Spring has sprung

Every time I start believing that nothing will be built in the big field next door, some changes happen.

Last fall they had a short gravel driveway put in. Then nothing.

But now, surveyors were over there for an afternoon.  They rode around on an ATV. They were using their scopes and tripods and even flying a huge drone over the field and the woods behind.

I kept being tempted to walk over there and ask some questions, but did not.

You can see my life follows the same old routine. I made soup again, using another can of roast beef.

This time it was cabbage, beef and bean. I sort of loosely followed a recipe that was a favorite of Lonnie's...but used more cabbage and less beans.

This is what makes me feel like spring is really here...the pool guys were here to uncover the pool and get it running. 

Yep, the water is too cold but warm days in the forecast will heat it up a bit.

Lots of things are blooming around the yard.

Lilacs and Purple Smoke Tree.

Big fat flowers but no real aroma and not very attractive to pollinators. 

A few blooms on the Buckeye Tree. Most are high up where I can't see them. A big Bumble Bee enjoying this bloom.

There is a cluster of May Apples that have been here since we moved here. I see big patches of them in the surrounding woods too.

This Weigela does have a pleasant aroma.

The Clematis is starting to bloom too.

I took care of a task that's been on my list for a while. I set up arrangements for my cremation.

Hopefully it will be a long time before it's needed but I didn't find to be depressing at all (other than handing over the payment).  No service - just a simple cremation.

Cremation Society of Kentucky handled the deal. Very reasonable price and polite and efficient to work with.

I feel good about having that taken care of.

Floods and taxes

 Early this month we had weather forecast warnings of days of heavy rainfall and  chances of tornados developing.

The forcasters were right and 10" to 12" of rain fell in our area.  That led to flooding in our town from the Salt River. These aren't my photos. They are some that were posted online.

Here is the bridge over the Salt River. The road was closed because it was flooded on both sides of the bridge.

This photo is looking north, with the bridge on the left.

We had heavy rains like this and similar flooding in 2018 and also in 1997, and probably many times before that.

There were tornado warnings on 2 different evenings. I went to the basement each time.

It's so fortunate to have cell phones now and be able to see instant updates as storms move through the area.

I was very fortunate also, to have no damage or problems from the wind and rain. Just some water seepage in the basement and a couple of siding panels blown off an outbuilding.

Because of the storms and flooding problems, Kentucky residents have an extended tax filing deadline...November of this year.

I was unaware of that and on April 14th I had steam coming out of my ears, wondering when the accountant would call to tell me my return was ready.

Glad I checked online and found out about the extended deadline before making an angry phone call.

I mowed grass for the first time this spring on the day before the rain started. Glad to have done that because the ground was soft and muddy for days afterwards.

I made a recipe that I haven't made in a while. I'd actually forgotten about it...

Crustless Spinach Quiche

The recipe calls for frozen spinach but I used canned. Any type of cheese can be used...so it's a good way to use what you have on hand.

I made mini quiches using mini muffin pans.

No crust, so it's good for anyone trying to avoid carbohydrates.

Half went in the freezer so later I'll find out if they if they taste okay after thawing.

I've spent a little time in the sewing room. I started sorting through some fabric scraps that my friend, Susan, gave me.

She is a really talented and skilled quilter and her fabric choices are different than fabrics I usually pick out. That makes it so fun for me to look through her scraps and get ideas to make something.

I cut triangles from a bunch of striped fabric. Then added beige triangles cut from a shirt that had belonged to Lonnie. 

I arranged the squares like this to decide what sashing and borders to use.

Hmmm....pretty small. I wanted it big enough for a donation quilt.

Then I remembered this farm theme panel I'd picked up from a "free" table at a group meeting.   

It seems like pretty good match!

If I make a couple more blocks I can use this layout. It will be a good size for a lap quilt or a child's quilt.

I have yards and yards of good fabric in the closet, but it's more fun to try putting together something from scraps.

You won't believe this, but an Amazon driver backed into the front yard, AGAIN.

This is the THIRD time this year.

This one didn't get stuck but did leave sunken tire marks.

I called Amazon customer service to express my frustration. They put a note on my account for the drivers, saying to use the driveway for turn arounds.

Hope it works.