bowls full--and it was all gone, every last drop, by evening.
I have just signed some very important papers: A Purchase Agreement.
We have sold the shop to a friend and customer of ours. Larry is keeping all his tools and equipment, and he has 90 days to complete the vehicles he is now working on. Perhaps life will be easier from now on! I certainly hope so.
Time for supper…and then…back to the sewing machine. Maybe I’ll finish Victoria’s dress tonight, rather than tomorrow!
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