Summer 2020 Part I - Hiding Out In Illinois

Jeff and I decided pretty quickly that staying at the beach this summer would not be a good replacement for our canceled UK trip. Too many people for our comfort level. Happily, my mom offered us the option to come and stay with her. Our original plan was to leave right after the 4th of July to drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway ending in DC to see Cierra. Well, the coronavirus won another round since we canceled the car trip when the cases in those states started increasing quickly.  Now we are about to leave for New York state and then down to DC and on to the beach in Delaware.

So what have we been up to in Illinois?

Yardwork
       Apparently, we have not yet recovered gardeners because we quickly found some yard work for ourselves.  As we sat on my mom's covered patio, we noticed that the grass was no longer growing around the edges on 2 sides.  We realized that the walnut tree was so big and thick that the area was too shady for the grass.  Sooo off to the garden center we went with mom in tow.  She got to vote on what we got.  We bought plants like we had in our yard In Kirkwood- ajuga, coral bells, Japanese painted ferns and astilbes.  Plus true to form Jeff found some plants to transplant mainly hosta and some irises.  Oh, and for good measure, we bought a couple of azaleas to replace some.  So far the ajugas love it here and the astilbes are not too sure.  Time shall tell.

Closet/attic cleaning
      All of us were curious as to what was up in the attic above the garage. So that was the start of our cleaning.  Our findings? Magazines from 1963 (the year my parents moved into this house), my mother's wedding dress, and a few other things including old photos.  The cardboard boxes were falling apart, but the photos looked pretty good. From there, Jeff moved to the basement and to the old tools and stuff that had been my father's. I now know my father had the market cornered on golf magazines and racing forms from the thoroughbred racetracks he worked at.  I had to get in on the action a little too when I realized my mother had a kitchen cabinet full of old vases from floral gifts.  Being the recycler he is Jeff was able to give them and some from other aunts' to the local florist.

Sewing
     Since we knew we would be at my mom's house for awhile, I packed up my sewing machine and brought it up from Alabama.  It has been busy and is now getting a professional cleaning and tune-up! What have I been making?  Well, a few masks of course.  A skirt for my daughter,  a pair of shorts and a top for me.  The shorts and top were not as simple as they could be.  Both were from fabric remnants I had, the shorts required matching some ruffles on an angle.  The top was when I jumped in the deep end.  I again used a fabric remnant but used a pattern for a lined dress and instead made an unlined top. I really like the dress, but it is a more formal dress which isn't something I am wearing a lot now so a top version seemed good!

Bike riding
    Madison County, IL has a very large network of bicycle trails. Most if not all are from former train lines. There are 2 different entry spots we have used and have done some out and backs and a couple of loops.  If you remember from our last post, we were doing around a 12-mile loop in the State Park in AL. Well, we are up to 20+ miles now.  If we go to the end of one out and back we are doing 24.5 miles and the loops have been around 22 and 23 miles.  Happily, most of these trails have a fair amount of shade so we don't get too hot.

Golfing
    Ahh, one of the few socially distant and thus acceptable sports so off we went.  The par 3 course has been our Monday go-to spot with my mom and a couple of aunts.  Since normally a league would be playing at this time but it is canceled this summer, we have practically had the whole course to ourselves some weeks.  Jeff's arm has finally recovered so he has been working on his swing some including time with a coach. I have been playing on Thursdays too as part of a standing 4 some which have been fun.  The only downer is that summer has hit and it is hot and humid.

Cooking
    I started to do more of my baking, but when I almost did in my mom's mixer with a loaf of bread.  I decided: 1. there is good bread around here, and 2. it is too hot to be running a hot oven so time for a baking beak.  However, we have been faithfully ordering boxes from Hello Fresh and Blue Apron and making all sorts of dishes for summer.  Plus now local corn is in  - yum!!

TV watching
    I think like a lot of people we have been watching TV most evenings.  After dinner, clean up and short walk it is time for TV. Whether it is a Hallmark Christmas movie as part of their Christmas in July, a British TV show or a movie such as Tom Hank's new movie Greyhound which is quite good or Marvelous Mrs. Maizel.  The three of us pick our seat in the living room most nights and watch something together.

Exploring
   We did a couple of day trips.  We went to Kaskaskia, IL, Grafton, IL, and the Aeries Winery.

Kaskaskia
  I had wanted to go explore Kaskaskia for several years because it was where the nuns first started the academy that would become the Visitation Academy of St. Louis which is the school my daughter attended.  When we drove there we learned a couple of other things along the way.  The route from Collinsville to Kaskaskia takes you through the town of Chester.  Guess what - Chester is the home of the man who created Popeye the Sailorman.  There was a statue of Popeye at the visitor center at the state line/bridge over the Mississippi River.

After we crossed the Mississippi River, we were in Missouri for about a mile before we entered back into Illinois WITHOUT crossing the Mississippi River. So for future trivia games. The town of Kaskaskia, IL is on the WEST side of the Mississippi River. Seems back in the 1800s there was a flood so bad the river changed its channel there and the town of Kaskaskia ended up on the west instead of the eastern side of the river.  Further trivia information - Kaskaskia has the Liberty Bell of the West.  We could only peer at it through a window since it was closed due to the virus.  Kaskaskia also hosted the Lewis and Clark expedition.



 

Jeff at the Chester Il bridge over the Mississippi River.









Grafton and Aerie Winery
    Early in July, Jeff, my mom and I headed about an hour north to Grafton, IL which is another river town on the Mississippi River.  When we had a sailboat, it was a popular destination for all of us sailors.  Grafton is at the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.  The picture below shows the 2 rivers meeting on the left side. Oh, I should add this was while the rivers were at flood stage.  Plus the marina we would visit is at the bottom of the photo.

We went to the Aeries Winery which is on the bluffs above the river. We enjoyed lunch and the view. The wait staff there has the saying "best view in the Midwest" on the back of their shirts. You can see for a long way up there. The farm fields in Missouri were all green and pretty from our view.  Oh, you may notice from this photo  I am part of the going grey with the pandemic women.

Look for part 2 next month!