June 21, 2011 – well, we can soon kiss June 2011 goodbye. Yesterday morning I hadn’t been to sleep yet when I started hearing thunder in the distance. As usual, we had a chance for severe weather so I stayed awake and watched television for the warnings and watches. It finally started raining really hard so I woke Walt up and we were really getting a thunderstorm. We turned on the porch light to see how hard it was raining and how hard the wind was blowing. They had watches and warning going on television for a while big area here. Luckily we didn’t get anything but a lot of rain. It was standing all around in the yard and meausred one inch in the rain gage. We had got three and a half inches before in three thunderstorms so that makes about four and a half inches in about two weeks. Walt had to put on his rain boots yesterday morning just to go out here in the front yard to feed the birds and little critters. So I didn’t write a letter yesterday morning so this will be late. I can’t remember the Missouri River flooding so bad before. So many bad things happening in so many different places with no let up in sight. I just feel so sorry for all the people who are effected and I know its been really hot down there in Missouri and thinking how much harder it’s making it on the people in Joplin. As if it wasn’t bad enough already trying to get all that horrible mess cleaned up. I know we’ve all got them in our prayers yet. I got a card from my cousin, Edna Pruett, in Nixa and she said their air conditioner went out and they were waiting for the repairman and it was really, really hot there. Then I seee in the Douglas County Herald where it has been hot there too. We’ve been pretty lucky so far about the temperatures, but the humidity stays high and makes my heart act up so I have to mostly stay in with the air conditioner. I usually go out in the evenings and look at the flowers and of course take pictures.
The baby horse (Jewel) is growing and filling out good and still just as cute as can be. She’s getting braver all the time and getting farther away from her mother all the time. One day she and her mother (Halo) were off away from the rest of the herd and she came back all by herself and stayed here close to the house with them. I got some good pictures of her and she let me pet her. The landlord has one of those big red balls they make for horses to play with. It was down against the fence and Jewel was trying to roll it so Walt went across the fence and moved it and she was trying to roll it, but he said it was really heavy. He sliced an apple for me to feed to her. She had her little mouth full of grass and when I held a slice of apple out to her she nuzzled it then jerked her head away. I guess she hadn’t ever tasted one before and kept droppin them. By that time “Rio) the young paint was over there so I fed the apple to him and he loved it. On Father’s Day Walt got calls from all four of his kids. First Berta called, she lives in Davenport, then Rob called and he lives in East Moline. Randy called later and he lives in Minnesota, but was on the road in another state. I forgot which one. Later Mona called and she lives in Ozark, MO. She said her daughter “Mel” is working ten hours a day and has her own place now there in Ozark. Mona told Walt that she (Mona) is coming to the Quad Cities on Thursday of this week and will come out here to see him while she’s in town. My daughter sent a test wishing Walt a Happy Father’s Day and said she was going to send him something. She said she and Carl are going to be grandparents again. Carl’s daughter is due in January. Anita has two grandkids, but it will be the first for Carl. I know he will be a proud grandfather. For my Mother’s Day Anita called me and sent me a really pretty card and a gift card to Menard’s. I took it and got two hanging pots of petunias, one red and one purple. They sure are pretty. The purple is a wave petunia, but not sure about the red one yet. We planned to go to granddaughter, Lisa’s house on Friday for the baby shower for Tracy who works with Lisa, but we were supposed to get storms again so we decided against it. It’s probably at least a 60 mile round trip and we didn’t want to take any chances so we will take the gifts to her at work She’s got a little girl and is expecting a little boy this time. That’s always nice when they have one of each like that. Berta told Walt that she had babysitted her two little grandchildren (Ryland and Savannah) last weekend while her daughter, Amber had a garage sale. So Walt told her to let him know when she has them again and we’ll come and see them. She lives out on this end of Kimberly Road so it isn’t too far from here. Usually when we’re in the Cities it’s during the week and everyone’s at work.
Walt got an invitation yestreday and sent to my address and the return address was in Virginia with no name, just an address. On the invite it said a family cookout and gave an address in Rock Island and the RSVP was for “Loretta.” We thought and thought and tried to guess who it could be. He said he had never been invited to that address before for anything. I told him I thought I had heard Dee mention a Loretta before and Walt said, “Oh yes, that’s his sister-in-law.” We pretty well had it figured out, but to be sure I sent Rob a text and asked him. We always ask Rob when we don’t know something and he said it was Loretta Barlett so that was solved. Rob said he caught nine catfish on leeches. Walt said to tell him to leave a few in there for seeds. He said okay.
We got some cute babies to watch and take pictures of – of course the little horse, at least two baby groundhogs, baby raibbit, baby chipmunks, ground squirrels, some baby birds that aren’t real little, but cute and expecting to see baby Wrens any time now. I think they’re sitting on eggs now in their house. I can still hear them, but can’t see them most of the time. Their house is hanging on the front of the porch and turned toward the house so we’ve got a good view of them.
I don’t think I have mentioned that my BFF in Van Couver, Washington – Kay Day-Applegate, called me about two weeks ago. She’s still got all kinds of aches and pains too. She said she’s diabetic now too and still shakes a lot. Her son is still working in Cedar Falls, Iowa and was going to come home for a visit over July 4th. That holiday is coming up right in our face now isn’t it?
Well, I better see if the pony express rider wants to ride his pony “Risky” (his bike) up to the mailbox with this.
Take care of yourselves and bye, bye for now.
