Category: Weekly Wrap-Up

Posted in 2020, Spring at Sonnystone, Weekly Wrap-Up

Learning Patience…or trying to…

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Last week seems like a year…

I didn’t realize that the Jose’ fam had been out to see Riverdance on the 13th just before they shut Broadway down.  I asked that Melissa delay her visit until they had been isolated for 2 weeks.  She readily agreed, expressing her concerns for me.  I was wracked with guilt that I had to disappoint her kids, who you know I love beyond words, but I felt it was best for all.

Here in Eville, my daughter-in-law’s trip was cancelled, but I went ahead and had the Jr. girls over to play.  I was thinking that the risk from Evansville was not as great.  It’s true that we’ve not had any tests here until a couple of days ago when there was one person who tested positive, but that’s because we didn’t get any tests until last week.  We are now under Strict quarantine, refusing to let the Jr girls visit, either, but I don’t think that’s making anybody feel better.

The New Yorkers are under SuperStress right now.  Both Melissa and Eric are immunocompromised and Melissa’s job is at risk.  There is no bailout for them, yet the bills have to be paid.  All I can do is continue to send Love and Peace her way and not add to the tension she must be feeling.

My trip to England, scheduled for the Queen’s Birthday celebration in June, will undoubtedly be cancelled.  I’m pretty sure the airline will waive change fees and let me reschedule eventually, but it’s a major disappointment.  Royal Ascot sent my tickets out with a message that they will promptly refund if the meet is called off.  Britain has been super-slow responding to this pandemic so I have just written off the trip until next year…if there is one.  God Save the Queen!  I’d sure like to see her before she checks out.

How dare I whine like this! I feel so guilty about my constant anxiety.  Unfortunately, worry is not rational and many of us who are just fine are still waking up with fear.   Stay Strong, Friends.

To Those of you working essential jobs:  You are the salt of the Earth–Bless you!

We’re all in this together…We are All One…

Peace

P.S. The Garden Blog has been revived.

 

 

Posted in 2020, Weekly Wrap-Up, Winter at Sonnystone

A Collective Moment

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

We’re All feeling it, though some are scared and others defiant.  All of us are affected by the shut-down of schools, libraries, museums.  I still don’t get the run on toilet paper and groceries, but my usual grocery pick-up order from Walmart was cancelled because they ran out of stock.   I made my way down to Schnucks and the IGA today and witnessed for myself the empty shelves.  The workers are somewhat stunned from the long lines and the supply trucks have been diverted to larger stores, so they’re not sure when they’ll be able to restock.  Crazy.

Yes, there have been so many reactions of this pandemic. My heart goes out to the healthcare workers and their families on the front line of this epidemic.  I am so grateful for their selfless service.  Our governor is doing a good job of handling things here in Indiana and I’m hoping that other state governments have stepped up, too.

Life here at Sonnystone has always been a bit like “self-isolation”, so it hasn’t changed much.  Seems to me that it’s a good time to Practice Being Present.  We are fine and so are our loved ones. We are grateful beyond words for our health and wealth.  No dark imaginings, we are distancing from fear or worry. There are books to read, Netflix to watch, music is everywhere.  Right Here, Right Now I breathe in Love and breathe out Peace.  Now Smile.  Really, make yourself Smile…it’ll do you a World of Good.

Since getting back from Florida we’ve planted potatoes, onions, and peas, brought out the over-winters, and started work in the  Peace/Bird Garden.  I’m ready to Revive my Garden Blog this week andsSince you will have a little time on your hands, you’ll want to follow along.

Remember this from “Desiderata”

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams

it is still a Beautiful world.

Be Careful.  Strive to be Happy.

 

Peace, dear Readers

 

Posted in 2020, updates, Weekly Wrap-Up

Not much…

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

The last two weeks have been filled with six dentist appointments, lots of pain meds, several emotional outbursts, and I’m still not done.  What can I say?

My dentist and his assistants are just the best people, though, and I’m so grateful for their professionalism and kindness.  We have worked as a team to get this all done before my Birthday next Sunday.

This coming week Samantha and I will have Our Brrday party before she has her own kidsfest at GattiTown and I have my own celebration at…who knows where?

I hope you’re having more fun than I am…

Peace

Posted in 2020, Weekly Wrap-Up, Winter at Sonnystone

Sunday Report

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

This week sucked, didn’t it?  Kobe Bryant and his daughter dying was a helluva start, may their memories be for a blessing.   My soap opera, General Hospital, has been pre-empted for weeks by another soap opera, Impeachment Farces by the Arses…hahaha.  Oh, lighten up.

  And then there was the Dental Disaster.

Wednesday I spent two-and-a-half hours in the dentist chair getting the root canal that wasn’t.  I had the laughing gas jauntily strapped across my nose, breathing in peace and breathing out love, so all I knew was whirring and “open”.  Turns out, something about the canal and he couldn’t get through it, so he finally gave up.  I was a little beleaguered and left without a plan, but called later to schedule the tooth to be removed on Monday (tomorrow).  Friday evening I was minding my own business, reading and eating an ice cream sandwich, when the tooth broke off.   I feel an oral surgeon in my future.

So that’s all I’ve got to say.

People have got it worse, that’s for sure.  But my mood is definitely Disgruntled. dreading the upcoming drama.

Still smiling, though…

Peace

P.S.  Two new posts last week over at All My Ancestors and I hope to stay on schedule despite this…interruption. See you there!

 

Posted in 2020, Weekly Wrap-Up, Winter at Sonnystone

Birthdays and Birds

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It was Birthday Week at the Jose’ Casa in NYC!  My #1 and #3 grandies celebrated Numbers 9 and 14!  Oh, those girls!  My heart just overflows…

Emma Magnolia Mayne Jose’ is in the 8th grade at Towne., where she was awarded the part of Rafiki in “Lion King” (ever heard of it?).  She can sing, she can dance (top Irish Dancer), but more importantly, she is seriously a sweet young lady, kind and caring.

Eliza Belle Mayne Jose’ is in the 3rd grade at Avenues: The World School, where she has started piano lessons.  This summer she started right in picking out tunes and I wonder if she might have the old “playing by ear” thing that my grandmother had.  She’s a Super Irish Dancer, loves to skateboard, and is just generally a funny, loving little girl.

Obviously, I love these babies.  I’m hoping to be in NYC in April for the “Lion King” and I Know I’ll be there in June for Emma’s graduation.

We had the Jr. girls for a couple of days earlier this week, requiring me to wake up at 5am…I”m proud to say that I still have my miraculous inner alarm and was able to wake myself when my outer alarms failed to alarm.  It’s kinda fun to get up in the dark and hear the birds singing a prelude to sunrise.

We’ve got so many birds visiting the feeders that we decided to add another suet.  We had two finch feeders out,  and in years past they’ve been covered with upside-down and downside-up little birds, but I’ve spotted just one molty goldfinch in the last month.  I hope they’ve just found somewhere else to feed.  The suet has been a real draw for woodpeckers.  We’ve seen hairy and downy, both male and female, and even an awkward red-bellied woodpecker that also feeds at the houses.  The indigo buntings seem to favor it over fighting at the houses, too.

The dreaded root canal is Wednesday.  I’ll be fine.  Thank goodness the tooth is still hurting just a tinge, or I’d probably back out.  I’ve got plenty going on over at the ancestry blog, posting on Mondays and Thursdays until I finish.   You’re welcome to visit…All My Ancestors.

Peace

Posted in 2019, Autumn at Sonnystone Acres, Weekly Wrap-Up

Weekly Wrap-Up

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It’s been a busy week here at Sonnystone Acres.  Monday the Casey Sisters spent the night. Olivia had Tuesday off of school, but Samantha went to preschool in the morning, After lunch at McD we all wound up at Barnes and Noble.  I bought a beautiful book, “Mythos” by Stephen Fry and I’m hoping it does for Greek mythology what Neil Gaiman’s “Norse Mythology” did for me.  So far, so good.

As a start to gearing up for holidays we’ve been Cleaning, deeply.  I really thought our 25-year-old refrigerator was beige. Lo and Behold, it’s quite white if you remove all those magnets and kid-pictures and Clean it. It’s inspiring to throw stuff out and reorganize, especially since we’ll be bringing the Christmas downstairs  and moving the mundane upstairs Friday.

O&S will be back for another sleepover this Wednesday evening so that we can jump up early TurkeyDay and watch the Macy’s Christmas Parade.  When Santa and the Mrs. arrive, we’re allowed to start singing Christmas songs.  The Jrs will go up to Dale to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner with Jessica’s family in the evening, so we’re just having a meat and cheese tray here.

Casey’s birthday is Saturday, prompting my annual clothes drive to get him covered.  He hasn’t said that he wants to do anything or go anywhere to celebrate the occasion, but I have planned a Big Turkey Dinner (with a turkey that Jess’s company gave her) on Sunday — and maybe Balloons.

I’m still obsessed with the Ancestry to the point that I had to make myself stop and get some stuff done.  I tend to get all caught up in my imagination with these characters, almost as if I were reading a book.  It’s a story, but it may be a while before I can write it up.

 My African Violets are adjusting to their new homes – one is even blooming! The spider plants seem to be settling in pretty well, too.

Today the Sun is Shining! I think I’ll take a break and go for a stroll down in the woods to visit my Thoughtful Spot.

  No matter how Noisy it gets,  Remember: there’s an Off switch on that device…

Peace

Posted in 2019, Autumn at Sonnystone Acres, Weekly Wrap-Up

Weekly Update

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Last week’s Member Appreciation Day at the Zoo was Super!  We had a beautiful day for feeding giraffes

and petting lizard-things and Not petting the Owl

and playing on the playground,

We walked the hilly loop and when we got to the top, an empty Tram was ready to leave.  We hopped on and took the entire Tour around and back to the Top.

Colonoscopy Week wrapped up with Casey’s procedure on  cooold snowish Tuesday morning. Everybody survived and between the two of us, twelve polyps were removed!!  Crazy, huh?

Wednesday morning the Turkey Hens visited to peck for bugs.  We counted 22!  They seriously need a safe and reliable source of birth control…

I have been working a lot on Casey’s Family Tree.  It seems that four generations of his Mom’s family lived all within what we call Boxtown here in Evansville, most of the homes since torn down.  Listening to him share his memories about these folks is as interesting as his ancestors are.  His tree has fascinated me and I’m working on getting it blogged, but I keep coming across new stuff — plus he keeps adding new memories of people I have to run down.  It is a Good Story and its perspectives have moved me quite deeply.  It will be a series, so stay tuned.

 Did I mention that we spotted the Rare Red-haired Pandagirl at the Zoo?

Peace

Posted in 2019, Summer at Sonnystone, Weekly Wrap-Up

Monday, again…

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

sigh< this summer has been a real bust for sunshine.  I can remember other summers that were this rainy, but I complained about them, too.  I have Not gotten to the point where I miss the every-day-above-90degrees-and-Humid summers, though.

My friend, Karen, …who I wrote about here… was in town last week; her Mom died on the 17th.  It’s most likely the last time she’ll be back to Eville, so our hugs were especially heartfelt…

I Really Will be down to Navarre sometime on our travels next year, dear friend, and we’ll get happier pictures then.

I saw the surgeon last week and he plans to do a little exploring and see how deeply the damned infection went into my leg.  He said it’s okay to go on to New Mexico, though, and we scheduled the surgery for Monday, September 23.  Because I’ll need to do some pre-op labs before then, we changed around our trip.

We’ve taken away the Colorado component at the end of the trip.  We’ll leave four days earlier, on September 4, and spend those extra days in Santa Fe.  Thanks to my high-school-homeroom pal’s suggestion,  I added a visit to Ojo Caliente, higher up in the mountains from Taos.  Our drives to Abuqui and Ojo will be much easier from the Santa Fe KOA. We’ll move down to the Albuquerque KOA on 9/10 just as I’d previously planned and have those five days to explore there…and loaf around.  We’ll be back on the 18th and I’ll get those pre-op labs on the 20th–voila!!

I admit I dread this surgery–who wouldn’t?  The doctor says I’ll be fine the next day.  I’m sure I will be…no worries.

But I’m super excited about the Trip…  The meaning of the Zia Sun Symbol speaks to my Heart…Perhaps my DNA doesn’t have Zia ancestry, but I believe my Soul does.

 

We’re slowly but surely pulling up the edible garden plants. Around on the Bird/porch garden, my begonias are still gorgeous, and the birds are enjoying the purple coneflower and black-eyed Susans.

See that wood up against the fence beyond the bird in the picture below…

That is what will keep us warm this year.  When a tree falls in our woods, Casey is there with his chainsaw to cut it into manageable chunks and bring it up where he can split it into woodburner-size logs.  This week he’s renting the splitter and will spend All Day working it.   In the past, he has moved the finished product from there to the north fence, then brings it in to the front porch as needed.

Weather can make that second move a bit risky for an Old Man like him, so we’ll put as much as we can (which should be a lot, if not all of it)  on the front porch.    I’ve come up with some ideas to store the wicker which will make it one-stop-stacking.  Our utility bills are amazingly low for this old house thanks to Casey’s work.  It is truly a year-round job…

He is Always Keeping busy, surprising me with this special Sign…

She is officially christened…a little late, but hey…

 Enjoy your week…

Peace

 

 

 

Posted in 2019, Summer at Sonnystone, Weekly Wrap-Up

One Week at a Time

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

We’re resting after a busy week here at Sonnystone.  My thigh returned to its normal size after two weeks of antibiotics and I’m feeling much better.  That said, there is still some yuck left and I’m going to visit my NP next week and see if we need further treatment. This is a persistent bug I’ve been growing and I want it totally eradicated, never to return.

I may never go back to wearing pants… Unable to wear my usual uniform of shorts and shirts, I’ve bought several dresses and skirts that are so much more comfortable.  I feel a little like I’m walking around in my nightgown in the dresses, but I’m getting used to it.  Hell, I may burn my bras (again) and live in Total Comfort…

Casey, Michael, Olivia, Samantha, and I went out to Ellis Park on Friday.  I don’t think I have been to the track more than once each year in the four years since I worked there.  I was seriously burnt out after watching 300+ races per season x 5 seasons, but when I’m there I miss the days when Mom, Sister, or Cousins were likely to show up, too.  Olivia picked a winner and won $4.60–excellent payout for a $2 show bet, but the horse was 31-1! I came home po’.

I’m officially into Prep Week for the Upcoming Camp Sonnystone… Cleaning and menu planning, mostly.  Emma usually requests caprese using my garden’s basil and tomatoes under thick slices of fresh mozzarella drizzled with balsamic– which makes my mouth water thinking about it  Not all of the kids share my zest for tomatoes, but I have convinced them that my tomatoes are nothing like the tomatoes they eat in restaurants.  Everyone loves to pick the cherry tomatoes and pop them into their mouths right off the vine!

The best part of Camp Sonnystone is making the Sign with their handprintsand doing the annual height measurement.  The girls are growing 4-6 inches a year, forcing JoJo to acknowledge the passing of time. The sign has to be engineered to fit Large hands now.

We Will be painting birdhouses and there Will be Music and Dancing and Games.  Of course, we’ll have to go back to Ellis Park, too…and maybe New Harmony… Henderson is having their Bluegrass Fest the week-end the girls are here…  And you know, they are just such nice company!!!

I’m trying to stay calm…

So we’ll pick the Jose’ fam up next Sunday around 10:30am our time…

6 more days..

Peace

 

 

Posted in 2019, Summer at Sonnystone, Weekly Wrap-Up

Monday’s News

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

The Rain was unrelenting this morning, and I woke up to a Sonnystone Acres shrouded with drab drab.

But there’s a Bright Spot on my calendar, bright enough to dispel the Any gloom:  The New York City Girls and their Mother will be Arriving on August 4!!  Melissa will be staying until the 7th; Emma and Eliza will stay until I take them back to NYC on the 14th.

Because Olivia has to start school on the 7th, we’ll do an abbreviated Camp Sonnystone from 8/4-8/6.  We still haven’t decided on a Theme, but we’ll brainstorm once we’re all together. I haven’t seen Emma and Eliza since March at Disney, so I am Ready to give them some hugs and have them hang out with me.

I should probably insert the brag here that the Girls are Rocking the Irish Dance World.  Just last week Emma got her first 1st in champion level and Eliza got three 3rds in her new prelim level.

I am weaning myself off of Ancestry in prep for the Visit.  I am to a place of blogging the ancestors where I need to start a new line of research on several grandmothers’ families which will take weeks.  It’s hard to stop, though!  Check out my latest post great-great-grandparents Leander and Emma Mayne ,

Livvy, Sam, and I went back to the Zoo to visit the Budgies last week… I really love those Parakeets, but you have to be patient.  I have the Jr girls for a day this week and I wouldn’t be surprised if we went Again…and of course we’ll take the New Yorkers. when they are here.

I’ve got to open up the upstairs and get the rooms ready, but not much else.  I can hardly wait! I’m horrible at doing countdowns — does today count — but I think it’s about 12 more days..!

Peace