Family Mellmann

Our first week of summer vacation has concluded, but where did the week go?  It seems like we were just in school, enjoying those last hours of class before saying goodbye to friends.  It has been a busy week, and pretty productive. The garden is looking much improved after being weeded.  Flower pots and baskets have been filled, bird feeders reloaded, bird bath cleaned and filled, water fountain assembled and bubbling, and the fire pit area pruned, weeded, and ready for the season.  The raspberry patch is netted (to keep the birds out) and I have harvested my first blooms from my one lonely (white) peony plant. I "saved" this peony fourteen years ago when we began construction on our house.  It has struggled along all this time waiting for me to find it a proper home.  Until a few years ago (when we had many of the pole pines removed from our property) access to sun was a significant problem for bloomers like my peony.  Now, we get lots of wonderful f...

This is it - our last evening of Spring Break.  One whole week of no school, no alarm clocks, no homework, and no lesson plans.  One whole week of catching up on neglected tasks, addressing some rental projects, and cleaning out emails and to-do lists.  One whole week to relax and knit.  Gardening would have also been on the plan for this little vacation time, but right in the middle of the week we got three inches of snow.  Snow!  How did *that* happen?!  However, I didn't let that stop me from grilling dinner.   This is the project I finished during break.  It was a kit I bought last year some time. It's called The Beachcomber Shawl.  I like it.  It is knitted in a fingering weight cotton, so it should be a fun summer shawl. This is the new project.  I bought this yarn at the same time I bought the Beachcomber kit but since most of my knitting (until now) has been in wool or alpaca (good winter yarns), I hadn't found a good (...

 Patrick continues to progress through his college classes, preparing to wrap up his sophomore year in just a few weeks.  Since starting college, he has become a pilot, earned his "instrument rating" (he can fly through the clouds, not just on sunny days), and completed aviation and "core" classes toward his BS in Aviation Science.  It's hard to believe he is almost half done with college. Currently in his "commercial" training, this semester has been about building flight hours, learning some additional skills (he calls them "maneuvers"), and fine-tuning his control; where he might have had to maintain an altitude of +/- 100 ft in Private Pilot training, now that number starts getting smaller showing that he can more strictly control the plane.  This phase of his training has involved a lot of night flights, late nights, and last minute dashes out the door when a plane becomes available or the weather is just perfect for something he needs t...

It's the middle of January and we got a nice dusting of snow last night. As the sun is starting to poke its head over the horizon this morning it is fun to see the snow piled gently on the branches of my Henry Lauder Walkingstick.  The kids at school today will enjoy sledding on the new snow.

The past twenty years has been quite a journey; from first travel adventures to last days of high school with braces, birds, licenses, and learning in between.   Patrick with Opa & Oma V (probably in front of an airport) at 3 months. Patrick enters the "double digit years" (turned 10) and was already caring for raptors at a local rescue.     By the time Patrick became a teenager (13 years old), he was an advanced open-water diver.   Milestone - Age 16 - Driver's License     Milestone - Age 18.  By now he knows that he will pursue commercial aviation after graduation. Now 20 years old, he says "farewell" to the teen years. To his driver's license he has added a motorcycle endorsement, a private pilot's license, and is advancing toward his commercial (pilot) license.  He has logged miles on a motorcycle, hours in the sky, and continues stacking up the adventures, all while growing and maturing into a handsome, caring  young man. Happy Birth...

It isn't often that we get to see a rainbow out the front door. 

 So this happened today. Before This was her 8th grade school picture.  She "smiled" with her mouth shut because she didn't like her teeth. This was her right before we left for the orthodontist.   After I can't remember ever seeing such a big genuine smile on her face...and it only cost us $7,000!

It has been a busy couple of months since July when I was seeding herbs, planting flowers, and propagating bushes from cuttings of my own and friends' shrubbery.  We have gone from a leisurely schedule of gardening, house chores, and navigating Covid-19 protocols at the grocery store to long days, late nights, and a new level of chaos management. Patrick and Katherine are back in school.  Most of Patrick's classes are being done remotely except where FAA regulations require in-person instruction.  Having completed his private pilot's license in July, he is now on to "instrument rating".  This will allow him to fly using instruments, which are useful in poor weather when you can't see far in front from where you are and/or can't see the ground.  Up to this point he has been flying VFR - Visual Flight Rules - which means that he has to be able to SEE where he's going (there are some specifics in terms of how high the clouds have to be and how clear the a...