Thursday, May 21, 2020

Really Random Thursday, 5/21/20

Our new pergola was installed on Friday morning. We love it. The weather has been beautiful this week and I have already spent many hours out there reading. I haven't been sewing, so reading has been a nice way to spend the time.

Sunday afternoon, we "attended" our niece's college graduation from Willamette University. Mark had intended on being there in person; I couldn't attend because of my annual quilting retreat with friends in Yosemite. However, neither of those things happened.

Rose is the daughter of Mark's youngest brother, Pete, and wife, Jane.

Thank goodness for Zoom! The university had done a wonderful video presentation with speakers and the presentation of graduates.

We all convened at 2:15.

I particularly love this picture. See the guy in the middle of the right side? That is Pete, and this particular screen shot reminds me of the Brady Bunch.

The presentation of graduates went pretty quickly, with Rose being right about in the middle of them all. She was particularly proud of the picture she had given to the university for the presentation. She had spent a semester in Spain, and afterwards did a lot of traveling. She posed with this funny face in front of many historical landmarks, and couldn't resist using this picture for the graduation video. I suppose it makes sense--if your graduation is going to be out of the ordinary, you can use whatever picture you want.

Make that face again, Rose.  I wonder how many times her partner, Bradford, has seen this face. :)

After the ceremony was over, we stayed on and chatted for awhile. It was a really fun afternoon, and we were honored to be included.

Any moms out there feeling like this? I'm pretty sure our daughter-in-law feels like this on a daily basis.

Just because it's funny...

I finished a puzzle. As I neared the finish line, I could tell that one piece was missing. I knew exactly who had it--Mark. He doesn't actually do puzzles. So naturally he thought it would be funny to put in the very last piece. So he confiscated and hid one of the pieces, so he could "finish" the puzzle. Ha!
Facebook rolled out their equivalent of Bitmoji, where you can customize your own avatar. This is as close as I could get. Have you tried this yet?
We drove down to Reedley yesterday. Although we are still not allowed to see my father in his care facility, we stopped by my cousin's house. On the way, the clouds were gorgeous. I enjoy big billowy white clouds. We are to the point of the year in central California where every day will be sunny, with little change in weather except for the temperature--which will go up, up, up. We are surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges, which we rarely see, although since the pandemic and with fewer people driving, it seems that the air quality has been much better.

Is your area loosening up the restrictions? That is just beginning here in California. As of yet, I'm not sure how I feel about it.

Mark and I will continue to live a restricted life for awhile longer and see how things go. Maybe it's not too soon to put up our Christmas tree...or at least start some holiday sewing.

Even lemonade is harder to make.


No matter what stage in life you find yourself, this certainly rings true.
But it kind of makes you wonder where we will find ourselves five years from this point, doesn't it?

3 comments:

05 08
Needled Mom said... #

Congratulations to your niece. It is a graduation that will always be remembered. The clouds have been so pretty here too with the moisture in the air. I always love your little cartoons.

Anne / Springleaf Studios said... #

Your pergola looks inviting. I've been spending time sitting outside reading too. Glad you were able to 'attend' your niece's graduation. I burst out laughing at what Mark did with the puzzle piece. I usually do a puzzle or two around Christmas but have continued with them since the quarantine. Justin doesn't do them either and yet did the same thing to me a few weeks ago. Then last night I was finishing the final puzzle have and couldn't find the last piece. I accused him for doing it again. He claimed he hadn't taken any pieces. I finally found it right on top of the puzzle hiding under a piece of paper. Now I'm needing new puzzles and new books. Love the cartoons too. Always a good laugh. We need that more than ever now.

Rochelle aka Bella Quilts said... #

I had to reread the part about attending graduation thinking you had driven up there and how remarkable that was. What wonderful pictures and a great way of supporting your niece. Love the laughs. The clouds looks so scrumptious. I enjoy watching the clouds and finding shapes in them. My puzzles are done on-line...or with fabric! Enjoy the weekend.