My boss of 22 years retired today - it just won't be the same without him there.  He was a wonderful person to work for, and we will all miss him.  He came in this morning with this beautiful bouquet of flowers and a thank-you card for me. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and also took a moment to remember our military - past and present - and all they have done to keep us free and safe.

It was very cold and windy here, but we went to the garden centers and bought plants anyway - tomatoes, green peppers, sweet potatoes and herbs.  Also got a hanging petunia basket for my front porch.  We went to the fly-in breakfast at the local airport on Sunday.  The Rotary sponsors the event every year as a fund raiser.  It was fun seeing all the planes come and go and the exhibits in the hangars. This year the proceeds are going to the library.

Here's a visitor to the back yard last Friday!

Got home last night from 4 wonderful days in Vermont.  We got some work done for Mom and had some nice times going for drives, out for dinner and maple soft serve ice cream at "Spurs"!  I know I hasn't been called that for many years, but it will always be "Spurs" to me!

We got the 3 cemetery lots cleaned up and flowers planted.  Now hope we don't get a frost!  Mom can always go and cover them up if need be.

It was nice being off from work for a few days - back to it today, but a long weekend coming again, so something else to look forward to!

Here's Mom's lilac bush in bloom - and they smelled soooooo good!!!

These are a pictures I took a week or so ago in Jim Thorpe, PA - the wind was really blowing up there, and it was freezing!!!

Took a long drive yesterday up to Watkins Glen and Seneca Lake, NY, around the lake and back thru Ithaca.  It was a beautiful day for a drive.  I've never seen the Finger Lakes and the wine country, and it was gorgeous.  Stopped for a nice dinner on the way home - nice to spend the day just wandering the back roads.

 

We took a long hike yesterday in the Varden conservation area.  There is an old cemetery on top of the mountain where some of Sam's great great grandparents are buried.  The old chimney is over 200 years old, and we are working with a group that is trying to raise money to restore it.  It was from the original cabin of the first settlers in the area (also distant relatives of Sam's).  It was a beautiful day for a hike, but the ticks were terrible. 

Our little tiny magnolia blossomed this year too!

 

Mom was here last week with me, and we had a wonderful time.  We went to Lancaster County for a couple of days, and I took her to see Beverly Lewis's play "The Confession" at the Bird-in-Hand Family Restaurant/Theater.  She loved it, so I'm happy she got to go.  I told her it was her Mother's Day present.  We also did a lot of sight seeing and shopping.  Here's Mom at the duck pond!

 

And here's the beautiful weeping cherry outside the Inn where we stay!

 

 

 

 



Nasty thunderstorm last night with heavy wind and hail.  Some of the hail was pretty big - and it had already melted some before I got my camera out!  Not much damage here, just a few branches down, but a little ways from here they had a lot more severe damage.