One good thing about the record rain we've had is what it's done for the vegetable garden.
As you can see, it's just gone wild. Climbing up the back fence are invading morning glories that I'll have to yank down soon before they grab the tomatoes. The bed smack in the middle of the photo is full of golden beets. I've already gotten one big harvest from them:
I've still probably got at least that many in this next batch to dig up. Yum! Roasted beets, here I come!
We've had nearly record-breaking rain this month. The garden likes it, but I'm getting a little tired of it.
It's not just been rain, either, but storms. We've had a tornado warning, too, but that came to nothing, though that storm kept me up for a couple hours with all the thunder and lightning.
We've also had quite a few days like today where it looks like the end times are coming, but nothing comes of it.
I'll probably wish for it later this summer, but for now, I'd like to be done with rain, thank you.
I went with my mom, grandpa, Uncle Chuck, Aunt Martha, and my cousins Anne and Emma (Martha's daughters). It was a lovely day and the sun was just touching the these roses.
There was still dew on the roses, but they were warm enough to smell wonderful.
I miss having a park like Mill Creek here in Columbus. There's just nothing like it here.
When I was in Youngstown for family stuff, I took a drive or two to look at the places I used to live.
This house on Burkey Rd. is the first place I remember living.
We lived in an apartment before this, but I was a baby. I know where the apartment complex is (just up the street), but I couldn't remember which one my mom had pointed out to me, so I didn't take a picture.
This is my grandparent's house on Rhoda as it looks now. I never technically lived there, but it's always been my home.
This, however, is how I remember it.
A big pine tree in the corner. There were big pine bushes along the front, too, but with the tree, it's big enough. The window on the left is the room to the red room. It had red gingham curtains, and I loved to sleep in there when I visited.
This is the kitchen, where I spent a lot of my time.
I have no idea what I was presenting with Grandma in the breakfast nook. Whatever that is on the breakfast table? By the length of my hair, this was taken when I was in college.
This house is on Edenridge in the Youngstown suburb of Boardman.
We moved there when I was in kindergarten, I think. My brother Chris and I built a rather ramshackle treehouse in a giant tree out back.
We moved here, to a duplex on Meadowbrook, when my parents got divorced, when I was in third or fourth grade.
We lived in the one on the left. There was a big tree in the back that made so much shade that the ground was covered with moss, not grass. I spent a lot of time playing back there.
When I was in middle school, we moved to another house where my mom and stepdad still live. I didn't take a picture since I figured they didn't want any sightseers. :)
I've been avoiding blogging as a way to avoid admitting the inevitable to myself: my maternal grandmother died on June 13.
I guess I kind of figured that if I didn't blog about it, then it wouldn't be true. But didn't feel I could blog about anything else if I didn't mention her.
But I think it's time now.
My Grandma Ronnie - short for Roena - was a huge influence on my life. My brother and I spent a lot of time at her and my grandfather's house on Rhoda in Youngstown when we were growing up. Mom and Dad worked a lot, and we were lucky enough to spend many of our summers at their house.
My grandmother instilled in me my love of nature. She knew the name of every plant and wild animal, and if she didn't, she relished helping me look it up. One of my fondest memories is riding out to OH Camp with her with her pointing out all of the wildflowers we could see from the van.
Grandma Ronnie also inspired my love of reading. I discovered many authors that I still love to this day on the wall of paperbacks in the basement. I spent hours down there in the heat of the summer, reading Anne McCaffery, Larry Niven, and Mary Stewart, among many others.
My grandmother was never one to keep quiet about something she didn't like, and while she didn't always like what I did with my life, I know she always loved me, especially when I was an obnoxious teenager. She taught me to be strong, be independent, to do my best, and to never let people walk all over me. There's no way I can ever thank her enough for that.
The family worked hard on tribute that truly reflected my grandma, so here it is:
Roena “Ronnie” Scherl, 85
AUSTINTOWN - Roena “Ronnie” Lorraine Soelberg Scherl, 85, passed away early Friday evening, June 13, 2008, at her home from complications of emphysema, surrounded by her husband, children and grandchildren.
Roena was born in Miles City, Montana June 8, 1923, a daughter of the late Ivar and Irena Soelberg.
She married Robert “Bim” Scherl June 5, 1945, in El Centro, Calif., where they were both serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during WWII.
Ronnie served two years in the Marine Corps during the war, taking the motto, “Free a Marine to Fight,” to heart. She joined the U.S. military because none of the men in her family were eligible for the armed services, and felt that a member of her family should serve the country. She was trained and worked in the field of aerology and served on both coasts.
Mrs. Scherl was active in Girl Scouts for over 60 years. In those years, she touched countless young women’s lives, introducing them to new experiences, encouraging them, and showing them they could do anything if they tried. One of the accomplishments which she was most proud was leading the “OH” (orthopedically handicapped) day camp for children with orthopedic disabilities at Girl Scout Camp Millwood. She recruited Girl Scouts and neighborhood boys to serve as counselors. This was the first time that boys were permitted to become members of the Girl Scouts. To ensure the safety of the children at the camp pool, she became an American Red Cross First Aid, Water Safety, and adapted aquatics instructor at age 50. The young camp counselors as well as the disabled campers learned firsthand from Ronnie that differences among people are on the outside, not the inside.
Ronnie’s love of music and nature was well-known. She was active in Sweet Adelines International Singers, singing in and directing the chorus, and sang in a quartet named the Rag Dolls. She taught previously inexperienced young girls to sing in harmony and to experience the joy and satisfaction of creating beauty. She knew most of the wild flowers growing in northeast Ohio, and passed her appreciation of nature to children, grandchildren, and scouts.
Her thirst for knowledge was legendary, and the family would say, “Ask Grandma Ronnie,” if they ran into a question they couldn’t answer. She continued her life of service well into her 70's by becoming a literacy tutor.
In later years, a great source of joy in her life was getting to know the alpacas at Day Star Alpacas in North Jackson. Dan and Kim Coulter, owners, generously shared their love of alpacas with Roena, recently naming a newborn cria (baby alpaca), “Roena” in her honor.
She is survived by her husband, Robert, of 63 years; seven children, Charles (Teresa) Scherl of San Diego, Cal., Alice (Lloyd) Slusher of Boardman, Edward (Cheryl) Scherl of Poland, Martha (Keith) Womer of Round Rock, Tex., Cecelia (David) Wilson of Blacklick, Monica (Jeff) Enterline of Austintown, and Connie (Michael) Csernik of Lousiville, Ky.; 17 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by her brothers, Norman and Richard Soelberg, and her sister, Wenona Walbaum.
There were no calling hours. Services were held on Saturday, June 21, at St. Brendan Church.
Roena’s family requests that material tributes take the form of donations to Hospice of the Valley, 5190 Market St., Youngstown, 44512.
We saw the new Indiana Jones movie on Friday night at Studio 35.
Eh. I'm glad I could drink beer while watching it, even though my sub was burned (and late).
I wish I could tell you why it was "eh" but to do so would give away too much of the movie. But it certainly wasn't the worst way to spend a couple hours.
One of the plants in the vegetable garden that we've not yet gotten to enjoy are the Egyptian walking onions. They're a perennial, and we've finally gotten them going well enough that we can harvest them rather then just let them "walk" over the garden bed. I'll let you know how they taste!
I've installed a solar-powered drip irrigation system in a part of the vegetable garden.
I got it from Gardener's Supply. It's really very kit-like - just a solar pump and a small drip irrigation kit that's meant to be used with an outdoor faucet. It's not hard to set up, but it's not completely obvious either.
The pump seems to be prone to getting clogged, but over all, it seems to be a good little kit. I'm sure I'll let you know later in the summer if it fails!
I always know when our peonies bloom: the last week of May and the first week of June.
How do I know? On our first spring in the house, six years ago, they bloomed exactly then, when Jeff and I were on our honeymoon. We got to see nothing but the dregs when we got back. Every year since then, I've always looked forward to seeing them, since I didn't get to see them the first time.
You got to see a tiny bit of the kitchen yesterday when you saw Kaylee doing her impression of a Jack-in-the-Box, and I thought you might like to see a little more.
This is the little corner near the back door.
That's a vintage apron there on top, with some ones made by me under that. Then there's the dog leashes. Yes, Cordy's is the "I love snow" one. :)
And here's the shelves over the sink.
Now that Jeff has his tiki bar, I have my kitchen back for showing off my thrift store finds. This is just a few of the things I have. Maybe more photos another time, if you're interested.
(If you can't see this on a feed, go to the actual blog page. There's a short video. I'm testing video through Flickr. Click the play arrow on the video to play it.)
The weird thumping sound in back is the bread maker kneading pizza dough.
