Memorable Memorial Day Weekend

We're back from yet another busy weekend! We spent the Memorial Day weekend at my dad's farm and got to see my sister from Omaha, NE, also visiting for the weekend. Here's a photographic recap of the weekend:

On our way out of town Saturday morning, we stopped at the cemetery where Susan's mom, Sue, is buried (a sad anniversary: Sue died 10 years ago this past January). Susan and the girls had decorated Sue's grave a few days earlier but had trouble getting a wooden cross into the ground, so I helped with that and then had the blondes pose. The pretty ladies are as colorful as the pretty flowers surrounding them!

My sisters and I take turns buying flowers for our mom's grave, and this year it was my sister Cathy's turn. Because she lives in OR, she ordered this beautiful arrangement for us to pick up from the flower shop in Tioga, ND on our way to Dad's. After we got to Dad and Beverly's and exchanged hugs and kisses with them and Sandy, we all headed to the cemetery to decorate Mom's grave and visit the graves of other relatives buried there.

Here are the beautiful blondes posing with me at my mom's grave. What you cannot see are the swarms of mosquitoes that defied the wind and persisted in attacking us the entire time we were at the cemetery.

Here are my sister Sandy and I at Mom's headstone.

We brought a belated Mother's Day gift for Beverly: flowers in purple, her favorite color. Beverly has a couple shepherd's crooks in the front yard from which to hang plants, and these purple flowers looked nice hanging there this weekend.

We brought an early Father's Day gift for Dad: a bird feeder made to look like a barn (since he lives on a farm). We also brought bird seed, and we filled the feeder and hung it on a shepherd's crook near the flowers. Both yesterday morning and today, little yellow and gray birds enjoyed the feast!

At the end of fourth grade for Suzanna, I gave her my trombone (remember?) so that she could take band lessons last summer and then join band in fifth grade. Well, Abigail's fourth-grade year is winding down, so Sandy--who drove to Dad's from Omaha--brought her saxophone for Abigail to use for lessons this summer and band in the autumn. Isn't that nice?! Here's Sandy demonstrating how to put together the instrument. (By the by, when it's time for Hillary to start band, she will play the flute that was Susan's when she herself was in band. Aren't we s' good to recycle?)

Beverly's great-granddaughter Cady spent Saturday night at the farm. Her dad brought her out Saturday evening, and her mom picked her up Sunday morning. In between, Cady did a lot of sleeping . . . but we still got a little playing in! She's a good-natured baby.

Suzanna and I made supper for Scandinavian Saturday! It was interesting to do so in somebody else's kitchen, but Beverly told me where to find things, and it all turned out well. Appetizer: shrimp and crab salad -- rye/caraway crackers and garden herb crackers -- dill pickles; Main Course: Swedish meatballs in gravy -- steamed baby potatoes in butter and fresh dill -- creamed peas with fried onions and bacon; Dessert: angel food cake -- homemade whipped cream -- homemade fruit sauce of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries simmered in the juice of a lemon with sugar and cardommom added

Sunday night Beverly made a big supper of ham, scalloped potatoes, creamed corn, sweet potatoes, and salads, and Sandy baked an apple/rhubarb dessert. Beverly invited her son and his wife (Dennis and Julie) as well as my aunt Penny (Dad's sister) to join us. The photo above is of Dad and Beverly relaxing after supper.

And here's Dennis.

And here's Julie.

And here's my sister Sandy, the dessert baker.

And here's my aunt Penny.

And here's Bandy, Dad and Beverly's puppy. She was thoroughly overstimulated this weekend by the girls and me, so she's probably enjoying a quiet night tonight. Susan, the girls, and I stopped in Tioga on our way home from Dad's and enjoyed a supper of chi-chi burgers, onion rings, French fries, and vanilla malted milkshakes at the Bobbi Sox drive-in restaurant (remember?). We still had enough time to get to Dickinson well before dark, meaning it was a lot easier for me to see the numerous deer standing along the roadside the entire way home. But we're home now, safe and sound, with fond memories of another busy weekend.

P.S. Compare this year's Memorial Day weekend at the farm with last year's.

P.P.S. See my sister's take on the weekend here, here, and here!