Spring's here and I'm so glad!

This past winter has been sort of rough because sunless days depress me!  I'd say it was sort of an average Indiana winter -- some snow, some cold, etc. etc. etc.  But I'm glad for spring to be here!  In fact, the lawncare people are here today in the complex spreading something (probably fertilizer/weed killer).  The grass is greening up, the robins are back, I have finches at my feeder, I've seen flocks of sandhill cranes fly over, and I've seen crocus and daffodils blooming.  Great!

Since I've posted last I did get my garage sorted -- with the help of Jeff, Ray and Gloria.  We had a good day.  And it didn't take as long as I thought it might.  Very sad, seeing more of Wendell's things go.  It's like I'm discarding a part of him when I do this.  The boys took a few things, Jeff took a couple things to see if the local pawn shop wanted to buy them, and I took a load that filled the cargo area of my car to Goodwill in Richmond.  And we threw some stuff away.  I've got the nail holes patched and sanded, and now I need to call the painter and have my garage walls painted.  (If my knee wasn't bothering me so much, I would paint it myself.  But I don't think I could climb up and down the ladder over and over like I used to.  I've decided that when we get Veronica graduated this spring, I'll try to schedule knee replacement.)  Then, I bought a roll-around work bench with storage drawers, and I think it will hold just about all I want to have out there in the way of tools.

I've been crocheting hats.  And hats, hats, hats.  I should have kept count!  I think I already mentioned that our knit & crochet group, that meets weekly in Farmland, has committed to provide 800 knitted or crocheted hats for Christmas for a local charity.  Yikes!  We already have about 250 and I'm hoping we don't run out of steam before we get done.  (We may end up buying some, who knows ...)  So, every time I sit down to watch TV or take a break, I am crocheting away on a hat.  (But I love it!)

I did finish the photo organization project.  Best find was my 1962 scrapbook, which I had completely forgotten about.  Some neat stuff there.  Along the way I also organized the photos on this computer.  I started a folder called "Wendell & Judy".  Thought I'd share several from that folder, sort of time travel through the years.  Here goes...

1961, dating.  He was home on leave from the USAF.

1963, our wedding day.

1963, newlyweds at our apartment in Cape Canaveral, FL.  He was stationed nearby, at Patrick AF Base.

1982, studio portrait.

1987, aboard the Nathaniel Bowditch, a 3-masted schooner, off the coast of Maine. Great vacation!  

1990, in Brown County, at the T.C. Steele home and studio.

About 1990, church directory photo.

2007 The Colts win the Super Bowl!! And we waited in line an hour to touch the trophy!  We were Colts season ticket holders for 35 years.  (He was so happy that day!)

2008, atop Mt. Hopkins, near Green Valley AZ, on an observatory tour.

2012, we had a studio photo taken in anticipation of our 50th wedding anniversary.

2018, our first selfie, in the kitchen.

2020, we said our goodbyes to our church family in Freedom.  Happy/sad day!  To my knowledge, this is the last photo of us together.

Well, that's all for now.  I move forward!  God is good!

Photo project ...

Since Wendell died, I've been trying to get things organized.  (Like my life...)  Lots of different things, but these past few weeks I've been going through old photographs.  Sorting, tossing, organizing into chronological order, boxing in acid-free containers, labeling.  It's been time-consuming but tedious, interesting, fun, sad -- sometimes all in the same five minutes.  Some days I just had to stop and walk away for the rest of the day, or sometimes for several days.  Just emotional overload is how I'd describe it.  But I'm just about finished now.  Really, all I have to do is label the containers.  I've had the label maker for more than a week now.  It's like I don't want to complete this task and do that one last thing so I can put these on a shelf somewhere and walk away.  

Thought I'd share a few of the pictures.

Jeff's holding on tight to his baby brother and really loving him up!

Ray and Jeff at the Winchester Armory to see 'wrestling' with Danny and Donnie Cochran.

Just home from Boy Scout camp after a week away.  Dad helps unload the van...

Now, some of Wendell and I.  I found more than I thought I would.  You see, I HATE to have my picture taken and so I don't have lots of photos of me; I was almost always the one taking the pictures!  (See how I worked that?  LOL!)

Christmas Day, 1961, the day after we became engaged. At his mother's house.

1985.  A week's vacation at a cabin at Lincoln State Park.  We shared the love of reading!

2013.  Taken at a winery just outside Wilcox AZ on our 50th wedding anniversary.  We had a nice brunch there and then took a long drive through the mountains.  Our official celebration was a few months later, in Spencer, with family and friends.

Our dream home in the country.  This is what we left behind ... I still miss it!  But life goes on.  You can't live in the past.

Well, I'll stop for now.  BTW, my next project will be organizing the garage.  The boys are going to help with that; help me decide how many tools I really need to keep.  And I want to get the garage painted, too.  I'll let you know how that goes!  

God willing, I have lots more projects to look forward to.