May 2026

May 1 -  Reverse board project  Avian had to take something that had already been completed and make a sequential board for it.  They chose the scene from Avatar: The Last Airbender where Toff is fighting - S2 E6:  "The Blind Bandit".  Enjoy.  

May 4 - I picked up Nick's contacts on my way home from work and Steve and I drove them down to him after dinner.  He told us his back was really sore and it had started hurting after he swam severl laps at the YMCA.  He then also admitted to riding a mechanical bull and really getting thrown around.  We went to the store and got him a heating pad to help with the pain.  

May 5 - Teachers all over North Carolina wore to show support for teachers getting the pay and respect they deserve.  LNC is definitely supportive of NC teachers.  

Nick called and told me he had been to the chiropractor everyone at work goes to.  He has a broken tailbone and fluid on his lower spine. The doctor told him to rest it as much as possible and use ice to help with the swelling.  

May 6 - Nick called and said the x-ray showed he also has scoliosis and it is making his broken tailbone more painful.  This poor kid has to work all day lifting heavy things and bending over.  He is a trooper.  

Grandpa's flowers growing in our Grandpa Garden

May 9 - Steve and I went to a surprise party for our neighbor, Stefani.  It was fun to surprise her and get to see a lot of our neighbors as well.  We were on the veranda at the Highland Creek Gold Club and there was live music playing.  The musician took a break and came to wish Stefani a Happy Birthday.   I was surprised to find out that Stefani had never had a surprise party before.  We were honored to be there for her first one.  

The view from our table on the veranda at the Highland Creek Golf Club

May 10 - The older primary kids talked in sacrament meeting for Mother's Day.  It was the best sacrament meeting ever.  Nick came over for dinner.  After dinner we took a walk around the neighborhood.  It was fun to talk with Nick for a bit.  We don't see him as often as we would like.  He is doing well and loves his new apartment and roommate.  That is a positive.  

We sent Avian a picture so they could feel like they were a part of the festivities. 

The beautiful flowers everyone got me for Mother's Day. 

I used the patch weaver they got me to fix the truck seat cover.  

May 16 - Steve and I woke up early and drove to Saluda for their Arts Festival.  It was spread out all over Main Street and there were so many talented people there.  

We talked to this lady.  She makes baskets and such with wooden bottoms and macrame rope. They are really cool 

After touring the entire festival, we decided to head to Hendersonville which was just a short drivel.  I had been raving about the fun antique shops in Hendersonville since Avian and I went there with the Licastris for the apple festival.  The shops did not disappoint.  We also found a really fun thrift shop.  

Steve took a picture of this shirt to show to his primary kids.  They all agreed it was not Sunday appropriate.  

The drive home.  The mountains and clouds were so peaceful.

May 17 - We were just finished up dinner when the doorbell rang.  Steve went to see who it was and came back with a Marcos Pizza.  None of us had ordered it.  We looked at the receipt and it was not our address or our phone number.  The address was on Laurel Run Drive so we thought maybe we could just deliver it to its rightful owner.  While Steve called the number on the receipt, Val and I were looking up the address on the receipt.  There was no such address in Highland Creek, but there was one in Memphis.  That was too silly to even consider.  Turns out it wasn't too silly.  This pizza was supposed to be delivered to a house in Memphis.  The owner got a good laugh about it and told us to enjoy the pizza.  I hope he got his pizza for free as well!  That was one really big mistake.  

May 20 - I finally framed Grandpa Weenig's pictures Mom sent us for Christmas.  This is my grandfather and kid's great-grandfather.  I am excited to get them on the wall. 

Val spent the weekend in Winston Salem with Mo for his birthday. 

Sid had to do a photo shoot of Romeo and Juliet in a more modern setting.  This is Avian as Romeo and Mags as Mercutio.  

May 25 - Steve worked on the Singer table and my shelves all day.  When he came in to clean up, a drop of sweat landed on the toilet lid.  It must have been a good day in the garage because even his sweat was smiling.  

Close up

Zoomed out so you can see I wasn't just making this up.  

Avian is in the heat of finals week and Nick is in Florida for two more master mechanic classes.

May 26 - I finally had a chance to get the pictures hung up and named the room the Grandpa Gallery. There are pictures done by my great-grandfather, my grandfather, my dad and a project by Steve.  I loved how it turned out.   

My dad's painting

Grandpa Weenig's pictures

Great-Grandpa Weenig's picture. 

The Singer table finished and decorated. 

 Avian's animatic.  One of Avian's finals was to take 1:30 of a song from one of three popular musicals and turn it into an animatic.  They chose "Popular"  Click on the link to see it.  

May 28 - I worked a half day, then Steve picked me up and we drove to Savannah to help Avian pack up and come home for the summer.  They were hungry for real food when we got there so we went to Texas Roadhouse and let them eat their fill.  We then went back to their dorm and helped get things packed up a bit before heading to the hotel for the night.  

May 29 - Avian had to take Ezra to the airport in the morning so Steve and I checked out the hotel and did some sightseeing.  I had always wanted to see the Bonaventure Cemetery since I had read "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil".  It sound really cool and did NOT disappoint.  

The road driving into the cemetery. It is already worth the drive.

We still had some time to kill before heading towards Avian so we stopped at a Goodwill we had driven past on the way to the cemetery.  I found the coolest pair of crop pants.  I love finding things you don't see in the stores every day.  Those are my favorite finds.  Avian called and said they were on their way back from the airport so we left to meet them at their dorm.  All the roommates were gone so we made sure the place was clean and Avian signed out of the RA.  Another year of SCAD in the books.  We stopped at Cookout for lunch before heading home.  Leah and Rose were waiting with a 44 oz. Sipco when we drove in.  They are such good friends.  

Nick called to say he was leaving Orlando and driving home.  He left Orlando at around 5 p.m. and got home at 3:30 a.m.  He said the classes were worth the drive.  

May 30- Avian and I went to Lynchburg for Aleena's bridal shower.  It was a tea party and all her sorority sisters were there.  It was fun to watch them all interact.  I kind of  missed my sorority days while watching.  Avian had a great time getting to know all Aleena's friends and meeting the other members of the bridal party.  It was a day well spent.  

This picture is a great illustration of how their friendship has always been.  They are fun to watch together.  

May 31 - Churchwide there was a lesson on the Constitution at church. We focused on why the Constitution was so important for our religious freedom today.  One thing that really stuck out to me was the discussion on the right to "the pursuit of happiness".  In today's terms that would mean seeking material things and status to be happy.  In the time the constitution was written it had a meaning closer to the ancient Greek idea of eudaimonia or "living well through good character and active participation in civic life."  Instead of meaning "having" it meant "being".  I loved that clarification.  

Back at home, when we went to move Val's car back into the driveway, it would not start.  Steve tried for 20 minutes and finally called the HC Security to let them know why the car was on the road for the night.  When the security guard arrived to put a note on the car so we wouldn't get a ticket, they tried it one more time and it started.  I followed Steve up to the dealership and we left it there so they could get it fixed for us.  

Avian's Projects for the quarter that haven't already been highlighted above

It is a foldable so no matter what way I oriented the picture something was going to be scattiwampus.

April 2026

Avian sent us some of their projects for spring quarter.  They are really enjoying their professors.  

Self-portrait

The cast from "The Pitt" in cartoon form

April 1 - we had our year-end party for the BOB team.  Everyone dressed up as their favorite characters.  We ate pizza, had cake and handed out awards.  It was a fun way to wrap up the year.  

Ms. Trass as the Mona Lisa

At lunch, Ms. Wolfe told us a story about babysitting her grandson and learning to speak his language.  He kept asking to play Octopus Brian and she could not figure it out so she distracted him with other things until her daughter got home.  It turns out that Octopus Brian is actually Optimus Prime.  That is hilarious!!

April 4 and 5 - General Conference!!!  I love listening to the talks.  In between sessions we cleaned out our closets and everything we didn't need anymore to donate to the church youth garage sale.  They are earning money for camps this summer.  Val went to Greensboro to spend time with Mo and Nick came up to do a long run before heading out to Grapevine, TX, for more master mechanic training. 

April 6 -  I did another prom dress alteration for an LNC student.  I love to see what they pick out.  Afterwards, I cleaned the kitchen, pulled weeds and trimmed the bushes.  Now I can honestly answer the PT question about doing heavy yardwork for more that 2 hours.  

April 7 - Val helped me trim the bushes in the back yard and also get the soil ready for planting this year.  

April 8 -  Sometimes you get his with blessings that don't look like blessings at all.  I noticed a weird sound coming from one of the outlets in the kitchen.  I thought it might be shorting out, so Steve  got out a screwdriver and we investigated more.  It turned out that the washing machine upstairs was dripping onto the outlet downstairs.  We immediately turned off the water to the washing machine and called Morris Jenkins (as our regular plumber was dealing with the death of his father).  They sent someone out to assess the situation.  We needed new valves on the washing machine hot and cold.  Before he could do the work and guarantee it, he needed to check the regulator to make sure it was still working properly.  It turns out that the regulator had gone out and the water pressure in the house was too high.  We could have had a pipe burst!!  He fixed the regulator and the valves and we ended up signing up with them to be our plumbers as the house has been needing more TLC lately - it is 24 years old.  I am amazed at how a small problem that was easily fixed helped diagnose and prevent a much bigger issue.  God is good!

Val and I went and replaced the clematis from the front yard. I did not survive where we planted it.  We are going back to the original location.  Wish us luck this time.

April 9 - Val flew to New Jersey to spend the weekend with a friend.  They were very nervous about travelling alone, but handled it like a champ.  There were no hiccups getting there.  

Steve took the Xterra in for its emission and inspection.  I had a chunk taken out of my back for biopsy and then did another prom dress and taught a sewing lesson.

April 10 - Nick is back from Dallas.  He had thought maybe he would really like Texas and it might be an option as a future place to live.  He has decided that Texas is NOT where he wants to live and loves NC even more now.  

April 11 - Steve is working on restoring an old Singer sewing machine and turning it into a table.  He went to Klutz Wood to look for the perfect top and found it.  

It doesn't look like much now, but wait until you see the final product.  

Val got home safely from her visit to New Jersey. She had a great time and had a lot of stories to tell of her adventures while there.  

April 15 - Val and I went to her favorite farmer's market to get some plants for the garden.

April 17 - We planted the plants purchased at the farmer's market.  

April 18 - Val's car is in the shop getting new spark plugs and filter.  S

Steve and I went to Savannah for a visit.  We picked up Avian, Ezra and Mags and headed to Tybee Island.  It was really crowded as Orange Crush weekend was happening while we were there.  Orange Crush is a huge music festival for college students in the area.  We were so lucky to find a decent parking place.  We played in the water and on the beach for several hours before heading back to Savannah.  Driving off of Tybee Island we realized just how lucky we had gotten with our parking spot.  People were parking on the main street MILES away from where the concert was being held.  

Looking for sea glass. 

I love the cool ripples the water makes when a slight breeze is blowing.  

Ezra, Avian and Mags playing in the waves. 

Avian and me!  

On our way off Tybee Island, we stopped at Rita's Ice to cool off.  Back in Savannah, we dropped Ezra off so we could work on an assignment and picked up Sid, who had just finished working on an assignment.  They wanted to go to Chipotle for dinner.  We had a good time talking and Sid shared the photos from the photo shoot Avian had made the outfit for over spring break.  

These are all based on characters from one of their favorite podcasts.  

After dinner, we dropped them off back at their dorm and then headed home.  We found a much less stressful way that avoids both 95 and 26.  We will be taking 321 in the future.  

April 22 - I GRADUATED FROM PT!!!  I passed all the tests that I needed to pass.  I met all my goals.  In fact, my 30-second sit-to-stand almost beat Joshua's record.  I did 21 and he did 23.  They played Pomp and Circumstance as I shook their hands and walked out.  It was a great occasion. 

April 24 - I helped out with the school play as one of the teachers had been whisked away on a surprise trip her husband had been planning for months.  The kids pulled it off!  

This beauty is a volunteer in our Grandpa Garden.  We don't know what it is, but it is gorgeous.  

My favorite of all the irises we have in our garden.  

April 25 - Steve and I attended the funeral of a good friend who had lost his battle with cancer.  Jerry Smith was the kind of person who would go out of his way to help those in need.  He was so talented with woodworking and had his own company remodeling bathrooms and kitchens.  I loved talking to him as he was always so positive.  The funeral was full of people who loved him.  We helped out with the dinner afterwards and got to talk to everyone as they went through the food line.  Everyone had such good memories of Jerry.  

Meanwhile, in Savannah, Avian sent us the traditional pictures of them posing with their art that is on display at SCAD.  We were sad to not be there for parent's weekend and to see the display in person.  Mags competed in the sidewalk art contest again.  This is a cool weekend.  I hope we get to go next year.  

Mags is so good at chalk art.

April 29 - Nick and Ari went to the Bruno Mars concert in Bank of America Stadium.  I was so jealous and asked them to send pictures.  They had such a good time.  

Below are the pictures of the progression of the sewing machine table project.  

Straight from the seller with everything still assembled.  

The table top and sewing machine removed. 

Taken apart and sandblasted to get rid of the rust

Painted and hanging to dry

Assembled and ready for the new table top

All of the pieces were metal except for the bar that was attached to the treadle foot.  Steve stripped it down and stained it.  

The finished product is coming soon.