HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - SHORTER JOURNAL THIS WEEK

Weather forecast from yesterday February 28th to Sunday, March 8th, 2026. The weather is getting warmer.

From Sunday to Thursday I didn't write anything down. The weather was dreadful, icy wet snow overnight that fortunately didn't stick and rainy the other days. Our favorite walkabout places would have been a soggy mess. 

And talking about soggy messes...

someone put the yogurt right on the edge of the top shelf, and someone else opened the fridge door and let's just say, I won't do that again. What a mess! Gregg was a really good sport about it and insisted on cleaning up. I offered advice from afar, no, not really. 

Ah well, these things happen.

This old photo popped up yesterday and it caused a blast to the past conversation with hubby, chatting about each of them. We were all good friends. This is before he and I met and was taken 53 years ago. (They are the ones I went off to Austria for skiing holidays. We saved all year for those vacations and they were cheap back in those days. The hotel was great and had its own all night dance floor with a live band, and a coffee bar. So, we used to dance all night and then roll into the coffee bar without even having to go outside, from après-ski to expresso, a couple of hours sleep and then it was off to the slopes for skiing lessons. Gosh, I wish I had that energy now.)

 I'm the girl top right at the back in the red and blue flowered shirt. I can't remember who took it. They chopped it off a bit at the top, but I was very happy to find this photo again. My hair always looked like I had ironed it flat but I hadn’t. I envied my friends with curlier hair. The giant hair rollers I used to endure as I slept in them, good grief they were painful. I eventually gave up on those and wore it long, flat as a poker and almost to my waist. Hippy days says I with a smile. Back then Gregg used to think yogurt was hippy food so there was already a connection, ha! We had a few laughs at our younger selves, and the stories we told each other later especially. He enjoys eating yogurt now.

Getting on about the week, we ate out a couple of times, always can remember going out to eat, nothing fancy but once to our Bahn Mi favorite for a meatball sub, which is a 40-minute drive away (good job it's not around the corner or we would be in trouble). We have one about every three months. I have mentioned them before on here. 

Friday, 2-27-26 at 7:45 p.m: the other to McDonalds today, a little closer to home and that's a once-a-week thing, unless it is to another fast-food stop, like the chicken place.

Son came over last Wednesday night as he had dropped our dear d-in-l off at work. The weather was iffy so he drove her. That was a nice surprise and an extra treat one evening. He had already been over for his usual morning the previous Sunday. 

Driving out of the neighborhood, we had paused a little longer at the stop sign as we thought one of these ladies was going to walk across. They didn't and continued shouting across to each other, so of course I got a photo op. They were walking their dogs and probably wanted to keep them apart.

Someone arrived this evening. I had fed the birds earlier and apart from a couple of doves that turned up in the early part of the evening, there has been silence at the bird feeder. Then about half an hour ago I heard a noise and lo and behold I looked outside and there was our little raccoon. They don't usually show up until late night time and haven't been around for a few months. This was my first sighting. The temperatures have risen and I guess this one was hungry. They, as everyone probably knows, are opportunists. 

Saturday, February 28th, 2026: we got a call from our son and d-in-l. After a busy morning in Annapolis (Maryland), they had brunch at a restaurant called Miss Shirley's Cafe and sent these photos of their meal. They enjoy sharing photos too, happy to say. If you are on Facebook, you can see photos from their menu at this link. Those drinks are Bloody Marys and look like a meal. I can see from back to front, an okra, orange slice followed by a section of lime, celery stick, a green olive, a wedge of a green tomato with two slices of bacon hanging over the rim! Heck, you could just order your cocktail and that would be your meal! However, bottom left is son’s Shrimp and Grits, and bottom right is our sweet d-in-l’s Coconut Crème Stuffed French Toast with strawberries. I have just decided where my birthday meal is going to be in a few months. My conversation with waiter, “Excuse me dear, all I need is a Bloody Mary, could you throw in a slice of sweet potato?” 

Gregg and I had chats with family overseas and here this week also.

That's about it for now. I'm looking forward to some sunny, warm-ish days soon.

Hope you've all had a great week out there, and I'll wish you a great one ahead. 

WORD OF THE DAY WITH A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

I noticed each little boy had an endearing twinkle in his eyes, a mischievous look on his face.

UK 1890

“Scallywag”

“A person who behaves badly but in an amusingly mischievous rather than harmful way; often for personal profit.”

There was such a scallywag in one of our old neighborhoods, a darling little boy I was very fond of.  The other children used to pick on him and I would hear him call out my name for help.  All I had to do was open the front door for others to scatter in all directions.  He would run in the house and I would give him milk and cookies, and he stayed with me until his mom got home.  

Times were changing and most all of the moms went out to work on our road.  I had a small cottage industry that allowed me to stay home, so I became the unofficial nanny to several of the neighborhood kids.  I didn’t mind because our son had lots of company.  

My little scallywag, however, had a lot of time on his hands, as his mom worked longer hours than most.  She also traveled on business and had a live-in nanny who was as old as I am now, and he spent most of his non-school time running all hours around the neighborhood.

One time, just before the holidays, I noticed there were paper plates in the gutter in front of my neighbors’ houses, including ours.  As I looked a few doors down, there was my little scallywag sitting on the curb.  He was stuffing his mouth with cookies from one of the plates that had been previously festively wrapped.  

His mother had given those cookies to all the neighbors as a gift, and placed them in the letter boxes for them to find when they came home and checked their mail.  Scallywag said he thought it was okay to take them back, as they were his mother’s cookies, he had helped her bake them and he was hungry.  

We had a little chat about that.  I told him a) he would get into trouble going into people's letter boxes and he shouldn't do that anymore, and b) once his mother had given her cookies away, they were now the neighbors' cookies, not his mothers and not his. 

He was six years’ old and we had our very own artful dodger on the loose.  Not really, but I think you know what I mean.  He's probably chatting to his own kids now, giving them talks like, "I understand, when I was a kid there was this time..."

When his mom remarried and moved out of state a couple of years later, I really missed that little boy, and even now the thought of him makes me smile.

After reading this Gregg said what he remembers is that he was a natural athlete, could kick a soccer ball and run like the wind.

What I remember is that kid sure loved his cookies and milk.

The photo was given to me by Gregg who belongs to an online historical photo group.  Seeing all those little boys sent me on a trip down memory lane.  A great trip for me, thank you Gregg.

LAST SATURDAY WE WENT OUT FOR A WALK - PART 2

 The first two photos are of Witch Hazel.  It is known by several names: American witch-hazel, Common witch hazel, Striped alder, Tobacco-wood, Spotted alder, Water-witch, Snapping Hazelnut, Winterblooms and Witchhazel Witch-hazel!  Its botanical name is Hamamelis virginiana.

Witch hazel was used quite commonly in the 20th century for locating water sources.  The practice, called dowsing or water witching, which is still occasionally used.  You can read about the practice here.  In dowsing, a forked stick of the witch hazel is held perpendicular to the ground and moved slowly over it.  The belief is that when a water source is directly under the stick, it will dip or jump.  I also wrote about Witch Hazel in my post at this link, along with other photos around the garden.

Next, the Star Magnolia (Botanical name: Magnolia stellata).  It is also known as the Royal star magnolia.

I had a hard time choosing between the photos I took of this ornamental shrub, deciding to share several today.  

It grows from 5 to 8 feet in height and can cope with cooler climates.  It does, however, need a sunny spot in the garden, with some partial shade for protection during the summer months. In fact, it is advised to plant in an area that will protect the magnolia from winds and frost.  Otherwise, the flowers may be discolored as the buds open before the leaves appear.   

Star Magnolia is a small, slow-growing shrub native to Japan.  As you can see, compared to other magnolias, it has much narrower petals resembling a star-like shape, hence the name.

It has 3-4" fragrant white or pink flowers with dark green leaves and a gray bark.  It certainly was lovely to see it blooming on our way into the garden.  

The back of the house that I have always loved.  Its history can be read here, but in part it was built in 1784 by John Moss.   

As it used to be back then, the front of the house courtesy of the Fairfax County Park Authority and found on the above website.

Next you can see it from its side view.  It is near one of the entrances near the parking lot.

More daffodils...

Hellebores which I wrote about yesterday.

We planted these in front of our own home and I am hoping they survived the winter.

Lastly, the tree towered above me with a profusion of  blooms.  It is the Japanese camellia, botanical name Camellia japonica, and as the name would infer, it is native of Japan.  Also known as Common camellia and Rose of Winter.

It can grow up to 49 feet and does best in partially shady spots with rich, well-drained soil.  It also has very little fragrance.  I read that it can be given coffee grounds as long as it is mixed into a well-prepared compost.  Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, as well as some other micronutrients.  Japanese camelia's have been known to live for over a century in the wild.  

Many of the blooms were past their peak.  Still very pretty though.

A small pink Japanese camelia was growing next to the larger tree, and those blooms were not quite as worn.

We had parked our car on the other side of the barrier at one of the entrances. Though people are welcome to stay in the garden until 6.00 p.m. after which it starts to get dark, the parking lot closes at 5.00 p.m.  We didn't arrive until 4.40 p.m. and thought it wise to park outside on the road that leads into the garden.

WE ARE EACH GIFTED…

“We are each gifted in a unique and important way.  It is our privilege to discover our own special light.”

~Mary Dunbar~

Evelyn Mary Dunbar (18th December, 1906 - 12th May, 1960) was a British artist, illustrator and teacher.

THE NEWSPAPER BOYS

 

I know nothing about this delightful photo of young newspaper boys, other than the fact that it was taken in 1910.

“Carpe diem! Seize the day, boys.
Make your lives extraordinary”

~Williams Robin Professor Keating~

STEPPING BACK IN TIME TO JULY 1980, MY SON AND I

I love going through the old photos and am sharing these again.  I scanned them several years ago while looking through one of our many family albums.  

This is our son and I back in July 1980. At the time we were living in San Diego and Daddy was away at sea. While our husbands were gone we bonded closely with other wives whose husbands were on the same ship, and often went over to each others houses, sometimes in groups or as on this occasion individually. One lady adored our son, as did her 14 year old daughter who often babysat. In fact, these photos were taken by the daughter and given to me later.  There was also a younger son who often played with him whenever they came to our house or as on this occasion, at theirs.  They were a lovely family.

I really enjoyed my time with them, and was very comfortable knowing they also enjoyed having a little one around. Occasionally I would have to get a babysitter when I visited other wives, but here I knew as active as he was that he was welcome, and he was always included in any invite.

When you are teething I guess anything will do to chew on.

As all parents do when they have children all grown up, I look back at these photos and remember this moment with a big smile.  I have shown these photos to our son several times over the past 40 plus years.  He is coming here in a couple of days.  I will be showing them again, and this time also to our sweet daughter-in-law.

REMEMBERING...

This is for everyone who is missing a Loved One, especially at this time of the year.  

OLD FAMILY PHOTO

We recently acquired an old family photo of hubby's great aunt.  She is the lady who is the mother in this photo.  We don't know the exact year it was taken, but we are guessing the late 1920's/early 1930s. 

 “But the most beautiful things in life are not just things. They are people and places, memories and pictures. They are feelings and moments and smiles and laughter.”

~Author Unknown ~

LAST OF THE PHOTOS FROM FRYING PAN PARK

at least until the next time we go there.

There is a small carousel ride near the general store.  

It looks quite old but with age comes character.  I can imagine when it gets dark and all the lights are turned on, with the music playing, it turns into a magical ride.

It is a 1920's Hirschhorn carousel and went under extensive restoration during the winter and spring this year.

After looking at the carousel and all the animals that you've seen in my previous posts, we walked down to the visitor center.  It was at the end of this long road, with two large fields on either side.  We passed another entrance on our way to the farm that takes you directly to the center, and you can park there also.   

Events are held here. We saw a large birthday party going on in one of the rooms, but the museum side was still open.

It was very interesting to see the old photos.

I will add the small captions I found at the side of each photo.  Above it read:

"The Championship Team of Floris Vocational High School, 1924-1925.

"The Floris Home Demonstration Club won the County Championship for most effective club in 1930."

"The community has a picnic dinner after a soybean meeting on better methods for soybean production."

"Playtime on the farm."

"Kids aboard the Cockerill family's mule before the day's plowing began."

The display above shows parts of farming life with old photos, a couple of which I shared in this post. On the door is a list of chores for children on the farm at various ages. 

A closer look at those chores.

and under the pinafore was an old cookbook open to the pages shown below."

More displays showing its dairy farm heritage.

Winding down our outing, the last thing we did was go to the general store.  I liked the old door knocker.

Inside Gregg is deciding on what he is going to purchase.  We came away with bread and butter pickles for Gregg and a blueberry flower honey for me.

This horse print caught my attention also.

A close-up.

I am finishing off with a collage of several animals we saw that day, some you have seen in my other posts.  

And that was our very enjoyable outing to Frying Pan Park.  To family and friends old and new, thank you for taking the time to visit and look at my posts.