From California to Indiana

 

I brought back a few items from my mother’s house in Whittier. She has moved to an assisted living apartment. My husband and I were there to help clear out her house to make it ready for a new tenant. It is owned by my sister and brother-in-law.

Only a few items have nostalgic memories associated with them. In the lidded glass “jar” my mother mixed up tuna for sandwiches.

I remember the bud vase (there is a set of 2) because it was part of an extensive crystal set that sat in the china hutch. The dish was below in the cupboard; I was surprised when I found it while sorting through the hutch. I don’t remember ever using any of this set (goblets, sherbets, dish, etc.) in any of the 25 years I lived with my parents. I have used the pretty etched bud vase twice since arriving home in Indiana.

There were some practical kitchen utensils that I had noticed when helping my mom after her rehab from abdominal cancer surgery several years ago. The hand beater was in better shape than the one I owned. I packed them in my luggage as she won’t need them at her AL.

I knew there were some Dutch motif figurines and items somewhere in the house. My father’s ancestors came from the Netherlands, and he would buy some decorative items related to this ancestry. I don’t know that I remember the pair I have now, but a corner cabinet in the eating area of our kitchen held things like this. Made in Japan. Not even Dutch, but cute.

 

When my maternal grandmother died, I was unable to attend the funeral or choose from her possessions a keepsake. My mom chose a little pitcher/vase made in England for herself. When I was there for the cancer surgery recovery, she suggested than when she no longer owned the vase, I could have it as a remembrance of my grandmother.

Remembrances of my paternal grandmother are the crocheted doilies.

The guest bedroom drawers I cleaned out had lots of gift bags (30? 40?) and Christmas decorations. I was tempted to claim some, but I finally decided to take a small magnet and an angel ornament.

The other things I brought home with me have no nostalgic connections. I liked them and had room in the luggage for them.

Smoked glass sugar/creamer set with sticker made in Sweden still on them.

Cutting board still in package. I had been thinking of trying one of these glass? acrylic? boards.

A scarf in a color I like.

My mom asked if I would take the blue and white necklace; she had previously given it to a lady whose widower asked her to take it back. The “pearls” were in a dresser drawer with all sorts of free things from Humane Society and other organizations most of which was quite junky. The silver bracelet was in the dining hutch drawer. The clasp was broken. I have jerry rigged a fix and polished it up some. I can fit it around my wrist just barely.

There are a few small things my mom has in her apartment that I might ask for when she dies, but mostly this is what I have from her belongings. I brought home two tablecloths with stains that I will work on, but not too likely they will clean up well. I also brought home some gasoline company road maps and a Saturday Evening Post from the 1930s that I will try to sell on ebay.

I put most of the glassware in my carryon bag. When I  got home, I found my checked bag contents rearranged and a note from the TSA that my bag had been randomly selected for search. I am sure they have seen stranger things in suitcases.

 

Swordfish Tonight

When I went to the store to buy some frozen marinated salmon I really like, the store had none. On sale in the case was frozen swordfish. I have never cooked swordfish but decided to grill it. Two “steaks” per package was just right. I have eaten swordfish at restaurants and knew it would be bland. I purchased some mango peach salsa. It went well with the fish.

I also used the pan I bought last summer to grill some potatoes and a yellow pepper.

Mixed fresh fruit (watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, and honeydew) from the grocery produce section completed the meal. For dessert we had Jello brand lemon pudding cups topped with blueberry sauce. Lemon flavor and blueberries go together so well. I still have in the freezer about 3-4 cups of blueberries picked last year. Another month or so and the new crop will be ready to pick.

We had two beautiful days of pleasant low-humidity weather. This morning we had light rain and the humidity is higher. Feels like summer. Eat like summer.

Fernwood Botanical Garden

 

We had a lovely day at  Fernwood Botanical Garden yesterday. In the past as we drove US31 to South Haven, Michigan, I would see a sign for this garden. With good weather arriving, we decided to make the 1 1/2 hour drive north to Niles, Michigan. We saw gorgeous poppies in the median of the highway, red, white, bright pink in big swaths of color.

Fernwood is not overly large but has a variety of natural settings: woodland trails, a pond, a dock overlooking the Saint Joseph River, vast expanses of lawn, a conservatory, a sensory and herb garden, streamside trail, tallgrass prairie allowed to naturalize, a miniature railroad display, nature center, nice cafe, gift shop, art gallery with changing exhibits, and a gardening library. I am sure the botanical displays change with the seasons. Interspersed among nature are several sculptures as well.

We spent about 3 hours there, including eating lunch. There was a picnic shelter available.

The visitor center

An unusual pinkish beech tree

Railroad display. The original display was destroyed in a fire last October and was rebuilt in April.

 

 

A small play area for children adjacent to the railroad exhibit had this elephant figure.

This was called a stick sculpture, a “shelter” woven out of vine-like twigs. There were several in a cluster.

Bridges crossed gurgling streams

 

A dock allowed one to step out over the Saint Joseph River

Yellow irises along the streambed

The lilac garden appeared to be past blooming.

There were several structures, perhaps housing for the Boydstons when they owned the property: a winter house, a summer house, a water wheel. Various ferns were “tested” around this house for desirability for gardens.

This stone structure served as a focal point for the cottage garden and herb garden

I was really impressed by the generous provision of seating (benches, chairs) throughout the gardens, trails, and even among the tall prairie grass. It would be a nice place to while away the day watching birds or reading a book. We saw a deer in the shady ravine not very skitterish so probably used to people.

 A narrow mowed path allowed one to walk out in the middle of the natural prairie. grass. There was a constant soft buzzing of insects.

An observation deck in the prairie allowed one to look for birds and insects. I could hear birdsong all around, but didn’t see any birds.

Flowers on the prairie grass.

Perhaps we will return in the fall. It made a nice day outing. We are not doing any big vacation trips this summer; mostly outings like this.

Lagging

I know it has been awhile since I posted. My husband and I spent about a week in California helping to clean out my mom’s rental house as she has now moved to an assisted living community. She has been in the house for 16 years with no attempts to declutter or organize her stuff. In fact, there were boxes in the garage that had made the previous move and never been opened or unpacked, coated with dust.

There was a lot of hauling of books to the public library retail shop, throwing out of expired food (some of the cans were bulging and very old), sorting out closets and drawers and cupboards and deciding what to keep for a garage sale and what to put in the dumpster. It was tiring work, but we managed to get most of the house in good shape for new renters. My sister who lives in California still has lots of papers to go through (2 file cabinets).

We were given TSA pre-check status on all of our flights. We had short security waits, and no wait when leaving John Wayne Airport last Sunday when we checked our bags at 6:15 a.m. We saw on TV the last 10 laps of the Indy 500 as we ate in a Chili’s at O’Hare airport. Our connection from Chicago to Indy was a short flight, but the race fan traffic was over by the time we landed. We stopped at a Perkins east of Indianapolis for some supper; it was 10:15 EDT when we arrived home. A long day.

Today I finally feel adjusted to my home time zone. I had jet lag all of Monday and most of Tuesday.

Today I went to Menards and bought some plants. I have had so much trouble the past 2 years with powdery mildew on the petunias and calibrachoa, I decided to try something different. I bought a hanging basket of impatiens and for my pot, delphiniums. I know from the tag that delphiniums are perennials, but mine will need to survive in a pot through the summer, then probably be discarded. My husband wanted to plant some impatiens in the rose bush bed; the neighbors on the other end of our quadplex plant them every year. He planted some this morning and then this afternoon we had some sprinkles which watered them.

The plan is to go to Fernwood Botanical Garden in Niles, Michigan this Friday. Maybe I will have some photos to share this weekend.

At least the slight rain dropped the temperature from around 80 to 70. I have the patio door and front door open for some fresh air. Looks like from the radar that there will be no rain when I grill some chicken in about an hour.