Mr. Lavender

Ingwerson Lavender Farm near Topeka.  The owner has a couple of acres planted with two varieties:  grosso and provence.   Plants take 3 years to mature, and have a productive life of 5-7 years.   After that, a new plant must be cultivated.

'Mr. Lavender' extolled the many beneficial qualities and effects of lavender oils and seeds.  I bought a lavender-scented insert for my pillow to help me deal with stuffy nose at night, and it has helped me!

Playground Outing

First playground outing (ever) for Ainsley.  We had a rare warm afternoon in March, so we went to Buffalo Meadows playground, located in western Lenexa.  I like this particular park because it is normally not crowded, and it has two separate jungle gyms for kids to play on.  Each gym set has unique tunnels, ladders, and slides.

Ainsley got to try the 'small kid' swing, which she liked.  She got to try the slide, which worried her a bit.  However, I have high hopes that she will enjoy the slide next time, because she will get some 'indoor' practice on the small slide in our basement family room prior to our next playground adventure in April.

Finally, Ainsley got to try the elevated tunnel, which she really liked, because it had strong wire mesh which she could grab.  The 'see-thru' structure did not bother her a bit.

February Surprise

Last winter (2011-2012) we had very little snow.  This winter we were hit with 2 heavy snows (14 inches and 6 inches) about 5 days apart.

The crew that cleared our driveway had to pile the snow atop the stone steps that led down to our lower-level patio....which meant that I couldn't do my Sunday salmon grill for about 3 weeks.  The first snow was Feb 22, and the melt off finally finished on March 13 when we had a record 81 degree temperature.

McCrillis House

Sherry and I drove to Arlington, Virginia for Christmas this year.  We went via Chattanooga and picked up my aunt Josie, so she could celebrate with us.  Trip routing via St. Louis MO,  Paducah KY, Chattanooga TN, Bristol VA.   1400 miles and 3 days of driving.   We ate a lot of McDonald hamburgers and french fries!

Josie has not been to McCrillis House, since the construction  period 2005 (late summer).  At that time the roof was being still installed, and the living room and bedrooms had only been framed out.

This year the Pennsylvania Sibolds (brother Stu, Donna, Rachel, Xavier, Sara Ann, and Tim) joined us from Holidaysburg.  The Torlas from Falls Church (sister Ann, Toby, Daisy, Margaret) also joined the celebration and provided the dessert (charlotte russe).   We all enjoyed a new board game 'Wits and Wagers'.

We gave out gag gifts of headlamps to a few people that we thought needed them.

My sister Kitty put up Josie, Sherry, and myself at her Alexandria townhouse.