Memorial Day

I think I was the last person to get up this morning. I did a little jumping then fixed breakfast. Everyone else had already eaten. I read the e-mail that was shortest and easiest to delete. Then I went downstairs to find some screws and a drill. I found the screws, but the drill batteries were not charged. I put one on the charger. I went outside to water the gardens. The pavement was really hot. After watering, I raked the twigs and 'stuff' from the ground inside the fence. The part which was in the sun was so hot it burned my feet. And it had some grass on it! Al said not to worry, summer is coming. Ha, ha. When I came in, they were finishing their lunch. We sat around the table and talked until one, then went to the mall. Cecily said we weren't going to buy anything and she was right. It was a nice mall and I would have liked to stop and look more, but we just strode by everything. There is even a small massage shop, and I think they were having a sale (like everyone else). But there was no stopping. Upstairs there was a bungee jumping set. I would love to do that, but Chris just said "Bad back" and kept going. Now I really wish I had gone there with Faye when she came. When we got back, it was not yet time to make supper. I saw the next door neighbor out in his garden, so I grabbed my two jars of picked garlic from the fridge. I opened one and ate a piece to make sure it had turned out ok. Then I took the other one out to give to him. I wanted to repay him for all the things he has given us. But maybe that was a mistake. He asked if I like turnips. I said yes, and he pulled out all the big ones he could find in his garden. I was loaded down! I kept trying to tell him it was enough, but he kept going. Finally I carried the load up to the house to show Cecily. What to do with all these turnips? I cut off the foliage from all the big ones. Some were really small, good for planting, so I put those in water. I put the best foliage in a tub, and the second best in a bucket of water in case they might rehydrate. Cecily helped me wash and strip the leaves from the stems. I boiled vinegar and sugar and salt on the stove like the recipe on Google stated. We shoved it all in a gallon jar and poured the hot liquid over it. It went down a lot then. So I put it in a quart jar, but still had to add more liquid to cover it. Al spent the day taking the top which had come off of a barstool, and trying to fix it. That is what the screws were for. With a little help from Chris and Cecily, he screwed the top into two of the legs, and did a great job of getting the screws at the right angle. Chris and Cecily started supper, which consisted of two roasted chickens with carrots and onions. They also roasted turnips, potatoes and stir-fried mushrooms. I spread corn starch around the patio for the ants. Then I took a shower, dressed in black and then we ate supper. I packed up my trombone, grabbed the music and headed to Huntsville High School to play with the Twickenham winds. I left my case in the bandroom and walked on stage to where the chairs were set up. I waited for the others to arrive. I did not play much because I wanted to have plenty of life in my lips for the concert. The director passed out music, some new arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner. We played through that, and a few of the other pieces. Then we waited for the concert to begin. Lucky for me there was a lady who read a few paragraphs between pieces. It gave me a chance to rest and tap for my poor, abused lips. I really didn't think I could make it to the end of the concert when they hurt after the first piece. I practiced 'lip management', which means I left out certain notes. Each time I made a mistake, I told myself it was the last time I would make that particular mistake. Finally we got to the last piece on the program. I was happy to have made it that far. But then the director saved the hardest piece for an encore. Well, I just didn't have anything left, but made a good show of it. After we finished, I thought I'd have to carry my lips home in a bag. Chris came up on stage to kiss me and I wanted to tell him that my lips were off limits until further notice. It even hurt to smile. We had to turn in our music one selection at a time in piles on a table. That went well, but someone is still going to have to sort all of that by instrument. When I got home, everyone was there. Cecily said it was the best band concert she'd ever been to. We also talked about the steel drum band that Al and Cecily were impressed with on their cruise. Finally Chris said he was going to bed, so Al and Cecily said goodbye to him and they went to bed. When I finish this post, I will go to bed, too.