Day 500: 9:16 pm

9:16 pm.  The time of the tenth call from a parent or student.  "Oh, maybe we should have called sooner, but you see we have this thing tomorrow..."

On the other hand, another parent brought us dinner tonight.  A homemade Korean dish that was so delicious!

Maybe we have made a serious mistake in making so many accommodations for other activities. For these folks, interrupting the expedition is "no big deal."  Truly, that's what she said.

Here's hoping the next four days are injury free, happy and fun.

Day 499: Almost ready

Everything is falling into place and we are feeling calmer.  There are so many personnel details to tend to at the end that we both got nervous. Fortunately, the kids are realizing that this is a once in a lifetime experience. Most have either dropped their plans or limited the time they will be absent to a few hours.

Lauren is taking care of the cakes and the t-shirts. Shane is on crowd control.  I dropped off the announcements for the rest of the week.  I called the Observer to ask where the news article is that I submitted, but they did not respond.  Ten kids came to help and we loaded all the cook bags very quickly.  All the bandanas are ironed and Doug has the picnic under control.  Relief!

Dogwood blooms

The hostas are lush and lovely.

Day 498: Baltimore Oriole

There was snow in Cassadaga and Arkwright today, but fortunately not here.  Sharp winds, slashing rain interspersed with bright sunshine.  We finished the walkway and spread the remaining gravel, but otherwise we spent the day inside next to a warm fire watching Harry Potter movies.

All through the day, the boys called for a Mother's Day visit.  This became my least favorite holiday when my mom died and the boys all moved away.  But I am grateful for a day of rest before our adventure this week.

A Baltimore Oriole visited the bird feeder this afternoon and then Mrs. Cardinal put on a show, as if to say, "Why are you making a fuss over her?  I'm just as beautiful!" Later, we spied a kingfisher flying over the creek.

Day 497: Race to the finish

Nearly every minute today was dedicated to Quest.  I sorted all the commemorative t-shirts into categories for delivery, ordered the sheet cakes, ordered more t-shirts and picked them up.  The cameras batteries are charged and the lenses are cleaned.  Last year, the video had a glare from a smudge on the lens.  At the Big Dipper tonight, we ran into a handful of people connected to Quest who all asked about the event.

I did more cleaning and laundry in preparation cause I hate coming home to a cluttered house.

 Lilac

Mr. Turkey arrived at the house alone again today.  Perhaps the ladies are tending their nests.

Peridot

The hostas have tripled in just a few days because of the heavy rain.  We were so very glad that we weren't out backpacking in the storm yesterday.  It would have been frightening and miserable.  

Day 496: Sweet Columbine

Another day, another project.  We laid a new base for the back walkway and I leveled all the pavers.  They were so heavy.  It's clear that I need to start a good weightlifting program cause I am as weak as a baby.

 

Then we headed into Buffalo to find four more cherry cheesecakes and gifts for the seniors.  Success!  We thought we'd relax with an action movie so we saw Iron Man 3 which is a big box office hit.  It was a huge waste of time and money.   So boring!

Only a few more backpacking tasks left to do.   I sorted all the photos and certificates into cook groups.  There are only a few kids I am not certain about, but we will check them on Monday when we deliver all the supplies to Doug for the picnic.  The cook kits have to be repacked and then the supply trucks must be loaded on Tuesday.    Tomorrow we will pack our backpacks so that's out of the way.  Plus, a donor will pay for cakes for the party, so I must go order sheet cakes.  Steve is nervous about the buses cause the dispatcher doesn't seem to understand the request.  He's already double checked twice, but will do it again on Tuesday.  At this point, we just want to get on the trail.

Day 495: Blossoms of May

Our final backpacking meeting was today.  Five kids were absent, none from school, just the meeting.  Five girls said they have a track meet on Wednesday, two want to go to NYSSMA on Friday night, another will receive an art award on Thursday in Buffalo.  Only four student leaders came to the meeting and now they don't have the necessary information for Wednesday's departure.  We haven't heard from the tennis players, the dance moms or the softball team.  I'm sure this is just the beginning of the requests for accommodations because of course,  these events just pop up at the last minute.  They want to do it all and don't want to make choices.  Commitment, where is the commitment?  We told them, you only have one chance to do Quest with your class.  NYSSMA and track meets will come again.  

It's hard to convey to them what they will miss.  They loved the first two hikes, but they have no idea how many more experiences they will have on the four day.  

Day 494: Stoned

Yesterday, we took delivery of tons of stone.  Today, we moved it all into place.  Steve moved loads around the driveway and raked it.  I tried to haul it out to the pool, but it was so heavy I could only transport small amounts in my garden cart.  It was much harder work than the mulch or dirt.

A lovely gift from a dear friend

Bleeding hearts