Reading Series Completed

Last July I was looking for something to read and stumbled on the Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes. The series was first published in the '70s but I wasn't aware of them then -- I'm not sure what I was reading then. Fast forward to the 21st Century and this series is now available in digital. Did I mention that there are eight books in the series? The series begins before the Revolutionary War when young Philip Kent landed in Boston escaping first from France and, later, England. He was witness to the Boston Tea Party and other events in the early days of our country. Each book in the series is the story of one of the Kent descendants who are witness to some of the well known events in our country's history. For example, one Kent escaped the Alamo, one was in California at the time of the gold rush and became part owner of a successful gold mind, another young Kent spent time with Theodore Roosevelt when he was working as a cowboy in the Dakotas. Of course, the Kents are fictitious characters placed in an historical novel. The story of the Kent family concluded just before the beginning of the 20th Century in the 1890s. Historical fiction as always been a favorite of mine and emphasizes some of the stories that I had either forgotten or never completely understood and comprehended previously.

I'm only mentioning this because I finished the eighth book last week! It was a marathon read and between some of the Kent novels, I read another six books -- that makes 14 books since last July. I'm amazed. Today we stopped at the library and I'm now reading a real book -- but I'm sure I'll read digital books again.

New construction just east of our complex is underway. In order to build the proposed barn and other amenities, many trees were bulldozed and limbs and branches sent through this huge chipper making a huge pile of mulch.

We'll be watching the changes as they build

In about six months or so construction should be complete for the Bay Horse Inn.

Yesterday I laundered our heavy winter blanket storing it in the linen closet not to be used again until next fall. Let's hope I wasn't premature. After all, a week from today is May 1 and this past week we've had some lovely spring weather.

No Gloves Needed!

A week ago we traveled to Evansville for the Indiana State Games. The temperature was 29 when we left home and in my last post I posted a photo of Ray and me dressed for the chilly temperature. A week later we were out for a Saturday run and it was 75! No gloves needed! Today was even warmer -- in the low 80s -- probably 15-20 degrees above normal.

After lunch today we drove south to see if we could find the gravesite that Ray read about in Off the Beaten Path--Indiana. The grave is in the middle of the road. Years ago, when a new road was being built, the grandson of the woman buried in the grave stood by with a gun and wouldn't allow his grandmother's grave moved to a new site. On her death, she expressed the desire to be buried overlooking Sugar Creek. The site is south of Amity in Johnson County. We've driven by Amity many times, but never knew about this site off the highway.

Nancy Barnett's grave was not moved and the road was built around it.

Nancy's husband is a distant relative of Pocahontas and John Rolfe.

With the warm weather, we opted to have our afternoon snack on the patio for the first time in 2016! Yea for Spring Weather!

Interesting culinary week!

Have you ever burned soup? Last Wednesday I burned the soup I was making for the next day. Unfortunately, I didn't set a timer to check on the soup and became engrossed in a computer project. When I smelled something I quickly checked the kitchen and discovered the pot of soup was very dry and black on the bottom. I was able to salvage some of the non-burned portion and added more broth and ingredients so we had something to eat the next day.

My next endeavor fared much better. We purchased several stalks of rhubarb at the grocery store thinking I might make a rhubarb pie. I really didn't have sufficient rhubarb for a pie and found a recipe for rhubarb cake. We enjoyed it a lot but there is nothing left after three meals.

I came across an idea for an egg dish that we could alternate with oatmeal for our breakfast meal.  Cheesy Polenta with Egg was a hit. The directions suggested making an indentation in the polenta for dropping in a whole egg and then baking in the oven. I used six eggs which made a large serving, but I'll probably use eight eggs the next time.

We traveled to Evansville yesterday morning leaving about 6:00 a.m. We were signed up for a 10K run qualifier for the National Senior Games in Birmingham June 2017. The weather reports were not encouraging as the week progressed and when we turned on the car's ignition we saw that the temperature was 29! We were prepared with long tights and long-sleeved shirts. Since Evansville is in the Central Time Zone we had a cushion and arrived in plenty of time for the 9:00 a.m. start. The course is a trail through part of the campus of the University of Southern Indiana and is quite picturesque but has a few hills that aren't much fun when you are running. I had a reasonable finish time (1:11) but placed second against a woman a year older. Ray also entered and walked and ran the course and beat me by two minutes or more.

Photo taken by Indiana Games coordinator

All qualified for the 2017 10K Road Race

A cold day made cheery by these beautiful tulips

Ray's great-nephew is getting married next July and his sister Karen proposed staying with them and including a Cub's game while we are in town. Ray got online and learned the Cubs return to Wrigley on July 4 for a series with the Cincinnati Reds. He ordered four tickets for the four of us. The Cubs are off to a great start and play in Wrigley tomorrow for the first time this season. I can't think of anything I'd rather do on July 4 than go to a baseball game, unless it was a fireworks display.

March leaves like a lion -- or was it a lamb!

March weather was mild when compared to previous years. Lots of spring flowering trees make the landscape pretty and the grass is green and many lawns already mowed for the first time this year. But the first week of April is not starting in the same fashion. We've had windy days and some rain. When I drove home from a work session at church Saturday afternoon, I witnessed a flowering pear tree fall just as I drove by. Fortunately, it didn't land on the street, just on the lawn. By the time I reached home I could count three more instances of seeing big branches on the ground. In an unlikely coincidence, the Indy Star newspaper featured a column about trees and other plants that are not good selections for the homeowner. Bradford pears was one of the ones mentioned and we certainly have many pear trees blooming now and over the years I've seen many with major damage from wind. The branches are not able to withstand heavy winds.

The event we've been looking forward to for many weeks took place Sunday evening. Before that event took place, I was involved in the initial planning; helped with some of the shopping last Friday and then on Saturday spent a couple of hours of prep time in the church kitchen. On Sunday I stayed after the first service to help set up tables and decorate the tables. At home I frosted the cupcakes we planned to serve for dessert and returned by three o'clock to help finish preparations for the meal we were serving: ham & cheese and chicken salad sandwiches, raw veggies, fruit salad and dessert.

We prepared seating for 108 guests

Several bakers provide a variety of cupcakes. Yum!

After the meal our special guest, Katie Stam, Miss American 2009 was introduced. Since her crowning, Katie has married; is the mother of two small girls and lives on the northeast side of Indianapolis. She told us about the moments following the announcement of her selection as Miss America--she doesn't remember much but relives it on video. Immediately following the telecast she was ushered into a news conference and several hours later had a few minutes to visit with family. Then, for the next 365 days she had a job--she was Miss America and traveled constantly.

Our Fellowship Hall was nearly filled to capacity.

At the Miss American pageant, Katie's talent was singing and she delighted our audience with several beautiful selections. Her last number was Via Dolorosa, the song she sang in 2009, a very moving and beautiful rendition. 

Katie Stam - Miss America 2009

After her performance, many of the young girls came forward and even some of the women, wanting an autograph or to have their photo taken with Katie. 

We'll probably plan a Social again next year, but can we duplicate the success of this year?