Flint Creek

Peek-a-boo!

2011-12-28T18:53:00.001-06:00

Gussie peeking through the window! This is the very same set of windows we originally found her and her three siblings two-and a half years ago! You can see the creek down below the bluff in the background.

Fall Colors

2011-10-29T10:14:00.001-05:00

How can you beat this view?

Molly

2011-10-29T02:15:00.001-05:00

Found a great spot for Molly in the cemetery. She has a great view of the sunsets! Also touched up a few of the headtsones. We took the dogs on a drive in the cart and did some small chores in the yard - each time we drove by and said hi to Molly! ;)

Good Wood Hunting

2011-10-26T23:43:00.000-05:00

Finally completed a continuous length on the fence. Filled in two sections adding over ten feet. Had to really hunt for the wood, even drug one big log across the creek and up the hill. Should give us the enough privacy for the winter.

Puppy Slumber Party

2011-10-26T19:52:00.000-05:00

Best photo I got... they were cuddling, snuggling and completely intertwined in each other! Amy usually sleeps in my house - but thought they might have fun! Katy is the new one - just gorgeous and so sweet! Definitely was abused like most that end up on our corner. She calms Jake down and is getting more and more comfortable with us.

Sweet Molly - In Memory

2011-10-25T20:34:00.000-05:00

We lost a little treasure today... I have dreaded this day for over two years. Such a sweet soul. I hate to say it... but I probably loved her more than any other. Miss priss with her little milk mustache!

Molly wandered up at Flint twenty years ago. We tried not to feed her, and I let her come in and sleep with me (I was on the porch during fourth of July) - I think you know how that story ended! She didn't get along with the other kitties and she would stay in the front part of the house at McKinney - dad would spend each evening with her on the couch in the living room. When she came back here to Flint she eventually adapted to the other kitties and was very happy.

She enjoyed sitting with Steve in the evenings after he worked all day on the house, probably reminded her of Dad. She loved the back porch - was usually out there or on the ottoman. She had become quite a little beggar, feasting on whatever she could talk us out of on our plates. And the milk... she loved the milk.

Already miss her dearly!

Charlotte's Decorating Army

2011-10-23T11:34:00.001-05:00

Spiders got pretty busy last night finishing the Halloween decorations for me!

Dad used to just love the spider webs in the morning. When I walked out this morning, the light was just right and there was a mist hanging in the air that absolutely illuminated their craftmanship. You could get close enough to some on the deck so you could see the water droplets on each thread. The webs were everywhere, even single strands making their way across all the camp lights.

Halloween at Flint Creek

2011-10-22T15:25:00.001-05:00

Quick little decoration between the houses. Just have to keep the dogs from stealing the spider legs!

Construction Update

2011-09-19T13:58:00.000-05:00

The doorway is not the real doorway... it will have windows cut around it. There will be a large roofed front porch - made from the rocks from the old store that was torn down. They sat in a pile for years (with a promise the structure would be rebuilt on the creek side of the land). The new owner of the land sold them to mom. The lower wall of the house will also be that stone.

Cool Fall Morning

2011-09-06T12:11:00.001-05:00

It is 52 degrees this morning at Flint Creek! I actually have on a hoodie! Perfect last morning here!

Taking Shape

2011-09-03T15:27:00.001-05:00

Addition to the main house is progressing along. With framing done, plywood on exterior was completed and Steve cut out the upstairs windows this week. Before he left for Labor Day weekend, he was working on the cornish... adding the front and north eaves.

Ground Breaking

2011-06-28T20:22:00.000-05:00

We finally broke ground on the main house addition. These piles of dirt were full of arrowheads - apparently this spot was around the fire/gathering circle!

The second photo shows where the porch was removed... surprising how small the porch looks on the house.

A New View

2011-06-28T11:56:00.000-05:00

After years of encouraging the purchase of some kind of ATV, we finally got a golf cart! Now, this isn't just any golf cart... it has a crazy suspension kit and amazing all terrain wheels! I think technically we did a little four wheeling in the mud on the the way back from the Big Blue Hole (even though it's only two wheel drive)... there was mud all over the cart!

What do you do with fallen branches from a big storm?

2011-05-26T20:45:00.000-05:00

Make a custom fence! I collected it all up, chopped and chopped (really tired of things with black and red handles this trip) and fastened them to the fence that was put up after the drunk diver crashed through.

Let Mother Nature do some of the work!

2011-05-25T21:41:00.000-05:00

In my continuous effort to be able to walk the length of the property without setting foot in dirt, I cleared a small ledge connecting the lower bluff to the garage area that we had cleared last year. With the last flood, a little more of the bluff just above the beach was cleared. Over the last two years maintenance of the south area has led to a fairly clean lower bluff path all the way down to the bridge.

With another flood pending, I broke up the only soil on the remaining piece of that lower bluff. And Mother Nature helped me wash it away!

April Showers?

2011-04-25T17:08:00.000-05:00

Just about every year there is a flood. In the past when this was just a summer place, we often missed it. Dad saw several over the years. This was the largest since we have had this property. The water just kept coming up! The lower bluff is usually six feet above water - in this photo it is three feet below. You can see the water flowing over the concrete table where everyone watches fireworks.

Christmas Day

2010-12-24T15:19:00.000-06:00

The cranes hanging by the golf course continue to fade and fall back to earth. I saw these two the morning of Christmas Eve next to a frozen birdbath on the golf course.

Another winter at Flint without Dad.

But he is here: in the horse across the street that is oddly entranced by me one morning, in the little things at Flint that are constant reminders, in the odd double meteor blazing across the sky, in the flurry of brilliantly red cardinals we now have (including four sitting on the back of the swing Christmas morning), and in the snow or even just some little white snow flurries that seem to grace every Christmas Day!

Bird in the Hand

2010-12-24T13:20:00.000-06:00

I held a cardinal in my hands today.

A beautiful male cardinal with his little heart pounding so fast. He had been trapped on theh patio of the little house (screen door open) and was having a hard time finding his way out. He kept flying into the screen and I was worried he would hurt himself. I tried and tried to direct him with no success. Jake's interest was no help

either! He finally flew to the golf clubs and was kind of between the screen and the clubs, flustered and weary. I started talking to him with a soothing voice and crept up on him slowly and he allowed me to grab him. He was so beautiful and his heart was just pounding! I held him close and let him calm down. I wasn't sure if he was hurt or not. I went over to the other house to show mom through the window - I didn't know if she had ever seen one up close. She came out of the house and admired him for a few seconds. I walked over to a bird bath as to set his feet down on it, and he flew immediately away - just fine!

Maybe a visit...

RIP My Little Girl

2010-12-01T19:03:00.003-06:00

I had never done this part before, just handed off a little one to Daddy to take care of... A different level of finality for sure!

Pick a state, any state!

2010-10-07T17:32:00.004-05:00

Well, maybe just Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico... With the cool gas station lights installed on the garage, we finally decided to hang the better part of our various road signs on the exterior of the garage. It's a great look!

Bluff all the way across!

2010-10-06T19:13:00.001-05:00

Continued the bluff project from Labor Day which cleaned off a whole other section of the bluff. This section is below the garage. Still need to do some additional clean-up and landscaping. But you can walk the whole way without getting in any dirt!

Labor Day

2010-09-09T20:44:00.000-05:00

Boy, you ain't kiddin'! While the guys worked on the new addition to the blue house, we cleared away new bluff below the garage and I laid a wide path all the way around the new back porch. I redid the rock stairs (the new back porch partially covered where they used to sit) back in August.

Drunk Drivers

2010-08-17T23:07:00.007-05:00

While mom was in Denton getting Baby William's room ready, some drunks took a flying leap off the road and down into our property. Down into the creek, in fact. They did quite a bit of damage and it's a miracle they are alive. However.... the guy who pulled them out did the most damage and trashed/ripped out several trees. Trees can not be replanted and mom had just spent quite a bit of money getting that area cleaned up - made the area so much more beautiful and enjoyable...

A before shot from July 4th and an after shot AFTER the clean-up from the wreck when I got here.

Planting rocks... again!

2010-08-17T21:28:00.003-05:00

Another new bed off the golf course! Scrounged what rocks we had left to make this bed. Looks much better with the path edged!

Deck for the Garage

2010-08-15T21:09:00.000-05:00

In between the new back porch build and the blue house addition, Steve had time to build a deck for the garage. Necessary once parking in the garage, the deck will provide a safe walkway for mom. He ended up making it deeper to provide a covered workspace for projects and even covered it so we could still work in the rain. Gorgeous approach using the rebar and dad's fancy columns (meant for another project at one time).

2010-07-05T22:15:00.006-05:00

I extended the garden path the rest of the way to the new garage and made a few complimentary beds.

FireworksTonight!!!

2010-07-03T13:26:00.003-05:00

Perhaps this many boxes means I bought too many... The Castle strikes again! I went in with the plan to spend less than the previous year - but ended up spending more. However, I must say, I believe we got less for the money in this economy.

They see us coming every year - whichever family member goes! I went the first time - and got crucified for how much I spent. Then Mom went and had the owner help her pick out the fireworks... The next year Dad said he was going and would put a stop to this ridiculous phenomenon - he spent more than all of us!!! Ha!

New Construction

2010-07-01T23:07:00.000-05:00

Steve has begun the new screened porch on the back of the main house. Unfortunately, it won't be quite ready for the 4th - a special screen that is better suited for pets is still on order. It will create a whole lot more room for the cats to spread out and offer amazing outside views with ceiling fans and no bugs when we eat! It is absolutely huge and connects to the old porch on the creek side - will be really nice! We will still get to enjoy it for the 4th - just won't be screened in yet. I helped Steve for a couple of days put braces on the joints in the beams - holy cow, that's a lot of nails!

Parting Shot

2010-06-01T11:53:00.000-05:00

Made a couple of new beds around the golf course. One was to keep the dirt around the new tree intact. In the process, I finished out the end by the garage adding another bed for interest. I found that really cool rock with the hole cut in it when I was digging through a pile of rock for the rocks I used to make the new beds... so, built-in rock koozie on the golf course!

Of course, he found his way into the hole...

2010-05-28T23:41:00.000-05:00

Upon arrival this trip, I found an amazing site. As I was cleaning up the golf course getting it ready, I found one of Dad's cranes had gone exactly the way of nature. Last year during the 4th I used the 1000 Cranes belief in Japan to make a few strings of cranes in memory of dad - several people participated making the cranes. I strung them together and hung them out in a tree on the golf course. The intent is much like the Tibetan Prayer Flags that are hung in the Himalayas (most notably on Mount Everest). They are exposed to the elements and eventually return to the earth from which they came. A beautiful cycle of life and death with a peaceful ending. They have been in the tree for almost a year now and one of them broke free from the string and found its way into the cup of the first hole. Hole in one? A nice little sign from Dad.

Starting the Day off with a Bang... or a Boom Boom!

2010-04-20T23:42:00.002-05:00

The day started with a now rare opportunity to see Space Shuttle Discovery fly overhead on it's deorbit. The moment I saw the possible groundtracks I had no doubt it would be the second landing opportunity to KSC (orbit 238) because it showed the path NE of Tulsa. I had hoped it would be like the time I saw it fly low over downtown Houston at night - much like an airplane coming in for a landing. Another time it was supposed to fly north of Houston and was too low on the horizon - but I heard the sonic booms.

So with those possibilities I set two alarms, and awoke to see the first deorbit opportunity did not happen. Napped some more and then Mom and I headed out to watch the second landing opportunity. But we were looking North as reported and the shuttle actually went south of Tulsa. Of course we heard the sonic booms which was cool enough because the orbiter viewing was only a contrail. Here is a video sent into one of the Tulsa news stations.

His Name is Jake

2010-04-19T23:23:00.002-05:00

Looks like the puppy might be staying... and now he has a name. He swam across a raging creek section today to earn his stripes - he is a good dog. Well, he is a puppy... Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions, but after throwing out a few more since I got here, we hit on one we liked. I was just rolling off names that sounded good and came out well - especially when yelling for him... or at him! Poor Amy, he just hangs all over her all day - that is, when he is not following us around! Bruiser was a cute name - but just doesn't roll of the tongue well. And quite honestly, I was a tad embarrassed screaming Bruiser across the neighbor's field! He needed a name, and "puppy" just wasn't working either. So Jake it is!

Personal Best

2010-04-18T23:54:00.000-05:00

Much of Saturday was spent shopping and gathering necessary hardware for repairs, so Sunday I was obsessed to get a big chunk of my list done... even in the sprinkling rain. And that I did!

Spring continues to fill the air - quite literally... As I was adding another layer to the rock wall on the bluff (one more pallet of rock absorbed by the grounds at Flint Creek) I was trying to concentrate. But the singing of the birds was so loud, varied, and shockingly abundant... so much so I found it hard to concentrate on my stone placement. At times it sounded like I was in a tropical zoo! So many songs - some from right by me, others up higher in the trees, and a whole other symphony on the other side of the creek! I wish I would have recorded them...

I even fit in a round on the green after cleared it off and replaced the flags. I shot a personal best 41 which is only one over par - three birdies (one on the most difficult shot)!

Six Week Surprises

2010-04-17T23:53:00.003-05:00

Spring 2010 - Still some coolness in the air in the evenings, but spring is definitely blossoming at Flint.

I suppose six weeks might be too long between Flint visits... had a few surprises waiting for me this time. First off, we have a storage closet on the back of the smaller house. As you can see, something apparently got locked inside. All kinds of things from the top shelf had been knocked over (including numerous not very cheap light bulbs of which I had already cleaned up when I took this photo) - and not just knocked over, but any cardboard that something was in is absolutely shredded!!! Mom said that one of the little orange cats was missing for a couple of days... certainly smells like a cat got stuck in there! ;)

So later I went to grill us dinner and found what looked to be a poodle under the grates. I was halfway scared to lift it up and see what was in there. Upon further inspection, it was three different colors of attic insulation. Some little mouse apparently was making a nest - but did not seem to be used. Odd. There must have been hundreds of little insulation tufts... she would have had to make that many trips carrying one little tuft at a time. Wonder which house and where she removed the insulation from.... :/

Five minute ISS pass at Flint Creek

2010-03-03T20:36:00.002-06:00

There was an amazing pass of ISS overhead tonight. It lasted five whole minutes with a maximum elevation of 65 degrees. However, at Flint with the darkness of being in the country, even its 10 degree initial and 14 degree final elevations were still quite high in the sky. With a magnitude of -3.4 it was brilliantly bright! Most satellites seen in the night sky are a magnitude of 4.5 (weak) to 3.5 (bright). The -3.4 magnitude is due to the size of the ISS (now at Assembly Complete) and looks much like an airplane flying overhead - although with NO blinking lights! Through the binoculars it was absolutely booking and even looked like it was going 17,000 mph!

The picture was taken with only a small Coolpix on sunset setting. I was braced on the split rail fence.

Christmas Cheer

2009-12-04T23:08:00.003-06:00

I put some Christmas lights for mom while she was making a McKinney run. I didn't know how dad had done it before that Christmas we spent here - and I just had the lights we found in the sheds. It was easy to focus on just getting some lights up instead of making it just right with the frigid cold! I also wrapped a tree out by the greenhouse. She was super surprised when she got back.

Iced Over

2009-12-04T20:57:00.001-06:00

Bundled up, took a walk to the new property and took some neat pictures. The ice is gorgeous.

Freakin' Cold!

2009-12-03T09:47:00.002-06:00

I have had an awful hard time doing anything this trip. The cold is stiffling... it takes forever for me to get warmed up and just start the day. Great view though without the leaves in the trees!

Fall at Flint

2009-10-14T10:59:00.003-05:00

One parting shot on my way out of here this trip... always so sad to go!

A Wet Firecracker Island

2009-10-13T21:15:00.005-05:00

The water is still pretty high. Firecracker island is mostly under water. I took a walk down the creek to see water levels on the newer property.

A Path More Travelled

2009-10-13T20:13:00.003-05:00

I was really tired of all the stacked rock and muddy walkways that remained. I had tried to be respectful and patiently wait on Mike to finish where he left off. But I finally ndecided to throw them down on my own - saving mom some money. What would have taken days by other means was done in a couple of hours! And now we have rock paths going everywhere! You could go all the way from either house on rocks with no shoes all the way to the garage! I am amazed sometimes when I remember the very first path dad laid between the two houses so long ago - and then the massive steps down to the bluff I dug out a few years ago...

Waterfall in Action!

2009-10-12T20:47:00.002-05:00

The natural waterfall I dug out last trip has been quite active with all the rain and water run-off. This view is looking down. There is about a five foot drop down to the creek - this shot does not really show that.

Walled In

2009-10-12T20:46:00.001-05:00

We finally have walls on the garage - but no roof or door yet. This picture also shows the spot where one of the trees had to be cut down and dug out. Both trees on the creek side of the putting green were dead and we did not want them to break in half and do damage to the green. I think these were cut down before the last trip in August but I did not mention them then. At first it was very stark and quite unsettling. But with the amazing landscaping mom did and the clearing that Tom did of the lower bluff, I hardly miss them!

A new natural waterfall!

2009-09-08T23:32:00.000-05:00

Drainage off the newly dug out bluff rocks is always a bit of a problem. So I made a few smaller dry creek run-offs to help the flow find its way. In some cases, you help a little of the rock dislodge with a hammer and a rock chisel. There was a definite natural fall line - and it looked liked there was bluff rock underneath. So, out comes the power washer! Now we have a new natural waterfall between the two houses - one that we can enjoy!

Tom Brazil is my Hero!!!

2009-09-03T22:49:00.001-05:00

Got a slow start today. It was wet, the rain actually kept us up a bit during the night with the metal roof in the big house. So I enjoyed the morning first - kind of piddled around, and unloaded the truck.

We have a guy helping us clear the land between the bluff and the small creek down by my house. You can walk from the table on the old bluff (we have lots of bluff now) all the way to the old auxiliary creek pump much like the south 40 has been for a few years now. Very nostalgic - this was once the only creek front we had. Brings back lots of memories of dad sitting on the stump of a cut off tree - one of my new roosts! Not only is it a nice area to enjoy, but since Tom has finished clearing Snake Island of everything but a couple of trees, you can see all the way across to the big creek. They had cleared some of the brush before, but burned a lot of it off since I was here last. I noticed a couple of spots that looked like you could have a natural waterfall (right where the bluff and dry creek drains) by clearing off some dead grass and dirt. So that is what I did. Amazing sitting spot!!!

100 cubic feet per second!

2009-08-11T02:11:00.001-05:00

Well the rain trickling down from the area has finally shown up on the USGS creek gage. I have been checking the website all night since the rain started with only minor increase in flow rate and gage height. Then all of a sudden at 1:30am, it spiked to over 100!

We had a good spike in June and one in July... and I think one in May too. But we needed it. I have been trying really hard to keep a flow running through the small creek to keep the big hole under the bluff clean and clear. I was digging rocks out just after the first rain to make sure if the water went up it would clear. Now that water where I was digging out a channel is now at least six inches. On Firecracker Island the chairs were in water! So nice when the creek goes up.

And a bonus - Tom has cleared the land between the blue house and the small creek (and even across Snake Island in one part), so I can see the water from the blue house!

Three Days and Four Pallets of Rock

2009-08-10T20:50:00.000-05:00

I feel like my list is stagnating.... I have spent so much time on one project this trip, the items I wanted to get done are not getting crossed off my list.

The first two days were spent fighting with our new pressure washer - only to culminate with a return of said pressure washer and a race to a different store to rent one - and pressure washing the remnants of dirt left behind by Mike's rockstar efforts digging the bluff rock out. The area cleared off by the blue house is now three tines as long and at least twice as deep. Plenty of room to have table and chairs and a nice dirt free path all the way down past the putting green. The next three days were spent laying rock artisticly to create a natural looking retaining wall the whole length. Fortunately, I had Mom and Mike chasing after additional pallettes of rock.

A couple hours before nightfall, the rain finally came and we tucked everything away that was out and Mike finished unloading the last pallette. After the rain subsided and I was already soaked I continued the wall further down the bluff until it was too dark to do any more. I was amazed to find out it was only 8:30. Wow... feels like at least 10:00!

And... I was still able to cross off a few other things on my list today - a pure bonus!

The List Grows

2009-07-03T12:14:00.000-05:00

The To Do list phenomenon continues... the more I cross off, the more I add!

Lillies are planted at the graves!

2009-05-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

I am pretty sure mom thought I had no idea where any of the graves were… but I had a general idea – we walk the same path each year we plant the lilies. I grabbed my laptop just in case I needed to look at photos to decipher any graves I had missed. But turns out, there is even a map there with a book that tells you where everyone is. So that part was pretty easy. I grabbed an extra map and wrote down all the locations so I can make a key and put it on the Flint website if anyone else ever needs it.

Cathy and Trish went with me and helped. The evening clouds were rolling in making the whole event somewhat ominous. We finished up before the late afternoon rain hit.

I did a bunch more chores on my To Do list… more on that later.

I grilled and we had an amazing Memorial Day feast of honey baby backs, chicken wings, wonderful sweet corn, and angel food cake with fresh strawberries.

The Flag is Flying!

2009-05-25T13:40:00.000-05:00

Having decided on my approach to fix the screen, I had started and realized there was indeed something missing. There was no flag on the flagpole - I know that would be one of the first things dad did. So after verifying the flag I had seen while digging for fountain pumps and extension cords, I was off to set her into the wind! Not the easist and best way to raise a flag... I leaned a ladder up against the flag pole and managed, after some wobbly and scary moments, to let her wave.

Memorial Day is synonomous with the Indy 500. It was rough watching it here at Flint without dad, but a total prerequisite.

I take photos every year of us planting lillies, so I knew who was here in the cemetary and had seen lillies at Atwoods. I grabbed the lillies when I went back into town and Cathy, Trish, and I will go plant them later after she gets here.

Did I mention the weather???

2009-05-25T00:18:00.000-05:00

Tackled the area under the deck today… scary! But I was able to organize it and I have two pallets with sorted hardware for fountains, plumbing, nails, etc… Hung all the tools on the rafters, got the wheel barrels in there and there are no tools out along the bluff. So nice! My cardinal was making quite a bit of noise! Just as he had when I was cleaning dad’s garage room!

I fixed all the fountains… and we have two fabulous monster frogs enjoying one of them!

Finally got to play some in the creek… it looks good this year. Good holes in convenient places. I even walked up the bluff side of our creek – first time in years it wasn’t stagnant, gross, and too scary! Looks like there is some great potential.

The yard guy came back and weedeated the lower bluff area – big job! Usually would take dad several weekends to get it shaped up for the start of the summer. All those little things he would do every other weekend or so have piled up a bit. Mom had only been here once briefly since he died. So all of this is the first real heavy work we have done this year!

I am not doing much cleaning… trying to focus on the bigger items that mom can not do. Although, I gave my porch a good cleaning because it was stacked high from the winter with things that came in from outside and that cats would spend some nice time out there.

Weather has been real nice! We went straight from winter to full heat summer in Houston in a single day this year. So I am happy to get one last breath of winter. The cool front has just made it completely lovely out here! Also had a nice little shower both this evening and yesterday evening.

New well and pump!

2009-05-23T23:57:00.000-05:00

Mom had a well drilled and they installed a new pump. In the process they pretty much left that entire area in complete disarray. I have rebuilt the fence - had to get creative because the new pump is pretty much right where the fence joint was... may have to move the whole north side of the fence some time.

Went to storage sheds… success!!! Had no idea if we had any keys! Mostly checked for large power tools – seems they are all gone. Must have been under the deck and our little visitor made off with them. Brought a few things back that would be nice to have here when mom arrives.

Bought food for my Memorial Day feast… but the igniter on the grill won't light... remembered later it didn't for dad either. He must have used a lighter to cook. Did a test run with some chicken wings this evening and it will do for now.

I am pretty much jumping from project to project as I go get something to do a job and find another job that needs to be done... then much later I remember the first job I was doing. Kind of a viscous cycle - but the way I work best even at home!

The power had gone out – or breakers may have been shut off to put in the new 220 breaker for the pump. So all the timers on the lights were off and that is why someone probably broke in… being so dark and looking deserted. Several outside plugs had also quit working and one string of lights had been sliced. Fixed all of that and had to do some serious cleaning of the fridge over in my house!

Turns out Cathy is coming some time on Memorial Day – so it will be nice not to spend the holiday alone.

Memorial Day weekend at Flint 2009

2009-05-22T19:13:00.000-05:00

Got here super late last night - held up in Dallas. Hell bent on waking up here today though. Not many days do I have here.

Lots to do... first order of business was to fix the screen where someone broke in. But, I need to think about it a bit. Don't remember how we put those together. Every time I walk by, I look at it and I am thinking about it in the back of my mind. Need dark aluminum screen and have not been to Lowe's yet. So, no rush.

I am predominantly staying over in my house. Mom isn't coming until later (after Memorial Day... I will need to do the lillies at the cemetary I guess). My list of things to do is growing while I am here...