Friday Already

The time has flown by!  Mom and are are heading back to Denver on Sunday and flying back to California on Monday.  In one way, I feel like I've been away from home a week and when I think of all that we have done, it feels like I've been gone much longer than 10 days.  We have made each minute count, that's for sure.

Last night, my Mom's friends, Marilyn and Terry Morgan invited us to dinner.  Terry worked in Italy for 18 months on a project for the railway system there.  He lived in Florence  and got to know the beautiful city very well.  Marilyn visited 3 times for 2 weeks each time.  We had a wonderful time talking about Italy and especially Florence.  Terry is making up a list of his favorite restaurants, shops, and his list of 'Must See' spots that are not on most of the tourist maps.  Mom will meet with them again when she gets home from California and get his list.  I thought that was so nice of them to spend several hours sharing their experiences - all positive - with us.

Mom is at her exercise class right now.  It gives me a little over an hour to check mail and make a quick entry.  This afternoon, she is going to make some baby blankets.  She sews them together and then passes them to her sister, Ruth, who embroiders a fancy trim on each one.  They then put them away to sell at their church bazaar in December.  All the money they make is donated to special projects that their Women's group does throughout the year.  After I finish this, I have promised to iron 5 yard lengths of flannel so when she gets back, she can cut them and put the blankets together.

She will sew today and I will run errands.  One of the things I want to do is to take pictures of the tulips and other bulb flowers that are in bloom around town.  We can't grow tulips very successfully in Riverside.  It's just too warm.  I have been amazed and have fallen in love with the beautiful flowers.  The other thing that is in bloom, not in Laramie yet, but in Cheyenne and Denver are the lilacs.  Oh, my goodness.  They are gorgeous and the aroma is heavenly.  We walkedto dinner one night and walked past a few lilac bushes.  Mom had to drag me away.  I would have put my whole head in that bush to soak up the aroma of those flowers.  It's my very favorite floral smell.  I was plotting how I could find some in Denver, cut a few big bunches and take them home.  They are very fragile and would not travel well so I've given up on the idea.  I was actually going to go to a flower shop and buy a flower box and some of those glass tubes that they put water in to keep corsages fresh.  When I shared my plan with my Mom, she just looked and shook her head.  "If that's what you want to do, go for it."  I will be posting my pictures as soon as I can.

On our way to Cheyenne the other day, we saw about 12 antelope grazing near a ranch just 100 feet off the road.  They are so tiny and graceful. I saw a beautiful emerald-headed mallard duck in Denver and a pretty brown female duck in the side yard at Mom's yesterday.  That's about all the wild life for this trip so far.  We still have the drive to Denver on Sunday so I have hope for more.  I haven't seen the robins or the finches again but I have my camera on the counter ready to get a picture if they come back.

I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone early next week.  I miss all of you and want to know what is going on in your lives.  Hope all of you are well and most of all, happy!

Hugs for now.