Me and Monet

First shot is Rita's. It's the most amazing ice and frozen custard imaginable. Michael had cherry ice and I had vanilla custard with hot caramel. Very nice. The yard looks great with all our iris by the road. We have lots of different colors. The bearded ones which are lilac and purple are beautiful this year. Michael took his life in his hands to get the flower pictures. Behind the photographer is a blind curve and people whiz by very fast.

I feel very Monet-ish since we have more iris than the rest of the folks in the neighborhood. Our town is a riot of color right now. The rhododendrons are blooming as well as iris, flags and even some late tulips. Our poppies are going to be good this year as they have lots of enormous buds and the daisies, roses and mums are still to come.

My back continues to improve which is good news. I have a big Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators meeting in Bethlehem, PA on Tuesday and I want to feel good for that. I get to meet three children's book editors. Imagine! My big project right now is a nonfiction book related to brass band music. Wonder why I'm interested in that? Could it be the continual tuba playing at my house? I wonder. Michael has a concert with the Liberty Band of Hazleton in a church tomorrow. I'm looking forward to that.

Sorry blog fans!

I've never gone this long without a post. But I have been hustling pretty hard to get some projects going. I did make the Sunday paper here about an organizational meeting at the library. You can check an article on moi at the Times Leader. I hate the picture but it was really small in the paper! Good thing. The photographer came in with his strobe and then proceeded to set up another light glaring on my face and another on the piano to bounce back. Nobody who has seven grandchildren should have to stand up to light that harsh. I kept mentioning "natural light" but he didn't seem to think that was a good idea. I'm thinking that natural light and soft focus are necessary at this point. But the reporter did a great job without quoting me exactly. It's always scary agreeing to do an interview. But the library and I really wanted the publicity. Hope it works.

The weather here is ...searching for the right word...perfect...nope, too generic...beautiful...nope, too bland...idyllic...yep, that ought to do. Northeast Pennsylvania would be a good setting for a pastoral novel right now. The picture is of the Japanese quince which is no longer in bloom. The iris and rhododendrons are blooming now but I haven't grabbed photos of them yet. While I don't have as many iris as Monet, there are several varieties blooming all at the same time--the two-toned ones both lilac and purple and yellow and deep reddish-brown (burnt umber?), some gorgeous pale yellow ones and the regular purple ones with bright yellow tongues. They are down by the road and it's impossible to take care of them or weed them without being hit by a car. I'm hoping we can stop traffic or something and get them transplanted up to a safer spot after this season.

Our memorial day picnic for our church congregation was awesome. We had a wedding. Two of our newest members got married (see picture above). It was great. There was wedding cake and hot dogs. Best of both worlds.

Too bad I'm not rich

My great-great grandmother who immigrated to this area was an Arnott. My father was named after her. Too bad I'm not rich. Here's why. The ancient seat of clan Arnot is for sale. You get a seven-bedroom Victorian manor, the medieval castle in ruins and one of the nicest gardens in Scotland. The Arnot Tower website has all the info. No price listed. Hey, they already do weddings there. Maybe we could turn it into a bed and breakfast.

And to think we were thinking of retiring in Texas when we could move to the family estate in the Old Country instead. Maybe J.K.Rowling will buy it as investment property. I'd like to think of the spirit of Harry hanging around with the spirits of my ancestors. Hah!

Mother's Day

I survived. Mother's Day was so hard when the kids were little. But now that they're grown, I really enjoy it. I didn't get to see any of the kids, which was sad. But I did get to talk to all four of them on the phone. And I got to talk to my mom twice which was also great.

Flowers are beautiful here just in time for Mother's Day. The lilies of the valley in our yard are the most wonderful smelling things ever. We have pink and white ones. I will try to get some pictures posted tomorrow.

It is so odd living here sometimes. You're driving down the highway admiring the stunning flowers, the trees, the mountains and the beautiful clear streams. Then the next thing you know you're passing some horrible abandoned factory or culm (anthracite slag heap). In a way it reminds me of Decatur, Texas. That little town must have had no zoning laws at all when we lived there. You'd see a mansion next to a mobile home next to a gas station next to a beauty shop next to another mansion. This area is like that but on a larger scale. You see some of the most magnificent natural beauty in the world as well as some of the most depressing man-made eyesores. The economy has been tough here for a long time and I really admire the many folks I read about in the paper who are trying to save the good stuff and get rid of the bad. But there's still a lot of work to be done.

Etsy, I love you

I love Etsy. Not only does it provide a place for my two girls to sell their wonderful stuff (check out Killerbee Designs and Pukingpastilles) but it also lets me find wonderful handmade stuff for gifts. Here's what I gave Momma for Mother's Day. I can show you now because she already opened it and thanked me for it. It was evidently a big hit with all her friends. Three little eggs for her three kids. I thought it was cool.

I am bummed that I am not only missing my brother's wedding this weekend, but I can also guarantee I won't see any of my kids either. I already got a Mother's Day call from the Czech Republic which was lovely. MF will be in Dusseldorf this weekend so I got my call early.

I am definitely making progress though. Small tasks that were agony before are becoming doable again. Washing a few pots is something I can do and I can actually stand up for a minute or two now without hopping around like a crazed person. Huge improvement. But my life is certainly not back to normal yet. Slow but steady progress has been the way it has gone. Maybe in a few months I'll be on the road again.

The Repasz Band

Pronounce it REE PAZZ. The Repasz Band has been around since 1831 and claims to be the oldest non-military band in continuous existence in the US. (There are some others that claim this as well but there's no doubt this band is still very old.) It's based in Williamsport. Michael and I drove an hour and a half West on Tuesday night to see their concert. It was really, really good.

The band was huge. Michael estimated 90 players and the music was stirring as it was their Americana concert. We especially liked an Elegy to commemorate the events at Columbine High School. There were a couple of very well-played Sousa Marches and some old chestnuts like the Carmen Dragon version of America the Beautiful.

Every Repasz Band concert ends with the Repasz March which is supposed to be really famous. Malheureusement, it wasn't very familiar to me. The concert was in the Williamsport Community Center which sounds like it might be a cinder block Senior Citizen building but was in fact a huge pseudo-Italian Renaissance theater whose color scheme ran to salmon pink and turquoise. As if Liberace and Madonna had co-designed an auditorium. An amazing building with tons of carved wood and faux marble finishes.

Altogether it was a very entertaining evening. And it was great to see how well-supported the band is by the community. The huge theater was full of people. And there wasn't even a donation slip or list of donors in the program nor did they pass the hat. Evidently, the folks in Williamsport pony up and support this wonderful group. Amen to the Repasz Band.