Sort of a slow week for Grandma Rose & Len this week. As I expected, her journal is becoming lighter on the details of her days as they get busier outside in the garden. The winter entries seemed to detail more of what she was cooking and sewing to stay busy, and now these summery ones, she’s just too busy to write, except for passing notes on what she’s planting for the day. She is certainly a busy bee, though, and I marvel at her energy levels. Poor Len can’t keep up even! Oh – and notice she says “cats” – plural! Guess the new one from last week is still hanging around.
Grandma Rose seemed thrilled with the Bing Crosby special she watched this week, so I went on the hunt for it, and don’t you know, YouTube had it, so I linked it here for anyone who was interested. Oh, nostalgia!
NOTE: As always, I left her spelling, capitalization, and punctuation as much as possible.
_____ WEEK 21 _____
May 20, 1978 – Got up 8:00 After breakfast washed fan window and put in screen. Went to garage and cleaned the fan and grills. Len took screen from garage window. Len whipped dandelions from driveway.
I set out care free geraniums and white sweet alysiums in the green tub I fixed last evening. Carried some of the heavy winter coats to garage. Got all my plastic containers into one big box, and put away some more pint cans.
Low 52° High 82°
11:15 71°
May 21, 1978 – Got up 8:00 Opened garage and green house. After breakfast I swept and mopped the filthy kitchen while Len dressed. He ran sweeper in room while I took bath and washed my hair.
Cleaned bath room and mirrors before lunch. Too tired to work so took nap from 1:00 until nearly 3:00. Went to green house, read[ied] it up and got quite a bit of sweeping done.
Fixed roast for supper.
Low 55° High 63°
51° at 11:15 PM
May 22, 1978 – Got up 8:30 Made bed and fed cats. After breakfast, while Len got ready to go out doors to spade in potato patch, I got a load of compost and dug hole; set out fox gloves Ethel brought me last week. Took me an hour. (Evelyn came over – wants me to fix a couple suits for her – shorten pants and take up jacket under arms) Set out half dozen cannas Ethel brought me. Set out 2 more impatiens in breezeway flower bed and two geraniums Arch got me –
Tore apart the big hanging basket and set some of it in other hanging baskets. Dug out violas from under greens in front of trailer and transplanted to edge of breezeway flower beds. Emptied wagon load of grass and weeds from flower beds on bank.
Low 42° High 79°
66° 86° (1977)
66° 11:15
(Note on the side: “Cut potatoes this afternoon for planting – Len spaded enough ground today for a few rows of potatoes. Carried table from greenhouse to back step to put flowers on.”)
May 23, 1978 – Got up 8:30 Pouring rain. No work outside. Left Len to make bed after breakfast, and went over to Evelyns, marked up two pairs of slacks to hem., basked seams of a vest and jacket to take in. Had coffee with her ’til rain slacked up – Got home about noon.
Thunder storm didn’t last too long after lunch, so got to watch my “soaps.” Didn’t feel like sewing – Had slight headache – just enough I didn’t want to work so dug through old photos and thru away lots of 30 or more year old negatives.
Stormed all eve. Got to see TV for one hour. Went to bed at 10:00 after doctoring the old headache.
May 24, 1978 – Got up 8:45 Started in on Evelyn’s vest – it turned out to be more work than I thought – Have about another hours work on it. After “soaps” and lunch went to garage where Len was working moving his wood. We bagged up 3 green garbage bags of leaves for Ethel. I collected all her Heralds to give her tomorrow.
Low 52° High 78°
63° 11:15 PM
May 25, 1978 – Len has Dr. appt with Parekh. Didn’t do much. After breakfast, we got ready to go to eye doctor. Lens lens was still too big so Dr has to send it back and get it made over. Ethel brought Eric along – went to Big Bear – got home 3:30 – Ef took her leaves this time.
After supper, Len did dishes while I set out some flowers. 6 wandering jews, 3 coleus, 1 impatiens, 1 spirea half doz, eiolas, 1 oxalis, one sweet alyesum. Put our more slug bait.
Put away canned goods and other food to freezer. Watched Bing Crosby “His Life and Legend” tonight. Wonderful, wonderful show.
Low 54° High 80°
69° 11:15
(Note at top: “Planted astibbe – white spirea bought May 14th”)
May 26, 1978 – Got up 8:00 After breakfast, I finished Evelyns vest – Len went out to start mowing yard little after 10:00. Grass was still a little damp yet, so I put away my sewing. Got part of the red rose bush cleaned. Had to stop that, and rake up worse of the thick grass where he mowed. Len got front and part of the back yard and he gave out. Had lunch at 12:30 –
Watched “soaps” while Len took off and sharpened big mower blades. After “soaps” set out 1 coleus, 4 white petunias, re-set 9 tomato plants. Planted lemon balm seeds, and Arch’s peony bulb. Fertilized hanging baskets.
We had to eat in garage tonight. Len couldn’t stand it in the trailer.
Low 56° High 83°
71° 11:15 P.M.