Happy Birthday, Bryan!

As we rolled into the second full week of April, we continued our spring birthday season by celebrating Bryan's birthday on Friday.  Earlier in the week we kicked off our spring sessions with the master gardeners.  We also volunteered at GCOC this week, had a fun time with Mike at the Watermen's Museum, and in celebration of National Library Week, we welcomed the JRES library staff for lunch!  In keeping with the motto at nationaldaycalender.com, we love to "celebrate every day!"  

Tuesday, April 9

We heard from Krafty Karen over the weekend that she and Steve had delivered the raised bed to our plot in the garden behind the school.  This morning, we walked out to take a look, and it's just beautiful!  We can't wait to get our herbs and cutting flowers planted!

At the garden, we were greeted by Barb, Angie, Jay, Liz, Joanne, and Carolyn.  We missed Karen today, as she is with her 94 year old mom in Charlottesville, as her mom recovers from hip surgery.  She's doing very well and hopes to be back in her home (with support) very soon!  

Our tasks today included planting seeds for radish, carrot, mesclun greens, spinach, and small, "bunching" onions.  The larger onions and garlic that we planted in the fall are coming along nicely.

Joanne gave Michelle and Liz direction on making a small trench for planting seeds.

Jay assisted Abraham in planting the mesclun greens seeds.

Jay also enlisted Tessa's help to water everything!

Another task today was tidying up the fairy garden.  Angie worked with a group to remove some of the decorative items that were broken, as well as to add some fresh soil in the bare spots and plant new succulents called hens and chicks, and a flowering perennial called "Elise."

Kate and Mallory dug a space for a small hens and chick plant.

Kevin spread some fresh soil over a bare spot.

Angie told Devin to press the soil firmly around the new plants so they would feel secure.

Patrick looked on as Alexis and Angie planted another small hens and chick plant.  They are succulents and will do well in the fairy garden.

After the spruce up, the fairy garden came to life and looks very nice!

Tulips and daffodils still look beautiful in the butterfly bed.  We spotted some butterflies and bees today, too!

We've got to hand it to Barb, who took the lead for today's visit in Karen's absence.  She did a great job, even though she joked she was "winging it."  (If she was, we couldn't tell!)  Thanks, Barb, and all of our MG friends, for working with us today.  Karen would be very proud of your efforts, and not surprised by your great job at all!  💖💖💖

Barb shared samples of beautiful flowers from her yard:  Irises, Spanish lilac, columbine, a beautiful camellia, and others!  So pretty!

The herb of the day was chives, and the MGs had a tasty cream cheese and chive spread that went great with cucumber slices and gluten-free crackers.  MG Liz added iced tea, and we were in heaven with this snack!  Thanks so much, MGs!  Your snacks are the best!

Here is Carolyn's beautiful update for the Master Gardeners' Journal!

For any of our readers who are plant enthusiasts, the master gardeners suggested we pass along information about the following events:

May 4 at the JCC Rec Center on Longhill Rd - The Colonial Triangle Unit of Virginia from The Herb Society of America will have a sale from 9:30-3:00, or until sold out.

Also on May 4, at the Williamsburg Community Center on N. Boundary St., the John Clayton Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society will have a native plant sale from 9:30-2:00.

May 11, our very own James City County Master Gardeners will host their annual plant sale at the garden in Freedom Park from 9:00-12:00.  It's only for 3 hours because they always sell out!

 

After our session, we checked the picnic tables and they were covered with pollen.  We decided we would return to AFCC for lunch, but not before we got in a good walk!

Lisa heard that hummingbird scouts have been spotted in our area, so we put out our new feeder today.  We hope the three hummingbirds we've seen in the past return, or at least members of their families, and maybe they will bring new friends!  Thanks for hanging the feeder, Dev and Beka!

Hummingbird Update:  We spotted one ruby-throated hummingbird on Tuesday afternoon after we hung the feeder!  Must be this beautiful new hummingbird feeder we have this year.  It was a gift from our friend Sweet T's family, and it's just perfect to remind us of how much we love and miss them.  💖 We didn't get a picture on Tuesday, but it was back on Friday morning and we captured these shots.  Can you spot it?!  We hope to see more hummingbirds next week!

Wednesday, April 10

On this wonderful Wednesday, we enjoyed working with our friends at Grove Christian Outreach Center, and celebrating our friends at the JRES Library for National Library Week.  It was a joyful day!

Peggy was all smiles as we helped fill food distribution bags at GCOC this morning.  We were all smiles to see her, too!

Tom and Joel were also happy to have our help, and we very much enjoy working and chatting with them!  Tom's wife, Ursula, was under the weather today, so we sent her our best wishes to feel well.

Back at the center, those not at Grove were helping get our lunch ready.  It's National Library Week, so we thought it would be a perfect time to invite our friends from the JRES Library to join us for lunch.  Librarian, Mr. Nonnemacher, and Library Assistant, Ms. Ortega, are wonderful partners, and have welcomed us to work in the school library for years.  (Please excuse a few blurry pictures.  There was a smudge on the camera lens that we didn't realize right away.)

We couldn't have a luncheon without dessert.  Mallory and Emma prepared chocolate chip cookies!

We had a lot of Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad to make for our crowd, and our guests, and luckily lots of helpers to get it done!

While waiting for our guests to arrive, Laura shared a postcard she brought for our collection from her trip to Pennsylvania.  She and her family visited Elk County where they saw elk and snow, and then made their way to Erie, where they experienced Monday's eclipse in totality!

The "Library Ladies" were ready for Mr. Nonnemacher and Ms. Ortega to join them at the guest of honor table.

We created a thoughtful appreciation poster for our guests.

Tasty Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad (including a gluten-free version for Xavier) and refreshing orange Jell-O!

Unfortunately, our guests only have 30 minutes for lunch, so were made sure to have things ready when they arrived.  We hope they felt relaxed for a few minutes.  They deserve it!  We enjoyed chatting with them!

Thank you, Mr. Nonnemacher and Ms. Ortega, for trusting us to work in your library!  We really enjoy volunteering for you each Wednesday.  Thanks for the extra tasks we sometimes have too, like preparing books for discard!  We appreciate everything you do and wish you a very happy National Library Week!

In other activities today, we created a thank you card for Sam's parents who treated us to lunch for Sam's birthday last week, and made cute little birthday cards for our friend Ally at GCOC, whose birthday is Sunday!

Thursday, April 11

This morning was dedicated to spring cleaning and organizing!   We sent a group to Pet Supplies Plus, where they helped clean the store, and those of us who stayed at the center helped clean and organize things here.

Not technically cleaning, but we needed to have our colored pencils sharpened and Bryan got right on it!

Bryan next appeared with Alexis as they wiped down the microwaves and refrigerator.

Xavier and Tessa helped empty some shelves and then they worked with Nan to add finishing touches to some birthday packets we needed to get in the mail!

Devin, Drew, and Patrick emptied the pantry tubs so we could get rid of unneeded odds and ends, and reorganize things like our baking goods and spices.

Kevin helped with repacking the tubs!

After cleaning and organizing, Kate, Bryan, Devin, and Alexis prepared some books from the JRES Library for the discard process.

Meanwhile, at Pet Supplies Plus, we cleaned the floors getting all the dust bunnies from under the shelves.  We made sure all products were facing front as we dusted, too.  It was a very productive morning at the store!

Michelle and Beka straightened product and zapped dust bunnies!

Sam and Erik were about done on this aisle.  Doesn't it look great?

Liz and Laura are a good team with the big mop and the smaller handheld duster.

The group wanted to showcase fun stuffed dog toys dealing with outer space!  Stop by and select some for your pets!

We spent the rest of the day having lunch and Choice Time, making birthday cards for Bryan, and listening to our read aloud, Lone Wolf.  We ended our day with a game of Spring Corn Hole Challenge  The gang decided to form new teams...Girls vs. Boys!  Today it seemed the girls were going to run away with a victory, but in Round 2 the boys rallied and the girls barely eeked out a win, 13-12!  It was a lot of fun for both sides!

We had a few minutes before we needed to prepare for dismissal, so we asked if anyone had any "Corn Hole Trick Shots" to try.  Devin threw for a 3 pointer over the arms of Erik and Patrick...and he almost made it!  Michelle tried a backward toss, and landed the bag on the board!

Friday, April 12

This morning we visited with Mike at the Watermen's Museum in Yorktown.  Yesterday was National Submarine Day, and it gave him an idea!  First, he gave us some facts on submarines, including that folks who work on them are called "submariners."  He said submarines are often referred to as "boats," and even though they are large and powerful, they are very quiet.  He also pointed toward the Naval Weapons Station just upriver and reminded us that submarines routinely deliver weapons there!  We remembered that once we saw a submarine cruising by while we were visiting with Mike!

After sharing submarine facts, Mike's plan was for us to imagine that "We all live in a yellow submarine!"  Yes...we talked about the Beatles, too!

Of course, we sang!

Mike made a huge yellow submarine and we drew items on it we would take with us on a long journey

Thanks, Mike, for another interesting and fun time!  Happy Submarine Day!

Here's a reminder about Tartans and Tie Dyes, a fundraiser for Relay for Life that Mike is coordinating.  It's next Saturday, April 20, at Billsburg Brewery, and runs from 11-9.  Tell him we sent you!

On the way back to the center, we stopped at GCOC to drop off birthday cards for our friend, Ally.  She was so touched, she cried happy tears!  Aww, Ally...we love working with you, and we hope you have a very Happy Birthday this weekend!

The highlight of our day was yet to come!  Since it was very windy, we decided not to stay in Yorktown for a picnic, so we returned to AFCC to celebrate Bryan's birthday.  He will be 28 on Monday!  He chose for us to celebrate with lemon cake, strawberries, and that rare treat we love, soda!  His friends were thrilled and a few of them couldn't resist making a toast to the Birthday Boy!  Thank you to his family for providing the delicious birthday dessert (and sodas 😋) for his special day.  We loved it!

Bryan, we hope all your wishes come true!  Celebrating your first birthday with us was really fun and those little bottles of soda were a big hit!

After celebrating Bryan's birthday, we met a new friend.  Tracy stopped by to introduce us to Katie, who is Parks & Rec's new Special Events Cooridnator.  We learned she is a Williamsburg native who graduated from Lafayette High School!  Welcome to the team, Katie!  We look forward to working with you!

Our week ended with a good yoga stretch followed by a relaxing peace out with Jaime.  Now, time for the weekend!

Here's a look at our plans for next week:

Tuesday:  We're hoping for a nice day so we can visit Bluebird Gap Farm today with Intern Mallory.  Her time with us is winding down, and she highly recommends a visit and picnic here!  Arc shirts are optional.  Bring a bagged lunch.

Wednesday:  Today we get to see our therapy dog friends!  We wonder if Pip will be up to returning?!  We will also welcome another grad student from W&M to volunteer with us.  We're celebrating National Cheeseball Day, too...so we're preparing meatball subs and cheeseball dip with veggies for lunch.

Thursday:  Kate's birthday is on Monday, but we are celebrating it today with a visit from Sandra who is bringing a birthday lunch for us - her famous Colombian pork with verde sauce and rice!  Thank you, Sandra!  We love your cooking!  It's also National Exercise Day, so we will look forward to a high-energy dance party/workout with Sandra, too!

Friday:  Our friends at Eaton are expecting us today, so please wear Eaton shirts and bring a bagged lunch!  After working, it the weather is nice, the pollen isn't too bad, and the road construction has finished... we will visit the park for a walk.  Otherwise, we'll return to the center for yoga with Jaime!  😉

Have a great weekend,

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang