Michael

My nephew Michael was in town yesterday....so some of us went out to dinner at Olive Garden. It was a really nice gathering. Also...a welcome relief from the heat for those of us who don't have air conditioning. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera or I would have photos to show you.

I am trying to figure what to call Mike once he finishes his dissertation and has his Ph.D. ...

Dr. Mike
Dr. Mikey
Dr., Honey

Well, I guess I am back to just Mike. But I am so very proud of him for this and all of his accomplishments over the years.

Best of luck him on his endeavors in the Navy....

Mike's Very Proud Aunt Alaine

Golfing with the Ladies League

I have been wanting to golf with the ladies league for quite some time. I don't often have a Tuesday off so....I asked Ruth Fiels if I could join them for yesterday. Of course...we also don't often have weather over 90 degrees....or for that matter over 85 degrees.

I went out with Sandy, Bea, and Sharon (I don't have a picture of Sharon) and had a great time...until it got so HOT I wasn't feeling well. I should have known better, but I REALLY wanted to golf with these wonderful ladies.

Better luck next time I get a Tuesday off....I will make it through all 18 holes!! Thanks for letting me join you.

Aunt Vi and Uncle Larry

I was talking to my Dad about Aunt Vi the other day. I had lots of questions....she had been on my mind for some reason. The last time I saw Aunt Vi was in 1979 and by then she was in a wheel chair.

I remember her being really beautiful, and as you can tell by the photos, she remained beautiful even into her older years.

Aunt Vi was the oldest of the Schumann kids...7 younger brothers. She was about 16 when their mom passed away. Two cousins, Francis and Angela (twins) took turns taking care of the kids until Aunt Vi finished high school. She then took over. Raising all of those boys must have been quite the hand full. (And I hazard a guess that all of my siblings and cousins would not disagree!!!)

Aunt Vi married Uncle Larry later in life and they never had children. Uncle Larry worked in construction. He also booked sports bets. Uncle Larry loved to play poker....called Aunt Vi in the middle of the night and asked: "What kind of bird am I?" Vi grumbled that it was the middle of the night. Turns out he was a "jail bird." The poker game he had been playing ran into a little trouble. She went down to bail him out.

Dad says they used to fight like sparring partners. He thinks they loved it. When Aunt Vi ended up in the wheel chair he would carry her up the steps into their apartment. When she became bed-ridden, he used to sleep sitting up in a chair and help her out with anything she needed.

Uncle Larry remained in that same apartment to the end of his days.

My Dogwood

This corner of the yard was bare naked! The first year we only planted a few rocks. I fell in love with the pink kousa dogwood at our landscape designers nursery. By the time we were ready to plant one, they had no pink ones left, so I decided to wait a year! I think it was well worth the wait.



The kousa dogwood is more resistant to diseases than the native dogwoods we see around here. That sure makes Dan happy, since he is the chief landscape horticulturist in the household. I am simply and underling who gets to dead head the fuscias and pull an occasional weed.


The blooms start out as green as the leaves and the first time it bloomed I didn't think the blooms would turn pink. Then, finally, they got almost white.













By the end of June they were the lovely deep pink that I fell in love with.

Golfing with Dad

I am so grateful that Dan taught me to golf 12 years ago. Not only do I love to golf, but I have been able to spend some great times with my Dad on the golf course. Those are opportunities for time together that we probably wouldn't have had.

The first few years we would golf a time or two a year, but usually on Father's day and maybe one other.




After we moved to Scott Lake Golf Course about seven years ago, we started golfing most Sunday mornings in the good weather. EXCEPT when Dad had other plans. Most of you who know my Dad know that he is a pretty busy guy for somebody who it turning 90 years old this fall. He occasionally has a dance or other event to attend on Sunday afternoons and sometimes a Discovery Tour.

It was only about 3 years ago that we convince Dad to ride instead of walk. He figured out that he had more energy to play golf if he rode. I will always treasure our Sunday morning golf.

Thank you Dad for being willing to spend time with me....and thank you Dan for helping me to have this wonderful opportunity.

We WON!!!!!!!!!

We golfed in our golf league mid-season tournament tonight and our team won!!! It was so awesome. Dan and I golfed with Sandy and Brian Walch. What a great time we had. It was a shock to all of us that our score of 34 would win.

Sometimes in one of these scrambles only a few members of the team contribute. Tonight I can honestly say all members of the team contributed. Two holes that we birdied were hole 9, where we had a 15 foot putt - putting a tennis ball using a giant toy hockey stick. Sandy made that put....we didn't even think a tennis ball would fit.

The next hole had potatoes all over the green. Somehow, we managed to birdy that hole as well. I am loving my rescue club that I often use to do a bump and run. From about 20 yards out I took that club and we ended up with a 2 foot put....which we made.

Dan and Brian always came through on the holes where we had to take the men's drive. Dan made a terrific drive while sitting in a chair. We could always count on Dan's chipping. And playing an entire hole with a 7 or 5 iron (including the putts) isn't easy. Brian's long drive on number one set up the birdy and his second shot on number 2 bent around the corner giving us a great chance at the green in three.