Day 943: 50 miles!

Hooray!  I reached my goal of 50 miles in 50 days!  I had to swim two miles today in order to meet the goal and the water was freezing at 68 degrees.  By the time I got out about 6:40, I was chilled, probably hypothermic.  After a warm shower, hot tea, pajamas, a fleece and a quilt, I felt warm again.

We had a lovely breakfast with our friends Roger and Elsie who are from Atlanta, Georgia.  They are in town for the Class of 64 reunion tomorrow.  Roger is one of the people who is responsible for Steve and me meeting back in December, 1970.  He and Steve always went out together to the bars.  Both were Vietnam vets and they spent a lot of time together after they were discharged.  Roger always bet Steve that no girls would dance with him cause he regularly got shot down.  On the night of Dec. 5, he again bet Steve that no one would dance with him, but I did!  And that was that!  We've been together ever since.  Probably, I have told this story before, but it always delights me!

I was again reminded how fortunate we are, and that I am especially blessed.  Roger and Elsie lost their son a few years ago in a motorcycle-car accident.   A truck hit him in an intersection when he had the right of way.  He left behind a wife and two small children.  Elsie also lost her sister two years ago to breast cancer and her remaining sister now has the same cancer.  She has been taking care of her mother who is suffering from Alzheimer's for at least ten years.  And there are many more deaths and health issues they have endured.  We've had our share of trials, but they have had far more than their share.

Today, I attended the wake for a classmate, a girl I grew up with on Chestnut Street.  She and her sister and I used to ride bikes up and down the street.  Their house was at the top of Risley St. hill, mid way between the school and my house.  One time, when we were coming down the hill, I fell off my bike and badly scraped my leg.  They took me to their house where their mom dressed my wounds.  My friend spent many years in institutions after high school.  I never knew exactly why, but her sisters said today that her  passing was a blessing.  How difficult their lives have been.

Each day, I give thanks for the good health of our beloved sons, April, Steve and my siblings   And I am incredibly grateful for my own health and strength to swim, walk, garden and hike whenever I want without pain.  Every day is so precious, we must make the best of each one.

Outrageous

Day 942: Lithotripsy

So, Nancy had lithotripsy on her right side kidney stones, but the stone is so large that she has to go back for a second round.  She's home resting now, but it was a rough day and it was so much harder because Glenn is not by her side.  It breaks my heart that there is no family nearby to help her.  She has trusted and loyal friends and wonderful neighbors who help whenever she needs it, but it's just not the same.

The deer have nearly finished off the lilies in the birdbath garden.  They ate at least a hundred different blossoms.  It must have been just after dawn, during the rain, because there were full open petals lying on the ground.  We sprayed again tonight in hopes of preserving the last few.   I keep trying to finish the identifications before the blossoms are gone.

Real Wind

It has not felt like July this week.  The water is still at 67 degrees and the air was cooler because of the breeze.  Nevertheless, I did 160 lengths and hit 48 miles!  

Day 941: The streak continues!

Air temp: 68

Water temp: 67

Lengths: 120
Total: 47 miles!

Steve and Maeghan after lunch at Whiskey Hill.

Our former student, protege and friend, Maeghan.

She's about the graduate from Plattsburgh State with a degree in expedition leadership.

She's climbed mountains in Nepal, zip lined through Costa Rica and paddled streams and rivers across the continent.

Now, she's contemplating paddling down the Mekong River with one of her professors. WOW!

What a woman!

Papillion

Day 940: Lake Cobb

Lake Cobb

Two inches of rain fell and formed a great lake in the back yard.  A new stream poured down the east side, cut across the back and poured into the lake.

I managed to capture a picture of one of the new lilies, Bluegrass Music, before it was destroyed by the heavy rain.  I love its sharp contrasts and thick ruffles.

Blue grass music

So, my poor sister has three kidney stones!  One 13 mm and one 5 mm in her right kidney and an 8 mm in the left.  Two rounds of lithotripsy are in her near future.  No wonder she has not felt well!

Day 939: New lilies bloom

Finally rain!

Penelope....graduation parties...240 lengths...new lilies blooming....another suicide...another friend in pain....worries about my sister....but happy for the kids....war in Israel, the Gaza Strip and Ukraine....life.

Rose eyed wonder

Watership Down

Day 938: Coordinator's party

We picked up the new lilies today.   Mrs. Nass gave us a bonus lily of our choice because she read about us in the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation newsletter.  She believes in volunteering, so she wanted to reward us for our years of volunteering.  So nice!  I picked the lily Jane Trimmer, which is a gorgeous rose and purple/black ruffled lily with a black eye and green throat.  Spectacular!

Mrs. Nass also revealed that this is their last season.  She is 79 and her husband Harold is 83.  It's a physically demanding occupation.  They are looking for someone who would like to buy their lilies or take over their care.  At this point, they have not found a solution.  So, we will go back in a few weeks and get a couple more.  I think we are maxed out.

We got all of our new lilies planted before we headed out to Mayville for a wonderful barbecue for all the fire coordinators, chiefs and staff.  When we arrived at Norma and Scott's house,  a friendly brown goat greeted us, checked out my camera and then romped off to greet new arrivals.  When we mentioned it to Norma, she ran off to put the friendly goat back in his pen.  The food was fabulous!  Barbecued chicken, pulled pork and a huge variety of salads and desserts.  Someone made blueberry pie and it was the best I ever had!


120 lengths today took me to 45 miles for the season!

Jane Trimmer

Julius and Steve

The friendly little goat

Hummingbird clearwing moth

Day 937: Class of 69 reunion

The class of 69 opened their Friday night reunion to other classes from the sixties like we did.  The Wretched Group played old tunes for a couple hours down at Point Gratiot.  It was a lovely evening with a gorgeous sunset.  Really perfect for a reunion.  It's always fun to listen to the music of the sixties.  Just as we were leaving, they started to perform Steve's favorite song of all time:  I can't get no satisfaction!  It was the main song they played the whole year he was in Vietnam.

We made a trip out to the Nass Daylily Gardens and ordered four lilies for Nancy and nine for us.  We'll pick them up tomorrow.  A huge group of people from a family reunion arrived for a tour just as we finished browsing.  I picked out only distinctive lilies so I don't get them mixed up.  I also had the opportunity to take photos of lots of lilies as references to help me identify some of mine.  I found out that several of mine are mislabeled.  The maps are more complete and accurate every day, but I still have work to do.

When I talked to Nancy today, she revealed that she has a 13 mm kidney stone!  That is huge!  No wonder she's been in terrible pain.  She will have it blasted on Tuesday morning.  It's strange because Laurie just had a 7 mm stone blasted two weeks ago.  Nancy has never had a stone, unlike Laurie who has had dozens like dad did.  She had her tenth lipotripsy recently.  That means that three out of five siblings and one of my nephews have had stones.  Only my brother Steve and I have not.  What a miserable plague for them!  I guess if I ever come down with a severe backache, we'll know I joined the club.

250 lengths.  I was so tired I could barely cover and get out of the pool.

Custard Candy

Flasher

Day 936: Chippy time

What does it say about our life when the highlight of the day is chasing a chipmunk out of the house?
I opened the door and it scooted in like it lives here.  Right past Paddy lying on the deck.  And it darted past Molly who was asleep on the ottoman.  And guess what?  We found a pile of seeds just inside the door.  Apparently, it's been inside before and was moving in.  The door is open so often because of our old cats who go in and out a million times a day.

150 lengths today.  The water was 71, warmer than the air.   Identified more lilies.  Walked a couple miles on a lovely day.  Evan is ok.  Lots to be grateful for.

 Big Bird's Friends

House of Lords

Day 935: Mugged!

Our son!  On the way home from swim practice, just two blocks from home,  Evan pulled out his phone to call for take out food when a guy punched him in the jaw and took the phone.  He started yelling and the guy ran off, so that saved his wallet.  He has a cut on his forehead, some scrapes and a sore jaw.   EMS checked him out and said he doesn't have a concussion.   Then he spent an hour and half with the police.  The phone is gone, but he can reactivate his old one.   So this is how he celebrated four years in NYC!

Day 934: Sorting lilies

Some of the names of my lilies are a mystery.  I'm trying to identify all of them, but it is a difficult task.  The original map was made in 2011 and it took six weeks to compile.  However, then I transplanted at least twenty lilies from different beds.  I was careless and did not keep track of where I moved  them.  Plus, some were not labeled correctly to begin with and several are so similar that I can't tell which is which.  Is it Angels Around Us or Ida's magic?  Now, it's a puzzle I'm trying to solve.  Today was a bit of success cause I was added four pieces to the puzzle.

Broadway Pink Slippers

Texas Toffee

Day 933: 40 miles!

Swimming was difficult the past few day between earaches, headaches and cold water, but I made sure not to spoil my streak.  I was happy to feel good enough to put in lots of time today.   300 lengths for a total of 40.1 miles since June 11!

Plus, we walked all over the college this evening to check out the progress on all the construction projects.  The science center is very close to completion.  We can see that they are installing shelves and cupboards in the classrooms.  The addition to Rockefeller Arts Center is underway, but we can't see much with all the barriers.  A hole at least ten feet deep and forty feet wide has been dug, perhaps for heat and water pipes.  The campus has changed so much since I began my studies there back in 1967.

Midnight Magic

Day 932: Dominoes

We haven't played dominoes since Christmas or maybe last summer.  Mary joined us for a wonderful dinner of grilled steak and salmon, sautéed vegetables, melon, and corn on the cob, then we played a couple rounds.  It was a lovely evening.

Dominoes

Double passion

Day 931: Naughty kitty

It rained all day, except for the hour from 5 to 6 when I swam.  100 lengths in a brisk wind, cool water and cooler air.  The breeze kept blowing the solar cover over me.   All the flowers and the new grass needed the rain.  117 bloomed today!  We did inside jobs and I vacuumed most of the house: floors, ceilings, log walls, window sills, lampshades.  So much for taking it easy today.

We saw Million Dollar Arm at the Opera House tonight and encountered our former student, Lindsay F., who is a professional dancer.   She said she ran into Colin one day in Brooklyn in a coffee shop!  The movie was touching.  I felt tremendous sympathy for the young Indian boys who won the competition and were brought to the US from tiny rural towns in India.  Everything in the US was so alien to them and they missed their families so much.  They actually got contracts with the Pittsburg Pirates after just 10 months of playing baseball.

Apparently, Paddy wanted a new nap location.  We were shocked to find him on the buffet and had to chase him away from the spot several times.

Day 930: Hot town

So many beautiful lilies and so little time to appreciate them.  Started putting out name placards and working on the maps.  Hopefully, I can identify more of the unnamed lilies.

100 lengths.  No time for more, but that's ok cause I have an earache and sore throat.  Probably have overdone it a bit.

Matt's graduation party.  Really fun time with lovely people.

Hot town

Yazzo wild violet

Day 929: Garden Party

Perfect day for garden party!  112 lilies bloomed and they were gorgeous!  So surprising that the numbers are still increasing.  The light was glorious for photos.

About 20 good friends came, all the folks who love gardening, and we were able to visit with each person.  Penny and Fawzi brought their three daughters.  One was going on to Turkey after visiting her dad.  They are all remarkable women.  After the party, I swam a mile.  The air was so cool that the water felt like bathwater.  Then I mowed.

It all seems very trivial in light of the serious global events going on.  Ukraine's militants appear to have shot down a Malaysian plane killing 295 people.  And, Israel invaded the Gaza strip.  Both events will have major repercussions.  It is such a dangerous time in the world with distressing problems all over the middle east, in Africa, the deteriorating relationship with Russia, environmental disasters, humanitarian crises.  And I spend my time on flowers.  I think about the President who is hammered with criticism every day.  If he spends five minutes per problem per day, it fills the entire 24 hours.  So much strain and stress on him.

Angel Walker

Angels Around Us

A pair of Chautauqua Blueberry Swirl

Lovely lily in soft light

Day 928: We're ready

We're ready.  I have weeded every one of 15 flower beds multiple times, then hauled the debris away to the compost pile.  The last forty feet of the property line bed nearly killed us.   I chopped, hoed, shoveled and pulled those rascally intruders.  Then, I dug and bagged thousands of invasive violets, onions and garlic mustard.  Steve has loaded about a thousand trailer loads of black mulch and then distributed it all over the yard after putting preen and fertilizer on all the beds.  Twelve yards of mulch!

We planted ten new lilies, transplanted a few and removed several rogue lilies.  Eight new hostas were added and a few more transplanted.  Two new variegated dogwood bushes were planted in the long property line bed and then promptly eaten by the deer.  Night after night we sprayed with stinky liquid fence to keep away the deer.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

But, the yard is beautiful.  Breathtaking really.  Certainly worth the effort.  We had a frozen margarita to celebrate!  Tomorrow, it will be the best it can be for the season, then we will slack off and enjoy it.

After all the work was done, I swam 120 lengths.  As I swam, banks of dark clouds gathered and a cold wind cut like it was October.  Just as I exited the pool, the polar vortex hit!  At least it felt like it.

Raspberry Beret

Day 927: Mulching madness

Sixty feet of weeding and mulching.  I can hardly move tonight.

220 lengths, so I'm over 35 miles.

The side yard, nearly done!

Day 926: July class dinner

Eighteen attended the monthly class dinner.  Two new classmates attended and one thanked me for organizing the events.

73 lilies bloomed.  We are past peak and the deer are nibbling, but the gardens look fabulous.  Steve mulched another twenty feet.  I must do significant weeding tomorrow to be ready for Thursday's party.

I swam 260 lengths for a total over 34 miles.  If we didn't have to go out, I would have done 300.  Very happy with the progress!

We went to the funeral home for a friend's 84 year old mom who passed away this week.  She led a great life and lived independently till March.  Not a bad finale.  It was very different from our visit to Bob's family on Friday when everyone was so overwhelmed with grief.  This family was reconciled and peaceful.

Blessing

Chautauqua Shameless

Day 925: World Cup

Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in overtime to win the World Cup in soccer.  Evan is rejoicing!  Steve watched most of the game while I swam, but I got to see the celebration at the end when Angela Merkel was embracing each member of the team.  She was giddy!  Poor Brazil took fourth place after being defeated 3-0 by the Netherlands.  I'm glad to see the rise of a global sport that unites people from all over the world! I'm also glad that it wasn't a humiliating loss for Argentina.  When they look back at today's game, they will see they missed opportunities to score, but they can be very proud of their performance.

At Penelope this morning, Linda shared two poems that she had revised and Carolyn shared a grant application she had written.  Then Penny offered us insight into her life in the Middle East from the late 1960s to the 1980s.

A dear friend she had lived with for a while in Lebanon passed away in February of Alzheimer's.  The woman's daughter discovered a pack of letters that Penny had written to her mom over the years.  She packed them up and sent them to Penny along with a lovely letter of thanks and a DVD the family had made about their mother's life.

Penny wrote about her activities as a traveling artist and photographer in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman, her time in Beirut during the bombings during the civil war.  She wrote of fine coffees, old friends, a special cake.  Many of the cards were her original drawings.  What a treasure trove!  And how incredibly kind of the daughter to return all those treasures to Penny.

Then she shared a slide show of her photographs with us.  Professor Kay S. had organized an event at the college where she brought in three experts in percussion instruments from the middle east.  For a week in June, they taught a group of students how to play.  Then,  they staged a performance for the public.  To start off the program and create the right scene, another colleague prepared a powerpoint of Penny's photos.

In one photo, she captured the profile of a Bedouin boy about six years old with bushy dark hair and fearful eyes.  When he first saw her, he ran away into the desert and his family had to search for him.  He had never seen a white woman before and she terrified him.  There were several photos of her drawing scenes of village life with a cluster of men and boys surrounding her.  She was commissioned by the Ford Foundation to photograph the work of the silversmiths, including jewelry, scabbards, belts and grips.  Sometimes, women took off the jewelry and hung it on a textured wall for her to photograph.

Many women stopped to pose for her with their children.  Their traditional garb was suited to desert life.  Modest, practical, but colorful, it was much more liberal than the extreme costumes today.

She's been working on a book for several years. I'm sure it would be grabbed up by a publisher because it reveals a real insider's view of the middle east.  In any case, it is such a valuable representation of her life and a treasure for her family.

Asian Occasion

Balloon flowers

From Carol B's garden

Chautauqua Happy Talk

The Redbud Garden

The lush and delicious patio garden! 

Herbs, lettuces, globe thistle, geranium, lilies, liatris, snapdragons, potted veggies.  

Day 924: A funeral and a graduation

Friends and family, the center of life.  They are there to celebrate the transitions,  moments of great joy,  the uniting of two families in marriage, holidays, graduations, new jobs, births and birthdays, just being together.  But they also hold us up in times of great sorrow, illness or death.  It was moving to witness two sets of families and friends join together today.

Bob's son Rob delivered a beautiful eulogy honoring his father.  He shared memories and lessons as he spoke about all Bob had taught him while growing up. His constant presence at every soccer match or baseball game, running through the sprinkler, playing with the dog, the trips they took together.  I wept through the whole thing.   Most of all his father taught him how to be an honorable and loving father and husband.  I loved Rob as a student and he has become a fine man in the mode of his dad.  His boss heard about his losses and told him to stay home for a month and help his mother.

Then Jessie.  Hers is an entirely different story.  There was no steady father or mother presence in her life.  She was raised mostly by her grandmother because her mother was in and out of jail.  So much trouble and grief in her early years, but everyone's joy was evident tonight.  She's accomplished so much, despite or maybe because of her experiences.   And she is a delight with incredible strength of character.

220 lengths. My arms are very tired.  We added eight new hostas to our collection after a visit with Ran and Katie at Eagle Bay Gardens.  Storms are coming, so we got the new hostas planted right away.  The redbud bed is nearly complete.

Not identified yet!

Day 923: 30 miles!

Hooray!  I swam 30 miles from June 11 to July 11!  At this rate, I should be able to reach 75 miles for the season.

92 lilies bloomed today!  The garden looks spectacular!  Today would have been the perfect day for viewing even though it's much earlier than usual.  No gardening today, just lots of mowing, even the new grass.   The weather next week looks dreadful!  We are now targeting Thursday for the garden party.  It's the only sunny day forecasted.

Steve spent the afternoon as the honor guard for Bob and his family.  Hundreds came to pay their respects, including many other firemen.  They are his peers, guys 60 to 75, who have given forty years and more of service to the community.  They are noble, honest men.  I listened to them reminisce and several commented, "There aren't many of us old timers left."  It was distressing, though, to see how badly out of shape they are.  A lifetime of hard work and now inactivity and too many calories have led to dangerous health conditions.  It confirms the importance of our good habits.  I will continue to cook nutritious meals and push long walks, travel and check-ups!

Chautauqua Ink

Daring Dilemna

Desert Moon

Day 922: Every day stuff

Sixty-four lilies bloomed today so we are very nearly at peak.  I wanted to have the garden party next Tuesday or Wednesday, but now a cold front is coming through and dumping lots of rain from Sunday to Wednesday.  I'll check the forecast again tomorrow.

250 lengths today.  Wish the water would warm up, but it's not likely!  If I do 250 tomorrow, I will hit 30 miles.

We weeded and mulched another 20 feet of the property line garden.   Only another 150 feet to go.

All of my squash and cucumber plants are covered with the powdery mildew.  For the past two years, we lost all of the squash in the garden so this year I put the plants in pots near the house so they would get more sun.  A friend on Facebook just offered an organic solution to the problem, a milk and water spray.  I hope it makes a difference and saves all the baby cucumbers!

Tomorrow, we will visit Kathy and her family.  Steve will be part of the fire department honor guard for her brother.  He served 44 years with the dept.

Cajun Christmas

Molly napping in the sun

Steve loves ice cream!  We stopped outside Cassadaga at the Snack Shop.