New Car

We're off to get the new Avalon.

We've got it! And, we love it. However, we didn't get the $$ we thought we should have for the old car, so we brought both cars home.

A Surprise Visit!

On Memorial Day we received a call from Mary Claire Moor. She and her husband, Aubrey, were in Utah (they live in Lakewood, CO) shopping at IKEA for baby furniture. They came by Tuesday morning for a wonderful visit. Mary's husband is so much fun, and they were both very easy to visit with. Mary Claire is expecting her first baby, Julia Marie, on July 11. Before they learned they were expecting they started adoption proceedings, and will be getting a little Korean baby (in picture) sometime soon. He's currently 9 months, and from what they've heard from the orphanage, he's a very mellow baby.

Mary Claire and Aubrey (Polish last name)

We decided from time to time there should be a picture of us in our blog.

Look, everybody! Grandma's wearing shoes!!

Happy Memorial Day

Art has been working day after day getting the yard ready for summer. I love to see our flag hanging in front of the house.

We were invited to the Pratt's for a Memorial Day Picnic

John with one of the couples who was in his BYU Ward


Barb

A picture of that wonderful salad - greens with fresh berries, avocado, pecans and red onions. (Serving the onions in big slices means you don't have to eat them if you don't want to.)

Couldn't resist more pictures of the yard.

Our Visit To Cove Fort

We took Clara and George to Cedar City so George could see our foot doctor. (the trip for Uncle George was VERY successful, in fact he went back a week later for more treatments.) For years and years every time we drove past Cove Fort, Art has wanted to stop. I've always said, "No." We're either in a hurry, it's too hot, it's too cold, it's too late or early." On Friday, May 15 I could offer no excuses. It was early afternoon, we weren't in a hurry and the weather was perfect.

I expected Cove Fort to be hot, dry and dusty, and a difficult place to nagivate. Thanks to Aunt Clara, we have some great pictures to show that was not the case! There are about 30 full time missionary couples there, some are called full time to landscape, some to give tours, and I'm sure some are called to other responsibilite as well. They live in RVs close to Cove Fort, but those that stay for the winter live in the few apartments on site.

With picnic tables provided the tourist can even have a picnic right on the grounds.

After a lovely tour, we were ready to travel home. And now we ask, "How many priesthood holders, and how long does it take to get the keys OUT of a locked car?"

The answer to both questions is, "Indefinite." We probably should have called the Cove Fort mechanic sooner. We were on our way in seconds after he arrived with the proper tools.

Happy Birthday, Pop!

We haven't cooked a roast with our new meat slicer, but we've had lots of fun slicing a block of cheese, and as shown here, slicing the sour dough bread that Pop made yesterday. It works like a charm. We'll store it on the counter (I think) in the laundry room, and Art will make a cover for it, similar to a sewing machine cover - to protect it from dust. If i didn't mind cluttered counters, we'd leave it in the kitchen. :-) However, I like empty countertops.

His best "do" of sourdough bread, ever!

We can slice to any desired thickness. I like thin slices, Art prefers them a little thicker.

The bread will fall onto the tray, but this slice is for display purposes only. Thank you all for such a clever gift - it works well and will save fingers. Now...do we give the old slicer to DI, or bid adieu and put it in the trash?

Random yard photos, plus pergola (canning kitchen)

Art has edged, weeded, rototilled, and brought in truckloads of mulch to get the yard in shape for the summer. It's taken days and days, but he's almost all the way around the backyard. I love our backyard!

The pansies in the front yard will be pulled today, so we can prepare the beds for summer.

Back yard pansies will face the same demise.

The little container has lupines, which Art will plant in the front yard. They're a very favorite old-time perennial flower.

Notice there's already a blosson set on this tomato plant.

Strawberries ready to set. There is an entire bed devoted to strawberries along the back of our house.

Grapes. Grape plants are also planted by three posts on the pergola. Art's hopeful they'll grow across the top to provide shade.

Rhubarb! We've made numerous cobblers to share, especially with Pete. Pete is in his 80s, and Art's his home teacher. Art has also given rhubarb to the neighbors for them to cook up. Art put new landscape timbers around this bed last year. He'll do the third bed next year. The original boarder rotted out, and these timbers will be much better. They also look nice. Art plans to mulch the area between the beds - so they don't have to be mowed, but will proivde a nice area for walking.

Peas

The iris are just beginning to bloom. We're sharing them with neighbors, too.

Notice the blueberries! Don't think we'll be freezing quarts of blueberries this year, but they have potential.

Blueberry Hill

Humm...another strawberry view.

Pop's Pergola - and future canning kitchen. The cement board against the fence will become the counter - with a tiled top, with drawers and cupboards.

Up close

New Garden

Pop decided to try John Pratt's approach to growing tomatoes. He put new landscape timbers in the tomato bed, which was a big project. It really looks nice. He added a truckload of mulch and then rototilled it all in.

Then Pop divided the garden into four rows, with "walking paths" in between. He laid the new irrigation tape, which will water the tomatoes at their base, which is what they love.

The next step was to add time-release fertilizer.

He then covered the garden with plastic, put mulch between the rows, and in this picture he's planting 28 Roma tomatoes for our family to enjoy.

The next step was to put in stakes, which he'll use to support the plants as they grow. Notice Mom's dahlias at the end of the bed.

The finished project. We have a total of 42 plants. With luck, we'll have more produce than we can use.