Spring has arrived in our hometown!

Photo credit to Nancy Duff

You know spring has arrived when the dogwoods, cherry trees, azaleas and red buds bloom; when folks are driving and bicycling the Dogwood Trail; when the sounds of sneezing and coughing are heard everywhere (it’s also called Spring Allergy Season;) when more than 35,000 quilters invade the city for the annual American Quilters Society quilt show and when persons over a certain age complain about aches and pains from gardening and home renovation projects (especially around our house.)

It just so happened this year a solar eclipse brought thousands more visitors to our beautiful little city.

Including our friends, Carol and Lee from South Carolina along with daughter, Sarah and friend, Andy. Joining us for a watch party were other former co-workers and friends.

Photo Credit Dylan Payne, The Paducah Sun

In addition to all the festivities, we had a delightful visit with our daughter-in-law (can we just say daughter?), Holly, from Florida.

And our friends, Nita and Peggy, from Frederick, Maryland, stopped for a couple of days.

Fortunately the new fence was installed a few days before our first guests arrived.

And the much in demand plaster craftsman began the plaster repair a few days after our last guests departed.

We didn’t let the chaos from the renovation keep us from catching up with a fellow Gold Star mom, Gail, from Florida over a simple dinner.

Could we possibly add one more activity in the Month of April? How about a road trip?

Yep, after being in storage for over a year, The Wanderer wandered down to Texas. More about that later.

For now, we wish everyone good health and a lovely spring.

 

A Weekend With the Nieces

We were delighted three nieces plus a friend chose to spend last weekend with us. As this is a rare occurrence, we set about to make it special.

Inquiring about their wine preferences they responded red, sweet and "we don't know". As family elders, we felt we should impart a bit if our sage wine knowledge by introducing them to our preferred wines.

After dinner we made our way to the craft studio and proceeded to carry out their request to decorate mugs and water bottles with their 'grandma' names.

ABN was quite pleased to share her 'happy place.'

As expected, there was much laughter, reminiscing and sharing grandchildren stories as we crafted while indulging in the family tradition of eating Snickerdoodle cookies.

Proud grandmas!

On Saturday, continuing our quest to make the weekend special, we headed out to explore the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail in Southern Illinois with Captain as the chauffeur (aka designated driver.)

We could hardly drive through Metropolis without stopping for a photo with Superman.

After tasting in three of the Alto Pass wineries, we returned to Kentucky and dinner.

The take-away from the weekend was we have different taste in wines, we should do this more often, a Tipsy Tuesday is in their future plans and snickerdoodles remain a constant at family gatherings ( a tribute to their Grandma Brooks.)

It finally happened!

 

After two previous tries (canceled due to COVID and hip dislocation) the third time was the charm. We made it to Wilmington, NC and had a splendid visit with our granddaughter, Alison.

She gave us a tour of the lab and office area at her work place on the University of North Carolina Wilmington campus. We now have a better understanding of the work she does; think rescue/recovery of stranded marine mammals, doing necropsies of carcasses to determine cause of death, keeping data, instructing students and outreach programs for the community.

 

She is having a grand time discovering the Wilmington she didn’t experience while an undergraduate largely due to COCID and two hurricane evacuations. Taking us to a couple of her favorite bars and coffee shops she showed us a little glimpse of her life as a young adult. 

Knowing we like bluegrass music, she found a venue and enjoyed a new experience herself. (Can you believe she had never heard Rocky Top?) Now she has an interest in learning to play the banjo.

It is such a wonderful feeling to know grandchildren are healthy, happy and passionate about their careers.

It is fortunate our route to Wilmington takes us through one of our favorite cities, Asheville, N.C. We stopped in at two of our “must visit” breweries, 

and also the lovely home of our dear friends, Kathy and Jesse in the beautiful North Carolina mountains.

They send their love and greeting back to their friends in Paducah.

Greeting us on our return home is an abundance of blooms. 

With the warmer than normal temperatures, the garden is waking up and ABN is ready to get her hands dirty.