A Trip East

 I wasn't eager to travel across the country, especially since it involved flying on a commercial airline, but it was my mom's 91st birthday, so you do what you have to do. 

And in the beginning, she wasn't too sure about hosting me, either. 

But we worked it out. Mostly.

I cooked, washed dishes, did the laundry, chauffeured her about and then cooked some more. I would have done some much-needed yard work (I even brought along my own gardening gloves), but the tick situation seemed so dicey, that it just wasn't worth the risk of contracting Lyme disease.

Besides, it was icky-sticky hot and humid (total yuck!), with hazy gray skies and rain (yay!) most every day. 

To ensure my welcome, when cooking wasn't quite sufficient, I made a pair of glass garden towers. She had already collected the glass pieces, I simply had to arrange and glue them together. They were supposed to be shared with other family members, but she thought that the looked really nice in her front window with the light shining through. I have a hunch that these two are going to be staying at Mom's house for a while. I also think that she will appreciate them more than those other would-be recipients.

And then we did puzzles. Puzzles and more puzzles. Big and little, small pieces and even missing pieces, we did puzzles each day. I have never been much of a puzzle-maker(?) doer(?) puzzler(?) but my spatial reasoning skills certainly improved during that visit. I'm sure that my mosaic making abilities will also benefit from these puzzle exercises. 

And when the puzzle looks like the French Riviera, what else can you do but open a bottle of rosé and pour a glass?

The Talk of the Town

 Not really, just my little 27' wide block. And only the talk of the many pedestrians, bicyclists, baby stroller pushers and dog walkers who use my street:

Yes, those lilies. My, oh, my, but the regal lilies (Lilium regale) truly outdid themselves this year.