World Travels

L and 49 other students, teachers and parents left on June 12th for the Pittsburgh airport.  They took a flight to Edinburgh, Scotland to begin their Europe trip that they have been planning for the past 3 years.

I was sent daily photos of her with her 3 buddies from pre school on a daily basis, so I'll share them here:

Edinburgh, Scotland

Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

Stonehenge, England

London Bridge, London, England

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Notre Dame, Paris, France

Their itinerary was non-stop for 10 days straight.  She came home thoroughly exhausted and slept for about 16 hours straight.

While she was gone, J & I travelled to the big city of Wheeling to see Donny Osmond in concert, and we wore our purple Donny socks in his honor.  It was a great concert!

Graduation

Well, she did it!  L graduated from High School the end of May.  She allowed me to take some pictures of her with her National Honor Society collar, and silver cords for Magna Cum Laude before the ceremony.

After the ceremony we got some shots with family and friends:

It's been a long road for this one, and she managed to graduate with honors despite missing 2 classes every day for the last 6 weeks of school and having to do that work independently.  I won't say that went smoothly, but it got finished.  BIG sigh of relief!

Now forward march to summer break!!

It's Almost Summer!

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I last posted.  I guess I can actually believe it...there have been half a dozen times over the past several weeks that blogging has been on my short list of  Things To Do, but didn't get done.  Yikes.

Suffice it to say, things have been very busy in our home lately!  I have had a count down calendar running until L was finished with school because I have just been exhausted dealing with her homework and activities lately.  We just have one week to go!!

L had a short Spring Break around Easter, during which she & I and a couple of her friends went up to Pittsburgh to see the Titanic exhibit.  It was pretty interesting.

This chandelier was from the 1st Class Smoking Room

Early April, L, JP and I went to the Eden Hall Campus of Chatham - this is about 45 minutes NE of the main campus.  This is where their Sustainability School and Environmental Science Schools are located - on a big, sustainable farm.  L will likely move to this campus after her 1st year.  

This big solar array is right at the entrance to campus.

A few days later, L took an "Educational Day" and she, JP, Stella and I drove out near Akron, OH to see the eclipse in totality.  We got there a couple of hours before the big moment, so JP and I hung out in a little Public Library.  Poor L was not feeling well and slept in the truck with Stella most of the time.  

I have done a couple of events recently with a group of friends, which has really helped to improve my outlook on life.  We did a Murder Mystery Dinner at a tea house just south of here in WV that was really fun, and the same group of us went back a couple of weeks later for a Shakespeare Literary Tea.  A different group of friends are going out for Pedicures next week.

This was my "costume" for the Murder Mystery Dinner

J spent a couple of extra weeks at her apartment in Bowling Green, hanging out with friends.  She came home in early May, just in time for L's prom.  

Since then, there have been a flurry of award dinners for L, who won a couple of scholarships from local organizations.  She and I also went on a couple of Bird Walks since one of the organizations was the local Bird Club.  I'm always just as interested in the plants as the birds!

Lion's Club Student of the Month Picnic

Ralph K Bell Memorial Bird Club Scholarship

On a bird walk near Tenmile Creek

Her last official day of school was on Friday.  We realized that we never got a "First Day of School" photo this year, so we got a "Last Day of School" one instead.  Next week she has Grad practice for 2 days, one day the students walk the halls of the schools in their caps and gowns to say goodbye to the teachers, there is an awards night, and then graduation next Friday!!

JP and I also spent an hour or so last weekend taking pictures of L around the property to use for her graduation invitations.  We got some nice ones!

J has already spent most of her time with friends since she has been home.  She starts work on Tuesday in her Summer Manager job, the same as last summer.  She has also decided that she needs more money, so will also be working evenings at Dunkin.  I'm not sure when she starts there.  She did make dinner for everyone a couple of days ago, which was nice.

In all my "free time" when I'm not helping L, I have been studying for my Boards, which are scheduled for August 30th, and working in the garden.  I do finally have some seeds planted and the tomatoes in.  I have been picking strawberries for about a week, and the asparagus is actually done.  It was pretty sad this year - we only had enough for about 3 meals.

I re-made a throw pillow out of JP's t-shirt from the Philippines, since mine wore out!

I've had my green lights on the porch for Mental Health Awareness month in May,

And I've been keeping up with the Fridge Facts:

Puns Edition

Inspiration Edition

Rain Edition

Chicken Edition

Dog Edition

Bird Edition

Fake Emily Dickinson poem, "Do" Edition

Gardening Edition

I am typing through a thunderstorm, which sounds fantastic.  I might have to go out on the veranda to enjoy it.  The wild roses and honey suckle are absolutely screaming their fragrance - it's intoxicating!  Summer is almost here, folks.  I can almost taste it!

Easter Break

We finally have a bit of a breather here at the end of March - March literally marched straight through with little time to do anything but crazily try to accomplish everything possible every single day.  JP is working today, Easter Sunday, so we had our Easter dinner yesterday.  I made hot cross buns again.

Notice the blue tea?  L and I found this at a tea shop at the Mall last week, it's called "Blue Raspberry Crush."

Since Spring has now come, and the days are longer, I guess I will need to close down the puzzle station.  Here are some of the puzzles that I did this winter:

L finished her last show of HS last weekend.  The prep was frustrating because of the actions of the past director, but the new director and the kids pulled it together in a fantastic way!  It was a bittersweet time for her because she has so many great memories from the shows.  She did an amazing job as Snoopy in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."

"Curse you, Red Baron!"

"Suppertime!"

Curtain call...

It has finally hit me since the calendar turned over to 2024, that I will have an empty nest next Fall!  All these moments have been a bit bittersweet for me as well.  (Except for the 5:30 AM calls for a 2 hour delay - I won't miss those at all!)

Here are some of the senior's parents after the last show!

L won the Rachel Carson scholarship at Chatham University, so will be heading there in the Fall (Go Cougars!)  Right now she is working on other scholarship applications, since her tuition is covered, but not her room & board.

The end of the 9 week grading period was last Monday, so L is trying to get caught up and stay caught up this final grading period.  I hope and pray that she can!

J spent her Spring Break near Philadelphia with J's brother-in-law and sister.  She and her friend, P, wanted to do a wood firing for pottery, and he and a friend helped get that going.  They went back through our area on the way to Richmond, VA for a pottery convention with 3 other friends from BGSU last week.  I managed to see her for an hour on her way home, since P's Mom invited all the students for dinner and I tagged along.  She will be home for the summer at the end of April, which is not that far away!

I just realized that I will need to take my Board Exams again this year - can't believe it's been 10 years already!  My study guide arrived yesterday, and I am looking at mid-August for the test date.  Sigh.

In the meantime, I have continued my weekly Fridge Facts:

Hodge Podge Edition

Flowers Edition

Sunshine Edition

Early Spring Edition

Egg Edition (for Easter)

L and I just returned from a walk outside.  The leaves are budding all over the place and there are flowers to be found all over the place.  Enjoy the sunshine and Happy Easter!