Another record is shattered

Weather is always in the news and we talk about it with friends and colleagues. This morning we had a record low 30 degrees. Brrr! The average low is 47. This was the only the 8th day on record in Indianapolis this cold between April 29-May 31 since 1871. But the welcome news is that we're going to have some warmer weather and maybe even get to 80 in a day or two. It's been almost 200 days since we've hit 80 degrees.

The Indianapolis Pacers caught our attention with their play in the first round of the NBA playoffs. There's no doubt that LeBron James is a special player. The Pacers almost pulled off a win in the 7th game of their series and I think they can be proud as can all their fans.

On Saturday morning Ray and I spent about two hours helping spruce up the landscaping at the church. I would have enjoyed a warmer morning but I did manage to trim out some dead growth from last fall and pull out some weeds. Ray helped in other ways. We were home in time for lunch which gave me time to prepare an appetizer to take to Trivia Night. We've never been successful in previous years but this year was quite different. Instead of being at the very bottom of the ranking, we were at the winning table. It's not because Ray and I knew that much trivia, but the other two couples we were paired with were outstanding!

The Winners!

Dandelions are Blooming!

Everywhere I look dandelions are brightening the landscape! Actually, I'm not a fan of dandelions but since the warm weather was delayed by weeks seeing lawns dotted with yellow brightens my day. We've been missing color in the landscape since the leaves fell last fall.

I saw a notice that the library was offering a "green screen photography" event, something that intrigued me. I thought I would sign up and then realized it was sponsored by the children's department so I invited Jayden and was his helper. The staff had two large green backdrops and an iPad for each of the kids. A "green screen" app was loaded on the iPad and it took a little practice to get a good picture. The staff downloaded all the photos and posted them the next day for everyone to see. Here's a sample of the ones I took of Jayden.

In the tropics

Wizard, maybe

Outerspace

The backgrounds in the photos above are part of the iPad app and are used while taking a photo in front of the green screen. It seems like a bit of magic to me and I'm not explaining this very well. Here's an explanation from the world wide web: Green screen photography is a process that allows you to replace a solid colored background with a background of your choice. It's a technique that's been used in the film industry for years but now gaining popularity with photographers--especially portrait photographers.

When we heard that the weather would be dry and warm this weekend we began planning our first visit of the year to a State Park. This time last year we had used our pass at least three times but not once this year. We knew that Jayden would be an enthusiastic hiker so we invited him to join us and headed to Brown County State Park leaving about noon today. The weather was mild but overcast and we hiked about 90 minutes partially covering two trails (#9 and #7) before heading home.

All 10-year-olds feel the need to walk the log

We saw wildflowers

Downed tree obstructed the trail

I was hoping to see wildflowers and enjoy being outdoors once again after many months being indoors and we were delighted to see several kinds of flowers. Thanks to an alert from other hikers we observed a snake resting on a log at the edge of the lake that was not a menace to anyone.

I'm sure this was the first of many more hikes this spring and summer and we'll invite Jayden again since he enjoyed the hike and thanked us at least four times for taking him to the park.

For Jayden it's back to school tomorrow for the final day of ISTEP testing and for Ray and me we'll be heading to the gym and playing pickleball.

From Snow to Dandelions

Since I didn't blog last week, this post is going to cover two weeks. The day after Easter we had 2-3 inches of snow! The snow didn't stick around because the next day we had 3" of rain. Lots of flooding of creeks and many roads and some Interstates were closed. A few days later we scraped frost off our car windshield. That afternoon I came across some photos taken on the same date in 2011 with forsythia and hyacinths in full bloom. This year we've had the coldest start for the month of April in 82 years. The next day, Friday, we had sunshine and, behold, dandelions were blooming and adding color to our drab landscape. The weather, good and bad, is a lively topic of conversation with everyone. Just a few days ago we reached 78 or maybe it even made it to 80 making it the warmest two days since last October. Soon everyone will need to mow their lawns if they haven't already and the flowering trees are about to bloom.

A week ago I finished reading Ron Chernow's Grant! Last year I read his Hamilton. As a biographer, can anyone match him? His books are in-depth and very detailed and lengthy meaning he has researched all aspects of his subjects. He has also authored Washington and I'm considering reading it later this year. It took me three months to get through the 959 pages of Grant so I'll take some time off to read some fiction before tackling another big book.

A week ago today Ray and I were at church for the women's Spring Social. The women and their guests enjoyed a light meal served by the men.

The menu included fresh fruit and chicken salad on a lettuce bed

The crowd wasn't as large as when we hosted a former Miss America

When a 91-year-old longtime member passed away, we began planning for a luncheon for the family. Fortunately, we had time to contact volunteers since the funeral service was Friday morning and we learned about her death Sunday morning. Since I've organized many of these luncheons, I'm always thankful for the willing ladies and a few men who help. The appreciation expressed by the families over the years makes it all worthwhile.

Yesterday morning I finally had a chance to work on quilts for Lutheran World Relief after missing our monthly knotting session in March and most of the February session. Two of us working together knotted five quilts yesterday for a total of exactly 240 knots. 

About once every two months I have been helping serve coffee, juice, and refreshments after our worship service and my turn was today meaning I've found my way to the church three days in a row. What will this new week bring? Rain? Snow? Sunshine? Whatever weather we have I'm just happy to enjoy another week of life.

Holy Week

I ended my last post asking "When will we see spring flowers?" A few days later I began to see daffodils blooming in many places.

Isn't this a lovely group that I captured yesterday?

Lawns are also beginning to green. Our recent rain events have saturated the ground making it perilous to walk wherever there is a low spot. One little creek was out of its bank for a few hours. And tonight some areas of central Indiana may get some snow.

As I left the Good Friday Tenebrae service I noticed the moon hovering just above the horizon.

Full Moon, almost

On Saturday morning we picked up Jayden for an Easter Egg hunt sponsored by a nearby church. At 10 a.m. the temperature was still very chilly with a breeze making everyone uncomfortable. I was amazed to see some families arrive dressed as if it were 60 or warmer. In a few minutes, all of the 1,000 eggs were found. Because of the chill and muddy grounds, no one stayed around very long. Later, I learned that Jayden and a cousin went to another egg hunt that was better managed and he came home with some nice prizes.

It was still dark when I left for the sunrise service at 7 a.m. this morning. The flowers, special music, and choral numbers added to the festive feeling of the Easter service. The men who served Easter breakfast outdid themselves and had quite a spread of casseroles, pancakes, fruit, toast, etc. I couldn't begin to sample everything. I did have a small piece of smoked salmon quiche which was exquisite.

I had time after returning home from church to make a pineapple angel food cake to take to our Easter dinner at Joe & Nancy's house. Nancy wasn't feeling well and Kylie had prepared the green bean and potato casseroles and deviled eggs; Joe baked and sliced the ham. While waiting for dinner, Joe and Josh played several games of pool. They are both awesome players. Then Grandpa Ray and Jayden played and they had a competitive match with Jayden eventually getting the last shot and winning the game. He was thrilled to say the least.

Budding pool player

After eating, it was time for a little egg hunt indoors because the yard was too wet and sloppy.

Enjoying the moment

And now some thoughts on basketball. My NCAA bracket is completely busted! I don't have either team going into the finals tomorrow night. However, Ray's bracket has Michigan playing Villanova with Villanova winning. We'll see if he is right.

However, all Hoosiers can be proud of two recently crowned champions. The Indiana University women won the NIT title and just a few minutes ago Notre Dame's women's team won the NCAA national championship with a last-second shot over Mississippi State. 

I guess we'll be turning to baseball now that basketball season is virtually finished. The Cubs have already played four games and their record is 2-2. Will they win a Division Championship this year?