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| Marigolds, zinnias, and cock's comb (celosia) flowers that the master gardeners will be planting in the garden soon. |
We kicked off this week with a "special session" visit with our master gardener friends! We haven't seen them in person since late 2019, but now that everyone is vaccinated, we got the all clear to gather. We'll resume regular sessions with them in September, but today was a reminder of the educational, fun, and tasty times to come! Here's a look at our visit with them, and the rest of our week, too...
Tuesday
We had to meet inside the Interpretive Center at Freedom Park due to the threat of rain when we joined our master gardener friends for a catching up session today. Instead of planting new plants in the garden, we settled for them showing the plants to us. We'll be patient until September, when we will be able to plant with them again!
First, Linda had everyone reintroduce themselves! The MGs were happy to meet Michelle for the first time, and to get reaquainted with the rest of us! We shared with them that it is Cameron's last week, and they were sad to see him go...just as we are. 😔 Still, they wished him well...just as we will!
Diana showed us tomato plants that will go into the garden. One will be cherry tomatoes, and the other will be regular-sized ones. Both are supposed to be "prolific" producers of tomatoes, and we learned that means they will grow a lot of tomatoes. We can't wait to harvest some later in the summer! 🍅
Something else we will look forward to harvesting is sweet peppers! Joanne remembered that someone in our group suggested we plant HOT peppers, but Joanne said we're sticking with the sweet variety. That's great, as they will be so tasty in a fresh salad! 🌶
Also going into the garden is a cucumber plant. Pat reminded us that the vine will attach itself to anything suitable nearby and spread up and out leaving lots of cucumbers to be picked. She also mentioned that we could try making easy refrigerator pickles this year...yumm! Lisa is pretty sure we have a recipe that MG Barbara gave us one time! 🥒
Karen asked if we remembered which herb is good to plant near tomatoes, and we did...basil! But we had forgotten why: The basil repels certain pests that try to get the tomatoes! We thought of another reason, too - basil and tomatoes taste really good when cooked together! 🍝
Kevin's mom sent us a picture this morning of the succulent garden we made with the MGs back in spring of 2018! We showed the MGs, who were thrilled with how it's thrived under Kevin and Debbie's loving care! 💚👍
Before we knew it, it was time for a fun activity designed for us by "Krafty Karen!" Liz and Alexis were telling Drew to pick out some flowers for his project, but he was too busy cheesing for the camera!
Everyone got a small plastic bottle and a selection of stickers and ribbons with which to decorate it. Then, Karen and the MGs helped them select from a variety of colorful flowers and greenery to make a lovely mini-vase of summer beauty! Here, Joanne was assisting Xavier and Linda helped Kevin. 🎕
MG Kate assisted Annmarie and Nancy who both ended up with very pretty vases. The photographer apologizes for not getting MG Kate to look up for the shot, but these ladies were focused!
Here, Carol and Nan, along with MG Rich, helped Cameron, Laura, and Michelle with their projects. We were so engaged with this fun activity!
Thank you, Master Gardeners, for spending time with us today. It was so nice to see you in person again, and we picked up as if we had not left off over 20 months ago! Here are some of our beautiful mini-vases on display back at the center. Simple elegance!
Speaking of being back at the center...we were SO glad we made it back before this started! The rain literally began coming down in buckets the second we pulled into our parking spots. We had decided to return to AFCC for lunch, hoping to be inside when the inevitable happened, but alas, we had to stay on the vans for about 20 minutes before we got a break from the deluge!
Sooo, in a first for us, we had a van picnic! It was already 12:15 when we got back, and we had a feeling we'd be here a while. Lisa called Carol and they decided if we ate one thing at a time, we should be able to eat lunch without making a mess. We were SUCCESSFUL...and it was kind of fun! (Of course, Alexis had a salad today, so she had to be extra careful!) 😋
Once we were inside where it was nice and dry, we got to enjoy some very tasty lemon and rosemary cookies that Linda sent back with us. Cameron almost ate this one before we could get a picture! He LOVES all kinds of desserts, and since it was his last week, we just had to take his picture enjoying Miss Linda's cookies! Thanks, Linda. They were thin and crispy and just right!
Speaking of Cameron, we spent the rest of the afternoon writing farewell cards to him, and hanging out in the gym. We didn't play any organized games, but we enjoyed the space to walk, shoot hoops, and bounce balls. The best part? It was dry in there! We could hear more heavy downpours on the gym roof while we hung out together. What a wet day it became!
But, we got a "ray of sunshine" when we heard the news that Meemaw is feeling better! She got our cheer cards and they made her day! We love and miss you, Meemaw!! 🌞
Wednesday
Well, today was interesting. It was supposed to be Cameron's last day with us, but his father wasn't feeling well this morning, so his mother decided he better stay home (or in their case, at the hotel), just in case he started feeling badly. So, we made a plan for him to join us at his Pizza Party / Farewell Luncheon if he was feeling ok, and decided he would spend the morning with his mom doing the walk-through at their recently sold house!
Meanwhile, we still honored Cameron's friendship with our day's activities. First, we danced to a lot of his favorite tunes during our dance warm-up. Alexis, Abraham, Kate, and our Cameron "double" moved to the music of the Backstreet Boys!
We baked Cameron's favorite cupcakes, vanilla, for dessert, and had a decorating party. Liz and Kevin talked about how much Cameron loves his sweets!
Annmarie and Devin were twinning today in their Arc 5k shirts. They happen to share a table so it was really cool that they were dressed alike! They also enjoyed decorating cupcakes for Cameron's party, adding lots of sprinkles, which Cam loves!
The hard part was knowing we had to wait until after lunch to eat these! Maybe it was a good thing Cameron wasn't here as he didn't have to drool over them for 2 hours! (Can you spot Xavier's decorated stack of gluten free cookies?! 👀)
Cameron, we'll always remember you when we have cupcakes! We'll also remember what a "STAR" of a friend you were to us!
Cameron is a mover who enjoys our exercise routines, and he likes SpongeBob SquarePants. Today, in his honor, we found a SpongeBob themed workout which Laura, Michelle, Patrick, and Nancy demonstrated...along with Cameron's stunt double!
Here is a better shot of us stretching our legs for a good walk like Cameron would take. He's with us...up in the front, where he would naturally be - Liz is "carrying" him!
Ta-da! He made it! He was happy to see pepperoni pizza with a side of fries (and don't forget those cupcakes) for his farewell party. We also gave him some framed photos of himself with his AoA friends, but we forgot to take a picture of that. Luckily, his family's schedule changed and Cameron got to be with us for one more day, tomorrow! What a great party, though. Many thanks to Cameron's folks, Brian and Stacey, for treating us today. We are so happy to have known all of you for almost 4 years, and we will miss you terribly. Please stop by (or drop Cameron off) for a visit whenever you're in town to visit relatives! We'd love to keep in touch!
Thursday
Ciao! We learned today that we can say that for "hello" or "goodbye" as we studied the country of Italy. We enjoyed learning lots of other facts, too. Here, Laura, Xavier, Devin, and Patrick were proud that they got the colors of the Italian flag correct! We learned that flags like this one, and the one we recently learned about for France, are called tricolors, and were designed hundreds of years ago to represent liberty!
A surprising (silly?) fact we learned is that the ancient Romans were the first to actually sew woven fabrics together to make fitted socks! What else would we expect from the country shaped like a boot?!
Finally, we learned that it must be fun to visit Italy if you get to make fresh mozzerella cheese, like Liz's parents did a few years ago! Liz shared pictures of their trip that also showed how beautiful Italy is!
On what turned out to really be Cameron's last day, we enjoyed gorgeous June weather and took another walk, but with the "real" Cam this time. His "real" friends were hustling to try and keep up!
Hello, Cool Dudes! Also known as Drew and Devin!
Here's our final group photo with Cameron, except Abraham was not with us today. That's Cameron on the top row in the middle, looking as cool as ever in his shades!
It's been a while since we hung out with Mystery Doug, so today we watched an episode that answered the question: Could people ever walk on walls? We learned why insects and small animals like frogs can, and why humans can't. It has something to do with either glue-like substances in the hairs on their toes, or a sort of suction ability. Humans are too heavy; we would need so much glue-like substance that we would get stuck!
We also watched a clip of Spiderman climbing a wall...but he was unique! (And, he had some help from Hollywood!) Then we played Superhero Bingo! It was Cameron's last Bingo game with us. 😞
Devin was our Bingo caller today, and he also helped Annmarie find some of the tricky superhero spaces. Good job on double duty, Dev!
Cameron got picked up just before yoga, so we walked out to say our final good-byes to him and his folks.
In the words of Devin, "Happy Trails, Cameron, Brian, and Stacey, and thanks for the memories!" We'll miss you guys!
Friday
We missed Cameron today, and also Sam, who is out of town, Abraham who had an appointment, and Kevin who had the sniffles! That only left Devin, Xavier, Drew, and Patrick to work with ALL the girls at Eaton today! 😳 They did a great job! Here are a few pics from our productive work day at Eaton.
Upon our arrival we were greeted enthusiastically by Kesha and James! They made sure we had plenty of work to do and it was all lined up in our room! They spent a few minutes catching up with us, too. We love talking to them!
This is the 3rd or 4th time we've worked with Kesha, and she rocks! Jorie knew what she was doing when she matched us up with her. She answers our questions and makes sure we know what our tasks are, but she also takes time to chat with the gang and is getting to know them. They love that! 😊
Update on Jorie: She is on strict bedrest for her knee (even though Kesha said she "popped" in for a quick meeting this morning), and we miss her so much, but REALLY HOPE SHE'S RESTING THAT KNEE! We know she wants to be back at work, but some things can't be rushed. 💜💛💚💙 from us to you, Jorie.
In the other room, it was time to assemble PowerSlide Doors. Nancy, Xavier, and Kate did an outstanding and efficient job inserting nuts and bolts, but they sure missed Kevin's help. (And Cameron's...but we'll have to adjust for that!)
We had 3 Label Ladies today: Alexis, Nan, and Liz. Their nimble fingers never stopped sticking labels, even though they were chatting up a storm! 🗣🗣🗣 😜
Don't we look so professional in our Eaton shirts, having lunch in the breakroom?! We're good at socializing and eating, too!
It was a great day except for when we checked our potato plant, which has seemingly grown beautifully in the bag for weeks. Our MG friends said for us to check for potatoes, so Carol stuck her hand in and she only felt one! She said she didn't go all the way to the bottom, so hopefully there are more. When we return on July 6th we're going to meet Karen at the garden and harvest potatoes there, but we also hope to harvest some here, too!
Our last week before Summer Break ended on the sweetest note! Randy, Nancy's brother, has a birthday in a few days. Someone sent him a huge box of gourmet cookies, and he brought us some samples! How thoughtful of him to share with us, and they were sooo good after our busy work day! Thank you, and Best Wishes for a Very Happy Birthday on Wednesday, Randy! 🍪🥳🎈🥳🍪
We've come to the end of our June days, as next week we'll be on Summer Break. We hope everyone enjoys some fun downtime! We'll be back in session on Tuesday, July 6th. Here are some of our plans for that week (the rest are still being figured out 😉):
Tuesday: It's a day we have been waiting a long time for: BOWLING! We're headed back to the lanes for bowling and pizza for lunch. We're pretty excited about this, so bring your bowling balls (if you have one) and wear your Arc shirts! On the way to bowling, we'll also swing by the Williamsburg Botanical Garden to harvest potatoes with Karen!
Wednesday: It's National Macaroni Day, so we're going to make Austria our country of the week and cook an Austrian ham and noodle casserole for lunch (but we'll use elbow macaroni!). We'll also update our July calendar today.
Thursday: We mentioned recently that Eaton NEEDS us, so we'll be working there a few hours each Thursday during July! Bring a bag lunch and wear your Eaton shirt.
Friday: We will work on decorations for our room as we transition it to a summer theme. We'll also have a lesson on a poetry form called "Clerihew" since National Clerihew Day is tomorrow! Sounds interesting... Dress to stretch for yoga and bring your own lunch!
Have a great weekend and a wonderful Summer Break! See you back at the AoA on July 6 and the next blog post will be on July 10!
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
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