Thursday, June 14

Today is Flag Day. Flag Day is a birthday celebration of the American flag. In 1949, President Truman officially signed an Act of Congress designating June 14 as National Flag Day, though the day had been celebrated by school children since a Wisconsin school teacher originated the idea in 1885. In honor of the day, we flew flags from our well house and Mother's front porch.

We were up around 7:30 this morning, so Hubbie could get ready to go to a 10 a.m. Master Gardener meeting. Before he left, he accompanied Mother to our house. I had actually intended for her to stay home until after I got ready for the day, so I could go to her house and help her take a shower for a picnic later in the afternoon.

But since she was here, I put her to work looking through craft ideas, because my hairdresser has asked for suggestions to entertain a child while she and her family and some friends are at camp.

While she was occupied with this, I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises. Then I helped her go through craft ideas. We turned up two or three we think will be suited to a girl of about ten years old.

The hairdresser also wanted my recipe for making coffee can ice cream, and I typed and printed instructions for her.

Finally, I got ready for the day, and by this time, Hubbie had returned for lunch. After lunch, he went out to work in the yard, and I accompanied Mother to her house and helped her shower, then threw a load of laundry in the washer.

Around 5 p.m., Hubbie went to the home of the Master Gardener who hosted the picnic to help set up tables and chairs. Actually, this farm house, which is lass than a mile from our house, is not the permanent residence of the host, but is simply the old homestead that the family uses for entertaining.

It's a nice place, and Hubbie and I have been there several times in the past for Community Theater cast and crew parties. It has been a long time since we've visited there, though, so it was fun seeing this photo-opportunity place again.

Hubbie returned around 6 p.m. to drive Mother and me to the picnic. Around 30 people showed up for the event. There were lots of potluck dishes to go along with the barbecue sandwiches, as well as several yummy desserts.

There was plenty of seating, with two large picnic tables in the kitchen, a large picnic table in one of the spacious bedrooms, and more tables on the screened porch.

Following the picnic, folks were invited to tour the old house. I guided Mother through the lower floor, where antique furniture abounds. When I'd gotten Mother seated again, Hubbie and I toured the upstairs, where there are three bedrooms containing more antique furniture. I took lots of pictures of the interior of the house, and then went outdoors to snap a few more shots.

Note: one of the Master Gardener women came in with a boot cast on her foot. When someone inquired about it, she said she merely stood up a few days ago and broke her foot. I immediately thought to myself that she is probably suffering from osteoporosis. She confirmed that while she doesn't have osteoporosis yet, her doctor will be treating her for osteopenia, the condition just before full-blown osteoporosis.

By 8 p.m., Mother was plenty ready to return home. She was tired, and she had a tummy-ache. She opted to come to our house, because it is a shorter walk than to her house. She took care of her tummy-ache, and then relaxed with a cup of coffee, while we watched the evening news, which I'd recorded on DVR. Then Hubbie accompanied her to her house.

Hubbie and I finished the evening watching TV, including the 2006 movie "A Crime." A man comes home to find his wife murdered. His next door neighbor takas a fancy to him and invents a culprit, so he can exact the revenge he seeks, and then he can be free to desire her.

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Funny: yesterday afternoon, when I arrived at the art gallery, it was locked and the council director was nowhere in sight. A man was waiting at the door, and after introducing himself, explained that he was there to pay for an upcoming screen printing class. He handed me $20 and asked me to give it to the director. I agreed, but wondered why he would so freely hand $20 to someone he didn't know. Guess I have an honest face.

He said that he was interested in the class because he once lived next door to the man who invented screen printing. An award for silk fabric screen printing was awarded in 1907 to Samuel Simon of Manchester, England. The guy who handed me the money is well into his 60s, so I guess it's possible he could have, in his youth, lived next door to Simon.

Anyway, no sooner had he turned over the $20, than the council director rushed up. She apologized profusely, saying that she was late because of having to stand in line at the post office.

"This has been a very erotic week for me," she panted, out of breath. The man and I looked at each other, but neither of us cracked a smile, since both of us knew she really meant "erratic."

This lady works hard for the arts council, but she is very big-word challenged. She often uses words that sound close to what she intends, but are miles away in meaning.
This one, though, topped the list. I wanted to say, "Good for you!" but restrained myself.