Chalk Art & Family Fun

 This past Saturday we had one of those perfect spring days. Even better, Todd, was in town and spent the weekend with us. Naturally Lisa and Curt and his family came over, too. We all took advantage of that beautiful weather and spent most of the day outdoors.

The morning was spent hiking in Purdue's Horticulture Park.

Curt helps Ian balance on a fallen tree.

Nash and Lukie both have an affinity for sticks of all sizes and tussled over several. Luckily there were PLENTY of sticks in the woods and they both were easily distracted with offers of "better" sticks.

After lunch, we played outdoor yard games. That's Craig and Todd playing bags; look to the right and you can see that we had croquet, lawn darts, and bocce out, too.

Mila graced our walkways and driveway with chalk art and she drew two special pictures just for me.

"This is Abby, Grammy," she pointed out. "I even put her spots on her."

"And here's Pepper next to Abby."

Unfortunately, we didn't out to the barn to see the horses. I'm struggling with more spinal issues and am scheduled for a second spinal fusion in April. After all that hiking and the yard games, I just was not up to wrangling horses, gentle though they may be.

Still, it was a wonderful weekend, and as you might imagine, I am hoping that we won't get any rain for a few days so I can continue to enjoy that chalk art.

Venturing Out

 After having had my second shot of Moderna this week, I took a deep breath and ventured out into the community. It felt terrific!

Lisa and I went poking around for collectibles - me for horsey things and she for Moon and Stars glassware and vintage Christmas ornaments.

There was a surprising amount of Breyers to be found.

While I have come across Breyers in the past,

usually I don't find so many at once.

But Breyers weren't the only thing on the shelves.

There were a large number of Hartlands,

especially the horse and rider sets.

I do collect Harlands but I am also beginning to think about downsizing some of my collection.

Still, these sets were nice and most were reasonably priced.

There were several Marx Thunderbolts available (I have developed a fondness for that big boy),

Melbaware,

metal horses and clocks (that's an imitation Breyer QH Yearling),

and lots and lots of horse themed items.

Lisa found a large amount of the Moon and Stars glassware, some priced to sell, others that made you put them VERY CAREFULLY back on the shelf and walk away.

Aside from curbside pick up at JoAnn's, a couple of quick runs into Walgreen's (while wearing not only a mask but gloves, too), and the barn, it had been a year since I'd done anything like that. 

It was absolutely wonderful.

Denver Gets Walloped

 Denver and parts of the west got dumped on by a massive snowstorm that moved through this weekend. 

Sarah (who actually lives in Aurora) received 30 inches of snow as of last night.

Todd is traveling on business and JC is away at BYU Idaho going to school.

That leaves Sarah and Trinity to dig out the driveway and walkways. They're doing it by hand because their snowblower simply cannot handle the heavy, wet snow.

Neighbors are banding together to help each other, especially those who are essential workers. (That's Sarah on the right; I'm not sure which one is Trinity. Their neighbor took this photo.)

Sending prayers to all people impacted by this storm! I hope you are okay, have power, and are able to stay put until the situation improves.