It's Week 30 of 2026

It’s been a lovely week as we’ve enjoyed low humidity and temperatures sandwiched between two waves of 90-degree days (we’re expecting 90s to return this week). The plants under my mailbox didn’t fare well in the last heat wave. I should have been watering them more frequently. Compare mine to the Lantanas that I photographed on Wednesday.

Only the Coleus is doing well

My Everyday Life - July 19-25, 2026

We made our way to Franklin for the weekly concert series. This week, the Columbus Mandolin Orchestra performed a variety program. 

Their first number was an Indiana medley. Can you recognize the tune?

These musicians are playing the hammered dulcimer. The player holds a small spoon-shaped mallet or hammer in each hand to strike the strings.

 

Here's another familiar tune. Can you identify it?

Yesterday, we visited Greenwood’s newest addition, The Ark. It’s only a half mile from us. When construction began, I didn’t know what the huge gray concrete building was going to be. It was ugly, but the finished building is quite attractive. The official Grand Opening featured tours, food trucks, bounce houses, raffles for tickets, and more. Hundreds of people or more came to see what it was all about.

 I could only capture 1/4 of the floor space

Faith-fueled excellence

on and off the court.

Until next time, may showers come your way to water the lawn and plants.

Halfway Through July

 The summer heat and humidity have made me set an early alarm so I can get out for a jog before the day gets too hot. Some mornings I see rabbits, and I would love to photograph one someday. If that ever happens, I’ll post a copy.

I’m enjoying the hydrangeas whenever I exit the house. If you recall, I pruned them extensively this spring, but they have rebounded with lots of blooms.

I captured a photo of the sun rising above The Ark, a premier indoor sports facility opening this month in Greenwood. It is designed to serve athletes and the community by providing a variety of sports training, leagues, and events. It will feature 7 hardwood courts, 12 volleyball courts, 4 hitting/pitching cages, and a 6,500-sq-ft weight room.

On Wednesday, we ran several errands in the afternoon and had dinner on the way to Franklin for the weekly concert series. We saw the Southern Indiana Taiko Drummers two years ago, and I was once again impressed by the drummers' physicality and rhythm. As you might imagine, the drumming is very loud!

The drummers performed in the Custer
Theater at Franklin College.
A statue of Benjamin Franklin greets all visitors.

One evening, we watched “A Murder Between Friends,” which had lots of twists and turns before learning who the murderer was. I’ve also been watching “Five Star Weekend,” which is a short series with one or two episodes left. The cast of women friends is great, but I shudder at some of the language.

Is anyone watching the World Cup final game this afternoon? Originally, I thought we’d watch some of the early games, but that never happened. However, we are watching the WNBA Fever games as often as possible. Caitlin Clark became the first WNBA player with at least 40 points and 10 assists in a single game, and the fastest to reach 200 career 3-pointers, doing so in 74 games. She also set the WNBA record for most consecutive games with 5+ assists and became the fastest to reach 1,000 points and 500 assists, doing so in 59 games. She’s not the only star on the team, but Kelsey Mitchell is having a career year.  For your information, she already holds a Master’s degree and is pursuing a PhD.

UPDATE: When I finished writing and before publishing, I turned on the FIFA World Cup game at minute 70, with no score. I was hooked and watched until the end, as Spain scored 1-0 in overtime to become World Cup Champion.

My Everyday Life - July 12-18, 2026

Until my next post, may your skies be smoke-free. If you have had a Hami melon, did you like it?

A Special Week

After the previous week’s high temperatures and humidity, we welcomed relief and enjoyed being outdoors. I didn’t have as much time for that as I would have liked since we were expecting guests from New Orleans. That meant I had to do much-needed decluttering, but the effort was worthwhile. My new goal is to be on top of things and keep the house neat and clean. (I wonder how long that will last!)

Bart, Christy, and Persephone arrived Tuesday afternoon. We had invited the rest of the family for pizza and cornhole, and the early evening was perfect, except for a few who were bothered by insects. Fortunately, I didn’t experience any.

Ray and Christy compete

Dustin gives Christy a high-five!

The Declaration of Independence

We’ve been hearing fireworks the last several evenings when we are about to retire. They often begin at 10 p.m. when it’s finally dark. We didn’t have plans to view fireworks, but decided that a movie might be worthwhile if we could find one that represented the holiday in some respect. When I launched the Kanopy website (offered by our public library), I searched for the Declaration of Independence. In a short time, we were watching “The Declaration of Independence: America’s Birth Certificate.”

That choice led us to Dr. Richard Bell’s narration of  the 12 episodes in this Great Courses series. Each episode is nearly 30 minutes long, but it was riveting as we relived the events leading up to and following the Declaration, written in Philadelphia in 1776. The Declaration of Independence was a history-changing document that called for a new form of government. It has inspired over 100 other declarations of independence over the last 250 years. 

Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, the Indy Winds Flute Choir performed at the Franklin Symphonic Council’s weekly concert. I noticed that some of the musicians had more than one instrument and would alternate using them depending on the piece being played.

The person playing a contrabass flute
needs to stands during the entire concert
since the instrument is very tall.

Did some of you watch fireworks? Do you have any stories, experiences, or thoughts you'd be willing to share?

My Everyday Life - June 28-July 4, 2026

Until next time, have a wonderful week!