It’s morel mushroom season here in the Midwest, and with all our intermittent rain and sunshine these little fungi should be popping up all over the place. “Should” of course being the operative word.So while my husband was away this weekend, my son and I scoured the Three-Acre Wood in search of a few of these natural, odd looking but tasty treats. Well, let me be clear, I scoured while my son crawled through holes, picked up rocks and chased frogs.
Tag: family fun
Have You Lost Your Marbles?
The end of summer is chasing us here in the Midwest, and my son and I are trying to cram in as much fun as possible before the first day of school, August 16. Yikes! When I say it out loud that sounds really early! Does anyone remember when we started school after Labor Day and still got out way before June?
Anyway, in the name of summer fun we headed to the Moon Marble Company in Bonner Springs, Kansas, yesterday. We arrived just in time to watch the artisan and owner of Moon Marble transform a few pieces of raw glass into a shiny, smooth and very cool marble. It’s an awesome process to watch (the owner also is pretty clever) and the marble company makes it easy on the gawkers with a nice sized set of bleachers and large screen television for comfort and viewing.
In addition to this main event, visitors can must also peruse the sizable retro toy store/gift shop, which of course everyone walks through on their way to and from the marble making room. And let me tell you, after you watch a marble being made you might look at these little round balls of glass in a whole new light. You WILL want to come home with a pocketful of your own shiny objects, and we did!
So there I was, standing in line to pay for my son’s plastic tube full of brightly colored marbles, when a lady leans forward and asks me if I ever taught school in Nickerson. Indeed I had, but that was so many years ago and many miles away that I was completely caught off guard. I didn’t recognize the face behind the voice and I quickly went into internal panic mode when she explained that she was one of my former students. I never like to forget a student; but let’s face it, she would have been a teenager the last time I saw her. Things got really crazy when she explained (probably because of the bewildered look on my face) who she was and that she recognized me because I “haven’t changed a bit.”
What did she say?
I squeezed that silly little plastic tube I was holding and literally lost some of my marbles! I swear I chased those fast-moving little suckers as quickly as I chased my memories (and I probably unknowingly left a few of both behind).
Although flustered and embarrassed after chasing my marbles about the floor, I did manage to recall her younger self after she gave me her name. It actually turned out fun to run into a former student from my first teaching job of so many years ago. We reminisced, talked about our kids (she has six by the way, with the oldest a senior in high school, and I have only one who is about to start second grade – go figure) and briefly caught up on our current whereabouts; but the one glaring (and extremely flattering) thing I took away from this whole chance encounter was that she said, “You haven’t changed a bit!”
Maybe she was the one who lost her marbles. . .
photo credit: Reva G Shadows vs. light via photopin (license)
Arkansas Easter Good for the Gray Sky Blues
I don’t think I have ever been more thankful for Easter in Arkansas than I was this weekend. Other than the obvious festivities, good food and catching up with family, Saturday’s weather couldn’t have been more delicious for a girl who is positively sick of the gray skies and cold temps in the Midwest.
We reached the mid-70s with sunny skies in Blue Jay Hollow and everyone spent most of the day outdoors. Other than the protests to the sunscreen, the kids enjoyed made-up games, football and who knows what else. The grownups sat around sipping cold drinks, catching up on the days since Thanksgiving and keeping half an eye on the youngsters. I absolutely relished the sun, which had been completely absent from my life for about two straight weeks. What a perfect Easter eve day!
It was such an enjoyable outdoorsy kind of day that it became a task just to get everyone inside to color Easter eggs! My son declared that we wasn’t coloring eggs this year, but I nixed that idea awfully quick! Of course he begrudgingly came indoors with the other children and then had a blast dying eggs all sorts of greens, pinks and blues (and even a few browns).
The big hit was the Egg-Mazing machine that my niece brought along. This thing is so cool! I definitely need to acquire one of my own. While the egg spins on little wheels, you simply hold a marker against the egg to make nearly perfect little, or big, stripes all the way around the egg. It looked like so much fun, most of the moms even gave it a go. Saturday hit a high note with the Easter egg hunt, especially with the addition of several money and candy eggs, and we all lingered outside in the waning sun until the mosquitoes ran us indoors.
Unfortunately Easter Sunday turned off cooler and rainy, but I accepted this fate because the day before had been so cooperative. We attended church at Thornburg Baptist and then back to Nannie’s for more family time and good food. When we finally arrived home Monday, we were greeted with more gray skies, a snow-covered ground and temperatures barely above freezing. Yuck! Was the near-perfect picture of Easter eve in Blue Jay Hollow just a dream? If so, I’m going back to bed. . . wake me when the sun comes out!