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Webster Groves Parade

We are having a relatively quiet 4th of July around here. Thursday morning Jim and I went to the parade as we always do when we are in town. It is such a great experience. We met a really nice couple who sat on the parkway next to us. They have four children, and the younger two were with them while the older two walked in the parade. It ends up that their 10 year old daughter is best friends with the family who moved in next door to us two years ago. We kept our opinions of them to ourselves. But as we talked about other things I learned that the woman's mother is first generation American from Scotland, while her dad is from Switzerland (and the two met in Africa!). The husband's mom is from Ireland. It is rare to meet anyone who is first generation these days, at least in my little world. Since we arrived at the parade route early in order to secure a coveted spot in the shade, it helped pass the time conversing with new people.


 Later in the day we went to the lake house of Jim's business partner, located a mere 45 minutes from our house. I brought some snacks and a Patriotic Bundt Cake, and we had fun boating and enjoying the grilled shishkabobs and later the fireworks. It was different sitting in the middle of the lake on a boat as the fireworks were set off. I did miss our fireworks in Webster Groves though. They always put on a good show.

Friday I began the day with a tough work out at the fitness center, and then ruined it all by having a margarita with chips and salsa at the Hacienda. We met our old next door neighbors for lunch there, and it was fun to catch up with them and all their activities. Then today we took our bikes out to Route 66 State Park and road for about an hour before it got too hot. So far it has been a great holiday! Happy 4th!

...hope everyone will be there... Sunday is the Holy Redeemer House and Garden Tour raising money to support the medical and educational needs of our sister parish in Haiti. When my friend Carol planned this a year and a half ago, there was no major disaster in Haiti. Just the struggle to survive that Haitians face every day. With the earthquake that struck early in 2010, a lot of attention has been focused on this poor country, and the thinking is that more people will attend the tour due to the fact that proceeds are going to Haiti.

Jim and I committed early on to have our house on the tour, as long as it was understood that we would only open up the first floor of the house. Our upstairs is nothing to show off, plus I worry about people going up and down the steps. (You can take the girl out of the insurance industry but you can't take the fear of lawsuits out of the girl.) Since we put on a major addition two years ago and have begun to build some beautiful planting beds, I think we have enough to offer the tour-goers. Carol, being the over-achiever that she is, has six homes and gardens on the tour PLUS an additional five gardens. It will be a challenge for people to get to all the locations in a four hour time period.

Our garden closest to the street is still in recovery mode from having the street department tear it up while repairing the storm water lines. On Tuesday we had a bunch of shrubs delivered, and on Wednesday Jose and his crew came and installed all of them. I've been watering, and hopefully the plants will perk up a little more before Sunday. And don't even get me started on the damage the rabbits have caused.

I have a bit of cleaning left to do inside, but we will really have to focus on the outside tomorrow. Cobwebs need to be swept down and windows need to be cleaned. I also need to purchase the fresh flowers I want inside the house, and I am looking for a little something to put on each plate in the dining room. I am thinking about small ceramic pots with a marigold in each? Or maybe a flower shaped decorative candle? I have some cute clear glass dishes with matching cups that my mother-in-law gave me, which I will put at each place. That way I don't need to put out silverware and worry about it walking off. I'll come up with something.

In the meantime, I sent a bunch of photographs over to Jim's office, and he is placing them on two or three display boards. We will set them on easels out on the deck by the drinks and cookies, so people can study them as they eat. I am including the history of the Alexander Russell subdivision as well as the history of Lot 16, where our house is located. In addition there are photos of the original owners, and pictures of changes made to the house over the last 108 years. I will be selling copies of my book (hopefully!), with a 20% donation to the Haiti fund. Katie's friend Mary will be playing the keyboard and singing on the deck as well, so the ambiance should be good. Now - no rain!!!

Today is Katie's 19th birthday, and she is having a small group of friends here for dinner. Jake (a high school and college classmate) is cooking, so I picked up all the ingredients he needed this morning. He is so funny - he sent Katie a list of menus to choose from. She selected a pasta dish, and it sounds yummy. I'm hoping there will be enough for Jim and me to enjoy as well. Bon appetite!

Yesterday I got an email from a high school classmate who had found me on the Hoover High School Class of '74 fan page on Facebook. Curious about whether I was the person she remembered, she read my personal blog as well as searched through the myhousehistory.net website I started for my book. As it turns out, Chris actually spent the first part of her life in Charles City, Iowa where my husband is from. What's the latest train of thought? Three degrees of separation? I am finding that to be more and more true. I really love that through this new form of social networking we can reconnect with people from our past as well as establish relationships with new people from all over.

The other night Jim, Katie and I went out for dinner at Tuckers with our friends, who recently moved back to St. Louis from southern California. I know what you are thinking - "What, are they nuts?" Jim D. is a riding buddy of my Jim, and Jim W. couldn't be happier that Jim D. is back in town. As I had noticed when I was downtown Saturday night that the city of St. Louis still had the Christmas lights on in the City Garden, I had suggested that we all bring our cameras along and take pictures in the garden after we ate.

It was very cold, but we had come prepared dressed in layers, including long underwear. I should mention that Jim D. is a professional photographer, so he had his wonder camera and tripod so he could use a slow shutter speed to capture the night lighting. I got a new DSLR for Christmas in anticipation of my next book on barn quilts, so I was eager to try it out. I am not one for changing the settings on a fancy camera, and was content to shoot with and without a flash. As many camera classes as I have attended, I still don't quite get the aperture and shutter speed mumbo jumbo. I find that automatic works pretty well for the type of photography I partake in. Maybe I'll be a little more adventuresome with this camera since I won't be wasting film. Who knows?

It was fun to take the pictures at night, but I definitely would like to go back when I am not freezing my fingers off. I know they have some cool lighting in City Garden throughout the year, but I'm glad we were able to capture the Christmas moments for now.