Posted in Sunday Report

Hope y’all have had a Peaceful, Loving Mothers’ Day

I hope you have enjoyed your day as much as I have! The Edible Garden is nearly all planted! We have planted 6 cucumber plants, 8 cantaloupe, 4 butternut squash, 6 zucchini, 6 yellow squash, 2 pineapple sage, 2 bee balm, 6 basil, 1 lemon verbena, 2 chive, 6 tomatoes, and 3 blanket flower. I’m waiting a bit longer to put in my bell peppers, and I have yet to buy my green beans. I have marigolds and nasturtium ready to be tucked in here and there.

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Mothers’ Day than in the garden, mothering the earth. Both of the progeny called to chat. Melissa sent me a 50mm lens for my Nikon and I’m going to start a new photography project soon. I’m dirty and tired and the day has been gorgeous.

Here’s a bit of mushy Mothers’ Day message from 2020…

Posted on  •Edit”Wishing you All a Peaceful, Loving Mothers’ Day”

I read an article the other day:  10 Unforgettable Literary Moms.  I came away with one quote that resonated my heart.

It’s a quote from Toni Morrisson’s deeply haunting book “Beloved”.  I confess, I didn’t get very far into the book before I set it down.  It was a glimpse into a world that is so disturbing and painful that it caused me pain, too.  I’ve always said I’ll get back to it when the Time is right because there is something to learn about suffering from it.  At any rate, here’s the quote from Sethe, whose tragic past has complicated her relationship with her daughter, 18-year-old Denver.  Despite all of Sethe’s problems, she is a Mother.

Grown don’t mean a thing to a mother.  A child is a child.  They get bigger, older, but grown?  What’s that supposed to mean?  In my heart, it don’t mean a thing.

She’s not talking about “raising” a child here.  She’s talking about the ineffeable feeling of Being a Mother.  There are no words, though I’ve just spent an hour trying to write some.  It is Mystical Spiritual Love that is instinctively protective and nurturing.  It doesn’t change  just because your children reach a certain age.

It’s not about the Love you receive from your children.  It’s not about what a Good Mother you are or aren’t.  It’s about that Spirit that enters you when you give birth, committing you to a Lifetime of Support to your creation.

I know that some mothers don’t feel it and I’m sad for them and their children.  Most of us, though, have been Blessed by that Love.  Now that my kids are parents, they, too, know that Ever-Present Love and Caring for their kids.

It doesn’t change, no matter how much anger or sadness has found its way into your lives.  It is Forever and Always.

It isn’t easy, this mothering thing.  We try our best to keep sight of that inexpressible Love when times are trying, but ain’t nobody perfect.  The Perfect Mother is one who has done her Best…and that’s all of us…and that’s Good Enough.

They are still my children, my babies.  In my heart, they never are Grown, but I sure do respect them as Adults. They are Good People.  I love being their Mom and am so grateful.  (I really like those grandkids, too, but that’s yet another Indescribable Love!)

Peace

Posted in Monday Musings

A day late & a dollar short

Last week was quite the week for healthcare around the acres. Casey’s double hernia repair went very well; of course, it hurt and the pain meds are a blessing and a curse. On his surgery day, I was sick as a dog, coughing, sniffing, and eyes so watery I could hardly open them, but I bravely wore a mask and did my duty. The next days are a blur of care-giving for both of us, but by Thursday I was feeling much better and Michael came by to do a few chores for us. The husband was going through his “will I ever poop again?” phase and I threatened him with an enema until he pushed through on Saturday. I’m nothing but supportive with my patients…

On Saturday, my favorite plant store opened and I was the first one through the doors. Within 30 minutes, the lines were an hour long, and though I managed to get tomatoes and peppers, herbs and some flowers, the crowds were so deep I couldn’t really buy everything I need. That’s okay, we’ve got a while to go before this stuff goes in the ground.

The Peace/Bird Garden, however, is another story. My current favorite perennial there is garden phlox, which happens to also be a fave of the deer, so several weeks back I dug it all up, planning to put it in the back fenced garden. Somehow, I managed to leave in the phlox and dug up three coneflower plants instead. By the time I figured this all out, the phlox in the ground had grown quite quickly, so yesterday I got out and re-arranged the garden, adding one more phlox and re-planting the coneflower. I’ve got allium (a member of the onion family) all around the perimeter, hoping to discourage the deer and I have a few other tricks up my sleeve…

Whilst digging and moving, I moved just wrong and ended up laying on a heating pad most of the day yesterday. No, I did not take any of Casey’s pain pills… It’s somewhat better today, but I’m taking it easy.

The weather in these parts shows super temps from 50s to 80s for the next two weeks, but I’m so skeptical. I judge by my experience with Kentucky Derby Day, the first Saturday in May (5/2 this year) and more often than not we’re wearing coats with our hats, so I’m holding back planting my warm-weather crops for now. My peas and onions are doing great and my potatoes are peeping up, too.

Casey has his follow-up appointment with the surgeon this Friday. Until then, we’re free and I plan to visit as many local garden spots as I can.

Sorry to make you wait for this rather plain missive. Hope you’re feeling well where you are.

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

Evening Edition

It’s been a busy week here at the Acres. We added fresh mulch all around the house foundation beds, rearranged some perennials in the Peace/Bird Garden, and planted peas, onions, and potatoes.

EVSC was on Spring Break, so I spent some time with Samantha – always a treat!

Thanks to my cousin Lori, I got to meet (on facetime) her granddaughter, Saylor Reese Deig, a most adorable little doll-baby, who cooed and smiled and is obviously brilliant!

Today we met up with the Juniors and had a nice lunch, an early Easter get-together. I always forget to take pictures at these things, but take my word for it, we are all darling af.

Now we’re packing up for our trip up North for the Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne 2026 aka World Irish Dance Championships. It’s being held in Schaumburg, Illinois, about six hours from here, and we’re so excited to be there! Eliza dances on Tuesday and Emma on Friday.

The weather looks absolutely hideous, cold, wet, windy, brrr, so I’ve given up any idea of walking much, but we will Definitely be going to the Art Institute of Chicago ! I can hardly wait to see “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”, the backdrop for the Sondheim musical “Sunday in the Park with George”.

The Art Institute also owns “Nighthawks at the Diner” and currently there is a fabulous exhibit of works by Henri Matisse!

We’ll be returning by next Saturday, so I’ll get you caught up on our trip next Sunday…unless, of course, one of the girls actually Wins the World Championship, or comes in top 10, in which case, I’ll post a quick Breaking News Report. Wouldn’t that be great?

I hope Spring is springing in your neck of the woods.

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

Welcome, Spring!

Okay, it’s true, I lied. I did not get around to starting the new garden blog last week. I have several justifications for delaying its launch, but mostly I was busy with other stuff. I had my annual physical and I must brag that I passed my mini-mental exam with flying colors! St. Patrick’s Day is a Family Holiday with us, so the feast was feasted on Tuesday. It was a jolly day, and followed so quickly by Ostara and its accompanying menu, I’ve been an absolute Bacchus. So I didn’t get any blog blogged…

But if I had posted anything, it would look like this…

Growing Every Season

It’s been a most wonderful start to the season of renewal, rebirth! Up with the dawn to greet the sun, I could feel a resurgence of energy.

We spent the day playing outside. Casey finished the new garden beds and filled them with garden soil and the earthy smell of manure wafted in the breeze. I brought out the over-wintered plants and started cleaning out the shed.

Later on, we had a lovely quiche and asparagus, washed it down with cider, and went down to the firepit to relax and light a fire.

We cannot see the sun set from the grove where the fire blazed, but 12 hours and 6 minutes after Ol’ Sol rose in the east, he set in the West.

If I had written it, it would go something like that, and end with

…Keep on Growing…



When I finally get that blog going, you’ll be the first to know. We’re trying to get as much heavy work done as we can before we leave for Chicago on the 30th, so we’re super grateful for such balmy weather!

Hope you’re having a lovely day in your neck of the woods!

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

Weekly Wrap-up

There’s nothing like a trip to Rural King to get you in the Spring planting mood. Monday morning I bought an excessive amount of seeds for both early starts and my countertop garden, and grabbed up a houseplant.

Casey got his pressure washer delivered and my back porch has been transformed.

Check out my new raised beds. He’s tilling them today and we’ll get a load of soil next week.


I spent a lot of last week following up on what I’d spent the week before thinking/stewing about. In the last decade, we’ve all seen families torn apart by politics/religion, and one of them was my birth family. You know, if you’ve been paying attention, that after the last election I turned it off, changed my habit of living in the internet world of “news”, but one can hardly avoid the fact that he’s started a war. I don’t know if that’s why, or is it something else, but many americans are beginning to see him in a different light.

So it was that a couple of the estranged-ers reached out to me (after 10 years!), a little embarrassed and even ashamed, kind of like they woke up… I have grieved losing these dearly-loved people, and once I was sure that they were sincere, my family and I opened our circle. We stepped back and made room for more Love. We are Family and we’ll do whatever it takes to hold each other up, to help us get through.

I hope we’ve reached a tipping point somehow and more and more of us come together to repair what has been so tragically broken in our country and in our hearts.

Looking ahead

We’re expecting a hard freeze Monday and Tuesday, so we’re preparing some covers for our roses. We’ve lost the first buds for the last two years! But my lovely forsythia have got their blooming done…

I don’t care if the Irish like it or not, I’m having corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes on St. Paddy’s Day. This year, I’m adding a new dessert: Lucky Charms Treat Bars, which should be magically delicious.

Then there’s Ostara, the Vernal Equinox, the #1 day of Spring. That involves quiche, green salads, baked bread.

Hope Springs Eternal…I hope…

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report, The Gardens of Sonnystone...

Garden in Photos 2025

Though the garden does have some green beans still to be harvested, it’s pretty much done and dusted for this year. I’ve figured out a lot, learning from both my mistakes and my successes, and plans are underway for an even more spectacular garden next year.

June

June

July

July

August

August

September

What the September gardens lack in fruit, they make up for in flowers…

While the Peace/Bird garden’s seem like their blooms are gone, the birds still spend considerable time munching on the black cone remains, and will continue to throughout the winter…

Autumn is still teasing us with heat, but we’ve had a lot of rain and the temps are dropping, so I’m hoping for a colorful display of leaves this year.

We’ll be in Disney World for a week, leaving 10/10, but we have some plans to divide and move some perennials upon our return. At the end of every garden season, we plan for the next!

Hope the flowers are blooming in your neck of the woods..!

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

Last week’s news

We met up with the Jrs at Ellis Park last Sunday for the final race of the season. I can’t win a bet to save my life, but Casey did alright, as did Samantha!

I had surgery on Tuesday to re-center my left optical lens and it went well. This time around the anesthesia left me drugged for a couple of days, more than in the past. Maybe I’m just getting old? After my follow-up appointment on Wednesday, we walked over to the downtown Market on Main. I’ve been meaning to visit since it started up in June, however, it doesn’t look like I’ve been missing much.

Anyway, I did drag around the garden, trimming and uprooting, harvesting, and arranging. Fall is in the air, and both gardens are finishing up their service.

My son, Michael, will be 44 on Wednesday, but we’re celebrating today at our usual celebrating place, so I’ll cut this missive short.

Enjoy this Long Week-end!

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

Weekly Wrap-up

Last week was good. Appropriate cards and greetings were sent to the lucky people who married my children. My long-time hairdresser coaxed my tresses into their usual bleached-blonde-blowout — yes, I actually pay to look this bad. A new longevity-of-phone-call record was set by me and my soul-sister – and I could have talked longer! BruBurger saw me twice, first for a lunch with my sister and then, a couple of days later, dinner with husband to celebrate our Anniversary.

My green beans and cucumbers are popping right up!

I’m still out early in the mornings to water and trim. Tomatoes and Peppers are finishing up their fruiting, but they look pretty spent. As soon as this heat passes, probably Wednesday or Thursday, I’m going to tear in and tear out in both the Edible and the Peace/Bird. I have the beginnings of an idea to transform the P/B garden this fall, complete with native shrubs and some sort of fencing to keep out the deer.

Speaking of deer, we have three fawns that visit daily, hanging out in our backyard with their moms nearby. They are darling. This summer we’ve attracted a couple of skunks – Pepe’ and one of his girlfriends, no doubt – who keep digging along our foundation. Pepper Flakes to the rescue.

I am returning to my Ancestry research. I’ve had my subscriptions on hold for a while, but upgraded to an international version for six months, and will be trying to catch up with my Scots-Irish roots, going back to our 17th century years in the Highlands. My German greats arrived later, and will be easier verify, so I expect to find that I’m some sort of baroness. I publish our family stories over at my Ancestry Blog, and if you have never visited, you really should! It is chock-full of interesting characters, many of whom haunt my house and heart. I’ll be bugging you more about this, so why not bookmark it and give it a read? www.allmyancestry.wordpress.com

Despite the oppressive heat, we’re going to Try to go to Ellis Park tomorrow to watch the thoroughbreds. The last time I attempted this maneuver, the heat shut down the track, so that could happen again. The season is nearly over, so I’m getting a little desperate. I don’t remember the last time I didn’t go to the races at least once in the summer!

Hope there’s some shade in your neck of the woods!

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report, The Gardens of Sonnystone...

Midsummer Garden

Despite the charming fantasy of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, the Actual, Factual, honest-to-goodness middle of summer here at Sonnystone is/was August 7. Many of our Spring-plantings have now aged out and we have just enough time to get in a second planting, so I’ve spent the week (mostly) pulling up and replanting, trimming, and harvesting.

Out in the Edible Garden, our tomatoes and bell peppers slowed to a halt under the heat dome, but they are slowly recovering, producing a half-dozen or so new fruits. By early October, we should have a big harvest of green beans, squash, and cucumbers…

The Big Show is the Sunflowers…

Or Maybe it’s the zinnias…

The Peace/Bird Garden is a little faded, but otherwise doing well.


We have a big week ahead – two birthdays, daughter-in-law and son-in-law, as well as our 45th wedding anniversary. We had some plans for this week-end, but Casey is having some dental problems, and we had to adapt so he’ll be better able to enjoy!

45 years is a long time. We never dreamed we’d get this old… Oh, well, beats the alternative. Hope there’s Love flowing around your neck of the woods.

Peace

Posted in Random, Sunday Report

Rained Out

It was a soggy week here at Sonnystone. I’m personally sick of it, and even the gardens seem over it. Despite the assault of storms, we made our way through a fairly mundane 7 days – time with Samantha, hair appointment with Dusti, monthly phone call with Kathy. Now, we are ready for something Fresh!

Eliza and her mother will be here by Wednesday evening and the Fun will begin. The rains are supposed to recede and we’ll put our pool up for floating and frolicking. Ellis Park will be dried by next week-end, so we’ll have a Day at the Races. Eliza is demanding Orange Chicken from the Mall food court, so it had better be there. They will be here until August 1, when we’ll head up the road to Ohio for the Columbus Feis and the Dublin Irish Fest. Sooo excited!

We’ve kept most everything propped as relentless rains pelted down, and that’s about all we can do. I’ve harvested and am still harvesting tomatoes of all sorts and green beans are plentiful.

After I talked smack about the squash and the bell peppers, they decided to give me some fruit…

My poor Peace/Bird Garden is simply saturated. It looks a little tired overall, but if you focus on the blooms, they are bursting with energy!

We’ll be finishing up the preparations for our company these next few days. I would love to hear from any of my dear readers who might want to meet up with us. Let me know! You know how to find me…

Peace