:: We had a fun holiday weekend with three days of sunshine in a row. This is something that hasn’t happened around here in six months. ‘Twas wonderful.
:: We went to a high school graduation party that was held at a cabin on a family farm. To get to the party we drove out-of-town into the countryside to a small road lined on both sides with cow pastures. From there our directions told us to look for the balloons and turn right. We did as instructed, driving on a rough path down the middle of a cow pasture, over a small hill, and arriving at a lovely party totally hidden from view when on the road. It was nice to be outside in a relaxed atmosphere– watching kids play games, talking to other guests, drinking beer, having fun.
:: We decided to go to the cemetery to see the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall. It was interesting and well-planned. The scale of the wall is smaller than the original, but it still manages to re-create some of the original’s ambiance. If nothing else, this exhibit gives an inkling of how amazing the real wall is– and perhaps encourages those who have never visited Washington, D. C., to do so.
:: While at the cemetery we walked around for a while. Wandering through the grassy areas we saw all sorts of unique tombstones and family markers. One said, “integer vitae.” Neither one of us knew what that meant so when we got home, I researched it. This is a phrase from a stanza from an ode written by Horace. “Integer vitae” is telling you to live a life of integrity so that you’ll be safe no matter where you go. Good idea, huh?
:: To decorate for Memorial Day I put red-white-blue stars-&-stripey pinwheels in the flower pots by our front door. And then I put two smallish flags in a flower-pot along the front walk. EZPZ, but stylish and inviting. However, except for one other family on our street who put out one big flag, no one else decorated for the holiday. Don’t know what to make of that. This neighborhood usually goes overboard for any and all holidays.
:: We finally had a cookout– our first of the season. Burgers and veggies cooked on the grill. Fresh berries on ice cream for dessert. Served with delightfully cold white wine spritzers. Simple and delicious. Just the way summer is meant to be.
THE SPECTACLED BEAN 
Wow, I’ve never heard of the traveling wall. Very cool.
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Helena, it was cool. The whole exhibit was very organized. It included a way to research a name and then find it on the wall. Many people were doing that; then leaving flags/flowers/momentos by the name on the wall.
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Yum!! Sounds like a great start to the summer! I’ve heard of the traveling wall, but have never seen it. I bet it was still powerful. People around here fly flags regularly because we are near Ft Campbell. So always nice to see. The graduation party sounded like lots of fun in a wonderful atmosphere. We met the kids in Asheville for the weekend. Had a glorious time – did lots of hiking, walking and eating. I like that everyone gets along so well — Isaac’s girlfriend, Kristine came along, as did Morgan’s boyfriend, Jeremy.
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Beth, it sounds like you had a fun weekend too. Let’s hope that it’s the beginning of a long, mostly sunny [but not too dry] summer.
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It sounds wonderful, but I’m jealous about your three straight days of sun. We are still WAITING. We need to do a BBQ too; it’s just not very tempting in gray 50 degree weather. Bah!
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Margaret, I’m sorry that your weather is so sucky. It has to be above 70 degrees before I want to cook and eat outside. Otherwise it just isn’t that much fun.
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It’s been cold and damp here, but I’m loving it. June is so often dry and hot and miserable, as is May, and sometimes, April. So I’m going to enjoy this as long as I can. We did have a day or two of 90 degrees in Feb, so I figure this is our consolation prize. Soon enough I’ll be trying to figure out how to get my daily walk in without melting, so this is awesome.
I’ve not heard of the traveling Wall, but I’ve been to the one in D.C., which is crushing, and the one in Sacramento, which is just CA vets who died, and still, crushing. It all boils down to war sucking, doesn’t it?
I like the message of living life with integrity. I try. Sometimes I fail. I try to succeed enough to make up for it. I wonder if there’s a ‘pro’ and ‘con’ column somewhere, and if so, where I’ll end up in the end?
We flew our flag, and so did some neighbors. Not a lot, though. I did see some nice wreaths near the military memorials downtown. Didn’t go see if there was a parade to watch or not.
I’m glad you got to cook out. We can in most weather, here. Unless it’s pouring. We had a swim party for my daughter’s girl scout troop on Saturday, and it rained, but just a drippy little rain that didn’t stop us from cooking on the grill, though it kept the teens out of the pool. Not the younger siblings, though. I wonder what the age is when it starts to matter?
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J, visiting the wall was a spur-of-the-moment activity. It is nowhere near as striking as the original, but it does visually remind the viewer of how many men and women died in the Vietnam War. In some ways it is hokey, but overall I thought that it was a good and respectful tribute to the fallen.
The business of this neighborhood NOT decorating for the holiday blew my mind. People in this subdivision are nutty about putting stuff out/on/near/around their houses. All I can figure is that Memorial Day was later this year and the schools were already out, so maybe everyone was away on vacation already.
Laughing about the drippy rain and not getting wet in the pool. I’m sure that I did the same thing at a certain age, but I don’t know why. Things change, but remain the same.
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Sounds like you had the perfect Memorial Day weekend. 🙂
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la p, we really did. Seems like it’s been forever since we had this much fun and relaxation all at once.
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