We have been blessed recently with a great deal of rain.  We've been under drought conditions for a couple of years.  The rain is filling up the lakes, causing the flowers to bloom and keeping it cool.  I've no complaints with the rain-it is truly a heaven sent blessing after the last couple of years.

School is out, and my boys are chomping at the bit to go to the public pool, but with all the rain and storms, they've not been able to go yet.  They are driving me nuts!

I've had an interesting plant spread all over my backyard.  I took one to show "the ladies that know" at church, and they confirmed my guess that it was curly basil.  From one plant, it has spread all over my backyard.  Oh well, it grows here, so I'm not going to worry about it.  Some of it will be mowed with the grass, some will be left to grow around the bird bath.

It seems my sourdough starter has suddenly become quite vigorous.  I'm excited!  Maybe I can make some sourdough sandwich bread.  My previous attempts haven't been very successful.

We spent yesterday afternoon with friends from church.  It was a poignant time, as one of the ladies lost her husband in combat in the late 1960's, and her oldest son is currently serving in the Army in Kuwait.  We had a wonderful meal, but didn't neglect to reflect upon the sacrifice of those who have served in the U.S. military.  We had a long discussion on the significance of D-day.  This discussion was prompted by the mention of my daughter being at Normandy (Omaha Beach) last year on the D-day anniversary.  My friend's father-in-law had asked my DD (16 at the time) if she realized the significance of the D-day anniversary and the ceremonies she was able to witness first hand.  She admitted that she didn't think she fully grasped the significance of what happened there, but that as she grew older she would.

I've not seen the field of crosses in Normandy.  I have seen the field of crosses in Cambridge, England.  The American cemetary at Cambridge is the second largest American cemetary outside of the U.S.A.  It is just as poignant as the crosses at Normandy.

I send out a thank you to all the families who have given the ultimate sacrifice of a son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, father, husband or wife.  Thank you.

I think of the boy down the street, who isn't really a boy-he's 6'3", 20 years old and chomping at the bit to get to Iraq.  He's in the Marine Reserves and is eager to be put on active duty.  We saw him Friday night, and he's still waiting.  I told him I would hunt him down if he left for active duty without coming to see me and let me know when he was leaving.  He used to knock on my door and ask for a glass of water when he was about 10 years old and got hot when he was out riding his bike.  He always wanted to mow my yard-and I always told him I had two sons who took care of that.  When my daughter started high school and had to go to band practice early in the morning, he always came and picked her up and took her to band practice so I didn't have to (he was also in band).  He was in the same cub scout pack as my boys.  He's a good kid and he's a U.S. Marine.  Semper Fi William!

I think the kids and I are going to spend some time at the Senior Citizen Center this summer.  My friend goes down there and plays games with them on Wednesday mornings.  I thought that sounded like fun, so we will be off to the Senior Center tomorrow.   My kids should liven the place up a bit.  I'm hoping the boys will be interested by the wood carvers that are there on Wednesdays, and will want to join in.

Blessings to you all!

Loving all this rain in Texas,

Karmann