Fireworks on the 4th

On the 4th of July our next door neighbors had a party, complete with fireworks.  Their sons bought $3,000 worth of fireworks.  One son did a lot of research to learn how to tie them together to have several go off in a row.  It was impressive.  I was more taken by the camp fire.  Some type of powder (sulfur, I think) was thrown on the fire, resulting in a beautiful blue flame.  

I am embarrassed that I have not posted for nearly two months.  During this time we have taken two long trips. The first was to Minnesota where Gerry attended his 50th class reunion.  We also saw family and then flew to San Francisco where we visited son and family.  The second was to Omaha Nebraska for G's cousin reunion.  It was three days long.  We then drove to Minnesota to say hi to my family and especially Mom, who now is in a nursing home.  She seems to have adjusted well to being there.  Is not in any pain, mind is still good. She just cannot walk.  

Still in CA

G and I are on a three day mini vacation in CA.  Left son and family and drove along the coast on Highway 1.  We are staying nights at a home through "Motorcycle Network", where you list your home for others in the network. The couple is near our age, avid motorcyclists and very inviting.  We are staying in Soquel, which is near Santa Cruz.  I posted the pictures mainy for me to remember.  It looks like they have filled in their pool since they are on water rationing here.  An interesting fact is that it has been almost 20 degrees cooler in CA than at home.  Go Figure! 

Open House at school

This is the second year that Gerry and I have been able to attend the year end Open House of grandchildren.  Their various projects are displayed throughout the rooms.  Here are a couple of them and family viewing.

Chef's dream

My sister in law, whose meals are to die for, got a new kitchen stove.  It is perfect for her type of cooking as you can see in this picture. I am sorry I did not get a picture of the meal she served.  Linguini with shrimp was the entree and rhubarb crisp for dessert. 
We  had a short visit with her and my brother on our way to the Mpls/St.Paul airport, from which we flew to San Francisco. (Since I am not an expert at posting from my tablet you may need to click on the picture to see sis-in-law)  

Visit with daughter in Maryland

G and I just returned from a four day visit with daughter.  One of the highlights was a visit to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. G has been listening to a biography of Leonardo da Vinci so was thrilled to see a painting of his: Ginevra de Benci.  This is the only painting of his in the Western Hemisphere. Leonardo is one of Gerry's heroes.

A second hero of his is Einstein. 

Seems his daughter likes him too.

I enjoyed the museum and memorials but am always drawn to nature.  On the way to MD we chose a scenic route instead of on the toll road.  The leaves are just starting to come out in Ohio. This is Lake Tappan. 

I will win!

As some of you know I am playing the Minimalist Game with my daughter, son and daughter-in-law. You can read about it here: http://www.theminimalists.com/game .  Basically the rules are that you get rid of one item on day one, two on day two, all the way to 30 on day 30 ( or 50 on day 50 which my son has set up on the spreadsheet).  Today is day 18.  It is becoming a challenge.  After all there are other things to do in your life too!! My strategy is to collect everything of one category so I can choose what to keep and what to throw.  These pictures show what I did today. This first picture is the pile of everything.

The second is what I am keeping.

The last is what is going away.

Cheery Crocus

The other day I noticed the crocus were poking their heads through the straw so I removed most of it. This is what greeted me today.

When warmer weather comes, our upstairs windows are full of ladybugs.  I caught them and took them outside. This last picture shows one on the flower with a honey bee.

The warmer weather motivated me to do research on planting vegetables in the garden.  I made a calendar to help me know when to plant the various seeds.  The tricky part is scheduling the planting so they are not mature when we are on one of our vacations.