Be Careful What You Wish For

 

It was just a few posts ago that I was lamenting that I was tired of my summer warm-weather clothes and wanted cooler weather. This morning we have not cool weather but cold weather. I am grateful I have a heavy winter coat to wear when I go to the Grace Village brunch buffet around 11 a.m. I am also wearing a warm nightgown and my winter bathrobe since yesterday. 

Winona Lake is on the edge of the so-called lake-effect snow band. Last night as I watched on TV Notre Dame and Navy play football in South Bend, the snow was falling pretty good. We had been forecasted to have snow but that it would not accumulate. As you can see in the photo, that is not true. We will get more snow tonight, and the temperatures will remain in the 30's until Wednesday. 

I have not been going outside the house much the past few weeks, but besides the Sunday brunch today, I plan to start back to my ladies' Bible study tomorrow morning and to choir practice in the afternoon.

I wish I had less pain from the incision and the bruising, but it is reducing some. If it follows the pattern of the right side, it will be around week 5 that I feel good. Two and a half weeks to go.

We are meeting some family from Michigan on Thursday at the Bluegate restaurant in Shipshewanna. They joined us last year for Thanksgiving but had poor road conditions for driving home. We could see that the roads would be good on the 13th, so we all decided to get together earlier than Thanksgiving. 

I was planning to stop using my walker on Tuesday, but I will stop a day earlier (Monday) so at least I will not have to struggle using that in Monday's snow. Today, my husband will drop me off at the main door which has a covered porte-cochere. We adapt when we can.

Quiet 4th of July

 It is a quiet July 4th for us. Too hot and humid to sit on the porch; next weekend should be better for that after a cold front moves through Wednesday night. Winona Lake had fireworks Saturday July 1st. We watched the higher ones that we could see through the bedroom window. I did notice blips of light in the yard so the fireflies are showing up. 

I have had a cold since last Thursday or I might have gone to the Patriotic Concert in Winona Lake on the 1st. Today, I finally feel better. Sneezing and runny nose came to an end; still have lots of phlegm and a cough though.

 I hope to stop at the post office tomorrow to buy stamps before the price goes up on July 9th. I have one stamp in the drawer at home. 

Talked with my sisters in California. They were gathering with other family members to celebrate my oldest sister's July 4th birthday. She picked out her own birthday cake, a chocolate mousse from Costco. Tonight, we ate Costco Tuxedo cake. I had frozen two pieces the last time we bought that cake. My twin sister is in California for a missions conference celebrating missionaries past and present. They had no problems traveling by air. 

Our skies are actually blue instead of hazy gray, but unfortunately that won't last very long. Once the wind comes out of the north again, we will get Canada's smoke. 

I have distracted myself from my pains, etc. by knitting a headband from a ball of yarn I bought at a garage sale. The pattern instructions came from the internet.

I thought maybe this would keep my ears warm without wearing a hat and getting "hat hair", but with my short hair, wisps stick up in the back and the bangs look weird. I did learn how to make a mattress seam to create the round circle. I looked at a book. Mostly I am self-taught from books and a few times from YouTube.

Some time ago at a Friends of the Library book sale, I bought a book about Charles Wysocki. Since we had many puzzles by him through the years, I thought I might enjoy browsing. There was a little bit of biographical information, but mostly the author Betty Ballantine uses his pictures to talk about Americana living. For example, how sugar maple syrup is made. I think the book was printed before Wysocki got into puzzles; mostly, I guess he started out with calendars. None of the places he paints are real places. They are bits and pieces of New England that he incorporated.

One of my sisters sent me an African Violet as a get-well wish. The plant that arrived was pathetic, but the company stood by their promise to make good unacceptable plants. I have a replacement.

I don't have a green thumb, but at least I have a fighting chance with a healthy plant rather than a wilted one. 

Hope your Independence Day was enjoyable. 

Winona Lake Farmers' Market

 This morning we went to the Winona Lake Farmers' Market. It is housed in the Miller Sunset Pavilion which during the winter had an ice skating rink. It was pleasant with a light breeze and ceiling fans circulating air. There are about a dozen vendors right now. Since its hours overlap with the Warsaw Farmers' Market Saturday time, I wondered if having two operating markets helped or hurt. There seemed to be a steady stream of shoppers here.

Since the building is new, this is the first year for the farmers' market. 

Mostly flowers/plants, honey, baked goods, some produce. 

I bought some peach turnovers and a small arrangement of zinnias.

I was surprised to see the zinnias which I usually associate with later in the summer around August. Since the remnant of my anniversary flowers were drooping, $5 for a replacement worked out well.

There was a skincare products vendor, a coffee roaster, and a man who was selling tubs to start growing mushrooms and also starter kits of these specialized mushrooms. I had never seen anything like this mushroom product.

Since the market goes until 1 p.m., it could probably support more than one lunch vendor. Bomy's has a store on Winona Avenue in Warsaw. 

The pavilion is in a nice setting near the post office and the lake.

The Symphony of the Lakes patriotic concert on July 1st is going to take place in the Miller Sunset Pavilion. In the past, they had a large tent for the orchestra. The news item said there would be some seating for the audience in the pavilion, but the overflow would need to bring their own chairs to set up outside. 

The item I was hoping to find was not at the Winona Lake market; that was strawberries. So, we stopped at Sweetcorn Charlie's on the way home.

I was able to perambulate the entire pavilion with no pain in my butt and legs. It appears my surgery fixed the neurogenic claudication from the stenosis and pinched nerve roots. I do still have some incision pain. I am looking forward to doing things I could not do the past 20 months or so: farmers' markets, art fairs, museum exhibits, browsing the shopping mall, walking nature trails.

Winona Lake Family Festival

 

Traditionally, the town of Winona Lake has held a community dinner each autumn to bestow the Reneker Award to a person or persons who have added value to the town. A few years ago this recognition dinner morphed into a family festival in the park in the summer. Better participation by all ages (no need to get a babysitter) and a time of relaxation, fun, and interaction.

Yesterday's festival ran from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. by the shores of Winona Lake. Thankfully there was some breeze as it was very hot and humid. We arrived about 4:40. We parked up the road from the activities near the town maintenance building walking along Cherry Creek and past summer cottages.

As we ambled through the park we were able to enjoy scenes of children having a good time petting animals, using the bounce house and slide, having pony rides, and driving a race course. 

At 5 p.m. after a blessing was said for the food, we joined the serving line. The meal was free provided for us by the town. We had BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, mac and cheese, chips, sliced apples, and a giant chocolate chip cookie. A large tent had been set up to provide seating in the shade.

Near the end of the meal a special award was presented to Terry White. Terry had won the Reneker Award a few years ago, but they had a special surprise for him yesterday. He was given the Circle of Corydon recognition not by the town, but by the state of Indiana. The document was signed by Governor Holcomb. Mr. White researched and published a book Winona at 100 several years ago for the centennial. He is "Mister Winona". He can answer questions about the town going back to its founding. He has worked tirelessly to promote the town and region.

The event ended with the distribution of door prizes. I really wanted to win one of the gift cards for the local restaurants, but instead I got a scented candle from the Mercantile Store. Since we are not allowed to have "live flame" in our leased condo, I will need to bestow it upon someone else. 

Before heading to our car, we took time to eat a dish of free ice cream donated by Kelainey's. 

New Sculptures on Heritage Trail

It is a beautiful morning in Winona Lake. My husband and I strolled from Grace College on the north leg of the Heritage Trail to the creek bridge. I mainly wanted to see the 3 new sculpture/art installations. He had already seen them on a previous walk he took by himself.

The sculpture in front of the Grace College baseball field was given by some acquaintances of mine, Terry and Sharon White. The metal flame represents the eternal message of salvation thru Jesus. Billy Sunday, a famous evangelist who made his home in Winona Lake, is an appropriate choice as Terry has co-authored a book on the history of the town and gives tours of the Sunday home. This piece was dedicated in memory of the White's daughter Jamie.

After crossing Pierceton Road, we soon came to a second sculpture.

As you can read above it represents the seasons of autumn, winter, and spring. Winona Lake is fortunate to have families that contribute to projects like this. The Tucker and Rice families were the donors re the inscription on the nearby bench.

On the approach to the bridge crossing Cherry Creek, this third art piece is a tribute to the lake and its importance in the industry and recreation of the area.

We have had a few rain showers in the past week; enough that the water in the creek is not still but slowly moving. Here we turned around to head back on the trail to our car. About halfway to Pierceton Road, a fawn crossed the trail ahead of us. Often it is peaceful on the trails, but today roadwork made noise and the mower at the Grace Athletic Complex roared. Still it was a nice walk with my husband.