We came home last night from Bill's paving convention at Big Cedar in Branson, MO. On the whole, Missourians were pretty disgusted with their weather and kept apologizing because it was unseasonably hot. I almost laughed, out loud even. Missourians are nice folks and want you to be comfortable in their state. However, half my birth family is from Missouri, so I've spent a lot of summers up there visiting my granny. They may get more rain than we do, but it creates one hot and humid mamma jamma. Bill's paving convention was scheduled a week earlier this year in the hope things would be cooler. Mr. Sun and Ms. Jet Stream decided not to cooperate. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time as always. How could we not? Big Cedar is one of those places where it is difficult to have a bad time. This was our sixth year. For...

First, I am fine. The house still stands. Thank you so much for your tweets and FB messages. It made me feel loved. The large tornado which devastated parts of Piedmont and the west side of Guthrie including the high school was about ten miles west of here. Tornadoes also touched down in other communities which haven't received as much news coverage like Chickasha and El Reno. It's been a rough weather week throughout much of the U.S., and last Tuesday, Oklahoma wasn't spared Nature's vehemence either. On Twitter, when I said I wasn't afraid of tornadoes, I was taken to task by one tweeter. Really, I'm not afraid, but I think I should explain why. I've lived in Oklahoma my entire life, and I understand tornadoes the way people born in California "get" earthquakes. I am in awe of their violence, and I respect their power, but I don't...

I've been like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers. It's the end of the school year for my kids, and all that entails. The Diva just graduated from high school yesterday. There's been prom, and a whole host of writing projects. Plus, I've been toiling in the garden of delight. Everything about late May is delightful from the buzzing insects to the warmer weather. I never thought I'd be so glad to see the blazing sun, but it was a very cold spring with little rain. Both were ended this week with rain and then sunnier skies just in time for Baccalaureate and graduation. Tomorrow, I go with my daughter for her orientation at university. She asked me to go, and I'm surprised and gladdened. She isn't quite ready to let me go yet, and I'm grateful, because if she did so soon, I'm afraid I'd fall....

Our morning temps have not been the norm in Oklahoma recently. At 45F for the last couple of weeks, it's been chilly, but still a good time to transplant shrubs, perennials and most annuals. Still, the variegated tapioca I placed in a container and another in the ground are very unhappy campers. They may not survive. The lesson in this? Wait to put some tender tropical offerings in the ground until mid-May at least. You never know what Oklahoma weather has in store for us. As for the vegetable garden, everything is performing well. The cabbages are heading up. I've sat on the edge of the beds and eaten lettuces with no accompaniment except sunshine. Spinach planted in the fall overwintered, and I harvested it early spring before it bolted. Never making it to the kitchen, strawberries taste like nectar. Plus, I've eaten snowpeas and sweet podded peas straight off...