GRADUATION

Pictures updated

Jamie's poster decorating the school gym

Yes, I was at a grandchild's graduation on Friday evening, not from high school, but from Kindergarten!  It was a very special event for Jamie Ava Johnson and for Kirk's family.  Jamie is the youngest of their three children and will be off to grade one this fall.

A beautiful girl in a beautiful dress

A serious grad who wants to be a dentist when she grows up

Lindsay, Jamie, Abbey, Carter

Grandma Louise, Jamie, Grandma Johnson

Jodi and Abbey came to the farm on Friday afternoon and Abbey came with me to the grad.  It was great to have her company on the drive to Lampman and back.  We stopped at A & W in Estevan on our way.  Abbey was the only cousin able to attend Jamie's grad so it was very special that she was able to be there.  There was lunch following the exercises and the cousins spent a few minutes together out on the school grounds with a basketball.  We are hoping for a family get together next Sunday at the farm to honour the fathers in the family.

On Friday I brought lunch up to Clare as he was loading flax seed at Stepp's, just across from Salem.  I noticed a pickup and trailer in the churchyard so went over to talk to Keith, the faithful grass cutter at Salem.  He said it was his mother's birthday that day.  Gladys would have been 95.  What a fitting way to spend part of that day beautifying the cemetery where she and many other family members are at rest.  Thanks, Keith, for your commitment to keeping the grass trimmed at Salem.

On Friday morning I was surprised to have  a little wren visiting me in the kitchen. It hopped around on top of the cupboards and on the counter.  I think it came in through the basement bathroom window that was missing its screen.  I took the screen off the kitchen window and left it open.  I didn't see the bird leave, but that's the last I saw of it so I guess he found his way out.  Just a little later a deer showed up on the driveway.  Then on our way out of Torquay by the elevators, Abbey and I saw a turtle on the road.  We got out of Kiwi to have a look at it and he soon scurried off into the ditch where there was lots of grass and water.

It was exciting to come home from the morning service at Trinity and find a video of Nora in her first attempt at pulling herself up to a standing position.  Here she is at just over nine months.

I had left over pizza at noon, so what to have for supper?  I decided on poached eggs on toast (using a slice of my multigrain homemade bread), but what to have with them?  How about some asparagus from the garden along with some sliced tomatoes?  It looked so good I had to take a picture so here's my evening meal, along with a cup of Good Earth, sweet and spicy tea.

On Monday the ladies from Trinity are going to visit at two seniors homes in Estevan.  We do a short program with a devotion, some readings and music, then spend some time visiting the residents.  We'll be at St. Joseph's at 3:30 and at Hillview Manor at 7:00.  In between, we'll gather at EB's restaurant at 5:30 and have supper together.  We will miss seeing Aunt Viola at St. Joseph's.  Yesterday she would have been 96.  She loved birthday parties and planned her own for months ahead.  Maybe that's because she never had birthday parties or even a cake when she was a young girl.  She told us that the first birthday cake she had was one that Howard's mother, Clara, made for her when she was around twelve.  She said that she didn't know how to act as she'd never had a birthday cake before!  We thought of her on Saturday, especially since she was born in the old house right south of where our cedar log house now sits.  So her birth certificate would have SE 16-1-12 W of 2nd as her birthplace.

There is thunder this evening, something I haven't heard this spring.  I think the clouds are going north, at least there's no rain here yet.  According to the radar, Torquay must be getting a storm as it's in the red zone!  We are still light blue here, which is either light rain or sometimes only clouds.  Later:  we did get some rain here, about 1/3 inch, so seeding will be at a standstill again.

Vickie sent me home with the book that she won at Christian Women's last month.  It hasn't made a gardener out of her so she's passing it on.  It was published by Nora Stewart from Arcola, which is in SE SK.  Nora had a seed business for several years dealing with collections of native grasses and wildflowers of the prairie. It is almost a picture book as she has taken photographs of all the plants she describes.  It's a lovely "coffee table book" with a price tag of $29.95.  Who wants to have it passed on next?

There are memorial services for two members of the Johnson family taking place in ND this week.  On Wednesday, June 12, a service will be held for Vern Dravland, husband of Howard's cousin, Eunice Vinge, daughter of Aunt Dorma Vinge.  It will be at 1:00 at Turtle Mountain Lutheran Church which is near the Dravland homestead south of Souris, ND.   A service for April, (daughter of Marlis and the late Bud Overdorf), Aunt Signe Grimsrud's granddaughter, will take place on at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, June 15, at Zion Lutheran Church in Tioga.  I had hoped to attend at least one of these but won't be able to make either one.  My thoughts and prayers are with the families of Vern and April.  Thank you to Lorna (Enget) Carlson for letting me know about these family services.

Well, that's my post for tonight.  I'll add more graduation pictures tomorrow.  Have a great week.