Trying To Look Forward

It's been a while, right?  

I mean, since I've posted anything here, right?

But even with all of the madness around us these past few month this year, the world has not stopped spinning.

I shake my head daily.

Try not to look at the gloomy news, but let's be honest, it's too hard not to look when they are all important issues.  It's overwhelming, and that's putting it mildly.

I try to look ahead to a positive future.

A future where my brown skinned grandchildren won't even have to consider the color or their skin when they step out of their door to go play a game of basketball at the local rec. center.  Take a bike ride to play at a friend's house, walk to school(should that ever be allowed again), have a picnic or go bird watching in a park without being harassed.  These simple pleasures are what I wish for them.

And how about a former President who can't even get his portrait hung on a White House wall without it being an issue for the current man who lives there??

Our eldest grandchild can't even experience a normal high school graduation this year or make a memory of her senior prom.  Will she even have a normal university experience?  Will that learning be online as well?

My husband and I are still staying away from other people, due to our age and some health issues, but we will get through all of this madness much better off than many others, but still.... it does not stop us from worrying about others.

To take my mind away from dwelling on all of the negative, my husband helped me hang drop cloth curtains in our screened porch.  He'll tell you that he got 'Huckleberry'd into it'.  AND he's right.  He did.  I am guilty of making him do much of the work, but he is totally enjoying that the porch is a bit cooler temperature-wise this year and sits out there much more than he has in previous years.  If your porch is hot due to late afternoon sun from the west beating in, then I highly recommend doing this to your porch.  Get your husband to help you!  LOL

 We celebrated Memorial Day in a quiet way.  Hung some red, white and blue buntings on the porch and stuck small flags in all of the planters on the porch.  It looked festive, but it was for our eyes only since Covid kept us from inviting friends.  BUT, my husband is a veteran, so it's his day and I make it special for him despite not having any guests. We grilled burgers and hot dogs and I made potato salad, which was plenty of summertime food for the two of us to enjoy.

(Buntings are from Plow and Hearth and they are superb quality)

Our wisteria on the trellis has bloomed, a sight that always takes my breath away, and I am already looking forward to seeing them again next year.

Next year.  Yes, we always have that to look forward to, don't we?

Thanks for stopping by.

Accomplishments And An Ambulance Ride

 It's been a month since I posted so thought I would catch you up on Life On Sprinkle

Grandchild #1 went to Iowa state in track and placed sixth in the state in girls 100m Hurdles.

She's totally pumped for next year since she is very young to have done this well.

Only a sophomore and rapidly moving up in the track world.

We are totally proud grandparents.

Woot Woot to Madeline!

Grandchild #2 took his very first trip to Washington D.C. after raising money to be able to to.

This is a huge step for him, and Anthony really enjoyed the trip.

We are soooo proud!

Another big woot woot!

Grandchild #3 played in his very first basketball tournament and took second place.

Check out that big bling bling medal hanging around his neck!

Go Drake!

You rock and Grandpa and I are totally proud of you.

That was woot woot number three!

 

 We ordered a very large cedar arbor for the backyard from Wayfair, but considering we want to plant a 'full sun' vine on it, we are instead installing it in the front yard.

 

 The arbor comes in nicely done pre-cut pieces, and then you build the arbor yourself.

Two sides with slats for the vine to grow on, and also a top piece to the arbor.

It didn't take my husband long to lay it all out and screw the pieces all together.

 It's all sitting on the front porch waiting for the cement footers (which he dug a few days ago before the RAIN fell, and fell and fell) to dry completely. 

 We decided on wisteria as our vine for this arbor.  They are so gorgeous in the spring with great looking lavender colored hanging blossoms.

 Needless to say, the front porch is a jungle at this time.... but a lovely one I must say.

Yesterday was my very fist experience with riding in an ambulance due to not knowing what the terrific pains I was having, along with heavy nausea and vomiting.

They arrived at the house and after I had settled into the ambulance administered pain and anti-nausea meds.

Four and a half hours later we were home from the hospital.

I slept a lot in the afternoon, feeling only tired and worn out.

A CAT scan determined that this was a single kidney stone and there are no others awaiting their turn to be born into this world.

What a pain and waste of an entire day.

So, today I spent the morning lounging on the porch, and then picked lettuce as well as the last of our asparagus from the garden, some of which I delivered to the neighbors.

I'll be grabbing a few groceries this afternoon, and hopefully discovering that my iPhone still works, the one that I rinsed in the colander along with the freshly picked lettuce.... my bad.

What's new with your world?

A Much Needed Vacation

 Our eight days away the week prior to Easter consisted of a two day drive to Illinois and Iowa to visit our daughter's family and my husband's mother and sister. Two days there, two days home, and five wonderful days with family.

The above photo is of my husband and I with daughter Kelly.

We spent afternoons and evenings in she and her husband's home visiting with them and the grandkids.

SO MUCH FUN!

 The photos are somewhat out of order, but I was too lazy to move them around in the proper order, so this post simply is what it is.

One day was spent shopping with my daughter and eldest granddaughter in the local Target store as we looked for birthday gifts for a younger granddaughter who turned nine years old two days after we left to return to Virginia. 

This photos was followed by a girly lunch at Panda Express.... yummy rice bowls for each of us!

 Our son-in-law enjoys flying his drone, so we walked across the street to a local ball park where my husband took in a drone flying lesson from the pro. 

 He enjoyed it and is considering the purchase of a drone for himself after he closes down his consulting business at the end of this year.  The man will certainly need a hobby or two to keep him busy!

 Sorry for the lighting in this photo, but notice that fun was being had by all just prior to the grandkids heading off to bed and us heading out the door for the evening.

 Hmmmm, I think this bridge was between West Virginia and Ohio.  

The photo is a bit crooked, but the bridge was completely straight.  LOL

 The best hotel we stayed in had a cute ducky washcloth.

Artwork!

 This was a view of the small pond outside our hotel room where we stayed for five nights while in Iowa.  The skies were gray, but that is totally springtime.  It can be sunny and warm one day, and a winter sky with cold temperatures the next.

 David and I with the grandkids.  I LOVE this photo!!

 This is David's sister and her husband in Illinois.  We went out for an Italian dinner with them after spending the day with David's 87 year old mother.  I didn't take any photos of her that day because she did not want her photo taken. 

 Another view out our hotel window in Iowa.

It was a quiet hotel considering it sits directly next to a highway, and the local train's whistle only woke us up one night.

Man was it ever loud.  But the hotel was super nice and we had a breakfast included in the cost of the room each morning.

 This is our youngest granddaughter who is TOTALLY in love with her grandpa and loved playing 'Badland' on his iPhone.

She rocked!

 Grandson, Anthony, gave us a saxaphone concert!

He played great and afterwards we applauded his playing skills.

 Granddaughter, Madeline, was in the play Sherlock Holmes which I attended with my daughter and thoroughly enjoyed.

 We also drove to Clear Lake which is where my daughter's family spends a bit of time camping at during the summer months of the year.  There's a walkway, and a nice park there also, as well as a sandy beach.  It was windy that day, but the weather was almost balmy.

 Here's lovely Meredith at the lake.

She has EXACTLY her mother's hair at that same age.

 What a joy she is, and she is the birthday girl who just turned nine this past week!

 The backside view of our hotel.

 We drove to Algona, Iowa, where I attended High School, and where my granddaughter was to have had a track meet, but the weather turned cold and threatened heavy rain and possible hail so the meet was cancelled.  We stopped at a small recommended restaurant in Britt.  The food was delicious.  As you can see, every small town in the midwest has a grain elevator so I had to snap this shot.

 Once in Algona, I had to capture this grafitti on the sides of a railroad underpass.  There was grafitti back in my day, but never quite this much.

 Since the track meet was cancelled, we spent some time at a small, sweet coffee shop which also connected to a wonderful gift shop right next door through an arched doorway.

 And, daughter and husband began an online search for local play parks where the kids could run off some energy before returning to the van to drive back home.

 Took this shot at our favorite hotel in Lafayette, Indiana on our way to Iowa.  We hooked up the laptop and watched Doc Martin on Netflix.  Totally love that funny show, and cable movie picks at hotels are just not to our liking.

 I wore my bright orange jeans and inexpensive gray tennis shoes from Target for the long two day drive home.

The orange brightened my day.

 This shot was of my husband driving home as we passed through Kentucky.  You can see the steam cloud from a nearby nuclear power plant not too far away.

 A couple of photos as we drove through West Virginia.

Talk about curvy, mountain roads and more semi trucks than you can count, all driving like super fast and crazy!

I drove until I could no longer take the stress of what seemed like dangerous mountain driving, and then I turned the wheel over to my husband.

He was a bit stressed driving the area also.

 A snapshot of myself early on in the return to home drive.

Still a smile on my face when we were in Indiana.

It was a super nice trip and we absolutely loved being with family, but the next time will be by plane and a rental car after we arrive.  We didn't mind the drive, other than West Virginia and the curvy mountain roads.

Happy Easter, Everyone!
Hope your spring is as gorgeous as ours this year!

Saying goodbye was hard, but it's good to be home once again.